At most gyms, especially the big box gyms, once you purchase your membership no one cares if you continue to show up. Gyms will make their money whether you show up or not because they are not invested in your results. Ultimately, you will have to get to a point in which you exercise because you are investing in yourself, but everything in life becomes easier when you have someone that is invested in your success. This is why teachers and coaches exist, to help individuals reach their goals, and in turn providing value by helping you to succeed. Even personal trainers have coaches, in the form of our own personal trainers, nutritionists, lifting coaches, yoga instructors and even business coaches. This is because we understand the value that having a coach can bring to our lives and businesses.

If you have been working towards a health and wellness goal but not making much progress, it may be time to recruit some professional guidance. We hire coaches for things like our finances so why not for our health? Who cares how much money you have if you don't have your health? Change your mindset from "How much will that cost?" to "What will I get from this investment?".

Well, when it comes to personal training, here is what you will get:

Motivation that leads to consistency.
Education that leads to better decisions.
Knowledge that leads to efficient exercise.
Fresh ideas to prevent boredom and get better results.
Someone to correct your form and prevent injuries.
Someone to vent to when no one else will listen (and in some cases a good friend).

If a personal trainer isn't in the budget other options include:

Find a friend with similar goals that will support you and call you out when you start to slack.
Join a running club or a triathlon club.
Use apps like MyFitnessPal and Lose It! to help you stay on track
Purchase a Fitbit or pedometer.

Please understand that I am not saying to get rid of your gym membership and to no longer bother going anymore. What I am saying is that a gym membership should be a tool that you can use but should not be the only tool. Investing in yourself will not only enhance your well-being, it will allow you to thrive in all areas of life.

Summer is here and not only does the temperature start to heat up but so do our schedules. Our priorities shift from structure to leisure and exercise can sometimes take a back seat (right next to the cooler and beach bags). Summer workouts need to be efficient and be able to be done anywhere and my Love Your Legs Workout is just that! When trying to burn calories, its important to get your large muscle groups burning. Using all of your leg muscles and a majority of of your core, this workout will get them fired up. Ideally, 3 rounds with a short break (or even a short jump rope session for serious calorie burn) would provide the best workout. HOWEVER, one of my top rules for exercise is anything is better than nothing! So if you only have time for 1 round, high five!!

Please remember that form is far more important than speed or reps. Here are some reminders:

Stand up tall and suck your belly button to your spine throughout the whole workout, while still maintaining normal deep breaths.
Weight should never shift onto your toes in squats or lunges.
Land nice and soft on the jumping Squat Jacks - You should land like a ninja, very quietly.
Progress slowly. Start with 1 round without any weights. If that feels good, work your way up to 3 rounds. Once your able to do 3 rounds, add light weights. And so on and so forth.
Modify when needed. If a couple of these moves are particularly tough, scale them back a bit by not going as low into the lunge (don't take a smaller step - keep the knees from traveling forward), don't kick so high on the Birdfeeder Kicks or don't kick at all, if 25 is too many, start with 10. Just start somewhere and build :)

Stay tuned for a Summer Cardio Challenge that works great with the Love Your Legs Workout. Until then... Happy Summer!!