So, March is almost over...3 months of the year almost behind us. Looking back at your goals or resolutions for 2013, how are you doing? Be honest. Are you on track? Have you lost your way a bit? Take a detour? We are only 3 months in so there is plenty of time to make your goals/resolutions a reality for this year. Take a few minutes to reflect on where you are and where you want to be. Put a plan together to help you get there. Find someone to hold you accountable. Did you create a goal that is just too big? Having a hard to completing it? Then redirect your attention to a more attainable goal. You were hoping to complete a marathon by now but you can barely run a mile? How about starting with a 5K? You wanted to go to the gym 5 days a week and stopped going a month ago? Start back with just 2 or 3 days a week. Don't lose sight of what you wanted to accomplish this year. There is still time to make a u-turn and moving in the right direction!!
I recently posted a blog about music and how great music can make a workout easier. I believe that to be true. I also believe that there is a soul mate workout - when it feels like fun to work out, when you can go a long time, you seem to have (almost) endless energy and you actually look forward to your workouts. Turbo Kick does that for me. It's been a long weekend and I needed to get a workout in and I thought to myself just 30 mins, make it tough and push through it. I put the music on and mix up my favorite rounds and 45 mins later I had to stop - not because I was tired and couldn't go on anymore but I really had other things to get to. If I had all the time in the world I could probably go on for about 2 hours with that workout...love it. Have you found your soul mate workout yet??
How important is music to help reach your exercise and fitness goals?? To me, it is close to #1 - next to the actual workout/plan.
I have been a Turbo Kick instructor for over 5 years. It is my favorite class to teach - and my soul mate workout. I am teaching tomorrow and since we haven't had a new Round in a few weeks I pulled out an older round - Round 35 (the latest round was 53). And wow - music really makes a difference! I loved the moves and the music and it all fit together so perfect. I am looking forward to teaching this on both Monday and Tuesday. The music must grab me - and I know I will perform my best when it does.
I lost weight years ago - 80 pounds to be exact. I went to see a sports nutritionist that said with me burning on average 800-1000 calories a day (I was a workout queen) that I should eat only 1200 calories. Looking back, I realize I was only giving my body 200 to 400 calories a day to live on. I slowly increased my calories to about 1500 a day, still way too little. I went through a stressful time and cut back on my exercise and my diet didn't change much but the weight crept up. Add an underactive thyroid that has been undiagnosed for years and you come up with a very bad math problem.
I realized I destroyed my metabolism and the "sports nutritionist" had absolutely no idea what she was talking about having me eat so few calories. After much research and trial and error...hard work and finally getting the underactive thyroid diagnosed - the weight is finally coming off again. And this time I'm not focusing on the scale. The jeans I have on today are quite baggy on me now. I'm feeling great - oh and by the way I'm eating 1900 - 2100 calories a day doing it!
It's that time of year again - resolutions. Lose weight, save more money, spend more time with family. Rather than make "resolutions" I like to create a list of goals. Things I want to accomplish this year. I'm speaking with my clients about coming up with fitness goals for 2013. Not how much weight they want to lose or what size clothing they want to wear. I want them to focus on feeling stronger - how much do you want to bench press? Have you ever tried a 5K? Let's pick one and you can walk it, see what you think. If you enjoyed it, maybe we can talk about increasing your speed for the next one. Instead of focusing on the negative, let's take a look at how we can make ourselves better, improve our lives. My goals? I want to teach a new format this year. I want to take yoga classes. I also want to finish a Warrior Dash. I want to feel stronger :)
Last year I signed up for the Warrior Dash close to Phoenix. A pulled chest muscle and getting sick a couple of days beforehand kept me out of the race. I hadn't been running much. I felt like I wasn't in my best shape. I got the email recently they will be in Phoenix this year - in April. I've been thinking of signing up again. But, will I be in the same position as I was last year? I have decided I am going to do it, I will be in better shape. I am working on getting stronger and now with this pending race I will add more running to my work our regimine. I want to do this and with my 40th birthday fast approaching, I need to do this. I need to work on my own fitness for a change. I talked to my girls in class about it today - I think we can get a group together and push each other towards this goal. So much research says we work out better and harder when we have friens who work out with us. We can hold each other accountable. And become Warrior Dash graduates!!
I teach a circuit training class 2X a week at a corporate client. I've been working with the same core group of girls for about a year and a half. I've been talking to them about lifting heavy, pushing yourself harder. On Wednesday the girls had 30 seconds per exercise and my suggestion is that since its a short period of time perhaps we try to lift heavier. So as the girls moved through their stations they would comment on how heavy the last person lifted - wow, she did 80 pounds on the leg press! This one did 60 pounds on the lat pull down! And they took turns trying to keep up with each other. It was a great feeling to see them lifting heavier than 20-30 pounds, which is where they were when we first started working together. And they feel stronger too! It is an awesome feeling to be able to influence someone like that. I can't wait to see those girls again on Monday!
Saturday mornings...I love to sleep in. But I also enjoyed the boot camp class I took 3 weeks back. It's at 8am so that means getting up around 7. But oh, the bed felt so good Saturday morning. Checking facebook later in the day I saw posts from my friends who took the class. I did a quick HIIT workout in the afternoon - when I could squeeze it in - but since yesterday afternoon I've been regretting not going to that class. It was so empowering and I felt like I got a really good work out. It's funny how you never regret a workout but you do regret not going to one. I won't make that decision again - I'll be going to class on Saturday morning!
I am trying to build new classes at a new studio - it happens to be a martial arts studio that is offering fitness classes. We have put a boot camp style class and a stability ball class on the schedule and attendance has been well let's say low. My classes are scheduled while the kids are in their karate classes and 10-12 parents will sit around and watch their kids yet we can't entice them to take classes (although the parents were the ones who initiated the idea to add classes). Outside of Zumba, I'm struggling to figure out which would be popular classes. Maybe they just need to be renamed with different descriptions. Any ideas would be welcome :) I am certified Group X Instructor and certified Personal Trainer. Cycle is out - no room or budget for cycle bikes.
