Seriously! When I started on my health and fitness journey 2 years ago, I could not even do more than a couple push-ups on my knees or more than a few minutes of jumping jacks before being out of breath! It’s amazing what our body can achieve if we push it to do more each day. I guess that is the power of the compound effect. You may not think that each and every workout makes a difference in the long run, but in fact they DO! Every snack choice (an apple instead of a Hershey bar) and every decision we make towards a healthier choice (no matter how small or seemingly insignificant it is) every single day does matter!
Choose to be active instead of sitting on the couch. Choose to do a workout instead of wasting time scrolling social media. Choose a garden salad with roasted chicken instead of a burger at the restaurant. Just by making these better choices each and every day and adding superfoods to my diet, I have dropped 42 pounds and am feeling the strongest and healthiest that I have in my life! Now as a grandmother, I can call myself the MMA Granny and I have earned it! ?
The compound effect of each and every choice we make each and every day really does matter. Keep that in mind for today and as you think about what you will do to be healthier in the next month! We all mess up once in awhile since we are human after all, but if we mess up too often, that has a compound effect in the wrong direction!
To download 7 tips on ways to increase self-discipline power, be sure to get your FREE DOWNLOAD HERE.
Literally jumpstarting your morning with a workout really boosts energy and positivity for the whole day
There are so many good things about having a morning routine! It is a great jumpstart to your day! Plyometrics, 1.5 L of water, superfood and a day planning session this morning definitely gave me a jump start today?
From what I have read… When it comes to looking at what things make people successful in life, it is apparent that if you snooze, you lose…literally! Hitting the snooze button too many times leaving yourself with limited time in the morning or with then-rushed routine, is just not a good way to start the day. Ignoring the snooze button and kicking off your day right seems to make a big difference.
What are some key things we can do to start our day right?
Hydration
After going all night without water, we typically need to boost our hydration in the morning. Having 500 mL to 1 L with lemon can really get you going, and give a good kickstart to the day.
Exercise
By sweating it out before breakfast, it gets your blood pumping (endorphins!) and helps you to feel on top of your game all day (better focus) plus it makes your body burn more calories all day. Its a great outlet to burn off stress. Making good use of this time by adding some good stretching and thinking about strategies to make it a good day (inspire yourself!) while sitting in those stretch poses can really get you feeling more organized. The bonus is, an early morning workout typically doesn’t get interrupted since everyone is still sleeping!
Read or Listen
Take 15 min to read or listen to books that get your fired up for your day. Good personal development books, tips for success and ideas for strategizing your business or workday can really get you feeling excited and positive for your day. During this time, think about things you are thankful for and happy about to really get the positive juices flowing.
Strategic Planning
Spending even 10 minutes setting up a plan for your day can really make things flow more smoothly. What are the “musts” for today? Who are the key contacts or duties? Anything critical that needs to be done for the household to run smoothly? Anything that needs to be done or dropped off before or after work? What can I do on my lunch break at work that will be productive? Anticipating issues and having plan B already on your mind can really help you to control your day instead of having the day control you.
Can this Work Even if you are not a morning person?
Yes! I was never a morning person, but being determined to establish a new routine of “my time”, I kept using tricks to make myself get up. One trick was having my alarm clock out of reach so that I had to get up to turn it off. It was annoying, but it definitely worked! LOL.. Some days it is still not easy, but I see so many benefits in my life as a result of a morning routine that it is motivating to keep doing it each day
If I think back to how my life was before I implemented a morning routine… hitting snooze button, barely having enough time to get ready for work, missing breakfast, starting off without a plan, in a rush and in a grouchy mood…it just was not a good scenario and I never EVER want to go back to that again!
Many of the most successful people in the world, have at least some kind of early morning routine that allows them to be the most happy, productive and effective people. It will be worth it to implement some kind of morning routine into your life. I know it has made a big difference in my life.
Push just a little outside the comfort zone to make progress. Make changes in your life too for personal growth. So many parallels to draw with fitness and life!!
Was a tough challenge for myself on an early Monday morning today. I pushed just a little more weight than usual and was barely finishing the sets. By pushing myself just a little beyond what I had been comfortable with is the way to make just a bit of progress so that I will be even stronger for the next workout. If I keep lifting the same weights and doing the same exercises, there would be a plateau and no further progress made.
The same can be said with our life in general. If we do the same things, the same way every single day, we will never grow as a person, or achieve something new or better. Some people may call this a “rut”.
A mentor of mine once said. “The definition of insanity is when you keep doing the same thing day in and day out, over and over again …and yet expecting there to be different results.” How true is that? Don’t stay in your safe and comfortable little corner (rut) or your life will be rather boring and all of the people who are exciting, fun and progressive will be leaving you in the dust!
I am going to take a hard look at my life today and see what I can change to bring me closer to the goals that I want. I know that if I keep doing things the same that I truly will not get anywhere! Time to march forward and do a few things I am scared of today! 🙂
What are you going to do today that scares the crap out of you…just so you can grow as a person? …REPLY to this post and tell me!
The only thing between you and your goals is that BS story you keep feeling yourself as to why you can’t do it!! This is what my personal trainer told me this morning during my weighted cardio workout and she is totally right!! How many times did we make excuses and even what we believe is “good reasons” as to why we didn’t achieve our goals! Far too many! …and in fact we tell ourselves these things do many times that we actually start truly believing they are facts! Scary if you really think about it!
I have learned to recognize it when I have come up with a story… such as being too tired, having no money, not enough sleep, not enough time, telling myself I am just an emotional eater (which then somehow made it OK?), sore muscles, feet aching, sore back from a busy day at work, stress from having a 2-year old, lack of sleep, too young, too old, no good at it, not capable, can’t trust the opposite sex, don’t know how…and the story list just goes on and on and on…!! The sad part is that we believe these things, identify with them and let them rule our lives!
I have been through all of these excuses and stories myself! Sometimes when you come from a background of abuse, the stories can get pretty bad. For example, you may believe you are worth nothing, are useless, not loved, not important, not worthy of love and so many more horrible things! You can imagine, that if a person lived with those beliefs (stories) that their life would not be very good, successful or full of happiness! I have had to work hard to overcome many of these stories. It was not easy, but I am proof that it is totally possible to change your perception of yourself and to change how you perceive your past experiences too!
How do I work on overcoming these stories? Keep in mind, this is always a work in progress. My mentor (the late Jim Rohn) speaks about those stories, beliefs and thoughts and uses them as a metaphor like “weeds” growing in a garden. This is a great metaphor because if you think about it….you cannot ignore those weeds because they will totally overtake the whole garden (weeds of the mind). Those weeds need to be removed and even once you get the whole garden cleared out of those weeds…what happens? YES!…those weeds keep trying to come back, so you have to continuously keep pulling out the ones that come up.
This is the same way with those stories…
Once you realize (finally gain insight into yourself) the numerous stories (lies) you have been telling yourself about why you cannot do things or achieve things…its like suddenly noticing your beautiful garden (mind) is packed solid with weeds!! AHA! This was definitely an AHA moment for me. I got myself a coach and started working at getting those weeds pulled out. It took months of work, emotional turmoil and challenging times…but, believe me, I got that darn garden mostly cleared out …out of pure determination. However, I realized that a person has to be well-aware that those weeds (stories, lies) will keep trying to come back and keep an eye on the garden at all times to remove them once they pop up! The lesson here was for me NOT to ignore those feelings, but rather allow them to happen, recognize them, and realize where they are coming from and correct them immediately.
Having this kind of awareness can totally change your life. Often, to develop this awareness and clean out the garden takes extra help. Don’t hesitate to get help with this (remember, asking for help is a sign of strength). Once you take the time to learn this, then you will start to recognize the stories (lies) once they happen. Once they are recognized, you can stop, identify the lie and replace it with the truth that you know is there. Its a magical process and is definitely worth learning about! Once you get to work on this, you will be blown away at what you are capable of achieving in your life!
There is no feeling like the sense of accomplishment! This morning I officially completed a 30-day challenge that I set up for myself with an awesome core/MMA fighting program! This is just the way I LOVE fitness. Short challenges that push me and keep it totally interesting…and in the comfort of my own home… plus they are professionally developed to give an amazing full body fitness like I never imagined!
This type of core/fighting workout is a great cross-trainer for other types of fitness activities as well… especially court sports, running, horseback riding, hockey, football and so many more… the agility, core strength, leg and upper body strength that you can build without any equipment is astounding!
The beauty of the workout lineup I have available to me through this annual digital access program is that I never get bored, I can keep picking new challenges for myself with different professional programs and trainers as I go! When it is fun and interesting like this…with short term rewards…a person is far more likely to keep it up! I also keep a paper copy of the workout calendar beside my workout area, so that I check off each workout as I complete them… as you see here….
TRACKING workout completion every day builds motivation as you see what you are accomplishing!
As I am sitting here having my superfood shake post-workout this morning, I am thinking that a trip to the spa as a reward for completing this program is totally in order! (Ten Spa in Winnipeg is an amazing place!!) A spa treatment and a day of relaxation! Doesn’t that sound awesome? It feels great to have earned a reward like this… Now just have to decide what program to challenge myself with next! .. Hmmm 🙂
Was a rough conditioning workout this morning after going 3 weeks without lifting. Whoa! I was totally grunting, sweating and wishing I had kept up with regular lifting at least a couple times a week. I have been so preoccupied with my core fighting program the last few weeks that I didn’t take the time to lift! Regrets!
I was thinking today about how hard it can be to get up early in the morning and get a workout in… especially if you know it is going to be a super hard one! …and today certainly was!
BUT…It’s true though that if you are working to change your health and your body that it will take hard work to make the changes that will bring you to your goals. Nothing that is easy really brings about great results in our life, does it?
I remember over the years that I have pushed myself to work hard, do things right and keep going no matter what. I have also drilled this into my kids as well…like constantly… I have always believed that if you work hard, give 110% to everything you do, that you will not only feel better about yourself …. you will also prove to others that you are reliable, have a good work ethic and thus prove valuable not only to the organization you work for (or your own business), but will be valuable to all other people in your life too!
When you apply this to health, it may be hard, but forging ahead, not wasting time, working hard and not giving up will definitely be the way to achieve your goals. The truth is, it is hard to do, but it is also hard NOT to do. Its hard to look in the mirror and see a picture of unhealthiness, isnt it?
Take a few minutes today and acknowledge that “hard work will always be rewarded”! It in fact is always rewarded in some way. We may not see it immediately or even for a period of time, but eventually the rewards will come and you will be so glad that you put in the hard work, effort and dedication.
So, if you’ve been stuck up on the fence, unable to make a decision, paralyzed and afraid to take the jump toward your happiness, I am zooming in today to help you. Today is the day that we will work on making plans and making the decision to get off the fence!
So, how does a person do that?
Here are the 5 Steps To Get Off The Fence. It’s time to make a plan to get happy and making progress in life!
Step 1 — Determine Where You’re Stuck
The first step to get off the fence and live a fulfilling existence, is self-awareness. You have to figure out where you’re blocked, stuck or not making progress. This takes time alone, and the ability to be still and quiet to think about where you are not happy. Exercises such as making two lists: One list called “CHANGES/IMPROVEMENTS I WANT TO MAKE”, and the other list is called the “OFF THE FENCE/HAPPINESS ACTION PLAN”. So, for example, if you want to start your own business, on the left hand side, you would write, “Start my own business,” and on the right hand side, it would read, “Moonlight my start-up on the side, working ninety minutes at night and four hours on the weekends until I am making some money and can quit my day-job to focus on my business full time.”
The trick is, the more detailed your two lists are, the better. Post your list in a visible spot. It holds you accountable, and keeps your eye on the prize.
Step 2 — Commit to Doing the Work
Know that nothing will work unless you do. One of my mentors says, “Nobody ever drowned in their own sweat.” It was something that really sunk in and always stuck with me. I believe and and taught my kids that “hard work is always rewarded”. Happiness doesn’t come without a commitment to happiness. Without work. Your happiness is a choice. You getting what you want out of life is YOUR DECISION. And the same holds true for your unhappiness. So, commit to doing the work. Whatever your goals are, commit to hustling to make them happen.
Know that sitting perched on the fence is paralysis. To live stuck is like residing in purgatory. Most people stay stuck because it’s a comfortable place to not have to commit and see something through. But you can’t manifest your highest self without making a decision, no matter how small. It’s about that first baby step. You MUST take it. If you are having a hard time moving forward, consider hiring a private coach to help you! For heaven sakes, take action!
Step 3 — Expand Your Skills
Yes. Expand your skills and commit to learning something new. Often we stay stuck and on the fence because we don’t have the skills and knowledge needed to move forward. So work at getting that knowledge and expand your skills. This could mean taking up a new hobby, enrolling in a course, volunteering, or simply giving away your expertise for free. What I mean here is, if you want to become a PAID speaker for example, speaking for free is a great way to get your name our there, and gain experience and expertise. If you want to start a consulting company, offer coaching or consulting for FREE at the beginning, both to get your feet wet, AND to build a customer base.
Expanding your skills does not only mean just enrolling in courses and acquiring new knowledge, it also means putting the current knowledge you have to work…. (ACTION!)
Step 4 — Get Out There and Meet NEW People
Commit to taking up a new hobby, volunteering, getting more involved in your community, or joining a networking group — for the purpose of meeting NEW people. We often meet the people we need once we get out there and make an effort. When you reach out to people in your network, ask for help, discuss options, then you will acquire the knowledge to help you get off the fence and move towards your goals.
If you allow yourself to just be open, and to join places like your local Community Groups, book club, sports or activity club, a writing group, traveling to live events or finding a mentor….it will naturally happen that you will meet the people who will help you move toward your goals.
Step 5 — Make More Time for the Things You Love To Do
When you do the things you love to do, it helps boost your serotonin levels (the happiness hormone), which aids in fighting depression, and other mood disorders. Doing the things you love can put you in a state of euphoria, lowering your cortisol levels (the bad hormone), which clears your mind and allows you to make good, quality decisions. For me, I love spending time with my sisters — we laugh, have fun, and it does my mind and body good. I also love spending time alone in a bookstore, working on personal development, or just perusing the aisles in an art section of a store. It calms me and regroups me. What is it for you?
When you do what you love, you are being good to yourself. You are spoiling yourself. And spoiling yourself is your right. Feeling good allows you to make clear decisions. Do it, guilt-free.
In the same token, it cannot be stressed enough the importance of the following four factors in sharpening your mind for effective and strategic decision making:
Get a healthy amount of sleep
Maintain an active lifestyle and get daily exercise
Healthy nutrition and superfood to feed the body and mind
Meditation (Spend adequate time to relax without interruption when the mind is quiet)
So my wish for all of you, is to get off the fence as soon as possible!!! it will free up your mind and allow you to move forward in life and achieve great and passionate things!!
To join the Athletic Grandma community and to get your FREE download about how to improve your self-discipline, please click HERE..
(Acknowledgement: ‘The 5 Steps to get off the fence” Adapted from Erica Diamond, at www.womenonthefence.com)
I have to admit…the workout this morning was a killer one! 9 rounds of hopping, jumping, twisting, pushing, pulling…on the floor, then off the floor …yup, not an ounce of energy left by the time I was done this 38 minute workout!! ?. I guess a person can think of it this way…by pushing yourself to do something that is difficult and outside what would be considered “easy” that is how you grow and improve! Bonus…I guess it was worth pushing myself today …I will be stronger for the next time and I am building my self-discipline ‘muscle’ which will help me in many other areas of my life too! ??
Wait! …Isn’t it just easier to stay in my comfort zone?
NO!
Each of us has our own “comfort zone” which is far more than a describable place. It is a mental, emotional and behavioral place that kind of is all about the routine of our daily life. When we are in our “comfort zone”, it suggests the place of safety, familiarity and security for us. Being in this place has us comfy and calm, has minimal emotional change, and even is somewhat free of worry. People create a comfort zone at times to have a healthy place to go to relax and enjoy life, which is fine. BUT, stepping out of our comfort zone is what it will take to actually change, grow and transform our lives!!
Experiencing some stress here and there and facing fears is actually a good thing. If all you ever do is strive to stay wrapped up in your little cocoon, keeping warm and cozy, you may be missing out on quite a lot in life. Perhaps you will have little to no new experiences, minimal challenges, and take no risks.
Taking no risks and not facing fears = ZERO progress in life!
Be sure to take time to look at the big picture in your life. It is important to look at every area when thinking about this concept… such as business, personal, family, health, fitness, financial, emotional etc… If you have a hard time stepping out of your comfort zone you may experience difficulty making changes, growing in life, and ultimately, improving your life in amazing ways! Remember, growing as an individual actually helps you to keep up with the times, define your passions and to help give your life personal meaning.
In simple terms, what we fear most about challenging ourselves is that we may fail and/or get hurt in the process. IF we let this stop us, we will never achieve anything! Consider this one…the majority of us totally have the ability to rise up, face fears, overcome obstacles and totally succeed in accomplishing new and challenging things! We just have to WANT to!
Be open minded, face your fears and for heaven’s sake…life live to the fullest by taking chances, challenging yourself and making progress and growing as a person…you will be so HAPPY that you did !!
PS. If you have trouble moving out of your comfort zone due to extreme fear, it may be time to recruit the help of a coach to help you to overcome those fears… life is too short! Time to LIVE!
To join the Athletic Grandma community, and to get a FREE download about 7 ways to increase your self-discipline, click HERE!
Getting up early in the morning some days can be pretty rough (I was never a morning person)… today was one of those days. Hit the snooze button too many times, really had to push myself to get up as my whole body was feeling heavy and actually quite lazy.
Once I came downstairs and had a look at what workout was on the menu for today, I actually groaned. It was MMA power sculpt which is a really hard one and my least favorite of them all. Eugh!
I was close to saying “to heck with it, I will do it later”, when I realized that “later” likely won’t happen. Life gets busy in the day and time slips away! I took a deep breath and just made myself do it! It was grueling and difficult for me today. I got tired faster than usual and was sweating a LOT! Was very happy when it was over and felt a sense of real accomplishment that I was able to make myself do something I really didn’t want to do…because it was good for me.
I had to remind myself this morning, of the reasons that I started doing early morning workouts in the first place! The benefits of early morning workouts are incredible! Even if you are not a morning person, keep an open mind, because I felt it was impossible for me to become an early riser at one time, but once I felt the difference, I was hooked!!
The Benefits of Morning Exercise are so worth the drag…here is why…
ROAST THAT METABOLISM for the whole day!
By getting up and doing a workout first thing in the morning, the metabolism gets kicked up and makes you burn more calories and use the food you eat to replenish body and for energy instead of storing it as fat!
NO INTERRUPTIONS!
By getting up early in the morning before anyone else in the house is awake, it prevents the potential for interruptions and allows you to be more consistent with your workout schedule. When I used to do evening workouts, there was always something in “life” interfering with my schedule causing workouts to go way too late or being missed entirely!
IMPROVE NATURAL ENERGY
By getting up and doing an early morning workout, it jacks up our energy to start our day! Morning exercise improves focus and mental abilities the whole day! By working out in the morning, my mind is totally ready to take on whatever tasks are lined up for the day! Exercise has proven to give even more mental alertness and prolonged energy than caffeine!
SELF DISCIPLINE
I talked about self-discipline the other day and just like building on any other habit, success in achieving new habits totally build up your self-discipline “muscle” AHA!! Implementing a morning workout routine will help to increase self-discipline in many other areas of your life too then!
SLEEP BENEFITS
Morning workouts have been shown to improve sleep quality. By working out in the morning, our bodies will have the healthy tiredness that we are supposed to have at the right time (bedtime!). Evening exercise can potentially have the opposite effect because of adrenaline release during exercise and may interfere with sleep quality. Another AHA for me since my sleep used to be much worse with evening workouts!
BE SUCCESSFUL
By developing a healthy habit such as morning exercise that increases metabolism, allows you to be consistent with your workout plan, improves energy and focus through the day for other life activities, builds your self-discipline ‘muscle’ and improves your sleep….you can only IMAGINE how much easier it will be to reach your fitness and health goals!! By making yourself (yes, dragging your butt) get up in the mornings, and making the sacrifice to do so…makes it more likely that you will stick to a healthier eating plan through the day as well. ….Rather than eating too many calories and having the mindset of … “oh, i will just burn this food off later” (as in…with an evening workout…that may not happen)
HATE MORNINGS?
I used to hate mornings too! I had to really make a solid decision for change and use self-discipline and determination to keep it moving forward. I used a few rules for myself to help me to implement this new habit. 1. I put the alarm far away so that I would have to get up to turn it off; 2. I make myself get up right away before my mind can stop me 3. I would set my workout clothes the night before to be prepared to get moving; 4. I have 500 mL water as soon as I get up, then have a pre-workout energizer shot and GO 5. Found an exercise program that I enjoy so that it is not a ‘chore’ and is only 30-45 minutes. 6. Remind myself of all the benefits that I get from morning workouts on a regular basis
OK…so if you are not currently a morning exerciser, then I challenge you to consider it. Have a look at the benefits above and seriously ask yourself if you would like to have those benefits in your life? Is it worth dragging your BUTT out of bed each and every morning? Give it a try and pre-schedule some home workouts in for a full week, then decide if it is worth the drag. I believe you will be amazed and will do it again…and again…and again…
To learn about 7 ways to increase your self-discipline, be sure to enter your name and email for a free download. Having strong self-discipline can totally change your life in many ways!
Feed the body AND the mind what it needs every day.
Having my superfood shake after a good MMA Plyo workout this morning… I started thinking about how important nutrients are to our body. Superfood nutrition is essential for maximal energy, to aid weight loss and to boost sense of well-being. Nutrients we take in are only part of the story for the health of our mind though. Our mind needs healthy information fuel as well!
They say “the mind is what the mind is fed”.. mind food doesn’t come in packages though and you can’t buy it at the store. Mind food is your environment–all those countless things that influence our conscious and subconscious thought. The kind of mind food we take in determines our habits, attitudes and personality.
The mind reflects what its environment feeds it just as the body reflects the food you feed it.
Is this really true?
Habits and mannerisms that we have are typically picked up from other people. Just try to find one that isn’t! Even weird little things like the way we walk, words we use, hold a cup, the way we dress, preference for music are all influenced by what we experience and pick up from others.
The most important point here is that even the size of our thinking, our goals, attitudes and personality are formed by the environment. If we have associations with negative people, it makes us think more negative! If we have associations with petty people, it will also develop petty habits in us too! On the other hand…association with people who are big thinkers and ambitious people, can bring those things out in us too!
Certain types of people tend to discourage others and tell them that what they dream of cannot be done. These types of people usually are unsuccessful and are often only mediocre in terms of what they have ever accomplished. Don’t let these type of people discourage you from your dreams!!
The late Jim Rohn, a mentor of mine, states that we become the 5 people we spend the most time with… and if you think about environmental influences and how they affect our behavior and habits, its totally TRUE! “Birds of a feather flock together”…and since how we think is directly affected by the group we are in, be sure you are in the flock that things right!
Besides being around the influence of people, the kind of information we feed our minds every day is also important and influences our brain chemistry, positivity, and belief in ourselves and the world. Watching world news and reading the newspaper full of negativity can be draining on our emotional energy (and we do not realize just how much!). Spending time playing mindless video games, reading fiction and watching extended amounts of TV shows all waste mental energy and all have an impact on our thinking and our potential for success.
So, what would good mind food be?
Listen to motivating podcasts, read inspirational books (or listen to audio books) about how to think bigger and to improve yourself and read inspirational stories of success. Use these stories and books to inspire you, to throw all of that thought poison out of your environment…to help you stay positive and to be a good person. Learn positive ways of being and have your new attitude be your ally towards a happy and successful life and to encourage others! Making the switch to positive mind food for me has completely changed my life, my relationships, my attitude, my belief in the world and myself …and my zest for life!
Overall, clean eating and superfood nutrition are essential for our physical and mental health, to have a healthy weight, avoid chronic disease and to have healthy energy levels. We often forget that the food for our mind is just as important to feel happy, accomplished and positive. Take some time today to think about what you can do to rid yourself of negative influences and to implement some more positive habits to feed your mind in a good way and work at being a good example for others.
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