NEW HOST SITE!

I decided to change the host site to my blog (from tumblr) because I think it is a little easier to follow (and get updates when I've posted) and for a few other reasons. Please follow/bookmark/share!!!

theroadtofitlife.blogspot.com

Remember That You're Human - Make Time To Be One

Sometimes I get so busy and wrapped up in everything that is happening that I forget that I’m human. That I’m a 23 year old woman with people who count on me and people that I want forever in my corner. My friends will be the first to tell you that I have a tendency to disappear from the surface and be quite the hermit, and I have every excuse in the book. 

I’m so tired I just need sleep; I have way too much homework; I haven’t been feeling good; I don’t know when I will be done at the gym; I can’t be out late; I have class early; I work a double tomorrow; my house is a disaster area!

Not that I intentionally use these as excuses… Sometimes they are real legitimate reasons! But in the midst of all the crazy in the day to day, it is important to take time for the ones you care about. 20 minutes to FaceTime your sisters/nieces back home – An hour for lunch with a girlfriend – An ENTIRE afternoon for manis/pedis/and coffee.

I think that making time for these things are so important, and one of my biggest struggles. Sometimes I get so caught up in the motion and forget that it’s okay to share some of my burdens with friends, and to celebrate their successes with them. When I catch up with my girlfriends and I feel like we need the entire hour to talk about things that I had no idea have been happening in their life, it’s a bitter reality check. 

This is something that we are all guilty of at times. We blame it on our introvert personality and lack of time. And if you think YOU are an introvert, you have never met ME. I literally have some days where I think to myself… Yep, being on a deserted island alone wouldn’t be that bad. Plus, then I would have time to get all my stuff done!!! News flash - We all have the same 24 hours (and I HATE that saying). Wake up a little earlier, waste a little less time on Facebook, and get your booty doing things to keep you sane. Blow off some steam. I can’t urge you enough! Like I said, this is something that I struggle with almost DAILY. But recently I’ve realized that yes, my workouts are so important to me. Yes, I need to make good grades so I can become one of the most badass Chiropractors you have ever met. Yes, I need to work to put food on the table. And just as importantly, I need to make time for the people that matter (myself included… A good book at Starbucks or an hour long mani/pedi? YES PLEASE!)

Here’s a little funny for those of you losing interest…Now that I am trying to consciously make an effort to make time for the important things, I realize that there is a time for balance. While contest prepping I’m sober sally but met my friend at the local watering hole (protein shake in hand). Eat fatty burgers and slam car bombs and no one bats an eye; bring a delicious, nutritious protein shake in public and everyone loses their minds! Haha just kidding, but I did get a couple funny looks and sweet comments (insert sarcasm).

So remember… It’s okay to be social (even though sometimes people suck!). You need to build those connections. You want people to be able to rely on you in their times of need, and you never know when you are going to need an ear to vent too. So schedule that lunch date, indulge in that glass of wine, gossip about the good ole days. Make time for your people. Remember that you are human, it’s okay to act like one sometimes.

Finding Motivation When There Is None

We all have those days. The… I’ll work out twice as hard tomorrow- I think my body needs rest – I’d rather sit on the couch and watch a grey’s anatomy marathon.  The days where it is cold and rainy and the covers are just a little too warm. Those are the days where I think it is most important to get off that booty and get in the gym. Those are the days that make a difference. Today was that day for me.

Motivation and struggle come to me in many different ways. I hate mornings. I have never liked them because I like being able to do nothing. Something that helps ensure that I make it to the gym when I need a morning gym sesh is making an appointment with a friend. Then, you are not just accountable to yourself, but to someone else as well. Leaving someone hanging is not the best way to start the morning! I was going to have to work a double a couple weeks ago and knew that if I didn’t make it to the gym before I started my shifts I wasn’t going to make it there at all. Keeping my goal in mind, I made a workout date with a friend. Sleepy eyed and half awake, I waltzed in to the gym at 530am… AND THIS GUY WAS LATE! Reminded me of why it is so important to keep those gym dates for sure! We still got an amazing workout in, and it helped me be in a great mood all day long!

My number one way to get pumped up for a workout is music. I put on my favorite pump up song as I am getting dressed for the gym or showering and it starts to get my blood flowing. I go back and forth between Salt-n-Pepper None of Your Business, Crazy B**** by Buckcherry  and Aloe Blacc’s The Man… Just in case you were wondering.

A big part of finding your motivation when it is nill directs me back to my last post… Finding your why. When you can’t find the energy necessary to get that booty out the door, remember why you started in the first place. That is why I urge you to find meaning in your why before you begin your journey, because it is what keeps you going when you feel like you have nothing left to give.

I’m sure many of you have heard the long repeated quote “The people that quit do so because they only look at how far they have left to go, not at how far they have come.” It is SO true. Sometimes workouts and life in general can be discouraging. Remember that after a bad lift or a backslide in eating doesn’t mean the end of things. Look at the progress you have made. Take progress pictures, keep a journal. When you go back and look at how long it took you to run your first mile and how long it took you to run your last, it can be the encouragement you need to get you going. Watching yourself do things that you never imagined possible… That is success. That is pure motivation!

In short, here are a few tips on staying motivated:

1. Remember your why

2. Find a workout buddy

3. Remember how far you’ve come

4. Listen to a pump up song

5. SLEEP in your gym clothes

6. Reward yourself (in a healthy way)

7. Take progress pictures

8. Keep a food/workout journal

9. Take a nap (in your workout clothes so you are ready)

10. Working out gives you endorphins… It’s a NATURAL mood enhancer!

Tried to keep it short and sweet this time, stay tuned for more posts this week!

Finding Your Why

Before you begin a big endeavor in any part of life, there is an important question to ask yourself… Why? If you go to any seminar on life, or even sit in some multilevel marketing outreach, this is the first thing they will ask you. What is the reason behind this decision – behind starting this journey – behind wanting to get to this finish line?

My why in fitness started when I was 10 years old. I LOVED sports. I loved getting out on the soccer field because loved kicking the ball around. I loved everything about it. As I started to grow, my uncoordinated self decided to give basketball a try, and I fell in love with a new sport. I sucked! But I loved it.  My why became because I didn’t want to get better, I wanted to be the best. Little did I know that I was only going to grow to be 5’9, and my best friend was going to be 10 times the basketball player I was… But basketball became my life, my family.

It didn’t take long to realize I wasn’t made for college ball. And I certainly wasn’t going pro. I took a long hiatus from anything athletic and tried my hand at the booze Olympics. My pants started to get a little tighter, my energy started to dim a little, and I figured I better make my way back into the gym. Slowly by surely, I started lifting and getting back on to the court. Then I did the typical… It’s winter, I don’t need to workout… It’s summer, holy crap I need to be in a bikini dance for a while. 

Fast forward a couple years. I moved over one thousand miles away from anything that I knew. As I went to work and started to meet people, I still felt as though something was missing. I began to find myself again in the gym. Day after day those cravings came back. I’d push a little harder, ran a little farther. I realized that on those particularly rough days, my workouts gave me peace. It became my me time again. Nikes on, headphones in. It became my time of solace where my mind is actually quiet. Literally the only thing that I think about it my lift.

Don’t get me wrong, there are days where I want to pull my hair out. Days where my energy is nill, my emotions are running rampad, and my lifts are disappointing, To me, there is nothing worse in my day then when I hit the gym with a goal in mind and I just barely miss it. But then I remember… If that is the worst thing that happens in my day, life is pretty damn good. In addition to that… If I just barely missed the goal, I am just barely going to make it the next time. And to me, there is  nothing better than using all you have left and pushing right past that goal you had. The success, the endorphins, the adrenaline. When you see yourself doing things that you never saw yourself doing, that’s my happy place.

I recently found a new why. A few months ago, I decided to try my hand in the competition world. This new endeavor has got me so crazy and so busy that there literally have been times where I wanted to throw my hands up, drop a couple of F*bombs, and quit… and maybe I’ve done two out of three of those. But the next day I’m back at it! I love that feeling. I love knowing that I can always go back and I’m always going to be getting better. Through a couple tears, a few aches and pains, and A LOT of help from other people (my gym family will likely never know how much they have actually done for me)… I’ve started to make progress. When I feel like quitting, I remember my why. Because I’m improving and making a new me. Not because the old me was a bad version, but because I know I am capable of so much more! Inone month of hard, sometimes infuriating work… I am down 5lbs, 3.2% body fat, with 1lb gain of lean body mass. 

It is SO important to find your why. I can’t stress that enough. Because when you feel like giving up and throwing in the towel, your why is what keeps you going.

New HOST site

Hello All!

I hope this week is treating you well and you are all staying motivated and inspired. I changed the host site for my blog from theroadtofitlife.tumblr.com to this.. Please follow and share!!

theroadtofitlife.blogspot.com