Category: Fitness

There is NO elevator to success!

Leave a comment

If you want lasting success you HAVE to be willing to make changes! Sure, you can spend a ton of money on diet pills, wraps, drinks, etc. In the majority of cases, all you are doing is throwing your money away when you buy these types of things, and I know because I have been there, done that. These things may seem to work in the beginning, but chances are whatever weight you do lose, you will just gain it all back shortly after.

Like I said, I’ve been there. I used to waste a lot of money on all types of different diet and weight loss products. After a while though I realized it wasn’t working, and I needed to make a change. I started P90X, changed my eating habits, and never looked back. The funny thing about all of those weight loss products that claim to help you lose a ton of weight with little to no exercise is that they require you change your eating habits. The reps will tell you to get the best results you should eat healthy and drink a lot of water. Well, guess what? If you would just eat healthy and drink a lot of water, you would lose weight WITHOUT wasting your money on weight loss products.

Of course there will be a limit to what you can achieve without exercise, but the biggest part of the weight loss battle is actually nutrition. If you just eat the right foods and hydrate yourself frequently, you will start to lose weight with or without exercise. If you’re serious about wanting to lose the weight though, and you want it to happen as quick as possible, you need to add exercise into your routine.

Click Here if you’re ready to start taking the stairs.

Don’t let failure keep you down

Leave a comment

I agree with this quote 100%! As coaches we are in this business to help others be successful, not to shove our success down people’s throats. Sometimes I see people get upset or angry when they see people with fit bodies, and they say things like “well that person probably never had a weight problem to begin with”. You CANNOT make that judgment without knowing a person’s story. I know plenty of people that were really overweight, and went on to compete in fitness competitions after a TON of hard work. Do you think they let small setbacks keep them down? Definitely not.

You can’t let failures or setbacks get you down, because if you fall into that trap you won’t see the progress that you’re hoping for. Everyone has small failures here and there. We are only human, so you are bound to slip up in your diet at some point or skip out on a workout. You have to learn to forgive yourself for those mistakes and not let it keep you from moving forward. Sometimes people have a tendency to think “well I messed up, I may as well go all out”. Then they binge for the day on all of the junk they’ve been missing out on, and that cheat day can easily turn into a cheat weekend, which can turn into a cheat week, and so on.

What you need to remember is that ONE bad meal and/or missed workout is not going to make you GAIN weight, just like ONE good meal and/or workout is not going to make you LOSE weight. Don’t get upset over a setback and let a little mistake turn into a big mistake. Try to stay positive and always push yourself to be better than you were yesterday.

Click Here if you are ready to start working toward your own success story.

Overcoming hurdles

Leave a comment

This quote could not be more true! Cardio and I have never been friends. It is something that I have struggled with since I was a child, and even into adulthood. I never would have thought that I would be able to do a Turbo Fire workout, and even as I started the program I still had my doubts. I remember the first time I tried Turbo Fire, and even the next couple of times, I honestly thought that I was going to keel over and die. I was sweating buckets, I had to pause the tape every few minutes to get a drink of water, and my heartrate was so high I was actually starting to worry about my safety.

I pushed through though, and I’m not going to say it got easier, but I will say that I GOT BETTER. People usually say that it gets easier, and in a way it does. By the same token though, it doesn’t necessarily get easier- because as you get better, you find yourself pushing harder, doing more, bringing it just that much more. You can jump higher, kick and punch harder, master moves you couldn’t do when you started, and even get through workouts without having to pause the disk.

Believe in yourself, because you CAN do it. It doesn’t matter if you have to pause the dvd a hundred times to calm your heart rate and get a drink of water. It doesn’t matter if you have to skip moves because you genuinely don’t have the strength to do them. It  doesn’t matter if you have to follow the modified version of moves. All that matters is that you TRY, because the next time you try the workout you could be strong enough to do it. As long as you are trying, you are still burning calories! Push through it, and over time you will be amazed at what you have overcome.

Click Here if you are ready to start overcoming hurdles!

It’s never too late

Leave a comment

As a Beachbody coach, I have come across plenty of people in their 40’s and 50’s or above who are trying to lose weight and get healthy. Your age shouldn’t be a limitation. In fact, we gave my grandmother a Beachbody fitness program for Christmas this year! If you can move around, you can exercise at any age. Just modify the moves, it is as simple as that! Only do what you can, only go as low as you can, and start by using light weights in the beginning of your journey and work your way up.

Just ask the many people who start in their 40’s or 50’s or sometimes even later than that, or the many people who were obese when they started their journey. These people may have thought that they were too far gone to ever lose the weight again! In my opinion, the hardest part is the first few weeks to a month. During that initial timeframe, it is almost more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Of course your body will be challenge, but you have to get over the “I can’t do this” mentality before you can be successful.

Like I mentioned above, you just have to modify the moves and do what you are capable of doing. When I started there were certain exercises I simply had to skip because I lacked the strength to do them safely. There were many exercises that I had to complete using the modified version. Plus, I would have to pause the workout a BUNCH to get a drink and calm my heart rate down a bit. It was a struggle, but I just told myself that I could do it, and so I did. Over time I got better and better, I could do more exercises the regular way, I could finally do the moves I previously had skipped, and I found I didn’t have to pause the workout nearly as often.

I am not saying it will be easy to change your mental mindset, because it won’t. It will be a challenge, but what doesn’t challenge you, doesn’t change you! You won’t regret the changes that take place once you make these life changes, but you may regret it if you don’t.

Click Here if you are ready to make these changes now.

Thinking of giving up?

Leave a comment

SO many people start exercising and dieting, make it a week or so into their new routine, and then quit when they aren’t seeing the results that they want. This is really sad, because if they would just hold on a little longer they could have gotten some great results. What is important to remember with weight loss is that you didn’t put the weight on overnight, so you can’t expect it to all just fall off overnight.

You just need to have faith that if you continue then the results will come, because they will! Like I said, it didn’t take a week to put that weight on, so it is unrealistic to believe that it will come off in a week. If it does come off that quickly, chances are it is through unhealthy means or extreme changes, and the weight will come right back on when you return to typical eating/exercising patterns.

Do it the right way and stick to it! You won’t regret it if you do, but chances are you will regret it if you quit! Think of it this way: The time is going to pass regardless of whether or not you are eating clean and working out. Would you rather be following the plan and working toward your goals, or would you rather not ,and then find yourself in the exact same position – or worse – a few months later?

Only YOU have the power to make the choice to change your habits. Nobody can force you to eat good foods, just like nobody can force you to do your workouts. Just like that old saying, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. I can tell you what you need to do to get fit and healthy, but whether or not you do it is totally up to you!

Click Here if you’re finally ready to take that leap of faith!

Hip and Thigh exercises

Leave a comment

Contrary to popular belief, you actually can’t spot train! All of these exercises will work the hip and thigh area, but they also work other areas in your legs as well. If you do any of these, or even many of the exercises in the “butt exercises” note, they will work these areas. One thing I’ve learned throughout my own journey is that you just have to do leg exercises in general, and the weight will come off wherever it feels like coming off lol. I still have fat on my hips and thighs that I would like to get rid of, but doing only these exercises wouldn’t make that happen any faster. It would actually be counter-productive because this area natually takes longer for us as women to lose, so you might as well work all the other areas while you’re at it so that you see progress everywhere else while you wait! The key is that you’ll be building muscle, and the muscle is what is going to burn off the fat.

-Squat with leg lift (Do a regular squat with feet shoulder width apart, then when you are standing up lift one leg out to the side. Be careful not to lean to the other side, and focus on standing straight just lifting the leg up and out to the side. You can alternate legs if you want, or you can do one leg then the other)

-Standing hip opener (Stand straight and bring one knee up so that the top part of your leg is parallel to the floor, then bring the leg out directly to the side but keeping it at the same angle, and then lower the leg back to the ground. Again, try to remember to stand up straight and not to bend into the turn. This will work your legs as well as your core and your abs from balancing and using that core strength to stand straight)

-Bowling lunge (Get into a lunge stance with most of your weight on the forward leg, and then inch the other leg behind you and to the side. You should be able to lift your back toe off the ground and balance on the front leg for a few seconds. It will feel like you’re about to throw a bowling ball. Once in position, lunge down, then come back up slowly. Repeat as many times as you can)

-Sumo squats (Get into a wide foot stance with toes facing outward. Squat down and then come up slowly. Again, repeat as many times as you can)

-Pulsing sumo squats (Same as regular sumo squats only this time instead of coming all the way up when you finish the first one, you only come halfway up. Do that pulse three times, then on the fourth you can come all the way up. This counts as one rep)

-Hip raises (Lie on your side on your mat and hold yourself up with your arm resting on the mat and your foot closest to the ground on the mat on its side with the other foot resting on top of it. Slowly lift your hips off the ground so that the space between your body and the mat forms half of a triangle. You can do this with your knee on the mat instead of your feet if you don’t have the strength to get up, but try it with the toes first)

-Leg lifts (Get in the same position as the hip raises only this time you will lift the top leg up into the air as high as you can)

-Wall sit (Get into squat position with your back against the wall. Your legs should be at a 90 degree angle, with the top part of your leg parallel to the floor. If it starts to burn too much just come up for 10 seconds and then inch back down. If your legs start shaking too much, you’re done)

-Step ups (If you have a stepper or a small stool this would come in handy. Otherwise just use something about the same height or even just a regular stair if you have to, but ideally it will be a bit higher than a typical stair. You just step up with one leg, step back, and then lunge back with the other leg. This is one rep, and do as many as you can on one side before switching to the other)

-Toe touches/deadlifts (If you have weights you can use them to make this a deadlift, otherwise you can use cans of soup or something to make it at least a little more difficult. Stand up straight and then bend down but keep your back straight as you come down and try to bring your hands or the weights as low as you can)

Click Here if you would like to take me on as your FREE coach!

Butt toning exercises

Leave a comment

Here are some moves you can do to tone your butt. You can add weight to a lot of these to make it harder and work better, but it isn’t necessary.

-Regular squats (feet shoulder width apart)

-Sumo squats (feet further apart with toes pointed outward)

-Pulsing squats (Squat down, then only come halfway up 3 times, then come all the way up on the fourth pulse. That is considered one rep)

-Squat and hold (Squat down and hold position for 10 seconds, then come up)

-Wall sits (Put your back against the wall and squat down so that your knees are at a 90 degree angle. When it starts to burn just come up a bit to give your legs a break, then get back down into it. If your legs start shaking, you’re done)

-Lunges (You can do these as walking lunges where you do one on each side, or if you don’t have much space you can do them standing still in one place doing a full set on one leg and switching)

-Screamers (Get in a lunge stance with most of your weight on the forward leg, then you bring the back leg off the ground with your knee coming up. Pull your hands in as you bring the knee up, it will almost feel like you’re pulling someone down to knee them in the gut or something. Do this repeatedly as fast as you can. You will know why they are called screamers within like 5 seconds lol)

-Leg extensions (Get on your knees on a mat and raise one leg up into the air as high as you can repeatedly, then the other leg. This can also be done standing up, but you have to be careful of your posture and that you aren’t cheating by leaning forward)

-Leg pulses (Get in the same position as above on your mat and raise one leg up as high as you can, then only bring it back down halfway and keep pulsing up)

-Bridge (Lie down on the mat with your feet planted down below your butt, then lift your body up into a straight line)

-Hip thrusts (Rest your shoulders on a bench with your feet planted on the ground and lif your body up into a straight line so that your legs are at a 90 degree angle. I usually do this with a barbell and some plates by resting the bar across my hips)

-Back kicks, aka donkey kicks (You literally just kick straight behind you. You will have to bend forward to do this one, and you probably shouldn’t try this at the gym or you may get some strange looks lol)

Click Here if you would like to take me on as your FREE coach!

Don’t Hesitate

Leave a comment

So many people say “I’ll start Monday”, or “I’ll start after New Years”, or “I’ll start after I eat all of the bad food in the house so that it won’t be there to tempt me”. and things of that nature. Yet, that day never actually comes. The more you put it off, the less likely it is to actually happen.

If you have the motivation to get started and you WANT to get started, don’t let yourself put it off. If you do, chances are you’ll never get started. If you do get started and you ate all of the junk food in the house so that it wouldn’t be there to tempt you, chances are you will have put on some extra weight. Now you not only will have wasted time you could have been making progress, but you’ll have put on more weight that you will have to work off!

Why not get started early and build the good daily habits that will keep you going during and after the bad days to come? There will be days when you will give in to temptation, and what I want you to remember is that one bad day is not going to wreck your progress. However, by the same token, one good day is not going to give you progress.

Click Here if you are ready to get started NOW.

Courage doesn’t always ROAR…

Leave a comment

This is such a great quote!

Chances are you’ll struggle in the beginning, and it will be trial and error until you figure things out. What you need to remember though, is that the struggle is totally normal. You just need to stick with it and you will surprise yourself with the progress you make!

So many people get down on themselves because they can’t do certain moves, or they aren’t seeing progress on the scale, or they aren’t able to go running. Whatever the case may be, none of that matters. What matters is what you CAN do, and that you do it. Over time, you will get stronger and be able to do more.

You should always focus on simply being better than you were yesterday, not by trying to kill yourself doing too much too fast. Have you ever done that? If you have been the person that called it quits instead of sticking it out, are you ready to be courageous and try again?

Click Here if you’re ready to take that leap.

Cycle of chest hair

Leave a comment

I actually would like to add an image to this cycle for the fitness guys! The next step brings the guy back to the beginning with a bare chest.

Since I started going down this path with Beachbody to get fit and healthy, I have come into contact with a lot of people who have success stories already. Many of them are men, and I have noticed a pattern when looking at before and after pictures: they almost always seem to have bare chests once they have reached their goals.

Now I wonder, is this because of a girlfriend, or just personal preference? Anyone wanna put in their two cents on this? I am genuinely curious! haha