We thought we would kick off this Monday
with a motivational guest post from our friend
Angela Kraber.
Angela Kraber not only understands where moms are coming from,
as a fitness expert she also understands their bodies.
After her two daughters were born,
she rekindled her passion for running and eventually started
her own running club and fitness program, Moms On The Run Fitness.
Angela also has an active personal training roster
with a focus on empowerment and accountability.
She is a member of IDEA, an ACE Certified Personal Trainer,
a Stroller Strides franchisee-owner,
and certified pre-natal and post-natal instructor,
as well as a certified boot camp instructor for Body Back and P90X Group X.
Whew…..Angela is one motivated MAMA!
With most of us heading out to the pool or beaches in the near future,
It’s time to get back on track, no excuses!
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March is here, and although the New Year’s Resolutions seem long gone, and almost forgotten, bathing suit season is still right around the corner. Jerk. Don’t worry, you are definitely not alone. March is the month that the fitness industry experiences what they call ‘the cliff’. All those new members they enrolled in January have lost their steam- and possible even their gym card, likely to never come back. If you feel like you are at the edge of the cliff, or even already over it, here is a rope to pull you back up! Instead of vowing now that next year will be the year, and throwing in the towel all too soon, I have some great tips to keep you from falling off the fitness cliff, and still make it to your smoking hot body by summertime.
Now if you knew better than to make resolutions in January, and are looking to start now, check out this article I wrote for ParentingOC to help you get started and stay on track. These tips are below are to save those about to give up on their resolutions, if they haven’t in fact already done so.
Be honest about what you want and why. I am sure that a lot of our resolutions looked something like this: Lose 10 (insert any number) pounds, spend more quality time with my family, exercise more, be happier, etc. etc. And while all of these are a great place to start, they really don’t lead you to any type of action. The reason is because you need to have a why. Placing the end result feeling with your goals is what will drive you to actually complete them. For example: I want to lose 10 pounds vs. I want to lose 10 pounds so that when I look at myself in the mirror I can smile at the way I look, and teach my daughter to do the same. Makes a difference, right? And no, it doesn’t have to be that mushy. If you want to lose 10 pounds to walk into your high school reunion and own the place…. that works just as well.
Make a realistic plan. Now that you’ve changed your focus to why you want to achieve the goals you set, you need to be realistic about your plan. If you love food, don’t think that the 10 day cleanse will work great for you. If you absolutely hate to run, don’t think that training for a half marathon is the way to go. Focus on what you have control of, and what immediate steps you can take to move in the right direction.
Stop making yourself the victim. I can’t tell you how often I hear, ‘well, I don’t have time to workout’, or ‘I can’t fit eating healthy into my schedule’. The truth is everyone has the same amount of hours in the day. And you are in charge of how you spend your time. Yes, for everyone, this will be different with kids, work, outside activities, and responsibilities. But you can learn to say yes, or no to things. Amazing, but true. Start small and choose one thing you can change. Instead of watching TV one night, you can workout, prep food, read, or better yet go to bed early. One small change like that can set you on a path to creating more time for the goals you want to achieve, and help you see the control you can have over even the craziest of schedules.
Think equally as much about what you don’t want, as what you do want. For most of us there are a lot of things we want to do in a new year. Lose weight, travel more, budget our money better, budget our time better, start to meditate, volunteer more, the list can go on and on. But let me ask you this, especially after my last tip- where do you think you are going to fit it all in? I am sure you aren’t doing most of what you want now, and you are still searching for extra hours in the day. So focus too on what you want to TAKE OUT of your life. Use THIS LIST to create and ADD and SUBTRACT in your life.
It helps to be reminded of what you don’t want to be doing, and allows you to swap with the things you DO want to be doing.
Make more good choices than bad. Striving for perfection sets you up for failure by giving you an all-or- nothing mentality. So ridiculous. We would NEVER want to set our children up for failure, so why do we give them the example of us doing it to ourselves? Your day is defined by the decisions you make, every tiny one, so focus on the majority of them being a good choice, and you are on the right path.
Find a way to get connected to stay motivated. Chances are you have friends that are on track with their fitness and nutrition, so get connected with them instead of being jealous from afar. They probably have some great tips, and can help motivate you to do the same. Maybe you can workout with them once a week, or get a great recipe. By surrounding yourself with people that are making it happen, you up your chances for success by 75%!!! If you don’t, find a fun new exercise class, or group; follow some great fitness experts on Pinterest, Twitter, or Facebook (Chalene Johnson, FitFluential, Fitbottomedgirl, Daily Burn, are just a few I like). I run a Challenge Group every month that is a GREAT way to get tips and stay connected and motivated. You can find out more information about our March Challenge HERE.
Just remember, be honest with yourself about what is really getting in your way, and take small steps every day to work towards your goals. The more complicated you make it; the less likely you are to achieve it.
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