Getting Started

My first confession: I am not the greatest writer.  My train of thought is relatively random and I struggle with idea organization.  If I want to make myself clear on a topic, it requires a lot of effort on my part to put my thoughts into words that actually make sense.  It also takes a lot of time that I can’t always devote to my posts.  In my wildest dreams, I would be able to effectively and efficiently communicate what I have and want to say, in a timely manner.  In my real life, I will have to be okay that that will not always (or maybe ever) happen.   I hope you will be able to forgive me.  I will do what I can. J

Phew! Now that I have that off of my chest, I can post future blogs without the fear of ridicule. Right? Good.

I have worked in the fitness industry since 2008.  I know that amount of time does not give me loads of credibility but it does give me a pretty solid foundation of health related information.  In my years as a personal trainer,  I have worked with the whole spectrum of fitness expertise, from beginner to advanced.  While I always enjoy giving a good butt-kicking to the more experienced clients, I admit that it is the beginners that I enjoy working with the most.  For them, exercise is either brand new or extremely out of practice.  They come to me with a head full of misconceptions and skewed facts about fitness, exercise and weight loss.  They have no idea where to begin and I love to be the one to help them figure out the whole "working-out" thing.

What I struggle with the most is the amount of time I have to spend with each of these beginners.  As part of the membership at the gyms I have worked in, each new person is offered two free consultations, each lasting about an hour.  Do you have any idea how difficult it is to condense into two hours the amount of information I have spent the most of my adult life acquiring? Pretty dang. There is so much information out there regarding exercise and nutrition. An unlimited amount of exercises to perform.  Different apparatuses and equipment to use. Mindsets to correct. Attitudes to adjust. I get overwhelmed just thinking about it all.  I can only imagine what each of the beginners must be thinking.

The following is a list I put together of some insider information as it relates to getting started, or continuing with an exercise program.  Whatever your fitness goal(s) may be (weight loss, muscle tone, increasing strength, overall health and fitness, etc.) and whatever fitness level you are now, here is some advice to either get you started or to push forward to that next level.  Take it for what it's worth.  I don't just make this stuff up.  I'm not that clever. ;) 

-Start moving. Walk, jog, bike, swim, dance, do yard work, do anything! As long as you are being active.

-Aim to exercise at least 30min/day, 5x/week.  That's 150 minutes of exercise per week.  If your goal is weight loss, your number jumps to 300 minutes per week. 

-Stop worrying about what you should and should not be eating. Cut your portions in half or even in thirds.  It's not necessarily a matter of what you eat, rather, how much you eat.

***The only thing I will tell you to stay away from is refined and overly processed carbohydrates (ie: white flour, sugar, rice, pasta). They are just empty calories.   

-Track your calories consumed.  Individuals who log calories have better success at weight loss.  Try Loseit! or My Fitness Pal.   

-Get adequate sleep.  Your body needs rest in order to work effectively.  Aim for at least 7 hours per night.

-Drink LOTS of water.  Water is your body's life source.  It functions the best when it is well hydrated.

-Take a multivitamin. Chances are that you are not getting the proper amount of nutrients from your diet. 

-Resistance train.  Regular weight training leads to a higher metabolism, stronger muscles and more definition.  It's a win, win, win!

-There is no such thing as spot reduction.  You don't gain weight in one specific area.  You can't lose weight in one specific area.  It's a combination of aerobic exercise, weight training and proper nutrition.

-Write down your goals. Cut out motivational pictures and quotes.  Put them up in places that you will see them frequently. 

-Stay positive. Don't allow yourself to become discouraged.  One bad day is not a big deal if you follow it with a good day. 

-Stop making everything so complicated! To quote one of my clients, "Move more, eat less."  It is really that simple.

-STOP STALLING!! Don't wait until Monday.  Don't wait until the first of the month.  Dont' wait at all.  Get going already. 

 

All that said, I'm sure there is still so much more to address.   Don't hesitate to ask questions.  If you have a specific question, please ask.  Don't wait to make the changes you want for yourself.  I know you can do it.  Tell yourself that you can!!

 

Disclaimer: I am a fitness professional.  I am not a fitness expert.  (If I were, I think I would be getting paid more.)  I have a pretty solid foundation of information but there is still sooooooo much more that I have to learn. 

New Year, New Goals, New You

Happy New Year, everyone! Resolutions are in season. Have you made yours yet?

Personally, I've never been one for making New Years Resolutions.  I thought it kind of silly since only about, what, a third of those who make resolutions actually follow through.  I don't believe that it is only at the new year that resolutions to become a better you should be made. They should happen everyday! However, as I was sitting in church on Sunday listening to lessons about making goals and setting priorities,  I really got into the resolution spirit. 

Make way 2013 resolutions! Here I come!

But here's the kicker.  Failure always seems to loom in the not so distant future when it comes to goal setting.  It's not necessarily that I set myself up for failure, but I am human. I slip. I fall. I fail.  On any given day, there are 100 thousand things that I need to do/ would like to do.  Of those things, I can probably check off about .01% of them at the end of the day.  The other 99.99% then carry over into the next day... and the next... until the list becomes so long that I feel like I just want to rip it up into little, bitty pieces and throw them off a cliff.  But that becomes one more thing for me to do.  Boo to never ending cycles.  I always feel like I have too much to do and never enough time to do it in. It's a frustrating thing and it's discouraging. I feel like I never accomplish anything.  It is a lousy feeling. I know.

I wish I could offer some amazing advice at how to break that chain.  I have no such advice. What I can offer is hope.  There will always be things on the list that need to get done. There will always be something looked over, or pushed aside.  Luckily for us, we are given a fresh 24 hours to make into something amazing.  Sure, I didn't accomplish everything I wanted to today. But tomorrow is another day and I will do my darndest to make tomorrow much better than I did today.  That's what it is all about, right? Progress. We weren't created to be perfect. We were created to learn and to grow from our experiences. At the end of the day, I need to be okay that I was at least able to cross off 10 things from my list. It was ten more things than I did yesterday.  And maybe my list is longer tomorrow.  So what? I've learned what I can from what this day gave me.  I will take that knowledge and apply it to tomorrow's tasks and continue to process of becoming the best me I can be. 

So... my 2013 resolution is to make each new day better than the day before; to do a little more each day to make myself into a better me. 

Happy New Year! Make this year a great one- one improved day at a time.

Yours,

 

KJ