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!