2020 – the year where nothing is normal, everything is chaotic, but everyone is trying their best. Sometimes you have to laugh, cry or yell (or all 3) to just get by. We asked 3 people on our crew to help get different perspectives on how they are handling their work, school and still prioritizing their health.

Kayla is a nanny turned full-time homeschool teacher since Covid. Her days became much busier and her days much longer – but she works hard to still find time for herself.

Jacqueline is a teacher navigating this new, unfamiliar way of educating students and also a mother of 2 young boys who are in a hybrid style school. Through it all, Jacqueline is keeping a positive attitude!

Miriah is managing her role as a mother/ teacher/ ultrasound technician as best as she can all while trying to move out of her house! Through the chaos she is working on staying grounded and keeping to a healthy routine.

We hope that you guys get a laugh or two out of their stories and can feel some relief that you are not the only one going through this!

Kayla

All I have to say as a nanny for three / homeschool teacher, bless you parents, because I get to do the fun stuff and then give them back at the end of the day to go home and enjoy a bottle of wine.

The last couple weeks have definitely been challenging. Not only did I go from homeschooling one kiddo to homeschooling three of them but I also went from working 40 hours a week to 55. I know we all have the same amount of hours as Beyoncé but all I could think was when will I EVER find the time for ME. Trying to balance homeschooling, a part time job, working out, a social life, and a relationship seems pretty impossible. But here I am, maybe not thriving but alive and well.

Something I find really helpful is to plan, plan, plan. I have my own personal daily planner, a children’s planner, my work family calendar, and my personal family calendar (even though I don’t even think my husband looks at it). I usually try and sit down on Sundays to plan out my personal week… deciding when I have time to get my Sweat Fixx classes in, what I’m going to make for dinner, when to place my Whole Foods grocery delivery (because you know my busy ass isn’t going there myself), and honestly when I can even sit to just read a book. I feel like when I see it on paper, it usually comes to life. Maybe not at the time slot I put it at… but it gets done.

Also another huge piece of advice I can give anyone home schooling is to not take everything so seriously and to enjoy the small moments. Small moments like, mid serious conversation to a 2nd grader about having to pay attention to their zoom meetings and being more responsible, asking “do you understand what I’m saying?” and them answering, “if girls try to pee standing up then they just pee all over the floor”. Or when we have 5 seconds for a quick cuddle and the little asks, “Kayla why are your legs so hairy?”. Sometimes you just have to laugh because kids really are hilarious. Even when you are three coffees deep and juggling four things at once. More small moments like, your kindergartener reading a tough word in his own. Celebrate! Your preschooler finally identifying that random number 9 that they haven’t been able to identify on their own yet. Celebrate! Your second grader has been practicing how to count by 7’s and nails it. Celebrate!

Don’t forget about yourself, you’re a superstar too!! You have a spare 40 minutes to make your favorite dinner, celebrate! You made it to a 5:30 class when you just left work at 5:10 last minute, celebrate!

2020 has been a really challenging year for everyone. You’re not alone. Don’t forget to reach out to your support system is you need some workout accountability, help with the kids, or even just someone to complain with. Sometimes all you need is a good venting session. We are not Beyoncé. We can’t do it all. But we can try really freaking hard. If today didn’t go as planned, guess what, the sun will come out tomorrow, unless you live in New England than who knows. But you catch my drift.

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Jacqueline

Being a teacher as well as a Mom can be trying on a regular day, add COVID-19 to the mix and well, I think that speaks for itself!  The past few months leading up to the start of school have been very stressful and worrisome for us all!  In my case, I am teaching fully remote from home and my two sons are hybrid.  Now that this learning circus has settled in, it is actually not as bad as I had envisioned it to be!  Although I feel like a first year teacher again, I am remaining optimistic, learning a lot, and taking things as they come.  Masks, sanitizer, desks 6 feet apart, Google Classroom,  Zoom, cohorts, mute, unmute, screens off, screens on, everyone talking at once, 75 new websites and curriculums (for  myself and the boys) are all very real but I’ve learned to take LOTS of deep breaths and remember I am only human and can only do my best.  If I have any advice to give as we navigate this new learning normal it would be to be present in each moment and try your very best, if you do this and things still aren’t perfect, it’s ok!  This is brand new and a huge learning curve for all teachers, students and families alike!  We will get through it, we can do hard things  (or at least that’s what is on repeat in my mind!)

When it comes to keeping my teacher life and the rest of my life in order, I need to make sure I plan and write things down!  I literally have lists everywhere because if I don’t write it down when I think of it I will forget!  At the end of each day I try to condense the lists and check off!  I plan everything from my weekly meals, to my kid’s outfits for school, to when I can catch a live or virtual class or maybe squeeze in a walk or run!  For me the motto, “fail to prepare or be prepared to fail” could not be more true!  My mind feels so much better when I have my week planned out which in turns makes for a happier me and a smoother week for us all!  Any last advice I can give would be to try and plan things out especially if you’re always running in a million different directions like me!  Also, try to squeeze time in for yourself and move your body!  If you can’t make it to a class in the studio or fit in a virtual one, get outside for a walk, even if it’s 15 minutes!  Moving your body will always put you in a better state of mind!    

As we all await the big day when we can get back to school 100% of the time and get back to normal, just remember it’s ok to have it all together one day and be a hot mess the next (#balance), moms and teachers, we got this!

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Miriah

Adrianna 9 and Dantae 6 full remote, still in ultrasound 2 long days, and 1 virtual class.  Oh and I added a move on top of it. I may be insane…

Lastly, dance, get wild and shake it out! Try to have some fun. I think about what I want my kids to remember – screw the overwhelm and the perfection. It’s ok to stop, take a break, and reset.  Maybe we need more sleep, maybe we need more squats, maybe we need more connection with friends! Get up early take care of you then watch how differently everything flows in your day. Also, pray I don’t get caught saying fuckkkkkkk on Zoom!

Pregnant, not powerless— a phrase I have taken to heart since becoming pregnant back in August. Every time I tell someone that I’m working out or doing anything physical, I’m met with a “is that ok? I mean, you’re pregnant”. Since when did pregnancy become a disability? Because the last time I checked, I’m doing a pretty amazing thing—I’m growing a human over here!

Exercise, in any capacity, is important and encouraged while you’re pregnant. Now, if you’ve never lifted a weight in your life, should you go out and try to bench press 200 pounds when you’re 8 weeks pregnant? Meeeeh, that’s probably not the best idea but staying active is important.

If you have been consistently exercising pre-pregnancy you may need to adjust your routines and your exercises. Your body is no longer able to do the things it was before, and that’s normal. There is so much information out there on exercising when pregnant, but the first person you should talk to is your OBGYN. They can help you determine what’s going to be the best option for you and your nugget.

Now to get real personal, my husband and I used the incredible wonders of modern day medicine to get pregnant—IVF. We were incredibly lucky to have our first round be successful, but let me tell you…it’s a scary process.

So once we got that call, I thought “awesome! Back to my regularly scheduled programming”— this included Sweat Fixx 4-5 times a week and hiking with the pups. Since I was such an active person pre-pregnancy, I didn’t realize how much things would change once I was exercising for two! When I started to slow down in the middle of my first trimester, I got down on myself. I felt frustrated that I was no longer able to row as fast, lift as heavy, or even work out at all.

Talking to a friend of mine who is also pregnant, she helped me realize that it’s okay.  I started to accept that my body was going to change, my abilities were going to change, and my thought process would have to change. I started to adjust my expectations AND my workouts. If I wanted to and had the energy to work out, great! If I needed a rest day, totally fine! Acceptance is KEY! Even on days when you can barely get out of your own way, let alone think about exercising, just remember you’re doing something pretty bad-ass.

WaterRowers are a great low impact cardio option during pregnancy. Not only are you able to work on your breathing while you get a full body workout, you also take most of the pressure off your ankles, knees and other joints that tend to get stressed the further along you get into your pregnancy.

No matter what form of exercise you choose remember to be patient with your body and appreciate the amazing transformation it is going through. You are pregnant, not powerless… stay active & enjoy the journey!

Disclaimer: If you have questions about IVF, working out pregnant, or just want to vent about the wonders that happen to the female body when creating life, give me a shout!

We have ALL been there. You discover a new diet or workout plan. You get excited and tell your friends and family about your new goals. You envision the “new you” and how much more fabulous you will look and feel once you “just lose the weight”. You start the plan, you eat what the plan tells you to stick to and try to stay patient to see your desired results.

But something happens before that. You start to feel tired and don’t have that same pep in your step to get out of bed for that early morning workout.

Your motivation has taken a nosedive.

Suddenly, you don’t see the point in why you started in the first place. So, what happens then?

You press the snooze button and skip one workout. Which then turns into skipping the next 4 workouts in your plan. You tell yourself you don’t have the time to meal prep and eat healthy. If you don’t have the time to stick to a workout plan an online coach has given you, you might as well go back to what you were doing before, working out when you “have extra time”, a.k.a never. Bottom line, instead of saying yes you can, you start to say no you can’t.

What is the difference between the people who lose weight and keep it off and those who live on a constant cycle of lose 20 pounds and gain it right back? Or the difference between the people who say no to dessert at the dinner party and the people who say no in the moment, but think about how much they want that cupcake the rest of the party, and end up eating 4 before they leave?

Anyone can find motivation to change their lifestyle. We have all seen a before and after picture and then inquired about the workout or diet that claims to have given these results. The difference between those who crush their fitness and health goals and those who don’t comes down to motivation and discipline.  You can crush a goal if you lose motivation, but you can’t crush a goal if you lose discipline.

I can speak of this purely from my own experience. I get asked all the time. How do you commit to working out so much? How do you get up early before work even if you’re really tired? Does it bother you when you are the only person not eating dessert? How do you stay motivated to be so healthy?

My answer is pretty much always the same. I am not always motivated. I don’t always jump out of bed when it is dark outside to go for a run. I am not always grinning cheek to cheek when my family sits down to eat ice cream and I politely decline. I am motivated, however, by the way my healthy lifestyle makes me feel. I nourish, train and live in a way that helps me work hard, recover quickly and crush goals. This is only a result of using discipline to power through when I lose motivation.

So here is my advice for you. If you want to make a change to better your health, set yourself up for success. Make the decisions that push you out of your comfort zone enough to see real change. Any habit you adopt that will truly improve your well-being, mental or physical, will be hard at first. There will come a point where you will have to test your discipline and continue to push onward, because your motivation has disappeared. Empower and reassure yourself that you strong enough to stay disciplined through anything to get towards achieving your goal.

Yes you can, yes you will crush it.

Hi Crew- Michelle here!

A large part of what makes a Sweat Fixx class fun, challenging, and addicting is the chance to watch your numbers improve as you become stronger and faster on the rower. As instructors, we love giving our clients goal times, goal distances and encouraging them to push their split time a little lower with each drive.

If you have taken one of Jeanette’s Saturday morning Row Fixx classes lately, you may notice some different row circuits she has been mixing in to the workout. During these pushes on the rower, Jeanette has the class focus more on the power – slow powerful strokes where you aim to hold your stroke rate at a certain number (i.e 28) while trying to keep a steady split time.

Let me tell you firsthand; this is a challenge. We are so used to sprinting our hardest when we get on the rower that actually slowing our stroke down is difficult. It took me a couple tries (okay, maybe more than a couple) to master this form and focus. It is a much slower stroke than we are used to — a 1 count drive back with a pause and then a 2 count return back to your catch position. You really need to focus on the drive and power from your legs in order to keep your split-time at a steady pace, but also hold that proper form to keep your stroke rate at a 28.

My hamstrings were on fire, especially after the 3rd round of a 1 minute sprint holding a 20 stroke rate and a split time under 2:00 minutes.

In this type of circuit, we aren’t focusing on the meter goal as much, as we are focusing on holding our power.

Usually in a minute, we coach the crew to aim as close to 300 meters, but depending on the set strokes per minute, it’s not a sure thing that they will hit the total amount of meters that they usually do in a typical one minute sprint.

Eventually, when you get the control and rhythm, it starts to equalize. (as seen below)

Now what does this all mean? When explaining to clients the difference and what these two numbers mean, I try to use this analogy: Imagine you are running with a friend, the two of you are going the same distance but your friend is running in long powerful strides while you are running with shorter steps in a quick fast-feet type of motion. You will end up exerting more energy to eventually go the same distance.

So basically, you can still try to hit your meter goals, even if you slow down your stroke!  You just need to make the effort to get that full extension and control (endurance) vs going fast and short with sprints.

We want to find a perfect balance between our speed and our power, and focusing on those two numbers on your monitor can help do that.

Want to give a circuit like this a try? Sign up for Jeanette’s Row Fixx classes on Saturdays!