Let's face it, there are things that we aren't particularly happy about in our lives that we would like to change. Have you ever found yourself thinking "I should eat better" or "I should be more organized" or "I wish I had the will power to workout more" or "I wish I was more adventurous" or "I should take up a new hobby" or "I wish treated my family better." Stop wishing your circumstances would change and do something about it! Like Tony Robbins says, "stop shoulding all over yourself" and take the necessary steps to elicit the change you desire in your life.
Not all change is improvement, but without change there can be no improvement. Max Depree reminds us that, change is necessary for growth, because in the end "it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are."
If you had 45 days to change one thing about yourself that you wanted to improve, what would it be?
Would you change:
how you eat?
how you exercise?
how you treat others?
how you treat yourself?
how you think?
Do you want to:
get stronger?
be more adventurous?
learn a new sport?
get organized?
lose weight?
be more positive?
be more disciplined?
This is a challenge to create change within ourselves to inspire change in others. Be a change agent . When others see you taking necessary steps to change an aspect in your life, you give them the needed courage to make changes within themselves. We all know that significant change doesn't happen over night, but the decision to make change happens instantaneously.
This challenge has no grand prize. There are no game rules. The only rules that apply are that hold yourself accountable by posting your challenge for change to The MissFit Movement facebook page. Starting June 10th, for 45 days make a commitment to yourself and to the MissFit community that you will take the necessary steps to become the MissFit that you want to be. Let's make a change together.
Over the next 45 days, how will you challenge yourself to change? Make your declaration here and feel free to post comments, pictures, even videos of yourself taking action! Let's have some fun and affect some change in our lives!
If you're human, chances are you
have experienced some sort of fear in the course of your
life. Fear is a real emotion and it comes in many forms;
anxiety, nervousness, and inaction. In the world of fitness
and sport fear of failure runs rampant but no one really
addresses the issue, because a lot of times no one knows how. There are
many ways to overcome fears, but one of the best ways to learn how to defeat
fear is to use imagery. That's right. Using your imagination can be
used to overcome anxieties, but it can also help you increase confidence,
motivation, attention and focus and enhance performance whether it be lifting
heavy weights, jumping on boxes, participating in a Tough Mudder, and competing in
a sporting event. Imagery can also be a
great aid in recovery and return to play after an injury of setback and even in changing your nutrition.
The power of imagination is limitless. Some of the best athletes in
the world practice imagery and apply it during competition. If
applied correctly, imagery can be a huge game changer.
If you would like to give imagery a try, the
best way to start is through the use of imagery rehearsal. It is one
of the easiest and most effective way to implement imagery into your
practice.
Imagery is defined as “using all the senses
to re-create or create an experience in the mind.” Our brain cannot tell
the difference between an actual physical event or the mind’s creative imagery.
Just think of dreams…they seem real to use in the process. Using imagery
properly can help facilitate confidence in a skill or task and ease anxiety.
The images that we see in our mind influence emotion, which in turn influence
performance. During imagery practice it is important to elicit all senses
involved in the desired outcome…vision, hearing, smell, taste, and
proprioception (feel)…the more senses you use the better. Make the
rehearsal as real as possible. Mental rehearsal doesn’t take a lot of
time and can be done anywhere at any time, and has been found to greatly
enhance performance. Some of the most elite athletes used imagery on a
consistent basis to improve their competitive edge. For the best outcome, practice the script 3-5
times a week for 5-15 minutes. It is most beneficial that mental practice
precede physical practice, but any practice is better than no practice.
During imagery practice, make each rehearsal successful. Ultimately, you
are in control of your mind’s thoughts and images…if you make a mistake start
over and take great care to be positive in your thinking. Try each of
these exercises. I suggest beginning with number one. Once you have
mastered the first exercise, move on by adding the next one to the sequence.
Mental imagery, just like any skill, must be practiced.
Before we go on, pick a fear that you would
like to overcome or a skill that you would like to perfect.
1) Find a quiet
and comfortable place to relax. It is recommended that you lay down and
close your eyes. Start by using diaphragm breathing. Take a deep
breathe in and as you let the air out do it slowly and forcefully.
Continue until you are completely relaxed (5-10 breathes). 2) First,
practice imagery by visualizing a shape. Now color in that shape with
your favorite color. After you have colored in the shape of your choice,
visualize erasing the color and filling the shape with polka dots. Repeat
the process a few times to get comfortable with details, but use different
shapes and colors. Be precise.
3) Next from
the location that you are in, mentally walk to the closest grocery store.
Imagine all of the turns that you must make. Take into consideration the
traffic that you must look out for along with bumps on the sidewalk in which
you are walking. How is the weather? Is it hot or cold? What
does the air smell like? Imagine every detail that you can think of.
Once you arrive at the doors of store safely, how does it feel? You may
walk home or repeat this exercise as desired.
4) Now, imagine
that you have just walked into any gym in the world. What does the gym
look like? How does it smell? Are there a lot of people? Are
they friendly? How does your body feel? Start to imagine feeling
strong and confident. Begin warming up and being excited about the
workout no matter what it might be. Get all of your muscles ready to take
on the workout aggressively.
5) Finally,
imagine the fear you'd like to overcome or skill you'd like to
develop. For the sake of discussion, the box jump will be used as an
example. Now imagine that box jumps are part of the workout.
Pretend that you are watching yourself jump…like you’re watching T.V.
Imagine that you are seeing yourself stand in front of the box with a face of
confidence and determination. Your feet are set, your arms are back, and
your hips are loaded ready to explode onto the box. Imagine seeing
yourself jump 6 inches higher than you needed and landing on the box
successfully. Now, feel how proud you are of yourself! Your
confidence levels are high and you feel happy that you overcame anxiety and met
the challenge. Repeat this for 10-20 reps…executing each and
every jump with precision and confidence. Repeat as needed.
End each session by breathing slowly and
deeply. Open your eyes and sit up slowly. Take a moment to feel
happy and accomplished
Remember that in order to reap the
benefits of a helpful technique like imagery, practice is essential. If
you are in a slump, want to take on a new competitive challenge or
have a legitimate fear that you would like to overcome imagery is a very
effective technique to implement in your training. Give it a try. What do you have to lose?
“You are the embodiment of the
information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you
need to change your thinking and subsequent actions." ~Adlin
Sinclair
Lately I've had a bit of writer's block and my energy level has been funky. I have found myself irritated and frustrated lately feeling like I need to let something out, but I just couldn't figure it out.
I got home from a long day of training people, and I hopped on facebook to unwind a bit and this song was posted by one of my friends;
After listening to this song, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I need to air my dirty laundry. I have decided to let 'em hang, and air out my dirty laundry. Who knows, maybe this will empower another woman to get out of a bad situation.
I was married once. I don't speak of it much, because I don't like pity and I hate it when people apologize about one of the best decisions I ever made. Divorce. There has never been a moment that I felt regret for walking out the door.
Here's my love story.
Boy and girl meet. Boy swoons girl. Boy and girl fall in love. The two of them get married.
Two weeks after graduating from college, I packed my backs and moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia to marry the man of my dreams. I mean, what else does a girl do after college? Get married of course!
So, two weeks into our marital bliss our marriage took a sharp right turn. Who am I kidding, it took a complete 180! All of the sudden the man I loved took his mask off, and the drama story began.
It started with verbally demeaning me. He would say condescending things like "you don't know how to do anything right" or "Let me do it, because you can't" or "why are you wearing that? You look bad" or "you make me sick."
My initial reaction was shock and hurt. I couldn't believe this man that I gave my life and devotion to was saying such mean things to me. I would try to shake it off and fool myself by thinking, "this is how all marriages start. First they are rocky, but then it gets better."
Next, was the lies, late nights out drinking and spending money frivolously, and don't forget the numbers I found his pockets and receipts from strip clubs.
Believe me, I wasn't shy to confront him and speak my mind. This led to more of the same behavior by him. In fact, the drama started to escalate more and more each time I confronted him. The first time, he ignored me. The next time, he shoved me. The next time, he shoved me harder. The next time, he punched me. Once, I had to walk home in the middle of the night, because he drove off and left me while we were out.
I have never cried so much in my entire life. In fact, he would deliberately say hurtful things to me to get an emotional response out of me and then laugh at me as the tears fell from my eyes. He would corner me and tease me in the process.
Looking back, it was verbal and emotional abuse (mixed in with a hint of physical abuse) but when you're caught in a whirl wind of what you think is love...you lie to yourself. You trick yourself into thinking that all marriages have trials and tribulations (which they do to some degree) and that to experience joy and happiness, you must endure humiliating pain.
Trust me, don't believe that bullshit. Love doesn't hurt. If it does, it's not love.
To get back to the story, I was certain that he was cheating on me. I had no proof, but I was certain. It's just one of those instincts that you get. It's hard to explain. You just know. The problem was, I had no proof...just an instinct. Until one day the truth was revealed and my instincts were right. At that time, he guarded his phone like it was a safe full of gold. I took notice.
I will never forget the darkest night of my life. I had finally found great friends that I worked with and we decided to have a girls night out. He was not happy with this, and when I returned home I was locked out of the bedroom. He had bolted the door shut, and that's where it all began.
After pounding on the door for minutes, he finally opened the door. We argued a bit, but he laid back down. As he turned his head, I grabbed his phone and decided to get to the bottom of what my gut was telling me. I just needed to prove what I already knew...he was cheating.
My instincts were right! He had pictures of this girl on his phone. Not just any kind of pictures, but the kind that a wife does not want to see on her husband's phone. What made it worse was that he sent pictures to his brother bragging about his mistress. True story.
What happened next is a blur. I was filled with unspeakable pain, disgust, and rage, and I confronted him head on. The confrontation led to an argument. The argument led to a shoving match. The shoving match led to me swinging a lamp, him pushing me through the wall, and me getting a black eye. The only thing that I'm proud of from that night is the left hook that broke his nose.
Once the fight ended, I looked him dead in the eye and said, "we're done."
I left the next morning, and I never looked back.
I will never forget the people that helped me through that rough patch...and it was rough. I am forever grateful for my family, Jody, Sara, Eddie, Jenna and my best friend Adriana. They kept me sane. I love them.
I didn't share my story to tell you how bad I've had it. Hell, my story is lame compared to what other women have suffered through in their lives. I just wanted to make it clear that although problems arise in our lives, things get better.
I shared because I want people to understand that drama and trauma can only have power over you if you allow it to. Pain does not always last. The darkest of night is just before the dawn. Just when we think we can't take the rain anymore...the sun will starts to shine.
Being a MissFit isn't just about being physically strong. It's about having a strong mentality as well. Strong is a choice. You can either let life knock you down, leaving you bumped and bruised OR you can stand up for yourself and decide that enough is enough and fight back.
We are here to be happy. We are here to do things that bring us joy. We are here to be victorious. We are here to give love and receive love. We are not here to be miserable. We are not here to feel bad about ourselves. We were not created to live in defeat. We were certainly not put here to hold on to our dirty laundry. Sometimes you have to let go and air that shit out!
I needed to hear that song tonight. I needed to let that out. Thanks Kelly Rowland!
*Side note: This is not intended to bash men. I love and respect men.
In an attempt to branch out and find more MissFit’s, my
friend and fellow Texan, Adam Longoria, told me about a friend of his that is a
fierce CrossFit competitor down in San Antonio, Texas.He mentioned that she had only been competing
locally for a short time before she became a serious CrossFit contender in the
South Central Region.She seemed like a
perfect MissFit Candidate, and I became more and more curious about her, and
needed to speak to her first-handed to learn more about her.
I was finally able to speak to Chely Galvan over the phone
to talk about her life as a CrossFit competitor.
What is your athletic
background?
Chely: I played many sports growing up; basketball,
volleyball, track, but mainly soccer.I
thought my competitive sports career ended after high school.I wanted to stay active so I started running
half-marathons and marathons.I ran four
marathons to be exact.I liked the time
to myself during the runs.I was getting
bored though.
How did you find
CrossFit?What drew you to the sport of
CrossFit?
Chely:I was introduced
to CrossFit in March of 2010.My
cousin’s boyfried told me about a new workout he was doing called
CrossFit.He talked me into giving it a
try. I was instantly hooked, and wanted
more.The funny thing is that “death by”
burpees was my very first WOD.I loved
CrossFit.I don’t know what I’d be doing
right now with my training if I didn’t find it.Not only do I do CrossFit, but I have become a CrossFit coach at
CrossFit Mettle.I love the CrossFit
culture and community.
Do you compete?
Chely:Yes.My first competition was called Oktoberfest Obliteration
down in Houston in 2010, where I met Adam.I actually went to be a spectator, but at the last minute a spot opened
up and I filled it on a whim.To my surprise,
I came in 6th!I competed in
2011 in the Hammer and Chisel competition and finished in 2nd.I have also competed in the South Central
Regionals of the CrossFit Games in 2011, 2012, and if I do well enough this
year will make my 3rd appearance at regionals.
What motivates you?
Chely:I have always
been very active, and before CrossFit I was self-motivated.I think now it’s just a little different
especially since I have started competing.Now, I feel like if I don’t put myself out there and give 100% of myself
I will let people down.I know that
people look up to me and I want to be an example of what’s possible with hard
work.Personally, I don’t feel like I’m
the best but I have made it this far and I will continue to work to be the best
I can be.I guess you could say other
people motivate me.
What advice can you
give to young women out there that might be hesitant about trying something
new?
Chely:Whatever it is
you want to do, just do it.It is okay
to be nervous, but don’t be scared.You
have to face your fear and just attack it with determination.Anything is possible.Also, find someone to look up to and mimic
them.When I first started CrossFit I
wanted to be like the CrossFit girls from my area that kicked butt like, Lisa
Thiel from CrossFit Central and Lindsey Smith who is currently living in Ohio.I would imagine myself working as hard as
they do during my training to stay motivated and focused.Also, don’t ever hold back on the goals that you want.
Why are you a
MissFit?
Chely: I’m not good with describing myself.I would say that I commit myself to live with
passion every day and I am determined to succeed.
As I spoke with Chely one thing was crystal clear, she is
extremely honest and humble in her athletic abilities.She understands her gifts and isn’t afraid to
work hard to reach her goals.Chely is a
prime example of what a MissFit is.
Side note:I
contacted Chely a few days after the 2013 CrossFit Open closed to find out
where she placed in her region.She
finished in 20th, guaranteeing her a spot in the 2013 CrossFit Game
South Central Regionals.Good Luck
Chely!
If you would like to learn more about the CrossFit, you can
click on www.crossfit.com and find a
local CrossFit gym near you.
