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With so many options of workout formats out there in the world, and even more opinions on which ones are the best, it might be overwhelming to know which one(s) really are the best for YOU. While we encourage people to move their bodies in ways they enjoy and that make them feel good to increase the odds of sustainability, we have a fondness for one particular workout format that we base the majority of our workouts around. That workout format is High-Intensity Interval Training (or HIIT for short). While HIIT has become increasingly popular (it’s ranked among the top 5 fitness trends since 2014), there are still many people that are unfamiliar with what it is and how it benefits the body, so we thought we’d take the time to break that down today and explain a little more why we focus so much on these types of workouts for our clients at Worth the Work Fitness.  WHAT IS HIIT?High-Intensity Interval Training is a format of exercise that involves alternating short bursts of higher-intensity work with short periods of rest, or less-intense active rest. Here’s a simple example of how HIIT works: When running, you sprint at an “all-out” pace for 1 minute, and then do a slower, more relaxed paced jog for 30 seconds to a minute. Then you repeat that cycle 4-6 times. It can be as simple as that. But there are a variety of approaches to HIIT workouts and how you can incorporate them into different types of training, especially beyond running. Here at Worth the Work Fitness, we like to mix both aerobic and resistance based exercises to not only get your heart rate up, but also build muscle. Plus, we like to incorporate exercises that work multiple parts of the body at once, so you get to use more muscles and benefit further from the work you are putting in. WHY WE LIKE HIITProbably the most beloved part of HIIT is it’s time efficiency. With this type of workout you can get the most bang for your buck, because you can experience the same (or better) health benefits as other forms of exercise in a shorter amount of time. While there is no set amount of time that a HIIT workout must last, you can typically get significant health benefits from 10-30 minutes of work. That sounds like a much more reasonable time frame to fit into your busy life, doesn’t it? Another commonly favored aspect of HIIT is what is often referred to as the Afterburn Effect. Basically it means that because of the higher intensity nature of the workouts, your body’s metabolism is elevated and is therefore able to stay in a fat-burning state long after your workout is over. And we can’t go on without mentioning that you are much less likely to get bored when participating in HIIT workouts because of the way they stimulate your brain to be more engaged in the process. Plus, it helps the already short workout time seem to pass by faster. And we all know that the more we enjoy something, the more likely we are to keep doing it. HEALTH BENEFITS OF HIITSo we’ve mentioned that HIIT can lead to the same, if not better, health benefits as other forms of exercise in a shorter amount of time, but what specific health benefits are we talking about? There is a great deal of evidence based research on the benefits of HIIT, and this article outlines some of them in more in detail, but here is a quick run through a few of the big ones:
Not a bad list of things to benefit from, am I right? MITIGATING RISKJust like any more intense exercise regimen, there are always some levels of risk of injury, so it’s important to recognize what some of those risks are. And it’s equally important to know how to mitigate those risks. First and foremost, if you have any concern about whether or not HIIT is an appropriate method of exercise for you, the most important place to start is talking to your doctor before engaging in it. This is especially relevant if you have any pre-existing health concerns (especially heart related) or previous injuries. While there are many health benefits in this form of exercise, you want to be sure that it’s an appropriate place for you to start. To ensure that your body is prepared for a more intense activity, it is always best to take the time to warm up and wake up your body first. We always start off our workouts with a warm up of exercises to raise the heart rate and get your muscles ready for more work. A key factor in fitness that many people overlook is that it is more important to do an exercise properly than it is to do it quickly. We take a few measures to increase the chances that you are doing things right, even from home. First off, Brett (the founder and trainer at WTWF) is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer with years of experience in the fitness industry under his belt to guide you. In every workout he demonstrates each exercise and talks through what proper form should look and feel like, as well as cues you throughout the workout to help you stay focused on it, even when you are growing tired. We also provide instruction and demonstration of exercise modifications to accommodate for different skill and comfort levels. And lastly, as a benefit of being a WTWF member, you can have access to your personal accountability coach that you can talk with if you have concerns about any specific exercises. While it may be tempting to maximize the highly effective nature of these workouts by doing them more often, it is because of that effective nature that we don’t have to workout as often. Because of the higher intensity, it is all the more important to allow our bodies time to rest and recover. In fact, doing so is an important part of the effectiveness of HIIT. That’s why our workout calendar only includes 4 workouts a week. So be sure to include rest days and lower intensity exercises throughout the week as well. I hope this helps give you a better idea of not only what kind of workouts we focus on here at Worth the Work Fitness, but also WHY we love them and do them. We wouldn’t offer you access to something if we didn’t believe in what we’re putting out there.
So if we’ve convinced you to give this workout format a try, we’d love for you to experience these benefits firsthand with a FREE WEEK of our Worth the Work Fitness workouts - no strings attached. Just click here to enter your information and get started! Written by Kelly Pruim
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Today we are wrapping up our Core Value Series where we’ve been diving a bit deeper into each core value of Worth the Work Fitness in order to help you get to know us better, and to help encourage you towards a healthier mindset with your health and wellness journey. Each week we've been sharing one of our nine core values that are a part of the foundation of why we do what we do, and expanding on why each one is so significant to us and why we believe each can be significant to you as well.  We believe in being fueled by a big picture ‘why’. Whether it is overall long-term health, feeling great physically & mentally, keeping up with your kids or grandkids, preventing health issues that run in your family, or whatever it is that motivates you - identifying and remembering your ‘why’ gives you the ammo to keep fighting if you ever feel like giving up. Last week we discussed how it takes hard work to get the results we want when it comes to our health, but today we’re going to talk about the ‘why’ behind that work and those desired results, because in that end that’s what makes it all worth it. If you head off aimlessly into a journey towards health and wellness, it’s very likely that your journey is going to be short lived. You’ll likely derail, run out of gas, or simply give up and return to your starting destination if you don’t have a reason to keep going when things get tough. And doing so keeps you stuck on a cyclical track that never progresses you anywhere towards a better way of life. So instead of wandering aimlessly, we want to guide you with a ‘why’ that means something to you and keeps you focused on the lifelong journey ahead of you. Because that will ultimately root your work into something worthwhile. A very relevant analogy of having a ‘why’ is a company’s mission statement or core values (kinda relevant, huh?). A mission statement can help direct work, guide decision making, and fuel day-to-day tasks with defined objectives. It helps keep the main things the main things. Similarly, these core values we have been sharing lead us as a team and company to serve our client’s with the right focus in mind. Otherwise it could be really easy to detour off into areas of health and wellness that we aren’t really all about. So we created our mission statement and a set of core values to keep us aligned with the goals we set out to accomplish. And you can do the same thing with your life, and with your health, by honing in on your ‘why.’ Doing so can give you purpose. It gives you something to work towards and focus on, especially when it gets hard. It can be a guiding force to help you continuously put one foot in front of the other, which is going to help you establish those sustainable habits that we talk so much about. It will help you embrace the process rather than resent the work. So what kind of ‘whys’ are we talking about? Well, it’s the big picture ‘whys.’ The ones that get to the root of why you want to live your life a certain way. Losing weight is often a ‘why’ that people give when they decide they should work out. But that’s miniscule in comparison to what can really fuel you. Partially because there’s always a deeper reason behind it, and partially because it’s more of a goal than a ‘why.’ Your goal might be to lose 20 pounds, but the real ‘why’ could be because you want to feel more comfortable in your own skin. You might have a goal to run 1 mile without stopping, but the ‘why’ behind it could be so you can have more endurance to keep up with your kids. You could be setting out to eat more leafy greens because they’re supposed to be good for you, but your real ‘why’ could be because you want to lower your blood pressure and get off those medications you’ve been chained to for years. Do you see the difference? Do you see how it goes much deeper? I know it feels a little therapy-like, but considering how intertwined our mental, emotional, and physical health are, this is incredibly important work to consider. So. It’s time for us to ask you: WHY do you want to make changes to your health? WHY do you want to live a healthy life? WHY do you work out? Is it to feel good instead of settling for the typical lethargic feeling you carry? Is it to gain strength in order to eliminate pain and make every day activities easier? Is it to have the stamina to keep up with your active kids, or grandkids? Is it to sleep better so you stop feeling so groggy all the time? Is it to improve your mental health by managing your stress? Is it to avoid and prevent the health issues that run in your family? Is it to set a good example of healthy living for your kids? Is it to seek mental clarity so you can have better focus on what matters to you? Whatever your ‘why’ is, put words to it for yourself. Write it down on a post-it note and stick it somewhere you will see often. Remind yourself of it each day to keep making the mental connection between the work you are putting in and the purpose behind it. We can even help you uncover your why through an initial coaching contact when you sign up for a Worth the Work Fitness membership, and then we will remind you of that ‘why’ often during your workouts to reinforce it. We want you to keep going. And keeping your ‘why’ front of mind is going to help do that. So when you’re losing stamina during a workout, think of your ‘why.’ When you’re trying to push for one more rep, think of your ‘why.’ When you’re tempted to eat a second helping when you’re already full, think of your ‘why.’ When you just want to hit snooze instead of getting up in time to workout, think of your ‘why.’ It’s going to be that reminder of why you are making the changes you are, and why you are putting in the work. And it’s going to make all of it worth it in the end. Thanks so much for joining us for this 9 week series about the Core Values that help define our ‘whys’ as a company. We hope it helped you get to know us just a little bit better, but more importantly we hope it has provided you with some inspiration and motivation to make small shifts in your mindset when it comes to your health and wellness. Feel free to revisit any of the blog posts in this series whenever you need a pep talk!
Written by Kelly Pruim and Brett Henderson We are nearing the end of our Core Value Series where we’re diving a bit deeper into each core value of Worth the Work Fitness in order to help you get to know us better, and to help encourage you towards a healthier mindset with your health and wellness journey. Each week we are sharing one of our nine core values that are a part of the foundation of why we do what we do, and expanding on why each one is so significant to us and why we believe each can be significant to you as well.  We embrace that hard work is part of the process, because we know the results are worth the work. There will be challenges & plateaus - that’s just part of the journey. But rather than viewing them as setbacks or reasons to quit, we view them as opportunities to become stronger, both mentally & physically. Let’s face it; our culture has become a bit obsessed with instant gratification. We want what we want, and we want it now. We want the outcomes and results, but we’re not always patient enough to wait for them to show up. Worse yet, we’re not always willing to put in the effort it takes to make them happen. And if things get tough along the way, well it’s time to abandon ship. But aren’t the best things in life worth the struggle and grind it takes to get them? Aren’t they worth digging in our heels when things get tough? Aren’t they worth the effort it takes to muster up motivation when all feels lost? Well that’s a sentiment that the fitness industry typically likes to gloss over, because a quick fix sounds much sexier than hard work and a long-term change. Can I let you in on a secret? When I first started working in the fitness industry, I was taught that in order to sell well, I needed to skip over talking about the work, because work sounds hard, and no one likes doing hard things. It’s far more appealing to highlight and focus on the results without emphasizing what it would take to get them. I always hated the idea of skipping over the work, because to me, it was leaving out the most important part of the process. You just can’t get results without putting in the work. So when I started my own business, I vowed to myself that I would do things differently. I want to be upfront about the work it takes to live a healthy life. I want to be upfront about the sweat, the grind, the effort, the challenges, and the plateaus. Because I would rather prepare you for what’s ahead and help you through it, rather than pretend it’s not there and set you up for failure. I would rather equip you with the skills and knowledge to succeed than feed into the mirage that the results you seek are easily attainable. I get it though. It’s probably not your favorite thing to hear that the results don’t come without the work, but deep down you know it’s true. You’re going to have to sweat. You’re going to have to push yourself through workouts that challenge you. You’re probably going have to make some adjustments to the way you eat. You’re going to have to work. But since you will put in the work, you will most certainly get more out of it, because it’s always more rewarding when you work hard and achieve something, rather than it be handed to you. For example, running a marathon is far more rewarding than simply sitting on a bus for 26.1 miles. Is it much harder work to do so? Of course! But the feeling of accomplishment is significantly higher. Our aim as a company is to show you how to put in the kind of work that feels worth it in the end (the kind that you can feel proud of), and to come alongside you as you do it. That’s why we’re called Worth the Work Fitness. Instead of glossing over the tough stuff, we embrace the work because we know it leads to results that are worth it in the end. So don’t let the work deter you. Don’t let it stop you. Don’t let it discourage you. Lean into it. Press onward. And embrace it. Because the best things in life are worth the work. P.S. Join us next week for the final installment of our Core Value Series where we’ll be talking even more about the kind of results that are worth it. Written by Brett Henderson and Kelly Pruim We are continuing with our Core Value Series where we’re diving a bit deeper into each core value of Worth the Work Fitness in order to help you get to know us better, and to help encourage you towards a healthier mindset with your health and wellness journey. Each week we are sharing one of our nine core values that are a part of the foundation of why we do what we do, and expanding on why each one is so significant to us and why we believe each can be significant to you as well  We encourage you to show up and do the best you can each day when it comes to both exercise and nutrition. It can be easy to think that if you’re not doing everything perfectly, you’re failing. Instead we want to change the standard from perfection to sustainability, and focus on making small consistent changes over time for a lasting impact. My dad used to say all the time that every good dad he ever met had two things in common: (1) they are wholly unprepared for the task of fatherhood, and (2) they show up anyway. Those words have stuck with me throughout not just my own experience as a parent, but in so many other facets of life. Because feeling wholly unprepared for a task at hand is a pretty common experience at some point or another for all of us. Whether it comes to raising a family, working your job, navigating your relationships, buying or renovating a house, or making major life decisions, there is bound to be at least one thing in your life that makes you feel a little (or a lot) in-over-your-head. But even when fear or doubt or worry are threatening to stop you from moving forward, I want to encourage you to show up anyway, because showing up is the most important part. There’s no chance of succeeding if you aren’t there to try in the first place. As Wayne Gretzky said (or Michael Scott for all you fans of The Office out there), “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” If you don’t show up, you can’t try. If you don’t try, there’s no way you can get better, and there’s certainly no way you can succeed. So rather than accepting failure from the start, instead we should show up, do the best we can, and see what we are capable of.
Now before we get any more philosophical here, let’s take a moment to apply this to our health journeys, because while my dad’s thoughts were directed towards parenting, I have found that they are incredibly relevant to fitness and nutrition as well. When we view our health with a journey mindset it can feel a bit overwhelming. I mean, say for example you’re 40 years old today, and you live until you are 85. That’s 45 more years of staying on this path. There are few things in life that require that kind of long term commitment, so it’s a pretty big deal. And depending on how much you know about fitness or nutrition, health is an area of life that can easily cause the feeling of being in-over-your-head. But regardless of your knowledge, experience, or skill, you get to show up and do the best you can each day. To emphasize the importance of the last part of that last statement (and in doing so emphasize the significance of this core value), let’s break it down a bit, piece by piece. YOU get to show up and do the best you can each day. Yes, you. Exactly as you are. Exactly where you are. Not you from 10 years ago. Not you in 1 year. Not the you who you wish you were. You, today. You GET TO show up and do the best you can each day. If you view exercise or eating healthy as a “have to” you’re much more likely to dread it. But if you can find ways to enjoy it and embrace that you have the wonderful opportunity to take care of the body that houses you, you can completely renew your commitment to it. You get to SHOW UP and do the best you can each day. We’re not asking for perfection out of you. We’re not expecting a performance. We’re not grading how well you do. We simply want you to show up and try. For you. For your kids. For whatever it is that motivates you to live healthily. Because like we already pointed out, you can’t progress if you don’t show up in the first place. You get to show up and DO the best you can each day. It takes action. It takes you putting in the work, which is oftentimes hard. But if you can figure out what kind of work is worth it for you, you’re going to be able to maintain focus and stay committed to this journey for the long haul. You get to show up and do THE BEST YOU CAN each day. While we have already established that you shouldn’t be aiming for perfection, you should still be striving to put in your best effort. And your best effort is likely going to look differently than everyone else’s best effort, but that’s ok. We’re not asking you to be someone else. We’re asking you to put forth what YOU are capable of, which is often much more than you probably let yourself believe. So don’t be afraid to push yourself and challenge yourself. You get to show up and do the best you can EACH DAY. The point of showing up is that you keep showing up. Each day. When you establish consistency, you establish habits. And those habits can help carry you through this lifelong journey of health. But each day is also likely going to look different. Some days you show up by pressing play on your workout and putting in max effort. Some days you show up by sneaking in a walk with the dog at the end of a busy day. Some days you show up by being mindful about what you eat. Some days you show up to rest so you can recover your body. Each day will likely demand different things. But if you show up to each day as it is, and as you are, you’ll be able to make the small changes that lead to sustainable growth as you go. We’ve already talked plenty in this series about how chasing perfection isn’t a sustainable approach to health. It often leads to short lived commitments that are abandoned at the earliest signs of failure. So I say chuck the expectation of being perfect every day out the window. Instead, let’s put in our best effort each day that we are given to be the best version of who we are today. And then tomorrow, let’s do it again. And then the next day, and the next day. Because finding ways to stay consistent with both our exercise and nutrition is going to lead to better results and a more fulfilling life. P.S. If you find my dad’s insightful wisdom to be intriguing, you can find more of it in his book Dad’s Top Ten Lectures. Written by Kelly Pruim and Brett Henderson We are continuing with our Core Value Series where we’re diving a bit deeper into each core value of Worth the Work Fitness in order to help you get to know us better, and to help encourage you towards a healthier mindset with your health and wellness journey. Each week we are sharing one of our nine core values that are a part of the foundation of why we do what we do, and expanding on why each one is so significant to us and why we believe each can be significant to you as well.  We believe in having fun, even when it comes to working out! You’ll see us dancing before the workouts, laughing at ourselves throughout, and finishing with a big virtual high-five! When you’re enjoying what you’re doing, you’re more likely to keep doing it. That’s why we don’t take ourselves too seriously. There will be times a movement might feel awkward, or you feel like you look goofy doing it - don’t let that stop you! Everyone has that feeling at some point, including us, and it gives us something to grow stronger in. If I were to ask you what words you associate with exercise, would the word ‘fun’ make the list? Some of you might say yes, but it’s likely that others of you might scoff, roll your eyes, or stare disbelievingly that anyone would ever use the words ‘fun’ and ‘exercise’ in the same sentence. Those are the people I specifically want to speak to today. Because odds are, if you think working out is anything but fun, you probably aren’t doing it too often, and I want to change that.
I think it goes without saying that the more we enjoy doing something, the more likely we are to continue doing said activity. The same thing applies to exercise. If we dread it, our commitment to it is probably going to wane quickly. But if we find ways to enjoy it, the more we will likely stick with it, and therefore the more we will reap the benefits of it. Think of it like this: do you remember the teacher that made you laugh in class when you were in school? The one who made what you were learning about relatable and fun? Odds are you probably paid more attention to what that teacher was trying to help you learn, because he or she made the process more fun, rather than just making it feel like the same kind of work every other class required. You retained the information a little easier or the teacher made a deeper impression on your life. So what if we made the process of working out more fun? That way you might not resent the work it involves and you come to enjoy it so much that it becomes a regular activity in your life. The challenge with this is that we all have different tastes. We all have different capabilities with our bodies. We all have different goals. So there is no one workout format that is going to be best for everyone. And yet, I think many of us have fallen victim to believing that there supposedly is. And we either haven’t found it yet, or there must be something wrong with us if we don’t like doing it. So, we start to believe we could never be the kind of person that likes to work out. Rather than giving in to that lie, let’s change the script. Let’s change our mindset and approach and try to give exercise a fair chance. So here’s a few tips for transforming working out into an activity you actually WANT to do:
So there you have it - six simple ways you can change up the way you approach exercising to make it a bit more fun. Now, I have to be honest, working out is still hard, no matter how fun you can make it be. There are still parts about it that I don’t fully love - and I say that as someone whose profession revolves around it. So I can understand and empathize with those of you who have to fight to get in the right frame of mind to workout sometimes. But that’s why I believe all the more that it’s important to have some fun while you’re putting in the work. If you can smile through the burn, it makes the process a whole lot more enjoyable. And when we enjoy it, we’re bound to stick with it for the long haul, and that’s what matters more. Written by Brett Henderson and Kelly Pruim We are continuing with our Core Value Series where we’re diving a bit deeper into each core value of Worth the Work Fitness in order to help you get to know us better, and to help encourage you towards a healthier mindset with your health and wellness journey. Each week we are sharing one of our nine core values that are a part of the foundation of why we do what we do, and expanding on why each one is so significant to us and why we believe each can be significant to you as well.  We focus on the feel-good, rather than the scale. The number on the scale is NOT a measure of your worth. What’s more important are the non-scale victories - things like clothes fitting better, getting off medications, having more energy, sleeping better, seeing a difference in the mirror and in pictures, recognizing positive changes in your mood, keeping up with your kids or grandkids, doing the activities you’ve always wanted to do, or other people noticing the changes you’ve made. Those are the victories that matter most. Oh, the scale. Such a fickle friend. It’s more often than not that people have an unhealthy relationship with their scale. Sure it seems like a good relationship when it shows us what we want, but as soon as it shows us anything different, we suddenly spiral into feelings of disappointment, frustration, anger, confusion, or stress. I know firsthand how aggravating and disheartening it can be to put in hard work, but not see the number budge, or worse, go in the opposite direction than we want it to. Like many of the methods or tools in the fitness industry we’ve mentioned throughout this series, it’s not the method/tool itself that is a bad thing, but it’s HOW we use them that can become a problem. It’s our mindset that can cause us some trouble. Let me give you an example.
I was talking with a client once when I worked at a brick and mortar gym. She had been coming to classes for about a month, so I checked in with her to ask how she was feeling. Her response: “I’m feeling the best I have in my entire life!” She went on to share how other people had been noticing changes in her; how her clothes were fitting better; how she was sleeping better and had more energy. The more she shared, the more she was glowing. Then, two days later I saw the same client and I could tell something was off with her. When I asked how she was doing, she told me she was miserable. We sat down again to chat, and I expected to hear about some family or work stress that caused the sudden shift in her attitude. But no. I came to find out that she had stepped on the scale that morning and she hadn’t lost any weight from the week before. Mind you, she had already lost nearly 10 pounds in her first month at the gym, but having one week of no change on the scale was enough for her to toss out all of those victories we celebrated a couple days prior, and focus on how miserable the scale made her feel. Soon after, she stopped showing up as consistently to classes and within two weeks she ended up cancelling her membership. Just one week of assumed stagnance was enough to halt her momentum and derail her from her journey. When she focused on the non-scale victories and how she was feeling, she had a glow about her and a skip in her step. But when she shifted her focus to the scale, it made her feel like the work she was putting in wasn’t worth it, and it led her to give up. This story feels all too familiar to too many people. It’s because weight loss tends to be the primary focus in the health and fitness industry. And the most tangible way to measure that is through a scale. So as a result, we put a lot of weight (no pun intended) on it as a measurement of our success. Even if we celebrate the non-scale victories, we still often let the scale have the final say. And yet, a scale only tells one small portion of the story. There are a wide variety of ways to measure your progress when it comes to your health. Here’s a small list of some examples:
If you are seeing positive progress in even just a few of these areas, shouldn’t that hold more weight than the number on the scale? It’s also worth mentioning that there are many different variables that can cause your weight to fluctuate. Things like water retention, stress levels, what time of day you weigh yourself, how recently you used the restroom, how recently you ate, what you ate, and menstrual cycles can all impact your weight over the course of a day (or even over the course of a couple hours). So shouldn’t we hold that measurement a little more loosely? At Worth the Work Fitness, we want to see you freed up from finding your worth in the number on the scale. We want to help you sever ties with the thing that may be dictating and limiting your abilities, self esteem, potential, and value as a human being. Because we want to see you live a wholly healthy life. And trying to control your body weight doesn’t fit into that because it doesn’t equate to health. Instead it can lead to a mess of unhealthy effects that hinder not only your physical health, but also your mental, emotional, and relational health. So we want to challenge you to change the script. Literally. Change the dialogue in your mind about what happens when you step on a scale. Take some time to reflect on your relationship with that hunk of plastic and determine if it’s causing you more harm than good. Is it controlling your mood? Is it ruining your day? Is it leading you into stress (that ends up causing you to retain weight)? Is it supporting any self deprecating thoughts? If it is, we’d encourage you to take a step back and limit how frequently you utilize it. Maybe only weigh yourself once a week, or once a month, if you still want to track progress in that way. Or better yet, maybe you decide to throw it in the trash and not use it at all. Because in our humble opinion, there are far better, more valuable ways to prove just how awesome of a human you are. So let's put this into practice. Let us know in the comments: what is one non-scale victory you can celebrate THIS WEEK? Written by Brett Henderson and Kelly Pruim We are continuing with our Core Value Series where we’re diving a bit deeper into each core value of Worth the Work Fitness in order to help you get to know us better, and to help encourage you towards a healthier mindset with your health and wellness journey. Each week we are sharing one of our nine core values that are a part of the foundation of why we do what we do, and expanding on why each one is so significant to us and why we believe each can be significant to you as well.  We want to get away from the all-in or all-out mindset. We recognize that doing something is better than doing nothing. Health & wellness doesn’t have to be black & white. We’re comfortable living in the gray. Progress is more important than perfection. “Go all-in!”
“Give it everything you’ve got!” “Pull out all the stops!” “Spare no effort!” Those phrases all sound pretty motivating, right? They’re the kind of phrases we tell ourselves when we’re taking on something hard. They’re the mantras we adopt when we really want to go after our goals. They’re the kinds of things we hear from coaches or trainers when we are pushing through a workout. They’re what brings out the warrior in us to take on anything! But what does it actually mean to “go all-in”? What does it actually look like in day to day life? And more specifically what does it actually look like to apply that to your health and wellness? There are two main scenarios of adopting this mindset that we’ve seen come up time and time again throughout our work in the fitness industry. And unfortunately, time and time again we’ve seen how they have failed. Let’s take a look at how both of those scenarios play out. Sally and Wendy are ready to make changes in their habits and health, so they sign up for a short term program (think 30 day challenge, 21 day reset, and the like), because THIS will be the thing that kicks their butts into gear and gets them living healthier once and for all. Sally is ready to go all-in. She’s hung onto every word of instruction that she’s been given to succeed at this. She’s prepared all the meals, bought all the supplements, and planned out her workout schedule to set herself up for success to not just hit, but surpass, the goal she has set. She’s thinking that if she pulls out all the stops for the duration of this program, then she will achieve the body she wants, and then she can loosen up a little to easily maintain it. She gets started and never misses a workout. She even starts adding in additional workouts on the side - just to ensure the results she’s seeking. It’s hard for her to take all this time away from her family, but it’ll be worth it, she tells herself. Just a few more weeks. She measures out her food, counts her macros, and makes sure to never let a treat tempt her to cave in. Sure, it’s hard, especially when she watches her kids enjoy their Friday night pizza while she eats another salad. But she keeps telling herself, just a few more weeks. Just a few more days. She looks to that light at the end of the tunnel. And soon, she finishes the program strong, and sees amazing results in her body! She achieved her goals and she’s so proud of herself, but she’s also so relieved to be done. So now it’s time to celebrate. She’s earned a reward. She’s earned the right to loosen up. So she does. She indulges herself in a meal full of the treats she has been depriving herself of for weeks. But one meal sure isn’t enough. So she gives herself the freedom to indulge for a few more days. And a few more days after that. And she takes a couple days off of working out, because she’s earned a few rest days. And then she gives herself the freedom to rest a few more days. And a few more days after that. And then soon, Sally finds herself losing all of the progresa she made over the course of her program. And those habits she was so laser focused on are all but a bad memory she doesn’t want to return to because it was so hard to keep up with. She was all-in. And then she was all-out. Then there’s Wendy. Wendy really wants this to be the program that works. She’s ready to go all-in, because she knows that how she’s living isn’t working and the only way that makes sense to fix it is to change everything. So she does. She gets prepared for the challenge as well. Like Sally she prepares her food, gets all the supplements, and plans out her workout schedule to make sure she sets aside the time for every single one. She knows that if she can just do this all perfectly - if she can go all in - then she will achieve the results she’s longing for. She gets off to a great start and is building momentum, but then one day a meeting gets scheduled at work during her normal workout time, so she misses one. And then another day she forgets her lunch at home and has to scramble to find something quick to pick up. And then another day she sleeps through the alarm for her morning workout because she is so exhausted from staying up all night with a teething baby. Then in her exhaustion, she takes a bite into the cake served at her co-workers birthday lunch before she realizes what she put into her mouth. Basically, life happens. And she’s no longer nailing it. Her plans to be all-in are failing, because you can’t be all-in if you are sometimes out. So she feels guilty. She feels like a failure. And she’s stressed out trying to make it all come together. But she loses hope that she will be able to get the results she wanted because she’s already made so many mistakes along the way. If she can’t do it perfectly, then what’s the point? So she shamefully gives up. She doesn’t even finish the challenge. Because she doesn’t believe that she can go all-in. So she boxes herself into being all-out. Can you relate to Sally or Wendy? Not everyone’s story looks exactly like either of theirs, but there are surely a lot of relevant features in them for many, many people (we know there are pieces of them that we ourselves have been able to relate to). And it doesn’t necessarily have to do with the short term programs themselves. It doesn’t even have to do with some of the habits that Sally or Wendy tried to implement. It has everything to do with the all-in or all-out mindset. When we go all-in for a set amount of time, there is always an end in sight. So it can set us up for a suffering mindset of gutting through it for that short period of time, and resenting the work it takes to get the results we want because it feels so extreme. Or we’re so scared to death of screwing up or breaking the diet, and striving to do it perfectly that we stress ourselves out. Either way it likely leads to us hating the process and therefore abandoning our efforts soon after (or even before) we finish that short term program, resorting back to many of the habits we wanted to change in the first place. But what if there’s an alternative? What if all-in or all-out are not your only options? What if you could find ways to establish healthy habits that you build on over time to become a healthy way of life? What if you could enjoy the work you are putting in because it feels worth it to you? Well, that’s what we want to help you do at Worth the Work Fitness. And what exactly does that look like? Well, it often looks a bit different for everyone. Because each of us have unique body types, personalities, and ways of thinking that all affect what healthy looks like for each of us. Yes, there are some general guidelines of what is good for our bodies, and what is not so good. But oftentimes the execution is going to vary. Ultimately, it’s going to look like doing workouts that you can actually enjoy - the kind that make you feel good; the kind that keep you coming back. Sometimes it looks like doing the same kind of workouts regularly to keep consistent. And other times it looks like mixing it up depending on how you feel on a given day. But ultimately you are moving your body consistently for a reasonable amount of time throughout the week in a way that fits into your schedule without sacrificing effectiveness or quality time for other priorities of life. It looks like choosing healthy foods to eat without stressing out over every bite you take. It looks like giving yourself the freedom to find healthy foods you like and enjoy a treat without feeling guilty. This kind of living looks like learning and adapting as you go. It looks like small changes, a little at a time, that build off one another. It looks like finding ways to sustain your healthy habits when life shifts. And sometimes that means shifting your methods as you go. It looks like having a journey mindset - knowing that you’re in it for the long haul, and that means there will be ups and downs and turns along the way, but you keep moving forward. Because progress is better than staying still. Progress is better than giving up. Progress is better than perfection. So let’s come up with a plan that works for you. Since it’s different for everyone, we’re here to help you figure out your best approach. We’re here to simplify the process for you and support you along the way. So what do you say? Are you in? We’re offering an entire week of our workouts FOR FREE for you to try out and see if working with us is going to be the best fit for you. Head over here to claim those workouts for yourself! Written by Kelly Pruim with Brett Henderson We are continuing with our Core Value Series where we’re diving a bit deeper into each core value of Worth the Work Fitness in order to help you get to know us better, and to help encourage you towards a healthier mindset with your health and wellness journey. Each week we are sharing one of our nine core values that are a part of the foundation of why we do what we do, and expanding on why each one is so significant to us and why we believe each can be significant to you as well. In our last post we briefly touched on how playing the comparison game when it comes to our health and wellness journeys can be detrimental to our forward progress. Today we’ll be expanding further on this comparison topic by chatting through the different standards we compare our bodies to, and how we can shift to a healthier approach.  We want to help you focus on being the best version of your current self. We’re not working to get the bodies we had in high school or the bodies we see in magazines. We want to avoid comparing ourselves to anyone else (even our former selves) because we know that all of our bodies are different. The perfect body is the healthiest version of the one you currently have. The Perfect Body
How would you define the perfect body? Whether you are male or female, there’s probably a picture in your mind of ideal features that you are either working towards or wish you had. You might even have a particular person in mind that encapsulates every feature you’ve ever wanted. But here’s the thing, while there are certainly overlapping opinions about the perfect body type for men and women, we can guess that if you were to ask even 10 different people how they would define it, you’d get a variety of answers. There are a lot of deep rooted attachments in our minds to what we consider to be the ideal body type, but without getting into the psychology behind it all, we’d just like to point out that despite what we often fall prey to believing, there is no one version of a perfect body. To exemplify that, here is an article from a few years ago that shows the differences between the “ideal” female body between different countries around the world, and here is another article from a couple years ago that focuses on the “perfect” female body throughout American history. Both articles show the blatant proof that the so-called perfect body is elusive. Talk about a confusing standard to follow. Add into the mix the edited or photoshopped images in magazines or on the internet that present a false sense of reality, and the confusion sinks even deeper. And yet, even when we acknowledge the unrealistic nature of the standards placed on both men and women, we often still strive to look like someone else - whether consciously or unconsciously. And oftentimes, we even strive to look like another version of our own selves. Our Former Selves We can’t tell you how many past clients we’ve worked with that hyper focus on the ‘once upon a time’. How back in high school, back in college, just a few years ago, they were in great shape, but then [fill in the blank] happened. And the guilt of letting that body go, or those habits go, lingers over them and is shaming them into efforts to try to get back to what they once had so they don’t have to keep living with that feeling of failure. Once again, there’s plenty of psychology that plays into this, so without diving too deep in the weeds, we just want to point out that you are not who you used to be. And that is ok. In fact, it’s more than ok. However long ago the body you might compare yourself to existed, you’ve grown and matured and adapted with life since then - emotionally, mentally, and physically. There very well may be aspects of yourself you aren’t entirely happy with (which is normal, because there’s always more room for us to grow in life), but you have to be careful how you let any discontentment affect your motivation. Another thing to keep in mind when we think back on the glory days is that we’re likely going to end up competing with versions of ourselves in an unfair match. It's a scientific fact that our bodies change as we age. So we have to shift our expectations of what it takes for us to live healthily now in comparison to what it did back then - whenever ‘then’ may be. The Overarching Problem As a whole, this comparative way of thinking can set us up for unhealthy relationships with our bodies. We poke and prod and wish they were different. We speak negatively about them, either to ourselves or in front of others. We grow insecure about the features that noticeably stand out to us (that may or may not even stand out to others). We hyperfocus on the things we want to change and risk following drastic measures to achieve them (i.e. overexercising, crash diets, eating disorders, plastic surgery/botox). We can become critical of not just ourselves, but of others as well, tearing them down so we can build ourselves up to feel even just a little bit better. We can fool ourselves into thinking that once we get that body we’ve been dreaming of, or we get back to the body we once had, THEN we will be happy. But this way of thinking is not only risky for our bodies, but also for our mental, emotional, and relational health. There’s got to be a better approach. A better way. A healthier way. The Better Perfect Body So now, instead of dreaming about your idea of a perfect body, we want you to take a good look at the body you have at this very moment. Go on, take a look in the mirror right now. Take it all in. There might be parts of it that you are not happy to see. And it’s ultimately ok to want to make changes. But instead of letting those self proclaimed “problem areas” rule your decisions or feelings, we want your motivation to come from a place of freedom to live healthily. From a place of appreciation for the good things your body can do and has done. From a place of acceptance that you are uniquely beautiful and strong already, because you are more than just your body. Now take a look down at your feet. Think of where these feet have taken you. What they’ve carried you through. You can’t change what steps you took to get where you are now (good or bad). All you can control now is the effort you make going forward from here. You can choose to either let the guilt keep you stagnant or on a downward spiral, or you can choose to step forward in freedom towards sustainable health. That’s what we try to focus on at Worth the Work Fitness. We don’t want to feed into the insecurities and tell you simply how to try to fix them, tweak them, and change them. We want to lead you into whole health - the kind that focuses on taking care of the body you have, not just trying to “fix” it; the kind that focuses on treating yourself with respect, rather than shaming your body into something it’s not; the kind that focuses not just on physical health, but also mental, emotional, and relational health that goes beyond this current season of life, and carries on with you in all the seasons to come. It’s okay to be inspired by someone - including your former self. But if that inspiration turns into anything other than motivation - anything like guilt, shame, regret, obsession - then it’s time for a heart check. It’s time to refocus on your big picture ‘why’. So let’s ditch that comparison of our former selves. Let’s ditch measuring ourselves against every other body. Let’s ditch the goals of trying to look like X, Y, or Z. And let’s embrace the fact that a perfect body is just the healthiest version of the bodies we already have. Let’s figure out what is healthy for each of us individually right now. We promise when you do that, there is much greater health to come. Written by Kelly Pruim with Brett Henderson We are continuing with our Core Value Series where we’re diving a bit deeper into each core value of Worth the Work Fitness in order to help you get to know us better, and to help encourage you towards a healthier mindset with your health and wellness journey. Each week we are sharing one of our nine core values that are a part of the foundation of why we do what we do, and expanding on why each one is so significant to us and why we believe they can be significant to you as well.  We’re not concerned about what experience you have with exercise or what type of shape you’re currently in. It doesn’t matter to us whether you've never worked out in your life, or you currently work out 6 days/week. We are a community of like-minded individuals who recognize that while everyone’s journey is different and we’re all at different points, we're all in it together. We support any and everyone who is willing to put in the work with us, no matter where you're at on your journey. Have you ever felt intimidated by exercise? Or maybe better put, have you ever felt intimidated by people who exercise? Have you ever seen a fitness advertisement, or a group of people exercising, and think, “I don’t think I could ever do that” or “there’s no way I’d look like that doing that”? Have you ever walked into a gym and when you look around you feel like you’re an imposter - like you don’t belong? And have you ever let that intimidation STOP you from even starting in the first place?
It can absolutely feel intimidating for many people to walk into a gym when just starting out. You want to learn, but you don’t want anyone to notice that you have no idea what you’re doing. Even still, it can feel intimidating for some to walk into a gym even when they know what they’re doing. We all carry some level of insecurity, so we’re prone to measure ourselves against the person doing more reps, pushing more weight, or running faster or longer than we are, and convince ourselves that we don’t belong. It’s all too easy to let ourselves believe that lie, and feel discouraged, and stop showing up. But I’m here to tell you that you do belong. You get to show up and take care of yourself. Right where you’re at. That’s not a privilege solely allowed for people who already look a certain way, or have a certain set of habits, or who can already do the things that you are aiming to try. Each and every one of us gets to take care of ourselves in whatever way is best for us. And that is going to look different from person to person. Each of us have different starting points. Each of us have different hurdles. Each of us have different equipment and skills of our own to work with. Each of us have different goals we want to achieve. And I think that kind of allowance for diversity makes room for so much more freedom for us all. There’s no one standard we all have to measure up to. In the span of our careers in the fitness industry, we’ve worked with a wide variety of people at different points in their journeys. We’ve worked with people who have regularly worked out for years and are just wanting to mix up their workout routine. We’ve worked with people who have had an on and off relationship with their health for years. We’ve worked with people who were athletes “back in the day” but haven’t found a way to continue their lifestyle into adulthood. We’ve worked with people who have never set foot in a gym before. We’ve worked with people who have experienced injuries in the past and are trying to either regain strength or find a new kind of strength. It’s been all across the board. And you know what each of those people have had in common? They showed up for their workouts and put in the work to move their bodies in whatever way they were capable of at that time. When you look at a sample of people who exercise, of course one person is going to lift a heavier weight than another. One person is going to squat lower than another. One person is going to jump higher than another. One person is going to run out of breath faster than another. One person is going to be able to push a little harder than another. One person is going to take more water breaks than another. But none of that is what matters. What matters is that they are showing up where they’re at. They are moving their bodies how they can today. And each day they do that, they improve their odds of being able to do more tomorrow than they did today. We speak often about how we hold a journey mindset with our health and wellness - not a race mindset. And that’s not just because it’s a lifelong thing. It’s also because we’re not racing against anyone either. It’s not about one-upping our friend, neighbor, co-worker, or the person at the gym we envy. It’s about coming alongside each other no matter what point on the path we are each on. Our goal is to foster a community that is all about that. That looks like someone who has been consistently working out for years encouraging someone who is just getting started because they’ve been there, and they understand how it feels. That looks like someone who is having a hard time feeling motivated for their workouts finding inspiration from the person who just shared about a personal victory they had this week. That looks like when someone achieves a goal they’ve been working on for awhile, they share with the group and are celebrated. And when we do things like that, rather than a couple people advancing far ahead of everyone else, we all get to go farther together. So let’s remove the competition. Let’s remove the comparison. And let’s each show up exactly where we’re at right. now. Let’s embrace the journey, together - no matter where we’re each at on it. Written by Kelly Pruim We’re excited to kick off a series today on our blog to do a bit of a deep dive into our core values. Each value is a part of the foundation of why we do what we do, so we think it will be helpful to explore them a bit further with you in order to 1) help you get to know us better and 2) help to encourage you towards a healthier mindset with your health and wellness journey. Each week you can expect us to share one of our nine core values and then expand on why they are so significant to us and why we believe they should be significant to you as well. So without further ado, here’s our first core value…  We focus on overall health & wellness with a long-term vision. We believe in creating sustainable habits instead of offering short-term programs. No quick fixes here. Even though 6 week challenges, 21 day fixes, 50 day shreds, or bikini body summer challenges sound appealing, from our experience, we have seen that short-term programs foster a short-term commitment. We focus on consistency and sustainability over the long run when it comes to both exercise & eating habits. Let’s be real, the word ‘commitment’ can feel a little daunting. I mean, it’s a rather serious thing to be in a committed relationship. So to make a commitment with our health can be a little overwhelming and scary - especially if we’ve had a rocky relationship with it in the past. That’s a big reason why the fitness industry often focuses on the short term as a marketing approach. What sounds more appealing: health & wellness is a forever thing and something that you must focus on every day for the rest of your life, or just buckle down for 30 days to get your body where you want it, and then all you have to do is maintain? I can bet that most people would probably lean towards the latter, and I get it. Quick fixes sound great. We all want them. We’ve all let ourselves believe that they’re possible. But I’m going to be completely honest here: unfortunately, the quick fixes don’t produce results, habits, or mindsets that last. It’s all short term. You can only maintain what you get from something if you continue with it. While it might sound intimidating, your health is something that you should have a long term relationship with. But you have a choice in how healthy of a relationship that is. Because in reality, either approach you take is a forever thing. If all you ever do is that one short term challenge every year, you will continue to cycle back to it over and over again. You do the challenge, you get some results, you return to your habits, you lose your results, you return to where you were before you started (or worse), you do another challenge to try it again (because surely this time it’ll work) - wash, rinse, repeat. But rather than only getting serious and strict for a brief period, what if you found ways to take your health seriously every day throughout the year? It won’t be as intense as the short term programs. It probably won’t get you dramatic results as quickly as the short term programs promise either. But you will create habits and achieve results that improve your health in a lasting way without the added stress of a timeline. At Worth the Work Fitness, we aim to help you make a few small changes at a time that you can keep adding to along the way, and those small steps and small changes will add up to lasting results over the long run. Think of it like learning to walk. It first takes babies some time to learn to stand and find out that they have strength in their legs to hold them up. Once they master that, they start to figure out how to move their wobbly legs while hanging on to something. Then they start to find their balance. Some time after comes one or two steps. Over and over again a baby will try, fail, and get back up again, until eventually that one step turns into five steps, which turns into ten steps, which turns into a full blown walking toddler. No one ever expects a baby to go from crawling to walking immediately. It takes time to learn. It takes time for the body to adjust and get comfortable. Just like any skill or habit, a step by step approach helps build a better foundation for the skill or habit to stick. And oftentimes with our health it’s not just about learning a new skill or habit - it’s about changing a habit. Which means we likely have some unlearning to do as we go. That’s even harder. And so there is grace. No one is a fitness guru after one workout. No one loses those 20 pounds they’ve been wanting to after one salad. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but achieving your goals will take time. It’ll take effort. It won’t always be pretty. It won’t always be linear. Just like a newly walking baby still stumbles and falls after they’ve been walking for weeks, we’re going to fumble a bit too. And that’s OK. It’s a journey. We get it. We know it’s hard. We know it’s overwhelming. But that’s what WE are here for. To help you in this journey. To offer you guidance and a plan that you can follow along with - which takes the pressure off of you to learn all the things. To offer you support - which gives you accountability and affirmation to stick to the habits you are building. So, what kind of relationship do you want to have with your health? The rocky, “it’s complicated” kind that - let’s be honest - never really does us any good? Or the healthy, committed relationship that brings joy and fulfillment that lasts? Written by Brett Henderson and Kelly Pruim
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