Month: June 2016

Strong Mom = Strong Baby!

Published on by Strength Train 4 LifeLeave a comment

Working out is one of the best stress relievers! Typically, I like to workout in the afternoon or evening, but when you have two kids it is whenever you get a spare moment. This may even mean multitasking – cooking and working out, playing and working out, playground adventures and working out.

CHAVEZ(67of90)

My daughter and I made a great week of workouts so far – one run and two strength sessions in the books. One of the hardest things when training at home and with little ones, is actually getting the workout done. There are so many things around the house (dishes, vacuuming, cooking, etc.) that will be calling your name, just like your children are from the other room. But keep steady the course. Exercise is not only important for yourself, but to help influence your children. I can’t tell you the number of times a client has told me they couldn’t get their workout in because they had too many things going on with their kids. Keeping your kids active and engaged in activities is important, but you need to schedule yourself in on that calendar too! When you fail to workout and start noticing how unfit or out of shape you are, your children may start to notice too. Especially, when you are complaining about your swim suit or how clothes aren’t fitting, etc. I’m not expecting parents to be body builders or models by any means, but active and healthy is important. Statistics show that obesity is continuously rising and this won’t change unless we, as a society, make changes. Be the positive influence in your children’s lives. Even with the busiest of schedule you can fit workouts in. Taking your kid to soccer practice? While you wait walk or jog the field or local park. Rainy day and stuck inside? Turn working out into a game for you and the kids. Use body weight exercises. No babysitter to watch your infant? Use them as your weights. Kids make great dumbbells, not excuses. The other night my daughter (1.5months old) just wanted to be held. Therefore, we did body weight squats, lunges, sit ups and push-ups together. I got my workout in and she got the needed attention. It does require some creativity and it may take you longer to accomplish your workout, but you deserve that time!

 

Workout of the Week:

Single arm squat thrusters – 15 each side
Single leg RDL with front bar raise – 10 each side
Push-Ups – 10
Renegade Rows with dumbbell – 10 each side
Repeat 3 times

Freedom with a Touch of Disappointment!

Published on by Strength Train 4 LifeLeave a comment

1467145464728

This week marks 6 weeks since I had my gorgeous baby girl and I couldn’t have been any more excited. I have been itching for a good run or workout for the last two weeks. Let me tell you my experience returning for my check up was much more exciting than with my son. First of all I have a two year old who has copious amounts of energy and no fear whatsoever! Second…well, really there is no second, just a crazy two year old. I did not even think about leaving my son home with a sitter, because I just bring my kids everywhere with me – big mistake. On your average day I can hand my son our tablet and he will watch his movies until I pry it from him hands at the end of his show. But of course for those ten minutes while you are being examined by the doctor, he wants nothing to do with the beloved tablet. Which is how I ended up laying on the lovely exam table, spread eagle, with my son on my chest just to keep him contained from licking the bio-hazard bin or destroying the numerous Mirena brochers he loves throwing around due the toy truck on front. Good thing my doctor likes kids and can just chuckled a bit in what I can only hope is amazement. Lesson learned and exam passed! Freedom is mine and I can start getting back to my normal workout routine.

Now you may have noticed my title today is “Freedom with a Touch of Disappointment” this is because I am free to run and workout, but my BOB Duallie Pro-Revolution that I convinced my husband was necessary to buy to run with both children is unusable for running. It seems BOB has come out with a new 2016 BOB Stroller and a new car seat adapter, which would seem shouldn’t affect me as I purchased the 2015 version when they were on sale for Memorial Day (Note: Memorial Day and Black Friday are great times to get discounts on strollers). But apparently they have discontinued making the car seat adapters all together and will not have the new version out until mid-July. I realize this is only two weeks away, but with only seven weeks to train for the Spartan Beast, I need everyday I can get. Plus, this is my “freedom” from the inside of my house. I still love my BOB Stroller, but BOB needs to get it together as many parent rely on these strollers for fitness, freedom, fun and most importantly, sanity. That daily walk or run can be the difference to a happy mommy and a cranky mom-zilla!!!

Frustrated rant over, my husband came to my rescue! He kept my son, while I got in 1.25miles around the neighborhood with my daughter. It felt great to run, definitely a bit out of shape, things jiggled more than before and a good reminder of the importance of a supportive bra! Workout number 1 in the books, only 60 days left till Breckenridge Spartan Beast and this mom of two is officially back!

And then there were 2!

Published on by Strength Train 4 LifeLeave a comment

IMG_20160604_194549

Going from one to two kids has been easier than I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong I have moments where I want to hide in the closest with a bottle of wine, but for the most part I am really enjoying it. Either my daughter is more easy going or I am now accustomed to a crazy schedule and it just seems normal to always be busy. With my son I remember thinking my only purpose in life was as a milk machine. This time around while my daughter eats like crazy I find myself multi-tasking – Cooking and feeding, clean and feeding, working and feeding, etc. The Moby wrap and the Baby Bjorn have become my best friends!

The hard part of having two is not being able to play with my son for extended periods of time. I would love to play with him all day long, but between feeding and my still somewhat low energy levels, it’s not an option. Unfortunately we have had a few days of movie watching. The healing process has been much easier this time around. First off, no broken tail bone!! Second, well honestly, it all really has to do with the fact that my tail bone isn’t broken this time around. I am able to get around easier, breast feed better and actually SIT down. However, not everything is perfect! Just like last time my energy is low. I forget this many times and have done too much, landing me on the couch with cramps and straight exhaustion. My body’s polite way or reminding me that while my mind may think I can do it, my body isn’t ready.

Unfortunately I was unable to order my BOB stroller before delivering and so I have had to wait for it to arrive. Therefore, I haven’t been able to take my walks but I have tried to keep moving throughout the day. Sitting too much can cause several issues, muscle cramping, constipation and lack of energy. But I have been focusing on eating healthy and meal preparation.

The hardest part of two children, I believe, is grocery shopping. When I just had my son I would stick his car seat in the cart and shove all the groceries around him. Now I have my daughter in the cart and my son sitting in the front and a bulk of our groceries don’t even fit. I have had other mom’s tell me that use two carts – one for kids and one for groceries. That sounds like chaos waiting to happen for me. My son is now at the age where is wants to get out, add items to the cart randomly from the shelves and occasionally growls at other shoppers (he does this in fun, however not all shoppers like to be growled at, oops!). Therefore, I have tried out home grocery delivery. It was great outside of the fact they were unable to fill my entire order, which made me go to the store anyways. Needless to say I didn’t have to shop for everything and will be having groceries delivered again next week. This is one less thing I have to worry about and honestly no kid truly loves to go shopping with their parents!!

Goals for next week – Walk everyday! My stroller should be in tomorrow and getting myself and the kids outside at least once a day will do us all some good. Vitamin D and energy used will help everyone sleep better and decrease our toddler breakdowns – hopefully! Keep an eye for new recipes and meal prep ideas over the next four weeks to optimize your metabolism even when you can’t workout.