Half Assed Results

If you half ass your fitness🏋🏼‍♀️ routine, you can’t expect spectacular results. 

But how can you realistically fit a workout into days that are already jam packed?

Here’s my Top 3 Tips for Crushing Your Workouts 🏋️‍♂️ When You’re Busy AF:

1. Plan. Take time on a Sunday night to plan out your week, including when your workouts can fit into your schedule. Then book mark that time in your calendar 🗓 like you would an appointment to the doctor. You won’t cancel an important appointment, so don’t cancel on yourself.

2. Be realistic. How many days a week are you working out RN? How many days do you WANT to workout 🏋🏼‍♀️? Don’t jump to your most ideal goal, make incremental changes so you can adjust to the new normal without losing your sanity.

3. Have a back up. When you do Step 1, include what workouts you WANT to do during those times. It makes transitioning into the workout faster because it takes out the thinking. And then have a back up workout in case shit hits the fan and you don’t have as much time as you intended.

I Don't Have Time for That

I do NOT have time to make lunches 🥙 in the morning. 

I give a LOT of credit to the parents who do. Our mornings don’t allow for that luxury. Most of the time I feel like I’ve been shot out of a canon just trying to make sure everyone is handled at on time-ish to school and work. 

In fairness, it’s my own fault. I like sleep so I prioritize that over making lunches. I would rather have the extra 10 minutes of sleep. 

Generally this means prepping lunches the night before when I’m making dinner. 

My other work around? I have stuff prepped and ready to go in the fridge that’s easy to make, healthy, and will hold up in my fridge for the week. 

Here’s one of my favorites!

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.

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

Whatcha Gonna Do?

I’m not insensitive. 

I just know this is an opportunity so it is what you make of it.

Being able to wake up ☀️, move your body, and create your own healthy lifestyle is a GIFT 🎁.

I never looked at being healthy in that light until I got hurt and the opportunity was taken from me. 

Now I know that even on my worst and unmotivated days, it’s still a chance to give to myself and take care of myself. That might mean taking things down a notch if it doesn’t work for me that day, or even going extra hard because I can. 

Either way, I don’t look at the choices I’m making as an inconvenience or an obstacle. I look at it as a chance to give to myself, to take care of myself when my time is valuable and my days are busy. 

I know when I have those opportunities, big or small, that I need to take advantage of them so I can serve the community around me in a bigger way. 

Instead of thinking of working out and being healthy as an obstacle or a struggle, find the part of it you love the most and focus on that especially during the times you don’t want to try. 

Find that positive aspect of your healthy choices and hone in on those. Put those choices and how much better you feel on repeat. Create the gift for yourself and then continue to give it to yourself. 

I Just Need 5 Minutes

Can I just get 5 minutes by myself PLEASE?

I mean I’m not complaining…but…🤯 

Time to go hole up in my garage gym. 

✌️ Mama’s busy.

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

Will You Be Successful?

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?

“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.”

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. 

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.

You Know EXACTLY What To Do

Girl, I do NOT need to tell you what to do when it comes to being a healthy mama. 

I’ve been training people for a long time and in that time I’ve seen two commonalities amongst every single person I’ve trained: I’m not dealing with weak people and I’m sure AF not dealing with dumb people. 

You’re smart Boo and you know exactly what you need to do in order to get your body back to a point where you’re happy to see yourself naked in a mirror. 

Move your body and eat well. 

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. 

So if it’s that easy, how come we’re not all doing it? Because you have to get to the point in your life where you either get so frustrated with your status quo that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to change it, and you also have to know that you’re deserving of that change. In accordance with those feelings, you also have to know that the world isn’t going to fall apart because you take an hour to workout. 

The goals you’ve set for yourself matter and more importantly, all that shit that was on your plate before the workout will be there for you AFTER the workout. I guarantee it. So give yourself the endorphin rush to have the energy to handle the never ending To Do List. 

Then fuel your body with high quality, GOOD food most of the time. It doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your glass of wine but it does mean that the majority of the time, you’re giving your body good, not processed, fresh af food. 

Maybe that means meal prepping, snack prepping, getting a meal delivery service, busting out the crockpot, or whatever works the best for your family. For all of us, the strategies that are effective are different but the intention has to be the same. 

When all else fails, get the support you need to remind you that you matter, your goals matter and you have help to grant there. 

Who Joins Your Workouts?

You’re gonna but a point in your workout where you invite in your inner critic or your inner athlete to join you. If you’re truly working out with the intention of getting stronger and creating a transformation for yourself, the majority of your workouts will get to the point where you’re totally over it. Your lungs are burning, your heart is on fire, and your mind starts wandering to all the other things you COULD be doing besides working out. Like doing your taxes. Go figure something so tedious could sound so much more appealing when you’re sweating your ass off.

Unfortunately, I think that most of us get to that place of being faced with adversity or a major challenge, and we tend to go to a super negative place in our heads. We tend to think about all the things we feel like we suck at and not all the things we’re fantastic at.

That critic in your head can get super freaking loud too. Sometimes that critic can get so loud that you start thinking “well maybe I’ll just stop now, I only have 5 seconds left on this interval” or you stop with a couple reps to go. Over time, it becomes easier and easier to just stop a little earlier on your workout. Then that eventually builds into avoiding the workout all together.

Every single person I train is an athlete. Every single person I train is strong and completely capable of finishing the workout they start. I’ll remind you of that every time you workout and you notice that negative voice starting to creep in.

You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for and you are capable of so much more than you think. I know that. I know you can get through the workout you’re currently in and wanting to stop and you’re more than able to crush the next one too. Don’t doubt yourself. You got this.

How Do You Breathe When You Workout?

I get this question all the time, in relation to specific exercises. When am I supposed to inhale and when am I supposed to exhale?

As a trainer, I love this question. What it shows to me is a greater understanding the person working out has about the power of exercise as well as a willingness to learn about said power. It also shows me that the person is wanting to make sure that what they’re doing is effective.

Here’s your technical fancy answer: for working out you should be inhaling on the eccentric phase of the exercise and exhaling during the concentric phase of the exercise. 

I know, you’re like eccentric? What the HECK is that? The eccentric portion of an exercise is when your muscle is lengthening under load. The easiest way for me to think of this is when you straighten out your arm in a bicep curl. That’s when you inhale. It prepares the muscle for work. Lengthening the muscle helps with muscle repair and increasing metabolic rates.

Conversely, concentric action of the muscle is when the muscle is contracted. Like the top of a bicep curl. That’s the actual work. When the muscle is shortened, it generates enough force to move an object. The concentric movement is when you exhale. Without getting too deep into the fancy science behind filaments and tendons, the exhale helps the work seem easier.

Ultimately, the breath works with the length of the muscle so you get maximum results. Really that’s what you want right? To make sure you’re getting the best results and the most effective workout in the short amount of time you have in your day TO workout. 

While all this depth of understanding is awesome, and definitely knowledge you should be aware of when you’re working out, at the end of the day, it’s not the primary focus for me. The primary focus for me is that you’re moving your body and taking time out for yourself, doing something that will more actively move you towards your goals.

It’s definitely something you should be practicing and while you need to have this awareness and be mindful of it while you’re working out, if it’s not being used with every single rep of every single exercise, it’s not the end of the world. Just make sure you’re breathing while you’re working out and you’re good. All those details will come with time and practice. 

Grab Your Dumbbells!

All you need are some weights for these time efficient workouts that are sure to make you sweat!