One of the easiest, fastest ways to gain some confidence is with a 15 minutes weights workout! I used to think that cardio was the queen of any kind of exercise, but as I get older and a teeny bit wiser, I’m noticing that the more I work out with my body weight and with free weights, I feel so much better about myself, including feeling more at peace with my body and self-image. Cardio only lasts as long as the next meal when you fill your tummy up again, but working with weights defines your body in the specific areas that you work on. Weights make you strong and if you combine proper weight training with proper nutrition and calorie counts, you will have a lower body fat percentage than if you just worked on cardio alone–even if you are sweating 2 hours a day!

I realize from personal experience that if you just aren’t into the whole weight training routine just yet, it may take some time to become fully accustomed to it and make it a part of your lifestyle. So, set some goals for yourself everyday. Commit to just 15 minutes of weight training, regardless of whether you do cardio or not. Do it at night, when you are watching tv, or if you take breaks at work. You don’t necessarily need tools to get a great workout, but it’s best if you can use them a few times a week.

*Start off with doing as many pushups as possible.

From there, pick and choose from the suggested exercises below so that you get 15 minutes in. Alternate exercises each day, and do some research as to what exercises are best for your abs/shoulders day, back/biceps day, etc…

1. Bicep Curls (3 sets, 8 reps–this means using a high load. If you really want to tone muscles, you have to use a higher weight and lower amount of reps instead of the other way around. You won’t get big, trust me!)

2. Shoulder Overhead Presses (3 sets, 8-10 reps)

3. Bicep Rows (3 sets, 10 reps)

4. Butterflys (3 sets, 15 reps of a lower weight)

5. Triceps Rows (3 sets, 10 reps)

6. Crunches with weight (3 sets, 15 reps)

7. Kickbacks (3 sets, 15 reps)

This was my first week *trying* to live the bodybuilder’s lifestyle in order to pursue my goal of looking like a competitor. I’m not sure yet if I’d like to compete, but I definitely would like to be ready to compete if I wanted to in a few months. What I am preparing for specifically is the NPC Figure Competition, which stands for the National Physique Committee. Here’s a link to their website: http://npcnewsonline.com/

First off, I live very cleanly in terms of diet. I don’t eat processed foods. Almost everything in my kitchen is natural and cooked from scratch. Yet, even natural foods can be bad if eaten too much, or just bad if you have certain goals to achieve. For example, even feta cheese on a salad isn’t the best idea if you are hoping to chisel your abs. With this in mind, I have been eating a ton more vegetables. And the thing that most people don’t realize is that you really don’t have to be hungry in order to lose weight! You can eat lots of green, cruciferous vegetables until your belly is full and you will still lose weight. This is because this veggies are full of water and fiber. A whole head of cabbage is about 350 calories. Do you realize how much food one head of cabbage is? It’s 4 meals for myself! I add some lean ground turkey, lots of spices and sometimes even a homemade tomato sauce, and voila: You have a meal that is less than 250 calories. The trick is in knowing the many different ways of cooking these vegetables, and in getting creative about the spices.

Another one of my issues that I need to overcome is that while I am very disciplined when I am by myself, I’m not so when my husband is around. I suppose its because meals aren’t as enjoyable when I’m eating alone. I tend to be a bookworm and just read, study, research and write when I’m by myself and food isn’t tempting. When my husband is home, I want to prepare gourmet meals, pop open a bottle of wine, put on a good movie and just let go. I enjoy eating with him, taking our time, chit chatting, then going back for seconds. Alcohol definitely doesn’t help because it makes me hungrier. Eating has the same pleasures as sex does. We derive a sense of comfort, of satisfaction when we are eating good food, and especially when we are with great company. Well, my husband has been gone for the past week for business, so it was a bit convenient  for me to begin this new bodybuilding diet lifestyle now that I am by myself.

This week has also been crazy busy with the number of clients I have. My earliest clients start at 7am Monday-Friday. I like to get my workout done before meeting with them, so I normally wake up at 3:30 to workout at 4. Because of this new schedule, I go to bed earlier, which means I need to eat my last meal around 5.

In terms of fitness, I have really changed my game! I used to run every day for 6 miles. It was my marker, I suppose. 6 miles was an hour run for me. Sometimes I would be super fast and be able to run 7, but normally I ran 6 miles every day. This week, I’ve run twice. Each run was 3-5 miles. I’ve also added elliptical and stairs to my cardio. But in addition, I’ve been adding 1 hour of weight training every day and I haven’t missed a day yet. And it is amazing the difference you see after only one week of intense, INTENSE, training. I can’t describe the marvelous feeling I had the other day when I saw my shoulders from the back in a mirror. They are getting chiseled! I actually whooped for joy. And that’s just from one week of training. It’s very rewarding and exciting to see your hard work pay off.

And that’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that the results don’t come right away, but when you get to see even a glimpse of the end result–even that in itself, the glimpse, is a major reward. I feel like a plant, slowly working its way through the cold, hard earth. The sun is shining, I can feel it even if I can’t see it just yet.

Motivation–whether it’s for weight loss, running, starting a business or even just getting out of bed on Monday morning–is a fickle friend. Sometimes we are incredibly motivated, then the next morning–poof–our motivation is gone. So how do you regain it?

How to Get Motivated

One of Newton’s laws of physics states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest unless it is acted upon by an outside force. Similarly, an object in motion tends to stay in motion. One of the best ways I’ve personally found to stay in motion is to make it the first thing I do in the morning. After my workout, I am more active in almost every other area of my life for the rest of the day. I promise the same for you.

My routine: I set my alarm to go off at 4 am every morning, and I get out of bed (without hitting snooze) and workout. I’ve gotten it down to a basic routine that has made my life so much simpler.

(First, I do realize that I get out of bed at an ungodly hour and I’m not saying that you should get out of bed at that time either! Personally, this time works for me so that I get done with my workout around 5:30, take a shower, tackle my to-do list objectives for the day, go through email and then go see my first client at 7 am.)

1. Do get your tush out at an early enough hour to workout for 45-60 minutes before starting your workday.  If you normally start work at 8 or 9, set your alarm for 5 or 6. Waking up an hour earlier is not going to kill you, and you’ll be amazed at how much more you get done just in the wee morning hours.

When your alarm goes off in the morning, DO NOT HIT SNOOZE! This is illegal in Chicks in Motion because it is an immediate motivation-killer! Hitting the snooze button will only make you more tired if you fall back asleep. Get rid of the nasty habit of hitting the snooze button, and gain the habit of getting out of bed when the alarm does ring. Be honest with yourself: when you hit the snooze button, are the next 5-10 minutes of snooze really peaceful? Or do you have that nagging feeling in the back of your mind that the alarm will go off again soon? Personally, I don’t have that much peace of mind after hitting the snooze button. Yeah, the bed feels awesome but my mind is anxious about the alarm. Do yourself the favor by removing that bit of anxiety in the morning, sucking up to the “pain” and getting out of bed. Wash your face with cold water, maybe even take a cold shower. Just start moving. Tell yourself that you are up, that you are awake.

2. Getting motivated is not just about waking up earlier. The key ingredient here is to get your workout done in the morning! Aside from not having to worry about your workout for the rest of the day, you will have more energy earlier on in the day. There is a huge difference between being sleepy tired and being tired from a workout. Even after the most strenuous workout, your mind is still very much alert. Your endorphins are going nuts in your body! There is more blood flow to your brain, so you get more ideas and inspiration during and immediately after a workout. Morning workouts prepare you for the day by waking both your body and brain, as well as your motivation to get more stuff accomplished! By accomplishing what we often consider a huge chore–our workout–done so early in the day, our confidence gets bigger. We get more inspired. We feel confident about moving forward in other areas of our life. After a good workout, we tend to not want to eat poorly and undo our good work. Workouts tend to make us more positive, happier folks. Doesn’t it sound better to get happier earlier in the day?

Tips on making your morning workout easier and more effective: 

1. Prepare your outfit the day before. Pack that bag. Make sure everything is ready to go.

2. Make sure your workout environment is cool or cold. Blast the fans, crank up the AC, drink cold water.

3. Drink a coffee or take a caffeine pill to wake up. Try to do this about half an hour to 20 minutes before your morning workout.

4. Warm up for 10 minutes. Just walk on the treadmill or get on the elliptical machine at an easy pace. Don’t jump on the stairmaster or the weights just yet. Just slowly warm up those joints and allow your body to loosen up. Don’t forget to move those arms about.

5. Start small and vary the exercises to gain momentum. Set a goal to run or do the elliptical for 20 minutes. Jump to the next machine.

6. Music, music, music! Not Chopin’s Nocturnals. Get your best, energy-pumping songs together. Start playing music as soon as you get out of bed, if possible!

A body in motion tends to stay in motion. When you get moving first thing in the morning, the rest of you will continue moving the rest of the day. Make your morning workout a habit and see how much more energy and motivation you have the rest of the day.

Hey guys,

So I’ve been MIA for a few months now, but to give you the short of it:

–I got engaged in September

–We started househunting

–We found a house but it needed work done

–Meanwhile, I was planning a wedding for March

–Bought our house in February

–Got married in beautiful Sonoma, California in March

–Honeymoon in April

And…I’m back!

Needless to say, the last few months were insane. Beautifully insane, I might add, but insanely busy at the same time. I listed the major events, but all the other little events, like dress shopping, venue-finding, etc–all while doing this from South Carolina–were busy filling my days. I was stressed out, many many times. But I was also gloriously happy. I was getting a lot of STUFF done!

But now that I am finally back in a normal rhythm of life, I can finally breathe, reassess my goals, both business and personal. I can get back into planning my life.

One of the biggest things I regret is not keeping up with this blog. But I promise you that Chicks in Motion is taking a new turn. I won’t say more than that, other than you will see more regular contributions from here on out.

And that’s really the biggest lesson here that I’ve learned: Never stop something that is going well for you, even for a short break. You will lose track and fall off course. This is inevitable.

Of course, you can always find your way back ON course, but it will be harder and more difficult.

I’m not just talking about my blog, my writing, my facebook account (which was consequently ignored as well). I’m also talking about falling off track with your healthy eating habits, your daily fitness, your motivation.

Health, motivation, positive thoughts–these are things which must constantly be tendered to. They are delicate, they improve as we improve, as we grow as our commitment to our health, fitness and diet and positive energy stays on track.

Think about a time when you were doing exceptionally well–or even just “well”…and then you went on a vacation. Or something negative happened to disrupt your mood. Or even something positive! (Me getting married was one of the most positive events of my life)! Anything can stop our flow, but we have to stay on track in order to keep moving forward. Yes, there are times when we do need to take days off in order to rejuvenate our energy, our spirits. Running 7 days a week is NOT recommended! A strict caloric diet, with no fun treats, will only cause you to splurge on one late night! So no, I’m not talking about NEVER taking a break. I’m talking about STRATEGIC breaks. When we strategically plan to take time off, it is always easier to get back on track with whatever we took time off from in the first place.

Weekends, for example, should be strategic breaks. For those of you with strict Monday-Friday jobs, have you noticed that when your normal schedule is to wake up at 6 am on the weekday, but then you sleep in on the weekend, that you are exhausted come Monday morning? Isn’t that part of our hatred for Mondays? (That, and usually having to go to a job that we aren’t crazy about–but that’s another story)! But if you keep to that same schedule (wake up at 6 or 7 on the weekends), Monday morning is much more pleasant to wake up to (granted, if you are going to bed on time).

By veering way of course, we add tons of stress to our lives. We splurge a whole weekend on crap food and overeat, and then we are stressed out when we discover we’ve gained 5 lbs.

We party all weekend and then Monday rolls around and we get stressed out about getting to work.

We have a great thing going, then stop it for a few months and get stressed out about looking like an idiot when we write our first blog post again (ahem, not about anyone in particular)!

Never stop. Keep truckin’, keep moving forward. Take strategic breaks, go at a slower pace but never stop. Maybe I couldn’t have written every day, but I could have committed to writing once a week. What can you commit to in small steps?