You've Got To "Move It-Move It"

Good afternoon All!

Your body craves movement! Think about it for a minute. Whenever you stay immobile for too lengthy of time, your brain sends a signal for you to MOVE your body!

This tiny revelation came to me today when sitting in the cube. Now, I don't really sit in a tiny cube at work. But, I spend a large portion of my day staring at a computer screen. If I don't get up and take a little walk to the opposite side of the building, to the restroom, or randomly make a reason to get up and stretch, my body pays the price.

Movement should be considered "therapy" for the body. Not only is it good for the brain, it is good for ALL of you. Movement equates to exercise. So, if movement is good for the entire body, wouldn't exercise be as well? And, if that is true, why do so many people dislike exercise? Why is exercise such a chore? Why do people get bored? Simply, it is because people haven't found the right type of movement they enjoy.

Remember when you were a little kid? Perhaps your mom would say something like this to you, "If you have that much energy, go outside!" or "No running in the house!"or "Keep the noise down!" I don't know about you, but I heard those phrases quite often growing up.

My point is simply that we cannot allow life to get in the way of being active. If you work in an office setting, go for walks on your breaks or stand up and stretch at your desk. Just move your body and it will like you.

I encourage you to find an activity that you enjoy! Perhaps, it is playing volleyball, softball, swimming, outdoor walking/running, basketball, football, kickboxing wrestling, dancing, etc. Whatever turns you on, just do it! Find at least an hour in your day to dedicate to YOU. Maybe it's 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night. That part doesn't matter. The more you move your body at an intense rate will ultimately change who you are. It's like the curtain will be removed and you'll be able to see more clearly, think sharper, focus, and have a sound state of mind. You will actually be more HAPPY and pleasant to be around and your confidence will increase. Don't trust me? Just try it for a month. Purposefully move your body at least 5 times a week and tell me I am wrong.

You've Got to Move-It, Move-It...just like the song in Madagascar!

Yoga Socks & Gloves

Whew! I just completed a full session of yoga and I feel compelled to tell you how I finally did it! The key for me was a tiny investment in yoga socks and gloves. I know that sounds really silly and twisted, however, I always became frustrated when I'd slip & slid all over the mat. These tiny tools enabled me to stay with it and complete the poses. Now, I'm not going to lie to you and pretend like I didn't fall a time or two because I did. BUT, I could go deeper in the lunges, float my heels higher into the sky while in downward dog and not slide. To me, this is huge!

I've always known that being flexible is important. Some people are extremely flexible while others are not quite that advanced. It doesn't matter what category you fall into, the bottom line is that you need to work at your flexibility. The best time to stretch is when your muscles are warm. So before you start static stretching, run in place, do some jumping jacks, or some squats. The objective is to get some blood pumping into your muscles before you stretch them. This will prevent injury and tearing of the muscle tissue.

How do they feel? Warm, especially if you sweat a LOT. The cotton will absorp the water so don't worry about it. Clear your head and stick with it. The socks are toe socks so each individual toe has it's own slot. This can feel uncomfortable at first but doesn't last long. The gloves are like weight lifting gloves with the finger tips exposed. They have tiny rubber grips on the soles and palms which enable you to grip the yoga mat and not slide. Very cool.

Give 'em a try and let me know what you think!

Live the Dream | Joe Markiewicz

Live the Dream Joe Markiewicz

Please take a moment to listen to this video clip. Many of you may not know Joe. He is a man of passion. He is a man of purpose.

Just listen to his story because it is much like mine...don't let anybody stop you from pursing your dreams. If you have ambition, don't let corporate america frustrate you.

I have a solution. Ask me what I do to pursue my dreams. Don't be surprised when I tell you it's helping other people accomplish theirs...just ask me and I will share with you how.

Let's go 'Live the Dream'. It's real. It's out there. Let's go for it!

The Typical Noell Weekend

Hello World!

My mom made an observation today that I haven't been on Facebook all weekend! She became all concerned because this obviously isn't my style. So, where have I been and what have I been doing? Well, let me share...

Friday evening. I got off work at 4:45pm and drove 10 miles to pick up my 5K Santa Scurry run packet. Then, I drove back home to pick up Peter, made dinner, and then dropped him off at the babysitter so that I could go run that 5K. On the way there I was a little upset at myself for eating my dinner super fast and not allowing enough time for it to settle before running this race. I knew it was going to be ugly, but hey, I did it anyways. It was a gorgeous evening at 67+ degrees on Dec. 3rd in Texas. It was awesome!

The race was suppose to start at 7pm...it ended up starting at 7:30pm because apparently there was horse poop on the trail that had to be cleaned up. Go figure?! I found that kinda funny in the middle of the city there was horse poop. Anyways, I decided to start talking with people. I was at the end of the line and met Zach Olson from Rochester, MN! What are the chances of two Minnesotans running a 5K in Keller, TX on Dec. 3rd? It was just neat.

This race was kind of different because 1) it was at night, 2) it was lit by Christmas lights and lanterns, and 3) there was all kinds of Christmas festivities going on throughout the town square. It was a great start to the Christmas season!

Saturday rolled around really quickly! I started out by going to the post office to mail out Shakeology samples. I stopped by work for 15 minutes to pick up some forgotten items. Then, I made a grocery store run for bananas for the Shakeology Home Party I hosted from 11-12:30pm. I got home and did a massive clean up-everything from laundry, dishes, vaccuming, setting up the display, etc. It was a busy morning!

My first guests arrived at 11:30am. They were my neighbors beneath me in the apartment so it was great to get to know them. They seemed genuinely interested in the product so that made me somewhat pleased. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed that only 3 people out of 300 households showed up to my Home Party! This past Monday I printed out over 300 flyers announcing my party and posted them on all the doors within the apartment community. I didn't know what to expect but was overall pleased with the activity.

Saturday afternoon Peter and I went toy shopping. Peter picked out this construction set with "kid wood". It has a saw that is designed for safety, nails, everything you could ever want! So, we became creative! We built a house for Pengui...his pet penguin. Then, we made a chair, a car, Woody's pants from Toy Story, you name it...we built it.

Before I knew I realized it was 4:20pm. I had a small groups orientation meeting at Gateway at 5pm! Yikes! I got changed really fast and then made Peter change his clothes and just like that we were on our way to church!

The meeting lasted until 6:15pm. Whew! I was ready to go home. BUT, halfway home I realized that I failed to drop off some more Shakeology samples at my old work. So, I turned around and drove halfway across town (30 minutes in the opposite direction) to deliver samples and remain accountable. Any way you look at it, I had to deliver because I said I would!

I got to the store and ended up making another 3 exposures! Who would have thought?! So, after an hour of visiting and sharing, it was finally time to come home. Whew, what a day!

Sunday. Today. I felt the urge to go to church even though I was there last night. Peter was a little confused because he went to kid's church two days in a row. Try explaining to a 6.5 yr old why he has to go to kid's church twice...saying I had a meeting and now I was going for food just didn't cut it! It did help that Saturday evening he got to go to the jewel store and today we went to a different campus.

Sunday service started at 9am. The title of the message was, "Idiots for Christ". What an awesome message! Idiots for Christ obey irrationally, give extravagantly, and do what others believe cannot be done. The message focused around Acts 4. Seriously, we all need to be like idiots in our faith journey.

After church, Peter and I went out for breakfast/lunch at IHOP. I am a huge fan of their Tomato/Spinach/Mushroom/Onion Omelet! For 330 calories and a little hot sauce = delicious!

I was able to knock out an hour Turbo Fire workout in the afternoon and then we went to Bethesda's Christmas production at Peter's school. It started at 6pm but we arrived at 5pm just for seating! I was a little concerned on how Peter was going to act because he never sits still. Well, that was alleviated when Santa arrived on the scene and ended up sitting right next to him! Talk about a blessing! Peter's eyes were super huge and I could just see the excitement on his face! It was just great. The performance was amazing and we were so glad we went!

To end the night/weekend, we always have our Beachbody Just Show Up Team Call at 8pm. It lasts an hour and tonight Coach Tim just rocked the call! We are growing our team with more and more people joining us to learn about how we are helping people with their fitness and nutrition journey. It's just awesome!

So, this was just a taste of a weekend in the life of the Noell household. I left out that I cooked every meal, went to the park/playground, and had loads and loads of one-on-one time with Peter. This is why I was absent on the computer over the past couple days. I love giving my boy all the mommy-time he can stand!

Last night was pretty cool on the car ride home from church. He picked up a plastic recorder from the jewel store and started to play. Well, I didn't say a word but he DID! The sound that came out was somewhat obnoxious and was just loud with no tune. Out of his mouth came, "Man, I have to practice!" Thank God he recognized that! I just smiled and encouraged him. It was cute.

Lastly, we have 20 days until Christmas. When you are out shopping, please consider giving your family and friends the gift of health this year. If you truly love them, encourage them to participate with you. Be their accountability partner and help them get started with their fitness and nutrition. You can do it! All it takes is a little discipline and an hour each day to move your machine and the results will come. Let's "Bring It" in 2011.

Huggs :-) Over and out.