How to stick to your fitness routine

Hello Hello!

Last week, my company wrapped up our 60-Day fitness challenge.  The event was a success!  We had over 50 employees stay committed during the entire challenge and some of our employees saw amazing results (I’m talking over 8% body fat loss and several inches off their waist and hips).

The question that now burns deeply in all of our minds is… now what?  Well, we have a major product release and user conference coming up in less than a month, so our kFit program is taking a breather so people don’t feel overwhelmed.

The answer: get into a routine as quickly as possible.

Staying active, staying motivated and staying in great shape is all about routine and consistency.  For some, the kFit 60 Day Challenge was the first consistent program they had followed in several years.  All I gotta say is DON’T BREAK THE HABIT!  Here are some helpful tips on how to maintain an active lifestyle.

1.  Join. Join. Join. Join.

Join a gym, box, running club, studio, or league.  Join something that is going to help you stay consistent a couple days out of the week.  Currently, I belong to a gym, play on a coed soccer team Monday nights and joined the ClassPass program so I can find out what types of fitness studios I really enjoy.  I love love love HIIT conditioning and using heavy weights to build my strength.  I was so happy to find that by joining ClassPass I was able to find a HIIT studio winner … more on that later.

2.  Mark your calendar.

Nothing holds me as accountable as creating a calendar of my weekly workouts and posting it somewhere public.  If I come home early and Brian see’s that I have a 5 mile run written down, he won’t let me sit on the couch and blow it off.

3.  Find a buddy!

One of my favorite things about our 60-Day challenge was the fact that it was group training.  We all supported each other, did the same damn bear crawls together and we were engaged and excited to be there.  If you can find a friend, spouse, significant other who wants to be just as committed to an active lifestyle as you, it will make your fitness routine that much more fun!  Hell, maybe you will find someone through joining a studio or league.  Cough cough. Do it.

4.  Measure yourself.

When you take your hip, waist and body fat measurements and re-evaluate yourself every month, it really shows how much effort and commitment you are putting into your routine.  The body fat % scale does not lie, folks…

5.  Make it fun!

Don’t run every day if you freaking hate running!  Do activities that you truly enjoy and will make you go back and do it again.  I can’t tell you how awesome it is to try out new fitness classes (spin, barre, conditioning, strength, pilates, yoga, CrossFit) and find something you truly become passionate about.

Now that I’ve given my little rant, let’s hold myself accountable – shall we?

This weeks workouts:

Sunday – 60 minute spin class/body pump at GO Cycle.

Monday – Soccer.  (I got a stomach bug this night and only played half a game, but it’s better than nothing!)

Tuesday – 3.2 mile run.

Wednesday – 60 minute conditioning class at my new favorite… DHF Lakeview! (Again, more on that later).

Today – 4 mile run.

Friday – Rest.

Saturday – 45 minute spin class at Go Cycle

Now go out there and get. it. done.

Strength Moves I’m Loving Lately

Lately, I have really been loving the workouts the Spartan Race series sends it’s participants every morning.  They are always a combination of strength and cardio and a lot of the moves are ones that I would never have incorporated into my regular routine.  These same moves have also been introduced to me through my work’s kFit wellness program.  Our trainer, Sam, gives us personal attention to make sure we are performing at our best and to make sure our technique is correct.  The great news for people like you who might not get daily emails or daily training is that a lot of the moves they use can be found online! (slash, you should totally sign up for a spartan sprint.  It will challenge you in a new way and your body will thank you for it).

Here are some workout moves I have been LOVING lately:

Split Squat ISO Holds

This is a great move for beginners in strength training… don’t be timid if you find yourself having a hard time balancing at first.  Start on the ground and elevate yourself a couple inches until you can get to the full position.  This move workouts your glutes, hamstrings, quads and engages your core.  A full body win.

Hindu Squats

Another great squat variation that helps build lower back strength, endurance and speed.

Hindu Push-Ups

These push ups are so much more than a shoulder workout.  They increase mobility and work on your arms, back, chest and legs.

Bird Dog

This stability exercise engages your glutes and entire core.

Burpees

I love to hate them, but notice a major difference in my body when I incorporate these daily.  I feel stronger on my runs and actually feel like I could go for longer.

You can use these workouts to build your own circuit at the gym, outside or in your home!

Yesterday morning I was up bright and early to catch the bus and make it downtown to our 6AM kFit Bootcamp class.  It’s been a little stormy here lately, but we were fortunate enough to be able to attend the class outside!

I always initially come to this class tired and crabby.  It takes everything in my power to get me out of bed at 4:45 a.m. and I have never been a ‘natural’ morning person.  Within 10 minutes of our workout, I was feeling great and in the zone.  Funny how that happens, right?  Yesterday’s circuit focused a lot on Push-Ups – killer – and Squat Cleans with medicine balls.  By the end of the workout we had done close to 100 pushups and 80 squat cleans and I was feeeellinng it.  In a good way!  After the class, my coworker and I DIVVY over to our local gym a couple blocks away so we can shower and get ready for work.  I could barely lift my arms to shampoo my hair I was so tired, haha.

Work went by quickly which was great and even more great because I knew my workout for the day was over and I could do WHATEVER I wanted when I got home.  My extra time was spent taking Bailey on a nice long walk around the neighborhood and stopping to smell the flowers.

True story: she ate a flower just before I took this picture.  Silly.

Our dinners have been spot on lately.  Fully embracing the summer produce.  My favorite thus far has been the local pan seared trout:

We picked up these beauties from Whole Foods on Monday and boy were they delicious.

Nothing better.

Ta Ta for now!

 

WOD & Whitefish

I finally did something I was always a little apprehensive to do… I signed up for a Spartan race!

Thanks to Brian, I am now a participant in the 2014 Spartan Sprint at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI.  Yes!  This is the same venue Brian ran last year in which I watched him climb high ropes, lift heavy weights, do countless box jumps and climb tall walls.  I remember as a spectator thinking, “I don’t know if I could ever do that”, but as I watched all the participants go by I noticed that they were from all different fitness levels.  And if they could do it I could too.

My biggest challenge will be to improve my upper body strength.  While the obstacles are the not the same every year, I know that this is one of my weakness that could definitely make the course more challenging if I don’t train properly.

With that being said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that the Spartan Series sends you WOD’s as a part of your registration fee.

With 11 weeks to go until the race, I wasted no time and started my training yesterday.

Since it was supposed to rain last night, I decided to take my workout indoors and complete this series at the gym:

 

(Note: don’t repeat the 3 miles 3x, only the strength circuit)

It was an adapted version of what they sent us because I am also training for a 10k and need to make sure I get enough distance running in.  I felt really great after completing this workout and knew that I was going to be sore the next day which is always a good thing 🙂

After my workout, I headed over to Whole Foods to stock up on some groceries for the week.  I saw in the seafood section that they had a local Whitefish on sale and decided to give it a try.  I seriously love seafood… I’m fairly certain I could eat it every single day.

I seasoned the Whitefish with some herb & lime seasoning salt I have from Frontera Grill, a Rick Bayless restaurant.  That and a little black pepper was all the seasoning it needed.

Depending on the thickness of the fish, Whitefish does tend to cook a lot faster than Salmon does.  I seared these babies on medium high heat in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until done and flaky – about 3 minutes per side.

We squeezed a little fresh lemon juice on top and whipped up a side salad and that was that!

A delicious, fresh and light dinner.

Bon Appetit!

 

Sweat Inducing Workout

Good Morning, Sunshine!

I have a GREAT workout to share with you today 🙂  This week had been good, but a lot has been going on so I find myself thinking about a million different things after I leave work.

As some of you may know, yesterday was ‘National Running Day’ and in honor of the glorious holiday I came up with a perfect sweat-inducing workout.  Instead of running outside, I decided to head to the gym… why, you ask? It was such a beautiful day!  Well for one, the gym is never crowded these days so I like all the room I have to explore.  Second, my workout focused on incline and pace and the best place to gauge all of that is on the treadmill!

A 40 min. “Tempo Run” was slotted for my half-marathon training and so this is what I came up with…

Oh man, this workout was good.  The middle running portion is what really gets yah – but it is so worth it.  If you’re looking at this and thinking… “I can’t do that”, um YES YOU CAN!  If a 6.5 treadmill pace is not comfortable for you as your normal pace, adjust it!  Customize what feels good to you, but make sure it’s challenging.  Also, it helps if you have a really killer upbeat playlist.  Mine was full of lots of Calvin Harris and David Guetta – the perfect tempo to keep me going.

MIND OVER MATTER.  Here are what the final stats looked like:

This was one of those workouts that left me feeling so accomplished, especially because I was sweating like a maniac — this is where the empty gym thing is a plus!

After my run, I grabbed a foam mat and focused on stretching.  I brought my iPad with me and pulled up the Tone It Up! ‘Bikini Booty’ workout and completed the session 3 times.  I was definitely feeling the burn!

Because I was such a sweaty mess, I ended up showering at the gym and taking full advantage of their sauna which I rarely do!  It was the perfect end to my workout.

By the time I got home I was starving!  I opened my fridge and decided that I wanted something meaty – but healthy — stuffed peppers sounded just right.

Southwest Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• Two Large Bell Peppers (I had red on hand)
• Ground Turkey (I used leftovers from my turkey tacos)
• Frozen Corn Kernels
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Quinoa
• Black Bean Salsa
• Hot Sauce
• Olive Oil Spray
• 1 Medium Tomato – diced
• Taco Seasoning
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Cooking the quinoa according to package directions in a saucepan.
3. While the quinoa is cooking, grab your ground turkey and start cooking.  I already had some precooked, preseasoned ground turkey on hand – but if you are doing this from scratch – cook the turkey in a pan for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.  With three minutes left, add the diced tomatoes, corn and black bean salsa to the pan and stir until warmed through.
4. Slice your bell peppers in half.  Scoop out the insides and rinse through making sure not ribs or seeds are left.  Spray a baking dish or pan with cooking spray and place the peppers hollowed side up.  Bake these for 15 minutes until just tender.
5. Once the quinoa is done, combine with the meat mixture in a large bowl.  Taste the mixture and add salt – pepper and hot sauce if desired.
6. Pull the peppers out of the oven and stuff with turkey and quinoa mixture.  Top with the grated cheddar cheese – enough to cover the peppers.
7. Bake again for 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and gooey!
8. Enjoy!

These little babies were do delicious and just the right amount of food.

Once again, Brian and I ended the night watching Castle, but right as we were ending a VERY INTENSE episode – our Tivo restarted!  Yes, we have Tivo and yes we were both screaming at the t.v.  We were not able to recover the episode and therefore I went to bed not knowing the ending.  The little things in life…

On a brighter note, two days until the weekend!

Jump Start to the Morning

Good Morning!

About three hours ago, I woke up, laced up my running shoes and headed out the door.

4 miles was slotted for my training plan and I had no problem accomplishing my goal with the help of some gorgeous weather and a great play list blaring in the background.

There is something so calming about morning runs no matter how much they make you sweat.  Life seems a bit slower as the hustle and bustle of the city has yet to emerge.

Once I finished and got back home, I did some stretching on my yoga mat and grabbed a protein bar to refuel.

I’m surprised how well I felt during my run this morning because like many Chicagoans, I was up late watching the Blackhawks beat the Red Wings and indulging in one too many glasses of wine.

Dinner consisted of some leftover meat loaf, quinoa and sauteed zucchini and onions.

I made a ton of quinoa because (A.) I went the the gym after work, did a lot of lifting and needed a protein packed dinner and (B.) because I wanted to have enough to bring for lunch the next two days.  Dinner win!

The game last night was really intense.  I’m not a Blackhawks fan, but when they are not playing the Sabres I am a Chicago fan through and through.  Bailey was super stressed out about the game, she wouldn’t even face the t.v. 🙂

I cannot believe it is already Thursday!  I love having Monday’s off because the week flys by.  Tonight I’m supposed to have BvB practice, but from my weatherman’s predictions that might not happen.  Nevertheless, I do get to go to the New Balance store and pick up my race bib/packet for the ‘United Run for the Zoo 10k’ I am participating in this weekend.  These next two weekends are packed with fun activities including another race – the PAWS 8k!  I will be running it and Brian is going to bring Bailey so she can mingle with the other pups and try out the agility courses.  Should be hilarious.

Until tomorrow, friends!