STORY TIME
It's Harder Than It Looks
The lower half of your body encompasses the majority of your muscle mass. that means when you do lower body work, you’ll feel your heart rate rising faster because the lower half of your body need more blood flow and oxygen to make the exercise effective.
The deceptive a$$ kicker. My favorite kind of workout.
I remember back in the day, when I had all the hours in the world to go to the gym, planning my workouts by the body part for the session.
It would start and end with cardio, and it would be some sort of body part for the weight training part.
Now I don’t plan workouts by body part now as much as I used to (LOL remember leg day??), but when I do, it’s always lower body.
The lower half of your body encompasses the majority of your muscle mass. that means when you do lower body work, you’ll feel your heart rate rising faster because the lower half of your body need more blood flow and oxygen to make the exercise effective.
In reality, to do any form of exercise you’re going to be using your core to support the exercise so while this workout looks like a ton of lower body, it’s a lot of sneaky core too!
Pro Tip: your activation better be on point. Make sure to warm up your hinge in addition to your core!
3 Rounds
15 reps each exercise
Reverse Lunges
Deadlifts
Sumo Squats
Lateral Lunges
Benchmark Workouts
Reality is that life won’t always go as planned and you could get into a benchmark workout day and fall short of where you were last month. That can lead to feeling frustrated and discouraged because you’re not where you THINK you should be.
Let’s talk benchmark workouts.
Do you know what they are? No?
No worries. Here’s a quick run down:
The purpose of a benchmark workout is to show you that you’re progressing on your workouts. Be it in strength or endurance, they’re the reinforcing factor you need to show you that you workouts are worth the time sacrifice in other areas of your life.
You need one for strength and one for endurance.
Think single rep max weight for strength
Think max rounds on an AMRAP for endurance
These are workouts you’ll do every other month.
Should you have one? Yes.
Should you be tracking it? Also yes. Like in a journal, writing it down, tracking it.
But here’s the thing…
A benchmark workout doesn’t mean you have to always be going for the PR.
Sure, PR’s are cool. You can definitely go for increases in weight or rounds.
I’m always here for those gains, but don’t negate other gains that matter just as much.
Reality is that life won’t always go as planned and you could get into a benchmark workout day and fall short of where you were last month. That can lead to feeling frustrated and discouraged because you’re not where you THINK you should be.
Be sure to focus on every aspect of the workout. Not just the number of weight, the number of rounds, or the number of reps. Maybe you find more depth on your squat, maybe you do those push ups from your toes, or maybe you do the chest to deck burpee.
All of it shows improvement. All of it shows strength. All of it shows that the time you’re taking for yourself is WORTH IT.
Here’s one of my benchmark workouts for rounds:
AMRAP
10 minutes
10 push ups
10 push press
10 reverse lunges
10 squats
Find Your Joy
Not to mention, the amount of accolades for adults is significantly less than the sheer number of participant medals our kids will receive. We got to take the joy where we can find it, and nothing is more joy inducing that kicking ass on a workout you thought was going to own you.
Savor your joy.
Ahhh that post workout bliss. Even if it wasn’t your best workout, that feeling of “I did that” after a workout is something we need to hold on to.
The fastest way to establish a consistent workout routine is to fall in love with that post workout feeling. Falling in love with that post workout feeling will get you to fall in love with the process of growing stronger. Once that happens, you’ll begin to look forward TO working out. To taking the time out of your day to give to yourself.
But embracing that feeling is easier said than done.
After all, our days are busy af. The To Do List inevitably gets longer, people are constantly pulling for your attention and rarely ever do we allow ourselves to feel that complete sense of bliss.
That can lead to distractions when you workout. You’re not focused on what you’re presently doing, you’re thinking about everything you need to get done once the workout is over. Those things…they are NEVER going to go away.
Your days will never be activity free.
Not to mention, the amount of accolades for adults is significantly less than the sheer number of participant medals our kids will receive. We got to take the joy where we can find it, and nothing is more joy inducing that kicking ass on a workout you thought was going to own you.
It takes time to get to that point. Quite frankly there’s a lot that goes into shifting that headspace as well. We’re geared towards finding the negative about our own performance, we are more likely to be our most negative critics in every facet of our lives, including our workouts.
You have to take the steps necessary to realize that embracing your inner badass after a workout does NOT mean you have a huge ego or that you’re a narcissist or selfish. It’s ok to be prideful when you work hard and you gain as a result of your own hard work.
So when you feel that endorphin rush after a workout and it leaves you feeling like a bad ass with a good ass, hold onto that feeling. Take it into your day with you and savor it. When the day gets hard or overwhelming, remember it.
You did that for yourself. You took time out of the chaos that is YOUR day to serve yourself so you can in turn serve those around you more effectively and with more love and patience.
Gimme 2 Minutes
I train a LOT of different types of people. From athletes, to adolescents, to stay at home parents, and basically everyone in between. Everyone has different goals, everyone has different things that propel them in their fitness journey, but their potential for success ALL looks the same.
I can tell right off the bat if someone will be successful in their fitness journey. Crazy huh? But really I can tell. Want to know how I can tell?
I train a LOT of different types of people. From athletes, to adolescents, to stay at home parents, and basically everyone in between. Everyone has different goals, everyone has different things that propel them in their fitness journey, but their potential for success ALL looks the same.
You want it so badly you can TASTE it. You want it so badly that nothing else in the world matters. You want it more than anything else.
At the end of the day, that’s what makes the biggest difference. I can’t want this for you. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do want this for you, but you have to want it more. You have to want it arguably more than you want air.
You carry yourself differently and speak differently as a result. Not just in private coaching sessions but also in your workout.
It does not mean that this process comes easily nor does it mean that you don’t have aspects of it that challenge you.
It just means that the part of your brain that is telling you to JUST GO AND DO THE DAMN THING has taken over. Which means that all those excuses that used to hold you back are not as important anymore.
Here’s the thing: I also know that by the time you actually stop lurking on my IG, stop clicking the coaching link, STOP FREAKING TOE DIPPING and do the damn thing, you do want it more than air. By that point, you’re so sick and tired (ready for my cliche?) of being sick and tired, that you don’t give af about anything else. You’re in it to win it because you know how much the alternative SUCKS and you’re over the alternative. You’ve lived the alternative long enough and it’s past time for a change.
Maybe you don’t know how to get there, maybe you’re intimidated to take the first step, maybe the prospect of change is scary but you know it’s needed. Change goes from being a pipe dream to a necessity and when you hit that point, that’s when you find me.
Once you reach that point, anything I tell you need to do, any change I suggest you make, won’t feel like a sacrifice. You won’t feel like I’m inconveniencing you to incorporate healthy habits into your life. The excuses you once gave without a second thought will fall away.
Then all of those healthy habits won’t seem so extreme, they’ll be easy and you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
Organized Sports are NOT My Thing
I truly don’t care if you outperform me, even now as a professional in the fitness industry. That’s cool. Get yours. Considering we’re all different, we have different body types and muscle composition, I KNOW people will always be able to outperform me.
I was NOT the kid in organized sports.
My mom likes to tell this story about how my parents put me in soccer as a kid, and my general attitude was “If i get to the ball, cool, if not…also cool”. I’m pretty sure I showed up for the donut I got when the game was over.
I have never been in competition with anyone but myself. That used to kill me in the CrossFit community because it’s all about competition and I never could bring myself to care. Even when people were taunting me that I didn’t lift as heavy or finish the workout as fast.
My reaction, albeit not a well received one, was “ok cool. Did you get a metal for your performance? Like what did that provide for you?”
I truly don’t care if you outperform me, even now as a professional in the fitness industry. That’s cool. Get yours. Considering we’re all different, we have different body types and muscle composition, I KNOW people will always be able to outperform me.
All I ever want is to do my best and show up for myself every single time.
When I went into the fitness industry, that aspect of competition was the part that bothered me the most. Some of that stems from my injury and the knowledge that my body’s capabilities are different than the person next to me. That knowledge extends past my own body’s capabilities to everyone I train.
To me, there is no point in being competitive with the person next to you because you’re two completely different people. You’re at a different point in your journey with wellness and fitness, you have different goals, and you’re also approaching your journey from completely different starting points.
That competitive spirit when extended towards someone else will only set you up for potential failure because you feel like you fell short, and then you feel discouraged as a result.
But it’s in our nature to look at the people around us, to be inquisitive as to their performance, and to compare what they are doing to what you are doing.
The challenge then becomes turning on your blinders so you can focus on you and your body, your goals and NOT the person next to you.
Here’s my Top 3 Tips to Staying Focused on Your Goals and not what the person next to you is doing during your workout 🏋️♀️:
Applaud the person next to you instead of wishing you could do what they were just doing. They’re kick ass and so are you AND you both are doing something that is good for your bodies. Celebrate that instead of being disappointed that you can’t do what they just did.
Remind yourself that everyone is on a different journey. Your WHY for working out is totally different from the person next to you and so is where you’re at on your individual journeys.
Celebrate 🎉 ALL the victories. Even the small and seemingly mundane ones. You got off your ass and did a workout on a day you literally would’ve rather been doing anything else? That’s winning girl. That’s creating all those heathy habits that will lead you to change.
How BIG Can You Fail?
I also know that failing gives you a baseline. It shows you where you’re starting from, and where you’re going to grow. It gives you a foundation. A launching pad for continued strength and transformation.
I want you to fail.
Slow down homie. I know you’re like “wtf is her problem? She wants me to suck?”
Just wait a second. I know it sounds crazy so just hear me out.
I want you to have those moments when you tell yourself you can’t do it, when you quit, when you get so frustrated you don’t know how you’ll do this again tomorrow.
There’s power in those moments. You can learn from those moments.
Because failing is a frame of mind. Failing is a starting point. Failing is a launching pad to your inevitable success.
I remember the first time I walked after I was hurt without assistance. At that point, I had been through multiple surgeries, one of them leaving me with metal sticking OUT of my foot for a number of months. I was in a wheelchair, I went to a walker, and then a cane. I was in physical therapy 3 days a week, and swimming at least that many days a week as well to build up range of motion in my ankle that was basically frozen from trauma and then being stuck in a boot for MONTHS.
When my physical therapist told me to take a step, I told her I couldn’t do it. I was so freaking scared, I talked myself out it. There were tears and lots of frustration.
Then I took a breath, and took a step.
I tell my clients all the time the phrase “I can’t do it” isn’t allowed in my class. I know you can do it, maybe not today but you will.
Think about the things you couldn’t do a month ago, 6 months ago, that now feel easy. The exercises you’ve mastered, the increase on the weights, or even the accessibility of certain intervals.
I also know that failing gives you a baseline. It shows you where you’re starting from, and where you’re going to grow. It gives you a foundation. A launching pad for continued strength and transformation.
It also shows you that you’re more resilient and more of a badass than what you may have previously thought. Because after the moment of failure, you’re going to keep showing up and keep putting in the work.
I know you’ll succeed and your fitness goals will become your reality, your healthy changes will become your lifestyle, but you need a safe space to figure out your starting point.
From there you’ll see your growth and ultimately get your transformation.
