I love seeing people reach personal goals.  I love it so much that I often set many goals for my clients (in my own head without telling them) and get so excited when I see them reached.  I must look ridiculous when I am standing in the corner fist pumping to myself with the biggest smile because someone has achieved the goal I set for them.   Haha.

My "runners group" who train Monday's and Friday's is a group I love to set goals for.   But last weekend was all about goals they set for themselves.  Ivadelle, who just started running again after some time away due to injury, ran the Calgary Marathon 10 km run with a goal of 1.03 and she did it.  Finishing the run at 1.02.55. 
Sheila, who is currently training for a Full Marathon in a couple weeks, ran the Calgary Half Marathon as a training run and ran a personal best!!
Ghislaine ran her first ever full marathon!! I cannot even imagine what this must feel like but what a feat to accomplish.

These ladies should be very proud of what they have achieved already this year.  I cannot wait to see what they do next and I look forward to helping them along the way.

Courage and resolve; strength of character - Grit.  

Every time you think about quitting, about sleeping through your alarm, but don't, you are building character.  There are going to be day's or events in your life you don't feel like getting up: Christmas, vacation, weekends.  You have a choice.  You can use an excuse "It's the holiday's";  "I'm too tired";  "I don't have time" ; "no one else is getting up right now";  Or you can be that 5% of the population who are owning their mornings to elevate their life.  Who do you want to be?

 
"We become strong, brave and moral whilst standing resolutely in the storms of adversity, difficulty and doubt.  It is in the moment that you face your deepest weakness that you receive the chance to forge your greatest strengths.  Real power, then, comes not from a life of ease but one of intense effort, devoted discipline and demanding action.
To continue at a time when you ache to stop. To advance when you long to quit.  To persist in the instant when you feel like giving up"  this is Grit.  


The 5 am Club really is about becoming YOUR BEST SELF.    It is not about becoming the best in one day but rather working everyday to be just a little bit better.  Daily improvements and wins that stack up over time to become excellence.   So no matter what your goals are, give yourself the chance to reach them but starting each morning focusing just on you.  Before the world wakes up, before kids, significant others, animals, work; take an hour to focus on you.

It's time to leave all the excuses behind.  Time to reach your goals.  

I was hoping to continue my 5am club posts every week but with getting the new facility ready I fell behind, sorry.   Back at it this week.

In the 5am Club, Robin Sharma, breaks the first hour of the day into the 20/20/20 formula:  Move - Reflect- Grow.  The first part of the formula is MOVE.  20 minutes of Intense Exercise.   I will get into some of the benefits of why you should move first thing in the morning but I want to provide my answer to the question I am sure some of you will ask "what if I workout for longer then 20 minutes?"   You can definitely do this.   You will come  up with a morning routine that works for you but here is my typical morning:

4am - wake up - from 4:05am-4:20am I write in my journal -REFLECT
4:30am - drive to the gym.  As I am driving I listen to a podcast or audio book - GROW
4:45am - Start my workout (I often listen to a podcast or audiobook as I workout as well) - MOVE
5:30am - Meditate via the Calm app (10 minutes)
6:00am - Start work

Some people may have a workout scheduled later in the day, totally fine.  You can still get up and get your sweat on for 20 minutes at home and go to your regular workout you have planned later in the day.   You will not die from 20 extra minutes of exercise.  

 Here are some of the benefits of exercising in the morning.  

Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor - when you sweat from a hard workout your brain releases BDNF which charges your brain.   BDNF has been shown to repair brain cells damaged from stress and helps speed up neural connection along with promoting Neurogenesis, the growth of new brain cells.  Stimulate that brain to set yourself up for the most productive day. 

Exercise releases Neurotransmitters - Increased levels of Dopamine which is the neurotransmitter of drive, and Seratonin, the chemical that regulates happiness.    Norepinephrine levels will rise, elevating your attention,  and regulation of your amyygdala will help calm your response to daily stimuli, stress, hard work projects or children. 

Elevates your Metabolism  - fueling your fat burning engine of the body.  Not only will it stimulate your metabolism while working but for hours post exercise.   Muscle is the most metabolically active tissue in the body

Take home point - GET UP AND MOVE!

This past weekend two of my clients, Julie and Barb, both ran Marathon's they have been training so hard for.   The should both be so proud of reaching their goals and all the work they have put in.

Time is valuable. Everyone is busy and everyone prioritizes differently but I cannot stress enough how important regular exercise and personal growth are everyday. I hear it all the time " I just don't have time to workout" or "I'm just not a morning person" . But how much time do you waste browsing the internet on your phone, looking at Instagram, Facebook or snap chat? Watching mindless TV? These things are not going to make you world class.  What the 5 am club reminded me is that if I want to be the best in my field, my life as a wife and mother, then I need to put in the work everyday, and for me this meant making a few changes to my morning routine. "Nothing works for those who don't do the work". Here are a few rules from the 5am Club by Robin Sharma, with my added touch!!


Rule 1:
Do you need to check social media 20x a day?? Do you really need to unwind at the end of the day by watching mindless TV?? No, these are just habits you have created.  Or a crazy idea... instead of feeling the need to always be doing something or looking at your phone, just sit and let your mind wonder.  This is often when I think of new exercises! Instead do something to improve what the 5 am Club refers to as the four interior empires:  Mindset - read or listen to something that is going to make your smarter, advance your career; Heartset - forgiveness, allowing yourself to move on from hardships of the past in order to improve your future;  Soulset - this is your courage, conviction and compassion within. Meditate or take some time in the morning to visualize how you want to tackle the day;  Healthset - in order to fulfill your life goals you need to be alive. So longevity is the key. You only have one body in this world so take care of it.

Rule 2:
"Excuses breed no genius.  Just because you haven't installed the early-rising habit before doesn't mean you can't do it now.  Small daily improvements, when done consistently over time, lead to stunning results."   It takes 66 day's to make something a habit.  Start today.  Pick one thing you want to work on and do it everyday.  No more excuses.  With all your free time away from social media and TV you now have time for that workout!

Rule 3:
"All change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end."   -Cchange is tough. Becoming a part of the 5am club may mean changing your morning and evening routine. Sleep is still very important so no more late nights. Even after 66 day's you will have hard days but I promise you will feel amazing when it is 9am and you have already worked out, ate two meals, worked on your mindset, and have three hours of work under your belt.  

Rule 4:
"To have the results the top 5% of producers have, you must start doing what 95% of people are unwilling to do." - This rule can be applied to every goal you have.  If you are trying to lose weight it means saying no to dessert when everyone else if having it. Leaving a party early to ensure you can still get up on time for your workout.  If your goal is to become the best in your field it means spending every extra minute you have learning and advancing your skills.  "You will not become world class if you do not take the time to make yourself world class.

Rule 5:
Remember it takes 66 day's to create a habit. Use the 5 second rule by Mel Robbins (another great book). 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and Go.  Do not think about how tired you are, just get up and go before your mind convinces you to stay in bed.

I have been an early riser for most of my life due to work, kids and life, but my husband for many years was on the opposite schedule.  Christmas of 2018 I found the book "The 5am Club" by Robin Sharma.  I bought this without reading it and gave it to my husband as a gift.  I had no idea what it was about but assumed it would teach him the benefits of waking up at 5am.  His response was "I do not want to be part of the 5am club".  But he read the book and now I am happy to report he is no longer a night owl.  He consistently gets up at 5am everyday, yes even when we were in Hawaii for two weeks he was up at 5am!

I leave the house by 4:30 am so had no real idea what he was doing at 5am, I assumed he was just working.  I started asking more questions about what the book taught him and what he did at 5am and realized in one hour he would workout, listen to an audio book or podcast, meditate, and write in his journal.  I soon realized that I needed to read this book.  I have no problem getting up and getting my workouts in but now I felt like I was missing out on what more I could be doing to really elevate my life.    

I would like to share some of the things I have learnt over the next couple of weeks but I also recommend that you read it.  It is available on audible as well.

For now I leave you with this:

"Take excellent care of the front end of your day, and the rest of your day will pretty much take care of itself.  Own your mornings. Elevate your life."

"To find your best self you must lose your weak self.  And that only happens through relentless improvement, continuous reflection and ongoing self - excavation.  If you don't keep rising daily you'll get stuck in your life, for the rest of your life".

So whether you are trying to find time in your day to workout,  meal prep,  have some alone time before the kids wake up,  whatever it is you are striving for I truly believe that you need that hour before the sun comes up.  Before the rest of the world gets up.  

Last spring I was asked to speak at a running room clinic on the importance of strength training for runners.  I hummed and hawed about doing the presentation as I have done them before and have had little success at getting across to runners on how important it is not only for improving race times but avoiding injuries and longevity in the sport. 

My Aunt was the one running the group so naturally I said yes.  I spent a lot of time thinking about what I was going to say and how I was going to get across to the runners to try and get them in the gym.  I tried something a little different then what I have done in the past and it worked!!

After the presentation I had over 10 people come in and start training with me.  It is now seven months later and there are still nine of these individuals training and let me tell you I have seen some amazing improvements in coordination, strength and balance.  Our first session as a group took us 50 minutes to get through the warm up.  

We still have a ways to go but I am so proud of these athletes who took the chance to try something new and have been so dedicated over the past seven months.   The improvements I see each session get me so excited.  I look forward to helping each of them achieve their goals in 2019.

This weekend many of them will be running a marathon they have been training extremely hard for.  I wish you the best of luck this weekend  Kerri, Sheila, Barb, Jan, & Julie.   Run hard and have fun! 

I truly love seeing progress and success with all my clients.  Each one has different goals and challenges but nothing is more satisfying then watching someone work their ass off to achieve multiple goals.

One client who lately has continued to provide this joy for me is Laurie.  She has been training with me consistently since October 2016.  She has always been an active person: running, hiking, biking, but was the Mom who put everyone else's needs ahead of her own.   Now if you know Laurie you know she is still one of the most thoughtful and giving individuals around, but after a couple rough years she finally said enough and took charge of her health and fitness.  

Laurie began strength training twice a week at 6am in a small group,  adding a third day focusing on conditioning and core within the first year.  Laurie is not a competitive person,  but without really knowing it she has inspired and pushed everyone in the groups to work harder.  Trying to keep up with Laurie is a difficult thing to do these days.

May of 2017 Laurie began Precision's Nutrition Procoach program with me.  It was an amazing experience for me to read and see all the changes that were happening for her not only with her fitness but with her hormones, her stress and her sleep.  She lost 19 inches and 17 pounds in one year and probably gained over 5 pounds of muscle.  

Today her strength, confidence and physique are an inspiration to me.  
So thank you Laurie for working your ass off and showing everyone what hard work and dedication can do.

This morning as I watched this group of athletes push through a doozy of a workout I was filled with so much joy and gratitude.  I'm so honoured to be able to coach these athletes each week and see each one of them reach goals, conquer things they couldn't do before, and push through workouts they want to quit.  

So nice work gang and thank you for making my job so rewarding.

No better way to start the week then getting a good sweat on!! These guys did that this morning.