We all have rough days, and by the time five o'clock rolls around, most of us are ready to change gears, to relax, kick back... and do something that doesn't require being laser-focused on a toddler who wants to feed the dog her Legos and flush Hatchimals down the toilet.

On days like this, we might see a mom friend post on Facebook, "Mommy needs wine!" And all the moms rally and offer to show up with wine, or plan to meet at the bar for a much-needed GNO.

I totally get that mommy needs a serious break. I've been there. When I look back to my days as a  young mom, I sometimes wonder how we packed so much into every day when I was E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D, with three girls who each had strong opinions about how our time would be spent.

I've been wondering though, if mommy wine culture is becoming an unhealthy obsession. A quick search for "mommy needs wine" on Pinterest brings up pages of wine glasses and t-shirts and memes devoted to the idea that mommy needs her...

Tracy Cotton has always had a taste for adventure. That taste has led her to carve a niche in her insurance career as a farm to fork agent in Western North Carolina. After a lifetime of being sedentary and overweight, she began an health and fitness journey in 2015 where she shed many pounds while getting more active. She's run 5Ks, and started backpacking, including a couple of long weekends on the Appalachian Trail. Then, she decided that turning 50 in 2019 needed to be the biggest adventure of all. She took suggestions from friends and family to determine a list of 50 things to try for the first time. The collaborative list is a wide range of activities from learning to play chess to becoming a sprint triathlete, to pole-dancing to home brewing.

You can follow her adventures as she blogs along the way at www.the50for50adventure.com

About your Podcast Host:

Coach Kim explores topics that will help you power up your life so that you can design a life you love. If you are...

There are so many things that we resist -  or that we accept as truth - just because things have always been done a certain way. This week I'm addressing 12 mindset shifts that will help you improve  your performance in life, at work and as an athlete.

Tune in as I expand on the following mindset shifts: 

1. You don't have to feel old and achy.
2. Short workouts count!
3. Wear heels and pointy shoes only for special occasions.
4.  Journaling isn't just for teenagers and scrap bookers.
5. Being exhausted isn't a badge of honor.
6. The warm up isn't fluff.
7. Strength work is part of the plan, not an add on.
8. Failure isn't a bad thing.
9. Life isn't a contest (stop comparing).
10. Be happy for your friends' success.
11. Love the process.
12. Retrain your brain to interpret nervousness as excitement.

Listen in the player below, or head over to iTunes, Google Play or Sound Cloud. I'd love to know what other mindset shifts you wish those around you would make. Join the strength...

(Listen by clicking above, or head over to iTunes, Google Play or Spotify)

Were you the recipient of a bunch of eye rolls when you tried to add some extra movement into your day after listening to last week's podcast? If  the people you work with thought you were slacking when you took your movement breaks, this podcast has the facts and statistics you need to convince leaders in your organization that a workplace wellness program is good for the bottom line. 

You don't have to start with a fancy, high-tech wellness program. You can start small by making it fun, and getting people talking, laughing and moving together.  A wellness program that involves some form of movement--running, yoga, pilates, walking- will benefit your company in huge ways. In addition to helping individuals improve attention, motivation, focus and a sense of well-being, they contribute to productivity, a sense of belonging and help people work together better as a team. 

If you are...

Today’s episode is all about how you can use wellness in the workplace to boost productivity. But, even if you are not a manager or leader at work, I want you to listen to this because 1) you might have a leader in your life who needs to hear this message. And 2) because we are all leaders, whether it’s leading our families or leading committees at our kids’ schools or participating as volunteers at church or other community organizations.

Imagine this…

You’re trying to lead a team. You have products to develop, projects to deliver, and budgets to hit.

But, you have a huge problem.

Energy is low and your team is not performing. Their communication is in the dumps, and they are competing against each other when they should be collaborating.

They are making outrageous commitments that, despite working long hours,  will ultimately disappoint the client. Morale is low, and there’s no passion for the work they are doing. Your head is pounding...

You have that foam roller sitting in the corner collecting dust. Why not pull it out and use it to get a cardio boost? In this video, I demonstrate four exercises for you to do Tabata-style. (Then, when you're done, get to work on rolling out your achy muscles!)

Set a timer for 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest, for eight rounds. You'll go through the list top to bottom, changing the exercise each time your work interval begins. (There are several free timers in the app store, just search "tabata timer")

Depending on your goals for the day, you can use this as a warm up, a stand-alone four minute workout (great for a quick energy boost at work!), combine it with another cardio tabata, or use it for a cardio burst within a weight session.

Quick cardio sessions like this are easy to work into a busy day at the office. Instead of reaching for that sugary snack when you're lacking energy and the brain fog is thick, get up and move. There's loads and loads of research to...

Do you need a running coach? Can’t you just download a free plan from the internet and get to work?  And if you hire one, what do you even talk about with them?

I am a coach, and of course I believe that everyone can benefit from having a coach. Running coaches aren’t just the type of runner you might consider faster or elite. If you are new to running, a coach can be just as important to your success, especially when it comes to helping you continue lacing up and getting out the door.

In this week's podcast, I cover eight types of conversations you might want to have with your coach. Remember your coach is someone you’ve hired to be in your corner, to support you, to help you plan, to help you work through challenges and all the mental things that runners experience as we train. I truly care about each of the people I coach. I want them to run the races they have poured their hearts into. And I want them to get to race day happy, healthy and...

This week, I'm talking about the impact small behavior changes can make over time.  To see big changes in your performance, you don't need to make grand, sweeping changes that will have everyone talking. Just like the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady wins the race. Start with just one habit each week, and before you know it, you will transform your running. 

If you're not a runner, NO WORRIES! You can learn from this too. No matter what you want to accomplish, small changes in a variety of areas can bring big results. For my runners and triathletes, I share six areas where you can make a number of small changes that will make you stronger and faster without running a single step. We'll look at: nutrition, sleep, hydration, strength, mobility and mindset.

To listen to the full podcast, go to iTunes, Spotify or Google Play, or listen in the player right here:

It would help me immensely and -I would think you're a ROCK STAR- if you would...

As a coach, I strive to support my athletes in their training activities, but I hope I'm also helping them become mentally stronger and that the strategies we use to help them be better athletes and competitors also help them in their personal lives—at home, at work, and as they look toward other hopes and dreams.

Because it’s early in the new year, and most people have set year’s resolutions or intentions, I want to support those efforts and help you be successful. Most people bail on their new year’s resolutions pretty early in the game, and there are a lot of reasons for that. Maybe they weren’t all that committed to the idea in the first place. Maybe they didn't keep the resolution top-of-mind--but most likely, it got HARD. And we resist doing hard things. We like to conserve our energy and take the path of least resistance.

This week, I'm sharing four strategies to help you develop new habits... because we all know that willpower alone doesn't...

This week, I'm sharing 10 life lessons from my recent family vacation to Maui, and I will share my ideas for how we can translate this to our everyday lives. I would love to experience Maui every day, and I think if we all took this approach, we would feel so much more content with our lives. So whether your favorite place is Maui… or Breckenridge or Nashville or someplace else... as I go through this list, think about what you love about your happy place and how you can take a piece of that place with you every day.

Here's the start of my list of 10 things I learned, or thought about, while I was on Maui:

(To see a video that includes our trip highlights, plus some of the things I mention on the podcast, check out this video my daughter put together.)

• Feeling calm and being in the moment. When you’re on the islands, it’s like time stands still. No one is in a hurry. How would that feel if we could maintain that sense of calm in our daily lives? What would...