WHY do you want that?

When it comes to our heath & fitness, lack of motivation is at the top of the list of challenges people face. For some, the hardest part of the workout is just making it to the gym.

Unless you have a powerful reason WHY you want to get in shape / lose weight, you're not going to: deprive yourself of your favorite foods and drinks; wake up 2 hours early in the dark and cold and drag yourself to the gym; exercise after you've had a long, tiring day of work. At least not for very long.

One big reason so many people don't achieve their fitness goals is that their goals aren't meaningful enough. Wanting to lose 15 pounds isn't enough to keep you going long-term. WHY do you want to lose 15 pounds? You need a meaningful reason to motivate you.

Is it to fit into clothes that will make you feel sexy? To look good at your reunion or your daughter's wedding? To feel confident at the beach in your bathing suit? To play with your kids without feeling winded?

These are goals you can visualize achieving. These are the things you need to focus on when you don't feel motivated to workout or when someone offers you a piece of cake. These are the things that will keep you going.

Think about your goals. Are they meaningful? Have you fought about your "whys"? This goes for all of your goals.

If you have a goal of making more money—why?? Do you want the money to pay off existing debt? To pay for your kids to go to college? To go on a dream vacation with your spouse? To get a new car or house? You'll need motivating reason to work late, miss social functions, etc.

Whatever your goals are, stay focused on your "whys" and go achieve them :)

Keys to an Effective Fitness Program (Part 5 of 5): Nutrition

The fifth key component to an effective fitness program is:

YOUR NUTRITION

For some people, nutrition is the most challenging part of the fitness equation (the equation being: good nutrition + effective workouts = fit & healthy!)

You've probably heard the quote "You can't out-train a bad diet". Well, it's true. You can be doing all of the other components religiously, but if you're eating crap, you're wasting a lot of your time. You need to get a handle on what you're putting into your body.

I listed nutrition as the fifth key component, but in order of importance, it's #1. Food can be fuel or poison to your body. General guidelines for good nutrition are:

• Don't eat processed, fried or sugary foods. 
• Do eat lean meats, fruits, vegetables and nuts. 
• Drink LOTS of water.

I'm not saying you should never indulge in dessert or a "cheat meal", but ask yourself how what you're about to eat or drink is going to make you feel. If the answer is overly-full, bloated, lethargic, or regretful, it's not worth the brief enjoyment you'll have while you're chewing or drinking it. Instead, choose something that will make you feel energetic, healthy, invigorated! 

Follow these 5 keys and you'll be on your way to achieving a better level of fitness :)

As always, let me know if you need help with any of this.
-Claire

Keys to an Effective Fitness Program (Part 4 of 5): Challenge Yourself

The fourth key component to an effective fitness program is:

MAKE SURE YOU ARE CHALLENGING YOURSELF

Another quote up in my gym is "If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you".

It's not what most of us want to hear, but if an exercise / weight is easy for you, it's not doing much for you, and you need to make it harder. Then, after a while, it will become easy for you again, and you'll need to make it harder again. And again. And again. You need to continue to find new ways to challenge yourself.

This may sound like bad news. It's not! It means that you keep getting stronger / faster / more powerful / more agile / more flexible / more stable. Awesome!

Don't cheat yourself. If you can do 50 reps of something, stop! You're wasting your time. Make it more challenging: add weight, do it with 1 arm or 1 leg, do it on an unstable surface, step higher, squat lower, do it on an incline/decline.

There are always ways to progress what you're doing. Just make sure you make safety & form top priorities when you increase the challenge. (If you need help with this, ask me.)

Check back tomorrow for the 5th key component to achieving a better level of fitness :)

Keys to an Effective Fitness Program (Part 3 of 5): Lifting Weights

The third key component to an effective fitness program is:

LIFTING WEIGHTS

Who wants something that works for you while you're not doing anything? I'm assuming everyone does, which means everyone wants muscle! Besides making your body toned, helping you do everyday things more easily and allowing you to do new things with your added strength, muscle burns fat while you aren't even working out.

Ladies: don't worry about bulking up! That just won't happen. You'd have to be lifting lots of low reps of seriously heavy weights, eating tons of protein, or using some "supplements" you shouldn't be.

Weight lifting should be a part of everyone's fitness program.

It increases your metabolism.

It makes you perform better in other activities i.e.. legs with more muscle have more power and run faster.

It increases bone density, which is very important as we age.

It makes you strong. This may not be one of your goals, but it should be. You should be able to lift your groceries, laundry, children, etc without struggle and injury.

It makes you look good. Who doesn't want a toned body?

And, all of these things make you feel better and more confident. So...get lifting!

Check back tomorrow for the 4th key component to achieving a better level of fitness :)

Keys to an Effective Fitness Program (Part 2 of 5): Mixing It Up

The second key component to an effective fitness program is:

MIXING IT UP!
The majority of the time, when people are working out on their own, they wind up doing the same thing—over and over—for weeks, months & even years. I was guilty of this in my 20's. For years, I ran the same course, every day. I got to a point where my body stopped changing and I wasn't getting any faster. I just assumed I had gotten as thin, fit & fast as I ever would. (Wrong.)

Then, when the running took its toll on my knees, I started taking spin classes—5 days a week. My body changed. And, the cardio was different from the steady-state cardio I had been doing, so it was challenging. But after months of doing the same thing, once again, I stopped progressing (and now my thighs were bigger from spinning so much). But, I continued to spin—day after day, week after week—thinking I was getting a great workout and I had just reached my peak.

Don't get me wrong, I do think spinning is a great workout, and, I do enjoy a long run. But, if you do any exercise or workout program over and over, your body becomes more & more efficient at it. Therefore, you burn less calories and will see less and less differences in your body as time goes on.

One of the quotes up in my gym is "You can't change your life without making changes". This is true for your body. When I started mixing up what I was doing (which included lifting weights), my body started to change. And, I was shocked by the changes.

I know you're comfortable in your routine. I know you love running / spinning / kick class, and the thought of stopping it and trying something new freaks you out. It freaked me out. But, if you've been doing the same thing for an extended period of time and have "plateaued", you need to at least mix it up, if not take a break from it for a while.

Try something new. Lift weights; take a boot camp class. Hopefully, you'll find new things you enjoy doing and, in the process, make changes that may shock you!

Check back tomorrow for the 3rd key component to achieving a better level of fitness :)

Keys to an Effective Fitness Program (Part 1 of 5): HIIT

Often, when people contact me about training, it's because they are not seeing results from what they've been doing on their own. I know that's very frustrating—to actually be putting in the time and effort to workout & not notice a difference in how you look & feel.

There are 5 key components to making sure your fitness program is effective. I'm going to discuss them in 5 separate posts over the next 5 days.

The first key component is: HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

Steady-state cardio (walking, running, cycling at the same pace for the whole time) is certainly better than sitting on the couch and watching tv, but if we're ranking exercises by return-on-investment, it goes at the bottom. It's necessary if you're training for a long distance event, and some people (myself included) enjoy a long run. If you fall into either of those categories, then by all means, run like Forrest Gump :) 

But, if your goal is fat loss you'll want to do something that works harder for you. And, if you are short on time, as most of us are, you'll want to do the most efficient workout possible. The answer to both of those scenarios is high-intensity interval training.

The higher the intensity of what you're doing, the more it will benefit you—not only will it increase your cardiovascular endurance and fire up your metabolism, but it will keep your metabolism raised for hours after you've stopped working out. 

Since you won't be able to sustain a high-intensity for an extended period of time, you'll vary the intensities to give yourself time to lower your heart rate, catch your breath and feel ready to push yourself back up. For example: run 1 minute at a fast pace, then slow down to a slow jog for 2 minutes, then speed up again... You can do this with running, cycling, plyometrics, and even strength training.

Good news! These workouts won't be as long as the steady-state cardio you were doing. You can get a great cardiovascular, calorie-scorching, metabolism-raising workout in under half an hour. You just have to push yourself to those high intensities. If you haven't done this before, don't push it too hard—take time to build up your intensities. 

Give it a try and start feeling fit in a whole new way!

Check back tomorrow for the 2nd key component to achieving a better level of fitness :)

Time to Get Back on Track

For many of us, Labor Day is a lot like New Year's.

Summer, like the end of the year, is filled with family gatherings, parties, holidays and vacations. And, that means we often over-indulge and slack-off on our workouts.

Then, we look at Labor Day or New Year's as our fresh start. The time to get back on track. The time to try to undo the damage we've done over the past few months.

So, it's that time of year (or one of those times of year) again. It's time to get back on track. It's time to get back on a regular schedule. It's time to feel better. Sounds great, doesn't it?

Of course, it'd be better to stay consistent year-round - we all know that. And we will try better at doing that, right? 

In the meantime, what's good about Labor Day and New Year's, is that we are excited about being healthy. So, use that enthusiasm and take action right away—before it starts to fade!

But, be realistic. The enthusiasm that is driving you also can lead you to set unrealistic goals. Create a plan that you can stick to. Schedule what days you're going to workout. Plan your meals and meal preparation. Think about challenges you may face in keeping with your schedule and come up with ways to stick with it.

Ready? Great! Get started and you'll be feeling better in no time!

As always, I'm here to help you achieve your fitness goals, so feel free to reach out to me with questions :)

Fitting Healthy Meals into Your Busy Schedule

A common excuse I hear for people not sticking to healthy eating is lack of time. Since your health should be one of your top priorities (besides looking out for yourself, you can't take care of your family if you are in poor health!), it's important to find ways to eat nutritious meals.

Food can fuel your body in a  positive way—giving you energy and helping to fight off disease & inflammation, amongst other good things.  It can also make you feel sluggish, bloated, give you diabetes & clog up your arteries, amongst other very bad things.

Hopefully you're convinced now that you & your family should be eating healthy meals. But, you might be struggling with how to manage your busy schedule and find time to grocery shop, prepare and cook meals for one person, much less a family.

Here are a few ways to help:

1) Block off time at the beginning of the week—maybe Sunday evening—when you prepare ingredients & maybe even whole meals for the week.

• Chop vegetables & save in baggies/tupperware.
• Cook large portions of food that you can use over a few days.
• Grilled chicken is a great example of something you can cook in advance & use in multiple recipes (throw in salads & wraps; have as an entree with a side of veggies).
• I make a large serving bowl of quinoa with vegetables and eat it over the week (you can throw meat into it if you like). It couldn't be easier to make.

2) To save even more time, you can buy some things already chopped, mixed & cooked (I'm not talking about a pre-made foods or frozen dinners that have lots of preservatives! Stick to whole, healthy, unpreserved foods.) You'll pay extra for it, but it'll save you time, so you might decide it's worth it:

• Pre-cooked grilled chicken
• Pre-mixed greens (Trader Joe's has a great one called Cruciferous Crunch Collection. They also have some great prepared salads that aren't too expensive & last a couple of days in the frig.)
• Pre-chopped vegetables
• Cut-up fruit

3) Use a crock pot. Throw a bunch of ingredients in it in the morning; come home at night & your dinner is ready!

4) Shakeology—my favorite, easiest, healthiest meal. For those of you already drinking it, you've experienced its many benefits, but at the very least, it only takes about two minutes to prepare.

Use these ideas to help you do something great for yourself & your family—eat well! You deserve it!

Enjoy the Summer Without Packing on the Pounds

In some ways it's easy to eat "clean" in the summer—there is an abundance of fruits and vegetables available and grilling is a quick and healthy way to prepare meat and fish.

In other ways, summer poses a big challenge in terms of eating well. There are a lot of parties, happy hours, ball games, water parks, and pool & beach clubs that don't offer a lot of (if any) healthy food options. Instead, they serve a lot of junk & fried food, along with a lot of sugary and alcoholic drinks.

I know after last weekend, I was feeling a few pounds heavier & the summer has just begun. It's easy to get caught up in all-day grazing (& possibly drinking) while you're hanging out at the pool or beach. Before this gets too out of hand, be conscious of it & plan ahead.

If you're eating well all week, you are entitled to a "cheat meal". The problem is, many of us find ourselves in the predicament of being in these situations multiple times a week. I've been hearing this a lot and being asked what to do. So, here are some suggestions:

1) Eat before you go. Eat a healthy meal that fills you up & you'll be less likely to dive into the cheese fries & fried dough as soon as you get wherever you're going.

2) Bring your own food. I realize a lot of these situations are day outings, where a healthy breakfast before you go won't satisfy you for the entire day. In these situations, bring what you can. 

• If you're going to the beach, you can bring food for the day. Pack healthy wraps or pre-packed salads for lunch and fruit & veggies to snack on. 
• If you're going to a party, look for some healthy options (veggies) to fill up a little bit before you head over to the wings. Better yet- bring a healthy dish that you enjoy. If your hosts aren't serving anything healthy, at least you'll have what you brought.
• If you're going to a ball game or water park, you'll have a bigger challenge. You can bring some small snacks (nuts, Kind bar, apple) in your bag. 

3) In cases where you are stuck without your own food:

• Look for a salad. It might not be great, but usually there is some version of a salad available. Choose a vinaigrette dressing if you can.
• Salvage the good stuff. Look for something that contains grilled chicken & eat that with any lettuce or tomato that you can get with it.  Scrape off heavy sauces, cheeses & ditch the accompanying fries (telling them to serve it to you without that stuff is the best option, so it's not tempting you).  If chicken's not an option, do the same with a burger—ditch the bun & fries.
• See if you can find frozen yogurt. While this is more of a desert, it's better than most of the food options at those places.
• Pretzels are probably the best snack option at most of those places: either a big, soft, ball park one with mustard, or pre-packed hard ones.

4) Drink lots of water! Besides helping to keep you hydrated, flushing toxins & boosting your immune system, water increases your metabolism, helps build & repair muscles, and makes you feel full.

5) Stay active! While controlling what you consume is the most important part of controlling your weight, staying active will burn calories. AND, time spent playing tennis, riding your bike,  swimming, etc, will keep you away from those tempting foods & drinks for a while.

Summertime fun may be a challenge to your healthy lifestyle, but YOU CAN ENJOY IT without packing on the pounds! Start these habits now and continue them throughout the year :)

It's Hot! Stay Hydrated!

This week the tri-state area experienced temperatures in the 90s and humidity that makes it hard to breathe. Without even looking at the calendar, we know that summer has finally arrived.  But, after the horrible winter we had, even with the oppressive heat, we're outdoors. We swore during those snowy days that we wouldn't complain about the heat—if it would just get here! So, now we're running, biking, hiking, playing beach volleyball & soccer in the blistering sun. 

It feels great to be outdoors and active, but we need to make sure we stay hydrated. I can't stress this enough. I'm constantly telling my clients to drink water and they respond that they don't need it. Well, guess what? You do need water! All day long! And, you need to drink more water when you are working out. And, you need to drink even more water when it's hot out.

A good measure for how much water you should normally be drinking is half your bodyweight in ounces. So, if you weigh 150 lbs, you should be drinking 75 oz of water a day. Sound like a lot? We need it! Water is essential to almost all bodily functions. It helps digestion and metabolic function, hydrates brain cells, eliminates toxins, provides elasticity to muscles & joints, and regulates body temperature, amongst other things.

When you're working out in the in heat, you need to consume even more water. And, don't wait until you're thirsty! By the time you're feeling parched, you're on your way to becoming dehydrated. 

You should start drinking water before you exercise—17-20 oz 2 hours prior to exercise, then another 8 oz 30 min before your workout. You should continue to drink 8 oz every 15 minutes during exercise and for 30 min afterwards.

If your workout lasts one hour or less, water is sufficient for hydration. For longer bouts of exercise, you can have a sports drink or coconut water.

Fruits are another way to hydrate. Berries and melons have as much as 80% water content. So, enjoy the fruits of summer!

Alcohol, on the other hand, is not another good way to hydrate. It is a diuretic, taking water from the body. So, if you're enjoying a few beers during or after your activity of choice, make sure you are also drinking water!

You get the point. Enjoy the summer. Get outside. Be active. Stay hydrated.

Crazy Things Happen

20 years ago, if you had offered me a million dollar bet that I would wind up living down the Jersey shore, working as a Personal Trainer, and owning a dog, I would have taken it. I would have told you that you were crazy. I would have bet against any one of those things.

And, I would have wound up owing you a lot of money.

I had a vision of what I would be and what I wouldn't be. That vision, like a goal, helped me focus on what I wanted to achieve, but also closed me off to a lot of things.

Goals and focus are important—they are necessary to reach the highest levels of success. But, it's also  important to realize that your goals may change. And, that's ok. It doesn't necessarily mean you failed because you didn't achieve the original goal. It means your priorities changed.

Keeping yourself open to possibilities allows you to experience more things. It also allows you to achieve more things.

I see this with training a lot - people are closed to possibilities of what they can do. Someone watches a video on YouTube or see someone at the gym doing something she thinks is really impressive and she'll never be able to do. I either tell her she already does a version of it, she can do it, or she will be able to do it. She replies, "No way", or tells me I'm crazy.

This is what I LOVE: I have her do it, or a modified version of it. And, I tell her to be impressed with herself.

Keep yourself open to all the possibilities out there, even if they seem crazy. Crazy things happen. And, they can be awesome :)

#possibilitiesareendless #youneverknow #neversaynever

Measuring Progress

Sometimes, even when you've been diligent about adhering to a workout program and healthy diet, the number on the scale doesn't move. It's very frustrating, especially when you feel like you've lost weight.

Ever happen to you? You probably lost fat and gained muscle, which is exactly what you want to do! Don't be discouraged! 

Fat takes up more space than muscle, so while the scale may not reflect your progress, you will be slimmer if you replace fat with muscle.

Put your scale in a closet. Or, in your attic. Or, in the garbage! 

Use the following ways to measure your progress instead of your scale:

1.         Your clothes. How do your jeans fit? How about that snug sweater? If they're looser than they were when you started working out, you've made progress! Your clothes are a great way to measure your progress.

2.         Body measurements. Have someone measure around your shoulders, chest, waist, hips, thigh, calf, biceps when you start your exercise program. Have that same person take the measurements again in a month. 

3.         Energy levels. How do you feel? Hopefully, you have more energy than when you started working out. Daily activities will become easier and you should have energy to do new things. (*If you feel exhausted, you may be over-training—make sure you give yourself recovery time.)

4.          Emotions. Looking and feeling better should make you feel happier and more confident :)

Forget about the numbers. Stick with clean eating and your exercise program. Concentrate on how you 
feel. Celebrate and enjoy your progress!

Fat Loss vs Weight Loss

When I ask people what their fitness goals are, their response almost always includes losing a number of pounds.

When we talk about wanting to lose weight, what we want to focus on is losing fat. And, we actually want to gain muscle. Muscle is what creates that "toned" or "ripped" look.  And, muscle burns calories—even when you're not working out! One pound of lean muscle burns approximately 50 calories a day.

If you just restrict your calories and don't exercise, the number on the scale may go down, but you'll wind up losing muscle, which will slow your metabolism. This will most likely cause you to not only put the weight you lost back on, but to gain even more.

Combining a regular and efficient exercise program with a healthy diet that provides the food and nutrients your body needs to fuel your muscles will initiate fat loss and increase your metabolism.

It's Not Too Late!

I got an email today from someone who said he's leaving for Hawaii tomorrow and wishes he had contacted me to help him get in shape before he'll be strolling the beaches. 

Well, it's too late for him to have the beach body he'd like for Hawaii, but it's not too late for him (& you) to make progress—fitness-related or otherwise—before the summer! 

Memorial Day Weekend is 10 weeks away. For those of us that have been affected by the bitter cold and frequent snow this winter, 10 weeks seems far off. But, as we know, time flies. Summer will be here before we know it. Why not use these next 10 weeks to make progress towards a goal?

Picture yourself 10 weeks from now. You'll probably have some plans for the holiday weekend. Maybe you'll be going down the shore; maybe you'll be going to a party, or multiple parties; maybe you'll be hosting people at your house. You'll probably be with other people—family, friends, neighbors, co-workers—some of whom you haven't seen in a while or spent time talking to.

Think about catching up with people over that weekend. What would you like to be able to talk about? A trip you just took? Renovations to your house? A course you completed? A race you just ran? How you lost 15 pounds? Some books you read?

The next 10 weeks may fly by, but it's enough time to accomplish some small and big things. Spend some time this weekend thinking about what you'd like to achieve. Next, figure out what steps you need to take to get it done. Then, start working on it!

Finally, look forward to Memorial Day weekend, when you'll be celebrating not only the un-official start to summer, but also your achievement(s)! :)

Patience is required

Someone emailed me that she was interested in personal training because she wanted to get in shape before a wedding she would be attending. When I spoke to her, I found out she had a week and a half before the wedding. I'm good, but I can't transform your body in a week.

I know someone who is constantly asking me about "quick fixes" she hears about. She has a lot of weight to lose and spends money on all sorts of things that she sees on tv or reads about in hopes that they will magically give her the body she wants in a month. The problem is, she doesn't stick with any of these things for even a month. If she did, she would see some results.

To achieve your goals—fitness or otherwise—you need a plan. But, the two main keys to success are:

1. Starting 
2. Staying consistent

In Darren Hardy's book The Compound Effect (which I highly recommend), he uses friends as an example to show how being consistent with seemingly small changes can have a very big effect long term.

The friends start out in the same place—married, live in the same neighborhood, are at the same fitness level.

• The first friend makes small, positive changes, that he consistently does each day, including cutting 125 calories and spending 30 minutes reading or listening to something educational or inspirational.
• The second friend makes small, negative choices, including watching more tv, eating unhealthy meals and drinking an extra alcoholic drink per week. Doesn't seem that bad, does it?

After a year, you can't see any noticeable differences between the friends. But, by the middle of the second year, Hardy describes changes that are quite astonishing:

• The first friend has lost 33.5 pounds by cutting just 125 calories a day. He has also spent almost 1,000 hours on self-improvement. The small positive choices he made led to big positive changes in his life—more self-confidence, a promotion, a better marriage, increased happiness.
• The second friend has gained 33.5 pounds. So, he now weighs 67 pounds more than his friend. He doesn't feel good about himself, which has made him unhappy and has led to a big strain on his marriage.

Consistency will pay off, but patience is required. 

Make a positive change; start small if you want. Don't give up when you don't see fast results. The change will happen. And, when it happens, you'll be better and happier—isn't that worth it? :)

Be Yourself

Something that's important for me to keep in mind as a Personal Trainer is that my goals are not my clients' goals. Yes, some people want to do Mud Runs; some people want their body fat % in the teens; a few people even enjoy Burpee, Push Up & Pull Up challenges and pushing themselves to their max.

But, most people just want to look & feel good without changing their daily habits or pushing themselves too much. I know this. And, I must adjust my programs accordingly.

It's also important for me to keep in mind that other people—my family, friends, even successful people in my field—have goals that I don't need to have. Just because I respect someone, doesn't mean I need to do what they're doing.

We teach kids "just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean you should do it too". This usually refers to something they shouldn't be doing. But, it really applies to everything.

Sometimes we get caught up in a great idea, but just because something is a great idea doesn't mean it's a great idea for us to pursue. I fell into this trap last year. I started to pursue a bunch of "good ideas" that other people were engaged in, but found myself spread too thin. I needed to step back and focus on what was my best next step.

You're probably spread too thin. You're time is valuable. Make sure you're spending it on things that are best for you.

Let yourself be motivated by others, but think hard about what you really want and your plan for achieving it.  It's important to set goals, but make sure they're your goals—they fit into your life, your priorities, and your plan for the future. 

Completing an Ironman is a great goal. But, if one of your top priorities is putting in extra hours at work to get a promotion, training for an Ironman isn't a good goal for you right now.

Volunteering for a non-profit group is a very nice thing to do. But, if the organization you approach is looking for you to commit to being somewhere at the same time each week, and you have kids with busy sports' schedules, it isn't a good fit for you.

You get the point.

As Oscar Wilde said, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." :)

So Many Classes...

Zumba, CrossFit, Cycling, Bar Method, Kick Boxing, Pilates, Yoga, TRX, Boot Camp...it seems like there's a new way to workout every month.

Classes and small-group training provide an atmosphere that can be competitive, yet supportive. And, working out with friends and family can provide some distraction to make the session seem to go faster and even be fun.

Sounds like a good idea, but your next door neighbor swears by SoulCycle; your best friend loves LA Boxing; your co-worker won't stop talking about her pilates instructor.

How do you decide what's right the right class for you?

Ask yourself the following questions:

1)  What are your goals?  Your goals dictate what type of exercise you should be doing.

• If your goal is weight loss, you need to be lifting weights and working at high intensities — Boot Camp, Cycling Classes, Kick Boxing, TRX & CrossFit will all help you achieve your goals.
• If your goal is increased flexibility, you want to be doing things that work on stretching & lengthening your muscles — try yoga or pilates.

2) What do you think you would enjoy?  I realize that most likely, you're not going to LOVE working out. But, you don't have to hate it! With so many options, surely, you can find something that's not utterly distasteful?!

• Do you like dancing? Try Zumba.
• Do you want to release some serious steam (get out some aggression)? Try boxing.
• Are you looking for something more peaceful, something where you concentrate on yourself? Try yoga.

3) What level are you?

• If you're just starting your workout program, you need to start at a lower intensity and learn how to do basic exercises—CrossFit & Boot Camp aren't your best choices. You might want to work with a personal trainer to get your form perfected, and increase your strength & endurance before starting one of the higher intensity classes.
• If you've been working out a while, choose something that will challenge you.
• If you have past injuries/pain when working out, classes aren't the best choice for you—you want someone who will watch your form and design a program that will help you feel better, get stronger and avoid further injury.

Now that you have a starting point, it's important to keep in mind two important facts about whatever you choose:

1. Give it enough time to do something for you. If you still can't touch your toes after a week of yoga, don't give up! Give it at least a month.
2. Don't make it the only thing you do. You need to challenge your body in different ways. Taking spin class five days a week will help your cardiovascular health and strengthen your thighs, but it won't give you a well-rounded workout. I made this mistake for years—first, I ran and ran, the same course, at basically the same speed, almost every day. Then, I stopped running and started spinning 4-5 times a week. I got big thighs. It wasn't until I started lifting weights and mixing up what I was doing, that my body totally changed. Again, a personal trainer can help you with this.

So, try something new. Make sure it challenges and motivates you. And, enjoy your transformation :)

Surround Yourself with the Right People for Success

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Think about who those people are for you. They have a huge impact on your life.

Now think beyond those five people, to larger groups of people you spend significant time with. Those people affect you as well. They affect what you eat, where you go to eat, what you wear, if you workout, how you workout, what you do in your free time, what tv shows you watch, what books you read, what activities you have your kids do.

Do those people enrich your life? Are they happy? Do they make you happy? Are they successful? Do you respect them? Do they encourage you? Do they have healthy habits? 

Think about your ideal self—the person you try to be daily, and the one you are working towards becoming. Do the people you surround yourself with support your efforts? Will they help you become your ideal self? Are they the types of people that your ideal self would surround herself/himself with?

If you answered "yes" to all the questions above, great! Continue to get support and inspiration from those people. 

If you answered "no" to any of the questions, you need to find people who will help you be the best you. There are plenty of them out there! They may not live next door, but there are groups for just about anything these days. And, with social media, it's easy to find like-minded people.

I work alone and want to connect with other fitness professionals who share my enthusiasm for helping people lead healthy lives, so I attend industry conferences; I joined a mentorship program; and most recently, got involved with a company that offers all sorts of ways to help people achieve their fitness goals (my goal!).

I just ran an online nutrition and workout challenge through a private Facebook group I set up. People posted what they were eating, doing, their questions, struggles, and total strangers responded with answers and support - it was great!

Even if you are successful, independent, motivated & optimistic, you can still be negatively affected by some people. But luckily, the opposite is also true—you will benefit from being connected to people who are prosperous, disciplined, healthy & happy :) So, find those people! 

Make sure you are connected to people who will help you be your best self—you deserve it!

No Need to be Embarrassed

After the Superbowl, a reporter asked Peyton Manning if the loss was embarrassing. Peyton replied, "It's not embarrassing at all. I'll never use that word. There's a lot of professional football players in that room, that locker room, who put a lot of effort into being here and playing in that game. The word 'embarrassing' is an insulting word to tell you the truth."

This is hopefully what we were taught, and tell our kids—"as long as you try your best, that's all that matters". Unfortunately, when it's your job and lots of money is at stake, that's not the whole story. 

But the point remains true: you can only do your best. And, you shouldn't be embarrassed if you do your best. At worst, you won't do as well as you would have liked, but you will learn from that experience and will be able to do better next time.

The hard part is always trying our best. Sometimes it's hard to motivate. Sometimes what we're doing is difficult. Sometimes it's scary—we haven't done it before; we might mess up. When I am having these thoughts, I find the following two quotes motivating:

"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot." - Eleanor Roosevelt

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." - George Bernard Shaw

Whether you use these quotes or something else, find what motivates you to put forth your best. And when you do, move forward with the confidence that whatever the outcome, you'll be better for it.

Get Your Mind Right

During the Superbowl on Sunday, the players will use various techniques to focus. They will be instructed to "bring their 'A' game" and "get in the Zone".  If they don't, they'll be told to "get their head in the game". If they are feeling tired or any pain, they'll be directed to use "mind over matter" to push through it.

All of these techniques require having the right mindset.

Professional athletes have to have total control of their mindset at game time. But, athletes aren't the only ones who need to master that skill—we all benefit from being focused, confident and positive.

Attitude affects us in all sorts of ways. I observe how it affects people's training daily.

If someone comes in to workout after a mess up at work, a fight with a spouse or kid, or before going into a stressful situation, that client most likely is not going to be hitting a new personal record during the session. The focus isn't there.

If someone doesn't think he can do an exercise or lift a certain weight even though I'm confident he can do it, his performance will be affected. But, if I get that same person to change his attitude and believe he can do it, he will. And, then once he sees he can do it, he'll continue on.

We've all heard inspiring stories about people going through a tragedy while maintaining a great attitude. And, we've all probably witnessed people whose somber outlook lead them into a downward spiral.

It really is quite amazing to see how mindset affects things. The great thing is we are in charge of our own mindset—keep that in mind so you can control & benefit from it.

Create Habits for Success

We're three weeks into 2014. How are you doing with your New Year's Resolutions? Hopefully, you're still going strong and feeling good.

If you are, fantastic—keep up the good work!!

If you're not, don't give up! Just hang in there a little longer. You need time for your resolution to become a habit. (If you've been doing something consistently for 3 weeks, you're almost there.) Once it's a habit, it will be SIGNIFICANTLY easier to keep going. Once it's a habit, you won't have to think about it, remember it, make a choice to do it, use your willpower to do it. And, if you have a bad habit, you know how hard habits are to break.

Think about all the things you do in a day without really thinking about them. These are the routines that get you productively through life. When you wake up, you brush your teeth; you walk your dog; you stop at the same place every day for a cup of coffee. You call your mother on Sunday; pay bills on Monday; go to the dry cleaner on Tuesday.  You do many of the same things daily, weekly, monthly, without hesitating.  These things may not be entirely enjoyable, but they don't require motivation—they've become habits.

Research has shown that we have a limited supply of willpower. So, habits are good—they let us save our willpower. We might need it to stay focused on a big work project at the end of the day or to turn down a piece of cake after dinner.

Whatever you resolved to do, stick with it! It will get easier (I actually prefer to say you will get better). Pretty soon your positive change will be part of your regular routine, and you'll be able to use your willpower for something else :)

Crowded Gym? No Problem.

This is the time of year gyms are packed with people motivated by their New Year's resolutions to get fit / lose weight / lead a healthier life. Maybe you are one of those people—Great!

What's not so great is that the crowded gym causes problems for both old and new members. 

For you gym "regulars", your routines are disrupted. You can't: 

• get on "your" treadmill / elliptical / machine, etc. 

• get into the class that you always take

For you "resolutioners":

• the packed gym is intimidating

• you can't get on a treadmill / elliptical / chest press machine / etc. and it's the only piece of equipment you know how to use

Don't let these issues keep you from getting a great workout. There are plenty of things you can do—just look around!

Regulars - use this as a time to mix up your workout, which you should be doing anyway.

Resolutioners - use this as a time to get familiar with some new things. And, don't be intimidated  - most of the people around you are in the same boat as you; and, the other people were all in that boat at one time, probably not so long ago. Also, remember that you are on your way to achieving your goals! You should feel good, not intimidated.

Walking into an over-crowded gym may be frustrating and intimidating, but remember why you came. You may not be able to do the workout you planned, but if you stay focused on your goals and are flexible with your routine, you will still get a great workout. And, I guarantee when you're done, you'll feel significantly better than you did when you arrived :)

If you need help with creating alternate programs, I'm happy to help. Call or email me so we can keep you on track to achieve your goals. 

Choose Wisely

As the East Coast braces itself for a blizzard, closing schools and offices before a snowflake even appears, we are reminded that there are some things that are completely out of our control. It's frustrating to be at the mercy of Mother Nature, or anyone or anything for that matter. What we can do is make good use of the things we can control.

Our lives have been shaped by things we've controlled—the choices we've made. Think about where you live, the shape you're in, the job you're doing, who you're in a relationship with, who you hang out with, how you spend your free time. Are you happy with the choices you've made? Are you content with who you are the way you are?

If you are, great! If not, today's the day to make some choices that will put you on track to become the person you want to be, living the life you want to lead. You just need to choose to do things differently.

Not happy with your weight? Choose to stop eating foods that are processed, fried, and full of sugar. Choose to eat whole foods and lean protein & vegetables at every meal. Choose to stop drinking soda, juice and other drinks with empty calories. Choose to drink more water.

Not happy with the shape you're in? Choose to stop watching tv or surfing the net for an hour when you could be working out. Choose to make exercising a priority - choose to wake up early if need be. Choose to exercise with purpose & intensity - hire a trainer if you need help :)

Not happy with the shape you're in? Choose to stop watching tv or surfing the net for an hour when you could be working out. Choose to make exercising a priority - choose to wake up early if need be.

Not happy with your relationship? Choose to get out of it or choose to take actions to fix it, if you think that's possible.

Not happy with your job? Choose to stop going through the motions just because you're comfortable where you are. Choose to start a job search, network, take classes towards switching careers.

The beginning of the new year is the perfect time to make impactful choices—start now and look forward to exciting results!