Just One Final Week… to Live…

#FreedomFebruary is coming to a close, and for the last week of February I want you to live it like you only have this one last week to live.

One day, everyday and someday soon, I hope that you wake up and live as if you only had one week left to live. You’d pay more attention to people you came into contact with throughout the day as if it was the last communication you would have with that person, or maybe even any person. You’d be caring & kind to others…and at the same time you’d hold nothing back. You’d be free of any fear, inhibition, embarrassment, & procrastination. You wouldn’t even waste the time to contemplate if others were supposedly judging you, or that you weren’t thin enough, pretty enough, smart enough…you would have had enough of wasting your time trying to be enough for everyone else so instead you’d start spending your time being present, in the now.

You wouldn’t care what the weather forecast was and you wouldn’t let it rule your mood for the day, because it was one of seven days you had left remaining. If it was raining, you’d take a long walk in the rain, without an umbrella, without a rain jacket. You’d delight in the sense of rain drops rolling down your face and the dewy refreshing smell & steamy humidity that a rainy day brings. You’d wake up early just to see the sunrise with all its glory and you’d make sure you were there to capture the last rays of the sunset before it dropped below the horizon. You’d hold all your friends and family close to your heart and cherish the time spent with each and every one. Take these words and apply them to your week.

Apply this mentality to every decision you need to make, in this upcoming week and going forward, and a whole new life will be presented to you that you never knew was there.

You can apply it to any question, like, “What workout will I do today?” Well, ask yourself, what kind of activities would I plan during my final week of life?

Here are a few of mine:

  • Hike to the top of the closest mountain or trail to watch the sunset over the hills
  • Very early in the morning, I’d Stand-Up Paddleboard out past the waves to the calmer waters and watch the sun as it creeps up from below the ocean’s vista
  • I’d Fat Tire Bike the most beautiful, untouched beach until there was no one around except for nature, my dog, and my husband and I (and have an unforgettable picnic!)
  • I’d take my yoga practice to the sand dunes around the corner from my house, and start my yoga session so that it ends with the sunset

You see, once you apply this mentality, you will begin to build a life that is more connected to nature, connected to your loved ones, connected to any and all strangers, connected to the universe, connected to Divinity. A life in which you revel in everything that you have at your fingertips, everything standing right in front of you. Instead of facing life as if you don’t have enough of this or that, you begin to realize that you had everything all along, you just weren’t looking in the right place…

#DAILYMOTIVATION:

Some of us choose our path out of fear & disguise as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect, so we never dare to ask the universe for it….

Lesson learned, you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love….

When you grow up you tend to get told that the world is the way that it is, and that you should live your life inside the world and try not to get into too much trouble, try to get an education, a job, a family… But life can be a lot broader than that when you realize one simple thing, and that is that everything around us, that which we call life, was made up by people that are NO smarter than you….
Find out what it is that you want and go after it as if your life depends on it…WHY? BECAUSE IT DOES…. There is no guarantee in life, well…there’s only one guarantee… if you don’t take action there will be no outcome at all, the only outcome will be that you didn’t achieve anything, you didn’t achieve what you want… a lot of people think that failure is a step backward. It’s not a step backward! Failure is a step forward in the right direction. EVERY time you fail, you learn something from it, you gain something from it, that’s PROGRESS in every sense of the word….

— – The Greatness Within, Les Brown

#BEACHBUM BUNS WORKOUT

March 21 Day Fitness Challenge

Starting March 16th, I’m participating in a fitness challenge group and I wanted to share this opportunity to join our fitness challenge group with my readers!

The fitness challenge will be 21 days. One ~30 minute workout per day. We’re also going to follow a results-driven nutrition plan, because diet is 80% of the equation to achieving your weight loss goals!

You can do any 30 minute workout, or you can follow the 21 Day Fix Extreme workout program that I will be doing with my fitness challenge group (there is also a less “extreme” workout program that you can do with us, called 21 Day Fix). Since I live a Paleo & Bulletproof diet & lifestyle, I have tweaked the 21 Day Fix Nutrition plan for my specific diet preferences. I have put together a 7 Day Meal Planner for Week #1 just to give you an idea of what the Paleo or Bulletproof version would be like. Download the free PDF example >HERE<. And the free excel version (so that you can input your own calories and change the meals and macronutrient percentages) >HERE<.

If you aren’t eating a Paleo or Bulletproof diet, then you can just follow the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan as it is!

Here’s the game plan:

21 Workouts: Do either the 21 Day Fix Extreme or 21 Day Fix workout program {or choose any ~30 minute workout that really pushes your limits and gets you sweatin’}! You can find a plethora of at-home and/or gym workouts on my site.

Nutrition: EAT CLEAN. Abs are made in the kitchen, so this is a vital part of the 21 day challenge. No alcohol, it slows down your metabolism, adds calories to your daily caloric intake, and spikes your blood sugar levels which isn’t going to help you achieve your weight loss goals! Follow my meal planner or follow the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan that comes with the workout program. I would suggest the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan, especially if you’re just starting out with a wholefoods, clean eating approach to nutrition. It will get you on the right path!

That’s it, keepin’ it simple because I know you’re busy! This fitness challenge is the perfect jump start to what I like to call “Spring Training”. What’s “Spring Training”? Winter is coming to an end, it’s been REALLY cold and dismal and has put a lot of people into “hermit crab – couch potato” mode…so when the sun and warmth come back into the picture this Spring, we’re going to kick into high gear with getting fit this year…THIS is “Spring Training”. Not only will Spring Training get you in bikini body shape, but it will also boost your serotonin and endorphin levels to improve that mood and get you out of the winter blues. Let’s just say, Spring Traning is SUPER ENERGIZING!

So this 21 Day Fitness Challenge is the perfect prelude to what’s to come, Spring Training! It will kick your butt into gear and smack a smile back on that winter blues face of yours! Not to mention tighten and tone up that bod for bikini season woot woot!

Okay, enough chitta chatta, comment below if you want to join the 21 Day Fitness Challenge group!

If you need some Workout Gear, don’t forget to pop on over to Brave Angel Shop for some Athleisure: Women’s Motivational Workout Apparel for Everyday Use!


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Any recommendations made by Natalie Krul, Brave Angel, guest bloggers, or on our website http://www.BraveAngel.com about weight training, nutrition, supplements or lifestyle should be discussed between you and your doctor because working out involves risks. The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Never disregard professional medical advice, or delay in seeking it, because of something you have read on this website or from our products or services.  Never rely on information on our website, from our products or services, in place of seeking professional medical advice.

January Fitness Challenge

January New Year New You Fitness Challenge

Here is the lowdown for this 20 day challenge:

I have posted the workout breakdown below. Print this out and put on your refrigerator or somewhere you view daily so it’s there as a reminder of the workout you are supposed to do that day. Each day, from now until the 31st, you will do a workout. We will have “active rest” days, which means you won’t have a structured workout for that day, but you still need to do something active. If you aren’t sure what or how to do an exercise move on the prescribed workout sheet, just comment on this blog post and I’ll help you out. You can also look up these exercise moves on youtube.com!

The workouts are pretty straight forward. There are about 8-9 exercise moves per workout, and you will do those 8-9 exercise moves as a circuit (do one exercise move, then move onto the next exercise move until you have completed all moves in the circuit which equals one round of the circuit). The last cell of each workout tells you how many rounds to do. For example: “4 Rounds 45s/10s”. This means 4 Rounds of the 8-9 exercise moves and that you will do each move for 45 seconds of effort with only 10 seconds of rest between exercise moves. Use an interval timer or stop watch to stay on track! It is very important to have only the prescribed amount of rest between exercise moves because these are “High Intensity Interval Training” workouts.

If you can’t do one of the exercise moves (because you don’t have the right equipment or because of an injury), just substitute it out for an exercise that works similar muscle groups. For example, if you can’t do chin ups than do inverted rows or bent over bar bell rows or lateral pull downs or tricep dips.

 Click below link to download the PDF document for all the workouts!
Click below link to download the PDF document for all the workouts!

Click Here to Download the free 20 Day Workout Program!

Again, if you have any other questions, comment on this post and I’ll help you out! Also we can chat on the Brave Angel Facebook page or on Brave Angel’s Twitter page.

Rock on and comment below to let me know how the challenge is going for you!

 

Week #4 Workout Routines

October Barbell Challenge

Week #4 Workout Routines & Schedule

It’s week four! You should be feeling stronger day-by-day and feeling more cut and slim too! If not, you are either eating too much or too little. Make sure you are getting enough protein daily, watch your macro-nutrient intake ratio (protein vs. fat vs. carbohydrate ratio) and you are drinking plenty of pure filtered water daily too!

Below are the workout routines for week #4. You will notice some new exercises, like chin ups and push ups. I want you to feel how much progress you have made so far (with strength gains) when you do these new exercises.

For example, before you started this barbell challenge, about how many push ups could you do before failure? How hard was it for you to do a push up? This week when you try the push ups, pay attention and be mindful of how many more reps or better form you can hold while doing your push ups.

Also, if you don’t have a means to do chin ups at home (get a chin up bar like this one I use) or just substitute for inverted rows or you can do bent-over barbell rows instead of the chin ups. However, if you can afford it, invest in getting a doorway chin up bar because chin ups are a fantastic exercise move!!!

Week #4 Workout Schedule:

October 20th {Monday}: Upper Body Workout

October 21st {Tuesday}: Cardio Workout

October 22nd {Wednesday}: Lower Body Workout

October 23rd {Thursday}: Upper Body Workout

October 24th {Friday}: Cardio Workout

October 25th {Saturday}: Lower Body Workout

October 26th {Sunday}: Rest Day

Week #4 Workout Routines:

 Upper Body Workout
Upper Body Workout
 Lower Body Workout
Lower Body Workout
 Cardio Workout
Cardio Workout

Enjoy your week and have fun with each workout. Pat yourself on the back for making it to week #4!

Week #3 Workout Routines

October Barbell Challenge

Week 3: Workout Schedule & Routines

This week is going to really burn, in a good way. The workout routines for this week are just a little more challenging, so get motivated to push yourself through each challenge. Take it one day-at-a-time, remember to always focus on form (quality over quantity), and HAVE FUN WITH IT!

By now, if you have been consistently following this workout program & sticking to a healthy, clean eating diet, you should be seeing some great results. If you are following a workout program but not seeing the results you want, 99% of the time it is because you are either eating too much of the wrong stuff, or eating too little.

You have got to watch your calorie intake, especially your macro-nutrient levels. If you aren’t getting enough protein, you won’t see any progress. If you are eating too much fat, sugar, carbohydrates, processed food, etc….you won’t be able to lose that excess layer of fat.

If you need help with what to eat, check out the Seven Day Detox Diet (it’s free) and also the Clean Eating Plan.

Below is the workout schedule for this week, as well as the workout routines!

Week #3 Workout Schedule:

October 13th {Monday}: Upper Body Workout

October 14th {Tuesday}: Cardio Workout

October 15th {Wednesday}: Lower Body Workout

October 16th {Thursday}: Upper Body Workout

October 17th {Friday}: Cardio Workout

October 18th {Saturday}: Lower Body Workout

October 19th {Sunday}: Rest Day

Week #3 Workout Routines:

 Upper Body Workout
Upper Body Workout
 Lower Body Workout
Lower Body Workout
 Cardio Workout
Cardio Workout

Stay Strong, We are almost half-way through this month’s Barbell Challenge!

Yours Truly,

Brave Angel

Workout Routines for Week 2!

October Barbell Challenge

Week 2 Workouts & Schedule

Below is the schedule and the workouts for this week. If you are just now joining us in this challenge…. check out this post for the details on what, how, why, when.

Remember that you can sub out the barbell and use dumbbells or kettlebells instead. Have fun with it!

Week #2 Workout Schedule:

October 6th {Monday}: Lower Body Routine

October 7th {Tuesday}: Upper Body Routine

October 8th {Wednesday}: Cardio Workout

October 9th {Thursday}: Lower Body Routine

October 10th {Friday}: Cardio or Optional Rest Day

October 11th {Saturday}: Upper Body Routine

October 12th {Sunday}: Rest Day

Week #2 Workout Routines:

In order to build a foundation and measure our progress, we are going to stick with the Lower & Upper Body Routines we did last week. These two routines are below.

 Upper Body Workout - Week #2
Upper Body Workout – Week #2
 Lower Body Workout - Week #2
Lower Body Workout – Week #2
 Cardio Workout - Week #2
Cardio Workout – Week #2

You can run on the treadmill or outside if you’d like to do that instead of the above HIIT Cardio routine on the days designated as cardio workout days. If you choose to do your own cardio routine, try to do an interval run instead of steady-state cardio. For example, after warming up for five minutes, run at your max pace for 1 minute and then a moderate recovery pace for 2 minutes. You would repeat these two intervals for 10 rounds, or a total of 30 minutes. You can run outdoors, on the treadmill or use an elliptical, rower, stair stepper, spin bike, or arc trainer for your cardio workout if you’d like.

Good Luck #BarbellBabes!

Leave your workout results and questions in the comments section below!

October Barbell Challenge

Ready for a challenge this October? This challenge is perfect for those that have little-to-no equipment at home (because you can substitute dumbbells for the barbell!) and also for those who have gym memberships but never have a good workout routine when they finally make it to the gym. AND if you are getting bored with the same old workouts you’ve been doing for the past month, this challenge is a GREAT way to spice it up in the gym!

We’re going to keep it REALLY simple and easy to do this challenge because I know you all don’t have a lot of extra time on your plates.

October’s Dumbbell/Barbell Strong & Fit Challenge:

Here are your guidelines:

  1. Every Sunday I will post your Upper Body & Lower Body Workout Routine for the week
  2. Every Sunday, I will also post the workout schedule for that upcoming week
  3. Every week YOU will do the Upper Body & Lower Body workouts, plus 1-2 cardio workout sessions
  4. If you’re working out at home you will need:
    1. an exercise mat
    2. a set of 5, 10, 15, and 20 lb dumbbells or a barbell with enough weight to hit 40 lbs.
    3. you can also use Kettlebells if you wish
    4. jump rope
    5. step bench or a bench (for doing bench presses)
    6. stop watch or use the stop watch app on your phone
  5. If you’re working out at the gym:
    1. Make sure you know where the above mentioned fitness equipment is!

That’s it. Just 3 steps to getting started. Make sure you follow this blog so that you get the weekly Sunday emails (this week’s email will be sent out tomorrow so that you can get started on October 1st). Print out each week’s post and pin that print out up on your refrigerator so that you have your week’s workout schedule and routines in an easily visible spot and as a daily reminder.

P.S. – If you need a little fitspiration, check out our motivational workout clothes over at our shop, the Brave Angel Shop. In Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) – Brave Angel will be donating $1 of every sale in the month of October 2014 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation!

Yours Truly,

Brave Angel

Day 29 WOD – #power

30 Day Fat Fryer Challenge

HIIT this workout like it’s your job! It’s Day 29, so give this at-home exercise routine all you’ve got. Remember, these workouts take only as little as 12 minutes of your day. They are High Intensity Interval Training routines, that help boost metabolism, burn fat and get you on track to achieving your weight loss goals (or strengthening & toning goals….getting lean & slim….feeling strong & powerful goals, basically, these workouts are designed to help you get physically fit!).

You’ve got the option of HIIT’ing this workout for 12 minutes, or up to 20 minutes by either doing 3 rounds (12 minutes), 4 rounds (16 minutes), or 5 full rounds (20 minutes) of the 4 exercise moves targeting your core and upper body.

Then, of course, give the bonus round a shot!

Day 28 WOD – #cardio

30 Day Fat Fryer Challenge

It’s cardio time! This workout is designed to get your heart rate pumping while also hitting the core muscles at the end for a little bonus!

Go ALL OUT during the cardio section, and take note that it says you can choose to do 3-5 rounds of the circuit. That means this first section (cardio section) can be a 12 minute – 20 minute workout depending upon the number of rounds you choose to do!

We are on Day 28, so try and push yourself to do just one extra round at least! Either way, I’m proud of you for making the commitment to workout today. So enjoy this workout and pat yourself on the back when you are done!!!!