Remember, that little voice inside your head begins to lie when you force yourself out of your comfort zone. You are capable of amazing things, you just have to keep pushing yourself.
Tag Archives: mental struggle
Post Sandy: Helping A Friend To Rebuild
As many people know, the East Coast was pounded by Super-storm Sandy a week ago. She devastated communities along the Jersey Shore, Staten Island, Queens and Long Island. She left millions without power or heat and created a gas shortage that sparked an odd/even gas rationing here in New Jersey.
After being hit hard only a year ago by Irene, my family was thankfully spared any true damage from Sandy.
Unfortunately, a friend of mine from High School was not. Jen, who was set to run the NYC Marathon last Sunday, and Pedro who served our country in Iraq, lived in the Oakwood Beach area on Staten Island, with their two young children, before Sandy washed her house off its foundation, and into a marsh about 1/2 mile away. When I heard the news and watched THIS video, my heart sank for them. *Their story starts at the 2:10 mark*
As you can see, they lost everything and need to start from scratch. If you are looking to donate to those who were hit hardest by Sandy, please consider donating to them. Another friend of theirs set up a link for monetary donations HERE which will help them to get back on their feet during this rough time.
If you are not comfortable sending money, which I know some people are not, one of Jen’s blogger friends over at A Healthy, Happier Bear, set up a Target gift registry for all the essentials that they will need for their new rental home, once they find one. To view her blog post and donate, please CLICK HERE
A special thank you to everyone I know who has already donated to them, either monetarily or by dropping clothing off here for them. I know that many people were impacted by Sandy, but I had to share the story of someone who I know personally. I urge everyone to help out in anyway they can. Volunteer time to communities to help with clean up, donate clothes, cleaning supplies, whatever is needed.
Please feel free to link to this blog, RT, share, whatever it takes to get the word out and help a family in need.
Filed under Family Fun, My Ramblings
Lucky vs Strong
I consider myself healthy, not skinny, and the road to getting healthy definitely made me strong!
Speaking of strong, today starts Phase 2 of P90X for me. As I expected, I didn’t see a change in my waist, hip or thigh measurements and I’m happy with where I’m at with those, so it didn’t bother me. I did however see a half inch increase in both of my biceps, and I can see nice shoulder definition which really makes me happy!
Results take strength and determination, not luck. Put your mind to it and the results will come.
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness
{Fitness Friday}
Hello everyone! I decided to try and start a little something new with a weekly, Fitness Friday check-in. I’ll tell you what I’ve done to make myself healthier during the week, and you can tell me what you have done either in the comments, or if you blog, do your own Fitness Friday post and leave me a link below. (I’m not sure how these link-up things work so please feel free to school me if you have experience with them.)
Let’s see….
I’m just finishing up week 3 of P90X, which means that next week is my rest week. Phase 1 seems to have flown by and I’m looking forward to the change in workouts that Phase 2 brings.
In addition to P90X, I’ve also been doing the Plank Challenge. If you don’t know what that is, CLICK HERE. I’ve been doing the challenge for almost 2 weeks now, and I’ve added 1:38 to my time! I can feel the strength in my shoulders and core improving each day!
This was today’s plank time. I found that if I do it as soon as I wake up, my mind doesn’t realize what I’m asking of my body to do. Also, coffee is a great reward!
As for nutrition, I am proud to say that I have been REALLY good here. I’ve been testing new recipes and trying to utilize my slow cooker more. The more organized I am, the lower the chance of me being tired and just saying “fuck it” and ordering a pizza. (Oh, how I love my pizza! Nom Nom Nom!) I normally cheat here and there at work with all of the chocolate temptation that is everywhere I turn, but I have not since starting this round of P90X. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a few tastes of the yogurt flavors we carry, but nothing crazy…I promise!
Now it’s YOUR turn! I want to know what you’ve been doing to improve your health and get into shape! Leave me a comment below, write a Fitness Blog and link back here or leave me a link in the comments, tweet at me….whatever! Speak up…enjoy a little time in the spot light and let’s cheer each other on!
Filed under Health & Fitness
Plank Challenge
I recently saw my friend and inspiration, @MariaPaulercio, doing a Plank Challenge on Instagram and I decided I had to join in.
What’s the Plank Challenge, you ask?
Well, everyday you push yourself to hold a proper plank form (see image at the end of this blog for proper form) for as long as you can. By as long as you can, I mean until your core muscles can no longer hold you up. Not, “my mind says I can’t do this“. Your mind is a liar most times. You are capable of doing some pretty epic stuff if you push yourself to your absolute max, which is way past when your mind says “I’m done“.
*Please don’t confuse using common sense with pushing past your mental max. There is a difference here and I’m not telling you to push till you hurt yourself. I’m trying to get you to leave your comfort zone, cause THAT’S when the magic happens.*
Each day I do my challenge, I set my iPhone stopwatch to zero, select music that is going to get me pumped up and in the zone, get into my plank pose, press start and then I zone the hell out. You will shake while doing this. You might not last all that long, either. The important thing is proper form and a positive attitude. Each day you’ll see an improvement and you’ll begin to feel your core strengthen.
Here is what plank should and should NOT look like. I recommend using a mirror or have someone check your form, if you are new to it, until you know what correct form feels like.
I have chosen to post my daily results on Instagram with the hashtag #PlankChallenge. I use a photo collage app to show my time, song I listened usually a pic of myself. There is no need to do all of that, but if you are on IG, you know how fun it can be and I think it’s a great way to stay accountable with friends. If you don’t follow me on Instagram but are curious of my progress with this so far, feel free to look me up. My username is Bronc787 or you should be able to Click Here to view my photo stream via Statigram.
If you decide to join the plank challenge, please let me know! I’d love to keep each other motivated, challenged and to push each other to the next level of fitness!
Filed under Health & Fitness, Quick Workouts
P90X: Day 5 Round 3.5
Wall squats, sneaky lunges and skaters….oh my!
Three reasons why I curse on Fridays and walk funny while going up and down the stairs on Saturday.
Tonight was a tough one. I don’t know if I didn’t give myself enough time after eating one of the Gluten-free Brownies I blogged about earlier, if I was just tired or if I was just pushing my body to it’s max, but I was exhausted and wanted to puke when this routine was done.
Now that I’m showered and in bed, I feel great and I’m happy I pushed myself to do the workout. It’s so easy to get tired, feel unmotivated and not want to push yourself to press play. Chalene Johnson had some great advice in ChaLEAN Extreme. She said even on the days you don’t feel like working out, just press play and give it five minutes. If you still don’t feel into it, stop, but she guarantees you’ll end up feeling better about yourself and you’ll complete your workout for the day. So far, she’s been spot on. There have been many days that I haven’t felt like doing my workout, but I get up, get into my gym clothes and press play. An hour later, I’m done, sweaty and feel like a million bucks and that is something to be proud of.
Anyway, Legs and Back is a lower body killer. I bitch about wall squats often, but as a female, the one legged ones have come in handy many times while using public restrooms. You ladies know what I’m talking about. We hover to pee as it is when using these restrooms and there is nothing worse than ending up in a stall with a broken lock… enter the one legged wall squat and give a huge thank you to Tony Horton for being the prick of all pricks by making you do them every week for 90 Days, cause now you can squat to pee AND hold that door shut with one leg!
Tomorrow is my FAVORITE workout in the P90X program, KenpoX! There is something about jab, cross, hook, uppercutting, that makes me very happy!
Filed under Health & Fitness, P90X
One Week At A Time
All too often, people get caught up and overwhelmed by how far they have to go to reach their fitness goals. I fell victim to this mind set many times over the years and it is very frustrating. One of the most important changes I made this time around was to NOT focus on the ultimate goal. Instead, I set mini goals that would help me to achieve that ultimate one over a period of time, and I ONLY focused on each one of those.
By breaking my goals down into mini ones, I was able to keep a positive tone to my fitness/weight loss journey. I began to build a confidence in myself by reaching each of my mini goals and before I knew it, I was reaching larger goals without even realizing it.
Even now that I have reached my ultimate goal, I still set mini ones for myself in order to maintain the progress I have made. Here are some of mine for this week:
- 1. Drink plenty of water – This might seem like a no brainer but it’s easy to forget or not intake the proper amount.
- 2. Lift weights three days – Again, something I should be used to, but with the hustle and bustle of life, it’s easy to skip or say I’ll do it tomorrow.
- 3. Eat clean – Hands down one of the toughest, especially during the hectic week I have before me.
- 4. Do the fitness trail – One of my favorite forms of exercise but also one of the easiest to keep putting off.
- 5. Yoga or Stretch – This is one I have never been a fan of. I have always been the first to admit I skipped YogaX many times while doing P90X. I know it’s important though and I have plenty of room for improvement here. Plus it helps to clear the mind and honestly, who can’t benefit from that?!
As you can see, they are all things that you would expect I do on a normal basis, but it’s easy to put all of these things off for another day. I need to stay focused on the simple things and with that, new results will come and old one will be maintained.
Your goals for the week don’t need to be extreme…even the simple ones can get you a step closer to the results you want.
What are some of your goals for the week? What would you like to achieve? Want to keep each other accountable?
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness
No Matter What, Keep Going!
I stumbled upon this graphic while searching Pinterest (yes, I’ve been spending a lot of time on there….now hush!) and I knew I had to share it with all of my readers.
It’s so important that no matter what, you keep going, keep moving forward toward your fitness goals.
We all have ups and downs (lord knows I’ve shared my excitement during ups and whined during my downs here). You are going to have to work to achieve your goals and you have to keep your eye on the prize as you do it.
Each week, things will get a little easier. You’ll do more reps, lift heavier weight and beat your last personal best. You’ll set the bar a little higher and create new goals as you push forward… Getting a little stronger, both mentally and physically each day.
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness
It Will Be Worth It
Keep pushing play, keep doing your best and keep working toward goals. NOTHING beats the feeling of achieving them!
Filed under Fitness Inspiration, Health & Fitness
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
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