Struggle is Not the Same as Weakness

Do not mistake struggle for weakness.

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Weak people quit. Weak people let the challenge get the best of them and they find the next best reason to just stop.

You’re not weak.

But you’ll think you’re weak.

When you hit that part of your workout that’s hard AF and you’re struggling like none other, you’ll think you’re weak.

I see it all the time. Workouts are designed to challenge you and push your limits, but we’ll get to those hard parts and think we’re the ones that suck NOT that the workout is meant to bring us to our knees.

Then we start talking down to ourselves, being super negative, and we get mad and we STOP. Which is the last thing we should be doing.

Getting to the hard part of the workout and feeling super over it is not an act of weakness. It means you’re pushing yourself beyond your limits. You’re expanding your edges so you can see change.

As a trainer, I WANT to see that. I want to see you struggle, figure out how to push through, and repeat that pattern so you can create a habit of showing yourself your strength.

I want you to show yourself that you can push through the challenge. It might not look good and it will for sure be comfortable, but I know that if you can push through, you’ll come back and do it again.

Check Your Vibe

Working out at home is a M A J O R vibe check.

I think it’s harder than working out at a gym. 

I understand when people tell me as much as they would like to workout at home, they know they won’t be able to be consistent with an at home workout program.

They like the gym vibe, they like the routine of going to the gym, they like getting the energy from the people around them as a means of motivation for their own workout, and mostly, they like that going to the gym gets them into a different environment to workout.

I get that vibe because I’ve needed that vibe as well. I’ve belonged to numerous gyms and I know the energy you can get from just stepping into that environment. 

When I first had my daughter, that gym environment was not conducive to life as a new mom, and I needed to figure out something to make sure I was taking care of myself. We didn’t have the home environment where I would be guaranteed time to go to the gym by myself everyday, and with the constant changing of our routine due to having a newborn, even if we had that flexibility as a family, it wouldn’t have worked.

Then we went through this phase where going to a gym with a daycare was a necessity of life. I needed to have that space and time to myself where I knew I had dedicated time to workout that wouldn’t be interrupted.

Life changed again though, and soon that gym environment didn’t work for my household. The hours of the daycare at the gym didn’t work for our family, and luckily my daughter was a little older and could be more easily distracted during the workout.

But then I have to make sure I’m not getting distracted during the workout by looking at all the distractions around my house.

Because your laundry is literally staring at you from across the room whereas at the gym, you can push it out of your head. You’re not getting interrupted every 5 seconds by someone who all of a sudden needs something, even though they didn’t right before you started working out. Shoot, even seeing the dog fur float around on the floor can be a total mind game.

When you workout at home, you have to figure out how to get that energy without the gym environment, as well as how to push those distractions out of your visual and mental space so you don’t get diverted from your workout.

I know it’s possible, but I know it takes time and ultimately the intrinsic motivation to WANT to workout. I know you’re choosing this option because logistically speaking, it’s going to be easier for your life.

It takes some getting used to. Like anything else, it takes patience and practice to get used to how this new aspect of your routine will work within your life and schedule.

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Here’s my Top 3 Tips to Adjusting to At Home Workouts:

1. I did a TON of HIIT workouts 🏋️‍♀️ . They’re short and they move fast. Less transitions = less time to get distracted.

2. I put an alarm in my phone 📱 for my workout time. Like I was going to a class without leaving my house 🏠.

3. I used a heart 💜 rate monitor. I know it sounds off the wall, but the monitor gave me accountability to keep moving and not stop my workout short or half ass it.

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I Just Need to Sweat

There are some days where I just need to sweat. It doesn’t even matter if I’ve been on my feet all day working, and I’m totally exhausted, sometimes I just need to move. 

Maybe it was a tough day, maybe I just need to burn off some steam, or I need a place to put my stress. Regardless, it’s those days when I know without a shadow of a doubt, I’ll feel better when I’m done.

I know you have those days. When the workout is serving a bigger purpose than just moving your body.

To sweat and be able to leave my day in a puddle on my mat.

On days like those, I know I need workouts that are going to push me. I need the workout that has me focusing on nothing else except the work that I’m doing. 

That kind of challenge.

I need a workout that was hard enough to forget about all BS.

To give me space to breathe, to focus on something other than all the things I need to take care of or things that are pulling at my energy.

All the laundry, the dogs need to be walked, and dinner that needs to be prepped, I just needed a minute from it all. Sometimes I know that I need to walk away for a minute so I can actually get those things accomplished. 

Before, I used to neglect that need because I didn’t think I had enough time to get a good workout in if I only had 20 minutes. Shoot, being honest, more like 10 minutes. But then I found myself getting frustrated at everything. My fuse was super short and I had NO patience for anyone or anything.

Now I know I can get a quick little burn in if I’m smart about my time and how I’m utilizing it for my workouts.

HIIT workouts are my Go To workouts for those times. They’re designed to be short and if you push yourself hard enough (and pair it with some sold post workout nutrition), you can continue burning calories AFTER the workout is over. 

It’s a process called Excessive Post Oxygen Consumption or EPOC. When you go into a HIIT workout, your body goes into oxygen deficit. As a result, when the workout is over, your body works harder to restore that loss of oxygen, so you can return to your pre-exercise state. Your body does this process by increasing your metabolic rate and burning more calories. 

That process kicks in once the workout is over, which is why you can continue to burn calories POST workout. It’s an awesome thing our body can do and one of the reasons why people gravitate to the harder, more intense workouts. Because they know results will keep coming.

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Today’s Workout

Tabata

10 Rounds

Even number rounds: swings

Odd number rounds: push press

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Go To Dinner Recipes

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Organized Sports are NOT My Thing

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.

Start Right Now

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 🏋️‍♀️:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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 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. 

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You're it Babe

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

Here’s the thing with fitness: I can teach you skills all the live long day. I’m freaking good at teaching skills. I can get your body to do the hard exercise and to do the thing, because I have honed my OWN skills of teaching people how to do hard things.

While I can teach skills, I can’t teach heart. I can’t teach you to want getting in shape and feeling better for yourself. I can’t teach the hustle of showing up to show yourself you’re strong.

That’s completely on 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’re over making excuses as to why working out is on the back burner, they prioritize their health with the knowledge that everything else will get done. But their health is their priority. 

Most importantly: they show up especially when they don’t want to show up.

Those days when they would rather lay on their couch, they’re doing the work. When they’re tired, when they’re not motivated, when they’re over it, they’re showing up.

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.

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.

Try it for a month, then message me and let me know how it went and how much better you feel.

New Ceilings

I want you to turn your current ceiling into your new floor.

Working out is one of those things for me that never gets boring because my body is constantly changing. Yes I’m getting older, sure it’s harder now to lose weight and gain muscle than when I was 22, but I don’t focus on that when working out. 

That would feel like failure. 

I work hard to stay in the present moment and I focus on my continual acquiring of strength and advancement of fitness. 

I set new goals and challenges for myself, maybe in heavier weights or more complicate exercises, I continue to raise the bar. I constantly increase my standard because I know I am capable and I encourage the same of those around me. 

Keep your interest, keep it interesting, and keep it going.