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Today’s post is a link to another post called “100 Ways to Live to 100: A Definitive Guide to Longevity Fitness.” The article goes over a variety of things to do and not do to improve your physical and mental well-being to live longer.

Because some of the concepts contradict one another you can’t do them all. But this article provides an inspiring way to try to live longer and healthier. Just making one change can have a huge impact. Work on getting 1% better.

My favorite item from this list is number 24:

Know it’s never too late

“One month of healthy eating will confer immediate results in the realms of cell regeneration, decreased inflammation, and improved digestion. Starting young is great, but it doesn’t matter how old you are. Meet with your doctor beforehand to get your bloodwork done. Then come back after and note the changes, specifically in vascular health.”

Instead of changing your whole lifestyle in one day to try to live longer, start with baby steps. Try replacing red meat with grass-fed or local red meat. Try adding one cup of veggies to one of your meals a day. Try to cook with olive oil instead of butter. Whatever you do, just take one step at a time!

Bookmark this article and find something you can do to improve your daily life to live longer and better. Enjoy!

Photo by Luis Morera on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

Equipment Needed

  • dumbbell (optional)

Weekly Wednesday Workout

In today’s workout, you will do three rounds of 12 reps of six movements. Rest as needed in between each round.

Movements for each round:

  • 12 squats
  • 12 squat pulses
  • 12 sumo squats
  • 12 sumo squat pulses
  • 12 cossack squats right leg
  • 12 cossack squats left leg

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!

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

“The American Psychological Association reports that insecurity is multifaceted. It pertains to an overall sense of uncertainty or anxiety about your worth, abilities, skills, and value as a person, conveying the message that you’re at risk or in danger of something or someone. That negative impact of insecurity could be physical, mental, or emotional. Without security, you can’t accomplish full trust or function to your fullest potential.”

Why do we have insecurity? Are we influenced by outside factors? Is there a way to feel more confident about relationships, our looks, our bodies, our talents, our jobs, and our material goods? Why are we so negative to ourselves? And how do we overcome it? Check out this website.

I try to be a positive person, and I try to count my blessings for all that I have in life and for all the amazing people I have met. But sometimes insecurity creeps in, and I feel anxious, sad, hopeless, or depressed. And that’s when I need to check myself and find ways to overcome it. I feel if you don’t deal with the insecurity it can really pull you into a deep dark place. Because I don’t want to stay in that place of insecurity, I take action to cope with it by talking to my husband, my therapist, or reading some self-help books. One of my favorite authors is SARK. Just picking up one of her books makes me smile. Her website is filled with positive thoughts and reinforcements as well. Two of my favorite books are Succulent Wild Woman and Transformation Soup.

 

It’s so hard when you see insecurity in others whether it be friends or family members. You want to tell them they have no reason to be insecure because you see all of their amazing qualities even when they don’t see it in themselves. They are smart or beautiful or talented. But when you feel it yourself you understand why others feel that way, too. Sometimes it’s so hard to believe that the most beautiful, famous, successful woman is insecure. We think how can she be insecure when she has it all (or what we think is “all”). But guess what? Insecurities are there for everyone. We just need to figure out how to deal with them in a healthy way.

Insecurity is a universal experience, but not all people experience insecurity so intensely that it disrupts their life and ability to function. If insecurity is creating unwanted impacts in your mental, social, or physical health, it could be time to take action and address the issue with professional support and assistance” (written by Eric Patterson, LPC).

Somehow we need to figure out how to be more confident and count our blessings. No matter who we are, we have so much. We have our lives, our health, our families, and our friends. We have roofs over our heads, food to eat, and freedom to explore. We need to remember that every situation is just that, a situation. We need to form our response to that situation and that can be in a positive or a negative way. We create our own happiness and security. Positive self-talk, pushing away negative feelings, looking forward to the future, and focusing on the good in this world can make a huge difference.

Photo by Melanie Wasser on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

Equipment Needed

  • dumbbells
  • ab mat

Weekly Wednesday Workout

In today’s workout, you will do four rounds of 15 reps of 4 movements. Rest as needed in between each round.

Movements for each round:

  • 15  Thrusters
  • 15  Abs of your choice
  • 15  Jumping Jacks
  • 15  Dumbbell Rows

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!

Photo by John Arano on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

Equipment Needed

  • kettlebell or dumbbell

Weekly Wednesday Workout

In today’s workout, you will do 5 rounds of 5 reps of 5 movements. Do each movement as fast as possible to get a good cardio burn.

Movements for each round:

  • 5 jumping jacks
  • 5 kettlebell swings
  • 5 jumping lunges (each leg)
  • 5 up/downs
  • mountain climbers (each leg)

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!

Photo by Gabin Vallet on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

It seems every January, people make resolutions that they don’t keep. They think it’s a new year, it should be a new me. Instead of being realistic they go for the gold and end up quitting before they even get started. This year, make your resolution mindful and realistic. Reread the post Eat Better and Move Better and focus on becoming 1% better every day. What baby steps can you make to meet your goal? The more steps you take and the more progress you see the more likely you will be to keep going.

It’s hard because, after the holidays and all of the parties and gatherings, you want to be a new you in the new year. But try to evaluate where you are now and where you want to go. Then be realistic about the amount of work you will need to put in. I am not trying to discourage you. I just want you to be honest with yourself. Whatever your new year goals are…what does it take to get there?

Do you want to lose weight? Gain muscle? Run a race? Quit drinking? Quit smoking? Eat at home more often? Eat less fast food? Travel more? Do a Spartan Race or a mud run? Hike a mountain? Ride a bike? Whatever you decide, write it down, and determine your short-term goals. Remember the end goals are like marathons, not sprints. You are not going to lose 10 pounds in 10 days. It takes time. So start small. Start with two pounds a month and by next year the new you will be 24 pounds lighter! And next year, you can continue and soon you are down 48 pounds, and you can keep it off because you have changed your lifestyle and not gone on some fad diet.

I talk a lot in this blog about how we eat and how we move. I first learned to eat healthily at Bill Lawrencen’s Personal Fitness in Meadville, PA. If you are in the area, go now, and start Dream Team. You won’t be sorry. He gets some serious results. You can also participate virtually. Check out the website. To this day, Jeff and I continue eating a lean protein, the right carb, and a healthy fat at every meal. When we eat out, we make as healthy of a choice as we can, and usually, we order fish or lean meat and veggies.

If your goal is to travel more then decide how often do you want to go? How much do you want to spend on each trip? Then make it happen. Do a little each week or month to get you there. Look for deals on airlines. Look at the low-cost carriers. Try to pack minimally and don’t pay for a seat or luggage. There are many ways to travel inexpensively. Also, look at credit cards that give you miles.

Whatever your goals, it’s a new year for a new you. Start small and take baby steps. Jeff and I had our two-year wedding anniversary on December 31st. One of our new year’s commitments to each other is that every month we will do one of the Five Love Languages. We did them the first two years of our relationship but haven’t made a conscious effort on them for the last two years. Each month we will pick a language and make a day of it. To find out your love language and that of your partner or even a family member, click here.

new year new you

Whatever your goals, I wish you a safe, happy, and healthy new year and new you! Stay strong and be inspired each and every day!

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

Equipment Needed

  • 1 dumbbell (light to medium weight) optional

Weekly Wednesday Workout

In today’s workout, you will do 10 reps down to one rep of six different ab movements. You will do 10 reps, then 9 reps, then 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. If you need to modify you can always just do the even-numbered reps.

Movements for each round:

  • Russian twists
  • Crunches
  • Bicycles
  • Leg raises
  • Legs to the left
  • Legs to the right

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!

Photo by dusan jovic on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Equipment Needed

  • kettlebell or dumbbell
  • set of dumbbells
  • step

Weekly Wednesday Workout

You will do today’s workout, you will do the moves like the song of 12 Days of Christmas. You will start with 1 rep. Then do two then one. Then three then two then one. Work all the way up to 12 and down to 1.

Movements:

  • 1 burpee
  • 2 push-ups
  • 3 thrusters
  • 4 sumo squats
  • 5 kettlebell swings
  • 6 lunges
  • 7 rows
  • 8 abs of your choice
  • 9 squats
  • 10 step-ups
  • 11 curls
  • 12 kickbacks

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!

Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

Equipment Needed

  • two dumbbells (light to medium weight)

Weekly Wednesday Workout

In today’s workout, you will do 10 reps down to one rep of five different bicep movements. You will do 10 reps, then 9 reps, then 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. If you need to modify you can always just do the even-numbered reps.

Movements for each round:

  • Reverse Grip DB row
  • Concentration curls
  • Halfway up curls
  • Halfway down curls
  • Bicep curls

Rest as needed in between each round.

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!

Photo by Norbert Buduczki on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

Get ready for Thanksgiving with this whole body workout!

Equipment Needed

  • kettlebell or dumbbell

Weekly Wednesday Workout

You will do today’s workout, you will do the moves like the song of 12 Days of Christmas. You will start with 1. Then do two then one. Then three then two then one. Work all the way up to 12 and down to 1.

Movements:

  • 1 sumo deadlift high pull with kettlebell
  • 2 cossack squats with kettlebell
  • 3 push-ups
  • 4 step-ups or box jumps
  • 5 squats with weight
  • 6 shoulder presses with kettlebell
  • 7 kettlebell swings
  • 8 bicep curls (4 each arm)
  • 9 abs of your choice
  • 10 walking lunges with kettlebell
  • 11 dips
  • 12 burpees

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!

Photo by Joseph Gonzalez on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy