It is Totally Possible (There are No Limits)

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Anything is possible!! Just keep at it!

When I first started my fitness journey, I never would have been able to do a deep squat like this! No way! I had crunchy knees doing stairs and sharp pains in them…not to mention a bad lower back that always seemed to be “going out of place” and causing me sharp pains, pains into my legs and nothing but grief.

The day that I made the decision to put my health and fitness first was when this all changed!

It was a beautiful summer day 3 years ago when I decided to have fun and be silly by doing handstands and cartwheels on the lawn… Turns out, it was not a very good idea! …for 2 full weeks after that I had so much pain in my neck, shoulders, back, hips and even my feet, that I told myself enough is enough already!!! I was asking my self in disgust…”How did I get so out of shape!?”… I seemed to have gotten out of shape so fast! As it turns out, making decisions to eat junk food and skip workouts over a long period of time really didn’t do me any favours!

Something had to be done about this!

Once I made the decision and started working out using a professionally designed workout-at-home program, it was so hard! I could barely do a minute of jumping jacks and I could barely do a push-up on my knees! I thought I was gonna die, but my determination to change and improve my health kept me going. I recruited the help of a physiotherapist whose help I sought out regularly to help manage my pains and to help me adapt my form as I slowly got stronger.

It took a few months of working hard on exercising to start noticing that I had less back pain in the mornings, was walking up stairs with less pain, was getting so much stronger and was building some nice muscle at the same time!  I noticed that I was getting heavier on the scale though!   All that new muscle was heavy!  EEK!

Getting bigger and heavier was not what I wanted!

At this point, I revamped my diet, dialed down my portion sizes and added superfood daily at the suggestion of my Beachbody coach.  By this time, I was also able to keep up with the trainer and able to complete the video program instead of continuously adapting due to pain!  Within 3 months after starting superfood, clean eating and portion control, I had dropped 35 pounds and was feeling the best I had felt in my life!!  I still had some pain in my knees and lower back, but definitely not as often and not as severe…

My successes led me to believe more in myself and what I was capable of.  I was motivated to achieve more!  I started another program with higher intensity, completed it, then started another, completed it, then another, and another.  Now, by this time, my energy was improving, my motivation was getting higher, my pain was getting to be less and less and I was feeling good and strong with the proper nutrition and exercise.  This proved to me repeatedly that the work I was doing was not just getting me healthier, it was totally changing my body and its capacity to lift and move in ways I never dreamed of.

3 years later, fast forward to today, I am 42 pounds less than when I started, am committed to my daily superfood, clean eating and portion control as a long-term forever lifestyle.  It is very simple system to follow, has really improved my strength,  (peri-menopausal) hormone balance and energy, and as I keep going I CONTINUE to improve my body’s capacity to move, bend and lift.  I had originally thought I would reach a plateau in terms of what my body is capable of, but it turns out that is not the case!

There is no limit to what can be achieved!

Week by week, workout by workout, I continue to get stronger, and am capable of more!  I can run faster, can run up the stairs (no crunchy knees anymore!), can lift and move furniture, carry around my 41 lb grandson, sit all day at a desk, lift and toss bales for my horses, fork hay, do yardwork, shovel snow and can squat deeply with NO PAIN!  Who would have thought this was possible?   I am proof that it is totally possible to rehabilitate from anything and any physical problem if your mind is determined enough and you have a firm enough belief in yourself.

By transforming physically, it has changed my mindset and attitude as well. I am happier, more positive, feel stronger and more stable emotionally, have improved my relationships (work, home, family, friends), believe in myself more on many levels, and have more passion and excitement for life! (and a bonus is I was able to get off of every prescription medication I was on!)

You may be wondering how this story may impact you?  You may be wondering how you too can have a complete body and mind transformation?   How can you totally change your life as well?  How can you improve your hormone balance, lose weight and become a happier person?  My advice for you is to seek out the help of a coach (like me) to support, motivate and keep you accountable and help you through your journey to better health and fitness.  I can teach you about superfood, clean eating, portion control and support you through your progress in fitness and even help you get off prescription drugs.  I have been through all of this myself, have experienced both the pain, failures, difficulties and challenges, so I totally get how tough it is.

Think about this…

Being on a health and fitness journey is hard, but it is ALSO very hard to live overweight, hormonal, unhappy, in pain and totally miserable.  Make a decision today and chose your hard!

To join the Athletic Grandma community, enter your name and email address HERE and receive a free  download about 7 ways to improve your self-discipline.

CONTACT ME HERE about getting onto a program that will change your life.

 

 

The Benefits of Core Work (and How You Can Improve Your Life Too)

Working the core can be SUPER fun if you find the right program
Working the core can be SUPER fun if you find the right program

There are many benefits that I have noticed from working on my core strength. I used to have intermittent severe back pain that would incapacitate me for days, back aches, hip soreness, and even knee and neck pain.

If you have experienced this you will know what I mean here… Lower back issues that are acutely flaring up can cause the pain and muscle tightness to spread all over the back and body even leading to neck issues, headaches and more! In addition, having pain issues even intermittent, can lead to decreased mood, frustration and the use of pain killers which come with their own wonderful side effects to endure.

So what can be done about this?

Core strengthening leads to greater stability of the muscles surrounding the spine, hips and abdomen. By having greater stability here, it reduces movement within the spine that can lead to inflammation and pain.

I am currently on round 3, day 12 of this core blasting program and I notice a huge change in how I feel, my core feels super strong and agile and having no more back pain! What a relief this is! Being without pain is totally life changing!

Why strengthen Core?

The “core” is a term used to describe just about everything on your body that isn’t your legs and arms. This means you can think of your glutes, hips, abdominal muscles, inner abdominal muscles, pelvic floor, and scapula as your core. Your core is where your power is generated in order to carry out any movement. While abdominal and inner abdominal muscles do play a large roll in core stability, they don’t make up the core all by themselves.

Beyond the management of pain and disability, working the core can really improve our performance in other activities as well.. with a strong core, we will be a better runner, horse back rider, jumper, court sports performer, hockey player plus have more stability in every-day activities such as picking things off the floor, lifting children or grandchildren, hauling in groceries, cleaning the house and so much more!  To be able to do all of these functional activities with power, confidence and without injury is what we want, isnt it?

Tips to Strengthen your Core…

If a person is just a beginner with core work, the exercises should look a little different and please don’t focus only on the ab muscles in the front with crunches.  Only doing crunches in the setting of an already weak core can have a negative impact on your spine!

It is important to start gentle if you are a beginner with core work.   Timothy Bell does a good job giving you 5 exercises to start with to get your core muscles working for you…Check out the 4 minute video below that explains each exercise for you.  Perform each exercise back to back for the below prescribed time and reps and do this every day for the most benefit

  1. Bird Dog – 10-second holds, 8 reps per side
  2. Band Anti Rotation – 10-second holds, 8 reps per side
  3. Dead Bugs – 8 reps per side, alternating sides each rep
  4. Clam Shell – 10-second holds, 10 reps per side
  5. Tummy Vacuums – 5-second holds, 8 reps

Once you have built the strength of your core and you would like to consider more advanced core training, you may want to consider joining a Core Blasting Fitness Challenge with me.  CONTACT ME once you are feeling ready for this.

Working on and optimizing your core strength can totally change your life.  It has for me and to no longer be suffering with pain, or use of medications is a much better existence overall!

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Please COMMENT on this post!

My Patient’s Emotional Pain Nudged Me to Heal From My Own

Emotional eating can feel like the answer
Emotional eating can feel like the answer

I caught myself doing it again.

There I was in front of the opened fridge, searching for peace.

It had been the kind of long, frustrating day no commute could erase. Maybe it was the two patients I’d seen whose troubling stories broke my heart. Maybe their struggles with depression and emotional trauma had hit a little too close to home. Now, an unstoppable string of painful memories threaded its way through my mind.

“I thought I dealt with this already. Why am I rehashing this again?” I sighed and closed the fridge.

Nothing in there would fix this ache in my heart. And it certainly wouldn’t stop the rerun of disturbing images through my mind. I’d have to deal another way. Without snapping at people. Without rolling my eyes and sighing at them. Without withdrawing or stuffing my face.

It’s crazy, isn’t it, how things that happened decades ago can trigger negative behavior in the present. Even stuff we’ve dealt with. Forgiven. Accepted and learned from. Or thought we had.

Many coaches say that forgiveness (and, I’d add, dealing with trauma) is like peeling an onion: it has a lot of layers, and each one makes you cry. I’ve certainly found this to be true as I worked through each painful layer of my past.

The weird thing was that I couldn’t force it. I couldn’t hurry up and heal, or race to the next level. Each layer of healing seemed to come when I was ready, and it would always surprise me when it came.

Like this week. I never saw it coming. But suddenly something like a patient’s suffering can stir up a mess of memories I didn’t realize I still needed healing from.

When that happens, my behavior can get weird. I can suddenly find myself in the fridge, or any other number of bad habits I once had, to help me deal with the pain. Overeating (some kind of carb with peanut butter and jam), staring at TV, grumping at my family, and ignoring my friends.

Has that ever happened to you? Has something triggered old painful memories and sent you headlong back into rotten old habits you thought you’d kicked?

It’s not a bad thing.

I mean, we definitely need to find a way to avoid those negative behaviours. But here’s the thing. Once we become aware of what is triggering our behaviour – once we realize the connection between our past experiences and our current behaviour – we can short-circuit the effects of those old wounds.

We don’t have to continue to be hurt by our past.
We don’t have to let past pain hurt our present.

Practically, what this looks like for me (once I recognize what’s triggering my behaviour) is to close that fridge door and walk in the opposite direction of that loaf of bread. I’ll try to find a quiet place to sit down and let the memories come. I will, once again, (again!!) decide to forgive and let it go, just as I had before. Then I’ll fix my mind back on the present – on my current goals – and choose a behaviour that fits with that.

Instead of going to the fridge to feed my feelings, I resolutely choose to engage with my daughter and grandson. We’ll play a game, talk, go outside for a walk, read a book or sit and play with toys – whatever it takes to engage in healthy activities.

We can break free from our past, from hurt. 
But it takes some self-awareness and the willingness to choose a new path, one scary, difficult layer at a time.

How to you shake free from past hurts when they come knocking?

Please comment on this post.  I would love to hear your ideas!
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