{"id":1600612,"date":"2020-08-06T00:26:32","date_gmt":"2020-08-06T04:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/divine.ca\/?p=1600612"},"modified":"2020-08-06T00:26:32","modified_gmt":"2020-08-06T04:26:32","slug":"how-to-balance-work-family-fitness-and-nutrition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/divine.ca\/en\/how-to-balance-work-family-fitness-and-nutrition\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Balance Work, Family, Fitness and Nutrition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Val Desjardins of PUMP Fitness MTL<\/a>, knows a thing or two about a balanced lifestyle.\u00a0 The woman literally has done it all.\u00a0 The self-described \u201centrepreneur at mind and an athlete at heart\u201d was a national level soccer player and World Cup winning roller derby captain for Team Canada.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0She has a Masters in Visual Arts from NYU. Her focus is now concentrated on health and wellness, working with everyone from professional athletes to celebs like Jennifer Aniston and Michelle Pfeiffer.<\/p>\n

Six years ago, she developed PUMP Fitness as a brand and decided to be a full-time coach with Montreal as her base.\u00a0 She started working with pro-athletes including figure skaters and soccer players, then began working with everyday women utilizing her sports psychology background.\u00a0 A year ago, she purchased Victoria Park Fitness Club \u2013 a 20,000 square foot facility in Westmount Quebec.\u00a0 She developed a circuit program, and the club has classes in barre, spinning, yoga and more.\u00a0 As a personal trainer, Val believes in mixing up your workouts.\u00a0 She wants her clients to create their own fitness adventure and do what they love in between training sessions.<\/p>\n

On top of everything else, she and her wife Jen share a beautiful daughter Brooklyn, now six, and she understands the challenges of balancing work and family life. Val is a highly accredited personal trainer and health coach, so when we wanted to learn more about everything from fitness to building an intentional mindset, she was the perfect person to turn to find out more.<\/p>\n

Fitness and Nutrition<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The four pillars of wellness, mindset, movement, recovery and nutrition are all linked together.\u00a0 The first thing I do when I meet a new client is to go through a general assessment of what is possible and work from there.\u00a0 If you are going to be successful in creating a healthier lifestyle for yourself, at some point, you will have to have some impact on redesigning the environment that you are in.<\/p>\n

In the past, there was the attitude that it all came down to will-power.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s as simple as having an agreement with your partner that Monday \u2013 Friday you don\u2019t drink wine.\u00a0 You need a buddy system in your direct environment to give you some accountability or support.\u00a0 It\u2019s about giving the person in your life an hour to go to the gym, to train or even just go for a walk.\u00a0 Design your space, your environment and the people around you to be on board with your goals.<\/p>\n

Nutrition is a big component of a healthy lifestyle.\u00a0 We are now at home more.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just about will-power.\u00a0 People are tired and stressed trying to manage their feelings around a pandemic.\u00a0 A pantry full of sweets means that you are not setting yourself up for success.\u00a0 Help yourself and design an environment where you are supported and set up for success even when you are exhausted.<\/p>\n

I like the template of the week \u2013 we know it works and I personally think it\u2019s helpful. \u00a0Be tight with what you eat Monday to Friday and loosen up on weekends.\u00a0 Take some time on Sunday afternoons by yourself or with your family to set up your week.\u00a0 Carve this into your schedule like you would any other meeting.\u00a0 Plan that food. Taking an hour to prep for the week makes a big difference.\u00a0 Pre-cut vegetables and fruit to have them ready as snacks.\u00a0 Get your lean proteins reading for meals. Having access to healthy food in your fridge so that you can just grab and go is important.\u00a0\u00a0 The biggest challenge that I hear about is lack of time.\u00a0 People tell me that they get busy and then they end up making poor food choices. Think about your training schedule too \u2013 when will you fit exercise into your week?<\/p>\n

\"Fitness
Photo Credit: Kelly Jacob<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Family <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Just having kids exposed to movement as much as possible is great. Saturday mornings, we all hang out for a bit as a family and since our daughter was born, she knows that Jen is going to dance and I\u2019m going to get on treadmill or the Peloton.\u00a0 We are all together as a family, but we are all doing some kind of movement or practice.\u00a0 Even if she\u2019s just having her breakfast and watching cartoons on the bed, she\u2019s exposed to it.\u00a0 She\u2019ll want to try things like walking on the treadmill or start dancing with Jen.<\/p>\n

We are lucky to have this wellness club and she\u2019s literally grown up in a gym so she\u2019s learned it\u2019s fun.\u00a0 She\u2019ll play with the boxes and balls and creates her own little circuit. The important thing is to make it fun for kids.\u00a0 It\u2019s not about exercise and practice with children, it\u2019s about making it fun to go for a walk, throwing balls around or putting on music and dancing.\u00a0 It\u2019s about getting them moving and away from their devices.<\/p>\n

Mindfulness<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Having that environment where people support you for your training is important.\u00a0 So is carving out some kind of mindfulness practice. I think that\u2019s the new normal now.\u00a0 You have to have some kind of practice, whether it\u2019s five minutes, ten or twenty; there has to be an intentional moment every day.\u00a0 We used to think that once a month getting a massage, going to the spa or taking a vacation was enough to recover.\u00a0 It has to be carving out that time every day for some sort of practice that pertains to mindfulness and recovery.<\/p>\n

Be mindful \u2013 take five or ten minutes to use the Calm app and do a ten-minute meditation with headphones on.\u00a0 We can all do that and its way more productive doing it for ten minutes every day then taking a day once a month to get that massage.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Val Desjardins of PUMP Fitness MTL, knows a thing or two about a balanced lifestyle.\u00a0 The woman literally has done it all.\u00a0 The self-described \u201centrepreneur at mind and an athlete…<\/div>\n
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