Some thoughts and discussions from me.

Hi guys! I hope you all had a delightful weekend Smile

After a Friday full of work, I spent the weekend with outside enjoying the weather with friends, and then did something Saturday that I try to do every Saturday. I walked, I hiked all day, had a delicious lunch with a friend, and then spent the evening with friends outside enjoying a beautiful Colorado sunset over the mountains.

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But most importantly? I did. not. work.

Owning your own business definitely has its perks. I make my own schedule, follow my passion, promote myself when new ideas come to mind, and I’m my own boss. However, drawbacks include blurry lines of work and non-work time (and also no paid vacation.) Since I’m super passionate about what I do, I tend to be a bit of a workaholic. I often find myself working on weekends and evenings, even when I try to keep a regular work schedule.

That said, I want to give everything I have to my  clients, my writing, and my classes, but no more than that. Once I start to give more than that, my work, and what I give to my clients- as well as my training and health goals – starts to suffer.

To combat this, I physically schedule in fun time. I’m a firm believer in living the heck out of life, which is hard to do if you’re working around the clock. I’m not a machine. I enjoy life, and I’m going to embrace the pure reason I moved to Colorado in the first place– to live more fully!

Enter: Girls Adventure Day Wednesdays.

Let me tell you a little story. A few Wednesdays ago, I met my friend, Katie for one of my favorite hikes – to the top of Flatirons 1&2 in Chautauqua Park. We spent the entire morning hiking, and then met our friend, Lauren to provide moral support while she got her nose pierced. When we left, I also had a hole in my nostril (yup, spontaneous nose piercing FTW,) and then we all went out to lunch and celebrated with a beer and ginormous salads.

imageSome shopping followed, and it was a great day – and a needed day. Some Wednesdays are different – and may include a trip to the mountains or just long walks and painting nails, but I try to schedule in some fun either way.

Some may call it indulgent that I like to have at least one girls adventure days a week, but I just call it part of a balanced life. You see, I value my time with my girlfriends enormously – and it’s a huge stress relief for me! I love my husband, and we spend a lot of time together, but there’s something about goofing off, being completely ridiculous, and laughing with good girlfriends that nothing else can replace.

And it’s necessary. Not only does it refresh me enough to come home and crank out a productive day of training clients, writing programs, and teaching classes, but it’s also an integral part of my training and health regimen.

It makes me look on the sunny side of life, and relieves stress. Maybe going out with girlfriends isn’t that important to you (although I don’t know how that could be! Winking smile) Maybe a walk in the fresh air and sunshine refreshes you. Maybe curling up with a good book and a mug of tea relieves stress. Perhaps a yoga class melts the stress of the day away for you. Or maybe yoga and a hike!

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Whatever it is, do it. And consistently do it. Because if you don’t,  you could be sabotaging your efforts in the gym.

How Stress Can Sabotage Your Health and Fitness Goals

  • Stress not only compromises the immune system, but it also hinders recovery from workouts. We have stressors coming at us all. day. long: work deadlines, personal relationships, household duties, driving, our workouts (yep, even positive stressors are still stressors!) If we aren’t able to stop and decompress on a regular basis, our repair and recovery, and thusly, getting stronger will be hindered.
  • Stress also plays a huge part in our hormones, and affects cortisol, which can affect our hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin. If those hormones are out of balance, our body has a hard time of letting us know correct and accurate hunger cues.
  • When Cortisol is out of balance, so many of our other bodily functions can be, too, including: elevated blood sugar, metabolism by hindering our bodies’ ability to burn fat, and  decreases insulin sensitivity.

Do you schedule in time to have a little fun? What are some of your favorite ways to reset and refresh?

For more workouts, inspiration, tips, and conversation, you can find me here!

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