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In the Water They Can't See You Cry: A Memoir - Hardcover available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, IndieBound and Simon & Schuster or get the eBook version available for Apple products, Kindle and Nook!
Every time you purchase Athena® bottled water, you join the fight against breast cancer!
My FAVORITE sunscreen ever! I seriously don't leave home without it.
Today is the official day that my book will be released in paperback. I will be doing a book signing April 18th in Tucson, AZ at the Barnes and Noble at 5130 E. Broadway starting at 7pm.
Happy Friday everyone! I'm rounding out the week on a good note: with CrossFit of course.
And, as usual, I'm sharing my workout with you. I've mentioned my trainer Shaun before - he trained me again this time (usually on Wednesdays). Shaun is a committed CrossFit-er; he competes in a lot of CrossFit competitions, so he definitely knows what he is doing.
If you check out my workout below, the hardest part for me was definitely the running portion of the workout. It really doesn't help that the run is outside on black asphalt in 100 degree heat! Haha...anything to be stronger and fitter! 
What are you doing to get active before the weekend starts?
“I had to work harder to be prettier. Even outside the pool, I saw the world as a competition. And if I wasn’t winning, I completely failed.”
“The perfectionist drive that made me a star athlete in the water, out of the water tore me apart. As I nitpicked every little aspect of myself, I discovered over and over again that I wasn’t good enough.”
- In The Water They Can’t See You Cry (Page 89)
Has anyone else felt this drive to be perfect, whether it’s in a sport, the workplace, social scene or family life? I struggled with this a lot when I was younger, but even as a grown up and a Mom, sometimes the pressure to be perfect can get to you every now and again.
Growing up in the public eye, I definitely felt the pressure to look like what society deemed as “beautiful.” Even though it seemed like I was on top of the world, with my first Olympics at 14 followed by a successful career as a model, sports broadcaster, author and now Mom, deep down I tore myself apart in every way to please the outside world. If you’ve read my book, In The Water They Can’t See You Cry, you know that this need to be perfect drove me into a deep depression with an eating disorder and other issues. Instead of having the most glamorous life, I despised myself. I was miserable.
And I used swimming to cope with my problems – it was literally my meditation, my escape. I know a lot of us try to workout, dye our hair, shop or do other external activities to make ourselves feel better in the short-term. I’ve learned through my long journey, that what really helps is working on the inside. I finally faced my reality with the help of my amazing husband, Sacha, and got help. Today I am very happy and healthy, and have a great life – with no regrets, believe it or not. I’m a much stronger person from the things I went through.
Have you experienced similar struggles as a young adult or even a Mom or Dad, friend, family member, student, or athlete? I would love for you to share your story with me and how you recovered. My blog is a community where we can be open and honest, relate to and help each other. Can’t wait to hear from you!
Today was another CrossFit day - I told you I was addicted to it! 
Gene was my trainer today and helped me a lot with my form, especially on bench press. I'm actually a little under the weather right now, so unfortunately I couldn't push myself as much as I would have wanted to. But I will say, the tabatas surely kicked my butt! For those of you who don't know, a CrossFit tabata is performing as many reps of the assigned exercise as you can in 20 seconds - then resting for 10 seconds, repeating again and again for a total of eight intervals, or 4 minutes of exercise. The hardest tabata sets for me to do were definitely the strict pull-ups and bar dips. Doing them made me realize that I'm a little out of shape right now! But it also makes me excited to watch myself improve and get stronger. That's what fitness is all about, right?
What's your current fitness addiction? Mine is definitely CrossFit!
One of my sponsors, AquaSphere created this great video during the 2012 London Olympic Games. It follows four triathletes as they watch the Men's triathlon and embark on a journey to discover London's attractions. You'll love it!
Today was another CrossFit day - I got my butt kicked! My trainer Shaun and I did chest-to-bar pull-ups and back squats, among other things. He really helped me with my form on my squats - it's important to have good technique otherwise you won't get the maximum results. It's also great to have a professional watch over you while doing strength moves to make sure you are doing the exercises correctly, even if you perform them on a regular basis. In addition to enhancing results, it helps prevent injuries too. Thanks to GTX Crossfit in Tucson for kicking my butt - I love it!!
Check out my workout routine from today and my battle scares to prove it! 
Lovely, huh? Hard work always pays off though!
About two and a half years ago, I started CrossFit, a core strength and conditioning program that incorporates fast spurts of intense cardio and strength moves for maximum results fast (yes, I do more than swimming!). It is amazing the results I have seen, especially after I had Blaise. I tried a lot of different exercise regimans to shed the baby weight quickly, but given my time constraint as a new mom, this was the program that worked the best!
So, after a two-month break (I still stayed active, but with traveling, I wasn't able to commit to my usual CrossFit program), I got back in the gym - GTX in Tucson, AZ - yesterday.
Check out my CrossFit workout below and try it for yourself. If you have any questions on the moves (they are in CrossFit lingo!) or how to effectively perform them, feel free to ask.
What do you think of my workout? And has CrossFit worked for you too? I want to hear from you!
As you all probably know, I have been the spokesperson for Softcup since 2011. Today, Softcup debuted my exclusive interview with them in a blog as part of their "Fun Fridays" feature. I talk about my training, being a mom, my new book "In The Water They Can't See You Cry" and much more.
Check out part one of my interview with Softcup here.
Amanda Beard, Being a Mom, Disneyland, Family, Olympic Games, Swimming | in Family In this video by CNN iReport, I reflect on overcoming my past struggles that are outlined in my book, "In The Water They Can't See You Cry," and I also reveal my pre-compeition rituals. Please watch!
If you didn't know, my partnership with Athena Water and their breast cancer initiative is very dear to my heart. Check out this video that tells why I decided to partner with them and the impact breast cancer has had on my family. I really do love being an Athena Warrior!
Has anyone else been affected by breast cancer? Please share your story - I would love to hear it.
