Keeping FIT the FRESH Way During Winter

Winter can often be a challenging time to stay committed to the fitness routines we’ve developed during other, more pleasant times of the year! Between inclement weather, the “winter blues” many of us can often experience, and our slower metabolisms - fitness isn’t always top of the mind!

Trisch Richardson, FRESH Start Certified Coach & Master T-Tapp Trainer in Indiana, shares her secret to staying fit in the winter (and in any other challenging times!)...she calls it...

...Sneaky Fit to the Rescue!

Here’s what she shares...

I will often “curl my core” against a wall when my lower back is sore, especially from a long day of standing or walking. Of course, it’s not always easy to find a suitable wall wherever I am! So, just lean against any door after closing it. I used to do it only when I was alone - but after awhile I just didn’t care!

If you have never curled your core against a wall, here is the short version

(I share a longer version in my online programs)

• Stand against a wall, feet out about 4-5 inches

• Bring belly button up towards the rib cage (it won’t really go up that high, it’s the activation you are after)

• Now use the tummy muscles to flatten the lower back against the wall, tucking to accommodate as needed

• Keeping the core activated to flatten back against the wall, lift the ribs without arching away from the wall

• Shift knees out, weight off big toe

• Big inhale, exhale BIGGER! (Note: It WILL be tough to inhale big, do your best!)

• Step away and kick out
  
  
  

Of course, there are many other ways and methods of squeezing fitness into the cold and blustery days of winter.

You can walk indoors to a Walking Program DVD, stretch to a yoga video via Youtube, or use a jump rope in the living room! There’s free weights, stretchy bands and kettle bells - the options available to us are truly endless these days!

The key is to KEEP MOVING, recruit an accountability buddy to encourage you, and reward yourself with a healthy protein smoothie or extra cup of tea or even a square of dark chocolate for your commitment to fitness through this extra-tough time of year!

To have an instant group of fitness accountability buddies around you, join us in the FRESH Start Club (it’s free!)

We check in often with each other on our realistic yet challenging “small steps” FRESH Living Goals! We’d love to have you with us…find out more and join us HERE.

Fitness Made Easy for the Busy Woman {with Trainer Trisch!}

Our guest expert on this post is our own FRESH Start Coach Trisch Richardson, writing from her hobby farm in rural Indiana! Mom of nine kids (yes they're all hers!) and wife to husband Dallas, she is a busy woman herself - so this helpful article comes right from the horses' mouth! (pardon the pun LOL) Here's a little bit about her and the fitness method she has found WORKS for woman of all abilities, ages, and speed of life!

Whether you're a busy mom with little ones or a CEO, whether you're super active or unable to do much due to health issues, there is one thing we all have in common - we know we need to get moving to get healthy and fit.

Then you read an article that says to maintain your current size and fitness level, you need to work out an hour a day. If you want to lose weight/sizes/inches, you have to work out one and a half hours each day! (What???)

The tension comes when we can't fit in workouts, we don't have space for special equipment (or the kids keep running off with your hand and ankle weights!) or we hardly have enough energy to get dressed, let alone work out for an hour? 

That's where I found myself 10 years ago, the largest (and unhealthiest) I had ever been in my life.  

I was a size 22W, as close as I could tell, wearing mostly loose fitting maternity jumpers because nothing else fit. My baby was 3 ½ months old! I had been working out an hour a day, five days per week, and I had lost absolutely nothing. AND I was getting more and more tired, needing an hour nap about 1 ½ hours after working out. I was a busy homeschooling mama—I didn't have time for that!

I found the T-Tapp workout and that changed everything! Instead of an hour each day I was spending 15-20 minutes. Instead of needing a nap 1 ½ hours later, I not only didn't need the nap—I had more energy! Best part of all—I started losing inches!

But what in the world is T-Tapp?!

It's a method of movement that uses 5-7 muscles in each move, activating the muscle from both ends resulting in long, lean muscles - as well as efficient and optimal lymphatic pumping! The founder, Teresa Tapp, first created these moves to help women who were undergoing cancer treatments to better tolerate the treatments and minimize getting ill because of them. She also worked in the modeling industry for 20 years as a face developer, so she was able to “perfect” her method of movement to help our bodies—inside and out!

T-Tapp focuses more on inch loss, size loss and health and energy improvements than the scales.

My own story is a “weight doesn't tell the whole story” one! I lost 8 sizes - that's right! From a 22W to an 8, started healing my adrenals, my thyroid levels optimized - I do take a compounded thyroid but haven't had to increase my dosage since starting T-Tapp. My body has reshaped in amazing ways after birthing 10 BIG babies (biggest was 11 lbs 4 oz!) and even now at the edge of menopause, the hormonal fluff has caused me to gain only 1 size back. YET - I've only lost 30 lbs. Muscle density rocks!

As a busy woman with little time to exercise as well as being hypothyroid and adrenal challenged, I have a special place in my heart for those who, like me, are struggling to find the time and/or energy to get moving.

I joke that I am the Queen of Superslow and the Queen of Splitting Workouts! I often only do 10 minutes daily of some of the workouts because I've learned to listen to my body and there are some days that I need movement, but I know I can't push myself. T-Tapp even has a few seated workouts that are excellent for those “not much energy” days or when my hip used to bother me.

Trisch & Her Beautiful Family

I had a beautiful client who had a lot of stress she could do little about. She was gaining in spite of being gluten and casein free. She felt she had to do 15 minutes daily, but based on my own experience, I encouraged her to try just 3 moves daily. She was worried she wouldn't see inch loss, but as I explained to her, if your body is stressed - and yes, over-exercising can stress it - you won't see inch loss. At other times the body takes our new habits and efforts to get healthy and focuses on internal healing first - then it shows on the outside!

My client was able to do 3 moves on average of 4-5 days per week. The other days I had her focus on curling her core as she drove her boys to their therapy appointments or sat at her desk for her home business. In one month she lost 2 ½ inches off her waist alone! Over the next 6 months, doing no more than those 3 moves and curling the core, she lost 4 sizes!

No jumping around, no special equipment, easy on joints, no more than 10 to 20 minutes a day, and yes—you can get results even in a chair! Less really IS more with T-Tapp!  

You can find Trisch at http://beyouthfulnfit.com/ and on Facebook at Be Youthful N Fit

How to Fit Exercise Into Your Busy Day {With FRESH Start Coach Sue}

Hi everybody! I'm Sue, a Certified Coach with FRESH Start, and founder of Busy Moms Living Well! Today, I'm sharing a few tips with you on WHY and HOW to get the exercise we KNOW we need! As a seasoned "busy mom" of 6, I'm someone who GETS why establishing an exercise routine can be difficult! We all know that exercise is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle. It's not only important for your physical health but for your mental & emotional well-being too.

Why exercise?

• boost your mood
• weight loss or maintenance
• disease prevention
• sleep better
• more energy

Those are just a few (of many) reasons you should be exercising regularly. Would you agree, knowing you need to exercise and doing it are two different things?! You MUST have a plan! Without a plan it is so easy to make excuses and skip it. Believe me, I know!

Watch the video below for my tips to help you create a weekly exercise plan.

Create an exercise plan that works for YOU:

1. Choose a form of exercise you enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, you will likely make excuses and put it off. There are so many options - walking, running, biking, workout dvds, local classes, swimming, etc. Your form of exercise may change during the seasons of the year and that's fine.
2. Decide how often you will exercise. I recommend 5 - 6 times of planned exercise a week for about 30 minutes, even if that is just walking.
3. Plan your exercise into your week. Get out your calendar for the week and schedule it just like you would any other appointment. Don't leave it to chance.
4. Show up for your appointment! You are worth it!

Success = showing up (in this case, for your workout!) even when you don't feel like it.

Come share with Coach Sue how you fit exercise into your busy day on her Facebook page, Busy Moms Living Well!

Walking for Wellness - 7 Tips to Make It Fun

We all know the facts: walking for wellness WORKS! We know that daily exercise prevents disease, reduces unwanted weight and generally makes us feel better! But knowing the facts doesn't always make DOING THE WORK easy or fun! So how to make walking (an easy, light exercise that EVERYONE can do!) fun again?

Would it help you get up, get moving, and get preventing for your own wellness if I gave you some quick tips on making it more FUN?

Tips to make walking more fun:

#1  Walk with your pet – the companionship is motivating, and keeps you committed, as your pet will begin to “ask” you often for the pleasure of a walk – that cute furry face will be hard to refuse, as you justify the benefits of a quick walk! {Confession: this has been my not-so-secret life hack in the last couple years...my furry babies won't let me NOT walk!}

#2  Find a walking partner – you’ll have someone else to get outside for, fun and fulfilling conversation as you move your body, and the walk will seem faster with conversation.  Plus, a little friendly competition never hurt anyone!

#3  See it as meditation/prayer time – how often do you REALLY get to get away from it all, just you and God, and have freely flowing conversation with Him?  Walking with Him is the perfect opportunity to be able to spend that quality time you often crave, but “don’t have time” for!

#4  Play music/audio in your ear – Get a music-playing device or app (they are so affordable now!) and load it with motivating music and maybe even speaking audios that you don’t have time to listen to otherwise – it’s a great way to stay motivated to continue walking, yet still feel like you are accomplishing something, too!

#5  Spend time with family – recruit a family member (or two, or all!) to get out and move with you!  Your child(ren), spouse, or parent would love to have that heart-pumping, quality, one-on-one attention and time with you!  Just sell it to them as time with you, and then they’ll be exercising before they realize that is exactly what they are doing!  They might not be excited the first time or two, but once they realize how rewarding that conversation and undivided attention is, they’ll be the ones asking for the walk next time!

#6  Walk in GREAT weather – Don’t walk in high heat, or numbing cold, it’ll discourage you, and possibly harm your poor body!  Choose pleasant times of the day (and year!) to begin building this habit!  Dusk and dawn are often the best times of the day for mild weather, so be wise and choose the best times to encourage this new habit!

#7  Get a pedometer or use an app to track miles or steps – These affordable tools bring fun back to this very healthy exercise, wear one to encourage yourself as you begin to rack up those miles!  Set an realistic and motivating short-term goal for yourself (i.e. 5 miles, 10 miles, etc) and reward yourself after you meet that goal (i.e. new t-shirt, or pedicure after so many miles).  Make sure it motivates you to set a new goal, and continue developing this new habit of health!  If you are walking with a friend or family member, this is a fun way to motivate them, as well (and hold each other accountable!)

Do you think you can use these tips to increase your walking?  Try them out, and let me know at our Facebook page, FRESH Start for Health, how they work for you!  Have a fun walking idea that I didn't include here?  I'd LOVE to hear it!  Share it with me in the comments here or on the FB page!