How to Fit in Working Out When You are TOO BUSY?

Fact- You are NOT too busy, you just haven’t scheduled in the time to work out or you haven’t made it a priority in your life. It’s just an excuse, and first thing you have to do, is admit that you are making excuses. I think nowadays, we can all have an argument on who is busier than whom, correct?
I have had many directions and obstacles in my life that could easily be used as an excuse as to why I wasn’t working out. I used to travel nationally/internationally. Flying all day, working all day in an unknown environment, eating out every day; easy recipe to just go back to the hotel and watch tv.
I have had 2 babies, both via c-section all while working 2 full time jobs, 1 managing and developing 60 fitness professionals for a major fitness company and the other was starting up my home business JC Dwyer, Inc where I’m working in creating a monster downline and achievement in the Team Beachbody home business. I was also scheduling and presenting trainings on weekends (3rd job) and so much more! Was that an excuse, could be, but wasn’t.

I’m going to be honest, I personally don’t LOVE working out all the time. I’ll be VERY honest. If it wasn’t for me teaching group exercise, working for fitness celebrity Chalene Johnson, and being a fitness and health coach with the Team Beachbody business, I probably wouldn’t think to work out as much.
But even if those things aren’t your goals or even have the opportunity to do that, you don’t have to believe that’s what you have to do, to do it. You may just need to find the reason for accountability. Because, that is one of mine.

Recently, I moved from upstate Rochester NY to outside of Dallas TX. Family of 4, driving 2 separate vehicles, 1500 miles. My 2 toddlers always wanted to ride in mommies car, which I loved =). But moving across country, away from the state you have always known, the life you developed, comforts of home- is stressful and exhausting.
I didn’t schedule in working out. Left it up to it would only be a couple days, I’ll get back into it. But the struggles of waiting to get into your new home, closing, getting the your stuff moved in from the truck, putting it away can easily be an excuse to not fit in exercise. I did just that! Didn’t schedule it and left it up to how I felt that day and if I had time to work out.
I’m now faced with no classes to teach for group exercise! That was an EASY way for me to have it on schedule, I had to teach other people! It’s up in my hands now.

After 1 week of packing up, traveling across country, unpacking some, I finally scheduled a work out.
It felt horrible! I wanted to quit so many times, but I had to follow through and just do it, because it’s that important.

So the moral of this is, schedule it! Life is busy! You can easily let it take over you! If you work for someone else, work from home, or don’t even have a job, your day can easily escape you and get filled with errands and other people’s requests.
Each day, start with these tips to ensure you fit in exercise:

1) Get your work out gear ready the night before!
2) Make your To-Do list which includes your work out
3) Put it on your actual calendar- schedule the EXACT time you will work out!
4) Set an alarm reminder for 30 mins before your scheduled time
5) If you are overwhelmed with things to do when your work out time hits, and you HAVE to do them, change up the length and intensity of your work out to be faster and more intense.

The things you do for other people, the business you build, the meals you make, the errands you run are temporary. How you feel about how you look, your energy level, and your overall positive feeling that you did something for yourself is the fountain of youth. That is longevity, so make it a priority.

Are you Scared to Eat?

Do you REALLY believe that when you hear people say, eat more often to lose weight, that it's true? Or do you think, "Well, for other people, but not MY body. I'll gain weight if I actually eat!"

I struggled with this for the greater part of my adult life. Always challenged with eating too much, and gaining weight. When I wanted to lose weight, I was always successful when I barely ate anything or ate many "filler" foods like sugar free jello and salads! But ballooning back up as soon as I ate food again was just around the corner. I have always been into fitness and always had to battle with "looking the part." Being a mesomorph, I would naturally have a stronger more muscular build, but I additionally would hold/gain fat easily if I wasn't too careful.

It has taken me years to figure out how my body works, but mostly in general, how to have my body work for me. I struggled with the concept of eating more often because I didn't understand how to plan my meals and the right amount of protein, carbs, fats and calories I should eat to reach my goals.
I still don't count these grams and ratios exactly but now just match up what I know I should be eating and stay within a calorie range.

You may find some arguments on the myth of eating multiple small mini-meals a day as opposed to the traditional eating three meals a day concept. In my studies and experience, eating 5-6 small meals a day works for most people in achieving their desired body fat goals. Many reasons why this works to be true:

1. You are eating more often so you mentally feel "fuller" and not starving for the next meal
2. Your body is processing food more frequently throughout the day, thus making it "work, thus burning more calories

BUT- BEWARE!!

Some people think of eating 5-6 mini meals a day, but fail to plan and prepare! You can easily fall into the bad trap of eating TOO MUCH each time you eat!

Here are my suggestions to ensure you meet your weight loss goals instead of defeating yourself and going back to the, "scared to eat" problem:

1. Be as planned and prepared as you can to eat 5-6 small meals a day. If you like variety, plan each mini meal to have 2-3 options to choose from each day. Some people prefer the same thing everyday (that's me). It decreases me having to think of what to eat, preparing food, and shopping is easier!
2. Know what your daily caloric intake should be for your body fat goal. For your goal, be sure to know what your maintenance caloric needs are, and then work on decreasing your caloric intake to lose weight up to no more than 2 lbs a week.
3. Start Simple! Avoid being too creative and "fancy" with the preparation of your food, especially if you are just starting out on trying to eat better and to eat more often.
4. Be sure to get enough protein! It's easy to think of fruit, vegetables, and carbs when planning your meals. Each "meal" should involve a protein source
5. Supplement! You don't always have to sit down for a plated meal. Using meal replacement or protein bars or shakes are a great way to "pop" food in so you are fueling the fire in your belly!

More importantly, this isn't a diet, this is a lifestyle. Never "go on a diet", because "going" is an action of forward process where a destination should be reached. Eating to work with your body to tweak out where you want to create and define it is where you may tighten up on your daily diet, but it is just that, a daily nutritional diet.

Exercise is highly critical in developing a strong body as you work to define it, but that's a whole other topic! =)

Stretch Much?

Ok, so maybe Stretch Armstrong is a little stretch of the imagination of how flexible we may be, but ya get the point.  A question I get a lot is how and when to stretch.

There are several different types of stretches, as well as different techniques so I'm not going to dive into the fine detail and definition of all of the possibilities.

Some  common categories of stretching that you can do on your own (without a partner pulling or pushing to create a stretch or force) are ballistic, dynamic, & static.

The first stretch I mentioned, ballistic - don't do it.  It's basically been banned due to the injury possibilities and no   beneficial effect over other, safer, forms of stretching.  Ballistic stretching  is the bouncing type of stretching, where you take the   muscle to near  its limit and then bounce to stretch it further using momentum. For example   reaching  over to touch your toes and bouncing to increase the range even further.   this kind of stretching can injure vital muscles and nerves with the sharp jerking movements.

Dynamic stretching involves moving parts of your body and gradually increasing reach, speed of movement, or both.  There is no bouncing, quick movement or jerking.  It is slow and controlled; such as slow, controlled leg swings, arm swings, or torso twists.

There is also static stretching, which is the most commonly used type of stretch.  This is when you reach into a stretch position, stretching to your farthest point and hold the stretch for a length of time.  You feel a stretch in the 'belly' of the muscle, not in the joints.

So - do you stretch right off the bat before you get going into your workout or sport to get your muscles ready to go? Research shows that stretching immediately before your workout or sport can actually hinder your activity and can even cause injury.

See. there is a difference between warming up and stretching.

Our muscles are like taffy.  If you left a piece of taffy sitting in the cold for a while, then grabbed it and started stretching it - what happens?   SNAP!  But if you warmed it up first, and then started stretching, now we're talking Stretch Armstrong flexibility.

So get warm first.  And warm ups will vary, depending on what you're warming up for.  You may want to mimic the type of activity you're going to be doing, but in a slower, controlled way.  For example with Turbo workouts, the warm up starts out with controlled punches, knee lifts, but some stretching is then integrated in the form of squats, shoulder rolls, etc to get the blood flowing to the major muscle groups as well as to prepare them for what's coming.

Then rock your workout or play your game hard.  And then cool down.

And THEN stretch.  A lot of the studies haven't really confirmed whether stretching prevents injuries or improves performance but may reduce soreness and help with flexibility.  So whatever your reason for stretching - just make sure your body and muscles are warm and you are careful in your technique.

"You're only as young as your spine is flexible."  ~Bob Harper  ;~}

Why aren't you Pursuing your Passion?

"At  least eighty percent of millionaires are self-made. That is, they  started with nothing but ambition and energy, the same way most of us  start."~Brian Tracy

A  VERY common goal with people who are really passionate about something  is that they always want to own their own "show/business". However, more often than not, their  dream and goals never happens and they still keep working for someone else.

So maybe your goal is not to be a millionaire, but to live the life you dream of, to do what is so fulfilling to you, the thing that you think about it all the time, and  would love doing full time.

If you truly desire to be living your dream, whether it will make you financially wealthy or emotionally wealthy - why aren't you?

Some BIG reasons why action is not taken are:

1) Overhead costs

2) High Risk  factor for Failure

3) Lack of Independent Drive/Motion

So then, how can we overcome these obstacles and start moving in the direction of our ultimate dream?

   
• Overhead costs - I obviously don't know what your personal dream or vision of doing or becoming is, so I don't know what overhead costs may be involved.

But I do know, that there are many ways to trim costs and keep them down to the bare minimum while you are starting out and building.  Do your research. What do you really need and what can wait?  Find someone who does what you want to do and ask for their tips and direction.  What worked for them and what would they have done differently?  Google ways to cut costs.  Check with your local areas for new business program grants and assistance.

   
• High Risk  factor for Failure - Is there truly overwhelming evidence that your dream business is likely to fail? Or is it negative responses like "That will never survive around here", "Somebody else tried that and it went under and they lost everything".  Or is it Fear?  Your own fear of not knowing whether you can pull it off?

Success takes risk.  The highest stock investment returns are on those 'high risk' options.  Write it out.  What's the worst case scenario, and the best case.  What's your plan B.  Is the risk worth it to you?  What is the cost of never fulfilling your vision?  You have to decide.  Know that there will be struggles and even some potential failures along the way - but also know that even a failure is an investment in your learning and growth as you learn from it, correct it and move forward.

Lack of Independent Drive/Motion - So you're your biggest obstacle?  You just don't have the initiative to make motions and move forward?   Why?  You've got to identify why you don't have the burning motivation and drive to start making motions.  Are you a procrastinator?  Do you need direction?  Do you have a plan?  Start by determining your priorities.  Then outline your goals based on those priorities.  Next, make a plan on how you can reach those goals.  Finally, start a to-do list, every day, with items you will do to take you closer to your goals.  Keep moving and making motions.  Each step, however small it may be, is moving you closer to your dream as long as it is in the right direction.

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up. Paul Valery

Now go!

Back to School Routine...but It's Not about the Books

Kids all across the country have started the school year, and as you know, mine did as well.  But school isn't what this blog post is really about.  It's about the routine -  ya know,  getting up, going to school, doing homework, and repeating to bring about an expected end result of passing the grade and graduating?  In the same way that going back to school means a new year and new beginning for the kids, this is the perfect time of year for the whole family to make it a new beginning and get into a healthy routine and work toward an expected result as well.



But let's remember, kids don't walk into school and take their final exams and hand in their final projects.  It's a process.  It takes small steps, constant work, much preparation,  and repetitive actions.  We need to implement this same sort of philosophy in our daily lives to be healthier.

So, how do we get started?

Lay the groundwork. Make sure the cupboards and fridge help support your healthy habits. Get rid of junk food and soda. Keep fresh fruit in  bowls on the counter, and wash and cut fresh veggies ahead of time and  keep at eye-level in the fridge for easy snacking. 

Plan ahead - in writing. Create your daily plan, from what time you will all get up, eat breakfast, workout, and so-on.  Post it on the fridge or somewhere that everyone will see it on a regular basis.  Check things off as you complete them for a sense of accomplishment in sticking to your plan.

Don’t get impatient. It is going to take time, to develop the habits of your new routine and to see results.  Whether some of your family needs to lose weight, or wants more energy, or more stamina and endurance - these will all take time.  Just know that each time, each day you follow through on your new healthy routine, you are stepping closer to your goals.  Stay positive.

Celebrate victories. Pat one another, or yourself on the back for  making some new, positive changes—no matter how small. Sure there will be days that don't go as planned or you have a set-back.  So what.  Start fresh the next day.  As you  succeed, you gain self-confidence, which leads to greater success, and it will just continue.  You are on your way.  You and your family are getting healthier and stronger each and every day and adding years to your life!  Don't you dare slow down now!

I hope you had an awesome summer and Happy Labor Day!  Are you ready to make a fresh start this time of year?  Have you started? Let's go!

It's official! My first born is in kindergarten!

I officially don't have a baby boy anymore!



He was soooo excited!


We were up early, had a great breakfast and he was ready to go!


And then the bus came.

Now during his orientation, we rode the bus with him and stayed with him the entire time.

So as much as we tried to prepare him, he was not quite sure when it was time for him to get on the bus alone!



But, thankfully we were able to follow the bus to school and walk with him to his classroom and get him settled. He was so lovey too!




A kiss for dad



And even a smooch for lil sister Peyton!


And luckily for John and me, we've had a lot of errands and things to do today to pass the time. Only and hour and a half until he comes home from his first big day!!

SHORT BURSTS & DRILLS get you FASTER Results! Training HIIT!

The #1 excuse as to why people do not exercise, is they do not have time. But to me, that's an excuse that makes me roll my eyes. HO HUM! Excuses never get you anywhere but just an eye roll.

You know you should exercise and you may want to exercise more, but some days, it is tough to fit in a full hour long work out.

But the good news is that even fitting in a small quick high intensity work out or drills, will keep you motivated, keep the metabolism firing, and keep you focused on a lifestyle for fitness.

Some of the BEST moves you can do, are short bursts that take you into an anaerobic state. Training anaerobically is when your muscles switch over to using the fast twitch portion of the muscle fiber, which draws on the glycogen stores to power through the exercise. This is a short term exercise, one your body can not handle doing at this rate of intensity for a long time. Think back when you had to run the track in either PE class or even for the athletic season. When you were told to run 2 times around the track, you jogged it out and burst your run at the end. Primarily, that run was aerobic, using the endurance portion of your muscle fiber, the slow twitch fiber. But when you were being clocked to run the 100 meter dash, you went all out as fast as you can! Because the finish line was just RIGHT THERE! You knew it would be over ASAP! That's anaerobic when you push as fast and as hard as you can, drawing on your fast twitch muscle fibers.

Slow twitch muscle fiber training is when you primarily train for endurance. Lifting light weight for many many reps. Or staying in the aerobic zone. When you primarily train this muscle group, you create a flat thin strong muscle. Think of a marathon runners body type.

Fast twitch muscle fiber training is when you primarily train for power and strength. Lifting heavy weight, slow and for a few reps. Or burst training in the anaerobic phase. When you primarily train this muscle group, you build a thicker, stronger, more powerful muscle belly. Think of a sprinters body from the olympics.

Muscle burns fat. So if you work hard in training both fibers, you will balance out your body best. Building more muscle will allow you to burn more calories at rest.

So back to having no time for exercise. Fit in short quick anaerobic bursts! You can scatter this throughout your day- or just pick 15 straight mins and PUSH!

Here are some examples of some drills:

Jumping jacks- vary the tempo, go for time, go for speed, go for depth.
Squat Jumps- scoop the abs, power through the legs and go for time!
Quick high knee runs- Go for time! Run the arms as fast as you can by your side. Alternate with fast football feet, wide knee runs, mud runs
Suicides- shuffle touch the floor as fast as you can side to side
Skater Leaps – vary the speed, vary the quantity side to side (singles, doubles, 4 steps..etc) jumping over an object.

You don't need equipment, a gym, or even a trainer to get your work out in. You can just drop and do some push ups! Fit in something so your body stays revved up!