My Blog
December 2018
REFLECTION - AWARENESS- ACTION
Where did the time go!? The Holidays came and went and now the countdown begins to 2019. December has been been a month of reflection, awareness and goal setting. It kicked off with an incredible trip to San Diego at the beginning of the month to attend this live event called Best Year Ever Blueprint. I got to spend 3 full days thinking about what brought me there, what I wanted to get out of the event, what I want to accomplish both personally and professionally and how I was going to do it. Many of us have things we want to do, have wanted to do but lot’s of things get in our way. “ I’m too tired, overworked, scared, don’t know where to start, have no time, too much of a perfectionist…” I get it. Trust me. When I started this blog back in September, I also started Facebook in addition to Instagram with the intention of trying to fill them all with daily content OH and in addition to working full time, playing recreational sports, still having a social life, birthday’s, celebrations, traveling and the list goes on. Most of these things is what kept me from doing all of this a year ago in addition to the “What if it’s not good enough?” “What if I can’t come up with enough content?” “What if people don’t like my content?” Self limiting beliefs and negative thoughts do nothing for us. We can get so lost in all of that mess and trying to figure it ALL out before starting something that we DON’T start something. We lose time thinking about it, and thinking, and thinking some more… till we lose momentum and go back to our regularly scheduled program. I must admit, I got a bit overwhelmed from starting the blog, FB and Instagram all at once which froze my putting out content for some time. I had to ask myself why this happened and make a decision to focus more on one thing then a few things. The result: I’m not going to blog every week but time to time when I want to share something more in depth with you guys, but will focus more attention on my Instagram/FB since that’s where most of my followers are.
My biggest advice to you is action. TAKE ACTION. You’ll figure it out as you go but quit ‘just thinking’ about it. It might not be perfect but you’ll get by and learn from your mistakes. You might have to focus on one thing instead of several, or cut stuff out of your life to bring stuff in and that's OK. Progress not perfection. Start working out again, add some meditation in your life, learn a new skill, read a new book, find a new job, travel somewhere you’ve never been, connect with an old friend or loved one, forgive an old friend or loved one….
-This year I wanted to start a local Impact club for Entrepreneurs to meet quarterly, network and make a difference in the community. I didn’t do it. -This year I wanted to run a 30 day Miracle Morning Challenge Group to teach people positive daily habits that can change your life. I didn’t do it. - -This year I wanted to reconnect with extended members of my family who I haven’t talked to in quite some time because life happens. I didn’t do it.
2019: I wrote my goals out. The 3 above are some of them. -I’m contacting a place this Wed to hold my first Impact Club meeting and already started reaching out to fellow entrepreneur friends to join. I don’t exactly know 100% of how I’m going to run it but i’m taking action and figuring it out as I go. -I created a FB Group and emailing my clients this week about participating in the Miracle Morning Challenge that I will be doing right along with them. It might not be perfect but I will do the best I know how. If I can help at least one person with these habits, it will totally be worth it. -I bought some old school stationary to write letters to my relatives to start the process of reconnecting. I plan to write at least one letter a month.
Take 2 deep breaths. Tell a friend. Tell a family member. Talk to each other about your goals for 2019. Hold yourselves accountable. Progress not perfection. Let’s set out to make 2019 one for the books!
11/20/18
THANKSgiving WOD
I’ve always had my own tradition of getting in some sort of workout the morning of Thanksgiving. It’s a day full of (full being the key word) love, family and let’s get real.. food and that’s Ok! I enjoy the day to the fullest but make my body at least earn it so that I can just relax and be present the rest of the day. Most years I go for a run but sometimes because of the travel factor I don’t have as much time so here is an In Home HIIT work out that that will get you sweating in no time. If you do it, let me know how you do!
As Many Rounds As Possible in 18 minutes of:
11 Jump Squats 22 Jumping Jacks 11 Push Ups (modify on your knees) 22 Alternating Side Lunges 11 Sit Ups 22 Mountain Climbers 11 Burpees 22 Reverse Lunges
11/13/2018
How Much Should One Strength Train?
Came across this interesting article which seeks to answer the question how much strength training a week can still benefit someone. I’ve had clients that don’t think once a week is enough but actually it is. Now, if you have a certain goal you are trying to achieve an you chip away at it once time a week vs. someone who is chipping away 3+ times a week… you and I both know who will get there faster. Just don’t take yourself out of the game if you can only get in one strength training session a week for this moment in your life. It still is better than nothing. Check out this article:
11/6/18
No Recipe Meal Prep #ChooseYourOwnAdventure
So the weather this past Sunday was waaaay too nice to stay inside so I set out for a great hike, which took most of the day, but knew I had to think of some things simple and easy for the upcoming busy week ahead. I think what sometimes overwhelms people with meal prepping is needing to look up a bunch of recipes which takes time, then prepping them which takes more time, etc. With all this in mind, I set out to Trader Joe’s on a mission. To cook, I picked up veggies to roast/cook, this sprouted brown,red,black rice mix, and organic chicken and ground turkey. I then purchased weekly staples to have on hand: eggs, avocados, fruit of choice, cucumber and cherry tomatoes and carrots. Here’s how my food prep went down:
Throw veggies you want to roast on a baking sheet. (Silicone liners are a game changer) I went with broccoli and sweet potato. Used a mandolin to slice the sweet potato and knocked that out in 45 seconds (another game changer). Add salt, pepper, any other seasoning of choice and toss in Avocado Oil (better for high heat).
Prep chicken and put on another backing sheet and stick next to the veggies in the oven.
Get black rice boiling on stove top.
Get ground turkey sauteing on stove top. Add salt, pepper, garlic, and can shred 1/2 red onion to throw in (used an attachment from my mandolin).
Chop up 2-3 zuchinni’s and saute with some salt, pepper and olive oil. Use the other half of that red onion.
While all that was going I julienne’d some carrots to have on hand to toss on meals.
Everything finished up around the same time frame of 30-40 min. Boom.
All that and clean up took just about an hour! This is a pick of some of the meals I quickly put together to either bring to work with me or have for dinner when I got home and was too tired to cook. Good thing I didn’t have to!
Cash out: I highly recommend buying some high quality Olive Oil and Balsamic to make your own dressing at home. Once you do, there is no going back.
10/30/18
Halloween Home Workout
Having kids and celebrating Halloween can make it tough to get to the gym between school functions and trick or treating. Came across this great quick yet effective workout that you can do at home before you hit the streets for candy and won’t leave you bored out of your gourd. (See what I did there ;)
http://www2.philly.com/philly/health/a-halloween-inspired-full-body-workout-20181022.html *For every piece of candy you eat, add 30 Burpees! You heard me.
October 23, 2018
Sugar-reen is coming!
I mean Halloween ::cough cough:: and with that comes work parties, school events, friend parties.. you catch my drift. A few years ago I discovered this great fall delicious treat and has been a game changer in giving me something sweet and tasty to bring and not feel super guilty about it. What is it you ask? ::drum roll please::
5 Ingredient Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies:
1 Cup Almond Butter 1 Cup Pumpkin Pure 1 Egg 1/2 Cup Honey 1 Tsp Baking Soda
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Pour into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Sometimes I add dairy free dark chocolate chips :-O
10/16/18
Supplements
So the weather is changing quickly, too quick if you ask me, and that in turn means less time in the sun. Connecticut is one of the top Vitamin D deficient states in the country. What!? I don’t know about you but is hard to find products one can trust so i’m constantly researching products and brands and came across this one: https://www.puori.com They will send you a FREE trial back which is pretty cool.
Puori sell quality supplements and the top 3 that I personally recommend are their Vitamin D, Ultra Pure Fish Oil and High Quality Magnesium. If you’e never taken any supplements before, starting with at least Vit D is a great start this time of year. Here is more info on Vit D. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/161618.php
Again, I share this to inform on the good stuff out there. I am not a Dr or get any kick backs from this company but will be using this forum as a means of sharing healthy and helpful resources. Hope this helps!
10/9/18
Reaching “The Finish Line”
3 years ago I decided to start Moxie Fitness, Inc. I had been working for other gyms for about 13 years and had been toying with the idea of going off on my own. It’s funny on how when I look back on my life and think back to the biggest goals that I ever set myself (and accomplished), I either wouldn’t have done it or even thought to do it if it wasn’t for a certain person that was in my life at the time, planting the seed in my brain. 9 out of 10 times my initial response was “ No way! I can’t do that. That’s crazy.” because self doubt and fear unfortunately almost always prevails when you first begin to even think about achieving anything. It started in 2006 with my first 10k; 2008 my first half marathon; 2010 my first half Ironman; 2013 my first full marathon, 2016 a full Ironman, 2017 a Spartan Trifecta. All of these accomplishments had a different friend telling me I could do it along with my own self limiting beliefs. But once I kept plugging along, I realized that with goal setting, discipline, determination and grit…whatever goal I set for myself I would achieve as long as I put in the work. There will always be some outlying factors such as health, weather, unexpected hardships that could keep you from hitting a goal, but if you put in the work and visualize crossing that finish line, you will.
So with all that being said, for a living, I get to be that person to someone else, plant that seed and encourage them a long the way. People see my build and what I’ve accomplished in my life so far and think it comes natural. It doesn’t. While sports pretty much did come easy growing up, running, swimming and biking didn’t. Maybe that’s why I persisted. I ask you to reflect about whatever it is you’ve been thinking about accomplishing that you keep putting off until another day and ask you what’s the worst that can happen? Fail? If there are always lessons in failures, do you ever really fail? #thingsthatmakeyougohmmm
10/2/18
Building the Best You #Perspective #TransformationTuesday
Was listening to a pod cast (Bullet Proof Radio) on the drive home from work today and someone (Dave Asprey) was interviewing Tony Robins and asked him how old he wanted to live. Tony’s response moved me as he said that it was all about quality over quantity and that he is obsessed with getting good energy in his life because energy is life. With this in mind, Tony does a ton of small things every day/each week to help increase his quality of life later. Energy allows us to love, explore, help ourselves and others. When you have energy/good health you can have a million goals, when you don’t have energy/bad health, you only have one (to get better).
I feel like sometimes we’re so caught up in wanting immediate results that if after 2 weeks/2 days we don’t see those immediate results, we give up. I challenge you to keep doing those small things that might not give you the immediate results but will give you a bigger return in the long wrong (i.e. quality of life). Cutting sugar, adding greens, moderate alcohol consumption, adding meditation, cutting out chemicals, adding more movement… pick one of these a day, a week, a month…your future self will thank you.
9/25/18
Welcome to my Blog!
I appreciate you stopping by. I’m very excited about this as I’ve been wanting to have a platform for sometime to share some of my favorite products, exercises, recipes and articles or what I’ve been up to because if you know me you know I’m always up to something ;) As I sit here this morning thinking about which topic would best kick off my blog , I thought about the Topic of Sleep and came across this very interesting article. As most of us probably don’t get enough, there’s actually research that says getting too much isn’t good either. What!? Check this out… http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/too-little-or-too-much-sleep-poses-health-risks