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It's 5:45 AM in the dead of winter. Your alarm is beeping but you just CAN'T get out of bed. It's pitch black out and you feel like a bear who got woken up from hibernating. After a few minutes debating sleeping in "just a few more minutes", you think about your new pumpkin spice coffee creamer and it motivates you to get out of bed.
Sound familiar? If so, keep reading because after you've finished this post, you'll be armed with some new tactics and products that will set you up for a more alert morning and a more relaxing evening. Anyways, back to our story...
Here's your checklist for a good morning:
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Now here's your checklist for a good evening:
Now that we've covered the details, here's a recap of all the things you need to set yourself up for a great morning and night. After checking these items out on Amazon, share this post with a friend, we all need better sleep!
here's a recap of the items:
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this is a "functional movement"All the exercises I explain in my exercise library are what trainers like to call "functional movements". This means that they require a whole muscle GROUP to be activated, rather than just isolating one muscle. These exercises tend to get your heart rate up more, and they help to burn more fat and build more muscle! I use these functional movements as the primary exercises in my workout plans. If you want a workout plan that is quick, effective and works well at building your curves and confidence, then make sure to check my workout plans out! There's routines for every schedule, and you will never get bored from doing the same thing each week! If you want the workouts PLUS in depth coaching for other areas of your life like confidence, healthy habit creation, goal setting and mindset, make sure to check our my confidence coaching that includes the workout plans along with everything else! here's how you set up your good morning: First, if you have never performed this exercise before, take a second to watch the video above. When it comes time to do it for the first time, PLEASE try it without any weight. Alright, here we go! What I would like you to do is stand with your heels towards a wall, about a foot away from it. With your hands folded on your chest, hinge your hips back in space and try to touch the wall with your butt. It's farther back than you think right? This hinging movement is the basis of the good morning. Did you keep a gentle bend in your knees? If so, awesome! Proceed on to the next step. If you didn't, try to touch the wall without bending your knees a ton and without locking your knees. You should feel your weight mostly in your heels rather than the front of your feet. Try to perform this exercise in front of a mirror to help check your form. Ideally, you would be able to see something written on the front of your shirt in the mirror as you go up and down. You do this by keeping your chest up, your shoulders back, and your butt sticking out. By activating and tightening all those muscles, the entire back side of your body gets strengthened. How low can you get your torso? Depending on your flexibility, you might be able to get it parallel to the ground. If you can, that's great! If not, that's ok too, the flexibility will come with time. Also, I would much rather you perform a shallower good morning than one that requires you to drop your chest in order to get lower. Once you get the hang of the hinging movement and can perform that for at least 15 reps, it's time to add some weight! Just like in a squat, you want the bar to sit on the meaty part of your upper back - your traps. Holding the bar there will require strength in your shoulders and a pretty good range of motion, so take your time and go slow. Adding the weight also changes your center of gravity compared to performing the exercise without weight, so make sure to build up slowly, if you can find a small bar, that's best to start with! Try a few reps and see how it goes, if the weight feels stable on your shoulders, keep going! Expect to feel soreness from this exercise all the way from your upper back down into your glutes, and even down into your hamstrings. It really is an awesome exercise, so try it out with your next workout, or use one of my already curated plans!
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Easy right! In case you missed the links to the fall blends, here it is, get your bottles now before they sell out! pin now and save for later!
This is a lot easier said than done, I know. With all the "motivational" things we see on social media like:
the truth:
All the work you do in the gym is great, but what you need to remember is that the 45 minutes you spent working out is not when your body gets stronger. Seriously, it's not. Those 45 minutes told your body what to do, but WHEN it happens is way after those 45 minutes are up. Your body needs to recharge. It needs to sleep. It needs to leisurely walk. It needs to stretch and regain mobility. All these things that happen outside the gym are what let your body get ready for next time so you can be more agile, faster and stronger.
If you don't give your body time to repair, then you'll be in the second camp from above = on the verge of sabotage. I've seen it many times before from training clients... People get super motivated at the beginning and take on too much at once. They feel great (at first) but eventually get burnt out and give up completely because they are so tired, sore and grumpy. If they listened to their body's needs and took a break, they would have been able to continue.
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so you know you need to rest, but when?
Here's the hard part. Listening... My rest days are never the same day each week, it always varies depending on what I've done in the week, what is on my to-do list, and where my head is.
What I advise you to do is use these two general rules of thumb:
Need even more help listening to your body? Check out my confidence coaching plan, it helps you gain body confidence through working out, but also through treating rest as a way to honor your body!
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Sometimes, you just need a crunchy snack... I am a big chip lover... and popcorn lover... really I love anything salty. If you're like me, chips are a HARD thing to say no to, especially when its summer time and the grill is fired up! Chips are a perfect side to your awesome grilled meats and veggies.
What are you to do though? Buy the conventional chips that have hydrogenated and inflammatory oils? NOPE. Get on Amazon and buy yourself some GOOD snacks, in bulk, so you never get tempted to buy the "bad stuff"! Below are my top six snack items that I feel CONFIDENT eating on a regular (very regular) basis! The first three are chips, just like discussed above. The last three are the other things I order on auto ship just because I love them so much!
My favorite chips (in no particular order)...
The non-chip snacks I buy on auto-ship...
that's it! did I miss anything other good snacks out there? let me know in the comments!
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pushups are a "functional movement"All the exercises I explain in my exercise library are what trainers like to call "functional movements". This means that they require a whole muscle GROUP to be activated, rather than just isolating one muscle. These exercises tend to get your heart rate up more, and they help to burn more fat and build more muscle! I use these functional movements as the primary exercises in my workout plans. If you want a workout plan that is quick, effective and works well at building your curves and confidence, then make sure to check my workout plans out! There's routines for every schedule, and you will never get bored from doing the same thing each week! If you want the workouts PLUS in depth coaching for other areas of your life like confidence, healthy habit creation, goal setting and mindset, make sure to check our my confidence coaching that includes the workout plans along with everything else! yeah, pushups are hard.Yup, they're hard. Not denying that at all. BUT, pushups are a critical part of building strength when done correctly. Watch this video first, then read on for a detailed explanation. So... what's going on here? First, any pushup should start out in a proper plank. (read more about setting up a proper plank HERE). Think about it, a pushup is really just a moving plank. The goal is to keep your body nice and tight throughout the whole movement, with only your arms and shoulders moving. To do this, start with your hands directly under your shoulders. If you are performing your pushup from your knees, that same rule still applies. Think about it this way, the more centered your hands are under your shoulders, the better they will be able to push your body away from them. If you are performing your pushup from a bench or the wall, again keep your hands as directly under your shoulders as possible. See how my elbows stay close to my sides? Ideally, your arms should be at a 30 degree angle to your body. This means that your elbows are NOT splayed out to the sides and that your fingertips are NOT pointing towards each other. Your hands can turn in slightly, but just enough to mimic the 30 degree angle that your arms make. At first, this might seem like your arms are way too close to you, but I promise this will save your shoulders in the long run! Learn how to do them well NOW, before you engrain bad habits. The other thing to remember is that your hips should not fall down and they should not fly high. Keep them in the same position you started your plank in. If you notice your hips shifting up or down, it's time to stop, you're done with your reps. At this point you can either take a break and try another set, or you can try an easier variation of a pushup. my biggest piece of advice:
It was about a $300 investment up front, and it was a pain to get it into our basement because of our skinny stairs, but it was totally worth it. We even loved it so much that we moved it to our next house!
how to organize your deep freezer
Let me preface this organization part by stating that our deep freezer is ONLY used for meat. Yes, only meat. Yes, we DO have that much meat to store. Remember how I said that I am an avid Costco shopper and have a hunter husband? Well, in addition to those two budget friendly meat sources, we also belong to a few meat CSAs. In my opinion, buying meat in bulk from a CSA is the absolute BEST option when it comes to getting high quality meat that doesn't break the bank. By buying directly from the farmer, you avoid the middle man. Buy buying in bulk you save even more money. By buying local, you're helping out a small business and doing you part to make a difference in the world. You can read more about the number crunching I did about CSAs in this article.
SO, the ability to BUY AND STORE MEAT IN BULK is why a deep freezer is so life changing. Maybe this will sound like you: You are trying to eat healthy, so your meals are centered around a protein, vegetable and/or starch. Meat is the most expensive part of your meal, so it seems like it's the hardest thing to keep on hand, especially when you are limited to only a small freezer. You plan your meals based off what meat you buy at the store every single week, maybe even multiple times a week. You worry about those small sized packages going bad in the fridge if your social plans change throughout the week (like going out to eat unexpectedly), etc. Maybe you can store some bulk items in your small freezer, but you quickly run out of space and get frustrated. With a deep freezer, all you would need to do is take a trip down to the basement (or wherever you put it) and it's like you have a fully stocked meat counter at your fingertips. Sound nice? I promise, the investment up front will pay off in the long run both financially and mentally. On to the organization part. Our deep freezer is 7.0 cubic feet... That's BIG. Luckily, it came with two baskets that slide across the top rail. These baskets were a big selling point for the freezer because it helps to keep all the small items from falling down into the depths of the freezer. I will say though, my freezer is not the best organized at the moment and some extra bins would be nice! Maybe that will be another blog post some day? I think it will!
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Currently, I store small items in the two sliding bins. One contains breakfast meats (bacon from Costco, sausage from CSAs) and smaller cuts from our CSA, while the other contains smaller cuts of meat that I have portioned out on my own (either from CSAs or Costco). The bottom of the freezer is where things are currently the most disorganized and where I do need to improve! What is down at the bottom is venison (from my husband hunting), large cuts from our CSA, and bags of seafood from Costco. Ideally, I would have shallow stacking bins that I could pull out easily and see my entire stock. But like I said, that organization overhaul will be a post for another time!
main takeaways:
If you struggle to eat healthy because you feel like time is working against you and that making multiple trips to the store in a week is just NOT convenient (it's not, no shame there) then I strongly urge you to consider a deep freezer BECAUSE:
Who doesn't want all those things? Do you already have and love your deep freezer? Comment below if you have any organization tips! Pin now and come back later!
1. get in the zone
The first thing you need to do is accept the fact that this might be a very big change for you and your family. Emptying out a fridge and only keeping the good stuff is hard and can be emotional. So, I ask you to turn up your favorite music and plan at least half a day to embark on this journey and just get excited! Yes... cleaning out the fridge is a lot of work, but it will be so worth it in the end! Being an appliance we see and use multiple times a day, it’s easy to overlook what piles up in it and just let it become the norm.
So, maybe this idea of clean eating is new to you, maybe it’s not. Either way, the health benefits you will gain from it cannot be found in any other health habit. 2. empty it out
Out with the old and in with the new right? You can’t start fresh without seeing all you have to work with. A lot of times, we get frustrated with our fridges because they just seem to fill up so fast! The reality is, they are probably just poorly organized and full of things we don’t need...
I am probably the biggest anti-food-waster out there, it makes me physically hurt to throw out food, but sometimes, it just has to happen. If you’re like me, ask yourself something like this: “would I rather have a half full jar of store bought Alfredo sauce OR space to fit a block of grass fed butter?” I think you know the answer to that one. While you are emptying out the fridge, make two piles on your counter: 1. Food that came from grocery store aisles 2. Food that came from grocery store perimeter 3. Leftovers That's it for now, leave the food on the counter and proceed to step 3! 3. start fresh
Now that your fridge is totally empty, it's time to deep clean. You don't want to put your sorted and nice fresh food in a dingy fridge right? Here's some tips to make that process suck a little less:
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4. sort
Now that the interior of your fridge is clean and your bins are drying in the sun, it's time to tackle those piles of food. You currently have three piles (food from grocery store aisles, food from the perimeter, and leftovers) and it's time to refine those further.
Before we begin, think about the real purpose of a fridge: it keeps food with a short shelf life COLD. Again, it's for food with a SHORT shelf life. Haven't we heard the advice of staying at the perimeter of the grocery store while we shop? All the foods at the perimeter NEED the fridge right off the bat right? The following organization will help to solidify this notion:
5. organize
Now that you are left with only the “good food”, it’s time to organize so that you can make the most of it! You want your fridge to be visually pleasing so that when you open it up, you’re not left feeling overwhelmed. I organize my fridge similar to how a grocery store is organized, and these five categories are: PRODUCE, “DAIRY”, DRINKS, LEFTOVERS and “CONDIMENTS”. Each category has its own space and I try to keep similar shapes of items together too. I encourage you to stick to these categories as best you can and I will explain the quotes later. Let’s start from the bottom of the fridge and work up.
6. restock
This is the fun part! Take inventory of what you have and plan a few meals using what is already in your fridge. If there is anything else you need, buy it and take a second to see if there are ways to make some parts from scratch, like sauces or sides. If that is overwhelming, just remember that the more you cook, the better you get!
what about the freezer?
Congratulations, you tackled your fridge!!! Freezers are just as important, so stay tuned next week for the next part of this post!
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weights are heavy... and expensive...
You've probably seen all the other pins on Pinterest talking about building a home gym with "no weights", "minimal equipment", etc... But what if you LIKE using the big stuff? This is the exact issue I had. Weights are fun, but because they are heavy they are also pricey. I started out with all the "typical", "cheap" things that you see on those Pinterest lists like a mat, stability ball, mini bands, etc. But I knew deep down that I NEEDED more.
The list below shows the exact order I purchased things and the prices I paid!
1. DUMBBELLS:
Dumbbells were priority number one for me, and they were one of the most intimidating purchases too because of the expense and because there's just so many types! To not clutter our basement, I decided to find a set of adjustable dumbbells. To not break the bank, I also decided to buy these dumbbells USED because really, a weight is a weight. It doesn't matter if it's scuffed, rusty etc, all it's doing is weighing you down. On average, you will pay AT LEAST a dollar a pound for the most basic dumbbells (new), but when buying them used, I was able to get about 200 lbs of weight for only $100. I found this deal by scouring Craigslist (Facebook marketplace didn't exist back then) until I finally found a used set of dumbbells really similar to these. Once I brought those home, I thought I would be set for awhile, until I decided to bench press with them. 2. BENCH At first, I thought I could get away with benching on my stability ball, but there was just no way for me to keep my neck in a comfortable position for that long. So... next on my list was a flat weight bench. I am pretty sure I tried to find a bench like this on Craigslist, but when I couldn't find anything used, I went to Amazon. I still have this bench today and it works great, but every so often I do need to retighten the bolts. 3. BARBELL (#1) I love barbells. Working with them makes you feel like a bad ass, and they are just so convenient when you want to pick up heavy stuff like I was used to doing. My college gym had beautiful Olympic bars, plates and racks and I had no idea that there was any other type. I looked up these Olympic barbells (2" diameter on the ends) online and was shocked by their price. So, I then discovered standard bars and plates (1" diameter on the ends). These bars would be a perfect fit for the weight plates that I already had from my adjustable dumbbells, so I decided to buy a bar for deadlifting. The bar I chose was the cheapest I could find and also the shortest (in order to save space). 4. SQUAT RACK So I could bench, I could deadlift, I could do any accessory work I wanted with dumbbells, but I couldn't really squat like I wanted to. Sure I could put dumbbells up on my shoulders, do goblet squats, or overhead press the bar up on my shoulders, but my shoulders then limited how much weight I could use. This dilemma really got to me (to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore) about 3 months after buying my dumbbells and so my quest started for a rack. This was definitely going to be my biggest purchase, so I made sure to do my research. I didn't need anything fancy, but I wanted something that would keep me SAFE. To me, that meant a power rack (four corners that "box" you in) rather than just a squat rack (only two supports for the barbell). At the time I purchased my rack, it was NOT available on Amazon, but here it is now, even with free shipping (which I didn't get 5 years ago). This specific power rack from Titan Fitness was easy to assemble and HEAVY, a great safety feature. It has a pull up bar, safeties, and was easy to assemble for my husband and I. I have even taken this rack apart and moved it to a new basement, and we had no issues at all! This was definitely the biggest purchase, but it was also the most useful and paid for itself easily. Right now you can get it for $335, so let's do the math. At the time I am writing this article, Goole says that the average cost for a gym membership is $58 per month. $335 / $58 = 5.77 months. Say what? You can make up the cost of that squat rack in 6 months??? Even if you live somewhere that a gym membership is HALF that, you could still make up the cost of the squat rack in a year. And who knows, maybe you can even find a used power rack near you for cheaper! 5. BARBELL (#2) Remember how I bought a short barbell in step 3 to save space? This decision bit me in the butt really... Please keep in mind that you need a 7' barbell (not 6') in order to make it span the width of a squat or power rack. This is the exact reason I now have two barbells (this is the 7' bar I bought). One stays on the floor for deadlifts, and one stays in my power rack for benching and squatting.
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6. PULL-UP BANDS
Without an assisted pull up machine, how was I supposed to work up to a full pull up? Bands. Simple as that! Again, I did my research on these bands and based off my bodyweight (around 140 lbs) and ability, I decided on a green, purple and red band. These are way cheaper than an assisted pull up machine right??? 7. SUSPENSION TRAINER Notice how I didn't say TRX here? That's because I was NOT going to pay the price for a name brand system. Although the exact brand I have is not available on Amazon anymore, there's lots of great options that my clients have found, like this one specifically (same price as what I paid for mine, and way cheaper than a $200 TRX!) 8. BOSU BALL At this point in my fitness journey, I knew I was lacking in the area of stability (because I was going through my personal training certification)... Once I learned what a bosu ball is and learned how they can change almost any exercise and turn it into something totally new, I was sold! It is now one of my favorite pieces, even more used than my stability ball! total damage:
Total damage (over the span of 9 months or so) = $1,200
Let's go back to that calculation from before. If Google says that the average gym membership is $58 a month... $1,200 / $58 = 20.7 months to make up your cost. That's under two years! I bet that you have been lifting in a gym for at least 6 months if you're reading this, so you're a quarter of the way there! Wouldn't your money be spent in a better place (like your own home) rather than a gym? what's next?
Now I am not going to lie and say that I do not want anything else for my home gym... In fact, I have upgraded my dumbbells (but I still bought them used through Facebook marketplace!), and I do dream of buying Olympic barbells and plates... But until that day comes, I am perfectly happy with the home gym I created because it has given me all the tools I need to progress in my fitness journey!
Do you have any specific things you love in your home gym? Leave me a comment and let me know! Pin now and come back later!
side planks (and front planks) are "functional movements"
All the exercises I explain in my exercise library are what trainers like to call "functional movements". This means that they require a whole muscle GROUP to be activated, rather than just isolating one muscle. These exercises tend to get your heart rate up more, and they help to burn more fat and build more muscle!
I use these functional movements as the primary exercises in my workout plans. If you want a workout plan that is quick, effective and works well at building your curves and confidence, then make sure to check my workout plans out! There's routines for every schedule, and you will never get bored from doing the same thing each week! If you want the workouts PLUS in depth coaching for other areas of your life like confidence, healthy habit creation, goal setting and mindset, make sure to check our my confidence coaching that includes the workout plans along with everything else! 1. bent knees
2. kickstand
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3. "regular" side plank
4. star
yes, you CAN use all these variations, no matter your skill level!
Even though I can do the hardest variation of side plank (not for long though...), that does NOT mean that it is the only variation I perform! The way I determine which variation I use is by figuring out how long I want to hold side plank. Do I want to hold it for 2 min? 1 min? Only 30 sec? Basically, the longer I want to hold plank, the easier variation I use and vise versa. You can read more about that theory here and you apply the theory by using these workout cycles to build your strength each week!
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AuthorMy name is Laura and I am a holistically minded personal trainer and confidence coach. Categories
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DISCLAIMER:
Although I am a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and write to the best of my knowledge on fitness, nutrition and lifestyle practices, I cannot be made liable to know all information on a particular subject. Knowledge gained through this blog is to be used at your own risk and all lifestyle changes should be discussed with a doctor before starting. I am also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I do receive a small reimbursement for sales made through the links provided on my blog.  |
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