Simple September = Slackerville?

I feel like such a slacker for only doing one workout. Isn't that ridiculous? I think so. But, since I am making sure to keep September simple, I'm trying to avert my eyes from my inner over-achiever's (and my outer over-achiever's, too) temper tantrum and pretend like its no big whoop.

I stumbled into the two-a-day workout routine by accident, I promise! I always do my morning workout, rain or shine no matter what because the alternative is unacceptable to me, but lately I've also been popping the baby into my Kelty Kids hiking backpack and going for a hike for a few miles. When I looked up to see how many calories that burned, I was shocked: over 300 calories for an hour of walking! So that was a nice little boon to my day.

And before I knew it, two workouts a day became the norm. The morning weights/plyo/run or elliptical routine, and then the 2 or 3 mile hike with a 25 lb pack. And I started getting tiiiiiired.

Plus the baby's not sleeping AT ALL so that doesn't help. Grrr.

Anyway, this morning I didn't hike because we were doing other stuff. I felt kind of like a slacker. So I told myself we would walk later. But we haven't done it yet. Then I realized how ridiculous it was that I was feeling bad about not working out twice a day.

Hey, isn't September supposed to be simple? In honor of that idea, I am declaring it okay to not work out twice a day, and its okay to not feel guilty about it too. I love my two-a-days. I love how I feel when I am really active, and I enjoy the extra calories I get to eat as a result. But I'm not going to beat myself up over it!

It's okay to not feel bad about only exercising one time today.
www.freedigitalphotos.net

Get out there and get healthy. Even if you only workout once a day. :)

HH

Active Recovery (I'm trying to be good!)

Free image by David Castillo Dominici via www.freedigitalphotos.netI know I'm tired when I don't want to go running. 

My legs are tired. My arms are tired. My eyes are tired. I'm just plum worn out. 

I stayed up until past midnight watching the Olympic opening ceremony, then the baby has been teething so we're getting no sleep, then I woke up Saturday and ran ten miles, plus I worked two hours organizing a storage unit, and then stayed up late  Saturday night watching the Olympics again. All of that after a week of amping up my strength workouts and fatiguing my body means I am just really, really tired.

It happens. But I still want to keep training because I'll get mean and cranky if I don't! BUT, if I keep this up I'm going to get injured and not be able to train at all. So, I am trying to be good and listen to my body and get some rest. When I got up this morning to workout, and the whole time my run was just looming in front of me like a big boulder that I had to climb over, I listened to that little voice in my head telling me it's okay to not be a machine every day. 

I hate that voice.

But it was right. I finished my strength workout and put my running stuff away. I got on the elliptical and did intervals, which was also good cardio and a nice break. Maybe I'll run tomorrow. 

I'm really bad about overtraining. I just go go go and never give myself a break, and then I get so tired that I can't function at all, which pretty much cancels out all of the great training I did. So, these tips from Women's Health were a perfect reminder for me today that active recovery can be a great way to give your body the rest it needs without feeling like you're slacking off from your workout. It's great for people like me, who like to feel like we're giving it our all every day, even on days when we shouldn't.

Get out there and get healthy today, even if it means doing nothing!

Miles of Smiles

This has circulated the web for a while but it still makes me smile because it is so true. I honestly cringe when I see pictures of myself running. Either I am grimacing, my skin has been captured in an unfortunately timed jiggle, or I just look like a big ole dork. I'd much rather remember how I felt when I was running, not what I looked like!

Kind of like dancing. :)


Get out there and get healthy today, no matter what you look like!

Why I Ran the 9th Mile Second

Sometimes, even for a regular runner, there is that workout that looms ahead, being all intimidating and ominous and messing with your head. For me, it was the nine miles I needed to run last weekend in preparation for the Mardi Gras Half Marathon. I've been adding one mile a week for the past month or so, which when you break it down is not that big of a deal. It's, like, two and a half songs. A measly 10 tenths of a mile. About 15 furtive glances at my Garmin, and roughly an extra ten minutes of running. Big whoop. When I look at it in those kinds of terms, it's a lot easier to face. But sometimes I still get nervous and wonder, can I really do that?


The 9-miler was making me nervous. I don't know why, because I had not had any bad runs and in fact had been having some really great workouts. I knew I wanted to stick to an 8-mile route that I had recently had good luck with, and just tack on an extra mile. And that's when I thought of a nifty little way to make my nine miles feel more like 8: I ran the 9th mile second.

What? 

I looked at it this way: adding another mile on to an already taxing 8-mile run just seems mean to me. I'd just be thinking about it the whole time anyway, psyching myself out over nothing. Putting it in the middle works better, but about 1.5 miles into my run, there is a good spot to make a quick detour, go out and back for a mile, and get back on the route. I decided to make that my 9th mile. By getting it over with at the beginning of my run, I was quickly back in 8-mile territory, which I was completely comfortable with.


I know, it's a little nutty and delusional. But it worked! I ran the 9th mile second, and the rest of the run was a piece of cake!

It reminded me that most of fitness is mental. Yes, our bodies get stronger and more conditioned and physical changes occur, but the process that gets us to that point is 100% mental. By running that 9th mile while I was still fresh, and convincing myself that it was over and out of the way and I was just on a regular run after that, it freed me from feeling pressured to do anything other than keep putting one foot in front of the next. 


If you have mental hurdles to get over, get creative in the ways you approach them. Do what you can to turn them into bite-sized pieces (one song, six mailboxes to pass, 100 steps, etc.) to make them easier to manage. Or, rearrange your thinking so you do the hard part first and the rest is easy! It worked for me and now 10 miles is something I am looking forward to.


Play some mind games today: get out there and get healthy!

The Alternative to Exercise

As perfectly acceptable for calorie burning as it is to spend an hour on the elliptical machine, it sure is unfulfilling. But, on days when it is 32 degrees outside and I can't bring myself to bundle up my baby and make him sit in a stroller for an hour so I can go running, that's what I am left with. It's cool, because the exercise must happen. The alternative (having two pairs of pants that fit) is unacceptable to me.

I much prefer intense workouts when I can sweat buckets and defy physics and really feel myself work and grow stronger. But, for now I workout at home, and that's okay. The exercise must happen. The alternative (the heart disease, high cholesterol, and increased stress that will find me if I don't) is unacceptable to me.

I don't have one of those naturally lean, muscular bodies that most fitness pros sport. Mine is much more...baroque. 

What my body would look like if left to its own devices.
Except I would not be a man.

So, I have to count every calorie and then sweat them out in order to control my very stubborn will-not-be-contained waistline. So I do it, every single day, because the exercise must happen. The alternative (not being able to breathe when I bend over to tie my shoelaces) is unacceptable to me. 



Which brings me to the issue of the day: finding time to exercise. Last week I made the point that I simply make the time, but I realize that's sometimes easier said than done. 

I mean, I have stuff to do! Waiting around for the baby to take a nap so I can get on the elliptical means that I don't spend that time writing, working, or doing other productive things. But the exercise must happen. The alternative, as you know, is unacceptable to me.

So I don't do other things so I can exercise. I do my strength training and yoga before anyone else wakes up. I have the flexibility to go running in the morning now because I work from home, but when I worked in an office I did it at lunch. I go to bed early so I can accommodate a morning workout, and when I exercised at lunch I did my errands and visited with friends at other times. It was inconvenient sometimes, but I did it anyway. I made the time.

So, yeah, getting on the elliptical machine for an hour is not how I want to spend my time. I'd rather sit at my desk and look at pretty things on Pinterest. But the alternative, a life living in the body I used to inhabit, which was rife with fatigue, stress, and frustration, not to mention three sizes larger, is simply

unacceptable

to 

me.

That is why I make the time.

Get out there and get healthy! You can make the time. The alternative is just unacceptable!

Living Room Workouts With Roger

I used to workout at the gym, in bright lights with loud music and people talking and laughing (okay, maybe not laughing) around me, and with access to almost any machine, tool, or doohickey that I wanted to use to fashion the best 60 minutes of exercise that I could. With a baby in the house and my early morning hours house-bound, those days are over. Instead, I'm in my living room with Comcast On Demand, working out in the mid-dark with the volume on practically silent, with whatever pitiful dumbbells I've managed to cram into my coffee table/ottoman/toy storage container. 

Weights, blocks, and Risk. It's how we roll.

I get through my 30 or 45 minutes, depending on whether the baby wakes up, and then make my coffee, standing sweaty in my kitchen, panting and drinking water. They're not the intense training sessions I used to enjoy, but we'll get to those again soon. For now, this is a pretty good deal.


Comcast On Demand has a whole slew of workouts, which you probably already knew but I am just now finding out about. My favorites are the 10-minute ones by Roger Dickerman. 

They're challenging and creative, and I usually supplement them with some of my own work. He makes me do burpees, which I hate but do anyway, and by the end of three or so of his little workouts, I feel like I've done a body good. Then I move on to some Pilates and if I'm lucky, a cup of coffee before everyone wakes up and starts bossing me around.


Someday I'll get back to the gym but for now, this is working great! I've lost two more pounds and when I tried on my shorts this morning it was nice to see a light at the end of the post-baby weight loss tunnel. Just about 10 pounds of baby flab to burn off and I'm ready for the beach! Well, maybe the park and a kid's birthday party.


Exercise is flexible like that - find 10 minutes here and there (about six batches of 10 minutes, that is) and you really can improve your fitness. Or, cram them all together like I do and take your chances when you can!  Either way, Comcast's On Demand workouts are a great way to get out there and get healthy.

My 5k to Couch Training Program

Whew!  I'm back from a whirlwind vacation and...wow...yeah.  That was a crazy week.  I always feel the need to detox a little after a vacation because of the inevitable road food, stress, and wear and tear of traveling.  You know how it is.  But this time, the detox is more like shock therapy, because life changed a lot for me while I was gone.

Before we left, I laid out my workout clothes for the morning after our return. I always do this so no matter how late it is, my first workout back isn't hijacked just because I was too pooped to prepare for it.  It feels great to know that when I get home, my real life can pick up right where I left off.  But this time, those clothes stayed where I left them. Thanks to too much activity, stress, and fun on my vacation, I'm on an exercise hiatus for a few weeks.  My husband is referring to it as my "5k to Couch," program.  He's right: I need to spend some time on the couch!  And yes, it is driving me crazy.

You know I like to live in that high-energy zone where I am always challenging myself, pushing my fitness limits, and training for something new. In wellness-speak, this happy zone is called, "flow."  Flow is when your challenges are equal to your ability to manage them.  In other words, it's that place where you feel like everything is good: you're challenged, but not overwhelmed. You're managing life, but not bored. You're in flow!  As a wellness coach, I help people achieve and manage flow, and I also do things to keep myself in flow.  Since I've gotten pregnant, my workouts have changed a lot, but the challenge has remained equal to my ability, so I've stayed in this happy flowy place.

Now that I've been *ahem* advised to slow down, I'm faced with a truly scary proposition: no exercise. I haven't been told I can't exercise at all, but I need to stay off my feet for a while and take it easy. It's scary for me to think about not being active; it's my lifeblood. But, I obviously have bigger fish to fry for the next 11 weeks. I have to deal.

I was pretty down about it and could feel myself atrophying just at the thought of a sedentary lifestyle. I'd been in such a euphoric state of flow and I didn't want to let go of it.That's when a wonderful friend (and wellness coach buddy) helped me realize that really, I'm just entering a new type of flow. The challenge...well, it might be a little above my ability. LOL  Truly resting?  Wow, that's new for me. The only time I have actually acheived it is by doctor mandate.  But, I love a challenge.  So, I've spent a lot of today embracing this new flow. It was weird to sleep in this morning, and I didn't go swim at lunch.  But, baby is way more important.

The 5k to Couch training program is in effect, and so far I am an A+ student! :)

Being active is a big part of holistic health, but there are times when our emotional, mental, spiritual, and nutritional health take the front seat. For the next 11 weeks (OMG JUST 11 WEEKS?!?!?) I'll be flowing in a new direction.

Are you in flow?  What does flow mean to you?  Let me know, and as always, get out there and get healthy!

Intentional Health: Exercise with a Purpose!

It's been said that successful people don't wait for things to happen to them, they happen to things.  I like to think of this as good old fashioned doing things on purpose.  Specifically, doing things on purpose to benefit YOU!  In case you haven't caught on, I'm talking about getting healthy. :P  This week is about intentional health.

Intention is something I talk about a lot around the holidays because it is one of the four tools in my healthy toolchest.  Unless you're doing something intentionally every day to achieve your wellness goal, you're only going to experience a mediocre level of achievement. Since we're all busy and need to get the biggest bang for our healthy minute, I don't see any purpose in not giving each one of them the full effort.

Today we'll focus on intentional exercise: choosing a workout that is going to be the best fit for what you want to do in life. Exercising for function is just smart, and it makes exercise a lot more rewarding because you're not only working towards getting healthier overall, but you're preparing your body for something else you want to do.  For example, if you have a hiking trip coming up and don't want to be winded, you should intentionally do exercise that mimics that activity. Walk outside or on a treadmill on varying inclines and terrains, do step-ups to strengthen your legs and mimic climbing a hill or over a ledge, and gradually increase your distance and intensity over time. As a result, your lungs, legs, and cardiovascular system will be ready for your trip and you'll be healthier overall.  Exercise with a purpose. Intentional health.

For me, one of the hardest parts of living in my pregnant body is letting go of my beautiful, sculpted arms. I knew my midsection would go, of course, and my legs and bum as well.  It just goes with the territory of storing fat for the little one. But my arms too?  Really?  I've worked so hard on them, it would be nice if I could keep the guns looking lean and mean a little bit longer! I've turned to intentional exercise: I'm swimming three times a week, doing compound upper body exercises in the gym, and purposely looking for ways I can challenge my arms without lifting too much weight.

A good way to find out if your workout is intentional is to channel the curiosity of a four-year-old child and start asking why. Even little kids know that even the most mundane chores are more fun (and bearable) when there is a purpose. If you're not sure what exercise would be the most intentional for your life goals, inquire with a certified personal trainer (like mio).

Health is more fun when you do it on purpose. Now get out there and be healthy!

Rise Against the Wind

Yesterday in my Daily Dose; a morning health affirmation that I send via Twitter, email, and post on my Facebook fan page; I posted the following:

A kite rises against the wind that pushes it. When you use your wellness challenges as agents for change, you can soar too! Try it today!


It occurred to me later in the day that using a challenge as a change agent is one of those things that are easier said than done.  Nice idea, Healthy Heather, but let's get real!  Well, chillax people, I'm going to explain what I meant right now. 
 
When I use a challenge as a catalyst for change, I first dissect it into smaller pieces that are easier for me to handle.  Then, I take each piece and find a way to either make it work for me or eliminate it. 
 
For example, let's say you want to want to increase your cardio, but you don't think you have the time.  I might start by asking myself some honest questions about why I am not making time for it now, such as:
 
1. If I had an extra hour in my day, how would I spend it? 
2. If "cardio" was not my first response, why is that?  What would I rather be doing instead?
3. What is it about cardio that is preventing me from finding the time to do it?
 
Ideally, the answers to these questions are going to help me get to a place of reality about why I am not making time for cardio.  They may include, "I'd spend that time running errands," or "I'd rather spend time with my family," and "treadmills and ellipticals are boring, I am too busy for that."  All valid responses, and all helpful for figuring out how to use these challenges as change agents. 
 
People make time for what's important.  If getting extra cardio is important to you, then you'll find a way to take these challenges and make them positive.  Here's how:
 
Challenge: I have errands to run during the day that prevent me from doing extra cardio.
Positive Spin: Since I am already out and about, I can put on my exercise clothes before I leave and make a scheduled group fitness class one of my stops for the day. 
Reality: Most of the errands we run each day can be consolidated or eliminated with some smart thinking, leaving time for exercise. Half the times I go to Target, I don't really need to be there.
 
Challenge: I'd rather spend time with my family than exercise.
Positive Spin: I can be an example to my kids and spouse by making the time to take care of my health.  We can exercise together on some days, and other days just be more active.
Reality: You'd be suprised how many calories you can burn just kicking or catching a ball at the park.  Or, buy some inexpensive phys ed cones and challenge each other at feats of speed and agility.  After 20 or 30 minutes of yukking it up, you'll have the extra cardio done.
 
Challenge: I have better things to do with my time than walk on a treadmill.
Positive Spin: I can get extra cardio from a wide variety of sources including group classes, cycling, boot camp, kettlebells, or a walk in the park.
Reality: Sometimes cardio can be mundane, but you'd probably be suprised to find out how much variety there is in your town for mid-day cardio.  A spinning class is definitely going to keep you awake!
 
The point of this exercise is to see challenges in positive ways and to inject some reality (without pity) into our excuse-making habits.  The reality is that we make time for what we really want to do.  The excuses we make are just our lazy brain's attempt at self-preservation.  Don't take your challenges at face value! Find out what they're really all about, and massage them until they are nicer to you...and I think you'll find that you feel like a kite rising against the wind, soaring above what you thought was possible.
 
Try it today! 

Hard Work = Success? Mostly!

Do you ever find yourself wondering why you're working so dang hard and not getting anywhere?  I do. Here's why: hard work doesn't translate to success. 

Nope, sorry!  Being a hard worker is admirable, but unless you're busting your butt on a good plan, it's just nice to know.  I get that reminder at least every few months when I ask myself why I'm so tuckered out but have only inched toward my health goals.  It's not that I'm not working hard enough, it's that what I am working so hard on isn't a good plan to begin with.

I'm notorious for maxing out on my energy every single day. I'm a real martyr that way, I love ending the day feeling like I sucked out every bit of life it had to offer.  What I'm not good at is recovering from all of that work.  So I end the day exhausted, then I wake up uber early to get a strong start on doing it all again, then I end the next day exhausted, and the cycle continues until I hit the wall, crash and burn, and wake up to my husband telling me he told me so.  That is not a good plan.

I'm also really good at forgetting that what works for one person isn't necessarily going to work for me.  Namely, splurge food moderation. Eating decadent food in moderation is a very sound way for 99.99999% of people to get well-balanced nutrition and have satisfaction in their diet. But I'm not that kinda girl. I try to give in and indulge in rich foods from time to time, but I suck at it every single time. It's not a good plan.

I'm also impatient.  When I set a goal and begin working on it, I want to see results immediately. Who doesn't?  But that makes it easy to fall into the trap of a get-slim-quick plan like fasting, crash dieting, or excessive cardio.  I do not do this, just so you know, and want you and everyone you know to stay far, far away from anything that sounds too good to be true.  Not a good plan.

So what is a good plan, then?  It's different for everyone. But when I feel like I'm spinning my wheels, I stop in my tracks and ask myself these questions:

1. Is what I am doing healthy in the long run? Translation: can it be sustained? Can I still be doing this in six months without turning into an angry and manic she-devil?

2. Am I staying true to my personal truths? Translation: am I expecting someone else's tried-and-true to work for me? Or am I applying my own experiential knowledge and learning from my own mistakes and successes?

More often than not, if I'm worn out but not getting anywhere, I've violated one or both of those rules. When I re-center myself on sustainable activities that are developed based on my own personal success and failure lessons, things get better right away.

Which is awsome, cause I like things to happen right away.

Some things never change. :)
 

Good day!

Don't Dread the Tread

There's one thing absolutely guaranteed about fitness: options.  One of my all-time favorite things about exercise is the almost limitless variety of healthy stuff to do in my city; if I am bored it is my own darn fault.  We have running clubs, boot camp, cross fit, spinning studios, full-service gyms, personal training studios, a rock climbing gym, our own triathlon and marathon, and miles of beautiful hiking and biking trails.  You have to really try hard to claim ignorance to convince anyone around here that you can't get any exercise.  I'm lucky!

So with all of the options around, sometimes I wonder why I keep ending up on a treadmill.  The answer is simple: I like it.  I work out on a treadmill at least twice a week and its more versatile than you think.  Here's a few things I do to get a great workout on a treadmill; if you hate them I'll give you your calories back.

1. Add Intervals!
I'll admit it - running for an hour on a treadmill is boring. I spice it up by doing intervals, and use a great podcast by Skip Orem, who runs the site http://www.getfitpod.com/.  I like episode #138, the Reserve Request HIIT Running Workout for the Treadmill, but there are others as well including podcasts for walkers.  Skip tells you when to run, when to walk, and takes you from leisurely walk to omygodiamgonnapuke in literally 60 seconds. But don't worry, if you do puke, you can hit pause. Skip will wait.

2. Change Direction!
Every few minutes, add 30-60 seconds of  side shuffles or backwards walking to your treadmill workout. The most important thing to keep in mind here is safety - hang on to the side rails until you get your balance so you don't fall and get injured. Then you won't get to workout at all, which is pretty much the opposite of what we're trying to accomplish.  Check out this video for an example of the side-shuffle.  It's a great way to work different parts of your legs, increase your coordination, and work on overall balance. 

3. Mess with the Controls!
Running and walking uphill automatically makes your body work harder and burn more calories.  Plus its great for your butt, and shorts season is coming up so you might want to consider adding some hills to your workout!  Every minute or so, go all "diabolical robot takes over the command center" and mess with the controls on your treadmill.  Increase the incline, speed up the belt, and just wreak havoc on your central nervous system.  Not only will the time fly by, your body will get a great workout just trying to stay one step ahead of you. 

It gets a bad rap for being boring, but your treadmill doesn't have to be a dreadmill!  Stop being so mean to your treadmill and give it another chance!

Good day!

Fitness: It Just Has to Be

Any given day you can find stories of amazing people doing incredible things in the name of fitness.  My Twitter feed each day is filled with people posting euphoric updates about their grueling workouts and cheering each other on to achieve more. It can be inspirational as all get-out and I love it!

It can also be intimidating.  I mean, sometimes exercise isn't amazing. Sometimes the workout is just a means to an end: calories burned, body mobilized. We all live for those days when we feel like an Olympian, but sometimes fitness just IS. I think that's okay.

We have so much pressure in our lives to do more, be more, and achieve more.  We don't just run, we train for a marathon!  We don't just lose weight, we reclaim the body of our youth!  And sometimes, on the quest to achieve these amazing things, we forget that fitness doesn't have to be amazing. It just has to be.

You don't have to run a marathon.  Just run.
You don't have to have the body of a supermodel. Just slim down and maintain it.
You don't have to be amazing. You just have to be healthy.

It's not a cop-out, and I am not giving you an excuse to slack off.  It's just a reminder - fitness doesn't have to be a mind-blowingly awesome endorphinpalooza of achievement every single day. So chillax. But!

You do have to get exercise every day.
You do have to eat clean and healthy every day.
You do have to take accountability for your health every single day.

Some of those days will have you feeling like a superhero - those are great beyond words!  Some days will just be what you do because you're a healthy person.

And if you can do those things in this hyperactive world, that's pretty amazing.

Lessons from the Real Deal

Jack LaLanne, fitness guru and one of my personal heroes, died this week, leaving a legacy that should serve as an inspiration for anyone who wants to live a healthy life.  He lived a life of headlines, achieving feats of strength that make P90X look like Jazzercize. But he also left behind some lessons for the rest of us chumps. I've narrowed them down to four keys that anyone can apply for a healthier life.


1. Even the greats start somewhere. Until the age of 15, Jack LaLanne described himself as a sugarholic, addicted to junk food and headed down a path to obesity.  A lecture on nutrition and exercise served as a turning point in his life; he decided to focus on his diet and exercise habits, studied bodybuilding and weightlifting, and changed that path. It's a reminder to me that everyone starts somewhere and builds up.  You can start today.

2. Expect the impossible to happen. At the age of 61, Jack LaLanne swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge 20 feet underwater handcuffed, shackled, and towing a 2,000 pound boat. He swam, handcuffed, from Alcatraz to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, CA. Towed 10 boats in North Miami, Florida filled with 77 people for over a mile in less than 1 hour.  Seriously people, that's crazy!  But he did them, and he did it because he believed he could and he trained himself to be able to.  You can do crazy stuff too.

3. Keep your wits about you. I love catchy little sayings, and Jack LaLanne was full of them.  Some of the quips we say and hear every day are attributed to him, and show the positive, no-nonsense approach he took to being healthy. Some of my favorites:

• Anything in life is possible and you can make it happen.
• Your waistline is your lifeline.
• Exercise is King, nutrition is Queen, put them together and you’ve got a kingdom.
• People don’t die of old age, they die of inactivity.
• First we inspire them, then we perspire them.
• If man makes it, don’t eat it.
• It’s not what you do some of the time that counts, it’s what you do all of the time that counts.
• Eat right and you can’t go wrong.

4. Eat clean. Just eat clean!  I like to say that you can't out-train a bad diet, and I think that Jack would totally high-five me on that one. I can't say it enough: stop eating junk. Please, seriously, it is by far the most important thing you can do TODAY for your health.

Take a lesson from the original - pick your favorite and apply it to your life today. Like, now. :)

The Power of Positive

I realized yesterday that I spent the first 18 years of my life playing by everyone else's rules and accomplished pretty mediocre things. The next 16 years I played by my own rules and did some really awesome things. I think I am going to stick with my rules.


Last week two awesome things happened thanks to my rules:


1. I was featured on FitJunction.com as their Profile of the Month, which tickled me to no end because not only was I flattered, I actually use the site to read up on fitness trends, nutrition, workout ideas, and other fitnessy stuff.  So I was super stoked to be interviewed and I hope you'll check it out.


2. I also finally, after years of procrastinating and making excuses and chickening out, I took and passed my ACE Certified Personal Trainer exam. Hundreds of people get certified as personal trainers every week, so it might not seem like that big of a deal to some. But its something I've been working on - albeit verrrry slowwwwly - for a long time.  I am official!  I can't tell you how happy I am to have that behind me!


As I thought yesterday about everyone else's rules versus mine, and I reflected on last week's relative awesomeness, it became pretty clear pretty quick what the difference was between the two:

positive thinking

My number one rule in fitness, health, goal setting, whatever is to visualize positive outcomes.   Visualize yourself acting consistently, recording your data, being accountable, and acting with intention and you will increase the chances of success exponentially. I've used visualization for everything from test taking to just completing a long run and I truly believe that if I can see it, I can do it. 


And if I can't see it, if my vision is cloudy, I tweak the circumstances until I can and go from there.  That's the great thing about fitness goals - you own them and you can change them!


Last week was a good week, and I could not have experienced it without a lot of consistency, data, accountability, and intention...and without the positive people and visualization in my life each day. Thanks for being part of that!


Tomorrow - lessons learned from one of my favorite positive thinkers, the late great Jack LaLanne.


Good day!

RIP Jack LaLanne

I still remember the first time I saw Jack LaLanne on TV. This compact, pompadour-wearing muscle man dressed all in black, teaching housewives of America how to exercise at home had me staring at the screen in dumbfounded awe.  I didn't know whether to laugh or take notes. His earnest, optimistic, positive, and can-do attitude mesmerized me and endeared me to him for years after. Over the years I have grown to respect Jack LaLanne as a champion of health, pioneer of clean eating, mastermind of brute strength, and example of just clean healthy wellness without pity.


To say that he was an inspiration to me is an understatement. Jack LaLanne performed feats of strength and endurance that boggled my mind. He swam underwater for the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, loaded with 140 pounds of equipment, for pete's sake! He completing over a thousand pushups in a little over 20 minutes, and towed 65 boats filled with thousands of pounds of wood through the water.  He even had a workout for your face!

He also made juicers.


Jack LaLanne died yesterday at the ripe old age of 96. He often said that dying would ruin his image, but I think he showed us all how to live - clean, healthy, and embracing the benefits of health and fitness until the very end.


I hope you'll read up on Jack today and watch some of his old videos.  He was an inspiration then and still is today.  Run an extra lap for Jack!  Or, exercise your face!


Get inspired. :)

Crazy is the New Normal

Sometimes it seems like there are so many obstacles in our way to fitness.  Here we are three weeks into the new year and some of us are still trying to hit our stride and create the routine that will make exercise just another part of our day.  It can be really easy to throw our hands up and say, "I just need things to be normal again!"  Any number of things come up during the day or the work week that throw a hurdle in our way and make us think that we just can't work with this.
But here's the thing - there is a very good chance that things will never go back to "normal."

Work will always be crazy.

People will always have something for you to do.

Your kids will always have some last-minute thing come up.

Crazy is the new normal. You have to be able to work with that.  Luckily, it's easier than you think.

Think about it - the things you need to do to get and stay healthy - exercise and eat well -  are completely within your control (assuming that the thing that comes up isn't something that severs your limbs. In that case, yeah, you're screwed for a while).  I will pretty much guarantee you that no one is going to come up to you during the day, pry open your mouth, and shove food into it.  Even when your day is crazy, you control what you eat.

The other thing you need to do to get and be healthy is exercise.  Unless your limbs have been severed off or you are otherwise immobile, this is also in your control.  Yeah, I know you're busy, that's why the gym opens at 5:00 am and some are open 24/7.  Go there. Get up early and go!  Or stay up late and go!  Or go at lunch!  Just go!  I'm busy too, and that's why I go workout when the rest of my family is sleeping and no one needs me. 

Life is crazy and will likely never go back to normal.  Crazy is the new normal - work with it!

Fitness: What you see is not what you get

One of my resolutions for 2011 is to be nicer to myself.  Like many American women, I forget sometimes that the vast majority of the images portrayed by the media are designed to instill powerful emotions of urgency to change something about ourselves. Whether its a new car, a new investment broker, or a new body, the media powers that be are dead-set on convincing us that whatever we currently have is not nearly as good as it could be.

And as a continuous improvement kind of gal, I think there is some truth to that - almost anything can be improved upon. Fitness is the kind of hobby where you can always make advancements, and that makes it fun for me.

But sometimes its easy for those messages to cut a little deeper and make us feel bad about what we have when what we have is actually pretty awesome.  Yesterday I talked about how sometimes I feel like my flesh-and-blood image doesn't always reflect the amount of effort I put into my fitness, and how focusing on the other benefits of health helps me remember that looking fit is not necessarily the same as being fit.

Today I want to put some muscle to that thought with some ways to do that:

1. Track it. My favorite - log the numbers!  When I spend too much time looking in the mirror, I get out my notebook and start paying attention to something I can manage: the numbers.  I can't control what my body looks like from day to day, but seeing "ran 5 miles" on my calendar this morning felt really good.  Whether I am putting my smiley face stickers on my calendar, jotting down what I did for exercise every day, or posting my workouts on Twitter, seeing it written down is a visual reminder that I am doing something every single day to be healthy. 

2. Internalize it.  So many people kvetch about how they've been working out for two whole weeks and nothing has happened.  Baloney!  Nothing has happened in the mirror, but amazing things have happened inside your body. Your heart is healthier, your brain is working better, your joints are stronger, and your muscles are stronger, not to mention the fact that you're probably less stressed and overall happier.  So quitcherbellyachin and keep moving!

3. Trust it. My Daily Dose today (did you know I can send you a pesky email every morning with some healthy vibes?) was about how fitness happens: if you put in the work, fitness will happen.  Maybe not on your time schedule, but it will happen. Trust that if you eat well and exercise, fitness WILL happen.  It's science.

4. Get over it.  I know someone who will not go to the gym until she loses some weight because she is embarrased about how she looks.  I get that, but you know what?  Its been years and she's never done it.  Get over it.  No one else cares what you look like and besides, they're all too preoccupied with how they look to worry about you.  I promise.

I believe that when it comes to fitness, what you see is not what you get.  The mirror lies, and so does the scale a lot of the time.  Your body, however, is a finely-tuned machine designed to respond positively to good nutrition, exercise, and adequate rest.  Do those things, and fitness will come.

It just might not look how you thought it would. :)

Off you go!

The Radio Announcer Syndrome

Have you ever met someone in person and been really surprised by how they look?  I call it the Radio Announcer Syndrome. You always have a mental image of how a radio announcer looks...and then you see them and they never look how you thought they would.

Well, an exchange with an old high school friend made me think about that and how it relates to people in fitness.

I'll just get down to brass tacks - I don't look like I work as hard as I do.  Sometimes I just yell and scream at God for giving me the hand of cards that I have been dealt: a soft, pear-shaped, child-bearing, famine-resistant body that is just as stubborn as I am.  To really get visible muscle tone, I have to exert some serious discipline and be so strict with my nutrition and exercise that it really starts to take the fun out of being healthy. 

It's not fair.

That's why I finally chose doing endurance and physical sporting events over the figure/bodybuilding contests that an old trainer tried to talk me into: I just do not have the genetic makeup for that stuff.  Some girls look like they live in the gym even though they eat crap and lie around all day....others work out hard and do amazing things and are *healthy* as a result...but you wouldn't pick them out of a lineup for having completed a marathon. 

It is totally completely 100% NOT FAIR and I have wasted a lot of energy being angry about it. 

Sometimes I am even embarrased to see people from long ago because I know they expect someone who is uber-ripped, and I wonder if they'll think I am making it all up.  But, over time I have gotten to where I can honestly say I am going to work with what I've got - I can do everything I want to do, I sincerely love love love healthy eating, and endorphins can't see what I look like anyway - they make me feel amazing no matter what. 

Somedays I think I look pretty darn good and other days I know that like most women, my mirror is lying to me.  Either way, I run almost every morning an an healthy person would not have been able to do that. :) 

Let's get one thing straight - I want to be totally uber-ripped.  It has been a dream of mine since I was a kid.  I love muscles and I love muscles and I love me some muscles.  I can't let go of that dream, even though sometimes I feel like trying to achieve it is an exercise in futility. 

Hey, a girl's gotta dream.

I'm taking my steps towards achieving it, fool-hardy or not.  I can't help it...I just love the chase. :)


Chase something today.

Back to work (emphasis on back!)

So I was able to use my  consistency, data, accountability, and intention to not get totally derailed from my fitness over the holidays, and even lose a few pounds (which I am still trying to figure out considering the number of mimosas I drank). But now the holidays are but a memory, my work travel is done, and I am faced with a sobering realization: my muscles have turned to mush.

I ran all through the holidays to maintain my calorie deficit, but I didn't do much in strength training beyond maintenance.  I miss my sculpted deltoids, tear-drop quadriceps, firm hamstrings, and all of the other nice trade-offs of spending quality time in the weight room.  So, it's time to get my rear in gear.

Literally, my rear.  I've spent too much time sitting on it lately and, um, you can tell.

So today was my first real day back hitting the weights, and I told my trainer I was ready to work! He did not disappoint. I haven't sweat (sweated?) and grimaced that much in a long time, and it was so nice.

Here's what I did:
Chest flys on the machine (ugh) and alternating arms while lying on the big exercise ball 
Lat pulls and reverse push-ups
Bicep curls with the resistance band and negatives with a weighted bar
Skull-crushers and tricep dips


I am not nearly as strong as I used to be. But at the end, my friend Jenny told me my biceps are looking good!  Yay!  So I guess everything is back to normal now, right?


Ahhhh, it feels good to be back!  And to not be just going through the motions. 


Bring it on, tank top season! I'm not scared.