Keep pushing play, keep doing your best and keep working toward goals. NOTHING beats the feeling of achieving them!
Category Archives: Fitness Inspiration
Fitness Mindset
Three years ago, I had a similar conversation with myself, and I haven’t looked back. Anyone can do what I have done. You just have to change the way you think!
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness
10 Tips For Staying On Track
I am often asked about what I do to stay on track during my health and fitness journey, so I decided to put together 10 tips that have worked for me. These are in no particular order, as I randomly chose a few for this blog with the hope to shed a little light on things and help to jump start you, if you are just starting out.
1. Regular cardio exercise and resistance training: Cardio is one of the most important things you can do in order to reach your weight loss goals. Team that up with 3 days of resistance training a week, to build lean muscle and you will be a fat burning machine in no time. The cardio exercises that burn the most calories and get you into shape the fastest are, running, bicycling, swimming, step aerobics and inevitably, jogging. If you are just getting into the fitness game, try some brisk walking or spend some time on the eliptical. (I started out by using the stationary bike 3 times a week for 30 mins a day and worked my way up)
*If you prefer a DVD based program contact me and I can help you select one that’s right for you.
2. Drink lots of water: Water actually increases your body’s ability to metabolize fat and greatly helps in shedding your first couple pounds also known as, water weight. It will also help to keep you hydrated and curb your appetite. (I am a huge water drinker and can easily consume a gallon or more per day)
3. Meditation/Yoga: People recommend it because it reduces stress, but why is stress a bad thing? Well, when you are stressed your body releases high levels of cortisol and this is not good. If you are a stressed out person (like me), try doing some yoga (there are different styles to choose from, so play around until you find one you like) or try some gentle stretching and breathing exercises. If yoga is not your thing, play music, dim the lights and just relax. Your body and mind will thank you.
*Going to bed at an early hour and making sure you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep will help, as well.
4. Eat more fruits and vegetables: You’ve heard this one a hundred times but, it’s that important. In a world full of processed foods it’s important to go back to basics and up your intake on whole foods. They will help you feel full and energized and your digestive track will thank you. Opt for leafy, green vegetables and aim for a rainbow of colors on your plate for maximum nutrients. (Limit fruit intake as they are higher in sugar)
5. Eat more protein: This is essential in weight loss. Especially if you want to keep the weight off, and I’m sure you do! Who wants those pounds coming back…right?! Protein takes longer to digest and as a result, keeps you feeling full, longer. Protein is also necessary for building lean muscle, which in turn will rev up your metabolism and burn more fat. Some recommended foods that are high in protein: nuts such as almonds, eggs, fish, low-fat yogurt and string cheese, lean meat and skim-milk.
6. Eat frequent, small meals: Forget the typical 3 meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner. You should eat 5-6 smaller healthy meals per day. This will help to keep your blood sugar steady, curb binging due to hunger and keep your metabolism fired up.
7. Eat your food slowly: Many people tend to gulp food down while on the run. Take your time and enjoy what you are eating. It takes about 15 minutes for your brain to register that you are full, so slowing down will save you calories.
8. Watch your portion sizes: In a society were everything is super-sized and all-you-can-eat, this is so important! Use smaller plates at meal time. This will help trick you eye into thinking you “ate a full plate”. Another downfall is snacking. Ever eat a whole bag of mini rice cakes in one sitting? We’re all guilty of it, and it’s not ok just because they are a low fat snack. When eating snacks like rice cakes, nuts, or dried fruit, put a portion in a small bowl and then put the bag away. That way you won’t mindlessly eat a larger portion than you had intended.
9. Think before you eat: Do not snack when you are bored. It’s a terrible habit that many people do without even realizing and it plays a huge part in obesity. Before you reach for a snack, ask yourself “Am I even hungry?” If you are not sure, have a glass of water. Many times people mistake dehydration for hunger.
10. BE CONSISTENT: This is the most important rule and I cannot stress it enough. Be consistent with your exercise and eating. We will all have good days and bad days but you have to be dedicated and work hard to see results. If you slip up on a meal, don’t view it as a failure and continue to eat poorly the rest of the day. Dust yourself and make the best of the rest of your meals THAT DAY. Same holds true for exercise, there will be days you miss a workout. No sweat! Next day, dig a little deeper, or add some bonus time to make up for it. I don’t want you to beat yourself up, sulk over it and miss the next day, too. There are no miracles on this journey. You didn’t gain your weight overnight, so don’t expect to lose it overnight.
Healthy weight loss can be achieved and maintained if you are consistent and continue with your healthy eating habits and exercise even after your weight loss goal has been reached. This is a new way of life….embrace it.
*Bonus tip: Journal! Keep a food log everyday so you can look back and see where you can improve your diet. I wrote a blog on this not too long ago and it has truly helped me the past two months. “If you bite it, you write it”
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness
Back On Track
This past week I found myself unmotivated and quickly turning into a fitness train wreck.
I wasn’t planning my meals, I wasn’t doing my workout first thing in the morning and before I knew it I was eating over processed junk and NOT doing my workouts because I had no energy for them. (*gasp….I know….bad coach!)
I knew I needed to get myself back on track and fast, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Then I remembered my before photo and pulled it up on my laptop. I stared at the photo in disgust and knew if I didn’t get my act together I could easily slip back to THAT. I then pulled up a current photo of myself and put it next the before and man did something just click in my brain.
It was a click I had felt before….it was the click that propelled me onto this fitness journey a year ago.
While sitting there looking at the two photos I finally realized how far I’ve come. How much I have grown as a person. How much I have learned and how badly I want to help others reach their fitness goals.
I realized how I could NEVER go back to being that person again….I REFUSE to let that happen. (Those of you who know me know just how thickheaded I can be.)
So I pulled up a Word document and started typing out my goals. I made a list of things I want to achieve and I felt a new purpose wash over me as I did this.
I also shared my before and after with everyone I know on Facebook and Twitter. The messages and feedback I received were the motivation I needed. I was even retweeted by Beachbody on Twitter and that allowed me to connect with people I never spoke with before and answer their questions.
Knowing that I can help someone who wants to start their goal to a better life is one of the greatest things to me. I want nothing more than to see everyone succeed at this. To reach their goals. To find motivation. To find happiness and most of all health.
If you are someone who has been thinking about taking that first step to a new you please feel free to contact me. I would be more than happy to help you figure out what your first steps should be and to help you along the way.
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness
Drama + Haters = Fuel for the Fire
Everyone has drama in their lives at one point of another. Some of us are blessed with it more often then others (that is total sarcasm in case you didn’t know).
I often walk through life wondering if I do anything right. I can never seem to make everyone happy. I always do something to piss someone off and most recently my fitness achievements have made me a hated person amongst certain circles of people – there is nothing worse than walking through a room and feeling a giant target on your back!
However, I have learned to turn that drama and target on my back into fuel for my fire. Instead of getting worked up over it and saying things that can’t change the way another person thinks I unleash my fury in my workouts. The more someone says I am crazy for doing the workouts I do, or refuse to give me credit for the work I have done the more it makes me want to succeed and show them how wrong they are.
Instead of sitting around moping over a disagreement or some new drama that has cropped up I do Kenpo or grab my sneakers and hit the trail. Both help me to clear my mind, keep a level head and improve myself in the process. It also helps me to realize that the important part is that I am happy!
I am finally reaching a point in my life where I am putting myself first. I am surrounding myself with positive people. I am realizing that I CAN’T make everyone happy…that is impossible without completely losing yourself. I am doing everything possible to ensure that I reach my goals and do the things in life that I want to do. I can’t stop drama from entering my life or make people respect the life choices that I have made but I can certainly turn those things into fuel for my fire and reach my goals and most importantly achieve self happiness.
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness
Variety is the spice of life…
….and to me fitness as well.
I have recently come under fire from some people when they hear that I am not following the P90X schedule to a T.
They wonder how I expect to get results or know that the program is working when I don’t follow the design of it and do the workouts as laid out. My answer…”I’ve done it for 90 days and it works!”
Without a doubt P90X is like a well oiled machine! Follow the workouts as laid out (you gotta BRING IT here), truly follow the nutritional guide (which is a must if you want to succeed) and you will see amazing results!
However, I am in Round 2 now. I know what my “trouble areas” are and what I need to do in order to address them. I know that I have some nutrition weaknesses and I am making strides to correct them as well. I also like to change things up and keep my workouts interesting so I incorporate different programs into MY routine based on mood and time.
Beachbody offers a wide variety of programs and I am curious about them. If I see something that looks challenging and fun I want to try it. I don’t want to get stuck in a rut and reach a point where I dread certain days of the week because I HAVE to do a certain workout.
Over the past year I have figured out the I love martial arts based routines. I LOVE Kenpo in P90X and have recently tried the Kenpo Cardio+ from the P90X+ series. I have looked into TurboJam and ChaLEAN Extreme more because they seem to be a Cardio Kickboxing type of program and those are fun to me.
My overall goal in my fitness journey is the keep moving, keep burning, challenge myself and most of all HAVE FUN!
This morning I was going through my 10 Minute Trainer stuff and came across Tony Horton’s 11 Laws. This is a condensed version of it although I typed out the full REALITY card cause to me it is the most important one. I found it interesting that the first one was VARIETY and thought I would share them all:
Law 1: Variety. Variety is the spice of life and fitness. A lifetime of health and fitness is achievable when you can think outside the box. You have to mix it up all the time. Stay curious, creative, and stick with the kinds of workouts that you enjoy. A variety of exercises, workouts, and sports will allow you to avoid injuries, plateaus, and boredom.
Law 2: Consistency. Improvement and change occur when you do things often. Stopping and starting all the time will kill any momentum you need to succeed. You must find ways to stay in the game. Moderate forms of exercise, done consistently, provide far better results than the occasional full-body pummeling. A lifestyle that includes multiple forms of exercise five to six days a week guarantees results.
Law 3: Intensity. YOU’RE TOUGHER THAN YOU THINK. The fear of pain or injury from working out is a mindset steeped in failure. You must learn to “Find the Line.” Do the extra rep or two, increase your range of motion, and increase resistance as you get stronger. Intensity goes hand in hand with Variety and Consistency. The combination of the three work together as a triad that creates a platform for success. The programs provide variety. Your plan will keep you consistent.
Law 4: Purpose. Your purpose is to have a better life. Exercise and eating right help you feel better. When you feel better, you do more. When you do more, you meet other people. A healthy lifestyle gives us the energy to be better than before. We want to participate, share, communicate, and build a community have purpose in our lives. If you had never found Beachbody, you might be right back where you were isolated, with nothing to share, no purpose, because you weren’t doing anything with anyone.
Law 5: Reality. If you want positive, long-term change in life, accept the truth of your situation. Let go of your ego and find ways to love who you are right now. Living in the past, the future, and for others destroys your ability to stay in the moment. Life has peaks and valleys, ups and downs, lessons and celebrations. This is how we grow and learn. The way to live in this world is to live in the real world. Lift the burden of having to “keep up with the Joneses” all the time. Stop lying to yourself and everyone else about what you’re doing, what you’ve done, and what you’re going to do. Stop telling others about your hard workouts and clean diet while pretending that what you are saying is true. If it is true…guess what? We’ll know. Reality is about discovering the truth about the here and now. Reality is the ability to accept your present situation and love who you are through the process.
Law 6: Play. Take the onus off of weight, inches, and body fat percentages and put the focus on MOVING – from dancing, rock climbing, and mountain biking to table tennis. I love that ping-pong! Think in terms of “can do” instead of “look like.” Sports are fun and help develop balance and coordination which in turn accelerates your results. Jump, kick, run, spin, throw, skate, shoot, hit, score, compete . . . PLAY!
Law 7: Plan. SCHEDULE ALL WORKOUTS IN ADVANCE. This creates accountability. Plan an entire month ahead of time. Try to schedule as many workouts as possible with friends who have similar goals. WOWY was developed so that we could find an easy and effective way to stay accountable and work out together. Now we’ve got people in Trumbull, CT (my hometown), doing Power 90 at the same time with people in Hollywood. That is cool!
Law 8: Stress and Sleep. Stressed out, sleep-deprived people don’t eat right and exercise regularly. Stress depletes energy, strength, and desire, while poor sleep habits affect your moods and immune function along with cognitive and motor performance. Burning the candle at both ends makes it impossible to be fit and healthy. Don’t waste your time on gossip, ridicule, envy, self-pity, anger, guilt, arrogance, impatience, regret, manipulation, jealousy, fear, worry and anxiety. It’s too stressful, and it destroys the energy you need to stay healthy and fit.
Law 9: Loving It. Exercise and workouts involve commitment, determination, planning, consistency, and intensity. If you don’t like what you’re doing, there’s no way on earth you’ll succeed. Enthusiasm is a very big piece of the puzzle. Get creative and stay curious. If you enjoy doing Power 90 exclusively and it works for you, then keep doing it until it doesn’t. If you get part way through P90X and it’s not your cup of tea, then stop, and do something else. Something’s got to bring you back day after day, week after week. Love it (tolerate it) or leave it.
Law 10: Flexibility. Flexibility is the fountain of youth. Flexible people are much less prone to injury. Yoga and stretching allow you to bring more intensity to your workouts. Flexibility is the key component to becoming less vulnerable and more durable. Aging has a funny way of making everything we do harder. Staying limber and flexible is the way to prevent that from happening.
Law 11: Food and Supplements. You are what you eat! Food and supplements are your fuel. The right fuel supplies proper energy and recovery through balanced brain chemistry. The right supplements simply fill in gaps in your diet. You cannot substitute good exercise for a bad diet. A good diet and exercise have to happen at the same time. If you bring the same level of consistency and discipline to your daily fuel intake as you do the workouts, you’ll greatly reduce a lifetime of health risks, improve your overall quality of life, and see greater physical change in a shorter period of time.
I hope reading these 11 Laws helps you on your journey as much as they have helped me on mine!
Why do we want life to be different than it is? Why do we think about who we were and who we’re going to be more than who we are? We certainly talk a good game about who we are now. Why do we try to predict the future with the hope that wishful thinking is enough to change it? Life is NOT the way it was. It’s the way it is. Life is not our fantasy predictions of the future or our glory days of the past. Life is that thing that is happening to you as you read this. We fall into the trap of living in the past and future because right here is not good enough. Back then and up there are keeping you from right now.
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness
Welcome to my fitness journey!
My name is Nicole Hynes …but you can call me Nikki….and this is my story.
I began my fitness journey in May 2009. I was unhappy and overweight (as I had been for most of my life) and I knew I had to do something about it…I was tipping the scale at 211 pounds and I’m 5’9″.
A friend of mine started a journey of their own with some program I had never heard of…..P90X. I found myself inspired by them and wanting to do something to better myself so I began to tweak my nutrition and added some yoga to my daily routine. Soon after starting I began to feel good and added some daily cardio. In my first few weeks I lost 10lbs and I felt something click within me….I could do this…..I WOULD do this!
Another friend of mine was also looking to lose weight so we decided to challenge each other. We were going on vacation in a few weeks and both wanted to lose something before having to put on the dreaded swim suit in the Orlando, FL heat! I began to work harder, adding longer cardio sessions and working even harder at my nutrition. By the time we left for vacation I was happy with my achievements and managed to stay focused our whole vacation. I even lost weight while in Disney on their meal plan which is nothing but rich, not diet friendly food!
By September I had lost 30 pounds. I was up late one night when a P90X infomercial came on. I thought back to my friend who was following the program and having amazing results. I was curious but scared at the same time. I had never worked out like that….I mean I had a gym membership at one point or another in my life but I would do the treadmill, bike, some weight machines but nothing like what Tony Horton challenged you to do. I of course didn’t order it, but it was stuck in my head. The next day while at a friends house I mentioned it and low and behold, her husband used to use the program. They offered it to me to borrow and try so off I ran to Target to get some bands, weights and I luckily already had the yoga mat!
Day 1: I decided to follow the lean version of the program so Core Synergistics kicked my butt and I was left sweaty, gasping for breath and wondering WTF I was doing! I could barely do a push up and Superman/Banana was almost the death of me…..but I LOVED it…..I wanted more….I NEEDED to conquer this.
I chugged along through the first 30 days of the program….I wanted to puke during most of the Ab Ripper X sessions, I was sore, I was tired of eating constantly, I missed my carbs, I was sick of seeing the scale move up instead of down and I began questioning things. I don’t know if the universe stepped in or what but I managed to re-injure two herniated discs I have in my back right around the 30 day mark. I was totally laid up and couldn’t move…..so P90X was put on hold.
Things didn’t improve with my back until January and by then I was itching to restart P90X. This time I did things right. I read up on nutrition, I ask questions about protein and supplements, I took my measurements and photos (unfortunately I lost the XD card that had them….lol) and I decided after week 2 to toss the scale out of the closest window.
Around this time I also start Tweeting and managed to find the most AMAZING bunch of people. They were all supportive, patient and full of information. With their help, and my thick headedness I stuck with it and never missed a workout. Well…I missed a few but always pulled doubles to make up for it.
Day 30 came up fast and I was surprised to see my measurements had changed and my clothes were getting big. I had lost 2″ off my waist and I was grateful I took measurements cause the scale was not kind…..but muscle weighs more than fat so I moved on. (no 30 day pics since they were on missing xd card)
Day 60: Another 2″inches lost from my weight and I got the scale to move in my favor! I was ridiculously happy and committed more than before!
I am now in my final week of P90X and I have become an Independent Beachbody Coach! I have also taken the Insanity fit test and after doing a full workout I have decided I need to ease into it so a P90X/Insanity hybrid is in store for my next round!
I will post my P90X numbers soon and I will continue to blog about my next adventure with the Hybrid!
Thanks for reading,
Before 211+pounds Day 60 – 163 pounds
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness, P90X
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