Hello!!! It’s been several months since I last logged on here. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon my like page (aliswankfitness) last week and started that up again, but also so a post I wrote about rest and it all of the sudden hit me— I missed blogging/writing on here. I love reading other blogs, and thought to restart mine up again.
SO…I’m DONE with school woo!! I graduated in May with my masters in Exercise Science and Nutrition from The University of Tampa. I have a full time job as fitness specialist working through HealthFitness at New York Life. I love my job and can happily say I’m working in the field that I studied to be in.
My year started out great, all of the sudden on Memorial Day weekend, I had my heart broken, my AC went out, all complete with a terrible experience with my landlord. Thank God I have job to keep me sane and the most amazing friends I could ask for throughout the summer. Of course no one wants their heart broken or deal with heartache, but I couldn’t even live in my place because of no AC (which took a month to get back…long story for another day) to be alone or just be upset. My AC got fixed, but with other issues of the apartment come up later, I ended up moving out. My ex lived across the street and I saw and dealt with more cockroaches then I would prefer. At the same time, my running and exercise became sh** and I gained about ~20 lbs. My mental state was out the window.
Just being real, this was my summer. Sh** hit the fan, but I didn’t let it stop me. I simply honed in on people and things that made happy and cut the extra BS from my life. I took a week off exercise and several months of minimal to no social media. My parents came to visit. I traveled to Ft. Collins and Atlanta to see family I hadn’t seen in awhile. I learned who my real friends were and that people are truly kind and care. I journaled almost everyday. I joined the Junior League of Tampa and the Progressive Training Team.
Right now, I’m in a completely new chapter of life. Moving forward from this past forward, here are a few things I’m loving lately:
So I said I ended up moving…to St. Pete!! Right now, I’m in the process of decorating my condo…something so foreign to me! I look on pinterest all the time and shop around at home good, TJ maxx, Pier 1, even Goodwill for decorating ideas and furniture. I have a couch and side table…that’s about it! LOL! I do have a TV and an eating area but it’s pretty much bare bones.
I’m building back a base for running. Summer running went out the window. I hurt and I wasn’t gonna further stress my body. Labor day weekend I got back into and signed up for two races. I’m doing Ronnie’s Ron 10 miler and St. Pete Run Fest 10k. I’m running six days per week just to get time on my feet. Nothing intense. No long runs. Just a consistent amount of miles per day (3-6 miles). I add core or total body circuit at the end sometimes. I love my training group and the motivation and accountability it gives me. I’ve met new people and am getting faster so complaints there!
I joined the Junior League of Tampa. This is a great outlet for me since it is non-fitness related. If you’ve followed this blog for long enough or know me in real life, you know I’m all about fitness!! Having a different interest thrown into the mix has been so helpful. I’m tapping back into volunteering and networking with other girls I may have not met through running. Each person I’ve met has been so interesting and brings something to the group. If it hadn’t been for Junior League, I would not have met some of these women or participated in events I’ve wanted to do (Epcot food and wine festival, girl’s night night dinners and socials).
I’m working on myself again. Taking time to try new things, meet new friends, focus on performing my best at work, and self care other then fitness has been really important for me. I feel good when I eat and sleep well. I have said no a lot without feeling guilty (still takes a lot of work). AND…I’m getting back to little space again!
That’s all for now. I can’t wait to update you on all the things going on and coming up in this new chapter 🙂
*This post isn’t sponsored by either Weight Watchers or MyFitnessPal, I just want to share my experience with both programs! All opinions are my own.*
It’s time I make my way back to my Friday posts! 😉 Took last week off to enjoy Labor Day weekend at home and it was much needed. First weekend at home since May the night before heading to Costa Rica. A full THREE DAYS of being home never felt so good! And at a good opportunity too since we had crazy rain from Hermine, it was time to get outta dodge. I did get home safe despite the four hour drive!
As of the past couple weeks, I’ve hopped back on the bandwagon of logging my food. I used to think this was the most tedious task EVER. In fact, it was a pain in the ass to do this because it did take time and was “another thing to think about.” So yes, I get it.
Going backwards: I learned to initially log my food through Weight Watchers in high school. Yep, I was on Weight Watchers.
I wasn’t a chunk, but I was about ten pounds heavier then I needed to be. Being 5’2 and relatively small-framed, I gave it a shot. The most ironic thing was that I ran cross country so I exercised everyday, but that mentality of “I ran x amount of miles, I can eat that” happened way too often. Hence, my mom gently bringing up the fact that, “I would be happier being ten pounds lighter”–yep, mom’s words I still remember. It wasn’t like I was rolling on the floor, but I figured why not? My mom was also doing Weight Watchers so she said she could fill me in on how everything worked and we could do it together. I never saw myself as heavy or that “this is a problem and I need to lose weight” it was more of an opportunity to learn how to eat healthy and be aware of what I’m eating with a small weight-loss goal in mind. A little bit of tweaking of my diet and measuring my portions (a weakness I still work on daily) I saw the pounds come off. It took two months, but it was a VERY worthwhile two months of learning.
Today, I still use some of what I learned from WW from time to time! I love how it educates the person on eating healthy and being aware of how to enjoy little indulgences without saying NO. It is one few things out there that I agree with among all this weight loss program BS and what I recommend to my clients for those looking to lose weight. You can eat real food! Measuring and tracking keep you aware without sacrificing what you love. I’m not gonna rant about WW, but to get a better idea, check this out.
Anyways, back to the current topic.
It’s been since 2011 since I tracked my food via WW writing it all down. I jumped back on board after high school using MyFitnessPal. After a bit I got the hang of it, so I stopped until three weeks ago. After letting the fat kid in me have what she wants for the past month, I decided I needed to clean up my eating habits and got back into using MyFitnessPal.
I started logging in MFP and it has OPENED MY EYES to how I was eating. Not bad, but I needed improvement. As much as it was tedious to get back into logging my food, it is worth it. Now I enjoy seeing my numbers change throughout the day haha! and I feel more in control of my eating habits.
Below are my reasons WHY I chose to jump back into food logging:
1.) Keeps me aware of how I prioritize my macros (carbs, fats, proteins)
-Knowing I had x amount of calories throughout the day gives me have a better understanding of how to prioritize my meals while keeping me on track.
2.) Re-learning portion control
-I’ve always been good about measuring, but it can be a pain in the ass. I eye-ball certain things, but I seem to always over-estimate…go figure haha. Portioning out certain things helps me know what I can still enjoy without overdoing.
3.) Exercise ALWAYS counts–no matter how small
-We all know this, but no matter how small, it all adds up. Sometimes I kill it with a great speed workout and weights. Other times I wiped and just run a mile as fast as I can. I count those. One thing I have to be mindful of, is that although you get calories added back, it isn’t a free for all.
4.) Breakdown of micronutrients
-Not something I constantly monitor, but I do check occasionally. I love seeing the amount of fiber, sugar (the closest one I monitor), sodium, and various other vitamins and minerals change throughout the day. Best part is that MFP will remind you if you have met or exceeded your daily allowance.
5.) MyFitnessPal Blog is GREAT!
-MFP has come a long way since 2011. Now it acts as social media hub in a way with a “newsfeed” to see blog articles and “friend’s” accomplishments and exercise they’ve completed. Of course you can set your preferences to not have your diary, exercise, etc. be posted, but it is fun! I especially love some of the fitness articles they post regularly. Their recipes always look good (haven’t tried any yet) and their workouts are creative and are pretty basic to follow along. A great start for anyone looking to try a new recipe or exercise routine.
Even as personal trainer and as someone who loves fitness, we all are human and mess up. I enjoy indulgences as much as the next person but now I’m aware of WHAT and HOW MUCH I’m putting into my body. Learning as I go helps me share experiences and lessons  with clients, family, and friends in hopes someone can learn something!
YOUR TURN:
-Have you had a recent setback or comeback into fitness or healthy eating?
-Do you log food? Is it on MyFitnessPal or another app? OR do you write it down?
Good morning! We’re officially half way through the week…YES! If you need to freshen up your fitness routine, check out my new workout idea. I wish I had done this combination of cardio post strength day sooner, since it really is a great way to see how well you perform on tired legs (or just a tired total body) while torching extra calories.
Have you ever warmed up with some light cardio or gotten it done first, then hit the weights, and finished with a cool down? Nothing wrong with that! Pretty standard and it works. But if you always do it that way, plateau is likely to set in sooner than later. A plateau is a period of maintenance where there is no decline or progress of fitness. You maintain and that’s it. This can either be seen as good or bad depending on the person and their goals. This can happen to anyone, from the elite to the average joe.
As we improve and progress, we become more fit with a need to be more mindful of new challenges/ways to make us stronger and more fit. For someone who is very fit (think of someone working out six days a week) constantly changing the stimulus pretty often is necessary to reach goals, whatever those are. For someone new to exercise/never exercised before and needs to lose weight, they may see results with this standard routine for a bit. Eventually after keeping up with their exercise routine, they could plateau later and need to adjust. Different timelines and goals for different people!
For those of you not really in a plateau right now (or just are good with where you are now) but just wanna add variety, this is just as good for you too! Especially those of you not really into losing weight, but wanna up your running game and have a race coming up. I tried this concept to switch up my running most of all: Running AFTER strength training! WHAT WHAT! yeah, it’s hard AF. But its great and really gets your body working. Running tired especially after a leg heavy strength day last Thursday was not really on my agenda, but I felt great so I figured why not. Although five miles was not on my list either, I really did enjoy that different kind of push. The first one to two miles were tough, then my legs kinda figured it out. The last mile was definitely tough though *insert fire and explosion emoijis.* I kinda wish I had done this more during my marathon training #MyOneRegret, but know I know for next one! 😉
If running five miles post strength seems to far too soon, stick to one to three miles and keep in tough or just above a conversational pace. See my post onpace runs to add the idea of an intense and short amount of cardio. I took it slower, and still felt I got a challenge out of it. If your legs feel like they’re gonna fall off, you’re doing it right! The point is keeping the cardio for after the weights, so regardless how fast or far you’re going, you can keep it easy or tough and still get benefits from it.
All ya gotta do is tack on the cardio at the end of your strength routine (whatever that is for you) and BOOM you will feel a huge difference! Even if running isn’t your thing, a bike ride, elliptical, walk, etc. works too! Keeping the heart rate going post weights is key!
As part of my small business, I offer online or FaceTime personal training to my list of services. In this day in age, everything we do is online or on our phones. Why not add personal training?? The client still gets a workout in–#noexcuses, results and progress is still made despite the distance, and motivation is taken to the next level. This is a two part post on online training with the first focusing on the client. Below are a few of the benefits for client:Â
It is especially helpful for clients that constantly travel or are always on the go. I plan online training like I would a real-life personal training session. I have 1.5 clients that use this option…lol. I train my dad just online because he’s still in Delray Beach, my hometown. My dad always requests to do a workout when I’m in town, but until then I see him once a week via FaceTime. It makes for a good reason to stay in touch anyways and to squeeze in a workout. My other client only uses it when she travels, which is fairly often.
Was working so hard, he didn’t notice I snapped a pic 😉
In case you’ve ever wondered, YES–online training is still safe and effective. It is a little different from in-person, and there is plenty of room for getting your money’s worth too. For those clients that just need instruction or are at a more advanced level, this is a great way to challenge and motivate them. Effectiveness here is based on motivation, so instructing via a formatted workout (explaining to the client what is expected of them) can be very beneficial. If a client is more of a first-timer to exercise/personal training, real-life would be a great first start. Learning movement patterns with cues and spotting before moving online, creates a solid foundation for later instruction.
Not only is online training good for staying ahead with their goals, but allows them to reinforce what they already know about different movements. It “trains” them to use what they learned during an in-person session, if they had that experience before. Although being the trainer I cue them throughout the movement, they also rely on themselves to become more aware of form, breathing, etc.
Only positive feelings last post workout via online! No more “guilt” because they were away and didn’t get in a workout in with me. As the trainer, I hold them accountable via email and text throughout the week even if seeing them in person. According to the couple clients I have that use it, they love staying ahead on their workouts knowing time isn’t lost just because they’re away. Although this method benefits me as the trainer in a few ways too, I would easily say that this is a HUGE benefit for them. Online changed the game on that one 😉  Technology, whether it be FaceTime/skype, email, text, even social media, is so powerful and impactful for this industry. I’m SO happy this is a turning point for clients of personal trainers, especially my clients! 😉
YOUR TURN:
-Have you heard or even used online personal training? Thoughts? Be honest, I wanna hear!
-Do you see this becoming a standard later on in gyms or just personal trainers?
Hi everyone! It’s been a bit since I last posted since I wanted to think about my journey of my experience and not rush into just posting just to “post.” So the whole point of my blog was to document to my training for this race, but really I’ve been posting a lot about my active lifestyle in other ways besides running. This blog isn’t going to end anytime soon!–I’ll still use it to share my experiences throughout my running, fitness, recipes, and active lifestyle interests. I’m breaking up this post into two parts: Race Day & Training. There’s SO much to share so I would rather focus on one part of my journey at a time. This post is all about RACE DAY. The finale of my training!
I signed up for the marathon in July and started my training this past September. I booked about three months worth of training to play it safe while making room for life to happen, injuries, flexibility, etc. I ran about four times a week, which is what I typically do anyways but this time they were more scheduled runs. I still kept running for fun, but each run had purpose behind it in some way. They were an easy, tempo/speed based, long, or a combination of two.
Time for Packet Pickup at the Expo
Marathon Weekend/Day!Â
I drove home that Friday before, stayed the night there, and the next day drove down to Miami with my mom. The expo was amazing and was in the Art Deco district of Miami. There was so many vendors, food samples, and gear! I bought the Miami Marathon 26.2 mile car magnet and bought an “official” Miami Marathon long sleeve shirt! (not included in goodie bag). My mom and I walked along the Wynwood District(a part of the Art Deco district), saw the Wynwood Walls—which I recommend! and found a local coffee shop called Panther Coffee…AHmazing. They have a delicious latte I must say. Its always ritual for a pasta dinner the night before, so I made reservations at this local Italian restaurent called Spaghettino through Yelp. It was so cute and local! I had gluten free pasta with homemade tomato sauce, mozzerella cheese, fresh basil, and seasonings and it was simple and delicious. I didn’t over stuff myself and made sure to drink plenty of water. We got back to the hotel and relaxed. I tried not to think about my race, look at the course map, over plan or think about any of it. As soon as I posted pics to social media, I played solitaire (my fav mindless game) then went to bed around 9:45. Early to bed before my wake-up at 3:30am to eat!!
Wynwood District in MiamiMom’s really excited for our Italian pre race dinner!
Marathon “breakfast” included copious amounts of peanut butter with gluten free pretzels and an orange plus a bottle of water. I got to corral H (a corral are sectioned off areas behind the start to help keep runners organized, usually based on estimated finish times before the start of the race). My mom and I headed down around 5:15/5:30am all bundled up waiting to start at 6am. It was in the 40s that morning plus a windchill–one hell of a day to race! haha. I had two long sleeve shirts on for layering plus cheap gloves which I ditched at mile one. Throughout the beginning of the race, I didn’t kill myself and went about a minute slower then usual and took my first gu at mile four. I picked up the pace gradually, and had a gu every three miles.
By mile thirteen, I was feeling great! At this point I was considering removing and ditching my top layer. After going back and forth in my head, I decided against it. I honestly didn’t want to stop. I wanted to keep going! There was a breeze the whole time, so keeping both layers was tolerable. One regret I had was looking back where the marathon and half split…..LOL all mental! Coconut Grove, a quaint residental and historic area of Miami, was my favorite part of the course. It was somewhat shaded and the houses were beautiful. Some local families had tables of there own with beer and candy to hand out!
Pre-Race and Bundled Up before heading to the start!
I stayed focused throughout mile twenty. Mile 23 was probably my toughest. It was the pier (not sure the name) but that’s when I felt myself somewhat fade…eekk!!! It was also the mile my music died due to my playlist not being long enough and ran out of my electrolyte drink, Nuun in my Nathan Sports water bottle…oh well! Again I didn’t want to stop so mentally I pushed through. They say count down from twenty, but six more miles was too much. After starting to feel tired, I up-ed my gu to every two miles. At this point I was so over the gu, which at this point had eight of them, it took me my all to get it down. I used gu as another form of measurement to the finish as well haha…” I would say *two* more gus till you get real food!” If I had any more then eight gus during this race, I would have puked. Sorry #TMI haha. I took gatorade the last three to four miles and had my last gu at mile twenty-two. I felt my feet burning from blisters forming and was WAY past feeling anything in my legs. I kept saying to myself “all your effort and training is right here in front of you” periodically throughout the race, especially approaching mile twenty and the last six miles.
Most iconic pic of the whole race haha! Dad snapped this at mile 11
The last mile was momumental. Out of pure adrenaline, my pace was around seven or so minutes. I wanted to see that finish as soon as I could! We ran over the Biscayne Bridge before heading into mile 26 and although the bridge was hardly anything, it was the most mentally tough part of the course…tougher the mile 23. It didn’t help spectators saying, “finish is right over the bridge!” because it wasn’t. It was over the bridge, plus the .2 which was torture.
SO CLOSE!
I’ve never been so happy to finish a race EVER!!!! The spectators along the sides of mile 26 were amazing. So many people cheering and smiling! I couldn’t help but smile too despite the pain. The finish was RIGHT THERE and BOOM I crossed it. Just like that, I FINISHED and was in one piece! Just like that it was over. I did the biggest fist pump at the finish. Then all of the sudden all the soreness and pain went straight to my legs and my body was numb. They tunneled us through the finish and gave goodie bags with pretzels and water. I was delirious. At the end of the finish, there was mom and dad!!! They had the cutest and brightest signs and were right in the front of the crowd. I was ELATED to see them. My mom cried and gave me a hug and my dad just gave me a hug and congratulated me. I needed water and fluids immediately but oddly there was not many options in the post race area 😦 one of the downsides in terms of poor planning. I sat down and couldn’t move and had no appetite. Three blisters later, but thankfully that was my worst “pain” the whole race. Thank God my mom surprised me with a new pair of flip flops called, Oofos. They were HEAVEN and was like walking on a cloud. We walked ten blocks back to the hotel…the longest ten blocks of my life even though I know it was good for me to keep moving. I showered, changed, and put on my CEP compression tights. Time for lunch at the Biscayne Tavern!
The FEELS are REAL
We went to a place for lunch called Biscayne Tavern for lunch, another Yelp recommendation. All I wanted post marathon was a huge A$$ burger and fries. This place hit the nail on the head let me tell you. The burger was amazing with all the fixings and sweet potato fries were on point. I didn’t have a beer because I feel like I couldn’t completely stomach that post race plus I felt dehydrated. After lunch we headed out of town and back to Delray where we arrived around 3pm and I went to bed, iced, ate more, and went to bed again. LOL.
I took off Monday and stayed home and recovered. I got a massage the next day at The Sagely Willow Massage & Bodywork Company. I’m not one to get massages, but today it was SO necessary! It was amazing. They used a car buffer/polisher on my body and it did wonders! I felt significantly better and was able to drive back to Tampa that evening.
I must say it was by far the most amazing running experience yet AND I would do it AGAIN! I’m proud to say I ran the entire race, did not need first aid, didn’t stop for water, gu, to use the bathroom, or tie my shoe, walk etc. I knew signing up I would RUN the entire thing and nothing else. Not to say walking if I had to would be the end of the world, but I had trained the three months I did to RUN it.
I finished strong with a time of 3 hours and 57 minutes and took number eight out of ten in my age group!All the training, early morning runs, the amount of time I spent on my feet, speed and intervals sessions, and gu of all things paid off!! Although I’m incredibly proud of my time and place, I am most proud of my commitment to my training. I could have said f— it, I don’t want to run today, but I sucked it up and perservered on ALL of my runs. I did not miss many of my runs. I knew the training I was getting into and the time I would be devoting to this. In some ways training is like a part-time job. I made sure to not look at it like this, but more of a dedication to my passion and an opportunity to improve and challenge myself. I can say I don’t regret training for this distance and making it part of my schedule the past three months. I can officially say that it’s true, miles change you, and I’m grateful every single one.
Standing and Smiling Post 26.2! Look at that hardware!
Like many people this new year, a resolution is stay or get healthy and fit. I didn’t always carry a gym bag when I started getting into fitness and health. I took group fitness classes in high school and only brought my water, car keys, towel, and phone. I took up cross country and had my backpack with my school stuff and change of clothes stuffed into two overstuffed, undersized bags without much thought besides the basics: socks, running shoes, sports bra, and cotton (ugh) shorts and shirt/tank top.
Two years ago I decided to learn more about the gym and took the time to challenge myself and push intimidation aside on the squat rack. This past year I got certified in group fitness and was in the gym a lot more and in some cases left the gym to train clients, teach classes, get my own workout done, or run errands and needed a legit place to put my stuff (which I carried too much of). After trial and error, I realized how you prep for your day starts with what you consider to be essentials and how you organize them in order to stay focused in and out of the gym. I have a wristlet clutch for my wallet, keys, business cards, cards/cash, and phone and my Jansport backpack for bigger things for food, clothes, laptop, notebook, toiletries, etc. I combine the two, and BOOM much more efficiently organized and ready to go!Â
What I have in my bag at the moment:Â
-Three to four sweaty bands/wide headbands
-Toe-socks for teaching barre
-Camelback water bottle
-Cheap headphones & extra Fitletic Armband for my phone ready for a workout
-Whistle for teaching my bootcamp class, HEAT
-A couple pens (ya never know!)
-My old phone (now basically an iPod) for music when I teach/workout since I like to keep my real phone put away to limit calls, texts, emails, etc.Â
-Healthy portable snacks like baby carrots or nuts
Hellooooo!! Monday Motivation time. Been trying to get more ideas for topics, and this one came to mind! How many times does it seem like you’ve yo-yoed back and forth with a fitness routine or healthy habits? This time of year is notorious for that. Instead of setting the scale back ten pounds, use this time to figure out why you keep restarting. Below are some factors that may help you figure out why!
Not sure what you like/don’t like when it comes to exercise
Possible ideas: group fitness cardio/strength training classes, working out alone vs. a group/dependable workout buddy, mind-body workouts (yoga, barre, pilates), recreation (biking, running, swimming), social ties (running/biking club),  willing to invest in a  personal trainer? (see personal training tab for more info ;)), etc.
Take into your account your personality, interests, schedule etc.
Its okay to NOT like something!
Make a note of what you like and don’t like…e.g. like spin, but not a fan of the class time or instructor? try another!
Location
Possible ideas: outside at a local park, big box gym vs. private boutique style gym, female based gym (curves), travel time (close vs. further away), corporate fitness gym. Deciding on location can be a make-it or break-it factor since it is a reflection of how often you will go.Â
Emotions (this may take more thought)
Possible ideas: underlying cause to feeling a certain way towards exercise, nervous, intimidated, open to new things, enthusiastic to making a change etc. If you struggle with investing in a gym because you feel intimidated/excited for change, ask yourself WHY do you feel intimidated/excited for change.
Costs/budget
Possible ideas: Exercise doesn’t have to be costly!! Gaining happiness and starting a healthy lifestyle doesn’t require hefty price tag, however it may mean a small investment to jump start your routine. Buying workout clothes from Target is more affordable then Nike, running/walking in your neighborhood doesn’t require a gym membership, and healthy recipes can be found on the internet (particularly on pinterest!).
FOOD!
Sometimes a big culprit is not exercise but food. Yo-yoing because you feel confused over calories, what a fat or carb is, what is good for building muscle, etc. is something that is immensely helpful in achieving our goals. Checking out resourceful sites such as acefitness.org on nutrition basics can make a difference. If its a combination, looking into Weight Watchers or Beachbody can help with both exercise and nutrition! If you are serious about investing your time in to eating well, utilizing a nutritionist or RD is the ultimate way to go!
Lifestyle Choices
Being on the go, eating out a lot, food choices (e.g alcohol consumption, minimal fruits/veggies), vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, allergies, picky vs. non-picky eater etc. The little things you might not think of play a role too!
Even if you don’t make the effort now to do this, setting yourself up for success in the new year will still help you in figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Don’t be afraid to jot down thoughts in a notebook, bounce ideas of others, do some research on a topic, heck! try on different styles of workout clothes to see what stuff/brands you like and don’t like! What works for you may not work for someone else, so there is NO RUSH! Exercising and healthy living isn’t going anywhere so focus on you and do it right. Don’t be afraid to DIG DEEP and be HONEST with yourself! You know you the best! 😉
Hi There! I took a small hiatus from blogging over the holiday, now I’m back with some new topics to share with you. Everyone knows the holiday season is upon us. For most people, that usually means more eating out, falling off of a workout routine, other seasonal stressors, and other ways to put health and fitness on the back burner. I myself, find it hard to juggle my workout schedule among a lot of things going on, especially during this time of year. SO, I’ve decided to share some motivation, tips on setting small goals for each workout, and why staying fit over the holidays matter.
Starting to feel that “dread” or “guilt” upon starting a workout or run or for not getting your workout in? I’m already there on some days honestly! #keepingitreal…LOL. Marathon training during this time of year has its pros and cons (burn off those christmas cookies right?) so I get it.
Motivation wise:
Get half of the workout done anyways. Thirty minutes or less? Make it hard, fast, intense. This goes for HIIT workouts and speed/tempo runs.
Holiday fun runs or a 5k—so many good reasons for a 5k! Holiday runs are especially fun since they’re seasonal and allow you dress up. Get a group together or your family.
Experiment with *healthy* holiday recipes–a lot are re-created with healthy substitutes. My mom does roasted brussel sprouts with cranberries. It a festive dish and its healthy.
Holiday Challenges—I’ve done a running streak (with clothes on–LOL!!) where you run a mile a day from Thanksgiving till the new year. Not into running? Try doing a set of ten push-ups, holding a plank, etc. every day till the New Year instead. Get your friends together and make it fun.
Out of the box ways to motivate yourself: make your phone screen something motivational, a good quote maybe? Seeing it often helps you focus on your goals.
Go in the gym with a plan…Okay, so you made to the gym. Now you’re trying to figure out what you wanna work on. You might be feeling that “dread” set in but you know you need to do something. Instead you wander around and might not be efficient with your time. Aside from just showing up, plan your workouts ahead of time (see post on using a planner). For example, know you’re gonna do an upper body HIIT workout. Its okay if you don’t have the exact plan in front of you  (sometimes I don’t) but knowing what you’re doing *somewhat* makes it easy to get it and get it done.
Staying fit matters…Yes, we like to indulge this time of year. We should!! Tasty, wonderful food and treats are among us. It’s special. Try not to completely let it go to the point you hate yourself for it. All those thirty minute or less workout/runs, walks, and push-up  challenges, etc matter. Healthy food choices count too. Starting the new year with maintaining your goals is much better then having to start all over again with everyone else at the packed gyms etc. That thought alone makes me cringe! #packedgyms.
No one is perfect, but its the moments you don’t want to do anything that count the most! Plan it out, get it done, feel great, repeat…all season long. 🙂
Hello!! So the weekend is winding down, and I figured we all could use more #MondayMotivation! In my previous #MondayMotivation post I wrote about tips to help get your Monday (and rest of the week) moving in the right direction. This time, I writing on specifically how to get your workouts moving in the right direction (lol) around a busy schedule…that again all comes with PLANNING.
I use a running log aka workout planner to help me do just that. I didn’t start using a log/planner etc until a year or so ago. I found writing things down help lead me to see results and most importantly…made sure THEY GOT DONE! I started with just a plain journal…nothing fancy. From there, for christmas one year I got a running journal allowing more room to write down specifics such as distance, where/when, and comments about the workout. To this day I still use the same one!! Its different since its also a calendar but essentially the same format. I use The Complete Runner’s Day-By-Day Log 2015 Calendar by Marty Jerome you can find it easily anywhere! (Although I’m pretty sure my mom got it off Amazon :P). He writes cool tips, there’s a lot of room for comments/notes, a full size calendar for each month, as well as a motivational page each month with cool pics, etc. Props to my mom who found it and gave it to me!!
Anyways, my point here is that having a place to write your workouts down for the week is SUPER helpful in also committing to your fitness routine. Each weekend, mostly on Sundays, I take time to have my workout planner and daily schedule side by side to compare my availability, workouts, timing, etc among my busy life. *Notice there are TWO planners…workouts and daily life calendars are not together!* Thats what I call the SECRET! I personally like to keep them separate, but if you prefer one calendar and have everything on that, go for it! Its all about personal preference here!! What works for me might not work for you.
Benefits to Using a Workout Calendar
-Plan each day with what you plan to do and the timing of it makes a big difference in if you get it done or not.
-Track results more efficiently
-Its a HARD COPY so you can go back and see your progress easy!
Planning on my workout week back in March
Â
-A visual way to see your training (more motivation!)
-Allows you to set up a timeline for success
-Serves as a reference for future goals
-Keeps you accountable!! (once you write it down, there’s no going back 😉
I originally started with using it to train for my first few half marathons but then I loved it so much I decided I wanted to use it for everyday workouts. To this day, I use it map out my miles for the week, make the time for other components of training (yoga, cross training, strength training), and rest to get me to COMMIT and follow-through!
Writing down the timing can seem tedious, but I find that generally putting down a time-frame can help with when its gonna happen. For example, if I have a busy morning that day, and I put “leg day—pm” on that day in my planner I know doing it anytime after lunch or before my commitment late afternoon/evening gets busy again. I pin-point a time because things change, but it helps keep it realistic for me. It all starts with a thought…writing it down actually makes it happen!!
You’re reading my first post on #mondaymotivation! YAY! I’m gonna keep this category pretty open, but overall its going to help jumpstart us in starting our weeks in the right direction!
1.) First things first, on Mondays I make sure I have all the FOOD I need for the week. This includes everyday essentials (milk, bread, meat, veggies) and extra ingredients used for recipes.
That includes buying it fresh, preparing it ahead of time, storing it, and portioning it out so its only handled ONCE…key word *once*. No one has time to stand around in the kitchen and prep once our schedules have started. Even a Monday is considered late in the game for me when it comes to prepping and preparing. However, sometimes other things take priority and its pushed towards the beginning week. I wash and cut my veggies and put them in ziplock bags for an easy/quick snack during the week. I cook hard-boiled eggs and peel them as well as microwave or boil edamame.
Some veggies that make for easy storage and prep include:
carrots
cucumber
celery
sweet pepper
I make up to five baggies with about a full serving of veggies in each.
2.) I clean out various bags used throughout the week (e.g gym bags, purses, backpacks). I switch out my stuff pretty often because I do a variety of things and not one bag works for it all. Sometimes I pack for part of the day and include workout clothes, headphones, post-workout snack, etc. Other days I’m running errands and in between and seeing a personal training client in between so I’ll just take the essentials (wallet, phone, keys) and an extra snack or water bottle. Having it organized and put back in its place helps for organization the next day.
3.)Checking your planner or calendar more then once. Nothings worse then not knowing what to expect to start the week. Make sure you know whats going on generally each day and you’re not double-booking yourself (I’ve done this and feel AWFUL after). If its an event you can call/text/email to confirm go for it! I never hesitate to do this. Its important to know that you and the person you’re meeting with are on the same page.
/evening gets busy again. I pin-point a time because things change, but it helps keep it realistic for me. It all starts with a thought…writing it down actually makes it happen!!
Ali Goes The Distance 