One day at a time…one workout at a time… showing up consistently day after day… now this is what leads to achievement and success no matter what area of your life we are talking about ?
Today, I just wrapped up day #90 of a 91 day fitness challenge and am feeling very accomplished and motivated to do more!! Some days it was hard to show up…sick kids, illness, busy lives, fractured toe, hand with torn ligaments, fatigue, soreness…all of these things can happen, but if you are determined enough not to let them interfere with your goals, then you will find a way to get things done. When the determination is strong enough, then really no excuse is valid.
One last day tomorrow of stretching and recovery then am starting the next 8-week challenge of a body beast / insanity Max 30 hybrid. Man, it looks like it is going to be tough, but it is going to be worth it! The feeling of achievement in accomplishing a goal is like no other!
Now to plan out the reward for completing this 91-day fitness challenge…I think perhaps a spa day is in order!??
Do you have a plan to achieve your goals? Would you like some help with goal setting that works? Feel free to contact me for help or if you have questions!
If you have never tried doing a cardio workout with weights…wow, it’s very challenging! In this particular workout, you have to do repetitive moves quickly and then hold the move for 10 seconds and repeat… this gets those muscle groups fatigued really fast…especially with the push-ups segment!
If there is one thing I have learned in my quest for a happier and healthier life, in order to be good at things and to succeed, I need to be willing to push myself to do what most people won’t. I need to be willing to persist for a long time before I see results. It was an interesting concept to realize and to apply to myself. It has proven itself true though.
As hard as it is some days, just gotta keep hitting “play” and pushing myself to do my best and to do better all the time. This determination and self-discipline can pull you through those rough days.
I had a poor sleep last night and cannot stop yawning, but still managed to push play and get ‘er done. So glad I pushed myself. Time goes by far too fast…so need to keep at it! The time will pass anyways so might as well make it count for something!
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!
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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…
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It is those small decisions that we make and consistency of those decisions every day in the right direction that make all the difference in our success or failure.
For example, choosing an apple over a chocolate bar, choosing to do a workout instead of watching TV, choosing to speak kind of others instead of gossiping, choosing to see the best in others instead of focusing on their faults, choosing to save that $10 instead of buying junk food…and so much more!!
This morning I could have had an extra hour of sleep (much needed), but…even though I didn’t want to, I got up at 5 am and got a plyometric workout in. This was a choice! I can choose to be successful in my health and fitness and be consistent or I could choose an extra hour of sleep…hmmm I think I made the right choice and will do the same thing tomorrow even if I really do not want to! This is called Self-discipline and I don’t hesitate to kick my own butt if I need it!? …??
What other choices can you think of that people could make more consistently each day to be happier and more successful in their life? Comment below!
