Barbells, Bubbles & Babies | Carissa Johnson

Posted on January 3, 2018 at 12:00 AM

Life as a full time mom of a 17-month-old energetic little princess is nothing but chaos. It is good chaos most of the time, other than the occasional intense mood swing, which ends up with the little angel screaming and melting down on the floor. We sing, we dance, we read, we play and this girl never gets tired it seems. With 2 furry dogs and an active toddler, the house often looks as my father-in-law has stated, “Like a bomb went off”. Yet, in the mess of it all… there is beauty.

My baby girl is full of joy and wonder and is learning new things everyday. Our daily snuggles and milk time never fails to melt my heart. God is too good. Looking at her perfect little face, which resembles her daddy’s quite beautifully, reminds me of how miraculous of a gift it is to be a mother to my sweet baby girl.

She is feisty and strong-willed like myself, and passionate like her daddy. As a mom, working out can be a struggle, especially when my baby can’t handle not being the center of attention 100% of the time. My hubby and I have started to get incredibly creative when it comes to working out. There are times we all go out in our home gym and have to alternate sets in order to get everything done. In order to help distract a bit further, we invested in a bubble machine, which poses its own set of risks as we attempt to do lunges and lift around her, but the excitement in her little voice and spring in her step makes it worth it. As we attempt to finish our last reps, she’ll often times pull us into her crazy chaos of bubbles and make us dance around with her. Sometimes we get frustrated with workouts due to the countless interruptions, but what is one exercise compared to the spirit and happiness of our little girl? She is our world. Sometimes a sprinting lap with her riding along in the wagon is what we need to keep everyone happy. Early morning workouts are definitely helpful from time to time as getting a focused workout in on occasion can help keep us on track.

It’s amazing how quickly the little ones learn. She’s incredibly amusing, as she’ll try to imitate her dad by yelling and throwing her baby barbell around. She’ll imitate our exercises and motivate us with her perfect, effortless baby squat. If only I had form like that. Life as a fit mom has its challenges, but it is the biggest blessing. With a good deal of balance and creativity, fitness is still possible in parenthood. That in combination with the best scientifically proven supplements on the market have helped my husband and I continue to see gains on all facets - strength, speed, muscle hypertrophy, power, etc; even when time is a huge limitation. HMB has helped me maintain and gain lean mass throughout my fitness journey and has helped my husband gain lean mass. BetaTOR and PEAK ATP have helped significantly increase our strength, power, and muscle endurance and have helped speed our recovery. Parent or not, these safe supplements help step up your game.