In my line of work excuses are one of my hazards.  For me they are irritating to deal with, but for my client, I guess some of them could become life threatening if left alone.

The new year brings an influx of new people wanting information.  People who suddenly wake up and decide they need to do something about their weight or lack of exercise (or in most cases both).  How do I lose weight?  How do I start a program?  What is the best form of exercise? 

As I begin to talk to people the same trends arise.  The beginning of the chat is very inspiring, the client informs me of what they are doing wrong, what needs to occur to fix it and lastly, you can tell they are overjoyed about taking this first step.

As I begin to lay out the actually game plan the transition starts – excuse mode goes into action.

When we begin to talk about the things that need to be done differently and the new things that need to be put in place I am hit by a long list of reasons about why or how that is not going to be possible.

I liken the whole situation to my 12 year old son and his school work.  If he comes home without his notebook or homework, I am going to hear a list (never less than 10) of reasons why it was left at school.  Why can’t he ever just say “sorry Mom I forgot it”?

Excuse - (as defined by Dictionary.com)

• to regard or judge with forgiveness or indulgence; pardon or forgive; overlook (a fault, error, etc.): Excuse his bad manners.
• to offer an apology for; seek to remove the blame of: He excused his absence by saying that he was ill.
• to serve as an apology or justification for; justify: Ignorance of the law excuses no one.
• to release from an obligation or duty: to be excused from jury duty.
• to seek or obtain exemption or release for (oneself): to excuse oneself from a meeting.

Excuses in all forms and in all subjects are crippling.  They never allow you to truly see how you are doing. 

And more importantly, if you are in excuse mode you will never be able to reach your full potential.

 Stay Motivated,

If something like this sounds fun and exciting Hero Rush would be a great race for you.  The race not only supports the firefighters who were lost on 9/11 it also supports the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

If you are interested click on the above link for more information.

Stay Motivated,

Karen

I personally take time at the beginning of each new year to reflect on the past.  I look at the things that went well, the things that need improving and the things that should stay the same.

For this year I have some new workouts and exercises I will be sharing with you, but to make this blog even better I am asking you to give me some topics.  What do you want to know?  Send me an email or just add a comment on to this post.  I have already had a few people start adding topics, so feel free to join in.

I decided instead of writing a post about setting goals I would share what I think are some of the best posts of 2011.  If you are new to the blog you will have the best of last year all in one place and if you are a frequent visitor it will be a nice review.

As always I want to thank the people who read my blog, if it weren’t for you my writing would be meaningless.

Nutrition Planning for the New Year Part 3 I enjoyed writing all of the posts in this series, I shared number 3 so you can easily back track to the other two if you would like.

10 Things Your Workout Should Have a complete workout needs to be well thought out, this is a good place to start.

Movement Prep or Traditional Warm Up?  I love this post!  I still see so many people and so many coaches just using a few laps as a warm up.  The other options out there are so much better!

7 Tips for a Better Squat this is another series I wrote, it will not be as easy to follow because there are not follow links in each post, but still worth the read.

Tight Hips two great exercises everybody should be doing.

Brand New Training this is just funny and will make you laugh.

Building a House take a look at this one before you finish off your new fitness goals.

There you have it what I think are the best 7 posts of 2011.

Enjoy and Good Luck with all of your 2012 Goals!

Stay Motivated,

Karen

On another note I hate buying useless gifts, I want to buy something the person really wants or can find really useful.  If you or somebody you love is trying to find a healthier place, I have got just the list of gifts for you.

My Top 5 Holiday Gift Ideas:

PB Elite Soft Molded Foam Rollers

TRX Suspension Training Pro Pack

Resistance Bands

Dumbbell Set  (Adjustable sets are great)

Honeybell Oranges (only available a few weeks out of the year)

For your convenience I have given you links to some of the  ideas.  The oranges you will need to decide on the best site to order from.  I do know they go quick and they really are very good and the adjustable dumbbells come in many different forms and brands you need to decide what you like. 

Happy Holidays!

Stay Motivated,

Karen

This holiday season you, along with Completely Fit, can help fight hunger in Mount Airy.

• 925 million people across the world are hungry.                                                    
• One child dies every 5 seconds from hunger related causes.
• 1 in 10 households in the US are affected.
• Numbers affected are on the rise.

Free exercise classes will be held every Monday at 9:30 for the months of November and December.  A monetary donation of $10.00 or 5 cans of food will be required for each class.  All proceeds will benefit Mt. Airy Net and will be used to help families in need right here in our local area.

What’s in it for me, you might ask?  Not only do you get to help a family in need, you will be helping yourself.  Over 60% of adults are not active on a regular basis. 

Here’s your chance to help two great causes; hunger and your health.

Classes are set up to accommodate all fitness levels.  There are only 6 spots open for each class so you must pre-register for each one.

For more information or to sign up:

            Karen Skidmore 

           240-446-2118 

           Karen@completely-fit.com

Exercise for Free and help stomp out hunger in our area this holiday season.

Remember to call or email to sign up, sorry no drop-ins this time.  Past clients are welcome as well as current clients.  (Current clients must bring a friend along).

Why is that?  Simple, they produce results.  Nothing burns fat faster than a good old fashioned high intensity workout.  As I stated in my previous post Metabolic Training, What is that? you are burning a ton of calories during the workout, but more importantly continue to burn at a much higher rate even after the workout is over.  It is what we call the afterburn effect. (epoc)

With the invention of the iPhone and apps we are able to utilize technology and create even better metabolic workouts by downloading an interval timer app.  By using an interval timer you are able to just work hard and not have to worry about counting reps or starting and stopping a timer.  And the really great thing about them is they usually coordinate right with your music.

Your interval times  would be set up based on your level of conditioning.  With that being said you always want them to be short enough to allow for maximum effort throughout.  Rest times should be kept relatively short, do not allow for complete recovery.

A beginner may have his/her intervals set at 15 on 15 or even 20 off.  Rest just long enough to give a good max effort in your next exercise.  As conditioning improves lower the rest time and even raise the work time a little.

Here is a great metabolic workout to add to your next routine if you are looking to drop some fat:

• Lunge Jumps
• Medicine Ball Slams
• Speed Squats
• Mountain Climbers
• Kettlebell Swings

You can manipulate the parameters anyway you like.  The interval times, amount of rounds and the load can all be varied based on your current fitness level.  Your can also manipulate the rest time at the end of each round.

One final point to remember, form is everything.  If you do not know how to do the exercise replace it with something you do know.  If your form begins to diminish either change up the variables or change the exercise out.

Give the workout a try and let me know how you liked it.

Stay Motivated,

Karen

Often times I hear comments and just see the look of discouragement in the faces of my new clients.  When I talk to them I get comments such as “I am never going to get stronger”, “I am never going to move forward”, “Is this ever going to get easier”?

It is important to remember when working with a fitness professional, it is the job of the trainer to get you results.  (Results, that is why you hired one correct)?  For results to occur in the fitness realm the body must overcome the ever increasing demands placed on the body.  The key concept being the ever increasing demands.

The Progressive Overload Principle states that greater than normal demand (either volume or intensity) must be placed on the body continually if progress is to continue.

That concept states it all, “yes you are improving – but no it will not necessarily get easier”.  Let’s face it my job as a trainer in essence is to make you fail, to push you beyond what you think you can achieve.

Focusing Your Attention

So with all that being said, let’s change your mindset a bit and look at the big picture.

1. Are you getting stronger?  Well of course you are, progressive overload remember.  You are not only stronger you are able to do exercises at  a rate or level you could not do when you came in.
2. Are you moving closer to your goals?  Well of course you are, every single day you eat a little more healthy and train another day you are moving closer to your goals.
3. Are you transforming your lifestyle?  Well of course you are, you haven’t quit yet.  You show up for your sessions, you are eating better and you are doing your homework and training sessions on your own.

Nobody ever said a complete lifestyle overhaul would be easy it takes a great deal of desire, hard work and dedication.  And keeping a positive outlook and mindset is key.

If you are finding yourself a little frustrated in your efforts it is far more important to think about how far you have come since day one of your training than think about how much further you need to go.

Always think positive because pretty soon you will no longer be a beginner and you will have that overhauled lifestyle you have always been looking for.

Stay Motivated,

Karen

The scale has been modified a bit from its orginal form, but the usage is the same.  The numbers on the scale relate to how the person feels as the intensity of the exercise increases.  Zero indicates how you would feel sitting and 10 indicates how you would feel during a maximal effort exercise, such as sprinting at full speed until fatigue hits.

Orignally the scale was put together with the intent to compare it to heartrate and vO2 max and was used in a lot of research settings.

Using the Scale

The scale is most helpful when you have acess to a heart rate monitor (for comparison purposes only)  but it is not necessary.  It is important to remember the scale is only as good as is your perception of exercise.  You must be honest with yourself.  You also want to be sure to use the scale during exercise, not just after the exercise bout is over.

As you are doing your workout relate how you feel to the scale.  If you are working out somewhere between level 7 and 10 you are probably working at an intensity of 70% – 95% of your max heart rate.

Now here is my favorite use for the scale.  Often times when I am working with clients there will be training days where the client just can’t complete the reps or maybe they are just having a bad day.  The first question I ask is this “Are you giving me 100% effort?”  The answer is almost always yes.

If a client is having trouble deciding what kind of effort they are putting forth I make them think about the scale.  When my client answers 8 or 9 I explain to them that output for the day is off a bit but effort for the day is right on track.

You are always going to have a day or two here and there where your output is going to be a little off.  Think about your effort and congratulate yourself for a great workout.

In the next post we are going to talk about the emotional feelings that tend to go with low output days and increasing intensities.

Stay Motivated,

Karen

The old site will remain up for about 6 months.  If for some reason you are searching and a post should come up on the old site do not leave your comments over there as they will go unanswered.

I hope you enjoy the new site, I look forward to bringing you many posts.

Stay Motivated,

Karen

Watch the video if you want to laugh.

Next time you get tired of your current exercise routine remember you can always give Euro Training a try.

I hope you enjoyed the video as much as I did.

Stay Motivated,

Karen