Consistency is Key

Maybe you’re just starting a new routine. Maybe your routine is on point.

Keep showing up. 

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Even when it gets sticky. 

Even when it gets hard and you want to quit.

On the mornings you would rather stay in bed, on the afternoons when work and being a part time chauffeur to all your kids’ activities is taking up all your time.

Especially on the days you don’t feel like it. 

That’s what will get you the change, the results, the transformation you’ve been working towards.

Not the best workouts everyday, but the consistent workouts.

Reality is that not every workout is going to be the best workout. It’s not going to feel like Disneyland.

If you’re pushing yourself, it very rarely ever will. 

But at the end of the day, what matters the most is you showing up regardless of all that extra noise and all those things you think are holding you back.

AMRAP 

6 minutes

8 seated overhead tricep presses

8 bridge hip taps

12 Russian twists

How I Create Workouts

Every workout I post is designed with you in mind.

Slow Cooker Recipes for the Mama Who Hates to Cook

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Shoot, I started A Healthful Life with YOU in mind. Because I was hearing you talk about how frustrated you were getting with the lack of time you thought you had to workout. Or understanding how to make shorter workouts produce the same results as longer workouts.

As someone who does this for a living, I couldn’t let myself sit by and let you spin out of control in frustration.

I want you to get the most out of the LITTLE time you have in your day to get stronger and I want you to have the option to switch things up if you end up with more time in your day.

That means workouts that are effective AF in a short AF amount of time.

Unilateral work is my go to for efficiency. It’s sneaky core work (which you know you love), it’ll get your heart rate up, AND it requires FOCUS. So you can tune out all the noise and tune IN to your own strength.

Unilateral work also helps strengthen the neurological pathways in your brain and correct muscle imbalances.

Here’s my Pro Tip for this workout: if you don’t have a ton of time, drop it to 3 rounds.

Either way, you’re warming up and cooling down so make sure you take that into account when you’re planning your workout!

5 Rounds

12 reps each exercise

Offset single side reverse lunge

Hand to hand swings

Single side strict press

Don't Forget Your Form

Having a solid workout does NOT mean you won’t take breaks or reset your form.

I think we get into a workout and we feel like it needs to be IG worthy. ALL of the time.

Oh friend that is NOT reality.

I notice this a lot when I teach group classes. You feel like you have to muscle through every single exercise or choose the hardest variation of the exercise or the heaviest weights.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with pushing yourself. I want you to push yourself but there’s a right way to push your limits and a way that will NOT benefit you.

Here’s the thing: when you push yourself in that unhealthy way, what you’re telling yourself on a subconscious level is that you’re weak and can’t handle it.

Eventually that feeling is going to compound and you’ll end up quitting.

This is my BIGGEST trainer tip: listen to your body.

I know! You were expecting some major revelation. Nope. It’s really that simple.

Your body gives you the best feedback for what you need to do in your workout. If you’re doing an exercise incorrectly, your body will tell you. If you absolutely NEED a break, your body will tell you. If you’re going too light on your weights, your body will tell you.

In that same respect, if you need to push yourself, if you’re capable of doing more, your body is going to tell you that too.

Start listening. Start DOING what your body is telling you to do.

Watch how quickly those results roll in.

Circle of Trust

Can we be in the circle of trust right now?

I’ve gotten to train a TON of people over the years. Really, I tried to count one time how many people I would see in a week and I astonished myself.

I’m not saying that for bragging rights, I’m saying it to make this point hit home even more.

I have NEVER heard SO MANY freaking people complain that they get to move. Dang. If y’all spent as much time on your workouts as you did WHINING that you get to workout…anyways, I digress.

This is something that all of my people have in common. You complain.

Let’s talk about why this hits home in a unique way for me: 

• You complain you don’t have time to workout and then you complain when you make the sacrifice in your day TO workout. It’s like there’s no winning. You’re stuck in the proverbial rock and hard place dilemma.

• Every time YOU complain, I think about all the times I would’ve given literally anything to be able to get out of bed, get rid of my injury and workout. I know that this doesn’t apply just to me. Every time you complain, there’s someone who would willingly take your place. While giving anything to do it.

Don’t complain that you get to workout . Be thankful that you get to workout.

Think of it like this: Your body is capable of amazing and wonderful things. Your workouts are an example of those capabilities. How freaking blessed are you that your body can do this for you today? That you can move today?

I used to end my classes with: You woke up today. It’s a good day to have a good day. Go out and make it great.

Because even when the workout sucks, in the bigger picture of life, you can move and that alone is an amazing thing.

Don’t get me wrong: complain all day when the workout gets hard. The workout SHOULD get hard, you should be challenged but dang how lucky you are that you get to do it.

Don’t complain that you get to show up for yourself in the first place. 

It’s an amazing thing that your body can do this for you today, that you can move, that you can show yourself your strength, AND that you can take the time out of your crazy day to do it.

Approach your workout from that place. Ya the work might be hard, but you can do it and you’re stronger for it.

Starting Over Sucks

Starting over feels like starting over. 

People are inconsistent AF with working out. While part of me understands the reasons why someone might neglect their fitness, I have a really hard time accepting it.

I don’t understand why you would neglect yourself like that for so many reasons but mostly because I know how hard it is to start over.

How hard it is to re-establish your routine once it’s lost and to keep your motivation high once you re-start.

But it happens to the best of us…

Now that it’s passed though, you have to let go however you handled it. You have to accept it as you doing the best you could do under the circumstances you were given, and do your best now with the circumstances you currently have.

We can’t focus on what could have been or on how you could’ve handled it differently, or feel badly about it.

You have to stop beating yourself up for whatever did or didn’t happen. To stop talking about the workouts that were lost, the weight that was potentially gained, and to start again.

There’s no sense in being critical towards your actions when you can’t change it. But you can change how you handle things now. You can put those healthy habits back into place so you can move forward.

With realistic expectations of where you’re at, as well as what you need.

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Here’s my Top 3 Tips for Starting Over After Time Off from Your Workouts:

1. Be realistic with your schedule. I don’t care why you took a break, but I do care that your life potentially looks different now than it did before. Don’t bite off more than you can chew by creating a workout 🏋️‍♂️ schedule that is unrealistic for you to maintain.

2. Take it back a notch. When you take a hiatus from working out, you’re going to lose strength. There’s no way around it. Muscle memory will kick in fast and your strength will come back quickly, but don’t think you’ll be starting where you left off. It’s ok to take it back a notch to make sure you don’t injure yourself going forward.

3. Cut yourself some slack. It’s not the time to feel discouraged about all the time that was lost or to kick your own a$$ with some negative self talk about the “bad decisions” you made. Focus on what you can give yourself now.

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Get to Work

This is only gonna work if you do. 

It’s not enough just to show up even though that’s most of the battle.

I know getting to the actual workout is like 90% of the battle. But getting there doesn’t mean you’re going to be in the mood to do it.

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve gotten on my mat just to lay down and stare at the ceiling because it all feels like TOO much and I need a minute.

But once you’re there, you gotta try. You have to give your best for that day to get the results you want.

Re-read that sentence. The best for that day. Not what you think your best is, or what your best was yesterday or even what your best will be tomorrow.

It’s your best right now. Sometimes that means just moving, sometimes that means pushing yourself hard af, but whatever the effort is for that day, it means honoring and respecting your body.

But what do you on the days when the idea of doing the work gives you hives?

We all have those days. Maybe you didn’t sleep well, maybe everything you need to get done HAS to take priority over the workout, or maybe your head is just not in the game today.

You’re entitled to those days. After all, we’re only human. It happens.

When it happens, you address it and then you let it go. You know tomorrow is going to be a different day.

Regardless of the reason, the priority is having a killer back up plan in place so you know you can take a day to get your life together.

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Here’s my Top 3 Tips for Handling the Off Days:

1. Slow movement is better than no movement. Take it down a notch. Instead of doing a heavy lifting, long run, or crazy HIIT day, do something low impact. Go for a walk, do some yoga or mat pilates.

2. Move in smaller increments. Do something for 10 minutes instead of your longer workout. Stretch or foam roll, to get a little burst of energy and your blood flowing.

3. Focus on your food. Hydrate, give your body nourishing and balanced meals so you’re fueled to jump back in the game tomorrow.

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How's that Fancy At Home Gym?

Did you buy a treadmill only for it to become a clothes hanger?

I heard my friend talking the other day about how she bought a Peloton. She was loving it, in a total honeymoon period with it, and then…

School started, sports for the kids started, the family moved, and the Peloton became where she put her jacket. 

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I know you’re like “all that money though”.

You’re also probably thinking “why is she saying that in front of someone who’s a fitness instructor?”

But we’ve all done it. We’ve all had the gym membership that we pay for and don’t use, the equipment sitting in our garage that’s getting dusty, or the treadmill that becomes a clothes hanger. 

I hear the debates all the time. Debating whether or not to invest the money in the gym equipment because you’re not really sure if it’ll get used. 

It’s a valid debate and as an instructor, it’s a debate I’ll entertain. I’ll also entertain the debate about joining certain gyms, or even increasing your memberships at certain.

I understand it has to be worth the financial investment. 

I know you’re worth the financial investment, but I also know that sometimes you have to run through the practicality of your decisions prior to pulling the proverbial trigger.

Pulling that proverbial trigger is hard because you know it would be discouraging AF if you pull said trigger, only to have to sell the equipment or cancel the membership because they weren’t being used. 

It makes you feel small, it makes you feel worthless, and it makes you feel like the goals you’ve set for yourself are completely unrealistic because you can’t make the things you have access to work for you.

Be realistic with your schedule but realize that you’re worth the investment. You’re worth the hard work.

The Pivot Point

Every workout 🏋️‍♀️  has a pivot point.

It’s that point in the workout when all you want to do is stop. When it’s just so hard that the idea of continuing makes you want to hurl. Just a little.

As long as you’re continuing to challenge yourself, you’re going to have that “I wanna quit” moment. 

That moment is the moment that matters the most. Because what you tell yourself in that moment will determine how you subconsciously handle your workouts. 

Be honest with yourself. When you’re in that moment, what goes through your head? What do you tell yourself?

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Do you tell yourself how much the workout sucks? How much you hate whatever you’re doing? Do you tell yourself YOU suck?

Whatever that negative narrative is, it builds up over time and eventually you’ll associate your workouts with those negative vibes. Eventually that negativity will create excuses that lead you to skipping your workout and before you know it, you’re back to the starting block of achieving your fitness goals. 

Start taking notice of where your head goes when the workout starts to challenge you. Start taking notice of what you’re telling yourself when the workout gets hard.

Then work on changing that narrative. You don’t have to do anything crazy, and yes, this does take practice, but even repeating “I can do this” when it gets hard will eventually help you push through those negative moments.

Be patent with yourself. It takes time to shift that line of thinking from “ugh this is SO horrible” to “fuck ya, bring it”, but I know you can do it. Focus on how strong you are, how far you’ve come and how GOOD you feel when you’re finished.

Because that feeling…no one can take it from you.

Your Reaction is Everything

You can control your reaction. 

In life for sure but also in your workout. A lot of the time what ends up happening when the workout gets hard isn’t your body giving up, but your brain telling you to quit. 

That little negative voice in your head ends up getting so big and so loud that you stop. Eventually, you continue to fall into that negative line of thought so often that you stop working out all together. 

It just seems like the easier solution because showing up and failing isn’t appealing to anyone. 

I challenge you to have power over that voice. 

It won’t happen right away, it takes time, it takes practice and even with that, the negative voice will still creep in. It’s like our natural reaction to challenge. 

I’m not saying that you need to make the negative voice go away completely, but I am saying that you need to temper your reaction to that negative voice. 

When I find that negative voice kicking in, I tell myself “I got this” on repeat. Then I try to NOT take a break. Maybe I slow down what I’m doing, get my breath back, or switch to lighter weights but I try to keep going. I know for me, if I stop, I’ll STOP. So I avoid it at all costs. I check my form, I check myself, and I keep going. 

I challenge you to do the same. Whatever it is you need to remind yourself that you can get through a 10 minute workout, that the workout won’t own you, do it. Control your reaction so you can see that you are capable and completely in control.