We’ve all had it happen, when we just don’t want to go to the gym. The want and motivation has taken a vacation and mustering the energy to go to the gym just doesn’t exist. That’s when you have to dig deep and pull a few tricks out of your sleeve to get over the hump. Here are a few tricks that work for me:

Don’t force it

If you really don’t want to get on the treadmill or hit the weights, then don’t. Trying to force it will only make your lack of energy and motivation worse. Instead try something new! Why not challenge yourself with a Cross Fit class? Or take your bike outside if the weather is nice? Try some hot yoga, play tennis, go for a swim, just do something that you actually want to do.

Focusing on how you will feel afterwards

Don’t think about the way you’ll feel during the workout (how much it will hurt, etc.), think about how awesome you will feel once you’ve completed your workout and how great you’re going to feel the rest of the day. This will motivate you a lot more than dreading the feeling of working out.

Put the alarm clock in another room

Can’t seem to get out of bed for your gym date in the morning? Don’t make it so easy for yourself to push the snooze button. Take your alarm clock and put it in another room, that way you have to get out of bed to turn it off, and hopefully by getting out of bed you wont get back in!

New workout clothes

Another great way I motivate myself to workout is to get a new, cute workout top. Amazing as it is, this does wonders for my motivation. It’s not like I can wear my new gym clothes to work, so in order to show them off I have to take my butt to the gym.

How do you push yourself to get your butt to the gym?

I’ve talked a lot about staying on track while traveling; well right now I am trying hard to stick to my own tips and tricks since I am traveling for the next month. Right now I am back home in Sweden visiting my family for two weeks.

My mom is a great cook and she makes absolutely delicious food…most of her food is very healthy (and mostly Mediterranean style) but staying on my diet is still no fun, because on top of all the healthy stuff she also makes the best desserts, definitely not on my diet, and the best bread, definitely not on my diet.

To stay on track I have set the following goals:

• Lose 5 pounds during the two weeks I am home
• Send my trainer progress pictures every 3 days

Just these simple goals will at least keep me on better track than I would without them! See below for the progress pictures from week 13, 14, and 15.

Working out is not as much of a challenge since my family is very active, but they still don’t workout twice a day like I do. And I have to do all my workouts without my trainer pushing me, I try to get the same burn, but you can only push yourself so hard.

I will get some more progress pictures up soon to show you guys how my prep is going while on the road. Until then, please give me your tips on how you stay motivated while your mom’s homemade cooking is only a reach away…

So you’ve decided that this is the week you’re going to start your fitness routine, awesome let’s go! You get up Monday morning with heaps of motivation and hit them gym hard. Tuesday morning things aren’t quite so chirpy, but you drag yourself out of bed. Wednesday your alarm goes off and your just so tired, every bone in your body aches. Maybe one rest day wont hurt you, you promise yourself to get right back on the horse tomorrow. Thursday comes around and you forgot you had to be at work early so you’ll skip the gym just this time. It’s not a good idea to go Friday since you’re going out with your friends that night and you don’t want to be tired. Saturday and Sunday are just too buys, you have to clean, cook, visit with your family and friends, and before you know it the week is over.

Does this sound familiar to you? I used to be like that too, making anything a habit is challenging, especially when it involves discomfort. So, how do you make fitness a habit? I have now gotten to the point where it feels weird to have breakfast in the morning if I haven’t worked out yet, this is what you’re aiming for, you want working out to become such an integral part of your every day life that it feels weird without it.

The most common mistake when starting a fitness routine is that people jump in heads over heels and end up either injuring themselves or giving themselves such bad soreness they have to take days off. Instead, pull out your calendar and mark two to three days next week that you’re going to workout, don’t just mark the day; mark the exact time and what you are going to workout. For example, Monday 6am: cardio and upper body circuit, Wednesday 7pm: yoga, Friday 7am: cardio and lower body circuit. Then create a reward system for your workouts, for every workout completed you earn $5, and for every extra workout you fit in outside of this schedule you earn an extra $10. At the end of the month, count your reward dollars and spoil yourself, get a pedicure, manicure, go shopping, do something that makes you feel good! The next month increase your weekly workouts by one and continue doing so until you are at the number you were aiming for. Remember, it takes 30 days to create a habit, it will not happen overnight, which is why it is a great idea to have a reward system.

Another tip for sticking to your workout is to train with your friends. Instead of going out to eat once a week, go for a walk or a run and then cook a healthy meal together. It will make you look forward to your workout instead of dreading it.

Here is one of my favorite super easy recipes:

1lb ground turkey (99/1)

4 yams

Cinnamon to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake yams for 45-60 minutes, until soft. Sautee the turkey in a pan (I usually do not season my turkey, but that’s up to you). Mash yams and turkey together in a bowl and season with cinnamon. Makes about 4-6 servings.

Try it and let me know what you think! Later this week I’m going to start to share my progress pictures with you!

Many of us have careers and jobs that require us to travel a great deal, so I decided it would be a good idea to give you guys some tips on how to travel and still stay on track with your diet and training.

1. Scope out the location

Where are you going? If you’re going to a hotel, check if they have a gym and a fridge in your room. Also, check out the nearby restaurants to see where you can go for some healthy options. Remember, you can always modify any meal! Most restaurants have chicken or fish, order this grilled with steamed or grilled veggies on the side, hold the butter, oil, and sauce. If your hotel doesn’t have a gym research some locations near your hotel, where you can get a discounted pass for a couple of days.

2. Pack your food

Sure you might not be able to pack all your meals, but try to pack as many as you can! Pack dry oatmeal, cream of wheat, or cream of rice for your breakfast, you can easily cook this in a microwave (or have the hotel prepare it for you in their kitchen). Bring protein powder to put in your morning java, and voila you have your breakfast taken care off! Make sure to bring a ton of snacks for emergencies when you’re not able to take a break for a real meal. Pack Turkey Perky Jerky, almonds, fruit, and raw veggies for easy portable snacks that’ll keep you full. If your hotel has a fridge bring some grilled chicken and fish, baked sweet potatoes, rice, and steamed veggies to have for lunch and/or dinner.

3. Pack your workout gear

Don’t forget to pack your workout clothes and sneakers so you can hit the gym! Why not bring a jump rope and some resistance bands if you have some, to get a good workout in your hotel room.

4. No excuses!

Just because you are traveling does not give you a reason to fall off the wagon with your fitness and training goals! If you feel pushed towards temptation remember why you are doing this; writing down your goals will help you stay on track on the road and back home. Most of all remember that all the food everyone else is having is not good fuel for your body. It will not give you energy to power through your day or your workouts, it will not keep your body fit and healthy, and it will not help you reach your goals.

How do you stay in shape while on the road? Share your tried and true tips!

I bet there a lot of people out there already loosing motivation since those lofty New Year’s resolutions they set. The thing to remember is diet and training is just like anything else you try to stick with; it requires you to commit and make a conscious effort to follow through. Here is a quick list of things that will help you follow through with your diet and training goals for 2012 and for life!

1. Plan, plan, plan, and then plan some more!

If you don’t have a plan in place you can only fail. It might sound like overkill, but every Sunday (or Saturday if that works better for you) sit down and plan exactly what you are going to have for every meal for the next week, when you are going to work out and what you are going to train during those workouts. Then, do your grocery shopping, cook all your meals and package by day of the week. Pencil in all your workouts on your schedule and make them appointments with yourself, meaning these are not voluntary attendance! Also, plan for the unplanned, you might be caught without your packed meals, or you might be driving/in a meeting when you’re supposed to have your next meal. Don’t fear! Always have a back up snack such as Turkey Perky Jerky and almonds stashed in your car, purse and desk drawer.

This is what my kitchen looks like on a given Sunday!

2. Can’t seem to stick to your workouts?

If you can’t seem to drag yourself out of bed, or stop at them gym on your way home it’s probably because you’re not enjoying your workout! Switch it up and try something else! Maybe the treadmill isn’t for you; try a step or spinning class instead. Or better yet, hit the weights! There are so many options out there; yoga, crossfit, tennis, cycling, running, Pilates, circuit classes, spinning, the list is SO long there has to be something on there that will make you stick to it. If you’re still dreading working out, make it a date! They say that 3 months makes a habit, so hire a trainer twice a week for the next 3 months. There is no way I would get up at 4am to get to the gym unless I knew my trainer was there waiting for me.

3. I don’t want to give up food!

You don’t have to! It is a very common misconception that if you are on a “diet” you can’t eat the foods you love. First of, unfortunately most of the foods you “love” that come from restaurants have close to your or exceed the amounts of fat, carbs, and sodium you should be consuming in a day. Second, don’t treat your healthy eating as a temporary diet; treat it as a new lifestyle. And trust me, your options are not that limited once you decide to start eating healthy. Just go into the produce section at your local grocery store and look at all that goodness! One of my favorite authors is Tosca Reno, if you’re having a hard time figuring out how to cook with these new ingredients check out her Eat Clean Diet cookbooks, and the Eating Clean magazine for tips and tricks!

4. Where did my motivation go?

Having a hard time motivating yourself to continue with your new lifestyle? This is where Facebook and Twitter come in handy! Search for competitors, fitness experts, trainers, anyone and anything that has to do with fitness and follow/”like” the ones that inspire and motivate you. Then when you feel your motivation lacking, log on and find it again!

Stay tuned for more tips coming soon!

This is the week; contest prep has officially started! Last week was a warm-up for what the next couple of weeks have in store.

Saturday I went to the store to stock-up on all the food I’ll be eating this week. I prefer to shop and cook in bulk on the weekends. On the menu we have chicken, bison steak, salmon, sweet potato, quinoa, veggies, and of course oatmeal, Turkey Perky Jerky and lots of protein shakes. I wont start my carb and fat cycling for at least another week or two, below is a sample of what a regular day will look like on my current diet:

Meal 1: 100% whey protein shake with fat burner (pre-workout)

Meal 2: Whey and casein protein shake with recovery blend (post-workout)

Meal 3: ½ cup dry oatmeal with 1 scoop protein powder, 8oz coffee and ½ banana

Meal 4: 4oz salmon and ½ cup spinach

Meal 5: 3-4oz bison steak, ½ stuffed pepper (yellow peppers stuffed with quinoa, spinach, yellow onion, celery, tomato and baked in glass Pyrex dish with crushed tomatoes, olive oil, and lemon juice).

Meal 6: 2oz of Turkey Perky Jerky (pre-workout)

Meal 7: 4oz oven baked chicken, 4oz oven baked sweet potato, ½ cup sautéed spinach

Meal 8: Protein shake (right before bed)

My workout schedule consists of two 45-minute cardio sessions, one in the morning when I also hit the weights for an hour and one in the evening after work. This might sound like an exhausting workout schedule, but when I get to eat all the great clean foods that are in my diet right now they fuel me straight through them! My least favorite workout of all of them is my afternoon/evening cardio. After a day of working (and getting up at 4:30am to get my cardio and weights done before work) the last thing I want to do is hit the gym again, that’s why I save my Turkey Perky Jerky for my afternoon snack. Without it I would never have enough energy to get back in the gym lol! Lucky for me this snack is contest diet approved up until two weeks out from the show!

Whenever I start hitting the weights and cardio this hard I also make sure I mix a serving of glutamine in my water at least 4 times a day to help my muscles recover. But one of the most important things to remember is to get adequate sleep for your body to reap the benefits from all those workouts!

I’ll be back again on Thursday with an update on how this first week of contest prep has treated me, if all goes well I can hopefully still walk by then…

Do any of you readers compete or have you ever thought about it?

First of all I want to apologize to everyone for falling of the blogging wagon! Let me fill you in on what happened with my first fitness show that I was scheduled to do on November 12^th of last year.

I ended up being ready for the show a couple of weeks out so therefore my trainer and I decided to enter me in another show on October 25^th to get me some stage practice.

Prepping for the show was so much fun and I got to be on stage with two of my best friends that I had made while training for the show! I placed second in my novice class and 4^th in my open class and was super excited since it was only supposed to be for practice.  I have to admit I was a little shaky on stage though; the stage practice was definitely needed.

Me at my first show!

For my second show on November 12^th (the real deal) I was more than ready and really excited to be back on stage. I placed 2^nd in the open class this time and while I was a little disappointed I was still happy with the improvements I had made from the last show.

Enough about the past! Since I placed in the top 5 in my shows last year I qualified for nationals and that is the journey I will be telling you about this year! Right now I am a 17 weeks out from my first national show, which will take place in Charleston, SC on May 19^th.

It will be a little bit of a bumpy road getting back into show shape since I haven’t been able to work out since November 26^th due to a leg injury (think box jumps and shins…). Today was my first day back in the gym, and I might be just a little out of shape…

I have asthma which makes getting back into cardio a lot harder than getting my muscles back into shape. Today I did elliptical intervals and body weight lunges and man did it take my breath away, and not in the good kind of way! But it still felt great to be back in the gym and my legs didn’t bother me at all. Tomorrow the comeback continues, but I am adding some dumbbells to those lunges!

Now, I just need to get my game face back on to tackle the two-a-days again… but as long as I have my Turkey Perky Jerky before I hit the gym that shouldn’t be an issue!

What do you fuel your body with before working out? Do you choose different food/shakes in the morning versus the afternoon/night?

I can’t believe it’s already been a month since I started my journey towards my first fitness show! A month filled of hard training, a lot of learning about dieting, and meeting some of the most amazing people ever!

I have to say I love the training; it is now the highpoint of my day (maybe not the am cardio, but definitely the weights and the pm cardio is a great way to unwind after work). The dieting is not that bad, except for this week since I am trying depletion for the first time. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it pretty much means you are eating no fat, and your only carb sources are fibrous vegetables like asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, and broccoli (pretty much anything green goes). For protein egg whites, white fish, and protein powder are your best friends. It is definitely making me tired and I am hungry every two hours without fail, but I can already see a big difference in my body. I’m looking forward to next week when I get to have a “fill up” week and get to eat both fats (nuts, avocado, etc.) and carbs (welcome back oatmeal, brown rice, and sweet potato!).

I’ve also had my first posing class with Heather Mae French (one of the coaches for 5280 Angels). It feels a little weird strutting my stuff in high heels and a little tiny bikini, but hopefully I’ll be used to it once show time rolls around.

My favorite part of this whole journey has been all the amazing people I have encountered along the way! My trainer and coaches, my training buddies in the gym, everyone is very supportive of each other and there is a never-ending source of motivation anytime you need it.

Who is your support system and how do they push and motivate you to reach your goals?

Those sneaky little suckers always seem to sneak up when you least expect them to! Here are a couple of my most successful tricks to fight them off!

Craving: I want dessert

Solution: Trident Layers (wild strawberry + tangy citrus)

I have one big old sweet tooth that comes back with a vengeance every time I eat. The one thing that seems to do the trick every time is to pop one of this little suckers in my mouth after lunch and dinner. The flavor might disappear a little fast, but it does calm down my sweet tooth right away, and I get to practice blowing bubbles!

Craving: I’m hungry but I just ate

Solution: Green tea or ice water

If you feel like your hunger is coming back with a vengeance only an hour after eating try drinking some hot green tea, emphasis on the hot part. It is proven that hot liquids make you feel fuller, and it is packed with antioxidants and fat burners! Drink up! If you want to curb your appetite before a meal have a tall glass of ice water, not only will it make you eat less during your meal, it will also help your body burn extra fat because it has to heat up all that cold, cold water.

Craving: Afternoon munchies (also called vending machine assault)

Solution: Turkey Perky Jerky

My biggest challenge are getting through my afternoons at work and still mustering up enough energy to go to the gym afterwards. This magic jerky is not only all natural, low in calories, fat free, low in carbs, high in protein, and low in sodium, it is also delicious! I swear I feel like I’m cheating on my diet every time I eat it!

What are your tricks for fighting cravings?

The other day I had to ask myself why I really wanted to do this, this whole fitness competition thing. Why am I getting up at 5am in the morning to workout? Why do I restrict my eating to asparagus, orange roughy, chicken, egg whites, and oatmeal? Why am I really doing this? Is this going to be a onetime thing or do I want to take it to the next level and keep competing? Maybe even earn my pro card?

I realized that the answer to these questions would directly impact how well I performed at my upcoming fitness competition, so I figured I might as well try my best to answer them. The funny thing was that as soon as I figured out that this wasn’t going to be a temporary thing, that I wasn’t going to be done after one competition, that truth be told I love this whole working out and dieting thing, I was filled with new motivation!

I have decided that this is only going to be the beginning of my fitness journey and as simple as that I now have more motivation than ever before! But I had to look inside to figure out why I was doing it, before I could take my motivation to the next level. If you’re unsure of why you are pursuing something, take a minute to sit back and think about it, even though you might not like the answer you give yourself, it will make or break your motivation!

And, most importantly, surround yourself with positive people that support you every step of the way! In three and a half short weeks I feel as if I have gained a whole new family, thank you all for your cheers and endless support!