#copperfree

[steelpennyfitness-blog]

Leopard Strong

I was gazing down at my legs, at my mystery bruises, wondering if any other active Wilsons patients experience the same symptom. There’s been a huge body positive movement towards acceptance of stretch marks, calling them “tiger stripes”; My personal narrative has included being shamed by partners for my bruises, why not “leopard spots”? I feel it’s a whimsical but strong way to describe a symptom that I know I personally hide out of embarrassment, and was commented on by another performer after I came out about my disease because we have a shared locker room. Calling them leopard spots makes me feel less broken and weak and more accepting of a symptom that for me is a fact of life.

[steelpennyfitness-blog]

“You know you don’t have to lift that much...” and BCAA

I have tackled the squat rack recently and have been pushing my limit to find out how much my body can do. I ramped up my lifts to 20lbs+ over my own body weight and attacked it head on. I’m retreating to lifting a reasonable amount, doubling my reps  and working on my form because that’s where the most benefit comes from. I’m already seeing some really awesome rear silhouette shaping, AKA Antigravity Ass. I have started drinking Branch Chain Amino Acid, AKA BCAA in my juicy jugs of copper free filtered water. I never thought I’d be drinking giant gallons of weird pink water, but at my high protein intake, It really has made the difference in how much gets used and how much gets pushed through my overtaxed renal system.The powder mix I use has no added copper, which is an unappreciated awesomeness for most people. I have found myself painfully dopamine and serotonin deficient  though, which I have read is a side effect of taking extra BCAA. It has made the struggle with my depression symptoms incredibly difficult and I find myself leaning on my support network A LOT lately. Sunday with my fitness bestie does wonders for my morale though, and it’s nice to have a second eye on my workouts and gains.