Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category

I just looked at the calendar….Summer IS coming soon*START NOW*!

Posted: February 25, 2014 in Inspiration
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Screen-Shot-2013-04-08-at-1.28.10-PM-copyIt’s coming!!!!!  Summer 2014!!!

Hard to believe, but this winter won’t last forever, and it will get very hot, and we will want to trade our jeans and boots and sweaters for shorts, tanks and yes, bathing suits – but are you like me and have lived a life where you both long for AND kind of dread summer??  For so many years, I thought, this summer will be different, I’ll get really fit and be ready and I never, ever did it.  I didn’t set a goal, I didn’t make a plan, I didn’t follow through and I was left mildly disappointed and HOT.   I wore capri’s and sweltered.  I have friends who wore big tee’s and long sleeve shirts in 40 degree weather and we told ourselves, nah, we’re fine.  Not too hot at all.  :/  (Not at all true)…

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Well, enough is enough!  This is it for me – I’m 34 years old and I will NOT go another summer not wearing shorts with total confidence.  I will be comfortable in tank top.  And I forsureforsureforsure will be excited to chase my boys around at the beach in a bathing suit – life is too damn short to be uncomfortable in your own skin!!!!   We need to take advantage of this amazing body we’ve been given and enjoy it, to make the most of it and not have any regrets.   A funny thing happens when you are in a good place with your body.  You completely stop thinking about it.  It’s freeing.  Imagine getting dressed without having to try 95 different things on.  Going and doing all sorts of things and not thinking once how you look doing it.  Figuring out that sweet spot of just enough exercise and as much food as possible to maintain your favorite weight, then putting it on autopilot and never having to think about it any longer.  There is a massive part of our brains that are filled with unnecessary cluttering negative thoughts that can be cleared out, ready for more important thoughts and feelings.  Inspired ideas.  Content feelings.  Happiness.  And no, not because you’ve hit xyz pounds.  Because you set a goal for yourself that you value the importance of, and you follow through and get “there”.

If you know me, you know I’m always putting STRENGTH first as my goal and the goal of my clients BUT there is a time and place to focus on yes, shedding some weight and paying close attention to fat loss too.  If you’re already on a good strength building program that is peppered with some intense metabolic conditioning, great, that is awesome, KEEP GOING but if you want to see some dramatic changes to your physique by the time summer hits, and take things up a notch…

you are going to have to support your exercise efforts by tightening up your nutrition.

This does not mean eating a 1000 cal diet day in day out and O.D.-ing on egg whites or going zero carbs – we have three months.  We can do this in a reasonable, sustainable way – but we have to start NOW.

Don’t make the classic mistake of killing it in the gym but then letting yourself down the other 23 hours of the day by not supporting yourself nutritionally!!!

summer-bodies

So make a plan.  Today.  It’s February 25th.  Summer WILL be upon us in 3 months time.  That is going to be here in a heartbeat, so go go go!!  If you’re looking for a call to action, THIS is it!!!

Join a bootcamp, see a trainer, get a program created specifically for you or do some research on your own, round up some gym or exercise partners that won’t let you down and get going!  If you’re injured, your trainer can work around that.  If you can only work out at home, you can work around that.   If you don’t have time, you can make it.  If you’re unmotivated, unsure or don’t have any idea where to start, seek out some help!!  There are no excuses that outweigh your longing for a different life – if you want it, you can do it.  And if you look at this in the big picture – you need to do this.  Don’t waste one more minute of your life being unhappy with where you are.  You are totally capable of changing things around and it can happen in a very short amount of time if you are committed and disciplined to your plan.  You just have to start!

Need help?  Contact me or someone you trust – make sure what you’re doing is right for your body, your lifestyle and your goals.

And I’ll look forward to seeing you on the beach this summer, wahhhooooeeeyyyy!!!!  😀

dsc1301

What are you training for????

Posted: April 15, 2013 in Inspiration
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I get asked this question all the time…and usually my response is the standard joke that I’m sure you all have heard a million times (because it’s so funny!  and true!)….”what am I training for???  Life (insert <expletive that rhymes with fluffer trucker! )”….but no really, there is of course more to it than that.  Each person has their own spark of inspiration that gets them going and hopefully keeps them going, but I really believe it’s honing in on that “reason” that will keep you on that path and more importantly, keep you going…

Your reason or your goal may be extrinsic (something measurable, like, “losing 10 lbs”) or  it may be intrinsic (not so easy to measure, like “having more energy”)..which is fine…but what happens once you lose that specific #?  Are you done? And what happens if you “have more energy” …more energy than what?  Can you really say it’s over, I’ve reached my goal – no!  Not really, we have to get deeper.  Move past the superficial or typical reasons and go further to focus on what are your Underlying Goals….something that has intense personal meaning to you, just you…And usually it’s a really intangible thing – feeling better about yourself, learning to love and accept yourself, value yourself, show gratitude, and so on…you get where I’m going, it’s deep.  And slightly uncomfortable to think about and in fact, if this goal doesn’t make you squirm a little saying it out loud – you may want to even go further and let the question sit with you for a few days…..

So, it’s bare your soul time, I’ll go first…what am I training for?  Well….of course there are layers and layers of inspiration and reasons that I could say, I have a top 5, a secondary, top 10, lol, but, when I really get to the #1 reason, I have to say, it’s a little boy with big bright brown eyes and a mop of shaggy blonde hair…a little boy who was born with a body that didn’t quite work the way it was supposed to…a little boy who has delighted and amazed us with his progress and determination….and…has made my heart painfully ache every day of his 7 year life…and on each of those days I am thankful for where he is  and who he is…and every time I see him struggle (daily, hourly, every breath, it’s always there)…it is a sharp reminder of

how fortunate I am to have a body that works.

I was lucky enough that my genes lined up in a neat row and all was just so….so wouldn’t it be a disgrace for me to not be thankful and show appreciation for this body.  It creates energy properly, it moves smoothly and freely, it builds muscle mass, my neuromuscular pathways are direct and functioning, it works.  Its works.  I feel like if I took “it” for granted and abused it with crappy nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle that made me sick and weak I would be doing wrong by my little guy.  I would be insulting his struggle.  So every time I push myself, I’m doing it because I’m thankful.  And that is what I’m training for, to give thanks.

One of my favorite quotes…

“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”
―    Socrates