Weight Lifted off my Shoulders

One thing I've been trying really hard to do this week is to consider the time it takes to do little tasks vs. the time I spend thinking about them and not doing them. They are all little weights building up on my shoulders. So I've been trying hard to just do them. I'm trying hard not to have my list of things to do when I have time, like laundry, tidying up, dishes, water plants, etc. I just do them right away so they are lifted off my shoulders before they really get placed there. It helps a lot not to have things lagging and dragging and stressing me out.

Winter Exercise: Indoors or Out?

I'm considering taking my GO Fitness! class indoors for the winter, but it makes me a little sad. Why?

Part of the reason it makes me sad is that being outdoors makes my class unique; most group exercise classes take place indoors. I love the outdoors and am always saddened by the winter driving me indoors for an early morning workout (because I don't want to work out alone in the dark). Part of the reason is that I'd have to change the workout and would not be able to take advantage of the park's features: picnic tables, bleachers, curbs, bars, grass, baseball diamonds, etc. Part of the reason is that I'd have to add music and choreographed movements, in sync with the rhythm of the music. I currently enjoy not having to worry about music, choreography or rhythm. Actually, I like them all, but I'm not a dance instructor; I'm an exercise instructor.

So why am I considering taking my class indoors anyway?

I'm considering taking my class indoors because I'm finding I have to modify my class due to the darkness. It's simply not safe to run up and down bleachers in the dark, for example; there's too much risk of injury. I bring a lantern, but I feel like we are in a little room of light, and everything else is dark. It's different from the wide open feeling I enjoy of being outside in a park.  Then, there's the issue of weather; we've only had to cancel one class due to weather, so far. However, it's supposed to be a rainy winter, and going indoors would prevent any issues of whether or not to cancel class due to weather. In addition, many people are fair-weather outdoor enthusiasts. They are turned off by the idea of exercising outdoors in the winter and are more likely to take a class that's indoors in the winter.

So sadly, but rationally, I'm looking into an indoor studio to conduct my early morning GO Fitness classes for the next few months. . .

A Moment Alone, Virtually Surrounded

I finally have a moment alone . . . Ahhhh . . . And I don't know what to think or do. I think I'm supposed to be really busy catching up on stuff right now, but I'm drawing a much-needed blank.

This week, so far, I've been busy in the mornings, babysitting in the afternoons, and working in the evenings. I knew that this morning would be my first morning to myself to get stuff done. Both kids are in school, so I should be focused on business, which I did, catching up on business emails (& facebook). Hmm, what else was I supposed to do?

I've been coming across a lot of articles lately about virtual vs. face-to-face interaction. Most have said that face-to-face interaction is still the most important thing, but the last one focused on virtual meetings & conferences and how much money they save (in travel, hotels, meals, etc.) while still being effective. Social Media is so widely used these days. I was offline babysitting yesterday and missed entire, important discussions about an upcoming event! So much is happening online; I feel I'm missing out because my work and lifestyle prevent me from staring at a screen all day. At the same time, for my business of helping people live a Balanced Healthy Lifestyle, is virtual the best way for me to go? Is it best if I meet people face-to-face but use online systems as a way to follow up? On the other hand, is it best if I make the connections online, then follow through in person? Hmm . . .

Burn off that Halloween Candy!

The weather’s getting colder, wetter and darker, and it interrupts our exercise.

However, we all exercise come New Years, despite the weather. 

I challenge you to treat November like January and start your winter exercise program!

If you need ideas or help creating your winter exercise program, Balanced Healthy Lifestyles can help. We offer:

-Personal Fitness Training

-GO Fitness! (group exercise classes)

-SWEET Life (lifestyle program design)

-Corporate Wellness

- AFAA Certified Personal Fitness Trainer & Group Exercise Instructor

It’s hard to exercise in the winter, but it’s easier if you’re meeting a friend. Come meet some friends at GO Fitness!

Goal-Oriented Fitness! is a fitness program at Krusi Park that combines cardio, strength, flexibility and balance.

Classes meet M, W, F or Tu, Th, at 6:00-7:00 AM or 8:30-9:30 AM, subject to minimum enrollment.

Compared to Personal Training at $85/hr., it’s a great deal at only $15/hr.

Plus, you get a 10% discount on GO Fitness! through the 24^th.

Come experience why 64% of participants return each month!

Call, email, or go to the website:

85-GOFIT

Suzanne@BalancedHealthyLifestyles.com

G-O-Fitness.com

No Vampires - Blood Donation

Twilight, vampires, the month of Halloween, etc. I voluntarily donated blood, which implies, for living the SWEET Life:

·         S - I was tired afterward and took a nice little nap.

·         W – I got to drink 4 cups more fluids than usual. I liked 1/2 cranberry juice, 1/2 lemonade at the canteen.

·         E – I got to hang at the canteen and eat yummy snacks that I don’t usually eat, but I had to watch how the calories add up!

·         E – I got to take a break from exercise for 24 hr.

·         T – I got to relax and watch the Cal football game that afternoon.

The last time I donated was in June, at Alameda Hospital, which is convenient for me. The Claremont blood center is hard for me to schedule, considering their hours and my kids’ schedules (no kids allowed). So this time I scheduled back to back appointments with Nick and we tag-teamed the kids. That worked out well. Nick found a nearby park where the kids could play, and I took them around looking for a place for lunch.

You can donate every two months. How often do you donate blood?

Rainy Day Exercise

This week, we had our first big storm of the fall. Because of the downpour and wind, my Aqua Aerobics class was canceled on Tuesday. First reaction: take a day off of exercise! Then, Wednesday, I canceled my early morning GO Fitness class due to the weather. My reaction: I gotta exercise on my own?! I couldn't skip 2 days in a row! I'm so used to teaching fitness classes 5x/wk that I don't need to exercise on my own.

I'm also so used to exercising outside that I had to think twice about what kind of exercise I would get, inside. Of course, there's the gym; that's the simple answer for those who belong to one. But what if you don't? The weather's changing, getting colder, getting darker, getting wetter. What kind of exercise can you do inside, easily?

SWEET Life Weekly Accountability

I'm tracking how I live the SWEET Life and am encouraging my GO Fitness! participants to do the same. So here's the deal: Every day, you track whether you do the following:

• SLEEP: 7-8 hr
• WATER: 8 cups (even though Dr. Oz doesn't believe it's necessary!)
• EATING: a variety of nutrients, in small portions
• EXERCISE: 30-60 min.
• TRANQUILITY: 30-60 min.

At the end of the week, tally your totals for each part. Your goal is 5-6 times per week for each aspect of the SWEET Life.

So how did I do last week? I did surprisingly well!

• SLEEP: 5days
• WATER: 4 days
• EATING: 5 days
• EXERCISE: 5 days
• TRANQUILITY: 6 days

It might seem like this should be easy for me because it's my area of interest; however, all of September I was unable to drink enough Water or Eat properly, consistently. Those 2 things are my goals for October.

How well are you l iving the SWEET Life?

Why it's Balanced Healthy Lifestyles

I started with the SWEET Life. It came about because I'd always believed that there was more to weight loss than just diet & exercise. If I don't sleep enough, I'm too tired to exercise or pay attention to eating right. If I'm stressed out, I'm too busy to exercise and too stressed to eat right. There are 5 necessary components to weight loss, but I was always forgetting one or another of them. I needed an acronym to help me remember all 5 of them. And thus was born the SWEET Life.

I was already a Personal Trainer, so that was something else I wanted to continue.

Then, in January 2009 I came up with this idea for an exercise class with a support group, integrating the fitness trends for 2009: outdoor exercise, back-to-basic exercises, minimal equipment, & boot camp. That became Goal-Oriented Fitness, or GO Fitness!

In addition, I've wanted to get into corporate wellness for a couple years, so that was another aspect of my work.

I didn't want to give up any one part in order to focus wholly on another; I wanted to put all these ideas together. What did they all have in common? They are all different, Balanced Healthy Lifestyles.