People misjudge people of size.  They think that just because they are over weight or obese that they are lazy and stupid.  I have found that these people are some of the hardest working smartest people that I have come across.  They are overweight not because they want to be but because there is an underlying belief driving the behavior that is keeping them overweight and sabotaging their weight loss efforts.

The best way to get motivated is to make a decision to change something in your life that is no longer serving you.  The next step is to find someone who will support you on your journey, it can be a friend, your partner, a co-worker or a professional.  Sometimes having a professional help you get started is the smartest and best way to get you moving down the road to better health.

It's important to have accountability partners when making changes on our lives.  We ALL need support to help us stay the course.  We need people who believe in us, who will help remind us of our goals, people who will hug us when we're down, cheer us on when we are up and give us a kick in the pants when we're whining.  There are times when I don't feel like doing a workout and I'll call one of my support team and let them know I just don't feel like working out.  I still workout but at least I've put a voice to my resistance and for some reason just feeling that I was heard makes a world of difference.

It's important to remember that you didn't gain all your weight overnight and it will take time and effort to start feeling the benefits of increasing your activity level.  In fact it's SUPER important to focus on increasing activity rather than focusing on exercise.  Start with small changes like marching in place during commercials as you're watching tv.  Start parking farther away from your destination, make cleaning your house a time challenge activity, see how full of a laundry basket you can carry.  When you start focusing on increasing activity it just doesn't seem as daunting.

It's also important to not go overboard when making changes to your diet.  Unless you have a fod alergy it's supper hard to stay away from a food you really enjoy.  Sure you can so it for a while but for how long before the thought of eating it consumes you?  If you plan ahead and pre-package snacks to have handy for those times that you are super hungry you'll have a healthy snack choice to grab instead of reaching for a high fat high sugar food.

There are no 'Good' foods and there are no'Bad' foods - there is just food.  Sure some food is healthier to eat than other food but by making food 'Good' or 'Bad' it makes us Good or Bad for eating it.  Food is food, it's just fuel for our bodies and the sooner you are able to embrace that idea the better.  The secret is to give yourself permission not only to eat the food you want but to enjoy it without feeling guilty for eating it.  Okay so it's probably not the greatest idea to eat ice cream at every meal but ice cream is fine as long as it's something that you only eat (& enjoy!) occasionally.

When you start focusing on increasing your activity - make a game of it to see how much you can get into your day - it's important to start shifting your perception from 'Have To' to 'Get To'.  It's much more fun to do something you GET to do rather than something you HAVE to do.  When you start to feel better then you'll naturally do more which sets you up for success.  Another tool is to track your workouts, your food and your progress.  It's great to be able to look at the shift in activity and food choices as well as pant size!

Remember that small changes over time yield HUGE results!

Here's to your Health, Wellness and Fitness,

Jennifer Malocha CEO of Fun at Wuhoo Fitness

www.wuhoofitness.com

Listen to Let's Talk with Jennifer Malocha on Thursday monrings at 9 AM PST

These women are the epitome of bravery.  They are scared and I mean SCARED because they know they can't really do a triathlon and that they will die during some portion - usually the swim, but they show up week after week for training.  Then they show up at the start line on race day even though they know they're going to fail.  Funny thing is though that they don't fail, not one of them ever has.  You see I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they won't fail.  I don't just know I KNOW  that they won't fail.  I picture what they'll look like when they cross the finish line.  I can see their joy, their pride, their sense of accomplishment and I hold that image of them through all the training.  From the very beginning to the very end.  I KNOW because I've already held them in a bear hug at the finish line and cried tears of joy with them.

You may be reading this and saying to yourself "Yea that's great but I'm _______ " fill in the blank with whatever your reason is that's stopping you.  The women that I've seen cross the finish line of triathlons range from very, very young (I swam with a 15 year old cancer survivor one year) to not as young (80+) from very fit athletes to women who were over 100 lbs over weight.  These women have included cancer survivors as well as those who are fighting cancer and women who are healthy. So whatever your excuse there has been a woman who has crossed the finish line who was just like you.

It really doesn't matter what swim stroke you use, what type of bike you have or if you walk the 'run' portion and it doesn't even matter how long it takes you.  All that does matter is crossing that finish line. Sally Edwards says that the woman who starts the race isn't the woman who finishes the race and boy is she right!  Another saying of hers which is my favorite is "When was the last time you did something for the first time?"

Some people argue for their limitations and some people argue for their abilities - what type of person are you?  Don't you deserve to feel the strength and power that comes from meeting a physical challenge head on?  Women are a whole lot stronger than they give themselves credit for and we as women owe it to each other to lift each other up and see each other as God sees us.  We are miracles, each and every one of us.

It's important that we all have someone in our lives that believes in us as fiercely as I believe in my triathletes.  One of the gifts that God blessed me with is the ability to believe in you and your abilities so completely that all I can see is your success.  I wish that I could somehow bottle the magic of tri season because it truly is magical.  To watch a person move from a place of fear and doubt to a place of excitement and accomplishment is pretty heady stuff.  The most glorious part for me is that I get to do this every year!  I get to watch this incredible transformation each year over a brief 8 week period.  It is incredible.  It is a privilege and an honor to be a small part of these women's lives and watch them fly when all they thought they could do is plod along.

When was the last time that you truly stepped out of your comfort zone and stretched yourself farther than you ever thought you could?  What's stopping you?  I think that everyone should do a triathlon at least once in their lives just to be able to say you did.  The changes that I've seen in the women who've crossed the finish line of a triathlon have been profound.  The term quiet strength comes to mind.  Knowing in your heart of hearts that you are a triathlete goes a long, long way and probably even further than you think.

I am including links to 2 different all womens triathlons in Seattle:

Trek is September 19th 2010 registration is open now.

http://www.trekwomenstriathlonseries.com/washington.html 

The Danskin is August 15th 2010 registration opens 9 AM on March 9th 2010

http://www.danskintriathlon.net/Seattle__WA.html 

Check the Wuhoo Fitness website for information about the 2010 triathlon training season.

Here's to your Health, Wellness and Fitness!

Jennifer Malocha CEO of Fun at Wuhoo Fitness

www.wuhoofintess.com

Until a few years ago all the research into the signs of a heart attack were performed on men and all the findings were applied to men and women alike even though there had been no women in any of the studies.  Women would go the the doctor for help but because they didn't show the 'classic' (read male symptoms) they were sent home with the diagnosis of having gas and subsequently died.  This is why more women died from heart disease than men - because as I said above they were misdiagnosed.  In defense of those doctors who misdiagnosed ~ even when they ran tests the results would have showed none of the 'classic' signs of a heart attack.

Only as recently as about 5 years ago researchers discovered that there were substantial differences between the sexes when it came to heart attacks.  When a man has a heart attack it shows up in his major arteries in contrast when a women has a heart attack it shows up in our viens so we need different tests than men to determine whether or not we are in fact having a heart attack.  It's important to me that people realize that 53% of the people who die each year from heart diease are women - more women die each year from heart disease than cancer.  There is so much fantastic information available now to help educate people but it's only as powerful as the number of people who take the time to learn the information and share the knowledge.  Will you please be one of the ones who share?

The good news is that it is NEVER too late to start making healthier choices.  In fact every single thing that you do has a positive impact - each time you go for a walk (even a short one), eat veggies, choose fruit as a treat instead of something fatty with a bunch of sugar every time you make a healthy decision it results in a positive impact.  Please help me spread the word about how important it is to start taking our health seriously and to start honoring how important we are and that we absolutely deserve to be healthy so that we can enjoy life. 

This link has great information about the different tests -

http://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-health/diagnosis.aspx

Here are some other great links that have valuable information please read and share them because the life you save may be the life of someone you love.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/healthmedical/a/womensami.htm

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4786

http://www.healthline.com/sw/wsc-symptoms-of-heart-disease-in-women

http://www.medicinenet.com/heart_attack/article.htm

Here's the home link for the Go Red Program PLEASE go to the site, share this link and help make a difference today http://tinyurl.com/yh9oqdb
 

Here's to Your Health, wellness and Fitness,

Jennifer Malocha - CEO of Fun at Wuhoo Fitness

www.wuhoofitness.com

She was both furious with him and frantic as to what his exercise options were considering his physical limitations.  What does a person do if they can't walk because they're in pain - how are they supposed to work out?

Well the short answer is get in the pool but I don't mean for swimming laps.  There is a big difference between swimming laps and just about every other type of workout that you can do in water.  The cool thing about working out in the water is that you have such a variety of workout options!  The biggest difference between swimming laps and even walking in the water is the level of resistance you encounter and what a great workout it is for your core. 

Some other cool benefits from working out with your feet on the bottom is that it actually helps the blood flow back to your heart and oxygen enters your blood more rapidly under the partial pressure created by submerging your body vertically in water as opposed to horizontally.  There is also very low to no impact working out in the water so even people with arthritis can be successful working out pain free.

At this point you may be thinking "Wow water sounds great for rehab but I'm not injured - I'm in pretty good shape and really want a more challenging workout."  My response to that is that more and more professional sports teams are doing training workouts in water to help with increasing vertical jump height, increasing speed and reducing risk of over use injuries to list just a few of the benefits.  The year that Brazil won the soccer World Cup they had added training in the water to their training program.

The cool thing about water is that the harder you push against it the harder it is to push against ~ the easier you push the easier it is to push.  In fact you can even gain strength and muscle in addition to increasing your cardio capacity.  It's easy to sing the praises of working out in the water!

Here's a little known fact about working out in the water is for all of you heart rate monitor users who don't like working out in the water because your heart rate doesn't get as high as on land.....  If your heart rate on land for a work out is say 150 BPM (beats per mintue) then your heart rate for the same level of exertion in water will be 140.  You're working out just as hard it's just that your heart rate is 10 beats per minute lower in water than on land.  This has to do with how your body dissipates heat in water versus on land.

So whether you have health challenges or are a serious athlete working out in the water is a great way to get and stay in shape in a way that is gentle on your joints and great for your body.  I hope that you don't get the idea that I am anti lap swimming it's just that there is so much more to water workouts than swimming laps.

For more information check out these great organizations:

Aquatic Exercise Association  http://www.aeawave.com

Aquatic Therapy and Rehab Institute http://www.atri.org

Here's to your Health, Wellness and Fitness,

Jennifer Malocha CEO of Fun at Wuhoo Fitness

www.wuhoofitness.com

Tanya is not a large woman by anyones standards except when it comes to her presence.  She is very even tempered, is a woman of few words and yet she inspries great respect in those that interact with her.  Even though Tanya's not a big person she commands great respect as well as a little fear which is strange because I've never heard her yell, threaten or intimidate anyone nor is she physically imposing.

I've watched Tanya work with not only my horse Teddy but with many other horses.  These vary from expensive jumpers, highly trained dressage horses and even includes her brand new 2 year old colt stallion who had only been handled a few times by humans.  Never once have I seen Tanya loose her cool even in the midst of major theatrics.  She always, without exception, brings out the most gentle aspects of the horses she works with. 

I have to admit that there have been times watching Tanya that I've been scared and alarmed because it's so loud and 'Big'.  Once I was able to get through my own fear and just watch what was really happening I realized that she really just has very clear and defined boundaries and expectations.  She never once hurt the horse nor was she ever trying to hurt the horse - she was just letting the horse know in no uncertain terms what her expectations were and that yes it was in their best interests to listen and that as soon as they even tried to do what she was asking everything got immediately quiet.

Teddy respects Tanya completely to the point that I swear I can hear him think “Mam! Yes Mam!” when she’s around.  He pegged me as his very own personal carrot dispenser who pampers him and loves him up.  He was pushy and pretty noncompliant when I asked him to do things.  Why should he listen to me when I was uncertain of what I was asking of him and how to get him to do it.  I had no boundaries with him because in all honesty I was kind of afraid of him.  He does weigh as much as a small car after all.  By watching Tanya and really listening to what she’s been teaching me I’ve begun to understand the power that Tanya commands that I wish I did. 

Tanya has very clear and defined personal boundaries which allows those who interact with her to relax because they know what’s expected.  She isn’t afraid of upping the ante when the horse is not doing what she asks – she always insists on offering the ‘Good Deal’ first.  She always acts with confidence regardless of what she’s doing even if she IS uncertain she doesn’t let it show.  Because she is focused on the outcome she wants she is able to stay calm in the midst of theatrics.  She is extremely honest so when you do what is expected life is good there’s no second guessing.

I think about what a powerful impact it would have on my life if were able to embody these qualities on a day to day basis.  To have my goal so firmly in mind that I could stay calm even in the midst of chaos, to know and embody my personal boundaries to the point that it was not a big deal to get ‘big’ if I had to to enforce them.  To act with such confidence that even if I was unsure of what I was doing I did it boldly and with daring.

When we establish clear and firm boundaries we no longer need to be loud and we will command the respect we desire. When we act as if we cannot fail we act from a place of power.  When we stay calm in the midst of theatrics we are able to stay on target and continue to move towards our goal REGARLDESS of the chaos happening around us.  When we put all these things together we have no fear of standing our ground and getting ‘Big’ if we need to.  What would your life be like if you could embody these things?  I challenge you to take the lessons I’ve learned from my friend Tanya – the female version of the Horse Whisperer and incorporate it into your own life.  After all when you want to capture someone’s attention it’s more powerful if you whisper…..

To your Health, Wellness and Fitness,

Jennifer Malocha CEO of Fun at Wuhoo Fitness

www.wuhoofitness.com

I'm not sure if it was New Years or where I am in my life or what but I decided that playing soccer again sounded like a FINE idea.  Keep in mind at almost 46 I'm not quite as young as I used to be..... I'm not old by a long shot just not quite as young!  Actually I really wanted to push myself as I only do when I play on a team.  I just don't push myself nearly as hard  when left to my own devices.  I passionately believe that fitness should be fun. Period. If it's not fun then I'm doing something wrong. 

I went online to find a team that would have a spot for a rusty, aging soccer mom.  I signed up on a soccer site that matches players and teams, sent out a couple of emails and then sat back and hoped that someone would take pity on me and let me play.  It really reminded me of elementary school and choosing teams at recess and all those feelings of insecurity came rushing back.  What if no one picks me, what if they're mean, what if I *GASP* suck!?!?!

Well the great thing about being a woman is co-ed teams usually need women players so there is always room.  Whew! one hurdle down...  I was invited to come and be a sub for a team for their Monday night game and I said yes.  Of course this is after I thought of all sorts of reasons why I couldn't.  I got new cleats - my oldest son borrowed my cleats one season and they didn't survive the punishment - borrowed his shin guards and his soccer bag and off I went to play my first game.

I have to admit that I was pretty nervous, I mean I don't know any of the players, I haven't played in over 13 years remember AND I have an ego.  I told myself that the people on the team were probably super nice and that as long as I didn't suck I could call it a success.  Well lo and behold I didn't suck and the people were nice!  Okay starting off with a win!  I was expecting to be pretty sore the next day and was pleasantly surprised with only having a sore left glute.  It made sense that my left glute hurt due to the injury I had last Spring that involved a walking boot cast for 8 weeks.  I discovered a muscle imbalance that I wasn't aware of which is awesome because now I can work on balancing it out.  I know - only a trainer would think like that!

I had so much fun on Monday night that I decided that I would play with another team on Wednesday night.  Again everyone was super nice and the big time win was that I relaxed and just focused on playing hard and having fun.  I was able to let go of my self doubts and fears and just play.  I made some great plays, I missed some opportunities and did my best.  We were short women players so myself and two other women ran both 45 minute halves for a total of an hour and a half run workout! I can't remember the last time that I  really pushed myself that hard for that long.  It made me hungry for more!

I had forgotten how important playing was.  Moving for the sheer joy of moving and moving because I CAN move. It's easy to get caught up in day to day living and forget to really push ourselves and challenge ourselves, to take ourselves out of our comfort zone and try new things or start doing things again that we used to love but haven't done for years. 

When was the last time that you stepped out of your comfort zone?  When was the last time that you tried something new? When was the last time that you really pushed yourself as hard as you possibly could?  When was the last time that you did something that you used to love doing?

I love soccer because it is a non contact sport, it takes teamwork to succeed, it's challenging, you need minimal equipment, it's great exercise, I get to play outside and it's FUN!  Oh and you can play it at any age.  What's YOUR soccer?  It is scary to step outside of your comfort zone and try something new but it is always worth the risk even if it's only to discover that it's not for you.  I remind myself that nothing ventured nothing gained.

I challenge you to go out and find your version of soccer.  It could be playing a musical instrument, taking a cooking class, trying a new sport or taking dance lessons. It could even be doing your first triathlon - who knows!  It's important to spend time doing something that you love thats sole purpose is to fill YOU up.  After all if we don't take care of ourselves who will?

To quote brilliant lyrics - You're a Rock Star - Get your game on GO PLAY!

To your Health and Wellness,

Jennifer Malocha CEO of Fun at Wuhoo Fitness

www.wuhoofitness.com

I PROMISE MYSELF.....

To think of myself as a Divine Being expressing God

To see myself as radiant in this God light

To let the light so shine through me that all shall see my God works

To get the Divine vision of my life

To never doubt my vision

To build a greater sense of faith and hold to it

To think not of weakness & shortcomings but of the God power expressing in their stead

To expect the God in me to manifest

To admit no discouraement

To put into life a positive charge

To express Divine Love toward all

To never be critical - never severe

To refrain from speaking the unkind word

To help everyone express their Divine side

To joy in the success of all, as I do my own

To recognize my body as the temple of the Living God

To think health, talk health and see health

To realize the adequacy of God for my every need

To think and talk abundance

To know my never failing supply in life

To be so positive in all my ways as to be a tower of strength to all

Thus my Unity of Being is sustained in my awareness of the Allness of God.

by Dr. Robert Bitzer

I challenge YOU to read it everyday as well for one month.  I'm curious to hear from you what if anything has changed in your life as a result of reading this New Year affirmation for the next month. 

Here's to you and the miracles you can create in your life,

Jennifer Malocha CEO of Fun at Wuhoo Fitness

www.wuhoofitness.com

I realized or more correctly remembered how important it is to be true to myself, to stop waiting to do the things that I really want to do, to start planning the adventures I've dreamed of going on.  Stop waiting and start making them a reality - after all the only person holding me back is me.  The only person responsible for my life and my happiness is me.  There's an old saying "Blame is better to give than to receive."  It's so much easier to blame others or situations for the unhappiness in our lives when in reality we're the ones in charge, we're the ones to 'blame'.

I believe that God has a master plan for my life (not just for MY life but for EVERYONES life) and with that belief comes the courage to take the steps necessary to live the life of my dreams.  After all with God in charge what's there to be afraid of?  I can't fail as long as I am sharing the gifts that I've been blessed with to the best of my ability, I trust in the good that life has to offer - and this is the important bit - I DO THE WORK.

You see God doesn't do manual labor that's up to us.  It's rarely easy and it's often painful or hard but ALWAYS worth the effort.  Think of a time that something came easily for you, now think of a time you really had to work to achieve a goal.  Which one was more fulfilling?  Which one did you learn the most from?  Which one provided you with the greatest gifts?  My money's on the one you had to really work for.

It's easy to say that 2010 is going to be my best year ever! But what does that really mean?  For me 2010 is going to be the year of metamorphasis - literally out with all the things that do not serve me, all of the (or as much as possible!) relationships that are holding me back, all of the old behaviours that prevent me from achieving my greatest good.  The year that I seek closure and healing from all broken relationships and this is the year that I become willing to trust in Gods master plan for me.  It's by letting go of the good that we make room in our lives for the great.

It's easy for us to hide our lights under a bushel out of fear of making others feel small and weak.  The reality is that by being our best selves and standing in our power we allow others to do the same.  If someone does feel small in our brilliance it is not our problem it is theirs.  It is important to remember this always.  Playing small serves no one.

Some things that happen when we feel powerless is that we don't take care of ourselves.  We know we should workout but don't, we know we shouldn't eat that extra cookie but we do, we don't step out of our comfort zone because we're afraid of what others might think or that we may fail or even worse that we may succeed.

By taking responsibility for our lives and our actions we set ourselves free and reclaim our personal power.  We will no longer feel threatened by what others think of us, we will no longer want to blame others for our lives, we will know with every fiber in our beings that we are powerful and capable and beautiful and most importantly Divine.

May 2010 be the year that you discover how powerful you really are.  I believe in you - I always have I always will.  You are AMAZING and CAPABLE and WONDERFUL don't let ANYONE including yourself ever tell you anything different.

Here's to your success!

Jennifer Feely Malocha CEO of Fun at Wuhoo Fitness

www.wuhoofitness.com

Two weeks ago I talked about lessons I learned from my dog Clyde, this week I'll be talking about some lessons I've learned from my horse Teddy.

After racing for 9 years Teddy went to a new owner who put him in a reining barn.  Generally Thorough Breds aren't great reigning horses.  They're not physically suited for the work - it's like asking a marathon runner to start playing football.  Teddy didn't do well in the reigning barn and was deemed overly aggressive and should be put down.  Imagine being asked to do things that you physically can't do then getting punished for it, how would you react?  I'd get a little pissy to say the least!  His former owner had scheduled an appointment to have him put down but couldn't bring herself to do it at the last moment and contacted the rescue who took him in. 

I believe in giving people and animals a second chance which is why it was important to me to adopt a rescue horse.  So I contacted the rescue and they said that they had a great fit for me a first time horse owner who pretty much didn't know anything about horses.  If I knew then what I know now I'm not sure that I would have adopted my horse but I digress..... 

I met this horse and I could see his heart - he was a kind and gentle giant that knew NOTHING expect how to race.  He was over 400 LBS under weight, needed vet care and to have his teeth cared for.  Things that the rescue SHOULD have taken care of but didn't.  All this was back in Feb '09 so let's fast forward to today. 

I was lucky and found the most amazing trainer EVER who has worked with him since September '09.  Tanya Striebeck is the female version of the horse whisperer.  She's kind, consistent, fair, she communicates clearly and effectively and has VERY high expectations from both the horses she trains AND the people she trains.  Tanya reminds me of Simon on American Idol - she's tough but when she gives a compliment you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is genuine and heart felt.  You know exactly where you stand with Tanya.

In the time that he's been in training with Tanya he's gone from being 'resistant' to training to being so gentle that one of  the other horse owners in the barn I board at commented that they would never get a horse like mine because there isn't enough life in him.  Remember that he had an appointment to be put down because he was overly aggressive?

Horses are WAY different than dogs.  Dogs are very treat oriented and want  to please you, horses just want to get along so will do what you ask.  The thing is that they will do exactly what you ask which may or may not be what you want.  I have had to learn how to communicate what I want VERY clearly and effectively.  I've also had to learn how to be more assertive and less soft.  Not in a hard or harsh way but in a more firm way.  Dogs are pack animals - horses are herd animals, there is a difference.  There are similarities but it's still different.  Dogs are predators and horses are prey.  Horses need to be able to trust that you will be able to protect them or they decide that they need to protect you both which is NOT a good thing.

Horses are smart and can assess situations very quickly - Teddy assessed me then put me in the category of 'She Who Pampers Me'.  This is NOT a good category to be in if I intend on being The Boss of Him.  He trusts me and loves me but by being in the SWPM category he believes that he can ignore me.  So over the last 4 months I've been learning how to be both She Who Pampers AND The Boss.  Slowly but surely (mainly because he's a great horse) he is learning how to trust me to be The Boss first and She Who Pampers second.

In order to help a horse feel safe you need to be able to let them know that you are indeed the Boss of Them and that they need to listen to you at all times.  It helps to keep both you and the horse safe if you keep your horse busy and engaged.  I had an epiphany about life a couple of weeks ago based on this exact thing.  I had worked with Teddy helping him to pay attention to me and what I was asking then I headed home to pick up Clyde so that we could go to a birthday party. 

Clyde was having a great time with all the dogs and a new dog came along.  Clyde wanted to play with this dog but the dog didn't want to play.  The end result was that I put Clyde on a leash to keep the peace - the dog trainer asked if Clyde could get past it if I did some training with him.  I shrugged it off and after a while headed home.  I thought about it most of the way home and realized that in life I too can get side tracked by new 'dogs' and that it's important to keep my focus just like I was doing with Teddy - but didn't with Clyde.

It's easy to get side tracked when people we don't quite blend with come into our lives and it's easy to get distracted by the little things.  It's common to not get what we asked for because we didn't ask correctly and get frustrated when people don't respect us.  The truth of the matter is that if these things are happening then we need to look at ourselves and ask "what am I doing that is causing this?" and "what can I do differently to get different results?"  It's super easy to blame others but when all is said and done it is usually something that we've done, are currently doing (or not!) or haven't done that is causing the problem.

Teddy and Clyde have been teaching me about unconditional love, establishing clear and firm boundaries, how to communicate clearly and effectively, how to stay focused on what's important,  how to ignore those individuals that may pull me from what's important and how to be a leader. 

Another lesson is detachment - if things aren't working the way I want them to or how I think they should then I need to take a look at what I'm doing.  It's too easy to get 'marrried' to an idea or way of doing things that isn't working and because we are so attached we can't let go when letting go is what we NEED to do for our own best interest.

It's important to do this with a clear head so that I can be objective.  I've found that it's usually my fault - total operator error!  If I want to be mad that's fine as long as I'm mad at myself and not them.  The thing is that it's never constructive to be mad but it IS constructive to be objective and honest.

I'm curious what you've learned from your animals - please share your experiences and lessons learned it will be fun to learn from you and your animals as well.

Here's to your Fitness, Health and Wellness ,

Jennifer Malocha CEO of Fun at Wuhoo Fitness

www.wuhoofitness.com

The weather here in Seattle has been amazing - last weekend it was hovering around in the low 30's but the sun was shining and it was BEAUTIFUL!  Saturday my Boys and I went on a nice 14 mile bike ride then on Sunday my Husband and I walked up to the store (about 4 miles round trip) then I headed off with a Girl Friend for another 14 mile bike ride.  I felt wonderful getting out in the fresh air and moving my body. 

Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to work out if you have someone to do it with?  It's more fun too.  That's why years ago I started inviting people to come out on New Year's Day to do a 5K with me.  I invite runners, walkers and joggers along with their friends, families and dogs on leash to come out on Day 1 of the New Year to get some Fresh Air and Exercise.  I find that this helps to set our health and wellness intentions for the year ahead. Plus it's super fun! 

I started thinking about how much better I do when I have someone to go play with and decided to sign up for an over 40 Co-Ed soccer team.  It's funny how all the old play ground feelings come up - Gee I hope someone picks me to play on their team, Gee I hope they're nice, Gee I hope I don't suck....  You know the usual.  So far a few teams have actually contacted me and invited me to play on their teams for which I breathe a sigh of relief now all I have to do is chose a team and get out there and kick some butt!

Having fun is very important to me - I know big surprise huh?  And because fun is important to me I do my best to find things that I enjoy even things I haven't done for years.  I also decided that my Husband and I will be signing up for dance lessons. He doesn't know this yet but that's okay I'll just call it date night or something.  I'm also going to try doing yoga with Clyde T Dog, there's a Doga class at the Humane Society on Sunday evenings.

What I'm trying to get at with this post is that it really doesn't matter what activity (or activities) you decide to try this year the important thing is to DO an activity.  What interests you?  What haven't you done in a long time that you used to enjoy doing?  What have you always wanted to try?  To quote one of my Hero's Sally Edwards "When was the last time that you did something for the first time?"

I try to do something new regularly it's not always easy and I'm not always very good at it but I always grow in the process of learning and I always benefit in ways that usually surprise me.  I firmly believe that working out in the gym is just for getting us ready to go outside and play.  I couldn't spend my time in a gym working out if I didn't get the reward of recess.

One of my clients who has become very dear to me spent 2 years working out in a gym without going outside to play which helped her lose 100 pounds but it was time for her to stop getting ready and start using her stronger healthier body for playing outside.  In the past year she's completed her first triathlon (and is already signed up for next year) along with her first organized 5K.  Her whole perspective on exercise has completely changed but I'll let her tell you in her own words.

I've worked with Jennifer both on an individual basis, as well as in several of her group clinics.  I've worked with other trainers, but none of them have inspired me to experience fitness in the way that Jennifer has.  She is very knowledgeable and designs programs to meet specific goals - for me it started with putting together a strength training workout that I could do at home or when I travel.  Her enthusiasm for her work is infectious; she has challenged and encouraged me to do everything from a 5K run to a sprint triathlon.  Working with Jennifer, I've learned how to have fun in my workouts.  As a result, I no longer look at exercise as something I have to do, but rather it is something I enjoy doing.  Jennifer has real passion for what she does: as her client, you know that she will do everything she can to help and support you as you work towards your goals.  Whether you're looking for your first personal trainer, or you're more experienced with personal training, Jennifer is a fabulous coach and can help you meet whatever your fitness goals are!

Loralie Levenhagen - Client

You see Loralie learned first hand how much fun trying new things and playing outside can be.  This is my sincere wish for all of you who are reading this blog.  Helping people throughout the process of Rediscovering RecessTM and the joy that comes along with Rediscovering RecessTM is what I specialize in.  I think that we ALL need more Recess in our lives don't you?

I Double Dog Dare you to go out and try a new activity or to rediscover an activity that you used to enjoy doing.  You never know WHAT might happen!  You may fall in love with Recess all over again and THAT is a joy worth pursuing!!!!

 Here's to your Health, Wellness, Fitness and Rediscovering RecessTM in the New Year!

Jennifer Malocha CEO of Fun at Wuhoo Fitness

www.wuhoofitness.com