Strength training will make you big and bulky..... Fiction The fact is if you keep resistance moderate and maintain a high number of reps you will gain strength without increasing the size of your muscle. Strenght training will make you less flexible.... Fiction If you do not stretch after any sort of exercise your muscles become tight. A person who stretchs is more flexible then if they did not.... Fact You can turn fat into muscle.... Fiction Muscle turns to fat if not used... Fiction Neither of the above are possible because muscle and fat are different types of tissue.... Fact Last but not least Smiling takes less muscles then frowning...fact The one time when being lazy is 100% encouraged
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I want to share with you the madness I call my job, also in a less science-y way of explaining the ideology behind the workouts I provide for my clients. So here we go...
Our main focuses are core/strength/weight loss. Seems pretty basic right! but how do we do it all in just 45mins to an hour!? Well its actually quite simple for the mind but not so much the body! We combine a unique style of cardio strengthening that keeps you're heart rate elevated while activating target muscles to maintain strength while achieving individual weight goals. WHAT WHAT WHAT? Sounds confusing right? let me break it down for you By keeping your heart rate high you boost your metabolism, just like cardio, but the difference between what we do and cardio is the muscle activation at the same time as an elevated heart rate keeps our bodies aware that we are using those muscles. Now this sounds counter intuitive to some of the science we hear these days about how cardio wont burn fat. GUESS WHAT THAT CAN BE TRUE! ....if you have muscle and are not using it. SO LETS USE THEM MUSCLES You see, our bodies are very smart and they know that muscle is a better fuel source then fat, and if broken down will provide more energy then fat. So, if a muscle is not being used our brains send a message that says hey eat that, it's heavy (because yes muscle does weigh more then fat) and it takes a lot of calories to maintain but if we eat it it will provide us with lots of energy! SO by lifting light weights and elevating our heart rate at the same time it is telling our bodies "hey we need this muscle, not necessarily anymore so don't grow to large (which is actually much harder then one would imagine) but lets keep it and burn the fat instead. Also by maintaining, or toning muscles we are healthier than doing just cardio. Having muscle tone is healthy because it helps with posture, balance, and the overall function of our internal organs! Not only that but core strength is one of the best places to build muscle because..... as we all know.... it is hard to get bulky ABS but there are so many muscles in our cores that by activating them they way that we do in the class it becomes like a calorie furnace! if you have any questions for me don't hesitate to ask! When we are kids we play and pretend with everything. We play at being adults, we play at being kids, we play at having jobs, having love, losing jobs, getting cars, making friends, we pretend and play at everything! We have been practicing for years! So when something stressful comes along we can now do two things: freak out or keep on playing. Because when we pretend at something we are in essence actually doing it in our own way. It also makes it easier to laugh at ourselves and realize how simple life really is. When you have this outlook you can also stop at anytime too! Say for instance a job is no longer enriching your life or you have climbed the later as far as you can all you have to do is decide not to play that game any more. Get what you need to move forward and start right on playing a new game! All that practicing is bound to pay off and one day you won't be pretending anymore and you will be playing the game of life the best you can! I am super excited heading into the month of June, I am going to get to focus on my fitness! I am a runner.... that is just what I am. Any given day you ask me what I want to do for a workout my answer is run.... but it is important to remember and change it up every so often, even if you enjoy what you do, do something else just to appreciate your favorite activity even more! After the M2B half marathon I don't have any races in particular that I am planning for. I do have a bunch of weddings to go to and bikinis to fit into during this time though! So why not try something different. This got me thinking I should share the idea with all of you! Summer is a great time to try new things, with so much light and the warm weather, keep it fun and exciting! It is also another great way to get that hot summer body is to add on a fun activity that you don't have time for in the winter when it is dark. So even if you want to keep your normal routine to some degree this way you are getting another great active secession in without even noticing it! Some ideas for summer fitness fun: Swim Bike Hike Hula Hoop Go dancing Walk your pets Garden and the list goes on and on! What ever you feel try something new! ( I added the picture of Sara and I walking because it also is always fun to have a buddy) It's been one year since I decided that I was going to take control of my own life. It is so easy to sit back and let life happen to you. It so easy to think that you do not have a choice in what you do everyday. But the reality of it is... No one cares but you! If you didn't go to work your boss would hire someone else, if you didn't pay your rent, the land lord would rent to someone else. If you didn't drive your car, someone else would. It's that simple, you actually choose each and everyone of those things along with many many more, little everyday choices. So last year I chose to take control of who I was and where I was going. In short, I made me my #1 priority. Now let me clarify this does not mean I became a selfish jerk! I simply realized I could be happier and be a better person for this around me and those that I cared for if I was happy with me first!
The first thing I did was start respecting my body. I started fueling myself with healthier more nutritious food. I started working out 3 times a week, and running when I could. Prior to these decisions I had been working very hard at all the wrong things. I would run for an hour and eventually I ended up with a hurt knee. I would not eat breakfast and if I could Id skip lunch too. No wonder my body was rejecting me, I was torturing it and never giving it any reward! So believe it or not, when I first started I actually felt like I was working out less and eating more.... well it wasn't that I felt this way, it was that it was. Oh and trust me I was scared! I doubted my own plan. But that is where the second choice and second component came in. Secondly, I was not aloud to be mean to myself. I was to treat me how I would treat others and tell myself what I would tell them. And as many of us know, its a lot easier to tell someone how to do something right then actually doing it. Its amazing how we can know the truth or have substantial knowledge in an area yet some how think, well that is true for everyone... except me. I tell my clients eat small meals, recover, and don't stress..... but ha, me I can do those things, I need to do those things.... Coo Coo! wrong-o! So I started telling myself I deserve these things. The first thing I deserved was to fallow my dream to travel, and what do you know the opportunity arose. It is amazing how when you want something and are willing to work for it those things manage to come around. I was lucky enough to travel to Europe not only to travel but I was tagging along with my brother and several AMAZING runners. Its crazy! an opportunity doing my favorite thing, in places I want to go, with awesome people! Sounds almost too good to be true right! but it was true. This was the avalanche that would perpetuate me into the strength and courage that I would find to launch me into the next chapter of my life. I realized if you want something all you have to do is choose to make it happen. I am saying choose for a reason because you can want something, you can wish for something, but by acknowledging that its a choice, you are also acknowledging that is on your own accord. You choose, You make it happen. At the time of my trip I was choosing to let the lessons of others seep into my train of thought and eventually my being. That is one great thing about athletes, they have learned a lot of lessons. Lessons about hard work, about confidence, about prioritizing, about wanting! Athletes WANT things... They want to win, they want to work hard so they can win, they want to be the best, they want to try their hardest. They want those they care about around them, but they are not going to put aside their wants, because they know when they are at their best, it is the best for everyone around them. I could write a whole blog alone on what I have learned from the amazing athletes I have been so lucky to know and call friends but Ill save that for another day. When my trip was over I came home and kinda thought, wow that was easy! All I did was want something and be willing to work for it and it happened. While this whole mental transformation was going on, I was also physically transforming as well. You see, these things go hand in hand. I was taking care of me, which also meant I knew I needed rest and good nutritious food, as well as working out in a healthy way. By the fall I was ready to race again! It had been almost a year since I had raced without pain in my knee and I was super excited and proud of myself. I started running with a group of girls and working out between clients. Shortly after that I decided I was going to train for a track season. as the months went on I trained and focused on doing what makes me happiest and feel good, before I knew it I was in the best shape of my life, all because I was choosing healthy things that make me happy. Now, I know running isnt what makes everyone happy, but I believe that there is something positive out there for everyone, you just have to find it and go with it. In short what I am saying is, what ever it is you love do it! Make yourself happy! It is really healthy for you! I reached my current weight at about 6 months, I have maintained it and my healthy lifestyle for about 6 more. The crazy thing is I rarely think about it. I mean of course when your with the girls there is the occasional "OMG I ate way to much last night lets do some abs" kinda stuff but mostly I attribute my success to making the choice to be more positive, respect myself, and surround myself with people who do the same! It really is amazing what can happen in one year! So I know this one got a little long and a little ramble-ly but here is to One year! One day, one year, one life! Do the best you can, but most importantly love and respect yourself! (side note) I am racing this weekend! I chose this race because it is one of my favorites and no matter how I do I can see how far I have come since this time last year! Thank You to all those who have been with me in spirit and in person! May we continue to grow and find our real TRUE selves! As we go through our day to day, it is rare that we actually stop and appreciate the simple automatic things in our lives. So here is what I recommend. Grab a quick pen and paper write 4 things that make your life better everyday. Keep what you wrote and place it somewhere where you can see it everyday and when you do it will help you remember that even on bad days you have some thing to be thankful for.
Mine are: My job, I'm thankful for being able to do what I love Kyle, I am thankful for having a positive fun loving adventure partner in my life Wall-e, I am thankful for my bestfriend and a fluffy cuddle ball to cuddle with cry with and play with. Running, I am thankful for everything about running, what it brings into my life: health, friends, positivity, dedication and excitement. |
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April 2016
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