Gratitude and your Thanksgiving Workout

Hello fitness friends,
With next week being Thanksgiving, I will not be sending out a blog post, I will be eating. :)
When I think of this holiday, I don't think of turkey or the first feast, I think of gratitude. I think of all that I am grateful for. My family, friends and fitness. That I wake up and am able to go about my day however I chose. That I have a supportive network of people and an abled body that I try hard to take care of. The dinner and football are fun things about Thanksgiving, however don't lose sight of what you are truly grateful for. Take this opportunity to express your gratitude!

After we eat, we workout, okay you can watch football first then workout. The following workout is lower body and core. It will be good to get the lower body moving after all the sitting and eating.

Warmup for 3-5 min
Skier squats 3 sets 12-15 reps
Alternating lunges 3 sets 12-16 reps
Plie' squats and pulses 3 sets 10 reps

Calf raises 3 sets 20 reps
Side lunges 3 sets 12-14 reps
Split squats 3 sets 12-15 reps
Deadlifts 3 sets 12-15 reps
Hip lifts 3 sets 15 reps
Double leg drop 3 sets 12-15 reps
Scissor kicks 3 sets 12 reps
Seated ab twist 3 sets 16 reps
Crunch with weight 3 sets 12-15 reps
Reverse crunch 3 sets 15 reps

I have a video of this workout: https://youtu.be/J46PyoyoEyY

Have a fantastic holiday and I will be posting to this blog in two weeks!

Yours in fitness,

Lori

Fear and Intimidation Part 2

I originally wrote the following blog post back in 2012. Since then I've tried all sorts of things. I rode in the Air Force Cycling Challenge twice (I have since 2012 fallen off by bike), run several races, became a Jillian Michaels Bodyshred certified instructor and continued to create new stuff for the fitness business, some of which has succeeded and some that has failed. You have to try things in order to succeed or even fail. With both you will discover new insight into you as a person and what works and what doesn't. This keeps you moving forward. Otherwise you will stay in one spot and that doesn't allow for growth. You will never realize your capabilities. Trust me, it's not easy to face the unknown, but can be so worth it!

Read the blog post below and challenge yourself to try one new thing a week; a new food, exercise, way of doing something, sign up for an activity, event, go somewhere new, with someone or eek alone. Decide it, commit to it and do it! Don't let fear and intimidation stop you! Now, I need to finish my practical yoga course that I've had since March and although have gone through the course once, I haven't felt brave enough to take the exam yet. Time to just do it!
Oh and on my New things to try list in 2018? Complete one triathlon. :)


Saturday June 16, 2012
Fear and Intimidation

How many times have you said to yourself or someone else, no, I don't want to do that, what if it's hard, scary, I can't do it, people might judge me? Trying something new is always intimidating. It doesn't matter if it's something that seems big or small. I can tell you from personal experience, fear of something new could have been my middle name. I realized that it was fear of the unknown. For me, I was afraid that it might be hard and I wouldn't be able to do it and those that could might laugh at me. I know there are things that I didn't do, that now I wish I had. I've learned now that it's important to try something new/different because if you don't, how will you ever know that you are good at it or like it? You may not like it or be good at it, but if you never try, you'll never know.

I was in the gym today and after class was in the weight room waiting to see if a couple of my friends were going to join me, they did. It was interesting because one said,"I've never even been in this room before", and the other said, "I've always been a little intimidated in here." To me the weight room is like a grown-up playground with lots of ways to exercise and challenge your body/muscles. The more I see people do, the more I challenge myself. I had to think back on when I felt the same as these ladies, and its been a while, but I certainly felt that way the first time I walked into a gym. I was so happy to be able to show them my workout and have them try it with me. On the other hand, both of these two had done things that I never have. Running races and cycling in a bike ride challenge.  Now, I haven't run in a race yet, but it's on my Things to Try List, but I did complete a cycling challenge a week ago.

The ride was part of the Air Force Cycling Challenge. It took place in Crystal City, VA and was a set course that you rode as many laps as you could in the 3.5 hours allotted time frame. I completed four laps (37.2 miles). Before registering, which took me a week by the way, I knew in my head that I could do it, so why the hesitation? I didn't know what it would be like, what if we were all bunched up the whole time and you couldn't see anything and someone went slow and you couldn't get around, I'd fall for sure, (I've yet to fall off my bike). I had in my minds eye, the peleton of the professional cycling races that I watch frequently, which is NOT what this was like. I had made myself nervous even before knowing what it would be like, now that I do, I can't wait until next year and see if I can do better.

Creating a fitness business was a new experience that I never would be doing if I hadn't tried, now I'm personal training and teaching a bootcamp class. Time to get out there and not let new challenges pass you by. Your mission is to try something new/different once a week. It can be anything from a new food, new sport, class, exercise or experience, like walking into the weight room at the gym. Do it, the time is now, you may even find you are really good at it or like it! Don't let fear and intimidation rule you, conquer it!

Yours in fitness,
Lori

Bringing mindfulness to your life and fitness practice

We all know what a mind full is. Every day life is full of "stuff". We have to get stuff done, we go and do stuff, see stuff, use stuff. And we never seem to have enough time for all the stuff. We are easily engaged and distracted, all at the same time. Sometimes our days get pretty routine. It's like the same thing, different day. We think of things we did, said or have been in the past and we look to all the things and places that we need to do or go in the future.  But do we spend much time in the present?

What is mindfulness? Mindfulness can be described as being present, in the moment. Having non-judgemental awareness to everything around you. A way to slow down, relax, and just be. Sounds good, right? But how do we achieve this in our everyday life or during our fitness routine? Let's start with a couple of things you can do every day. When you first wake up, before you do anything else, take a couple of deep breaths, notice how your body feels, what the morning looks like, I don't mean what is on the calendar, I mean is there light streaming into the room, what's the temperature, what do you hear? Clear your mind of all you have to do. Set your intention for the day. Maybe during the day keep a daily gratitude journal, perform breathing exercises. or do a couple of yoga poses in the morning or at the end of the day.
In practicing mindfulness one can become calm, rest and mentally alert allowing for your focus to be inward instead of external.

How do we take this to our exercise program? Before starting your workout, no matter what that is; running, strength training, dancing, set your intention on what you hope to get out of your training.  Notice how your body feels, really from the top of your head all the way down to your feet. If you are not "feeling" it, then maybe pushing through a workout, just to get one done, isn't what you need. I've been there. I used to just push through exercises even when I wasn't up for it, it just didn't feel right and sometimes, that was fine, but other times it made for an unpleasant, painful workout that I regretted later. Also there should be a conscious mind-body connection throughout a workout. We should always be aware of what each muscle is telling us. We should also be using correct posture (really all the time), this will keep the energy flowing throughout the body.

Next, no matter where you are, be aware of your environment. Is it warm, cold, what do you hear, smell? What's the space around you like? Do you have everything you need? Realize there may be distractions, so how can you keep these at bay as much as possible?

Stay focused, your workout is what you have intended to accomplish. Yes, your mind will wander, or you'll start to just go through the motions, but if you can stay motivated, less distracted and focused on what your are doing and how it feels you'll make your fitness practice a more mindful one.

Lastly, your breathing technique is key. The rhythm of your breath is what keeps the mind-body connection. Breath awareness keeps you present. Stay present.

We all live busy lives and have busy minds. However, if you try some or all of these techniques throughout your day and during your fitness practice and I think you will start to feel more connected, less stressed and you'll be able to quiet your busy mind more often.

Mindfulness not Mind Full.

Yours in fitness,

Lori