I sincerely hope you have continued with your transformation journey throughout the holidays.  If so, you are in the middle of some amazing transformations. Whether you’re seeing change and growth in your health & bloodwork numbers, grades in college courses, endurance and strength improvements in workouts, better sleep, fitting into smaller clothes sizes – you ARE transforming!  If you stalled out over the holidays, or are just seeing this for the first time – you’re in the right place!!!  There’s no time like right now to start finding your way toward your best, healthiest self!

We’ve been through a lot together already.  Here is a quick review:  

T – Time; true transformation takes time. Trust the process and make the best use of the time you have.

R – Remove; remove all negative thoughts, unhealthy foods, and time wasting activities that prevent you from being your most productive

A – Add; Add in more water, healthier foods, more rest, more workouts, lift heavier weights, run/walk a little farther.

N – Nutrition; Fuel your body for these workouts, better sleep, and burning body fat by being intentional with your food choices!

S – Shape; Building muscle improves your shape. Eating healthier meals, making the most of your workouts, being consistent, sticking to morning and evening routines shape your habits!

F – Faith; our bodies were Divinely designed! God has gifted each of us with gifts, talents, and purpose. Improving and maintaining our health and fitness levels ensure we are FIT to serve!

And this week’s focus ~

O – out; get out of your comfort zone! Challenge yourself, and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish. If you don’t change anything, you can count on staying the same. If your journey to fitness has you feeling healthier and stronger, challenge yourself by entering a 5K, obstacle course, or spartan race. If you’ve been sticking with classes at your local gym, step out and try the free weights and machines. Try a boot camp or yoga class. Shake things up a little bit!

In remembering back to the spring when we watched caterpillars transform – those tiny little caterpillars traded their crawling space for those cocoons, then woke up in a bigger environment.  We released the butterflies during boot camp, and saw only one fly out immediately; the rest took a while to leave that habitat. But – they did! They left their comfort zone of the small habitat they’d shared to fly off into a great big world (full of birds!)!    

In our own way, that’s what we’re doing. Beginning a brand new year offers so many opportunities!  Have you done something this week that was completely out of your comfort zone? Maybe we challenge ourselves with yoga poses that require more balance and/or strength. Maybe we try jogging a short distance along with walking. Remember Phillipians 4:13 tells us we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us!

So, we are fully equipped! AND you’ve been training hard for months – YOU can handle something new!  You may even find something you absolutely love, and that can be life changing!  It wasn’t all that long ago that my chiropractor AND my coach recommended that I take some yoga classes.  I finally took their advice; both of them couldn’t be wrong, could they?   Once I took the first class, the rest (as they say) is history.  I loved it so, so much that I sought certification so that I could teach yoga.  Life changing!  If you’ve never taken a yoga class, give it a try.  If you’ve never taken a Spin, body pump, or dance class – give them a try!  A fantastic option for fitness and stress relief is cardio kickboxing.  It’s actually therapeutic to kick, knee and punch a bag!  Most gyms offer a free trial, either a day or a week.  So see, you really have nothing to lose except your excuses and maybe some time.  And honestly, how much time do we waste on unnecessary activities?

Let’s get out of our comfort zones this week.  Try something different.  What do we have to gain?  Let’s see:

* Finding a new activity you potentially enjoy

* Building your confidence

* Boosting your self esteem

* Adding another level of fitness into your life

* Boosting your immune system

* Increasing your stamina and strength

* Boosting your brain

* Improving your mood

* Managing stress

* Improving your anti-aging strategies