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I spend my days helping my clients achieve their health and fitness goals.

Some see tremendous results; they lose weight, change the shape of their body and increase their vitality.

Others, hardly see an ounce of improvement.

There is one key thing that sets these two groups apart: consistency.

Group A is consistent. They train multiple times a week, they eat healthy on a regular basis and allow a little bit of room for indulgence so that they can stay on track.

Group B is inconsistent. They get really excited about making changes but only stay committed for a few days or weeks at a time. They frequently skip workouts and tend to start and stop new diets and new programs every few months.

In my experience, I’ve found that consistency is the #1 key to success.

How do you become more consistent? By making it convenient to stick to your health & fitness goals.

Convenience –> consistency –> success.

This doesn’t happen on it’s own. YOU have to take the time to set yourself up for success on a daily basis and a weekly basis.

By taking time to prepare for a healthy week it will be more convenient for you to stay on track when life gets busy (and you know it will!).

If it’s convenient to eat healthy and exercise, you’re much more likely to do it. If the only convenient option is to pick up fast food and it’s too much of a hassle to get to the gym, then you’re making it much harder on yourself to live the healthy, active, vibrant life you so desire to live!

A few tips:

1. Buy a variety of fruits and vegetables to have on hand for snacks and salads.

Right when you get home from the market wash and chop all produce so that they’re clean and ready to eat. That way, when you’re hungry or rushing to prepare dinner, you won’t reach for something unhealthy for the sake of saving time. You’ll be able to grab some chopped veggies and throw them on a bed of lettuce to prepare a salad in a snap. Or you’ll be able to snack on fresh fruit instead of grabbing a box of crackers to hold you over.

2. Decide the night before how you plan to fit exercise into your day.

Set your clothes out and pack your bag so that you won’t have to worry about it tomorrow. Schedule it into your day, just as you would a meeting or date with a friend.

3. Plan your meals for the week and buy all of your groceries on Sunday.

When you have the ingredients on-hand you won’t even have to think about it. It will be easier to toss the ingredients together for a healthy dinner than it will be to leave the house and get take-out.

4. Keep a large water bottle at your desk to ensure that you’re staying hydrated.

Drink, re-fill, repeat.

Life gets busy, but a few simple steps can make it much easier for your to live well and reach your goals.

Do you have a favorite tip that makes eating well and exercising more convenient for you?

xo,

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS – you may also like do what you can and happy exercise vs. stressed exercise.

The post How Convenience Leads To Success appeared first on The Balanced Life.

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Before I post this delicious recipe, I’d like to kindly remind you that this is not a food blog. It won’t take you long to figure that out. I can’t promise beautiful pictures, drop-dead delicious meals or anything that requires a Kitchen Aid food mixer. Somehow that didn’t make it into our house as a wedding gift, but I’ve managed to survive

What you WILL find on this blog are easy, healthy recipes. We’re all so busy and I understand that. If you’re like me, you like to cook, but you just don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen. Recipes here will be simple, healthy and balanced. My hope is to provide recipes that will make living a healthy lifestyle more manageable and more approachable.

So with that, here is a favorite of mine as of late. It’s fresh and satisfying and can be pulled together in a matter of minutes. I make a big batch and serve it as a side dish when we grill and save the leftovers for lunch. You can also throw this salad over a bowl of quinoa for a complete meal. Goat cheese is a great go-to cheese. Because of its strong flavor, a little bit goes a long way. It’s also low in fat and calorie content when compared to other cheeses. Cheers!

Tomato, Cucumber & Basil Salad:

1 carton cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cucumber, sliced in small chunks

a handful of fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Crumbled goat cheese, to taste

It’s as simple as it sounds. Mix all of the chopped ingredients in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil & balsamic vinegar, sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese and enjoy!

The post Recipe: Tomato, Cucumber & Basil Salad appeared first on The Balanced Life.

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I love running. I love that it is perhaps the most natural, innate form of exercise. We are born with a natural inclination to run. We run as children and continue running as we grow old. I once read that “there’s something so universal about that sensation, the way running unites our two most primal impulses; fear and pleasure. We run when we’re scared, we run when we’re ecstatic, we run away from our problems and run around for a good time.” I love that.

However, at some point in our lives, running often takes on a new purpose. For many of us, it’s a means to maintain our health and stay in shape.  Something that was once so natural becomes less natural with age. It wasn’t until I began my own practice and study of Pilates that I recognized the immense importance of form and posture while running.  Improper running form is a fast-track to injury. Without proper core strength, and muscle development running can cause a significant amount of stress on your joints. Increasing your core strength relieves pressure from your joints, improves your balance and reduces  your overall risk of injury.

If you enjoy running, try incorporating the following exercises into your routine. Each of these exercises can be performed in the comfort of your own home.

ROLL UP
Increases abdominal strength, lengthens the lower back muscles and stabilizes the pelvis.

Set Up: Lying on your back, legs together, parallel and straight. Arms reaching back towards your ears, palms facing in, shoulders drawing away from your ears.

Inhale Lift arms towards the ceiling and gently lengthen through back of neck and lift head and shoulders off the mat.

Exhale as you peel the spine up and off the mat hollowing through the abdominal wall. Continue to Exhale as you curl all the way up to the sits bones rounding spine over legs.

Inhale Start rolling back away from the legs, aiming for the lumbar spine to hit the mat first; keep lengthening out through the legs.

Exhale Articulate your spine back down to starting position using your abdominal muscles to control the speed of the roll down. Imagine that each vertebra hits the mat sequentially. Finish the roll down and reach arms back without letting your ribs protrude forward.

Repeat 3 – 5 times

Watch out for: Elevation or rounding of shoulders, loss of “C –curve”, using too much momentum (jerking)

 

LEG CIRCLES
Promotes lengthening of the hamstrings and movement of the hip joints while maintaining a stable pelvis and core.

Set Up: Lying on your back, arms in a T position, one leg extended up toward the ceiling, the other leg stretched long on the mat. If you have tight hamstrings or feel unstable, bend the bottom leg and place the foot flat on the floor.

Inhale and Exhale Bring the lifted leg across the center of your body and draw a circle in the air.

Repeat circle in the same direction 5 times

Repeat 5 circles in the opposite direction. Change legs and repeat as above

Watch out for: Rotation or tilting of pelvis, rotation of torso, shoulder tension, hip flexor tension

 

BASIC BACK EXTENSION

Strengthens the back extensor muscles which will help to reduce rounding or “hunching” of the shoulders.

Set Up: Lying on your stomach, forehead on the mat, arms by your side with your palms facing in pressing against your thighs. Keep your abdominals engaged and keep the front of your hips connected to the mat.

Exhale Lift your head and shoulders off the mat, to reach a neutral spine, fingertips reaching toward your toes. Lift in one long line and lengthen away.

Inhale

Exhale Lower body to mat.

Repeat 3 – 5 times

Watch out for: Tension in the neck and shoulders, tilting the chin up, lifting into thoracic extension, loss of abdominal connection.

Stay tuned for more information on how to use Pilates as a form of cross training for running. This post merely scratches the surface. More to come!

The post Pilates and Running appeared first on The Balanced Life.

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This is a favorite series of mine. I’ve written it as a 40 minute workout but if you have less time just adjust the length to fit your needs. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Cardio: 15 minute run

– Jog at an easy pace for the first 5 minutes. Once you begin to feel warm pick up the pace and run at a HARD pace for the remaining 10 minutes. It’s not a long duration so you can afford to push yourself and tire yourself out.

Pilates: 10 minutes 

– Visit my YouTube page and pick any video that suits your needs. I recommend “Flat Tummy February” for a solid 10 minute core strengthening workout.

Cardio: 15 minute run

– Head out for another 15 minute cardio session. Run at a fairly hard pace for the entire set.  Just think:  7.5 minutes out and 7.5 minutes back and you’re done!

By sandwiching your strength training in between two cardio sessions you’ll keep your heart rate up for 40 minutes without actually having to run for 40 minutes. In addition, breaking it up into 3 short sections makes the time fly by. Focus on completing one section at a time and you’ll have completed a fabulous workout in 3 easy steps.

Let me know how it goes!

xo,

The post WORKOUT: Cardio + Pilates Circuit appeared first on The Balanced Life.

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I recently had the honor of speaking to 100+ junior high and high school girls on the importance of healthy living. The event was wonderful, powerful and encouraging. The goal was to gather as many young girls as possible and remind them of their worth & value. The  evening focused on recognizing the messages we receive from the media, (see Beauty Pressure), allowed for opportunities to share struggles and provided skills to stay strong, confident and healthy throughout your high school years. A few women shared their stories regarding social pressure, eating disorders and addictions to shed light on issues that often go unmentioned.

 

My role was to speak on how to have a healthy view of diet and exercise. It was right up my alley and so much fun. I shared about finding balance, getting sleep and learning to listen to your body to know when you need rest. I also encouraged them to become “anti – fat talk” by not giving in to that kind of self-bashing that us girls can do. The night ended with a fun (and funny) Pilates workout as a group.

The post GLAM Night appeared first on The Balanced Life.

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Today’s episode is fun, playful, and one that will boost your mood! Every month in our membership community we dive deep into one area of wellness that takes place off the mat, and every July we focus on play. However, in today’s busy world, how do we make time for play, and what does it even look like?

Joining Robin today to help answer these questions are Kaita, Becca and Sheri,  three of our incredible Pilates instructors who have put their passion into helping women move and embrace the playful side of life. The wisdom that they’ve gained by intentionally adding play into their daily lives, and how you can incorporate it too, can truly be life-changing. 

If you haven’t yet listened to Episode 68 with Kaita, Becca and Sheri, you’ll want to tune into that one, and on our app you can find workouts from all three of these amazing instructors! 

Tag us on Instagram, @thebalancelife, and let us know what you are doing for play this week. We want to hear from you and cheer you on, and if you haven’t already, we’d be so grateful if you rated, reviewed and subscribed to our podcast to help us spread our message and continue to do the work we do here! 

Show highlights: what you can look forward to in this episode!

• A look at whether play comes naturally, and why it’s so often easily forgotten
• Play really does look different for everyone, and Kaita, Becca, Sheri and Robin share in their own words would it looks like in each of their lives 
• There are so many benefits to play that we often don’t truly consider, including how it can positively impact the relationships we have with our partner 
• Play can be incorporated into your Pilates practice, and all three reveal easy ways that you can start doing this right now 
• There are key life lessons that can be learned by playing, and the magic really happens when you can understand and appreciate what play can teach you
• Injuries can be a barrier to moving for adults, but there are practical ways to minimize and avoid them so that you can keep progressing 
• One thing that they will be committing to these week in order to integrate play into their lives, and a special challenge for listeners to do the same

Links in this episode:

• Episode 68 with Kaita, Becca + Sherri
• The Balanced Life Sisterhood
• The Balanced Life on Instagram 
• Sign up for The Balanced Life Newsletter 
• Sheri’s Spotify Playlist
• Kaita’s Spotify Playlist

Share this podcast episode!

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