STAYING ON TRACK WHILE TRAVELING

A week from now, I will be visiting my family in France (Carcassonne) and well, let's just say this is a disruption to my exercise schedule. Between the length trip, the 8 hour time difference, the amazing and readily available DELICIOUS food and the fact that it is a vacation, it is hard to maintain any kind of training routine.
Most of us go through some version of that kind of disruption during the holiday: trips to be taken, children to be entertained and such. The summer can wreak substantial havoc on any exercise schedule.
The truth is that during those times, best can be the enemy of good. Don't fall for the "all or nothing" mentality because there are plenty of things you can do to maintain your fitness level.

Here are some ideas on how to adapt your workouts.

• VIDEOS: this is a no brainer. Can't go to the gym or meet with your trainer? Do an exercise video at home. Pick a time when you are least likely to be interrupted. Being a Team Beachbody coach, I can assure you that there is something on the market to suit your taste; from the high intensity Insanity to the slow and controlled Tai Cheng, you will find something fun and challenging. Take some time to investigate and find the perfect DVD series for you.

• TRX: I really do love this device. It is fairly light and not too cumbersome to travel with. All you need to set it up is a door and there are many exercises you can do (you can download apps with TRX exercise descriptions). If you have never tried using a TRX, be warned, it is harder than it looks!

• BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES: push-ups, planks, side planks, squats, lunges, pike presses, burpees, mountain climbers, jumping jacks etc... Seriously, get creative and mix and match to create a heart raising and muscle building blend.

• WALK AND/OR RUN: enjoy your surroundings by taking a long walk or running. This is such a great way to discover a city or to enjoy a landscape and all it takes is a pair of sneakers.

• FORCE YOUR CHILDREN TO SHARE A SUITCASE AND USE YOUR 50LBS ALLOWANCE TO BRING YOUR KETTLEBELL ALONG OVERSEAS: true story, I love my bells that much.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

It's been close to 8 months since I started training at CrossFit NRG. The whole experience has changed my conception of exercise and fitness as well as introduced me to amazing new tools.

The idea that resonates with me most is that of fitness being a way to be prepared for the unexpected.
And I am sure in the light of recent news events, we can all see that life dishes us things we were not necessarily planning on. Your life might be saved by your ability to lift a heavy and unstable object, to climb up a very high wall, to run for a long distance, to run for a short distance as fast as possible.... Think Armed Forces and Firemen here.

In that spirit, I have continued to train at my most favorite CrossFit facility as well as incorporate different Beachbody workouts in random ways. My favorites still are Insanity for cardio, P90X Plyometrics or Ab Rippers X and of course, Turbo Fire. It's all about keeping my body on its toes, never encountering the dreaded plateau. And believe me, it has worked!

I also wanted to talk about the CrossFit Games. Amazing world event you guys. While some things can be expected of the different workouts of these Games (things like gymnastic moves, Power Lifting and endurance drills) there is still that element of unexpected. Watch this video to see more.


I am signed up for Sectionals, which I know full well, I will never get passed. And I am so cool with that. Fitness is about challenge and being competitive... with YOURSELF first and foremost. Challenge yourself to do better than last time, challenge yourself to do a workout at all when you don't feel like it. Challenge yourself to try something you have never tried and learn something new. Compete with yourself.
Run your own race.

YES!!

Our long awaited Million Dollar Body e-store finally opened its e-doors tonight! Hurray! I was sincerely running out of patience.

Finally, the BeachBody products are available to purchase online. So, if you are interested in any of the BeachBody videos or suplements, I strongly advise you visit the store. I actually recently got Hip Hop Abs and did one of the work outs yesterday. Much much harder then it looks, much harder...

If any of you would like to try a video before actually purchasing it, please call me or email me. I seriously have them (and use them) all. I would be happy to loan them so you can see what a specific workout is exactly about.

So if you are ready to really see a change in your fitness level, well use the link below and it's all yours.
You'll get on my home page; just scroll down, the left hand icon at the bottom will help you create a Million Dollar Body profile (it's free and it has tons of great things like free diet plan, access to WOWY live work out etc...) and then let you in the e-store. Oh yeah.

Click here and get your BeachBody videos!

That also means I will be your coach. And that is no laughing matter... Actually, you will receive an email with my contact info and you are free to contact me for coaching assistance or not. It's all up to you.