Men Will Never Truly Understand

I have been taking it a bit easier the past couple days – my higher activity has been causing a few Braxton Hicks contractions in the evenings. I had this last pregnancy starting at 17 weeks, but until I see my doctor on Monday I don’t want to push it. This little one has some more cooking to do!

Now that I have crossed the half way mark of this pregnancy I am starting to notice my energy is draining. I am always a go, go, go person, but lately I have had to stop and rest. My husband on occasion even asks why I am so tired, of course my response “I don’t know, could it be the person growing inside of me?” Someday’s I really wish men could truly understand what women go through just to make a baby.

Don’t get me wrong my husband does help out more and is really looking forward to our newest edition, but there are someday’s I truly wish he could understand what it is like to be pregnant.

 

I am always joking with my girlfriends about guys needing to experience just three small parts of pregnancy – 1 Day of nausea, vomiting and the “morning sickness”, 1 day of being humongous (9 months pregnant) walking around with the extra weight and finally, just 1 HOUR of labor pains. One hour that is all I am asking! 🙂 If any of you haven’t seen the viral videos where guys are hooked up to electrical stimulation machines which simulate labor pains, it is definitely worth your while and a few laughs (Men in Labor) or the other great video is done by the Try Guys (Try Labor Simulation). While they will never truly understand what women go through, this could gets them just a little closer. Of course when I offered to find a location my husband could try this he quickly found a reason he would be unable to do so!

Needless to say pregnancy is not for the faint of heart and definitely takes a lot to endure. I even have a few girlfriends who, because of my fabulous stories of pregnancy, have sworn off babies and will simply “buy” them! I highly doubt when it come there time that they could not face the challenge, but it doesn’t sound a lot easier on the body that way.

 

January Distance Challenge – 16.25 miles down and 33.75 miles to go!  I have some catching up to do!!! Eeek

Winter wonderland!

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It is sad how life seems to take over the truly fun things! Every once and a while you need to remind yourself what you love to do and how much it’s worth to you. My husband and I used to visit the gorgeous Colorado mountains at least 3 times a month, but with work, a house and now kids things seem to change. Sometimes we forget to make time for the things that truly matter to us.  With a blossoming business (strengthtrain4life.com) keeping us busy nearly every weekend, we were very surprised to not see anything on the calendar for this upcoming weekend.  Always having something to do at home, I know that we would have found something to keep us busy.  However, we decided to take a trip to our family cabin to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  I’m typing this with my feet are propped up in front of the fire as I lay back in a comfy recliner.  It sure feels good to relax.

Before you relax you of course need to move a little!  The family and I decided to take a hike/walk around the property with the dogs.  It was cold and blowing so we didn’t last long, but we’re glad we decided to make the trip. We won’t let a little wind and snow get in our way of a fun romp around the property. As seen above our little one was bundled to the maxes and stuffed into our pack to make the hike with us. He LOVED every moment of it, giggling and talking the whole 1.10 miles we walked. I am grateful for my beautiful and adventurous family – more mountain trips will be penciled into our schedule this summer!!

 

January Distance Challenge – 15 miles down, 35 miles to go!

Energy boost!

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Earlier than usual wake up today, and boy did it make for a tiresome morning! I did manage to get a good workout in and it truly helped increase my energy. Energy can be affected by many things – pregnancy number one, amount of sleep, quality of sleep, food and exercise. To maximize your energy levels its important to balance each of these things.

Today’s workout –

Warm-Up: Half mile (800 meters) on the rower

Workout – 15 minutes as many rounds as possible

500 meter row
5 Deadlifts
10 Box Jumps
Repeat

I was able to complete 4 rounds in 15 minutes 48 seconds (I wasn’t going to quit half way through a round)

Cool down – 400 meters on the rower

 

January Distance Challenge – 13 miles down, 37 miles to go!

Catching Up on Miles

Today I tested the length of my bladder control. My goal on the treadmill today was to get in two miles.  I am not one who likes to stop mid-way through my workout to go to the bathroom, so I’ll push through till the end potty dance if needed!  My first mile today was a slow jog. By the end of this mile my bladder could not handle another full mile of jogging so I mixed it up. Second mile was intervals of jogging for 0.10 mile and walking 0.10 miles until I hit two miles. At two miles I realized I had energy to go a little further! Final results 2.5 miles on the good old hamster wheel.

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I then finished up my workout with a 1 mile (1600 meter) row on the Rower to get me to a total distance of 3.5 miles for the day!

January Distance Challenge – 10 miles down, 30 miles to go!

Chair Workout

Today’s workout was inspired by one of my kitchen chairs. Yes, you heard right! What better way to get fit than with using the tools that surround you in your home. We’ve all said it – “I can’t workout at home, I don’t have equipment”. But that can be the furthest thing from the truth. Yes, you have to be creative and yes, it still takes time, but it CAN be done.

If you have equipment such as dumbbells or kettlebells it can make your workout more intense, but you can also do so by increasing the number of repetitions. With my workout today I used two 15 pound dumbbells and a mini band!

Today’s workout…

Chair Step-Ups –  10 each side
Decline Chair Push-Ups – 10
Lateral Step-Ups – 10 each side
Tricep Dips – 10
Single Leg RDLs – 10 each side
Squat Jacks – 20

 

Working Through Tired

My workout today felt great! I felt completely lazy and tired while completing all of it, but I got it done. Sounds a little backwards right?  I have noticed lately, while I am not really in need of nap, I am just way more tire than usual. However, regardless of how tired I was, it felt great to sweat and get my heart rate up.  Here is what I did!

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My belly is starting to look like my workout equipment! 🙂

50 Jumping Jacks
10 Single Leg Stand Ups each side with 18lb medicine ball
10 Pull Ups
10 Bent over Rows with 25lb KB
10 Single Leg RDLs each side with 25lb KB
20 Bosu Sit-Ups

40 Jumping Jacks
10 Single Leg Stand Ups each side with 18lb medicine ball
10 Pull Ups
10 Bent over Rows with 25lb KB
10 Single Leg RDLs each side with 25lb KB
20 Bosu Sit-Ups

30 Jumping Jacks
10 Single Leg Stand Ups each side with 18lb medicine ball
10 Pull Ups
10 Bent over Rows with 25lb KB
10 Single Leg RDLs each side with 25lb KB
20 Bosu Sit-Ups

20 Jumping Jacks
10 Single Leg Stand Ups each side with 18lb medicine ball
10 Pull Ups
10 Bent over Rows with 25lb KB
10 Single Leg RDLs each side with 25lb KB
20 Bosu Sit-Ups

10 Jumping Jacks
10 Single Leg Stand Ups each side with 18lb medicine ball
10 Pull Ups
10 Bent over Rows with 25lb KB
10 Single Leg RDLs each side with 25lb KB
20 Bosu Sit-Ups

Finished my workout with 2 miles on the elliptical and 1 mile on the rower.

January Distance Challenge – 5.5 miles down, 44.5 miles to go!

New Years Resolutions

happy new year

With the start of 2016 everyone is starting to think about those New Years Resolutions. Some may be planning the trip of a lifetime. Others may plan on getting ahead in their career, and many of us even set new fitness goals. Just like everyone else, even personal trainers are always looking for goals to set for themselves to keep motivated.  Please try to think outside the box.

I’d like to challenge everyone to not only set goals that can be accomplished in the gym, but to set goals that can be enjoyed in the great outdoors.  Being outside has proven to be very beneficial for the mind and body.  Below are just a few goals that my family and I hope to accomplish in the outdoors this year:

  • Take the kid(s) sledding in the mountains.  Not that our local sledding hill won’t suffice, but experiencing new(and as my husband says “steeper and faster”)  hills is always an adventure.  If I must say, schlepping all of that gear up and down the hill is always an awesome workout…especially since the kid normally rides in the sled on the way UP the mountain as well.
  • Bring the kids hiking on some of our favorite trails we used to go on.  The kids are small and easy to carry now, the extra weight provides for a better workout and more of an experience for the whole group.  Everyone knows the further you hike the better the pictures!
  • Complete 1,000 miles in running, biking or some form of cardio. In June last year I did a hundred miles, so I thought it would be fun to have a year long cardio goal. Taking into consideration I will be in my third trimester for a majority of the year I will include other modes of cardio than just running.
  • Build a more inviting outdoor living area.  Not only do we want to sit and relax on the patio while we watch the little ones play, but we’d like to have a great outdoor area to exercise.  Being cooped up in a dark basement trying to get a workout in while it’s beautiful outside can be trying for even the most motivated.
  • What are some of your OUTDOOR goals?

Eventually it is going to be time to move indoors.  Don’t worry, I’m not talking about the gym…yet!  I’m referring to the  kitchen!  Here are some of the family goals for the new year that involve a healthy diet:

  • Meal PLAN and PREP as often as possible.
  • Purchase as organic as possible when it comes to the dirty dozen foods.
  • Try a new recipe every other week(being realistic).  If we enjoy the recipe I will post it on the website as soon as possible.
  • Try to let as little food as possible go to waste
  • What are your NUTRITION goals? 

I told you we would eventually move into the gym! This can be at your home, your local park or your local gym.  Hopefully it’s not as busy as my gym has been and will be this coming month- Geeze! With goals of a healthy mommy body and even healthier baby, there are somethings that only a good ole fashioned strength training session can work.  Gym have their upsides – not only does the gym have all that fancy equipment, but it has the people to go with it.  The support structure that your gym friends and family can prove to be invaluable.  If your friends are anything like mine they’ll rag on you for missing your workout, which only enhances my own guilt.  Everyone has those days when working out just sounds terrible, but there really very few reasons to miss your workouts.  They don’t always have to be the best workout, sometimes they just have to be a workout… Below are some of my goals for this coming year I hope to accomplish in the gym:

  • Get my pre-baby belly back.  This could be different for everyone.  I’m not talking about a hard 6-pack, but for me it means core strength.  Back to the days when I could do a 5 min plank, sit-ups for days, and be able to laugh so hard that I thought my sides were going to split WITHOUT actually peeing my pants!
  • Master the double under.
  • Keep my knees as healthy and stable as possible so I can continue to play soccer at the level I do.
  • What are some of your GYM/FITNESS goals?

The biggest thing to remember is to increase your success of achieving your goals is that they need to be realistic. If you want to lose weight or gain muscles there are many things to consider – exercise program, nutrition plan and time it will take to accomplish these. If you set your goals too high – example: I am going to lose 50 pounds in 2 weeks – unless you plan on losing a limb this is not going to be realistic. Plan your goals in stages – your long term goal may be to lose 50 pounds, but maybe you want to lose 5 pounds by the end of January and 12 pounds by February, etc. Plus, maybe you want to climb your very first 14,000 foot mountain, well you will need to start building your muscle (strength training) and increasing your cardio, which will also help you reach your long term goal of losing weight!!!  Think outside the of the box with your goals. Your 2016 goals should be for you and about what you are passionate about achieving.

Tell me what your goals are for 2016 and I will do my best to help you stay accountable! If you have questions or need help achieving these goals email me I am here to help – strengthtrain4baby@gmail.com.

 

 

Christmas Catch Up

The family had a wonderful Christmas full of family and friends, and even a bit of snow!  As we all know finding time to squeeze in a workout is harder than ever.  Especially when you’ve had to much holiday “cheer” the evening before.  Luckily for me I am unable to partake in the so called holiday “cheer” everyone else does.  I’m fine drinking my Perrier with a pinky up and my belly out, however I do miss my beer and wine.  I miss it enough to count my reps using extra wine corks laying around.  My husband uses them as a back drop for his dart board, I use them as a counter.  5 rounds total, pushing a corks over for every round completed.  I know it seems silly, but for me it helps with the motivation.  I put those corks in the “completed” workout pile and go for more.  As they keep piling up, it keeps me motivated as I get closer to the finish.

After a few days off, due to Christmas, I was able to get in a quick workout, even with my little one running around and the dogs attacking me for kisses whenever I was on the floor! With Christmas and my crazy schedule, but I was dying to get back even if it was for 45 minutes.

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My little one helping with my burpees and my pup following close behind!

5 Rounds

15 Burpees with Bosu
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15 Assisted Pull-Ups

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30 Kettlebell Swings
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My kind husband was able to capture a few more pictures than usual and show how I keep track of my rounds. Regardless of it only being 5 rounds, I find that between my pregnant brain and anything else going on around me I tend to forget what round I am on. Thanks to our huge collection of wine corks I use these to keep track of myself.

12 Days of Christmas Workout!

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

Deadlift Thursday

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Today’s workout felt great! I got in a quick and heavy lift in with two friends. Both of my friends are training for a CrossFit competition, so I get to push them as they don’t want to get beat by the “pregnant lady”. Hehe! It’s fun to still workout with others training for competitions, it helps push my own workouts. Now my “heavy” workout is lighter than I would do when I am not pregnant, but still challenging enough that I am almost spent by the end of my set. Try out this quick WOD.

250 meter row
10 Deadlifts
5 Push Press
5 Diamond Push Ups
Repeat 4 times

Total time for me today: 14:02 minutes

Finished with 3 sets of bent over rows with heavy weight.