Well and Good

I have been reading articles from Well and Good for a while now and today I finally decided to be an ambassador. I love reading and learning from the site and I wanted to share them with you.

Hope you enjoy them too.

Glynith

5 Mile Challenge

A few months ago, my workplace started a program to promote wellness on the workforce. I just recently joined to see if it might help with my own motivation to improve my health and well being. The program include monthly challenges and a lot more I still need to read on. This is just the second day I am with the program so it far says I am on track.

This challenge started March 6, 2023 to March 19, 2023. Since I know I usually walked about 10 to 13 thousand steps on my work days, I did not change anything the first week I joined. I ended the first week in number 142 out of 704 of us who joined at 3.99 miles. I was so close so I decided to just go for it on my next work stretch.

March 16, 2023 I tried to reached 5 miles. I doubled up some of my usual routine, I walked around our driveway instead of just standing waiting for the school bus chatting with my daughter. She thought I was funny but I have a goal to achieve. At work, instead of bringing all the samples to the instruments in one go, I would intentionally bring a few so I have to walk back and forth a few more times. Then I would go all the way to another room or walk up and down the hallway a few extra times. I finished the mission at number 326 out of 742 with 5.29 miles.

The number one in our board finished the challenge with 75.15 miles. Runners like the hubby, treadmill users and regular joggers and walkers can easily do this. I am just glad to reached the goal and my feet hurts. Definitely not something I would do everyday. I can just imagine how people are able to do these physical activities daily. As my daughter told me, at least now with this work app I am motivated to move more. Let's see how consistent I get and if I make moving into a habit.

Thank you for stopping by.

Glynith

CIRCL Mobility

 

I am very excited to announce that I am now a CIRCL Mobility instructor.  This is a new program offered by Zumba and I just finished the training for it.

Circle Mobility focuses on flexibility and breath work and mobility to help us move better and longer.  The music includes healing tones and sound frequencies to help the mind focus and release stress.

Join me to release, restore and renew your mind and body.

Thank you.

Glynith

6 Motivation Secrets from Ai Lee Syarief

This is a snippet from an article on Women's Fitness -UK.   Check out the article.  Hopefully it will make you be interested and add Strong Nation into your workout.  I believe in these motivation secrets and hope to live by them:

6 motivation secrets from Ai Lee Syarief

We always feel better after a workout, but it’s easy to forget it! Here are Ai Lee Syarief’s top tips for sticking to your new year goals.

1. Commit

Motivation doesn’t come knocking on your door, so once you’ve set your goal, put your workouts in your schedule like an appointment.

2. Join forces

Ask a friend to be your accountability partner or create a WhatsApp group so, when it’s time to work out, you can say, ‘I know it’s been a tough day but let’s do this!’.

3. Make a fitness jar

After you’ve exercised, write down how you feel on a piece of paper, fold it up and pop it in a jar. If you’re tempted to skip a workout, reach into the jar and read a note. It will push you to do that workout!

4. Find an activity that you love

Then, even when you’ve have a bad day, you’ll want to exercise.

5. Have a plan B

It could be your favourite 20-minute YouTube workout. That way, if you can’t make your usual workout, you can do your Plan B.

6. Take baby steps

Achieving a goal takes time but, these days, everyone wants immediate results, and when they don’t get a six-pack in a week, they get demotivated. Set realistic goals where you’ll see results – and be patient!

January 2023

 

I needed to get started again, since I put exercising at the end of my priority list for the past few months.  It is now the last day of January 2023.  If you look at my previous posts, it's been a while since I am actively posting here which means I too am struggling with my motivation to keep an active lifestyle that include regular exercise.

As usual my excuses include my work.  I walk a lot at work.  Life in general is just busy and I made it the reason why I don't do any exercises when I am home.  

Now, we passed the 2023 new year and the Chinese new year of the rabbit and I am proud to say I have at least did two workouts as of right now.  I planned to do more and hope that I would keep myself motivated so I can finally get the courage to make fitness into a side hustle and a part of my daily lifestyle.

My NASM Personal Trainer certificate is expiring next year and I registered for a specialization to hopefully help me with my motivation as well.  

You guys will know when I finished my specialization and really motivate myself to successfully add exercise to my life regularly.  I will be posting more by then.

I will surely keep you all updated.

Thank you for joining me in this journey.  Let's keep the fire going...

Glynith

NASM - Certified Personal Trainer

Happy Day Indeed!  I just finished my NASM-CPT ( National Academy of Sports Medicine - Certified Personal Trainer) exam this morning at around 1130 and passed it!!!

This certification will allow me to have clients to work with one on one.  Now I can teach group fitness classes and help train each client reach their personal goals by being able to design a safe, effective and results oriented programs customized to each individuals' needs.

The idea to take this certification came while I was studying for the AFAA-CGFI (Athletics and Fitness Association of America - Certified Group Fitness Instructor) examination.  I thought that since it is about exercise and training an individual to achieve a healthy and fit lifestyle, it will give me a deeper education into the exercise field and broaden my scope of practice.

My original plan was to take this exam sometime in February or March but since I delayed my AFAA-CGFI exam until January, this got pushed as well.  After taking the practice exam in February,  I was not confident to take the final exam and asked for an extension.  Fortunately, I was given an extra month before I have to pay again.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you join me in this journey to achieve a fit and healthy lifestyle.

Glynith

 

Strong Nation

Strong Nation is a full body workout which combines high intensity interval training and bodyweight, cardio, muscle conditioning and plyometric training with the science of synced music motivation all in one.  The music are original, reversed engineered songs to perfectly sync every move to the beat - so we stop counting reps and stay in the transformation zone.  Strong Nation is geared towards all fitness levels and ages.

After trying out one online class last year 2021, I wanted more.  Then once I did the class in-person I am hooked and decided to become an instructor.  Although music is use, this is not a dance workout.  The moves are mostly martial arts inspired.  Every move has a beat, but the emphasis is more on strong moves than dancing.  

Every class consist of  4 quadrants and each quadrants consist of 2 to 3 songs followed by a recharge in between quadrants.  We start with a warm up and quadrant 1 recharge, followed by quadrant 2 recharge, then quadrant 3 recharge and lastly quadrant 4 which is called floor play where we do all floor exercises and a cool down.

You finish the class sweaty, tired and amp up all at the same time.  Come try Strong Nation with me and see the difference for yourself.

Thank you for stopping by and hope to see you in one of my classes.  

Glynith

Exercise and Emotion

Exercise makes you sweat and physically tired but at the same time it releases endorphins which are the body's natural pain killers and mood elevators and other "feel good" chemicals like serotonin and others while reducing the stress hormones like adrenaline, cortisol and others.  Now if this is so  why is it so hard for some of us to change our lifestyle and add exercise to our daily routine?

For me, after 12 hours of work I don't want to do anything after I get home.  The day after my three day stretch I am just lazy and I would justify my laziness with work.  What about you?  What's your reason for not regularly exercising?  If you are a regular exerciser, please share what your motivations are.

Studies show that people who are suffering from anxiety feels more stressed thinking of going to the gym and thinking of one more goal to add to the list is just terrifying.  It is the start of a new year and people will try to add being healthy and fit to the top of our list of goals for the year.  But we know most of us will go back to our old lifestyles and push exercise further down the list of priorities as the year goes on.  Hopefully not this time.  Let me help you keep it at the top.

According to  AFAA course Emotions in Motion: " it’s important to acknowledge that exercise requires motivation and energy, both of which are often hijacked by anxiety. 

When I was a member of our local jazzercise community, my motivation was the monthly fee and my friends there.  There would be times when I had to drag myself to change and go.  But once there,  it is all energy and fun being physically and socially active.  I go home feeling great again.

Although there is still no exercise program that is geared to just relieve anxiety.  We know that regular physical activity is a great supplement for anxiety and a great way to release those feel good hormones.  Let's exercise together to treat our mind and soul as much as our body.

Thank you for visiting this blog.  Join me in this journey to add fitness in body and mind into our daily lives.

Glynith

AFAA - Certified Group Fitness Instructor

Examination Results

	Candidate Name:   Glynith Kelly Examination Result:   Passed Examination Date:   January 05, 2022 at 09:43 AM (MST)   Examination Name:   Certified Group Fitness Instructor (CGFI)

I am doing a couple of happy dances right now as I am typing.  I have been delaying this certification exam for a few months.  Reasons and excuses being that:  

First, I did not get the score I wanted when I did the practice test.   I wanted some cushion in case the exam will be more difficult.  I admire people who are able to go back to school for years of studying after having kids.   I am thankful, I don't have to worry about grades in this certification course.  

Second, I was so worried that maybe my computer is not going to pass the requirements needed to do the online proctoring of the examination.  See, I have an older MacBook that already has been sent back to Apple because it died on me a few months ago.

Lastly, when I finally tell myself to just go ahead and do it.  I learned that my original CGFI course was not registered for online proctor testing.  So, they have to re-register me and it took a few days before I can log in and schedule the exam.  By then, it was already the last few days of school for the kids, close to the Christmas holiday break.  I had initially bought the course in October 6, 2021 with the plan of taking the exam late November or early December.

I took the exam this morning at 0930 before my work stretch starts again tomorrow.  The hubby is at work and the kids are in school, I have a very quiet house all to myself which is very conducive to taking certification exams.

Now I am a very excited Certified Group Fitness Instructor with Athletics and Fitness Association of America.  Onward to looking for a job in this field.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you follow me in this journey.

Glynith

Certified Strong Nation and Kettlebell Instructor

I am so excited!!!  Today, November 5, 2021, I finished my Strong Nation training.  I am officially a Certified Strong Nation Instructor and a Certified Kettlebell Instructor.

The journey started when we loss our pet dog "Bandit".  After a few weeks, I realized I am not walking/exercising as much as when he was around and would demand to be walked every few hours.  I also noticed that I tire easily at work and needed to do something to pump up my fitness and energy level.

I started searching for a gym to join again and saw programs for Kettlebell and Strong Nation.  I haven't heard of both exercise formats and it made me curious.  So I joined a class of kettlebell which happened to be taught by a mom of my son's classmate.  I then tried Strong Nation in the same gym.  I love doing both Kettlebell and Strong Nation.

I got introduced to fitness in college when some friends joined a gym and I went with them for a while.  Then I bought VHS for a few Tae Bo exercises, I also tried a few kickboxing classes, some zumba classes and more than a decade of jazzercise locally here.  But I never exercise or workout regularly though.   I just do them whenever I felt like it.  

This time, I felt the need to share my workout not as a student/participant doing the programs but I think the time has come for me to own my workout and step out of the box so I can share and be actively involve not just in my own but in the community's fitness and health.  This way, I will be more motivated to do the programs regularly so I can teach it.

September 23, 2021 I registered and got my CPR/AED certification.  On September 25, 2021, I registered to be an instructor for both Kettlebell and Strong Nation.  I finished training and got certified to teach Kettlebell on September 28, 2021 and finished my e-learning certification for Strong Nation on the same day.  I scheduled for the first available live online Strong Nation training taught by a master trainer local in Michigan today and got certified.  It was an intense all day training, very informative and physically exhausting but exhilarating as well.

Thank you for stopping by and hope you join me in this journey.

Glynith

Below are pics our master trainer Stephanie Halley took: