Update for the New Year (01/10)

Aloha readers! 

We're approaching the half way mark of the month, and I hope you've all been putting in some hard efforts in your workouts and eating! I'll be upfront and say that I've been struggling and slacking a bit with my workouts and eating. I've been choosing the healthy options, but my workouts have been slacking. 

I went back to the gym once, and my body was soreee for the next few days. Urgent things came up that I had to deal with later on of the week, and I pushed off the workouts. 

Things at school are slowly starting to pick up, and I'm both excited and scared to see what that brings for the blog. I've made the comittment to run this blog full time as well as balance out school :) I shouldn't have to sacrafice doing something I like - blogging and helping others - while doing my studies. If I want it bad enough, I will prioritize my time and do what I have to do to balance both these tasks. 

I've invested in a new laptop - non-Macbook brand. It's going to be a big change, as I've been used to the operating system of Mac's for so many years now. So please bear with me if blog posts are delayed while I try to get everything set up!  

Later on in the week I will tell you guys more about the upcoming topics in January, as well as the new topic series I will be starting soon! Until then! 

Cheers! 

xoxo

8 New Year Workout Tips (01/01)

Aloha readers! Happy New Year! 

May the new year be a year of rewarding, hard work for you, allowing you to achieve the things you want! For many of you, you may be taking the first steps to making those New Year Resolutions into a reality. 

These new year workout tips has helped me in the past to start off the new year right, and I hope you'll find them helpful too! 

1. Be Realistic - Take a good look at your goals. Are they realistic? If not, re-evaluate them. Set obtainable goals, and start off slowly. Take baby steps each day towards your goal(s). To learn more about goal setting, check out my S.M.A.R.T. Goal setting article. 

2. Plan Ahead - If you fail to plan, plan to fail! 

3. Outline Your Plan - List the top 2 things you want to achieve in 2015. Then list what steps you're going to take, what you're going to do to express those steps, and write them all down. A planner will come in handy for planning out goal deadlines, and keeping yourself on track. 

4. Talk About It - Get excited! Tell your friends and family members, share you resolutions on social media! Use this as a method to keep yourself motivated and accountable. 

5. Track Your Progress - The scale may be the first method to use, but other methods like measure body circumference and before and after progress pictures are equally as effective. In fact, they may be better than relying on ONLY the numbers on the scale.  

6. Don't Beat Yourself Up - If you fail or have slip ups, get up and do it again. Don't give up on trying. No one accomplished anything by giving up after their first try. 

7. Stick To It - If you're doing something you've never done before, it will take some time to build it into a habit, especially with workout out. You may feel sore for the first few days, but don't let that stop you from keep doing it. Be sure to get plenty of rest. It can take up to 21 days for a new habit to become a solid habit. 

8. Enjoy Your Workouts - If you don't like it, why are you doing it! You should be liking / enjoying what you're doing. getting tired of the treadmill? Try the rowing machine! Or ditch the machines and pick up a pair of dumbbells! No really sure what you're doing, or if you're doing it right? Get a customized workout program from a trainer! This may also help you get guidance on the goals you've set! 

Leave a comment below and tell me what your resolutions are, and what you're going to do to achieve them! Have a great new years weekend! 

Cheers! 

xoxo

As 2014 Comes To An End....

Aloha readers! 

Today is a great day to make it a great day ! 

In the blink of an eye, it will be 2015! 

How would you sum up your 2014? 

For me, it was another roller coaster ride for me - but that's okay! It just means that I am learning new things, gaining more experience in different aspects of life, and living my life. Life is full of changes, and we can never stay the same - not for too long that is. 

I like to see myself as someone who is always looking for room for improvement and change. I don't want to stay the same as I am now. Not because I am not happy or don't love myself the way I am, but because I know I can do more, do better, and be happier. I believe in being proactive, and working hard for the things you want. And that's going to shape how I want my 2015 to be! 

I've still got a ways to go with school, so that will always be one of my top priorities. A year ago today, I would have envisioned that my blog would be running smoothly with good traffic, and I was doing well in school as well as taking on personal training clients. But that is not the case. Again, that's okay. 

It's all part of the learning experience. I tired things one way, it didn't work, and now I know where I need to work harder on and areas that need improvement. I know what my priorities are, and I am going to distribute my effort based on the ranking of these priorities. 

I am working hard to build this blog into what I envisioned it, and I hope - and will work hard - to make 2015 the year for this vision to start becoming a reality :) 

With lots of love from Sellychan Fitness, have a safe and happy new years! 

Cheers! 

xoxo

How to Set Attainable Fitness Goals (12/20)

Aloha readers! 

The end of the year is quickly approaching, and too often we find ourselves inspired by a sudden rush of motivation and want to get active the moment we feel the rush. That often leads to setting up goals that are unrealistic, or not attainable in a short period of time. We ned to make S.M.A.R.T goals if we want to be successful! 

What is S.M.A.R.T goal setting? It stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

If you're starting to plan your new fitness goals, take a read below! 

1. Specific - Don't be vague about your goal. Define exactly what it is you want to achieve. Rather than just "I want to be fit in 2015", be more specific, such as "I will be physically active for 15 minutes each day". The specificity of your goal makes you more motivated, and easier to define when you've reached your goal! 

2 . Measurable - Set a goal you can measure your progress against. If you're concerned about your body weight, setting a goal such as "I want to lose 10 pounds in 3 months" will be more realistic than "I'm going to lose 50 pounds in 3 months". This doesn't have to be a number goal on the scale - it could be being able to run for X number of minutes on the treadmill, or doing X number of push-ups continuously. The important thing is to have a standard to measure it against. 

3. Attainable - Break your big goal into smaller goals. If your ultimate goal is to lose 20 pounds, start by setting a realistic deadline. The recommendation is to lose no more than 1 pound a week, so telling yourself you want that weight off by the end of the month probably isn't realistic and attainable. 

On the contrary, 4 months is a reasonable amount of time for the 20 pounds to come off with consistent efforts in both fitness and nutrition aspects. By setting smaller stepping stones towards your big goal, such as 1 pound a week, will help you stay on track and not get discouraged! 

4. Realistic - Don't set yourself up for failure by setting goals you know you can't reach. If you're new to working out, setting a goal to hit the gym daily is probably not very realistic. A goal such as hitting the gym twice a week, or being physically active twice a week, may be more realistic. 

I once made a plan to do 2 workout programs simultaneously, and need I say I failed to complete them. I set myself up for failure because I scheduled myself to workout every day for a couple hours on top of my other commitments, and that's unrealistic for me. 

5. Timely - As previously mentioned, a due date should be assigned to your goal. A timeframe too short can cause you to feel frustrated and discouraged for not reaching your goal, and an endless time frame can make you lose motivation and lose sight of your goal. Make sure the timeframe is reasonable, and can be completed based on your own schedule. 

If you've found this guideline helpful in setting your goals, leave a comment below and share with us what your new goal is! I love hearing from everyone :) 

Cheers! 

xoxo

New Year, New Me!

Hello fellow readers!
I'm very very sorry for the lack of updates the past couple weeks - I needed time off to spend with my friends and family, and I also needed time to myself to think about things.

The past few weeks I haven't done much weight lifting, and my diet hasn't been consistent. I felt like I've basically fallen off track. But every time I encounter these "falling off track's", I learn more about myself, what I really want (my goals), and what I need to do to reach those goals.

1. New goals of the year
When I think about what I want to accomplish in 2014, a lot of things run through my mind. After a couple weeks of having time to myself, I've realized that there are many things I would like to change and improve on - in terms of my health, my diet, my lifestyle, and a few things about my own personality traits.
I would like to work on my patience levels, and express my gratitude for many things on by writing it down or sharing it on the web with you guys.
Here's a recap of other NRY I posted last time:

2. Continuing to work hard in school
I am very happy with my results from last semester. It feels so good to know that all the hard work has finally started to pay off. I'm finally getting one step closer to being accepted into my program to become a registered dietitian :D
The holidays have made me kinda lazy, but I'm excited to start school again. School is what keeps me on track! I have a set schedule, I know where I have to be at what time, and I can allocate my other activities such as workout sessions, family dinners, and studying time around class times.

3. I have decided to follow some bodybuilding.com workouts for the next few weeks to kick start the new year workout sessions. I enjoy planning my own workouts, but I feel that I'm lacking some surprise elements in them. Hopefully changing up my workout plans ever so often will keep things exciting for me :)

4. Being more active on my blog
I remember when the school year first started, I had a set day where I would blog once a week. Slowly along the way I started slipping and didn't post on the day I wanted to and it became once every couple weeks. This year, I am going to make it my goal to post my workout routine on my blog EVERY TIME. Since I'm aiming to workout 3 times a week, expect to see a few posts every week ! :)

I'll post some "progress" pics in a couple days to show you guys and myself where I am right now. There probably isn't much progress anymore from all this crazy non-sense holiday eating.

Cheers!
xoxo

Selina :)