ONLINE TRAINING, COACHING AND NUTRITION
for the 40+ woman!

I love the movie The Notebook, the story of two young lovers, Allie and Noah
who are crazy about each other, but duty and differences threaten to keep them apart. My favourite scene is when Noah and Allie are standing outside her car, as she readies to leave him forever for her wealthy husband-to-be, whom her parents highly approve of over Noah.

There they are, standing at the car, and Noah continues to ask her, “What donoah YOU want?” To which she replies, “It’s not that simple, I have responsibilities, people depend on me….”. Noah repeats his question over and over again, trying to show her that it is indeed her life, and she is free to choose.

Simple, yes. Easy, not always.

Why do I bring this up, being a fitness gal? Because it speaks to all women, everywhere, who struggle with voicing their needs, even in the area of their own health and wellness. For many women, the ‘right’ to take the time to go to the gym, to change to a healthier way of eating, to want to look and feel good is still, sadly, often met with resistance, and it’s almost always coming from family and close friends.

“I had to cancel out because I had to make my hubby happy,” said one client recently. Another client felt so guilty for going to the gym, she resorted to sneaking her gym clothes out the door in a big duffel bag every day to stay under the family’s radar. And still another woman was being so ridiculed for being ‘obsessive compulsive’ about her new health regime, she quit just to keep the peace.

Don’t rock the boat. Focus on others first. Don’t be selfish. Don’t be vain.  Blah, blah, blah….

Ladies, know this: you DO deserve it. You do.

I always say to all my women that training and eating well is one of the greatest acts of self-love you can do. It is not sel-fish, it’s self-less. You are taking time out of your very-busy day and paying your good money to do so. You are reaching and striving to be more, to be strong, able, healthy and vibrant. And you are teaching your children to aspire to the same.

Congrats to the 26 lovely, brave women from the 10-Week Best shape of YOUR Life Challenge who knew what they wanted, and went for it. Now they are onto our Warrior Woman monthly Healthy Living Program to continue our important work together. You know that this healthy lifestyle of ours takes courage, commitment and support from other like-minded women, all striving, reaching, and changing their lives for the better.

And ladies, know that you are, without a doubt, changing the lives of those around you for the better, even if they don’t think so. In time they will. They will.

– karen

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Your Warrior Woman E-workout Cards and a summary of What’s Up THIS MONTH can now be found on our sister site: www.warriorwomanfitness.com.

So click on our new address, choose This Month’s Workout, and you’re in! All of our monthly interviews / coaching audios / lifting tips / nutrition lessons / articles, E-books and more are either linked within your E-Workout card or on our Warrior Woman Fitness website! Easy breezy! (Password is required. If you have techie issues, please email Theresa at theresa.scholes@gmail.com).

We also upload, chat, and support one another each day on our Warrior Woman  Private Facebook page so please make sure you’re there with us!

 

 

 

In our fast-paced lives, protein bars have become a quick, readily available photo (2)snack choice for many people, but it’s important to know that most popular protein bars are high in fat, sugars and artificial sweeteners. Reading labels, and knowing what you are reading, is important here. Sugar in all its forms has over 30 listings. (The average Canadian eats 100 pounds of sugar in a year!).

Artificial sweeteners are another dangerous addition to many protein bars, including aspartame, sorbitol, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, or maltitol, to name a few. And while they are touted as ‘zero calorie’ and ‘no carbs’, it is this very fact that makes them dangerous. Studies show they get lodged in organs and tissues (in particular the digestive area, which as we know is where our immune system originates). As well, artificial sweeteners have been shown to make us hungrier because they do not act on our ‘hunger control area’ and turn it off when appropriate, probably because of the presence of these ’empty calories’. So eating artificial sweeteners can actually lead to over-eating.

Finally, trans fats, which are stabilizers in many popular snack foods, are a dangerous addition to any food and one should take extreme caution with these, given the health risks involved. And while labels are supposed to list them, manufacturers are legally allowed to label anything as having zero trans fats if there is less than 2 grams of trans fats in a serving size. (Look for the word ‘hydrogenated’, another word for trans fats).

If you’re looking for a nutritious snack, whole foods are still your best bet. For me, protein bars aren’t part of my agenda. If I do indulge, it’s only if I’ve left home without my food (which doesn’t happen often), and then I break off a bite (that’s about 1/4 of a protein bar) just to see me through…but that’s it! I simply see them as another chocolate bar, is all (and the protein source is not one that I prefer over my egg whites, meats and such).

I’m a food lover, and a planner. And that makes all the difference in the world!

Ever wonder why some people in the gym work so hard and never reallygirl-wont-eat-590x295
change their physiques? It could be due to many reasons – not being consistent, not having a solid program to follow, not lifting heavy enough or….not eating enough.

Yep, us females are still in a calorie counting culture: just look at the rise of food apps and watch the number of people plugging their next bite into their phones to see if it’s a pass or a fail. Do you really want to live that way?

Sooooo many of my clients want to know this at the get-go, like we are just a mathematical formula that we can plug into for the perfect results! This is the hardest thing for new clients to get around…making that shift out of the calorie counting culture.

Remember ladies, you have to EAT to build…if you restrict calories too much, you will halt your progress. You simply cannot build in a deficit. Park the cardio and lift. And eat, for heaven’s sake!

But if you want to stay naturally lean all year, say, 18-20% bodyfat (what, you don’t know your bodyfat? That’s way more important than body weight, because as you lose weight, you can lose precious muscle (all that work!) and water, and that’s what carb restricted plans are all about), then you’re going to have to app2choose – do you want to change your physique with weight training, or do you want to stay lean all year?

This is particularly important for us older women – 40+ – who just restrict and cardio away to stay lean (and many thin women enter shows because they are naturally lean, but they don’t often progress beyond, because their body doesn’t have the nutrients to grow year after year. In time, everything drops away, including muscle, because that’s what Father Time does. Oh my!

Now some women can stay lean and build well at the same time but it’s rare, and it’s what every new competitor thinks will happen when she starts on the body-shaping journey, but it’s (usually) not so. That’s one reason why your IFBB avaPro’s like Nicole Wilkins, Erin Stern, Ava Cowan (right), are, well, pro’s. They only add 5-8 pounds off season, and they can still grown gorgeous muscle. Lucky gals! (And they’ve been in fitness their whole life too – Ava and Nicole are gymnasts, and Erin is an Olympic level track star!).

So when we read that so-and-so eat such-and-such and take in this many calories, we think we can do the same. But it just ain’t so for the majority of us. These women are genetically gifted. That’s why they are pro’s. (And have you ever seen a pro train? My gosh, it is INTENSE!)

That’s the beauty of the human body. It is our canvas, our work of art. We can alter it, add to it or subtract from it. And your relationship with food and your body is the most intimate of all relationships, and it takes time to learn and grow these factors together.

Coach Karen

July / August’s HLP (Healthy Living Program)yoga_pose

 

Summer Training is here…and it’s a NO EXCUSES summer…so grab your June E- WORKOUT CARD! (check your email!).

– Here’s what we’re up to THIS MONTH (video below…)

 

.Our FOCUS this month: We are doing Super Sets of a 4-day split, and we also have 4 out of gym workouts! I will be adding to these outdoor programs as summer progresses, ok? And we’ve got fat burning Tabata (again, you said you wanted it again!) and a fresh glute circuit! Abs 2-3 x a week, and glutes 2x a week!

Road Trips: The 3 A’s of Injuries! What to do when you’re injured in the gym! Yep, it happens! On your Road Trips tab!

Tips n Tidbits VIDEO!: Supersets and YOU!a reminder on how (and why) we use this valuable training tool in summer! WATCH HERE!

Coaching Call: How to Stay on Track in the Summer!. It IS possible, with a few tricks of the trade! LISTEN IN!

Guest Interviews: Update coming…in the meantime, I’ve kept up my interview with first-time Figure competitors Lynn and Sherry (for you new gals coming off the 10-Week Challenge who haven’t heard it yet! Check out their journey here… on your INTERVIEWS PAGE !

 

abs5-150x150Are you up for a CHALLENGE? Don’t forget to Sign Up for my ever-popular 10-Week Best Shape Challenge and my 12-Week Advanced Best Shape Challenge! I run it 3x a year, with limited seats! NEXT ONE starts SOON – April 16Th, 2014!

Come get in AWESOME shape! I’ll show you how!

Don’t forget to join my public McCoy Fitness Facebook Page for daily tips and tidbits!

Not a Member Yet? Come join the Healthy Living Program: our growing, healthycommunity. Monthly workouts, recipes, menu plans, videos, lectures, tele-coaching calls, seminars, motivational tidbits and more! Create the physique – and life – of your dreams!

 

FB_shareThe HLP Program – What You Get!

Are YOU Living with BLISS?

On-Line Training ROCKS!

 

 

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“The HLP is exactly what I needed with regards to change in routines, diet, knowledge, tidbits. You have set up an excellent program that looks at all aspects of health, thank you!” Aaron Price

 

“I love this program….every month I look forward to a new workout and I love that excitement. I may miss the odd workout, but I never miss too many. I am much more aware of my body and how it works. The awareness and connection to my body I totally attribute to being on the HLP. I want to thank you for the HLP. I believe I have been able to better get through some difficult times with more grace because of it.” Kim Warwick.

“I think Karen’s approach to online training is fantastic and one that any women can work into their life. Going to classes or doing your own thing with a DVD has never worked for me as too many things get in the way. With Karen’s approach I get the support of a virtual club which I can take advantage of in my own time, no matter where I am– so flexible! I also think it is that constant contact via emails that keeps me engaged and reminds me to pay attention to my health. So in short, things are just great and can’t think of any changes to improve!” – Gay Corbett.

“It’s been awhile since joining the HLP and this is the best I’ve felt in a very long time! Yep, I’ve been sore after each workout but that’s okay – and I realize that I do have muscles!! I feel energized and happy that I’m on my way to a healthy lifestyle. There’s so much to learn from you… I feel very positive about the new direction and changes I’m making. I want to take charge of my health, body, mind and spirit – and through your program I know I can do it. In the two short weeks of lifting weights, coupled with the cleanest eating I have ever done in my life, I love how I feel!” – Trish Flanders.

SEE what others are saying!!! CLICK HERE!

 

I heard a scary statistic this morning. By 2020 experts say the number one disability will become depression.

Depression. By the time you hit forty years old, you have likely had a bout with it. That’s what the stats say too. 29

I had my time battling depression, and its sister, anxiety, for years. Being brought up in a chaotic household, and overcoming by becoming an over achiever set the tone. Then, with a desire to please, low self-esteem and learned helplessness, I dipped in and out of depression for years. And then I suffered through years of debilitating panic attacks (sometimes 20 a day) as I struggled to work through childhood issues and coping mechanisms that no longer served me, rather, they were  strangling my spirit.

When my son was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, the clouds returned, and stayed for 8 long, dark years. I struggled to get through each day. I cried myself to sleep, night after night. I couldn’t relate to anyone, or to the outside world. I was a prisoner in my own mind, helpless and drowning.

It took a long time to turn it around, but slowly I came to dismantle the destructive thought patterns and beliefs that once had served me so well as a child (in order to survive) but that were now crippling me. I came to understand that when you say, “that’s just the way I am,” indeed there is much hidden deep in our subconscious that simply needs to see the light in order to create the necessary shifts. But becoming objective about your patterns is indeed work.

And I found my path to healing was based in healing my physical body. I re-connected with weight training, because it helped be to connect with my power. Because when we are depressed, we are powerless, lost. Am I here to tell you that weight training or any kind of exercise will miraculously lift your spirits back into the light? No, that would be irresponsible of me. But it did give me a toe hold back into reality. There, in the gym, I could start to feel the connections again between my lost self and the self that had always been there, somewhere. This, along with proper eating and biofeedback work, slowly helped to part the dark clouds, and the sun began to shine bits of rays at a time. I could feel my spirit return. I had been there all along, behind the veil. Now the veil was parting.

If you are struggling with your own clouds, know that there are millions of us out there, all struggling to stay afloat, to fight back the clouds. My biggest lesson was in learning to let go, to accept, and to know that ‘this too shall pass’. It was about dismantling the old, and staying open to the new.

Today, in all that I do and all my programs, we touch on the mental and spiritual aspects of things, simply because we cannot NOT touch on them. We are not just flesh and blood, to the contrary, we are a complicated mix of spirit and physical, all colliding to help us to bring our individual gifts and our purpose to life…if only we could see through the clouds. Sometimes we simply need validation that those clouds are real, and that it’s ok to have cloudy days, and to know that we are not alone in our journeys. Many of us have walked the path, and we can help. I believe that’s why we are here on this planet, to use our special gifts to help others. It’s as simple as that really.

Karen

PS: My Fall session of the 10-Week Best Shape of Your Life Challenge starts soon. Grab your spot. We’d love to have you join us!

I heard a scary statistic this morning. By 2020 experts say the number one disability will become depression.

Depression. By the time you hit forty years old, you have likely had a bout with it. That’s what the stats say too. 29

I had my time battling depression, and its sister, anxiety, for years. Being brought up in a chaotic household, and overcoming by becoming an over achiever set the tone. Then, with a desire to please, low self-esteem and learned helplessness, I dipped in and out of depression for years. And then I suffered through years of debilitating panic attacks (sometimes 20 a day) as I struggled to work through childhood issues and coping mechanisms that no longer served me, rather, they were  strangling my spirit.

When my son was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, the clouds returned, and stayed for 8 long, dark years. I struggled to get through each day. I cried myself to sleep, night after night. I couldn’t relate to anyone, or to the outside world. I was a prisoner in my own mind, helpless and drowning.

It took a long time to turn it around, but slowly I came to dismantle the destructive thought patterns and beliefs that once had served me so well as a child (in order to survive) but that were now crippling me. I came to understand that when you say, “that’s just the way I am,” indeed there is much hidden deep in our subconscious that simply needs to see the light in order to create the necessary shifts. But becoming objective about your patterns is indeed work.

And I found my path to healing was based in healing my physical body. I re-connected with weight training, because it helped be to connect with my power. Because when we are depressed, we are powerless, lost. Am I here to tell you that weight training or any kind of exercise will miraculously lift your spirits back into the light? No, that would be irresponsible of me. But it did give me a toe hold back into reality. There, in the gym, I could start to feel the connections again between my lost self and the self that had always been there, somewhere. This, along with proper eating and biofeedback work, slowly helped to part the dark clouds, and the sun began to shine bits of rays at a time. I could feel my spirit return. I had been there all along, behind the veil. Now the veil was parting.

If you are struggling with your own clouds, know that there are millions of us out there, all struggling to stay afloat, to fight back the clouds. My biggest lesson was in learning to let go, to accept, and to know that ‘this too shall pass’. It was about dismantling the old, and staying open to the new.

Today, in all that I do and all my programs, we touch on the mental and spiritual aspects of things, simply because we cannot NOT touch on them. We are not just flesh and blood, to the contrary, we are a complicated mix of spirit and physical, all colliding to help us to bring our individual gifts and our purpose to life…if only we could see through the clouds. Sometimes we simply need validation that those clouds are real, and that it’s ok to have cloudy days, and to know that we are not alone in our journeys. Many of us have walked the path, and we can help. I believe that’s why we are here on this planet, to use our special gifts to help others. It’s as simple as that really.

Karen

PS: My Fall session of the 10-Week Best Shape of Your Life Challenge starts soon. Grab your spot. We’d love to have you join us!