Fit is Freedom with Kelly Howard

Why Consistency is So Important for Your Fitness

Staying consistent when it comes to our fitness is one of the most important things we can do. But, consistency often is a by-product of our routines and if you’re like everyone else in the world right now, your routines might just be a bit topsy-turvy.
This week we have brought back one of the #1 downloaded episodes and it’s all about tips, tricks and a few hacks designed to help you stay consistent with what matters, no matter what is going on around you.
Be a detective in your life. What are the things that are taking away your ability to be consistent? What are moving toward and what are you running away from? Where can you negotiate with whoever you need to; family, work, commitments, to find time for yourself?
When it comes to consistency, the final outcome is not the win. The win is when you take the first smallest step possible, and then follow it from there.
“Getting to the gym is not the win, getting into the car and starting it is.”
The next step: be a detective in your life. Look into your life and see what are the things that are taking away your ability to be consistent. What am I moving toward and what am I running away from?

Staying Upbeat in an Upside Down World

As this episode goes live, most of the world is still in the throes of COVID19. I’ve noticed emotions getting a little frayed lately with some of the people I’ve been in contact with. I had a couple of meltdowns myself that weren’t pretty. But, they were productive. Productive because I realized I needed to manage my stress even more and I needed to manage the external input that was coming into my world.
I’d been limiting my news intake substantially and with who I was interacting, definitely keeping a distance from my less positive friends. But, what I hadn’t realized was how much I was limiting my interactions with others, across the board. That’s not good for us. We’re social animals and the dogs and cats just don’t carry the conversation well.
This week I’m sharing some of my new favorite ways to manage stress and stressful emotions. Remember, when we do good, we feel good.
• Find a way to connect with people via zoom, phone calls, reaching out to people who are more isolated.
• Writing thank-you notes and sending them in the mail
• Social media is a great way to connect, but likes and shares aren’t communicating
• Stay away from people who speak negatively on social media
• Limit your news intake. Especially in the morning and at night.
• If there’s something you NEED to know about, you’ll hear about it.
• Find a podcast or other media that uplifts you (remember to link to “The Positive Podcast” and “Quick Brain”)
• Be careful about what you watch on TV
• Read the book “Words can change your brain” for some eyeopening ideas!
• Keep your day as “routine” as possible
• Wake up and give gratitude, spend some time journaling, add movement to your morning
• Do something to help someone else or makes you feel good each day.
• Is there some way you can help healthcare professionals and others who are extra busy during this time?
• How can we elevate ourselves in this moment of time?

Why ”doing it tomorrow” Won’t Work

I’m so busy, there’s just no time to XYZ___.
The number 1 excuse, whoops I mean the reason I hear from potential clients for why they don’t prioritize their fitness and health is No Time.
“I don’t have the time right now, but next week, or next month, or when I get this project done...that’s when I’m going to start putting my fitness first”.
AKA: The Tomorrow Syndrome
Eventually, all successful people realize that fitness isn't something you can keep putting off. Every day or week you wait, it's that much harder. It's time to make a stand. What if right now, this minute, this is the perfect time to hit the Reset Button? What are things that we can reset while we’re stuck at home?
• Find time to prioritize your health and your immune system
• Exercise
• Sleep better
• Stay away from fear-based media
• If we aren’t healthy, how can we take care of someone else?
• What’s something you’ve been putting off? What if right now is the perfect time to do it, learn it, start it?
For me, I’ve said for eons that I want to learn to speak Spanish fluently. I can get by south of the border but I can’t have an intelligent conversation. When I broke out the Spanish books last week I had an epiphany. I want to go to Italy. I want to sit in cafes, talk to waiters, make new friends, order delicious pasta meals :). So, I’m listening to Italian now. It’s harder for me than Spanish but I want to do it and I have the drive. And, right now I have the time.
Here’s to what the Reset Button can change into our lives.
Ciao!

Will Your Future-Self Thank You?

If you’re catching this episode when we go live, the world is still in the throes of the COVID19 spread. With the rampant uncertainty about the virus and the duration of social distancing and isolation, it’s a time more than ever when we need to manage our thoughts and our mindset! One of the mental drains that I’m seeing show up more and more is the total disruption of routines. Add that to an uncertain future and time frame and it’s enough to throw anyone into a downward spiral.
Today we discuss some of the actions you can take right now to help you settle your worry-mind down and create some future-facing joy.
One big way to manage our routines and our habits is to remember that what is going on right now will not be going on forever, who do you want to be on the other side of this? Look at your new habits and routines. Have you adjusted or have you slipped into habits that don’t serve you? Are you stress-eating? Have you quit exercising? Are you letting the stress disrupt your sleep? What can you do to adjust your schedule to work better for you right now?
Something you can do right now to help you feel more in control, start making some plans! Your plans don’t have to have dates associated with them, just actions. I’m planning a couple of kayaking trips to rivers I have never been to. This may not be the year they happen, but when I do go I’ll have already picked places I can stay, towns to visit, determined if I need a guide and located some local guides. These aren’t perfect plans but they’re giving me a broad brushstroke of what will be needed so I have foundation laid.
What have you always wanted to do? This is the perfect time to start making plans, getting educated. Making plans makes us feel like we have some control in our lives. The dates may change but the basic plan can stay the same.
Create new routines that work within the “new normal” right now. A positive mind is a calm mind. Make sure you give yourself something to look forward to. And remember, “this too shall pass”.

4 Tips for When Life Gets Messy

The crazy thing is, this episode was recorded weeks before the Coronavirus became our new normal!  But, one thing we can always count on is things will change. Messy. Easy. It’s just part of being human and interacting with others, ourselves and our world.
Tip 1 about being intentional around your eating is even more important than ever as we go live for many reasons.  One reason is food is medicine and the right food is fuel. The wrong food is stress producing and energy-zapping. Another way to be intentional around your eating is if you are not used to working from home.  My significant other, who doesn’t usually work from home, was eating what seemed like 24/7. I asked him if he snacked at the office and he said no. I pointed out he was raiding the refrigerator like a teenager.  Not sure it really made a difference, but he notices all the snaking now! 
Do your best to find time for yourself, follow these tips as best you can and remember, easy will happen one day too! 
4 Tips for When Life Gets Messy
Tip 1: Be as intentional about your eating as you possibly can. Remember that food is fuel and food is medicine. 

Tip 2: Movement is medicine, too. Instead of waiting until next week (you know, when things will settle down) to start your routine, try to get at least 30 minutes of movement every day. Follow with some stretching and deep-breathing. Bonus points for being outside.

Tip 3: Stress Less. Do whatever you can and enjoy doing to help alleviate stress. Practice gratitude. Deep-breathing.  You will Stressless by breathing more.

Tip 4: Sleep. Sleep is crucial to keep yourself healthy. Make your room cool and dark. Use a noise machine. Eliminate screen time and work an hour before bed at least. No news at night, stay away from the media.  Give your brain and your body a rest from worry.
Subscribe & Review in iTunes
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How ”Happy” Changes Everything

I was chatting with a client who was, well let’s just say she was whining about not reaching her goals and I suggested she stop and “raise her vibration”.  This was a phrase so outside of her typical vocabulary that she stopped bemoaning her situation and asked WTH I was talking about. 😀Which was the perfect question because when we stop the rhetoric and the auto-tapes that run through our minds, we can stop and consider what we’re feeding ourselves, again and again.
Being happy really does change everything.  And it’s especially important when we’re wallowing in upset or worse!
Caught in situational changes that we can’t control as this episode is airing during the Coronavirus epidemic, raises our stress levels.  When we’re in a negative emotional state it’s almost impossible to make positive changes.
When we feel good, we do good.
When we take action, we take command.
When we choose to be happy, we choose to see life in the best possible light.
9 Tips to Change Your State of Mind (and Raise your vibration)!
Tip 1: Take consistent action

Tip 2: Deep Breathing, meditation, self-hypnosis

Tip 3: Consider who and what you surround yourself with / News / Social Media

Tip 4: Listen to positive content

Tip 5: Limit as much negativity from your immediate world as possible

Tip 6: Be around animals/ get out in nature/ move around

Tip 6: Listen/watch/read things that make you laugh and feel good

Tip 7: Be curious - ask yourself what you get from your negative behavior? 

Tip 8: Be curious - what can you do right this minute to elevate your state?

Tip 9: Take action, the tiniest positive step, taken again and again will change your world

Your homework for this week, download your copy of Happy Changes Everything.  Then, take 15 minutes to raise your vibration :)
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Beginner’s Mind is the Perfect Place Today

Back after a longer-than-originally-planned hiatus, Kelly gives an update on what she’s been up to since November and what some of her personal challenges for the new year have been!
Diving into the concept of “beginner’s mind” and how it can be the start something new, especially when we have no preconceived ideas or expectations. Whether it’s a new fitness routine, a new work routine, a sport or even picking up a musical instrument, allowing yourself the freedom of “beginner’s mind” is a perfect place to start.
Subscribe & Review in iTunes
Have you subscribed to my podcast? If not, I’d love for you to do so and not miss an episode. You’ll be the first to know when bonus episodes are added and if you’re not subscribed, you could miss out :). Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Taking a Break

Big news, everybody: as Fit is Freedom reaches its 1 year anniversary, Kelly will be putting the show on hold for a little while. She feels it’s time to take a step back, reevaluate her motivations, and figure out what’s next. Think of this as a season finale rather than an ending. In any case, Kelly will be back at the beginning of October with new content and a new format.
In this episode, Kelly explains why she’s going on hiatus, emphasizes why we should never forget to enjoy our training and work from day to day, and discusses how you can keep up to date in the meantime.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
How Joe Jacobi’s (see episode 19) own recent break from his newsletter helped Kelly come to terms with her own hiatus.
Why long-term goals—important as they are—can get in the way of the simple pleasures that really keeps us going from day to day.
If you still haven’t signed up for the Fit, Fun & Freedom Formula, do so at the Fit Is Freedom homepage or Facebook page.
What else Kelly has been occupying herself with lately, and what you can expect in the coming months.
Quotes:
“Sometimes we forget that it’s the process of getting there that really matters.”
“Being engaged with what you like to do and what you’re doing is a lot of the secret sauce.”
“We need to be thinking about the things that matter today to get us to the things that matter later.”
Links:
Sign up to Kelly’s mailing list at the Fit Is Freedom homepage (https://fitisfreedom.com/)!
Podigy - https://podigy.co/
Subscribe & Review in iTunes:
Have you subscribed to my podcast? If not, I’d love for you to do so and not miss an episode. You’ll be the first to know when bonus episodes are added and if you’re not subscribed, you could miss out :). Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Also, I would be truly grateful if you left me a review on iTunes. It makes my day to read them. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what you love and what you want to hear more of. Thank you!

Is It Too Late to Get In Shape?

One of Kelly’s deeper fears is that someday she’ll be too old and physically infirm to participate in the activities she’d like to be a part of. The date this episode goes up—August 5—is actually Kelly’s birthday! So you can understand why that particular anxiety might be on her mind. But don’t fret: while you’ll obviously need to prepare more and go slowly as you’re older, there’s really no upper limit to when you can get in shape.
In this episode, Kelly discusses three people who didn’t get in shape until their later years and explains how you can do the same without hurting yourself. In addition, Kelly’s 10-week fitness experience—the Fit, Fun & Freedom Formula—is live today! Submit your application through the VIP section on Kelly’s homepage.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
The inspiring stories of Mimi Secor, James Owen and Daphne Belt and what you can learn from them.
Kelly’s tip for getting into the swing of later-life fitness: keep things slow and consistent.
Keep in mind that if you’re exercising in middle age or your golden years, you’re at greater risk of injury.
Variety is not only the spice of life, it will keep your fitness routine exciting as well!
Quotes:
“Start slow, whatever you’re doing.”
“Let your body catch up with your lack of movement.”
“Put age out of your mind. It’s not a reality.”
Links:
Younger Next Year - https://www.youngernextyear.com/
Fit is Freedom #021: Sleep is a Superpower - https://fitisfreedom.com/sleep-is-a-superpower/
Fit is Freedom #012: Changing Your Lifestyle is Medicine, with Michele Drielick - https://fitisfreedom.com/episode-012-changing-your-lifestyle-is-medicine/
Sign up to Kelly’s mailing list at the Fit Is Freedom homepage (https://fitisfreedom.com/)!
Podigy - https://podigy.co/
Subscribe & Review in iTunes:
Have you subscribed to my podcast? If not, I’d love for you to do so and not miss an episode. You’ll be the first to know when bonus episodes are added and if you’re not subscribed, you could miss out :). Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Also, I would be truly grateful if you left me a review on iTunes. It makes my day to read them. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what you love and what you want to hear more of. Thank you!

Layered Accountability Makes Everything Easier

Kelly was recently taken aback when a fitness-minded friend of hers said that he considered being part of an accountability group to be “cheating.” In truth, when you mix layered accountability into your routine, it’s not only easier to get what you want out of it but it feels more purposeful as well. Layered accountability will keep you on track and sticking to your goal when you want to make big, difficult changes, rather than alter a smaller habit.
In this episode, Kelly explains the people you definitely want—and probably don’t want—in your support system to keep you accountable even when your will wavers. As well, the Fit Is Freedom Formula fitness experience is going live and accepting applications on the date this podcast goes live (July 29). To guarantee your spot, scroll down to the bottom of the Fit is Freedom home page to the “Together We’re Unstoppable” heading.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
Defining what layered accountability is and what kinds of accountability it’s made up of.
What it’s like working under an online coach, especially in a group setting.
Why the person you love the most is also the worst person to have as an accountability partner.
How friendly competition can actually push the group to hold each other more accountable.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Kelly’s Fit is Freedom Formula is launching on July 29! Save your spot on the website!
Quotes:
“Whatever it is that you do, and the person that you are and the way that you’re being, you’re the one who’s actually gonna drive the change that you wanna make.”
“Any time I want to raise the bar in my life, I find a coach.”
“Instead of that one-on-one, think about the idea of having a community.”
Links:
Sign up to Kelly’s mailing list at the Fit Is Freedom homepage (https://fitisfreedom.com/)!
Podigy - https://podigy.co/
Subscribe & Review in iTunes:
Have you subscribed to my podcast? If not, I’d love for you to do so and not miss an episode. You’ll be the first to know when bonus episodes are added and if you’re not subscribed, you could miss out :). Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Also, I would be truly grateful if you left me a review on iTunes. It makes my day to read them. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what you love and what you want to hear more of. Thank you!