Well, I think that wins for the longest title of the year, for me at least. But it’s definitely thorough, yes? Haha.
Today I have a few new food and fitness favorites that I want to share, but first let me explain the other part of my title.
You see, yesterday I told a gym member to skip my spin class. She’s a mom, a devoted fitness fanatic, and needed rest. She workouts 2x a day and is in great shape, physically that is. Her mind may not be. Too much fitness focus, which can be draining. I told her she might need a break, and more than a day. Rest her body, mind, and let the muscles repair. Let her thoughts be focused on enjoying the day, not working out.
As a fitness professional, I sometimes feel like we are promoting the wrong message. “Workout longer, harder, farther, etc. Burn calories, burn fat, etc.” My view of fitness has certainly changed over the past few years (due to my own lessons learned) and it does not include any of these messages. In fact, I like to think we need to take the less is more approach. Sometimes we need to eat less and move more (move as in walk, lift, etc. Not too extreme). Sometimes we need to train less and eat more (quality fuel). And sometimes we need to think less and enjoy more. Think less about NEEDING to workout and MORE enjoying what the body is capable of doing. My husband does a great job of training SMART. After years of overtraining and UNDER-resting, he finally has learned the key to HIS training and well being. More recovery, more resting, less stressing= quality training and better performance.
That’s the message I hope to portray when I teach or train. Yes, I joke around at times with them, but in reality I want to focus on balancing our lifestyles, enjoying fitness, and stressing LESS about the small stuff.
Speaking of stuff.. and totally changing topics. Here are my food and fitness favorites for the week. Let me know if you tried any!
These simple protein chips are like crack! Addicting. Made with pea protein and great flavor. Warning: Bring gum after. 
THe Kona Kase Monthly Box subscriptions. So glad we got to sample this box. I’ve seen it everywhere! And it came at the perfect time. I am pretty sure all the goodies were gone in about 6 hrs due to my husband’s training. This box was gluten free too. Kind bars, GU gels/chomps/brew, Luna bar, and pop corns chips. Hmmm, maybe I can get my Healthy Bites in here, yes? Check out the Kona Kase for more info. It’s what I call the endurance junkie goodie box!
My favorite snack lately. Glutino pretzels dipped in my hummus and laughing cow cheese concoction. Don’t mock it till you try it!
This favorite is probably my favorite favorite food find of the week. Sprouted Gluten Free flour from nuts.com. FINALLY! Sprouted grains and nuts are so much better for digestion. This makes my stomach very happy!
And last, but not least, some local love. My Handana! This product is made here is Austin. It’s kinda like a bandana and sweat band put together. Love it for those summer runs! Wipes the sweat off and fits like a glove..literally.
Any new Favorites? What are your thoughts on taking extra rest? Would you have told her to skip the gym like I did?
Cheers,
LC
I definately think the rest days are over looked when people are ‘tought’ about fitness…you need to rest to allow your muscles time to repair, it is when the grow! I supposes it is kind of like when kids need naps to grow up big and strong 🙂
exactly!! they need rest too!
Food is our main power of work and again food is main cause to be fatty. so what we should do .. need to rad your blog post .. 🙂
Love this post! I’m behind on my blog-reading (limited access in Argentina!), so this is a little late. But just reading the title made me happy :). When I was anorexic, I remember thinking that I must not be THAT bad since none of the instructors or trainers ever said anything to me. I think that I actually wanted them too! And when I worked at a gym, I always wanted to say things to girls/women who I knew were struggling…but I worked at the front desk, so I just never felt like it was my place. This is just PROOF that you are an amazing instructor!
And I am so excited about that sprouted gluten free flour! Yippee!!!
(P.S., I love you!)
i love you too! and miss you!!
I love that you told that woman to rest – I think you were right on with your message and it sounds like you told her to take a break in the right way. Your credo for health and fitness is so balanced; I love it! I’m in the same camp as you are and continue to learn that for myself first hand. Also, fun hand wrap! Interesting idea although it seems like it could get hot and a bit bothersome… no?
Love ya friend! Keep living out that message on the blog, in your classes and in your own life. 🙂
Rest is always a good thing! I often wonder why some of us have a problem with resting and taking a day off from working out. And like you, as a fitness instructor I often look fwd to my days off! I actually think it was very smart (and selfless) of you to tell her to skip your spin class. Sometimes we need to take a step back and often times this prevents us from burning out and then when you get back in the game you are ready, refreshed and able to crush your workout!
I like your messages about balance- in working out, eating, and resting. The fact that you told her to enjoy some rest makes you that much better of a teacher!
One of my new (to me) favourites is mint chocolate Clif Bars. So tasty!
you just now tried those bars? oh my, they are so good on bike rides, yes?! haha
dang 2 a days? i take 2-3 days of complete rest each week as in do nothing. i don’t do active recovery, i simply rest body and mind! i try to nourish my body and take care of it! we are nothing without our health! not a new product but new to me are those crunchy delish garbanzo bean snacks by the good bean. i am loving the chipotle lime ones—so smokey!
Think Less Enjoy More, I think this needs to become my new motto! I don’t blame you for telling your member to skip your class! 🙂
I’ve learned the hard way too, with years of over exercising, and under nourishing, my body revolted. Luckily, I revised and experimented . . . and learned the less is more!! Good thing we always have the opportunity to make changes if the drive and support to do it is there.
This is a great post, girl! I think it’s great that as an instructor YOU told HER to rest, and that takes humility and true care~ 😉 I definitely am learning to find my “niche” in my pursuit of fitness and listening to my body’s needs. I think pregnancy has especially taught me that many times, being in the great outdoors is even better than the gym!
we have a handada – our sister got it for us for Christmas. we think it is adorable 🙂
and love this posts – we hope to get that same message across to our readers and clients. that moving a little each day is good, but always need to balance it out with relaxing and taking time for yourself. And most of all NO STRESSING. We have learned what high levels of stress can do to our bodies – and it is not pretty. So our lesson is to start living and stop stressing 🙂
HUGS
You are such a good coach! Many instructors don’t pay attention to their client’s well-being, but obviously you do! My tri coach is good about telling me to rest, I’m not so good about doing it!
I love Kona Kase, some really tasty goodies in there!
Honestly still working on wrapping my head around the rest more scenario, but maybe I should use that “rest more” time, when I’m driving to Texas. It maybe the perfect time to focus on the current situation at hand rather then worry about when can I fit in time to workout. 🙂 Instant rest days!
Good for you for promoting a positive message! It’s all about balance, and working out twice a day is a bit much, yes? Love the bit on worrying too 🙂
i LOVE your outlook on fitness and i completely agree. i understand some people are trying to lose weight, but regardless i think you need the healthy mind set that there is no cookie cutter way to be healthy. some days we need to rest. some days we need to eat more even if we don’t “work it off” i hate the mentality of having to “work for our food” or “earn it” food is fuel and we need it regardless. it’s all about honoring our body, but i know how hard that seemingly easy concept it.
also, i got those gluten free pretzels in a foodie pen pal package and they are seriously the BEST pretzels i have ever had. i don’t need to be gluten free, but i am totally getting them again!
have a great weekend love <3
yes, exactly! you spoke my very train of thought debbie.. and yes.. PRETZELS… GOODNESS YES!
I’m really bad about taking rest days!! Mostly because I really enjoy working out – I tend to keep pushing until I get to the point where I have to take a day off!!
Great post!
i’ve missed you!
I’m glad you told someone not to take your class. It’s definitely more important to get priorities straight and look at the big picture!
I struggle so much with working out more, but I feel sometimes that I haven’t found that perfect balance of work and rest. But, I need to focus on progress not perfection, I am learning as I go and hopefully I can pass on some sense of life balance to my children 🙂
you will find your balance “zone” so to speak. So hard to tap into at times, but then all of sudden you realize you are there. Keep trying!
Oh Lindsay, you are so right! This is exactly what I have been feeling this month – take a BREAK! Lighten up! Enjoy every bit of your life, don’t just get through it!
I’m glad you did rest. HOw did you feel today?
I love the handana girl, what an inspirational story . . .
i know! and such great run gear for this humidity!
I love those pretzels with hummus 🙂 no cheese for me though.
Post is awesome, as is the fact that you told her to go home and rest! I would tell people all the time at the gym to take a rest day etc., yet I still don’t listen to my own advice. As I’m filling out my training log right now, I’m thinking maybe I need to read this post again…
you should. i bet your training would be awesome the day after too!
I really love that you told her to rest too and think that’s amazing and awesome. We do need rest and we never give ourselves nearly enough of it. Can you come train me so that I take my much needed rest days? 🙂
i sure can. YOu can then train me in yoga, k?
i LOVE that you told your gym member to go home! It’s so easy for people to get caught up in the “move more move more move more!” that they forget to go “wait, I DO need REST! maybe I should swap out that long run for a WALK today.” I know i enjoyed the short run, long walk at the gym today (even if it was because I was too busy chatting with the cute boy). 😉
haha, that’s a good reason to walk. flirt!
Girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do! Besides, I got his number so it was worth it. 😉
Yes, yes, yes! Too much of anything is NOT good! Sadly, anyone that loves working out can fall into that trap. The sad part is that it feels so good in the beginning, but then it feels not so good because it drains you and then you risk injury. You are so incredibly wise. Love that about you!
Yes, those chips are amazing and YES, have gum! I fell in love with the chickpea snacks from Blend. I need to find out how to recreate those…
i bet you can re-invent these, no prob! and yes, it’s a trap. I feel like we need to be warned before moving forward, ya know?
Totally agree! It’s easy to get obsessive about health & fitness but that is not healthy! I struggled with that a lil last year. That’s why I had to stop counting calories. It was consuming me and became depressing. I was not enjoying myself at social gatherings because I was calculating everything all the time to see what I should eat. No bueno! 🙁 I’m much happier now!
that’s when we let our minds get in the way of really enjoying, yes? Glad you are happier now Lauren!
Good for you for telling her to skip your class. I think fitness pros have a responsibility, morally if not legally, to be able to recognize signs of over training and alert their students. One of the problems is that even many teachers fall into that over-exercising, stressed out category too. So good that you have learned from experience and could caution your student.
YES!!!! We need to actually practice what we preach, amen!!
AMEN! I think we are bombarded with always doing more, more more. I know I personally feel guilty if I have a day of doing “nothing” – some laundry, make some meals, pick up, but not go-go-go. I think the message started out as good, but like all good things can, it has been taken too far and transformed into something negative. I wish everyone could hear your approach. I think it is the healthiest…for mind, body, and soul.
yes, it’s hard to accept rest. Guilt sets in. But we shouldn’t. it’s part of life and living. Resting. <3
I LOVE combining the LC cheese with hummus! And I love those pretzels so I totally get it! Love snap peas with it too.
Those PopCorners are so amazing. Love them.
And I’m so glad to hear you told someone to take a rest. I feel like trainers and gym employees need to speak up when they see people every single day or twice a day. It’s not safe. And those people get a lot of positive comments for going so often, yet it’s not the best thing for them…sometimes telling them it’s ok to take a break and doing a bit of kind education can make ALL the difference!
REST IS SO IMPORTANT!!! I am so glad you told your that lady to rest & I hope she learns from it – I did not do that in my younger stupid years & learned to rest later – we need it!!!
What a great bunch of finds & YES to the Kona Case group! 🙂 Man to have your bites in there! 🙂
Honestly this is SO SO SO TRUE!! We all talk about health, wellness, and fitness but I often feel like the truth about health gets lost. We don’t have to be so extreme. Balance, Happiness, and Health all go together! LOVE THIS!
oh yes, indeed! it’s so lost! we need to REFIND it!!
LOVE the simply chips!! this summer i have been SO much more relaxed with my workouts. i haven’t been to the gym nearly as much but i’ve been just as active… tons of walks outside… like seriously tons… plus lots of swimming!
I love that you told your client to rest. There aren’t a lot of fitness professionals who would do that, and I know (from being in a bad mental place before) that it had to be hard but it will definitely help her in the long run!
I love the Glutinos pretzels! Thanks for the reminder about balance and rest and recovery. It is such a hard thing to do. I did take a rest day today and it was my second one this week. It was hard to do, but deep down I felt it was what I needed physically and mentally. Your post today was confirming the need for this balance in my life. Thank you and have a great weekend!
GO LINDS! I’m so glad you told her to go rest. A HUGE part of living a healthy lifestyle is making sure to rest. When we are consumed by exercise, our mind and our body both suffer big time. I’m so glad we’ve both been able to learn that! xo
So many goodies!! I could dive into those pretzels right now. And I think that’s what makes you so special, you’re truly concerned about people’s well-being. I think it’s great that you told her to take a rest. Sounds like she probably needs it and may be heading to over-training. And I agree, that’s the message we see – go go go……
thank you friend. I know you can relate. On both sides, yes?!
Those gloves are great!
Good for you for asking her to leave. How did she take it?
she did it. I think she just needed permission to rest and affirmation. I’ll see her monday to find out! haha
SO true about resting up! I took a 2 mile walk with hubs today and it was such nice QT vs going to the gym and focusing on working out – workingout
I LOVE your message as it relates to overtraining, I completely agree. It’s not more more more, its smarter, smarter, smarter, and not harder, harder, harder.
i know you know! especially as an instructor, yes?
p.s. miss you!
YES! kuddos to you for advising her to get some rest… I may be on the other side of the specturm and I think it needs to be a post soon. I basically have put workouts on the backburner since I started the elimination for food sensitivities, with the exception of the weekend at Blend. I feel that my body is going through enough right now and knowing my personality I would have pushed things way too far. I don’t want to be in worse shape or health. I do need to take more walks though, now that I am finally getting energy and strength back.
I haven’t tried the Simply Protein chips yet, can’t wait! And those sprouted flours? I definitely want to try those out once I can add grains back in. I agree, much better for digestion 🙂
i think you’ll find your groove soon. Right now your body is going through a lot, so rest is good. xxoo
GOOD FOR YOU. We have some people that really need to read this at our gym. Quality over quantity at the gym! Work hard and smart so you can spend time outside of the gym enjoying the things that are important to you! Loved this post Lindsay. One of my favs. By the way, those protein chips were so delicious, but definitely needed to brush my teeth afterwards! haha
girl you know exactly what i mean!
Wow Lindsay, can I just say I absolutely looooove that you told someone they shouldn’t do your spin class. When I was extremely underweight, I went to so many different classes and felt like crying doing them and always wished someone would say something to me, but no one did haha. As weird as that sounds, I did wish someone would speak up at this time in my life.
I think as a fitness professional it’s important to be aware when people should not participate in fitness classes.
Sorry for that long comment;)
I just love your message in this post<3
And I need to find those those GF pretzels, with hummus! Sounds amazing!
love your comments and your thoughts. I know that you can relate, on both angels. We need to be compassionate with each other, but also honest, yes?
I completely agree, sometimes it is best to move less and eat more!!! Your body needs rest just as it needs to move and be active. I need to try those chips, yummm 🙂 Happy Friday! <3
you’d love them! that i know! haha