Les Mills Combat Transformation

I am SO excited about this particular blog post because it is featuring a good friend of mine, Lindsay. 

Lindsay was someone I had been working with for about a year, trying to find a program that really spoke her language. She went through a few of them, but nothing really clicked. Nothing kept her engaged, excited, and continuously pushing play so she could get the results that she desired.  In addition, this girl had tried every shake on the market, just about, only to get an upset stomach from each one. I recommended Shakeology to her, and with proper usage she found that it was the one shake that not only tasted good, but more importantly did not make her sick.

I'm so proud of her today. She is an amazing inspiration to others, a mom (and a kickass mom at that), and one of her best qualities is that she doesn't apologize for who she is! She drinks beer, she likes birthday cake, and also enjoys bar food - SHE.IS.REAL and that's what I love most about her.

Here's her story:

How did you get hooked up with Nicole? "We met at pole dancing class!"

What's your deal?  "I got started January 1, 2013 because I was tired of flowy shirts and pants that didn't fit. I had tried 10 Minute Trainer wasn't for me. It was great time-wise, but I needed something else. I tried the gym - hate leaving my kids. I love combat because it kicks ass and I love Dan and Rach - they aren't your typical corny dvd trainers - Rach isn't some chic in hot pants that you want to punch." (I told you Lindsay was real, lol)

How is your life different now?  "Life has changed immensely! I cannot WAIT to shop for a baithing suit this year and not cry in the dressing room. I get up each day and look at my new toned body and I'm so proud of me - couldn't have done it without my shakes either though!"

What did your coach do to help you along? " Nicole helped me by not giving up on me. She knew I could do it and she didn't listen to any of my BS excuses.  She kept posting pics of her all toned up and I was jealous! She knew what it took to kept me going, and I knew I could do it if I put all of my BS aside and press play.  


Lindsay, as you can see, is definitely someone you don't want to meet in a back alley, lol, but she is more importantly a true inspiration. Being a mom takes up a lot of time (and her kids are in soccer  and dance, and if you have soccer kids or dance kids you now how that goes!) She works a regular 9-5, has a newer puppy to take care of, house chores just like the rest of us but she makes NO excuses and gets her workout in EVERY day.  Congratulations on your achievements, Lindsay! Can't wait to see what else is in store for you!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Combat is ON SALE for June ONLY! Get this program, and a 30 day supply of Shakeology (which was the equation that Lindsay used for her success) for only $140..that's a $70 savings! Head over to www.beachbodycoach.com/Nik4213 and find the quick link on the right to purchase!

TurboFire Review (thus far!)

It really didn't surprise me the moment I hit Play on my DVD player and started to grin ear-to-ear. Something about a new workout DVD gets me super excited (I know, so lame!)  Now, I was starting my third workout program in Chalene Johnsons's workout series, TurboFire.

I started my little workout journey with her first series, TurboJam and quickly fell in love. TurboJam was like a workout class that I always imagined in my head. If I could take all of my favorite things and mix them into one workout, at that time it would have been TurboJam. It had everything: Great music, up beat/motivating instructor (sometimes I feel like she is speaking right to me!), and a mix of kick boxing and dancing as if you were the only one home and your favorite jam came on the radio. I was hooked.

After TurboJam I dabbled in a few other workout series and found myself back with Chalene in July of this year for ChaLEAN Extreme (see the tab marked Chalene Extreme for more info on that one). Yet again, loved it! Everything I could hope for and more!

Now it's TurboFire. I feel like TurboFire is the big sister to TurboJam. TurboJam is great for beginners because it starts off at a reasonable pace, and offers many modifications to up the intensity. TurboFire starts of high intensity and keeps getting more challenging, but with the same kickboxing, motivation, instructor, and dance-like-your-favorite-jam-came-on kind of feel.  TurboFire fuels my need for increased intensity and challenge as now various aspects of plyometrics are added into the mix to give you one hell of a full body cardio workout. You will be left breathless for sure!!!!

I would recommend this workout to people looking to lose weight FAST. This is a 90 day program, but with Chalene's motivation and the included workout calendar showing you which workout to do on which days, you are SURE to drop the weight that you are looking for. See the tab marked "Transformations" for some awesome TurboFire transformations. This product has been used by many moms looking to lose the baby weight and has been a huge success!

Interested in learning more? Head on over to my site to see the various purchase options and get started today! Pair it with Shakeology for an added boost and even better results! www.beachbodycoach.com/nik4213

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRGTuvoEgdA  <---CHECK OUT A PREVIEW HERE!

Never Giving Up is Half the Battle

In life it is very easy to give up.  We give up on saving money, because we'd rather have what we "want". We give up on marriages, because they seem doomed and like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. We give up on our goals and our dreams because the road that leads us to them seems about as difficult as trying to climb Mt. Everest without climbing gear.

It is so easy to give up.

I always take notice when people refuse to give up. On my way home from work there is a donation station for charitable items. This is a rinky dink place that just opened up and from what I can tell, business is slow. Yet this man sits outside on a bench every-damn-day holding a sign saying "Clothing Donations Being Accepted Now". People just pass him by, or stare at him out of their car windows as they sit at the stop light (myself included). Some people, I'm sure, don't even realize that he is there. But he is there, every day. Every day he sits and he smiles and waits patiently for that one car to pull into the parking lot and make a donation. I have decided that tomorrow I am going to be that person. My couple bags of clothes and old board games might not be much, but it might be that small sparkle of hope that man needs in order to continue to sit and work for something that he has a true passion for. He wants to help others and he won't give up. No matter how many days go by that he gets no one, that day when he gets someone to donate makes all of those days worth it.

My mother is very similar to this man in her journey to spread the word of the Lord through being very active and dedicated to our church. Our church is EXTREMELY small; like 10 pews on each side small and has lost the majority of its funding. Weekly contributions sometimes do not break $300 and attendance is down. Attendance is so bad that we do not young adults to lead the procession of 3 choir members down the aisle or to light the alter candles. Funding is so low that we do not have a Pastor; instead, the church comes together and each person takes a turn preaching each week. And those that attend regularly, continue to attend. The church refuses to allow itself to give up, and it presses on as a church family week after week. My mother was the one chosen to preach on Sunday. Ironically enough she told the story of Hannah, a woman who could not conceive a child but that never lost her faith in Jesus and never gave up. Eventually, Jesus awarded Hannah a child. The message behind the reading was that we should not give up on things that we are passionate about, and that in time our goals will become realities.  Now, this amount of time might be very, very long or it could come with a stroke of luck. Either way, dedication remains the key to success.

Now, imagine if you lived your life with that kind of mentality day in and day out. It sounds draining, yet rewarding. If we never gave up on ourselves, imagine the things that we could accomplish.

Be A Positive Influence

Last week, one of my role models (LeeAnne Locken) posted something great on her Facebook/Twitter account:

"Who you spend time with is who YOU become! If you spend time with people who are always unhappy, YOU WILL be unhappy! If you spend time with people who don't like to work, you will be unsuccessful! But if you look for people who you WANT to be like and spend time with them THAT is who you will become! It is easier for US to either lower or raise our standards then to try and have others adjust theirs! Look around your life today and SEE where you are headed! EVERY DAY there is an opportunity for CHANGE! Make it a WONDERFUL WINSday!!"

I love LeeAnne. She just gets it.

We all have our own role models out there that we look up to, and it's a shame to think that more young people do not look up to more positive influences, like LeeAnne , or many of the other motivational forces out there today. Could you imagine the possibilities if children started looking up to these individuals instead of some of these other "stars" out there? Or here's a thought...what if YOU started looking up to these individuals, and then your children started looking up to YOU. Takes on a whole new meaning now, huh?

How many of us are busy parents? How many of you are so busy with your careers or life outside the home that you almost "forget" that your kids are CONSTANTLY watching you? Now, we have all had a situation (maybe not with our own kids) where we have been sitting around with friends or family and out of nowhere we hear this cute, innocent little voice say, "Aw damn it!" Yep. Your kid picked up one of your bad habits (and sometimes it is SO hard not to laugh!)  Children are like sponges: they soak up EVERYTHING.

I remember one bad habit of my mother's that I imitated when I was 4 years old was smoking. This was back in the 80's, and my mom like many females out there, smoked. Well one day my mom was talking to her mother on the phone and she looked at me walking out of the kitchen with a pretzel rod, you guessed it, in between my fingers like a cigarette..."puffing" away. I said, "Look Mommy! I'm just like you!"  It was at that moment that I think my mom wised up, and began her journey to quit smoking (which she succeeded in doing, by the way). 

Sponges. We know they watch our every move. They are listening when you are talking poorly about others. They are listening when you fight with one another. They are always listening...so imagine...IMAGINE..the possibilities if we all became more positive.

Getting to the point of this post, we are who we surround ourselves with. LeeAnne made that clear in her post the other day...who you surround yourself with is who you will be. When you become an adult, your mind doesn't just magically stop becoming a sponge..it is still there..soaking in your external stimuli.  If you surround yourself with people who do NOTHING but GOSSIP and talk poorly on others, you will find yourself doing the same. If you surround yourself with people who constantly criticize themselves negatively, you will start to do the same. If you surround yourself with positive, upbeat individuals then guess what? Yup! That's contagious too!!

Cutting off the dead weight is a hard thing to do, but we have to realize that changing ourselves is a lot easier than changing someone else. Some people are just miserable; it's all they know how to be! You can try and push them in the right direction, but they are not going to change until they want to...and if that day isn't today, and you feel like changing TODAY, then it's time to cut those ties. Now, I'm not saying not be friends with those people, but become more cognisant of how you are when you are around them. Are you yourself? Do you find yourself lowering your standards in order to be on their level? Becoming aware of those things makes the shift much more simple.  If you can look at yourself when you are around certain people and say, "Ugh..I hate that" then why bother being around them so much? Why put yourself through that? Because remember, who we surround ourselves with is who we become...and then you become the dead weight people are trying to cut out of their lives. That becomes you!! Instead, be that source of motivation or inspiration. Be that friend that is hard to find, but that everyone wishes they had. Be that positive influence in someone's life today..and above it all: make today something special for yourself that you could look at and be proud of someone imitating.