STORY TIME
Create Your Own Change
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.
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!
Save this Tabata Set
12 rounds
Alternate exercises on each round
Crunches
Russian twists
Plank hold
How to Build Consistency
Not by focusing on the end. Not by focusing on the big picture. By focusing on the small steps you’re taking every single day to establish a habit that will get you the results you want.
That is how you build a consistent workout routine:
One at a time.
One set at a time one interval at a time.
One workout at a time.
One day at a time.
Not by focusing on the end. Not by focusing on the big picture. By focusing on the small steps you’re taking every single day to establish a habit that will get you the results you want.
We can’t get caught up in the end goal.
When you get caught up in what you want to have happen, you’ll ultimately end up disappointed in however the work goes which makes you less likely to show up the next day.
This is the biggest struggle I see with my clients: consistency.
We focus so much on this end goal that we’ve created for ourselves that we don’t focus on the present work.
We have to focus on the work we’re stepping into instead of what we want the work to lead to at the end.
Because that end goal is ultimately only as good as we can hold on to it after we reach it.
You Can Do Hard Sh!t
We don’t do that for ourselves. We immediately think “nope that’s crazy” or “there’s NO way I could do that”.
Have the audacity to imagine yourself doing it.
I told my class today that as soon as you say “I can’t”, your body won’t let you.
It’ll become too hard, too much, and you’ll quit.
Think about it: we are the first ones who doubt our capabilities. If you told your best friend about what you were trying to do, they would NEVER say you couldn’t do it. They would say “Hell ya girl! Get it” and be right there cheering you on.
We don’t do that for ourselves. We immediately think “nope that’s crazy” or “there’s NO way I could do that”.
Instead of automatically doubting yourself, switch your approach.
Here’s my Top 3 Tips to Executing a Hard Exercise:
Break it down. Most complicated and complex exercises have foundational movements that build into something more difficult. Take it back a notch and practice those foundational movements.
Check your form. If you’re feeling the work in the incorrect muscles, it’s going to feel harder than necessary. Listen to your body to make sure the work is in the correct muscle groups.
Be patient. Learning something new takes time. It takes practice. Cut yourself some slack, you’ll get there. Just keep showing up.
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.
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.
Here’s my fave warm up:
4 rounds
8 reps each exercise
Crunches
Weighted clam
Hip bridges
Don't Disrespect Day One
To do that first workout that propelled you on this whole fitness journey thing. It’s the day you decided your goals were worth your action.
When we give less than our best, we disrespect our day one.
Regardless of where you are in your workout journey, we all have a day one. We all had a starting point.
That day 1 is HUGE. It’s the most influential day with your workouts.
It’s the day you decided was THE DAY to take action.
To do that first workout that propelled you on this whole fitness journey thing. It’s the day you decided your goals were worth your action.
Your day 1 is the day you decided YOU were worth your own effort. You decided that you were not going to let yourself fall down on your list of priorities. That what you wanted mattered just as much as all the other things in your life that matter.
When you get into your workout NOW, and you half a$$ it, you’re telling yourself that your first day doesn’t matter. That all those reasons why you decided to show up in the first place don’t matter.
Grab the Workout Below
4 Rounds
10 reps each exercise
Staggered deadlift
Lateral lunge
Windmill
Don't Be Nervous
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 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.
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.
Don't Rewrite Your Story
When you finish your workout today and you start berating yourself for how it could’ve gone or what you should’ve done, just stop.
Don’t allow yourself to rewrite the story.
The fact is:
✔️ you showed up for yourself today.
✔️ you did something for yourself today.
✔️ you’re better off for it.
When you finish your workout today and you start berating yourself for how it could’ve gone or what you should’ve done, just stop.
Regardless of how your workout goes, you will always walk away stronger than when you started.
That effort is not something that should be discounted.
Give yourself credit for what you did do instead of beating yourself up for how you think it should’ve gone.
4 Rounds
10 reps each exercise
Single leg deadlift right
Single leg deadlift left
Bench press
Russian twists
It's Supposed to be Hard
When you’re in the middle of an interval that’s absolutely owning you, there’s no way that anything you’ve done feels as hard.
Intervals are called efforts for a reason.
IYKYK.
The amount of effort it takes to get through an interval feels like climbing Mount Everest.
At least for 30 seconds.
When you’re in the middle of an interval that’s absolutely owning you, there’s no way that anything you’ve done feels as hard.
You also feel like it’s never going to end.
It’s a test of your mental endurance and strength just as much as it’s a test of your physical endurance and strength.
Just remember: that effort is a tiny part of your day. You’ve done harder things for much longer. If you can get through those things, you can get through this.
Save this workout!
AMRAP
10 minutes
10 deadlifts
10 lateral lunges
10 Zottman curls
What Pisses You Off?
I launched A Healthful Life because I kept overhearing the same problems about working out from my community and I wanted to be able to help solve those problems.
Training gives me the ability to hear about everything that pisses you off.
I launched A Healthful Life because I kept overhearing the same problems about working out from my community and I wanted to be able to help solve those problems.
Hands down, the two biggest problems I heard were about having a consistent workout routine and being able to adjust that routine based off of the chaos of life.
Followed quickly by frustration of results not sticking around. You can push yourself to get them but as soon as you do, you realize how burned out you are and then you stop.
Not being able to drop weight, not being able to GAIN weight, not being able to workout when you want, not seeing a difference from your workouts , that’s just to name a few.
Working out is not a perfect practice.
It is the practice of patience.
All the change you want isn’t going to happen instantaneously.
Especially the change you want to see stick around. That kind of change takes time and consistent effort.
It also takes you not giving up on yourself because during that time, you’re going to have imperfect moments and even more moments of frustration.
It’s time to remind yourself of how far you’ve come, not how far you have to go.
Don’t quit now. If you’re frustrated or over it, sick of showing up, take the time to remind yourself of what you’ve done and why it’s worth it.
Rage Away Girl
When really even when it’s the exercise you HATE (cough, cough burpees for me girl), you gotta take advantage of every second you have to get strong.
You’re either internally crying or raging in your workout.
You know I’m right.
When really even when it’s the exercise you HATE (cough, cough burpees for me girl), you gotta take advantage of every second you have to get strong.
That doesn’t mean that you don’t eye roll when your hated exercise comes up.
Shoot, I’ve been doing this the majority of my adult life and I STILL cringe whenever someone says I have to do man makers.
But then I remind myself that whatever I’m getting into won’t last forever and maybe ONE day I won’t dread those exercises as much.
Not that I’ll ever enjoy them…
How do you conquer the exercises that make you cringe?
Progress into it. Every complex movement is composed of simpler exercises. Master the simpler ones and the complex one won’t feel as hard.
Use some HIIT. It goes by fast, you get breaks, and you know that burn is worth it.
Throw on your fave playlist. That rally song, that throwback jam, whatever it is that gets you going, use it for some extra motivation.
