My Trainer Jill | Exercise Video

I LOVE “old people”. They’ve been there done that. They have wisdom, satisfaction, peace and strength about them. I love hearing their stories. I love helping them improve physically because it can improve their quality of life so much! It’s very rewarding work. My thesis was on older adults and I’ve always just gravitated toward people much older than me. Most of my one-on-one clients are over 65 years old.

So as you know I’ve been playing tennis lately. My husband is thrilled about this because he’s played for years and it’s something we can do together as a family when Izak is old enough to play. So I’m playing on a ladder this summer. I have yet to win a single match.

I was warned by more than one of the girls about “Carolyn”. People are willing to talk once they’ve kicked your butt and more than one girl offered me the advise of not under-estimating this opponent. “Don’t let her saunter fool you! She’s good!”

Sure enough. Carolyn kicked my fanny. Handily. But she was so fun to play I’ve played her two more times since then. And she’s kicked my butt every single time. One match at Wash Park these men were gathered around watching whispering to me through the fence, “She’s fit!” She’s amazing.

I always confess my losses to my husband (who’s likely pretty disappointed in my progression) and I’d admitted that Carolyn was much older. She hasn’t offered her age, and I refuse to ask. But I will tell you, I’m beyond impressed. I have been caught more than once on my heels thinking “there’s no way that will come back” and sure enough! She gets to it! “Don’t rest on your laurels!” she’ll scold. And I giggle at the truth of the lesson. She cheers me on when I do something good. She’s teaching me how to keep score. She’s wonderful! I’m having so much fun playing her I haven’t been making my way through the ladder as I’m supposed to.

I asked her when we played yesterday if I could take her picture and put it on my blog. Of course, she doesn’t even know what a blog is, but she was happy to oblige. By the way, she attributes her fitness to years of running, and eating “lots of vegetables”!

My new friend and inspiration, Carolyn.

I outgrew gymnastics by junior high (I was bigger than my poor coach who was trying to spot me). And I kept growing. The bigger I got, the slower I got. Pretty soon I was too slow to be a sprinter anymore, so they gave me a heavy ball and said, “throw this”. I threw the shot put in high school using a technique called a glide. I wasn’t very good. But my coach convinced the college coaches that I would be once they moved me to the spin (a totally different technique) and promised I’d be good at the javelin (though I’d never even touched one). So in my first three years of college, I went from a best shot put throw of 36′ 10″ (I told you I wasn’t very good) to over 50′. And in the javelin, I ended up qualifying for the Olympic Trials in 1996 with a throw of 174″ something. (10″? I don’t remember.) My sprinter friends on the track team would train their butts off every week and all year long and were ecstatic if they saw a .01 second improvement from week to week. A minuscule improvement to them was huge! In contrast, I had the luxury of having 3 foot PRs (personal records) on more than one occasion. I was relatively new to this so I got to see huge improvements and it was fun!

Decide what you want and go for it!

The same thing happens in many areas of life including fitness and weight loss. If you ever watch the Biggest Loser you see 10+ pound weight loss in a week in the beginning and as their bodies get more and more fit and trim, the losses are not so huge. This can be frustrating to those who just want to lose that “last 10 pounds”. I don’t know the actual statistic, but I would guess it’s a large percentage of people who would love to just lose 10 pounds. If you’re already pretty fit and healthy, that 10 pounds could be the BIGGEST accomplishment! It requires so much effort!

When I was in San Diego last year for the ACE fitness conference there was a session promising to answer this dilemma. “Why are those last 10 pounds so difficult to lose?” You want to know what his answer was?

1. Change up their cardio/resistance training.

2. Fine tune their diet.

3. Help them gain proper perspective.

It was #3 that stunned me. He basically suggested it was our job as fitness professionals to lower your standards. This goes against my thinking of course! I recently posted a super blog by Kate who has changed her lifestyle to lose 120 pounds or so and now, even though she has no visible 6-pack, she is happy with her body and herself. WHAT A GREAT THING! I wish that for EVERYONE! I beg of you to not tie your self-worth to the number on the scale when you stand on it, or the size of jeans you wear. But if your goal is the 6 pack, and that’s realistic (not for most!) do what you need to do to go get it! It might take more work. It might be difficult to do. But if it’s really what you want, and it’s REASONABLE, make the changes needed to make it happen.

So two things.

1. Decide if you REALLY WANT to lose the last 10 pounds. Decide if it is reasonable. Decide if you are mistakenly thinking that all of life’s problems will be solved if you just lost these last 10 pounds. Decide if you’re using these extra 10 pounds as a reason to love yourself a little less. Decide if you’re allowing these last 10 pounds to consume you and why! Decide if you’re willing to change what needs to be changed to lose the weight! Or to accept it! Either way, make a decision so you can be done with it once and for all and get on with enjoying life!

2. Once the decision is made, either way, accept it. Own it. CONQUER! Live it 100%! How FUN would it be to either a.) be rid of it! or b.) not worry about it any more! Imagine the freedom.

**I tried to find a picture of me from my throwing days and couldn’t. But I found this OLD article that cracked me up!

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!

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say “thank you?”  ~William A. Ward

Facebook is filled with positive quotes all day long. We’re constantly inundated with positivity and self-improvement messages. Almost every one of them resinate with some degree of truth but sometimes, one will grab you by the gut and yank some emotion out of you that you didn’t know was even there. Some messages slap you in the face so hard it brings tears to your eyes!  I for one, am a sucker for these inspirational posts.

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart

Sometimes, it takes less of a trigger. Today, while reaching into my refrigerator for mustard of all things, I became suddenly overwhelmed with how BLESSED I am! I just stared at all the food in there and said “thank you”! I closed the door and admired how pretty that big, stainless steel box is. I stood there recognizing how lucky I am to be able to just reach for food when I want it. Cold food! How blessed I am that I am home on a Monday afternoon at 3:30, instead of at some office job I hate. I pranced over to the sink and thanked God out loud for my health and ability to move freely. Who knew mustard would trigger such a wave of gratitude but it was so uplifting I just wanted to cry! I felt so rich!

Yes, I’m an admittedly hormonal woman, but I would wish this random volatility on everyone if it brought this kind of appreciation. I remember Oprah suggesting years ago (I’m sure many have suggested this) to keep a gratitude journal. I started one a few times, but prefer my Funny Journal (where I write funny things that have happened for whenever I need to read something uplifting. It is filled with stories from my husband, nieces and nephews mostly. I’m sure Izak will start making more of a debut now that he’s talking so much.) One can only keep so many journals! But if you’re one who’s prone to “the glass if half empty” kind of thinking, I strongly encourage you to start a list (or journal) of all that you have to be thankful for.

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.  ~Epictetus

Let your love be like the misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the river.  ~Malagasy Proverb

I’m the fourth of five children. My sisters look at their husbands and get pregnant. It never occurred to me that it would be difficult for us to make a family. And then it took us two and a half years to make Izak. It’s an emotional ordeal by itself, and then you add in the hormonal ups and downs on top of it all. But mostly, like any major struggle in life, it’s the complete lack of control you have over the situation. For most things in life, if I wanted it, I just set a goal and did what I had to do to get it. Unfortunately, life isn’t always fair.

Sometimes, no matter how you're dressed, you just need to cry!

Knowing how hard it was to make Izak, we wasted no time in starting the process again. This time, supposedly knowing what the problem was, I again underestimated the difficulty of repeating our success.  We did get pregnant again, but lost the baby early on. We continued to try, cycle after cycle, and after countless appointments (each a 30 minute drive away), blood tests, ultrasounds, drugs, shots, acupuncture, prayers and tears, our doctors have given up on us. I had no control before, but now I don’t even get to choose if I keep trying or not.

This is the abbreviated version of nearly 5 years of struggle. I only bring it up in an effort to be honest and to let you into my little world. And to share with you two lessons I have learned from this experience.

As a caring species, we feel compelled to try and fix others’ pain with our words. There’s nothing we can do so we try to tell them something that will be so profound, we’ll be the hero who made it all better. People are right to remind me to “Be happy with what you have.” But it feels like an insult to the hormonal, emotionally exhausted woman who’s dreams are not going to come true, to tell her she’s greedy for wanting more. If you follow me and my blogs at all, I think it’s pretty evident that I love my baby. We love Izak to bits and know that many out there who have struggled with this never did get even one child to love. We ARE blessed! And I know this. I actually blame Izak in some way. If he weren’t so stinkin awesome I wouldn’t want so badly to do it again! We have been through so much heartache in our first 8 years of marriage. I feel like it’s been a lesson in grieving sometimes. One of those lessons to me has been, you cannot fix someone’s pain. When a parent loses a child, or a brother loses his sister, or a woman loses her mom… whatever the loss may be, whatever the heartache may be… it’s ok to just let them be sad. No bright idea I have is going to bring back their loved one or lost dream.

Secondly, we ALL struggle. We have ALL had heartache. Many of us are in varying states of heartbroken nearly every day. Life is not about surviving between the struggles but about how you LIVE through each one. We are all going to be challenged in one way or another. It’s how we face these adversities that matter. My husband would be happy to share with you how BADLY I have handled our struggles at times. I’m not the best griever. I have not perfected the art of disappointment. And surely I will get many more opportunities to practice this fine skill.

Love love love each other. Be kind and gentle to one other. . . . including, almost MOST importantly, be kind and gentle to yourself. No two lives have been the same, therefore, no two people feel the same, grieve the same, or want the same things. All we can do is LOVE. Each other and ourselves.

Love one another and you will be happy.  It’s as simple and as difficult as that.  ~Michael Leunig

I am so blessed to have sisters. I’ve been learning from them my whole life. While I was home on this last trip, I was (as I always am) marveling at my sister’s organization. Her house is always spotless. The dishes are always done. She packs meals if they’re going places. She has a garden. I mean the list goes on and on…. She even washes and reuses her ziplock baggies!

In addition to recycling baggies, I'm trying to be better about reusing a paper towel that I just used to dry clean hands.

When I returned home, I was inspired to do this. It doesn’t take me but a few seconds to wash the baggies. I turn them inside out and hang to dry. And I feel so good about it! It’s funny how such a little thing can bring a little smile to my insides.

What little habit could you change to improve your world just a skosh? Any little improvement that makes you feel better about yourself, is worth the effort.

The CF Climb for Life is July 30th beginning at 8 am! Climb 3865 stairs at INVESCO Field at Mile High to help raise money for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Whether you know someone who has CF or not, trust me when I tell you, this is a good cause and an excellent excuse to get a SUPER workout in at the same time! Start collecting donations now! This is right around the corner. Are you in?

When you reach for the stars, you may not get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either. ~Anonymous

If you live in the Denver area you heard about the awful E-470 accident on February 20th that killed a 37 year old father of three. An 89 year old woman was driving in the wrong direction. She and Grier were killed. Grier and his 3 beautiful children were on their way to pick up mom (his wife) from the airport. Sometimes there are not words strong enough. Sad does not seem to come close. My husband had played tennis with Grier and their close mutual friend a month or so before. Beautiful family. Just beautiful. Hug yours.

And how does this terrible story provide you with motivation? They are having a 5k race/fundraiser here in the Denver area (Aurora) April 16th. Here is an excellent excuse to pull out those running shoes and go on a few runs before this time. Sign up. Give to a good cause. And get a little sweat, accomplishment and feeling of giving back to some people who have just been ripped off beyond belief in life. What more motivation do you need?

You can print out your registration form and see details here.  Grier Laughlin Memorial 5K

If not this 5K, find another in your area to sign up for and train for. This is obviously close enough that not a lot of training can go into it, but it still gets you started. And again, you’ll be doing good for more than just yourself!

If you’re obsessing about your weight, try picking up a new hobby. I know this sounds simple, but imagine a life without EVER thinking about the size of your butt. Get your mind on something else!