3 Tips on Goal Setting: The Rocky Road to Success

By Tammy LeBoss | thefitprofoodie.com

The Hero’s Journey

Goal Setting

Any time a new course of action or a new life challenge is chosen, obstacles will arise. Self-doubt assuredly will creep up. In goal-setting, seeing ourselves as being a part of the end result can seem as unachievable as it is daunting. While applying true grit, commitment and perseverance can achieve big, seemingly unattainable feats, having a clear road map can make the journey way easier. Grab your map and decide on a realistic goal or destination. Today, identify your specific goals and dreams, get started on a transformative call-to-adventure, and apply the following 3 tips:

1. Identify the Objective We need to first understand where we are and where we want to be. Be aware that arriving at a real answer oftentimes, means taking an objective, sometimes difficult look at ourselves. Setting our goals high is great, but it’s best to make them Specific, Attainable, and Realist (SAR). Taking a real honest look at what truly motivates us means we are making our goals, uniquely ours and not someone else’s. This is why it’s important to customize our course; define our specific goals, because if they’re not ours, they will always be illusive.
2. Chart a course but be prepared to go off-course During any path to success, the road can be rocky and unpaved. Preparing to go off-course must be in the mindset of the adventurer. This means, we must not become too fixated on the process. It’s important to keep in mind that it’s ok to go off course and it is natural to fall down. It’s how we pick ourselves back up and get back on course that will determine our success. Once we’ve understood the necessary course of action, we will need to remind ourselves continually of the desired end-goal. We need to expect that we will become discouraged or disillusioned. Thus, it’s important to consistently re-asses where we are and re-focus on our goals.
3. Expect obstacles and be malleable to change Recognize that our ability to adapt to the flow of change will greatly determine the rate at which our goals are reached.  In goal-setting, always expect regressions as being a natural part of progression. Symbiotically, one cannot exist or survive without the other. Remember, you’re on a great adventure. And, there is no great adventure without a few mishaps. Without mishaps, there is no contrast or texture. Living a life without contrast is not living; it’s just existing. When facing a roadblock along your journey, be malleable. Practice perceiving obstacles as scenic detours. You may become frustrated while on these detours. But, stay on course and it’s likely you’ll discover many great paths and treasures along the way.

So long as we’re doing, we can never really go backwards. Goal-setting like any journey worth experiencing involves a constant process of falling off, then getting back on. Understand that the forces that stand in the way are important turning points, and have little to do with our external environment. Most often, the only real obstacle is oneself.

What is your call-to-adventure today? What is rising up from deep within you that insists that you journey forward? On your next quest to uncovering your fullest potential, be a hero on your journey and know this: There is no such thing as failure; the only failure is ‘not-doing’. Just do and you’ve already succeeded.

NAFC NewsBlast - November 2016 | Article 1

4 Hacks To Overhaul Your Workout 

By Tammy LeBoss | thefitprofoodie.com

We’ve all been there, right?! We keep doing the same routine, expecting quantifiable results and instead we see zero progress, or negligible benefits at best. You may have heard this before:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.~ Albert Einstein

So, let’s try something different, shall we?

Tip 1: Powerful Breathing: Relaxing the Belly

One key point that could transform your joy of cycling…

Whether you’re cycling, doing yoga or trying to navigate life with greater ease, here’s one thing to focus on that could transform your training experience:

Relaxing the belly and opening up the back to the same degree are key in sustaining a strong breathing pattern. Given the body position for cycling, it is much easier for the athlete to breathe through the abdomen as opposed to the chest. This is the reverse of what most trainers and Pilates teachers will tell their students. While breathing through the chest and keeping the abdomen contracted all the time is ideal for just about every other sport, in cycling it is counter-productive.

Sucking the belly in stiffens up the upper body and uses extra energy where it doesn’t need to be spent. In cycling, you want the most of your energy expenditure to go to your legs because that is the engine. You want your upper body loose and ready to adapt to whatever terrain you come upon. Remember, your upper body is just there to steer and if your muscles are tense already from flexing your muscles in your chest and upper back because you are focusing on scooping your abs, then you’re asking for trouble when you come upon a terrain change, obstacle or crash.

For powerful breathing, contrary to what you may have learn, relax the belly.

Tip 2: Adjustments for a Better Squat

Ever wonder why is it important to stretch your calves?

Tight calves contribute to foot pronation, which contributes to patella-femoral mal-tracking (PFJ). For optimal maintenance, try stretching 2–3 times per day, holding stretches for 30–60 seconds.

You can avoid the expensive cost of doing muscle balancing tests by becoming aware of the how/why/where the imbalances are: Studies show that around 90% of cases are due to one of the following three problems:

• Foot pronation,
• Weakness of the inner quadriceps (VMO) and gluteals, or
• An overly tightened IT-Band (iliotibial band, a tendon-type band on the outside of the thigh).

So, stretching out the calves often today can help improve your squat, your walk, your posture.

Tip 3: 1 Effective Way to Wake Up the Core: Belly Whack Test

Want to learn 1 way to wake up that core?

Have you tried the Belly Whack Test with your clients? Tap the belly — Use this strategy with the plank, superman, and bridge, and you’ve activated the transverse abs, spinal stabilizers and the gluteus. Successful workouts will happen when clients get out of their heads, and into their bodies. Before your next training session, give the belly an effective whack, feel for the quake and you’ll go deeper (into the core).

Today’s Training Tips:

1. Use less words, teach clients to ‘feel’ as opposed to ‘thinking about’ a particular movement.
2. Make muscle activation accessible, and always keep it fun.

Tip 4: How much ab tension is enough?

Tired of the traditional core work?

Break the monotony of traditional core work, and break through the inertia of weekend play and repose. It’s likely that no matter who you are or what you do, you probably sit too much. We all should try to sit less, but sometimes that isn’t an option. So, what are easy and fun ways to wake up the body prior to activity?

It’s a physics thing: The moment we add dynamic movement or a force compressing on the spine, we need to increase abdominal tension. Adding greater trunk stiffness is effective to avoid rounding or flexing your back.

Training Tip: To maintain a good spinal position in your deadlift, exhale fully piercing navel to spine. Feel your TA fire, as you’ll need 100 percent abdominal tension!

Conclusion

It’s all in the details. If you are looking to feel the difference, keep making adjustments and you will see results in no time.

NAFC Newsletter

The Problem With Giving Up Sugar For Good!

By Tammy LeBoss | thefitprofoodie.com

An expanding waistline. This is the first symptom doctors are told to look for in diagnosing metabolic syndrome. This means that if you’re overweight, there’s a good chance you have metabolic syndrome. For those who have heart attacks, metabolic syndrome will very likely be the reason.

Some holistic health coaches and nutritionists say, Americans should give up sugar. The problem with this type of ‘all-or-nothing’ mindset is that it’s likely to encourage even more cravings, thereby creating an endless cycle of failure. Let go of this mindset. Instead, consider swapping this (out) for that.

For example, simple swaps include replacing:

1. coffee for green tea
2. beer for kombucha or club soda
3. a cocktail for a ‘mocktail’- try mineral water lightly sweetened with stevia and lemon
4. regular chocolate with high quality dark chocolate, carob or cocao
5. ice cream for creamy almond, hemp or cashew milk with blueberries as a healthy dessert option.

To reduce cravings, also consider adding L-glutamine supplements and spirulina to your eating plan. Replace the idea of ‘dieting’ with ‘lifestyle change’. Fueling the body with high anti-oxidant power help the body naturally feel nourished. By giving the body what it needs, cravings for junk food and sugar can be lessened.