This past Monday I gave away my #140Conf NYC ticket because I’m having surgery tomorrow (well for some of you, by the time you read this it will be today) and I couldn’t attend. Now it turns out that I won’t be able to attend the very cool Fitness & Health Bloggers Conference in Colorado either.
Major bummer!

So, since I’ll be in bed, hopped up on pain killers, and can’t use my conference pass, I’ve decided to pass it on for someone else to enjoy.  Here is the conference agenda for you to check out to see if you’d like to enter to win. All you have to do is leave a comment below on what you’d hope to get out of the conference and how you’d pass that information/experience on to help others.

Since the conference is already at the end of next week, I will announce the winner this Friday, the 17th. I can’t say what time though, it all depends on how well my heavily medicated brain is functioning.

Best of Luck & Namaste!

]]> http://fitarella.com/2011/06/win-my-ticket-to-the-fitness-health-bloggers-conference/feed/ 8 http://fitarella.com/2010/08/what-keeps-you-motivated/ http://fitarella.com/2010/08/what-keeps-you-motivated/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:12:05 +0000 Fitarella http://fitarella.com/?p=1612

What keeps YOU motivated?? Tell us in the comments below!!

The class was held at The New York Health & Racquet Club and sponsored by Brita, who generously surprised us with very cool gifts (yoga mat, Brita water bottles, Gym bag & Brita filtered water pitcher). Thank you Brita!

Ok, so had it been just a regular yoga every day yoga class I would have practically gone in my pajamas, but this was with Bob! What to wear??!!! I asked Jodi what she was going to wear and she said “um, clothes” giving me that “you’re a total dork, who cares what you wear” look. It’s not the first time she’s given me this look (she’s my coach so I’ve seen it often), but I thought I should at least look nice in case Bob wanted to take pictures with me

I went with a simple look (black pants & white top) and busted out my Vibram Five Fingers. Aren’t they shnazzy?!!!

Becky, the awesome coordinator of the event offered to send a car for us (how chic!), but since Jodi & I were only staying a few blocks away we opted to walk.  Once we arrived we were escorted to a waiting area where we got to hang with Lauren from Gympressions (pic right below) and Alison from Foster Fitness. LOVE these ladies!  Lauren and I had met already at Fitbloggin, and she is just the sweetest. and Alison is not only beautiful, but HILARIOUSLY funny!

So, class got underway and it was seriously hard core. I was sweating, a lot.  As you can see from the picture I was uber concentrated!

After class Bob sat with us for a Q & A session. We also talked about how we can each do our part to reduce bottled water waste.  Brita has an amazing campaign going called FilterForGood (no, I’m not getting anything to plug them) and we should all take their pledge.

“The FilterForGood campaign raises awareness of simple changes everyone can make to live eco-friendly lives. Help us improve the environment one bottle at a time by staying hydrated with filtered water and a reusable bottle instead of disposable bottled water.” Take the FilterForGood pledge today.

It was a super fun event and I’m so glad I got the chance to attend. And obviously from the pic below my Vibrams were a hit with Bob!

Guest Post by Tracey from I’m Not Superhuman

Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not a fitness junkie or a superstar runner. I have 80-year-old knees (or so says my doctor) and I’m about as nimble as a sumo wrestler. I downed an entire chocolate bar today—and not dark chocolate or the kind that helps little rain forest animals.

So I’m not the most perfect healthy living example out there. For the past seven years, I’ve been dealing with knee pain that’s made running impossible, walking painful, and shopping nonexistent. (And, no, clicking around Amazon.com doesn’t count.)

Up until a year ago, I knew my place. A friend wanted to meet up? Not if it involved walking a few blocks to the restaurant. I needed a new pair of shoes? No way am I brutalizing my knees at the store. Yup, I pretty much knew that I was a good-for-nothin’ gimp.

And then something happened.

After a train-so-hard-your-muscles-burn physical therapy session, I went to the grocery store. (Don’t roll your eyes—that’s a big deal for these achy breaky knees.) Not only did I go in, but I shopped every aisle. And my knees didn’t crunch themselves into red, hot discs of pain. I realized that maybe I wasn’t giving myself enough credit. Maybe I’m stronger than I think. Maybe my injuries are healing after all.

Fact is, we don’t give our bodies due praise. I say mine’s too broken. Someone else says theirs is too big. Another person says theirs is too weak. And so on. I’ve learned that my body is in pain, but it can do more than sit around on the couch all day. (Not that I don’t do that every once in a while. Ahem, today.)

Our bodies do some pretty amazing things, and we need to recognize that. Here are three ways to notice your body’s potential:

1. Push Yourself.
You don’t know what your body can do until you try, right? Maybe some athletes spring out of the womb with a deep understanding of their talents, but most people find out just how far they can run, swim, hike, or pedal by doing it. I might not be pushing myself to learn whether I’ll one day scale Mt. Everest (baby steps, folks) but I can try to learn just how far I can walk without my knees flaring up. And if that means I have to canvas the entire mall doing it, then so be it. There are no limits to my rehab dedication.

2. Ask Friends.
Some time in January my mother told me that she saw a ton of improvement in my knees over the past year. I had been visiting my parents for the holidays and both noticed how much longer I could stand, how much further I could walk, and how much less inflamed my knees got. We’re the best at noticing our flaws, so why wouldn’t we assume our weight isn’t budging or our muscles aren’t getting more toned? But sometimes we lie. For real, honest-to-goodness answers, ask someone you trust. (And, no, no one else thinks your nose is big.)

3. Trust Strangers.
I’ll never forget the woman with auburn hair and black warm-up pants who passed me in the gym and said, “That looks hard! You go girl.” That’s right, another human who wasn’t injured thought an exercise I was doing was hard. Chances are, there are strangers out there who think you run far (I do!) even if you haven’t hit your goal. There are people who think you’re skinny even if you pledge to lose another five pounds. And there are strangers who think your dinner last night was healthy—even if you splurged.

Of course, the hard part is actually giving yourself praise. So, I’ll go first: These two crotchety knees may cause me a lot of grief, but they got me through the grocery store. And they’re awesome for that.

Your turn.

photo cred: dideo

I’m excited to announce that Fitarella has been given the honor to be one of Gold’s Gym Approved bloggers!  The purpose of the “Gold’s Gym Approved” program is to help the general public better navigate the web to find sites that have the most credible, reliable and accurate health and fitness information.  And since I am a HUGE Gold’s Gym fan, I happily accepted.

The first Gold’s Gym opened in 1965 in Venice Beach, California (aka Muscle Beach) and was dubbed “the Mecca of bodybuilding”.  It was frequented by Arnold Schwarzenegger and featured in the 1977 movie Pumping Iron. The movie brought attention not only to the gym itself, but also to the world of bodybuilding and physique in general. Today Gold’s Gym is an international chain that is frequented by ALL ages, shapes and sizes.

In their letter to me Gold’s stated”

Fitarella has been identified by global fitness leader, Gold’s Gym, as one of the top health and fitness sites in the blogosphere. Fitarella was selected by the Gold’s Gym Fitness Institute as a “Gold’s Gym Approved” site for achieving high marks in a number of areas. This includes:

•Encourages and energizes others to be fit and manage weight healthfully

•Promotes a lifestyle that’s balanced with healthful nutrition and habitual fitness that promotes quality of life

•Promotes the benefits of creating health and not solely the prevention of disease

And who am I to disgree?

Thank you Gold’s Gym for including me in your list, I am honored to be in such great company!

This is Jodi, my coach!  We met in 2005, she transformed me for my Figure competition in 2006, and she has become one of my closest friends.  I can not say enough great things about this woman.  She is tough as nails, tells you like it is, SUPER smart (like MENSA smart!) and hilariously funny. Yes, if she were a dude, I’d be all over her.

(Please not that the references made in this interview to the words “diet/dieted” is not in the restrictive fad-dietey way, but rather a word Jodi uses synonymous to “transformation” or “metamorphosis”)

F: Hi Jodi! I’m so excited to have you here on Fitarella! Please introduce yourself to my fantastic readers!

J: HI!! My name is Jodi Jones and I am a Physique Transformation Engineer. I currently reside at www.jodiojo.com and would love for anybody to stop by and say hi! I am very silly. I enjoy people and I enjoy my craft.

F: What is your background? How did you get into Fitness & Nutrition consulting?

J: My degree is in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in biology. I was focused on Biomed. I was an engineer from 1990 to 2001 when I left the field to stay home with my children. All the while that I was an engineer, I was also an aerobics instructor and personal trainer in the evening. When I left engineering, I just focused on those. In 1998, I added nutrition to my background and have not looked back since. It is now what I am known for more than anything else and at the time of me filling this out, I have dieted well over 1000 (I’m being conservative) women in my short 11 year career. I do diet men as well but have been primarily women for the last 3 years.

F: What is you Fitness & Nutrition philosophy?

J: “Don’t just diet to lose weight, diet to feel & look good.” If you are going to put yourself through the trials of working on a goal, get the maximum amount at the end. Whether it’s beautiful hair, skin and nails, being emotionally sound, hormonally intact or even the top dog in your sport. Be the best that you can be by using food as a resource instead of just a thing you eat all day long.

F: You have had an astounding number of successful competitors on stage in Fitness, Figure & Bikini    ( i’ve seen them firsthand!) What do you think it is about your approach that has worked so well with your clients?

J: I did not diet any of them the same. That builds trust. They realized that I was more invested in their success than i was my ego of the “hottest” diet trend out there. Their health was paramount and I wasn’t afraid to pull the plug on their training if I felt that they were not thriving. I was truly humbled by how much they trusted me while I was in that position. They are some very discerning women.

F: What are the most common mistakes you’ve seen people making when trying to make changes to their body (ie, lose weight, gain muscle)?

J: Doing everything at once and forgetting that life is a habit. Until it becomes a habit, you will make “mistakes” or “not be perfect” and etc. That language bothers me and pretty much tells me that you are not ready for process of dieting. This is life…it’s not a test. There should be no such thing as “I feel like a failure”. It’s more: well that isn’t right for you…let’s try this and see how you do…

F: One of the things we’ve included in my diet recently is Coconut oil. Since people can be apprehensive about it as a saturated fat, can you explain what role it can play in a daily diet?

J: Oooo, where do I start? For one, skin and hair. You will know you are eating it almost right away when your skin is silky smooth and your hair is shiny. 2) energy without insulin spike. It’s an MCT (medium chain triglyceride) so it is digested much faster than regular fat and it gives you a bit of a kick. 3) It’s YUMMY! I love coconut oil in the diet and I am going to do a whole blog feature on it so there is more to come on this…

F: If someone were just beginning a fitness program at home, what are 3 things you’d recommend to get them started?

J: I am assuming you mean in terms of exercise? If so, I would say legs to walk, arms for push ups/pull ups and a butt with a GPS signal that can search out the direction of the floor for when you squat.

F: As a busy mom of 3 and business woman, do you have any tips on how to maintain balance in our daily lives?

J: I struggle with this every day. In fact, when you read my blog I let you in on my struggles with this. I can be like a hamster in a wheel. I LOVE what I do so I always want to do it. But too much of anything–even if you love it–is not good. I recently left my last job over this because balance is that important to me. I needed to find me time/kid time/work time and etc. I will say this, though, because I have become much better at it in the last year: set concrete boundaries and then stick to them. I will not work b/w 2 and 5 when my kids are doing homework and transitioning from school. I will not hang out with the family or answer the phone during work time. This is hard because I work from home. So, I’m learning…

F: You have recently changed the focus of your consulting practice. Can you share with us what you will be doing next? What kind of athletes will you be working with?

J: Two types of people we are really focusing on right now: metabolic repair and athletes who are looking to optimize their nutrition to better their craft. Tennis, soccer, endurance and etc. Whomever you are if you are an athlete-we’re looking for you. Metabolic repair is for the girl who has done everything to lose weight but just cannot. Maybe she has PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Disease) or she has dieted one too many times, but we’re here to back her program down and change her focus so she may start seeing some success. General hotness will always be a part of any company of mine b/c it is my signature, but I am no longer working in the competitive fitness/figure market so it’s not the same as before. No extreme!

F: What are the basic staples that one should have in their daily diet?

J: protein, carbs and fat. And I’ll be a bit more specific than that: fruit and veggies, GOOD FAT and a true protein source.

F: What is your favorite exercise?

J: Deadlift. If I could marry it, I would.

F: Favorite cheat meal?

J: Anything with butter on it. In fact, I’ll take just a stick of butter if you have one!;)

F: You have a blog, Jodiojo.com that is fabulous! What kind of things do you write about?

J: My blog is being groomed towards all usable content. I want everyone to not only learn something new from my blog, but i want to teach them how to then *use it*. Articles are great, but instructions are that much better. Right now I am in the middle of a series titled “Menu Planning” so I am teaching folks how to periodize their foods for beauty and success. (Beauty for me means a body that is functioning properly. Only then will you be beautiful.) Next will either be good fats and how they can work for you or dismounting a diet (you know…how to avoid gaining it all back by learning how to “transition diet”).

F: Thank you sooo much for spending time with us Jodi! Any last words?

J: Besides, I love you fitarella? How about just my signature sign off… WOOP WOOP!:o)

THANK YOU JODI!

Have questions/comments for Jodi? Let’s hear ‘em below!!

Holy Moly is all I’ve got to say.  You *think* you’re fit, but then something puts you to the test and you realize that there is sooooo much more than just lifting weights & running.  Not that I didn’t conceptually know that already, but the physical act of actually putting my body into action with CrossFit really brought the point home!  If you’ve never heard of CrossFit, I’m here to tell you that it is one of the most kick ass, intensive workouts I’ve ever experienced.  Scalable to ALL levels, CrossFit workouts are comprised of constantly varied functional movements (like pushing, pulling, squatting, lifting, running) executed at high intensity. Its gymnastics, olympic lifting, running, rowing, etc. No two work out are ever the same. There’s even CrossFit kids! My girl tried it this weekend, but the review was mixed. She LOVED the rings and running, but, ehem, “didn’t like listening to the teacher”…that’s 4 for ya!