Setting New Goals

This is a great time of the year to plan some new goals. We are coming off of summer vacation, getting back into new routines, and perhaps needing a little extra motivation. Goals, especially bright, shiny new goals, can be extremely motivating! There is a great system for goal planning that can make the daunting task a lot easier. Go grab a piece of paper and a pencil and meet me back here for some new goal planning. 

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

The SMART goal method is a very effective way at writing out and setting obtainable goals. It's simply an acronym for 5 qualities your goals should have. 

S- Specific: Be specific about what you want to accomplish. General goals are harder to grasp. For example, 'I want to run more' is very general. However, 'I want to complete a 10k in 3 months, so I will run 4 days a week' is easily accomplished because of the specifics.

M- Measurable: When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the elation of achievement that pushes you to keep going to reach your goal. Ask these questions to determine if your goal is measurable: How much? How many? How will I know when it's completed?

A- Attainable: This is a big one. Many a human being has set a goal far too unattainable and give up completely when they fall short of reaching their goal. Don't get me wrong, it's great to have a "larger picture" goal, but break it into smaller, attainable goals. Perhaps you want to complete a triathlon. You wouldn't put a goal of training for and completing it in 3 months on that. Especially if this is your first one. Break that into smaller goals that can be achieved on your way to accomplishing that larger goal! Is your goal to lose 50 pounds? Great, but break it down into smaller weekly goals. Now your goal is to lose 2-3 pounds a week, working toward that 50 pound loss!

R- Recorded or Relevant: Make sure those goals are written down and relevant to where you are in your journey. If you have just started running, you don't want to do a marathon just yet. Start where you are, write down your thoughts and feelings, and keep going!

T- Timely: Simply put, when do you want to complete this goal by? Give yourself a date. This will push you toward your goal and keep you motivated. Keep in the mind your goal needs to be attainable and relevant when setting a deadline to meet your new goal or goals. 

Start making new goals today! Share some new goals you've made in the comments section. We'd love to cheer you on!

Natalie Lurie

natalie@guidingfitness.com

Make time, Not excuses!

We all make excuses from time to time. Sometimes they are legitimate excuses, and sometimes they are not. We have a "thing" to attend. I'm too tired after that day at work. The baby is sick. My car won't start. I'm just swamped. The dog is sick.... We have all been there. But, what about when excuses begin to become a habit? A way to talk yourself out of exercise, eating well, getting enough sleep, or being mentally healthy? Making excuses can have a much bigger negative impact on your life than you may realize. When you give yourself or someone else an excuse, you are giving up responsibility and personal growth.

When it comes to exercise, so many people use the excuse, "I just don't have time." Yes, schedules can get a bit busy. The fact is, if something is important enough to you, you will TAKE the time. See what I did there? You cannot make time, you have to take that time for yourself. It doesn't have to be a ton of time, just 30 minutes to an hour a day to get your heart rate going. What about "I'm just way too tired."? Oh really? Well, it's been proven that a great workout gives you tons of energy! Don't believe me, give it a try!

Have you been making excuses about your diet? When I use the term diet, I'm referring to HAVING a diet, not being ON a diet. I'm not a fan of "dieting," but that's another post for another day. Do you find yourself making excuses for eating poorly? Again, the most used excuse here is "I don't have enough time to prepare a delicious, healthy meal to put on the table, so I'll grab something quick". It's all about being prepared. Get the grocery shopping done on the weekends and do a little bit of prep work in the kitchen. That's going to save you lots of time during the week and your quality of your food will be much healthier.

These are just the tip of the iceberg of excuses. We all have our go to excuses. I challenge you to write down any excuse you find yourself making in the following week. Write it down, then under it, write out a way you can crush that excuse. Only you can take responsibility for your actions. When you put the work in, you can take all the credit!

Natalie Lurie
natalie@guidingfitness.com

Get Organized!

It's that time of year again! Summer break is winding down, kids are going back to school, sports teams are gearing up for a fresh season, and you find yourself running in a million different directions. Life can get busy, before we realize it's even happening! Can we really prepare for the perfect storm of busyness that hits us all this time of year? You bet!

I have always found myself in wide-eyed awe of those people that just seem to have their stuff together. You know the ones I'm talking about. They are always dressed to the nines, their kids stand beside them like little angels decked out in their football pads, while they drink a fresh green smoothie and expertly answer email and phone calls all at the same time. Then proceed to tear their suit off like superman and finish first place in this week's marathon. Yeah, they're pretty cool, huh? They also usually have a lot of help in the background that we don't see. People that have their stuff together, had to put it together first!

If you are already in the midst of the messiness of the perfect storm, it can seem overwhelming a task to get organized. With a few simple ideas, we can get started on the road to being Captain Cool!

Some great things to have on hand for simple organization are an erasable calendar with several different color markers, a daily planner, meal containers, sharpies, post-it notes, and a little bit of determination.

Assign each member of the family a color. Have them write in their daily appointments, schedule, or needs on the calendar. One glance and you'll know who needs to be where and when. Be sure to keep all this info in your daily planner, as well, and keep it with you.

Take some time everyday to make lunches for the next day. You can enlist your kids (if you have them) to make their own lunches. Write names on each container or brown bag and have them ready to grab in the fridge. Be sure to pack plenty of snacks in case you get stuck out at the ball field or in the office for a late meeting. Throw some snacks in the glove compartment of the car, in case you get stuck in traffic. Also, on the weekends, make a meal plan for the week and get the food shopping done before the storm hits. Failing to plan is planning to fail!

Leave post it note reminders to the kids, the spouse, the roommate, or even the pets if that's how you roll.

Don't forget to take care of YOU during this time too! Put your workout on the calendar and make it a proper appointment. Tell anyone who tries to take that time slot that you have a very important appointment that you cannot miss. It's very difficult to take care of others if you don't take care of yourself!

These are just a few simple ways to get in a habit of being more organized. Don't worry if it doesn't look perfect or work out exactly how you want it to. The goal is to make things just a little bit easier and less stressful. Take a deep breath in and start delegating!

Happy organizing!!
Natalie Lurie
natalie@guidingfitness.com

Celebrate YOU!

 Sometimes we can get so caught up everything that has to get done that we forget to take a second and celebrate our victories. It's so important to recognize the hard work we put in to our weight loss, our fitness goals, a project at work, the kids getting to bed cleaned and fed, or dinner that took longer than 10 minutes to make! When we don't stop and take the time to appreciate and celebrate our small victories, we tend to get burnt out. 

My challenge to you this coming month is to celebrate a small (or huge) victory every single day! Write it down and put the list somewhere you will see it everyday. Add to it every night before you go to bed. Your victory can be something as small as "I took the stairs instead of the elevator." Or it can be as huge as, "I completed my first marathon!" 

Let's take the time to celebrate our victories and recognize the hard work we do! It will give us more encouragement, motivation, and positivity in our busy lives!

Natalie Lurie
natalie@guidingfitness.com

Fuel Your Fitness

Our bodies cannot survive without proper nutrition. In the same way, our workouts cannot survive without the proper fuel. The foods we choose to put in our bodies dictates what our bodies can and will do. We've all heard that eating a nutritionally sound diet can help us lose weight, but it can also allow us to push harder in our workouts.

When we eat junk food, our bodies tend to naturally slow down and say, "Hey, let's just sit here and maybe eat some more junk food. I'm too tired to exercise." But when we fuel our bodies with the right kinds of food, we can discover loads of energy, better performance, clearer thoughts, and healthier immune systems. 

8 Foods To Help Fuel Your Fitness:

1. Quinoa- You may not be very familiar with quinoa, but it's time you met! This little grain is a protein powerhouse. It's also a great source of heart healthy unsaturated fats, fiber, and B vitamins.

2. Eggs- Eggs contain 4 grams of pure muscle building amino acids inside every shell. They also have the highest naturally available doses of choline, which is thought to enhance memory. And of course, they are a great source of protein.

3. Water- You had to know good old H20 would be on this list! Water is literally life. It flushes out toxins, regulates body temp, lubricates joints, enhances energy, and supplies our bodies with much needed minerals. Without water, none of the other super foods would matter. 

4. Sweet Potatoes- A 4 ounce sweet potato contains more than 100% of our daily supply of beta carotene, a hefty supply of vitamin C & E, and iron. It's also one of the best foods for muscle recovery.

5. Almonds- High in protein, fiber, and vitamin E, almonds are great for your heart, digestive system, and skin. Grab a handful for a snack.

6. Yogurt- Yogurt has all the benefits of milk, plus active cultures to boost the number of germ fighting bacteria along your intestinal wall. Go for plain greek yogurt and throw in fresh fruit to get the most out of this protein packed snack without all the sugar.

7. Oatmeal- Oatmeal is filled with stress-fighting and immunity-boosting zinc. It can promote weight loss, lower your risk of heart disease, and is packed with soluble fiber to help you stay fuller longer.

8. Blueberries-  Of all the fruit you could eat, blueberries just might be one of the best! Those little blue globes pack more fiber, vitamins, and minerals per ounce than any other fruit. They are full of free radical fighting antioxidants that fight disease and are also effective at helping keep connections between your brain and nervous system healthy.

Don't forget, you are what you eat and your health and performance are dictated by what you put in your mouth! Make sure it's something healthy and beneficial to your entire being!

Natalie Lurie

natalie@guidingfitness.com

Be Explosive: The benefits of HIIT workouts

If you've been in a gym, read a fitness article, or even been around a trainer recently, then you have no doubt heard the term "HIIT". This stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and it is booming lately! Last year, HIIT was one of the top two fitness trends, with body weight training being the other. So, what is this training all about? Why should we add it into our workout schedules? What is HIIT?

HIIT is a training technique in which one pushes their bodies in a 100 percent "all out" effort in quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by a short, active recovery period. These techniques have also been called tabata training. These sessions typically are shorter than your usual fitness class because they tax the anaerobic system and keep the heart rate up at a higher intesity, allowing for MORE work in a shorter time frame. You mean to say, I can work harder for a SHORTER amount of time and get the same benefits? Where do I sign up? 

It can be really beneficial to your overall fitness to add a few HIIT workouts into your routine. Eric Salvador, NASM, NSCA, and head instructor at The Fhitting Room in New York City has this to say about HIIT workouts, "A high-intensity workout increases the body's need for oxygen during the effort and creates an oxygen shortage, causing your body to ask for more oxygen during recovery. This afterburner effect is known as EPOC, or Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. This is the reason why intense exercise will help burn more fat and calories than regular steady-state workouts."

Still not convinced? Here a few other benefits of sprinkling in a bit of HIIT.

1. HIIT increases your metabolism. HIIT stimulates the production of the Human Growth Hormone (HGH) by up to 400 percent during the 24 hours after you finish your workout. This is AWESOME news! HGH is not only responsible for increased caloric burn but also slows the aging process, making you younger from the inside out!

2. HIIT exercise can be done anywhere! You can do it in the rain, you can do it on a train. You can do it here, you can do it there. You can do it ANYWHERE! The concept is so simple, it can be applied to any exercise movement. Work at your maximum level for 30-60 seconds, rest for 20-40, then wash, rinse, and repeat! You can do this at home, on vacation, in the aisle of a plane even! Though, you might get a few grumpy passengers that obviously don't subscribe to HIIT exercise. 

3. HIIT increases your cardiovascular output, therefore building a stronger heart. Most people aren't used to pushing themselves into their anaerobic threshold. (That magical place where you can't catch your breath and your heart is trying to make a jump for it.) The heart is a muscle, and just like with any muscle in the body, it has to be conditioned. By pushing your heart to beat faster and harder, it allows the heart to grow stronger and keeps you moving more in future workouts.

Try this 20 minute beginner "Do-it-anywhere" HIIT workout:
Warm up the body with some jogging in place for 1 minute. Circle the arms around backwards and forwards, exaggerating the movements, for 30 seconds. Perform easy, shallow squats for 30 seconds then easy, shallow lunges for 30 seconds. Now, let's HIIT it!

3 rounds, 45 seconds of work, 15 seconds of recovery. (During the recovery, keep your feet moving. Jog in place, bounce in place, etc) Do as many reps as you can in 45 seconds, working at your maximum level. 

1. Push-ups- If you cannot do a push-up your toes, drop to your knees. Most important, LEAD with your chest, not your forehead! 
2. Squats- Sit your hips back and down, keeping the knees behind your toes. The deeper you go, the harder it is. Make sure shoulders remain back and down as you lower.
3. Butt kickers- Sprint in place while bringing your heels back towards your buttocks.
4. Tricep dips- Place hands on sturdy bench, chair, or table. With your back to the chair, straighten out your legs, balancing on your palms. Bending from the elbows, lower as far as you can, then press up. Keep that core tight!
5. Side lunges- With your weight in your heels and toes facing forward, step to the side into a lunge, with your knees remaining over your toes. Alternate legs.
Rest for 1 minute then repeat twice, for a total of 3 rounds.

Cool down by marching in place then holding these stretches for 30 seconds each: Overhead stretch, quad stretch (while standing, bring one foot back and grab with your hands, trying to get it as close to your buttocks as possible, switch legs), and forward fold. (With a flat back, reach down toward your toes.)

HIIT workouts will change your fitness game! Try one today!

Natalie Lurie
natalie@guidingfitness.com

Baby, YOU are a firework: Learn to love yourself

Look in the mirror. Go ahead, I'll wait... What did you see? How would you describe yourself to someone who has never seen you? Would you describe your winning smile, your vibrant, studious eyes, the beautiful lines and curves of your body? Or would you point out the worry lines around your face, the softness of your belly, or any one of the many other flaws that you may see? No one is harder on us than we are on ourselves and the way we speak to ourselves can be detrimental. How we view our bodies, our personalities, and our self-worth can dictate how happy we are in our everyday lives. It's time we stop allowing the external world tell us what we're worth and turn inwards to find true self-love and acceptance.

This can be extremely challenging in the world we live in. There is so much noise telling us just how "not good enough" we are. Our culture is filled with photoshopped beauty, perfectly portrayed relationships, images of people that have it all together; and it's readily available to us at the touch of a button. So what can we do? How do we learn to love ourselves? True acceptance has to come from within us. We must shift our self perception.

It won't happen overnight. As with any new habit, this will come with practice, persistence, and patience. Let's start this journey of love and self-acceptance together with a few, simple tips and ideas.

1. Begin your day with love. (Not technology) YOU should be the first person to say the words "I love you" to you. Don't roll over and pick up your phone. Take a few moments while lying in bed to set your mind on a path to self love. Breathe in love, breathe out love. Remind yourself of your worthiness before your feet ever touch the floor.

2. Talk yourself happy. Use words of affirmation and positivity throughout your day. Wear a special bracelet or ring on your right hand. When you begin to speak negatively of yourself, move it to your left hand as a reminder to speak only love and light into your day. Once your mind is back on track, move the item back to your right hand and smile. Here is a link to some great affirmations to get you started. Once you are in the groove, come up with your own. http://bit.ly/1HsllJ9

3. Enjoy life enhancing actives. Discover healthy foods you like and experiment with recipes. Find exercise you genuinely look forward to. Taking care of our bodies gives us a new perspective on how important the way we treat ourselves really is.

4. Own your potential. We can't be good at everything, but find what you are good at and recognize it. Begin to love yourself enough to believe in the limitless opportunities available to you. Trust yourself enough to make the right choices for your life.

5. Mediate. Take time everyday to get quiet and honest with yourself. Turn off everything and sit quietly with yourself for a few minutes. Allow all thoughts to rise to the surface, acknowledge them, then let them go. Speak those affirming words to your heart and breathe beauty into your life.

 There are so many tips and ideas to incorporate into your journey of self love and acceptance. I encourage you to do a little research for yourself as you develop and grow in your relationship with yourself.  Try these out for a week. At the end of the week, go look in the mirror. What did you see? I hope you are beginning to see the amazing, beautiful, fulfilled, loving, and talented person that you truly are.

Natalie Lurie
natalie@guidingfitness.com