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Showing posts from August 29, 2021

Body Shaming and Fat Talk

  "Too big." "Too small." Your body is not an object. Let's stop shaming the body of an athlete. Including your own body.  It's crazy to think that so many athletes believe that they must attempt to train the body to succeed in sport while simultaneously maintaining a specific body type idealized by social media. Whether you criticize your own appearance through comparison or judgement, criticize another's appearance in front of them or criticize another's appearance without their knowledge, this is a form of abuse. The first step in overcoming body shaming is to appreciate your body just as it is. We can all do better to love ourselves and our bodies just as we are. When you have a healthy relationship with your body, you are more likely to respect and value the bodies of others.

Exercise burnout and how to overcome it

Although it's normal to experience motivational highs and lows throughout the year, the risk for burnout is always a concern. Typically, the symptoms occur gradually.... you can't seem to find the motivation to exercise, you've hit a fitness plateau and/or you notice a loss of enjoyment for the activities that were once enjoyable for you. You may also find that you are struggling with an injury, health issue or mental health change. Burnout is not always predictable but life, work, an injury, health issue or a family stress can certainly increase the risk. If you are struggling with motivation or struggling to find your "why", it's time to change your relationship with your training/exercise regime. Here are a few tips to help you return to a place of joy and excitement for exercising: Avoid just checking off your workouts and simply going through the motions. If you feel obligated to show up to a workout, but gain little enjoyment or satisfaction from the pro

Choosing Happiness

I'll be honest. This week has been tough. As an empath, I feel the emotions of other people - good and bad. With so much going on in the world and in our close network of friends, I found myself absorbing so many different emotions this past week. It was often hard to show up to workouts but I knew that once I got myself in the pool or outside for a ride or run, I would be able to center myself. Nature rejuvenates me on so many different levels so my workouts are not just an opportunity to gain fitness, but a much-needed reset and recharge.  With only three more weeks until the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in St. George, I am feeling healthy, strong and confident. As I said before, sometimes it's hard to get a workout started but once I get going, I am so thankful that I got myself going.  During my Sunday long run, I couldn't help but think about happiness and the importance of choosing happiness. My love/hate relationship with running is in the love phase so I have bee