Let The Gym Be Your Reflection Letter

Empowered Training
in

   What is your place of peace and tranquility? Your social hour, or a place of change?

   With the New Year fully in effect, we search for the changes we will make with the days and months to come. We ask ourselves, how will we make this year different and how can we be different? With all the negativity that we see in the papers, television and social media, it can be difficult to be optimistic and find the “good” in the world. Well….what if there is a way to break from it all and what if there is a possible way to begin a new and exciting journey for your health, mentally and physically.

   Our generation is filled with jealousy, selfishness and a lack of confidence. Anxiety is at an all time high as we are becoming increasingly hyper-exposed to everyone's life situations and stress. We compare our life to others’ and complain about how life is unfair and how lucky the next person is because of the glamorous life they seem to have. In a world where everything is recorded and people’s mistakes and imperfections become judged, it might be hard to wake up every day happy and excited that to take on whatever the day brings. So what do you do? How do you break away from the constraints of society?  

    I encourage you to try this: write yourself a reflection letter. It seems like an absurd and almost impossible idea with how frequently and consistently negative mental talk seems to occur, but it’s an important and useful strategy. List a few positive things you’re proud of, or what you accomplished this week, and most importantly: write what you’re going offer yourself. 

   One of the best things you could offer yourself is time at the gym, working on strengthening the greatest tool you’ll ever own: your body. Fitness is one of the best and healthiest ways to relieve stress, overcome self doubt, and gain control of your life.  Getting in better shape physically and mentally can only increase the amount of confidence and self-love you feel. Refocus that negative energy into positive action items you can pursue every day…and while society wants you to think January’s the month for fresh starts, it usually ends up becoming the month of overwhelm. What nobody tells you is that ANY month is the true month for new beginnings -- when those who want it the most rise from the ashes of burn out. 

 

   Let the gym be your reflection letter. Let every sweat drop and muscle gained be your way of telling your bodyI want something serious. Let 2016 be another year of successes and happiness.  

 

Your Healthiest New Year Yet

Empowered Training
in

          It’s inevitable: as the calendar transitions from the end of one year to the start of the next, we often feel that “New Year, New Me” mentality. For those preparing for that fresh start and have an idea, vision, or plan in mind come January, I applaud you. Whether you’re trying to better yourself as a person, your health, relationships with loved ones, or financially, here are a few tips that will ensure your success in the New Year:

  1. Listen to your heart and listen to yourself. When you have a plan and you know that in the pit of your stomach you HAVE to do it, then that’s your subconscious mind sending you a message. Do it and take action.

    Remember you learn to run after you learn to walk. So take those small steps.

     

  2. Surround yourself with those that think positively and support your vision. Avoid people that will try to distract you. Don’t let someone who is comfortable in their ways stop you from working hard. . They will try to get into your head and prove how, ‘crazy’ you may be for pursuing what you want. Don’t let them.

     

  3. Live in gratitude for the present moment. You can never predict tomorrow, and you cannot predict how your day will pan out, but you can do your best to control how you react to things. The moments you feel that failure will come, do not let it get to you. It’s normal to have those feelings, but if you fall into it, you will only begin hurt yourself and give up.

    Acknowledge the fact that no successful event in your life was ever easy. Think of the time you learned to drive. How many times did you mistaken the gas and break or almost hit the parked cars in your area? None of that meant you were a terrible driver, you were getting use to the new environment and change in yourself. So let the fear go, put the gear back in drive and keep moving forward.

     

  4. Write down a plan for the New Year and a couple of action steps you can implement to put that plan in motion. 

 

Starting a new wellness plan is often the hardest part, but once you start and commit to continuing, everything will begin to flow naturally. You’re probably saying, ‘easier said than done’ but that’s why I’m here. That’s what Empowered Training is designed to do for you. The Empowered Training program will help you set up a plan and help to keep you on track until you see the visible results of your hard work, or better yet: feel the positive effects of your hard work. Together we can make this your healthiest New Year yet!

7 Ways to Stay Motivated In The Gym

Empowered Training
in

We love to look great, stay healthy and push ourselves each day. Health and exercise is part of our daily routine and well, it’s OUR lifestyle. Doing it every day and staying committed to the gym can be tough when you find yourself stuck in a regular day to day routine.  Coming from experience, I personally know the feeling, and it sucks! It takes away the excitement you once had, and instead of it feeling like a lifestyle routine, it begins to feel like a work routine. After seeing first hand, talking to members and things I find to be pretty effective, I have come up with 7 tips to get you engaged and find the excitement into your gym time….

  1. Gym partner- Finding yourself that SWOLE-mate to lift and push you more than you normally do, can do more than just build a stronger relationship. A gym partner that is as serious as you about the gym, will hold you accountable and push you both mentally and physically to help you achieve results.

  2. Change the environment- Changing the scene can make a huge impact. On nice days, take the exercise routine outdoors. When you have beautiful weather, take advantage. Go for a run and after every few miles, stop and do body exercises for a certain amount of reps or time. Rest after and continue. Most local parks have a fitness trail that you follow and gives you an exercise when you reach a check point.

  3. New routine- If you prefer the weights and machines, try changing the way you train. Example, try switching cardio for strength training first and then finish with cardio. Another switch could be the machine or exercise that you do and the reps, sets and rest time. Play with your routine and see what works with you and gives you a challenge.   

  4. Playlist- We all love music, so why not create a playlist that you can pump iron with. Same with the playlist, add and change the songs from time to time.  

  5. Keep track of progress- Record every exercise you do. Write down how many sets, reps and rest time. Each week you repeat the same pattern, you’ll see where you are getting stronger and where you need improvement.

  6. 15 minute prep – Sometimes all you need is a quick prep. Warming up with a motivational audio. Or driving around and taking the long route to prepare yourself with a playlist or just the peace and quiet you have to yourself. 

  7. Rest- If you find yourself doing all of the above and nothing works, try taking one or two weeks off. Maybe your body just needs a rest and often times we ignore the warning signs our mind and body send. Listen to your body and rest, guarantee you’ll feel better when you get back. 

 

"Empowered Training...Change your mind, change your body, change your life!"

What Will You Do On Your Next Vacation?

     We can all use a break from time to time. Mini vacations or even a staycation. Whatever you find or can make time for and get away for peace and relaxation. In my case, I am currently on my vacation for 2 weeks visiting family in El Salvador. 

     How often do you hear people complain about their vacations because one or two things didn’t go as planned? Or because they have to pack, and they don’t want to live out of a suitcase? My favorite one, “It was an ok vacation, I didn’t know what to do so I stayed home the entire time”, but my question is why? Why stress, complain or just stay indoors when you are finally given the time to do something fun and exciting. You complain all year about needing a break and when the opportunity is in front of you, you let it pass by being bored and unhappy. Now I’m not saying you have to do something crazy and out of the ordinary like cliff diving, but I’m saying that whatever gives you pleasure and makes you feel relaxed should be the thing or things you do on your time off. Take a few minutes to make an agenda of the things you been meaning to get to but never had the opportunity. Make time to catch up on a few books you been meaning to read, get fresh air and don’t feel guilty if you wanted to sleep in a few extra hours. In the meantime, all the stresses of work and your personal life should be forgotten. Let it go, relax and breathe. Stress will never go away, it will be waiting when you get back so don’t let it suck the fun of all your ‘you time’. The time you get to vacation, you should really enjoy it. Make every moment count and reflect on all that you have accomplished. Organize your thoughts and see where you want to keep moving towards when you get back. Usually the answers to most of your problems come when your mind is at ease. For me, it’s been nothing but relaxation and a clear mind.  

     These past few days have been refreshing. I have come on vacation with my family for 2 weeks, visiting family in San Salvador, El Salvador to be exact. Traveling and doing a lot of site seeing with family has been quite an experience. Never staying in one spot for more than 2 days, I haven’t had the time to update my weekly Monday blog. As much as I don’t like getting pushed back on tasks that need to be done by certain deadlines, I didn’t mind as much with this one. I have been visiting family and hiking mountains that I never once stopped to look at the time. It’s a great feeling knowing that for 2 weeks I don’t have to live my life by a clock. I came here with an agenda of tasks that I wanted to accomplish. As much as I want to get them done, I decided that for these 2 weeks only, I was going to take each task as it came, example this blog. These past few days have not only been time to vacation, but time to think and reflect.

     This is your time, your moment, to enjoy with your family and have stories to tell for years to come. Take the time to do what you been meaning to get done, because at the end of it all work will always be there and so will stress, but the time you have with loved ones and for yourself won’t.

“Take Vacations. Go as many places as you can. You can always make money, You can’t always make memories.”

 

 

"This time next month, I will be different."

              Ladies, what is the one thing that you love, but hate at the same time? If you guessed your husband, then you’re wrong. Great guess though. Actually, the answer I was looking for was food. Speaking in general terms women seem to lose weight at a much slower pace than men. Most men lose and drop weight quicker than women. As unfair as it may be, it is the harsh truth, but I want to give you the right tools you need to build the foundation to a better you.

                As a trainer, I often hear women talk negatively about their bodies. Ladies, you need to understand that by bashing on the situation will not fix it. Face it, it is what it is. If you want to see the change, you have to make a change. For starters, begin by looking into the mirror. Learn to embrace your body and who you are.  Embrace it and tell yourself, “This time next month, I will be different”. I say this because any women that struggle with weight loss knows how hard it is to lose weight. They don’t know what to eat and when to eat certain foods. They know the struggles of finding time to work out when they are constantly looking out for others and not too much on themselves. I know this from working with many female clients who once had this issue. So I get it! BUT, what you ladies need understand is that for every problem, there is a solution. I want to help you get a better start to a new you.

                First thing you want to do, like I said, is embrace who you are right now. Learn to silence the negativity and tell yourself every time, “This time next month, I will be different”. What I mean by this is by seeing yourself every day, you are creating the image of your future self in 30 days. By being negative about yourself you are mentally defeating yourself. Never giving any change a chance. You need to first understand that change comes from action. Action comes from having a vision, and that vision comes from having a positive attitude.

                Now, we move onto the basics. The basics meaning working with what you have control of. We all know that the key to results is watching what you eat and being physically active. If you do, then you are on the right track. So, if you know that eating less than what you burn in a day helps to lose weight, and eating more than what you burn makes you gain, then you know that the first thing you need to start doing is eating in portions. Controlling your portions will not only help you to lose weight, but it also helps to build the foundation to understanding the importance of it. Doctors say that you should have at least a serving size cup, or no greater than your own fist, because the size of your fist is the size of your stomach. Begin by reducing the amount of food you put onto your plate every time you eat. Don’t go from large meals to small meals in a heartbeat because you are not mentally and physically ready for it. Start off by having small portions in the evening. Gradually work yourself into the habit of having small meals every time you eat. As for physical activity…

              You hear “physical activity” and you assume hard tiring work that requires every bit of energy. Wrong! Physical activity can be as simple as taking any 30 minutes of free time to go for a power walk. Ask a friend to join and help each other to make a change. Those 30 minutes will eventually become easy and soon be 45 minutes and soon 60 minutes. Physical activity can be anything that requires you to move around more than the norm. By norm I mean anything that doesn’t involve the daily slow paced or no movement that happens in your everyday life. It’s important that what you choose as your physical activity that you make it fun and exciting. If you are making a change and going on this journey to a new you, wouldn’t you want to enjoy it and tell your friends on how easy and exciting it was to lose weight?

             These steps are your basic tools to creating the foundations to a new you. It all starts with how fed up you are with being where you are and wanting to make the change. Let the frustration out of your mind and learn to accept the way you are and the only way to change is by action. Action comes from telling yourself, “This time next month, I will be different”. YOU are in control, YOU have what it takes. You have to take control of it and make it happen and YOU have the power to create your own happiness.

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve”