Keepin' it 100 with willy t. I received some news this week that didn’t go the way I had hoped it would... No less than an hour after being on the receiving end of this news, Twitter came through in the clutch as I randomly came across this in my feed: (Now, please understand that I fully recognize this “storm” in my life is a mere “drizzle” compared to what many of you endure on a daily basis. With that being said, I hope this can help someone who needs to see it, just as it helped me) “What I had hoped” and “what is best” may totally differ. Because I happened to see this in such a timely manner, my outlook on the situation changed ever so positively and drastically. I hope that by “keepin’ it 100,” it may do the same for you too. Peace, Love, and Clear Pathways, (Note: I did not create this graphic and am simply sharing it for the good of whomever created it)
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Group Fitness Instructors are incredible. We get up in front of a room of strangers and take them on a transformational journey. Within seconds, we build trust with a group and never look back. We instruct, coach, push, and motivate. We plan, choreograph, and practice our classes way more hours than we actually teach. Some of us work across many gyms just to make ends meet; but the thing that keeps us going is that we have the ability to impact so many people in a short amount of time. Participants may come to class wishing they were somewhere else, yet when they leave- they feel they can conquer anything that comes their way. No one says it as well as Steven Trotter, “Group Fitness Instructors take people to a place they can’t get to on their own.” Today we’ll share five tips to help take your group fitness game from good to great so you can keep on taking people to new heights. 1. Be a music mogul. Music is such a powerful tool in group exercise classes- it can motivate us to push harder, bring back special memories, or make us dance. Planning music is often the element that takes the most time when planning class because the music sets the tone for the workout, it creates the an atmosphere. You are the DJ and your participants are the concert goers. To stay on top of your music game always be listening for new music, you never know what could be your next favorite burpee track. 2. Become cue master. (We aren’t talking about pool). People are usually a combination of three different learning styles: visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. To make the most of your cueing be sure you are using a combination and variety of cueing to connect with everyone in your class. Have a rockstar participant? Next time you teach ask them to take note of what style you use the most and make it a challenge for yourself to up the other forms so you have a balanced variety. More information can be found here. 3. Never stop being a student. Continue taking other instructors’ classes, you will always learn something new whether it be new music, a new combo or sequence, or cueing styles. Branching out of your comfort zone will continue to challenge your body. It’s always a bonus if your regulars see you in another class that they take- you become more relatable and it shows that you are just like them. 4. Create a community in and outside the classroom. Your impact does not have to the end in the classroom, take it online. Social media, that is. For example, create an online Facebook group for your attendees. This will create a sense of community among participants and a platform where you can let people know if there will be sub or ask for feedback or song requests. Let me tell you, people love song requests and hearing their favorite in class. This is also a great way if you want to try something new in class, you can get feedback via a Facebook poll. There are so many benefits from an online group, the possibilities are endless! Real life example: a fantastic resource for ACE Group Fitness Instructors is the online Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/acegroupfit/?ref=bookmarks Ask questions, listen to webinars, or just see what others are doing for their classes. 5. Seek continuing education opportunities. Usually to keep a group fitness instructor certification, continuing education credits must be earned every two years. Although some may think that is a pain, there is benefit! This helps you stay on top of your game, keep up with current industry trends, and expose you to new things. Even if you’re taught for 30 years, there is always more to learn. So attend a refresher workout, master class, or try for another certification. For example, I am taking the ACE Health Coach Certification Exam in December (wish me luck!). Regardless of what formats you teach, how long you’ve been teaching, what workout gear you have, or what you look like, know that your work day in and day out makes a difference in the lives of so many. Without group fitness instructors the world wouldn’t be as happy or healthy. Thanks to all the group fitness instructors out there! We are all one family. Much love, the big reveal
Hello and welcome to Keepin’ it 100, where I’ll reveal the secrets to life in ~100-word blogs and ~100-second vlogs! By “secrets to life” I’m obviously exaggerating… But here are some guaranteed topic genres:
Wellness (obviously), Motivation (I’m a quote junkie), Marketing (my true craft), and Features (I’ll host content-expert guests to cover other topics). If you’re wondering why I’m relevant to speak on any of these, check my bio! First up, a vlog covering my trip last week to Wilmington. Highlights included strategic planning with GWS, shooting photo/video at a Clifton StrengthsFinder lunch-and-learn hosted by Steven, and celebrating the launch of this blogspot with some beach fun! Hope you’re ready - I’m excited to keep it 100 with ya. Peace, Love, and Wellness,
(Note: I don’t own rights to the music. Song Credit - “Elephant 2k18 - Bobby Rock Remix” by Funkin Matt, Bobby Rock)
Some of you may be thinking, “I’m fit and fly all the time!?” Today we’re talking about how to stay healthy and fit while flying in an airplane. Flying in pressurized cabins with a hundred strangers can put a lot of stress on our bodies. If you’re changing time zones or flying out of the country, that shocks our bodies even more. Globetrotter Wellness Solutions’ very own Steven Trotter is a frequent flyer as he does a lot of traveling for work. Follow these tips to stay fly, even when you’re high in the sky. 1. Hydrate. Drink water before and during your flight! The combination of less oxygen and thin air inside airplanes makes you prone to dehydration. But don’t forget that you will be asked to throw away water bottles before you can get through security - so see #2. 2. Bring an empty water bottle with you through the security lines. This way you have a no excuses! Fill up at a fountain once you pass through the lines. 3. Eat a healthy meal before your flight. You never know what may happen (flight delay, long layover, no complimentary snack- you know what airline I’m talking about). The hopes of a peanut snack is always welcomed, but not always promised. 4. Bring disinfecting wipes. The place where you are most susceptible to germs while flying are on the tray table, arm rests, and bathroom. You don’t know who was sitting there before you were. Wipe it down or it might wipe you out next week! 5. Exercise your mind. Flying can be a great time to catch up on sleep, listen to a podcast, or read a book. If you’re serious about listening to music or an audio book, I recommend wearing something that can block out the loud noises of the huge plane engines. Make sure to charge those Kindles beforehand. 6. Physical exercise. If you couldn't get a workout in before your travels, take your flight time to do some simple exercises such as calf raises, ankle rolls, plantar flexion. Stretch out before you cramp out. If you do have time before your flight and you don’t have too much luggage, take a walk around your area. Airports have more and more scenery depending on the size. The CVG airport has fully constructed skeletons of dinosaurs and some other Ice Age animals donated by the Cincinnati Museum. Explore your surroundings and get that step count up! 7. Sitting too long. We’re all guilty of slouching one way or another. It’s even more common when we’re sitting in one place for a long period of time. Try to focus on your posture and sit straight against the back of your chair, keeping your back straight and chest upright. One step today goes a long ways to improvement tomorrow! Safe travels every one! By: Alicia Everette A millennial wellness enthusiast trying to figure out life. Coupon Queen. Experimental Chef. Personal Trainer. Aspiring Health Coach. Earth Day, celebrating environmental wellness, and finding your purpose Happy Earth Day to our big, beautiful Earth! Earth Day is a reminder that Mother Nature should not just be celebrated for one day, but all year round. Remember, momma knows best. This is the perfect time to evaluate your environmental wellness and find your purpose within your community. Here are 10 tips to help you achieve just that! Reduce 1. Transportation. You heard it from me: It’s cool to carpool. Carpooling not only saves time, money, gas, but the environment too! If carpooling isn’t realistic try walking or riding a bike instead of a driving when you have nearby destination. 2. Scoop the poop. Your dog’s poop that is! Be a good neighbor and pick up after your pooch. Odds are your neighborhood has rules that require you to. Not convinced? Their droppings if left unscooped, have the potential to transmit diseases and get into our water systems. No one wants that! Earth is our home and you wouldn’t want someone dropping off the nasties at your house. 3. Straws. Stop the suck. When ordering drinks politely decline the straw. Most of all straws end up in landfills. Like most other plastic, it can also end up in the oceans and hurt the marine life. Because of their composition, some plastic will not degrade for hundreds of years! Some places, like the Philippines are making a statement (1). However, companies like McDonald's are catching on and doing something about it (2). McDonald's is planning to trial out paper straws which can be composted. 4. Unplug electronics. Your home probably has some energy vampires. For example, do you only use your toaster every now and then, but keep it plugged in all the time? You are wasting your money. All electronics whether turned on or off use electricity if plugged in. Pull the plug when not in use, save energy, and save some money on your next bill. 5. Enroll in online billing. Save the trees and your mail carrier some time by signing up in online billing. This may seem like a small task, but all that paper really does add up over time. Reuse 6. Reusable bottle. Americans alone use over 50 billion plastic bottles a year (3)! Think about where those bottles are now: in the ocean, in a landfill, or on the sidewalk. Save yourself money, save the environment, and invest in your health by carrying a reusable bottle wherever you go. 7. Vegetation. Try your hand at gardening. Start small perhaps with house plants, then try an outdoor garden. Gardening can be a wonderful hobby that not only helps Mother Earth, but can provide you food if you plant produce. Remember, plants release oxygen and intake carbon dioxide. They are literally filters for what us humans output daily! If you have the space, try planting trees in your yard too. 8. BYOB. I’m talking about grocery bags! Get your mind off of the party scene. Reusable grocery bags are all the rage and for good reason! Invest in these bags so you don’t have to use the paper or plastic bags at the grocery store. Even better, due to the material, if you try to bring in all the bags in one trip, they are less likely to break compared to the paper and plastic ones! Recycle 9. Recycle. You’d be surprised how much recyclable material you have. If you don’t have curbside pickup, find a recycling drop off center near you. This simple step could mean what once could have been trash in a landfill will get re-purposed into something else. Ah the circle of life. Now you can walk away proudly with that warm, fuzzy feeling that you did your part. I’m proud of you for it! Replenish 10. Take care of yourself. In all this talk about taking care of your environment remember to take care of yourself first. Your closest environment is the body, in which you live you. Start there, and then treat your surroundings with love and kindness. Before you know it, you will be making big impact with small changes. We were all put on this earth for a reason. Some people spend their whole life searching for it. Where are you on your journey and how do you want your story to be told? Your decisions and actions now, impact not only your future but the future of those who have yet to come. The power is in your hands. One action today changes the outcomes of tomorrow, and I know you’ve got it in you. “The world doesn’t want to be saved. It wants to be loved. (That’s how you save it.)”- Unknown References Alicia EveretteA millennial wellness enthusiast trying to figure out life. Coupon Queen. Experimental Chef. Personal Trainer. Aspiring Health Coach. What comes to mind when you think of health? Probably fitness, nutrition, sleep, weight-loss, and self-care to name a few. A majority of people do not associate wealth with their health; however, they should. Financial wellness is a dimension that often gets overlooked during the New Year’s resolutions band-wagon. Finances are a HUGE aspect of how the world runs. The lack of financial education in public school systems is alarming. Whitney Houston sang it best, “I believe the children are our future.” So who is going to teach America’s future how to be financially healthy? Not to worry, we are on it. This blog will provide helpful tips to grow your financial wellness, and hopefully the balance in your bank accounts too! A key to financial success is to know where your money is going and keep those expenses low as possible. We will break these down into three categories: housing, transportation, and food. Housing 1. Live with roommates. Living with more people means splitting rent and utilities. 2. Always be looking around for housing. Know what the current market looks like and do your research for the best pricing. 3. Program your thermostat. This will help with heating and cooling costs. Transportation 1. Use public transportation, walk, or bike. Not only does this save money, but it helps the environment. Win- Win for all. 2. Car pool to work. Take turns with a coworker that lives nearby. 3. Take care of your car. Did you know not having properly inflated tires reduces fuel efficiency? Check them regularly as well as your oil. Food 1. Cook at home. Eating out can add up quickly. 2. Loyalty cards. Sign up for a loyalty card if your grocer has one, this will get you special sale prices. 3. Digital coupons. Most stores have digital coupons you can download right to your card. *Usually hundreds of coupons are added towards the end/beginning of a month* Just last week I saved $38 in coupons at Kroger. 4. Plan your meals using the sale ads. If ground beef, tomato sauce, and pasta are all on sale then have it for dinner! Buying on sale items and actually using them will lead to savings. 5. Shop with a list. Know what you are going to buy before you shop and stick to it. This will prevent impulse buying. 6. Stock up on sales. Chicken for 99 cents a pound? Buy a lot and use your freezer to your advantage. 7. Buy frozen fruits and vegetables. Frozen produce actually has more nutritional value than their fresh counterparts because they are frozen at their peak. Whip up a fruit smoothie or vegetables as a side dish in no time. 8. Buy store brand items. When you buy name brand, you are paying for the name and packaging. Most store brand items are just as good. 9. Shop the clearance sections. Almost bad produce? Freeze for smoothies. A box that is slightly disfigured? It’s still okay and it will save you a dollar or two! I encourage you to review these tips, and if there is something you do not already do, then I encourage you to try it out and see how it goes. Best of luck on your financial journey! By: alicia Everette A millennial wellness enthusiast trying to figure out life. Coupon Queen. Experimental Chef. Personal Trainer. Aspiring Health Coach. It's one month into the new year! How are your resolutions coming along? If you are human, which I hope you are if you are reading this, the honest truth is that you have probably had some setbacks. Life happens, and I am here to reassure you, that is okay. Obstacles are actually opportunities in disguise. Our perspective on situations or the angle which we choose to view them, can paint drastically different pictures. If given the chance, everyone could name obstacles in their life, but it is how we overcome them that puts together our story. Today’s blog will provide you strategies to view obstacles as opportunities and how to stay on track with your goals. 1. Ask yourself, is my goal SMART? Naturally, your answer may be yes since you thought of it. However, SMART is an acronym. Specific- Is your goal vague? Make sure it is detailed. Example: I want to save $50 per week for 20 weeks to pay off debt by June 1, 2018. Measurable- How will you measure progress? Example: You should be able to track your progress by counting your money sum weekly. Attainable- Is this goal actually achievable? If not, you are already setting yourself up for failure. Example: Base the amount that you save weekly on your current spending habits. If you are living paycheck to paycheck you may need to scale back your goal. Realistic- With my available resources, can I achieve this goal? Example: Will you be sacrificing your lifestyle or others around you to achieve this goal? Time-Based- Am I giving myself enough time to achieve my goal? Example: Have you calculated if $50 for 20 weeks will pay off all your debt? If it doesn’t, then adjust your goal. 2. Write down your goals. On physical paper, this makes them more concrete and tangible. 3. Keep yourself accountable. Tell your friends, family, or coworkers about your goal; they can help keep you on track. Post it on social media. What else is Instagram for? 4. Reward yourself for the small victories. Break down your goal into smaller ones and celebrate the wins. Worked out 3 times per week for a month? Treat yourself to a manicure. 5. Ask yourself, are you ready for it? Taylor Swift says it best. Is this the right time in your life to take on this goal? Are your surroundings conducive to your goal? Do you have the tools and resources to succeed? Last, but not least: 6. Remember the bigger picture. If you are beating yourself up because of one slip up, remember the grand scheme of life. A year from now, are you going to remember that one day where you ate a piece a chocolate or are you going to remember how hard you worked to achieve your goal? Failing is a part of success and it is what we learn from our failures that gives us the knowledge to succeed. Think, if you fell and broke your leg…you wouldn’t get up and walk on it, right? That is how you have to think about your goals. Falling once will not do you in, but continuously falling back into a cycle does. In the end, an obstacle is just a hurdle on your road to success, and all you have to do is jump to stay on track. And if you fall? Get back up one more time than you fall down and you win the race. By: Alicia Everette A millennial wellness enthusiast trying to figure out life. Coupon Queen. Experimental Chef. Personal Trainer. Aspiring Health Coach. Let me begin by saying that New Year’s Eve is one of my favorite holidays each year. That of course along with my birthday, Christmas, and Independence Day. New Year’s for 2017 was different. I would like to rank it up there with one of the worst New Year’s but honestly it might have been my saving grace. New Year’s Eve itself was fine. I was enjoying the night with friends at a neighborhood house party but something inside of me felt off; I felt unbalanced if that makes sense. We watched the ball drop, Mariah Carey make a memorable performance, and called it a night. Now just like most people, I’ve had my fair share of peaks and valleys in life but I wouldn’t consider myself depressed. Ginger Zee says so poetically in her latest book Natural Disaster: I cover them. I am one that storms don’t last forever and the sun will always shine again. Often times, we don’t know what we are truly made of until we have nothing else to lose. That night I fell asleep and in my dream I had glimpses of suicidal thoughts; thoughts that have never even crossed my mind before. I woke up in a cold sweat, with feelings I can’t even describe. I do know one thing though; after a few minutes of thoughts and trying to make sense of everything I settled one final thought, goal, promise, resolution: “Not this year 2017; you will not win. I. Am. The. Storm.” 2016 was a year where I needed to figure out the next step was for me, both professionally and personally. I knew there could be a chance that a promotion would open at my current institution but I wasn’t so sure that’s what I necessarily wanted. The universe had been working its magic for me and I began getting calls from national and international companies discussing national director positions with me and if I was interested in them. Some even dangled carrots in front of me such as more than 3 times my current salary, company cars, private jets, tour buses, and a life of luxury. All of these positions were great but would have only been stepping stones to get me closer to my dream, becoming an entrepreneur. I thought I should take one of these and once I saved enough money for 2-3 years then I would open my own company. I remember one company discussing how they liked to “hire to retire;” my heart skipped a beat. I had a flashback to participating in a study that another university’s IO Psych graduate department was doing on my department. One of the questions they asked was “How likely are you to see yourself retiring from this department?” and my Likert Scale response was strongly disagree. It’s not that I disliked my job, department, university, career, or that I was a flight risk but it was more that I couldn’t imagine seeing myself anywhere for 30 years. I am in my low 30s and I want to see the world; I’ve got goals and ambitions which include having a larger impact by working with multiple locations not just one institution. This makes perfect sense when you look at all the external committees, contracts, and speaking engagements I was already doing. I remember what I told myself when I came back to my institution in 2014 “Steven, you are going back for 3 years, save money, get out of debt, then move back to the beach and open a business or gym.” I was in the middle of year 3 and wasn’t completely out of debt yet but knew that sometimes you just have to jump and you’ll learn how to fly or as we like to say in the south, “shit or get off the pot.” |
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Who we areJust a team of round pegs in a square hole changing the world one interaction at a time. Look back at it
March 2020
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