Amy FriendMay 2, 2016

I am proud of myself for no longer allowing anxiety to rule me. Up until just 5 years ago, fear of the unknown or being judged kept me from doing many things that I might otherwise have really enjoyed doing. It’s been a journey to get to this place where I can now embrace the unknown. I do it because of the supportive friends in my life and the knowing that I will be better for trying.

As a child, I was the student who would never raise her hand and if I got called on, I said nothing. This was safe. I grew up as a gymnast and my world was mostly just school and the gym. This was safe. I went off to college at Oral Robert’s University on a gymnastics scholarship as my family felt like this would be a conservative place for Amy. This was safe. This pattern continued through my years of raising a family. I avoided social events whenever possible. I have worked at the same company now for 32 years.  Safe!

“Safe” doesn’t necessarily help you chase your dreams or follow your passions. In January 2010, my real journey began when I signed up for my first workshop with ToBeRe… and Keith Jones. I would be turning 50 and I just wanted to lose a few pounds and feel good about myself. Little did I know that there were so many other areas in which I needed to grow.

After I graduated from my own workshop, I became a sponsor to new participants going through the 6-week program. At the “Welcome Orientation Dinner” sponsors had to get up in front of the group and tell your story. As much as I wanted to share – in writing, my stomach would tie itself in a knot and I could feel my heart start to pound. I could not eat. Keith would have me go first, knowing that the anxiety would dissipate and then I could get a plate of food.

This was the beginning of my coaching with Keith and embracing the uncomfortable. I quickly formed new girlfriend relationships through “HILOY (How Do I Land On You) exercises” which focus on people giving you support to grow in an area that’s important to you. I began listening to inspirational podcasts on my drive to work, and I would do a self-video about what I learned from the podcast once I reached the parking garage. As UNCOMFORTABLE as this was, I would then send the video to Keith, my accountability partner. The thought of having a better life experience pushed me to seek out that which made me uncomfortable my whole life.

Today, I don’t even think about it. I don’t let fear stop me. I have so much to give and share and my excitement is unstoppable. I teach 3 TRX classes every week and I am open to being in front of the video camera on a moment’s notice on any given subject. That said, I know I am still growing, but the more I do it, the better I get.

If this story sounds familiar, start today with the following 3 steps:

1. List your fears. Mine was public speaking and social events.
2. Do something every day to face your fears by putting yourself in uncomfortable situations. For me it was self videos and doing cooking and exercise videos.
3. Partner with a coach or friend who will support you and hold you accountable.

Embrace what’s uncomfortable. Face your fears. And live your passion!

Happy to be happy,

Amy

Keith JonesApril 29, 2016

The people I admire most are those who work on growth and mastering themselves while at the same time serving others. They’ve defined their life purpose as making a contribution to others in meaningful ways. These heroes of mine aren’t perfect. They’ve made mistakes in their personal life and failed many times in the pursuit of their goals. But this hasn’t stopped them. They’ve stayed committed to their purpose as they’ve worked on themselves.

How can a person help other people and work on their own personal growth when life can be so demanding? There are family obligations and full time jobs. There’s breaking news in the world to keep up with and the latest trends. What is a person to do with all this going on? The answer is to prioritize your life. In doing so, you will create an order and structure that leads you to what’s important to you.

Here are three things you can do today that ensure you grow personally and make a contribution to humanity along the way.

1. Prioritize your life by making your personal growth the most important thing. Begin your day with physical, mental and emotional acts of self love. Make morning exercise one of the first things you do each day. Read and listen to content that makes you smarter and healthier. And consciously choose to be forgiving and loving to everyone; including yourself.

2. Practice discipline. Eat healthy, think healthy and be healthy. When I see people who operate at a high level with their career, health,  and mindset, I know it’s because they’re disciplined in these areas. They bring their best to work and treat coworkers with respect and kindness. They consume nutritious foods and exercise daily. They cultivate positive thoughts. And they let go of negative emotions like jealousy, judgment and blame. They choose love instead. For most people, being healthy – mind, body and soul is not natural. It takes discipline. And the best way to get better at something is to practice.

3. Choose to grow over being entertained. I like sports like a lot of people. And for a long time, playing and watching it consumed a lot of my time. When I got serious about personal growth, I cut back on sports significantly. I still enjoy it, but with the understanding that it provides little value to my life compared to personal development. Sports was my thing. What’s yours? Is social media, the Internet, television or going out a lot your thing? There’s no judgment here. Would you be better served if you allocated a little more time to growth and a little less toward entertainment? This is a personal question. For me, I am happier and more fulfilled now.

If you want to grow and achieve big things, it requires commitment and discipline. Both of which have everything to do with mastering yourself. Make your growth a priority and you will win bigger while serving others better.

Stronger Mindset,

Keith

Amy FriendApril 28, 2016

The plank is one exercise that you can do anywhere at any time – no special attire or equipment required. With very little time invested you can achieve substantial results. Mastering the technique of a plank will strengthen your core, and in doing so, help to support your spine. For step by step instructions on how to perform the basic front plank see the following blog The Importance of a Strong Core.

If you find you are able to perform planks with ease, challenge yourself with 10 second high intensity holds:

1)     Tighten your abs (pretend you are about ready to get punched in the stomach), squeeze your glutes as hard as you can, and tighten your quads.

2)     Hold for 10 seconds.

3)     Now relax for 10 seconds maintaining the plank position.

4)     Repeat 3 times to complete the minute plank.

After trying this for the first time, I became keenly aware of the intensity that comes with concentrating and tightening the muscles in my core. Your core encompasses the area from the top of your kneecaps up to just below your shoulders. It is made up of two systems: stabilization and movement. In the basic plank the full body in proper alignment is stable and nothing is moving. However, the plank concept can be applied to many different exercises where you keep your spine stable and only move your lower or upper body; such as with a squat or sitting on a bench to do a shoulder press.

And, finally, here are my top 3 benefits to making planks a part of your daily routine.

1)     You’ll decrease your risk of back injury

2)     You’ll improve your posture and overall balance

3)     You’ll enjoy mental benefits as planks can calm your brain and relieve anxiety as you breathe deeply

Make it a habit starting today! You might do that one minute plank first thing after you get out of bed in the morning or at the end of the day before going to sleep. Do what works best for you, and you will start to experience the benefits and see results immediately.

Amy

Keith JonesApril 27, 2016

Our environment plays a significant role in our experience of life. The people, energy and things we interact with on a daily basis can either contribute to us being our best or take away from it. And while you can’t always choose who or what’s in your world, you can choose how you respond and what you take away from those instances.
I go out of my way to be around positive and loving people. Their choice to forgive, rather than judge, allows me to be myself around them. The constant encouragement I receive from them strengthens my belief in myself and what’s possible. I achieve more with people like these in my life.

I am attracted to warm, peaceful energy. When I walk into a store, I can feel the vibe before I’m even greeted by the staff. The friendly and cool air of the Apple Store makes me excited. Whole Foods and Sprouts gives off a “healthy goodness” aura. And when I attend a 2BeRe-U community workout, the happy, loving energy sweeps me up before I say hello to one person. I love it.

Over the last year, I’ve let go of things I don’t need. Clothes I no longer wear have been given to Goodwill. Books that don’t reflect the love I want to put out in the world have been given away. And I’ve given up many of the attachments I had to material things. I no longer define my worth or happiness by them. This is especially freeing.

I encourage you to make your life more peaceful, calm and loving by creating a nurturing environment. You’ll feel happier and freer than you ever have. Become a Stronger Total Being Member today to learn more about bringing more love and peace into your life.

Stronger Mindset,
Keith

Amy FriendApril 25, 2016

There is physical movement involved with everything that we do from the time that we push ourselves out of bed every morning. Quality of life includes being able to do daily activities without pain or struggle. You don’t want to have to worry about throwing your back out while reaching for a dish on the top shelf. And, bringing in 3 to 4 bags of groceries from the car shouldn’t require more than two trips. What can we do in our workouts to ensure a higher quality of life?

This past Saturday I attended a TRX training course with a couple of my friends. The focus was on functional movements and progressions to apply to a variety of training equipment; including TRX, Kettle bells, Medicine Balls, Sandbags and Heavy Ropes. What a wealth of incredible information! One of my big takeaways was concentrating on technique and intensity. It’s not the number of reps or how heavy you lift but rather how you lift that is going to give you the most effective results. Quite simply the goal is to move better and keep it safe.

Here are the four steps of the basic TRX Training Philosophy that can be applied to any exercise:

• Focus on the movement. For each exercise, think about which parts of the body need to be stable and which parts are allowed to move. This is the technique that is important to understand in order to get the results that you want.
• Define your level of progression. This means making the exercise challenging, but never to the point where technique is compromised.
• Practice. Good form will come automatically by practicing.
• Challenge yourself. Once you have mastered the form, you can intelligently push yourself to new levels of fitness with the appropriate level of intensity and duration.

Let’s take a closer look at one exercise, the barbell squat, and apply the above steps. The squat has been called the king of lower-body strength exercises because of its ability to work your quads, glutes, hamstrings and core. What should be stable (not moving) during a squat is the spine and what should be mobile are the hips, knees and ankles. Your level of progression may be to just start with the bar or no bar at all. Feel your body move through the correct technique and then add weight and reps while still maintaining good form. If you feel your spine bending forward you may have too much weight or it may be time to end your set. All the mobility is in your lower body. It’s better to perform 6 reps with slow and methodical form than to push through 12 reps with sloppy form and put yourself at risk for undue stress on your joints. You must earn the progression.

Stay tuned for my next blog on how the PLANK is a key position to master and build upon.

Be Strong, Amy

Keith JonesApril 22, 2016

I absolutely love personal development work because it empowers everyone who commits themselves to it. It doesn’t matter what your life circumstances are. If you use the tools that come with doing personal growth, you will improve your situation. You will see new and positive beginnings, rather than sad endings when life seems difficult. The only caveat is you have to use the tools.

Throughout my life, I’ve faced challenges that could have broken me. In truth, some did. But others didn’t because of two reasons. First, I kept doing the things that were making me strong mentally and physically. I maintained a positive attitude by practicing what I learned from listening to motivational speakers and life coaches. The concepts they introduced helped me to see possibilities and opportunities in every challenge. And I continued exercising and eating healthy during. It amazes me that this is often the first thing people stop doing when times get tough. I knew this would only make things worse down the road. I understood early how important it was that I stayed healthy and fit if I was going to come out better on the other side of the situation. The second biggest factor in thriving during struggles is my friends. They provided support that was unconditional, strong and enduring. There’s no way I could’ve made it through without them. As committed as I was to staying positive, negative thoughts occasionally seeped in. My friends were there to help me replace them with positive affirmations. I smile when I think of how loving they are to me.

We all experience ups and downs. How you fare during and after the downs depends on your mindset. You can make it through any situation and be stronger for it if follow these 3 tips:

1. Work on your mindset by doing personal growth exercises. Choose a motivational speaker, author or leader who resonates you. Read or listen to them daily. This is exercise for the mind. You want being kind, seeing the good in others and sunshine in gray skies to become second nature. This comes with practice.

2. Surround yourself with positive people who you can share your situation with without fear of judgment. These people can be anchor for you and a safe place to be vulnerable.

3.  Repeat one and two over and over again for life.

Life is good. If you don’t feel that way, it’s not life who has it wrong. It’s you. Shift your mindset. Be positive and an optimist. One of my favorite new quotes is: “It’s the end of the world”, said the caterpillar. “It’s just the beginning”, said the butterfly. Be the butterfly!

Stronger Mindset,

Keith

Keith JonesApril 20, 2016

My mornings almost always begin with activities that set me up for an exceptional day. The exercises include working out, reading, journaling, meditating and more. When I complete these practices, my good days are great and bad days become good “bad” days. Simply surviving isn’t good enough.It is important that I make daily progress to be a better me and get closer to my goals. When I finish up for the day, I want to be able to answer, “Yes” to the question, “Did today matter?” When I follow the Stronger Daily Rituals, the answer is always yes.

“Did today matter?”, is a question I heard from author Chris Guilliebeau during a podcast interview with Brian Johnson. I often reflect on my day to see if I completed tasks on my to do list. But I’ve never seriously considered if my efforts that day were helping me fulfill my purpose to serve others in being their best. When I apply this level of thoughtfulness to my actions, I can objectively evaluate if I am spending my time wisely or poorly. I now see how some of it has been misplaced and wasted. This can’t continue.

As I look back five years, there were times when I made the most of the day. And then there were others where I didn’t. I spent too much time watching sports on TV or surfing the Internet. There is nothing wrong with that as long as it’s balanced and the majority of my time is spent doing things that matter like serving the world better.

We are all a work in progress. I urge you to do two things to get the most out of your days. In the morning, make a declaration. Say, “I am going to make today matter.” Spend it being a better person, growing your skillset and being loving and forgiving to others. And at night before bed, ask, “Did I make today matter?” Try to answer the question yes more no. If we all can do that, we change the world.

Stronger Mindset,

Keith

Amy FriendApril 18, 2016

Does it seem mind boggling at times to cipher through the amount of popular press on the subject of sugar? What can you believe? It would seem that powerful lobbyists have suppressed the science for a very long time. However, times are changing and eye-opening scientific studies are revealing some shocking information.What I have to share here, in short, is just my interpretation. I can’t encourage you enough to read the scientific journals yourself to know what to believe or not.

My brother-in-law, Pete, and my brother, John, both share my strong interest in the science of nutrition and recently shared an article, pulling me into their conversation. Back in 1972 a British professor of nutrition, John Yudkin, sounded an alarm on sugar in his book, “Pure, White and Deadly”. He wrote, “If only a small fraction of what we know about the effects of sugar were to be revealed in relation to any other material used as a food additive, that material would promptly be banned.” The book did well, but Yudkin paid a premium for it. The food industry and notable nutritionists of the time successfully destroyed Yudkin’s reputation and his claims died with him in 1995.

Enter, Robert Lustig, a paediatric endocrinologist at the University of California who specializes in the treatment of childhood obesity. He gave a 90-minute talk in 2009, titled Sugar: The Bitter Truth, which has now been viewed more than six million times on YouTube. According to Lustig, the last three decades have seen a shift from an emphasis on “low fat” to a more serious look at the effects of sugar, especially in relation to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. With stakes this high, it is important that the public become more educated about the true science behind sugar.

Obesity in the United States has more than doubled over the past four decades — nearly two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight or obese.¹ How can this happen with all the attention from the health profession, the media, and mass educational campaigns about the benefits of eating healthy and exercising? So here are a few things that happened.

Food manufacturers responded to the directive against fat by selling us low-fat products loaded with sugar! Why? Well, because they had to taste good, right?!?! There was a plethora of studies, many flawed, but none-the-less marketed in yet another political endeavor to promote their product – be it healthy or not. One example was “The Seven Countries” study published in 1970 showing the correlation between intake of saturated fats and deaths from heart disease. It was very interesting to take note at who was behind the study and why they picked the countries they did.  They left out France and, what was then, West Germany knowing that these countries had relatively low rates of heart disease, despite living on diets rich in saturated fats. Years later, the Seven Countries study’s lead Italian researcher, Alessandro Menotti, went back to the data, and found that the food that correlated most closely with deaths from heart disease was not saturated fat, but sugar. Wow!

I could not be more passionate about this topic — the addictive aspects, the cravings, the effects on blood sugar levels, skin reactions, the history, and the hidden secrets.  Stay tuned to hear more from me on this subject! Meanwhile, I will leave you with one thought. Sugar should be consumed in strict moderation. Your health depends on it. I challenge you all, to use myfitnesspal.com or similar food app to track your intake of sugar grams just for one day. Being aware is the first step. You will be surprised. Look for more information to help break this down into easily understood knowledge in future blogs. You know you will hear from me again on this subject! And, I welcome any and all comments! Let’s keep this conversation going.

Amy

¹ http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org/content/22/1/1.full

² http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-conspiracy-robert-lustig-john-yudkin

Keith JonesApril 15, 2016

Words have power. They have the capacity to create or destroy. Martin Luther King Jr used his “I Have A Dream” speech to uplift a nation and paint a picture of love, connection and acceptance for humankind. Other figures in history leveraged words to destroy communities and divide people. Each of us has the same ability through our words. We can use them to produce positive or negative outcomes.

The people I feel the happiest around are those whose language is almost always positive no matter the situation. Somewhere along the way, they made a choice to be conscious about the words they speak into being. Inspired by their careful attention to language, I began modeling their behavior. I went from being a negative person to an optimistic one. Where I use to see problems, I saw opportunities to be creative and produce the result I wanted. If I didn’t finish at the top in an event, it was no longer win or lose for me, it became win and learn. And when my knees almost prevented me from doing my favorite leg exercises, I stopped talking about the pain and focused on all the awesome movements I could do.

My life changed when I made a commitment to the words I communicate. I saw people differently. I no longer made negative comments about others for being imperfect human beings. Instead, I said loving things such as, “I hope they come out of this happy and whole.” When financial struggles appeared, I faced them by sharing with friends and saying, “This is a chance to reset and revisit my budget and business plan.” And when it comes to my health and age, I look at my friends Linda Dias and Jim Gabriel and say, “Thanks for showing me the way. I have at least 35 more years to be super active. Yes!”

What you say matters. Here are three things you can do today to take control of your experience of life.

1. Be mindful of what you say. Oftentimes we are being negative and don’t realize it. So ask a friend who is almost always positive to point out when you’re being negative.

2. For every negative comment you make about yourself or someone else, say three positive ones to yourself or the person out loud.

3. Pick an area of your life that is the most challenging to be positive about. Write it down in a notebook. Next list 5 ways you can see it in a positive light. Then anytime you think about it or mention it, you do so using the list you made.

Being positive in thoughts, words and actions isn’t natural. Our environment and people around us are often negative. To be positive, you have to train yourself. You can be someone that makes people feel happy and uplifted when they are with you. It starts with words. Inspire yourself and others with your words.

Stronger Mindset,

Keith