Do You Have What It Takes? • Boston Weekend • Day 7 P90X/TurboFire • Day 2 of Hell Week

Good Morning!!! I hope everyone has been having a great week! I know mine has been INTENSE! So let me play catch up here! First and foremost, I hope everyone has noticed the new tab "Become A Beachbody Coach" on this blog. Some people have been asking what it takes to be a coach and what they have to do. Under that tab, I will be putting up more information and my personal, "Why Beachbody?" reasons for becoming a coach. If you have decided you would like to be a coach, contact me and I will give you some specific information. There will be an ID I will need to give you! =^D Check it out and stay tuned!

Also, here's a cool way to stay in touch. You have a Facebook... a Twitter... a Youtube... why not have a Team Beachbody Account? It's free and you get support on your many goals from myself and a network of others who are doing the same as you. Setting goals and achieving them is key! It doesn't hurt to try and never hurts to be supported. Click the link below and join the REV.!

Get Access to the Below When You Sign Up for a Free Team Beachbody Account!

• Access to WOWY SuperGym, where you can schedule your workouts, track your progress, and be eligible to win cash and prizes up to $1,000 a day.
• Your own personal Coach (THAT'S ME!!! =^D) to link you to all the support, tools, and motivation you need to reach your goals.
• Access to the Cooldown Chatroom, to chat live with other Team Beachbody members after your workout.
• Your personal Message Center to get and receive messages, workout invitations, and Buddy requests.
• Helpful fitness tools to get the most out of every workout.
• Workout Buddies to keep you motivated and inspired.
• Beachbody News Network videos for all the latest Team Beachbody headlines.
• Access to the Message Boards.
• Weekly newsletters and access to the newsletter archives.

See you on the inside!

BOSTON WEEKEND
Next up! =^D This weekend I went to Boston to celebrate my friend's birthday. Goodtimes! I got some Brazilian food (YUM), went shopping (YAY) and went to church (AMEN). I was about to get on the mic and sing but left it for the praise team to do =D. Overall, I had a nice time. The only thing that messed it up was when I got a tension headache that ran down my head, neck and shoulders! Woooweee! That was rough! I'm guessing it was residual tension from boxing earlier in the week. But, may my friend's hands always be blessed! The birthday girl did an excellent job at massaging the tension right out! Thank you Angela! Now, on my "MUST DO PRONTO" list is, "Get to Spa Castle ASAP." Lol its a must! PSA: Please remember to ALWAYS stretch out before and after a workout! The pain from NOT stretching is worse than the pain from working out!

This weekend was tax free weekend in Massachusetts and I got some items that put a smile on my face.

A Gratitude Journal • I try to instill in the people I work with that to reach your goals, one thing you must do is be grateful for what you already have. I must admit, this was very difficult for me. Most of the time, we concentrate on the things that we don't have, putting out a vibe of lack, and then all we get is more of it. That really isn't fun when you are trying so hard to make something happen in your life. But, maybe that's it. Maybe we all are just trying to hard and not using our energy properly. One of the worse things we do to ourselves is walk around with a lack of gratitude. I know we may not have the things we want, but why is it so hard to be grateful for what we do have? After reading many books on the topic of gratitude, I decide to do one of the many exercises to put myself in a feeling of gratitude. The exercise is to just get a notebook and write down things that bring you joy during the day. If they have made you happy, just be thankful for the smile it put on your face. Simple enough, but I'm hard-headed and that wasn't working for me until I saw something I wanted. It was a little green notebook called "The  Jotter" and on it was engraved "Gratitude." I had found my special little notebook and it plainly told me what it was for. I've been writing in it and its kind of crazy how I started to feel much better and less anxious about my journey in life, simply by writing about what makes me joyful... now!

Then, I got some Clif bars! Now, here in NYC, these protein bars cost $2 on the high end. I found them in Boston for $1+ the tax free weekend! I didn't buy them all because I wouldn't have been able to carry them back home but I was EXCITED! These bars are delish! I use them right before I work out! Most protein bars have a weird taste to them, but this brand is tasty! I've tried the Chocolate Chip, White Macadamia, and Peanut Butter. I have a few more to try but all these where a hit with me!

I also got a small photo album with "Achievement" written across it. Some people who see me now, do not believe that I was greatly overweight. I tend to have a little trouble convincing them this was true. So I decided to get this photo album and how appropriate that the cover would describe all that I'm getting ready to do. Inside, I will be putting all my before pictures and then I will progressively show the change in my life, showing what I'm doing and accomplishing now. Things like this are little tasks you can do to help put yourself in the focused, right state of mind. Having something visual to look at, will remind you of how great you have been, how great you are and how great you will be. Don't be afraid to chronicle the beautiful and the ugly in your life! It's worth it to see how you have grown and where you have to work a bit more. Take a still of you life and remember the moment and how you felt. Concentrate on the positive always! Sometimes we look at old pics and start dreading them saying, "What was I thinking?" Don't judge yourself... just laugh at yourself! =^D If it wasn't for those experiences, you wouldn't be who you are today. Whether you perceive yourself to be in a low part of your life or a high part, doesn't really matter. The goal is to learn, grow and create the life you want. If you're unhappy, you have all the right and power to change that. If you don't know where to start, simply start with this... "I am worth it, even if I don't feel like I am. And I know I'm worth it because..." Then start describing the life you want versus the life you have. The hardest part will be getting yourself into a feeling place of your  desires. But with a little practice, and coming back each day to write just a little more, you will see your life isn't so difficult to adjust in the direction that you wish. But remember, when you get a "GUT FEELING" to do something... DO IT!!! Even if it sounds, feels, crazy... jump in and swim for your life, because in truth, that is really what you are fighting for; to live a life that is full of the most important thing... Happiness. We do things to be happy, obviously not to be sad. The ability to unconditionally... READ THAT AGAIN... unconditionally... without condition (read it again until it penetrates), love yourself in a healthy manner, with understanding that you are meant to live a life full of prosperity, is something that you must decide on. But once you decide to unconditionally love yourself, you can't turn back. That is the ONLY time you will be able to help others in your life. Lead by example. Pay it forward.

My poster board is awesome!!! The second I saw it I thought, "Yup, I want all those things in my life." I was about to type "need those things," but I caught myself. To say that you need something, implies that you are lacking something. Personally, I do not want any of my vibes to leave me in the negative. I choose to shoot for the positive. So switching the word "need" to "want" creates a different feeling. For example, if you were to say, "I want a sandwich," on a vibe level, you are just announcing that you would like something, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're aching to have it. If you switch it to "I need a sandwich, " there is this air of stress in that sentence. You probably need it cause obviously you are hungry and the yearning is there. You are very aware that you don't have it and your next sentence is, "I want it!" This "I want it," is not said with the same vibe as the first! The first implies a desire that would make you happy if fulfilled but if it didn't, you'd still be ok and happy. The second implies a lack of having something and you are yearning to obtain it and only when you obtain it, will your mood change to happiness. That type of feeling will get you no where and will just give you a headache. Trust me, I know from personal experience. I had to completely change my way of thinking, which I am still working on and is a daily activity, to be able to experience the joys of life. I had to learn to be grateful once again for all I have and have done in my life instead of harping on what I have not. It takes a special moment in time for people to reach that kind of awareness. But all in due time, everything falls into place. Just be patient.

Now onto... HELL WEEK! Eddie, a former Navy Seal, is awesome and crazy! He is the trainer from Trinity Boxing who is doing Hell Week and making all of us use muscles that I knew existed but I didn't have yet! I just thought it was awesome that there are more girls then guys doing this intense week. But on the downside, I got sick during the workout! I almost threw up! It wasn't that it was difficult, Eddie was just smart and had us doing extreme muscle confusion. That usually results in a purging of some sorts. But in the end, I did well and got many kudos from Eddie! "You started slow, but you came out strong. I'm proud of you!" Shoot, I'm proud of me too! I was bus-lagged from the bus ride back to NYC and then a few hours later I had to go do this workout... C'mon now THAT'S dedication! We will see what happens tonight. Come check us out at 6:30pm at the gym before we head off to the river for some INTENSE CARDIO!!! I'm trying to figure out why I haven't regretted this one yet. =^D

Today is Day 7 of the P90X/TurboFire Hybrid workout and its my day of rest. Between this workout and the one I'm doing in Hell Week, I should be ripped! Its a lot more difficult for a female to drop fat, from unwanted places, then a guy so I've been working twice as hard. The cool thing for me is just that the guys I train with have actually been very supportive and push me harder. They really don't take it easy on me... and that's a good thing. Though I train people in Health and Wellness, Fitness, how the mind works, etc, even I need trainers. I tend to find the ones I want when something new enters into my story. That's how it always works. Just keep your eyes open for those opportunities whether they come as a person, place or thing.

Live life • Be Brave • It's ok to hurt, but not to stay in hurt • Love you • Keep It Moving

-S