​Find Your Balance

What’s your New Years resolution this year? Let me guess...  loose a ton weight? go to the gym every day? Cut out all the junk food? The problem with most resolutions and goals we set in the new year is that they are too ambitious. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with being determined to reach a far off goal, but the issue is that they typically don’t last, you find them too hard to maintain with your current life style, and you end up throwing them out completely. Then you’re back to where you started, or worse off with the added guilt of feeling like you failed again. So Instead of setting such huge goals, set a smaller sustainable goal which is a step in the direction to reach your ultimate goal. For example, instead of trying to loose 30lbs, try to loose 1 lb a week. If you don’t go to the gym some weeks, don’t set a goal to go every day. Instead, commit to going twice a week. The bottom line is sustainability. We all know the laundry list of excuses that come up especially when you have family and young children. Set goals that are realistic with your life style and sustainable. The idea is to make a life shift to become a better you. Make your goals a new way of life. Pick your resolutions wisely this year and get on track to be your best self. Bring it in 2018... It’s CRUSH TIME!

BLESSINGS!!!
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After a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends, I always feel so thankful and blessed this time of year. This year we have a little something extra to be thankful for... we will be welcoming a new baby girl into our family in May 2018! ​We are all super excited, and Carlon and I feel so blessed. So, this month I'm going to keep it short and sweet and say just take some extra time to look around you, enjoy the holiday season and be thankful for what you have. Let your blessings motivate you through the season. CRUSH TIME!

​REST TO BE MY BEST

I've finally done it! Believe it or not, I really have learned to let my body rest and reset. As many of you know, I'm extremely tough on myself. Typically a so-called "rest day" to me was doing a "short" 4-5 mile run instead of longer or more intense cardio combine with weight training. Over the past two months, I've forced myself to allow my body to really rest in the true sense. By that I mean, actually taking a day off here and there, sleeping a little later, and even getting in an occasional nap when time allowed. I've been listening to my body rather than sticking to my strict routine. This goes for both exercise and diet. On my rest days I make sure to feed my body what I feel it needs to recover. Not chocolate cake of course, but healthy protein, fats and veggies. In some cases it means eating more than I would have otherwise. So, what did I expect to happen? I expected to gain a pound or two from eliminating some of my intense cardio. I expected my body to recover, especially my hip where I have some issues from time to time. And I expected to be in a bad mood the days I didn't work as hard as I'd like because I was so used to the amazing feeling my workouts leave me with. Here's the thing... I WAS WRONG! My hip has been feeling much better, BUT I actually lost a pound or two, I have been in a great mood AND I'm realizing that I made myself numb. What I was doing by pounding away at my body was just beating it up and slowing down my metabolism. Now that I'm allowing my body to recover, I feel a good and intense muscle soreness after hitting each body part. Areas that haven't been sore in a long time, are now sore after I work them. I'm no longer numb to the pain I put my body through. My body is now able to respond to the stimulus I create and hopefully continue to improve. My metabolism and my digestion is recovering in a noticeable way, which allows me to be more relaxed. The lesson here is that rest is extremely important. I've always preached it, but never really practiced it the correct way. Now I have my own proof that rest is key to reaching the next level. This doesn't mean you should quit training, eat what you feel like and expect results. My workouts are just as intense as ever. When it's time to work, it's time to work. But now I've learned, when it's time to rest, it's time to really rest. So, if you're anything like I was and don't know how to take a day off, teach yourself how to rest. If you take your rest and kick butt the days you train, keep it up. If you rest too much, pick up the intensity of your workouts so you can improve. Whatever category you fall into, find a way to rest, recover, reset and push yourself to the next level. CRUSH TIME!

BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

I know many of us are celebrating our kids going back to school while others are mourning the end of summer. For me this time of year is always bittersweet. I'm understandably sad that I won't have my long summer days with Jackson but there's that part of me that needs the break and is excited to get back into a solid routine. I can imagine I'm not alone in my feelings. This year after spending almost two weeks honeymooning in Hawaii followed by an active and fun (albeit exhausting) mother-and-son trip with Jackson, I'm ready to focus this fall! I enjoyed my vacation. I relaxed. I slept. I indulged. But now it's time to set up the kids for school and get back into a routine of my own. Although there's work involved, there's something to be excited about. It's all about your mindset and I'm prepared to crush this fall and get back in the game. I encourage you all to do the same, embrace your new routines and get pumped to rock the fall. So, take a few minutes to sit down and map out your schedule for this fall. Look at what you did last year to see what worked and what didn't. If you didn't have time to eat breakfast, make time this year. If you had trouble getting to the gym as often as you liked, crate a plan that will get you there. Now is the time to set up your schedule so you can have a great fall. Master that, and you can crush it all year long! CRUSH TIME!

GET OUTSIDE AND SOAK UP THE RAYS WHILE YOU STILL CAN! 

Summer is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the sun and heat the month of August brings. The only problem is that it seems like it never lasts long enough. If I'm sounding like a California girl, my husband would agree. He's always been bewildered by the the fact that that I seem to have such a So-Cal soul. But I am who I am, and I do have an admitted penchant for the balmy side of things. With that kind of wiring, it should come as no surprise to know that I always set out to get the very most out of these precious summer months. I encourage you do the same because it's good for your health and spirit. Just getting those rays while you can can boost your vitamin D and lift your mood. But getting outside this time of year does a great deal more than that, as so much about being outside is physical in nature. So as August hits and time starts running out on our summer, use the rest of the month to get outside as much as possible. Bring your workouts and your fun outside whenever possible, join a summer softball league, connect with your inner child and play with your kids outside, walk or run on the beach, organize a beach volleyball game, take some sunrise or early evening walks. Just get out and do something before the warm weather is replaced by the impending seasonal shivers ahead. Bottom line, for the reasons I've mentioned, August is definitely CRUSH TIME!!

WHAT'S MY SECRET?

I've got a secret... I've been trying something new recently that I have to share with you! It's given me more energy, helps me sleep at night, and makes me feel amazingly ready to go in the morning (as if I needed to be even more of a morning person ;)). Although it's huge on the west coast with high level athletes and the Hollywood world, it's only now just starting to make it's way to this coast. Now I see why! At Peak Wellness in Greenwich (203-625-9608) www.peakwellness.com, you can customize your IV to give you exactly what you need based on their testing or you can choose from a list of suggested "IV cocktails" formulated to achieve a specific result. They have cocktails for weight loss, increasing energy, speeding recovery for ironman athletes and Crossfit enthusiasts, improving sleep quality, relieving pain, cleansing and detoxifying the body, and even formulas to fix your jet lag and quickly purge your pesky hangover! ;) The truly amazing thing about IV therapy is it's speed and effectiveness. So, now you're in on the secret and can check it out for yourself!

FEEL THE LOVE
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Happy Summer Everyone! For those of you that don't know, I got married last weekend to the man of my dreams!! It was the most amazing weekend filled with family, friends, so much love and good vibes. I'm still on such a high from all of the amazing energy. I can't help but take that excitement into my workouts. I'm running, cycling, training and doing just about everything with a little more UMPH! Since I noticed this extra power emanating from the uplifting influence of the great people I'm so fortunate to have in my life, I thought it would be a fantastic suggestion for everyone to try. Before you go out for your next workout, think about all of the love, friends, family and good vibes you have in your life and hit the ground on an even stronger positive note. If your feeling down one morning, give yourself a pep talk to remind yourself of all your blessings. Let the goal for this month be, to feel the love around you and let those good vibes bring out the best in your workouts. FEEL THE LOVE... IT'S CRUSH TIME BABY!

​WARM UP WITH THE WEATHER
Now that the weather is getting warmer and spring is upon us, it's natural to have the desire to get outside for your workouts. If you're anything like me, you feel you've been tied up all winter and you've just been released. While I'm tempted every morning to jump out the door and start a run, I'm careful to pay special attention to my warm up. Even though the weather is warmer, it's not summer yet. It's still a little cool outside, especially in the early morning. Recently I've been making sure to warm my body up with some dynamic stretches before running out the door. Just as importantly, I've been taking a little extra time to cool down and stretch at the end of my cardio or training sessions. The worst thing would be to get an injury just before the summer because I let the excitement of getting outside get the best of me. So, this spring as the weather is warming up, remember to take the time to warm up yourself. And of course, enjoy every bit of the weather as we approach my favorite season of all... SUMMER ;) CRUSH TIME!

IT MAY BE SPRING, BUT THINK SUMMER!
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Although it's officially spring, it sure hasn't felt like it! Brrrrrr! Unfortunately, this weather has kept most of us in winter mode far longer than we'd like. It also keeps us bundled up longer and helps us to forget that bathing suit season is just around the corner. It's not about a number on a scale, but all of us know how we want to look and feel come the summer. Now is the perfect time to reassess your goals and come up with a plan for the next months. What can you do differently over the next several weeks that you haven't been doing this winter to help get you feeling hot and summer ready?! The changes you make can be simple and small. It just needs to be something that will help you get closer to feeling your best. Sharpen up the diet a little, add a little more intensity and skip in your step in your workout, or start engaging in more physically challenging activities. Whatever it is, just know that even the smallest changes can make a difference. I have some things of my own I plan to change, and I encourage you to do the same as we transition to my favorite season of the year... SUMMER! CRUSH TIME!