Listen to this...

If you are looking for great fitness information...subscribe to The Fitcast, available on iTunes. Entertaining and informational! They have frequent guest interviews including many well renowned fitness experts providing great information and motivation. Weekly podcasts provide entertainment and motivation. Great listen!
The usual cast of characters, Kevin, Jon and Leigh are full of great information and kick yourself in the butt motivation. The recent guest interview with Steve Cotter, kettlebell expert inspired me to dust off my kettlebells for a workout yesterday and my glutes and thighs were screaming through my cardio this morning! Thanks for the inspiration to mix it up!

Get moving....

Love Motiontraxx (available on iTunes)! Makes HIIT easy...well, times the intervals and sets the pace for me but the workout still kicks my butt!

Time for a change...

I have been at the weight lifting thing for several years and have experienced plateaus before but this time somehow I am stuck in a routine...I definately need to take some time to come up with a new program.

My goal: change up the routine the beginning of each month!

This month I add drop sets! Start with a set or 2 as usual then without rest between sets lower the weight and perform exercise until failure, lower weight and do it again! Trying this with delts, triceps and lats so far.

Next month? Switch from dumbbells work back to more cables?

Please help yourself...

Bottom line...we all have to choose to make changes and educate ourselves to get on and stay on the path to fitness/wellness. The hard part is getting into shape...let's only do it once. On the quest, develop a lifestyle that will keep you in shape.

Find motivation to stay on track and bring your halthy lifestyle goals to the front of your mind. It is critical to have frequent reminders throughout the day to help stick to the plan when making decisions about snacking and push myself to go the extra mile with the workout. I subscribe to Oxygen Magazine and gain a freshened motivation each month when it arrives in the mail. I also have subscibed to The FitCast podcast which is very entertaining, motivating and informational, I listen to the podcast on my commute. All this keeps me thinking in the "fit mindset."

These are working for me, find something that works for you!

A quote to ponder...

"Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled in defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons." ~Michael Shermer columnist for Scientific American

Fueling the body for success...

"Eat to live, not live to eat." Wise advice. As we travel through each day our bodies require fuel, food should fill this role. Food is used for so many other things that end up with long term consequences- emotional eating, including under stress or as a reward; eating treats/sweets for the sugar rush ..and subsequent crash...more food...weight gain....setting off a cycle that lasts all day...sometimes a lifetime...
The information is out there...research supporting the ill effects of a poor diet and look around you...pay attention the contents of people's carts at the grocery store and compare to their physique. Read it, see it, understand and believe it; find in it the motivation to make a positive change today.
Some good basic information about proper fueling of the body comes from any of Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet books. When you are really ready to accept/admit that it is really all up to you to make all the necessary changes to achieve a healthly attitude and make healthy lifestyle changes read Tom Venuto's book- The Body Fat Soultion. Great information about the reality of fat loss and it is more the attitude and accountability that makes or breaks the plan. A great book to force you to be critical of your self and find the kick in the butt you needed to make the attitude change....that is really what is all goes back to.
Exercise is not a chore to me, it is a priority. I work out regularly and truly enjoy it. Diet, however...a challenge...Over the last several years I have been working on the diet...a picky eater all my life, much was lacking ...Gradually our household changed to eating all 100% whole grain products. Have added vitamins and minerals as supplements (great resource: The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book)and finding ways to enjoy the things I avoided and then gradually clean up those items as well. Never liked yogurt and my diet significantly lacking in the fruit and veggie department had lead me to experimenting with homemade smoothies. We can not avoid food but must work daily to achieve/maintain a healthy relationship with it.
Bottom line about change...it's hard and you have to want it bad enough to go for it and live it.

Finding motivation and a note on accountabilty...

Ultimately we need to find the motivation in ourselves to make changes but also necessary are the people or things we encounter in daily life that remind us and drive us to stay on track...My biggest motivation of recent weeks has been my husband. Last summer I 'nudged' him to begin an exercise program and shared what I had learned in my quest to make changes over the last few years. He now enjoys the exercise and has made great dietary changes. Initially he endured frustration with lack of pounds lost but watched inches come off....Now I watch him as he works in the yard and each day realize more and more how much his hard work has paid off. He keeps me on track with a friendly (unspoken) competition to become more 'buff', after all my years of working out I can't let him get past me! He keeps me accountable as we now work on this lifestyle change together.
My own frustrations with the 'stuck scale' started a body fat measurement means of accountability, (also found a few photos told a tale) I only wish I started long ago to see how far I have really traveled since the journey beginning several years ago. I needed a new burst of motivation and sometimes need to sharpen the details of the challenge.
Staying accountable and being honest with yourself is critical to making effective and lasting changes. Set goals and find an objective means of documenting changes, keeping you accountable and to help you stick to the plan. No one else in your world can do it for you, be honest with yourself but find support (and a little friendly competition) in others.

Finding sanity...

Finding balance in life is hard....but if I have learned nothing else in this crazy, hectic life I love....I have learned that I must put my health, mental and physical, at the top of the To-Do list. Many think I am crazy for rising before the sun to hit the gym and find some peace...these quiet hours are the most productive of my day. I spend time exercising my mind and muscles, organize my thoughts and blow off steam, returning to my house full of exuberant boys with a little, though often momentary, feeling of peace.