Working out with 2

Vivi is now 8 months old and Anthony is just days away from turning 3. This is such a fun time in our lives, and in some ways the chaos has settled into a little bit of a routine… ie. Her 2 naps a day are predicatble, she sleeps like a champ 12-13 hours through the night, her feeding schedule is like clockwork. He understands when he has to have quiet time, he helps out etc. etc. and in a whole other way things are CRAY CRAY… ie. the level of noise is turned up 2 decibles… she is in her baballing phase and for somereason he feels the need to shout over her, when she is awake, she is for shizzle not just sitting there like she would 2 months ago, looking at one toy, or her mobile for a long time, she wants to see and do everything and gets so frustrated when she cant reach something (she has yet to start crawling)

So there is no such thing as a “formatted” workout with these two awake.. Sometimes I will get it in when she is napping and he is having quiet time, but more often then not I will make it a game.

1. Wall squats… Sit in wall squat with the baby on your lap and toddler using your legs as a tunnel for trains, cars, animals etc. repeat 4-6 times for 1 minute each… this is SUCH a great leg workout!
2.  plank… same as above baby on the floor in front of you toddler using your body as a tunnel for trains, cars, animals etc.
3. plank to push up. From your plank. (without your knees dropping to the floor) push up with your right hand first and then left hand, into push up… drop back down and repeat on the other side.  Just keeping going until you cant do it anymore.

All of these can be sprinkled throughout your day, they dont need to be done back to back, you can fit them in for 5 minutes while the toddler is lagging putting their clothes on after bath and while the baby wants some time to play. You will still get enormous benefits from these just doing them a little here and a little there.

 

At home workout

 At Home BodyWeight Workout

Its a busy week and you find yourself stuck at home and itching to get a work out in? Well I have a great solution for you.  Below is a brow sweating, booty kicking workout to help you get that work out that you crave that requires no equipment whatsoever.

Warm Up
Make sure you warm up properly.  I always start with some front kicks, side kicks and lunges just to warm up the muscles a bit.

Round#1
30 Second Downward Dog
5 Push-ups
30 Second Side Plank (ea Side)
Repeat 3x

Round#2
20 Squats ( below 90 degrees)
20 JumpSquats
30 Second Squat Hold
20 Dead Man Bupees
20 Alternating lunges
20 Static lunges each leg
20 Plyometric lunges

Round#3
20 Glute Kick backs (ea leg)
20 FireHydrants (ea leg)
20 Bridges
20 Crunches
20 Cross Over Crunches (ea side)
20 Full Sit-ups

Make sure to cool down, foam roll if you have one at home and stretch.  This workout should hopefully have made you break out in a bit of a sweat.

Just do SOMETHING

*** written by Dominique

This weekend was way too crazy. Baby showers, birthday parties, Disneyland, naps on the go and sugar overdoses. Monday morning I had a definite weekend hangover. It did not help that my son had nightmares all night and my fear of not waking up in time to get to work had me checking my phone every hour. I felt like I had been hit by a semi and no matter how strong the coffee, the thought of running still made me feel sick to my stomach.  Unfortunately, staying in bed and hiding under the covers was not an option for the day.  I needed to work, my son needed some park time and I needed to get my booty in gear.  The thought also kept running through my head that I would feel better after a bit of exercise.

A couple of weeks ago I had decided that the 9-10pm bedtime my son was driving me bonkers.  The only solution I found to work was to shorten his nap time by forcing him to nap in the stroller while I went for my lunchtime run.  This had been working so well, that I now have no choice but to run every day just so he gets the right amount of nap time.  Monday, however, my legs felt like lead and they just wouldn’t move.  So I walked.  Or at least I started at a walk.  Once outside in the fresh air, with the sun warming my face I began to feel better.  I began to feel so much better in fact that my step got faster and faster each block until I eventually broke out into a jog. It wasn’t my fastest run, it wasn’t even really a run but I felt my normal self yawning it’s way through my exhausted body and I knew this was definitely the best cure for my weekend hangover.

Too often we talk ourselves out of doing things for all the wrong reasons.  I’m too tired, I have a headache, I’m getting a cold, it’s too hot, too cold or too windy outside, my ipod is on the fritz, etc… The thing is you don’t have to go full throttle ALL the time.  If you feel too tired, have a headache or are getting a cold,  tell yourself you are going to walk instead of run or throw in a yoga or pilates tape.  The weather outside isn’t just right, then stay inside and make your own workout up, choose a program off the television to work out to or just throw a dance party with your kids and jump around for an hour.  For every excuse, there is a solution.  It is more important to just do SOMETHING, no matter how small, for your health EVERYDAY.

There’s an App for that

*** Written by Dominique
It seems these days that there is an App for just about everything. Health and Fitness is one of the categories I browse fairly often and there is ALWAYS something new.  There are running apps, diets apps, fitness programs, fitness competitor social networks, programs that pay you or that you pay for workouts and so on and so forth.  I have my favorites: Nike+ GPS for my runs (even though the tracking is usually way off); MyFitnesspal for diet and exercise tracking and Active.com for fitness events and articles. This week I was looking for something new so I looked into 3 free fitness apps that caught my eye: Nike Training club, Lose it! and Gympact.

Nike Training definitely exceeded my expectations for a workout phone app.  Once downloaded you have immediate access to several pretty complete work outs. The equipment needed is minimal (medicine ball and set of dumbells) and the instruction is detailed with videos provided for if extra explanation is needed.  You can choose the level of workout: beginner, immediate, advanced and how/what you want to work out (get lean or get toned). the beginner work outs were pretty intense and the advanced work outs just barely doable with out passing out. Although they are great and
I enjoyed the app if you are a true beginner i highly recommend doing a few workouts with a trainer or at an even beginner level first to determine yor strengths and weakness and to make sure you don’t have any injuries you
Could aggravate at this level of intensity. On the other hand if you know you are healthy and want a challenge – definitely give this app a try.

Next I tried to test out the Lose it! App which is structured very similar to my favorite MyFitnessPal app. After setting up my account I spent an hour trying to log in with no luck. Error after error I gave up in frustration. The next day I tried again and got in – thank goodness! Once the app started working for me I actually really enjoyed it.  The food selection was not nearly as complete as MyFitnessPal but things could be scanned and recipes built with much ease. I loved the first screen you see with your calories for the day staring you in the face and the percentage of fat, calories, carbs and proteins you have eaten so far – as well as how much over/under you are for the week.  They also offer a premium membership for $39.99/yr that offers the ability to sync with Nike+ and other health and fitness and social network programs.  I have not been convinced to transfer over but I’m going to give it a week using both and see which one i like the best after a week: MyFitnessPal or loseit. If I don’t have anymore log in problems with loseit it definitely has a fighting chance.

Last to review was GymPact which I didn’t really get to review, but I am intrigued by the concept. Basically what you do is create a contract with the company promising you will hit the gym or work out a certain number of days. If you don’t make it to the workout they charge you whatever price you select with the minimum set at $5. If you fulfill your contract for a certain amount of time they reward you and pay you whatever amount they seem fit.  The app has received mixed reviews and I was hesitant to put a cc# down just to get into the app to poke around; but I must admit money does motivate me, especially losing it. Next time I’m feeling lazy and sluggish I just might have to sign up.

With so many free and paid health and wellness apps for iPhone and Android it is fun to keep trying something new. If I fall in love with a new one I will be sure to post it.

Toddler Style

** Written by Dominique

The holidays, cold, and a clingy toddler have all made it very hard to fit in a work out.  I realized this morning that if I was going to get anything in at all – it was going to have to be WITH Jackson.  This is harder than it might seem, I can’t even put a load of laundry in the wash with out hearing him scream “moooommmmmy where are you!”  Just when I was a bout to give up (and offer to pay my husband thousands of favors to turn off football and watch him so I could work out) Centerfold by J Geils Band came on the music station.  I whisked Jackson into my arms and we attempted the Electric Slide, jumped, jumped Jumped around, twirled, and made complete fools of ourselves.  When that song ended ‘Man in the Mirror’ by Michael Jackson came on.  As this is a slower song I got into a low squat position and attempted slow dancing with my 3yr old, in a squat position, the whole song! My legs were on fire, I was breathless from the previous song and I was starting to sweat.  The next 20 minutes I didn’t worry so much about proper exercises but I played hard with my son, broke a sweat and I think it counted as the work out I needed.  Below is a list of some fun things we did.

1.  Leap Frog down the hall and back – You must ribbit as you do this to get full effect
2.  Attempt to learn the Gangnam Style Dance together – I can almost do it
3. Bear Crawl Down hall and back – attempt to keep knees close to, but not touching floor
4. Sit ups – Tickle Attack – Jackson sits on top of my knees and every time I come up its a tickle attack
5. Practice our Karate Kicks – Low reverse lung, forward kick – works better with a ‘Ka Ciao’ when you kick
6. Weighted Stairs – I let Jackson ride on my back, he clings on well enough, so up and down the stairs we went to put laundry in the dryer, grab water, or just for fun
7. Plank Tunnel – Hold plank position while he races as many cars underneath me as he can until I collapse (we have A Lot of Hot Wheels so he wanted me up as long as possible)
8. Plie Squat – Toddler Ride – Lowered down into a low plie squat, grabbed the munchkin and raised him high over my head as I came up, placed him down when I went back in plie squat.
9.  Chase, Acting Silly, Dancing, anything to get the heart rate up.

It is not the most complete work out and I was mostly just having fun with my son; but I was sweating so I know I burned some calories.  This is just an example of how even if you don’t think you have time to work out, be creative, you will find you can fit little things in through out the day that might add up and get the booty in shape without even trying.

My buns be soft and saggy

Its no secret I lost all my baby weight  real fast, I was back to running 6 weeks post c-section and ran a half marathon 14 weeks post partum. And while all the running in the world and a clean mostly vegeterian diet works wonders for losing weight, it does very little to tone and tighten.

I have always lifted weights consistently in tandum with yoga and running. But that was pre-kids  when I had all the lesiure time in the world to run 3-4 miles to the gym, do a class or lift for an hour and run home… not so much anymore.

While I will definitely not complain about my body, it functions great for what I need, and all my clothes fit fine, I would like to  get a little muscley… not bodybuilder big, but I wouldnt mind rockin a hard body for a few months…. see what I did there? a few months? Because realistically it takes a lot of time and effort to staya hard body, time that I may not here, but the healthy lifting habits you gain from getting there are totally worth  it.

So come along with me on my journey, and lets see how far we get.

Remember progress…not perfection ;o)

I’m not a superhero

** By Dominique

My almost 3yr old son has become very independent. Whenever he learns how to do something new he exclaims with glee “I’m a superhero mommy!”; but if he ends up needing help he mutters sadly “I’m not a superhero anymore.”  When he does not succeed I give him a big hug and tell him “you will always be mommys’ superhero no matter what”. It wasn’t until the 100th time I said this to him that it dawned on me, I need to understand that this applies to me as well.

I don’t know why I have always had the unrealistic need to try to be the perfect wife, perfect friend, perfect employee, perfect model thin, straight hair, air brushed, sized zero mom that I believe the rest of the world expects of me.  The thing is, no one expects this of me; and when I try to be everything I end up not succeeding on most things.  It has taken a long time for me to just let go, be me, set reachable goals and realize no one is perfect.  I am not a Superhero, but the people closest to me already believe I’m ‘super’ and that is enough. Now my focus is organizing my life and taking baby steps towards my goals.

My first goal is to reach a healthy weight that makes me feel greater confidence. I love food. I have tried every diet ever invented and I have failed every time. The key to my success is not eliminating anything completely but learning moderation, balance and how to make smart choices.  One of my favorite tools is the My Fitness Pal application on my iPhone. I don’t log my meals everyday but when I need a reality check, I do. Realizing that a bagel and my coffee pretty much wiped out half my target calories for the day is often enough for me to strap on my running shoes if i am going to earn that glass of wine.

My second goal is to be a better, happy, more sane version of myself.  It is often said ” if momma ain’t happy no one is happy”. This is so true for me and my household.  The days I’m humming a happy tune there are less tantrums from my toddler, more smiles from my husband and things seem to fall in to place. When I am happier I am a better wife, friend, sister, mother, everything.  It’s not easy to always wake up with sunshine beaming out your butt but If you have read any of the positive thinking books from “The Secret” to “The Power of Positive Thinking” they all say pretty much the same thing – fake it until its true. If you believe and act as If you are happy and well adjusted then eventually you will become happier and more well adjusted.

I don’t track my food everyday and I sure as heck don’t walk around everyday signing and dancing a jig, but I try. These two things are my baby steps to my ultimate goal. I may have to crawl before I stand and take the first step but I will get there.  If you are busy making your new years resolutions and setting new goal for yourself please remember you don’t have to be a superhero just try everyday to be a super version of you.

I Love the 80’s

** by Dominique

I think I was born in the wrong decade.  Something is wrong with me. I seem to be stuck in the 80’s.  I was born in 1977 so I was a tween? during the most awesome part of the 80’s; not a High School teenager or college student (when most life altering changes happen that you would set to music).  Yet for some reason I identify myself with the 80’s, listen to 80’s music, still have big hair (if I don’t brush it in the morning) and really really wish I could break out some leg warmers.  This love of the 80’s was even more apparent after I popped in the original “Buns of Steel” and “Callanetics” VHS work out videos last night.

I first started with ‘Buns of Steel” and I must admit I am still chuckling at myself more than 24 hours later.  It was an instant flashback to my 15 year old self in my parents living room trying to shake my booty and shashe my way to those hard as rock buns.    The problem was I had even less rhythm and coordination as I did 19-20 years ago.  Wait a second, was it really THAT long ago? Geez I got old quick. Anyway, the music kept me moving even if I couldn’t keep up with the dance steps, and I found myself actually having fun.  The 30 minute work out did not do much for me, and even though I exaggerated some of the moves to get a few low squats in, I didn’t not feel like my jello butt would be solidifying anytime soon if I kept it up.  The video was good for getting my heart rate up a bit, reminding me I’m not longer a teenager and putting me in a much lighter mood.  Still full of energy I popped in the Callanetics tape.

What I remembered most about the Callanetics tape was Callan Pinckney, the creator of the Callanetics Exercise Method. Callanetics isolates specific muscle groups and by using tiny movements it is supposed to make the  muscles to work even deeper and require more muscle fibers to be recruited.  Callan Pinckney looks to be about 60-65 in the video but has this amazing limber, tight, ballerina body.  She made the exercises look simple and it frustrated me that I constantly had to take breaks and could not complete one exercise with out one.  Once again I was reminded that I was 20yrs older then when I last did this video, and I could barely keep up back then, this time it was pure torture.  The work out was great; I still believe it is great for toning, stretching and tightening the body.  When I took a Barre class a couple of years ago, a lot of the movements reminded me of the exercises taught in the Callanetics video.  Everything was a bit sore the next day, in a good way.  Now that I have dusted it off, I hope to fit the Callanetics routine into my schedule at least a few times a week.

Both these videos were produced, or most popular in the 80’s and they both taught me a couple lessons (besides how much I love the 80’s).  The Buns of Steel reminded me to keep my workouts fun and chose music that is going to energize and motivate me.  The Callanetics video reminded me that If Callan Pickney can do it, I’m not too old to start trying because no matter what your age some things are just really really hard.

My Fitness Passion

**by Dominique

It has been a long time since I had a workout I loved and craved to do every minute of every day.  In my early 20’s I fell in love with Mountain Biking.  I lived less than a mile from a beautiful wilderness park that contained trails ranging from beginner to intermediate. I have no idea  what possessed me to spend hundreds of dollars on a used bike, helmet, and all the nick nacks; but I did, and I fell in love. That first shaky day on the bike I was terrified of every bump, dip and branch in the road. I gripped the handles so tight the imprint of the handlebar was visible hours after I finished.  After a few falls, scrapes and a bit of a bruised ego, I returned to my car and realized that even though I was in immense pain, and had been challenged beyond my imagination, I was exhilarated.  I could not wait to try again and work my way up to more intermediate trails.  This passion lasted for a few years and I reached my fitness goals without even trying, because I loved my work out.  Then, my life changed immensely, change in careers, marriage, a baby; although all for the better, allowed little time to continue this passion.  I am now on the hunt for a new workout that will get my heart pumping, clear my head and invigorate me.

There are many things I have been anxious to try; but have always chickened out.  Coordination, rhythm and quick reflexes are not necessarily my strongest attributes.  I attempted a few TurboKick and HipHop classes; but even though I loved the people and intensity of the classes, I spent the majority of the time laughing at my clumsiness and trying not to fall on my butt.  It was great fun, but it was not my passion.  Spin and Cycling classes have always been enjoyable, if I can find the right instructor at the right time.  There is a spin only studio, close to my home that I am itching to try: Bike 2 the Beat http://www.bike2thebeat.com/, if I can find a time to make it to their classes.  My hope is that a studio dedicated to spin, not a big box gym, will have instructors more invested in providing quality classes.  There are also aerial fitness, trampoline fitness, belly dancing, pilates reformer and pole dancing classes that are on my list to try, I just need to get the guts to give it a chance.  The other challenge I have in my search is having someone watch my son, or finding activities/classes that work around his and my husbands schedule.

A huge bonus to the big box gyms, for a mom with a toddler, is the babysitting.  My son isn’t a huge fan of being left in the babysitting room, but it is nice to have the option if I’m in desperate need of a workout.  Unfortunately many of the programs I want to try, are at smaller studios that do not have the resources to provide babysitting.  To make it work I would have to take a class at 6:00 am or 7-8:00 pm, which is greatly limiting.   This is just a small annoying bump that I work around.  It is not going to stop me from searching for that one thing that I can use for fitness, health and sanity.

Bike to the Beat here I come.  After that maybe Pole dancing? Might help me finally get that jewelry I want  for Valentines day.

Fitness with a Buddy

No matter how hard the challenge or how high the mountain is you need to climb; it is always easier with friends.  Whether its training for your first Marathon or getting the courage to take your first TurboKick class (and not wanting to be the only uncoordinated mess in the back of the class), I highly recommend dragging another victim along for the ride.  

Last year I trained for my first half marathon.  As I may have stated before, I LOATHE running.  So much so that I will create elaborate excuses such as; my non-existent dog ate my running shoes, its too warm or too cold outside and my toddler broke my ipod; so I just didn’t have to get up and run in the morning.  The first couple months of training, I was on a mission.  Like the little cartoon train I would repeat “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can” every morning in my head, lace up my shoes and head out.  After 2 months I got bored, the elaborate excuses started sneaking in my head and I was no longer sure running the half marathon was really for me.  That is when I was lucky enough to discover a girl friend that wanted to train for a half marathon as well, to help get her in better shape and reach her health goals.  We were both beginner runners, with a similar pace, it was the perfect match.

Over the next 6 months we met 2-3 times a week to run in the sunshine, dark night, heat, drizzle and pouring rain.  The days I would try and make an excuse she would guilt me in to showing up to run.  The few times she would attempt to skip I would do the same to her. It was always amazing how wonderful and accomplished I would feel after the run, no matter how run down and cranky I felt before I started.  Having someone hold me accountable and depend on me to be there, kept me motivated and on target.  We successfully completed the half marathon we trained for, and six months of training was enough to make fitness a healthy habit. Now that I no longer have a running event to train for I am searching for my next challenge and a buddy to bring a long with me.

If you don’t have a friend or acquaintance interested in partnering with you to help you reach goals, there are ways to find people, and possibly make new friends. So if you are local stop on by!.  If you are interested in training for a run there are national  groups such as Team in Training: http://www.teamintraining.org/. that chose a run to train for and meet up periodically for group runs. Retail locations such as Nike http://www.nike.com and Snail’s pace: http://asnailspace.netl may also offer group or club runs where you can meet runners at every level.  We host a run club at our studio and are training for the OC Marathon in May. Running may not be your thing, as it is definitely not mine, but there are group programs for mostly anything you would be interested in trying.Whether your passion is TurboKick, Spin, Pole or Pilates classes;  by attending the same classes and seeing the same friendly faces, you are bound to build a friendship or two and find someone to hold you accountable.