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.

CROSSFIT LEVEL 1 TRAINER! I HAZ IT!

Zumba, CrossFit and Kettlebells. I would be hard pressed to find 3 other words to describe what I do everyday. Being a Beachbody Coach have given me a lot of time to train in different areas. I get to teach Zumba classes at my own studio, Studio Azul, train at CrossFit NRG, and as part of my own training and our workouts at NRG, I get to use my beloved kettlebells.

I did not think that I would love CrossFit as much as I do. You see, when I teach Zumba, the energy is all about love, fun and acceptance. Those classes have lifted me out of difficult times by giving me this sense of belonging and oneness. For that, I am grateful to all the people who attend and dance their heart out with me.
When I train CrossFit style, I get to explore a different side of me: I am competitive, driven, stubborn and I have a tendency to throw my barbell in sheer bouts of frustration. This also has been a life saver. It has allowed to feel capable to fight. To fight hard. When I first began, I would look at the Workout Of the Day and think "there is NO WAY I can do this". In spite of that, I would get to work and (eventually) finish. This taught me that I did not really know what I was capable of. I did my first CrossFit workout and never stopped going.

After some consideration, I decided this year I would certify in both RKC and CrossFit. I know it sounds crazy. And it is a little bit!

Well, I accomplished one of those goals last weekend. I attended my Level 1 certification in Las Vegas. It was a long weekend. To CrossFit HQ's credit, their trainers were outstanding, all extremely well versed in their training method and the training was run like a well oiled machine. Every goal set was reached on time.

I gained a lot from this training. My understanding of the CrossFit methodology has grown tremendously,  I feel I have been outfitted with a new pair of eyes, able spot details I would not have caught before. I understand so much better functional movements and their ability to make us fitter, stronger human beings.

Fitness, as defined by CrossFit is increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains. What that means is being able to do well at whatever the task is presented and for however long it is going to last. This is accomplished by constantly varying our training, performing at high intensity and using functional movements. Read this again: constantly varying.
This kind of training keeps your body on its toes and yields tremendous results.

So, I want to hear what you do to keep yourself always engaged and allow your body to adjust to a lot of different challenges.

Do tell.

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.