time management

Weeding Your Garden, Getting Back on Track for Your Fitness and Health Goals

We have all done it. Created a goal, started out strong, only to have our motivation leak out of us and suddenly go missing. Before we know it we’ve quit – we just stopped showing up. In June’s post we discussed “planting our garden”, now it’s time to weed it. In order to keep a garden healthy we must get rid of the plants that aren’t helping it grow.

Here are 5 ways to “weed your garden” and stay on track for your fitness and health goals.

Look at your schedule for the last 3 weeks – determine what is soaking up your time, what you can cut out, and where you can schedule in workouts.
Check out your eating habits – have you increased portions, need to get back to your journal, or eliminate the unhealthy choices from your cupboards. Do this now.
Find a workout buddy – either in person or online – someone you can be accountable to and who can be honest with you about your workout and diet behaviors (in a supportive way). This will help as your motivation wanes next time.
Do the above & recommit to yourself to yourself and your goals.
Don’t beat yourself up – progress is measured not by how far you go without falling down, but how quickly you get back up after you do. Life happens and healthy living happens as a result of healthy choices every day. The important thing is to get back to it as quickly as possible!

6 Weeks Till Summer. Are You Beach Ready?

Summer’s just around the corner are you ready? Have you been training consistently? Have you fallen off the wagon? Is it time for the beach body workout to help you get ready to present your best bod this summer? Here are some ideas to get you started (or keep you going) as summer quickly approaches.

First, make a plan. If you’ve been working out it may be time to add intervals in, sign up for a class, or add/change your strength training routine. We are creatures of habit and get locked into doing the same thing over and over. When we continue to do what we are used to the body adapts and isn’t working as hard anymore. Give it a shock by changing up your workout. This will help you work harder while your body works to learn the new movement patterns and routines.

Second, add a day or two to your routine. If you haven’t been working out aim for 3-5 days per week of cardio and 2-3 days of strength training. Flexibility training should be done after each workout and can be done daily for best results. If you are an experienced exerciser aim for 5-6 days a week for cardio and consider how you could break up your strength training to add more intensity,

Finally, take a good look at your diet. Make sure you are eating enough and that your diet is a healthy one. Look to make sure your diet is balanced and made of whole foods of good quality. Try to eat as many nutrient dense foods as you can. These are foods that have the best nutrition / calorie. This way you’ll be able to keep your caloric intake under control while supporting your body to get the most nutrients possible.

Get Ready Beach Here We Come!

5 Ways to Get Around Workouts and Weather

So you think you’re pretty committed to your fitness routine but whenever the weather doesn’t do it your way you are no where near your exercise plan. Hmmmm, are you letting the weather dictate how your workouts go? If so it’s time to get the right gear and commit to yourself. Here’s 5 ways to get around the weather.

Get the right gear. Rain, wind, snow, sleet all can derail a good plan in no time. Having the right gear can help you stay focused even if the weather isn’t cooperating.
Find a Buddy as committed as you. It’ll help on those gray sky days.
Have a back up plan. Do you have a gym you an hit if the weather doesn’t comply.
Schedule a couple of times on those days you have a heads up about storms. If you miss the morning workout hopefully you’ll be able to make and afternoon time.
Double up on another day that week. If you miss a workout try to make it up the next day by increasing the intensity of your regular workout and leaving time to make up the missed one.

3 Ways to Reach Your Fitness Goals

So we are almost a month into your New Year’s Resolutions. How are you doing? Have you been able to make your daily and weekly goals? or Is you motivation waning and you have forgotten what had you so ready to take on this task? Here is 3 steps to getting back on track and keep yourself moving toward your goals.

Review what progress you have made – you did start something. Review what you have done even if it was only a day or a week. Recall how it felt to have accomplished that first day. Reflect on what was so motivating then.

If you didn’t write it down then. Write it down now.

What are you working towards?

What are you willing to do each day to accomplish it?

How long will it take you? (losing a pound / week is recommended for healthy lifestyle change)

What was your big obstacle? What caught you and kept you from reaching your goal so far? Was it your schedule? Was it support (or lack of it) from friends and family? This isn’t a place to find failure but learning. So look at what went wrong and make a decision about what you can do differently and start again. START AGAIN!!!

The path to success isn’t about never having set backs. It’s about how many times you have a set back and how you get back up. So if you have fallen off the New Year’s Resolution wagon this year. JUST get back on.

Dressing Up Your Fitness

Here we are in October, the month of costumes and scare tactics. As you reflect upon the challenge you took last month – committing to three months of fitness routines – I wonder how you are doing? This is a great time to look at your own scare tactics and how you’ve dressed up your excuses.

One thing guaranteed about life is it’s going to change and the other thing … that’s it’s not always easy. Most of us have a great thing called our brain which is very good at talking us into and out of ideas, goals, and behaviors. So today look closely at how you are talking yourself out of exercise and other healthy behaviors you’ve committed to.

How do you dress up your excuses? Do you use them as masks to hide behind? Do you allow them to be the monologue of your life, “It will never work, I can’t, or if only _____”. Do you use these same excuses in other challenging situations? I wonder what purpose they are serving? We don’t do anything (even that which seems harmful) we don’t get something out of. So figure out what you are getting out of making that excuse and decide if it’s worth it. For me sometimes time with my family is worth my workout but it’s not something I use to forgo the whole plan.

What kinds of scare tactics to you use? Do you tell yourself, “I won’t be able to, I have to avoid, I don’t deserve ______”? These are what is called avoidance goals and they are not as effective long term as approach goals. Sure you’ll make some change in the beginning but over time telling yourself you can’t have that extra piece of cake or you won’t get to do your favorite activity gets old. You end up throwing the whole goal out because your want is greater in the moment and you feel like you can’t win anyway.

You are better off to create approach goals. Ones with positive outcomes. Not only does reward systems work better they last longer than punishment based systems. So create your optimum reward system so not only are you reaching your goals but enjoying getting there too. Life can be pretty sweet when you focus on the process not the perfection.