Listening To Your Inner Voice

When I go several days, or even weeks, without being in God's Word daily or without singing or playing my violin in church services I find myself struggling. I find myself getting overwhelmed with emotions. I'm not content and feel confused. Like most people I try to make this a priority and make time, but as soon as life starts getting chaotic and busy, it tends to be something I put on the back burner and go to if and when I have time.

When this happens over a span of several days, or like currently weeks, that's when I notice I struggle to stay positive, I feel I'm not connected in my faith and my relationship with God, and I start feeling down. When I recognize these feelings, I start telling myself I need to do make sure I'm doing something daily that keeps me connected and focused on my faith. I need to make time to read daily scripture and be in the Word, I need to practice my violin or work on songs for church services, or even just put my headphones and put on my worship music; because by doing at least one or more of these things daily for myself.....I will feel better. I will not struggle. I will be more content.

This is something I go through from time to time, and before doing my positive focus and going to church tonight, I was feeling this way. But, as I sat in church tonight, telling myself these same things, another voice in my head said, "You are going about it all wrong! You're making it about YOU!" What? No, I'm not! That's what I need to do to make sure I feel better. And then it was like a little light bulb popped up above my head and I thought, "Oh yeah, that voice is right!"

I reflected on my positive focus I did earlier, and on my original thoughts, and realized in my mind I needed to do all these things for ME! I WILL FEEL BETTER! I WILL NOT STRUGGLE! I WILL BE MORE CONTENT! In reality I need to do these things to learn, grow, and strengthen my relationship with God. I need to do these things to worship, praise, and give thanks to God.

So, what did I get out of this conversation of voices in my head? Yes, I need to make time for these things daily for my spiritual well-being, but I need to remind myself it's for God's purpose and not mine. The fact I get a feeling of content, my relationship with God is strengthening, and that connection with my faith is stronger is a bonus to the real purpose of why I need to do these things....TO WORSHIP, PRAISE, AND GIVE THANKS TO GOD!

December 2015 - "300 rep" Challenge

The last monthly challenge of the year will be to do a total of 300 reps everyday in the month of December. The 300 reps will be a combination of the following exercises...

Push-ups x 100 reps
Sit-ups x 100 reps
Squats x 100 reps

Here's the best part of the challenge....you decide how you get the reps in daily! You can knock it all out at once. You can break it down and do 20 reps of each for 5 rounds or even 25 reps of each for 4 rounds. Or you can even break it up throughout the day by doing some in the morning and then some in the evening. As long as you get 100 reps of each exercise in everyday, then you are good! And yes, I am aware that means by the end of the month the total number of reps for each exercise will be 3,100; and just to see even the bigger picture, that will be a total of 9,300 reps between all three exercises! I also challenge you to make this something in addition to what you're already doing as far as training or workouts. So, if your normal daily workout has 50 push-ups incorporated into it, don't count those 50 towards the 100 reps; but instead do an additional 100 reps outside your workout!

Want to have something to work towards besides just getting the reps in daily? Set some type of goal with it. I know one guy who is setting a goal to improve on his push-ups and to be able to do more on his toes verses his knees by the end of the challenge. My personal goal is by the last day that I'm able to do the 100 reps of each exercise without stopping or breaking it up.

So, who is going to accept this challenge?

November 2015 Challenge

I haven't posted in several weeks because in all honesty I just haven't been motivated to do so, and I also shut down emotionally and have been working through some things. I actually started a post last week sometime, but never finished it. I do plan on going back to it and finishing it up. But, in the meantime, my cousin had asked me to write her a challenge for the month of November. As I was writing it I decided it would be good for me to go ahead and do it also and figured I would also put out here for you all as well. The workouts are in a HIIT style, and as you can see our work time increases and our rest time decreases as we get further into the challenge. If you have questions on any of the exercises, how it works, or regarding anything else; just shoot me a message or post it in the comments. Hope you all take on the challenge!

 



DAY	EXERCISES	TIME	#ROUNDS
1	side plank right, regular plank, side plank left	30 sec work/30 sec rest	6
2	body weight squats, lunges, bear crawls	30 sec work/30 sec rest	6
3	situps, leg raises, bicycle crunches	30 sec work/30 sec rest	6
4	pushups, burpees, mountain climbers	30 sec work/30 sec rest	6
5	REST DAY
6	side plank right, regular plank, side plank left	30 sec work/30 sec rest	6
7	body weight squats, lunges, bear crawls	30 sec work/30 sec rest	6
8	situps, leg raises, bicycle crunches	30 sec work/30 sec rest	6
9	pushups, burpees, mountain climbers	30 sec work/30 sec rest	6
10	REST DAY
11	side plank right, regular plank, side plank left	40 sec work/20 sec rest	6
12	body weight squats, lunges, bear crawls	40 sec work/20 sec rest	6
13	situps, leg raises, bicycle crunches	40 sec work/20 sec rest	6
14	pushups, burpees, mountain climbers	40 sec work/20 sec rest	6
15	REST DAY
16	side plank right, regular plank, side plank left	40 sec work/20 sec rest	6
17	body weight squats, lunges, bear crawls	40 sec work/20 sec rest	6
18	situps, leg raises, bicycle crunches	40 sec work/20 sec rest	6
19	pushups, burpees, mountain climbers	40 sec work/20 sec rest	6
20	REST DAY
21	side plank right, regular plank, side plank left	50 sec work/20 sec rest	6
22	body weight squats, lunges, bear crawls	50 sec work/20 sec rest	6
23	situps, leg raises, bicycle crunches	50 sec work/20 sec rest	6
24	pushups, burpees, mountain climbers	50 sec work/20 sec rest	6
25	REST DAY
26	side plank right, regular plank, side plank left	50 sec work/20 sec rest	6
27	body weight squats, lunges, bear crawls	50 sec work/20 sec rest	6
28	situps, leg raises, bicycle crunches	50 sec work/20 sec rest	6
29	pushups, burpees, mountain climbers	50 sec work/20 sec rest	6
30	MONTHLY FINISHER - ALL 12 EXERCISES	60 sec work/60 sec rest	3
***1 minute rest between rounds***

Week 2 Day 3 Progression Pull-Up Plan

Today you will either use the rings or TRX to perform challenging reps. Remember the further your feet are forward, and the more parallel your body is to the ground, the more challenging it will be.

5 sets of 3 challenging reps

Week 2 Day 2 Progression Pull-Up Plan

For today the plan indicates to.....

Accumulate 25 challenging ring or TRX rows

The keywords in this are "accumulate" and "challenging". The plan does not intend you to be able to do all 25 reps in a row. The plan actually indicates that if you can string 10 or more reps together then they are not challenging enough. You make them more challenging by moving your body more parallel to the floor.

Week 2 Day 1 Progression Pull-Up Plan

Today we start week 2 of the progression pull-up plan, and for the first day it states to do the same as day 1 of week 1. So, for today you can complete 8-12 reps of assisted pull-ups using a band for three sets; or 8-12 reps of jumping negatives using a box for three sets. Again, based on some suggestions from one of the trainers and another client, I did the jumping negatives.

And after only one week, I do feel like I'm improving. When I did this last week, the first 2 rounds I was able to get 10 reps and the 3rd round I was able to get the 8 reps. But, this morning when I did this as my warm-up before my workout, I was able to do 12 jumping negative pull-ups for all three rounds. I noticed I felt I had more control and better form. One week closer to meeting my goal!

Day 5 Progression Pull-Up Plan

I've set 90 day goals for all areas of my core4, which includes being able to do 3 strict pull-ups by the end of the 90 days. And just like any goal, regardless if it's fitness related or something else in your life, you don't get it by waiting for it to happen. You have to work for! You have to set your goal, make the plan to meet that goal, and then do the damn work; and that's why I'm determined to not give up!

For day 5 we do the following:

5 sets of 3 jumping negative pull-ups

Day 4 Progression Pull-Up Plan

Yesterday my trainer had me do day 3 of the pull-up plan as part of my warm-up before my training session with him. And he actually recommended I start making it part of my warm-up before sessions, and then I can do it again later in the evening on my own as well if I wanted. So, as I was between the first and second set I thought to myself, "These don't really take that long and I wondered if I should be doing more sets or reps." But, then as I was half-way through the second set I thought, "Nope, I'm feeling it and this is not as easy at it appears on paper." I mentioned to someone yesterday that I have to remember that this is my weak area and that I need to start at the beginning and work my way up. I have to think of this as if it was my first day starting and I can't go in there and rep out 10 sets or 50 reps each set. And I have to remember that the areas I am strong in, deadlifts, bench press, back squats, happened over the past four plus years. In order to get stronger in the area of pull-ups and meet my goal, it's not about how much I'm doing or how fast I'm getting there, but I just need to follow this plan and trust the process. So, who's ready for day 4?

The plan indicates to do 8 reps of Struggle Ups Struggle Downs.

Here's how they explain to do these.

• Begin hanging on the bar
• Pull yourself up by activating your lats and shoulders as much as you possibly can (I'm imagaining I won't be pulling myself up much but it will be important to keep those muscles activated as you continue the next step)
• Struggle for 5 seconds
• After the 5 seconds, then step on the box to do a jumping negative pull-up (jump up and lower yourself as slow and controlled as possible)

Day 3 Progression Pull-Up Plan

Who is ready for day 3?

The plan has us doing: 3 sets of 5 banded pull-ups

But, because of the advice I've been given by one of my trainers and two other clients, I'll be doing: 3 sets of 5 jumping pull-ups using a box

Choose what you feel will be best for you to meet your goal!

Day 2 Progression Pull-Up Plan

Yesterday I started a pull-up progression plan that will help me reach my 90 day challenge. Following this plan, my goal is to be able to do 1 strict pull-up in 30 days, 2 strict pull-ups in 60 days, and then to be able to do 3 strict pull-ups by the end of my 90 day challenge.

Yesterday I got to choose between 8-12 reps of assisted pull-ups using a band for three sets; or 8-12 reps of jumping negatives using a box for three sets. Based on some suggestions from one of the trainers and another client, I did the jumping negatives. As I mentioned yesterday in my post, it was hard and I really doubted myself, but I finished it.

Today was day 2 of the plan and I had to do 5 sets of 15 second active hang on bar followed by 5 challenging ring rows with a two second hold at the top. What I learned is this is definitely taking me outside my comfort zone, and it's definitely going to be a challenge. But, I don't plan on giving up because this is something that I really want to accomplish. I posted my goals out on our FT Client page, but I wanted to post here and do a daily update for two reasons. One, by putting it out there for everyone to know, I'll have more accountability knowing people will be looking for what I'm doing. Two, I'm going to need all the support and encouragement I can get. Also, I figured there might be others who want to follow the plan as well.

So, if you want to join in on the challenge and follow the plan, I'll be posting every day what the plan is instructing to do. There will be something to do Monday through Saturday. The plan suggests a minimum of 4 days a week to train, but recommends 5-7. I'm following the plan where I will train 6 days a week having Sunday as a rest day. Tomorrow morning I'll post what we will do for day 3 so keep an eye out for it. Do you want or need that accountability? Post up that you're going to do the challenge, email me at sherrie_bullock@ymail.com, or message me on FB and I'll make sure to check in on you to see how you're doing.

Remember, getting out of your comfort zone is the only way to grow and improve! I'm not going to reach my goals if I don't have a plan and stick with it!

Never Give Up

Today at Fitness Together, for those of us that have set some personal goals, we started the 90 day challenge to meet that goal. I have goals 90 day goals for my body, being, balance, and business; but my 90 day goal for my body is to be able to do three strict pull-ups by the end of the 90 days. This is important to me because I currently am unable to do one pull-up unless it's assisted with a band or a box. Pull-ups are a weak area for me and I want to really improve on these. I'm doing this by following a progression pull-up plan and also setting 30 and 60 day benchmarks. My goal is to be able to do one strict pull-up in 30 days, two in 60 days, and then my ultimate 90 day goal to be able to do three.

This is how my first day went. I cried, twice! My first day of the plan consisted of 8-12 assisted pull-ups with a band for three sets; or 8-12 reps of jumping negative pull-ups with a box for three sets. One of our trainers has told me before that he doesn't feel the bands are as effective as using a box, and also after talking with another client who can do strict pull-ups saying he used the jumping negative technique to improve, I chose to go that route. So, I get through the first set, took a slight break. Then halfway through the second set I started crying and thought to myself there's no way I'm going to be able to do this. I wiped the tears and finished the second set. Got off the box, took a step back, took a bit longer of a break, refocused, and got back up there to do the third and final round. I started crying again; but this time it was out of determination to finish the set because this is a goal I really want to meet.

What kept me pushing through and not giving up? There were a few things that kept me from giving up on my goal on day one. For starters, anytime I struggle and start doubting myself, I always hear Michael's voice saying, "Get out of your head! Get out of your own way!" And tonight his voice in my head was pretty loud! Also, I put my goal out on our FT Client page so everyone knows I've set this goal and lets be honest, no one wants to give up on day one of the 90 day goal challenge that everyone knows about. But, also, earlier in the day I had reached out to the trainer and two other clients who I train with during our Friday competition class. One of the clients said she would do the plan with me, and the other client replied, "Both of you are very strong, and you should have no problem doing these once you focus on them." Getting refocused for the third round, and remembering this, is why I was determined to finish all three sets.

One thing I've always said, and actually just told one of the trainers last week, I might have days I whine at times and I might even complain; but one thing you'll never see me do is quit. So, getting all the "I can't do this" and negative thoughts out of my head and remembering all the encouraging and positive things I am more determined to meet my goal. So, what are your goals? Have you put them out there where others can hold you accountable, encourage you, and help you reach those goals? If you haven't I encourage you to put your goals out there, stay focused, stay positive, and more importantly....NEVER GIVE UP!

Make You A Priority

How can you love someone else if you don't love yourself? How can you take care of someone else if you don't take care of yourself? How can you make others happy if you aren't happy with yourself?

It's not only okay to make yourself a priority, but it's important. Sometimes you have to do what's best for YOU so you can BE the best for others.

Soar Like An Eagle

It's been a busy couple weeks for me, and then this weekend haven't been feeling well. Earlier last week I had a few days where I kept to myself trying to figure some things out and I wasn't the only one. I had conversations with others who were facing their own obstacles, including many who are dealing with negative people and situations in their lives. I've blogged about it before, the importance of surrounding yourself with those who will lift you up and not bring you down. While doing some meditation the other day I thought of one particular person's situation dealing with not only a negative person, but someone who is constantly mentally and emotionally hurting her and she deserves better and so much more in life, we all do. I'm not saying it's easy to face these people or these situations, but when it comes down to it only you can make the decision to stand up for yourself and remove yourself from the negativity that's holding you back from being the best YOU that you can be. I heard a quote today that I thought was a great reminder to not let what others say and do effect you in a negative way.

"Be like an eagle and soar above the mockingbird."

We all have goals and eventually we will encounter obstacles. We can either soar like an eagle to new heights and push through the obstacles and conquer our goals; or we can just stay where we are, in our comfort zone, and never know how great we can be!

Create Space

Creating space for yourself is really important. I get busy with things in life and sometimes I allow it to consume me mentally and emotionally if I'm not careful. I've been doing really well the past month at creating space for myself daily; but I've been busy at work with open enrollment coming up and the past few days I haven't been taking time for myself. I've not been creating the space I need to just be alone, nor have I been doing my cardio after work. Today a good friend noticed something wasn't right and after talking about the most recent incident that upset me, we went for a walk to a coffee shop and then sat and just talked for a bit. It helped me just being able to talk, but more importantly got me refocused and remembered Michael saying sometimes we have to slow down to speed up. Maybe I haven't been going to do cardio at night, that's okay. So, after a good cup of coffee with a good friend, I was content with taking a break and slowing down this week. I might need some extra meditation time, or even some extra me time, but my balance and being will be better. Now, I'm off to create some space and color! :)

What Are Your Obstacles?

Life throws us many obstacles. There are many times we doubt our ability, and some times we even give up because we end up believing we can't get through those obstacles. But, when you are going hard and are working towards your goals, when an obstacle appears, that's when it's even more important to think positive and keep moving forward. DON'T tell yourself, "it's too hard", "I can't do this", or any other self destructive thoughts. But, instead DO tell yourself, "I've got this", "I can do this", "I will be successful". Because when it comes down to it, if you stay focused on your goals, with hard work and determination you can't be anything but successful! So, next time you're moving along and you come upon an obstacle, figure out how to get through it or around it; but whatever you do, DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!

Daily Thoughts - Enjoy The Simple Things

I know me personally I used to get so wrapped up in what needed and had to be done for the day that I failed to take the time to just enjoy the simple things. Since starting Empire I've learned to keep better balance in my core4 and have learned the importance of daily meditation and creating space for myself. Some things I've been doing is running, reading more, working on this blog, just listening to my music, reading my Bible, etc. But, last night I actually discovered something else that I used to enjoy as a kid and it's something so simple!

There are some evenings Michael has his two kids at the studio and we always have fun hanging out playing, watching Netflix, drawing, hide and seek, duck duck goose, or whatever makes them happy. Not going to lie, I think they mainly like me because I'll do anything they want regardless how silly I look as long as they are having fun and then I bring snacks! :) Last night B was enthralled in the Power Rangers movie so Mars and I sat down and started coloring. You know a simple thing of just coloring was really therapeutic for me. As a kid I always loved to color and for that moment I was just enjoying being able to hang out with these two precious kids and being present in what they want to do. And what they want to do are the most simple things in life, I mean our biggest concern is which Ninja Turtle am I going to be today. I thought to myself, I love doing this and I should do it more often as part of my "me time" and how I create space for myself.

Now, I will admit, I'm not the best artist as far as actually drawing pictures (ask the kids, my Mini Mouse and Ninja Turtles are funny looking...lol); but I always enjoyed taking a picture and turning it into something pretty and colorful. It just made me realize that sometimes enjoying the simplest things in life, even things from our childhood like coloring, can be a great way to create space for ourselves and even as I mentioned before be very therapeutic. I mean, regardless of how my bad my day went, how can I not smile as I'm coloring a dancing cow in a tutu? I'm going to go buy my own set of crayons and coloring books! Take time to enjoy the simple things in life!

Social Media Sabbatical

Social media has become a way for us to connect to others easier and more often. We are able to reconnect with long lost friends, family who we don't see often, and we are even able to help our businesses. And all of these things are great and I love how technology has allowed us to be able to do these things. I love being able to see what's going on with my friends and family, I love being able to blog to get my story and thoughts out there to help others, I love being able to share my blog on three different social media sites to reach even more people.

But, somewhere along the way I think many of us, including myself, social media has become our life. Examples of social media are: blogging, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Podcasts, Google+, YouTube, and even just your every day e-mail. And these are just the few I can think of off the top of my head. Yesterday I made the comment to someone, "If you need anything or have questions, shoot me a FB message, e-mail, text, or call me. I get all the alerts on my phone." And not only all the social media, but I have my other apps on my phone, including my music. There are times when I'm laying there, lights out, music on, and I'm in the middle of my meditation and I'll get an alert. When this happens, I don't even look at the alerts, but the issue is that the purpose of meditating is to be completely in your thoughts and away from distraction. How effective is my meditation if my thoughts are being interrupted every time a social media alert goes off? And I don't know if it's because this has been a long week, or if my social media just happen to be getting a lot of activity at that moment, but I was recently meditating and it seemed like alerts were just going off every 30 seconds to a minute. I was getting pissed and ended up ripping the headphones off and shutting my phone off.

But, this got me thinking about social media and how it plays a part in my life. The social medias I use daily are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, my blog, and e-mail; then a few others from time to time. Don't get me wrong, social media is awesome and I'm still going to use my sources to stay connected with the world, but just like anything if it becomes your life it can be distracting. This morning's meditation ended up being over social media in my life and have decided to take a social media sabbatical for the weekend. What does that mean? It means this is my last post from me on any of my social media forms until Monday, nor will I be getting on any of them to get updates. I'm still going to do what I had planned to do this weekend, workout tomorrow morning, present my carb cycling seminar, start planning and prepping for next week's meals, go to church Sunday, my Empire forms, and do everything else I normally do that doesn't involve social media. I figured those friends and family who really need me or need anything can call me because they have my phone number; and any social media updates will still be there Monday once I've returned. I want social media in my life to help stay connected with friends, family, and even to be able to help others through my blog; but what I don't want is it to become my life or a distraction in my life. So, everyone have an awesome weekend!

Daily Thoughts - Who Do You Surround Yourself With?

We've all been told people come into our lives for a reason. Sometimes we have people who are our biggest cheerleaders and you think this is a person who will always be a part of your life and close inner circle. I know I've experienced that and even thought there is no way I could do this without them. At some point, the changes I was making and the path I was going down wasn't the most positive. At the time I wasn't seeing it, I thought I truly was making the best decisions for me. But, as I continued down that path with the people I thought I couldn't survive without, I still had those other individuals that I had pushed out of my circle just waiting for me. Never judging me, never abandoning me, just giving me the space and time I needed to figure things out. As I struggled with feeling that I was alone and didn't know what to do, they stepped back into my close inner circle and I was reminded how important it is to surround yourself with those people who truly love you, motivate you, encourage you, inspire you, and would do everything they can to help you be successful and happy.

Sometimes we have to step back, do some meditation, and really evaluate the people in our lives. And as hard as it is sometimes, those people who are no longer serving your life in a positive way, it might be time to let them go. Now, I personally struggled with this, and I did have to let go of some people. But, there some I didn't want to just give up on, but really work things out. So, I did give some time before shutting certain people out, but after being hurt and disappointed so many times because they want to focus on the negative and what is best for them, I realize there were some that just weren't ever going to be able to serve me in a positive way so I had to let go.

So, who are you surrounding yourself with? Is time to evaluate the people? If you feel the relationship is worth fighting for, by all means, have a heart to heart with that person. But, if they can't respect you enough to truly support you in a positive way, it might be time to let them go. There's another quote I like, "Surround yourself with those who with lift you higher."

Daily Thoughts - It's Supposed To Be Hard

I love the movie, "A League Of Their Own", and this quote from the movie...."Of course it's hard. It's supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. Hard is what makes it great."

There are days when Michael's workouts seem ridiculously hard and there are times when I'm in the middle of one and wonder if I'm going to survive it. Like the other day I had a hurricane workout and then had a finisher where I rowed so many meters EMOTM. I even made the comment I felt like my legs were going to fall off. There are even workouts that are so intense I actually get pissed at him while I'm doing the sets and would like to reach up and punch him in the face (it's okay, I'm sure he has the same feelings when I whine...lol). There have been times when he's corrected the way I do something and it ends up making the exercise harder, and normally it's something as small as just pulling my shoulders or chest back. And when I do make the comment that made it harder, he'll reply "It's supposed to be hard." or "But did you die?" And he's right, it's supposed to be hard. If it's not hard is the workout really effective? And even though I really try not to whine, I do have days I whine or complain more than others about the difficulty, but the important thing is I don't stop or give up.

One of the things I've noticed is the harder and more intense the workout is the better I feel once I've finished. I might be laying on the floor or taking my time to make my way to the showers because I'm waiting for the feeling to come back to my legs, but once I'm up and moving all I can say to myself is "That was another Epic Watkins Workout!" So, when you're working out and you feel it's too hard just remember it's supposed to be hard, that's what makes it great!

Workout! Even When You Don't Feel Like It

We all have those days where we just don't feel like working out. And one thing I've learned over the past 4 1/2 years is that when you have bad days or days you don't feel like working out, those are the days you really should get your ass in there! I have actually found when I do I end up leaving feeling better, verses if I would have skipped my workout I would have felt the same and then started feeling guilty.

I had one of those days recently. I woke up with a headache, had a busy day at work with meetings and taking care of some escalated claims issues for our members, and it seemed it was non-stop. So, when it came time to go workout I really wanted to just shut myself off from everything and sleep; but instead I went and worked out. My headache was still there, but I did feel a little better. And when I got off work, I really wanted to go home instead of going to do cardio; but once again I remembered these are the times I need to suck it up and just get in there. So, I made my way down to the Jenks studio with intentions to just do cardio, but when I got there the trainer had this really awesome workout that would be challenging so I decided to jump into that and do something to push myself harder. And let me tell you, that workout definitely pushed me harder.

Now, if you've been injured or have some type of pain issues, maybe you can still go in and the trainer can modify things; or you might truly need to take a few days to recover as to not further injure yourself. But, what I'm talking about when I say getting in there regardless of how you feel and working out harder is when you are just having one of those days where you don't feel like it or just don't want to. So, definitely listen to your body and if it's feeding you a bunch of bullshit then get out of your own head, get into the gym, and as I like to say...DO THE DAMN WORK!

Superhero Saturday

Today was Superhero Saturday at FT and these are all the superheroes that showed up this morning and conquered the workout! And let me tell you, you had to be a superhero to survive the suicide burpees we had to do. That would be me in the middle with the mask. I wanted to be a mysterious superhero. Actually, I was trying to hide the tears I had shed during the workout...lol. The dude on the far left standing backwards was our trainer today and that's Juan. See, working out doesn't have to be boring, and even when it's hard, it can be fun. I wouldn't want to start my Saturdays any other way.

Daily Thoughts - What Is A Mentor?

I'm starting to put myself out there more to be able to help others with their own health and fitness journey, and even updated some of my profile information on the various social medias where people can follow me, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. I use all of these sources to post my blog updates, motivational quotes, and just my thoughts regarding my journey in hopes I'm inspiring others and making a difference. One of the things I updated was the description of what my goal is and that's "Becoming healthier physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually", because it's important to be healthy in all of these areas. The past couple months I've been helping others who have reached out to me, but want to be able to do more, but unless I put myself out there I'm just sitting and waiting for it to happen. And how is that going to help anyone?

Over the past couple days I've thought about what it means to be a mentor, and for me it's not just about inspiring, encouraging, being their friend, and helping someone; but being honest with them even when sometimes the truth might not be what they want to hear but what they need to hear. When it comes to being a Health & Fitness Mentor I couldn't have asked for a better one than I have and that's Michael Watkins. He has given me the tools and guidance to help me in all four of the areas I listed above and I can always count on him to be honest with me, even when it pisses me off. And as I thought about, not just who I'm currently helping, but about being the type of Health & Fitness Mentor to others as Michael has been to me, I started to actually get anxious and scared. I mean, can I be the person who makes a difference for someone else as he has done for me? What if I screw up or what if I don't have all the answers they need to be successful? And it was something I really had to think about today, so during my meditation today that's what I did. And what I realized is, I have the best mentor in Michael anyone could ask for and he is nowhere near perfect! So why am I doubting my ability to be the best mentor to someone else? Why am I afraid to fail? Because when it comes down to it, being the best mentor isn't about having all the answers, but willing to share what you do know. As long as I continue to do that, then I will be able to be the Health & Fitness Mentor that makes a difference and inspires others to be the healthiest they can be as well!

Regardless if I work with you directly, or you follow me through one of my social media sources, I hope I'm making a difference in your own personal health and fitness journey!

Daily Thoughts - ACTION > WORDS

Photo courtesy of Michael Watkins (owner)
Fitness Together Downtown Tulsa
Fitness Together Jenks/Riverside

Some of the things I hear from others are, "I know what I need to do, I just need to do it.", "I'm going to start eating healthier.", "I'm going to start working out."

A lot of the times I hear these statements from people; but I don't really see the action. Unfortunately talking about what you need to do and what you are going to do won't get you results or get you closer to your goals. You have to actually do the work of what you say you're going to do.

When it comes down to it you have to be willing to make the changes and do the work. Don't just talk about what you need to do, or what you're going to do, get up off your ass and DO THE DAMN WORK!!!!

Now, are you ready to take action? Here's a great opportunity to work with Michael Watkins (my personal trainer), owner of Fitness Together Downtown Tulsa and Fitness Together Jenks/Riverside, AND Georgeanna Johnson from Extreme Weight Loss. They have teamed up and for just a little over a $1 a day you can sign up for the 90-day transformation workshop where you can be THE BEST YOU! What's awesome about this program is you don't have to live in the Tulsa area because it's all on line and e-mail. Click on this link, http://www.fitiswell.com/tby for additional information and to take advantage of this awesome opportunity. Check it out now....workshop begins August 15th!

Ab Challenge

I'm starting a four week ab challenge today and invite you to join me. Here's how it will work. Every day you will do the following exercises below for the number of reps indicated, and I challenge you to do them in the morning and then again before you go to bed. BUT WAIT, there's more!!!! Each week it will become more challenging. Not only will you do the following exercises for the number of reps indicated (still both in the morning and night), but each week you'll do an extra round each day.

WEEK 1 - one round in the morning and one round at night
WEEK 2 - two rounds in the morning and two rounds at night
WEEK 3.....I think you get where I'm going with this

• 20 sit ups
• 20 leg lifts
• 20 knee grabs
• 20 bicycle crunches (per side)
• 20 second side plank (right side)
• 20 second plank
• 20 second side plank (left side)

Daily Thoughts - It's All On You

One of the differences between Fitness Together and your typical gym is that Michael, the trainers, and other clients actually care if you show up or not. If you're not going to show up to the sessions and do what you committed to YOURSELF to do, then why are you wasting your time, your money, and the trainers time? When you don't show up, it's noticed.

When attendance is low in the group sessions at FT, especially if it's consistent, Michael will post in our client page asking where everyone is. And he doesn't do it to be mean or embarrass them, but because he does truly care about his clients showing up and getting results. And typically those who have been out will comment with why they've been out and when they'll be back. But, something I've noticed is some of them will apologize for not showing up. Last week I had another client actually apologizing to me for something, and I thought, why are they apologizing to me?

This got me thinking about all the situations I've seen where people are apologizing to me, Michael, other trainers, or other people for not showing up or not doing what they said they would do. I mean, if you say you're going to show up to a workout and you don't, or you say you're going to follow your meal plan and end up eating a bunch of crap instead, why are you apologizing to us? You're not letting anyone else down except yourself. The things I say I'm going to do are commitments I've made to myself, not anyone else. So, next time you are considering going off your meal plan, or you want to skip a workout for whatever your reasons are, or you don't do what you've committed to yourself to do; just remember, IT'S YOUR BODY! YOUR GOALS! YOUR EFFORT! No one can do it for you! It's all on you and the only person you are letting down is yourself.