“Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.” - Muhammad Ali
“My muscles hurt, I must be because I am old ”
“I’m too old for doing ….” insert an activity
“I’m too old to start exercising now”
“It’s because I am getting old, that I can’t lose fat!”
Take your pick, I have heard them all, usually from people young enough to know better.
I was talking to some of my clients today over lunch, the lunch was a celebratory meal after completing a five kilometer race in the wet, slushy horrible weather we are experiencing here in Luxembourg this weekend. A couple of these “girls” are in the most polite way the wrong end of 30 something, but each of them has found that health and fitness doesn’t stop at age thirty.
They are planning to take part in a Triathlon next summer, they are talking about all the training they will be doing over the next few months, planning which preparation events they are going to do, including the relay ING marathon in May.
The thing is, just a few short months ago they were asking me if coming to do ForestFit was going to be too hard for them. Now with massively elevated confidence levels and a new understanding of what their body is capable of. Their goals are now much higher.
Some of my best clients have been the wrong side of fifty years. They still have managed to lose significant amounts of body fat. One of them has claimed they feel fitter and healthier at age fifty something, than they did at thirty something!
… Muhammad Ali’s quote is a startlingly coherent from a guy who did most of his talking with a brutal “right”. But it is a real observation of what is the difference between those that achieve massive results “despite” their age and those that give up as soon as they reach a certain age.
How old do you think you are??
Are you on of those Super-Mums that does 100 things at the same time? You are up at dawn preparing snack boxes, lunch boxes, gym bags, swim bags, making Breakfast, getting kids ready for school, getting yourself ready for work, planning tonight’s dinner while at the last minute putting on a wash before slamming the door shut. Drive the kids to school, husband to work, getting your self into work where You are the Super Assistant. After running after the boss all day, it’s back in the car, pick kids up, drive your son to hockey, your daughter to ballet. Back home! Dinner time, home work, bathing, night time stories, kids to bed. Cleaning, Washing, ironing, planning the next day…It’s 23.00…..you are exhausted…and in about 7 hours it will start all over again!
The problem with most of us woman (and some men) are that we are very bad at putting ourselves first. But to be honest if We don’t take care of ourselves What use are we going to be to ourselves or our family or anybody else for that matter?As i read in an article You must take care of your own basics needs before you can take care of the needs of others. Quite simple really, right?
And to be honest being busy doesn’t necessarily mean that You are being very productive.
So what can You do? Some people find it very hard to put themselves first, it feels a little bit selfish, but You can at least treat yourself equally with those yo love.
Do you make sure the kids get enough sleep? Well, make sure You get enough sleep too…it doesn’t matter if there is a little bit of dust under the beds and the washing can wait another day.
Do you think it’s important that your kids meet their friends and have a fun social life? Well, You make sure you get to see Your friends sometime as well and make sure You have an existing Social life. It’s been proven that having a Social life decreases the chance of depressions!
Do you insist your kids do some exercise (which I really hope You do, it’s so important to health!) Well, same again, You make sure you go out there and do some Exercises too.By now you all know there is a lot of options for you Mums in Luxembourg:)
Seriously though, it doesn’t have to involve getting to a gym or a class, simply walk out that door and the Options are plenty. Go for a 20 minutes Interval session, Yes, that is the best way to boost the metabolism…Go for a swim, Run with the dog or the neighbour, organise a friendly soccer game or just go for a quick Walk. 20 minutes a day, that is all you need to really improve your health, your immune system, your mood, your pms-problems(if you have them:)) and your future. I have said it before and I am saying it again, Who doesn’t want to live a long life to be there for their family. Well, get out there and Move Your Butt!
But doing exercise is only one part of a healthier life. Getting enough sleep is important and what you eat is equally important to have the Energy you need to be a great super mum. You most likely have heard the saying:You are, What You eat! So true, it’s not even funny:) Eat clean, a lot of fruit and vegetable, good meat, fish and chicken and make sure you eat Every 3 hours minimum!!! And please, please, please don’t skip BREAKFAST!
So what else can you do to relax your life a bit. Well, have a laugh every now and again especially at yourself:) Surround yourself with people that make you happy and don’t drain you. And don’t be afraid to ask for help! If you need 30 min to just clear your thoughts I can most certainly guarantee that your Friend won’t say No, because you wouldn’t right, if they needed you.
Plan fun things, there is nothing better than having something fun to look forward to. And it’s as important to plan nice things to do as it is planning work.
Try to figure out the things or people that drain you and take energy away from you and that aren’t really that important, and get rid or at least minimize the time with that/them.
There is small word that a lot of people don’t use as much as they should…Take note and start using it more often: Learn to say NO! Your Yes should be valuable and only used on the things that are most Important to You.
Look at potential Problems from a different angle, sometimes a problem isn’t as bad as it looks straight on.
Now, don’t go out there and try a new Super Woman tactic and change everything in your life straight away. Most likely that will bring you down eventually. Try small changes and really try to make that a habit before changing the next. This way you are more likely to keep it and make it Your New Improved, Healthier Lifestyle.
Good Luck, Mums, and no matter what, We are still Super Mums but let’s be Healthy, Happy Super Mums instead:)
Jess
Are You A Fair Weather Trainer?
29.05.08So much for doing ForestFit regardless of the weather…
Sadly this morning we had no choice but to cancel the workout because of the thunder and lightening. Certainly the right decision despite the fact it cleared about 15 minutes later, and it was actually quite pleasant!
So like any “crazy” individual I set out into the Forest by myself to catch a quick intervals session.
Splashing through the deep pools of water, mud splattering up the back of my legs, dodging the heavy, low and very wet branches, leaping from one side of the trail to the other to avoid the slippery roots and rocks. Charging up the hill using every ounce of energy to get to the top, refusing to be defeated by gravity and that awkward, uneven slope. As I walked back down the hill I started thinking about those poor souls stuck in the gym…
Pounding away at their treadmill, in their pristine white training shoes and colour coordinated workout attire. The only thing to dodge is the choice of music and the mindless crap on the tv screens. The pre-programmed, laser sharp accuracy of the angle of slope on the treadmill, knowing to the meter the distance you have traveled, the exact number of calories burnt and how much longer you have to stay on that thing to really start burning fat!
Who was enjoying the act of losing body fat more?
I wonder ;o)
Tim Goodwin
www.getfit.lu
www.forestfit.com
ForestFit June @ 09:30
28.05.08Joining forestfit is now really a no-brainer.
We are in the last week of ForestFit May, and all but two participants have re-joined plus we have almost filled the 07:00 group, when I last checked we had only two places available.
The 09:30 group still has a number of places available, but we are hopeful of filling this group too!
Just think, by 10:30 every Tuesday and Thursday you’ll have had your healthy breakfast, got the kids to school AND finished a fun and rewarding, fat burning workout. On Saturday’s we’ll start a little earlier giving you the rest of the weekend to do all the things your weekends are filled with.
Get over to www.forestfit.com to register today.
Tim Goodwin
ForestFit June Group 2
20.05.08A quick post to tell you all that Jess and I will run a 2nd ForestFit group for the month of June.
As well as the Early Morning group starting at 7 in the morning, we are also offering a 09:30 start time to accommodate those who have family priorities early in the morning.
So pack you kids off to school and join us for some energising workouts in the woods, and you’ll done before 10:30.
Go to the ForestFit website to register today for your place.
Tim
P.S. Places are limited, once they are all gone we cannot accept any more!
Does you scheduler resemble open warfare? There is so much on there it is impossible to see gaps. Fitting in a workout would just not be possible, you’d have to cancel it anyway because meetings always over run, or someone else wants another “quick” meeting!
Whether you are a top executive, middle management or team player, the working day is full of distractions, seemingly “important” appointments and meetings.
Many of us confuse work and “busy work”. Busy work is the answering of phone calls, reading and answering emails, impromptu meetings with your boss or co-workers, that consume so much of your day. As such your days get longer, lunch hours get shorter (or completely consumed), and late night work to finish a project becomes the norm.
The unstructured day drains your energy and is frankly a waste of time. Your training gets missed too frequently, and then dropped altogether. Not only does your sporting ability suffer but your entire “out of work” life too, there is no balance.
Because your sports and fitness training is vital to you, you need to do something about this otherwise weeks and months will pass you by with no structured workouts done.
Solutions to this big problem are everywhere, all sorts of technology solutions are available to better manage your time, but often these tools become even more time consuming to use and ultimately become “busy work” too.
Having tried numerous electronic organisers from Outlook, online calendars, PDAs, phones, etc etc. I have found coming back to a basic paper scheduler to be the most powerful tool.
As a trainer it is impossible for me to see every single client when it suits them, I force them to work their schedule around me, when they realise that this is for THEIR benefit as much as mine, they discover a freedom and opportunity that they had not recognised before!
The following tips for scheduling and planning your work and workouts have been used successfully by some of my busiest clients with great success:
• Plan to check email only twice a day, just before lunch and just before you go home in the evening. Keep it turned off at all others times.
• Arrange and accept meetings only in the morning, maximum of 30 minutes
• Afternoon is for real work, do 50 minute blocks of work, then break for 10.
• Put all this in your scheduler, blocking out portions of the day for this.
• Put in all your workouts for the week 5 or 6 sessions of 20-40 minutes are enough, the morning, lunch and evenings are obvious times. Sacrifices will need to be made though to make this fit.
• Fix your sports specific training in as well, keep the training focussed and goal orientated
As obvious and as simplistic as these suggestions seem, they are extremely effective if you stick to the rules without deviation for 5 weeks. By this point, not only will you become more effective with your planning, your work colleagues will be better “educated” with how you view your precious time and respect the rules you put in place.
Give these rules a try starting immediately, go to your scheduler and be brutal with the marker pen to block out sections of your day for specific actions. Stop the rot of busy work and turn off the phone and email notifier!
Claim back control of your training schedule and make these appointments as big a priority as your work appointments. It is not easy to start with and I wish you luck.
Claim your free “Warm Up” video at http://www.corporateathletehandbook.com/. Tim Goodwin is a fitness professional from Luxembourg, training the busiest individuals to achieve amateur sporting success and a healthier body.
Show or Go or Family Runabout
27.03.08I like cars, actually anything related to cars, it is not just a practical thing for me, it is a passion…
In the car tuning world, there are two main factions…
1. Show cars: their owners spend countless hours perfecting the bodywork, brightwork, polishing, cleaning, ironing out the dents, creases and scratches. The car is an object of beauty.
2. Fast Cars: The “Go” faction don’t really focus much on how it looks, but on how fast it is, how agile it is, the quickest from point A to point B
For people we are also split between these two schools of thought…
Those working on their looks, perfecting their shape, regular tanning sessions to top up the bronze, all in the pursuit of a beautiful looking body!
Then there is the sporty folk, who work hard to develop a body that is lean, fast and agile, fuelling themselves with the best products to get the best performance.
Which category are you in?
Maybe neither at the moment?
Are you the rusty, decaying heap in the corner, unable to move efficiently, your body has been neglected, your engine doesn’t run so well on the poor fuel you feed it, constantly breaking down with regular illness.
Whilst I don’t believe you should become a Show or GO, not to the extremes of the fanatical individuals anyway, but I do think that most of us can look after our body’s better, and become the reliable “family run-about” instead.
If you are in Luxembourg, come and meet us for a consultation
