Hello babez!
Ahhh, The BURN! Love it / hate it? Whatever your feelings may be towards this word, as it relates to working out…the truth is, you need to learn to at least make friends with this rewarding feeling if you ever want to see changes & results in your body…
When my good girlfriend Jenny gave me this shirt as part of a gift for dog sitting her precious little girl, Maisy Moose, I was totally thankful & loved it!! I mean, I adore grey Tee’s — you can never have too many – and this BURN Tee from Bridge & Burn is just one of those super soft Tee’s that you can live in. I started thinking about this word emblazoned across the shirt and what it means to not only myself, but to my clients as well. You wouldn’t believe the words & comments that come out of their mouths during our sessions! lol I have such a great clientele & we have a fun & entertaining banter that goes on between all of us. There’s no doubt some F bombs dropped here & there + questions like “are you having a bad day”? as if I’m taking something out on them in the form of burpee’s or slam ball squats or any other exercises that they hate…. haha
but at the end of their session, they are always happy they came & get to feel proud for the hard work that they put in & accomplished.
As for myself, I LOVE working out! Crazy, right!? I love to sweat. Like, REALLY sweat! I love the feeling of The Burn & I don’t need anyone to push me thru it. Of course I have my days where I may not be as hyped up for my workout as others and keep in mind that every day is different…
Are you hydrated/dehydrated? What did workouts look like the day(s) before? Are you sore/fatigued? Did you get enough sleep?
Factors like this will absolutely effect your energy levels & your performance.
Scroll on down to read 5 Personal LS FitTips to help you push thru The Burn!
I hope this helps & remember that nothing worth having ever came without a little (or a lot) of hard work! xx
Much Love, Health & Happiness,
Know The Goal.
Goal Setting is such a fantastic way to keep you motivated as you visualize where you want to be! Firstly, please do not compare yourselves to others – doing so is incredibly self-sabotaging. There absolutely IS a difference in comparison WITH negative feelings about yourself/body attached vs. finding inspiration in others which motivate you to keep working towards your end goal. Find an old photo of when you may have been in better shape & post that baby somewhere as a constant reminder of where you want be! Peruse Instagram’s gazillions of health & fitness profiles for daily inspiration for clean & healthy eats, workout ideas & fit body inspiration. Perhaps keep a photo on your phone or tear out a page from a fitness mag of a fit chick with awesome abs or killer legs & booty — take it to the gym with you and put it right in from of your face as motivation to keep moving, breathing, sweating, pushing! The fitness girls that we all admire so much didn’t get to where they are without hard work, discipline, consistency & dedication.
Fit Friend.
My workouts are an appointment that I have (and keep) with myself! I wouldn’t cancel on my clients so naturally, I wouldn’t cancel on myself, right!? If you have trouble actually going for that run or making it to the gym/yoga studio/pilates/bootcamp, whatever it may be…find yourself an accountability buddy. Someone who will not only get you TO your workout but will motivate you to keep pushing thru! This adds a little friendly competition to the equation as well. I mean, if she’s not stopping, I’m not stopping! This stuff works! 🙂
Cardio Games.
Yes! Mind Games applied to your Cardio. This is all about keeping you motivated, keeping your workouts fresh/preventing the cardio boredom AND this is Cross Training at its finest — the best way to train to keep producing changes in your body.
1| Mix It Up.
The last thing I want to do is hit the treadmill day after day…
some of my favorite pieces of cardio equipment are:
– Treadmill. (Woodway is my fave!)
– StairMaster. (like, the real Stair Climber ..not those little pedal pusher ones)
– Precore AMT (like an Elliptical but better, in my opinion)
– Spin/Cycle Bike.
– Cybex ArcTrainer.
If I’m having a heavy cardio day, like 45 or the occasional 60 minutes, I’d shoot myself if I did it all on one machine! I love to do what I call a little Cardio-Go-Round! 15 minutes on 3-4 machines…weeee! haha When you break it into 15 minute increments, the time goes by in a flash. Try it!
2| HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training.
The most effective form of cardio + best return on your time is HIIT. The only time I do steady state cardio is if I’m having an active rest day and just getting in some easy cardio. Otherwise, intervals is where its at! I just want to clarify that you can do intervals on any machine, so if your not a runner, don’t be discouraged. You can do intervals on the bike, StairMaster, Elliptical – anything!
2 of my all-time faves are:
60 sec sprint/60 sec recovery
30 sec sprint/30 sec recovery
Always be sure to do a proper warm up of at least 5 minutes walking or some dynamic stretches.
3| Increments.
I always tell my clients “baby steps” Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
If your first starting out perhaps set a goal for 15-20 minutes x amount of days, then increase to 30 minutes and so on. Also, there’s nothing wrong with taking it 5 minutes at a time. These little mind games work! I have a client who gets thru our intervals minute by minute and takes it 5 reps at a time for lifting.
Entertain / Distract Yourself.
Music, YouTube Videos, Podcasts, Magazines, Inspirational Photo, Instagram – whatever works to get you thru & distract & motivate you…Do It! All of these, with the exception of music pertain to cardio mainly, because, well…your not going to be getting much done if your watching a YouTube vid or flipping thru a magazine while powering thru exercises like squats, pushups, pull-ups and such, right!? 😉
Self-Talk.
Just because I said I don’t need anyone to make me keep going doesn’t mean I don’t ever find myself wanting to stop. This is where positive, motivational self-talk comes in!
When I’m nearing the end of an ass-kicking HIIT workout and my legs are burning, or pushing thru kettle bell squats or push ups or even in a 100+ degree yoga class — I breathe extra deep & I silently talk to myself.
I promise this works!
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.”
Your thoughts & how you feel about yourself determine the end result. Negative, self-limiting thoughts will never get you where you want to be. B E L I E V E that you can and your half way there — You Can & You Will. While working out repeat to yourself…
I am strong, I can do this, breathe deep, dig deep, keep pushing, stay committed, stay focused & never stop.
