How to Build Consistency

That is how you build a consistent workout routine:

One at a time. 

One set at a time one interval at a time. 

One workout at a time.

One day at a time.

Not by focusing on the end. Not by focusing on the big picture. By focusing on the small steps you’re taking every single day to establish a habit that will get you the results you want.

We can’t get caught up in the end goal.

When you get caught up in what you want to have happen, you’ll ultimately end up disappointed in however the work goes which makes you less likely to show up the next day.

 This is the biggest struggle I see with my clients: consistency.

We focus so much on this end goal that we’ve created for ourselves that we don’t focus on the present work.

We have to focus on the work we’re stepping into instead of what we want the work to lead to at the end.

Because that end goal is ultimately only as good as we can hold on to it after we reach it.

Don't Rewrite Your Story

Don’t allow yourself to rewrite the story. 

The fact is:

✔️ you showed up for yourself today. 

✔️ you did something for yourself today. 

✔️ you’re better off for it. 

When you finish your workout today and you start berating yourself for how it could’ve gone or what you should’ve done, just stop. 

Regardless of how your workout goes, you will always walk away stronger than when you started.

That effort is not something that should be discounted.

Give yourself credit for what you did do instead of beating yourself up for how you think it should’ve gone. 

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4 Rounds

10 reps each exercise

Single leg deadlift right

Single leg deadlift left

Bench press

Russian twists

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Appreciate Your Greatness

The sh!tty workouts make you appreciate the great workouts.

You’re not going to have many workouts that feel like Disneyland. 

I’ll never be the trainer who lies to you.

Most of this is hard. Most of it sucks. Most of the time you’re going to what to be doing something else.

That’s the reality of working out: most of your workouts are going to make you question your life choices. Getting uncomfortable just does that to a person.

Ya you move and stuff during a workout, you’ll sweat but workouts are really a test of how you respond to an uncomfortable situation.

You have to persevere through those hard workouts to get the ones that remind you you’re strong and capable.

Those strong workouts are the ones that carry you through. That give you the motivation to keep going in all those workouts that make you want to cry or quit.

Those are the workouts you focus on when you’re in the workout that makes you question your life choices. The ones that left you feeling like a rockstar and relishing in your finish line instead of the ones that left you hating life.

Rage Away Girl

You’re either internally crying or raging in your workout. 

You know I’m right. 

When really even when it’s the exercise you HATE (cough, cough burpees for me girl), you gotta take advantage of every second you have to get strong. 

That doesn’t mean that you don’t eye roll when your hated exercise comes up.

Shoot, I’ve been doing this the majority of my adult life and I STILL cringe whenever someone says I have to do man makers.

But then I remind myself that whatever I’m getting into won’t last forever and maybe ONE day I won’t dread those exercises as much.

Not that I’ll ever enjoy them…

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How do you conquer the exercises that make you cringe?

• Progress into it. Every complex movement is composed of simpler exercises. Master the simpler ones and the complex one won’t feel as hard.

• Use some HIIT. It goes by fast, you get breaks, and you know that burn is worth it.

• Throw on your fave playlist. That rally song, that throwback jam, whatever it is that gets you going, use it for some extra motivation.

Gratitude

There is not a day that goes by that I am not grateful for being able to move.

Truth: I never used to talk about my injury. Since you can’t even tell I’m disabled by looking at me, a lot of clients didn’t know what I went through.

Then one day, one of my clients asked me how I came up with all the motivating stuff I say during class.

I told them I never remembered what I said when I taught BUT I always had the same image in my mind:

Being 19 years old, on bed rest in my parents’ family room, not knowing if I would ever walk again and if I COULD, what my life would look like. I didn’t know if I would need a cane to walk, if I would be able to live independently, if I would need further surgical repairs, or even if I would be able to get well enough to graduate college.

Things turned around obviously better than what I could ever dream of for myself.

But that being said, I’m not a huge fan of the process. I would totally rather sit on my couch most days than do a set of Tabata.

That’s just me.

But even on the days I hate it and would rather do my taxes, I’m grateful I can do this for myself.

I’m stronger for it.

I’m more capable because of it.

I’m happier with it.

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4 rounds

Bridge hip taps

Bench press

Froggie crunches 

Renegade rows

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Save this Workout!

Every workout I create and post is not just with you in mind, but FOR you to add into your toolbox.

I want you to save the workouts so when you don’t have a lot of time to workout, you can go into that list of saved workouts and just grab one.

So you don’t have to spend any more time thinking about what you’re going to do, wasting the little amount of time you have.

Because I know your time is limited and valuable.

I know you’re squeezing your workout into the pocket of your day when you COULD be doing one of the other million things on your To Do List.

I don’t want you to feel like you’ve wasted your time. I want you to have workouts you can lean in to that you know will be worth your time.

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AMRAP

10 minutes

5 single leg deadlift right

5 single leg deadlift left

5 bicep curls to push press

Time to Level Up

I’m asking you to level up. 

I was asked on a podcast the other day how I know when to push my clients and when to back off.

Truth: some of it is a spidey sense from doing this for so long of knowing when clients are ready to be pushed.

Here’s the key: the push has to be successful or the person will feel small and not want to come back.

I am NOT out to make people feel small. I want people walking out of their workout feeling empowered and confidence and taking those feelings into the rest of their day.

But I’ve learned over the years that being ready to be pushed will only happen when you can check your ego at the door.

Pushing yourself isn’t always about taking the hardest option or working to the point of throwing up or injury.

Pushing yourself means expanding your horizons so you can prove to yourself that you are that badass.

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What does that mean in your workout?

• You have to be present. The expectation of what you should be able to do because you did it yesterday, can’t apply.

• Check that little negative voice that tells you “I can’t”. There’s nothing you can’t do, it’s all in your approach.

• Ditch the fear. Try the heavier weight, try to go faster. If it doesn’t work, you’re not failing, you’re just discovering new starting points.

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My Fave Kind of Workout

The deceptive a$$ kicker. My favorite kind of workout.

Not that I would EVER admit that out loud.

But there’s something to be said for the workout that looks like it’ll be doable until you’re 10 reps in and feel like you might die.

Mostly because once you’re done, you feel like an absolute boss. That kind of confidence is the kind of confidence that ripples into the rest of your day.

That’s the kind of accomplishment, as a trainer, I’m here for because that’s the kind of confidence that keeps you showing up.

It’s the positive reinforcement that subconsciously lets you know that you’re capable of anything.

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3 Rounds

15 reps each exercise

Reverse Lunges

Deadlifts

Sumo Squats

Lateral Lunges

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Don't Be Scared

You can’t be intimidated by this sh!t. 

I know that’s easier said than done. A lot of the times we tell ourselves we can’t do something because we’re scared. Not because we actually can’t.

Here’s the thing though: as soon as you tell yourself you can’t do something, you won’t be able to do it.

Then trying feels pointless because we think whatever we want to do is impossible.

I see this ALL THE TIME. Clients telling me they waited to train with me until they felt “strong enough” because they felt like my class was too hard. Even though they had never been to it.

Maybe they heard it was hard, maybe they saw part of a class and thought it was hard, regardless they convinced themselves that they couldn’t do it. It’s always “I have to train longer” or “I need more time” before they even attempt it.

Then they try it, they see that it didn’t kill them, and they come back. Again and again. Because that fear turns into curiosity about what they’re capable of doing.

But in order for that to happen, you have to get past the intimidation first

Here’s my Top 3 Tips for Embracing the Fear:

1. Embrace the learning curve. You’re not going to be an expert on the hardest exercises right off the bat and that’s OK. Celebrate how much you’re learning and how strong you feel as you go.

2. Accept the nervous tummy. I giggle with my clients all the time about how they have anxiety before a hard workout. Once the workout is over, they feel amazing. Recognize that nervous tummy for what it is: excitement about the strength you’re gaining from the workout you KNOW you’ll conquer.

3. Check your inner critic. A lot of the time, our intimidation comes from that little negative voice in your head telling you that you can’t do it. Instead of thinking about how hard the workout will be, think about how much a$$ you’re going to kick during it.