10 Reason You Should JUST FREAKING EXERCISE

I guess you can say I've always been an exerciser.

Sports? Absolutely not so much. Sticks, balls, shin guards, scores...oh my word, I have the cold sweats just typing those horrifying words. But regular old exercise? I've always been able to do.

I'm lucky, I like to work up a sweat and feel all burny. My husband on the other hand? He'd rather grow a boob on his back than skip to the corner and jog back home.

My point is this: Some people like to exercise and some people hate to exercise, but either way, you should really freaking exercise! Allow me to convince you...

1) Exercise makes your brain release endorphins and makes you feel all happy. Aside from that, exercise is now recognized as an anti-depressant. For real. Check out this article by this really smart professor from Boston University. He's cute and I believe him.

2) Sweating is good for you. Why? Well, a lot of reasons. But think about this...sweating is one of the major mechanisms for your body to get rid of muck, and gunk, and biproducts, and toxins. Really, if you're a regular heavy sweater, you don't have to worry about shopping around so much for colon cleanses and whatnot--you're already doing a pretty good job of sweating your excess crud right out through your pores.

This is also why you should never lick your treadmill.

3) If you're an exerciser, you can justify all kinds of adorable purchases from the active section of TJ Maxx. For real, have you been there lately? If you don't have an interest in wearing the world's cutest NorthFace half-zip for only $17.99, then let's just face it, you're a wreck of a person.

4) Once your find what you're into, exercise is honestly fun. Is it fun every single minute? No. But in general, bike rides, interval walks, dodge ball, ultimate frisbee...fun.

5) Movement and endurance are basic life skills. A few weeks ago, I saw a little boy dart into the parking lot at Sam's Club, and his mom wasn't able to chase after him. She had a really hard time changing directions, hopping a curb, and generally keeping up. My heart totally sunk for her. Motherhood is so stinkin' exhausting all on it's own--a basic level of fitness makes it more manageable.

Maybe you don't have a toddler who makes you feel like your hair's about to burst into flames, but you probably do have big bags of flour to lift at the grocery store, a lawn to mow, a fun run to benefit a friend....see where I'm going?

6) At our core, human beings like to move--and that's why I have a hard time believing it when people say things like, "I have no interest in exercise," or "I really hate moving and sweating." Don't get me wrong, on the surface, people hate these things, but deep down, we all want to be active. Think about it--out all these activities, in your wildest dreams, which ones seem most appealing to you?

Hiking around Acadia Park with some friends.

Playing soccer with your kids.

Doing tricks on a trampoline.

Playing video games.

Taking a Dance class.

Facebooking for a few hours.

Water skiing.

Watching TV.

Now don't get me wrong here. I looooove TV as much as the next guy, but my wildest dreams only have me watching TV while I sit on Dr. Drew's lap in Southern California.

6) Any idea what gives people heart problems? Family history, diet, lack of conditioning, and stress. Stress. Stupid, stupid stress makes people sick in so many ways. Now I'm stressed that I'll get sick from stress. But guess what? Exercise is an awesome stress reliever, and does a good job of helping people move on from disappointing and difficult parts of their days. It's almost like a magical reset button.

7) Exercise has a good chance of giving you a longer life, and making that life a lot more healthy and enjoyable.

8) Every time you finish a workout, whether it was your best ever or your worst ever, you just accomplished something hard. That feels good. Tackling hard things helps people a good sense of self. When people start exercising, they often worry that they'll feel inferior, or fat, or silly, or embarrassed. Honestly, 99% of the time I see the opposite effect. Exercise builds self esteem.

9) Exercise can be a hobby, and it's cool to have hobbies. Trust me, there's nothing worse than going on a date and when the hot guy's all, "So...what are you into?" You're like, "Ummmm....errrr.....well....Twitter? Shopping? I love to sleep!" Way more awesome to be able to say something like, "Tennis."

10) And finally, exercise is a great way to make new friends. Join a bowling league, or a spin class, or a soccer team, or a running club. Sweating your balls off, it builds bonds. Commiseration is a foolproof way to make a new friend.

So. Did I convince you? In the next post, I'll help you learn how to get started!

I Kicked My Sugar Addiction with Potato Chips....Seriously.

So I honestly think I've kicked the old sugar addiction. It took about 5 years and 4,003 false starts, but this time, I think the success is for real. The only way I can describe the way I feel right now is this: huge relief.

Sugar is bad, bad news. Especially when it's a part of your every day diet. Now don't get me wrong, the occasional piece of birthday cake or popcorn and soda at a sappy chick flick is good for the soul--and I don't plan to give that up. But sugary treats as an every day (or multiple times a day) habit? That's an absolute recipe for disaster.

Heart Disease? Diabetes? Acne? Lethargy? I'll stop.

Yesterday I saw this picture at Whole9's facebook page, and it literally made me say, "Holy $%^@." Don't worry, my kids are used to that kind of talk.

The caption said: Under normal circumstances, this is how much sugar is in ALL of your blood. Think what happens when you add 1-2 tsp of sugar/honey to your coffee/tea. Or, God forbid, you drink 2 ounces of soda. #Ouch

Whoa my goodness. That just jumped right into my face, and I'm so grateful that I seem to have a handle on this sugar thing. Just to be clear, when I say I had/have a sugar addiction, let me elaborate. On a typical day I was eating 1,000-1,500 calories of good nutritious food, and no joke, 600-1,000 calories of sugary treats.

I would eat breakfast, then I'd have candy. I would eat lunch, and I'd sneak away from work for a hot chocolate and a gigantic chocolate chip muffin. Then I'd eat dinner, and cap it off with a couple bowls of ice cream. 

I totally appreciate this comment from Stephanie on yesterday's post, because a few weeks ago, I swear I could have written it myself:

"So far this afternoon I have had five wintogreen lifesavers, six mini candy canes left over from Christmas, and two packets of hot apple cider mix poured straight into my mouth. Bring on the strategy."

Everyone likes sugar.  But poor Stephanie ate a whole mess of gross stuff, just to get the sugar buzz. I can so SO relate.

Okay. Now that I've established the fact that I wasn't just an occasional cake eater--and you really believe that high fructose corn syrup was pumping through my veins--I'll get to my Ah Ha! moment.

A few weeks ago, Jared and I started watching old episodes of Celebrity Rehab on Netflix. I immediately noticed 2 things. 1) Dr. Drew is a ridiculous babe and has moved to the top spot on the People-I-Would-Do-It-With-Even-Though-I'm-Married list, and 2) Those addicts in treatment smoke the sh!t out of their cigarettes.

No one walks in to that rehab facility and says, "You know what Dr. Drew? Today I'm gonna quit crack and heroin, and sugar, and cigarettes, and diet coke, and looking at girly magazines. Oh, and maybe I'll give up gluten, too."

No. They're like, "I'm here to quit heroin and crack, and smoke 1 million cigarettes and drink gallons of diet coke while I do it."

Clearly cigarettes and diet coke are crappy for your body, but not nearly as horrible as crack and heroin. So why not get rid of the biggies first, and then tackle the secondary issues?

Honestly, I could relate to this way of thinking so so much. Of all 4,003 times I've failed at giving up sugar, I've simultaneously failed at giving up white flour, processed foods, and keeping my calories under 1,800 each day.

I think...no, I know I was trying to do too much at once.

Then I read this article by Tina Haupert of Carrots n' Cake, and my eyes were totally opened.

I decided to give up sugary treats only, during lent (February 22nd until April 8th). Why lent? Because it never hurts to have Baby Jesus in your court. Can I get an Amen?

So basically I gave up baked goods, ice cream, candy...that kind of stuff.

For the first week I ate anything I wanted...as long as it wasn't a sugary treat. Bacon, potato chips, Subway footlongs....anything. I also exercised a little bit more to make up for the gluttony.

When I got a sugar craving, I ate a few chips. When I felt like I 'deserved' a treat, I had a meatball sub for lunch instead of a huge slab of cake. Nothing was off limits--except for the sugary treats. I also had a go-to healthy smoothie recipe--a cup of unsweetened almond or coconut milk, 1 or 2 extra ripe bananas, and a scoop of unsweeted baking cocoa (10 calories, no sugar, loaded with iron). That smoothie is so freaking good, and tastes just like a chocolate milk shake. And the only sugar comes from the bananas

I have to admit that slipped up once that first week. I was on an extremely stressful phone call with a friend, had a RIDICULOUS sugar craving and ate a spoonful of cold hot fudge. But guess what? That was all I had. I've had a few mini moments of weakness since, but nothing I can't overlook.

I really think I'm free!

This past week, I've been focusing on cleaning up my eating in other ways--mostly planning out healthy meals so I don't feel tempted to swing through a drive-thru. By the end of Lent, I really think my diet will be where I want it to be.

Did I get to a super healthy diet cold turkey? No. Not at all. But I'm getting there and making real progress. I can now make it through one day, or five days without sugar, which I never would have imagined! I can also eat a yogurt as a treat, which is just absurd for a person like me. I also eat potato chips, but I don't OVER eat potato chips.

I'm so happy. My runs are better, I feel more energetic, and I'm not constantly consumed with thoughts of treats any more.

This is week 2, here's to hoping it sticks and keeps on improving!

One million thanks to Dr. Drew and his Hollywood addicts for smoking like chimneys. They helped me see the light of moderation and being reasonable.

You can do it, too.

Stop the Madness

When it comes to coaching, I'm all about moderation. When it come to my own running, I'm not so good.

Tonight I popped a caffeine pill, walked away from the Super Bowl, and got on my treadmill with a Coke in my hand. No, seriously, a Coca Cola Classic. On the treadmill. And I flipped on that Sarah Jessica Parker movie about haggard working mothers.

Come on now, who does that?

You know who does that? Me. An overextended mom, wife, employee, and business owner who's training for a marathon.

If I was outside my life looking in, I'd be all, "Ummm, cool it? Because that's too much? And you might have a nervous breakdown?"

So guess what? I'm cooling it. Before tonight, I had 2 running goals for 2012: set a PR in the marathon (my PR is from 2007), and place in the top 3 in the Mountain Epic (I won last year). Running-wise, both make total and complete sense. But you know what? I'm not in the mood for marathon number 6.

I think I could do it, and I actually think I could do it well (I've been doing every-other-week 11-13 mile training runs at my target marathon pace), but I think my head could potentially explode from so many big things happening at the same time.

So here's how it's going down instead:

• Between momming, wifeing, working, training, and running Kennebec Valley Coaching, something's on it's way out. And I can assure you that I'm not leaving my kids at the supermarket a la Punky Brewster's mother.
• I'm running the Airport Challenge in Brunswick in April--a 1 mile race (my FAVORITE!), and a half marathon in the same morning. Blam, blam, so awesome.
• Instead of the Sugarloaf Marathon, I'm running the Sugarloaf 15k. I haven't set a time goal yet. 
• Run a really good time at the 4th of July 5k.
• And then I'll run every 5k I feel like running, and train my pants off for the Mountain Epic because holy nuts, I love that race.

To me, that's a fun racing schedule. I can train hard, I can cross-train hard (because I love plyo as much as I love running), and I can do it all with a whole lot less mileage every week.

I came up with this plan at mile 3 of my long run tonight. James wandered downstairs in his football pajamas and said, "Hey Mom, I can't sleep. Wanna watch the Super Bowl game with me?"

You bet I did.

Treadmill off. Decision made. Shorter races. Sanity restored. Major phew.

Go Patriots!

Body Fat Check In...For Real

Checked in on the old body fat this morning and I was happy to see 24.9%. I'm down 1%, with only .9% to go to hit my first goal and get into the fitness range.

Here's how it's been happening:

1) I've been eating lean protein with fruits and veggies for breakfast, because seriously, who says breakfast needs to look like breakfast? Cereal is not required by law, people! I usually eat a baked chicken breast or some hard boiled eggs, a piece of fruit, and some carrots. A nice omelet would give me the same effect while being more 'breakfasty,' but in my world, that's a lot of dirty dishes for a weekday morning. I make my eggs and chicken breasts at the beginning of the week, and they're always right there, super easy to grab.

2) I've been adding strength training or pilates after my runs 3 days a week.

3) I've been running faster on all my training runs and doing HIIT at least once a week.

4) I've been watching my portion sizes and saying no to more things.

What little tweaks could you make to change up your body composition?

By the way, I'm heading down to Florida tomorrow to run the Disney World Half Marathon with an old friend who also happens to be a Kennebec Valley Coacher. I've got a long layover in Boston, so guess what? You're gonna get to see me exercise in an airport. Like real exercise, no fluff.

Upcoming Classes and The Best Rates on Personal Training in the Entire Milky Way Galaxy!!!

Hello Kennebec Valley Coachers!

I hope you've all had a great holiday season so far. We're really looking forward to the new year, and Kennebec Valley Coaching will have lots of new classes to offer! Gingerbread bootcamp has been a huge success, and I can't even believe the progress people have made in The Holiday Ham Hock Super Challange on facebook. The miles run and the weight lost DURING the holidays have been kind of ridiculous! I mean really, who loses 8 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Kennebec Valley Coachers do!

PARTY!
I'd like to invite you all to the Kennebec Valley Coaching 2011 Finish Line Party. It'll be a fun, end of the year wrap-up party at my house. The party will be this Friday 12/30, at 7 o'clock. Please bring a healthy snack or a bottle of something bubbly to share, and I promise I'll have a fabulous dessert. We'll have a good old fashioned Yankee Swamp, so bring a fitness-related gifty that's under $10ish. If you plan on coming, just drop me a note to let me know. Spouses and friends are welcome!

CLASSES AND GROUPS!
Here's the list of upcoming classes. And guess what? As a current client of Kennebec Valley Coaching, you'll get a $5 credit toward your next class registration for every friend you refer between now and January 14th!

Winter Warriors Running Group starts on Saturday, January 14th. The class will meet for 10 Saturdays during January, February and March--we've built in 2 snow days. The class will be a combination of indoor bootcamp style exercises and outdoor running, so please bring clothes to wear inside and gear to wear outside. You should also bring an exercise mat, and a set of weights that you can lift above your head. If you need time to warm up, please come early. You can register by clicking here, or you can email me to arrange payment by cash or check. Class size is limited, and filling up quickly!

The Fifty Pound Club and The Hundred Pound Club will meet on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings. Right now, since the groups are small, we'll meet all together on Wednesdays and Saturdays, at 6pm and 12:30 pm respectively. If you or someone you know has a significant weight loss goal, these clubs are a great opportunity to get support, learn new ways of exercising, and track progress in a small and fun group setting. These groups are $59/month. If you've already registered, you can expect an email with details tomorrow! If you'd like to register, please contact me directly.

Stroller Rollers Snowed In starts on Wednesday, January 4th. This will be a 45-minute aerobic/plyometric/strength/

toning class for moms and their kiddos. It's a great way to get some real results while you and your little ones meet a few new friends. We'll be meeting on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 at The Rising Sun Dance Studio in Winthrop--a completely childproofed space with plenty of room for the kids to play. We still need a few more to make the class a go. Class is $59 for 10 weeks. You can register by clicking here, or you can email me to arrange payment by cash or check.

Boot Camp! We've had lots of requests to keep on offering boot camp classes. If you're interested in a boot camp class, please let me know! If there's enough interest, KVCoaching will offer a weekly bootcamp class on Wednesday nights at 7 o'clock at the 320 Water Street location. We'll offer a 5-class punch card for $29 (cards will have an 8-week expiration period). Drop in classes will be $10 and the cost can be applied toward a punch card. If there's interest, we'll go for it!

Of course, we always offer individual run/fitness coaching for $59 per month. Coaching is offered to locals, and people all over the map! Individual coaching includes a weekly, individualized training plan, weekly check-ins, monthly face-to-face evaluations, and access to most of Kennebec Valley Coaching's classes and groups at no additional cost.

And finally, personal training goes for $29 per hour at the Water Street location, and $34 per hour at your home. But the best part? You can invite a friend, or two, or three, for only $2 per extra person. If you all pitch in, it's cheaper than a night at the movies. Just imagine the fun you could have with that! It's a completely new spin on a night out with the pals! I don't think you'll find a better deal on personal training in the entire state of Maine!

PASS IT ON
Kennebec Valley Coaching wants to grow, so please, if you  have friends or family who are interested in sustainable, long-term, fun & friendly fitness, please spread the word. We have big plans for 2012 and can't wait to keep you posted as they continue to unfold.

Happy New Year!!!!!

 

~Amy

Body Fat

I'm 25.9% body fat. For a woman like me, who weighs 150 pounds, that means that my body has 38.85 pounds of fat. The other 111.15 pounds is muscle, bones, organs, and a heart of gold (kidding). As a 30 year old female, this means I fall into the 'average range'--not the 'fitness range' and definitely not the 'athlete range.'

Aw dang.

For me, it's all around the middle. I've got the pooch, the muffin top, love handles, jelly belly. I have 'em all.

Here's a chart about body composition that's put out by the American Council on Exercise:

In order to get into the fitness range, which is where I want to be, I need to alter my body composition so that I'm made up of 24% body fat. If I stay at a weight of 150, this means converting 2.85 pounds of fat into lean muscle mass, so that I have 36 pounds of fat.

The other alternative is to lose a few pounds of fat. For example, if I lose 4 pounds of fat, I would weight 146 and have 34.85 pounds of body fat--23.8%.

This is my immediate fitness goal--to move from 25.9% body fat to 24% body fat.

Why? Well, two reasons. Falling into the fitness range decreases my risk of illnesses like heart disease and cancer, and sometimes, when I accidentally shut my belly fat in a window I think "This has got to go."

Okay fine, I've never shut my belly fat in a window, but once upon a time, I did get it stuck between the handle of a grocery cart and a Sam's Club sized case of olive oil. True story.

So. How do I do this?

Welp, there are 3 things that people--including me--need to do:

1. Improve my diet by staying in a healthy calorie range, dramatically reducing refined sugar and carbs, eating smaller, but more frequent meals, and eating more lean protein and vegetables.

2. Strength train by lifting weights or by using the resistance of body weight (like push-ups and squats).

3. Engage in regular aerobic activity.

As trainers, we learn to set attainable and measurable goals, with a date of completion for clients. So I'll follow my own advice.

My goal is to lose 1.9% body fat by January 23rd (6 weeks)

Let's see what this really takes.

Do you know your body fat percentage?