One might say that fitness program ADHD kicked in, another might say I gave up, but I’m saying it sounded better on paper than it actually played out in real life…and it happens!
If you follow me on twitter or know me in real life, you might have seen me posting that I was doing Insanity AND Body Beast. I started Body Beast out of curiosity with Mike and I had been wanting to do another round of Insanity. In my head, doing both together seemed like a good idea and I’ve pulled doubles before. I wrote out a schedule, figured I’d be done with the whole Insanity program by the start of the final Body Beast phase and hopefully I’d gain back some of my cardio endurance while building some more lean muscle. Sounds great right? Yeah…well…introduce the kids being home on summer vacation and the never ending list of things I’ve been working on and time gets kinda slim. I was also super sore from Body Beast and found that I was dogging it in the Insanity workouts due to that. Sigh…
After a brief phone call with my coach to discuss the Body Beast program, he confirmed that I had indeed lost my mind by attempting both programs together and I decided to back off. I also decided that my days are too strained for time during the summer with the kids home so I’ve just been focusing on my July Challenge.
In the past I would have beat myself up over a decision like this, or kept pushing myself to prove a point. Thankfully, I have grown by leaps and bounds since I started exercising and I now just listen to my body and do what works for me.
The other day Mike and I were talking and we decided to get the new Shaun T program that just came out, called Focus T25. It’s a 25 minute workout, 5 days a week with a full rest day plus a stretch day. I definitely have 25 minutes a day to workout, without having to cram it in somewhere, so we are really excited about it.
Here is a video that shows what the program is:
I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of results I can pull from this workout since it’s only 25 minutes a day. I know that I have to give it my all for those 25 minutes and that there will not be any breaks, so I’m a little nervous, but excited. I also know that I need to clean up my nutrition for maximum results as well.
Do you think this is a program you would want to do? If it is, comment below or contact me on my Facebook page. A few of us are planning on starting a “Challenge Group” on August 12th for Focus T25, and I’d love to have you join us!
I can’t believe that July is already lurking around the corner! It’s crazy how quickly the months are flying by, right?!
At this point, everyone doing the June Challenge only has two more days to go (if you haven’t already completed today’s workout) and I am so proud of you all! I figured since everyone is going strong and loves to hate me, I’d keep the momentum going with a July Challenge!
Oh stop groaning…you know you’re excited!
This month has less moves since I know the summer can be super busy. It’s very similar to the May Challenge I found on-line, but since Jac and I had such great results doing it, I thought we would revisit it, with a twist.
Click to View Full Size
Plank this month is for time, instead of a set time for each day. Some people will only be able to hold for about :30 seconds, others for over 3 minutes. I want you to compete against yourself this month. Write down your time for each day and try to beat it by a few seconds the next day. Push yourself to new limits here and make sure you hold the pose until you physically can’t anymore! I’ll be sharing some tips to holding plank pose over the Facebook Page, so make sure you “LIKE” it!
For those who are more advanced with their fitness, feel free to add weights to your squats! Remember, your lower body is very strong, but we are doing lots of reps, so don’t go too heavy. I don’t want anyone to hurt themselves! I will most likely being adding heavy weights and breaking the squats into sets with rest in-between, as we get further into the challenge. The most important thing is proper form! You’ll get better results with proper form than you will trying to impress people by going heavy. Always listen to your body and if you can do them in front of mirror, it’s best so you can check your form every rep.
As always, I’ll be doing check-in’s over on the Facebook page, so don’t be shy and join in on the conversations!
Enjoy your Fourth of July…stay hydrated and let me know if you’ll be joining the squatastic fun we’ll be having this month!
As I mentioned earlier this week, Mike and I went to see Man of Steel in IMAX. While watching this movie, you can’t help but notice the physique of Henry Cavill (if you can, you’re blind) so of course we became curious as to what he did to prepare for this role. Mike found this video and passed it along to me, so of course, I’m passing it on you!
I love that they talk about the mental and emotional side of fitness in this clip. With quotes like “He has opened my eyes to seeing past what I thought were my limits.”and “…you come to a point where your mind allows you to break through your physical boundaries, and takes you to places you never thought you could go to.”this clip really hit home for me.
I am 100% in the mental part of fitness right now. I know that my body is capable of things, but my mind holds me back many times. It’s funny because in the beginning, I was scared that my body couldn’t handle what I mentally wanted to do…and now it’s reverse. You would think by this stage of the game I would have it all figured out, but I don’t. I struggle and I fail just like everyone else, but I pick myself up and I keep pushing forward.
If you are interested in seeing the workouts that trainer Mark Twight did with Henry Cavill did to prepare for his role as the Man of Steel, watch the two videos below (they teach you how to get proper form) or go to the Soldier of Steel website where you can print them out in .PDF form.
Soldier of Steel Workouts…
I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did. While the moves in this may not be for you, I hope you at least walk away with the tips on proper form and apply them to whichever workout you decide to do!
I’m a fan of both of these leafy greens and tend to interchange them in recipes and smoothies. I mostly lean towards spinach as my go to green, but I’ve always wondered which was actually better for me. I stumbled upon this infographic and thought I would share!
*Infographic courtesy of Prevention.com – Click on the image above to visit the original*
The warm weather of spring and summer bring about lots of time spent outdoors. We love to grill in the summer and we also visit farm stands and farmers markets more often. I tend to gravitate towards meals that showcase the great veggies I pick up at these stands or that my neighbors drop off.
I’ve typically always thought of ratatouille as a meal prepared in the oven (as well as a Pixar movie), but I love the spin that this recipe has put on a classic meal.
Grilled Ratatouille
Ingredients:
This photo is from when I prepared it on the stove, but it’s still super tasty!
Salt
Pepper
Cajun seasoning, to taste
3 tbsps red wine vinegar
3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed with press or minced
1 medium red onion
2 medium zucchini
1 large eggplant
2 large orange or yellow peppers, quartered
4 ripe plum tomatoes, cut lengthwise in half
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Directions:
Prepare your grill for direct grilling on medium-high.
In small bowl, whisk vinegar, oil, and garlic.
Cut onion crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices. Trim your zucchini and eggplant, then cut diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices.
Brush half of the vinegar mixture on one side of onion, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes.
Sprinkle with cajun seasoning.
Grill tomatoes 6 minutes, zucchini and eggplant for 10 minutes, and peppers & onion for 12 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender and charred, turning over once.
Transfer vegetables to a cutting board. Cool slightly, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces. (I remove the skin from eggplant at this time)
Toss with vegetables with remaining vinegar mixture, parsley, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
You can serve this with pasta (you would toss the pasta along with everything in the last step. Or serve over rice.
I’ve made this on the stove when the weather wasn’t good for grilling and it came out just as good (just a little less char). I also love picking up the pre-marinaded chicken breasts or thighs from Wegman’s to cut up and toss in with this. My current favorite are the Cilantro Lime ones….so yummy!
What is your favorite way to prepare fresh vegetables in the summer months?
A few weeks ago when I was at #FitBlogNYC, Brett Hoebel was one of the speakers there. At the end of his lecture, he told us that he would be returning to NYC in early June to teach a Flywheel class, and if we were interested in joining to tweet at him. Of course I tweeted at him despite having no idea what a Flywheel class consisted of. As the days went by, I totally forgot about the class, until I received a tweet from Brett with a link to enter a drawing for the class. I filled out the entry form, said a little prayer that I would be selected and went about my day.
Two days before the class date, I received an e-mail saying that I was selected to attend Brett Hoebel’s inaugural ride at the Flywheel Flatiron location!! I was super excited and then panicked because once again, I was sick. I haven’t had much luck in the health department the past two months, but I was on day three of antibiotics so I responded that I would be there and started looking at which train I would need to catch.
The day of the event, I was very nervous. I had never attended a spin class before and I really didn’t know what to expect. I did a little research on Flywheel the night before so I knew it was stadium seating cycling, I knew that the room is kept dark to help you focus on making the ride your ride and I knew that there would be loud music and that I shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help when first setting up my bike. Ok…sounds good to me!
I caught my train into NYC and knew that I would be early so I packed lunch with me and upon arriving in the city, headed over to the Flatiron District. One of the my favorite buildings in NYC is the Flat Iron building so it only made sense to me to walk over there, grab a bench in Madison Square Park and just enjoy the view.
After lunch, I headed over to the Flywheel Flatiron location and signed in. I was given a special pair of spin shoes, shown where the lockers are and I grabbed a bottle of water and a towel.
On my way to the lockers, I saw Brett in the room we would be using talking to a few other people, so I popped my head in, said hello and snagged a picture of the bike set-up.
After stowing my stuff in a locker, I headed up front, said hello to few fellow bloggers and then it was time for class. I felt my nerves kick in as I selected a bike in the back and I was grateful to the gentleman in front of me who taught me how to snap my fancy spin shoes into the pedal. A girl who worked there came around and helped me adjust my bike, only we didn’t adjust it correctly, and I didn’t find that out until the class was already in full swing. Oops!
After Brett explained the bike display to us and how to adjust the torque, the room went dark. Only the instructor stage and bike’s display screen are illuminated so you can focus on the workout, and not everyone else around you, which I really liked. The class is a mix of fast, sprint intervals and slow climbs, which help to build endurance and muscle while burning a ton of calories. There is even an upper body segment to the class which really gets you sweating!
The music playlists for each class are created by the Flywheel instructor themselves, which I think is awesome. Instructors choreograph their own classes, syncing their rides to the beat of their songs ensuring a new experience every time you take a class. I loved Brett’s music selections since I’m a big fan of BPM on Sirius XM radio.
My favorite song from the workout was “Fade Into Darkness” by Avicii:
Brett guided our workout, suggesting resistance levels and RPMs, but ultimately it’s your ride, so you decide the pace of things by spinning the knob for more or less resistance on your bike. I had to dial it back a few times due to my seat issues but I still got breathless and had a crazy sweat going on.
Overall, this was one of my best fitness experiences in a group setting. Brett Hoebel is an amazing instructor. He is truly inspirational and it’s like he’s in your head as you’re doing this workout. Every time I felt like dialing back, slowing down or saying “I can’t do this” he would say something to ignite that spark within myself and I found the strength to keep going.
The class lasted about 45 minutes and we did a light stretch at the end of it, which was much needed.
As everyone was headed out of the studio, I snagged a moment with Brett to say hi again and to thank him for giving me such an amazing opportunity.
This was honestly the toughest thing I have done since week one of Insanity…although I didn’t curse at Brett like I did at Shaun T! I will definitely need to keep eye out for Brett’s return to NYC and try to catch another class. He truly is a phenomenal trainer!
After changing into dry clothes and collecting my belongings, I enjoyed another stroll through NYC, to catch my train back New Jersey. As I returned home I was filled a feeling of joy and gratefulness. I’ve been given a lot of amazing opportunities the past few weeks and each one has been an amazing experience.
Have you ever taken a Flywheel class? What did you think of it?
Yesterday I hit the halfway mark on my journey to 500 miles. It came a month later than I thought, I almost got hit by a falling tree branch on the trail and I apparently didn’t lace up correctly, because I ended up with a killer blister, but I did it!
No, no, no…there is no baby on the way here, or in the future. This mama is done with that road in life, but let me tell you… If you are expecting and are into fitness, you have to check out FitBump!
I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of FitBump, Kira Kohrherr, as well as her PR rep Liz Graham a week ago, while attending The Brooklyn Baby Expo. At the time, I didn’t realize that Kira also designed a full line of maternity fitness apparel, but as soon as I saw it, I was in love!
This line, which is due out in July 2013, is full of fun colors and cute prints, plus it sports flattering silhouettes that celebrates the bump, while the active-chic styles easily transition from the gym to everyday wear!
One of the things I hated most while pregnant, was constantly having to buy new clothes to fit my ever growing belly. With FitBump’s revolutionary design you don’t have to, because it expands over nine months and then retracts as your post-baby body gets back into shape. How awesome is that?!
Seeing this line almost made me wish I was pregnant, but then reality hit me, I heard a room full of fussy infants and I remembered how much I love to sleep.
FitBump just launched their new website about two weeks ago, and it was created as a one-stop-shop to help wellness-focused women make mindful, educated decisions throughout their pregnancy and beyond.
Their site offers a community with advice from wellness experts and real moms. There are also categories you can browse including Fitness, Nutrition & Recipes, Mommy & Baby Care, Style, Holistic Health, and Green Living.
FitBump doesn’t stop there! They also offer products to make living a healthy life easy and fun. One of the services they offer is called Thrive Foods, which is a specialty meal delivery service. It provides nutrient-dense dishes for moms-to-be and new moms. This farm-to-table option is delivered in 5 or 7 day meal plans. The plant-based, gluten-free meals are prepared in Oxnard, CA and shipped overnight in sustainable, recyclable packing. Nothing is frozen and an air-lock system keeps food fresh and healthy. Click here for more information on this service.
As you can see, FitBump has a lot offer to mom-to-be, so make sure you visit their site, check out the amazing fitness apparel and maybe even give this Total Body Workout a shot!
If you order something from their maternity fitness line, I would love to hear what you think about it, so be sure to stop back and give me a full report!
Also, a big thank you to Kim and Nicole from A Child Grows and Melissa Chapman for allowing me to be a part of the #BklynBabyExpo!
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