Potty Time? Trade the iPhone for a Book!

I don’t take my phone into the bathroom with me anymore. C’mon, you do it too, and as a matter of fact, might I add, if ya do, grab a “wipey” and “Iswipe” that bad boy as it’s 1 of the 5 filthiest things we touch throughout the day. From the path, I deviate. But to the bread crumbs, I return. I have since put books back in my bathroom. A couple in a basket. A couple on the back of the bowl. All nonfiction. Some quote books. A biography. A couple of prosperity books. Oh, And A book of …

Read more

your mind is a brilliant fuck you upper.

What does that title even mean? Well, it’s brilliant and it’s brilliance in negotiation tactics, can, well, fuck us up. Lemme show ya. Even as a child develops, as parents we are taught to explain “why” we have asked a child to do something or ‘why” these are the steps involved in doing it. This way, the child connects with the task/learning at hand and has a much better chance of seeing it through…. Well, Today I invite you to revisit YOUR why. Why do you workout? train? have a membership at our gym?I was saying this morning as I …

Read more

“That’s Quite a Get-Up You’ve Got There…”

A white haired gentlemen was seated in the waiting room at the spa. He and his wife were color coordinated, like something adorable right out of an LL Bean catalogue. He sat with her as she waited for her pedicure throne to be ready. I had just finished my manicure. I was wearing a pair of workout shorts, my injured and atrophied leg, bare.  I turned right from my chair, retrieved my “she’s half robot, half woman” knee brace from my manicurist, relocated my seated position to the floor and proceeded to buckle up and in. Clasps 1-5 snapped, velcro …

Read more

SCREAM IT OUT. BE AFRAID. and then. PULL THROUGH

I am sitting on one of my high kitchen chairs. The snow is behind me, it’s bright reflection is lighting up my kitchen. My injured knee, who will shall now call “Burt” is dangling off my chair as a mobility trick to gently gain more flexion in my joint. “Burt?” You ask? Yes. I have named the cantaloupe that is my knee, Burt. ‘Cuz, Why not? I am determined to be friends with him and coach him through this. Today is the best morning I have had since the morning before the trampoline torture. Mostly because of 2 reasons: 1. …

Read more

Ya Don’t Wanna Get Smacked in the Face by Yo Mama.

It was definitely a winter morning. I was 14 years old sitting in the passenger seat of my mom’s car, which at that time still had a cassette player in the dashboard. I put a rap tape on and started working my head bob. My Italian mom wasn’t a big rap music fan at the time, or for that matter, any time….ever. After about 2 songs, my mother in typical Marie fashion, said, “Please!! Take this off, it’s slicing into my brain.” (haha! So dramatic!) So, I boldly ejected the tape from the player with an “attitude.” Yeah, I snatched …

Read more

I Need A Divorce

I have heard that we are the sum of the 5 people we spend the most time with. Quick Peek into the point I am about to make. We will establish friendships that will amazingly last a lifetime, however, we will also establish friendships that will serve a purpose for a very specific amount of time. Recognizing the end point can sometimes be difficult because we want to be supportive and provide as much encouragement as possible. But… If you start to identifying that this “friend” is undeniably occupying your valuable time with negativity, “all the things wrong” in his/her …

Read more

3 books that Will Dramatically Improve Your Life Right Now.

You look in the mirror and stare at what you hate. You scroll through Facebook and compare yourself to fashionistas & fitness models. You step on a scale & damn near implode because the number was +1 since yesterday. You scan through Pinterest and think you’re a shitty mom since you can’t make those super creative cupcakes. It happens every day. Beautiful, strong, intelligent & powerful women are veiled by their perceived “flaws.” These “perceived” flaws can destroy us from the inside, out. They can extinguish our beauty, deteriorate our strengths, stifle our intelligence & suppress our power. I was …

Read more

Do NOT wipe your slate clean.

Yay, it’s 2016! I get to wipe my slate clean,” Fuck. That. Don’t ever wipe your slate clean. Every decision, every moment, every experience has designed you, created you, etched you, carved you, shaped you. Every bit of pain you endured, every smile that graced your face, every hardship, every bit of enjoyment that you experienced in 2015 or any year before it, is a PART of you now. Keep your slate and the multitude of scribblings all over it. Be proud of all of the decisions, while at the time good, bad or indifferent moved you closer to the …

Read more

Incestuous Exercise

I know I know-that’s a pretty odd title , but it was the first thing that popped into my mind while reviewing a workout with one of our coaches last week. Well, what the hell do I mean by “incestuous exercises?” Well, there are thousands upon thousands of movements in the exercise family, and in many cases you can marry 2 of those exercises together. The results?  Now, I’m not saying we need to refer to our workout regimen as “incestuous.” As a matter of fact, compound functional exercises might be a safer bet when talking about them. Here are …

Read more

Your Treadmill Doesn’t Love You ….

The Dirty Little Secrets your Cardio Machine has been hiding from you……. What IS “Steady State Cardio” anyway? It can be defined as sustaining any cardiovascular activity, at a steady effort or fixed intensity for an extended amount of time. Easy peasy example: running….on a treadmill….for 20 or more minutes…at the same exact pace & incline. Got it? Okay, now on to some dirty secrets: Secret #1: If fat loss and creating a lean, healthy, defined body is what you desire, long duration steady state exercise or “hamster-ing” on a cardio machine is the exact opposite of what you need. …

Read more