“Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.”

― Tony Robbins

Can you believe we have been goal-getting for a month already? It’s crazy! Here’s how we’re doing:

Becki

Goal #1: Lose 7 lbs to return to my usual body weight
     • Use my daily food group checklist to stay within recommendations and get enough food from each food group each day.

How I’m doing: I have been using my food group checklists (and loving them – they are so quick and easy!) and I’ve lost 5 lbs so far. Only two to go! The checklists make way more sense for my lifestyle right now than using a food tracker like I have in the past. They give me plenty of flexibility while still keeping me accountable. I think being home a lot makes it easier because I usually have access to something from all five food groups.

Goals #2-3: Decrease resting heart rate and blood pressure to normal ranges and increase cardiovascular fitness from “fair” to “good”
     • Complete 40-60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise (heart rate 115-155 bpm) 5 days per week

How I’m doing: I’ve probably averaged 4 1/2 days per week but I’m hitting my heart rate goals and I’m enjoying the cardio options I have selected. Most often, I’m doing Youtube cardio dance videos because they are convenient and so much fun, but it’s been beneficial to have alternatives for the days when I’m just not feeling the dancing.

Consequentially, my resting heart rate is normal! I haven’t had my husband check my blood pressure or re-tested my cardio yet, but I’ll do that at the end of the plan. The lower resting heart rate is a good indicator that my cardiovascular fitness has improved – plus the workouts are getting easier!

Goal #4: Improve posture by stretching chest, hip flexors, and decreasing anterior pelvic tilt, while strengthening back muscles
     • Complete tailored yoga practice 5 days per week and strength training program 2 days per week

How I’m doing: Again – I’m probably more often hitting 4 1/2 days on the yoga than five, but I’ve done pretty well. The strength training is pretty quick and simple so I’ve been incorporating that more than 2 days per week. I took a comparison picture – not expecting too much difference only one month in – and I was really impressed with the improvements!

My head is higher and not so far forward, my spine is in better alignment, and my hips are further back. My pelvis tilts less (still have a ways to go) and shoulders still roll forward but not quite as much!

Charlie

Goal #1: Lose 20 lbs/Button wedding pants without “sucking it in”
     • Track intakes with My Fitness Pal, aiming for goal of 2000 kcal per day.

How he’s doing: Charlie has been faithful with his tracking and though I don’t think he loves the discipline of doing it, he does love the accountability it gives him. He tracks as he goes and makes decisions for the rest of the day based on where he’s at. So far, he’s lost 11 lbs!

I swear I did not intentionally make the “before” photo have poor lighting!

Goal #2: Increase cardiovascular fitness from “Excellent” to “Superior”
     • Follow the P90X workout program to do 60 minutes of exercise daily.

How he’s doing: He’s working out like a boss! Charlie has been doing P90X daily and if he feels like one of the videos was too easy, he tosses in a second cardio video and does two-a-days! He’s insane, but it works for him and he’s enjoying it. He’s definitely noticed that the videos are getting easier as he goes along.

Goal #3: Improve flexibility from “Good” to “Excellent”
     • Do some yoga each day.

How he’s doing: Charlie has compromised to doing yoga three times weekly, and has definitely noticed a difference in his flexibility. He can put his hands flat on the floor in a forward fold now!

We’re excited about getting our goals! If you’ve got some goals you’d like some help getting, check out www.impowerednf.com for more information about meeting with me to set up your wellness plan!

We are about three weeks into our goal-getting and we’re cruising along pretty well by now! Though I have to admit that the first week was rough. Holy moley.

Improving your fitness is tricky, in a way, because your body is trained for exactly what you have asked it to train for. If that is running 3 flat miles regularly, you’ll be trained for that and it won’t be tough. But add in an unexpected hill or try to push to 4 or 5 miles and that will be tough. Your muscles and cardiovascular system are simply not prepared for it. If what you’re trained for is couch surfing, you’ll be trained for that and it won’t be tough. Anything more though – climbing stairs, lifting boxes, or going dancing with your sweetheart – might be pretty tough.

So when you set a goal to improve your fitness, whether it’s cardiovascular or muscular, you can bet you’re going to be dealing with some discomfort.

Exhibit A: Becki and “The Stairs”

It was a cold, January morning. I had a “brilliant” idea.

“Charlie,” I said, “do you know of any long flights of stairs locally?”

“Sure,” he replied. “The 2nd Ave stairs. Why?”

“I was thinking I should start running stairs to up my cardio, ” said I.

Why? Why did I say that? I should have my head examined.

So off we go, to “The Stairs.” I in my new jewel-toned, patterned leggings thinking I can conquer the world, and Charlie in his excellent cardiovascular shape and 45-lb weight vest. Sickening, isn’t it?

So off I trot up the stairs, jogging all the way. I make it to the top with minimal protests from my quadriceps. Down the stairs I go. Lap one done.

Charlie is wisely pacing himself.

I, however, am feeling so good I immediately (no rest, who needs it?) turn right around and jog back up the stairs. Halfway. Until there is fire all throughout my chest and I think my heart is in imminent danger of fatal explosion.

“Am I dying? Is it all over? I must have some kind of undiagnosed heart condition!”

So this is what it’s like to have “fair” cardiovascular endurance. I gotta tell ya, I’m not a fan.

I slogged (no more trotting) up the rest of the way and managed to go down, and up, and down, and up and down once more before my lungs, heart, and quads could not take it anymore. Meanwhile a 50-something lady in excellent shape has been lunging the stairs two at a time since before we got there, and continued after we left. Impressive.

We walked back to the car and I flopped in the passenger seat, my inner drama queen insisting that I truly was going to die and that I should make sure my husband knew how much I really love and appreciate him.

The fire in my chest lasted for a painful thirty minutes, during which torture I had a succession of three different thoughts:

1. “Man, I really, really, REALLY need to improve my cardio.”
2. “I totally get why people quit exercising after the first day or two. This is horrific.”
3. “I should write a post to help people get through this and get to their goals.”

So I decided to write up a few tips for others who are facing a fizzling New Years’ resolution in the face of a difficult new exercise program:

1. Remember your finish line. What is your purpose? Why are you doing this? It usually has to be something bigger than the way you look to stick, so think bigger and in detail. Think health – how will your body feel when you are fit? What health issues will you not have to worry about? Think abilities – how will it feel when you can climb any set of stairs or take on any challenge with ease and confidence? Envision it in detail to yourself before you hit the gym (or the road or the stairs, etc) and keep that picture with you when it gets tough.
2. Difficulty = progress. To an extent, anyway (caveat below). If it’s not at least a little tough, you might not be pushing hard enough to see improvement in your abilities. You don’t have to kill yourself, but when you push past what your body can easily do, that’s when the training comes in. You’re telling your body that the cardiovascular or muscular capabilities it’s currently trained for are not enough to meet the physical demands you’re putting on it. So when it rebuilds, repairs, or builds new cells, it will make them better. They will be more easily oxygenated or stronger or whatever is necessary to be more trained for the activity you’re asking your body to do.
   
   
3. Work up to it. I was probably a tad too ambitious – power mad with the confidence of a new pair of leggings – to go trotting up those stairs like I’d been running them all my life. It didn’t have to be so hard. Some exercise is way better than none, so start slower and gradually increase to prevent some of the (very literal) heartache I experienced. It can be tough to admit that you’ve lost some edge or abilities you once had (oh, how the mighty have fallen!), but it’s better than quitting after 1-2 days and giving up on achieving your goals!
4. Be patient. The first 4-6 weeks of a new exercise program (one you’ve never done before) produces mostly neural and cellular changes. That means that you’re building new nerve pathways. That also means that you may or may not feel a difference, and you also may not see any difference. That does not mean that you are not training your body. Does anyone have a guess as to the length of time the average person sticks with a new exercise program before quitting? 4-6 weeks. People are quitting because they aren’t noticing results, but that’s because their bodies are building the foundations for the results they are looking for! Hang in there – don’t give up!

It took me about three stair days and three days of other cardio before it wasn’t really miserable to climb those stairs anymore. All in all, remember that when you start any new exercise program, your body is totally unprepared for it – take it easy, push gently beyond what is comfortable, and be patient. You’ll get there!

Here’s part two of the guest post from my awesome husband Charlie! Go back and check out his first post if you missed it – that will help this one make much more sense. Now, to be completely honest, Charlie basically designed his program himself, so I can’t take too much credit. He did, however, discuss it with me along the way and has ended up selecting (mostly) the type of plan that I would have designed for him anyway. But I’ll tell ya, there’s some truth to the saying that you can’t help your friends or family! He was a little stubborn on a couple of points, but overall a good patient (hehe). Here’s (from the husband’s mouth…er…keyboard) how Charlie picked out the program that works for him:

So, I had a few goals of my own, in mind. Here they are:

1. Lose 20 lbs (bringing me down to about 180 or so)
2. Increase my cardiovascular fitness from Excellent to Superior.
3. Improve my flexibility by doing more yoga!
4. Fit back into my wedding pants (they are too tight, now)

Now, like Becki, my own goals are all pretty synergistic. Losing weight happens through diet and exercise – thus, I have to increase my cardio. In doing so, I’ll benefit greatly from stretching, and the net result will be me strutting around in my weddin’ pants again. Of course, there’s the whole getting started thing – which, as anyone who tries to “get into shape” knows, absolutely sucks. I have found that my body roundly rejects any change of routine. At least, it tries its dangdest. And my body and brain will work in cahoots against me.

My Personality: I’m very much a free spirited type. While I will typically groan about routines and planning, the truth is that I just hate making plans – I don’t actually mind following through on them. I love accomplishment and progress, so as long as I stick to my guns, I’ll see results, snowball my motivation and continue to strive toward my ends.

My Lifestyle: Fortunately, being a Firefighter/EMT gives me the opportunity to work out while I’m at work – both in the gym and on the job – so I don’t have a whole lot of excuses to wriggle out of exercising. It also gives me a fairly stable schedule everywhere except at work, where I never know what might happen in a given day. Given that and keeping an eye on my diet with a food tracker and I should be well set!

My true confession: I love being fit and flexible. I love lifting weights and working out. Heck, I even love running. But I also love eating food. And not just any food. I love milk. Sausage. Steak. Pie. Ice Cream. Rich, creamy, sugary foods. Cookies? Yeah, I’ll take 6. Cake? Make it a double. You get the point.

So, while I have already been fairly active in my exercising in the past, I need to intensify it and, more importantly to my health and goals, moderate.

And I don’t wanna. But I’m gonna.

Goal #1: Lose 20 pounds

So, this is the one that takes the longest. It’s the first goal I’ve set but it’ll likely be the last goal I attain, because it’s really a culmination of the efforts I’ll embark on in my next couple of goals.

In order to do this, I plan on exercising for at least an hour 6 times a week and counting calories with MyFitnessPal, which I have used to great success in the past. After asking my fantastic dietitian wife, I will aim for a diet of around 2000 calories a day – which is basically a 500 calorie deficit daily for a man of my age and stature – and based on caloric intakes of 50% carbohydrates, 25% protein and 25% fats (Note from Becki: This was a compromise – see my comment above about his stubbornness – so don’t take these recommendations and run with them! Everyone’s body is different!).

This sounds complicated, but eating a basic diet of whole foods – milk, eggs, vegetables, fruits, meats and grains – tends to land me within those parameters on a regular basis without any direct effort of my own.

Goal #2 and #3: Cardio/Flexibility

These are the really tough part. I’m embarking on a 90-day workout journey with everyone’s favorite series, the P90X series. Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the program, it is essentially a body weight fitness series that focuses on interval/circuit training. It focuses on a muscle group one day, then a cardio routine the next. Rinse and repeat. The first month or so looks something like this:

Day 1 – Chest and back

Day 2 – Plyometrics

Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms

Day 4 – Yoga

Day 5 – Legs and Back

Day 6 – Kenpo Karate

Day 7 – Rest or Stretch video

Repeat and so on. So you’re getting at least an hour a day in, and whether it’s a cardio based day or not, you’ll have a high heart rate regardless, thanks to the pacing. It’s a great routine for slimming down and getting used to using muscles you’ve been ignoring for a while. And I have lots of those.

This program, combined with my other activities, is what I’ll use to lose that weight!

Final Goal: Wear my wedding pants!

This is going to be very vindicating. I have a whole shelf full of pants I haven’t worn in a year – they’re just too tight. So I’ll train and moderate until they fit comfortably.

My Plan

Summed Up:

1. Moderate calorie intake to 2000 calories a day with healthy choices

2. Set aside 1 hour a day for active working out via P90X

3. Stretch properly and try to do a bit of yoga daily

4. Button pants without “sucking it in”.

Here’s to goals and go-gettin’! Thanks!

I hope you enjoyed my husband’s guest post. Today, it’s back to me! Today I will show you how I take my goals from ideas to action. As a quick reminder, the goals I set in my previous post were:

1. Lose 7 lbs to return to my usual body weight
2. Decrease resting heart rate and blood pressure to normal ranges
3. Increase cardiovascular fitness from “fair” to “good”
4. Improve posture by stretching chest, hip flexors, and decreasing anterior pelvic tilt, while strengthening back muscles.

Some really great news about the goals I have set is that goals #1-3 all work together really nicely. All in all, I need to improve my cardio and that is also one of the key parts of a balanced weight-loss plan, so I won’t have to do double-duty on exercise there. Goal #4 is a little different and will involve some specific stretching and targeted strengthening exercises. Before I get into the nitty gritty of how I plan to achieve my goals, I’m going to start by asking myself some of the same questions I ask my clients. These questions help me make appropriate suggestions/decisions about the types of plans that are most likely to work for each individual person. Here are my answers:

My personality: I’m a nerd! Epitome of a type-A personality, I love to organize, have a plan, and make lists. I love structure but I also love variety and I love to have fun!

My lifestyle: I’m primarily working from home now, which makes cooking and food prep much easier, as well as scheduling in time to exercise. In the past, I have used a food tracker to help me meet nutrition goals but I’m not really feeling like tracking right now. Despite my nerdy, type-A personality, I would like to use something with more flexibility that is a little less labor intensive since I’m focusing a lot of my detail-oriented energy on my business.

My true confession: I ask clients this question to learn what kinds of things they think are likely to be “bad” or that they think might hold them back from their goals. In reality, it’s so I can make sure to find out the foods or exercises they feel very strongly about (for or against!) and make sure to tailor their plan accordingly.

For me? I love chips! A lot. And ice cream.

I also do not care for cardio, in a general sense. I get bored! I need more mental stimulus than a treadmill, elliptical, or jog offers to distract me from thoughts of, “when can I stop doing this????” It doesn’t help that I’m so out of cardio shape now that it hurts to do vigorous cardio. For a cardio plan to work for me, it’s going to have to include fun and variety – lots of variety. And maybe some social interaction. That helps a lot too!

Goal #1: Lose 7 pounds

This one will obviously take focus on both exercise and nutrition. I’ll discuss exercise more in goals 2-3. I’ll cover nutrition here.

Since I’m not feeling like tracking intakes right now, I’m opting for a more flexible option. My easy-to-use nutrition plan was born after I calculated the recommended amount of calories for a day to lose 1 lb per week, then translated that into portion sizes from each food group for balanced and well-rounded nutrition. That essentially leaves me with a quick-and-easy checklist of portion sizes, like so:

The list is designed to give me extra “slush calories” for treats, condiments, or whatever (like chips and ice cream!) so I don’t have to feel deprived or restricted.

Goals #2-3: Decrease heart rate and blood pressure, Improve cardiovascular fitness

The primary way I’m opting to attack these areas is by working on my cardiovascular endurance, as I happen to know that it is the primary cause of my increased heart rate and blood pressure. With cardiovascular training, you can decrease your resting heart rate, and decrease the work of your heart. Essentially, your heart becomes a stronger and more efficient muscle the more you train it.

“The” Stairs

Since cardio can be boring for me, I’m keeping my plan open to allow for several different types of cardio including (but not limited to):

• Cardio dancing videos from Youtube
• P90X DVDs with my husband
• Kickboxing DVDs
• Scottish Highland Dancing (an old pastime I break out every so often)
• Climbing a mean steep flight of local stairs

I’m going to make my action plan include getting my heart rate to a goal range (115-155 bpm) doing 40-60 minutes of any of the above cardio options 5 days per week. That way, I can choose what I prefer to do that day based on my mood and I’m less likely to be bored or skip.

Goal #4: Improve posture/target muscle imbalances

For this one, I was fortunate enough to have my dear yoga teacher friend Jessica at Zesa Wellness design a personalized, anti-desk job yoga practice to help me open my chest and hip flexors and strengthen my back. I’m planning to do this practice 5 days per week.

I have also designed a strength training program that targets my the muscles up and down my back. In general, I don’t recommend strength training programs that aren’t balanced (where they only train one muscle group or one side of the body), but this is my one exception. When I know there is already a muscle imbalance, I will sometimes temporarily train the weaker side only for a few weeks to help balance things out before incorporating a more balanced plan that trains the whole body. I’m going to complete this strength training plan twice weekly.

My Plan

To sum it up, my plan looks like this:

Goal #1: Lose 7 lbs to return to my usual body weight

• Use my daily food group checklist to stay within and get enough food from each food group each day.

Goals #2-3: Decrease resting heart rate and blood pressure to normal ranges and increase cardiovascular fitness from “fair” to “good”

• Complete 40-60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise (heart rate 115-155 bpm) 5 days per week

Goal #4: Improve posture by stretching chest, hip flexors, and decreasing anterior pelvic tilt, while strengthening back muscles

• Complete yoga practice 5 days per week
• Complete strength training program 2 days per week

I realize that may sound like a lot to commit to, but remember that I’m working from home and have quite a bit of control over my schedule. That’s one of the strengths of my current lifestyle that I’m taking advantage of with this plan!

Up next: Part 2 of Making My Husband’s Plan!

You lucky readers! Today’s post is a guest post by my charming husband Charlie! He’ll be giving you the background on how he set his goals. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the read!

Charlie’s Assessment Results:

Charlie’s Story: About 5 years ago, I realized my health might actually be important! I was a truck
driver at the time – working 12+ hours a day, eating terribly, sleeping little and being quite inactive when I was not working. I started having back and knee issues – mostly due to sitting so often and being overweight. So I started working out – slowly at first, building endurance and strength, and increasing as I could. Eventually, I started using the P90x program and watching my food intake, which helped a lot! Once I completed that, I started weight training – heavy squats, deadlifts, bench presses, etc. – compound exercises, mostly. This fixed all my health issues!

Fast forward a few years – during which I began/achieved my quests to become a Firefighter/EMT and a husband – and my diligence in keeping my physical fitness at top level has dwindled. I still work out several times a week, but not with the intensity I used to. Added to that is the fact that I haven’t been regulating my diet in any way for a couple of years. Poor habit + poor habit = poor results. So, time to fix it!

Charlie’s Other Concerns: I have a history of knee surgeries and issues that I don’t want to exacerbate by ignoring my health. As stated above, I’ve had more issues/pain in my knees as my weight goes up, historically, than when I’m lighter or more active, so I need to keep my weight in check.

While my health is clearly important, equally so is my fitness for my career – and the folks I serve. I have a responsibility to the public to be capable of getting someone out of a burning building! Also, ever tried dragging a charged fire hose through a house? No picnic, that. And, while that, admittedly, is not a particularly frequent event, it’s a possibility. More often, though, I’m helping someone who has fallen and needs assistance or lifting gurneys with sick folks – and that takes strength, flexibility and conditioning, too.

And my pants are more snug than they used to be. That’s annoying. I like my pants. I don’t want to buy new ones.

Charlie’s End Game: My end game will essentially have me back in “fighting shape” – lighter on my feet, more flexible and with more practical strength than just weightlifting strength. I’ll be able to button my pants without thinking about shopping for a bigger size. And it involves me having more energy, because I’ve taken care of my body and am proactive about nutrition and fitness.

Charlie’s Goals: Of course, as a man, I want to absolutely crush my goals. And I instinctively want to set pretty high standards. So I’m going to do that. Here they are:

1. Lose 20 lbs (bringing me down to about 180 or so)
2. Increase my cardiovascular fitness from Excellent to Superior.
3. Improve my flexibility by doing more yoga!
4. Fit back into my wedding pants (they are too tight, now)

That covers my main goals. I’ll share my plan when it’s done! Thanks!

Since my new practice, i’mPowered Nutrition & Fitness, is offering a $20 discount on my Goal-Getter package to help you meet your New Year’s goals, my next project is going to be something a little different. Both my husband and I are going to show you what the Goal-Getter package is all about by laying out our own nutrition and fitness goals and documenting our journeys to goal-get them! Alright, alright…enough punning.

Husband and I will start off with the body composition and fitness assessments to test where we are at now, then use those results to create goals. Based on those goals and our individual personalities/lifestyles, I’ll make a nutrition and training plan — i’mPowered-style — and we’ll follow it. You’ll get to watch the journey!

Stay tuned for the results of our “before” assessments!