Physical Funness for the Motion Starved

Fit more fun into your fitness while exploring the outdoors.

Tag Archives: goals


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Happy Summer! Don’t forget to hydrate inside and out to stay strong and looking good!

Group Stair Climbing Workouts!

Saturday’s – 9 am sharp. We meet at a different staircase in San Francisco every other Saturday.

These workouts include core and stretching exercises as well as interval stair-climbing. Participants are encouraged to climb at their own pace but will be urged to push themselves. Walkers as well as runners are welcome. Contact Kelley@motionstarved.com for schedule and locations – classes are $25 per session.

** P.S. Ever wonder how or why Motion Starved exists? Here’s the story via Leanin.org!


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One step, event, mile or seal at a time!

Sula the seal

Some of us run ultra marathons, some of us ride our bikes for miles and miles, and some of us wonder what people who do those things are thinking. Those of us who push ourselves are not nuts, and we’re not “special,” we just don’t mind making the extra effort so we end up going big. The thing to remember is, we all started with one small step and took off from there.

The people I work with are usually just getting back into working out or have never really been all that into it. They tend to be in various stages of motion starvation, until I get my hands on them anyway. After about a month of working with me, like clock work, every single person has verbalized that they might like to attempt an endurance event. Usually seconds after they make such a statement I notice then cowering as I start listing off events and training ideas to get them started. I guess “training” sounds like a large, painful task at first. Fortunately we trainers and endurance veterans know victory is just within your reach and we salivate at the idea of helping you realize that.

On that note, I’ll say to you as I’ve said to all my clients. If you want to play around with endurance events, then let’s get started. Start small and go from there. Even if you’ve run dozens of marathons in the past but currently need a push to get rolling again, start with one small step. Begin with one small event or one small goal that will lead you to where you want to be.

Here’s what the Motion Starved crew is doing to get started: We’re Running for the Seals. Run for the Seals is a relatively easy 4-mile foot race on mostly paved road. This will be the very first event for 6 of the 10 of us attending. Two of my clients have run half marathons but are using this event to train and motivate to go bigger. The 6 who have never attempted an event before are currently sweating bullets, but in the end, this small step will have taken them miles toward a lifetime of fitness and self-confidence.  They’re starting small but the reward will be huge!

Join us! Run with the Seals is a great cause benefiting The Marine Mammal Center in the gorgeous The Marin Headlands. 100 percent of the money raised goes to the critters. How can you say no to that?


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Resolutions are for sissies, goals are the real deal

My New Years resolution is to exercise

It seems like everybody wants to know what my New Years resolutions are. It bugs me when people ask that because I think resolutions are for the birds. Or, “for sissies” according to a woman I know.

The dictionary says, a “resolution” is: a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.  Okay, that’s great, but you can’t just “do something” without a firm, reasonable goal and a clear path to reach that goal. From my experience, most folks make long mental lists of New Years resolutions and abandon them by February. Why? Because once they sober up they get lost in the enormity of the resolution and lose direction if there’s no established means to the end (path to the goal).

Example: To say, “I am going to spend more time this year with my family and friends” is too big a notion. How are you gonna do that? You need a specific plan of action that you can commit to, simply determining to resolve the notion will not make it happen.

Course of action: First, set a reasonable, measurable goal. Next, figure out a path or plan of action. Then, take it one step at a time, focus on the goal and move forward until you attain the prize. Remember, take small steps. If you mess up, stop, refocus and go again.

So, it’s time. We all need to set some goals. Start with breaking the year down and setting small goals within manageable chunks of time. Example: If you want to run a marathon this year and you currently don’t run, break your larger goal down into 5k, 10K, 21K etc, chunks. Make yourself a schedule or calendar that spells out exactly where you should be, and when. Same goes for weight loss, be reasonable, schedule yourself 2 pounds of loss a week and add some exercise goals in there too. Take things one month at a time.

As for me, one of my goals is to attend bikram yoga classes 3 days per week during the month of January. That’s all I feel comfortable committing to. In February I’ll reassess how I feel about bikram and my related goal. In this case, if I focus on one month at a time I’m more likely to reach the goal. Thinking about attending bikram three days a week for an entire year is far too daunting.

Lastly, remember that it takes three weeks to make something a habit. Try starting with a three or four-week challenge or goal. Sign up for a few weeks of fitness class if you want to lose weight or get in shape. If you want to cut back on alcohol, start with cutting back for one month. Three or four weeks sound a lot better than “this year” and after those few weeks are up, you can reassess your goal. This way you’re more likely to keep with the program.

Any questions?

P.s. Here’s a post I wrote this time last year it’s called Goal setting Kelley style. You may find it interesting.


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Praise for my peeps

When you’re a kid in school you get a report card that tells you (and your parents) how you’re doing in class. Report cards are also good for the teacher because they tell us how well we’re getting through to our students. Remember, whether you’re a good student or a challenging one, it is the teachers’ job to insure that you succeed.

It’s the same with trainers. It’s our job to make sure that you reach your goal. It’s not so easy sometimes to motivate people and keep them on the track to success, but nun-the-less; it’s our duty and commitment to you when we take you on as clients. It’s too bad that trainers don’t give report cards, I wish we could. It might help with some folks, but then again it might piss some off.

Anyway, I’ve decided to give props to two of my clients today. This doesn’t mean that the rest of you don’t deserve props. It just means that these two get gold stars (remember those?).

First, Diana; Diana has been working out two days a week with me consistently for 10 months. As of last month Diana has lost 17 pounds, gained a ton of definition and ran her first 5K foot race in July. Diana’s race time was just over 24 minutes (an excellent time). My favorite part of all this is remembering that when Diana first came to me she refused to do more than about 10 crunches and after 5 minutes of running she’d stop, bend over and gasp to catch her breath. Now, Diana asks me to push her harder and actually asked me to bring out her nemesis, The Jump Rope. Diana has surpassed her weight loss goal and is motivated by her quick 5k time. With that, her new goal is to compete in the Warrior Dash Obstacle Race in a few weeks, something that has astounded her friends and family. According to Diana, “The best part of all this is that I now love to get dressed. Getting dressed is fun because everything fits, or is too big.”

Now, Nick; I met Nick years ago but he and I just started working together in June. Nick lives in The Napa Valley so we don’t see each other more than once a week at best. However, Nick and I chat almost daily about his training and the workouts I send him via email. Nick is about to run his first half marathon at the end of this month. Nick came to me for guidance because, years ago he registered to run a full marathon but never made it past the first few weeks of training do to an injury brought on by training too hard before his body was ready. Nick is a 45+ single father who works on his feet, around 5 star Napa food all day long. It’s a physically exhausting life that promotes poor eating, sleeping and fitness habits. Since June Nick has lost 24 pounds and is more than ready to run his half marathon. Nicks goal is to run the race in under 2 hours and I’m absolutely certain he can do that. When I asked Nick if he felt that his training had been hard to manage, he said, “Actually, it’s been pretty painless. All I have to do is focus on what you have me do and that’s simple.”

As I write this I can’t help but feel extremely proud. When I started this life as a trainer I never thought about how I would feel when my people reached their goals and did well. It never occurred to me. I was too concerned with what to do with them, how to get them to do what I said and most of all, how to keep them from getting injured. Watching Diana and Nick and GP-2011 and all the others that leave my workouts feeling great I feel truly blessed and thankful to be able to work with these people. People who were not so dedicated at first, and now look where they are…


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Labor Day extended….

Hi All! I hope you had a wonderful long, Labor Day weekend. It’s time now to get back to business and start working on a survival plan to get us through the rapidly approaching Holiday Season (Or cookie eating season as I refer to it).

But before we do that I’m going to be taking a few extra days off to recharge my batteries and work up a solid approach.

While all classes will be in session this week, blog posts will not be updated until next Monday 9/12. Until then I ask you all to consider your fall fitness goals and look into signing yourself up for an event to keep you motivated.

While I’m away, remember to eat your five colors a day, stay hydrated, stretch and get at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Oh…and learn something new while you’re at it.

See you soon…


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I don’t wanna freak you out but…

Lets see some skin!

Do you realize that if The World doesn’t come to an end on Saturday as some believe it will, then there will be only 33 days left until the first day of summer? I’m just sayin’, if you want to shape up before you’re forced to wear a swimsuit and show some skin you might want to get started. You wouldn’t wait until race day to start training would you? You wouldn’t get very far if you did.

I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I’m here to help you make positive chances to your lives, be it through your food choices, exercise routine or mental state (more positively referred to as “emotional well-being”). I don’t know how many of you are choosing to take my advice, but I would guess that not enough of you are. This assumption is based on the fact that I continue to hear things like “Ugh, I really need to get back into exercising.” And, “I feel like shit, I need to do something…”

Let me tell you that I understand, it’s hard. In fact it is very hard to take that first step but once you start rolling it does become easier. I promise.

With that I leave you for the weekend with a gentile suggestion that you seriously think about what you’re willing to commit to, to make changes in your life. Think about it and come up with a firm plan. If you need inspiration or suggestions let me know and I’ll send you some. After all that’s why I’m here…

Enjoy your weekend; we’ll talk on Monday.

P.s. Remember GP-2011? I apologize for not giving you an update on her progress earlier but GP has been very busy with all her mom, daughter, wife and work duties so I’ve not seen her. However, I’m happy to report that GP-2011 has reached her goal of loosing some weight, toning up and feeling comfortable in a two-piece swimsuit for her trip to Hawaii next week. GP says…“I feel good, my abs are really strong, they just have a little tuft of fat covering them. I actually look pretty good in my new two-piece.” Unfortunately GP has not sent me a photo of her in her new suit so I can’t share it with you. Obviously she knows I’ll post it so you can’t blame her, no matter how good she looks.


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Shake, shake, shake your booty…

Pretty Petunia

I say this all the time and I can’t stress it enough. Change is good. Routines have their place but not as far as exercise is concerned and not if you care to be an interesting person. Obviously this is my opinion but think about it. Who are the most interesting, healthy people you know? They’re the ones who take chances and try different things every so often. Am I right?

I’m not saying you need to go bungee jump off the Golden Gate Bridge and get yourself arrested but I am suggesting that if you want to stay both physically, and mentally intact you’ll need to take a leap and try something challenging once in a while. Repeating the same moves everyday will not help you reach your goals. Whatever they may be. Remember, mixing up your routine doesn’t just cure the boredom; it also benefits your body’s ability to lose weight. Having variety in your life and in your workout keeps your body working hard to keep up with the different stresses you put on it. When doing this your metabolism increases and you burn more calories.

For instance, my friend Petunia, or Tunie as I like to call her has signed herself up for a Hip Hop dance class. Tunie does not dance. I have never seen Tunie attempt to dance, but knowing her the way I do, I believe it when she say’s she cannot dance. Because of this fact, Tunie signed herself up for a dance class. Don’t think for a second this was easy for her, she pondered it for years until she finally took the first step. She even went as far as to keep this new adventure of hers a secret from her pals because she was so anxious about her lack of HipHopAbility. Now, weeks into this adventure Tunie has fessed up and she’s having a great time. She admits that she still cannot dance but she absolutely loves it and she’s feeling good about herself for taking the plunge. That’s the part I like. Tunie has always been an inspiration to many of us so I’m glad she’s getting something from what she gives.

It’s springtime. Out with the old and in with the new! We’ll talk more about Spring-cleaning later. For now, consider stirring things up a bit.  Be your own Superhero and inspire someone! You can do it! I know you can…

P.s. Need help coming up with ways to stir things up? Contact me; I’m full of ideas. For now, take inspiration from Petunia, do something that frightens you.


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All I want to do today is lay in the dirt

Yesterday I ate a butterfly, then I yacked it up. Ugh!

Some days I’m just not feeling it. Maybe I’m tired or cranky, who knows. The bottom line is, some days I just don’t feel like working out, eating right or doing all the things that I am “supposed to do.” I used to torture myself with guilt when I had these days, telling myself that I was a Big Fat Cow for slacking off, acting like the world would come to an end if I fell off my fitness routine.  Well…I slack off all the time and so far the world is still spinning, I still reach my goals and still look reasonably presentable.

We all have those days and we all need to give ourselves the “okay” to simply give in. Whether it be sitting down to a pint of Ben & Jerry’s because they’re the only ones who can heal your broken heart, or skipping your workout because you just can’t bare to deal with it today. The key is not to make it a habit. Take a day off if you need to and don’t give it a second thought. Just be sure to get back on the wagon tomorrow, you’ll have a whole lot more spunk for having done so. You can’t be expected to roll along the same path forever; detours are necessary for a successful journey. Remember that.


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Unflappable

Just don't look up!

It’s the week before the big Fight for Air Climb. Yikes, 1,197 steps up 52 floors. That’s a lot’a steps and it’s all taking place in the stairwell of the B of A building here in San Francisco. If I wanted to, I could start stressing myself out by thinking about what’s in store for me this Saturday, but I won’t do that. I know better. Why bother, it won’t make the event any less painful and certainly won’t make this week pass any more smoothly.

Here’s the plan — My training is complete. It takes 3 weeks to reap the benefits of training so there’s no need to go out and hammer out another hard training session. I’ll exercise this week but won’t do anything that might stress my legs. Lots of yoga and easy endurance work. All I can do is trust that I’ve trained well and let my body rest and recover from the past weeks of intense training. I’ll make sure to drink plenty of water, get lots of sleep and eat right, keeping the fiber flowing. I sure as hell don’t want to carry any extra stuff up those steps. Know what I mean? I’ll make sure I have the cutest possible outfit ready to wear. Shoes ready to go and all the information I need to smoothly pick up my race packet and timing chip on event day. Early in the week (today actually) I’ll make sure to read all event info so I know the exact details of what I can, and can’t take with me in the stairwell, where I can park and so on. I don’t want any surprises the day of the event. It’s important that on the big day all I have to do is show up, and race. I’ll get everything done before hand so I can focus only on doing my very best.

So there you have it. I am confident and ready to go, unflappable. On the day of the event I will find a nice pair of buns and follow them up the stairs all the way to victory. I will feel no pain and dance up the steps to the rhythm of my smooth breath.

The best part of all this, when it’s over I get to come up with a new way to torture myself. A new goal, get ready!

P.s. It’s not a good idea to try something new the day of an event. New shoes, new food, stuff like that. You don’t want to find that GU gives you the runs while you’re ascending an indoor stair case or running down the road with thousands of people, same goes for shoes and cloths you don’t want to find out that your new stuff chafes. Stick with what you know works. This is no time for surprises.


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Small bits

I made it!

Focus. They say all you have to do is “focus” and you’ll get what you want.

I am gonna let you in on a few tips that help me focus when I am trying to ride my bike, run, stand in Tree Pose or even write.

When you’re distracted you loose your focus. That’s obvious, in order to do what you need to do, you need to give “it” your full attention. Period.

Say you want to, climb Mt. Tam on your bike. To keep from panicking and loosing your focus, break the journey into small chunks. Same rule goes for running a marathon, 5k, or whatever. Break your mission into small, easy to digest bits.

It’s actually pretty easy, just focus on getting yourself to the first hill, or make your digestible bits mileage markers. Take it 5 miles at a time and think only about those five miles. Same goes for riding your bike, take it a few miles at a time. Climbing Mt. Tam with a pal? Concentrate on getting to Mill Valley, up to 4 Corners, Pantoll Station, and so on. You get the picture.

Another thing that helps me through tough workouts or events is not to look too far up the road. If you’re planning to run from The Marina Green across the GGB, whatever you do, don’t look across the bay at the bridge, you’ll surly panic and loose your focus. Remember, small bits!  When you’re done, you can look back at where you’ve been, pat yourself on the back and say, “Holey shit! I made it!”

On to the next…

Couple o’ things I want to mention

  • Sunday Streets begins this weekend – Get out and play in the street! Route goes along the Embarcadero.
  • Every Monday they offer $2 pints and specials on bar food at the Park Chalet. The food’s not fantastic but it’s a great place to hang post ride or run along the beach.

Get my meaning?