RKC....Here I come!

Ok, so I will admit....I AM NERVOUS!!!!!! Maybe not nervous, but very excited! As for those who don't know, this weekend BJ and I are going up to St. Paul, MN for the Russian Kettlebell Certification. BJ got certified last April and is going to be an Assistant Instructor this year. I am going to get certified. I have worked towards this goal for a little over 6 months now and I can't wait!

From what I hear, it is a greuling 3 days of testing, performance and teaching that I have to do. If we do anything wrong...PUNISHMENT! Usually push-ups or some type of KB exercise. But in the end it is all worth it. I hold myself to very high standards when it comes to this type of stuff, so I know I will do my best if not better. Not much else to say, but I will let you know how everything goes on either Monday or Tuesday when I am back!

One more thing. For those of you who are interested we are holding a Kettlebell Workshop on May 5th (Saturday) from 1-5pm. We only have 14 spots open and they are filling fast! If you are interested please contact me or BJ at www.impactyourfitness.com

Have a great weekend everyone and ENJOY THE PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Food=Energy

I would love to go back to the days when I was little and I could run around 22 out of the 24 hours of the day and still have energy. Today is a different story, as I am sure most of you would agree. With full and/or part-time jobs, families, household chores, and just getting around, energy is just a faint memory. When I ask my clients what they most want from exercise and/or eating better, there is a tie for the number one answer. Either to lose weight or get more energy.

Exercise will definately help with both of those goals. Exercise is wonderful for kickstarting your body to give you more energy. It helps get rid of some of those nasty toxins that we have from stress. Helps relieve the muscles and get the "kinks" out.

Another way to get more energy is by how you eat. Do you ever wonder why after having a lunch filled with refined carbs and processed foods you either A. Feel very sluggish and can't lift your head off your desk or B. Crash about 1-2 hours after you have eaten and become hungry again? The answer to both of those questions is the food. Filling your plate (or stomach) with processed foods is a horrible way to get the engery you need for the day. A better way would be to eat a good combo of protein, veggies, and whole grains. Basically brain food. And don't forget the fat! Good fat I mean. Like olive oil, nuts, seeds, etc. I know the "Twinkie" fat taste good, but not really good for you.

So the next time you are feeling sluggish and just down at work, home, or out. Think back to what you have eaten that day or even the day before. Make some adjustments (as said above) and turn your food into energy!

Breakfast: "But I'm not hungry in the morning!"

Ah, the most popular response I get when I ask someone why they don't eat breakfast. I must admit myself, sometimes it is hard to wake up and eat in the morning. But what most people have to understand is that your body has fasted for 6-10 hours (depending on how much you sleep) and your body needs that nutrition to start off the day right.

Breakfast starts up your metabolism and gets your "inner furnace" ready for the day. But what to eat for breakfast? Well if you are like most, a doughnut, or bagel with a bunch of cream cheese will do. But how healthy is that? Come on, you know the answer to that question. NOT VERY! So why is it not healthy? Well first off, the doughnut, pure fat and sugar. Although, I will give you that they taste great, the doughnut will not keep you full for very long and you will be hungry in about an hour. The bagel too is not great. A lot of refined carbohydrates plus the added cream cheese. Again fat + sugar = BAD!

So what can or should you eat? Well eggs are great! Hard-boiled, scrambled, over-easy, poached, omelet, etc. Eggs have a great amount of protein and fat to keep you full and will start your metabolism up. Adding fruit or veggies is great too. Oatmeal is also a great breakfast...just not the instant! Take the 3 min and make good old fashion oats. Put some cinnamon and raisins in it or some frozen berries! Ofcourse cereal is a poplar breakfast dish. It is easy, fast, and there is a wide variety. You just need to watch out for those hidden sugars. If it has too much sugar you are going to get the same high and crash you would if you ate a doughnut.

I understand not everyone has time to make the food and sit down to eat. Well I have a solution for that too! Advocare makes a great Meal Replacement Shake that can satisfy anyone! And they taste great. All you do is put the packet into a shaker and add water, shake and go! It has all the nutrients that you need to start your day.

So as you can see there are many options. Some good, some bad. But the main principle you want to remember is EAT BREAKFAST!!!!

Plateaus

So recently I hit a plateau with my weight loss. I couldn't break the plateau of 135-136. For me, and for most, plateaus are frustrating! I have a goal in mind and I have a date that my goal MUST be achieved by and the plateaus that I might come across can either break me or make me. For awhile, it was breaking me. I kept thinking to myself..."Why am I busting my ass for nothing to happen?". Then I would realize that the reason why I am busting my ass is because I want to achieve a goal. Plateaus are always something everyone is going to go through, especially in losing weight. So to break my plateau, my wonderful husband and I sat down last week and looked at what I was doing for my workouts and my eating and tried to find out why I couldn't break the plateau. To make a long story short, I added more food to my diet (protein and veggies only) and decided to keep my workouts simple, but hard. And like a wave of the magic wand I have broken my plateau! I have lost another 3 pounds! So don't get frustrated and give up when you hit a plateau. Infact, make it more of a competition between you and the plateau. Sit down and look at what you are doing for your workouts and dieting and switch it up! Your body will thank you!

My Workouts

So I have been telling you what I am going to do for my workouts, but I haven't shared with you what I am doing. So here is what I did over the past couple of days...

Monday: Easy "break" day. It was just beautiful ouside, so before work I took my dog on a nice walk for about 30 min. Just enough to get the blood flowing and to wake me up.

Tuesday: Strength day! Today I started my new and improved strenth program.
Snatches: 3 sets of 20 on each arm with 3 min of rest inbetween
Sumo Deadlift: 115 pounds (yes that is typed correctly) 3 sets of 5
KB presses with the 12kg KB 3 sets of 5 on each arm
Chin ups: 3 sets of 1 (my big weakness!)
Then I did 3 sets of 10 reverse crunches and a WHOLE LOT of stretching for my hips, glutes and hamstrings. This was a great workout! Thanks BJ

Wednesday: Horrible day at work, needed to burn off some steam! Today BJ has me doing conditioning. I love conditioning because it is always challenging, and if it isn't, than you can make it challenging. So here is what I did...
20 min of 1 min jump rope then 10 1-handed swings on each arm with the 16kg. I did not rest inbetween the jump rope and the swings or vice versa. Again a great workout. I needed to get a lot of tension out! I also did some great stretching for my hips and hamstrings.

So there you have it. I will keep you updated on what else I am doing for workouts and other fun ideas!

Temptation!

Ahh...Temptation. Even the word makes you feel like you have done something to be guilty about. Temptation is a big issue to deal with when you are trying to eat right, exercise, and lose weight. Temptation seems to be ALL around you when you are trying to "be good" with your diet. I know for me temptation is big at my work. There is always candy or snacks or some kind of "end of the week" party going on. So how do I deal with this temptation. Well I am not going to lie to you and say that I never give in...because I do. But I also always look at what is tempting me and ask myself and important question that I learned from Tracy Riefkind..."Is it going to kill me NOT to eat it?" If the answer is NO, than I walk away and not eat it, but like I said before, I sometimes give in.

People deal with temptation in all different ways. Some, like me analyze and then walk away. Some are so head strong they don't even think twice and walk away. And some don't get tempted. If you are like me and do get tempted, think about how you deal with your temptations and find out if it is working for you. Are you able to walk away from the candy or chips or extra helping of bread? Or do you give in all the time and you know it is just ruining your diet? Once you start pushing away those temptations it will get easier and easier every time you have to do it.

One last word...Give in sometimes. You are human, you are not perfect, nor ever will be. But make the "giving in" only once in awhile, not every day or every week and you will see temptation is not as evil as you once thought!

Heavy Weights

I know it has been a long time since I have blogged, and I am sorry. I am really going to try to do at least 3 blogs a week. Just an update with my success I have been having training for my RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certification). I am slowly, but surely losing the weight I need to before the certification. I have lost 2-2.5 pounds in about a week. I am happy with that. My goal is to lose another 5 by April 26th, I think I can...no scratch that...I know I can make it!

My KB training is going well too. BJ actually put me on a new program for the next 5 weeks. 3 times a week I will do my KB snatch workout and then 3 times a week I will do a conditioning workout. I know my body is almost there for the certification, but I also know the certification is brutal...and I love it! Because it has gotten warmer outside(thank God!), I also have been doing some light running and conditioning work outside. But just today both BJ and I decided that I should change up my workout just a bit again. I am going to start putting in some heavy work. I will probably do some heavy squating and deadlifting. The reason why I am putting this in my blog is because I want all the women out there to understand and realize that heavy lifting is not only for men and that heavy lifting is not going to make you look like Arnold! After my RKC, I am going to work on really sculpting my back, shoulders, and arms and in order to do that, lifting 10 pound weights for 20-25 reps won't do it. I need to use the barbell and pour on the weights.

So I hope you follow me along with my journey and learn how heavy weights not only peel off the fat, but are your friends!

Rest...we need it!

I have mentioned...I have goals. Unfortunetly my goals and working towards them can become overpowering to the point where I burn myself out. That is what I did these past 2 weeks. Like I have said, my main goal is to complete and do well at the RKC in April and I am doing a great job with my training for it. But I also work 30-50 hours a week at a hospital, working 10-16 hours a day, basically on my feet for the entire shift. Now, alot of that extra work I am doing at the hospital is my own fault. I like being a Respiratory Therapist and when they ask me to stay for a double shift or work an extra day, it is hard for me to say no. Well starting right now I am going to have to. This weekend I had a horrible workout. The Kettlebell has never seemed heavier and my mind and heart were no where close to being where they should be for the workout. It frustrated me very much. But then my wonderful husband reminded me about how much I have been working and working out that I am wearing myself down and overtraining. And I was overtraining trying to get all of my workouts in because I have been working so much. Sometimes I was doing 2 workouts a day, when I shouldn't have been.

It is hard for me to take a day off when I know I should be doing something! So I had to bite the bullet and put the Kettlebell down and take Saturday and Sunday off. I hurt, but in the long run I know it is going to benefit me and my workouts. When you overtrain you were your body down to the point of injury and/or illness. Neither one is good and no one wants to get one when they are seriously training. So I am here to tell you it is OK to take a day or 2 off a week and it is OK to take more if your body is telling you that. Just make sure it is your body telling you and not your mind. Don't make excuses to not train.

So the moral of the story....rest! Your body will thank you and your workouts will thank you!

My Goals

I have wanted to start this blog for a long time now, but with being busy with our business and working at the hospital I haven't had a chance....and I didn't quite know what to write about. Well it came to me this morning so I figured I would go with it.

Everyone has goals. For some it is to lose weight, some it is to start a family, and for some it is to move up in the executive world. Mine, you ask? Well I am going to tell you! From September of 2006, my goal has been to get myself ready for the RKC in April of 2007. A side note, the RKC is a Kettlebell certification that is extremely challenging, but fun all at the same time. BJ (husband) did it last April and came back raving about how much fun it is...so I couldn't let him have all the fun, I had to sign up. So what do I have to get ready for? Well there are certain "tests" I must pass to obtain my certification and I want to go in April ready and willing for anything, so I am working on a lot of different exercises with the Kettelbell.

Another goal of mine is to lose some weight for the RKC. One of the tests is a Snatch test with the Kettlebell. There are different weight classes and the number of snatches required depends on what weight class you fall into . Right now I am at 136 and I want to get down to 132 or lower for the RKC, also for overall health. So for that I am keying into my nutrition and adding some additional exercises to shed some of the weight. Nutrition seems to be my downfall, but I think I am finally grasping it.

So now that you have seen some of my goals (I have a ton more, but these are the 2 biggies), sit down and write down some of your own. And don't only write them down, but put a target date. It is so easy to say that you want to lose 10 pounds or make supervisor at your job, but when do you want to do it by? Follow me through my journey and hopefully you will be motivated to start your own with whatever your goals may be.