Categories
Nutrition

Things We Do Every Day

Years ago while traveling in New York with a colleague, I had the most unusual conversation over lunch. If you have ever been to New York, you know the endless dining options around any corner. We had found a great restaurant the day before but with the world at our fingertips, I suggested we try some place new. “Why would I want to do that?” my co-worker replied. “Yesterday was amazing. Why risk it?” Our perspectives were completely different; where novelty and diversity might have been on my radar, nourishment was on his. I conceded without issue, and passing up dozens of options on our four block walk, we sat down to a lovely, yet predictable, lunch. I pressed him on this. “How is it that one of the smartest people I know is not interested in discovering new cuisine or seeking a novel experience?” His answer astonished me. “Dorrie, when I was younger I realized there are three things I plan to do every day for the rest of my life. I plan to do each one of those well, and this will greatly contribute to the quality of my life.” Given the context of the conversation, I knew eating was among the list, and sleep is a pretty obvious daily occurrence. What was the third thing he plans to do every day for the rest of his life? I wondered. It wasn’t really an appropriate table topic, but the big reveal…Poo! We departed from that conversation as our salads were served, but I have thought about it ever since. I know what you are thinking, “Is she really going there, right now?” Yes and no. I’m actually going to leave that part of the conversation right there, but highlight a few things I have learned relative to digestion, gut health, and quality of life.

Being mindful of how and what we eat contributes to our quality of life and the things we want to do each day. Good nourishment starts with quality ingredients. How they interact in our digestive systems contributes to absorbing those nutrients, and a well-functioning gut keeps things flowing in the right direction.

Here are my five tips for a healthy digestive system and improved quality of life:

  • Slow down and chew your food! Digestion begins with the saliva in your mouth. The more you chew your food, the less work your intestines have to do once the food gets there. Give your gut a break and chew your food well.
  • Eat your veggies! Fiber contributes to maintaining your gastrointestinal health, aids in regularity, and helps prevent inflammation. Soluble and insoluble fiber food sources to add to your diet include: vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes.
  • Mix it up! Increase diversity of bacteria in the gut by eating different foods. Keep your palette interested, and find new things to enjoy.
  • Empower the Dynamic Duo! Prebiotics and probiotics work together to promote gut health. Probiotics are the good bacteria that help balance the flora in our digestive tract. These can be found in yogurt, and other fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchee, pickles, kefir, and miso. Prebiotics are the fuel for these good bacteria and are easily provided through bananas, asparagus, garlic, honey, avocado, oats, beans, and berries.
  • Eat real food and cut out the fake stuff! Preservatives, additives, and artificial sweeteners introduce chemicals that make extra work for your body to process and can have a negative effect on your gut.

I never know where lifelong wisdom is going to show up, and that conversation at lunch years ago was a great surprise. Before I pull an all-nighter, I remember my quality of life is affected by the quality of my sleep. While I still prefer to try new restaurants and cuisine, I am mindful to seek nutrient dense food that tastes good and is prepared well. With those two things on the list in place, EVERYTHING else usually goes pretty smoothly.

Categories
Motivational Personal Development Strength Training Uncategorized

Healthy Fear and the Seduction of Deadlifts

Growing up, our neighborhood sentinel stood watch from his front porch, alert and ready to seize upon any passerby. His bark echoed between the houses, and we were dutifully warned by all the adults to give him a wide berth. He was a troubled dog, with a mysterious past. I imagined his face behind the screen door, an angry pairing of daggered teeth, slimy, dripping gnarled lip, and dark, menacing eyes. On our side of the door his swift canine canter would break into a full-speed sprint across the lawn, a black blur with a single glistening highlight at his flapping jowl. In our young minds it became a survival art to navigate to each other’s houses and back without waking the beast. Palms sweaty, on tiptoes, we’d walk in pairs with one suspended breath from the edge of his property to the next, one eye on the door, and one eye on the safety zone. From paper boy terror, to cyclist wounds, the dog’s ferociousness became legendary and walking by his house was no longer an option. Fear’s invisible hand guided us like marionettes; first one house away, then eventually two, and finally, we never walked within three houses of our local, furry vigilante. Our neighborhood boundaries of safety were prescribed, our path and playground dictated by a healthy fear.

Practical fear serves us well when it keeps us safe; it is a self-defense mechanism. With that in mind, I listen to my fear, but I try not to be a marionette in its hand. The dog is long gone and I have since left my neighborhood, but my boundaries of safety are always being established, informed by the combination of my experiences.

About 8 years ago I sprained my hip lifting a crate of artwork that weighed 220 pounds. I was immobile, and needed help to do even so little as tie my shoe. I was in agony not just from the pain, but because of my dependency on other people. As a “strong, independent woman,” being stripped of my capability, stripped part of my identity, and it was unnerving. After weeks, even months of recovery I operated in a newly defined safety zone. My boundaries included lighter lifting, even baskets of laundry were questionable, and I NEVER approached 220 pounds. The number itself invoked a visceral response, sweaty palms, stilled breath, as if 220 was my new ferocious beast just around the corner, whose bark echoed between the houses.

There has been a lot of growth in the last eight years, including learning how to be comfortable relying on other people, welcoming new definitions of my identity, and being more fluid with my ideas about safety, comfort, and risk. Despite the growth and awareness, strength and (a reasonable degree of) independence continue to be a priority for me, as made obvious by my work at Hybrid Fitness. These last few weeks with deadlifts in our workouts, I’ve been staring down the dog of 220. It has been waiting for me around the corner. I’m perfectly comfortable and safe “2 or 3 houses down” in the 190-200 range, working on my form. I can stay here quietly, but honestly, there is something seductive about the deadlift. And for all my convincing of myself that I am fine to steer clear of 220, there is a powerful part of me that wants to tame the beast, to walk right up to it and have it eat out of my hand.

I think a lot of us share a love of the deadlift. It is a movement that is new to many of us since joining Hybrid and at first may have seemed inaccessible or intimidating. But many of us convert after walking up to that bar with those big weights, squeezing our glutes, driving our weight through our heels, popping our hips out and our chests up, and BOOM! We’re deadlifting and going back for more. We use this movement to measure and express our comprehensive strength and power, and we celebrate this success.  In strength training, we learn to trust the process of progression. We learn technique; we get better; and we get stronger. While I have been milling around in my safety zone these weeks, I have reinforced my technique and gained strength. This progression led me to my next step.

I’m standing in the front yard of 220, its gnarled lip and frothy mouth inches from my own. I know I can choose to go home, but I chalk up and let my body do what it knows how to do. I walk right past my own imaginary boundary and dance my way to 225. Fear is not even in the room, not a single shadow of an echoing bark.

In order to progress I had to think about what message my fear was sending. Was I the marionette of fear directed by arbitrary boundaries, or was the fear protecting me from doing something harmful? As soon as I knew I could handle what I was doing, I did it. I made sure there was no ego, no bravado, and it wasn’t about anything other than my own strength in that moment. The arbitrary boundary dissolved as I allowed my knowledge to surface. Listening to fear in a practical sense protects us from certain dangers, while trusting our experience frees ourselves from other types of fear. What are your growling dogs and 220s? Is your fear good self-defense, or is it something to face and move past? Explore the difference, and dance yourself safely to the best version of you!

Categories
Exercise Tutorials Motivational Personal Development Strength Training Uncategorized

Why is my trainer happy that I’m not at the gym?

When I broke the news to Hunter that I was going to miss class because I would be out of town, he was so happy for me. I joke about my perfect attendance when I sign in at the gym, but my commitment to wellness, all kidding aside, is a priority. I’m not just a fair-weather exerciser. So when I lamented I’d be missing class because I was traveling I was surprised by his response. “Great,” he said, “Go do what you love.” My first response was, “Aren’t you disappointed I won’t be keeping up with my workouts this week?” And he simply reminded me, “Dorrie, you don’t come to the gym to come to the gym.” What a simple, brilliant, statement.

I don’t come to the gym to come to the gym.

Like any of us, I come to the gym for all sorts of reasons, many of which support my mission to be healthy so I am able to give to my community and to live a full life. This month at Hybrid Fitness we are talking about why we do things, so I wanted to take a look at the exercises I do and why I do them. I don’t just deadlift so I can walk around town and deadlift. That would be weird! All of these movements improve my overall strength which in turn support me in being able to give the most of myself and have a full life. Of course I love the big, complex movements and the measurable gains of the isolated movements, but today I want to talk about what keeps it all together-the core. This is the foundation of our exercise regimen.

What is our core?

Our core is made up of a series of muscle groups, including the upper and lower abdominals, internal and external obliques, lower back muscles, hip flexors, pelvic floor, and I like to include on my list, the powerful glutes.

Why is core strength important?

These muscles provide a framework of support for our inner organs; they protect our back; and a strong core improves balance and stability; promotes better posture; and lessens our risk of injury. We don’t just need a strong core to be able to protect our back or have balance at the gym. A strong core helps us shovel snow, carry groceries, help an injured pet, carry bags of mulch for the garden, hike a mountain, put a suitcase in the overhead compartment, tie our shoes, cross the deck of a moving sailboat, or hold a child in our arms. A strong core impacts our lives every day.

How do we strengthen our core?

The following core movements are the favorite five at Hybrid Fitness. These are all body weight exercises. If you find that you might miss a week at the gym because you are off doing what you love, you can always do these core strengthening exercises on your own.

  1. Plank- targets the upper and lower abdominals and the glutes
  2. Russian Twist- targets the obliques
  3. Superman- targets the glutes and lower back
  4. Dead bug- targets the pelvic floor and promotes hip stability
  5. Glute bridge- targets the hip flexors, the pelvic floor, and fires up the glutes

While I don’t have to know all the what, why, and how of the exercises, I think it helps. Giving your body the cues to engage certain muscles sets up a pathway from your brain to the muscles in a way that supports them. Paying attention to building your core through these movements helps you put the extra effort and intention into those twists or lifts rather than just going through the motions. Knowing why your core muscles matter for you can help keep you motivated to do these motions as much as knowing why you come to the gym. Remember you don’t just do planks to do planks, and you don’t just come to the gym to come to the gym.

 

Categories
Personal Development

Finding Your Success Triggers

Good Morning!

I am so happy right now. It is so sunny and warm. I can’t believe how much of a difference the sunshine makes!

We had our social media meeting today and Emma and Sydney sat outside while they worked on some of our posts for this week!

While thinking of what I was going to write about today, I remembered an old video that I never published that Melissa and I made.

We talk about “Success Triggers”.

Success triggers are those few things that, if you do them each day they will set you day up for success.

A lot of these times, these triggers help move us from a reactive state (reacting to every crazy thing life throws at us) to a controlled state.

One of Melissa’s success triggers is laying out her outfit for the next day the night before.

If she does that, its one less thing she has to do in the morning. She feels less rushed to get to work, and feels good about herself because shes wearing what she wanted to. It wasn’t thrown together at the last second.

My success triggers are getting plenty of sleep the night before, and listening to an audio book early in the day.

If I do those two things, my day is going to be super productive. My mood will be great, and everything else falls into place.

So take a second to figure out…

What are your success triggers?

Why aren’t you doing them as much as you’d like?

What changes can you make to do them more consistently.?

I hope this helps!

These types of techniques is what we’ll being doing a lot of in our Personal Development / Nutrition Challenge starting this Friday. We are going to meet every week for 6 weeks, and really dive into what it will take to stick to your goals and your plans to achieve those goals. I am closing down the registration tonight, we have 4 spots left!

If you’d like to sign up, check out http://online.hybridfitnessgym.com/beautiful-u-challenge/ for more information.

Have a Magnificent Monday!

Categories
Personal Development

Enough!

Enough!

You all have to hear this message…

You are enough.

I want you to really think about that.

You are ENOUGH.

When we start on a wellness path (joining a gym, starting a nutrition plan, meditating, doing yoga, etc.) there is a lot of attention to change and improvement. This quest for the best versions of ourselves sometimes carries the implication that we are not enough. We put this condition in the equation. I want to obtain X, and then I will be complete. If this sounds like your equation, I invite you to remember at this moment you are the sum of all of your experiences and all that make you unique; and that is enough. Enough is not a destination. Enough doesn’t happen when you lose weight, run faster, lift more, or eat less. Enough is now. Why is this important? Because so many of you just read those words and said, “Well, maybe but…if only I were____.”

It’s this tiny dialog in the backs of our minds that erode our self worth, create doubt, and cloud our heads with negative judgments about ourselves. And that negativity can create an emotional obstacle to our dream destination. It is hard to make yourself a priority when there’s a tiny voice saying you are not worthy. Before you can move forward on your path, you have to value yourself, as you are. We are in a constant state of growth and progression, and no one is ever complete or perfect. We start as enough and grow to an even better version of ourselves. If we count on becoming enough each time we reach a new goal, enough will elude us forever.

What do I know about being enough? Well, I was notorious for my arbitrary 10 pound line. It looked like this: I’d like to lose 10 pounds. You should see the list of plans I have for when I lose 10 pounds. I’m going to be so busy! But then I lost 10 pounds, and I wasn’t finished. I made new plans. People would compliment me, and I would say, “It’s a work in progress; I’m not done.” I realized I kept assigning value to this arbitrary place that I would get to and then I’d be complete; then I’d be enough. One day Hunter took my picture for the front of the gym. I asked if we could wait until I lost 10 pounds, but there wasn’t time to wait. And that is when the switch flipped for me. This moment in time I am who I am, and I am enough, just as I am. I am not going to arrive at a magical place and be perfect. My starting point is enough, and that is the magic. Now as I grow and evolve, I become an improved version of myself.

I want this for all of you, because I’m so happy being enough! I don’t have that tiny voice in my head judging me or deciding if I am worthy. With those obstacles removed, my wellness path is clear, and I can enjoy the journey. Enough said.

Some helpful tips on being enough:

Remember that you are unique. You do you better than anyone else. Don’t compare yourself to others. Love yourself unconditionally. Being enough is the starting point. Your destination is growth. And finally, say it out loud, “I AM ENOUGH.” (No really, try it!)

Categories
Flexibility/Recovery

Easy Hack For Better Sleep At Night

Good Morning!

For a long time I struggled with sleep, and it’s still something I still battle with on occasion….

However, a lot of methods that I’ve tried in the past for better sleep only worked for a short amount of time, or didn’t work at all.

I’ve tried melatonin. For me, it takes a lot of time to kick in and I don’t want to be dependent on taking anything for sleep.

I’ve tried using an acupuncture mats before bed, but I really didn’t notice an effect even after doing it consistently for 2 weeks. I was also tired of having holes in my entire body.

I’ve tried reading before bed, and that worked wonders. However, I wasn’t retaining any of the information I was reading.

Now I think I’m onto something. After trying all of those methods, this trick will not only wind you down and relax you after a long day, it will save you time in the morning before work.

The trick is – showering before bed with the lights off.

Turning all of the lights off and not being able to have access to your phone or anything other than warm water hitting your face works. The heat relaxes your body and by the time your shower is done, you’ll be dragging yourself to bed. Just make sure you’re careful and don’t slip.

If you’ve been restless at night, give this a try, and let me know how this works for you!

Have a Super Saturday!

P.S.

There are only 4 spots left in our Nutrition / Personal Development Challenge, Beautiful U, beginning April 14th!

To claim your spot visit http://online.hybridfitnessgym.com/beautiful-u-challenge/

Categories
Motivational Personal Development

How to Get Fit Without it Taking Over Your Life

Good morning!

I had a powerful talk with one of our members at the gym the other day.

She’s a busy mom of two who loves to workout, but struggles to come consistently to the gym more than 3x a week.

She felt because she wasn’t able to come 4x a all the time that she wasn’t pushing herself and wasn’t motivated.

Now, we all have our ruts, but this person in particular I know fairly well and motivation is not her issue.

She had come from a previous gym environment that was about working out as much as you can – and working out for the sake of just working out.

Knowing her goals, I explained to her that:

1. Adding extra sessions to her week could actually be hurting her progress

and

2. The whole reason she is working out in the first place is so she can have better relationships with her family

I only knew the second part from previous conversations – but its important to know what your goals are because if you don’t, you could end up putting in some hard work and going no where.

Yes losing weight is a goal.

Toning up is a goal.

But those are surface level.

What do you REALLY want?

Why do you want to lose weight?

Why do you want to feel better?

What happens when you feel better?

When your’re in a better mood, how does that improve your life?

By asking yourself these questions, you’ll figure out pretty quick that you aren’t just working out to lose weight.

When you identify your deepest goal – then you can start building a plan that integrates working out with your family, your hobbies, and your job.

In our free goal setting sessions at Hybrid Fitness with people looking to join our classes for the first time, we help you do all of this for free. We’ll walk you through each step and give you a clear vision for what your life can look like without overwhelming you.

If you would like to setup a session with us, shoot as an email and we can set it up!

On the flipside, if you’d like to go all in with understanding what makes you tick, and ultimately being to take control of your life so you can stick to your health goals (or any goals by that matter), we have 7 spots left in Beautiful U, our nutrition / personal development challenge starting April 14th.

To learn more about this visit http://online.hybridfitnessgym.com/beautiful-u-challenge/

Whether you’re interested in these or not…

Go deep. What do you really want?

What is your Why?

And you can get your workouts in, without it taking over your life.

Have a Fantastic Friday!

Categories
Motivational Personal Development

How I Used a Couch to Motivate Myself

Good Morning!

The past few months I have been reflecting on myself and really taking the time to uncover, “Who is Hunter Grindle?”

As my mentor once told me, “Success always begins with Truth“.

The hard part about discovering who are and what you want is that it always changes.

I needed to take this time to reflect because I was feeling unaligned with what I was doing, not as happy as I thought I should be, and extremely unmotivated.

So, I started adding and removing activities from my day to see if I could get that motivation and drive back.

I love what I do, but Id just been burning the candle from both ends for too long.

One test that I recently ran was scheduling one day a week (during the work week) where I don’t come to the gym at all.

I scheduled Brandon and Susan for all of the classes, and I stayed home.

I slept in.

Cooked myself a great breakfast.

I sat on my couch and played some video games.

And then worked.

Basically, I dedicated my entire morning to myself.

I found that by the end of the morning, I was being pulled to my computer to work. I was inspired. I was CRAVING working on Hybrid Fitness.

This is a motivation I hadn’t had in over a month.

What did it take?

Giving myself ME TIME. It took me doing the things I always want to do but can’t find the time to do.

And as soon as I did those things, I was itching to get back to my work!

Give this strategy a try for yourself.

What are the things you wish you could do each day but don’t have the time. How can you schedule them in once a week?

You’ll feel good about yourself, and you’ll be motivated to do the tasks that take willpower!

On a similar note, next week at Hybrid Fitness we are running a 6 Week Nutrition Challenge Called “Beautiful U“.

What’s different about this challenge is… yes we will give you the nutrition strategies it takes to reach your health goals.. (but a lot of you already know how to eat healthy). What we’re really going to focus on is how to help you get started and stick to those strategies for the long term.

We will be working on you, and helping you find what makes you tick.

There are only 8 spots left, for more details and to sign up if you’re interested, you can check out this link:

http://online.hybridfitnessgym.com/beautiful-u-challenge/

Have a Terrific Thursday!

P.S.

We also adopted a cat yesterday from the Shelter! His name is Montgomery (we call him Monty). Now there are two tuxedo cats in the house! #classy

Categories
Flexibility/Recovery Strength Training

Rest and Recovery

Rest and recovery are essential parts of our self-care routine and critical to our overall performance. Most of us know that we need to rest after a long week or a big event, but many of us are still figuring out how to manage the rest and recovery of a workout schedule. Last week dead lifts came back to the gym routine. I’m glad we do them at the end of the week so I can recover over the weekend. Those big movements always zap me. But dead lifts aren’t the only thing that we need to recover from; we should be recovering after each workout. We hear consistent messages about getting to the gym, pushing ourselves, and the virtue of hard work. These are good motivating messages, but sometimes they eclipse part of the self-care picture. My challenge is turning off that noise and listening to my body so that I can maximize my efforts. Invariably my body gives me the message – rest and recover. And that is exactly what I do.

I rest and recover every day.

Why is this so important?

During strength training and exercise, our bodies experience depletion of energy, loss of fluids, and muscle tissue break down. Because of how our bodies function, the work we are doing to get strong happens outside the gym just as much as it does at the gym. Physiologically, rest days and recovery time give the body time to repair, rebuild, and strengthen, and the repaired tissue is stronger than the original muscle. We also want to avoid over-use injuries. It is hard for me to imagine skipping a day at the gym, but I can’t imagine the pain of being sidelined for weeks or even months, especially if it is avoidable.

The second half to the rest and recovery equation is psychological. No one wants to dread going to class, or have to drag themselves to the gym. If we are too tired to be excited and look forward to this week’s progression, to enjoy class, or to even get a full workout in, what is the point of going? If that keeps happening- guess what? We probably won’t stick with our workout routine. Most of us love how we feel at the gym, accomplished, empowered, energized, happy, and we don’t want to jeopardize that.

And finally, something we hear a lot about- life balance. Going to the gym is wonderful, but bringing the joy you find at the gym to the other areas of your life is enriching too. Being strong and healthy so you can enjoy time with your family, gardening, hiking, work, or other hobbies is important to all of us. If we aren’t rested we won’t have the energy to participate in any other life enriching activities and this throws us out of balance.

How do I get stronger, prevent injury, continue to enjoy my workouts, avoid burnout, and create a balanced life?

I rest and recover every day.

Here’s my strategy: Hydration > Nutrition > Stretching > Sleep > Manage Stress

Hydration: I drink at least half my body weight in oz. of water.

Nutrition: I use food as fuel to nourish and support my daily activity.

Stretching: I never miss the dynamic warm-up and static stretch cool down. Foam rolling is a welcomed bonus.

Sleep: I try for 8 hours of sleep a night, and I look forward to at least one day a week without an alarm clock.

Stress management: I pay attention to stress triggers and try to keep these to a minimum. This includes a few minutes of deep breathing in a quiet space in my home.

Here’s the bonus question: “What if I go to the gym 5 days a week, how do I rest and recover between each workout?”

Here’s my strategy: I listen to my body!

I have a few rules about working out. I never lift more than 2 days in a row, and this helps promote a natural rhythm for my body from day to day. I start every workout with a dynamic warm-up. These movements allow me to take a full body inventory so I can adjust my workout. This is my listening time. If I feel tired, or have joint pain I might opt for low impact movements. If I feel a strain, I check in with a trainer, and modify a movement or go to a lower weight and work on my form. Adapting to the messages I hear from my body is the best way to use the time at the gym to promote the next recovery. And finally, if I am sick, sleep-deprived, or hearing a “slow down” message from my body, I stay home. Progress does not mean all the time, all the way, over the top. Progress includes self care, rest, and recovery every day.

Even Hunter needs time to rest!