​Do you even lift?  

You do?  High five!  This blog post probably isn't for you.  
Carry on!  

If you don't, it's never too late to start!  I'm serious!  I've had clients who started strength training in their 60's and 70's!  

The benefits of adding in as few as three days of
strength training to your fitness routine include:

• Improved bone density
• Increased daily caloric burn
• Prevention of muscle loss
• Improves balance and coordination 
• Increased strength
• Improved mood
• Overall badassery

With all of these benefits why would you NOT lift?

​When it comes to health and fitness it's so incredibly easy to get off track!  Schedules are crazy, tempting food is everywhere, and there are always social gatherings, parties, and family events that seem to fill your weekends!  It's the like universe is out to get you!  

Guess what?!?  You have the control!  

You can forgo all the BS excuses.  Believe me, I've heard them all!  Some people are great at coming up with excuses as to why they can't get to the gym, stick to their goals of a nutritious diet, or go to bed at a reasonable hour .  I may or may not have tried a few of these excuses myself.  But excuses don't matter!  No one cares about your excuses!  Excuses don't make you feel better about skipping your workout, eating junk, or staying up until 2 when you know you have to be up for work, or have an especially challenging workout the following day.  
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Drop the excuses and take action!  

​Setting goals and mapping out a plan is crucial for success.  If you're like me you have a list as long as your arm of things you want to accomplish.  But without focus these goals are nothing but a wish list.  Enter the S.M.A.R.T. Goal!  By using the S.M.A.R.T. method you are able to set focused goals that best utilizes your time and resources.  Using the S.M.A.R.T. acronym can help you fine tune your goal for the best results! 

Summer can be a hectic time!  Kids are out of school, everyone is traveling, the days are long, the cookouts are plentiful and your schedule is usually out the window!  After Labor Day everything seems to settle back into a normal routine… at least that’s the goal!  It can be challenging to fall back into healthy habits after such a long, lazy summer.  If this is what you’re currently struggling with, then this challenge is for you!!!! 

Scrolling through your facebook, twitter, or instagram feed you are constantly exposed to images of various women and slogans depicting qualities that “real women” possess. 
Real women have curves.  Real women have muscles.  Real women have tattoos.  Real women lift heavy.  Real women wear heels.  Real women satisfy their men and make them sandwiches, real women BLAH BLAH BLAH, the list goes on for days! These slogans have the ability to both empower and degrade.  If you are in fact a woman with tattoos then you feel amazing, strong, and beautiful.  If not, are you somehow less?  Are you lacking?  If you aren’t tattooed and therefore aren’t a “real” woman, then what does that make you? 

Working out can be a challenge.  Finding the motivation to get off the couch can be the greatest.  While working out at home is convenient, many find they need the gym atmosphere to get them in the right mindset.  For others making the trip to the gym can make that challenge more difficult. There are pros and cons to working out in a gym or at home.  Even if you love working out at the gym, there are days when there just isn't enough time.  Maybe you hate the feeling that everyone is staring at you and you’re uncomfortable getting sweaty and gross in such a public setting. I feel your pain!  Enter the Home Gym.  With a few inexpensive pieces of equipment and your own body weight you can get an intense, effective workout without ever leaving the house!

I haven’t always been fit.  With the exception of three years of volleyball in high school, I didn’t grow up playing sports.  I was more of a bookworm.  I hated gym class in school.  Running around the track, and the various sports, it was torture for my uncoordinated, teenage self.  The only section of gym class I ever remember really loving was the weight lifting.  Those were my favorite few weeks of the semester.  After high school I got into weight lifting a little more… however it didn’t last.  Much of my twenties were spent in more of a party mode.  Going out to eat, parties, barbecues, and more.  We were young, and oblivious, and invincible!