How are the abs exercises going? Have you been showing up? Increasing the time? Maybe you are up to 4 or 6 minutes per day. Comment below to let me know where you're at and what it's been like.

You may be ready to throw in a couple more exercises now, if you haven't already. We've got hip raises and sit ups to add into the mix. Go back to my earlier post for the power sit ups and leg lifts videos. Or find them all on the Fuerte Fitness YouTube Channel.

Keep at it and you will see the results. 
It's simple, though it may not be easy. 
And yet, you can do this.

I am bringing back the abs challenge from a couple years ago. 

Start with power sit ups and leg lifts. Do each exercise for one minute each every day. Add another minute of each when that feels too easy. I'll post more exercises to give you variety, or find them on my YouTube Channel.

You can create big changes by taking small steps.
This is do-able.
All you have to do it commit and show up.

​Let's go!

You can get serious results from the humble leg raise. With so many ways to do them, you can work different muscles and sculpt some strong and beautiful legs.

In this video, I demonstrate over 10 variations on leg raises. You can do this with me in real-time. It only takes 16 minutes, but that will be enough for one day! Take your favorites with you. You don't need any equipment, or even a lot of room. 

Join me in raising a leg - and then a glass - to your health! ;)

Over these last 20 years living in Seattle, I have created a community of clients that have become friends, and neighbors that have become family. Gym friends are now my sisters and their daughters have become my daughter's baby-sitters. What an honor it has been to have these people in my life as well as them letting me into theirs. I recently went to a friends' daughters' graduation who I've known since she was born and another who I met at 5yrs old just turned 18. To see them become young ladies brings me so much joy and gratitude. Just thinking about how I met them as I was teaching their parents to implement self care, even in challenging times and moments in their lives, brings tears of joy. What lies ahead in this coming year?

I love it all and am grateful for my community. The strong support system I belong to gives me love and direction, and is only possible through relationships and being open. We all need a strong support system that gives us guidance and energy to tackle other departments of our lives, not just the physical. We all have the power and capacity to move our dreams and desires along, even as we get bombarded with consumerism or other people's ideas of what the holidays should be. For me, it starts with a having a healthy body and healthy relationship with myself. Then I can strengthen my mind, spirit, and soul through relationships with others. I may not have family in this city, but I have made my own village in this community with other mothers and aunties. I'm grateful to have healthy modeling of partnerships and parenting, which has inspired me and allowed me to create my own healthy family unit.
 
I love my job and all the people I have met along the way. I thank you!
 
A healthy body is necessary to feel good during the holidays. Make sure you sleep at least 6 hours every night and eat a healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack. If you have sugar one day, skip it the next. Try some yoga, or go on a walking meditation if you can't sit still for 15 minutes a day. Try writing down what you are grateful for at the end of the night or at the beginning of your day; that itself will invite more of those things to come.

A healthy mental space is so good for helping us empty out what we don't need and shed the heaviness of limiting beliefs. It helps us process our emotions, and truly enjoy peace and tranquility in our bodies as we release tension. We can nurture our mental health through meditation and also through stretching. 

Let's make sure we keep exercising through these last 4 weeks of the year by doing home workouts and cardiovascular exercises such as HIIT. If you need support, I have plenty on my YouTube channel here. 

Let's avoid feeling the guilt and shame of letting our bodies and minds go to shit because we got stressed out or overwhelmed and numbed ourselves by eating, drinking and shopping way too much. 

Let's have the different reality for the rest of 2022 and start in a better spot in the beginning of 2023.

​Let's end the cycle of off-and-on. I was caught up in it for way too many years.

Let's enjoy a different experience: joy and excitement for what's to come while still enjoying the present moment.

Need a good strength regimen? Try these videos on my YouTube Channel:
​
For mobility:  https://youtu.be/w_fdG4P8ytc
For stretching: https://youtu.be/V8bANPb1gHQ, https://youtu.be/AyVyr_VsyIY
For balance: https://youtu.be/BRBq0QBG5tg