I Voted... in workout gear!

It's primary voting day in Maryland and Dane and I both had time this morning to go in and get it done.  But let's start from the beginning of the morning.  After spending a wonderful evening with my in-laws (I have great in-laws, who I really enjoying hanging out with! I'm lucky I know) I went to bed and slept like a rock.  I woke up this morning to my furbabies wanting to be fed.  So, I got up and fed my babies and made coffee and did the dishes and posted on facebook for my current Challenge Group.  Then it's time to actually get moving.  I'm on week 7 of the 22 Minute Hard Corps program by Beachbody.  Today it was Cardio 1 and Core 2.  I busted through them (man there are a lot of burpees in cardio 1).  As I was stretching at the end Dane said he had time to go vote. I thought well let's do it so we don't have to tonight when I get home for work.  So I threw on my Shakeology shirt and out the door we went.

We got to our voting station and checked in and as I was being led to my voting booth the lady leading me starts talking about T25, one of the Beachbody workout programs.  She mentions she has a tough time following through on doing the program and I said well you need support and I run challenge groups that offer support and accountability.  And she was very interested so I told her after I was done voting I would give her my email address and she could contact me and we would go from there.  So, thank you Shakeology top for opening up the conversation.

If you need support, accountability, friends doing the same thing you are doing, you should really consider joining one of my challenge groups.  They run for 21 days and really help keep people on track with both their exercise and diet.  And it great getting to connect with others with similar goals.  Please fill out the form below if you are interested in learning more.

Fill out my online form.

Online contact and registration forms from Wufoo.

Groom for the day.

Judy Whyte and Solo at their first show together.

Someday's it is just a lot of fun to be the person behind the scenes.  Yesterday my friend and dressage trainer Judy had her first show with her boy Solo.  Judy purchased Solo a little over a year ago as a very immature 4 year old.  Over the last year they have formed a beautiful relationship and I really think that Judy has found her partner.  It was time to get him out to a schooling show and see how he does in the show environment.  

So, my day started off with riding my girl Bella,  She was just a superstar.  I concentrated on bringing her shoulders up and letting her frame come up through the use of her shoulders not just pulling her neck frame higher.  It was a fantastic ride and I went through the 3rd level movements and thought to myself I could show this today!  But the day was not about Bella the day was about lil' Solo.  

After my ride on Bella I pulled Solo out and started getting him ready.  I love this part of my life.  I think I was meant to be a groom.  Grooming a horse is so relaxing to me and I think it is a great time to get to know the horse to form a relationship with them.  I also love a braided main.  Something so clean and smart about it. So, of course I had to braid Solo for his first outing.  He was such a good boy stood there and let me fiddle about and didn't move around at all. 

Then we were off to the show.  Solo was a bit high and excited when we get there but after showing him around the grounds he settled down.  We tacked him up and the rest of the show was perfect (at least from my perspective).  From what I could see Judy had a good warm up, a few 5 year old bobbles but by the end Solo was nice and relaxed and ready to do his test.  And what a lovely test they did it was relaxed and beautiful.  It's the kind of test that you wish you were riding.  Judy and Solo ended up receiving a 77% at Training Level test 2 and won the class.  I couldn't be prouder or more excited for them.  I think I might be a groom at one of the recognized shows next time!

Bad shoes!

Yesterday I got a little over ambitious with a new pair of flats that I knew needed to break in before wearing them for a long day at work.  I saw these flats because my client had them on and they are just adorable.  I asked her if they were comfy and she said that after the initial break in they are very comfortable but be prepared to break them in first.  So I bought them and wore them for a few hours twice at work and thought that should do it they are broke in now.  NOPE not at all.  I wore them yesterday and had to walk about 3 1/2 blocks from where I parked my car and by the end of the walk I wanted to scream.  I had several blisters on my feet.  My poor toes felt like they were bleeding.  I got into work and tried to put some band-aids on my poor feet but it felt awful.  That's when one of my co-workers said I should just wear the slippers that we use for clients.  Yes!  I slide those puppies on and proceeded to wear them the rest of the day much to my embarrassment but sometimes being a little embarrassed is better then not being able to walk at all or think straight because of the pain you are in.  

my not so pretty toes

So, that brings us to today.  Even though my feet are blistered and sore I was not going to use that as an excuse to not workout.  What did I do?  I worked out barefoot today.  Today was resistance 2 and there really isn't a lot of jumping so this was a good day to go barefoot.  And I think it can be good to go without shoes because it will help you build up all the muscles in your feet that support you.  No Excuses! You will do it if you put your mind to it.  And I put my mind to it today!

Only 2 1/2 Weeks Left... WHAT?

I only have 2 1/2 weeks left of what I would consider my favorite program from Beachbody.  22 Minute Hard Corp is my kind of program- fast paced, active, short duration but fat blast burning.  Running a very close 2nd is 21 Day Fix and who knows maybe when I do that program next time it'll be my favorite again!  Here's a little run down of how I physically and mentally feel on week 6.

Physically I still feel like this program challenges me.  I don't get as sore after doing the workout as I did on week 1 or even week 2 so I know that my body is somewhat getting use to it.  Once I start the workout I really try to push myself because it is such a short workout and when I finish I always am glad that I did.  The core workout that is combined with the cardio day is hard.  I think I will always struggle with Core 2 because of the amount of reps that we do but I try my best and take breaks as needed.  I would say what's hardest for my physically is that there isn't that much stretching and you need to do that on your own.  I haven't been the best at doing it and have noticed that I am getting tighter.  So having said that I will try to stretch more these last 2 1/2 weeks.

Mentally, I would say that because of the shorter workouts I can pretty much tell myself to get up and get them done.  Sometimes I wish there were more variety but that is all in my head because once I push play I enjoy each workout and try my hardest.  What has also been hard mentally is I haven't seen a big difference on the scale but that's why it is so important to take measurements.  They don't lie.  So at the 4 week mark when I retook measurements and had lost over 4 inches total that really put things into perspective for me.  I also had to take a step back from food mentally.  I had to give myself some really strict rules to follow so that I don't cheat.  I did this a little over a week ago and have done really well.  So no sugar for me!!

So, in conclusion.  I really really like this program.  It's physically demanding but short and mentally not super tough for me.  I'm seeing results overall and I'm happy.  I've only missed 4 workouts total and some of those have been on days that I've already ridden Bella and had personal training so I didn't feel the need to workout again.  

If you are looking for a great workout please ask me about 22 Minute Hard Corps!  

Shopping at 12.... midnight!

I love buying new workout gear.  I adore fun workout prints and colors.  But it can be soooo expensive.  I know the quality is what is important but wow $80-$100 for a pair of workout pants. NO WAY!  So that leads us to this outfit.  I was scrolling through my Instagram feed at night. (yes I know that is bad) And suddenly I see the ad for Fabletics, and I click on it, and I fall in love with all the options.  And they are doing this great deal for VIP members, so of course now I need to be a VIP member.  But here's the thing.  I love it.  I bought this sports bra, workout pants and black shirt (that is ultra cool and I wore it to work yesterday) for just $25.00.  Yep that was it!  Now I know I have to buy something monthly or defer my purchase before the 5th of every month but I think with the quality I just received I just might buy something every month!!!!  Okay maybe not every month but boy I do love to shop! 

Sometimes its hard.

Whew! That's what I have to say today about my lesson on Bella with Judy Whyte.  It was hard.  It was hard mentally.  It was hard physically.  It was hot outside too!

I love that Judy has such high expectations for Bella and me.  She pushes us to our limits and expects us to rise to all that she asks of us.  And boy can it be hard sometimes.  It was hard today.  Started the warm up and I was pushing Bella off her pace a little bit.  After the warm up Judy gets right down to business.  Bend, bend, bend, sit, sit, sit, steady, steady steady, push, push, push, engage, engage, engage, soft, soft, soft, sharp, sharp, sharp... there it is! Haha after all that and doing all that at the same time we have some moments of loveliness. And that is pretty much how the lesson continued and it pushed  me and it pushed Bella and it made us better.  And if we continue to follow through with all of it then we will continue to improve and before I know it we just might be ready to show Third Level.  Because that is the goal that I've set for myself with Bella.  So watch out 'cause I'm geared up after today's lesson and I will work my butt off and help Bella to be the best she can be!

Don't get in a slump.

Do you ever doubt what you are doing?  Do you feel like your working really hard at improving yourself and trying to get ahead but feel like you aren't getting anywhere?  When those moments of self-doubt come creeping in you really need to take a step back.  Take step back and look at everything that you've done and all that you've accomplished.  Take a step back and look at the wheels that you have set in motion for success.  Take a step back and ask yourself can I be doing more and what can I do to accomplish my goals.  Set GOALS.  Set achievable, believable goals that will get you to the huge milestones.

I'm normally a super positive upbeat person but even I have those moments of self-doubt.  When they happen I try to stop the negative thoughts and ask myself where are these thoughts or feelings coming from.  Are they legit?  If so what can I do to improve things.  If not what can I do to realize that these feelings are unfounded.  Most of the time it's then that I'm proactive.  I set more things in motion to achieve my goals and I feel good about it.  Whether this is in my business or in my riding, or in my personal life I always try to move forward.  Turn that frown upside down!