The Holiday Season -- Filled with Joy & Cheer, a time to celebrate when loved ones are near!

...as well as the dreaded holiday weight gain...

Tis’ the season,  to eat all the treats, cheese & meats, a real Holiday Feast... The time of year that we aren't seeing our fitness goals clear, even with the coming New Year!

It is the season of indulgence and we merrily enjoy the festive fulfillment of stuffing ourselves into a ham, potato, pecan pie coma concluding the end of this year in true American culture -- tis the season to binge eat!

But for those of us who want to make it out of the holiday season without gaining the dreaded holiday weight, here are some tips to stay fit.

Tip 1: Eat in moderation & Enjoy time with loved ones

Christmas Dinner— the biggest concern over the holidays for almost everyone! You should partake in your holiday festivities and that INCLUDES FOOD!  You get to have your dinner (try to have some control) your...

Each month we ask one of our incredible clients to share about their lives. How Okon has transformed their mindset, bodies, and view on life. This is April's VIP Spotlight.

Who is Joanna?

Who was I? disturbed. broken. lost soul. numb. dead.

Who Am I now? QUEEN. Fierce. Wild spirit. Soft heart of gold. Sweet soul. Focused. Affectionate. Bold. Passionate. Selfless. Determined. Mended. HEALED. Alive. I am who I was intended to be because I did not stop.

What made you want to start your fitness journey?

I got to a point in my life where I was considering a choice between life and death constantly. It was a very disturbing period in my life. When death started to outweigh the choice of life, I decided to give one last chance to see if I could figure out a way to cope and so I decided to turn to fitness.

What have been the biggest obstacles getting started?

The biggest obstacles I have endured during this process is accepting the...

Every month we include a spotlight for one of our VIP clients, and this month we are introducing one of our new features: Lifestyle Spotlight! 

The Lifestyle Spotlight highlights a member of our Lifestyle Program community who is achieving their goals and exhibits the spirit of Okon Fitness in being motivating, encouraging, and uplifting to the community. The other part of how we choose the Lifestyle Spotlight is when someone shows a commitment to their health, and following a healthy lifestyle.

This is Krista's Story

Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey.

I am 34 years old and live in the small town of Arlington MN. I work in accounting for a large health care organization in Minnesota. My work life is very sedentary. I started really taking my health and well being seriously when someone made a comment that they thought I was pregnant.

Which I wasn't. 

It wasn't the happiest time of my life and I let myself get to a low place. That comment lit a fire in...

Hey Queen! Thanks for being here.

Today, I’m going to share with you the top four  tools that I have implemented into my life that have made a significant impact in creating the life that I deserve (and that you deserve too!) These tools cover alllll the bases: financial, mental, physical, and emotional health.  

All too often, we forget that our health goes far deeper than eating a handful of kale or lifting a dumbbell. Our health is steeped in our relationship with money, who we choose to surround ourselves with, the media we consume, and our gut health.

I’ve compiled this list of tools because I know that taking charge of your health isn’t a simple task. We are always a work in progress; an ongoing project. We are always on a journey of creating the very best versions of ourselves.

This journey is not going to be easy, but I promise you that it will be worth it. So thank you so much for showing up today; thank you for caring about yourself enough to...

To create some fun as well as some delicious options in your week, you can make this incredibly delicious Protein Rice Krispy Treat! 

Macros: C 32g | P 9g | F 15g | 302 Calories Per Serving

* 3 cup brown rice cereal
* ¾ cup natural peanut butter
* 2 scoop Signature Vanilla Whey Protein Powder (optional)
* ¾ cup honey

Directions: 
1. Heat pan melt in peanut butter and honey
2. Add in rice crispy
3. Put into pan and let freeze for an hour
4. Cut into 12 servings and serve!

Welcome to another installment of our VIP Spotlight! Sarah has been a VIP client for several months, and she has been an incredibly wonderful addition to our team!

This format is always interview-like, and we are excited for you to get to know our latest VIP Spotlight, Sarah!

Who is Sarah? / What made you want to start your fitness journey?

Oh boy, this is quite the question to start out with. I grew up playing soccer so I’ve always considered myself an athlete but here’s the most recent piece of my life that has made a significant impact.

About 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, alopecia. Basically, little bald spots would appear on my head, I’d get injections in the spots on my scalp and the hair would grow back.

This process was a little inconvenient but totally manageable. But about a year and a half ago, I had my biggest flare up yet. Out of nowhere, all the hair on my head and body starting shedding.

To say this was terrifying is an...

Why do people use the stairmaster?

The stairmaster seems to be a more and more popular option at the gym. Ever wonder why?

Picture yourself at the set of the Rocky scene.

He’s training hard and sprinting up those stairs, sweating at 4:30 AM.

Working his butt off to train hard and beat his archenemy Ivan Drago.

Now picture yourself looking at the line of Stairmasters at the gym. I’m sure this doesn’t give you the same feeling as you would feel if you were in that Rocky scene.

So why do people do the stairs like that?

Did Rocky start a revolution and make everyone want to do stairs, making it a huge fad?

Not likely.

I’m sure you see people on the Stairmaster at the gym and wonder why people do that versus some other cardio exercises that are just as well the same.

Like the treadmill, or the elliptical.

Or the bicycle.

The basis of this answer comes from the nature of the stairmaster and what you are getting out of it.

Function
On the stairs, you are continuing...

A brief outline of dieting and nutrition to help you stay on course

You started on your fit journey years ago it feels like. In reality, you just started your new diet today and it is only noon.

Anyone with me here? We know how difficult it can be to stick to a program or a diet. If you are following a certain program, sometimes the most difficult reasons are due to the fact that you don’t know why you are following a certain program.

Why can you not have a bagel in the morning? Or why do you need to have oatmeal and egg whites instead of bacon and toast?

Maybe you’re wondering why you are not able to have as many carbohydrates as before, and you just want to have those carbs!

We say this over and over but 80% of your results come from your diet and only 20% of your results come from your training. If your diet is not on point then your training will be of no use.

You go to the gym six days a week but if you also drink the whole...

I have been asked so many times about how I get and stay lean most of the year. The truth of the matter is, if you follow some basic steps, you have more than a 90% chance of success. And all this rests on the ability to meal prep.

Meal Prep Basics

I believe that if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. The biggest issue people have when they are trying to meal prep is that they don't come into it with a plan. If you are heading into Sunday night or even Monday morning trying to throw together some meals for the week, you will likely fail.

But if you do several things before you face the nuclear disaster of trying to meal prep at the last minute, then you will not only have a higher chance of success, you will also find yourself stress free and happy going into the week.

Step 1: Start With The Basics

Everyone likes to jump to getting their meals ready to go, but if you start with this, you are missing an integral part of getting ready for the week. What is your...

Sleep is such an integral part of our lives, but we don’t take it as seriously as we should. Follow these sleep tips to really help you optimize your sleep, so you feel better, look better, and live longer

Sleep Tip #1

When you know you have a big task, project, or event coming up, make sure to go on your calendar and see how you can get the ideal amount of hours of sleep that you’ll need. There’s a lot of times that it’s as simple as setting up a schedule. But people overlook it because it’s just too easy..

Guess what? If you find it to be important, you’ll stick to it. You will also get more work done and be more productive when you are more rested. The truth is, we normally just sacrifice our sleep to work more but it doesn’t make sense because if we are more rested we will actually be able to be more efficient and get more done.

Sleep Tip #2

Begin to reframe your viewpoint on sleep. Instead of something that “you...