Banging Body Part 4

Now that you have went through the first 3 weeks of the year by hopefully getting clear on what your goals are and mapping out your year and what you want to achieve now is the fun part actually doing it!  So easier said then done.  You want to make sure that you have your workouts programmed into your calendar and don't break those appointments with yourself.  Each month you want to reassess what your workout plan is for that month.  Don't just think in terms of cardio plan out your flexibility (yoga for example) and strength training.  Now get ready to learn the last installment of banging body part 4.

 

The best chance that you have to make a lasting impression on your lifestyle is to figure out how fitness fits into your life.  There is not a one size fits all approach to fitness in terms of what you should do more cardio, more strength training, more yoga.  The one that works best is the one that you enjoy doing.  For example if you absolutely hate running but you  hear all the time that running is good for you doesn't mean you should start running.  Most likely you will do it for the first week maybe two of your plan but you dread doing it so much you stop with the plan all together.  So when looking at a sustainable lifelong fitness plan make sure you include activities that you enjoy doing and actually will do.

My last piece of advice on attaining that banging body is find someone that can help hold you accountable.  Whether that is a friend, co-worker or you may need to hire a trainer to help you with your goals.  Make sure this person will motivate you and help push you to your goals and not hinder them.  So don't choose the friend who always wants to go to happy hour as a gym partner or accountability partner.  You most likely will be talked out of your fitness endeavors that day.  The main thing is to stay consistent and stay focused on those goals!

As always head to SaFire Training for more fitness tips & inspiration.  If you haven't already sign-up for our newsletter below so you won't miss any insider information that only our subscribers learn.

First Name * Email *   In good health,  Andrea

Banging Body Part 3

Now that we have went over our yearly goals, monthly goals & scheduling our workouts into our weeks.  How do we actually achieve those goals?  The first of the year it seems is the easiest time for people to keep their motivation high and motivate themselves to head to the gym daily.  As February approaches you start to see the numbers drop off and as March is here the numbers are drastically lower.  So now that you made your fancy year goals click here to refresh your mind on part 1.  Plus have your monthly plan set into place click here if you need a refresher on part 2.  Now read on for banging body part 3 and how to keep that motivation rolling.    

Now onto the motivation aspect what sets apart the occasional fitness fans from the diehard its a lifestyle fans, that is the million dollar question.  One of the key things you need to do to stay motivated to achieve your goals is to focus on the journey and not just the destination.  A lot of people quit their fitness habits in the first month or two because they don't see the scale budge.  How frustrating they are busting their butts and nothing is happening!!  That is the number one deal breaker for people.  Most people just give up and throw the towel in, what?? I'm here to tell you not to throw that towel in.  Life is full of ups & downs we don't throw the towel in on ourselves every time something doesn't go our way.  Fitness should be no different.  You need to focus not just on that pesky scale but how your feeling as well.  Remember those goals you wrote from part 1 not just that you wanted to do a certain activity you wrote how you would feel.  I know not seeing the results instantly can be a deal breaker in this instant gratification world we live in but slow and steady truly does win the healthy race.  

Above is an example of my personal January promise and what I want to accomplish this month.  I plan to create one each month this year on what I want to do not what someone tells me I should want.  I think that is our first mistake on not reaching our goals.  So you have a goal weight in mind did you pick that weight or you were told by a friend, magazine, tv show that you should be that weight.  Really start to look at your goals and what you want to accomplish.  So your task this week is to create your January promise.  Since we are a few weeks into the year you have an idea of what has worked for you and what has not thus far and plan accordingly.  Resist the urge to work on February lets take this one month/day at a time.   As always check out SaFire  Training for more fitness & nutrition information. 

In good health,

 Andrea 

Banging Body Part 2

Last week we went over setting goals for the 1st-4th quarter of the upcoming year.  In case you missed it you can read part 1 here.  If your ready to move on to part 2 for your banging body read on!  To help you reach your goals you need to start your fitness journey.  Make sure you have developed a plan or hire a trainer to help you with your plan.  Below is my own workout calendar for the month of January.  I typically do this for my own clients and decided that I should start doing this for my own workouts.

I understand things come up and you might need to switch your Saturday workout to Thursday during the last week of the month and typically that is okay.  Your next step after having your workout mapped out for the month is to put your workouts into your schedule.  You want to make sure these are appointments that cannot be broken.  They are non-negotiable if you want to go to a last minute happy hour but haven't got your workout in for the day you will have to skip happy hour.  It can be tough at first but you need to put your health first and realize there will always be happy hours in the future.  Notice to really get that banging body it is not just about saying it you have to do the work to achieve those goals.

After having your workouts into place the next step is to look at your nutrition.  Make sure you have planned ahead, if you fail to plan you plan to fail.  I'm sure everyone has heard that quote but it is so true!  People get busy, mid-week your home you forgot to plan ahead and now are at a drive-thru or eating every junk food you have in your cupboards.   I tell my  clients to plan on their day off usually everyone has a day off or even an hour off at some point in their week.  Resist the urge to just sit in front of the tv and zone out plan ahead instead.  You don't have to overwhelm yourself by planning your entire week in that one day though that is great if you can.  Plan what 2-3 meals you will cook & either freeze or eat the leftovers during the week.  This is one great way to keep up on your fitness goals.

So now that you have your goals set & a plan in place next week will be part 3 of having a banging body.  Hint, we will be discussing motivation & how you actually can reach those goals.

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Tips for losing the last 10 pounds

Banging Body Part 1

This year I'm trying something a little different for my own personal fitness goals and wanted to share with you the steps I'm taking to make sure 2014 is the year of my fitness dreams!  I have broken down my year into 4 quarters and will focus on each quarter as an individual.  In my post I have shared with you the set-up I'm doing for my first quarter January-March.  This year I want to focus on feelings because as we strive to reach our fitness goals truly we are looking to feel a certain way not just to hit this ideal weight, body fat percentage or run a race.  Usually we have a feeling behind the need for those goals.  So as your working on your own fitness goals for the next year think about not only what you want to accomplish but how you want to feel.  This is part one of the banging body series that will be coming throughout the month of January.

To really start your year off right begin my creating a spreadsheet or if your still a paper, pencil gal write your goals down in a chart format.  In the middle record your big goals for the next few months,in the column on the far left write down your ongoing tasks to reach your goals.  These can be small tasks that will help you reach your overall main goal.  Below that are 1 time events to really set yourself up for success record what date you will accomplish your goal.  On the far right record the purpose of your ongoing fitness plan.  So the why behind what your doing in your action plan.  If you don't know the purpose behind your madness it will probably not be accomplished.  So dive into your new year by setting realistic and measurable goals, don't be afraid to put yourself out there.

If setting goals still makes you sweat and you don't know where to begin below is a calendar to get you through January.  There are fun little challenges combined with fitness & nutrition ideas to help you start 2014 off on the right foot.

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In good health,  Andrea

Tips for losing the last 10 pounds

Vison boards, SMART Goals, Inspiration- Oh my!

With the year winding down quite a few people are focusing on their 2014 goals.  As one of my clients said 2014 has a much better ring to it then 2013 does.  So depending on how your year went you might feel the same way.  So with a new year approaching what are your goals?  Don't go another year without putting goals on paper.  As I was telling my guy if you don't have goals where are you going in life?  How do you know you ever reach that destination?  I feel quite a few people live each day on a hamster wheel not really focusing on achieving something.  The achievement doesn't have to be something huge it can be something as simple as saving up to buy a new ipad, or learning how to snowboard, taking that trip to Sweden that you always wanted to do, maybe its losing those last 10 pounds & keeping them off.  Whatever you're striving for write it down and post somewhere you can see it daily.

I have recently read a book entitled Desire Map by: Danielle LaPorte it really is a wonderful book if you want to get down to the nitty gritty of writing goals.  Every goal she records she records how she wants to feel next to it.  So she is not only striving towards a goal but recording how she wants to feel when she achieves it.  She makes a great point of saying its the journey to the goal that will make or break achieving the goal.  If the journey is awful & tortures one how likely will they meet that goal?  Most likely they will quit that experience and forget about it & throw in the towel on goal setting, saying it doesn't work for them.  So when you tie a feeling to the goal really focus on that feeling because that is what you are truly striving for not the goal itself.  You feel the goal for example going to Sweden will make you feel excited to fill a childhood dream.  This is what you are remembering while you're saving money from every paycheck to attain your goal.

Finally when setting any goal or working on your vision board follow the SMART acronym.

 S-specific

M-Meaureable

A- Attainable

R-Realistic

T- Time

 Make sure you have recorded a date with all you're goals and not just said you will learn how to snowboard in 2014.  Try and be specific such as By March 31st, 2014 I will have learned how to snowboard and feel overjoyed at the fact that I tried a new sport.  In that example you have the date listed, what your goal is and then finally how you would feel after achieving that.  So give smart goals a shot in 2014 try a new goal setting procedure to help you reach whatever goal you set out to achieve in the upcoming new year.  

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Tips for losing the last 10 pounds

In good health, Andrea