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

12 Genius Bike Accessories & Bonus Barbell Workout

For #FreedomFebruary, as you ponder how you’ll incorporate exercising daily, I want you to think outside of the box, get out of your comfort zone and for God’s sake…free yourself from the monotonous and mindless workout routines that just aren’t healthy mentally or physically.

You are worthy and capable of an enjoyable “workout”. Think back to your childhood. When you were a wee little one, you didn’t need to “workout” because you were already running around, playing outside, climbing trees, biking down the street to a friend’s house, playing tag or basketball…all activities you enjoyed doing. Why trade in fun activity for mindless exercise? For your next “workout”, why not play outside? Maybe you won’t be climbing trees exactly, but why not climb a mountain trail? Maybe you won’t be biking down the street to a friend’s house, but why not bike to a park to people watch or read a good book?

Speaking of biking, if you don’t have a bike, get one! Bicycling is very meditative and liberating. It’s low-impact and a highly effective form of exercise as it activates many of your body’s large muscle groups (hams, quads, glutes, core) while providing a wicked cardio burn too.

The average cyclist riding at a moderate pace will burn approximately 400-600 calories per hour

http://www.ilovebicycling.com

AND…if you absolutely can’t bicycle outdoors due to inclement weather, there is always the local spin class to attend (in which you can burn an average of 500-800 calories per hour class!).

The 12 Genius Must-Have Biking Accessories:

  1. This Mini Pocket Portable Bike Pump
  2. Night Gear: Running Shoe Lights w/LED Safety Lights
  3. Handlebar Bike Mount Phone Holder
  4. This Kryptonite Bike Lock
  5. Cycling Bike Lane Tail Light Projector
  6. Rydesafe Reflective Decal Stickers
  7. Multi Tool, Bike Repair Kit & Tire Levers
  8. This Bicycle Beverage Holder
  9. Mountable Water-Resistant Wireless Bluetooth Speaker
  10. This Gel Top Bike Seat Cushion Cover
  11. Bicycle Carryall Seat Strap-on Saddlebag
  12. And don’t forget your helmet, bike gloves, water bottle & sunglasses!

#DailyMotivation & Driveway Barbell Workout

I’m going to sign off this post with two favorite daily customs of mine. They just so happen to be the same habitual undertakings of some of the world’s most highly effective people.

#DailyMotivation & #DailyExercise

Everyday, I listen to at least one motivational speech that I find on Youtube or a podcast. And everyday I do some form of planned activity or exercise.

These wise words were inspired by some of the best motivational spiels out there:

You can either live your dreams…or live your fears…your time here is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life, don’t be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other people’s thinking, don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out the noise of your inner voice, and most important…have the courage to follow your heart & intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become, everything else is secondary…

You gotta stay focused on where you’re going. Some people would rather get even than get ahead. Stay focused on where you’re going when times get tough…remember this one question, “What are you going to do with your time here on earth, what drives you?” 

Greatness is a lot of little things done well, day after day… you will never be successful until you turn your pain into greatness, until you allow your pain to push you from where you are to where you want to be. Stop running from your pain, your pain is going to be a part of your prize, a part of your product, a part of your drive and your dreams.

You see…you have this opportunity of a lifetime, yet it means absolutely nothing if you don’t take advantage of it in this lifetime of opportunity. You’ve got to start saying YES to your life, YES to your dreams, YES to your unfolding future, YES to your potential, as opposed to saying no. Leave no dream and no opportunity left behind.

Align yourself with people that encourage you, people you can grow from, people that empower you… You see, we as humans have something that no other animal has, we have imagination, and what imagination means is that we can see it before it actually happens. Look into the future and imagine yourself as you want to be. You need to go into your future and see what you are going to be. You’ve got to take yourself beyond the pain, beyond the fear, your imagination needs to take you to where you want to be… and that will keep you from giving up. You need to keep seeing what you are going to be, don’t keep seeing what you are now, envision what you are going to be one day and embrace it with faith. Fail forward and get to a place in your life where there is no obstacle you can’t overcome.

Until you attempt to do something beyond that which you’ve already mastered, you will never grow…

— Les Brown

Driveway Barbell Workout

T-Grip Lite Bar

Invigorated by a radiant sun & warm weather and driven by a fierce desire to feel that PUMP that accompanies a barbell workout, the “Driveway Barbell Workout” was born. I wanted to workout outdoors…but I also had a strong craving for strength training. Luckily, I had my nifty portable T-Grip Lite Barbell Set on hand. So, I headed down to my driveway and knocked out the following 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.

How Over Training is Holding You Back

We’ve got six more days left of the 20 day challenge, and if you missed out on the first fourteen days…you can still start NOW! Click below to download the workout program, and #gohardorgohome 😉

20 Day Workout Challenge

I want to briefly talk about Overtraining with you. For some of you, just getting in your 3-4 workouts per week is an accomplishment in and of itself, and every time you accomplish that goal…pat yourself on the back!

However, it’s easy to become a gym addict…working out 6-7 days per week and each workout session is 60-90 minutes or even more. THIS is Overtraining. This is the technical definition of “Overtraining”:

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a physical, behavioral, and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual’s exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes.

It won’t get you lean, strong and healthy…and this is why:

  • Microtrauma to the muscles are created faster than the body can heal them.
  • Amino acids are used up faster than they are supplied in the diet. This is sometimes called “protein deficiency”.
  • The body becomes calorie-deficient and the rate of break down of muscle tissue increases.
  • Levels of cortisol (the “stress” hormone) are elevated for long periods of time.
  • The body spends more time in a catabolic state than an anabolic state (perhaps as a result of elevated cortisol levels).
  • Excessive strain to the nervous system during training
  • Persistent muscle soreness
  • Persistent fatigue
  • Elevated resting heart rate
  • Reduced heart rate variability
  • Increased susceptibility to infections
  • Increased incidence of injuries
  • Constipation or Diarrhea
  • Irritability
  • Depression
  • Mental breakdown

So please make sure to have rest and recovery days. Working out any longer than 60 minutes increases your cortisol levels above proper levels and can create an environment suitable for the overtraining syndrome described above. If you really like working out, you can workout 5-6 days per week but make sure your workout sessions are kept to a minimum of 20-40 minutes maximum. You can throw in a couple longer sessions but you need to make up for it by decreasing the length of some of your other workout sessions that week.

Now….Happy Monday and #HIIT it!

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!

 

Final Workouts for Kettlebell Challenge!

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

Friday, Day 18 of the challenge was a rest day. So #gohardorgohome on Day 19 and Day 20!

We are going to #TBT and do the kettlebell workouts from Day 1 and Day 2. I want you to see how much your strength and endurance has improved since we started the challenge. For Day 19, you will do the workout from Day #1….and for Day 20, you will do the workout from Day #2. You can find the workouts on the first post from the 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge here! I also posted the workouts below to make it easy on you.

Day 19, Saturday, Upper Body Kettlebell #TBT Workout:

 Upper Body Kettlebell Workout
Upper Body Kettlebell Workout

Day 20, Lower Body Kettlebell #TBT Workout:

 Lower Body Kettlebell Workout
Lower Body Kettlebell Workout

Post your progress and workout results for this 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge below! Next month we will be starting a whole new challenge, so make sure you follow us to be a part of next month’s challenge!

 

Kettlebell Body Sculpting Moves

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

Quick Tip: A fellow Brave Angel asked me the other day, “I workout, but I’m not quite sure how to sculpt my body, what can I do?” Here are five really important tips to help you sculpt your bod!

1. Diet is 80% of the equation. If you want to have a lean and sculpted body, you’ve got to watch what you eat! And I’m not talking about avoiding ice cream and sweets, I mean the macro-nutrient ratio of each meal (carbs-protein-fat). Carbs should be about 35-45% of each meal, protein should be about 30% of each meal, and fat should be anywhere between 10-20% of each meal. Carbs should be from unprocessed, unrefined, wheat free grains such as quinoa or brown rice, and you should keep these starchy carbs to a minimum. A majority of your diet/carbs should come from dark, leafy green veggies like Kale and Broccoli for example.

2. Protein and Weight Lifting is key when you are trying to sculpt and tone up! Don’t worry ladies, you won’t get bulky from lifting weights and eating protein. Females don’t have the hormones necessary to bulk up unless they are purposefully adding performance enhancing supplements to do so. Try to get in 1 gram of protein per goal body weight daily! So if I want to aim to be 130 pounds of sculpted and toned body weight, then I need to eat 130 grams of protein per day.

3. Eat moderate amounts of healthy fats. Your body needs fat to function, and will hold onto fat if you don’t eat enough healthy fat. Aim for about 15-20% of your daily caloric intake to be from healthy fats.

4. Cardio…How much and when? Only do between 25-45 minutes of cardio about 3x/week max. Too much cardio and you won’t be able to keep that lean, sculpted muscle you just earned by lifting weights! Also, too much cardio will make you want to eat like a beast and make it REALLY difficult to stick to your diet guidelines I just mentioned above. Fit your cardio in around your weight lifting days. Do cardio AFTER you lift weights or in a separate session of its own so you have enough stamina to get through your weight lifting sessions.

5. Weight Lifting. As for weight lifting, try to lift heavy weights 5 days/week. Alternate days. Meaning, focus on upper body muscle groups Day’s 1, 3 & 5 and lower body muscle groups on Day’s 2 & 4. This way you can really target those muscle groups and also give your muscles one day of rest.

Now, here are Day 16 & Day 17 of the 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge!

Day 16, Wednesday, Upper Body Sculpt:

 Kettlebell Upper Body Sculpt
Kettlebell Upper Body Sculpt

Day 17, Thursday, Lower Body Sculpt

 Kettlebell Lower Body Sculpt
Kettlebell Lower Body Sculpt

Two Simple Kettlebell Workouts!

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

Welcome to the final week of the 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge! We are going to lift and swing our kettlebells right through Thanksgiving and all those wonderful temptations that Thanksgiving brings! Day 13, Sunday, was a rest day. So really rock out these two workouts over the next two days. The workouts for Day 14 and Day 15 are below. Watch your form and enjoy every minute of these two strength endurance kettlebell workouts!

Day 14, Monday, Upper Body Endurance Workout:

 Kettlebell Upper Body Endurance
Kettlebell Upper Body Endurance

Day 15, Tuesday, Lower Body Endurance Workout:

 Kettlebell Lower Body Endurance
Kettlebell Lower Body Endurance

Let that Kettlebell Swing!

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

Below are the workouts for Day 11 and Day 12 of the 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge. You will be doing a full body workout both days. One workout will be geared towards giving you a cardio blast and one workout will be strength and endurance training. Here they are, enjoy!

Friday, Day 11, Kettlebell Cardio Burn:

 Kettlebell Cardio Burn
Kettlebell Cardio Burn

Saturday, Day 12, Kettlebell Full Body Burn:

 Kettlebell Full Body Burn
Kettlebell Full Body Burn

Full Body On Fire Workouts

Kettlebell 20 Day Challenge

Ok, so here it is, Day 9 and Day 10 of the 20 Day Challenge with Kettlebells. These are full body workouts that will get all of those muscles, your abs, legs and arms, fired up! These are great cardio workouts as well! Enjoy and post in comments section with your results!

Day 9, Wednesday, Full Body Kettlebell Workout

 Full Body Kettlebell Workout
Full Body Kettlebell Workout

Day 10, Kettlebell Cardio Workout

 Kettlebell Cardio Workout
Kettlebell Cardio Workout