Happy New Year Goals!!

Happy New Year everyone!! I seemed to have dropped off the face of the planet there for a bit...my husband and I went to Australia to celebrate our 5 year anniversary!  And just for the heck of it.  But I am back and ready to go for the new year!  Which brings me to the fitness end of new years...did you make a resolution yet?  And did it have something to do with your health?  It seems like that is what most New Year's resolutions are all about.  Getting thinner, losing weight, exercising more, dieting.  But by the end of January, most people have quit.  Something like becoming  a healthy person really needs to be an entire lifestyle change, not just a short term goal.  So make your resolution, but I suggest making it be "I resolve to live a healthier lifestyle, including all aspects of doing so."  Then have someone hold you accountable for your actions.  Someone that will encourage you to NOT quit by February.  This is a perfect time to start seeing what you can achieve. 

 

What is your goal for this year?

A Lesson for Us All...

 

This one is especially for the ladies... oh my darlings!!  I have heard so so so so many people overly concerning themselves with their scale lately!  Please look at it and really take a moment to think about it.  I want to encourage you all to focus on being HEALTHY and FIT!  If you are these two things, your weight will be what it is. 

This picture really does speak a thousand words...and is a good lesson for everyone about the number on the scale.  Most people associate a lower weight with a healthier body and a higher weight with being fat.  This girl is an excellent example.  Ahe looks stronger and skinnier after she gained 14 pounds!  Now in the process of doing that, she lost several pounds of body fat and replaced them (and added some more) with lean muscle.  Althouh its hard for many people (including myself) to accept, the scale lies!  If you want to really measure your health, you need to get your body fat tested, take before and after pictures, and chart your measurements (upper arms, chest, waist, hips, thighs). 

 

A Movie Suggestion... Chasing Mavericks



This past week, my husband and I went to see the movie Chasing Mavericks.  It is the story of a young boy convincing a father-figure surfer to train him to surf the Mavericks, one of the largest surf breaks in the world.  The 40 foot plus waves that roll in at this California surf break are technical and extremely dangerous to even the most talented surfers.  The movie is based on the true story of Jay Moriarity. 

 

This movie was one of the most inspiring I have seen, and not just because I love surfing.  It shows the journey one takes when training for an event.  It shows how truly grueling it can be, but also how very rewarding it is in the end.  The lessons learned can apply to many areas of life, but to anyone in training for an athletic event or anyone needing some inspiration to take the risk of training, it is truly inspirational.  Last time I posted, I shared that I am training for the XTERRA, an extreme of road triathalon.  I found many applications throughout the movie to this current adventure that I am in.

 

I highly recommend each of you take the time to watch this movie.  Training for any challenge is risky to the body, but even moreso to the mind.  You give youself the chance to fail.  But if you never take the risk, you never feel the thrill of success and accomplishment.  Watch this movie and you will see how beautiful taking the risk of training can be.

 

The Next Challenge...

With one week of training under my belt, I can officially say that I am training for the XTERRA race here in March.  XTERRA is an extreme triathalon with a 1500m open water swim, 22 mile bike through the mountains (on trails, not so much the road) and a 5 mile jungle run.  I got my very own bike and have upped my training in every aspect.  I can't remember the last time I was so sore and exhausted, but I am LOVING having something to train for again.  Why did I choose this race?  Because it terrifies me.  I have never challenged my body to this extreme before.  And I love beating my own fears.

Exhausted and covered in dirt after a mountain training excursion!
 

So what scares you physically?  And how are you going to challenge and beat it?  And what are you training for next? Let me know!

Fitness Adventures Series! *Extreme Hiking*

Here on Guam, there are many opportunites to have adventures that can double as working out.  For example, this hike we went on a little bit ago.  It took about 6 hours and involved hiking down to a waterfall, up a river, and back out of the ravine.  It was wonderfully exhausting and so much fun! 

After a couple hours of hiking to the valley, we climbed down the side of the valley using ropes.  There were places that I had to pull myself out of that were up to my chest!

 

 The view at the bottom was worth the climb.  We made it to Lower Sigua Falls!  My husband had the guts to jump in from a third of the way up.  I chickened out though.  I stuck with just swimming around.

Then we climbed around to the top of the waterfall where we found this baby waterfall and little pool.  We climbed down the little waterfall, explored a bit, then started thelast leg of our journey- up the river.  And when I say up the river, I'm not kidding.  We walked for over 2 hours THROUGH the river.  It was very, ah, wet.

By the end of hiking up the river, I was pretty tired and soaked.  I was covered in dirt, sweat, mud, and probably some spiderwebs.  I was so glad I had my tall pink socks and gloves on to help me climb up over rocks and mudslides and to protect me a little.  But I was most thankful for my Camelback.  I woud suggest anyone that ever is doing a strenuous activity where they aren't sure where they can get water to invest in one.  Mine is nice and small and I can even run with it, but it keeps me well hydrated.

 

We finally made it to Upper Sigua Falls!  This was one tall waterfall and quite the beautiful site to see.  Once we got to the top of this set of falls, we looked over the terrain that we climbed over all day. Talk about feeling accomplished! 

Hiking is a fantastic way to exercise in a fun, different, and challenging way.  A hike does not have to be nearly as intense as this particular one was.  The best part about hiking is it can be done just about anywhere! Whether you are going on vacation or want to explore your own area, there is always some place to hike.  Check out your local state parks for an easy way to find some trails.  For my followers in Wisconsin, I recommend Rails to Trails (www.railstotrails.org) or the Ice Age Trail (www.iceagetrail.org/).  If you have a place you like to hike, feel free to share it below!

A Serious Issue: The Dangers of an Uhealthy Relationship with Food

Often on this blog, I focus on losing weight and how important it is to eat healthy so people can maintain a healthy weight.  Recently though, I was reminded just how big o a problm the opposite can be.  Someone very close to me (and I am writing this with their permission) told me that she has been struggling with eating enough.  This particular person used to be a little heavier but started running and became very healthy.  However, she is now struggling with the balance of how much to eat to hold a steady weight.  She is afraid of "getting fat" again.  This can be just as serious of a problem as overeating.  Since she is very athletic, she has to reevaluate her understanding of food and learn to eat more so she can support her lifestyle.  Thankfully, this person understands that something has to change and is being proactive about getting support for this issue before it gets too out of hand.  The person that is sturggling encouraged me to write about this so others struggling know they aren't the only one.

This situation makes me want to encourage anyone who is struggling with their relationship with food, whether it be eating too much or too little, to speak to a nutrtionalist or doctor about it.    Both are serious issues and can lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, anorixia athletica, or compulsive overeating.  If you or someone you know are struggling with any sort of eating problem, know that you are not alone.  Please treat it like you would any other sort of disease and tell someone.  There is no shame in getting help for it, just as you would if you had enfluenza.  Having a healthy relationship with food is a crucial element of being truly healthy.

Olympic Inspirations

Like most of the world, I have been watching the Olympics over the past weeks. Especially the running, swimming, and gymnastics. The power and dedication of the athletes is inspirational. There is something that I noticed about the athletes in many of the different sports. They are amazing examples of the difference between strong and skinny. These people are the epitome of health and fitness, but they are not walking toothpicks, like so many think healthy people are. 

Lolo Jones Source: sportsrumble.com

Missy Franklin Source: nbcolympics.com

Aly Raisman Source: Zimbio.com

Looking at these different women, they have muscles. They don't have much fat, but they don't have tiny legs either. Because, as I said before, they have muscles. When imagining what your healthy and fit body should be, I urge you to look to examples like these and other athletes instead of models or actresses. They work out to be strong, fit, and their best. They eat to fuel their bodies (not only what is needed to survive).

Strong really is the new skinny.





Fitness Adventures! *New Series* Running in Guam

Well, we have made it to our new duty station: Guam!  It is blazing hot and humid here.  But I have decided to start a new series here on this blog!  Its going to be called Fitness Adventures.  It is basically going to involve all sorts of creative ways we find to work out, physically demanding touristy things, and tasty new adventuring recipes.  And whatever else I end up doing that falls into this category.  We will have to see! 

Today I had my first Fitness Adventure.  It was running.  You may think, "Becky, you run all the time. That is not an adventure."  Oh but it is.  First, because I have never sweated so much in my life.  It was SO HUMID at 8 in the morning.  I only ran for half an hour and I was drenched.  But the real adventure came when I was DIVE BOMBED by birds!  I heard that there were some very terretorial birds, but still, nothing can really prepare you for screaching, dive bombing birds.  Long story short:  It looks like running is going to be an adventure!

Motivation Monday! May 28th, 2012

Today's motivation monday! Do you know how much your body is capable of?