Archive for May, 2010
Celebrate today for what it’s really about!
Posted by Stephanie in Faith and Family Monday, 31 May 2010 03:00 No Comments
There’s a lot going on today! Maybe you have the day off from work, cookouts planned with friends, massive sales to catch on items ranging from swimsuits to furniture according to the circulars in my local paper, boating trips to the lake or picnics by the pool… All of these things are wonderful of course, but without the sacrifice of thousands of men and women throughout the years, we wouldn’t have the right to do whatever we happen to be up to today. And quite frankly, whether your political views lean to the left or to the right, we should all be able to agree that the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for our right to even have a viewpoint certainly deserve our utmost respect and honor.
That’s why I want to personally thank the members of our armed services for the freedom I’m blessed with each and every day. For protecting the freedom to share my heart publicly- from fitness to faith without fear… For the freedom my husband and I have to raise our family as we believe it should be done… Most of all, for the freedom to worship an amazing God without fear.
To those families who have lost a soldier, the ones who truly understand the gravity of today, I especially thank you. After the funerals, after the tributes… you are left to face life on this earth without a precious loved one. Maybe a son or daughter…father or mother…brother or sister. It is my prayer that you will hold fast to your faith and rest on the blessed assurance that the day will come for everlasting reunion through the grace offered freely through Christ.
I’d also like to thank my dad, Steve Corley, and my father-in-law, Jay Wilson, for their service as well. It gives me such joy to share with my kids that their grandfathers have served our country and that we’ve got two great examples in our very own family of true patriots.
Have a wonderful day and please remember to thank God for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to give you the freedoms you enjoy uniquely as an American.
God bless!
steph
30 days of Harmony DONE! Now what?
Posted by Stephanie in Uncategorized Saturday, 29 May 2010 03:00 No Comments
I’ve been so pleased with the results so many of you are sharing after sticking with Harmony for a full 30 days. Congratulations on your weight loss and most importantly, for being committed to living a healthy life! Now that you’ve made it through the first 30 days, let’s talk about ways to continue your success!
- Take a look at some of the rotations right here on the website and pick one out as your roadmap for the next 30 days. This will involve using two or three of the PowerFit systems at a time so you’ll mix things up even more!
- Adjust your resistance! Follow the same plan in the book, but this time try to use the green band as much as possible as it provides the most resistance. If you used the pink band the first time through, move up to the purple band.
- Throw in some other resistance options. There are plenty of exercises such as squats and lunges which can be done holding dumbbells. If you’re never used weights before, choose a light set (3-5 pounds). If you’ve been using dumbbells for a long time, go for your heavy weights where you can!! You can also use a medicine ball for many of the standing ab segments, an aerobic step anytime I place the band on the floor, or even a stability ball for the ab segments which are done on the floor.
- Make every other rest day in the original 30 day plan a Cardio Challenge Day where you choose to move for at least 20 minutes at a moderate to high intensity level. This could be done with a brisk walk, a jog, a bike ride – even yard work if you make sure you stay focused and in your work zone.
And don’t forget that taking time out for you is critical even on the days you don’t workout and I hope that you’ll carry that with you as you move forward in fitness and in life!
Have a wonderful weekend and God bless!
steph
Daughters AND Sons Need a Strong Mom
Posted by Stephanie in Faith and Family Tuesday, 25 May 2010 03:00 2 Comments
As a mom it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle of daily living. In between doing the laundry, cleaning up the spilled juice, unloading the dishwasher, packing lunches, getting the glitter glue off of the table, ironing the clothes, cleaning the bathrooms, rounding up the toys, don’t forget to feed the dog, working in your home, working out of your home…is there really any time left for you?
You know what? If you look at your “to-do” list, there’s a good chance that there isn’t any time left for you. Certainly no time to get in a workout. It can wait until later, right?
Wrong.
And I’m quite sure you already know that it’s important to live a healthy life or you wouldn’t be reading this site right now…Maybe you’re wrestling with feelings of guilt about taking time for you. If you’re someone who experiences the “guilt monster,” let me remind you that when it comes to modeling healthy living, exercise isn’t just about you. It’s about much, much more than that!
If you have a daughter, you have the power to teach her that even though women tend to be mutli-taskers to the max, sometimes you have to stop and focus….focus on taking care of you…. when you take care of yourself, you can better utilize the nurturing side that comes to most women naturally… and that your health is important enough to allow the laundry to wait for just a few more minutes, you can skip that ridiculous television show, you can get to the cleaning shortly – after you’ve taken care of your workout.
And if you have a son, you are teaching him that when he has his own family one day, he should support his wife in taking care of herself…. when a woman is given the opportunity to be a healthy wife, she’s a much happier wife… that fitness is an important part of your life so it should be of his as well… and that fitness is a family affair.
So fitness is not about taking time for you…it’s about a lot more than you.
It’s about giving – giving your family a stronger mom to keep up with a bazillion demands in a day and also the opportunity for you to provide an example daughters and sons will carry with them as they form their own families in the future. It’s about teaching them that they are some of God’s most amazing creations and that they need to honor their bodies with pure, healthy living.
Be the mom they need you to be…one who leads them down the path of healthy living by simply being the example herself.
If you know a mom who is doing her best to live a healthy life despite the never ending to-do list of responsibilities, forward this on to her and let her know what good job she’s doing!!
Have a great day and God bless!
steph
Fitness Tip – Think Vertical!
Posted by Stephanie in Uncategorized Tuesday, 18 May 2010 03:00 1 Comment
Do you think vertical when it comes to dips and lunges? Often since we’re stepping out to the front for a lunge or to the rear for a dip, our bodies sway in a back-and-forth kind of manner. But actually during these moves your torso should remain in the same basic location – chest up, shoulders back – and the moves should feel more like we’re moving down and then up – keeping proper knee alignment and of course, without compromising form.
So next time you’re doing a dip or a lunge, take the sway out of the move and keep your focus on moving down and up. Not only is this safer for your knees, but it helps get the most out of these two classic lower body moves!
Have a great day!
steph
What if???
Posted by Stephanie in Faith and Family, Uncategorized Thursday, 13 May 2010 05:00 1 Comment
What do you have on your plate today? 
I’m not talking about the nutritional side of things, but on your life plate…
Maybe you’re dealing with an illness yourself or of a family member, perhaps it’s an impending lay-off and you don’t know if it’s you or your best friend who will lose a job, maybe it’s a broken heart after investing years in a relationship, or perhaps you have to decide if you want to go with option A or option B? or C or D or E??…the list could go on and on as living on planet earth brings with it plenty of challenges. In fact, I’ve had people ask me how in the world I can honestly believe we’re designed to live in a state of joy when there’s so much to stress over. Often it’s the waiting…the not knowing of how a situation is going to end up – whether good or bad – that can cause some gut-wrenching emotions that seem to eat us alive.
When I’m faced with a huge dose of the unknown, plagued with a million “what ifs?”, there’s one verse that I always return to and it’s one of my very favorite promises from God:
Isaiah 26:3 (New International Version)
3 You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.
My favorite words in this verse are “perfect peace” as they are a great reminder that though I may not know the outcome of a situation, I can make the choice to put my trust in God and completely hand over the back and forth emotions that can easily surround our earthly existences. There is no such thing as “what if?” when it comes to God’s peace…no worry about what if it’s not enough? what if it won’t work? what if I need something else?
It’s perfect.
End of story.
Put away the what ifs….
God isn’t promising to provide just enough peace to make it through one ordeal, not a half-way kind of peace that still means sleepless nights, not a temporary fix to patch up life’s troubles for a limited amount of time… the peace in this verse is perfect – and if you’re a Believer and you live your life by the Word, you have access to this very key which unlocks a life of joy, no matter what is swirling around the waters of life around you.
I don’t know what you’re facing today, but I know God has it covered. Keep your mind steadfast on him – trusting that he knows exactly what’s going on in your life…looking to him for ultimate direction, knowing that through Christ this life and its troubles have been overcome in eternal victory - and the perfect peace he promises is yours.
Peace!
steph