Make This Year Your B*tch with Tamara Anthony

Have you already given up on your New Year's resolutions? Well, it's never too late to pick up where you left off. We speak with a certified personal trainer and fitness influencer, Tamara Anthony, to help you get back on track with your goals. We dive deep into the high standards we set for ourselves and how to rethink the new year when it comes to approaching a healthy lifestyle. She shares her goal-setting tips, how to stick to your fitness routine, and the importance of prioritizing her mental health this year.

  

Feel Empowered

Many of us use the start of the new year to invest in our fitness regimen, with a physical transformation serving as our motivation. For Tamara, exercise is about so much more than how her body looks. Weight lifting has been an empowering tool, not only for herself but now also for her followers. She shares easy-to-follow workout videos on her Instagram @tamara.fitnesss and gym guides for those who want to begin their fitness journey.

There is a lot of pressure around the new year to stick to a workout routine. Tamara's main tip for starting a health and fitness routine is to take it slow. She says, “Changing your whole life isn’t realistic or sustainable. Start implementing small habits here and there and slowly work your way up. Plan on going to the gym 2-3 times a week for just 30 minutes. After that, you can add on what feels best for you and your goals.” Especially when first starting out on a fitness journey, there is often an all or nothing mentality. Tamara reminds us to focus on the mental benefits of exercise, and eventually our body will crave movement and the physical results will follow.

 

If you are new to weight lifting and the gym, Tamara's workout guides and videos are a great resource to get started on your journey. She also shares tips on how to build confidence in the gym, features 'shy girl' gym workouts, and shares her tried and tested active wear recommendations to look your best in the gym. When she's not in her workout gear, Tamara says, "I love SKIMS for pajamas and robes, Revolve for normal clothes, and Nike for shoes!”

(Mental) Health is Hot

Besides strengthening her body, Tamara is more importantly focused on strengthening her mind this year. Tamara speaks openly about her struggles with anxiety to her audience on Instagram and Youtube. She says, “I learned that anxiety is so so personal for each individual and that it’s OKAY to ask for professional help. Therapy has opened my eyes to many things I haven’t realized about myself and because of it I can work on myself the way I need to.”

Throughout 2021, Tamara has found mindful ways to cope with her anxiety including movement, meditation, journaling, and reading. To hold herself accountable, Tamara says, “I’ll be setting up appointments for therapy and sticking to a journaling routine to track my progress.” Journaling has been a great outlet for her thoughts and allows her the opportunity to reflect on how far she has come.

 

 

 

Another habit that Tamara has implemented into her routine is reading. She has found that reading is a great tool to gain inspiration, reduce stress, and help her relax. If you follow Tamara on Instagram, then you know she frequently recommends books on her story and is constantly on the lookout for new suggestions.

Tamara's Recommended Reads from 2021:

1. Into the Magic Shop by James Doty
2. The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen
3. Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Joe Dispenza
4. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
5. Atomic Habits by James Clear

Balance is Key

Although she loves a great weight lifting session, Tamara recently began taking Pilates and yoga classes to switch up her routine. And one of her New Year's resolutions is to continue working on her handstands. She says, "I am going to try to practice them every time I’m at the gym!”

When first starting on a fitness journey, creating a routine that is fun is so important to maintaining your healthy lifestyle long term. And living a healthy lifestyle does not mean we have to sacrifice our social life. Finding ways to be social and active is great to stay on track with your goals and still enjoy life. Going for a hike with a friend, trying a new workout class with a family member, or eating at a new healthy lunch spot are simple ways to fit what truly matters into your schedule and still see progress.

“Balance is important because too much of one thing can make you burnt out. I’m a big planner so when I write out my week in my planner I will schedule my work time and time for exercise and I try to plan at least one or two social events per week to make sure I don’t get lost in my work.”

Plan Ahead

Tamara recently launched a yearly planner that is the perfect addition to anyone's routine to stay organized in the new year. Planning out her goals at the start of a new month helps her stay motivated and refocus her attention on what she wants to accomplish. From there, she breaks it down into weekly and daily goals. Taking it day by day is the best way to approach your goals if they are long-term. And with Tamara's planner, you will be able to schedule your days and prioritize what you want to accomplish with ease.

  

With a busy schedule, planning her day is essential for staying productive and on track with her goals. She says, “I live and breathe by my planner- it helps get everything into one spot instead of floating around my head.” 

 

Her yearly planner was in the works for quite some time, so to see her vision come to life and have it become a part of so many people’s daily routines made it even more rewarding. She says, “Designing my planner was so much fun! There was a lot of back and forth to perfect it exactly how I wanted and to make sure it was as helpful as possible for everyone using it.” 

Mindset Matters

Our physical strength is only as capable as our mindset believes it to be. There may be days, weeks, or even months when the motivation to workout is not always there so we have to establish our ‘why’ for starting a fitness journey. Then, find ways you enjoy moving your body, new delicious recipes, and surround yourself with people who motivate you to stick with your goals.

“The days where you push yourself to work on your goals when you really don’t want to are the days that make the biggest difference in yourself! Motivation isn’t always going to be there so you can’t rely on it. However if I’m trying to get pumped up for the gym I’ll play my favorite music, take pre-workout, and watch my favorite fitness influencers in Youtube!”

Although social media serves as a wonderful platform for Tamara to showcase her fitness tips and empower so many women, it can be detrimental to her mental health at times and easily one of the biggest time wasters of 2021. In the age of social media, it can be easy to get swept in other people's lives and compare our journey to the people we follow. She says, “I stopped trying to “fix” things about myself and instead started to accept myself as I am and stop comparing!”

 

Tamara recently spent some time away from social media, and she encourages us all to do the same, especially if we feel it affect our mental health. This much-needed break gave Tamara more time to focus on her own goals without the added stress of comparing herself to others.

New Month, New Goals

Tamara reminds us that working on ourselves mentally is just as important as a physical transformation. In order to stay consistent with your goals, fall in love with the process of bettering yourself every day. Whatever your goals may be, remember that it will take consistency and dedication to get to where we want to be. For Tamara, this new year is really about developing a deeper understanding of her mental health, trying new things, and appreciating all that life has to offer. She is working on being more patient with herself this month and taking each day as it comes. 

 

Appreciating and reflecting on her progress this past year has kept her motivated to continue pursuing her dreams. Tamara says that her biggest accomplishment from 2021 was moving into her own apartment. To see her hard work pay off and how far she has come reminds her that she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to. For an inside look into her new space, be sure to check out her Youtube channel, as well as find frequently asked questions, chats about her mental health, workouts, and so much more. And this year, the sky isn’t even the limit for Tamara Anthony. She says, “I really want to go sky diving.”

 

 

 

Tamara is currently working on creating content for her followers and releasing new workout guides to help us reach our New Year’s goals. She says, “I want to continue to make workout guides to help others at home, and hopefully another hoodie drop soon!” Be sure to follow @tamara.fitnesss on Instagram to stay up to date with new releases, and share your New Year's Resolutions on Instagram @wanderhatco!