My Trainer Jill | Exercise Video

It’s my fault my mornings are a mad dash from the time my feet hit the floor. I could get up earlier. Or I could choose to make something more simple and quick for breakfast. Truth is, I enjoy the routine. We’ve got it down. I doubt there are many people out there so crazy as I am to nearly empty the fridge every morning and cover the counters with all these veggies, eggs, oatmeal for Izak, etc. I chop broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, onions, mushrooms, spinach and peppers. I mix chia seeds in one bowl with some eggs for me, oatmeal in another bowl for Izak, and Ali, well, he’s picky too. It’s silly really. Combine this with all the other chaos of the morning and it’s no wonder I’m usually shoveling this concoction down my throat in the car, on my way to work.

Breakfast would probably be more fun if we weren't in such a rush.

In fact, I was gobbling up this goodness at a stop light the other morning when a car turned passed me. I saw as it approached that the window was open slightly and I looked carefully to judge this driver who was obviously smoking. As quickly as the judgmental thought entered my mind about this young man, I caught myself wondering if he was happier than me. I don’t remember him looking necessarily giddy, but for some reason, I wondered about his morning routine. His day to day life. I wondered if he felt fulfilled and excited about where he was headed in life.

I am blessed beyond belief with all that I have. I love my life. And I am happy. But it was such a little slap in the face reminder that all these little decisions I make, a million a day, effect my happiness. It is up to me. I have been feeling really good about the shift in my household to organic, grass-fed, free-range, etc. lately. And actually, I really haven’t been as stressed in these past few months either. I’m learning to say no. I’ve slowed down enough to enjoy my son and husband more AND to do some fun stuff just for me! That’s why it was so odd that this thought entered my mind. It was just such a good reminder that I instantly felt compelled to share it with you.

If the difficulty of fitting in a workout 6 times a week is causing you more stress than the workout would eliminate, perhaps you need to reassess that goal. How about 4!? We talk all the time in my world about planning ahead with meals. Chopping, cooking extra for leftovers, etc. Maybe I need to just go ahead and get rid of my chopping obsession and do it all in advance. I could even put the right amount of each in separate baggies or whatever. How SIMPLE would THAT be!? Hmmmm. I might be on to something here!

Each decision you make effects your health and happiness.

Point is, take a look at your health routine and see what you could change, cut, improve or get rid of. If you always wish you had better balance, but don’t have time to work on it, start brushing your teeth while standing on one leg, with one eye closed, while brushing with your non dominant hand. If you can’t seem to find the time to shop for groceries as often as having fresh veggies requires, sign up for Mile High Organics (my fave) or another delivery service to make your life easier. If you have a nanny, ask her to do some of the cooking for you. Whatever! Just take a good honest look and see if you have areas of improvement that would simplify life and help you reach these health goals at the same time.

I challenge you to make a list. What causes you stress? What would make life easier? What’s preventing you from reaching this or that health goal? What could be done differently in your day to day routine that would enhance your day?

Here is the 10 minute summary of how to set a goal and achieve it. Kind of a big deal. The calendar is KEY! Don’t be the typical – If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. I challenge you to state it out loud and proud for all to see and know.

Below are links to the written version of this “lesson”.

Set a SMART goal.

Determine SMART steps to achieve main goal.

Track your progress in a visible way.

Reward yourself!

What it looks like.

When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.  ~Seneca

Keep your eye on the goal. You'll get there someday.

I remember once when I was young going for a hike with my dad, sisters and mom. I charged ahead with my dad wanting to prove to him that the money they were spending on my gymnastics lessons were paying off. I wanted to impress him, of course. He is a physical specimen and has never set foot in a gym as far as I know. His “gym” is his ranch. He showed mercy a couple times and stopped for me to catch my breath (though he was kind enough to not tell me the stops were for my sake). He caught me looking back at how far we’d come. I wanted to see the progress we’d made and I wanted to know how far ahead we were of the girls. He told me, in some pretty stern manner, that you “don’t look back. Always look ahead at what you have left to do.”

I think of this “lesson” often. It can be gratifying at times to relish all the reasons to pat yourself on the back and I encourage this often in my coaching. But don’t forget to look ahead at what still needs to get done and GET IT DONE!

Sometimes we need to narrow the focus, get rid of the scenery, and have tunnel vision to accomplish what we need.

In working with people who have goals, we need to address what is preventing the desired outcome from happening. It is usually a behavior or thought process. If you are struggling to achieve some said goal, I would invite you to answer, honestly and with great thought, the following three questions.

1. What would it take for you to change that behavior?

2. Can you do that?

3. Will you do that?

There. YOU have come up with the solution. Now it is up to YOU to GET. IT. DONE.

Sucks doesn’t it?

The average American gains between one and four pounds between October 31 and January 1. And I would argue many do not stick to their New Years Resolution long enough to get those added pounds off! Want to do a preemptive strike this year? Recruit your office mates, friends, siblings, roommates…. whoever you think will help you hold yourself accountable.

Look at your calendar and pick a 4 week stretch that you can focus on eating clean and getting your workouts in. I’m not saying you can’t indulge during these 4 weeks. I’m only suggesting you carve out a chunk of time that you’re willing to try and get ahead a bit. Perhaps the 4 weeks of November, before your calendar is stuffed with holiday parties. It’s not forever. It’s a 4 week goal. Or less if you choose! But write it out. Put it up on your calendar – visible to the world.

Suggestions include revisiting portion sizes. Perhaps you need to go back to weighing your food and being more mindful of portion sizes. I know my 3 oz chicken breast turns into 6 when I’m being sloppy!

Maybe you need to get back to regular workouts. Write a goal number on the calendar for those 4 weeks. Make your goal reasonable, but challenging. It’s only 4 weeks! If your goal is 12 workouts, and you only get 2 one week, you still have the ability to be successful by simply getting 4 in one week.

Perhaps you need to only “treat” yourself on “special occasions”. I know I’m wonderful! But I don’t deserve a TREAT every meal of every day. Treat yourself another way! If you have been “treating” yourself to dessert every night, maybe you could limit this to 2 times a week? And if you do that, then you get to “treat” yourself with a pedicure or ….. fill in the blank. Treats are wonderful! They just aren’t really treating yourself well when they add up to a bigger butt.

Keep it simple, make it realistic and recruit SOMEONE to go with you on this mission.

Recruit your friends to challenge yourself and each other to a healthy month of EARNING those holiday indulgences later!

Here is what happens when someone finally realizes they need a change and they come to me for advice. I call it a Client Set Up. This is an example of an initial consult/personal training session. Let’s pretend it’s you! Here’s what we’d need to know before we could decide where to start.

The first thing I do is try to get to know you. These are not all the questions I ask, but they are a good start. I need to know what your life looks like so I know where the most urgent, area of opportunity is. It’s something like the stress test we took a while ago. We need to find out what is causing the biggest bumps in the road.

1. What’s your energy level throughout the day?
2. Do you eat breakfast?
3. What does your normal diet look like?
4. What is your lifestyle…Are you married? Children?
5. Do you workout?
6. Is your job sedentary? Stressful? Do you travel a lot?
7. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
8. Are you a generally happy person? Are you depressed?
9. What does a typical day look like for you?
10. What are your goals?

The next thing I would have you do is take the Metabolic Typing Test at http://www.naturalhealthyellowpages.com/metabolic/self_test.html

This is where things start to roll! If you take a test that tells you you’re a carb type, and you’re eating nothing but chicken and fish, we have found our first area of opportunity! I really believe a lot of what ails you starts with what you’re eating.

Draw a circle on a piece of paper and then four draw lines through it, intersecting in the middle, to make 8 sections. At the top of the pie write the word FAMILY. At the end of the next line write the words SOCIAL/SELF. At each following line end write the words HEALTH, EXERCISE, NUTRITION, SLEEP, SPIRITUAL and WORK. Now on each of these 8 lines, make 9 little evenly spaced hashmarks and rate yourself, 1 – 10, in that particular area of your life. If you’re a 10, then your little dot is at the outside edge of the circle. If you’re a 2, your dot is pretty close to the middle of the pie.

How Smooth Is Your Wheel of Life Rolling?

Be honest with yourself. Have you been sick a lot lately? Do you have enough time for yourself? Do your friends lift you up or tear you down? Are you working out as much as you want to be? How many hours of sleep a night are you getting in comparison to what you need? Take time to really think about how happy you are in each of these areas of your life. How happy are you with the relationships, the time you’re spending and the overall success of each? When you connect your dots, do you see why you’re having a bumpy ride? Take note and get to work on the most prominent areas of opportunity.

P.S. I put SELF and SOCIAL together because I believe you are in your own social circle. You should be your own best friend. If you don’t like hanging out with yourself, this might be something to think about.

We’re 3 months out. Most of those who made a New Year’s Resolution have already given up on it. Sad. If exercise was your goal, here are a few tips to get you motivated and keep at it.

1. Decide what your excuse is and eliminate it. Sounds obvious, but think about it! Some people don’t go because they don’t know what they’re doing! (#4) Or they always seem to find something else to do when they’re supposed to go. (#3, 4) Or they’re suffering from some injury that makes moving/workout out painful. (#5) Etc. If you stop and think about it, there may be some very movable block here that could solve all your problems!

2. Get a book on tape (or CD, or iPod, whatever) that you only get to listen to while you workout. Make sure it’s a good one! You will look forward to your workouts! Imagine that!

3. Get a workout buddy. If someone is waiting for you at the end of the block, you will not want to leave them there alone. (And if you do, you need a new workout buddy.)

4. Hire a trainer to get you going on a new program. One that fits your needs and that you find fun.

5. If you have any injuries or pains that you know are not right, go see a DO or doctor you trust. (I’ve mentioned before for those living in the Denver area, I love Dr Chris LaFontano 303.991.4651)

6. Join a league or club team of some sport you love to play. Find something FUN to do that makes you sweat. Ever played racquetball? Try something new!

7. Sign up for a race or physical adventure 3 months from now so you’re motivated to get ready for it.

8. Get Spark. You can order it by clicking here. Or find something else that works for you! I do not workout without Spark. It just makes me move. That simple.

9. Set a goal with a friend or family member using the Behavior Change Contract. A sample can be seen by clicking here, and the week’s posts before this show the specifics of making it.

10. Reassess your goals. Were they reasonable? Are you being realistic?

Here’s a fun way to get motivated AND do some good for someone else in the process! How perfect is that? Here’s how it works.

Watch the video here. Start collecting donations from friends and family. And start your month of push up training for a 90 second all-out effort to earn as much money as you can for wounded warriors. What more motivation do you need to train hard? Giving back to those who have given so much for us?

I suggest you do a 90 second test today to see how many perfect push ups you can do. Write that number down, and make a goal for what you want that number to be come April 16th. You have a little over one month. What are you waiting for? Let’s do it!

http://pushupsforcharitydenver.com/index.html

Quit waiting to enjoy life until after you obtain some said goal.

Quit obsessing over what you cannot control.

Quit promising yourself you’re going to do something, unless you’re willing to do it.

Quit wishing and start doing!