LOVE YOURSELF- REASON #3 WHY YOURE NOT ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS? You are not getting enough RESTORATION

LOVE YOURSELF: Reason #3 for you not achieving your goals is adequate RESTORATION.

Are you restoring yourself enough for you to adapt to your training? 

So you have set your goals, you have drawn up a detailed plan of action, and you are definitely actioning accordingly. You are really getting your head down and working hard when you need to,  but after 6 weeks you are still not making any progression towards achieving your goals? is this leaving you flabbergasted as to why this is happening? Are you also getting sick and tired frequently for no apparent reason?

The reason why you may not be achieving the results that you set out to (and you should be given the amount of effort you are making with your training) could be that you are not focussing enough on your RESTORATION sessions within your training plan. You have planned all of your training sessions out effectively and sequentially  but you have forgotten to plan adequate rest and nutrition around your training (part of restoration).  This means that your body is in constantly in fight mode (sympathetically overloaded)  rather than being allowed to recover and adapt to your training (parasympathetically activated) accordingly

RESTORATION is an essential part of your training program, especially if you want to achieve the best results. In fact the more intense your training and life in general, the more you should be focussing on the way that you recover from your training. This is especially true of life dis-stress, when you consider the many other environment and social stressors nowadays which many of us face, (which are more prevalent than ever),  such as  lack of jobs, poor job security, increased workloads and then lack of time, high priced housing,  school fees and GFC etc. All these undue stressors can create huge mental pressure and often we dismiss it,  as we can'tsee it, but unfortunately your body recognises every part any dis-stress within your life. Yes that's right! Because your body is a super dooper survival warrior, it will reflect your thoughts (distresses such as worry anxiety),  back upon it's ability to function and restore optimally.

Kinesiologists recognise that emotional stress is directly linked to pain in different areas of the body. So it's important we manage everything from a 360 degree view to stay injury free and enable a good level of progression from our training and nutrition plan.

Why does this happen? 

Believe it or not,  even worrying about life and worrying often, can force your sympathetic nervous system chronically into over drive,  hindering your ability to recover effectively from your training and thus effecting your overall health and quality of your results. This is because your sympathetic nervous system is not designed to be bashed continuously with dis-stress (continuous thoughts going on in your brain such as … hate my job, I'm running out of time to finish my work as i am trying to complete two peoples, I'm worried about paying my bills etc) . Rather;  your sympathetic nervous system is actually designed to be used in emergencies insert scenario….in the jungle running from the tiger, 'short and sharp thrust of adrenaline required please Mr nervous system' which causes your body to go into fight or flight mode.

As I mentioned above, the problem nowadays is we are subjected to deal much more chronic forms of life stress than any other day and age, making our sympathetic nervous system kick and you can sure bet that kicking it does! But chronically? That spells disaster!

WHY? Quite simply, our body is not designed to deal with this stress for these lengths

of time,  therefore continuing through high levels of dis-tress for lengthy periods means that at one time or another something has to give. Right? 

Yes! Right! Especially so because you are on mission to achieve results from your training,  you are now focussed on recovering from your training allowing you to make significant progressions. So you are going to have to find a way of taming that sympathetic bad boy, otherwise there is no chance on earth your parasympathetic nervous system (which is your body's the recovery/relaxation system) is going to comply with your health and fitness goals.  You guessed it!  Your restorative ability can only occur in parasympathetic mode, which when (and only when) we have got the sympathetic nervous system (part of the nervous system that deals with stress) under control. Also did you know … Your parasympathetic system is where you should be most of the time? So crucial that we now try and reaquaint our poor mind and body with this awesomely chilled dude friend of ours, the parasympathetic system.

How can we therefore nurture our para-sympathetic friend?

THE SOLUTION = FIND A MODALITY WHICH YOU WILL COMPLY WITH THAT HELPS TO IMPROVE YOUR RESTORATION: 

We can restore our body via a number of modalities so its important to find the one that works best for you so that you stick to it which then in turn allows for your lasting results…..

1. Meditation and diaphragmatic breathing

Meditation is a practice of concentrated focus upon a sound, object, visualization, the breath, movement, or attention itself in order to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance personal and spiritual growth.  Lazar et al studiedmeditation and the areas of the brain that were stimulated.

They proved that the practice of meditation indeed does activate neural structures (dorsolateral prefrontal parietal  hippocampus, temporal lobe) involved within attention and control of the ANS. Meditation has been shown to improve sports performance.  Solberg et al (1993) studied 25 elite shooters, whereby competition scores were measured with and without meditation practice. The competition results were better with the meditation intervention. The authors found that when the athletes practiced meditation it lowered their tension resulting in the better performance outcomes. Solberg et al (2000) found that meditative practice in runners improved their recovery times in comparison to a control group. The runners blood lactate concentration was significantly decreased in the runners who practiced meditation. According to Martarelli et al (2009) it may not be as in depth as meditation paractice to create a positive impaction the parasympathetic pathways. The authors found found that athletes who simply practiced breathing through the diaphragm significantly reduced oxidative stress related to exercise and as a result reduced cortisol and increase in melatonin. This lower oxidative stress initiated by breathing through the diaphragm,  could protect athletes from the long term effects of free radicals. 

Try to practice diaphragmatic breathing everyday; once before you get out of bed in the morning and once you get into bed at night. Slow the rhythm of your breathing down so that your in breath matches your out breath (which should ideally be for 4 seconds in Vs four seconds out)  Try to take really big belly breaths where you use your nose to breathe in and mouth to breathe out. Place your hands around your waist, and feel your diaphragm become active, whilst avoiding using your back to breathe.

2. Stretching and rolling 

Yoga:Yoga is a Hindu theistic philosophy a sequence of exercises, teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and for the purposes of dinstiguishing the differences between the body and mind in order to attain liberation, mental control and wellbeing.    Sharma (2015) believes that  Yoga is important for sports performance as it can play a key role in cultivating mind control and concentration which helps a

sportsperson to perform at their peak.  Aside from the improvement of musculoskeletal flexibility and joint range of motion, Yoga is thought to create a stable autonomic nervous system equilibrium with a tendency toward the parasympathetic nervous system dominance rather than the usual stress induced sympathetic nervous

 system dominance. In 2005.  Donohue et al found that a yoga intervention proved beneficial to one mile run performance when matched for a control group with no intervention. Boyle et al (2004) studied the effects of a yoga intervention on muscle soreness after a DOMS inducing step protocol. They found that women within the yoga intervention group improved their recovery times compared to the group with no intervention. In order to move better within our training we require flexibility so that we can move within our entire range. Yoga has been proven to aid ROM . There was an increase in range of motion for these movements, muscular strengths for each side of the leg and chest muscles. In their study of the effect of yoga on bilateral strength and hip range of motion, Pauline and Rintaugu (2011) found that  a12 week yoga training practice created improvements in shoulder flexion, hip flexion, hip extension and abduction range of motion. I recommend starting with a beginners form of yoga which focusses more on breathing before you move to more dynamic versions.

Of course there's my new 30 min myofacial stretch sessions which enable better movement, better performance and better results. Ask me to find out more:

3. Massage 

The mechanical pressure applied to the musculo-skeletal system during a sport massage  may increase blood flow, and can increase or decrease neuro excitability (depending on the specific techniques used by the therapist). For your recovery from

your training sessions, it is interesting to note that there are changes to the paraypathetic activity and hormones during massage and resulting in a relaxation response. (Warping et al 2005). Arroyo-Morales et al (2005) found that Massage may favour recovery in the immune system, after high intensity training sessions, Lee et al (2011) studied the effect  of applied heat and massage on stress markers in the body on 139 subjects. The subjects within this study were measured for heart rate variability, sympathetic skin response, and serum cortisol and norepinephrine levels. All these markers were shown to decrease in subjects after a two week period. the authors concluded that heat and massage applications provide relaxation to the autonomic nervous system without serious adverse effects. in their review on sports massage and sport performance Best et al (2008). found that there were moderate benefits for massage upon sports performance in several randomised controlled trials. My main advise for massage is to find a therapist in your area who has come recommended or you know is good and stick with them as much as possible, due to the fact that there is quite  a lot of variability between therapists.

4 . Sleep

Getting enough sleep and good quality sleep is an essential part of your recovery program. Halson (2014) suggests that sleep has numerous important physiological and cognitive functions, that may be particularly important to elite athletes. The deprivation of sleep has significant effects on performance effects on athletic performance, especially sub-maximal  prolonged exercise. Interestingly compromised sleep may also influence learning, memory, cognition, pain perception, immunity and inflammation.changes in glucose metabolism and neuroendocrine function as a result of chronic. Lack of sleep can influence the metabolism of the foods you eat, such as alterations in carbohydrate metabolism, appetite, food intake and protein synthesis. These factors combined can ultimately have a negative influence on an athlete’s nutritional, metabolic and endocrine status and hence potentially reduce athletic performance, so certainly we can see that making an effort to get enough sleep and good quality sleep should serve as a priority if you would lie to achieve top notch results.

5.Nutrition. 

In order to initiate optimal muscle repair and energy levels from training,  recovery nutrition should be of a paramount for any training program to be successful. The AIS suggest that recovery nutrition encompasses a complex range of processes that include; refueling the muscle and liver glycogen (carbohydrate) stores, replacing the fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat,  manufacturing new muscle protein, red blood cells and other cellular components as part of the repair and adaptation process, and allowing the immune system to handle the damage and challenges caused by the exercise bout. This is a vast topic to cover, so In order to find out how you implement nutrients for your training, download my FREE macronutrient guide.

Conclusion: Aside from sleep and nutrition (which are non negotiable for recovery),  you should choose the modalities that promote recovery that work best for you. If you are feeling tired and not achieving the results from your training which you deserve when considering your intensity of your training, it is highly advisable to review how you are nurturing your parasympathetic system, as a lack of emphasis on your recovery will stump your results significantly as well as put you at increased risk of injury. 

REFERENCES

Arroyo-Morales M1, Olea N, Ruíz C, del Castilo Jde D, Martínez M, Lorenzo C, Díaz-Rodríguez L.(2005) Massage after exercise--responses of immunologic and endocrine markers: a randomized single-blind placebo-controlled study. J Strength Cond Res. 2009. Vol 23(2):Pp 638-44. 

Best TM, Hunter R, Wilcox A, Haq F (2008). Effectiveness of sports massage for recovery of skeletal muscle from strenuous exercise.

Clin J Sport Med. Vol ;18(5): Pp 446-60. 

Boyle, CA.; Sayers SP,; Jenson BE, Headly SA, Manos T M.(2004) The effects of yoga training and a single bout of yoga on delayed onset muscle soreness in the lower extremity.  Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research

Halson S. (2014) .Sleep in Elite Athletes and Nutritional Interventions to Enhance Sleep Sports Med. Vol 44(Suppl 1): Pp 13–23

Lazar SW, George B; Gollub RL, Fricchione GL,; Khalsa G, Gurucharan BH; ( 2000). "Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation". Neuroreport 11 (7): 1581–5

MacDonald GZ, Penney MD, Mullaley ME, Cuconato AL, Drake CD, Behm DG, Button DC.(2013) An acute bout of self-myofascial release increases range of motion without a subsequent decrease in muscle activation or force. J Strength Cond Res. Vol 27(3): Pp 812-21

Martarelli D,  Cocchioni M  Scuri S and Pompei P. (2011) Diaphragmatic Breathing Reduces Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 

Miller A,  Beisecker M,   Houser D,  Valdez R ,  S Tiller S,  Taymar T (2005).  Effects of brief yoga exercises and motivational preparatory interventions in distance runners: results of a controlled trial. Br J Sports Med. Vol;40(1):Pp 60-3;

Pearcey GE1, Bradbury-Squires DJ, Kawamoto JE, Drinkwater EJ, Behm DG, Button DC.(2015) Foam rolling for delayed-onset muscle soreness and recovery of dynamic performance measures. J Athl Train.Vol. 50(1): Pp 5-13.

Sharma L (2015). Benefits of Yoga in Sports- A Study. International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health 2015; 1(3): Pp 30-32 

Solberg EE, Berglund KA, Engen O, Ekeberg O, and Loeb M (1996) The effect of meditation on shooting performance. Research article. Br J Sports Med. Vol. 30:Pp 342-346 

Solberg EE,   Ingjer F,  A Holen A,  Sundgot-Borgen J,  S Nilsson S,   Holme I (2000) Stress reactivity to and recovery from a standardised exercise bout: a study of 31 runners practising relaxation techniques. Br J Sports Med . Vol (34):Pp 268-272

Weerapong P1, Hume PA, Kolt GS(2005)The mechanisms of massage and effects on performance, muscle recovery and injury prevention. Sports Med. Vol 35(3):Pp 235-56.

Young-Hee Lee, Bit Na Ri Park, and Sung Hoon Kim(2011) The Effects of Heat and Massage Application on Autonomic Nervous SystemYonsei Med J. 2011 Nov 1; 52(6): 982–989.

Reasons why you're not getting results from your training: Industry secrets to making MASSIVE long lasting change. (REASON #2/5) LOVE YOURSELF SERIES

LOVE YOURSELF BY PLANNING FOR SUCCESS

2. The second problem is:  you have made a PAN instead of a PLAN, leading to lack of, or NO progress, resulting in demotivated you!

Yes! That's right! You have made a PAN but not a PLAN. You have identified your points of

Pain (goals), you have thought about what Action steps you need to take, but you have Not made a plan that is specific, detailed and personalised towards your goals, therefore your progress towards your health and fitness goals has stagnated or remained at the goal setting stage (i.e  you have not made progress)This means that, although you have great intentions of achieving your results,  and you really do want them, unfortunately because you lack the direction, (i.e;you have not made a PLAN), you lack focus and this is very dangerous territory to be treading through,  because the lack of planning leaks momentum and drive from every single set,  every single rep, every single training session that you complete. Lack of planning means that,  instead of going to your training session with iPod on, scowl on face, tearing your way through your training session, you wing it, and you unintentionally don't work as hard. In the long term not surprisingly this makes you feel really demotivated,  from the lack of progress compared to the hard efforts, you are making, so you feel like you're back to square one on a weekly basis. 

Another massive blunder concerning poor planning is poor nutritional planning. Your training is brilliant, you have followed your program to a T, you're training hard,  yet you are still not making any progress? Guaranteed the number one reason why you are not losing body fat and getting your body tighter via muscle gain is largely to do with your current nutritional regime. You haven't planned your nutrition so you get home from having completed an awesome training session at the gym and realise you haven't been shopping yet, and therefore the only thing that's available in the freezer is is the ice-cream,  you're starving so you eat it anyway…..recipe for disaster.

The solution is to LOVE yourself, keep your focus by make a PERSONALISED PROGRESSIVE PLAN 

What is a PLAN?

A plan is Identifying the Pain/problem, Looking for the solution, create a specific Action plan according to the solution, and take the Necessary, appropriate, specific steps of action!

The point is here that,  you need to identify the solutions to your problems and then plan in accordance to your time frame and goals then take massive determined action- essentially this leads you into a highly motivated state which creates high performance and awesome results. 

TRAINING PLAN

PERIODISE YOUR PROGRAM (SPLIT YOUR TRAINING UP) TO KEEP YOU PROGRESSING AND MOTIVATED

If you are serious about achieving your goals then you need to get some serious planning

done ASAP. A good coach will help you devise a periodisation protocol, which is a trai

ning program with macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles in accordance to your goals and will consider your desired timeframe to enable achievement of your goals precisely within your timeframe. Periodisation considers the fact that you should build and systemise your training through a specific course and recognises that your body will require a training stimulus to adapt through varying the magnitude of volume and intensity to reflect  the peaks and troughs of stimulus Vs adaptation. Periodisation planning is an essential part of any successful training program that involves transformation of body and performance. This type of plan will span over your long term goal time frame (Macrocycle) which then involves a system of focussed periods of training lasting around 6-8 weeks (Mesocycles) plus weekly and daily programs which will plan in each individual training program (microcycle). Following this type of protocol,  will keep you absolutely focussed, motivated and on track for achieving your goals. WHY? Because you will go into each training session knowing exactly what you need to do, so you enter each training session, like terminator woman on a muscle mission. Now you have your plan, you have focus, instead of being directionless, you are able to complete your  session sweating buckets and successfully leave the gym having;  no interruptions, no chit chatting, just pure 100% effort in your work and great results at the other side reflecting your all your precise planning and hard work. The monumental effects of planning are seriously motivating and that motivation can only lead to great things. Also systemising your training in this way is totally essential so that you make significant progress, by providing just the right amount of training stimulus to create your desired results.  This type of periodised planing enables you and your coach to factor in your recovery sessions. Recovery sessions are absolutely essential, as it allows your body to adapt to your Varying your training will prevent you from doing the same training sessions over and over leading to stagnation of progression due to over/under training. 

FACTOR IN YOUR LIGHTER TRAINING DAYS WITH YOUR KIDS AND BE A GREAT ROLE MODEL

If there are any parents out there reading this, we all know that kids can potentially put a spanner in the works to our 'original training plan;.  The truth is,  you just have to be ready for the potential spanner to come at you flying and adapt accordingly. A great idea is when your kids are around try to involve them within your training session, they LOVE being a part of

what you do,  they were born to run around wildly, so absolutely will enjoy every second of exercising with you. If you are involving your kids,  you are being such a strong role model for them, Im a complete advocate.  You might want to consider switch your lighter training days to when your kids are around and when you have an hour or so free,  for yourself that's when you may want to partake in your heavier training sessions. For all the mothers out there, losing baby weight is often a worry and cause for low levels of self esteem. Planning your training around your baby can be particularly challenging. I have designed this article here especially for you. Are you struggling to lose your post baby weight? Check out my article on this topic here to find out more on how to lose your baby body. Also for the women out there reading this article, there is plenty of evidence which suggests that you need to be factoring your training and nutrition around the effects of your hormones within your monthly cycle,  in order to achieve the best results. This should form a massive part of the plan to maximise fat loss, body tightening, and athletic performance. Click here for my tips on how you can do this. 

Above ALL things, make sure you schedule according to your own realistic schedule. All very well going into your plan scheduling 7 days a week training because you want to achieve your goals quickly,  but only do this if this is realistic for your lifestyle, otherwise you may find that you fall at the first hurdle, which defeats the whole purpose of the wise planning.  

NUTRITION PLAN

Your training and nutrition will go hand in hand with your goals. You definitely need to be make a concerted effort therefore, to plan your nourishment (nutrition) which surrounds your health and fitness goals in order to achieve the best results. If you haven't got time to plan your nutrition then I would suggest that you haven't got time to achieve your goals. Take that excuse away, you deserve better than that! I don't want you to think I take this area lightly, I have plenty of detailed information regarding optimising your nutrition planning and training, in my FREE macronutrient guide, I highly recommend that you download it here. My quick tips are: Make a menu for the up and coming week which reflects the intensity and type of your training sessions plus where you are in your monthly cycle, then base your shopping list upon on your menu. Prepare as many meals in advance that suits the business of your week, so that you avoid splurging when you are short on time. If you are going to have a cheat meal, plan this cheat meal into your week. If you are confused about how to integrate optimum nutrition for your training,  click here for my free macronutrient guide. This will give you a massive,  yet super simple insight  about how to eat properly in relation to your training.

In summary

LOVE YOURSELF BY KEEPING DIRECTION

• Formulate a specific PLAN that takes into account your goals and timeframe towards those goals. Ask a coach to help you to formulate this plan, it will be worth the investment as you will get much better faster results this way. 
• Periodise you program to help you to progress and prevent over training
• Involve your family within your fitness regime, they love to be a part of it and this can be really motivating
• Plan your nutrition and training around the hormone fluctuations that come as part of your monthly cycle AKA period.
• REMEMBER to plan your nutrition,  this forms a massive part of your transformation
• Pick something that works for you, and YOUR schedule,  that way you are more likely to stick to it. 
• TAKE MASSIVE DETERMINED ACTION….RESULTS ARE AT THE OTHER SIDE!

LOVE YOURSELF: Why you're not getting results from your training: Industry secrets to making MASSIVE long lasting change.

Wondering why you're not getting results from your training? Follow my LOVE YOURSELF series to find out my solutions to you achieving all your health and fitness aspirations.

GOAL SETTING

1. Problem: Your goals are too wishy washy….  or maybe you haven't set any goals at all?? 

The result is a massive stump in your progress,  you have stagnated through lack of focus. 

This is because you haven't decided what you really want (by the way,  doing this means that you have made a decision not to want anything at all) when you want to achieve it by, you are just simply going through the motions and holding your self back from achieving your dreams.

Are you being wishy washy because you think considering your family commitments, it's too selfish to set your own hopes dreams and desires as a mother/wife daughter ? You could be a victim of not loving yourself enough, click here to find out more 

Solution: GOAL SETTING AND ACTION PLAN: All of your planning towards your specific goals start with a thorough goal setting session preferably with your coach/trainer. Once you have ascertained your specific goals, your effort required in each of these training session forms part of your plan and allows you to stay focussed thus,  enabling you to achieve high quality results. So in essence;  if you don't have a goal you won't have a back bone for your training and therefore your results will definitely be lagging. My number one tip for you is to take HUGE INTEREST in your goals and yourself, after all you deserve the best!. If you don't take an interest by 100% then don't expect to accomplish your goal by 100%. 


During your goal setting session, you should 

1. Decide what it is that you are going to accomplish and write it down.                               I ask my clients precisely what their three main priority goals are. Remembering if it doesn't scare you even slightly then its probably not going to do much to your health and fitness so take the plunge! What do you really want from your training? (note I have emphasised WHAT DO YOU). Open up your own emotions as much as possible during your goal setting, what do you want for you? (do not prioritise your partners wishes or friends/family pressures over your own, you are doing this for you). Prioritising for yourself is essential part of being specific and allows you to cohere with the plan. With your own desires at the forefront of your goal setting,  will allow you to train with your true passion and encourage you to adhere to the plan when you have a hard day, and you want to give it all up.  By the way, Its perfectly normal to have days here and there, where you get frustrated and want to throw the towel in, this is where your goals give you the inspiration to stay on track.  If you start throwing a tantrum, you or your coach  then reiterate your goals again to keep you on track. 

2. Another essential question formulating great goal setting and results getting is: What are the reasons's WHY you want to achieve your goals? Why do you want this specific goal? Connecting reasoning behind each specific goal is an essential driving force behind the energy that you give to your training program and is directly related to the quality of results. The devil is definitely in the detail, so dive into this component as much as you possibly can because this this is a really important part of you sticking with your training plan and getting your results, make sure you write all the detailed information down next to your goal. What do you desire from your training? And WHY? What you want to avoid again is being wishy washy with your answers as this can lead to wishy washy results in the long term. 

For example My client says: I want to drop 10kgs'. 

I say: "Great! Why do you want to drop 10kg?"

My client says " I want to look good on the beach in my bikini"
(Now this answer is merely skimming the surface, but its a great start)

So i say…. "So why is it so important for you to look good on the beach anyway? How will that improve your life ?" (trying to dig a little deeper to get her real why)

She says " it will make me feel better and more confident about going to the beach with my kids, without getting embarrassed about the size of my thighs and having to cover up or avoid going down to the beach altogether, I will be able to enjoy being with my kids more" 

So as you can see from the above example, you might start off thinking you need to lose 10kg but in fact what you want is to shape up your thighs, also you are linking emotion to the problem and visualising where you need to go by applying a motive. 


So in summary to help you dig in deeper to WHY'S of your goal: Typical example questions I might ask my clients are: 

• Why is being a size 10 so important for you anyway?  
• What will losing the belly fat/toning the legs/losing 5kg  allow you to feel/see in your life that you are not feeling/seeing now? This creates a real visual picture in your mind and as a results enables you to create an emotional connection to your goal.

 3. Once you have established your three main goals and connected reasoning behind every goal, set a date for which you will accomplish it. Be as specific as possible.   Don't just say, "I want this as a lifestyle so i don't mind when i achieve my goal". Although its great that this answer shows the client really wants to keep the results they achieve from their training and nutrition  When clients say this to me i scream in my head "WHAT? You mean in five years time you STILL don't mind that you haven't yet achieved your goal???" Indecision on timeframe, suggests that you have made the choice not to achieve your goal. So be confident with this answer as well as realistic, although it would be awesome, obviously you can't achieve big goals in 2hours, so keep that in mind. Your level of commitment will effect your time frame. How may hours per week can you dedicate to your training, nutrition and healthy lifestyle considering your work and family commitments?  

4. How committed are you to achieving each of your 3 goals?  Anything less than 100% signals danger to me and as your trainer,  I would be asking what i could do to get your level of commitment up to 100%. If you still didn't know I would be worried about how strong your desire is really to achieving your results and question whether it would be right for you to be investing in your training because i believe it takes 100% commitment,  no matter what. This also can often be the results of setting goals that are relevant to loved ones and that are not necessarily your own, so have a re-visit to your initial goals if this is the case and see if you can think of something that's going to fire you up a bit more.  

Now you and/or your can begin to make massive determined action by formulating an action plan that specifically aligns with your goals. This is coming up next, so stay tuned strong women!


Lizzie

Love YOURSELF

LOVE YOURSELF

As many women (and men) these days are incredible muti-taskers and as super emotionally charged beings we tend, to put ourselves in lieu of the people that are closest to our heart. This is especially so for parents especially mothers, we are often always so involved with our little ones that we totally forget that we need to look after ourselves.

Well, is this is all necessary? At times I think yes- we must go through survival mode in order to get by. For example, my partner has recently been away for months, which means I have been in single mum mindset, trying to balance everything on the work, life front is not always easy. Fortunately, now because  I have more normality, i must think of ways that I can actually thrive rather than survive. In retrospect, If i were to to successfully ever be in this situation again I must think of ways that I can love myself more so that i can actually be a better mother to my daughter.

So i'm here to challenge the thought of putting everyone before yourself, is this really actually more selfish than putting yourself before your loved ones?

Can you really be the best mum ever, if you don't go and have some of your own time, do a workout for example?, so that you can come back to your kids with all the happy hormones because you feel better about yourself for moving. Can you be the best mum if you choose poorly when it comes to food as you haven't prepared properly because you're rushing around everywhere for everyone else,  and gain as a result gain excess Kgs therefore your self esteem is on the floor?  Can you really be the best mum ever if you don't ever take time out for yourself and do your favourite yoga class which helps you to relieve the stress and strain of daily life, making you come back home as a peaceful mummy?

Kids are really sensitive, they can feel your vibe, when your rushed,  when you feel like shit, when you look like you've been run over by a bus, and you snap far too easily because because you are trying far top hard to please everyone else, and as a result your health and wellbeing is jeopardised,  your kids, your family and your friends they all feel this vibe. 

So what things can you do, even it's for 5 mins today that can help boost your confidence and allow you to LOVE yourself?

These examples of somethings that you could do in 5 mins are more simple than you might think and are definitely boost your mummy performance:

Examples

• Meditation
• Breathing
• Stretching
• Walking (you can take the kids with you)
• Push ups
• Sit ups
• Lunges
• Squats
• Meal preparation
• Sit out in the fresh air for 5 mins
• Listen to your favourite tune and have a secret dance by yourself.

So tell me what things will you do to love YOURSELF?