Weekly Wellness: Why You Shouldn't Train Like your Trainer, and That's a Good Thing.

Oftentimes I have clients ask me what my workouts look like. To their surprise they are generally different than what I recommend is best for them. Other times I may do different exercises. The question is why? Everyone is at different points in their fitness journey. Some people may not have the experience to do that much; other people may not have the drive to do that much. And others have different intentions. Many people even choose to do more than I do. It’s all about what you want from your fitness journey.

We all live different lives.

Many people I work with have full-time jobs and a family to take care of. They basically have two full time jobs! It would quite literally be irresponsible for them to spend multiple hours in the gym several days a week. When I make time for my workouts, most people are at work. And same goes for the professional cyclists you see on TV, or that fitness guru you follow on social media. It is not only their job but their passion. If you have the time and passion, then more power to you! Let’s set those big goals and chase them down. But I know most “normal” people are just trying to enhance their lives and feel a little more capable day to day.

One size fits all fitness plans.

The problem with wanting to do the same workouts as others is that health and fitness is almost never one size fits all. People have different goals, injury histories, and some exercises just straight up do not work for people. This is great news for me because it’s the reason I still have a job. Anyone can find a workout online with a simple Google search. However, these workouts are not molded to fit you and your unique goals. Workouts can be optimized to lose weight, gain muscle, or help recover from an injury. With the additional differences within experience, exercise preferences, and what you can do outside the gym, your workout is beginning to look far different than Chatty Cathy down the street’s workout.

Working out to hit our goals.

Your workout and lifestyle should be geared towards your goals. If your goal is to lose weight your workout may need to have some extra cardio in it with your weight lifting sessions focused on keeping the muscle you already have. If you want to get more muscled up legs you may find yourself doing a lot of squats. Currently my goal is to do well in a bike race in October. Therefore I am beginning to ride my bike a lot and eat a lot in preparation.

While your goal may not to be to be a competitive athlete, even becoming a healthy mother takes consistency and lots of effort. Therefore I am not here to tell you it will be easy nor will you always want to get that workout in. Sometimes life will get in the way. However, it is important to hop back on the horse as soon as you can and stay consistent.

Food!

Often for mid-day snack or a post workout snack I will eat a serving of fruit with a protein shake. Summer is great for so many reasons. One of those reasons is that fruit is the ripest and tastes the best. In this picture I have a pound of watermelon. Yes, you read that correctly a whole pound! Watermelon and other fruit can fulfill that sweet craving many of us desire. All for under 150 calories per pound. Fruit is satiating, dense with vitamins, hydrating and a good source of fiber. It is something everyone should enjoy more of in my opinion, and it is very hard to overeat. I currently am using the Ka’Chava protein powder. It seems to have more natural ingredients; however it is higher in carbohydrate and calories (240 per serving), if that is a concern. There are plenty of great protein powders out there to choose from most of which being lower in calories. I also use this meal as a time to get my five-gram serving of creatine monohydrate as well.

Nutrients

• 376 Calories

• 28 grams of Protein

• 59 grams of Carbohydrates

• 9 grams of Fiber

• 8 grams of Fat