on listening to your body & recovery

I've spoken previously on motivation and determination here, and I definitely feel the same. it's important to recognize that even on days when you are feeling lazy you should keep moving. and yes, pushing yourself is very important to get stronger and progress.

but along with that, it's important to listen to your body and what you actually NEED to do. this is something that I've struggled with. something I've struggled with throughout my entire workout journey, to be frank.

over the past few months, I have changed up my routine A LOT. new job, long commutes, training for multiple events, engagement, wedding planning, looking for an apartment, and it's been EXHAUSTING.

so with that, I have noticed that my training has been WAY harder. and, yes, I am pushing myself and working with new weights and pushing my pace, but I am tired ALL OF THE TIME. And that's not normal! 

I had noticed a lot of changes in my mood and appetite and motivation and in how my training was going. (So many hand tears) 

So I knew that I needed to take a break. Looking back over the past year, I hadn't taken a real break (rest for more than a day or two) in, well, almost a year. (Right around my move down to San Diego) which was not including the time in December when I was basically vomiting the entire month due to every type of illness I could manage to get (likely because I was exhausted and my immune system was compromised). 

I made the decision that after my June competition that I would take about a week off. So after my snatch set, I took the whole week off from any real lifting. Which was not easy for me; 1) because I work in fitness so I'm surrounded with people working out all day 2) I do really enjoy exercise 3) it's part of my routine and I am a creature of habit. 

 And what did I do on my rest week? 

Not a lot. Sometimes a walk. Sometimes some yoga. Sometimes a little bit of mace swinging. By the end of the week I was doing some fun flows with the kettlebell at light weights. And that's it. I didn't do anything crazy and recovered all week. 

I also didn't change up my eating habits. I ate basically the same things as I usually do as far as I could tell. 

I checked my Heart Rate Variance on an app (HRV4Training) to see where it thought I was in my recovery as well. Just to have some unbiased science in on my recovery, too. 

And by the end of the week I had more energy, my moods were in a better space, my appetite had gotten more normal.  

I just felt much better. My training all last week was back to regular strength, I haven't been waking up tired. It's been awesome. 

If you are noticing that your training is taking a hit, if you're tired all the time, if you're just wholly unmotivated for weeks at a time, if you're moody and just feeling off ~ it may be time for a break

I know there's fear of stopping when you're in a routine, but i promise it does you more good than continuing to train while you're burnt out. Take the few days off and let your body recover fully so you can actually enjoy your training. It's well worth it. 

why & how i became a personal trainer

if you would have told me a few years ago that I would be a certified personal trainer I would have laughed straight in your face. 

aug. 8, 2015 ~ 5-6 months after beggining to exercise

here's the thing, i had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew it wasn't hospitality or accounting.  i started working out shortly after my i got my job in accounting.  before then I was able to pretend that since I was on my feet all day (just standing and leaning on the desk tbh) I didn't need to exercise. but once I got a desk job I had no excuses. so a few times a week i would wake up a little early and go walk and jog on the treadmill in the garage. over several months i started running more days during the week, and do longer sessions. and i started focusing on my nutrition and what i was eating more. lots of small steps. (and some definite over-training, but that's another day's discussion). but exercise definitely became something i looked forward to. I really enjoy(ed) getting to push myself every morning. I made lots of little goals, different speed goals and different distance per month goals. and once i got to hit those i could make new goals and that was exciting for me. 

sept.9,2016 ~ post workout 

and then once i was able to go to a real gym i realized there was more to life than cardio and started doing more weightlifting and kettlebell (i had started that before, but once i got into a gym i realized how much more i could do and i was able to push myself even more with different weights). and i was able to learn all sorts of new things that i never had the chance to do before. 

and that's when people really starting asking me for help in weight loss and working out. or people would come out to join me in my morning workouts. and i had a lot of fun helping people out and answering questions about how i did it but also i didn't feel totally comfortable in giving people advice because i didn't have all the answers and health and fitness is a personal journey and i didn't want to be responsible for giving someone bad/ wrong advice. 

nov. 3 2016 ~ got my study material for ACE PT exam 

and while all that was happening i was also trying to figure out what my next step was going to be, and what i wanted to do with my life. i went over a lot of different options and a lot of different ideas but kept looking at personal trainer certifications... and after talking with colt about it, i made the commitment to going for it. i realized that the gym is what i genuinely looked forward to everyday and getting to help other people figure out the gym was cool for me. and i was already doing a lot of research for me and other people so, why not have the actual certification? 

dec 2016 study session

was it easy? absolutely not. preparing for that exam took months of studying and reading and re-reading and note taking. it was so, so stressful. but thanks to many (MANY) hours of reading and studying and the un-ending support from col t i took the exam and passed it and earned my certification through ACE! 

it has been a long road to becoming a personal trainer but i feel so right about it. i already have gotten to help lots of people with their goals and i cannot wait to help so many more throughout my career! 

post-workout with awesome ladies

by the way, if you are interested in training (in person or online) send me a line!! i would love to work with you! (tiffnessfitness@gmail.com) 

HOW TO: become a morning workout person

look, I know,  waking up before 5 am is not pleasant.  but sometimes you gotta make sacrifices and lose some sleep to get it in.  and sometimes it is really rough (if you follow my insta stories there are many pre-5am stories about being tired)

 but waking up before the rest of the world getting a whole workout in before most people are even awake feels so good. i fully believe it is the best way to start the day. 

when I first started my working out i would wake up at 4:10 am Monday - Friday.  and i did it with no caffeine (crazy I know) but I would stumble out of bed, put on my workout clothes and walk down to the treadmill and start walking on it all before i was even all the way awake. i would be part way into my warm up before i would even realize i was working out. and by that point i was already there, so  i may as well finish. 

now i wake up at about 4:40, toss on some workout clothes, ingest some form of caffeine (sometimes preworkout, but i did just switch back to coffee) and i'm off to the gym before 5am. I definitely need caffeine more now than i did originally because i'm weight lifting and being groggy during that is asking for disaster. 

anyway... here are my main tips for getting an AM workout in: 

1. be prepared!
   1. that means having your workout clothes laid out,  having your workout plan ready to go, and whatever else you may need ready to go (headphones, coffee, car keys, etc) 
2. ease into it 
   1. i didn't start off working out at 4 in the morning straight out of the gate. i started off waking up 20 mins earlier than usual to go walk on the treadmill, then i went 30 mins, and so on, until i was getting almost a full hour workout in. 
3. make it routine 
   1. waking up early is not always easy. (trust me, i have had some ROUGH mornings) but if you keep making that effort to wake up evantually you'll do it and start moving without even thinking about it. i swear, most mornings i am up and dressed and drinking coffee before i even realize i woke up. 
4. make it something to look forward to 
   1. waking up before the sun is so much more difficult if its for something that you don't want to do at all. for me, the energy i get from exercise and the fun i have playing with kettlebells or hitting PRs drives me to go to the gym. find what makes you want to get up and go and make that your AM workout session. 
5. go to sleep at a decent hour! 
   1. i know this one is pretty obvious, but seriously. if you stay up late, waking up early is so much harder. go to sleep at a decent time and set yourself up for success. 
6. plan some sort of reward for yourself 
   1. could be during your run you get to listen to that new playlist you created or that post-workout snack. whatever motivates you, make it happen. 
7. if you fail, don't quit
   1. look, waking up early won't always happen. that's part of life. however, don't let that be an excuse for the rest of the week's workouts. so you skipped the gym on tuesday, just reset that alarm for wednesday and get it done!

i know, these are all pretty straight forward but this is what i've been doing for 2.5 years and i'm still going strong. 

my morning workouts are genuinely what get me out of bed every morning and what keep my energy up throughout the day. 

i promise, you'll never regret finishing your early morning workout, but you may regret skipping one.