Enjoy your Vacation and STILL Crush your Fitness Goals!

It’s already March! As the spring and summer seasons are fast approaching, many of us will be jet setting to warm, tropical locations to unwind and get away from it all.  Vacations are a chance for us to put the demands of life on hold for a brief period of time while we enjoy ourselves and relax in a beautiful location.  

So, I’m sure, like me, the last thing you want to be thinking about while you’re away is whether or not you’re eating the right amount of calories, hitting your macros, or burning enough calories.  This, at times, can be a stressful process, and didn’t we plan that vacation to get away from the stress in the first place?!

Don’t stress! You’re on vacation to enjoy yourself!

After just recently going on vacation, I took a little bit of time to reflect on how I was able to enjoy myself without stressing over my fitness progress.  I want to share with you some tips on how to have fun in the sun while still holding on to those hard earned fitness gains.

Plan when and where you’re going to workout.

Before actually going on vacation, most of us take the time to plan out our flights, where we’re going to stay, and the activities we’re going to do.  Take a few moments to plan your vacation workouts as well, even if it’s just a few quick ten minute workouts in your hotel room.  Being realistic with how often you are going to workout is important as well.  Strive for a number that you know you can hit.

Plan out your vacation workouts.

On my vacation to California for example, I gave myself the realistic plan of working out at least two days out the six I was going to be there.  I looked up a Crossfit gym close to my hotel and walked there to workout in the morning before getting the day started.  Two workouts were realistic for me because I had a lot of activities planned on the trip.  Figure out what is realistic for you.

Plan active activities.

I like to enjoy the food while I’m in a new and exciting place, and I have no shame in saying that I like to eat!  A great way to counteract some of the indulging that will be done on vacation is to plan activities that require a lot of movement.  Activities such as swimming, hiking, walking, and dancing are all fun examples.  Plan a few throughout your trip so that even if you don’t get the chance to workout, you are still getting in a lot of physical activity.

My boyfriend and I planned active activities like rock climbing, hiking, and sightseeing (a lot of walking!).  Because I planned to be moving a lot, I enjoyed eating out at several great restaurants without stressing about how it would impact my progress.  I relied on physical activity to help counteract some of the delicious eating I knew I was going to be doing.  You can do the same! Getting out to explore is so much fun!

Rock Climbing in Joshua Tree!

Practice mindfulness when eating.

Did I mention that I like to eat?!  It is very easy for me to overdo it when I eat, but recently practicing mindfulness while eating has helped me a lot.

So, while you are enjoying that delicious food on vacation, pay attention to how you feel.  Slow down your eating and enjoy it.  This will improve digestion and help you feel more satisfied while eating less food.  When you feel satisfied, stop eating.

Grocery shop as soon as you return.

After returning from a trip, it is more than likely that there will be close to nothing in your fridge upon your return. This has gotten me in trouble in the past because I would hold off on grocery shopping and end up continuing the habit of eating out like I did on vacation.

This time, I stopped the madness and got myself to the grocery store the same day we got back.  I stocked up on lean meats, fruits and veggies to push myself right back into my healthy eating.  I took away the opportunity to continue the indulging because I already spent money on groceries.

I’m not saying to rush to the grocery store as soon as you land, but the sooner the better.  It will help tremendously in helping you get back to working on your fitness goals.

Give yourself the week or two after vacation to allow your body to normalize.

Your activities, your eating, and maybe even your sleep habits are most likely not the same on vacation, and that’s okay!  You took the vacation to enjoy yourself and that is what you’re doing.  So, it is very possible that you may experience bloating and a little bit of weight gain.  If you give yourself the week or two following vacation to get back into your home routine of great workouts and healthy eating, your body will undoubtedly return to the state it was in before you went on vacation.  Just give it a little bit of time.  I hopped right back into my routine the day after I returned, and I already feel pretty much back to normal.

Give your body time to normalize.

Putting plans in place, moving, and giving yourself time to get back into your fitness routine will allow you to enjoy yourself and the beautiful place you choose to spend your vacation.  So, the next time you go on vacation, take these tips with you and have fun!

I hope you found this article helpful.  If you have any questions please feel free to email me at brie@ogletreeformandfunction.com.  If you are looking for a supportive community to help you reach your health and fitness goals, join the Form and Function Tribe on Facebook!

 

WORK FOR YOUR GOALS!!!

Brie Ogletree

Owner, Ogletree Form and Function

B.S. Kinesiology: Exercise Science

Certified Personal Trainer

If You Hate Exercise, You Need to Read This

I’m about to get real with you.

Today’s message is not directly coming from me, but from a podcast that I recently listened to by Chalene Johnson.  For those of you that don’t know who Chalene Johnson is, she is a New York Times Bestselling author, she has created countless exercise programs including Turbo Fire, Chalean Extreme, and Piyo to name a few, she is a life coach teaching thousands if not millions to live better and feel better, and on top of all of that she is a brilliant business woman who has created several online academies to help others pursue a life they’ve always dreamed of.

She’s freaking amazing.

I like to think of Chalene as a mentor from afar as she is constantly providing me with valuable information for me to grow and develop mentally not only as a person but as a businesswoman.  That is why I want to share her message to those who do not like exercising.  Again, these are not my words but a summary of her podcast.  If you would like to listen to the full podcast here is the link below.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/chalene-show-motivation-leadership/id911042029?mt=2&i=364108045

My beliefs on exercise are very much in line with Chalene’s beliefs, so here is what I took away from her message.

If you dread exercise, chances are you associating exercise with either an unrealistic or negative outcome.  For example, many people only start to exercise when they want to lose weight or change their body in some way.  This is their sole reason for working out.

Now, what’s wrong with this?

What’s wrong with this is that we more often than not do things for instant gratification, according to Chalene, which I agree with.  Weight loss does not happen instantly!  So when you approach exercise solely for the purpose of losing weight you’re more often times than not going to be disappointed.   Exercise then becomes associated with a negative experience because you’re not losing the weight as fast as you want, or you’re not losing as much as you want.

It’s important to look at the positive reasons for exercising.  Those who enjoy exercise regularly would probably tell you their reasoning for doing so is some type of instant gratification that they get from working out.  They feel accomplished, they feel good, exercise provides them with clarity, they feel stress release, the have more energy, they have more confidence.  The list goes on and on.

Notice how all of those reasons are instant, positive, and have nothing to with weight loss or appearance.  Being one of those people who enjoys to exercise, I can tell you the very last thing I am thinking of when I workout is how much I weigh.  Exercise, to me, is so much more than that.

To sum it all up it just makes me feel damn good.  It makes me feel healthy.  We all deserve to feel this way!

YOU deserve to feel this way. So, if you find that you are constantly having negative feelings or experiences associated with exercise, it may be that you are simply focusing on the wrong reasons for working out.  Focus on the positive, instant feelings of accomplishment and pride that you get from finishing a workout, and the weight loss or body changes will come with time.

Here is another reason that Chalene mentioned you may despise exercise:  you haven’t found your “soulmate” workout.  This is the type of exercise that you can’t get enough of.  The one that you look forward to doing every day, and it even makes you sad when you miss a day because you enjoy it so much.

This is how I feel about Crossfit.  I love the constantly varied, high intensity madness that Crossfit delivers with each and every workout. I always feel challenged, and even if the workout destroys me I always walk away feeling a great sense pride that I tried my best.  If you haven’t found your “soulmate” workout yet, then it is so important that you keep searching for it!

There are a million and one ways to move your body, and there are too many reasons not to be exercising.  Exercise is honestly the best medicine out there.  I believe that with my entire being, and it has been proven time and time again with scientific research.  You have more energy, you are more productive, you think more clearly, exercise fights many diseases, you sleep better, and so much more! If you want articles, email me.  I can send you articles for days.

The bottom line is, you are truly missing out if you are not currently exercising. You deserve to feel your absolute best and become the healthiest version of yourself not only for you, but for your loved ones.  So, I urge you to take action today and start moving your body!

I would like to thank Chalene Johnson for sharing this important message with all of us.

I hope you found this article helpful. If you have any questions do not hesitate to email me at Brie@ogletreeformandfunction.com

 

WORK FOR YOUR GOALS!

 

Brie Ogletree

Owner, Ogletree Form and Function

B.S. Kinesiology: Exercise Science

Certified Personal Trainer

3 Unconventional Ways to Measure Fitness Progress

You weigh yourself.  You take circumference body measurements.  You snap before and after photos.  You examine how your clothes fit.  These are all conventional ways of measuring your fitness progress and whether or not you are moving in the right direction.

But I’m not going to talk about those today.  While those measurements and observations are important to determine if your program of choice is working, there are other unconventional ways of measuring your fitness progress that I feel are just as effective.  When the scale has stalled, you look very similar in side-by-side progress photos, and those circumference measurements just won’t budge,  these three methods will let you know if you are still making excellent strides in your fitness journey.

So, after reading this take a moment and check in with yourself to make sure your exercise and nutrition program is helping you progress in these areas.  If you’re rocking it in these three categories, chances are you are close to your next big fitness milestone.

1. How you feel.

 

Proper exercise and good nutrition should, if not immediately then over the long term, make you feel good, less stressed, more confident, and give you more energy.  As you progress and get physically stronger, you should get mentally stronger as well.

Evaluating how you feel now compared to day 1 is very powerful.  It shows you how hard you are working and what you are capable of.  So if you feel better now than you did when you started, you are definitely doing something right!  However if your program is making you feel miserable, it doesn’t matter how lean or ripped or jacked you want to get.  That program may not be for you, or it may just need some revising to get you these benefits.  

Ultimately, your exercise and nutrition regimen should continue to make you feel great both mentally and physically in the grand scheme of things.

2. Compliments of Others

When your body starts to change, people definitely notice, and they want you to know that they notice.  Embrace this!  Even if the numbers on the scale or the measuring tape are the same as they were a week or two ago, accept these compliments because you deserve them.

I am very hard on myself.  For a long time, when someone would give me a compliment about my body, I would come up with ways to refute the compliment as if I didn’t deserve it.  When someone would tell me I looked leaner, I would exclaim, “But I’m the same weight I was the last time I saw you!”  When someone in the gym would tell me I’m strong, I would tell them, “ I’m trying to be.”

I was doing myself and the person giving the compliment a disservice by reacting this way. By dismissing the compliment I was dismissing all the hard work I had put in up until that point to get where I was at that moment.  I was also insulting that person by throwing their compliment away.

Compliments are gifts.  You don’t just throw them away! Most people don’t lie when they are complimenting you.  They see something in you or about you that they like, and they want to tell you about it.  This goes for fitness progress as well, so receive that positive feedback and know you are killing it!

3. Your Behaviors and Habits

It takes time and commitment to develop new behaviors and kick old habits that are not serving you in your fitness journey.  Examining your current behaviors and noticing what older habits you were able to kick as well as the new ones you have adopted is a great indicator of fitness progress not only for immediate success, but for the long term. Congratulate yourself because changing your habits is not an easy thing to do, especially when those old habits pushed you away from your fitness goals.

I’ll give you a personal example.  I used to enjoy drinking two to three times out of the week.  Now, many of us know that alcohol consumption can derail fitness progress.  I knew that, and even though I wanted to reach my fitness goals, I continued to drink this way for awhile.  Then one day I decided I would try to slowly decrease my alcohol consumption so that I could get even more out of my workouts and nutrition.  So, I just started with becoming more mindful of my drinking.  Then I slowly decreased the frequency of drinking I did within the week until I no longer drank on a regular basis.

Do I still enjoy drinking from time to time?  Of course.  But I’m proud of the fact that I slowly created the new habit of not drinking on a regular basis.  This has helped me progress even further through my fitness journey, and it will serve me well in the long term.

I know we are all striving to look and feel our best.  While your stats are important to measure progress, how you feel, your behaviors, and compliments from others are awesome ways to let yourself know if you are taking steps in the right direction and developing a healthier lifestyle as well.  It’s easy to overlook these things, but they are all apart of the bigger picture of becoming the best version of you!

I hope you found this helpful.  If you are looking for more support in your fitness journey, come join The Form and Function Tribe on Facebook.  This positive and supportive community is there to help you look, feel, and do your best.  Feel free to email me anytime as well with any questions at brie@ogletreeformandfunction.com.

WORK FOR YOUR GOALS!

 

Brie Ogletree

Owner, Ogletree Form and Function

B.S. Kinesiology: Exercise Science

Certified Personal Trainer

Fitness Coach

 

References:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2795619/

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/

 

Are You Planning Your Fitness Goals?

If we are friends on Facebook or if you currently “like” my business page, you may or may not be aware of the impromptu fitness planning activities I have been posting throughout the week. If you have seen them and already taken action on writing your fitness goals down, GREAT!  If you haven’t started yet, no worries!  This blog post will give you everything you need to know about fitness goal setting.  There is also a free fitness goal planning worksheet I have created to go with this blog post. Feel free to download it and use it to plan your next fitness goal.

We have all probably learned as early as elementary school the importance of setting goals that are S.M.A.R.T.  Goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely give us definitive guidelines to strive for so that we know whether or not we hit the mark when trying to achieve something. But how many of us take this approach when it comes to our fitness?  Are we taking the time to write down SMART goals related to fitness?

I’m going to be honest and say that I haven’t been approaching my fitness this way.  Sure, I would say things like  “I want to get leaner.”  “I want abs.”, “I want to lose 15 pounds.”  Many of my personal training clients make statements like this as well.  But these statements have no context, and they give no direction.  

How can we get to where we want to go with no directions?! We just can’t! We need a plan.

So, the first step in planning your fitness goal is to write down a SMART goal.  A study conducted at Dominican University proved that those who write down their goals are much more likely to achieve them than those who do not.  Take a pen/pencil and a piece of paper and make that abstract idea of fitness achievement in your head real.  Allow yourself to actually see it.  

Be very specific when writing your goal down, and give yourself a realistic deadline.  For example, if you are trying to lose weight, how much weight do you want to lose and by when?  Healthy, sustainable weight loss is 1 to 2 pounds for week, so keep that in mind.

Once you have written down your SMART fitness goal, it is time to dig a little bit deeper.  The next step in planning your fitness goal is to ask the question, “Why?”. Why do you want to achieve this fitness goal?  Why is it so important to you?  We don’t just want to lose weight or build muscle.  What will achieving your fitness goal give you?  Will it give you better health or happiness?

You need to figure out what is driving you to improve your fitness because this is probably the only thing that is going to help you during that impossible workout or when you just feel like giving up.  Knowing your “why” will make all of your sacrifices that much more worth it in the end.

Now you have your SMART fitness goal and why you want it so badly. But you still have haven’t created a road map to get there.  This is the next step in the plan.

Achieving any fitness goal requires action in the areas of nutrition, fitness, and sleep/stress management.  What you do on a daily and weekly basis with your nutrition, fitness, and sleep/ stress will either move you closer or farther away from your goal.  This is why it is so important to set daily and weekly process goals to aim for to ultimately get you to your overall goal.

One or two process goals per category is a great place to start.  Be specific with them too.  If you want to eat more fruits and vegetables each day, give yourself a set number of fruits and vegetables to aim for.  Set a number of times for the week that you are going to workout. List one or two things you can do daily to destress.  These process goals are your road map to your SMART fitness goal.

The final piece of planning out your fitness goal is reflection.  At the end of each week, take a moment to review whether or not you were able to accomplish all of the process goals you have written down.  Looking back at your process goals on a weekly basis to determine what is and is not working allows you to make adjustments so that you can be even more successful in the upcoming week.

By now you should have a pretty clear idea of what your fitness goal is, why it’s important to you, and how to get there.  Once you have it all planned out, it is time to tell someone about it!  Just like it has been proven that those who write down their goals are more likely to be successful, those who have someone to hold them accountable to their goal are even more likely to achieve it.

This person can be your best friend or a Facebook accountability group.  It doesn’t matter.  Take ownership of your fitness goal and allow others to help you get there.  If you currently don’t have a friend or accountability group, come join the Form and Function Tribe on Facebook! We’d love to have you!

If you have any questions regarding fitness planning, I’d be happy to help.  Just shoot me an email at Brie@ogletreeformandfunction.com and remember….

 

WORK FOR YOUR GOALS!!!

 

Brie Ogletree

Owner, Ogletree Form and Function

B.S. Kinesiology: Exercise Science

Certified Personal Trainer

What Type of Exerciser are you?

For years, I exercised mostly on my own, and I thought this was working fine.  For a while it was.  But then I began to get bored with my programming, and I would slack off and go through the motions without challenging myself.  So naturally I began to hit plateaus, and frustrated I would take breaks from my training that were often too long.  Eventually this would bring me back to square one.  That’s when I knew it was time to change the way I was training.

A lot of times, the company you keep (or don’t) plays a huge role in exercise success.  Figuring out whether you perform better alone, with a friend, or with an entire exercise community is an important factor in reaching your fitness goals.

For some people, exercising alone is when they perform their best.  These are the people that plug in their earphones, block out the world, and sure as hell don’t want to be bothered. I call these people exercise loners.

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being an exercise loner.  I was one once.  In fact, a 2011 study led by Santa Clara University psychologist Thomas Plante found that those who exercised alone with an ipod reported that they were less tired and less stressed out after a workout than those who exercised with a friend.  If you do your best workouts flying solo then this is how you should exercise.

Many people just can’t get it together when they exercise alone.  They lack motivation and would much rather have a friend by their side to help make the workout count.  These are the buddy exercisers.

Having a friend by your side during a workout can help you push past your limits and even make exercise more enjoyable if you have the right workout buddy.

I found a great workout buddy while I was in military training.  We both shared a passion for fitness, and we were constantly challenging one another to get faster run times and lift heavier.  We were also always bouncing new workout ideas off one another which made training fun and exciting.  Most importantly, having a great friend by my side during our most grueling workouts made me not want to quit.  This brought my fitness to a whole new level.

So, what if you don’t have a great workout buddy like I did, and you also don’t do well on your own?  Enter group exercise.  Group exercise is great when you find the right program that aligns with your fitness goals.  These types of programs create community that keep you wanting to come back because you enjoy working out with the other people in the class or because you simply enjoy the atmosphere of everyone being in it together, struggling through the same workout.

Now that my awesome workout buddy and I reside in different states, we can no longer workout together on a regular basis.  I tried going back to working out on my own, but it just wasn’t the same, and I wasn’t progressing.  So, I sought out a community of like-minded individuals who had similar goals to mine, and that is why I now do CrossFit.  I want to get stronger and move faster and my CrossFit community is helping me do just that.  Plus, I just really love lifting heavy things.  The atmosphere is always positive and my coaches are more than encouraging.  It works for me.

Now, I’m not saying that everyone should go out and do CrossFit because I don’t believe that CrossFit is for everybody.  But if a positive encouraging community of like-minded individuals is what you need to hold yourself accountable for you fitness goals, then you need to go out and find them.  It will make all the difference in your fitness journey.

With all this said, what kind of exerciser are you?  A loner, a buddy, or a group exerciser?  Figure it out, and then get it done.  Your fitness goals depend on it.

WORK FOR YOUR GOALS!!!!

 

Brie Ogletree

B.S. Kinesiology: Exercise Science

Owner, Ogletree Form and Function

Certified Personal Trainer, WC Fitness

Choice

Hey everybody!

Today I want to talk about choice and its role in fitness and health.  Working in two different fitness facilities, I have probably heard every excuse in the book as to why someone couldn’t work out or eat healthy.  I have probably even used most of them myself at some point.

“I didn’t have time.”

“I was in a rush and had to grab something fast to eat.”

“It’s too expensive to eat healthy.”

“I had to work late.”

“I didn’t have the energy.”

The list goes on, but they all ultimately come down to one thing.  Choice.  We have made the choice to put everything else above taking care of ourselves when we make these excuses.

And guess what? Choosing not to take care of our bodies will do nothing for us but make us weak and much more susceptible to disease, regardless of our genetic makeup. It is inevitable.

Being proactive is the only thing that is going to save us from whatever ailments may be awaiting you in us future.

I don’t know about you, but I would like to have a say in what happens to my body.  I refuse to leave it to fate.  That is also a choice.  I choose every day to take action and do something to improve my health and wellbeing whether it is working out or eating nourishing foods.  I choose myself above everything else each and every day by taking care of my body.

So, I am asking you to choose yourself.  Decide that it’s important.  Decide that YOU are important.  Take care of your body and it will definitely take care of you.  It is by far the best thing you can do for yourself.

I think that many people underestimate the power of being fit and healthy.  It truly does leak into many other areas of your life without putting in any other additional effort.

You will be happier.

You will be sick less often.

You will have more energy.

You will be able to do more for your loved ones.

Who doesn’t want those things?!

Choose action.  Choose yourself. Choose health.

 

WORK FOR YOUR GOALS!!!

 

If you have any questions or are interested in online fitness coaching, please feel free to contact me at brie@ogletreeformandfunction.com

 

Brie Ogletree

B.S. Kinesiology: Exercise Science

Owner, Ogletree Form and Function

Certified Personal Trainer, WC Fitness