Fit Villains: Selfish, Shameless, Sassy, Fitness.

Happy International Woman’s Day!

If you happen to have a paid holiday today, I think your boss is AWESOME. (for the fellas, it’s your holiday too! Feel free to fist pump just as loud as the rest of us. And we’re LOUD).

To celebrate this awesome occasion AND in the spirit of lady love, positive vibes, and kicking BODY LOVE butt, here are 5 things you should consider. Ideally, these would become everyday ways of being, but we all start somewhere!

Today…

1. NO BODY BASHING! Negative thinking and body hate be BANNED. That goes for your body, for ‘her’ body, for ‘their’ bodies. Catch yourself, flip a switch & reframe. ALL BODIES ARE BEAUTIFUL, including yours. Let’s take a day off the ‘I’m so fat’, ‘I hate my thighs’, ‘She’s too skinny’ thinking and see how it feels, okay? Remember, little ladies learn to hate their bodies by watching/listening/reading/interpreting how we treat our own & each others. Pay a wee bit more attention to the messages your unintentionally putting out & taking in.

2. Find non-appearance-related ways to compliment your lady friends, co-workers & family. Women tend to focus TOO heavily on looks when it comes to sending compliments out. Yeah, we all LOVE being told we look great. But for today, let’s explore a little deeper, shall we? Focus on someone’s humor, grace, kindness, wit, strength, ability, attitude, candor, approach, confidence etc. Give ‘em a boost.

3. Reach out. If there’s a lady friend you haven’t spoken to in awhile, why not say hi? People tend to put their best face forward on sites like Facebook: you don’t really know what’s going on with someone unless you check in. A text, a quick message, a (gasp) phone call. SAY ‘HEY’.

4. Step out of your comfort zone! Do something nuts, uncharacteristic or something you’re scared of. Sometimes the BEST bits of us are the ones yet to be discovered. Take a risk & give yourself a pat on the back regardless. You might not realize you needed the confidence boost until you get one. (It can be small! For me, that meant fixing a shelf with an electric drill this morning. First time and I feel BAD ASS. Bring on the construction hat.).

5. Support other women around the world. First world lady problems are bad (body image, diversity, domestic abuse, objectification), but there’s a virtual genocide of women happening right now in many parts of the world. Get informed, spread the word, and take a look at ways you can help in the fight to bring basic human rights to women around the globe: http://www.hrw.org/category/topic/women

Remember how far we’ve come. BIG. 

Remember how much we’ve got left to do. ALSO BIG.

The revolution starts from the inside out! HUGE. 

Visit the International Women’s Day site for details about how the holiday came to be, how it’s being celebrated and ways you can help women around the world and in your own backyard.

Add your thoughts on my facebook wall!

Share! How are YOU celebrating International Women’s Day? Any other ideas? 

Nothing keeps me motivated during the holidays like holiday themed workouts!

I get bored with the standard fare pretty early on in the season, but I solve my holiday music woes by finding worthy, new remixes. I’ve been in a dubstep haze lately, so a lot of these songs are dubstep mixes of holiday classics.

The BPM is a little slower than I normally post, but it works REALLY well with strength training exercises and yoga/pilates training. Taught bootcamp using a lot of these songs and it was a raging holiday success!

Enjoy!