Set yourself up for success

Good afternoon!

Well today I did something that I haven't done in along time! I went over to Chalene's Johnson like page on facebook to see what was going.  I haven't been visiting for awhile. For some reason Chalene just doesn't pop up in my normal news feed as it used to.  Chalene is a pusher, you can tell by her posts, she wants to make sure you are doing what you need to do to achieve your own personal goals.  So its not like she is pushing to do things that are not aligning with yourself...which I like, her motivational push is to make sure you set up yourself to achieve the success that you are looking for.  So with that said, she posted this question:

"Set yourself up for a successful tomorrow! What can you do this evening to MAKE SURE you set it off tomorrow?"

It got me thinking in several things. 

1.  I should set up my alarm to be a Turbo Drill...you know the sirens, and the music starts...well, this is not my idea, but I saw it in a funny video on youtube about being a Turbo addict, and it made me laugh, and said to myself, HEY! that can actually help push myself to get up at 5am as I always say I will, but very rarely do!   I thought that cute, and in all seriousness the siren before the turbo always gets me excited! so I am thinking it will be hard to ignore

2.   When I got to bed each night, I bring the ipad, and always read, but I am always reading historical romance novels or sci-fi book...bet you didn't know that about me huh?  yeah, I know...its just a time to unwind and not really think about any issues that might rest heavily in my mind...and its good, but I have some major goals I want to accomplish, which if I do can give so many other things, as well as free time to read my historical and sci-fi books, SOOO a new habit I want to set up for myself, is instead of reading fun but really non-sense books I should focus on  personal development books.  I mean I already read them about 10 pages in the morning...but it will not hurt if I read in the evening.  And yes, we all need time to unwind, and not be so structured, BUT I KNOW! I KNOW for a fact that in order to achieve what you want you need to do more...so reading extra personal development at night is going to help me so that I am in the right frame of mind in the morning :)

3.  I should also prepare lunches...but I probably won't do this.  Tomorrow I am planning on Turkey Sandwich, and I don't want my bread to get soggy from the hummus....so...even though I could prepare the lunches, I won't :) but that is a conscious choice on my part, and since I will be waking up at 5am tomorrow it won't matter time wise!

So what about you?  What you can do this evening to start tomorrow on the right foot?

Days 9 - 15 of Chalean Extreme

Hello Friends!

Don't think I've slacken off with Burn phase :)  I am right on track!

I did notice though that on the Burn Circuit 3, which focuses on shoulders and legs, that my shoulders did loose some of its strength,  which doesn't surprise me as my shoulders is a weak spot for me.  On the last round I could do 15lbs shoulder presses, now for my shoulder exercises I am down to 12lbs and 10lbs (depending) which I guess is not bad, I mean I don't necessarily want to look like I am wearing shoulder pads ;)  

My eating habits have not been the best lately, so I will come clean on that score.  I mean during the day I've been fine, drinking my shakeology, my snacks, and my lunches have all been good...its right after dinner.  When the kids are all settled, and I am waiting for my p90x buddy to get home.  He has been doing major overtime, so he gets home around 9pm...and I am bored! there I said it, I've been eating out of boredom! ugh! and I know better than that.  But oddly enough, based on my fitnesspal diary even with the not so good choices I am making after dinner,  am still around 1700-1800 calories per day.  So I am thinking that on a a subconsciousness level I know I will succumb at night time, and therefore my calories during the day are not as high?  it can also be that I switched to PB2 so my calories in my shake in the morning is not as high...but still if I would have refrained from eating when I don't need to I could have probably broken my weight plateau!  

I've noticed that if I "vow" things here on my blog, I really do stick to what I say, so here I go!

 I solemnly vow that I will not be doing any eating out of sheer boredom...and I can do some Hustle while I wait for Angel to come home ;)

Day 2 of Chalean Extreme

Good morning!

Well today is my rest day from Chalean Extreme!   When I woke up this morning, my chest muscles were stiff and sore!  YAY! I welcome the pain...it's been a while since I felt that kind of soreness in my upper body.  

Per the Chalean Extreme schedule, today is my rest day, but  I didn't NOT want to do anything so I  decided to do my Cardio!  What's my favorite cardio?  well if you haven't figure it out already its TURBO! Turbo Jam (which is really for beginners) Turbo Fire, and of course now Turbo Kick!  Since I am now a certified instructor, I get all the awesome music and choreography and I practice to my hearts content!  Speaking of which, this past Saturday I got to showcase the punching section of round 44, a special thanks to Anita the TK instructor that teaches TK on Saturday mornings at the San Mateo Sports 24hr fitness!  It was a great natural high for me to get front and center and showcase that punching section.  I am naturally a quite girl...not one to seek attention.  I remember when I was in 5-6th grade there used to be a talent show at school, I would happily watch my friends practice their dances, but in no way would I have volunteered to participate!  although, thinking back I did participate in the 6th grade Drill Team and we performed for the school. That was so nerve racking!   After it was done I remember thinking to myself, well that's the last time I bring attention to myself! but I must say that I must secretly enjoy being front in center, because in middle school in Mexico I was part of the "escolta" which is a Mexican tradition, kinda like saying the pledge to the flag every morning, but in Mexico its on Monday mornings, and the escolta brings out the flag and then the school sings the national anthem before starting the school week.   So I guess I am a "front and center closet girl" that hasn't come quite come out and declare that she enjoys to perform for the world to see ;)

My 2nd Round of Chalean Extreme!

Wohoo!
Today was my day 1 of Chalean Extreme! this is my 2nd round this year, I did one round in the summer.  It was great. I really wanted to do P90X this fall, but this is the time of year where it gets so hectic at work, separating a full chunk of AT LEAST an hour, its tough!   and Chalean Extreme is only 45min tops!  So I decided to do another round of Chalean Extreme, it just works a lot better with my schedule.

 I wanted to start it almost a month ago, but my garage was a complete mess.  My garage is my gym when it comes to Strength Training this is where I keep my dumbbells, and where I pop in the DVD and push play.  I can't do it in the living room.   However, the garage is also the play room for my kids, and in the break when I stopped lifting, the kids took over that room.   Toys, clothes, blankets were all over the place!  you couldn't walk with out stepping on toys, let alone exercise!

All last week I kept posting about it on Facebook that I need to get back to lifting and that I needed to clean my garage again.  But it was just too daunting! finally on Saturday I put my foot down, and said no more, this mess has to be cleaned up.  I took it section at a time, and 3 hours later, my garage was once again my workout room and the kids playroom.  Once again we share this room!   that I was going get back in the weightlifting.

Normally when we share the room, its more manageable because I make them pick up their toys so that in the morning I can do mystrength training, however since I had stopped, I was lax about having them pick up after themselves.  When I wanted to start up again, I was very overwhelmed with the mess! so I just kept putting it off.  I was like, well I'll just do turbo!  and I must do Turbo in the living room, where the floor aids me to pivot and do my proper form without feeling it in my knees so the need for the garage wasn't a "must". 

What can I say?  My day 1 of Burn Circuit 1 - went well! I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't loose any of my strength  and could still lift somewhat heavy!  for the posterior deltoids (is that it?  the back of the shoulders almost the upper back)  I was doing 15lbs, vs the 12lbs that Chalene was doing...yeah I have to brag about it :)  and I did all the push-ups on my toes, no knee push-ups for me! It was a great surprise...Round 2, here we go again!  LIFT HEAVY OR GO HOME!

I am Super Mom!

Hello my friends!!! LOOONNG TIME no write! I so apologize for my lack of communication via my blog.  Things have been hectic...more than hectic.  Its that time of year when my Accounting job really does pick up.  Its Year End.   Its forecasting time.  Its time to start thinking of 2012.  Its time to start thinking about corporate taxes.

Anyway, I was asked a question the other day...how do I do what I do?  In the past year, I've become a huge fan of Brian Tracy.  He has this particular book, that I want to master and its called Eat That Frog.  It is all common sense stuff that he advises, so why is it so hard to master? Eating my Frog is something that I still struggle with.  But in addition to Brian Tracy's excellent Advice, I am also following Chalene Johnson!  Not with the workouts...although I do Turbo Everyday, BUT  I have to have my priorities clear so that my goals and actions align.   But here its where it gets complicated.  I have priorities and goals for each aspect of my life.  I have 3 Carmen's.

1. Carmen #1 - The mom and wife:  Support  my family, be there emotionally and financially, build my kids confidence way up so that they don't have the same struggles as I do, and be the best supporting wife that I can be, respect my husband, but more than anything be a real partner to him.

2.  Carmen #2 - The Accountant - Provide excellent work in a timely manner.

3.  Carmen #3 - ME  - Be happy with myself, the way to do this is help and support as many people as I can without violating any moral ethics, have time for myself to de-stress and start each day as happy as I can be.

This is how I try to organize myself....each Carmen has about 2-3 Frogs  that she must eat to feel like she had a productive day.  I focus on one individual Frog and I don't look at the other until one is eaten...if I focus on too many frogs, my day is shot and I won't get anything done.

So needless to say my house is a mess, my front and backyard are not worth mentioning.  I've come to terms with the fact that I haven't seen a full season of any one show in over 2 years....I don't even watch a full episode of  any one show.  But this is worth it, because I have certain priorities, certain goals that I need to accomplish.  I don't TV to de-stress...I have my Turbo and Scrapbooking for that.

So there you have it...my life is busy, but not unmanageable and my ladder is against the right wall, so all the steps that I take as I go up, is taking me exactly where I want to go, and I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Beachbody's obsession with Personal Development ;)

Am I evolving?

“Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.” - Earl Nightingale I borrowed this quote from a very good friend of mine on facebook (Shout out to Leslie! :) ...I've had an emotional  week, but filled with good energy! I've realized so much,  that I have no idea where to start telling you my breakthroughs! lol Its a good weird feeling. I feel like I am bursting with energy, but because by nature I am just such as quite mellow person that I don't know if people who see me can tell that I am about to burst out of my bubble! but  I am!

I decided to respond  to my own coach, and accept a challenge she posted.  The challenge was to become Diamond in the next 7 days!..now to give you some background of myself, I am a very religious/spiritual person.  I believe in God 100%, and I do talk and pray to him everyday.   Now do I belong to a church? no....I do however consider myself catholic since I was raised within that church, but I digress.  My point is this, just on Monday I was talking/praying to God to help me and my two sponsor coaches move our business into the right direction.  I told myself, I need to sign up a coach this week to lead by example! And then here comes Coni (my coach :) with this e-mail, reaching out to her downline, not only with a challenge thrown out there, but with the caring and compassion that she will help you, within her power, to get you where you want to be.  I was like, THANK YOU GOD FOR LISTENING! He sent me a friend to help me breakthrough!  I am feeling pumped not only with my own fitness, but in really growing my own business!  I am not here to sell you anything, however, if you are thinking about buying any beachbody products, why not me?  why go through beachbody informecials, or website?  Not only would you get personal attention, but you would be helping a friend out, plus its a bit cheaper buying through a coach..anyway I digress again....

Specifically, I am calling to all of you who want more out of your lives to be part of my team! I am here, I am committed and I won't let you down!  I told my brother something along the lines, that I was inviting him to join my teambeachbody not just because I want to succeed for myself, but I truly, from the bottom of my heart believe in this business! and if I am confident I can make it work for me, then he knows I wont steer him wrong! I want the same success for him!  When family work  together there is an extra incentive to make things work! Now, I know I am not family to you, and you might say "yeah right" but if this is for you, I won't let you down, I am not going anywhere.  Iam committed to this business.  I want to make more money (I do have 5 kids!) and if I can help you do the same so much the better! we can be a team of truly dedicated people helping others, motivating others...its a good thing, this business is not just about You - there  is no selfishness.  Now don't get me wrong I love my job, I am an accountant at heart and I am very loyal to my current employer (they did bring me back to California), however, I do need to make extra money on the side...who doesn't? so please do contact me if you want to learn more about the beachbody coaching business, how it works I am here to share!