STORY TIME
You Can Do Hard Sh!t
We don’t do that for ourselves. We immediately think “nope that’s crazy” or “there’s NO way I could do that”.
Have the audacity to imagine yourself doing it.
I told my class today that as soon as you say “I can’t”, your body won’t let you.
It’ll become too hard, too much, and you’ll quit.
Think about it: we are the first ones who doubt our capabilities. If you told your best friend about what you were trying to do, they would NEVER say you couldn’t do it. They would say “Hell ya girl! Get it” and be right there cheering you on.
We don’t do that for ourselves. We immediately think “nope that’s crazy” or “there’s NO way I could do that”.
Instead of automatically doubting yourself, switch your approach.
Here’s my Top 3 Tips to Executing a Hard Exercise:
Break it down. Most complicated and complex exercises have foundational movements that build into something more difficult. Take it back a notch and practice those foundational movements.
Check your form. If you’re feeling the work in the incorrect muscles, it’s going to feel harder than necessary. Listen to your body to make sure the work is in the correct muscle groups.
Be patient. Learning something new takes time. It takes practice. Cut yourself some slack, you’ll get there. Just keep showing up.
Get to Work
We’re not in the game of being able to attempt to “wing” our workouts and expect results. Our days are too busy and there’s too many things demanding of our time.
If you half ass your fitness routine, you can’t expect spectacular results.
You can expect half assed results.
We’re not in the game of being able to attempt to “wing” our workouts and expect results. Our days are too busy and there’s too many things demanding of our time.
This doesn’t mean that every workout needs to be your best. It also doesn’t mean you have to push yourself to the point of breaking during every workout either.
It does mean that you have to consistently show up for yourself. You have to be intentional with your workouts so you know you can get the results you’re working so hard to see.
But how can you realistically fit a workout into days that are already jam packed?
Here’s my Top 3 Tips for Crushing Your Workouts When You’re Busy AF:
Plan. Take time on a Sunday night to plan out your week, including when your workouts can fit into your schedule. Then book mark that time in your calendar like you would an appointment to the doctor. You won’t cancel an important appointment, so don’t cancel on yourself.
Be realistic. How many days a week are you working out RN? How many days do you WANT to workout? Don’t jump to your most ideal goal, make incremental changes so you can adjust to the new normal without losing your sanity.
Have a back up. When you do Step 1, include what workouts you WANT to do during those times. It makes transitioning into the workout faster because it takes out the thinking. And then have a back up workout in case shit hits the fan and you don’t have as much time as you intended.
Don't Forget to Warm Up
Regardless of how long you have to workout, you NEED to take part of that time to warm up.
Regardless of how long you have to workout, you NEED to take part of that time to warm up.
One of my first fitness mentors did NOT believe in the power of the warm up. He thought we should be able to jump into the hard part of the workout completely cold.
I used to adhere to this line of thinking.
But then my check knees light turned on hard and I learned that for my body, warming up was a non-negotiable aspect of the workout itself.
Not only does it make the workout more effective, it also helps you prevent injury.
My go to warm up is anything involving core.
In a class it’s a good way to get people started so people can run in late and not miss other work.
But because of the anatomy of your core, you’ll feel the work almost instantaneously which helps focus your brain into the work you’re about to do.
Not to mention the fact that your core is an integral part of the success of basically every exercise you do.
Here’s my fave warm up:
4 rounds
8 reps each exercise
Crunches
Weighted clam
Hip bridges
Reframe Your Workouts
Working out can’t be a punishment or something we HAVE to do. It can’t even be that check in the box on our To Do List.
Let’s rethink how we think about working out.
I tease my clients a lot that they always act like they’re getting tortured and yet they come back ALL. THE. TIME.
Not because they necessarily love the hard work, but because they know that finish line isn’t something anyone can take from them.
Working out can’t be a punishment or something we HAVE to do. It can’t even be that check in the box on our To Do List.
It doesn’t have to be something you love either.
Maybe it’s your moment of sanity in an insane schedule, maybe it’s your moment of peace when the kiddos are pulling on every last thread of patience you have. Maybe it’s your reminder that you’re a bada$$.
Time to find that reason.
Start with the workout below!
Tabata
Switch exercises each round
12 rounds
Swings
Bent over row
Bridge hip taps
Crunches
Don't Be Nervous
When I started coaching, I trained out of this one spot where I would get a complaint nearly every class I taught. To be clear, the complaints weren’t about ME, they were about my programming (the class was too hard).
I get nervous before every training session.
I hear that at least once a day from a client. I call it the “Tummy of Trepidation”. Even as you’re putting on your workout pants, you feel…nervous.
Butterflies in your tummy. You know you NEED to do it, you know you CAN do it, but…you have sweaty palms. And you need a potty.
But I feel strong AF when I’m done. And that’s why I keep coming back.
I also hear that every day.
When I started coaching, I trained out of this one spot where I would get a complaint nearly every class I taught. To be clear, the complaints weren’t about ME, they were about my programming (the class was too hard).
I took it SO personally at first, even when my management said that complaints about the classes being too hard weren’t anything she necessarily cared about. To her, that was a reflection of people not going to the class that was the best for them - but that’s a blog for another time.
I was told to NOT stop how I programmed my classes because clients would either level up or level out.
Ultimately, the clients who became my regular clients learned:
Ya it was hard. But HELL YES are you stronger when you leave.
Kinda makes the sweaty palms worth it…
Intrinsically we know when we’re pushing ourselves and when we’re selling ourselves short. We also know that when we sell ourselves short, we don’t feel as accomplished as we do when those workouts are absolute bears.
It’s that sense of accomplishment that ultimately makes the trepidation worth it.
Crash Through the Wall
In all the years I’ve had in the fitness industry, with all the things I’ve learned, I know this for a fact: there is ALWAYS a way to make fitness work.
You put the wall there.
Crash through it.
Excuses are only limitations we put on ourselves.
I have heard them ALL in the years I’ve been training.
In all the years I’ve had in the fitness industry, with all the things I’ve learned, I know this for a fact: there is ALWAYS a way to make fitness work.
That being said, there’s also always an excuse that makes you think the workout won’t work for you.
There’s always a way to adjust an exercise to make it work for YOU. So you can see results while making the workout work for your body.
Here’s how you adjust your workouts:
Make sure you warm up. There’s no way to know how effectively your body will respond to the hardest part of the workout if your body is cold.
Start with foundational aspects of the exercises. When you work complex exercises or hard intervals, your chances of doing the exercises incorrectly are pretty high. Breaking the exercises down will show you what you need to adjust.
Don’t be afraid to adjust. There’s no such thing as modifications. There is such a thing as taking a different variation of an exercise to help suit you more.
It's Supposed to be Hard
When you’re in the middle of an interval that’s absolutely owning you, there’s no way that anything you’ve done feels as hard.
Intervals are called efforts for a reason.
IYKYK.
The amount of effort it takes to get through an interval feels like climbing Mount Everest.
At least for 30 seconds.
When you’re in the middle of an interval that’s absolutely owning you, there’s no way that anything you’ve done feels as hard.
You also feel like it’s never going to end.
It’s a test of your mental endurance and strength just as much as it’s a test of your physical endurance and strength.
Just remember: that effort is a tiny part of your day. You’ve done harder things for much longer. If you can get through those things, you can get through this.
Save this workout!
AMRAP
10 minutes
10 deadlifts
10 lateral lunges
10 Zottman curls
What Pisses You Off?
I launched A Healthful Life because I kept overhearing the same problems about working out from my community and I wanted to be able to help solve those problems.
Training gives me the ability to hear about everything that pisses you off.
I launched A Healthful Life because I kept overhearing the same problems about working out from my community and I wanted to be able to help solve those problems.
Hands down, the two biggest problems I heard were about having a consistent workout routine and being able to adjust that routine based off of the chaos of life.
Followed quickly by frustration of results not sticking around. You can push yourself to get them but as soon as you do, you realize how burned out you are and then you stop.
Not being able to drop weight, not being able to GAIN weight, not being able to workout when you want, not seeing a difference from your workouts , that’s just to name a few.
Working out is not a perfect practice.
It is the practice of patience.
All the change you want isn’t going to happen instantaneously.
Especially the change you want to see stick around. That kind of change takes time and consistent effort.
It also takes you not giving up on yourself because during that time, you’re going to have imperfect moments and even more moments of frustration.
It’s time to remind yourself of how far you’ve come, not how far you have to go.
Don’t quit now. If you’re frustrated or over it, sick of showing up, take the time to remind yourself of what you’ve done and why it’s worth it.
Do the Work
The people who SEE change are the ones who consistently put their health back on their priority list.
If you don’t do the work, this isn’t going to work for you.
Let me be clear: I don’t train idiots.
We all know the power behind eating healthy and working out consistently. We know the positive impact it has not just on our immediate future but also the longevity of our lives.
We know working out needs to be a priority, and yet it’s the first thing to fall down the list of our priorities.
We also know it’s the thing that no one else can do FOR you.
After over 10 years of training people from ALL different backgrounds and with all different goals, this is what I know for sure:
The people who SEE change are the ones who consistently put their health back on their priority list.
They’re the people who get creative with the type of workout they’re doing so they can continue to workout regularly.
They’re also the type of people who are flexible with their workouts. The time, the type, even the day because they know that working out needs to be a regular aspect of their routine.
Ultimately, they know if they don’t do the work, the work isn’t going to happen and then the work won’t work for them.
Take What You Need
Self care is the time you deserve to have in your day to let go of whatever isn’t serving you IN that day so you can get through your day.
Take what you need from you workout today.
Workouts don’t always need to be these insane pushes that leave you feeling like you’re going to fall over when you’re done.
Sometimes your workout needs to show up for you more than you show up for it.
So you can move the stress and all the BS out of your body.
I don’t know how you slept, if your toddler had a tantrum, if work is blowing up, or if you’re just exhausted.
Please know that your workout does not always have to be what you think it should be or what you originally set out for it TO be.
It’s ok for your workout to be a way to get rid of stress, to rid yourself of the BS of the day, or to just have a minute to yourself.
Remember: self care is NOT selfish.
Self care is sacred.
Self care is the time you deserve to have in your day to let go of whatever isn’t serving you IN that day so you can get through your day.
Today’s challenge: when you start feeling guilty about taking time in your day to give to yourself, remind yourself that when you’re done, not only will you feel better but your day will feel better too.
