HDR Photography by W Brian Duncan

I think I am naturally a West coast kind of girl. Manhattan was okay but San Francisco will always win hands down. So when it came time to choose a conference to take the place of South by Southwest this year, IDEA Personal Trainer Institute (PTI) West in Seattle won hands down over the east coast version in Alexandria, VA.

It was my first trip to the Pacific Northwest but sadly I actually got to see very little of it outside of the Doubletree by the airport. What was wonderful was the weather. I didn’t get to experience the fog, mist and relative cool that seem to be the hallmark of Seattle. Instead it was in the 70s and sunny the whole time, while it was in the 30s at home with snow. Talk about some serious luck.

We did have a half a day before the official start of PTI and a half a day at the end to explore. Brian also came with me, so he was able to share his adventures and insights while I learned the latest in smart programs for menopausal women and new kettlebell moves. With his help, I have put together my top picks for having a fun and fit time on your next trip to Seattle.

• Staying fit at a fitness conference is obviously a little bit easier than your average vacation. Workouts and workshops are the order of the day. Yet I still struggled to get my 10,000 steps. If your visit keeps you confined in a convention center or hotel, take the stairs always. Take them repeatedly. I had a lecture or two where I just had to get up and move. I went out in the hall and did some stairs. Instantly alert and ready for more.

• Seattle is the birthplace of Starbucks and a big coffee town. Stay away from the sugary coffee drinks and go for drip. Try Café Ladro, Café Vita and Tully’s after you visit the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market.  Or be a tea snob like me and go to the free tea tasting at Vital Tea.  You won’t be disappointed.

• Speaking of Pike Place Market, get your steps browsing the stalls and pick up your snacks here. Not only will you find fresh fruit, but also lots of dried fruits and veggies like beet chips and green beans and a variety of raw nuts. Just don't try the samples at the Gum Wall. It’s not free candy.

• Walk don’t drive. Traffic, like most major cities, is a headache. The hills in downtown and Fremont rival San Francisco, making them a great glute workout. Take long strides going up make it even more challenging and effective.

• Take a hike. Brian went on a nice hike at Discovery Park. They have paved and unpaved trails to enjoy. Just beware; even in the city you might encounter a tick or two. Or drive outside the city and visit Mount Rainer. It’s amazing to view from far away (or the plane as you approach the city) and I plan to visit it the next time.

• Take advantage of happy hour. We all like to treat ourselves on vacation but no one likes to roll away from the table feeling miserable. Many of the restaurants have happy hour menus between 4-6 pm with small plates or portions that allow you to taste the fine locally sourced and organic cuisine but not be painfully stuffed afterwards. My suggestions: Serious Pie for a mushroom and truffle cheese half pizza or Agrodolce for the chickpea cakes and spring onion soup. Rachel Ray would be proud of my under $20 three course dinner tab.

Locals, what have I missed? Travelers, if you’ve visited Seattle, how did you keep it fit on your last visit?

I am not the person Jillian Michaels is trying to reach with her Maximize Your Life tour. Her 3 hour  (yes THREE hours) educational/motivational presentation was, to me, preaching to the choir. What she says are the same things I tell my clients, and you, everyday.

So if you are expecting some new miracle diet or secret training techniques when you buy tickets to the show you are going to be disappointed.

That’s because the facts are plan. The keys to real fitness aren’t new or groundbreaking, nor are they particularly hard. In the first half of the show she sums it up like this:

• It’s food quantity (count your calories) and food quality (don’t eat poison).
• Work your body in 3D (free weights not machines) and move your ass – quickly.

She gave some great specifics as she reviewed these concepts, like how to determine how many calories you should be eating. Many people I’ve found do not have any idea how much fuel their body really needs. She reviewed the formula using her stats on the giant projector screen behind her. If you want an easier way to figure Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) check out the Body Weight Simulator Tool from the National Institute of Health that she references in Slim for Life. She also reviewed the Clean Fifteen and the Dirty Dozen, concepts that seemed shockingly foreign to the St. Louis audience.

Can I talk about the St. Louis audience for a moment? This show, I felt, was about reaching the Biggest Loser audience who may not be hearing her message via the podcast or books. I felt as though I was sitting at home, on the couch, with a few hundred friends watching the Biggest Loser. The ladies behind me were enjoying a beer. Others had M&Ms and soda. They laughed in all the right places and gasped with shock at the Dirty Dozen produce list. When asked to give up the golden arches and spend a little more on organic dairy and beef it seemed they found the information useful but appeared not ready to commit.

I hope the second half of the show, the motivation/inspirational portion, pushed them a little further down the road to fitness. Here she sought the answer to the The Big Question:

If these things are so simple why are they so hard to put into practice?

This is the question we are all trying to figure out. Perhaps it is so hard to find the answer because it is different for everyone. We all have a different WHY. We all come to that point in our life where the pain of staying where we are is greater than the pain of change with different experiences and at our own pace. What matters is that we do the work to understand what is holding us back. For me, like Jillian, it was partly due to a dysfunctional relationship with my father. She had a need to connect. I had a need for comfort. In a way we were both trying to fill holes in our lives.

This is why it’s so hard. Showing up for a workout or buying organic vegetables are much easier than dealing with all the emotional issues connected to food and our bodies. When the reality of this hits it can become too much for many people. They shut down and revert back to what is less scary.

She gave some great advice, but admitted dealing with these issues were more than she could do in an hour and 15 minute talk. She’s right. This is were a good coach or health professional becomes invaluable. Perhaps that is the best take away from the second half:

Don’t feel like you have to tackle this journey alone. It’s okay to ask for help.

I hope people left with that thought and armed with some good information. I hope it inspired them to do more than sit on the sidelines. Life is too short, to beautiful, to just sit on the couch with a soda and M&Ms.

Have you seen Jillian as she rolled through your town? What did you think of the show? What did you take away?

What makes an athlete?

Is it having the medal around your neck? Is it a trophy on a shelf? Is it being part of team with a dedicated training schedule?

Or is it the act of showing up? Is it getting up off the couch and moving each day? Is it about staying strong to do all you that life has to offer?

What about beautiful? I keep hearing strong is the new skinny. But is beautiful either or neither of those things? Is beautiful simply the body in motion no matter it’s size or shape, glowing with joy and self confidence?

Under Armour is giving us the chance to (re)define athlete and what it means to be beautiful. The What’s Beautiful challenge is a competition but I am not concerned about prizes or badges. They did send me some lovely clothes to wear as I participated in the individual challenges and events. But that’s not why I wanted to participate. My goal is to show the beauty of real women getting fit and meeting their own personal challenges.

I am lucky; I get to see this beauty every day in the faces and bodies of my clients.

The glow of describing the first 5K.

The surprise at the first push up.

The joy of a shopping trip with new pants a size smaller.

The amazement at the tricep or bicep popping out in the mirror.

It is through their accomplishments that I have come to know real beauty. It is their dedication that shows me what is possible when the heart is inspired and willing. They are all athletes in my eyes and I dare anyone to say I am wrong.

It is because of them that I wanted to join this challenge. It is with them (and YOU) that I hope to change the perception of “female athlete” and challenge the notion of what is beautiful. Will you join us? Here is how:

• Go the Under Armour What is Beautiful site by clicking HERE.
• Create your profile and declare your goal.
• Search for my team, ThriveFit All Stars, or click here to get to the team page and request membership.
• Start completing your challenges and working towards your goal!

My goal is to get rid my “I’m not a runner” and complete a 5K in under 30 minutes. I’ve got about 3 minutes to shave off my time – one minute at a time. My first 5K of the year is May 27 so stay tuned.

Use the team page to share your accomplishments, find support and cheer each other on. If you share your journey on Twitter or Instagram be sure to use the hash tag #WhatsBeautiful. Take this opportunity to show the world what a dedicated group of women can accomplish!

Are you ready to join the challenge? Tell me, what is your goal? How will you tell the world #IWill?

Personal Trainer Pamela Hernandez talks discusses who should think about using protein powder.

In this video is advice for:

• Types of protein powder and who might think about using it.
• What Pamela prefers over powders.

IDEA Personal Trainer Institute (PTI) West is a weekend of workouts, workshops and lectures designed to keep fitness professionals educated, motivated and dedicated to the best for our clients.

This past weekend was my first time at PTI and I had no idea what to expect from it because it was my first fitness conference. We normally go to tech or business related events like South by Southwest Interactive or Wordcamp. I actually don't hang out with other personal trainers a lot at home so being in a group of them for three days seemed a bit daunting. Questions raced through my mind the night before, trying to figure out how I would fit into to this “new” environment.

Would I be overwhelmed with new information?

No but I was inspired. There was in fact an interesting divide, almost two fitness philosophies present. First you have the traditionalists whose presentations stuck to accepted standards for physical activity. There is nothing wrong with that approach but I fall more in the second camp: people don't move enough. How can we make fitness functional and part of everyday life? People like Rodney Corn got me thinking even more outside the box with my training plans and exercise choices. Hayley Hollander’s presentation on exercise and menopause really spoke to me. It affirmed my belief in interval training but gave me some ideas on how to tweak it to make my programs even more effective. Training tip for you: Play more; it’s highly underrated as exercise.

Where is fitness going and I am going with it?

Yes, it appears that functional tools and moving in 3D are the way of the future. There are always going to be people who like the leg press machine and that’s okay. But to help a population where 25% of the populations doesn’t get any physical activity we have to start looking at things differently. Fitness has to become more about movement where people are (like the office), with the tools we have and less about a standard gym setting. It’s no longer our job to count reps and help people get ripped. We need to help people feel better, develop habits of movement and eat for health. Training tip for you: Invest in fitness equipment that helps you move in all dimensions (think free weights and kettlebells).

Would I be the only one tweeting constantly?

Yes. I am always amazed at how few fitness professionals utilize social media. The official hash tag of the event (#ideapti if you want to go back and check it out) was dominated by myself and the awesome ladies at funandfit.org, Kymberly and Alexandra. Otherwise – crickets. In the last (and perhaps favorite) session I attended, presented by the afore mentioned ladies, I learned this was the first year that PTI even allowed pictures and Internet access inside the sessions. What?? How you can you not want people sharing real time all the amazing information being presented? I am sure it is fear that if people can get it online they won’t come but I’ve always experienced the opposite. It was all the tweets from South by Southwest that inspired me to go. If there were more being shared maybe I would have gone to PTI earlier. Training tip for you: Social media can help you find new exercises, a training partner or some much needed motivation. Use it.

You can’t change the past so all I can say is I am glad I went this year. I got to meet my two FitFluential pals Kymberly and Alexandra in person. I learned, I was inspired and I won some new rolling tools and BioFreeze from Theraband. How could you not call it a success? My goal for next year – present a session on blogging for your personal training business.

What do you think – good idea? If you’re a fitness professional what do you want to learn about at a conference like PTI?

I was born in the 70s but the 80s shaped me. I watched Dallas with my Mom, had a Cabbage Patch Kid and my first cassette purchase was the soundtrack to Purple Rain. (I got in trouble for singing Darlin’ Nicki on the playground).

When something is such a part of our formative years we may resist the urge to taint it by "bringing it back". But, like the new version of Dallas on TNT, sometimes a revamped 80s tune can actually be pretty awesome. Maybe even better than the original. I’ve got some 80s covers for you this month. I would tell you who does the new version but I would rather you impress me by naming the original artist (sans Google!). Enjoy your retro workout!

• Summer Of '69 by Bowling for Soup: Obviously wasn't thinking about that turn of the century thing.
• I Want You To Want Me by Letters to Cleo: I have such wonderful memories to both versions of this song. I saw Letters to Cleo live in the early 90s – in my checkered shirtwaist mini and platform Mary Janes. Oh grunge….
• Total Eclipse of the Heart by Nicki French: I love the original video. Still not sure where the white horse came from.
• Kids In America by Cascada: The original was not the version by the Muffs in the movie Clueless. It goes back farther than that!
• Hold Me Now by Lasgo: I’m discovering all sorts of new artists. Not the original one, I got that one.
• Don't You Want Me by Alcazar: Pure pop in both cases.
• Abracadabra by Sugar Ray: The video by the original artist almost killed their career.
• Dancing With Myself by The Donnas: These ladies can do no wrong. I like this version better than the original.
• Tainted Love by Marilyn Manson: The band has done many covers; this is one of my favorites.
• Lovesong by Adele: Stretch and melt into her voice.

There is a reason to weigh every day.

There is a scale that is your friend.

A food scale should be part of any healthy kitchen. My food scale sits on the kitchen counter, under the cabinet that holds the bowls and plates. Every morning I place my bowl on it and measure out my cereal. I know if I don't I will give myself too much. This is especially true on mornings when I get up at 5 am to write. I’m barely awake enough to make tea much less accurately eyeball a cup of cereal.

When starting a fitness journey most people have no idea what a serving of pasta or cereal actually looks like. It’s part of the reason we go overboard with food. We’re used to the supersize portions we get when dining out. Most people are shocked to learn that an actual serving of pasta is about the size of their fist.

I do use common items (deck of cards for your protein!) to help clients learn proper portion size but nothing works better than the food scale to get in touch with how much food you’re actually serving yourself.

• The scale is more accurate than measuring cups.
  It’s easy to overload a cup. I am guilty of it with oatmeal, letting it ever so slightly round over the top. I also swear my newest set of cups is bigger than ones we inherited from Brian’s grandma.
• Some things don’t fit well in measuring cups.
  I find it much easier to weigh edamame, baby carrots and grapes on a scale. I place my Tupperware container on the scale, measure what I need  and put it into my lunch bag for the day. Or I can measure out multiple servings in snack bags for travel or to grab and go later.
• Weighing is handy for recipes that don’t say what a serving is.
  I hate it when a recipe says how many it serves but not what a serving size is. I will place the whole pot or dish on the scale (after weighing the empty container prior), subtract the container weight and divide by number of servings. Then I notate the serving size in the book or magazine.

You don't have to weigh all of your food forever. Eventually you do get more in touch with how much a serving is. For example, I’ve gotten pretty good at estimating a serving of edamame or nuts. I do know myself however and will always place my cereal bowl on the scale.

I recently broke my long standing boycott of Wal-Mart. I haven’t been in a Wal-Mart willingly since 2008.

It wasn’t to purchase anything. I do my bargain shopping at a mixture of Mama Jean’s (a local natural food store), Target and Big Lots. It was to do research for my work site wellness workshops.

I recently took an assignment doing wellness workshops for the employees of four residential care facilities in the southwest Missouri area.  I knew very little about each group prior to the first visit other than their wellness program was relatively new. My goal was to get people participating. I have a whole series of lectures (as part of My Fitness Foundation program) so I was sure I had plenty of material to get them interested.

What I learned very quickly is that what you and I take for granted does not apply in Smalltown USA. My favorite topic – eating healthy on a budget – was going to need a makeover. I realized some of my strategies go out the window when you’re dealing with a Midwest food desert.

It makes me sad to think of these towns as food deserts. Especially as I drove past the planted fields and pastures of commercial agriculture. All that food destined for unknown processing plants and none left for local residents. Only one of the towns has a farmers market. They tell me it's a small one, with very little selection and higher prices. My suggestion to support those farmers falls on deaf ears and feeds the sentiment I hear so often– eating healthy is too expensive.

I often complain about our lack of a Costco or Trader Joe's. What I forget is I am lucky to have Mama Jean’s (so so lucky), Target and a handful of other grocery stores to choose from. I pine for another trip to Ferry Plaza but I forget to be grateful for the 3 farmers markets I can shop at.

In Smalltown USA they have Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart is all they have (or at least perceived as all they have, I did pass a small grocery store or two) then Wal-Mart is what we will work with. Here are the updated tips I was able to add to my eating healthy on a budget presentation after my reconnaissance mission.

• Whole wheat pasta is $1 a box for the Great Value brand. It’s not more expensive and you can make it last longer by paying attention to your serving size.
• Go to the gluten free section to find things like Kind or ThinkThin Bars. Often people look in the granola bar section and miss these easy snacks.
• They do have Amy’s Organics meals and they aren’t that much more expensive than those other frozen meals.
• Great Value Crunchy Nuggets are cheaper than Cheerios and higher in protein.

The best thing is I also learned many of my tips hold true at Wal-Mart.

• Buy dried beans instead of canned. Make the whole bag at once using the crockpot method, freeze and use as needed.
• Shop seasonally. Asparagus was front and center at Wal-Mart and on sale. Yeah for spring veggies!
• Go generic. Great Value cottage cheese and Greek yogurt are just as good as the brand names.
• Get your veggies in the frozen section out of session or if you’re afraid they will go bad. Staples like broccoli and stir fry blends can be lifesavers on a busy night.

What it all boils down to, as with all things on this fitness journey, is choices.  No matter where you shop you can make healthier choices if you are willing to look for them. Will it cost you a bit more at times to choose a healthier option? Honesty, in today’s dollars, it might be a few more. But compare that to the $100,000 plus cost of a heart attack or the thousands of dollars a year to treat diabetes and you’ll come out way ahead.

Personal Trainer Pamela Hernandez shares two essential movement types for success.

In this video is advice for:

• Types of movement in your day.
• One type doesn't insure your success.

It’s 7 am as I am writing this post. I slept in, so I’ve only been up since 5:30 am.

That’s right, I said slept in. Normally on Tuesday and Thursday I get up at 5 am. It’s prime blogging and program writing time. The rest of the week I get up at 6 am to get ready for morning client sessions.

This is funny because I love sleep. I used to be the person who thought that getting up before 8 am was a serious form of torture. In high school and college I loved the night life. I would work or go to class all day, take a nap and then get up so I could hang out with my boyfriend or go out with friends. Weekends, especially Sunday, were perfect for sleeping the morning away.

Somewhere along the way, I become a morning person. It’s been 14 years in the making but now mornings are actually my favorite part of the day. Think it can’t happen to you? Here is how becoming the early bird (and getting fit) happened to me.

1. Don’t force yourself to become an early riser to exercise.

   When I started my fitness journey, I preferred to go the gym at night. It wasn’t unusual for me to show up at 8 or 9 pm for a good sweat session. I never felt like it kept me awake, in fact I think I slept better.
   

2. Exercise when you need it most. Make it a priority and not an afterthought.

   When my life shifted away from school my exercise patterns also started to change. I would still work out in the evening, but after dinner about 6:30 pm or so. It was my de-stressor after an extremely long and taxing day as a bank manager. It was only after exercise I could classify myself as human again, able to have a civil conversation with Brian.

3. Exercise wakes you up better than coffee (or tea).

   When I started working at home, working out at home became my habit. Since I didn’t have to be at my desk utill 8 or 9 am (and no one would know whether or not I had showered on a conference call) I started working out mostly in the morning. When I traveled for work, morning become the only time I knew I could get in some exercise. I also noted how energized I felt after a morning workout. I liked how it set the tone for the rest of my day.

4. Put yourself first on your schedule.

   I started my personal training business part time while I still worked my full time bank job. I HAD to get my workout in and get going earlier because it was the only time available. I made the appointment with myself, like I have always done, but just earlier.

5. You can do anything when it’s something you want to do vs something you have to do.

   The shift to 5 am was all about attitude and outlook. I start getting up at 5 am not to exercise but to write, answer client questions and work on their programs. I love these things almost as much as being active. I enjoy the quiet and sipping Scottish Caramel Pu’erh tea while I work. Nothing feels better than having most of my to-do list complete prior to a 7:30 am workout.

I recently read a quote that I think it sums it up best:

If you can’t wake up an hour earlier to pursue your dream then you're pursuing the wrong dream.

The real secret to becoming an early bird is doing what you love and being true to your goals. Don’t do it for anyone else but yourself.