believe in yourself Archives - Page 25 of 27 - Inspired & Strong

Cardio

June 16, 2021 No Comments

Equipment Needed

none

Weekly Wednesday Workout

In today’s workout, you will do two rounds of five different cardio movements. You will do a new movement every minute. If you are a beginner, do the movement for 30 seconds and rest for 30 seconds. If you are intermediate, do the movement for 40 seconds and rest for 20 seconds. If you are more advanced, do the movement for 50 seconds and rest for 10. Take breaks as you need them. Go as fast as you can each minute. If you want to do the workout along with me click here. If you just need the movements, click below.

Movements for each round:

Jumping Jacks
Mountain Climbers
Kettlebell Swings
Plank Hop
Pop Squats

Rest 1 minute and Repeat

Finish with five minutes of abs.

How to Do the Moves

Remember there are always modifications. Let me know if you need help or suggestions. Don’t forget the warm-up. Make this workout work for you!

Photo by dylan nolte on Unsplash

In Adventures with Gram

Celebration of Gram

June 15, 2021 No Comments

Many of our friends from Florida could not make it to Pennsylvania for Gram’s memorial service. Therefore, a few weeks ago, we held a poolside Celebration of Gram. Sitting by the pool became Gram’s favorite “activity”. As soon as she finished breakfast it was poolside where she wished to be. So what better place to honor Gram and her inspiring life.

We had a great turnout. All but one of our friends had met Gram before and had their picture taken with Gram either at our house, by the pool, on the boat, or at a restaurant. It made us realize how much of an impact she really had and how many people she met over the past five years.

As I was going through all the pictures trying to get ready for the celebration, it hit me how much we did with Gram. We took her everywhere. She met so many people and loved all of them. We laugh at thinking how most of her “friends” over her last 5 years of life were 40-50 years younger than her. It makes me happy that she had such adventures in her 90’s. She seemed to enjoy everything we did with her. At first, she didn’t really like flying but over the past five years, I think she came to enjoy it. My guess is that she flew more in her last 5 years than she did in her first 91 combined. Even with her dementia, she was happy. It makes me miss her so much.

Because I was always with her I didn’t notice how much she actually aged over the past year or two. Looking at the pictures and thinking back I remember her getting very sick in January and September of 2020. She fell three times last summer, one of which required 7 stitches on her forehead. She wasn’t doing much but sleeping on the couch, by the pool, and in her bed. Although she never complained, I am sure at 96 and a half, after all the running we made her do, her body was tired.

At the Celebration of Gram, our friends told stories of Gram. They remembered how sweet her smile was, how she loved sitting by the pool, how she loved Kuma the cat, and how she cheered for Jeff’s Ohio State Buckeyes. One friend remembered how Gram was really not happy one night when I made her stay at their house too long. It seemed Gram was always in the opposite room of where we were. She kept saying, “Stacy, let’s go. It’s time to go.” And she would give me that look. She never wanted to be a burden and this was her way of saying it. It was the one time our friends remember her being the least bit upset. Sweet Gram definitely could turn into a spitfire when she wanted to!

Anyway, the turnout was beautiful and Gram was sorely missed. She lived an amazing life. If you missed the Eulogy take a few minutes to watch it. It really celebrates Gram and her impact on this world. Love and miss you Gram!

In Family

Happy Birthday Babe

June 8, 2021 1 Comment

Today is my husband’s birthday. I think the words of the day really sum up his philosophy on life and birthdays. If you missed the quote it says,

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

We do our best to live life to the fullest. We understand life is short, and we know many opportunities don’t come around but once in a lifetime. We also know life is too short not to be happy.

We have been together for four birthdays. My husband always downplays his birthday but celebrates mine to the fullest. I did plan a wonderful celebration in Chicago for his big 5-0 but then, he did it again and pulled the spotlight away from himself by asking me to marry him at HIS party! This year, we will be celebrating him with many friends and family as we take a little road trip up and down the east coast. Today, we will be poolside with his favorite, margaritas and Key Lime Pie!

It’s still hard to believe that I found such an amazing guy. Together, we are a whirlwind of adventure, love, passion, and inspiration to each other. He just seems to enjoy himself. Being around him is comfortable and easy and his kindness is appreciated by all of those around him.

Today is a chance to say to him that I am proud to be your wife. I feel so fortunate and honored to have you not only as my husband but also as my best friend. You have brought joy, purpose, and laughter to my life. Being by your side has made me a better person. Thank you for all that you do and for always having my back. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Happy Happy Birthday my Prince.

In Adventures with Gram

Memorial Day

June 1, 2021 No Comments

Thank you to all of those who served and gave their lives so that we can enjoy all that there is to enjoy in our beautiful country.

Yesterday was Memorial Day, and we would like to thank all of those fallen veterans and their families for their service and commitment to America. Many members of my and my husband’s family (including my dad and both of our grandfathers) were military vets. Both of Gram’s brothers were in the military as well.

Memorial Day is a day to give honor to those heroes we have lost protecting our freedoms and all that is America. Without them, we would not feel safe, and I hope we all took a moment to remember that this weekend. Although it’s an extra day off and a time for BBQ’s and gathering of friends and family, it’s also a day to look up to the sky and say “THANK YOU“.

Memorial Day is also a big day in CrossFit gyms all over the country. In honor and memory of Navy Lt. Michael Murphy who died in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005, at age 29, we all do a Hero Workout called “Murph”. The workout originally called “Body Armor” was Michael Murphy’s favorite which consisted of:

1-mile run
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 air squats
1-mile run
… in a 20-lb. weight vest or body armor (women wear a 14-lb vest)

Many people in the CrossFit world and even those in other fitness arenas have all heard of Murph and many set goals for this workout each year. I had a friend complete it for the first time this year. Her goal was just to do the whole thing. And she did, in just over an hour! Another friend did it for the second year in a row. Her goal was to beat her time from the previous year and she did! Whatever your goal is, go out there and give all you can, and while you are grueling away at this workout for an hour think about what our fallen heroes endured on the battlefield.

I started CrossFit in October 2016 as you read in “Life Changes” and my first Murph was Memorial Day 2017. I wasn’t sure what I was doing or what to expect but it has become one of my favorite workouts even though I don’t like running. Every time I do it, I almost cry thinking about the hero we are honoring. He gave his life while I am only giving an hour of my long weekend. I also think about the battles that others go through like cancer and how blessed I am that I can still run and do pull-ups and push-ups and squats. In 2017, I finished Murph at 44:05 with no vest. Yesterday, I beat that time and finished in 38:41. I couldn’t believe it! I wanted to do my best and I tried to run those miles as fast as I could. Maybe CrossFit isn’t for you and that is okay. Maybe make a commitment each Memorial Day to do something. Go for a walk, donate to a cause, do 30 burpees… whatever it is just do it in memory of a fallen soldier who has given his/her life for you.

I hope that we can all take a minute this week to appreciate those who gave and those who continue to give so much for our country. I hope we never forget what those amazing men and women have done over the years to protect our freedoms. Many Americans don’t realize how good we have it, and how much our military presence in other countries prevents further wars and conflicts. I am not sure it is for us to understand, but I think it is for us to appreciate and honor those heroes and to say thank you for your service when you see them. I think back to how my grandparents talked about going into the service. And it was just what you did. Just to be pulled to that calling. It is inspiring. Thank you to our American Heroes!

In How We Move

5 Minute Abs

May 26, 2021 No Comments

Equipment Needed

timer

Bonus Weekly Wednesday Workout

In today’s workout, you will do five minutes of five different ab movements for 50 seconds, rest for 10 and start a new one on the next minute. Follow along with me click here. This workout you can do every day and add it to the end of our Weekly Wednesday Workouts.

3 Rounds:

crunches
right elbow to left knee
left elbow to right knee
legs up and knees to chest
push-throughs
end with a 10-second crunch hold

How to Do the Moves

Remember there are always modifications. Let me know if you need help or suggestions. Make this workout work for you!

Photo by Yogendra Singh on Unsplash

In Family

Hell of a View

May 25, 2021 No Comments

Every time I hear the song “Hell of a View” by Eric Church, I think of my niece and nephew. They love that song and sing every word. I think they like it because it says “I smoked my Bronco tires outta that town” and their Pops has a Bronco. They seem to like songs they can relate to. I hope they embrace the meaning of that song and take chances with their “toes hanging off the ledge with nothing to lose”. I hope they take chances and live life to the fullest every day like they are now.

When we are driving around from playground to playground and that song comes on, the kids sit in the backseat bobbing their heads and singing without a care in the world. Meanwhile, I am trying to fight back tears because I am thinking about how much I want my sister to be there with us. And how mad and sad and pissed I am that she was taken from us and from them. I am so upset that she isn’t here to hear them sing and to squeeze them when they go to bed every night. I know she is here in spirit, but I want to hear her laugh and see her smile.

May 7^th, 2018 was when we lost her after her 18-month battle with cancer. It really hasn’t stopped hurting since. I am not sure any of us have truly gotten over it. How can you? But somehow we have to try to find a way to get by, and we have to believe there is something bigger out there. So I guess we are supposed to be grateful that her pain is gone, and that she has a hell of a view up there.

May is a hard month for our family. Nine years ago on May 23, my sister, mom, and I held my dad’s hand as he took his last earthly breath after his nine-year battle with lung cancer. My dad was only 61 years old. I look at my friends and family around me now and think we are not far from 61. It’s unbelievable how young he really was. I am so glad he fought long enough to know my sister was pregnant, and he tried to hold on to see that sweet baby girl but didn’t make it. Days like this make me sad he didn’t get the chance to hold his grandchildren and spoil them. He would have had so much fun with those little ones. In his quiet way, he would have taught them so much. He LOVED music, too, and could have introduced them to some real classics. He could tell you the artist and name of almost any song. I still remember my dad’s face when he got a Bose stereo for Christmas one year. That was a hell of a view.

Because this past Sunday was the 23rd, I went to church. I felt that I needed to hear some kind of message. God must have sent the Pastor a sign because it seemed he knew just what I needed to hear. The message was that we are on a journey. The journey isn’t going to be easy and there are going to be challenges. He said God doesn’t call us to do anything he doesn’t think we can handle. Trials are necessary but God promises unconditional love and everlasting life. Jesus gave it all for us so we need to trust that God will give it all to us if we give it all to him. It is hard to think about the promise of Heaven when we are here on Earth just doing what we think is best. Sometimes it’s hard to see past the trials. Sometimes it’s hard not to question why. Sometimes it’s hard not to be envious of a friend who still has their father or their sibling. But I guess we need to believe, and we need to realize life is precious. Make the best of it and appreciate the view.

This quote from Mother Teresa pretty much sums up how I feel at times. She said,

I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.

I guess God thinks I am one strong cookie with all the trials he has sent my way. But maybe we all feel that way. All of us have losses and struggles. Many of us question why. One day we will find out. One day we will be up in Heaven with a Hell of a View. Until then live life with your toes hanging off the ledge.

Featured Photo by Balazs Busznyak on Unsplash

In Family

That Summer

May 18, 2021 No Comments

As you read in “The Broken Hip”, Gram and I took off for Florida in February 2017. It was there, at the CrossFit gym, where I met my future husband as you read in our trio blog posts from him, Eleina, and myself. It was also at that time that I had just started my First Dream Team. And we had just learned that my sister had Cancer. But let’s continue on our journey with Gram that summer.

After two weeks in Florida, Gram, the cat, and I made our way to Richmond to see the family. My sister had just undergone surgery and was recovering from having several organs removed. The doctors felt surgery was the best approach to try to rid her body of cancer. She was hopeful and ready to kick cancer’s ass. She was so strong and she didn’t stay long in the hospital bed. She was ready to be home with her little ones. We stayed a couple of weeks to help out and to spend some time with her.

Once she was settled back at home, Gram and I continued on our journey to PA. I decided to start taking classes to get my real estate license. I thought being a realtor would give me flexible hours and a flexible schedule. I could then care for Gram, but also make some money and possibly turn it into a career when my caretaking duties were finished.

Because it was my first Dream Team I also spent a lot of time at the gym. I took my new healthy lifestyle seriously plus I was meeting new friends. I really enjoyed it. Many days, I would take Gram with me to the gym and even put her through a few workouts. She was so inspiring. She would do some squats, lift some dumbbells, and do a weight machine or two. I hoped it would help her with her balance. At that time, the gym was on the second floor so just to get to the gym Gram had to walk up two flights of stairs. And she did it well!

My sister had another surgery in May, and they scraped every inch of her abdomen. She was in the operating room for 20 hours. It was so scary. But, she pulled through and was ready to go home within days. I couldn’t believe how determined she was. We all prayed that the surgery would be the last, and she would start the remission process. But they still wanted her to do chemotherapy and radiation that summer, which she did. She held onto most of her hair until that fall. Then it started getting thin. It eventually fell out by Christmas.

After months of studying, I passed my real estate license test and started selling houses. I really enjoyed it. Gram went with me several times to show houses. Sometimes she would go in and sometimes she would just sit in the car. She was content and happy. We spent that summer riding around in my little convertible EOS, getting ice cream at all of the hot spots, and making our way up and down the highway to and from Richmond. We didn’t have much of a schedule so we just took one day at a time and wanted to spend as much time as we could with the family.

That summer, I was busy with real estate and started doing some personal training at the gym. Jeff and I stayed in touch but only saw each other a few times. I kept thinking ‘if it’s meant to be, it will be.’ I wanted it to work, but I knew the distance could limit the opportunity, especially since his youngest son was still in high school. So I enjoyed my time with Gram and doing my own thing. She was the best companion because she did what I wanted to do and didn’t complain 🙂

As the weather got chillier and fall came upon us, things started to change. Jeff asked me to a few family functions and football games as our relationship started becoming more serious. Gram told my friends and family that she better not say how much she liked Jeff or I would stop dating him. Therefore, she kept it a secret for a while. But every now and again, when I was in the bathroom with Gram, she would let it slip and say, “I like Jeff. Do you like Jeff?” And of course, I liked Jeff but we still lived in different states, and I wasn’t sure where life would lead or what Life Changes would occur.

My sister finished chemo and was feeling pretty good. She was working on gaining muscle and getting her strength back. The kids were getting older and more involved in gymnastics and tee-ball. We all loved watching them play. We were all hopeful. We were looking forward to Christmas and spending more family time together. My sister was so positive and determined. Even as she was battling cancer and going through surgeries, radiation, and chemo, she kept a positive outlook. She laughed, she smiled. She enjoyed all the little things. Little did we know that upcoming Christmas would be her last and more life changes would be upon us.

In Fitness and Nutrition

My First Dream Team

May 12, 2021 No Comments

If you are from Northwest Pennsylvania then you have probably heard of or participated in the Dream Team contest put on by Bill Lawrence’s Personal Fitness. Bill runs the contest every year starting in January and it runs for 16 weeks. The goal is to make a commitment to learning how to eat healthily and stick to a fitness regimen, then maintain that lifestyle after the contest is over.

The team that loses the most weight and body fat is the winner, and I believe they receive a free membership to the gym for the rest of the year (But I don’t know for sure). There are other prizes given for different accomplishments like moving into a leaner category than where you started or the biggest transformation. It’s always fun to win a prize, but the best part of the contest is creating a team, getting to know each other, pushing each other towards your goals, and then going to the Dream Team banquet. Everyone gets dressed up, and it’s time to Par-tay! It’s unbelievable the transformations that occur during these four months of nutrition and exercise discipline. It’s a great celebration of accomplishments, and it really is so much fun. It’s kind of like Prom for adults 🙂

I learned a lot during my first Dream Team. My team came in 7th place. We worked really hard by eating right and supporting each other. I didn’t know my teammates that well when we started the contest, but we are friends to this day. We got to know each other over the four months and helped each other when we were struggling. I started to feel more comfortable in the gym. I was getting to know more people and starting to feel like I belonged. I can’t thank them enough for asking me to be on their team.

I also learned how awesome the workout community is. The members of this gym are amazing. One, they believe in each other and want everyone to succeed. They cheer each other on and lift each other up. Two, everyone learns the nutrition program and shares meals they enjoy. They want everyone to like what they are eating while maintaining nutrition. Three, many of the women here are badasses. I have been to a few gyms over the years, and these women are truly like no other. They push themselves and each other to the limit. I learned to do things I never in a million years thought I would be able to do like a backflip. And the women are happy for and actually support each other. I never would have been able to lose weight if it wasn’t for the encouragement of my teammates and the athletes at this gym. Everyone is supportive. I hope that you can find a gym like this near your home town.

It definitely takes time to learn the nutrition program (that Bill teaches). If you have been following me, we try to eat a lean protein, the right carb, and a healthy fat at each meal. I am still learning what works and what doesn’t but during my first dream team, I lost weight and body fat and transformed my body. I went from 129.9 pounds and 19.6% body fat to 119 pounds and 15.8% body fat. Although I am not as strict as I once was, I have learned to enjoy what I eat and substitute healthier options for those not-so-great options I used to love. Check out Sub This for That for more suggestions.

In the end, fad diets don’t usually work. You may lose a lot of weight in the beginning but then when you start eating normal foods again or become less strict, you gain all of the weight back. Although you may bounce a little up and down with this program, the bounces are not extreme if you stick with it 85-95% of the time. My suggestion is to find an activity that you love to get your body moving. Find a gym that is supportive and encouraging. Yoga, pilates, CrossFit, and weight lifting are just a few examples. Then start slowly. Give up soda or other heavy calorie drinks. Give up fried food for a week. Eat at home more often than you eat out. Eventually, you will realize you don’t miss the fast-food cheeseburgers because you worked really hard and you like the way you look and feel.

In How We Move

3 Rounds of Arms

April 21, 2021 No Comments

Equipment Needed

light dumbbells or
a band or
water bottles

Weekly Wednesday Workout

In today’s workout, you will do three rounds of: 30 jumping jacks, 20 punches, 10 bicep curls, 30 jumping jacks, 20 arm circles, and 10 shoulder to overhead. This workout will take you about 10-12 minutes. Follow me here to work out together.

3 Rounds of:

30 jumping jacks
20 punches
10 bicep curls
30 jumping jacks
20 arm circles
10 shoulder to overhead

How to Do the Moves

For the video of movements, click here. Remember there are always modifications. Let me know if you need help or suggestions. Don’t forget the warm-up. Make this workout work for you!

In Inspiration

Involve Me

April 12, 2021 No Comments

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

–Benjamin Franklin