I Can’t Do It All- A Trainer’s Personal Challenge

I have to admit I’ve been slacking on my job lately. My personal life has been full with some unusual circumstances that have me doing many extra things and taking my precious work time away from me. I’ve felt challenged, sad but mostly just angry becaue I haven’t been doing my optimal job as a fitness pro.

I always spend extra time checking in on people, writing articles, coming up with blogposts based on my observations or just taking a moment to appreciate the awesome people I work with, train and teach. You all mean so much to me and make my job fun, challenging and ever-changing.  Thank you!

My sharing is an effort to show everyone that even those that appear healthy on the outside can be suffering from some major emotional stress and drama that will affect their inside. That, I’m afraid, is where I’ve been the past month. Sorting out my time to take care of granny and her needs, handling my business professionally (already covered how that hasn’t been going too well), managing my family and let’s not forget my own personal health and workouts.

Yeah, they’ve been hard to get to. BUT- I make them a priority because if I don’t I will be a wreck. The physical movement and exercise helps me let off steam, feel better and allows me time to think alone and sort things out. I know for a fact, if I didn’t have it, I would be just like the person who’s been giving me the most drama over the past month.

So, I admit it. I can’t do it all, but I want to. I’ve learned some valuable lessons this past month and have listened to my own advice many times. It’s easy to give up and not prioritize your health when life gets full of unexpected challenges. This should never even cross your mind. Also, learning to prioritize and let go of things you know you just simply don’t have the time to do. There is no need to stress over getting the laundry done or dusting…it will still be there.

Although my life has been a challenge, my efforts not to my standards and my house is a mess I still love my family, friends, work and outside interests. I’m hoping things will settle in the next few weeks and all the energy I’ve been putting toward personal will be back to professional.

Look out when this happens. Usually challenge breeds creativity and deep thoughts from me. Hope you are all ready for it!

Stay balanced and focus on your health!

Amy

PS- Did I mention my eating habits are pathetic..don’t forget good food breeds good brain and body activity. Coffee, candy and bread do not make a balanced diet.

5 Common Mistakes Women Make in The Gym

Many of my female clients are gym members who have been working out for years, but are no longer seeing results or are just plain bored and frustrated. They are dedicated individuals who enjoy the benefits of exercise, but are ready to throw in the towel because they are either gaining weight, losing function or just feeling stagnant.

It comes as no surprise to me  because I often view them in the gym and understand why they aren’t meeting their fitness goals or seeing further improvement. There are some common mistakes among woman (trust me men are not excluded from this) that are made when it comes to working out, which can lead to these discouraging scenarios.

Are you making any one of these common mistakes?

1. Focusing too much attention or cardiovascular/cardio training- this builds muscle endurance and burns calories, but isn’t the most effective way to build the lean tissue needed to support optimal body composition

2. Not putting enough intensity into their workouts- I don’t know if it’s fear, habit, stubbornness or just a combination of all three, but women need to up their workout intensity to burn more calories, improve their fitness levels and provide overload and progression to their current workout routines. This applies to cardio and strength routines!

3. Still doing 100’s of reps of exercises to spot reduce- spot reduction can only happen via plastic surgery. Weight loss will happen all over the body with a combination of cardio, strength and good eating habits. Doing 100 leg lifts per leg every day is called muscle endurance training and will not make the fatty tissue on top disappear.

4. Skipping exercises that work major muscle groups- they don’t like to work their back, but love to work their legs so they skip all the back exercises in the circuit, or just do the ones they like. This alone can lead to a screaming case of muscle imbalance, which can increase the risk of injury. You’ve got to train the entire body, front to back, side to side, deep and superficial!

5. Going back to old habits- doing the same routines for 20 years is will lead to plateauing (no longer seeing results or change). This is why it is so important to work with a certified professional to help you change up your routines, keep you fresh, improve your fitness levels and prevent overuse injuries and boredom.

Notice a trend in any of these habits? Do you do one, a couple or all of them?  It’s all fixable! Making a change to just one fo these common mistakes will certainly give you some results and encourage you to start fixing the others. After all, aren’t results what you’re after?

Keep it fresh- Amy

PS- 5 common mistakes men make in the gym is coming later this week

PPS- A more in depth article will follow both blog posts

Are You Having a Bad Day?

My mother e-mailed me this today and it just stuck with me for some reason. I’m having one of those less than optimal days and feel very overwhelmed, non-productive and scattered. This e-mail reminded me that we all experience this at some point or another, but it is how we react and recover that’s important. It applies to everything in life: work, family, friends, leisure activities and workouts (those less than optimal training weeks sound familiar to any of you?) I was inspired, felt better and had to share these words of wisdom. Read on an be enlightened by this daily OM and Make it a GREAT Day!

Make it a Great Day!

“We all have days from time to time when it feels like the world is against us or that the chaos we are experiencing will never end. One negative circumstance seems to lead to another. You may wonder, on a bad day, whether anything in your life will ever go right again. But a bad day, like any other day, can be a gift. Having a bad day can show you that it is time to slow down, change course, or lighten up. A bad day can help you glean wisdom you might otherwise have overlooked or discounted. Bad days can certainly cause you to experience uncomfortable feelings you would prefer to avoid, yet a bad day may also give you a potent means to learn about yourself.”

“You may consider a bad day to be one where you’ve missing an important meeting because your car stalled, the dryer broke, and you received a piece of very bad news earlier in the morning. Multiple misfortunes that take place one after the other can leave us feeling vulnerable and intensely cognizant of our fragility. But bad days can only have a long-term negative effect on us if we let them. It is better to ask yourself what you can learn from these kinds of days. The state of your bad day may be an indicator that you need to stay in and hibernate or let go of your growing negativity. Bad days contribute to the people we become.”

“Though we may feel discouraged and distressed on our bad days, a bad day can teach us patience and perseverance. It is important to remember that your attitude drives your destiny and that one negative experience does not have to be the beginning of an ongoing stroke of bad luck. A bad day is memorable because it is one day among many good days – otherwise, we wouldn’t even bother to acknowledge it as a bad day. Know too, that everybody has bad days, you are not alone, the world is not against you. Tomorrow is guaranteed to be a brighter day.”

4 Things You Must Have in Every Exercise Program

Listen up past, present and future exercisers. There are some very important details that often get overlooked when individuals train and workout. As a matter of fact, these details are often the reasons people see lack of results, hit a plateau or just plain give up on their workout plans.

There is nothing more personally frustrating for me than watching an individual stop exercising because of lack of results. Exercise works for everybody no matter who you are, what you do or what you are willing to do. It works even better when you include the following details:

1. Variety- include different exercises, set/rep/rest period protocols, cross train and be sure to change your workout plan at least every 4-6 weeks to keep seeing progress. Hire a trainer to keep you fresh, advance your skill level and support you to your fitness goals.

2. Challenge Yourself- exercise needs to make you feel like you are doing something above your normal level of activity or current level of fitness. If you still do the same workout- time/duration, intensity level, frequency and never challenge yourself you will stay in one big PLATEAU. Hey, if that’s your goal then keep doing it, but if you want change you must CHALLENGE that body of yours (see #1)

3. Include Hell-Bent Workouts- 1-2 vigorous workouts per week are recommended and a must if you want quick results. At least once per week push yourself beyond your highest level of effort. Examples might include: adding 1 minute sprints to your 30 minute run, plyometric training, speed and agility drills, increasing resistance on your strength exercises. The goal is to push beyond your comfort zone to improve performance and torch more calories not only during your workouts, but also post workout. Trust me on this one…it works phenomenally. Just ask anyone who’s taken an 8 week Boot Camp.

4. Consistency- this is the most important variable. One workout will not yield results if you’ve been inactive for years or haven’t seen the weight room since college. You “don’t use it, you lose it!” Consistency is key to achieving good results. It will take the average person at least 4-6 weeks to see some of their hard work pay off. Even then, results will vary based off of individual efforts, genetics, physical abilities and motivation levels. Don’t give up because you’ve worked out 3 times and see no results..if I did I wouldn’t be here blogging about what a great thing exercise is!

Take into account we are all different beings with different levels of strength, flexibility, power and core strength. Using a program that is put together just for you and progresses properly will yield amazing results and leave you feeling incredible. Include the “musts” and watch those great results transpire!

Walking the Talk- Amy

Gone Fishin’

I’ve been out of town with the kids enjoying some R n R and plain just goofing off.  It’s been delightful, much needed, but I’m ready to bring back the fury of fitness to everyone.  Just a thought that inspired me today that I wanted to leave for all of you to think about.

A friend mentioned this to me today and I just resonated with it.  If all of our clients would take their appointments with their trainers as seriously they do their hair, nail, dental and doctor’s appointments we would have it made and the world would be healthier for it.

You can doll up your external package all you want, but you still have to keep that engine fired up with movement and regular workouts.  So how about it all you clients out there?  What do you say about giving it a shot?  Treat your training appointment time just like you would that amazing massage appointment you sometimes treat yourself to.  You’ll feel better, see better results and develop some lifelong good feeling habits to boot.  Make your health and fitness a priority.

Dreamily,

Amy