Can I Just Get 5 Minutes by Myself PLEASE?

In fairness, most of the time I make this comment out loud to the dog who is my constant shadow, and not my human.

I mean I’m not complaining…but…GOOD LAWD #momlife is a lot.

I am an introvert by nature. Well a socialized introvert. I realize I can’t live my life by myself and I need to be around people to adult effectively. 

I knew when I became a mom that I would basically have someone on me all the time. I read all the articles about moms having over stimulated central nervous systems because someone was always touching them, and how that impacted their relationships because once that little person was asleep for the night, the last thing they wanted was to be touched.

I know my alone time would be going away.

What I didn’t anticipate was that it would be gone for much longer than I thought. Don’t get me wrong, I love being an active participant in my household. I get a lot of satisfaction out of taking care of my people, sometimes I just need to be by myself. 

Some people hide out in their bathroom or their closet, for me, it’s the garage gym. Every being in my house knows when Mommy is in the garage, if it’s not a life or death matter, leave me the F!CK alone.

I don’t feel guilty about taking those moments anymore. I know that even 10 minutes to fill my cup will leave me in a better mood and more effectively able to take care of the people around me.

Time to go hole up in my garage gym. 

✌️ Mama’s busy.

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Today’s Workout

Grab the workout below for a little break from the stress that is adulting.

3 Rounds

25 reps each exercise

Toe touches

Bridge hip taps

Side leg lifts

Bicycle crunches

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10 Minute Workout Queen

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to capitalize on 10 minutes to work out 🏋️‍♀️ and having NO idea what to even do.

All of a sudden, those 10 minutes go down to 8 minutes and you’re stressing about how to be efficient with your time, what to do that will be worth it, or if you should just not even try.

Most of the time when you hit that point, you just give up. Because you’ve already wasted so much time, why even bother at this point?

I don’t want to see that happen to you. I don’t want you to give up the opportunity to workout because you’re unsure of what to do and you’re not sure who to trust on the internet. 

If you have enough free time that you’re able to work out, I want you to be able to literally plug and play. Have all those tools in your back pocket that you can just pull up a workout, put on your shoes and go.

Check out the YouTube channel, make sure you subscribe so you can see everything on there and have everything you need at your fingertips to make sure there’s no more lost workout moments.

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. 

Make the Harder Change

The change I’m proposing you make is the harder one.

Because it’s the sustainable one. It’s the one that takes longer to achieve but is going to last longer than the yo-yo changes you’re accustomed to trying. 

I get the appeal of the fast change. The instantaneous results. You want that fast result because you’ve taken so long to change that by now, you wanted that change like yesterday. You don’t want to take the time to make change that will last for the long term. It’s the “I just need to lose 15 pounds” but not thinking past what happens AFTER you lose 15 pounds. 

What I teach is not the temporary, rigid, give up your whole life change just to drop a few pounds. It’s the change that will teach you how to effectively incorporate healthy habits into your life, so you feel like you have balance and you’re not deprived of the things you love 💗.

So you feel like you’re thriving and not surviving.

So you don’t make a drastic change just to lose it a year later when you permanently fall off the wagon, because you gave up too much and couldn’t take it.

Slow Cooker Recipes for the Mama Who Hates to Cook

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Stopping the Comparison Game

Working out at home allowed me to let go of comparing myself to other people at the gym.

I know so many people thrive off of that comparison. It wakes up an innate sense of competitiveness and that drives them to pushing themselves harder in their workouts. 

That is NOT me. I think in large part it’s the knowledge that because of my injury, I move differently and have different capabilities. So comparing my performance to someone else’s is totally fruitless because we’re not even starting at the same place. But isn’t that so many of us? 

Being in a gym is intimidating AF especially when you’re not feeling yourself. Shoot even if you ARE feeling yourself.

Like how is her hair SO damn perfect and she’s not even sweating? Meanwhile I’m over here creating sweat angels 👼 on my mat because this shit is so hard. Oh and my outfit never matches. I really just grab whatever is clean. 

I feel like those ☝️ distractions will only hinder your progress. You’re either going to push your limits so hard that you get hurt or that you get discouraged and want to stop. 

I needed to create my own tunnel vision to see the results I KNEW I was capable of creating.

I would encourage you to do the same. It doesn’t mean you turn on the blinders to the point where you don’t see what other people are doing, but it does mean that you keep that comparison in check.

Know that everyone comes in with different capabilities, different goals, and at a different place on their journey. Those differences are awesome things and a place to find growth together. To encourage and support each other into better versions of ourselves. 

When you let go of those comparisons, you start finding your own intrinsic motivation to show up. Let that motivation drive you, push you, and move you forward to your goals. Regardless of where you workout. 

My Brain Needs to Stop

Mama needs a minute ✋.

I’m always thinking about things. What needs to happen, what has happened, the order in which things will happen. My brain is the type of brain that is constantly in motion and for it to stop, I have to FORCE it to stop.

I know I’m not alone. I know we all always have a million things on our mind, we’re often thinking of the next thing we need to do, or something that needs to get handled. We’re constantly trying to juggle every ball that seems to be in the air right now.

For my own sanity, I had to learn how to get my brain to stop, mostly because I wanted to sleep and it seemed for a long time like whenever my head hit the pillow, my brain started going a million miles an hour.

Rest assured, I tried everything and I have a TON of different coping mechanisms in place to get my brain to slow down depending on what I need given a certain situation. Yoga, meditation, breath work, and even a solid bedtime routine like I’m a child have all be helpful things in my life so I can get my brain to stop.

But one of the best ways for me to step away from those daily stressors is by working out. This is one of the primary reasons why I challenge myself so much with my workouts. I want my workout to be so challenging for that moment, that I can focus truly on just the workout and nothing else.

I know as a trainer, that kind of focus is super beneficial because when you’re challenged, you’re focused and you’re less likely to be distracted and get hurt as a result.

No better way to forget about the stress of my day, my To Do List that never gets shorter, and distance learning than by lighting my abs on fire 🔥.

3 Rounds

30 seconds each exercise

Plank hold

Bicycle Crunches

Crunches

Tuck ups

Fail Bigger

I want you to fail.

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. 

Because failing is a frame of mind. 

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. 

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. 

Winner of the Fitness Goal Award

The only one who’s going to make sure you achieve your fitness goals is YOU.

I know the one time you’re thinking you would actually ask for help, it won’t really do a whole lot. Even when you hire a coach, the work is still ultimately up to you.

The people I train who get the transformation they’re wanting, the one they crave so much they can taste it and the one they don’t tell anyone else about, are the ones who know that whatever happens is their doing.

They know that even with the support they have, the choices they make are ultimately their own and achieving their goals is ultimately up to them.

Want to know how they do it?

They show up.

☝️ it’s that simple. 

Not every workout 🏋️‍♀️ is going to be easy, not every workout 🏋️‍♀️ will be your best, and that’s ok 👍. Because in those no so awesome moments is where you truly build your strength and where you show yourself that you are WORTH achieving your goals.

What matters more is continuing to show up and to put in the effort even when the going gets tough or things don’t go as planned. That doesn’t mean it’s always going to be pretty but it does mean that you will progress because you’ll be consistent. 

My Pro Tip for establishing those consistent habits? Make appointments with yourself in your calendar like you would for the doctor or to get your haircut. Then don’t cancel. You wouldn’t cancel those other appointments so why would you cancel on yourself? Then keep doing that until showing up becomes second nature.

Grab Your Dumbbells!

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Every Workout Has a Quitting 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?

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.