Spandex & Wine
Spandex & Wine is a podcast for finding balance between being healthy & living a happy life. Hosted by Robin Hackney, a 23-year veteran in the fitness industry & wine consultant, this is a place to be our authentic selves as we have real conversations exploring wellness and all things wine! Subscribe now so you don’t miss an episode.
Spandex & Wine
From Morning Rituals to Nighttime Routines: Crafting Your Blueprint for Happiness
Ever wondered what truly makes a difference in how you feel each day? During this season finale episode, I share a sneak peek of my Happiness Blueprint Workshop, revealing the four essential pillars that create a foundation for both health and happiness in our lives.
The blueprint starts with morning rituals—those crucial first moments that set the tone for everything that follows. I explain how habit stacking can effortlessly incorporate hydration, movement, and powerful affirmations into your existing routine. The science is clear: starting your day intentionally creates ripple effects that influence your entire day.
Your nutrition forms the second pillar, with specific recommendations for hydration (are you really drinking enough?), protein intake (especially important as we age), fiber consumption, and the game-changing impact of gut health. The foods you choose quite literally become the building blocks of your body and mind—I share exactly how much of each nutrient you need and why it matters.
Movement patterns create the third pillar, with a surprising emphasis on strength training over cardio for most wellness goals. I explain why challenging your muscles is so crucial for metabolism, longevity, and mental health, with practical advice for beginners and fitness enthusiasts alike. Your body craves movement, but the right kind makes all the difference.
The final pillar addresses evening routines, recognizing that quality sleep forms the foundation for all other wellness practices. From screen-free wind-downs to practical solutions for racing thoughts, these strategies transform your relationship with rest.
As we wrap up season two, I'm incredibly grateful for your support and excited to share what's coming in season three. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who might benefit, leave a five-star review, and join our community as we continue this journey together!
Thanks so much for listening!
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Hello and welcome to the Spandex and Wine podcast. I'm your host, robin Hackney, and I'm so happy that you're here. This podcast is a place for conversations about balancing a healthy lifestyle and being happy more specifically, happy hour. Together we'll explore all things wellness and wine. I hope you learn a little, laugh a lot and, along the way, know you're not alone on this balanced wellness journey. Ready to jump in or something in your glass that makes you happy, because it's time for spandex and wine. Hello everyone, welcome back to the spandex and wine podcast. I'm your host, robin Hackney. Thanks so much for being here as I'm recording this.
Speaker 1:This is the final episode of Zintu and it's funny because I am sitting in the actually on the floor in our extra bedroom in our house and staring at the closet where I did my very first. I think I did the trailer in the closet because they were like, oh my gosh, sound makes a huge difference, and it does. You guys have heard so many episodes of mine where the sound was so off and I thank you for continuing to listen and with my learning curve, my goodness. But yeah, it's just kind of funny that I'm sitting here at this moment in this place, recording this final episode as we get ready to start with season three, but I did promise you that today I was going to just give like a little bit of a sneak peek of my Happiness Blueprint Workshop. As you're listening to this, I am probably doing this live in Charlottesville, virginia, if you happen to be listening to this, on the day that it's published. So that's sitting at our wine camp retreat Looking forward to that. But anyway, so I mentioned this back this past winter and I was thinking about, you know, workshop that I wanted to do and wanted to travel with it, so I could, you know, do some traveling myself and just meet some new people. That's always exciting and I had.
Speaker 1:You know, it took me a little while to figure out. What do I want to talk about, like, what's important to me, what do I feel like I could share with people? And every mission statement and vision statement that I have ever written has included in it somewhere somehow that I help women and men feel or live healthier, happier lives. And so I thought, okay, well, healthy and happy, that goes together. What does that mean to me? And so I started thinking through it and then, you know, I got on a tangent of oh okay, I'm going to put this into chat GPT, let's see what they say. Oh yeah, let's get a script, let's get an outline, dah, dah, dah, dah. And it was just kind of like wait a second, this isn't exactly what I'm wanting to say. This should come from me and this should be exactly what is important to me. So that's what I did.
Speaker 1:I just did some reflecting on when do I feel my happiest, when do I feel my healthiest, and I did ask a couple of friends too, but I came up with four different areas how you start your day, what you put in your body, how you move your body and how you end your day. So those four things are what I'm including in the happiness blueprint, so I'll give you just a little bit of that. So, how you start your day, morning rituals there are things that you do every morning that are automatic, right Like you get up, you go to the bathroom, you brush your teeth, you wash your face, maybe you get breakfast, I don't know. Maybe you're not a breakfast person, that's okay, and I do think that there are some habit stacking things that we can do with those items that are just automatic. So, for example, as you're brushing your teeth, maybe after you're going to take your morning supplements and after you wash your face, you're going to drink eight ounces of water. And you guys, eight ounces. Go get a measuring cup, like right now, go get a measuring cup. One cup is eight ounces, that's not that much. And if you're starting your day with water in you, that is fantastic. And then maybe coffee.
Speaker 1:So think about little things that you can do, that you can add in some healthier items as you're going along with those non-negotiable, those autopilot things that you do every single morning. But then I would also encourage you, like, maybe before you sit down with that cup of coffee or iced tea or whatever, little bit of movement in. If you're a yoga person, maybe do a few sun salutations or just a few gentle stretches. Maybe you're going to do some dynamic movements. We do those always, you know, as we warm up in class. I never recommend a static movement, so like holding a hamstring stretch or holding a quadricep stretch, kind of gentle movements through that. So a dynamic movement.
Speaker 1:But one thing that I'm sharing in the workshops is lymphatic drainage and a technique that you can go and do that and it just helps release toxins. It's good for your immune system, it's good for your skin. Obviously, here I can't go through all of that because this is just audio. Maybe season three is the season that I'll finally start uploading all of these videos that I have, but anyway, so going through that and so I'm excited to share that. And then after that, I think it's important to start your day with some type of affirmation and we're going to be adding that in season three but I like to write it down and then read it silently to myself, then read it aloud, and then sit with it or meditate on it or pray, whatever that looks like for that day and as far as what that does. So there's some neuroscience behind it.
Speaker 1:But writing something down, I mean think about it. Like when you write something down important, that's why you wrote it down, so you wouldn't forget, or to make sure that you would recall that. So you write it down and then, when you're saying it to yourself, think about how you always hear that you should have positive self-talk and what that does for you and what negative self-talk does for you. So if you're putting that affirmation in your mind, then you're just reinforcing what you just wrote down. That was important. And when you say it out loud, you're going to hear that from yourself in a different way and again, it's just going to rewire your brain to think that affirmation and then when you sit with it, that's when it just kind of soaks into your subconscious. So you have four different layers to that and I would recommend that you try that. Just give it a whirl for this next week.
Speaker 1:Try that, and it doesn't take that much longer out of your morning. If you need to wake up five minutes early, wake up five minutes early. It's, oh my gosh, never say never, like I was the person. I'm not going to wake up before five, ever again. Well, here I am, 4.30. Yeah, anyway, then you can go about the rest of your day.
Speaker 1:So, having some morning rituals and things that you do, number one, it'll help. You just start your day Like it'll signal to yourself okay, I'm ready to start the day, I'm going to start this positively, and you can do this Like if you're running around and you're rushing and that's how you go out the door, that's probably how your day's going to go, how you start your day is going. And this is going to sound really sappy, but well, first of all, if you can laugh before you leave, that would be fantastic. But I don't recommend scrolling on your phone. I don't even watch the news in the morning. But if you're a news person, great. But if you can find something that makes you laugh, that would be wonderful. So the sappy part is Dave told me once he used to wake up with me every morning and he told me once he said I try and make you laugh every time before you leave. So I know that your day starts off right. How sweet is that? I mean, it is amazing to start your day like that, on the light note and laughter. So if you can incorporate that, that would be amazing. All right, so that's how you start your day.
Speaker 1:And then what you put in your body. You've heard me say this so many times and I feel like we could do this in a long time about all the important, but I would say hydration making sure that you're getting plenty of water. I mean right now, when I'm in this, it's really hot outside, so I'm getting around 96 ounces a day, some days more, some days just a little bit less, but making sure that you get enough water in. So gosh you guys. I would say 48 to 64 ounces every day. It's going to help you in so many ways. And dehydration is not fun. If you haven't heard that story about when I was dehydrated once, we'll save that for another time.
Speaker 1:And then protein making sure that you get adequate protein I've had a couple of guests on that have talked about this as well 0.8 to 1 gram per one pound of body weight. So let's just make it easy. If you weigh 100 pounds, you're going to get between 80 grams and 100 grams a day. And I would even go a step further with that and say stick with your number deviating only five grams up or down. So let's say you decide you're 100 pounds and you decide 90 grams is what you're going to do. Then your range. It's great for balancing hormones, it's good for digestion. It does so many things for us. So getting adequate protein is going to be huge, especially as we get older. I know for women, especially as we begin to age, we kind of lose that desire for protein, and animal protein in particular.
Speaker 1:So making sure that you're keeping track of that and getting enough will be I mean, it'll be, it'll change, it'll be so good for you and you're going to feel great and, in addition to your protein, I would say fiber. I know Fruits, vegetables, but also think about some healthy grains oh yeah, oatmeal would be fantastic because that's going to stick with you long-term. And there's soluble fiber, insoluble fiber We've talked about that before and you kind of have to figure out what works for you, because I know, like I have a friend, that you think broccoli is healthy, right, and she can't have broccoli because it just tears her stomach up, so she shouldn't have broccoli. She just needs to find what works for her. And sometimes you have to do an error to see what types of fiber are going to work best in your body, because if you're someone that struggles with IBS, then you're going to have to be a little careful with some of your fiber or make the right choices right. So fiber will be key. I hate to throw a number out there, but I'm going to, because you really should be getting more than this, but between 20 and 25 grams. So if you take just a few days and you write down what you eat, you can go back and look how much how many grams of protein, how many grams of fiber you had, and you'll get a feel for it once you start recording. I mean, if you want to go all out and keep track of your macros that would be amazing your um, your protein, your carbs, your fat, your fiber, everything, then that would be amazing. Um, and then you know what else I'm going to say.
Speaker 1:Number four to what you put in your body is making sure that you are focusing on gut health. Balancing the microbiome in your gut is huge. It will help with so many issues Inflammation, blood sugar, balancing hormones, bloating, fatigue, did I say? Inflammation, blood pressure, cholesterol, mental health. Your gut is connected to everything in your body and once you can be focused on balancing the microbiome and getting rid of the overgrowth of yeast and candida, it is going to do wonders for you. I am here to tell you I feel so much better because I have made this a priority in my life.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we talked about morning rituals, we talked about what to put in your body, how to move your body, and I bet you can guess what I'm going to say. Yep, go ahead. Strength training yes, that needs to be your focus. Cardio has a place. Cardio will help you burn fat. Strength training is going to help you burn fat more efficiently because you're going to be building more lean muscle mass and so your body will be using up more energy.
Speaker 1:And when I say strength training, I don't mean like, grab the threes and fives, unless you're just starting right. That might be where you start and that's great. You need to be at a place where you're challenging yourself. Like the last few reps you're like, oh my gosh, I don't think I can do anymore. So I mean, you're going to get to a point too where you're like okay, I can only do an overhead press with five pound dumbbells, that's all my structure can do. But then you can change things up, like you can do an Arnold press, you can do some lateral raises, some frontal raises. And you know I love supersets. I've talked about supersets before.
Speaker 1:But you know, if you're sitting here and you're listening to this and you're like, oh my, where to start? It's what I do for a living. You guys, if you're sitting here and you're listening to this and you're like oh, where to start? That's what I do for a living. You guys, I help people design programs. I help them with what they put in their body. That's what I'm here for. So reach me. I would love to schedule a time with you and do a little bit of health coaching and get you in the right direction. All right, so strength training, definitely, and you know.
Speaker 1:Cardio, yes, I think is it is great, and especially if you use it, as some of your like, for mental health, I know for me, like my walks are a moving meditation and I absolutely love that. And since I hurt my foot I haven't been able to do those walks, so I'm anxious to get back to those. But yeah, I mean, I think you know, if you had one or maybe two cardio sessions in there a week, that would be great. But focus more on getting three to four strength training workouts in every week, okay. So how you start your day, what you put in your body, how you move your body and then how you end your day, if you are going straight from your phone or the TV to bed. You've already heard that. You know getting away from the screen 30 minutes before you go to bed is so much better for you, and I don't even know a single woman that has a time where she struggled with sleep and I am so thankful that that is no longer an issue for me, so very thankful.
Speaker 1:And there's things that you can do to make sure that you're going to have a better night's rest. So if you do have a ritual set up that is going to signal to your body that it's time to unwind and it's or wind down, you want to think about it and to prepare for sleep. So I would definitely and maybe it starts in your face taking your evening supplements and then just going to maybe side, maybe read a book, maybe do a little gentle stretching, maybe listen to just some soft music. And if you're a person that you wake up in the middle of the night and your mind's just racing, racing, racing, then I would recommend, even more than 30 minutes before, maybe just have a piece of paper and do a brain dump. But as you think of something that you know you need to do the next day, even though if it's in your planner already or if it's in your phone, that's fine. If it's going to help you to write down, then write down. Don't get to the point where you're just so obsessed with that, though that you're like oh, I didn't write that one down, I didn't write that one down. So that may not be for everyone, um, but finding that routine that is perfect for you in the evening that it's time to go to sleep, and that will help that process of just getting into that, um, that quiet time and that down. So that's it. You're dropping this blueprint in a nutshell, and my workshops will go a little bit deeper, and I had mentioned that I was planning some retreats. So I have a retreat that I will be announcing more specifics. I already mentioned that I'd be doing one, but we're going to go a little deeper into all of this and really work on that together and spend some time on this, as well as some fun and some fitness. So look for that. But you guys, thank you so much.
Speaker 1:This is the end of season two and I can't wait for season three. I already shared in the last episode some things that we're going to be adding, so I'm looking forward to that. I hope you are too. I hope that anytime that you listen to one of the episodes and it really spoke to you or you think that it would help someone else out, please share it. If you haven't given a five-star review, I would totally appreciate that, and anytime you feel up to it, you can click that share button or copy link and you can put it on social media Amazing too. So thank you so much and until next time. Thank you for listening.
Speaker 1:If you're enjoying this podcast, be sure to follow Spandex and Wine so you don't miss an episode. To do this, just go to the podcast and click subscribe or follow. Wherever you're listening, look for the plus sign or follow button. This is one of the best things that you can do for the podcast. If you'd also be willing to give a five-star review, that would be amazing and much appreciated. Lastly, please share an episode with a friend or five to keep the love going, and join the Spandex and Wine community in our private Facebook group by searching Spandex and Wine. Feel free to reach out to me at any time by emailing info at spandexandwinecom or text me at 913-392-2877. I appreciate you. Thank you.
