Outdoors No Equipment Stairs Workout

Outdoor Stairs Workout

Nice warm weather calls us to places like city stairs for workouts. Stairs are a great workout cardiovascularly and for the the butt and legs.  Add a little bit of upper body work and you've got your full body workout in!

First Set

Walk up the stairs for the first set. Reaching the top you can do a few stretches if you;d like before coming back down 

Second Set

1. Pick up the pace a bit (if you can) going up the stairs. 
2. At the top do 10 Tricep Dips. Can be done off a bench, rock, top stairs or from the ground.
3. walk down the stairs.
4. At the bottom for 10 push ups. Can be done from the ground and feet, ground and knees, of off the last few steps.

Third Set +

For the third set up to as many as you can do, repeat steps for the second set, just adding a bit more speed either up and/or down. 

TIPS

• Bring a small rock from the bottom of the stairs up each time you do a set to keep track of how many you have done.
• Set goals for the amount of sets you want to do. Maybe each week you add a set.
• Set time goals for how quickly you complete sets or workouts.
• Increase the reps of the push ups and/or tricep dips occasionally to 12 or 15+.

Full Body Home Workout

A free full body workout from home or the park. 

The weather is warmer and you likely don't want to be trapped inside a gym. Take your workout to the backyard or playground with your kids with this full body workout.

You can do as many rounds as you'd like but I recommend three with breaks in between. Warm up with some jogging (actual or on the spot) and/or jumping jacks. If you are a postpartum mom and need less impact (read Why You Pee During Your Workout) take to some bodyweight squats. 

Cool down with some stretching and remember to rehydrate!

• High knees - get your knees up toward your chest. 20 per leg
• Glute bridge raises - lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the ground. Lift the butt off the ground and squeeze the glutes. 
• Pushups - hands on the ground outside of the shoulders. Start from knees and work up to from feet. 
• Squat jumps - squat down, keep the chest up (look forward) and jump up. Option to bodyweight squat instead or grab your toddler/baby on your back.
• Walking lunges - hands can be on the hips for balance. 20 per leg
• Tricep dips - hands on the ground or a bench with fingertips pointing toward your feet. Bend at the elbows, do not swing hips up and down. 

Love, 

Jen The Bitchin' Housewife

36 Hours of Sweat and No Stink - Pure Living Deodorant Review

Have you ever tried switching to a all natural deodorant? I made the switch about two years ago after I learned some staggering statistics regarding the harmful things put into our deodorant and the relation to breast cancers. At first it wasn't good. I will admit. There is a couple week phase as your body sort of detoxes from the chemical filled stuff. But after that, life gets better. I promise!

Since switching I have tried MANY natural deodorants. Some good, some just plain bad. I may however have found the ultimate deodorant from Pure Living. I am not even kidding people. I am a busy mama. I get up at 5:30 am to workout, rush kids to school, teach bootcamps and yoga all day and night, and add all the usual life of a mom (laundry, cooking, boo boo kissing and basically everything else am I right?). I have found in the past, about 1/2 way into my day, I start to smell a bit. I either just let myself smell or need to reapply.

Well, let me tell you a little something. I put this deodorant to THE TEST yesterday. Let me set the scene:

Tuesday evening I come home from teaching hot yoga, shower and sleep.

Wednesday morning apply deodorant after being up early with a sick kid and missing the gym.

Teach bootcamp, pickup kids, make lunch, teach yoga, do a fast and hard leg day workout, meditate, teach two more yoga classes, put kids to bed and pass out on the couch.

I do not shower. (sorry hubby)

Thursday morning 5:30 am head to the gym, back day and 30 minutes on the stairmill (or sometimes referred to as the Death Machine) 

Get back home to make breakfast and have coffee.

I DO NOT STINK!!! Yeah re-read that. Seriously guys. I am 100% impressed.

So I think it's safe to safe I 100% recommend this deodorant. And of course another side benefit? They are local to Edmonton! You can support our local city and get a great product. Win - win right? Check out the Pure Living webpage and check back on the blog here for a more reviews of their stuff coming!  

Love, 

Jen The Bitchin' Housewife

Why You Pee During Your Workout

I am a mom. I understand. Sometimes (particularly while jumping) we pee a little during our workouts. And anyone reading this who isn't a mother.. well...... sorry to say it's true most of the time for women after having babies. This is not my areas of expertise BUT I thought it would be great to bring in the wonderful (and gorgeous) Kaye Burrows from Core Love Fitness who DOES specialize in this area to talk about WHY we pee! Read on below for Kaye's amazing advice!

Why are you peeing during your workout?  And how to stop!

I remember leaving my first Stroller Boot camp class after my daughter was born and thinking “Is my vagina just sweating a lot or did I totally pee my pants?”  Hint: no, vaginas don’t sweat a lot.  

There is a major misconception that if you are experiencing urinary incontinence (leaking pee) after having babies it is because your pelvic floor is stretched, loose and weak.  Another misconception is that doing 100’s of kegals a day will solve all of your pelvic floor problems.   

In my experience, many women experiencing leaking have a hypertonic (tight) pelvic floor and thus have a really hard time strengthening the muscles because they cannot first get them to relax.  Your pelvic floor is made up of muscles that, just like any other muscle, work best when they can both fully relax and fully contract!  If this is your pelvic floor, kegal-ing away all day is not going to solve the problem.  

You can see from this diagram of the pelvic region that your pelvic floor is supporting some pretty important stuff!  I know that you may be desperate to get your ‘body back’ after having babies and so you turn to crunches/sit-ups, planks and running.  For the sake of your pelvic floor, I actually recommend you don’t do any of those, if you are experiencing incontinence.  Just for now, not for forever, I promise!

What to do:

1) First off,

I can’t recommend a pelvic health physiotherapist enough.  I would never have healed my own pelvic floor without one!  Here is a helpful link from Pelvienne Wellness that can help you find one.  If you want help locating one in Edmonton contact me here and I can share my recommendations.  

Next, you need to figure out if the way you breathe and stand is supporting your core and pelvic floor.  

2) Breathing

Start lying on your back, and place one hand on your ribs and one hand on your belly.  As you inhale, intentionally bring your breath into your ribs and into your belly instead of lifting your shoulders and breathing into your chest.  This encourages your diaphragm to move through its full range of motion and supports the deep core and pelvic floor muscles.  As you exhale, feel both your ribs and your belly sink towards your spine.  Try to breathe right into your pelvic floor.  Repeat 10 times (or more- relax and breathe Mamas!).

3) Standing.  

The two cues I say most often are:

• “Leave your behind (bum) behind you”

• “Keep your headlights (breasts) shining forward”

In the above photo my hips have shifted forward and my ribs have lifted up and shifted back.   This is a really common posture for moms because it takes some of the load of carrying babies (all day long!) off of the arms and into our spine and pelvis.  

In this photo, I have brought my bum behind me and rotated my ribs down and forward so that my “headlights” are shining forward.  This is a much better alignment to support my core and pelvic floor.

4) Be smart about your workouts.

Find an expert that you trust to guide you.  Burpees, jumping jacks, crunches and other high intensity exercises that are creating a ton of intra-abdominal pressure are not for a body that is repairing the core and pelvic floor.  If your class instructor or trainer doesn’t have a lot of knowledge about diastasis recti, pelvic organ prolapse, pelvic floor healing, incontinence and hormone levels in nursing moms, look elsewhere.  You don’t want to move backwards in terms of healing and strengthening.  If you are looking for a fantastic online program that you can follow along at home, go here.  And if you need more help, please reach out!  I am so passionate about helping women feel connected, strong and at home in their bodies.  I would love to help you get there!  You can find me at corelove.ca, on Facebook and Instagram.     

Orange Theory Fitness Review

 

I'm sure you've seen or heard about Orange Theory Fitness. They seem to be popping up everywhere lately. But just what is it all about? I went on Tuesday to the Jasper Gates location off Stony Plain road and 149 street and checked out a class.

I went in the week before to check their schedule and sign up for a class and she told me I had to be there 30 minutes before class for orientation. Since I was in a time crunch she let me fill out the form ahead of time and only come 15 minutes earlier then class. 

I got a walk through of the space and quick meet up with the trainer before class. They went over everything I would need to know in order to be effective without stopping the workout to much, which is great to be able to just do my thing!

The space

The workout room is kind of cool with the orange lights. Definetly a different experience from a traditional gym light. The music was upbeat and fun and the trainer was that hard to find balance of perky, motivating and not irritating. (As someone who instructs fitness it's really a hard balance to find!)

The workout

It was a great workout for sure. I enjoyed that it was a group thing but you were able to really individually push yourself, especially since you wear a heart rate monitor. The monitor is then put on the screen and you can see what zone you are at any given time. The idea being you spend most of your time in the hard work but not dying "orange zone" or recovery "green zone. That's the THEORY anyways..... see what I did there?

K kidding aside though. We did some strength training and rowing and then switched and did cardio on the treadmills half way through.  The strength training was a tad easy for me, but you can add more weights to moves making them harder for sure. I suppose you want to reserve some energy for the rest of class too!

The cardio was good. I like they give variations for those who wish to be more power walkers and those more into running. I noticed they even had a few bikes and an eliptical for those who have knee/ankles issues or whatever. 

The workout was great. Since you wear a monitor it racks your calories burned which I love. I use my MyZone Heart rate monitor all the time, so knowing my caloric range I was in to compare to a normal workout of mine was great. The workout gets emailed to you after so you can keep track as well. Only thing I wish they did in the email was tell you who was the teacher. I wish I remembered her name for in case I wanted to go again. She was pretty awesome. 

The sell

They certainly have got their sales plan down on working with you after the workout. Not to much pressure, but they get to the point. I've heard people say it's expensive and some say it's not bad. The pricing seemed a bit awkward to me with basing it off working out twice a week for the month. My three thoughts on this:

• Interval training (which this is) should really only be done every second or third day, so makes sense to sell it that way. 
• It misses the fact that maybe you need to run or have weight in between and you either still need a membership or something else to supplement. For people new to fitness, likely not so much, but since I like to workout 6 days a week I would. 
• Considering the fact there are only so many people allowed per class and you don't have to think about making your own workout AT ALL, paying the price is similar to as if working with a trainer at a gym anyways. 

So with that info you can decide if it's pricey for you and your lifestyle. 

The good

• GREAT workout
• I love the heart rate tracking and caloric tracking
• The place has certainly got a fun vibe. 
• You don't have to plan your workouts. You just go and do it! Great for beginners.

The not so good:

• It may seem pricey
• You might have to supplement workouts still
• No childcare

Have you tried out a class yet?

Love,

Jen The Bitchin' Housewife

7 Days of Self Care Giveaways

February 1st-7th we are doing 7 days of Self Care giveaways. Ways to find some time for yourself. Each day we will be featuring a new self care on Facebook and Instagram and all you have to do is follow along and tag your friends that you think need some self care! 

Chopped Leaf Turn Over A New Leaf Contest

New year, new leaf to turn over. I don't care what anyone says about resolutions and "New Year, New Me". I love a fresh year, fresh start with the intention of changing something for the better. 

January 1st The Chopped Leaf, launched their Turn Over a New Leaf program. For the month of January, offering healthy tips on their Facebook Twitter and Instagram pages with a chance to enter daily to win $15 gift certificates as well as be entered to win the grand prize worth $2500 including  $1000 Chopped Leaf gift card and a year membership to Goodlife and a spa and wellness package! 

So head on over to follow them and get in on the daily draws and  enter to win for the grand prize HERE.

5 Foods To Eat After Injury

If you don't follow along on my Instagram, you would have missed the fact that I injured myself yesterday. Doing some fancy version of box squats, I missed and landed on the corner of the box with my shins. *Insert grimace*.

So here we are writing about some foods that will help the healing process. These are great not just for us adults, but for the kids on our lives that play sports or get injuries from riding their bikes, as they are non medical ways of helping heal. 

1.Ginger - Ginger is a well known anti inflammatory and helps reduce pain. But in addition to this, if you are taking medication for pain/healing that upsets the stomach, ginger is known to help fight nausea and upset stomachs.  

2.Tumeric - Also another well known powerful anti inflammatory, reducing joint pain if there are injuries to knees, elbows, shoulders etc.

3.Vitamin C Rich Foods - Vitamin C boosts immunity we know but it also important in strengthening of collagen (the stuff that holds our skin together), if we aren’t getting enough vitamin c Collagen gets weaker and wounds heal slower.Try sweet bell peppers, oranges, spinach, and brussel sprouts.

4.Protein - Think about bodybuilders and muscle heads and all the protein they seem to consume. While working out we are tearing the muscles and protein is needed to repair the tears. It’s not just neede for repairing muscles but also injuries such as cuts, burns, wounds etc. Increase your protein intake while healing. “Protein gets used for energy before healing” - Michele Gottschlick R.D Ph.D.  So we need to increase protein for energy AND to use for healing.

5.Zinc Rich Foods - Zinc is needed to synthesis protein and for cell growth, helping heal wounds faster. Spinach, Beef, Kidney Beans, Pumpkin Seeds, Oysters, Garlic (well isn’t that just convenient) Egg Yolk, Pork and Dark Chocolate (So I’ve given you a scientific reason to eat chocolate).

Adding some of these foods together would probably make a great salad or stew! Watch for a recipe on the blog soon!! Ha ha

Love, 

Jen The Bitchin' Housewife

Leg/Cardio Bodyweight Workout

Try out this fun home workout. Can be done all bodyweight or add weight to certain moves. For a real burn do it twice!

Combat Crunch Protein Bar Review

This week I tried out a Muscle Pharm Combat Crunch Chocolate Cookie Dough Protein Bar. 

• Calories: 210
• Fat: 7g
• Carbohydrates: 25g
• Fiber: 12g
• Protein: 20g
• Special dietary : Gluten Free

Again first thing I noticed is texture. On their packaging they say "like eating a soft batch cookie". I would disagree. It was better then a soft batch cookie. More like a chocolate bar. Close to the texture of an Oh Henry. Which I personally like a lot! Chewy with some crunch.

The flavor is delicious. As I said the texture is like a chocolate bar, and honestly so is the taste. I wouldn't say it taste like chocolate chip cookie dough, but certainly a good chocolate bar. 

The calories are within normal range, slightly higher and the fiber content is okay. The one issue I had is that it upset my tummy a bit and I was a bit gassy.  I am known to have a bit of a sensitive stomach, so if that's you, maybe err on the side of caution or consume half a bar at a time. (If you can resist).

I wouldn't mess with this bar much by baking or putting anything on it. It's pretty good on it's own and the texture is spot on. 

Love, 

Jen the Bithin' Housewife

10 Motivating Workout Songs

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for the best music to workout to or do yoga to. The right song can get that extra rep in help push you to dig a little deeper. 

Here is 10 songs I find super motivating and fun to workout too!

1. AWOLNATION - Sail
2. BEYONCE - Run The World
3. JANELLE MONAE - Yoga
4. JENNIFER LOPEZ - On the Floor
5. KELIS - Bossy
6. MIKE POSNER - Top of the World
7. ROB BAILEY  - Beast
8. CALVIN HARRIS - How Deep Is Your Love
9. BRITNEY SPEARS - Work Bitch
10. EMINEM - Rap God

What are some of your favourite songs to work out to?

Love,

Jen the Bitchin' Housewife

It Doesn't Have To Be Perfect

My verdict on astrology is still out, but as a Cancer (and a Pitta in the Ayurvedic world) I have a small problem with perfectionism. Sometimes I find myself not even starting a task because I know it will not work out perfectly or know that I don't have the time to do it perfectly.

This evening as I am hand washing some dishes that didn't fit in the dishwasher, I started thinking about the mess that currently is my home and everything that needs to be done to clean it. To perfection no less.

Today, for several reason I do not have the energy for this task. I normally may have even left the dishes in the sink to "catch up" on them tomorrow, because I certainly don't have the time to clean the whole kitchen and then house. I did them though, to make at least a small impact on the mess.

I think this is many people's problem with fitness and/or nutrition. Inner dialogue may sound a little like this: 

"If I am not going to perform the most efficiently in the gym, why should I even go? How can I perform the most efficiently if I don't know what I am  doing? I need to research or read about how to do things perfectly so I can make the most of my time while there. Okay, research first, get a plan and then go."

Days, weeks or even months pass. Waiting for the perfect plan, perfect moment, perfect outfit, perfect timing or whatever. Then it becomes a kitchen full of dishes that never get done. Am I right?

What if we stopped trying to make everything perfect and we just try? What if I learn to accept the mess around me for what it is, but know I can make a small impact right here, right now. A small step in the direction I wish to travel. Soon these small steps turn into these big milestones. These milestones turn into big moments and these big moments turn into the way I live my life?

Maybe at lunch when I have some cheesecake instead of sticking to my salad and egg whites I accept the "mess" and continue on with my plan instead of "well today is shot, may as well go down hill from here."

It doesn't have to be perfect. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to take a small step in the direction you wish to travel. The rest will follow eventually. 

Love, 

Jen

Fitness Goal Setting

Goal setting. Seems simple enough right? "I want to loose weight"," I want to build muscles" or "I want to run a half marathon." Seem simple that think about something we want and boom it's a goal. 

But is it? Not to pull out all the cheesey fitness quotes but as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said "A goal without a plan is just a wish." 

So how do we set fitness goals? How do we make it a goal and not a wish, a real live attainable thing? Let's take it back to elementary school with how to solve a problem. Figure out the 5 W's and the H.

• What? What is your goal? Do you have an event you want to race in, a weight/size you are looking to achieve? This I think is the easy part of goal setting of course. What do you want?
• When? When do you want to achieve this goal by? Thinking something reasonable, maybe planning to run a marathon in 3 weeks and you've never run a day in your life is a bit too much too fast. But set some timelines of the things you wish to obtain.
• Who? Who do you need to support you in your goal? Tell these people your plans. They can hold you accountable and/or help you with your goals. You might be surprised to find the people rooting you on and/or you inspire to do the same! Do you need a personal trainer or coach? Do you need workout buddies?
• Where? Seems like an odd question, but in reality, where do you need to be in order to obtain this goal? Do you need a gym membership since home workouts and self motivation you know are a hurdle for you? Do you need to be able to run outside, do you have a place to do this?
• Why? Ah, this is the tricky one. Think good and hard about why you want to obtain this goal. If you heart isn't really there, the love and joy of obtaining your goal likely won't. I wrote a bit about loving your personal fitness journey and it helping in this post Love Your Fitness . Take some time to sit and actually think about why you want to do something, because if it comes from this place of self hate or self loathing, you'll likely hate every minute. Taking an honest look at your feelings will help you use them constructively, instead of burying them inside a workout. 
• How? Sit down and write out how. I'm a pen and paper gal, where if I write something down its official. Maybe you like spreadsheets of how often you plan to workout or what your nutrition will look like. Write it out, type it, print and put it somewhere you see often. A reference to look back on to see if you are on track, or a place to write what did or didn't work. Remembering sometimes our journeys take us different routes then we thought.

Now go and take action!!!! You have planned and prepared, go crush those goals!

Love, 

Jen

Trinity Workout

Our 6am club has been doing the stairs and a full body style workout at the top halfway through. I made this "Trinity" workout and designed it to be legs, then arms, then some core/abs work. Trinity because well, all the 3's. I'm weird like that. 

We did 7 rounds of the stairs today so only went through this workout once, but I'd love to hear if you did it the full 3 times! Rest in between each of the sets for a minute or two and get on it!

Quick description of each move is below.

Squats - Bum low, chest up

Tricep Dips - palms down, fingers pointing to toes, bend at the elbows

Plank Toe Tap - 15 a side. High plank reaching opposite hand to toe

Lunge to high knee - 15 a side. Lunge back then draw back knee into the chest.

Push Ups - Can be done from the knees.

High/Low Planks - high plank to the forearms is one 1, then back up and down for 30.

Plie Squat - feet pointed out, legs wider, chest up.

Diamond Push up - hand in a diamond shape on the ground, bum high, feet wide. Draw the head to the floor.

Genie Abs - On the back, arms over the chest, draw the knees to the arms and lift the bum. 

Enjoy!

Love, 

Jen

7 Tips To Get Up Early To Workout

1.Set a couple of alarms. I won't lie to you my friends, I'm a morning person and I even need to set two alarms some mornings to wake up. Just this morning I fell asleep after the first one, but luckily 15 minute later I had another going

2.Lay out your clothes the night before. If you happen to wake up on that second alarm, or third, your clothes are ready to go. Change and you are on your way. 

3.Plan your workout ahead of time. Plan to attend a class or pop in a specific DVD or print off your Take It Outside Bodyweight Workout. Knowing what you plan to do, makes sure you just get into, instead of making an excuse to just go back to bed. 

4.Put your water bottle and/or morning snack on the counter. Depending on how hungry you are (or how you function on low blood sugar), maybe plan to leave a quick easy snack such as a banana on the counter. 

5.Leave your gym bag in the car/at the front door. Again, the easier things are to just pick up and go, the more you are likely to do them! Have your gym bag with a change of clothes for work, your running shoes, toiletries or whatever you may need in your bag and ready by the door to go. 

6.Go to bed a bit earlier! Try crawling into bed even an hour earlier. Some say for every hour of sleep before midnight, it's worth 2 hours of sleep after 12!

7.Find some friends to keep you accountable. I can't tell you the amount of times I didn't want to go to a 6m workout and I knew I would be letting down my friends if I didn't show up. Let me tell you, I have yet to regret going! The Power of A Workout Buddy is like no other!

Need a little more motivation? Here are some reasons why my friend gave that they like their 6 am workouts:

"The feeling after a morning workout is so awesome! . I can start my day with a level head (most days) and so much energy."

"Just knowing you did it and you can focus on the rest of the day, spend time with your family, not worrying about fitting it in."

"It helps me make good eating choices throughout the day. I have less desire to eat junk and am more drawn to healthy options - to fuel my body not just satisfy a craving"

Honestly at first it's hard. I won't tell you it's easy. But the more you do it, the more of a habit it becomes and then you get excited to wake up early and kick the day's butt! On days I don't work out I'm even up early before my kids taking some time to myself. Meditating, reading emails in the dark or just enjoying a hot coffee. 

What motivated you to get out of bed to work out?

Love, 

Jen

Take It Outside Workout

This morning my 6am club friends and I took our workout outside. It's been record breaking warm and beautiful here in the city for mid April and we took advantage of it. 

We met up at the bottom of one of the 50 sets of stairs in our city and got to it. Up and down a few times and at the top as the sun rose we did a fun bodyweight workout I put together. 

We laughed, we moaned, we had a blast and I feel refreshed and energized for my day. Not just from the workout, but the fresh air and the quality time with people I adore. 

At the top of the Whitemud ravine stairs is this awesome crochet/pom pom tree project.

Grab some friend and try this workout! 

Where do you like taking your workouts outside?

Love, 

Jen

Uncomplicating Fitness, Health & Nutrition

We live in a world of information at our every turn. Need an answer?, within seconds and a few taps we have an answer. This is amazing, but at the same time overwhelming.

My goal with this blog, with everything I do in regards to health, fitness, yoga and nutrition is with the goal in mind to make it simple and approachable. 

I was having a conversation with someone about fitness and they said to me "I wish I was one of these people into working out and fitness". You know what I said? "I said that exact same thing 6 years ago." I tried many different things, running, weights, yoga, bikini competing, home DVD's, macro counting, gym group classes and so on. My love of fitness just sort of developed as I tried new things. 

We all start somewhere and I think so of us "fitness people" forget that a little. There is always new research coming out for better ways to work out and nutrition tips and so on. I think that is the most overwhelming part. We don't want to start working out, put time and effort in to find out we could do it an easier and better way? Burn fat faster or build muscle more efficiently right?

But I believe that's part of the fitness journey.  Trying things, finding out they don't work and trying something else. As I said in my Love Your Fitness blog post, try a bunch of things, find what you love and go with it. Who cares if it really burns fat the fastest if you hate doing it. What is there is a more efficient way at building muscle, but it draws everything out of you mentally to do it. Is it really that much more effective? Just MOVE YOUR BODY!

Experiment with eating styles even. In a world of paleo, macro counting, clean eating, gluten free, vegan and so on, there is more then one way to get to whatever your goal is. Try something new. 

Health tips are another one. I remember years ago eating pomegranates was a huge craze, stores couldn't keep them in stock. It was the new superfood. Kale, almonds, arugula, turmeric, lemon water etc. Try some new stuff and what you like/what works for you is what you need.

The only thing I will say, is give it some time. With each thing you try, give it some time without giving up so quickly. But if you like what you are doing and it feels good, it's likely not going to be that hard! If you like it you are more likely to stick with it, so tell nay sayers of your workout or eating choices to shove it!

Love, 

Jen

The Power Of A Workout Buddy

I've been mostly a loner in the gym. I like to workout by myself, go at my own pace, do the exercises I want to do and just jam out to my music.  When my husband was/is in town we usually spend some time in the gym together. He helps motivate me  and pushes me a little harder and I love that too. 

But the past little while I've been very busy with some new adventures and teaching that I've lost a lot of motivation to go to the gym or work very hard while I am there. 

Maybe a month or so ago I invited a couple friends to come do a 6 am hot yoga class with me atthe gym. I wasn't teaching, it was just to get some Zen in before starting our day. We felt so good getting a bit of work in, getting zenned out but I think just being there together too.  Of course in classic gym style if you don't take a selfie it didn't happen, so here we are. My friends are babes even after hot yoga. (While I look a bit like a drown rat. ha ha)

Then something compelled me to take my Insanity Live Instructor training, and I thought "crap, I should probably take a few classes so I'm conditioned to teach it!". So I asked my friends if they wanted to take a 6am Insanity class with me the next week. We all almost died and there was no selfie taken because I think we were all in too much of a haze to think to take one.

But we realized we all loved getting up before our kids and husbands and getting in our time and doing it together. We created our own little message group and ask each other to go to classes. Yoga, HIIT, Insanity whatever. We go to at least one class a week and we motivate each other. 

Another friend recently started coming and she's loving it. Even drives across the city almost to meet up with us. This morning she text me as I was getting into my car "sorry I slept through my alarm".  I woke up a bit tired and sore this morning so I thought to myself this was the perfect excuse to get back into my warm bed. I messaged the other two friends to see if they were going since they seemed on the fence the night before hoping they would say no. But no, they both said they were going to be there. Motivation back on. Game time. Let's go. 

The power of having those friends to hold me accountable is simply priceless. We even motivate each other while working out. Push each other harder and faster. And take pictures of you doing post workout yoga poses so you look cool....

Thanks my friends. You are amazing.

Find your tribe and love the shit out of them! 

Love,

Jen

Arbonne Preworkout Review

Last  year I wrote What's In Your Pre workout? A post going through some of the things in one particular workout powder. Although It was just the one, many of them have the same ingredients and stimulants in them. 

Recently Arbonne came out with a new sports line. If you don't know Arbonne, it's a direct sale company with everything from makeup to nutrition and skin care. Well I asked a friend who sells Arbonne about it and she gave me some to try out. I ordered some. 

This preworkout I don't believe to be anything like other pre workouts. I've heard of many people saying the look for ones that don't give you the jitters or "prickly skin" or make your heart feel like it wants to come out of your chest. These are all things I definitely don't want to be feeling. I fear that if we feel so jacked up that our hearts are going to jump out of chests, how likely is it to injure ourselves? Additionally the havoc it may cause on our bodies nervous system? This is why they tell you to cycle pre workouts. Every few weeks stop taking it. Your poor body thinks it's fighting a lion every time you workout. Not in the mental sense like "you're a hardcore beast, kill this workout" either.(Sorry)

During the workouts I used the powder I felt like my normal self. I just noticed on cardio day that maybe I wasn't completely dead by the time I reached the last intervals. On lifting days I could get a few more reps in. My friend who sells Arbonne said she notices she has a little more motivation. She isn't a regular gym rat, so the little bit of extra umph to her workout helps. 

Here is the part I really like. The ingredients. So lets go through them.

Vitamins A, C, E, B6, B12, thiamin, riboflavin, sodium and potassium.- Different key vitamins and nutrients for the body. Pretty straightforward. 

L-Arginine - An amino acid found in the body, said to help improve function of blood vessels. There are contraindications for people who have history of heart attacks. Although I'm sure if you've had a heart attack you likely know better then to take stimulants or pre workout powders!

L-Citrulline - Another amino acid found in the body and foods like watermelon. Oddly enough our bodies use this and turn it into the above Arginine. 

L-Carnitine - An amino acid that Bodybuilding.com has a whole article on. Check it out 11 Super Side Effects of Taking L Carnitine

D-Ribose - A sugar or energy source but this ingredient is also said to help some people with muscle soreness too.

Ginseng - Many of us have heard of ginseng. Some come to it for when they don't feel well or use it as a bit of energy boost. Ginseng is an ingredient with many benefits. Here is a website with a lot of interesting information Gingeng Panax

Tumeric and Cayenne - Again we have all seen these before. Spices used in cooking perhaps. Or the dreaded "cleanses". They have detoxifying properties and aid in digestion. 

OTHER INGREDIENTS: organic cane sugar, citric acid, rice syrup solids, orange flavor, pineapple flavor, silicon dioxide, stevia leaf extract.

Since there isn't a bunch of artificial sweeteners, and cane sugar/rice syrup are used there is some calories added. 

Macros are: Fat 0g, Carb 9g, Protein 0g. Making for 36 calories (9 grams carb multiplied by 4 calories per gram). Although the website will tell you 50 calories. 

Overall I really like this preworkout. Especially if you are not a "hardcore gym rat" and/or newer to fitness! If you want to order some check out Amanda Sten Arbonnne .

Love, 

Jen

Arbonne Preworkout Review

Last  year I wrote What's In Your Pre workout? A post going through some of the things in one particular workout powder. Although It was just the one, many of them have the same ingredients and stimulants in them. 

Recently Arbonne came out with a new sports line. If you don't know Arbonne, it's a direct sale company with everything from makeup to nutrition and skin care. Well I asked a friend who sells Arbonne about it and she gave me some to try out. I ordered some. 

This preworkout I don't believe to be anything like other pre workouts. I've heard of many people saying the look for ones that don't give you the jitters or "prickly skin" or make your heart feel like it wants to come out of your chest. These are all things I definitely don't want to be feeling. I fear that if we feel so jacked up that our hearts are going to jump out of chests, how likely is it to injure ourselves? Additionally the havoc it may cause on our bodies nervous system? This is why they tell you to cycle pre workouts. Every few weeks stop taking it. Your poor body thinks it's fighting a lion every time you workout. Not in the mental sense like "you're a hardcore beast, kill this workout" either.(Sorry)

During the workouts I used the powder I felt like my normal self. I just noticed on cardio day that maybe I wasn't completely dead by the time I reached the last intervals. On lifting days I could get a few more reps in. My friend who sells Arbonne said she notices she has a little more motivation. She isn't a regular gym rat, so the little bit of extra umph to her workout helps. 

Here is the part I really like. The ingredients. So lets go through them.

Vitamins A, C, E, B6, B12, thiamin, riboflavin, sodium and potassium.- Different key vitamins and nutrients for the body. Pretty straightforward. 

L-Arginine - An amino acid found in the body, said to help improve function of blood vessels. There are contraindications for people who have history of heart attacks. Although I'm sure if you've had a heart attack you likely know better then to take stimulants or pre workout powders!

L-Citrulline - Another amino acid found in the body and foods like watermelon. Oddly enough our bodies use this and turn it into the above Arginine. 

L-Carnitine - An amino acid that Bodybuilding.com has a whole article on. Check it out 11 Super Side Effects of Taking L Carnitine

D-Ribose - A sugar or energy source but this ingredient is also said to help some people with muscle soreness too.

Ginseng - Many of us have heard of ginseng. Some come to it for when they don't feel well or use it as a bit of energy boost. Ginseng is an ingredient with many benefits. Here is a website with a lot of interesting information Gingeng Panax

Tumeric and Cayenne - Again we have all seen these before. Spices used in cooking perhaps. Or the dreaded "cleanses". They have detoxifying properties and aid in digestion. 

OTHER INGREDIENTS: organic cane sugar, citric acid, rice syrup solids, orange flavor, pineapple flavor, silicon dioxide, stevia leaf extract.

Since there isn't a bunch of artificial sweeteners, and cane sugar/rice syrup are used there is some calories added. 

Macros are: Fat 0g, Carb 9g, Protein 0g. Making for 36 calories (9 grams carb multiplied by 4 calories per gram). Although the website will tell you 50 calories. 

Overall I really like this preworkout. Especially if you are not a "hardcore gym rat" and/or newer to fitness! If you want to order some check out Amanda Sten Arbonnne .

Love, 

Jen