Preventing Heart Disease

Like most people, I have parents and grandparents who have problems with high blood pressure, have had strokes and diabetes. I am 29, and will be 30 this year. I have helped my grandparents recover from strokes, and other problems that they have had, and can see what a devastating thing a stroke can be. So it makes me wonder, could they have done more and prevented or greatly slowed these problems down? I do not know exactly how they have lived their lives, but I have decided to do an experiment with my own life. I am going to listen to all that the doctors say about taking care of myself, and preventing those diseases from happening. This experiment will take my whole life to see the results of, but seeing that I have a family history riddled with these problems, I figure that it can only help.

So what exactly am I doing that is going to help prevent these problems?

1.       I exercise 5-6 days a week, or as often as I can.

2.       I cook healthy meals for my family with veggies, fruit and whole grains.

3.       I limit the amount of salt I put on the foods, and instead use herbs and other seasonings to help enhance the food taste.

4.       I take vitamins regularly.

5.       I drink mostly just water, and no alcohol, coffee or pop.

6.       I do my best to limit my sugar intake, with an occasional treat or desert.

7.       I try to stay active aside from my daily exercise, by going hiking, walking, gardening and yard care, and cleaning my home quickly so I raise my heart rate.

I live a regular life, and just do the best I can, but always have in the back of my mind my goal of living a happy healthy life. Not eating hamburger and fries every week or pizza and other greasy and salty foods, is not making my quality of life go down, but I believe it is enhancing my life. I am living in the moment and for the future.

I will let you know how I am doing in 70 years when I turn 100. You better be around and be happy and healthy with me. Let’s make that goal together. Here’s to a healthy life.

Muscle Soreness

If you have ever started a new workout program, or worked out extra hard, then you will know that being sore after a workout is not fun. But did you know that there are 3 different types of muscle soreness, and each one requires different remedy to help ease it?

1.       Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

2.       Typical Muscle Soreness (TMS)

3.       Injury caused muscle soreness

So what is DOMS? It usually appears 24-72 hours after a very strenuous workout and is caused because of severe muscle break down. It does not mean that the muscle was damaged, but just broken down to build up to a better muscle for next time. It is the way the muscles adapt to perform at their peak. If you are looking to avoid this, then when starting a workout program, do not overdo it the first week or two, but rather build up to working harder and then you can push by the third week.  It also helps to take vitamin C to help the muscles rebuild themselves. I drink the results and recovery formula which has all the things your muscles need to recover quickly. If you do get sore this way, it is good to work out again and get blood flow to that area to help it recover, but just reduce your workout intensity so that your body can recover.

TMS is the lighter soreness that appears more quickly than DOMS. It is caused by lactic acid in your muscles and the recovery from it is similar, but when you work out, just go for it, and you will not even notice the soreness half way through the workout. Blood flow to the muscles and vitamin c is the best you can do for those sore muscles.

When you receive an injury, it is evident right away. Stop what you are doing, and Ice the area. Compress and try not to move it. It is a good idea to go see a doctor for an injury, because you do not want to make it worse and last even longer. Rest, ice and compress.

Hope this helps you in your quest to become healthier! Don’t be afraid of getting a little sore, because that is a sign that your body is growing and adapting and your muscles are becoming more efficient. Let’s Bring It!

Beachbody Challenge

I am starting a Beachbody challenge group starting on February 20th. We will all do the workout of your choice, drink Shakeology everyday and eat a healthy diet, log the workouts in WOWY super gym, and we will also have an exclusive group on facebook so that we can post comments to help keep each other motivated and accountable. I am so excited for this! These are the most important things when starting a workout program, and they all get covered here in this challenge. It is free to be a part of the group, so just send me a message if you want to be a part of this group, and we will blow this apart!
Click here if you want to join my group.

My Transformation Story

Here’s my story about how I’ve reached my fitness goals. Read below and learn how you can get great results too.

Like most people, I was an active kid who didn’t worry about nutrition and exercise.That changed as I grew into adulthood and started having kids. I realized I needed to eat better and exercise after I gained about 15 lbs. I joined a gym and got a personal trainer. I got decent results, but it required lots of time and money, and I didn’t like leaving my kids in the day care there.

One night, my husband and I came across an infomercial for P90X. We watched skeptically for a while, but it looked like the real thing. I turned to my husband and said, “We should get that program.” He disagreed, so I said, “What,you think that it’d be too hard for you?” My question pushed a button, and he got it for me that week.  I committed to the program and went from a slightly high 24% body fat to a healthy range of 17% in the 90 days. But I didn’t stop there. I wanted to keep pushing, so I got Insanity and did that 60 day program. I went from 17% body fat to an athletic range of 12%. I felt so good after both of those programs. I could run up and down the stairs all day and not get out of breath. I could play with my kids and not get tired.

Now, after having my 3rd baby, I still look great and am doing P90X2. I love it! I found these programs create results, and they are the best programs available. I knew becoming a Beachbody Coach and selling the programs would be a great opportunity because I love helping others get the results I got. The best part is I get paid doing what I love.