Can I benefit from hiring a personal trainer?

Truth is I think that anyone and EVERYONE can benefit from having some sort of exercise guidance in their life no matter how large or small. 

  

In case you have been living under a rock these past few years 

ONLINE and SMALL GROUP TRAINING have taken center stage for two major reasons. 

They are affordable and personalized.  

 Major win-wins!

DIET and EXERCISE, DIET and EXERCISE, DIET and EXERCISE

Is anyone else sick of hearing about DIET and EXERCISE!??!  

I want to set a few things straight.

At Stacey Schaedler Strength we prefer to refer to diet as nutrition and exercise as training.

This post is an intro to our nutrition basics. The next post will discuss our exercise/training beliefs.

When it comes to nutrition, it seems that few experts can agree on what a "healthy diet" is and isn’t.   This can be extremely confusing! I have been a vegetarian, eaten a low-fat + high- carb diet, eaten a high- fat + low-carb diet, eaten to fuel my performance, partaken in intermittent fasting, dieted for physique competitions…the list goes on and on.  These experiences have taught me invaluable lessons about how my body works. 

Your body is smarter than you and if you learn to listen to it, it can teach you a lot!

Protein Powders

I like to think that there are quite a few things I could help people with when it comes to health and fitness.

So it never ceases to surprise me that the MOST COMMONLY asked question I still get is … should I supplement with a protein powder and if so which one?
I blogged about this awhile back but I wanted to elaborate further this time around.

Before I elaborate, I want to ensure you that the following remains the same.

If your goal is weight loss, substituting a protein shake or any other "liquid meal replacement" is not in your best interest. 

Eating REAL FOOD satisfies you and the thermogenic effect of food (chewing and digestion).

If you are looking to put on mass, the same too applies EAT MORE FOOD.  FOOD IS GOOD :)

Chocolate Banana Nut Popsicles

Searching for a sweet treat and not sure where to turn? Instead of buying that coconut milk ice cream for $6, make your own with a few simple ingredients!

3-4 ripe bananas
1/2 cup all natural almond butter ( I used crunchy)
2 medjool dates pitted
3/4 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk

Vitamix that shit up!

Pour in popsicle trays and freeze for 3-5 hrs.

Melt 1/2 cup coconut oil on the stove top or microwave. Spoon in 2-3 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder and stir.

Remove the popsicles from trays by running them under hot water.

Roll the popsicles in the dark chocolate mixture until you have a "shell" of chocolate!

Place back in the freezer until you are ready to enjoy!

Hello 2014

Here we are several days into January of 2014. Did you accomplish everything you set out to do in 2013?
Congrats if so!
Personally I think goals are great, however I find that many of us are going about them all wrong!
So you have a goal.
What is it?
Be specific. Don't overwhelm yourself. You have the ENTIRE YEAR and who says you can't add more goals once your original ones have been met.

The good ole #DIRTYTHIRTY

For the past few months I have been using the hashtag #dirtythirty and no it's not some killer Crossfit workout! It was me preparing for my thirtieth birthday which is exactly ONE WEEK away! I always love when people come up with lists of lessons learned in life on their birthdays and I was definitely excited to create mine for this big year!

I would like to think of the following list as lessons learned, mantras I follow, and things I know to be true... all at the ripe young age of thirty! Hope you enjoy :D

                                        photo courtesy of www.jessmcdougallcreative.com 

30 Things I know to be True

1. Practice Yoga. It's good for you and for everyone around you.

2. Strength Train. Your body will thank you. ( Preferably with a kettlebell: its an efficient, total body tool and can be done ANYWHERE)

3. Happiness is a choice.  Life is too short to be anything but HAPPY.

4. Meet yourself, LOVE yourself---> then you will attract that.

5. LESS is MORE. (Especially when it comes to exercise and how much you tell someone the first time you meet them)

6. If weight loss is your main goal, IT IS ALL ABOUT NUTRITION!

7. Go to bed early...wake up early. ( Morning people are more successful and driven and in my experience more pleasant to be around.)

8.  Dreams come true. Know what you want and stick to it. Have goals and follow through.

9. Seek PROGRESS not PERFECTION.

10.  Don't be so hard on yourself.

11.  Surround yourself with people who believe you can succeed...perhaps more than you do :)

12.  Cook your own food and learn to like doing it.  Food is the medicine of the future. ( Look into a farm share)

13.  Move your body and your heart will follow. ( favorite old school lululemon manifesto)

14.  Spend time outside everyday. Vitamin D, fresh air, and nature are all very calming.

15. It's all about the GLUTES baby.

16. BE KIND

17.  Make training for LONGEVITY your #1 priority. Whether you are training for weight loss, general strength gains or competitions, you don't want to get hurt in the process!

18.  The pain you feel in your body is most likely a result of MISALIGNMENT ELSEWHERE.  Don't shoot the messenger... find the source.

19.  Online dating isn't just for creeps.  With the amount of hours people work these days, MATCH.COM could actually be the way you meet "THE ONE."

20.  Appreciate your body everyday. No matter what shape, size, or strength.  It houses your soul and does MUCH more than what it looks like on the outside. You are NOT your body.

21. GRATITUDE

22.  Never stop learning. Consider it investing in yourself.

23. Lacrosse balls/ Foam Rollers are your best friend. OR they should be.  Unless you can afford a weekly massage ( then your therapist can be your bestie)

24. Learn what makes you feel good.  Do those things daily. Learn what makes you feel bad. Eliminate those things from your daily life as much as possible. Many people have no idea how good they can actually feel or that a lot of it is well within their control.

25. No one is an expert at everything, but there are plenty of experts in each field. If you need help with something seek out a coach or a mentor.  Don't struggle unnecessarily.  The fact of the matter is you will teach THEM something too... I guarantee it.

26.  Learn from your pets.  Not only has having a puppy taught me a lot about patience and love it has made me enjoy the little things more and has made me less self centered.  I worry less about my appearance and more about his happiness.  I watch him relax, enjoy sunshine as well as each and every complete stranger we encounter on our walks.

27.  Consider renaming your workouts to "training sessions."  Training is just like practice, there is a plan involved and you are there to get better and better each time. After training you should be able about your day afterwards as opposed to laying on the floor seeing stars. It shouldn't take everything in your power to finish the session each time, and it shouldn't be this monotonous boring chore to complete everyday. Do something that makes you happy and makes your body feel good, and strive to do better each time!

28.  Live within your means.

29. MAKE YOURSELF YOUR PRIORITY. Spend time and money NOW on healthy food and exercise.  People are living way longer than they used to.  You want to enjoy every moment of this life as opposed to taking pills, having surgeries and just being plain uncomfortable right?!

30. LIFE IS CRAZY AMAZING!!!! If you allow these lessons to sink in I believe that you too will THRIVE

xoxo

Stacey

Yoga and Strength Training: the ultimate complement!

Long time no see! Wanted to let you know that I have not been slacking off and that LIFE IS GOOD!

Business is great, love is in the air and I could not be happier than I am right now :D  I am turning 30 in just one week so look for some exciting stuff to be coming your way! Website and newsletter updates, Progress not perfection baseball tees and more! I have been A LOT more active on social media these days so come follow me here if you want to know what I have been up to!

Wanted to share with you a few articles I have written over the past few months for Girls Gone Strong and Juggernaut Training Systems if you have not yet hopped on to the YOGA and STRENGTH TRAINING band wagon!

Here's an excerpt from my 3 Types of Yoga for the GIRL GONE STRONG

One of my favorite things to say is, “everything you do, you must undo.”

I like to think of my strength training as doing and my yoga as undoing.  I seek balance when comes to strength and flexibility.  When our strength overpowers our flexibility, tension is the result, and when our flexibility surpasses our strength, instability remains. Both tension and instability are weak links, which limit your ultimate potential.

When I was first introduced to yoga almost 10 years ago, it was a Power Vinyasa flow, full of intensity.  I loved every second of it.  As a kettlebell girl, I instantly saw the way the two schools of thought could complement one another; moving through my full range of motion, developing flexibility, mobility and isometric strength.

I saw how my yoga practice could actually cut down on my warm up time at the gym. This newly found ankle and thoracic mobility, shoulder stability, as well as hip flexibility was definitely a win-win.  I dove into practicing this vigorous yoga 3 days a week and strength trained 3-4 days a week.  Unfortunately this combination wreaked havoc on my adrenals.  Not exactly what you want when your goal is to get stronger!

What I really needed was something to BALANCE me out, a practice that would complement my lifting and make me stronger than ever, something to further connect my breath and body and allow me to relax instead of always going, going, going!

Remember, yoga should complement, not compete with, your existing training.

Read the rest here!

Yoga for Athletes Part 1 was another  attempt to get more MEN and strong ladies to give yoga a try!  
Again here's a little piece of the article

Repeat after me:  “EVERYTHING YOU DO, YOU MUST UNDO.”

Yoga is a tool used by the self to identify deficiencies. The more you are aware of your asymmetries from left to right within your body, the more aware you will be underneath the bar. Next time you go to squat you’ll be spreading your feet beneath you, using your breath to back your lifts and hitting PR’s you never thought possible!

Oh and there are FEW things that feels better the day after an intense training session than active recovery with YOGA. It just feels so DAMN good.

 2.     MOBILITY + FLEXIBILITY + STABILITY

Mobility and flexibility are often lumped together but in reality are two very different things.  And then stability comes in and really complicates things.

Mobility pertains to the motion we are able to CONTROL around a joint.

Flexibility is the movement that is POSSIBLE around a joint.

Stability is established with both active and passive influences.

As an athlete you need something to balance out your strength and explosive power. Yoga does just that.

It boosts flexibility while challenging stability at the same time. Take your hamstrings for example.  They may feel tight, simply because your body is attempting to create stability where it’s missing. Doing just a static stretch will not engage the core and will actually cause more instability and possibly injure you.

Are you seeing a common trend here?

TRUST ME GIVE this combo a try!