Blog Archives
Staying Fit May Require MORE Than Just Working Out
This week I’ve really been working on BALANCE. This actually requires I do things OUTSIDE of working out that can improve the quality of your life. Doing things that rest your mind and soothe the soul.
For those of you who only know the fitness me, you may not know my family history or know my passions outside of fitness. I love art – I draw, design, paint and pretty much do anything I can that allows me to be creative. I also ride a motorcycle, which I LOVE. But more than anything else, music has been a part of me and what makes me who I am today.
Growing up with parents who were in a band, we all lived and breathed music. I played and sang at a young age (yep, that’s me in that pic!), singing for large crowds with my parents at 8 and playing drums with my school choir when I was 9. I took piano lessons for several years and picked up the trumpet, which I played all through school. Music was my passion, my therapy, my first love.
Then life happens. Read the rest of this entry
How Bad Do You Really Want It?
Have you ever really, REALLY, REAAALLLY thought about what you want? Sure, everyone would say they don’t want to be fat and would love to have a great physique – but do they REALLY WANT IT? Maybe we should change the question.
“Do you want to give up your favorite junk food, alcohol and sodas? Do you want to give up some of your valuable time to spend in the gym training, sweating and occasionally (OK, often) hurting? Do you want to run even if it’s hot outside, workout even when you are tired, and eat small portions even when you are starved? That’s the reality behind wanting to get fit.” Sure, there are awesome rewards to being fit too, but you have to get through the ‘getting fit’ before you start ‘feeling fit’.
Let’s break it down like this. When Steve and I were preparing to buy our lake house, he told me we’d have to be really frugal to save and pay down some debt. This was much easier said than done. Since I love to shop, this was a challenge for me. My instinct was to live life like I always had – but Steve would stop me in my tracks with this question: “Do you want to buy a house or do you want to buy some clothes – ’cause you can’t do both?” Read the rest of this entry
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Are You Letting Life Interfere with Your Fitness?
Honestly, I just can’t believe how fast time flies by. It’s so easy to start the week with such good intensions to hit the gym or diet hard, etc and “life happens”. Well, it’s more like “we LET life interfere”.
I put off the things I need the most and make time for the things I enjoy doing – which is TOTally backwards. Unlike Nick (@CoackFitNick from twitter) who gets up at 4:45am to do BCx Boot Camp online each morning (ROCKSTAR), I keep pushing my workouts later and later in the day and putting meaningless stuff in front of it. Read the rest of this entry
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Do you treat your hair better than your body?
Think about how you treat your body compared to the way you treat your hair. Would you trust your hair to just anyone? No way! Would you consider getting a $10 haircut? I wouldn’t. Ironically, people often treat their hair better than they treat their body.
Could you imagine if we had a hair salon with no stylists and a bunch of scissors, hair tools and products for people to use. I could only imagine the crazy hair colors and butchered haircuts that would come out of that place! What if you bought a hair stylist kit complete with all the tools to cut your own hair? Even if it came with a how-to DVD, I doubt very seriously you’d be thrilled with the outcome.
It may sound a bit absurd, but that’s exactly how some people treat their body. People buy the craziest fitness gimmicks or join a gym with no clue what to do. Even the best equipment is useless if the person doesn’t know how to use it.
If you want to get results, there are a few steps you should take. First, if your out-of-shape body was out-of-shape damaged hair, you would seek expert advice. Most people don’t choose a salon based on the brand of scissors the stylist uses. People choose their stylist based on referrals from satisfied customers.
When it comes to fitness, this doesn’t necessarily mean you need a personal trainer, but you do need someone to give you direction. Whether you follow an exercise DVD, join an aerobics class, enroll in a structured fitness program, hire a trainer, or workout with an experienced friend – having solid direction is a must.
In addition, much like our hair, our own skill level should be a determining factor. Some people take direction very well and need little guidance, while others need someone to do everything for them. You must be honest with yourself and make decisions based on your own abilities and limitations.
Next, you must follow a treatment plan. If you’ve ever been the victim of a bad hairstyle, the corrective process doesn’t happen overnight – and the same goes for your body. It will likely take many ‘treatments’ to fix your physique and you’ll have to stick with the program even if the results are slow going.
Repairing your body also requires a little homework. After I damaged my hair once, my stylist gave me specific directions of products to use, along with a list of things to avoid, in order to get my hair back into shape. I wanted results so I did exactly what she said – and it paid off.
Many times clients don’t follow their trainer’s directions. If you don’t follow expert advise, it’s likely you’ll be tempted to try a cheap shortcut and end up wasting even more time and money in the long run.
Lastly, if you aren’t getting results it’s time for a change. The same way we change hairstyles or stylists, it’s OK to change your fitness routine. You don’t necessarily need to leave your gym, but you do need to do something different if you want a different result.
If you are looking for a makeover this year, it’s time you start treating your body a little better. Like L’Oréal says, “because you’re worth it”.
