This afternoon the salmon with raspberry glaze from last night’s dinner was transformed into a raspberry salmon sandwich.
Viola!
I served the salmon sandwich alongside some curried cauliflower that I prepared last night while roasting the green beans we had for dinner. Multitasking at its finest!
Such a good lunch!
Call for Exercise Mantras
I am in the process of putting together a post about my favorite exercise mantras. Examples of what I’m talking about may be found in these posts:
Along with my go-to mantras, I want to compile a list of motivational quotes or silly sayings that you also use that may help all of us get our butts into the gym on the days when we’re lacking motivation. Please share your go-to exercise mantras below and look for them in an upcoming post! 😀
motivational quotes would be great!! i always need that extra push!.. i love how you revamp leftovers- i need to take more risks like that!
I’m looking forward to the upcoming mantra post because I have been struggling the past week to get my but in the gym! Can’t wait for some good motivational tips!
My favorite running mantra: “When your legs are tired, run with your heart.” It helped get me through the last few miles of my most recent half!
gabriela, i LOVE this!
Love this too!!!
My go-to saying is “Just another minute”. When that minute passes I have a sip of water. Then I say “just another 5” til my next sip of water. This really helps me get through tough workouts!
“You’re stronger than you think you are!” -I say this often at the end of a BodyPUMP track when I am motivating the members to finish the track off nice 🙂
I also love, “just 2 more minutes” or “one more episode” to keep me going longer!
I like this: I’ve never regretted going for a run, but I have regretted skipping one. 🙂 Tha usually gets my boo-tay out the door!
“Just Keep Going” said ala Dory saying “Just keep swimming” in Finding Nemo.
My mantra:
“Just get out the door and try. If I am hating it, I can quit in 5 minutes.”
This was my husband’s back in the days when we ran tons of races together:
“I run for fun and health.” (Repeat over and over as needed when the going get tough)
What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger:)
I keep an entire email log of all the mantras I have found over the past few years. It NEVER fails to inspire me so I look forward to your post and writing some more down!
*There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills
“If it were easy everyone would do it!”
My boyfriend always says this to me everytime I need a little motivation. It used to really annoy me, but then I caught myself saying it over and over in my head during my marathon training last spring. Turns out it really works! It makes me realize how some of the most challenging activites (long distance running, rock climbing, crazy hard hikes, etc.) can also be the most rewarding and that not everyone has the guts to start, let alone finish!
When I start getting down on myself I just start chanting “I rock”. Not going to lie when I am running outside (and no one else is around) I often say this outloud!!
One of my favorite authors did the Chicago Marathon and she wrote a post about her training. She said something in there that has become my mantra: “I need to work some things out, leave some things behind, get over some long-held fears. I need to know that I’m strong in some ways that I’ve never really believed.”
It’s a bit long, but that last sentence gets me going.
“Don’t try. Just do.”
Simply and concise 🙂
“You can’t judge a run by the first mile!”
I tell myself this everytime I start slow and I’m not loving the run.
I really like “If You Can, You Must” – I know that my body is capable of hard workouts and runs while many people don’t have that priviledge!
Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.
Not really for excercise, but I had a Dove chocolate wrapper that said, “Laughing is jogging for the soul.” I kinda liked that. It reminded me that enjoying life is as important as getting in a hard workout.
Mine is more of a mantra to stay out of the fridge…”Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”
There are a couple that I like:
*Exercise is supposed to make you stronger, not skinny.” That helps when I feel like I am losing sight of the real reason why I should work out.
Also, “You are just one workout away from a good mood!” It reminds me that exercise always makes me feel better.
I have a few that I pull out when I need to:
“Don’t sell yourself short.” You can do the exercise, you do deserve to put good foods in your body, etc. Quitting only lets you believe you aren’t worth the effort.
“You don’t have to exercise – you GET to exercise!” After all, how many people say they want to be able to do what you do?!
And, for this northern Indiana gal, “This yucky workout puts you one day closer to a gorgeous run in the spring.”
I have a few that I pull out when I need to:
“Don’t sell yourself short.” You can do the exercise, you do deserve to put good foods in your body, etc. Quitting only lets you believe you aren’t worth the effort.
“You don’t have to exercise – you GET to exercise!” After all, how many people say they want to be able to do what you do?!
And, for this northern Indiana gal, “This yucky winter workout puts you one day closer to a gorgeous run in the spring.”
I just read an article about an incredible British Ironwoman who said at one point in her interview, “Your limits might not be where you think that they are.” I repeat that to myself when I’m going through a tough mile during a training run.
I’m also a fan of “pain is weakness leaving the body” and “push past the pain”. As a former coxswain for rowing, I am full of motivational phrases! 😉
I love “Your limits might not be where you think that they are” It fits me perfect. I will be using this!!!!!!!!! Today I hit the mental wall of my half marathon training-my negativity simply wouldn’t let me put one foot in front of another after my 1st mile. (I’m a running newb. and am just hitting the whole “realizing running is a mental sport” thing)
One part I left out (and shouldn’t have!) was this: “…anything is possible and that your limits might not be where you think that they are. I’m continually surprising myself by what I can achieve.”
Here’s the full article if you need additional inspiration!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jan/02/chrissie-wellington-interview-iron-lady
I’ve SO been there…breaking down that wall is tough but the mantras really do help to chip them away! Keep at it!
“It won’t kill ya!” I always say this to myself when I’m thinking of skipping a workout. 60% of the time it works everytime.
hahaha This made me laugh 🙂
“If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, but you’ll be hard to beat.
“Obsessed is the word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.”
Looking forward to the post!
My no-fail mantra is “You know your limit, and this is NOT it.” Unless I literally collapse, I have not reached my limit!
During soccer practice when I was in high school I was practicing a free kick. I was frustrated and my coach came up to me and simply said “have faith in your foot”. This has become my go-to mantra. I even wrote it on my bib when I ran my first half marathon last year!
My top two favorites:
“You must expect things of yourself before you can do them.”
“If you can, you must.”
These have also gotten me through numerous, non-exercise related sitatuions 🙂
I love your website!
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I’m not sure I’ve used this for exercise, per se but my mom has always told me:
If you look good, you feel good, then you’ll do good!
It’s just always been really motivating!
When I’m in a really hard cycle class, on a steep and long hill and I’m just about tapped out, I say to myself in time to my cadence “You. Own. This. Hill.” And if it gets really, really, hard, I insert “M-f-ing” before “Hill.”
I always tell myself, “You are so much stronger than you think you are.”
When it gets painful, I resort to, “You are blessed to have legs that will allow you to run.”
“You can do anything for one minute” (or 60 seconds.. whatever version you like )
Really, you can. (You can even hold your breath for a minute.) You can endure pain for a minute, no matter how unpleasant it feels. And if after a minute you’re not feeling it, then you can stop. But at least give it one minute and see how far you can push yourself.
I’ve come very far by doing this.
i read this recently in an old runner’s world. it was about running marathons but i think this could be applied to any run/workout (with some obvious substitutions):
run the first 10 miles with your head, run the second 10 miles with your legs, and the last 6 miles with your heart.
i also like “never let the body tell the mind what to do.”
I came accross the Zuda Yoga Teacher Training 7 axioms/Universal Truths. (not an exercise mantra but thought I’d share them.)
1. You are exactly where you are supposed to be.
2. Fear and pain are life’s greatest teachers
3. Laughter and play are the keys to the foundation of youth
4. Exercise and rest are the keys to the fountain of youth
5. Touch and intimacy are basic human needs
6. Everything is impermanent
7. Everything is connected
I left you my best mantra on fb..
“ONE mile (7-9 minutes) is better than nothing at all.”
Then, one mile usually turns into three or six! 🙂
Celebrate all that your body can do!
or…
Think of the gym as an adult playground 🙂
“Don’t stop when you’re tired, thats when you’re getting stronger!”
Or Kanye:
“That don’t kill me, can only make me stronger”.
I always think those when my workouts get tough 🙂
I just think of how it makes me feel, and if I’m really not in the mood, I’ll just start off with a little exercise (which usually turns into normal amount). Or, I’ll switch my routine and do some quick exercises at home if I don’t want to leave.
I usually say either, “you can do anything for ___ minutes” or “commit or quit” and it seems to work pretty well
My favorite is “rule your mind or it will rule you.”
I usually just tell myself “Get to it!”. A lot of my roadblocks with exercise is just motivation. So when I tell myself to “Get to it!” or “Move your bottom!” it kicks me into gear 😀
I love your lunch, i have a soft spot for salmon.
girl I am dying to make that salmon recipe. Is the white vinegar actually VITAL?! I have noneeee.
yes, unfortunately i think it is!
I tell myself, “the body is stronger than the mind”. This is frequently my problem, I know that I should be able to run farther than I do, but I let my head get in the way, feeling tired, bored, discomfort, etc… This has helped get me through that last mile or two often!
Exercise mantras are always nice! 🙂
If I can watch TV for 1 hour, I can take 1 hour out of my day to workout. If I wake up and I know I should workout but I don’t want to, I think about my 1 hour of TV watching and turn it into 1 hour of a good workout! It always works and then at the end I’m always glad I worked out.
Whenever I need a little motivation I always tell myself to “go as big as I can.” That means I don’t have to do a super intense, long workout. Sometimes just 20 minutes of light elliptical time is all I can do, but it’s always better than nothing.
I wish I could remember where this came from to give credit….
“A body at rest wants to stays at rest. A body in motion wants to stay in motion”.
That is how I get up in the morning and exercise!
Whenever my runs get tough I chant ” you can do this, you can do this” in my head to the beat of my footsteps. It distracts me from my tiredness and sort of motivates me… eventually I feel my batteries recharge a bit. Can’t wait to read the post!