Lara Lazaro - Strength Beyond Fitness

Lara Lazaro - Strength Beyond Fitness Lara Lazaro is your friendly neighborhood sparkplug-- pocket-sized and charged to empower you to live a fully-engaged and balanced life. www.laralazaro.com

An Accountability Works certified Accountability Coach, entrepreneur, Fitness and nutrition geek, and ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, Lara is fueled by a passion to help people translate their Vision into a self-achieved, breathing, thriving version of their highest and best selves. As a believer in an optimal and healthy lifestyle, she seeks to guide people to experience that moment of self-beli

ef. Her mission is to inspire you to tap into that inner spark to allow yourself to dream, live, and do BIG.

💡Tuesday's Tip of the Day💡"That’s simply a story you made up.”➡️the solution to all our problems. 🤷🏻‍♀️We’re such grea...
07/19/2017

💡Tuesday's Tip of the Day💡

"That’s simply a story you made up.”

➡️the solution to all our problems. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We’re such great story tellers. We will tell ourselves and others the best self-serving tale just so we don’t have to be real and do the real work (grow!). Even if we pay the price for it, it’s much easier to cop out than to be real.

F**k that. Life is short. Instead: How can we dig deeper to see what's really up? How can we find a solution?

This is a cool trick. Yeah, it can be annoying, but s**t, it works. Whenever I’m upset, frustrated, feel tension, I tell myself, "Oh hai, Lara. That’s simply a story you made up.” Then I’m like, doh! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Once I see things in this light, oh man, s**t changes. S**t gets truthy real. I feel empowered. Any sitch feels lighter and brighter; the blur clears up. Why? When we stop to call bulls**t (even if we’re not convinced), we practice the best method to resolve any problem: .
We 1) Regain control of our mind (awareness) 2) Pursue action to shift our state of mind (openness to opportunity)

I can’t workout. I don’t have time💥I can’t afford this program.💥It’s impossible for me to eat a salad. 💥It’s my genetics.💥I look like s**t.💥He hurt my feelings💥She doesn’t care.💥I can’t come out. 💥There’s no other way.

I'm told stories daily in my work as a coach, my presence as a friend, and in my own cray head. I love myself and you way too much not to be honest.

Unhappiness and suffering is a choice. In fact, happiness is our default, our original god-factory settings. 🙌🏽Resetting a smartphone is a PITA, but we do it. In fact, it might even be easier to restore our own settings.

An easy reset comes in a tool called . Stopping to find what we are grateful for in any situation. Gratitude doesn’t erase the pain or situation. Rather, shifting our state of mind to gratitude enhances our filter and perspective of it. Plus, an even more powerful choice it to pivot, to actively practice gratitude by 1) resetting ourselves to what we know best - joy! and 2) taking an action to move ourselves out of a situation. And tah-dah! 🙌🏽✨😊

Love and truth is the ultimate self-care.

❤️Lara

💡Tuesday’s Tip of the Day💡👉🏽You’re NOT THAT important. Aaand, it’s really NOT that big of a deal. 👈🏽Before you get your ...
07/11/2017

💡Tuesday’s Tip of the Day💡

👉🏽You’re NOT THAT important. Aaand, it’s really NOT that big of a deal. 👈🏽

Before you get your ego un**es in a bunch, let me share: yes, you mos def are a big deal and are so very special. And, this is exactly what I say to myself when I’m having a dumb and so-not-helpful freakout.

Again, recovering perfectionist/Type-A/Capricorn/controlfreak here 🤷🏻‍♀️Anybody feel me on this? The freakouts are less frequent these days, but they still happen. Now they're purely entertainment.

Seriously though, if you stop to take a moment to objectively look at what we stress out about, you'll see it’s pretty silly:

- "Ahh I haven’t lifted in 2 weeks! I’m such a slacker." (Like, I’m measuring your worth based on your workouts. Also, I don’t care 😐)

- "Ugh my face looks so gross in that photo. My belly, so ugly." (Pls don’t talk about my friend (you) like that. Kthxbye)

- "I’m going to order the fried chicken. No wait, the pot pie. No, I should get the salad, cuz what will they think." (Nobody cares what you eat.We enjoying our own food).

- "Ahh, pardon my ashy legs!” (Yes, they were totally in my way. Come on. Really?)

- "Insert your favorite complaint about work here]”😭😫(Responsibility. You can figure it out. You are blessed to have this opportunity; you have the option to shift.)

- "Everybody gonna stare at my belly if I wear this 2-piece. Nm, gonna cover up."(Everyone else is worried about the same. Yes, we WILL stare at your belly only cuz you’re thinking that. And it’s a frikkin 2-piece, you look hott in it!)

- "I got fired. I'm gonna die and die broke." (Yo, as***le, it happens. More coming your way!)

ALL silliness. We are so much bigger, stronger, and capable than this. No one actually pays THAT much attention to us. Errybody got they own ashy legs to moisturize. 👌🏽😆

The matters that do matter: Does this feel good to do? What difference am I making in the world? Did I act selflessly? Do I love what I do? Did I keep my word? Did I show up?

Those are the qualities that I do notice and pay attention. The other stuff is just petty nonsense.

It comes down to scope of focus and attention. Do we let petty s**t drain our energy and distract us from clear powerful decisions and opportunities?

If so, the antidote is always gratitude, abundance, and remembering we are oh so worthy✨

❤️Lara

💡Tuesday's Tip of the Day💡When we play small, we stay small. Boooring.I’m all about the and being yuuuuge. Don’t be fo...
06/14/2017

💡Tuesday's Tip of the Day💡

When we play small, we stay small.

Boooring.

I’m all about the and being yuuuuge. Don’t be fooled by this 5-foot body.

I was always curious about the people who’d play for hours at the penny slots. I get it-- You get a teeny taste of the thrill of gambling. You go through the motions, but how seriously do you take your game? How invested are you with a small and safe bet? How much can you actually win? AND, is that even worth the time?

On the other end of the extreme are the highrollers. I’d imagine they play smarter. And there's that magic when one goes all in. Because everything is on the line and there's potential for big .

I dunno. I'm not a gambler. I’d rather shop🤗🛍 I’m not encouraging gambling habits or risk-taking for thrill or $ (Or am I 😏). But I’m definitely all about investing in/taking chances for our personal growth. This is where big plays matter most. When we up the ante, we play our best. The potential to lose what we put on the table adds some 🔥

Playing the small game happens daily. We play small when we say:

-"I’d love to do that, BUT I don’t have the time/money for that." [insert activity of choice, one that’s really good for you, makes you come alive, brings out your best self]
Big play: I’m worth it! I gotta do this; it'll work.

- "I can't charge THAT much for my services."
Big play: I’m talented AF. Pay me, bi***es!"

- "My partner and I, we’re alright. It’s really easy and we have fun."
Big play: I deserve heart-blowing love and growth in my relationship.

- "I don’t want to upset anyone. I’ll keep this to myself."
Big play: I communicate with loving honesty. I can't control reactions.

- "I’m scared what others will think.”
Big play: F**k ‘em. My life, my body.

Here’s the thing: when ya play small in one area, ya play small everywhere else. Mindset is everything. The way we approach one thing is the same across the board. This is dangerous. ☝🏽

If the way you play doesn’t light ya afire or have ya exploding outta your space, it’s time to bigup your gameplan. Place a higher bet. Size UP on your mindset. In a world where everyone wants to get smaller, slim down, tighten up, it's become more valuable and powerful to go a few (many!) sizes bigger. Yes, it's scary to go for what we feel is beyond us. But there is everything RIGHT with taking up more space. I say dat XL!
😍💪🏽 Lara


P.S. Wanna join me in playing big? Yes you do! Sign up for my newsletter for weekly VIP muscle and mindset goodies. Right here 👉🏽http://eepurl.com/cApkuT🙏🏽
Lara Lazaro - Strength Beyond Fitness

Tuesday’s Tip of the Day:It’s okay to be “that girl.”👌🏽Not that you needed permission. I do see that many of us feel the...
06/06/2017

Tuesday’s Tip of the Day:

It’s okay to be “that girl.”👌🏽

Not that you needed permission. I do see that many of us feel the need for that nudge and to be told it's okay. While we're at it, it's A-okay to be that *woman. WOMAN. 👊🏽 Got it?

That said, I dare you to be “that woman” who:

- Kisses her guns; she’s a goofball and she loves her muscles.❤️💪🏽
- Does cheesy photoshoots.
- Says byebye to “shoulds” and crafts her life as she pleases.
- Has a forever- sportsbra-tan.
- Quits what she hates; chooses to do more of what she loves.
- Loves to take/share bo**ie or ab photos. Or doesn’t at all.
-Wears that bikini even if “she has no business wearing that.”
-Packs boiled eggs in her bag, all zee time, and peels em in public for all to smell; haz and munches away.
- Beasts out in the boy’s zone at the gym; takes her mindful time at the squat rack, even if guys are breathing down her neck to finish; she's got a plan and WILL squat it out.
- Loves to lift; or doesn't and prefers to run for miles. That's her jam.
-Doesn’t always wear a bra and rolls commando as she pleases. Cuz they’re just b***s.
- Doesn’t fix her hair every day.
- Enjoys a good flex and self-ogling whenever she passes any reflective surface.😍😏
- Ugly cries during sappy commercials or movies or Oprah.😩😭😂
- Steals selfies with strangers’ dogs.🤷🏻‍♀️
- Farts, poops, and has bo**er snots and sweaty armpits. 🙋🏻
- Chooses to be single, divorced/separated. Or is very happily married with children. She knows her relationship status doesn’t define her or her worth.
- Orders 2 fancy cocktails, an appetizer, a 16oz ribeye with mashed 'tatoes and goes. to. town.
- Accepts compliments with a 😁 and a "Thank you,” with no apology or explanation for why she’s so fly.
-Elevates all women as her sisters; gives a high five, smile or some token of compassion to another one of “those women” whom others love to hate.
- Is loud and takes up a whole lotta space.
- Says no to others, so she can say yes to herself.
- Knows what she wants, or doesn't, and goes for it either way.
- “Other girls hate” (It's a lie. They’re actually hot, bothered, and inspired.)
-Walks her talk and is willing to do what others won't.
- Is not perfect, cannot always hold it all together.
- Shows up, owns her s**t as well as her awesome 24/7

We need more of that. Please be "that woman."

Or whoever you’d like, even if you’re afraid of judgment.
Hell, I like it. And, even if they don’t show it, other women secretly like it too. They probably wish to be just as bold as you. Ain’t nothing wrong with being strong, sexy, confident and You. Pretty please and double-dare you to be that woman, because it inspires me to keep doing the same.
❤️Lara


📸 by Maria Mariano Lazaro 😍🙏🏽

Quality movement is where it's at. When we seek to move well and prioritize mindful movement, we create a practice of fi...
06/06/2017

Quality movement is where it's at. When we seek to move well and prioritize mindful movement, we create a practice of fitness that is enjoyable and empowering. Quality movement: feeeels dayyum good🙋🏻; looks hella pretty😍; and tastes better than you can imagine🤤( Yes, everything comes back to food and the for me😋🍩🍖🤷🏻‍♀️). No matter what your fitness ( or whatever) goal, elevated and engaged movement will get you there. 🙌🏽✨

All this travel, while amazing and enlightening, has left my hips angry and stiff 😖😫Last thing I wanna do is jump into hard and heavy workouts. My go-to after extensive travel is in my cave. And indeed I did. Because . 😑😵🙅🏻

Still, move I must. 💪🏽The thing that gets me going is knowing that the movement I choose these days (and we always get to choose 👊🏽) always feels good. Challenging yes, but, in the end helpful. I ease back into training with smooth, mindful, and well-chosen movement. Quality. No need for crazy heavy weights or fancy movements. The basics, done well, will always do the job.

Today I got my move-on with a good ole garage workout (because I ❤️ my cave). Kept it simple and playful: squatsies, overhead press, inverted ring rows, lateral/side lunge, swings (hinge), and good ole plankity plank variations. I kept going until, again, quality started to break down. Plus Mr. Roscoe-boo was over it. 🙄🙄🙄 Just the right amount of intensity, 🍑burn, and sweat 😍🤗
And then I nom'ed on a ribeye 🤤💪🏽😋 Like I'd said, quality movement tastes good too!

What does quality movement look like for you?

💡Tuesday’s Tip of the Day💡What’s worse than having no goals?..Having goals and doing nothing to achieve them.It's a wast...
05/31/2017

💡Tuesday’s Tip of the Day💡

What’s worse than having no goals?..
Having goals and doing nothing to achieve them.

It's a waste of your time, energy, and oomph to say you want something and not to do anything to create it. It's draining and harmful to constantly think of the goals you’ve told yourself and others you’d make happen, and just sit and hold off on all of that.

Womp.

Let’s be real now. It’s painful. To see a resolution at the start of the year remain undone at the end of that year. We do the real damage on the daily: “I’m going to start working out today and eat clean.” “I’m going to get going on that new project." "I want that job. I’m sending out my resume.”

Now did you actually take any action to get closer to the goal?

I’ve gone through this very cycle. Such a gift it was to finally be honest with myself about my track record and end it.

When we get into the habit of NOT doing, we cement ourselves in very dangerous territory of complacency, defeat, and stagnation.

Now I’m not saying that you should quit your goals and not have any at all. I’m talking about a re-set. One of the most frequently asked questions I get is “How do I get (and stay!) motivated?

The issue is NOT finding motivation. It's strategy and approach to goals. And it’s about building momentum.

If you’re not actually getting anywhere with your goal, ditch it. Flakey words and intentions with no follow-through keep you stuck.

A better way to goal? Ask: What makes me feel big, strong, powerful, engaged? What evolves me? Then ask yourself “WHY do I want that? Why am I committed?" That meatiness right there is the fuel that will build the fire for your follow-through.

How to keep going? We create a big spark when we make our first move. Then, one small movement followed by another creates momentum. A body already in motion doesn’t need “motivation” to keep moving. Doing the action, feels fu***ng goooood. When we get in the habit of doing, we establish confidence through a practice of motion. You just keep going. And tah-dah: hello to Land O’ Goals Done-diddley!

Yep, it’s always new, challenging territory. But it’s hella cooler than the alternative.
🙏🏽✨💪🏽😘
~Lara

05/29/2017

Happy Memorial Day!

The team at Burlingame Fitness did the customary workout this morning. Major props the B-Fit fam who completed it! 👏🏽

I've come to learn that intense high-rep workouts make the craycray competitive beast-mode Lara come out to play 😈😤Nobody needs to see that 😳Plus, I like my limbs to be non-dead.

Instead, I did my own :
- 80yd sled push
- 10 reps strict b***s-to-floor pushups
- 3-5 reps strict pull-ups
- 5-8 reps double kettlebell thrusters
- 5 rounds of that simple madness and I definitely got my sweat and flex on!

Why modify? Because mindfulness, meeting your body where it's at, and empowering and joyful movement are all essentials for building strength and beyond. I'm all about that! 😍🤗👍🏽

What's got you sweatin' and flexin' today? 💪🏽😎

05/23/2017

Happy Monday! 🤗😘

I made a discovery this weekend. 🤓👩‍🔬💥Look! ( *points at video*)😍 Holy-- pushups are back on my !💪🏽🎊🎉Ground, full range-of-motion push-ups. I'm talking full-on b***s-to-floor. For 10 reps. Best part, they're painfree. Yassss. 🙋🏻🤸🏻‍♂️

Today I celebrated by working them babies into my training sesh and got 5 sets of 10. 💪🏽

What's the big deal? --It's the 1st time I'd been able to do strict push-ups prettily and without pain in a year and half.

Just as I had begun hitting PR's in upper body strength last Spring, a stubborn and angry bicep/tricep/shoulder overuse injury showed up with full force. I had to stay away from many of my fav movements, including my beloved push-up 😞😩😭😭

Ain't it funny how the Universe and those greater powers will so swiftly take away from you some quality that you've built into your identity, especially one that made you feel powerful and confident AF? Like ripped-ass arms, a body that always could, and the feeling of being hella fit. Welp, I had say to my definitions of all of those and of myself. Such is the transience of everything in life ("good" AND "bad" things alike). ✨🙌🏽💡

To heal and to have any chance of recovery, not to mention to halt feeling depressed and weak, I had to open myself up to, dare I say, movement and a completely new Lara. Everyday, I teach clients how to start with exercise modifications (simpler, less difficult, customized versions) so they could feel amazing and strong with their movement and in their bodies. I realized I was so prideful-- I believed all that didn't apply to me. What a lesson that was. Especially when I had no choice but to demo certain movements to clients by using modifications and NO weight.

Last Friday, during class my martial arts instructor told us to give him 20 knuckle push-ups. In that moment, as I was about to do crunches (I'd become attached to and comfortable being the Lara who couldn't), I said🖕🏽, put my knuckles down, and did 1,2,3 then 10 reps 💥😍🤤 And then I snuck in a 😁😬😃 before I had to get serious again. 😂😂😂

To win: we've got to say bye to limitation of attachment, and hello to possibility, mindfulness, and being loving to this body ❤️

Whatcha think?
Lara Lazaro - Strength Beyond Fitness

05/16/2017

💡Tuesday's Tip of the Day💡

A little bit goes a long way.

It's through the smallest actions that we can see the biggest impact over time. Here are my 5 all-time favorite wee bitty actions that create big change.

1. Add one more glass to your current water intake.
💦💦

2. Up your protein, especially at breakfast/first meal of the day. We are made of protein, so we can build strength (and muscles!) only if we eat it. 🍔

3. Fix the bed every morning. Every. Morning. First thing.

4. Floss your teeth, daily. Ok fine -- if not everyday, at least 2x per week. Pleaaaase!🤢😬🙏🏽

5. Do less push; do more pull. In other words, do some stretches. Even just one (You know who you are 🙋🏻🤷🏻‍♀️).

These small actions are all methods of practicing the essentials of success: Start with basics. Feed your body. Movement. Recovery. Positive start = better finish. Care. Cleanliness, like clean effing teeth (come on, people!). Habit. Consistency.

One small action can have a lasting effect on the rest of your day and even on days to come.

I’m positive that most of us can make improvements in at least one of these areas. I know I can. (More water and more stretches for me!). If you’d like to give these a try, I suggest picking one and giving it a solid go for two weeks. When you get that one down, then add another.

Which one of these small actions are you going to add to your day?
🙏🏽❤️Lara

05/10/2017

Sleeves are bulls**t👌🏽🙅🏻Deadlifts are not. 💪🏽😍🍑 🤗

The conventional deadlift is my faaaaavorite lift. The deadlift has a bad rep, and has been written off by most as "bad for your back." Pshhhh. ✋🏽 Wellll 🤓👩🏻‍🏫 actually they are quite good for your back (yes, I acknowledge exceptions). Deadlifts can correct all sorts of issues and imbalances *when done properly, mindfully, and with solid muscle engagement of the right muscles*.

Yeah, many people have hurt themselves deadlifting. Way back when I first started training in a big box gym, I could see why. 😳😧😖 So it became one of my secret missions (in addition to getting more women to take over the "guy zone" by the weights!👭) to help gym members and my clients fall in love with this incredible empowering lift. And TBH, all my ladies looove em. Their bo**ies 🍑🍑🍑 love em too.

The deadlift is a full-body, compound lift, and as such can help you get strong AF. If ya build up this lift just right, your abs, glutes, arms, lats and other *appropriate* back muscles will be on fiyahh. All of it!🔥🔥🔥It will feel good too. Plus, this can be a great cardio conditioning movement as well. Warning -- you'll become errrybody's go-to when they need a hand moving heavy furniture. 👍🏽🙋🏻

Are deadlifts a regular part of your training program? If not, how can I help make it so? Trust me, you wanna fall in love with 'em❤️
Holla! 💪🏽💪🏽

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