kb Fitness + Wellness

Whether you're religious nor not, there's a great reminder in the story of Easter. In the Bible story of Easter, Jesus died on what we now celebrate as Good Friday. His family and his followers were confused and distraught. It was a very dark day. But we know that his death didn't last, and he rose again 3 days later. Now like I said, whether you believe that or not isn't my point. The lesson we can draw from it is that when we are at our lowest and darkest times, we need to ...hold on because there will always be a change in the tide at some point in our journey. Whether it's a change in mindset, a change in behaviour, a change in circumstance, or some kind of healing over the passage of time, something will change and things will get better. It's part of life to have ups and downs, and sometimes those seasons last longer than others, sometimes the dark days are confusing and unexpected and seem like they will never go away. But if we choose, they can become times of growth rather than times of defeat. And the way that happens is by remembering that they won't last and to keep always looking, reaching and striving for what is coming next. Remembering that even when the worst has happened, in time, there will be light again. Remember, Sunday is on the way. kbfitwell.com [email protected]

Today is World Sleep Day! I always say to my daughter each night before she goes to bed "it's when you sleep that you grow big and strong!" Sleep is one of the essential components to overall health and wellbeing. A solid night's rest does wonders towards us not only being absent of illness, but thriving in our own physical, mental and emotional health, and our relationship with others. Sleep gives us several benefits:... -Boost immune system to help fight illness -Repair and grow muscle -Prevent weight gain -Strengthen heart -Improved mood -Improved productivity -Improved cognitive function I know, I know, getting the recommended 7-8 hours of solid, uninterrupted sleep is not always easy. I get it. I'm a mom of a 3 month old. She's a great sleeper most nights, but there are times she's up 1-2 times during the night. My sleep is inconsistent at best. So yes, things are not always going to be perfect. But here are some tips to improve your quality of sleep, and help you work towards the ideal: -Turn off electronics 1 hour before bed time -Sleep in a quiet, cool room -Make the room as dark as possible, even lights from the clock, phone or TV can interrupt sleep patterns -Expose yourself to bright light during the day -Limit caffeine and alcohol consumption in the evening -Keep consistent bed and wake up times -Exercise regularly -Keep a relaxing and consistent nighttime routine including a bath or shower, low light, minimal noise and maybe reading, prayer or meditation If you're looking to improve your sleep quality, you don't have to do everything on this list right away. Like anything, taking baby steps and making small improvements each day will result in lasting and beneficial changes. If you want to go to sleep earlier, start by crawling into bed 5 minutes sooner than you normally would, rather than an hour earlier. Ease into it and stay consistent. And enjoy it!! A goodnights sleep is one of the best things we can do for ourselves! kbfitwell.com

It sure is, baby girl. #internationalwomensday #strongertogether

One of my favourite areas of study when I was in school was skeletal muscles. Muscles are so cool! I mean, every part of our bodies are cool, but I found muscles particularly engaging. There's a million ways I could approach a post on skeletal muscles. I mean we have over 600 of them!! They are what get us moving and hold us upright. They are where we store and burn energy. They protect our body's vital organs. Plus so much more! I think one of the important facts about skele...tal muscles people should keep in mind when it comes to exercise is that muscles can only contract and relax, they cannot push your joint back to it's original position. That is why muscles work in pairs, or synergist muscles, so that our bodies can move in all plains and directions of movement. So when you do a bicep curl, your bicep muscle (and other muscles in that area) contract to bring your hand towards your shoulder. In order to return back to the original position, your tricep muscle must fire and pull your elbow joint back down. On top of that, your shoulder muscles, forearm muscles, hand muscles, abdominal muscles, leg muscles, back muscles, and chest muscles (just to name a few), are all working to keep the rest of your body stable and upright while you work this one area. Every exercise you do will have it's specific focus, but your whole body is working as a system in order to complete it. When I think about it, every time I workout, pick up my kids, make dinner, load the car with groceries and bring them inside, go for a walk, hug my husband, clean and do other daily chores, I am blown away by how my body just does it's thing and keeps me moving. And if I pull a muscle, my whole body feels the affects. That's why training your whole body with strengthening, functional exercises is so important. It's not just for nice looking muscles. It's for your body to be it's best so you can live your best. Aren't muscles cool?? kbfitwell.com

When we think about exercise, we often think about our muscles. After all, they are what do the moving, they are what hurt the next day, they are what we see increase in size and strength! But did you know that our muscles are surrounded by a connective tissue called Fascia? Fascia encloses our muscles, bones and other organs and essentially holds everything in place. It weaves through us from head to toe. Although everything inside us serves us in it's own individual purpose..., it's not all separate, but connected! Fascia keeps us stable and also helps us move. It's essential to our understanding of how our bodies function, and yet the research on it is still in it's infancy. What we do know is that the connectivity it has in our bodies can help explain a lot about movement as well as pain and healing. When our bodies go through changes, be it negative stress from injury, or positive stress from exercise, the fascia changes and adjusts to help our muscles withstand the stress. If the stress is detrimental, such as an injury or even sitting for a long time, over the course of a long time, the fascia responds and this results in imbalance in the body. An ankle issue can end up causing posture slouching, for example. We may not notice it at first, but over time, as our bodies work to sustain and support us, we will see and feel issues that seemingly have no explanation. The good news is fascia is ever changing, and imbalances can be corrected. But like all things, it takes time and consistency. It can takes at least 7 months of constant effort everyday to release a tight hip muscle caused by excessive sitting. My coaching model includes looking for these imbalances and working towards solving them. We work with your body's own system to help it move efficiently and effectively. The benefits of this are wide ranging and are crucial in our aging process. Your body is amazing! Daily movement is just one way to help it work its best! kbfitwell.com

Whether or not you realize it, you are loved. Loving yourself, and spreading that love to those around you are some of the keys to a positive relationship with yourself. Having this positive relationship is the essential piece to your health journey. For all the effective exercises and balanced nutrition advice, your mindset to make changes and your own view of yourself and your abilities are what will determine your path ahead. If you continuously think and say negative thin...gs about yourself, your journey and the things and people around you, you will not see change in your life, or grow from your current situation. Contrarily, speaking and thinking of the good, the pure, the powerful and the positive means you will be willing and open to the opportunities for growth that are all around you. You are loved, you are wonderfully made, you have what it takes and you can change your life. Do you believe that about yourself? If you don't, that's okay, the way to start is to be open to cultivating those thoughts and to be open to receiving them, to receiving love. Finding someone who believes in you, wants to see you succeed and can remind you of your value, like a coach or a mentor, also helps. Most of all you are worthy of every effort you put into your health journey. There's no one way to achieve your goal, and you may have to try several different plans and paths to get there, but that's okay. Starting and stopping, it's not failure, it's part of your journey. It's not about reaching a single destination, it's about how you treat yourself amid the journey. Take care of yourself, you are worth it. Don't give up, you are worth it. Love yourself, you are worth it. kbfitwell.com

**BREAKING NEWS** (good this time!) To help keep our spirits up I'm so excited to share some new services I will be offering! Please PM or email me for more information or to set an appointment! 1. FREE at-home body weight workout program. All I need is your email and I will give you access to a body weight work out you can do at home on your own time. I have videos of all the exercises you can access at any time on my Google Drive, along with the instructions and cues.... 2. FREE 15-minute one-on-one video chat for anything you need. Help with your exercise routine, guidance on nutrition choices, a pep talk to keep motivated, or a listening ear. Limit one per person per week until the end of April. 3. FREE once a week guided breathing, stretching and foam rolling Virtual Class. This is not specifically yoga or mediation, just a chance for people to get together and connect online and I'll show you how to foam roll, stretch and we'll do some deep breathing to help relax us. Date announced soon. 4. DISCOUNT on one-on-one Virtual Training Sessions. My regular one-on-one coaching, with a twist! We'll be taking it online. This differs from my free workout because it's totally personalized for you, your goals and your current circumstances. You'll get me twice a week for the next 2 months, we'll pick times that work for you, plus nutrition and mindset coaching and it's all online! Message for price. 5. DISCOUNT on Online Training. Same as above except we don't meet online one-on-one. You get all the personalized workouts, nutrition coaching, mindset coaching and accountability you need to reach your goals and it's all on your own time! I'll also include 2 one-on-one virtual sessions (one per month) to show you proper form and guide you through the workout so you can do it on your own. Message for price. Please share this post! And reach out to me for more info and to join me on your journey! Can't wait to "see" you soon! kbfitwell.com [email protected]

Welcome to a new month! And it starts on a Monday! What better time to make some new goals, revive some old ones, and move forward to accomplish your goals!! I've talked to a few people recently who've said this time in quarantine has been hard, they've taking a step back from their healthy habits and maybe put on a few pounds. But a new month and new season has them wanting to get back on track. If you can relate to that, you're in good company. Humans are creatures of habit... and when our routines get thrown off, our habits do too. But we can't sit around waiting for things to go back to normal, because that time frame is wide open and different for everyone. Instead, take the opportunity of a new month and new week to make a commitment to achieve your goals now! The past is in the past. Who cares what happened in the last 2 months. The only hold it has on you is the one you let it have. Don't let the last 2 months, 2 years, 10 years, define what you do in the next 2 months and beyond. It's a new day, a new season, a new start. And what you think, say and do will shape it, starting now. What do you want this month? What do you want to accomplish, who do you want to be, where do you want to go? Don't let outward (gym not open, vacations are cancelled), or inward (I gained so much weight, I haven't moved in months) determine where you end up. If you have a goal and need help reaching it, or are stuck and don't know what the best way forward is, I am here to help! Message me for a free assessment and consultation today to see how we can work together! kbfitwell.com [email protected]

I'm so excited to share the story of this incredible woman right here Laurie has been with me since last fall and she has seen tremendous change, from losing fat, gaining muscle, and most importantly learning how to navigate, live through and overcome adversity. She has been so consistent and on point with improving her nutrition and workouts, and that comes from a mental focus that she's mastered. She even LOST weight over the December holidays and still enjoyed her holid...ay!! Even during times when the scale didn't move, she didn't let that shake her. We worked together to see what she needed to do, and then she did it. Even during this time of isolation when it has definitely been harder to get yourself moving, she has risen above. In her own words: One of my favourite things about exercising is the positivity I experience when I have completed a workout.....especially on those difficult days when motivation waivers, and the confidence I have gained in such a short time as a result of pushing through. Having a personal trainer guide me through workouts is beneficial because I have goals but I don't have the expert knowledge to achieve them. Kaylee understands the human body and the exercises required to attain my personal goals. I have gained strength and confidence- as well losing weight. Gained muscle and lowered fat. I have a better understanding of what is required of me in order to fulfill my goals. I would absolutely recommend Kaylee a friend or family member or anyone who will listen. The most important reason being that she listens to me and cares about helping me work towards my fitness/life goals. She really hears my requests and concerns and plans my workouts accordingly. I'm so proud and love working with her! Way to go Laurie! Keep it up!! kbfitwell.com kbfitwellGmail #testimonal #fitness #nutrition #weightloss #goals #fitfam #hamilton #hamont #onlinetrainer #muscle #mindset #strength

Now that the warm weather is here to stay (positive thoughts!!!) have you been thinking about getting more active and healthier as we awaken from our wintery isolation? I've talked to a lot of people over the years who have similar drives to get healthier, be more active, lose some weight, tone up, in essence: feel good. So they dive head first into a major plan of attack to get themselves back on track. "I'm gonna work out 5 days this week, I spent $$ on healthy food, I'm in... beast mode!!". Have you ever said or though along those lines? I know I sure have. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. However, the reality is that it's hard to change those kind of lifestyle habits overnight, and that's not a criticism, it's a fact. It's hard to go all in at once and often times it leads to doing nothing at all, because if we set the standard high and then we are unable to reach it, we often think to ourselves "well why bother?" So if you want to increase your health and fitness and get back on the train, try a 1% or baby steps approach. Choose one small thing to do each day that adds some health to your life. Make a list of things you'd like to do that get you excited for the change you want to make. Here's some suggestions: - Go for a 10-15 minute walk around your neighbourhood - Add a handful of fresh veggies to your lunch - Spend 10 minutes stretching your lower body - Meditate, pray or reflect for 5 minutes before getting out of bed - Do a lower body resistance workout for 15 minutes - Go to bed 15 minutes earlier - Cook one more meal at home than ordering in this week These are just suggestions, but notice they are specific and simple. The key is to pick a small goal that adds to your life but that is easy to accomplish. And then you can build on it. Get excited about your journey! Embrace the new changes and focus. Allow yourself to take it slow, and keep yourself accountable to those things. And most of all, have fun. kbfitwell.com

Goals! It's important to have goals, something to work towards, in many areas of our lives. It's good to be consistently working and growing and evolving ourselves. What your goals are will be dependent on what you'd like your life to look like, and that's the fun of it! You can create any life you'd like! This week I'm going to share some tips on goal setting and turning those goals into plans, actions and accomplishments. In my experience working with people over the last 4... years, is we often have really great goals and desires, but unless those goals are flushed out and turned into a plan, it's easy to lose sight of what we want. So if you have something you want to accomplish but you've hit a road block or maybe haven't got off the ground yet, maybe you need to reevaluate what your plan is to get to that goal. It doesn't have to be fitness or health related, it can be anything you want to accomplish. The first tip is be specific. If your goal is to "eat better", "lose weight", or "read more", those are great goals, but they are not specific, nor do they have any clear direction. What does eating better mean? How much weight, and is it fat specifically or just the number on the scale you want to lose? What is it that you want to read more of? And why? What is the purpose for you to spend time of accomplishing this goal? Being specific gives you direction. For example: instead of telling yourself you just want to "eat better", make it specific by saying you want to add a cup of vegetables at dinner time, or you want to reduce the amount of sugary snacks you eat to only 1 per day, and replace those snacks with fruits and vegetables. You can get even more specific by saying which foods you'd want to eat. By making your goal specific and breaking it down, it gives you a strong plan and builds excitement towards reaching your goal! What are your goals? I'd love to hear them and help you work towards them! kbfitwell.com [email protected]

Today I'm practicing grace. Today I'm giving myself a break for maybe not doing everything I'd like to. For not feeling 100% myself as much as usual. For sleeping in a bit more, watching more TV than usual, leaving dishes for tomorrow. We all know this is a very tough and unusual time, and we're all reacting and handling things differently. What I've realized for myself is not to compare my experience with someone else's, and not to feel guilty for the days that are tough and... require a little more grace and reassurance that everything is fine. Part of mental wellness is giving ourselves permission to have down days and not beating ourselves up for struggling. Being aware of those struggles, letting myself rest and leave chores and tasks for the next day, and giving myself grace for it all builds more strength and resolve than just trying to push through with no break and no rest. We need the ups and downs to help us grow and give us perspective. We ultimately have control over how we react to what we're given, and how we end up on the other side of it. This quarantine is going to be going on for a while longer than I had first anticipated. And so instead of feeling knocked down, I'm allowing myself to have lazy days while still making plans and to do lists for each day. Perhaps it's taken me a bit longer than I'd have liked to adjust to a new normal, but I'm giving myself grace for that too. Because it's never to late to learn, grow and overcome. And if you're having a tough time, it's never too late to reach out for help and support. Give yourself grace. Give yourself permission to struggle. Recognize the struggle and what it's teaching you. Be loving and kind to yourself and your neighbours and loved ones. Let yourself rest, even if you don't think you've "done a lot", because the mental and emotional strain this isolation has on us all is very exhausting. So rest, and be gracious. kbfitwell.com [email protected]

Nowadays it seems like there's a lot of things out of our control, and there definitely are. But one of the best ways to stay mentally healthy is remember the things you can control. And one of those things is the food we eat. What we eat can have a positive impact on the overall health of our immune systems, and help our bodies with an extra fighting chance to endure through illness. Check out this cheat sheet from Precision Nutrition about how and which whole foods and nutr...ients can help the body build it's immune system, stave off and fight infection. This article also delves deeper into other contributors to our overall health and immune system, and other factors besides food, we can control to be the healthiest we can. Article link here: http://ow.ly/D9F650zpzgl At the end of the day, pandemic or not, we must remember what we have control over, and realize that our choices affect our outcomes. What we do, think, feel and say today will be our reality tomorrow. So be kind to yourself, good to yourself and keep working towards your goals! kbfitwell.com [email protected]

Just a reminder for us all. Even though you practice self care, you're still going to have days you feel drained. Even though you have stress relief practices, you're still going to have days the stress is overwhelming. Even though you stay positive and optimistic, you're still going to have days that the negativity feels stronger. It's like anything; even though we eat, we will eventually get hungry. Even though we shower, we will eventually get dirty. You get the picture. I...f it's true for physical things, it's going to be true to mental and emotional things as well. So make sure not to beat yourself up or feel guilty for having down days. It's okay, it's normal, it's human. We don't practice self care, positive thinking, create a happy space and keep motivated so that we never come across challenging times. It's so that when the challenges come, we aren't knocked down and out by them. We are stronger and can rise above them. It's so that the affects of the tough times aren't permanent. We are prepared to get through it, learn from it and be better for it. In the same way that when good times come we need to make a choice to be happy, joyful and learn and grow from them. When hard times come, we need to make a choice to find the any positives, learn and grow from them as well, and hold on to the truth that, like all things, they too will pass. The key here is choice, in all situations, how we respond to it determines our outcomes. So take heart and be hopeful, don't give in to guilt because tough days are tough and "how come I feel so low when I try so hard to be positive?" is reality. It's how we respond to those low times, and deciding that despite feeling low, despite feeling overwhelmed and not having time to self care like usual, it's only a season and you will find a way and rise above if you want to. kbfitwell.com [email protected]

At times like these, what affects one, affects us all. My heart goes out to all affected by the terrible tragedy in Nova Scotia. It's unfathomable. There are no words to describe it. Just know, all of Canada is with you. #novascotiastrong

If you're not assessing, you're guessing! Every new personal training client that inquires about training with me receives a free movement assessment and health questionnaire. This is so I know how you move, what muscle imbalances may exist, and what areas need to be released and strengthened. The questionnaire allows me to get to know you, your goals, commitment level to those goals, any areas of health or wellness that need to special consideration, and availability. All of... this gives me a clear picture of where we are going with your training and our time together. It allows me to say with confidence, this is what we need to do and how long it's going to take, based on how much time and effort you want to put in to it. If I didn't take the time to assess, I wouldn't be able to design a program specific for you and your needs and goals. It would be a generic program you could get from anywhere on the internet for free! And what you get from a generic program is generic results, if any results, and perhaps even injury and loss of motivation. It's like choosing the wrong directions on a GPS. If you want to west, but you pick a generic map that ends up going east and you follow it, you will only end up wasting valuable time and get frustrated because you haven't ended up where you wanted to. So if you are using an exercise program that wasn't specifically designed for you based on your own personal assessment, have a second thought as to where that program is taking you and if that's where you want to go. And shoot me a message. All assessments are free and it's not until after you see what I can do for you that you decide if it's the path you want to take. kbfitwell.com [email protected]

Join me today live at 1:30pm on my Facebook page for another 30 mins session of foam rolling, stretching and breathing! Don't forget your foam roller, water, eye pillow (optional), and weighted object (1-2lbs) See you then!

Have you ever been in a funk? Recently? Often? This week has been that kind of struggle for me. Just getting by doing the bare minimum - dishes enough to eat, clothes washed but maybe not folded or put away, showered....yes, yes I did shower. Sometimes with everything that's going on, normal tasks take that much more effort, and fatigue sets in that much more quicker. Yes, I do enough to keep functioning, but for me personally, it feels like failure because I'm not doing more... and I feel like I should. And it's that mental game that not only exhausts us, but knocks us, and can keep us, down. But I don't want to stay there. That's why I'm writing this post right now. I realized and accepted that first of all, it's normal, HUMAN, and OKAY to feel like that, and to only do the bare minimum, if that, some days. Secondly, despite feeling overwhelmed and knocked down, I also don't want to stay there, and recognized the things that I do have control over. So yesterday I did a workout, I sang with my choir's online practice last night, and checked in with some friends this morning, wishing them a good Friday and in turn, that helps me feel better about the day ahead too. I also have to do a mindset check in. What am I focusing on? Is it all the things I haven't done, or is it all the blessings I am grateful for? Am I measuring my worth based on duties and tasks and accomplishments, or is it based on who I know I am, who I am growing into and the valuable relationships and abundance of love I have in my life? What story am I telling myself? One of fear and uncertainty? Or one of hope and resilience? Our strength and characters are not built by how little we struggle, it's built by how we do struggle and yet work through those hardships. It's shaped by rising up with compassion for ourselves and for others. It's defined by the positive steps we take, not matter the size. If you find yourself in such a funk, I'm with you, but we can overcome it together. kbfitwell.com

What could you benefit from right now? -Guidance with working out at home -Tips on time management?... -Staying on track with nutrition? -Managing stress and self care? -Some meaningful human interaction? -Staying positive admits a challenging time? If you find yourself struggling with any of these things, I want you to know you're not alone. These things are a daily struggle for me too. I constantly feel like I'm not doing enough and that I need to be better and do more, even though many days it feels hard to do the bare minimum to keep my family functioning. And those days are gonna come and their gonna go, and they're gonna come back and maybe a little more frequently now, but they will go again. And the difference between being tossed around by them and being in control of them is all in your mindset. True strength does not come from lifting weights. It comes from the days when you don't feel like lifting weights, and then you don't lift weights, and then the next day you go back and you lift those weights. True strength is on the days when you eat chips for breakfast, but a balanced and home cooked meal for dinner, rather than more chips. True strength is when you feel like there's no where to turn, but you reach out to someone and grab on to their strength for as long as you need to build yours again. See the way to get through "this thing" is to not to simply ride it out and wait for it to end. We get through it by embracing the time we're in. Gaining the mental and emotional strength to rise above the tough days when things seem bleak. When you find yourself going down that hole try these things: -Stop and breathe -Make of list of things you're grateful for -Remind yourself of what you have and what's important -Make a detailed plan to tackle the next challenge you're facing -Take it one step at a time I'm always here so please feel free to reach out anytime and know you're not alone. kbfitwell.com [email protected]