Create Your Own Change

Muscles  in action leads to change.

It really is that simple and yet it is that hard.

If you want your workouts to change YOU, then it’s up to YOU to take action and make it happen.

At the end of the day, no one can do this work for you. No one is going to create the change you want to see except you, and it’s up to you to prioritize creating change.

Basically, it’s up to you to prioritize yourself.

That’s where we ultimately fail.

Don’t get me wrong, you might push yourself for like a month, but then the excuses will start getting the best of you, and you’ll fall off of your own priority list.

When you feel yourself falling lower and lower on your own To Do List, instead of just giving up, get creative with your workouts. Plan shorter, more efficient workouts so you know you’re still moving and still making yourself a priority.

Grab the workout below to get you started!

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Save this Tabata Set 

12 rounds

Alternate exercises on each round

Crunches

Russian twists

Plank hold

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.

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. 

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Here’s my fave warm up:

4 rounds

8 reps each exercise

Crunches

Weighted clam

Hip bridges

Don't Be Nervous

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. 

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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.

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.