Tag: fitness challenge

My Insanity fit test results are in!

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I have been looking forward to trying Insanity for a long time now, and I finally got the chance to do it! I threw the fit test in today because I was curious to see how I would make out. I was actually pleasantly surprised at my results, which were pretty dang good considering I am not a huge fan of cardio!

Here are my results for the 1 minute intervals (after the warmup of course!)

115 Switch kicks (57 ish each leg)
53 Power jacks
90 Power knees
30 Power jumps
10 Globe jumps
15 Suicide jumps
17 Pushup jacks
60 Low plank obliques (30 each side)

I challenge anyone reading this blog post to complete this fit test! You can follow along with this Australian fitness instructor on Youtube so that you can see what to do. Comment below with your results (if you’re comfortable with that, if not, just let me know you did it) when you’ve finished!

Remember that I’ve been working out for almost 2 years, so I don’t expect you to get the same numbers that I did if you are relatively new to fitness. All I want is for you to do the best YOU can, not the best I can!

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If you enjoyed this fit test, feel free to email me at hfmxj@stu.ca with the subject line “Insanity” for more details on the full fitness program. You should also know that this is one of the programs now available via Beachbody On Demand for streaming!

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RESULTS DON’T LIE!

These are real people, getting REAL results. Are you going to join them in their success?

My Transformation: Body and Soul

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In honor of #ThrowbackThursday, I thought I would post an old photo of myself! I look at this photo from Christmas at my grandparents house a few years back, and it amazes me how different things are now. I had no confidence in myself to speak of, so I would do my hair all fancy and wear nice makeup to try to instill confidence in myself. I still do those things lol, but now it is just for fun!

For me the best part about having lost this weight is simply regaining my confidence. I love that I no longer avoid public places, and I can actually have fun. I love that I finally get to experience things that I was forcing myself to miss out on because of my weight, like swimming and tanning on the beach. I love that I finally got out of my shell and went after a dream on mine this summer! Until summer 2014 I hadn’t flown in an airplane, I hadn’t left Canada apart from going shopping in the states a couple of times, and I hadn’t travelled or explored much at all apart from the smaller cities surrounding my own. I am so proud to be able to say that I’ve now flown 6 times, I’ve had the opportunity to explore Barcelona, Paris, and London, and I’ve found a new passion that I can’t see ever going away. I NEVER would have had the confidence to do that prior to finding Beachbody and changing my life through this health and fitness journey. 

Most of all, I just love that I’m not sad and down on myself all the time anymore. I have become a much more positive person overall. I am kind of shy and awkward by nature when it comes to talking to new people in person, but I have seen a dramatic increase in my sociability since starting this journey. I’m not nearly as shy and afraid as I used to be, and it has allowed me to meet more people than I have in years. If you’re struggling with your weight and dealing with depression or isolation because it, please come and talk to me. Beachbody changed my life, and I would love nothing more than to see your life turn around for the better too. 

Send me an email to hfmxj@stu.ca with the subject “I’m ready to transform” if you’re ready to take this leap!

What a coach should do

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I always felt out of place at the gym before I started this fitness journey. I always felt like everyone was staring at me and making fun of me behind my back for being so overweight. I couldn’t stand to go to the gym, because the whole time I was there, I was more focused on watching the other people to make sure they weren’t staring at me. It seems silly to people who never experience this, but you’ll most likely understand to an extent if you are overweight.

The fact of the matter is, chances are they aren’t actually paying any attention to you. Even if they are, their opinion doesn’t matter! I think a majority of people would look at someone overweight in a gym and think “Good for them, they are doing something about it and working towards being healthier and happier!” Everyone has to start somewhere, and anyone who really matters will be proud that you are making that effort to better yourself.

You shouldn’t have to worry about people putting you down for your weight to try to “fat-shame” you into working it off. Getting down on yourself and feeling like crap about your body the way it is now is NOT going to help you get results. What will help you get results is being motivated and encouraged by a positive force. Someone who will help you learn how to love and appreciate the small steps forward, and who will help you through the small steps backward without judging you for them.

That is what I had when I started my fitness journey almost 2 years ago, and it is a big factor in my becoming a coach. I would LOVE to be that person for you!

Click Here if you are ready to start working on your own health and happiness :)

10 Day Plank Challenge!

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Do you want to build a strong core and get abs? If so, you should try this challenge! Planking is actually really good for your core and abdominal muscles. It isn’t easy, which is why you increase the time incrementally throughout the ten day timeframe.

If you are new to fitness I would suggest probably starting out by using your forearms to hold yourself up. As you build strength, you should try holding yourself up with your hands. If your arms get too shaky, come back down onto your forearms. You want to push yourself to do better, but you don’t want to push yourself to injury!

I’ve posted this challenge in my free health and fitness group for all of my members, and you are invited to join us! Just comment on this thread and let me know if you would like to participate, and we will go from there :)

Are people trying to sabotage your success?

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You probably wouldn’t expect this, but people (including those closest to you, like friends and family) do tend to sabotage others unfortunately. A lot of the time they will do it subconsciously, and they don’t realize that they are doing it. This happens because you act as a mirror to them, meaning that you reflect their bad choices.

Seeing you make positive changes in your life makes them feel bad about themselves because they know they really should do it too, but they don’t have the strength to do it. Instead, they try to bring you back down to their level and get things back to the way they once were. When this happens you need to be clear with those people that they need to accept that you’ve made these changes, and don’t let them discourage you from doing something that is going to improve your life.

It can be really hard, especially if that person is your significant other. Unfortunately I’ve seen many cases where one member of the relationship chooses to change their life for the better, and the other does not. What tends to happen here is the person that chose to make good changes will revert back to old habits to ease the pressure, OR the relationship will end up on the rocks.

This can be REALLY scary for people, because essentially in some cases you are choosing between your relationship or your health. The way that I see it though, is that if your significant other can’t support you in your decision to get healthy and they would prefer to make you keep your unhealthy habits – they simply do not deserve to be in your life. You should surround yourself with positive people that motivate and encourage you, not people who try to bring you down.

Having a good support system is crucial for most people to be successful on their weight loss journey, so it adds a lot of pressure when those closest to you are not supportive. If you have someone (friend, family member, or otherwise) like that in your life, I would strongly recommend that you sit them down and tell them how you feel. If they still won’t budge, I would consider how much you really need them in your life. If you don’t want to cut them out completely, it would definitely be a good idea to at least limit the time you spend with them temporarily. Once you’ve fully established your new healthy behaviours as habits, you can then reintegrate them into your life if desired.

Click Here if think you could benefit from some extra support through myself as your FREE Team Beachbody coach as well as through our challenge group of like-minded individuals going through their own transformations,

Butt toning exercises

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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!