Author: Gloria

This is a very motivating and inspiring video interview of Arnold Schwarzenegger, where he talks about what it takes to be successful in life. According to Arnold, it starts with developing goals, seeing them in your mind, and believing in them with complete certainty. By motivating yourself and visualizing your goals you create the will to work towards them, and when you have developed enough hunger you will go after your goals and do whatever it takes to achieve them. Arnold learned what the keys to success were through his bodybuilding, but he then used those same keys to be…

The story of how the Rocky movie came to be and how Sylvester Stallone’s met with success in Hollywood is one of the most inspiring and moving that you’re ever likely to come across. In this video the story is told by Anthony Robbins. This is an amazing example of the power of knowing your outcome, and pursuing it with unrelenting determination. Since he was a child, Sly knew what he wanted – to be a famous film actor, and he put everything on the line for the sake of pursuing his dream. He refused to have any backup plan…

As I write this, right beside my desk sit a number of magazines that I have bought over the past few months, and as of yet I haven’t got around to reading any of them. A few were delivered through subscriptions, but the rest I saw in the newsagency, got excited about their content, and bought them on the spot. Now, despite the fact that I haven’t really opened any of them up yet (trust me, I eventually will though!), if I were to walk into the newsagency tomorrow and see a new issue of any of these magazines with something…

I thought I would write a quick post for those of you who, like me, love your GYMBOSS interval timer and depend on it every day for your workouts. I’m on my second timer at the moment after my first one failed me after 6 months of use, or so I thought!  What I discovered after my second interval timer (the one I currently have) also stopped working is that they actually have some sort of a glitch where they can stop working altogether and go completely dead. They aren’t actually broken when that happens however, they just need to…

Sometimes when we have a big challenge in front of us we can talk ourselves out of it before even giving it a shot. Like when we have a lot of weight to lose, it can be hard to believe that we can ever make it to our goal, because it seems so far away. The best way to tackle any big job is to break it down into manageable pieces. Start with a goal of losing just 2lb, and give yourself enough time to do it – two or four weeks, or even more if necessary. That’s possible for…

Today in the gym I met a woman who I saw there several times. We noticed each other a few times before today because we seemed to be two of the few regular people in the gym who really loved working out, most other people look like they’re just there because they have to be. I can’t imagine working out and eating healthy every day without loving it. Too many people are too focused on only the destination, and they can’t get there fast enough. It’s like working in a terrible job and waiting for the weekend, every day is…

I think that one of the most disempowering things people do is to put themselves into lesser categories when considering their achievements. By doing that they make themselves smaller in their own mind. They say things like “not bad for my age”, or “not bad for my size”, or “not bad for a mother of three”, etc. Why hold yourself to a lower standard than the best? It might make you feel better, but it also puts a ceiling on how far you can go. You shouldn’t use excuses as a crutch and to get people to discount you, because…

A lot of people miss the real problem when they give in to temptation and eat something naughty. All they focus on are the extra calories they shouldn’t have eaten, but did. Realistically, a one-off binge of 1,000 or even 2,000 calories isn’t a big deal. It’s not good, but it’s not the end of the world. The real danger is that of bad habits taking hold once again – that’s what you should be worried about, not the calories. Extra calories can always be worked off, or at worst they just slow down your weight loss progress temporarily. Big…

A major shortcoming of many women, especially mothers, is that they put everyone else first. When our heart pumps clean blood from our lungs, it first takes some for itself, then it pumps the rest everywhere else. This is the way nature intends it, because our heart has to look after itself before it can look after the rest of our body. Women need to realize that it’s the same with them, it’s not selfish to demand some “me” time. When they let themselves go, their loved ones also suffer. This is doubly important for mothers because children learn from…

As fitness enthusiasts who work out regularly we understand the concept of physical conditioning very well. We train with weights and cardio, and as a result our body becomes conditioned to the way we’re using it, which makes it fitter, more efficient, more toned, stronger, and so on. Those of us who train seriously will also understand the concept of mental conditioning. When we consistently push ourselves to previous limits and beyond, we condition mental strength, meaning our mind gets stronger and isn’t so quick to throw in the towel anymore. Physical, and especially mental, conditioning are great things to…

I went to gym late today, this morning I had no energy. I have been so busy that lately my place is a mess, many things are disorganized, haven’t had time to look at my motivational things, and also a few other things have got me down. Everything has been overwhelming, so last night I went to sleep early and I overslept this morning. When I woke up I felt no desire to work out at all, so I stopped everything and just took an hour off to watch all my favorite motivational videos and pictures. It was amazing! After…

I just finished reading  an article about yet another “wonder diet” that is killing it in the bestseller charts. The book is even outselling the Dukan Diet. Now, the fact that we need to use the Dukan Diet as a point of reference is a grave concern itself, it’s a sad reflection of how hugely popular that fad diet has also become over recent years. It’s hard to know who to feel most frustrated about – the gullible people who fall victim to these scam diets, or the crooks who promote them. Personally, I don’t know how these charlatans who make…

A lot of people say they’re happy the way they are, when the truth is they aren’t. They only say that to convince themselves it’s OK not to make the effort to change, because all change is painful. Life is all about change, which means if we avoid pain all the time, we avoid living too. Then we lie to ourselves and others to try to make it OK. It’s important to love yourself the way you are, in fact it’s important to always love yourself, but that’s different to being happy or satisfied with the way you are. You…

Ladies, as fitness enthusiasts we focus a lot on our outer beauty, but always remember that inner beauty is much deeper and much more important. There’s no point looking great if you’re a nasty, unkind or inconsiderate person inside. You’re not going to impress anyone and guess what, no one is going to stick around to envy you either, they’ll find their inspiration elsewhere. I have come across a few women who look amazing but have disappointed me with their attitude, so you know what, I’m just not impressed anymore and I’ve found much more amazing women to look up…

A lot of women shy away from high-intensity cardio exercise because they feel that their level of fitness is too low to handle it. While it certainly is very challenging and shouldn’t be attempted by anyone with a medical problem unless cleared by a physician, the fact is that anyone, of any fitness level, can do and benefit from high-intensity cardio. The important thing is to understand exactly what it is and how it affects your body. First of all, how do we define what is and isn’t high-intensity? Well, that’s a bit like asking how long a piece of…

A few days ago, a friend of mine who is a smoker was telling me how someone he knew that was into the health and fitness lifestyle was diagnosed with cancer. Of course he was quick to point out that being healthy is no guarantee that you won’t get sick. Unhealthy people who live on junk food or smoke like to think that their lifestyle doesn’t come with consequences that other people escape from. It allows them to avoid the guilt of what they’re doing to their body. The fact is however that even though it’s true that anyone can…

I have a friend who has enjoyed working out for as long as I have known her, but has always struggled with her weight because of her eating habits. Up until about two years ago she was a fairly regular gym-goer, but then her lifestyle changed where she could no longer get to the gym on a consistent basis, and so working out has since become a problem for her as well. Over that time she has gone through several phases of wanting to work out at home, but unfortunately each time she didn’t manage to stick with it. Every…

We get a lot of questions from women about “eating clean”, what exactly it means and how they can be sure they are eating clean all the time. So I thought I would make a blog post with some examples of the types of foods you should be focusing on when you’re trying to “eat clean”. There are 4 main nutrients that are of interest to us in our diet – proteins, carbs, fats and dietary fiber (which in fact is also a carb). Let’s look at clean foods that provide each one of these nutrients. Protein A term we…

With so many fitness and weight loss companies fighting for our attention to sell their products and ideas, it’s very easy to get distracted from what’s really important. So what is really important? The basics! The basics are responsible for getting us 90-100% of the way to our goals, yet people are still guilty of forgetting this and focusing on the fancy stuff that in the long run doesn’t really make that much difference. A woman posted a question yesterday on a Facebook page, asking whether it’s best to work out first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.…

We humans are creatures of habit. And our habits operate a lot like computer programs – they run almost all of our behavior automatically or semi-automatically, without us even really needing to think about it. If you’ve ever driven half way to work and suddenly realized that you don’t remember your trip so far, you’ll know what I mean. Each time we run programs (habits), they get stronger and run more independently. That’s very convenient on one hand, but it also gives them a lot of power over us. Every time a sight, sound or feeling triggers us, we respond…

Let’s face it, getting into shape takes hard work. That’s why it’s commonly said that to lose weight and get into great shape, the first step is wanting it. If you don’t want it badly enough, you won’t be prepared to put in the work, so you’ll never achieve it, right? Simple! Well, for a lot of women there’s one step that comes before wanting it, and that’s getting honest with themselves. The first thing they need to get honest about is the fact that they actually DO want to look good. I’ve heard so many overweight women in the…

I was watching a program on TV tonight where they had a forum discussing obsessive exercising and bodybuilding. In the crowd and contributing to the discussion was a clinical psychologist who said that once someone is going to the gym for three hours or so a day, six days a week, it’s no longer normal behavior. Understandably, as someone who’s usually in the gym for four to five hours a day, that statement absolutely blew me away. The fact is, the medical profession in general has enough trouble even trying to decide what’s healthy and what isn’t. And with the…