Besides motivation, I think everyone needs inspiration! And what do I mean by that, you ask? Someone or something that makes you realize that you can do it. You can workout, eat right, and lose weight. It might be a family member, your best friend, or even a story you read in a fitness magazine. For me, inspiration came in the form of my mother, Mary.
My mom had three kids by the age of 26. Afterwards, she was starting to become overweight and unhealthy. So she took the initiative, went out, and bought her first set of work out tapes. I even remember those tapes 19 years ago. "Buns of Steel", "Abs of Steel" and that whole series. I don't really remember the workouts themselves, but those are the tapes that my mom got her fitness journey started with.
After the "Buns of Steel" series, Mom started working out with Bodies in Motion. That's the workout program that had Gilad on the beaches of Hawaii doing aerobics. While doing that program, she decided to add in Step Aerobics. I still remember that step that came with the workouts. My brothers and I thought it was kind of fun to step on. It was purple and felt funny on your bare feet. Even my dad would do the Step Aerobics with her on the days he was off of work.
After 5 years of exercising, my mom decided that the weather outside was too pleasant to keep missing by being stuck inside doing her exercises. She decided to start running! To start, she just ran twenty minutes. When twenty felt easier, she increased to thirty. In not too long, Mom was running 40 minutes. She stayed at that time for about a year. She says "I was determined I was not going to run for more than 40 minutes." But eventually she realized she had a desire to see if she could run a full hour. It wasn't easy at first, but it wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be.
Mom really is my inspiration. She challenged herself to run an hour, and she did it. For most of my life, she has been exercising and pushing herself. She always sets new goals for herself. For a while, she started running two hours at a time once a week. Although she has cut down, she still makes other running goals. My mom decided that she wanted to run a 5k last fall. So of course I trained with her, even though I am not really a runner. She ran a good time of approximately 30 minutes (I came in about 44 minutes--I alternated running and walking). Now she is training to run a 10k! At the age of 45 my mom has decided to run a 10k, and from my experience, when my mom sets a fitness goal, she is going to achieve it!
I hope I can be more like her. She is dedicated to her routine. She does what other people think they can't. And there is nothing about her that causes her to be more athletic or for exercising to be easier for her. She just set a goal, motivated herself, and she did it! Mom is proof that the only limit to achieving your goals is YOU!
Beachbody
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
For My Friends Who are In the Armed Forces or Married to Someone Who Is...
You should read this. I'm about to tell you the best thing about my being an Army wife AND a Beachbody Coach.
So to be a Beachbody coach in most cases, you have to pay a monthly administrative fee. They give you four total sites, after all, and you get some killer discounts on the products from Beachbody. It's totally worth it for anyone, in my opinion, especially if you are interested in getting Shakeology each month.
BUT--and here is the great part--if you are a military member or the spouse of someone who is active duty military personnel, you get to sign up and be a Beachbody coach for absolutely nothing. No charge. At all.
Now what does it mean to be a Beachbody Coach? It can mean a wide range of things, depending on who you are. Some people sign up to be a coach just for the discounts offered. Keeping up? That means you register to be a coach and you get a discount on the products for nothing. And yes I said for nothing. I know a lot of military wives are big on saving money. If you want to find a program to lose weight and want to save money on it, then there you go.
For me, being a coach means I am more motivated to actually do my exercise. I say I am a coach knowing that people are watching to see what happens, and that makes me less likely to slack off. I eat better and work out harder because my results will show. It also means that I can help other people to achieve their goals, and I have always loved to help people. Oh yeah, the discount is definitely an advantage.
Other people become a coach to make money. And hey, if you aren't losing any money, then why not go for it?
In short, my point in sharing this to you is to show you what advantage you get for being either in the armed forces or being married to a member. You have nothing to lose, but a lot to gain. So go ahead, send me a message and tell me you are willing to be a coach. And then send this page to any of your friends to whom this applies. Even if you don't sign up yourself, send this link onward! You might be surprised at who is interested.
So to be a Beachbody coach in most cases, you have to pay a monthly administrative fee. They give you four total sites, after all, and you get some killer discounts on the products from Beachbody. It's totally worth it for anyone, in my opinion, especially if you are interested in getting Shakeology each month.
BUT--and here is the great part--if you are a military member or the spouse of someone who is active duty military personnel, you get to sign up and be a Beachbody coach for absolutely nothing. No charge. At all.
Now what does it mean to be a Beachbody Coach? It can mean a wide range of things, depending on who you are. Some people sign up to be a coach just for the discounts offered. Keeping up? That means you register to be a coach and you get a discount on the products for nothing. And yes I said for nothing. I know a lot of military wives are big on saving money. If you want to find a program to lose weight and want to save money on it, then there you go.
For me, being a coach means I am more motivated to actually do my exercise. I say I am a coach knowing that people are watching to see what happens, and that makes me less likely to slack off. I eat better and work out harder because my results will show. It also means that I can help other people to achieve their goals, and I have always loved to help people. Oh yeah, the discount is definitely an advantage.
Other people become a coach to make money. And hey, if you aren't losing any money, then why not go for it?
In short, my point in sharing this to you is to show you what advantage you get for being either in the armed forces or being married to a member. You have nothing to lose, but a lot to gain. So go ahead, send me a message and tell me you are willing to be a coach. And then send this page to any of your friends to whom this applies. Even if you don't sign up yourself, send this link onward! You might be surprised at who is interested.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Finding the Time
So one of the big problems that I have heard with people and working out is "I just can't find the time." Especially for those of us who have little children. I know for a while I was one of those people. It seemed every time I thought I'd be able to work out, something would happen to throw me off for the day. My daughter would wake up early from a nap, lunch would be late and heavy, I had a huge exam coming up in a difficult class, and the list goes on.
So what happened to change that? Well let me back track just a hair.
In October, my husband left to go overseas for a year. That's when my workout journey really began. I'm basically a single-mom while he is gone. While I live with my parents for the security and the occasional assistance, I really do most of it by myself. So you would think that being alone with a toddler would make it harder to find time to work out. But one of the things that Spousal support information tells you is that if your spouse is deployed, you need to stay busy and have a routine!
First off, decide that no matter what, your exercise is going to be in that routine at least 5 days a week. If you make it a "must" on your To-Do list, you are more likely to find time to do it. Heck, put it before cleaning dishes. Those dishes will get done, trust me. You are far more likely to skip out on your routine if you don't put it on the top of your priorities.
Next, find a time when you are the least likely to be bothered. Since I have a one year old, I am entirely dependent on her nap times and bed time to get my exercise in. Every day I make sure she goes down for her nap by 1 or 1:30pm, and then my workout can start at 2pm. My lunch has time to digest so I'm not choking up food while working out (I hope you appreciate that visual) and someone is by that point sound asleep. I can do dishes while my daughter is awake. Heck, I can do laundry, fix dinner, even take a shower while she is awake. But exercising while she is awake is a near impossibility unless I have someone else to watch her (which doesn't happen that often). If for some reason I can't get my workout in during nap time, like for instance on Thursdays when I am in my Anatomy lab for 3 hours, then I put it off and pop in my DVD after bedtime, which is 8:30 to 9pm. The television is usually free at that time anyway. I have other things to do in my day that need my full attention, like working on my Beachbody business and studying for my classes, but I can fit in an hour of exercise. I honestly believe that it helps me think, too.
Finally, don't beat yourself up if something happens and you can't make a workout. While it is important to stay consistent and keep up with your exercises, missing one day because you were waiting in the doctor office with a sick kid is not going to make or break your fitness journey. You don't have to try to make it up the next day, you may just burn yourself out or injure yourself. Just let it go and move on!
And hey, maybe even get an accountability buddy. You can have someone work out with your or even just have someone to talk to to keep you on track. Be honest with that person. Having someone to keep you on track may just give you the pressure you need to press play today!
So what happened to change that? Well let me back track just a hair.
In October, my husband left to go overseas for a year. That's when my workout journey really began. I'm basically a single-mom while he is gone. While I live with my parents for the security and the occasional assistance, I really do most of it by myself. So you would think that being alone with a toddler would make it harder to find time to work out. But one of the things that Spousal support information tells you is that if your spouse is deployed, you need to stay busy and have a routine!
First off, decide that no matter what, your exercise is going to be in that routine at least 5 days a week. If you make it a "must" on your To-Do list, you are more likely to find time to do it. Heck, put it before cleaning dishes. Those dishes will get done, trust me. You are far more likely to skip out on your routine if you don't put it on the top of your priorities.
Next, find a time when you are the least likely to be bothered. Since I have a one year old, I am entirely dependent on her nap times and bed time to get my exercise in. Every day I make sure she goes down for her nap by 1 or 1:30pm, and then my workout can start at 2pm. My lunch has time to digest so I'm not choking up food while working out (I hope you appreciate that visual) and someone is by that point sound asleep. I can do dishes while my daughter is awake. Heck, I can do laundry, fix dinner, even take a shower while she is awake. But exercising while she is awake is a near impossibility unless I have someone else to watch her (which doesn't happen that often). If for some reason I can't get my workout in during nap time, like for instance on Thursdays when I am in my Anatomy lab for 3 hours, then I put it off and pop in my DVD after bedtime, which is 8:30 to 9pm. The television is usually free at that time anyway. I have other things to do in my day that need my full attention, like working on my Beachbody business and studying for my classes, but I can fit in an hour of exercise. I honestly believe that it helps me think, too.
Finally, don't beat yourself up if something happens and you can't make a workout. While it is important to stay consistent and keep up with your exercises, missing one day because you were waiting in the doctor office with a sick kid is not going to make or break your fitness journey. You don't have to try to make it up the next day, you may just burn yourself out or injure yourself. Just let it go and move on!
And hey, maybe even get an accountability buddy. You can have someone work out with your or even just have someone to talk to to keep you on track. Be honest with that person. Having someone to keep you on track may just give you the pressure you need to press play today!
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