Every Friday I am going to feature a woman that I adore. They exude all the qualities of an Alpha Female and I want to dig into their lives to get some nuggets of knowledge to help us all live happier, healthier lives balancing life & work.
Definition of an Alpha Female
An Alpha Female is a powerful and assertive woman. Her confidence is due to being an intelligent and intellectual problem-solver. Being an Alpha Female is a State of Mind based on choosing ambition and being proud of it. She strives for a happy and healthy work/life harmony.
Type A Alpha Females often come across as strong willed and selfish. When we stay true to our authentic selves and stay true to our mission we shine. A true Alpha Female puts the needs of herself first without sacrificing her principles or dignity. She fills up her cup or gas tank first so that she has enough energy for her friends, family, and coworkers. A true Alpha Female strives for synergy with the world around her. She wants a perfect work/life balance but knows that it requires being true to your priorities and what makes you happy. She is never complacent about striving for better and nurtures relationships with the people in her life.
Meet Holly Barker!
Holly Barker is a Saskatchewan born and raised farm girl. She grew up with the world as her playground and a farm filled with horses, cows, peacocks, chickens, bunnies, cats, dogs and a donkey to complete the pack. She has always had a passion for knowledge and fitness and was taught the importance of education and travel from her grandma and amazing work ethic from her mom and dad throughout her entire life.
How are you an Alpha Female?
I am an Alpha Female. I seek opportunities in all situations and refuse to live a life complacent. I am decisive and believe that success is driven by execution. I am quick to implement new ideas and am not afraid of failure. I believe that I create a win each day I choose to get up and put my best self forward into the world. I have an ability to problem solve and to believe of something greater no matter what life throws my way. I put myself first, with a passion to be healthy first, but to enjoy life each day. When I am happy, I am able to create a world of happiness around me. I am driven behind the scenes and am willing to put in the work it will take if it will yield results that I seek. I will live this life the way I choose and wish to inspire others along the way. This life is my practice, not my perfect. It is through my imperfections that I continue to grow and learn each day.
Does work/life balance exist?
Yes, with conscious effort and direction. I believe in living a life where your work contributes to your life. The reason my husband and I chose to quite our corporate jobs and dive into the world of entrepreneur was the fact that it provided a great potential for work/life balance. We are both extremely driven and this way, every effort we put forward directly effects our bottom line in all aspects of our life. I believe in working smart and incredibly hard towards balance. When you are balanced, you are rewarded.
What are you most passionate about?
I am most passionate about being happy. I am driven to create a life where each day I wake up and get to. I am passionate about adventure, travel, health and fitness and sharing everything I get to do each day with the world.
What are your daily health habits that keep your immune system boosted?
I would say the best habit I have is that I drink a lot of water every day. For as long as I can remember, I have loved water. When I was little, my mom called me the water girl. That was all I ever really wanted to drink.
In addition to staying hydrated, I eat a lot of fiber, squash and dark leafy greens each day. I eat a great diet filled with protein, carbs and fats and I supplement with amazing supplements from our sponsor – Magnum Nutraceuticals.
I take my magnum greens and stay hydrated with Magnum hi 5 – a full amino complex that helps me recover from workouts and maintain my energy throughout my day. I also take Primer a full multivitamin.
I am active each day, indoors and outdoors and I get 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
Lastly, the most important daily habit in my mind is that I am happy in my life and I laugh at least once daily with my husband.
I can’t remember the last time I was unable to do something due to being sick.
What is your weekly fitness routine like?
I am active each day. Currently I am loving my routine in prep for a few photoshoots I have coming up next month.
I do hot Vinyasa Yoga 4-5 mornings each week.
I hike 1-2 times up a mountain with my husband each weekend.
I train in our Anytime Fitness Club 5 times each week with a 5day split lift:
Monday – Glutes
Tuesday – Shoulders/Abs
Wednesday – Back
Thursday – Hamstrings/Abs
Friday – Biceps/Triceps/Shoulders
How do you challenge yourself fitness wise?
My fitness changes dependent on the next goal I am working towards. I will go through periods of lower/heavier reps/sets and phase into higher reps including a total body workout 1-2 times per week and amp up the cardio in various forms. Relocating to the mountains has allowed me to discover my passion for hiking. I love the ability to be active outdoors with my family. I generally just love fitness. If I feel that I need to size up or lean down, I will strategically perform methods of fitness that enable me to do so. I love it and continue to love it more and more each year which I feel blessed for.
What are your daily habits for winding down at night and reducing stress?
I usually eat my last meal, wash my face and head to bed. I watch a rerun of friends or sex and the city, I turn on my sleep cycle app and listen to crashing waves to drift off to sleep.
What are your daily/weekly nutrition habits that keep you well nourished?
I eat breakfast every morning and eat throughout the day with my macronutrients strategically based around my activity so that I can maximize my energy levels.
I eat a good variety of lean proteins, carbs and fats, I drink 4-6 litres of water each day, I supplement my workouts with my Hi 5 amino complex and post workouts with Quattro protein to repair the muscles that I have just broken down.
I refuel my body when I am outside of the 6 weeks from a shoot by allowing myself whatever foods I want to enjoy on a 1x weekly basis. I feel that my body tells me what it is lacking and sometimes all it is asking for is that extra serving of sweet potato, other times it is asking for cookies.
On a daily basis, I eat non processed, whole foods and I prep and cook all of my foods myself. I pack my meals everywhere I go and I never leave my house without 1-2 meals just in case.
What are pain points of being an Alpha Female that you have to problem solve for?
I believe my eagerness to achieve and strive for non complacency is an asset and a weakness. I put a lot of pressure on myself and seldom sit back and enjoy the hard work I put in each day. With the drive to always do better, sometimes the ability to appreciate success is lost.
What is your definition of happiness?
Happiness is what I strive for each day. To me, happiness is the ability to feel emotion good or bad, and to know that I have the ability and power to make whatever is good, great and to change whatever is bad to better. Happiness for me is a mindset that allows me to drive forward each day with ability to look at the positives and to know that greatness lives within me. Happiness is the ability to know that I can control my destiny by the actions I choose, that this life is my practice, not my perfect and that I will continue to learn from miss steps each step of the way.