AshleyMahaffey.com Fitness Strategy Specialist with Powerful Coaching DNA

At the time of this writing, I am one day back from Loral Langemeier’s seminar.  During her training she has a selling exercise that gets the participants to ask for the cash – make a sale.

Most interesting was the show of hands that hadn’t even asked for a sale by the very last day.

They were stalled – waiting for the right time; didn’t know how to ask; afraid of failing out of the gate.  This is the same stuff that comes up with many of my clients.

A Parked Car is Hard to Move

There is a common thread with many people I talk to about their fitness.  And, it’s that they are stalled.  Yep, their car is parked and they aren’t moving.  There are a medley of themes [aka excuses] that pop up.  I will list a few of them and give you my short answer to getting in gear.

“I have no time” – Let’s be real here.  There are 24 hours in a day.  So, schedule exercise like it’s a non-negotiable appointment.  The real issue is that exercise hasn’t been made a priority and the exact steps for success haven’t been deployed – a baseline, end goal, mini-goals, and the fun factor.

“I do exercise regularly but it’s not working” – After digging a bit deeper I usually find that a person is not doing the most effective or efficient exercises to promote weight loss.  Additionally, the cardio workouts are generally far off from making any real stab at increasing the metabolism to incinerate fat.  If you want your body to zoom like a Ferarri you need to push the peddle harder with specific interval training.

“I hate to exercise” - Hey, even world-class athletes have bad days and and some days are harder than others…isn’t that life? But, they persevere because they know that the end result is worth it – confident in their body, productive at work, fantastic energy.

“I don’t know where to go to get help” - No wonder!  There are so many supposed gurus touting their potions and gadgets.  As a Fitness Expert for over 20 years, I’ve seen the whole bag of tricks.  Hey, do you remember the one where you place a strap around your backside and turn the machine on?  It was supposed to melt the fat.

Get in Gear!

I’ve put together my list of 4 Body Reset exercise videos that make up a full body workout.  And, you don’t need equipment.  I show you exactly how to do them. These are the same exercises that I do in my own workouts.  I’m also going to give you a cardio workout that is short and effective.  You don’t need equipment.  I’ve laid it out for you as a ‘thank you’ for subscribing to my fitness exercise video newsletter.

I know you can do it!  I’ve worked with hundreds of people who have pushed the reset button on their fitness.  Let someone believe in you even if you don’t fully buy into right now.  It’s all about taking action – that first step.  When you see a little success your whole outlook begins to change and a new confidence moves you to being a rockstar with your business and life.

Posted under A Measure of Inpiration, Physical Fitness, business

Your physical fitness is not an accessory, but a necessary tool in your outrageously successful business.

Being maximally productive to crank out products and services of tremendous value requires energy, and lots of it!  However, many people choose to invest in the accessories – website make-over, flashy power point slides, software, another training seminar, a posh outfit, etc – before considering to invest in their physical fitness.

Hey, clients aren’t buying your stuff (website, powerpoint slide, elevator speech)…really.  They are buying what you are able to uniquely serve up that impacts their lives.  How about offering them your best?  Which begs the question:  Are you truly giving from your best position? Read More…

Posted under Nutrition, Physical Fitness, Wellness, business

SUCCESS for Women magazine asked me to write an article.

I did.

Click here to read it if you’re ready to step it up with your Big Girl Shoes on!

Best of Energy!

Ashley

Posted under Nutrition, Physical Fitness, Wellness, business

Many of my clients work hard with their exercise – high intensity fat burning cardio intervals and plenty of resistance training to build lean muscle. But, one of the common barriers to achieving the lean, sculpted look is the layer of fat that is draped over those beautiful toned muscles.

Nutrition is the key to success. I follow the 80/20 rule. 20 percent of what you look like is attributed to your exercise habit and 80 percent is from nutrition. And, frankly, when a client gets down to the last 8-12lbs that rule becomes truth.

I’m having many of my clients start the New Year off one of my favorite herbal cleanses (not a fast). Eliminating the sugar and caffeine cravings, protecting and feeding lean muscle is the goal for the first 10 days. Add plenty of fiber, vegetables, lean fish and poultry.

Best of Energy!

- Ashley

Posted under Nutrition, Physical Fitness, Wellness

Todd Durkin Mastemind Members in attendance (Left to Right): Julie Wilcox, Deb Vincent, Vito La Fata, Jeanie Callen Barat, Troy Fontana, Trina Gray, Larry Indiviglia, Me, Todd Durkin, Randy Hetrick

As a member of Todd Durkin’s Mastermind I got to sit in on his 3 Day Mentorship sessions this weekend.  As usual,   Todd always over delivers and his keynote speakers are always top in the fitness field. 

This weekend’s keynote speaker was Randy Hetrick founder of the TRX Suspension Trainer and Fitness Anywhere. One of the conference attendees asked Randy to share his biggest life lesson from 13 years as a member of the USN SEAL teams. 

Randy’s reply, “Lead from the front.”  He never asks his team to do something he hasn’t already done. 

Randy closed with Fitness Anywhere’s mission, which is to democratize world fitness by being able to distribute the same exercises that Drew Brees does to everyone. 

In my experience he is doing this very well.  Drew does the single leg squat suspension and is on a mission to finish strong this year down in New Orleans.  I have brilliant women doing that same exercise in my boot camps. 

If you get a chance to listen to Randy speak on branding – I say run!  He has a brilliant business mind. 

Posted under Life Lessons, Physical Fitness, business

Here is my recommendation for an efficient, powerful workout to get you back on track so that you can burn those extra calories from yesterday, increase your power and let all of the lasting benefits live out in your work and relationships. 

You might want to relax today or hit it hard in your business before the year wraps up.  But, I’m asking you to step it up and commit to your workout. 

Because, in fitness, unlike business where you might achieve success because of a connection, lucky break or an easy deal, there are no short cuts for excellence.  It takes persistence and character to be a winner with a strong, lean body that is full of energy.

Posted under Physical Fitness

Is your business experiencing the life of a casual runner or the wins of an Olympic champion?

I work with speakers and business builders who are achieving excellence.  A part of their success is that they are physically challenging themselves outside of their comfort zone.  When this happens a metabolic change occurs. 

I can explain with the following example.  A long slow distance run of 45-60 minutes requires aerobic effort and will produce fatigue but there is little excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.  In simple terms, there is increased caloric consumption by the end of the run, but fat isn’t burned for a prolonged period of time. 

In contrast, ramping up the required effort to anaerobic by doing high heart rate training from sprinting or interval training (the hard stuff!) creates significant metabolic change over resting levels.  The benefits include being able to cross-over into other sports with cardiovascular ease – going from running to swimming.  Additionally, the thermostat is turned up at the cellular level so that a greater percentage of fat is consumed and continues to burn over a longer period of time, more so than in the case of the steady-state runner in this example. 

It is the intangible that is most remarkable.  And that is, the ‘physical high’ of achieving what at first is thought to be impossible but turns out to be powerful enough for you to draw on when growing bolder in your business.  

My own mind chat, “If I was strong enough to finish those hill repeats this morning…burning by the 6th one!… then I can step up to  ‘x’ challenge my business today.”

Just as the stretch closer to champion status through physical exercise is rewarded with positive physical results – increased fat loss, elevated serotonin levels – so is the reward of building courage and grit which marches into all areas of life, including your big business.

My challenge to you: require more of yourself.  Your big business needs you to train hard!

Posted under Physical Fitness

Posted under Physical Fitness

The Triple Threat fueled by high fructose corn syrup:

The Triple Threat fueled by lean power:

Posted under Nutrition, Physical Fitness

For the past six weeks 22 women have sweated, encouraged and pushed their limits. There were many success stories. However, here are the awards that were handed out:

Greatest Percentage of Body Wieght Lost Award Winner ($200 prize)

Kara Horat. Kara dropped close to 8% of her body weight and shed over 17 pounds. She rocked this contest. She will be the first to admit that she was wondering what she’d signed up for after the first day. However, her consistent effort and commitment paid off. Way to go, Kara! Oh, she signed up for The Fit Win Boot Camp because she wants more!

Greatest Number of Pushups ($50 prize) in 90 Seconds goes to Aimy Ferdyn who cranked out 75. Amber Rogers was a close second with 66. They both signed up for The Fit Win Boot Camp. I think we’ll have to have a “push-off” at the end of this four week session.

Greatest Improvement in Number of Pushups ($50 prize)

was awarded to Joy Toro who couldn’t do one on her toes and powered out 42 on the final day. Keri Leisure was second with an improvement of 40 and Traci Bass finshied third here by posting a 32 pushup improvement.

Fun Stats of the 18 people who were present for the final measurements.

Total amount of weight lost : 76 pounds

Total % of bodyfat lost: 46%

Total inches lost from waist: 22

Total inches lost from hips: 33

It was a tremendous pleasure to coach these amazing women. I know they are using their new strength to bless others!

Posted under Physical Fitness