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How To Stay Motivated

Tips to Get Motivated & Stay Motivated

Throughout my competition preps (which have been anywhere from 12-20 weeks) a reoccurring question that I have gotten is: “How do you stay motivated?”

The truth: I don’t. Some days I wake up ready to kick butt and excited to tackle the day with my glittery bikini in mind. Others—well, the idea of eating cold fish out of Tupperware on my lap in my car makes me cringe and my bed is so warm I don’t want to get up and even think about fasted cardio.

So how do I make it through prep & stay consistent? (Because consistency is the key to achieving long-term goals.)

Here’s my list of tips:

Wake Up Early.

Waking up early sets the tone for your entire day. By getting up early, you actually have time to prepare a healthy breakfast- and are less likely to settle for a quick bagel. You’ll feel much more productive. Numerous studies have linked waking up early to success and productivity. Also, sleep experts suggest that when you go to bed early and wake up early, you’re body is more in tune with earth’s circadian rhythms and you get a more restorative sleep. Waking up early also allows for getting in multiple meals a day, working out in the morning, and plenty of time to get down a gallon of water.

How do I start waking up early when I’m in the habit of sleeping until noon?

Prep for the morning the night before.
Get to bed early.
Start gradually, waking up earlier and earlier each morning.
Put your alarm clock far from your bed, forcing to get up to turn it off.
Do not snooze. Setting an alarm for 6 am and 6:30 is less effective than just a 6:30 am alarm. Don’t allow yourself to snooze!
Get moving. Make a deal with yourself that you will get up and walk around your house for 5 minutes before deciding to go back to bed. Chances are- you will be much less likely to go back to bed.

Set an encouraging picture as the background of your phone. ^^^^

My motivational pic? My lock screen is a picture of myself, unflattering angle, most out of shape picture of myself I own. My home screen is a motivational picture. Either my goal body found on Tumblr or a picture of myself in competition shape.

Post motivational quotes in view.

Take time to find quotes that really reach you during a motivated moment and write them on sticky notes. Put those sticky notes places where you may need them most e.g. the bathroom mirror or the kitchen door. Washing your face before the gym and choosing your food are two places where seeing “Ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow” and “I believe in the person that I want to be” can come in handy.

Always have your meals prepared.

Fail to plan- plan to fail. If you have your meals prepped and packed, not only are you cheating yourself by eating other food- but I am way less likely to waste fresh cooked flounder and cave on a burger. There are starving people in this world!! You’re going to eat the food you paid for and took the time to cook.

Tell people what you are doing.

Tell your parents, tell your friends, be that person to check in at the gym every morning on Facebook (WARNING: YOU MAY LOSE FRIENDS.) Accountability. That is what this is about.

Keep a Calendar.

I hang a calendar on my wall specifically for prep. I have my 20 weeks outlined and I cross off days as I go. Each week I put a sticker on the top of my calendar. Seeing that you have 5 stickers makes you feel more accomplished than thinking your only 5 weeks in.

Reward yourself.

Not with food! But think Lululemon & Nike. Each week I make through prep means a new pair of lulu leggings or a new pair of sneakers. 20 weeks= 20 gifts.

8. Write down what you eat!

How you know you’ve gained weight without stepping on the scale & other advice on balance post comp!

People politely tell you– I’m going to start compiling a list of nice ways people have commented on my post competition weight gain.

-“WOW! You really look like you’ve put on some muscle there!”

-You just have a fuller more womanly body now

-You look healthy!

-Your face is so round !! It looks great!

Your clothes don’t fit. During peak week I get carried away ordering brazillian bikinis and skimpy tops I would NEVER usually wear. Keep in mind, competition weight is not usually maintainable. Being a size zero jeans was fun for a week. Now I have four pairs of $200 Freddy Jeans in size 0 that I can’t return.
You breathe heavily doing things you never thought twice about before. I have a habit of sprinting up my flight of stairs at my house. When I find myself wheezing at the top I realize its time to kick the cardio up a notch.
You opt for the loose gym tanks you used to think were mom-ish instead of the tight tanks and nike pro shorts.
Your dad catches you eating out of the icecream carton in the freezer and says “JESUS JEN! Do you ever stop?!”

HAHA.

I’m just having fun here but the point of this is to remember that post competition gluttony has consequences! FIND BALANCE. Enjoy life and live well! Here are some tips I can give to slowly get back to a fun life after competition without packing on the pounds:

Keep your water intake up. When you’re drinking plenty of water you’re less hungry. Water is crucial to fat loss and healthy body function.
Get to the gym a few days a week. Even if your workout intensity is not on point every single day, hold yourself accountable to making it to the gym. This will set the tone for your eating and keep you on a schedule.
Continue to log what you eat. Whether it is in a notebook or your phone, writing down what you eat will keep you more aware.
Eat a healthy breakfast. When you begin the day with a healthy breakfast, you are more likely to have an active and healthy day.
Limit your cheats. Earn them. Schedule them. Limit your drinking. The second you stop scheduling your cheats or working towards them, you begin to cheat on a regular basis. By “cheat” I mean a big dinner completely untracked with wine or anything you please.
Keep healthy food accessible to you. If you are laying by your pool and have fresh healthy food in your fridge you are way less likely to order a pizza. If you have a banana on you, you are way less likely to buy a bag of chips or candy bar while out.
Stay on track with supplements.
Stay on decent sleep schedule.

Allie’s Progress & MY SECOND CLIENT EVER!

OKAY. So I hope everyone remembers the massive success of my first client, Allie Rackliff, in changing her lifestyle and losing a whopping 60 lbs and keeping it off! I just wanted to give a brief update on her progress. Allie continues to implement the practices of her diet regime by controlling her portions and eating clean. She rarely and I mean RARELY cheats her diet and has found great balance in her life along the way. She plans to tighten up the diet a big again and start the process all over again from the beginning, while guiding her coworkers towards healthier lifestyles as well. She has been making me proud for sure!

Now, the second client (my second client ever) is whom I want to highlight in this blog post. I was contacted by Katie Tompkins in reply to my Facebook status about needing guinea pigs to see if I had what it takes to effectively coach and transform peoples’ lifestyles.

Katie began the diet with slightly less enthusiasm than Allie’s diehard commitment, and opened up to me about her emotional struggle with an eating disorder. As the diet commenced Katie felt good but felt as though her progression was slower than it should be. (Many girls feel this way in the beginning of the program because the change in diet may cause bloating and results are not immediate). On a few occasions Katie confessed to binge eating and cheating the diet. I saw her desperation for change in her fierce determination to stay on the exercise program and knew her struggles with eating in the past so i encouraged her to give it another chance. With encouragement and time, Katie began seeing changes and it was as if that fueled her fire not to cheat and to push harder. Katie’s changes were extremely impressive considering how much she cheated in the beginning, because she pushed so hard the last few weeks.

Overall, I am very proud of Katie. She lost a total of 20 lbs and looks overall healthier, happier, and glows!

Here’s what Katie had to say about her experience:

“Before Jenny’s diet plan, I wasn’t out of shape, but I also wasn’t in great shape. I was always pretty chunky as a kid and always knew I was overweight, but it didn’t bother me until I got to high school. My relationship with the gym started when I was 16 but a very unhealthy relationship developed along with it. I had become obsessed with the way that I looked. I was undereating which was making me over eat and then I got into a bad habit of purging. I was diagnosed with bulimia and struggled with it for over 6 years. I went to the gym everyday thinking that if I did 2 hours of strictly cardio that would help me lose a bunch of weight and solve all my problems but people don’t realize that 85% of losing weight is a good balanced diet and that’s what Jenny helped me realize! I’d be lying if I said it was easy. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cheat through this diet. I was open and honest with Jenny when I did cheat and she helped me work through it. I completed the diet and lost 20 lbs total. I have control over my bulimia and I stopped “dieting”. I don’t believe in diets anymore. I believe in living a healthy lifestyle. I learned a lot about myself in the process and continue to learn more everyday.”

Katie’s story is overwhelmingly impressive and shows that the path to success is not always a straight line. She struggled and overcame her bad relationship with food and is living healthier and happier than ever now. Thanks for reading!

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How to Pick a League (ANBF vs. NPC)

The Difference Between Leagues in Competitive Bodybuilding

In today’s post I want to explain the difference between leagues in bodybuilding competitions.

It’s crazy how little is written on this topic readily available online. When I began competing I thought every bikini competition was the same thing.

This is not even close to true. Leagues are different competitions held by different organizations for competitive bodybuilding. Each organization follows a different format, has different rules and regulations, and has pros and cons to participation.

I am not entirely knowledgeable on the widespread list of organizations because there really are SO many leagues. I will discuss the two leagues that I have competed in.

The First League I want to discuss is the NPC or National Physique Committee.

-This organization is the most popular of all leagues in competitive bodybuilding.

-This is the organization associated with the Olympia and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

-This is also the largest organization for amateur bodybuilding.

-The NPC is the amateur extension of the IFBB (international federation of bodybuilding.) What this means is after winning an NPC competition a competitor may continue on to compete in the IFBB.

-The NPC is also not drug tested, and many of the competitors use steroids.

-The NPC features classes such as Bodybuilding, Bikini, Fitness, Figure, Men’s Physique, and Women’s Physique.

-To join the league there is a yearly $120 membership fee known as your “NPC card”

-Many people look down on leagues outside of the NPC as less legitimate, and sometimes judges discredit competitors that may compete in other leagues.

The second league that I want to discuss is the ANBF.

-The ANBF (American Natural Bodybuilding Federation) is an all natural organization

-This is a brand new league. Here is their mission statement taken from anbfnatural.com:

“The American Natural Bodybuilding Federation’s main focus will be to standardize the promotions of natural bodybuilding competitions. By accomplishing this, the competitors, audience, vendors, and anybody else involved will have a more enjoyable experience and leave with an awesome impression of what they just saw. In order for an organization to be customer friendly with great service to go along with a great product it must have structure. The ANBF will be set up in a corporate structure (president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary). The ANBF will also have a representative appointed for each division such as bodybuilding, pro bodybuilding, master’s bodybuilding, physique, and figure and bikini. These reps will be there to listen and/or address grievances and questions and to also update the divisions on any new programs or pertinent information. The ANBF will also have a Judging Director. That person will be responsible for the training and recruitment of a pool of judges that will be available to judge at any ANBF shows. They will be required to meet specific standards before they are allowed to sit on a panel and have their scores counted. No conflict of interest will be allowed, including nepotism, client relationships, etc…

The ANBF also wants to have uniform pricing throughout its shows. All entry fees and ticket prices will be consistent from one show to the next, including coaches passes. We want as many of a competitor’s friends and family there as possible and we don’t want to make anybody dig into their life savings to do it. And the last thing we want to happen is for a competitor to say that they can’t do a show because the entry fee is too expensive.

On the flip side of pricing, all promoters who are holding a pro class must post their minimum payout on their fliers, not the max payout which is very deceiving. When this happens it is very discouraging for the pro athlete and it will make them have a bad taste in their mouth about the promoter and the organization itself.

The ANBF will be a 100% drug tested organization via polygraph for a period of 6 years and will also be backed up by random urinalysis. The ANBF will also be implementing off season random urinalysis. All pros that have competed in an ANBF show and all amateurs who have qualified to be a pro will be subject to this as well. This is a very exciting step for the ANBF and we are very excited about it and it should be very encouraging news for the competitors.

The ANBF is opening up a brand new page in natural bodybuilding. It will no longer be the show is only as good as the promoter. The new standard will be the show is only as good as the organization and whether you are competing, coaching, judging, spectator or a vendor at an American Natural Bodybuilding Federation event, you know it will be an efficient, fair, and enjoyable experience for all involved!

We are looking forward to our first year of competition. Good luck to everybody in 2013!”

-My experience competing in the ANBF was extremely positive. I took first place in my class.

-I enjoyed the straight through format of the show despite the fact that it was still a very long day.

-I felt that the promoters were much more considerate of the competitors than the NPC promoters were. The judging felt more elaborate. Stage time was more fair. There were fresh flowers for all first place winners. The quality of the trophies were nice. They had pizza and Gatorade and waters for all competitors backstage.

-competing in ANBF was overall less costly.

I would recommend trying both and deciding which you prefer!

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Four Setbacks We Inflict on Ourselves

Set Backs we Inflict on Ourselves

Not giving it 100 percent

Not giving workouts and diets a 100% effort is the number one set back we put on ourselves. We often find ourselves committing to diets and caving because we don’t want it bad enough or it gets hard.

News Flash- when it gets hard is when the magic happens.

Results take time. Don’t go to the gym and go through the motions. You must connect the muscle to your mind. Make a sincere effort with your form, increase your weight, and don’t let noise in your mind or emotions of the busy day distract you.

Make a lifestyle change; don’t tell yourself I am going to eat healthier. Don’t make excuses for yourself. Don’t think of it as a diet or missing out. Think of it as actively making choices for the body that you want.

Self-Doubt

Do not be afraid of pushing it harder in the gym. Rid yourself of the word CAN’T.

Everyone starts somewhere. Push yourself to challenges you could never imagine being able to do. I am so guilty of this. I avoid pushups, pull-ups, dips, etc. because I have made up my mind that I will never be able to do them.

I slack with my ab exercises because I thought my body just would never have abs. The second I started really trying and believing in myself I saw results.

It is the challenges that are hardest to us that change us the most.

Ask yourself this: Why Not Me? What does anyone who is doing it have that I don’t have?

Forgetting we are in Control

Diets are HARD. Cravings are real. But at the end of the day, you are the only one in control of what goes in your mouth.

If you tell yourself you will not eat certain things. It is up to you and you alone to not eat them.

When you cheat your diets and your workouts, you are ONLY cheating yourself. Skimping the last 10 min off your cardio, swinging through your reps with bad form, sneaking that cookie. Who are you lying to? Who cares? The only person you are hurting is YOU!

Not making improvements/adjustments

Eating the same things every day. Not switching up workouts, increasing cardio, increasing weights, trying new things, etc.

YOU WILL PLATEAU.

You know how much effort you are putting in. Make an effort to make tomorrow better than yesterday.

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My First Client (YAY!)

My First Client!

A few months ago, I reached out to my Facebook friends requesting volunteers to be guinea pigs to a sample diet plan in order for me to gain testimonials for my blog to share when I am ready to start taking on clients of my own

I then created a 12-week-diet based on my own experiences with dieting and nutrition that follows a structure similar to a competition diet while being slightly more flexible.

I was overwhelmed with excitement as requests for my diet poured in. I had 15+ girls in one day. As each girl told me how unhappy they were with their bodies and how ready for change they were I became invested in each and every one of their successes.

However, After just three days I had lost four girls to reasons such as it being inconvenient to eat so often, workout so often, and that it was too restrictive.

I was disappointed, however I sympathize with these reasons because I know all of these things from experience.

As the days progressed, I lost six more girls due to not seeing immediate results, feeling bloated or head achy or mentally exhausted from the extreme lifestyle switch, or just from food cravings and not being able to not cheat.

My last three clients are fighters, but the one I want to highlight in this blog post, is my most surprising and dedicated of them all.

Alvine came to me very humbled and told me that she would love to try the diet plan and then thanked me for helping her. As time progressed and other girls stopped answering me, or told me they couldn’t continue, Alvine persisted. She sent me her journals of what she ate on a daily basis. She never complained about any of the adjustments I made along the way and she seemed enthusiastic. She always asked questions and followed up. She also stayed organized and continued to prep her meals the night before.

I offered to take her through a gym session, as I did not know her experience working out. (She had told me she worked out along with DVDS in her home). After one day in the gym, she got a gym membership and continued every day following the schedule I set up for her.

HERE IS HER TRANSFORMATIONS SO FAR:

I was amazed at FOUR WEEKS into her diet when she explained to me that she was down 28 lbs. More importantly she felt incredible.

Alvine has EIGHT WEEKS left of her diet and continues to amaze me everyday. When I asked her to make a statement for this blog post she sent me this:

“Hi, my name is Alvine and my life before the JennyRichFit diet was not really pleasant. It wasn’t that I ate horrible or ate junk food, my portions were just out of control. I would only eat once or twice a day. Portion control was not my forte. It now has become my new favorite thing. Eating 6 meals a day is absolutely wonderful. I’m never hungry and I always have energy. The only thing I find difficult is the complete lack of dairy. I now am leading a healthier lifestyle, and it wasn’t that difficult. I am now working out daily as opposed to only once a week strength training. I’m not sure what all I want to accomplish, because I am not used to looking this good :p however, a safe estimate would be to wear a medium/large shirt and to get down to a size 10 pants.”

I definitely feel her on the no dairy thing! Haha. But I think she is being incredibly modest with her goals. I told her to set her mind on a two piece bathing suit and I don’t see her stopping when the 12 weeks are finished.

I will continue to post updates of her progress & please continue to follow her story and show her love and support! Will be featuring all future success stories as well! 🙂

This is what this is all about. Helping people achieve their best selves and this is why I love what I do.

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What it means to be “Skinny-Fat”

What It Means to be Skinny-Fat

If you follow fitness accounts on Instagram, chances are you’ve heard the term “Skinny-fat”.

This is a term that I had no IDEA what it meant when I first heard it, but now that I have an understanding of it, I couldn’t relate to it more.

I have never been technically overweight in my life. I don’t come from an overweight family, I have always been participating in sports, however I have indulged in an unhealthy relationship with food.

I have spent a lot of my life drinking soda, eating icecream, drinking alcohol. Still, I never saw myself reach overweight. I have, however, been “skinny-fat”.

Skinny-fat refers to being out of shape. Usually it refers to someone with a small body frame. They may lack muscle tone and have a muffin top, or cellulite, or bit of a tummy. Usually their limbs are on the skinny side but nothing looks firm or toned.

Here are two examples of me when I am skinny-fat. I feel horrible in my own skin here. I am killing myself with cardio on a daily basis. I am drinking alcohol, eating large meals very spread apart with little to no nutritional value.

Then there is me when I’m at my most ideal, yet unrealistic to maintain, stage weight. This is the result of weight training, extremely clean eating, and manipulating my water.

So what does it look like when I eat relatively clean, drink plenty of water, lift weights, and do no cardio?

This is balance. This is a cheat meal every 3 days. No cardio.

So you choose. Weights or cardio?

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Best Advice I can give

Last spring, I set out with the biggest goal of my life. It sounds kind of cheesy but my biggest life goal or dream was to compete in a fitness competition. I could not imagine my body ever looking like that, and I was so passionate about fitness. After achieving this goal, I set bigger goals. 1. Compete in and WIN a bikini competition. 2. Become a certified personal trainer. 3. GO PRO!

I don’t know if I will ever reach my biggest goals, however it is extremely empowering to achieve a goal you set.

The one piece of advice I would offer to anyone in any position of their life is to believe in yourself. YES I KNOW. Cheesy. But it is so incredibly true. Trust the process of hard work. Set a goal and believe that you will reach it. The mind is a powerful tool. I cannot give any better advice than this.

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Back Workout

Hi Guys!

I can’t emphasize enough how incredibly beautiful a toned and fit back is on a woman. No one wants that look of back fat around your bra straps or just a frail looking slumped back either. A sleek and toned back shows strength and can be sexy and feminine as well.

In my latest youtube video I will share my favorite exercises from back day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrhNJoBhdYA&feature=youtu.be

(Music is “This is How We Do” by: Katy Perry)

Back Workout:

Lat Pull Down (4 sets 15 Reps)

Kneeling One Arm Rows (3 Sets 15 Reps)

Seated Cable Rows (4 sets 15 Reps)

Dead Lifts (10 sets of 10 Reps- 100 total) Take no more than 15 second breaks between each set. If you do not know what weight is good for you, a good tip is to try half your body weight. So for example: I am 115 lbs, I will deadlift 60 lbs.

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How to Get Motivated

Finding motivation is not always easy. Sometimes you pull on that pair of yoga pants and sweatshirt and don’t care what your body looks or feels like. Sometimes dinner with friends and drinks and sleeping in late is more appealing than eating clean and working out. Sometimes you are busy and finding time to cook and workout seems impossible.

DON’T GET ME WRONG. In between goals is a thing called life that needs to be lived and enjoyed!!!

However, it is easy to get stuck in a pattern where “let me treat myself” becomes a daily thing. Your stomach becomes a waist basket and your body gets farther and farther from where you want it to be. I think we can all agree that you feel worse. You’re not happy with where you are, you are low on energy, and you feel like you’ve let yourself go. Am I right?

So how do you find the motivation and get back to where you want to be?

Set Goals. Decide what will make you happy. Is it being fit for a future vacation? Is it losing five pounds of fat and having more energy? Is it getting to the gym everyday so that you feel like you can walk up the stairs without wheezing? Is it fitting into skinny jeans without your love handles hanging over the sides?
Make a plan. How will you do these things? What is it now that is making you so unhealthy? Is it that you are not active enough? Will you go to the gym three days a week? Everyday? Will you run the boardwalk in the morning?
Make Simple Changes. Switch to drinking only water (don’t drink your calories and unknowingly consume excessive sugars through sodas and juices). Say no to those office cookies when your not that hungry, that sugary pumpkin spice coffee, or drinks on a weeknight. Don’t eat out of boredom. Don’t accept food to be polite.
Be Conscious of Your Consumption. Read nutrition facts, plan your meals in advance, and be aware every time you put something in your mouth. Make an effort to eat greens and non-processed foods. Ask yourself if what you are eating is a step closer or farther away from your goals.
Hold Yourself Accountable. Tell people that you are making a change. Write down what you eat. Apps like My Fitness Pal make it easy to record your food in a diary.
Stay Positive & Consistent. After one month of eating clean research shows you crave bad food less. Remember that the longer you stick to the plan the easier it becomes. Consider that the earlier you start the better.
Rest and Create other Healthy Habits. Getting a full 8 hours of sleep and waking up early makes you feel more successful. Going to the gym first thing in the morning helps you think more about what you eat during the day. Living a well-rounded healthy life where you focus on enhancing your mind, body, spirit is a great feeling!

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