Tag: staying fit

12 Days of Christmas Workout!

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I had a bunch of my clients do this workout, so why not complete it myself! It was actually a really fun change of pace and pushed me a little harder than I have in the past week.

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This workout is just the like the song “12 Days of Christmas”. First you will do 1, then 2-1, then 3-2-1…. Make sure you pick weights that will challenge yourself.

1 – Box Push (with weight on top)

2 – Burpees

3 – Overhead Press with Dumbbells

4 – Box Jumps

5 – Renegade Rows with Dumbbells

6 – Single Leg RDLs with Kettlebell

7 – Push Ups

8 – Overhead Lunges with Dumbbells

9 – Pull Ups (use assist if needed)

10 – Deadlifts with two kettlebells

11 – Thrusters with dumbbells

12 – Squats with single heavy kettlebell

Colorado Snow Day!

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What an amazing day here in Colorado!  Went to bed around 10 pm without a trace of snow and woke up to nearly a foot with it still coming down.  My work and travel plans went by the wayside, however my plans for fun suddenly became the priority.  With nearly all of my clients snowed in I had no reason to be at the gym.  I did however have to improvise my workout for the day.  Mother nature had turned my “gym” workout into a “home” workout.  I didn’t mind much and told myself that I would get the best workout I could even at home.  I tried my best to tire the little guy out as much as possible so he would nap as long as possible.  After all there were much needed chores to be done and a workout to be completed.

I dressed the little guy up in the stereotypical coat so puffy he could hardly move, which eventually led to some good laughs and even better pictures.  This was his second time to play in the snow and let’s just say the first ended quickly. My little one wasn’t a huge fan of fact that snow makes your skin cold, but it is so fun to watch him learn all of these thing we adult now take for granted.  Learn things like picking his feet up high in deep snow with snow boots on is really hard.  Or that his doggies have so much fun in the snow they could care less about running little boys over.  Or that mommy’s hand will eventually get cold enough with out her glove that she will have to stop trying to make me smile for the camera and let me play!

While we had no where to go my “to do” list took up a majority of my time, so my workout was part of dinner prep tonight. I made homemade Green Chili with extra veggies, so once I got everything in the pot I had a half hour to workout while it simmered! Here is a quick 30 minutes workout that can really get your heart rate up, challenge your legs and easy to do with your little ones around.

 

Equipment: Bosu Ball and Medicine Ball or Weight

Bosu Lateral Jumps – 100 (50 each side)
Bosu Push-Ups- 15
Cherry Pickers with Medicine Ball- 15 each side
Bosu Squats with Medicine Ball – 15
Repeat 3 times

 

Being Innovative

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Thanks to all these fun germs going around, no workout today! My little one was under the weather, which meant mommy to the rescue. I am however, fairly sore from yesterday’s workout, so a good amount of stretching while watching movies on the couch helped loosen those sore muscles up.

Since my son wasn’t feeling well we decided to set up the humidifier to get a bit more moisture in the air. My husband has become quiet innovative in his years. He couldn’t find the cap to the humidifier (which was right next to the kitchen sink!) so he used his imagination. This is what we ended up with…

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The top of a sippy cup and a sock (clean…at least that’s what he told me).  I have to admit it did work very well.  Not only did “sippy sock lid” as he calls it work, but the humidifier did it’s job and my son feels much better today.

I’m thankful for his ingenuity however weird it may be sometime!

 

 

Today’s Workout

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Home workout day in the Chavez house! As of last week I officially signed myself up for the Spartan Beast at the end of August 2016!!! I am so excited!! We did the Spartan Sprint this past year when my little one was 11 months old. This one is going to a bit more challenging because I will only be about 3 months post pregnancy. I know this probably won’t be my fastest race, but I will finish hell or high water…in this case probably muddy water.

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The nice part of having a fun goal to look forward to next year and post baby is that it will motivate me to keep up my workouts! If you are interested in joining our team at the Breckenridge Spartan event – sign up with team “Strength Train 4 Life” and I will email you workouts starting in March to prepare yourself!

To click here to register! The Beast in on Sat, Aug. 27th and the Sprint is Sun, Aug. 28th. We will have teams for both.

Paul and Lindsay

20 Kettle bell swings
10 Push-Ups
6 Forward Single Arm Overhead Press Lunges each side
6 Backward Single Arm Overhead Press Lunges each side
10 Kettle bell Snatch each side
10 Kettle bell Sumo Deadlift High Pull

Repeat 4 times

 

Yesterday’s Partner Workout

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Kept the workout simple yesterday and by simple I just mean 3 exercises, but by no means was it easy!

5 Rounds

10 Push Jerks
20 Deadlifts
30 Calorie Row

New Gadgets

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Sorry everyone for being so sporadic with my posts over the past couple of weeks. You can thank my old not so dependable computer for that one, but good news Cyber Monday brought me a new one!!! I should now be back on schedule and I would love to hear more from everyone following me. Please feel free to comment on any of my postings or even ask questions. That’s what I am here for!!!

Today’s workout video is brought to you by my husband! He took our dogs out for a walk, meanwhile I figured I could sneak a quick workout in while he was out and our little guy was napping, but he returned before I finished. This meant no quiet moment for me and my workout, but rather him asking what I was doing and if he could film me. I love him dearly, but sometimes you just need those few QUIET moments to yourself.  In the long run it was great for you guys and I did enjoy his company! Remember with this workout that the Bosu ball makes your workout harder and if you do not feel safe doing any of these exercises on the ball, do them on the solid ground. I don’t want anyone falling or hurting themselves!!

Equipment: Bosu Ball and Dumbbells

4 Rounds

Single arm alternating Bosu Push-Ups – 10
Bosu Dumbbell Squats – 10
Bosu RDLs – 10
Bosu Step-Ups with Overhead Shoulder Press – 10
Bosu Mountain Climbers – 20

Working out for Turkey!

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I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and managed to survive the dessert selection. My husband, myself and our little one started our Thanksgiving off this year with the Turkey Day 5K. It was starting to snow and getting cold but we bundled up and headed out anyways.  We had the little snowman all bundled up in a giant fluff ball of blankets and sleeping bags.  He hardly made a peep the whole race besides the occasional “Go GO!”.  With his bright red cheeks and nose he happily enjoyed his post race pancakes while we waited for the rest of our friends.

Typically my husband hates running and will meet me at the end of the race, but this time he stuck with both of us the whole time.  He said he was worried about me falling on the ice, although I think he was really just cold!  Normally he ends up in the beer garden right after the race, this time it was straight to the hot chocolate.  The thought had crossed our minds to stay in our jammies all morning, but when all was said and done we are happy we made it out.  A little fresh air, no matter the temperature, does a body(and a baby!) good.

This year, while I missed my family dearly, I was super excited to only eat one Thanksgiving meal. Typically we visit both my family and my husbands family, but this year my family was out of town. You would think a pregnant lady would want all the food I could get, but it doesn’t work quiet like that for me! My eye’s are definitely larger than my stomach, five minutes into my meal I’m full. Therefore, one meal this year was plenty and I didn’t feel obligated to find room to try a bit of everyone’s dishes.

 

Yesterday’s workout, thanks to my friend Abby, was as follows:

Rowing 1600 meters

Jump Ropes – 30 seconds jumping/15 seconds rest x 5

FRAN
21-15-9
Thrusters at 65lbs
Pull-Ups with Band (50% body weight)

Kettle bell Push Press – 8 each side
Kettle bell Squat to High Pull – 8 each side
Repeat 5 times

50 Jump Ropes
50 Mountain Climbers
Repeat 5 times

Health vs Beauty

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Last night I read a Facebook posting from a new mom about her negative encounter with a personal trainer. When she sat down with the personal trainer he immediately insinuated she “wanted her pre-baby” body back, which completely insulted her. She stated that she was happy with her body and that she wanted to “regain core strength” and felt as though this trainer was telling her she needed to conform to society’s ideas of what a woman’s body should look like. While I hope this was not indeed what the trainer meant this situation can bring up an important point that even trainers sometime forget. Working out is not only about how you look when you’re naked, but how you feel and how truly healthy your body is. Losing those few extra pounds after baby isn’t about getting that “prebaby body back”, but staying healthy for your kids. It is harder to lose the baby weight for several reasons, number one being your time is no longer your own and getting your workouts in becomes harder, second pregnancy have caused your body to change through hormones, weight gain, etc. However, the sooner you get back into your routine of working out and keeping moving the better your body will recover. This doesn’t mean if your little one is ten and it’s time to lose that baby weight, you can’t do it. It just means it may be harder. Many people are intimidated by trainers thinking they are just trying to make everyone “modelesk”, but really we are looking at things that can ultimately impact your health. Some of the measurements you see us take have much more meaning than how “out of shape” you are.   Take for instance body fat percentage, you see us looking at how much of your body is made up of fat, but we are also considering how that number can directly impact your risk for conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. To you the hip to waist ratio may be how well your pants fit or what size you are, but to us it can be indicator of glucose issues, imbalanced hormones and increased stress levels. All of these can make it harder for you to lose weight and  keep from feeling frustrated. Then finally looking at your cardio conditioning can indicate how efficient you are a burning your different fuel sources (carbs vs. fat) and can be a direct indicator of your metabolism. Yes, there are those trainers out there that want everyone to eat only chicken, workout the way they do and never enjoy an ounce of life, but remember working out is about making life better for you! Getting back or staying in shape can mean more time to play with your kids, dancing with your spouse, or even looking good (in your opinion only) naked. What shape do you want to be in?

 

And on to the next workout….

Equipment: 2 – 10lb dumbbells

Renegade Row/Push-Up/Twist – 10
Sumo Squats with Dumbbells – 10
Tricep Kickbacks – 10 (slow and fully extended)
Overhead Press – 10
Side Plank – 20 seconds each side
Ice Skaters – 10 each side
Repeat 3 times

Planks 1 minute x 2

Life’s Excuses

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Life provides us a number of excuses and sometimes those excuses win! Over the past three days those excuses have won my time and exercise has lost. I am guilty just like any other person about missing my workouts. Between things I have had to get done and my husband’s lack of help during the football games, exercise was on the back burner. But just like everyone else I felt really guilty about not getting my workout in – especially since I know you all are waiting to hear what I did next. Good job for making me feel guilty!

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Today was a new day and I found a little time to take the little one and our fur babies for a run. I am somewhat hesitant when there is ice on the ground. Last pregnancy I slipped on ice around 17 weeks and broke my toe. Not only did it hurt a ton, but it scared the be-jesus out of me. Running is supposed to help the baby grow not hurt the baby with a fall. Therefore, I am a lot more cautious now a days when running. I love having the stroller along with me and my little one loves coming along. I was thinking today it will a challenge when the next one comes along seeing as I will need a double stroller! At this point our dog can barely fit next to the stroller on side walks, let along with a double wide stroller. The exciting part is that they may just challenge me to run on wider trails and paths.

3.25 miles down and enjoying every moment of this gorgeous weather! Back on track and ready to keep moving.

 

Friday-Fun Day!

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1 mile Row (1600 meters)

Incline Bench – 10
Walking lunges with Dumbbell bicep curl to overhead press – 10

TRX Single Leg Lunges – 10 each side
Bosu/TRX Push-Ups with Pikes – 10

Bosu Overhead Squats – 10

10 Minutes on the Stair Stepper

Healthy & Quick Dinner

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Simple Fish Tacos

Ingredients:
Tilapia
Black beans
Lettuce (I prefer Boston lettuce)
Tomatoes chopped
Shredded Cheese
Avocado

Lime Juice

Directions: Place tin foil on baking sheet and put tilapia on pan. Place lime juice on tilapia and then season with seasonings. Bake under Low Broil for approximately 20 minutes.

Use lettuce for “tortilla” and piece together your Fish Tacos as desired. Enjoy!