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Showing posts from 2007

Nothing too exciting. Several short workouts posted

I enjoy sometimes when life has settled down and there is no big news to discuss. The big family holidays are over and things are mellow.   I have been in a super laid back mood since I got back from Marin County. Going with the laid back theme I have kept my workouts as such. Very short ones as usual.  Here are a couple ones I have done in the last several days. One I got from Ross's training book Never Gymless. Workout 1 (feeling lethargic so eased back in to this first workout on the cardio part) Swings    8kg      50 reps    Suitcase Deadlift  2 24kg's  6 reps Swings 12kg    50 reps Suitcase Deadlift  2  24kg's  6 reps Swings 16kg   40 reps Suitcase DL   2 24kg's 6 reps Snatches 12kg   10 per side Presses  12kg   6 per side and repeated 2 times Rehab for my TVA .  Still feeling C-section pains and that the muscles are not working correctly. ( I will write a post later on what they don't tell women and should after this major surgery)

Another little quickie

I'm all all fired up this morning because I am headed to the mountains this evening. That's right, it's snowboard season.  This is what I use to LIVE for. If I didn't have a baby right now I would have hit the slopes the second the mountain opened. Ben and I will be going up there with Lyla. So we will have to take turns taking runs. So with all my excited energy I wanted to get in a quickie workout before getting in the car heading to slopes. Here it goes! 2 Handed Swings 12kg 40x Alternating Swings 12kg 42x Double Cleans 12kg's  10x Dead Double Cleans 12kg's 10x (tough) High Pull Catch and Squat with a Burpee  12kg 10x  High Pull Catch and Squat with a Burpee 12kg  10x Double Snatches  8kg's  15x Double Snatches 8kg's   18x 1 Arm Push ups  2 per side Ab wheel roll out  10x 1 Arm Push ups 2 per side Ab wheel roll out  10x Stretches with baby and done!   Last season I had just had Lyla and there

Just messing around

After my 3 mile walk/jog one of my girlfriends came over to check out my new little garage gym. My friend and I were playing around with the pull up bar like we were kids. I was also pushing Lyla around in the little radio flyer wagon in between messing around with pistols and swinging on the bar. I then wanted to try a one arm push up. I decided, what the heck, let me give it a whirl and fall flat on my face. Well surprisingly I did it! Then I did it again and then on the other side!  Woo hooo.  Hmmmm how did this happen since I haven't really trained for one arm push ups??  My guess is tension or lots and lots of stress built up. I have been practicing pistols and pull ups for the past 2 weeks, which both require tons of tension.  I just used the same breathing and tension technique to the push up and I actually did it. There was definitely some snap, crackle, and pops going on.   Strength works in mysterious ways sometimes.  I strongly feel that the mind can take over and provid

Under 12 minute workout

I have been feeling pretty good these past couple days. During the holiday season I am not as busy so I have some more down time.  Even though my baby tends to tire me out, I am feeling rejuvenated! Today I squeezed in two mini workouts. Morning workout 2 Handed Swings  12kg  1 min Snatches                 12kg  2 min Jump Rope                      1 min Alternating Swings 12kg 1 min Alternating Snatches 12kg 1 min Jump Rope                            1 min Pull ups           3x Took 1 minute break in between each exercise Evening workout (my client was running late so I squeezed another one in) Turkish Get Ups  16kg   2/2 Pull ups                            4x Pistols            10lb          3/3 Windmills             12kg  4/4 Went through each exercise with minimal rest and repeated 2 times It's amazing how wonderful the mood and energy picks up even with just these short practice sessions!  I love it!!!

My Transformation

This post is not about anyone's body being transformed. It's about my ugly garage being transformed in to a kettlebell / training studio. I have been extremely busy the past several weeks trying to make this happen. It was a lot of work but the outcome is worth all the headache. For the past 8 months I have been training everyone in my backyard, which has worked out great. But when it rains or it's dark it isn't the best place to be. So looking at my horrible garage I thought it would be a good investment to use it wisely. The most challenging part was forcing us to get rid of lots and lots of crap! Which is probably one of the best parts about this. The next best part is I now have a home kettlebell gym that is fully insulated. I wasn't able to convince Ben to get a shed for some of our storage so we settled on getting nice cabinets. We still have room for storage AND a nice little desk for the online training and nutrition consultations I do. Here are the befo

My trip to London with lots of walking

Where do I start? It was an unforgettable trip. I went to visit my grandparents to introduce Lyla to them. They are 84 years old and I didn't expect them to make the trip all the way over here. So we decided to go there. I will say I was half asleep for most of it. Lyla decided to be up from 2-5 a.m. every morning and sleep several hours during the day. We still made the best of it even though we were dragging. For 2 days of the trip Ben and I rented a car and we drove outside of London. One of the places we went to was Leeds Castle. It was absolutely gorgeous. I didn't really get a chance to do too much exercise since I was so tired to begin with. I did manage to get some Turkish Get Ups in with my carry on bag. My family thought I was crazy. Then I went outside to use my jump rope one time. My intentions were good. 8-) Just did not turn out as planned. During the trip I had no choice but to get off my healthy diet. Several days in to the trip I was starving from tryin

London

Hello Everyone! Sorry for not posting in so long. I am in London right now. I packed my jump rope with me and some bands. I haven't had a chance to visit any kettlebell instructors while I'm out here. Travelling with a baby is quite a challenge. I will update everyone in the next several days when I have more time to chat.

Halloween

I would have put a picture of peanut butter cups or chocolate bars but I wouldn't want to entice anyone to have some. I would be lying if I said that I resisted the halloween candy temptations. When food is brought in to my house I will end up eating it. Every day this week I have managed to eat some candy. I feel guilty but then again I feel it's ok. I have been so strict with what I have been eating that I allow myself to indulge every now and again. Speaking of my normal eating habits, Tracy had encouraged me to take a picture of what I eat. Last night I made Spagetti Squash and put organic marinara sauce on top with some turkey meatballs. I also steamed some cauliflower and brocolli to get some extra veggies. Then for dessert I had a fruit salad that I made. Everything was pretty simple to make. If I can make it anyone can. Here is what it looks like. I found it bit humerous taking a picture of my dinner plate. The picture of the Reeses peanut butter cup is not in the

Dealing with the Fires

First I want to start off with a positive note. I feel extremely lucky to have a home to come back to. My heart goes out to all those who lost their homes and valuables in the fire. It is hard to feel sorry for myself when people have it so much worse. This has been an eye opener this week. It really puts things in to perspective. On Monday Oct 22nd, I woke up smelling smoke at 6:00a.m. I looked outside and there was ashes falling and a red haze in the sky. I immediately turned on the TV and on every station there was BREAKING NEWS wild fires. I phoned my friend Laura that lives 10 minutes from me. She had been evacuated at 5 a.m. from her home. It then occured to me that I better start thinking about what is important to me. I knew as long as I have my family including my 2 cats, that is all I would need. I got a knock on my door as I was sitting there in shock. It was my neighbor from across the street inviting me over to their home so we can breathe cleaner air. They have

Thought we were in the clear

We were getting really excited to start Ben's program last week. Then I had to rush him to the emergency room at 6 a.m. Now that he is off the Prednisone he is much more vulnerable for painful flair ups. I personally think we have gotten a little too comfortable with our eating and need to go back to a strict Ulcerative Colitis friendly diet. We don't know what the exact cause of the flair ups are. If we knew we wouldn't keep having this problem. The pain is so unbearable that he required pain medicine 4 times stronger than Morphine, which is called Dilauded. Once things settle down I will continue to post. My daughter hasn't been sleeping well either for the past several weeks. At 3 a.m. she decides that she needs me! With no sleep and high stress, it's very hard to stay above water. My body has finally said ENOUGH! My lowered immune system from everything going on, finally gave in to a virus. With that being said, I do not workout when I am sick. Once I build

A Challenge for my Husband

Those who have been with me from the start with my blogging will remember that my husband was suffering from severe stomach problems that landed him in the emergency room over 15 times and admitted in the hospital 3 times. I would like to announce that he finally got off the steroids that the doctors put him on. The prednione (steroid) may have saved him but also came with a whole list of horrible side effects we had to deal with. So I am now becoming a very happy women seeing my husbands health start to improve almost drug free. Since working out for him has not been an option for longer than I can remember, I am now giving him a challenge. I told him last night that if he did just 20-30 minutes a day of kettlebell workouts, 5 times a week his health and physique would improve dramatically. I am talking about a transformation. Of course proper nutrition would be part of it as well. We would take pictures, measurements, log everything to keep him on track. You would think sinc

Explosive Training Day

Today I was determined to do a little kettlebells and some other bodyweight exercises. Just needed my baby to take her morning nap. I decided to warm up with an 8 minute walk around the neighborhood. Just enough time to get her to sleep. Once I got home I knew it was just a matter of time until she would wake up. I needed to hurry up and get my workout done. Here it is. Explosive Push Ups 10 Jump Pull Ups (just using my tippie toes) 4 One Leg Explosive Box Squat (18 inch box) 10/10 on each leg Snatches with 12kg 20/20 Went through each exercise with little to no rest. After Snatches rested 1 minute and repeated 3 times. Felt great after this. The best thing is this took about 20 minutes to do. I could have been done but since she was still asleep I decided to use the extra time. Lying Hip Rotations 10x Wheel Roll Outs 12x Medicine Ball Twists 30x Did 2 sets and then she woke u

Interval Training Day

Today was my interval training day. I had planned to do kettlebell swings and snatches. My baby needed my full attention this morning and was resisting her nap. I knew my plan of swinging bells was not going to happen. Instead of just not doing anything, which many times happens, I had to be flexible and figure out another way. Those who have babies will know that putting them in a stroller will usually put them to sleep. So I decided to kill two birds in one stone. I put Lyla in the jogger, grabbed my stopwatch, and left the house. Lyla fell asleep within 5 minutes and I was then ready to expel some energy. I wanted to run fast but only for a minute at a time. I decided to do 1 minute intervals of running and fast walking for about 35 minutes. Pushing a stroller and running up the hills were just as challenging on my heart as swings and snatches . I have never been one to love running long distances. I somehow completed a half marathon before, but don't have any intentions o

Strength Workout today

I am going to start implementing a system to keep me more well rounded with my exercises. As much as I believe you should only have a few goals at a time, I am not going to be competing in anything anytime soon. So for me to be well rounded it's important for me to work weekly on explosive strength, maximal strength, interval training, endurance training, isometrics, and more. Unless someone is training for a specific strength competition or a marathon, I am starting to change my views on training. We all know our bodies will adapt to the same type of training. Today my workout was dedicated to strength. It took about 30 minutes to complete. Rested 45-60 seconds in between exercises to be fresh for each set. Always made sure there was 2 reps left in the bank. Practice needs to be perfect! Next time I will add weight to the double squats since 8 reps is high for a strength workout. A1 Ring Pull ups 3 reps 4 sets A2 Double Front Squ

Performance Menu Magazine

Just wanted to share this magazine with you guys. I enjoy the nutrition/recipes articles that come out of this magazine as well as the fun and unique exercises that are shared. I believe you can try a free sample issue. I am glad I was able to be apart of this.. The picture on the front is me doing a clean and jerk. There are some better looking pics of me inside the issue. 8-) To get to the actual site you must go to http://www.cathletics.com/. It's on my links section as well if you click on Performance Menu. Enjoy!

Gluten and Dairy Free Banana Bread

For those who know me I don't spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen. This banana bread is THAT good that I wanted to share it with everyone. Yesterday was Ben's birthday and I wanted to make him a cake that we could both eat without feeling too guilty. Guilty meaning no stomach pains and bloating afterwards. This banana bread / cake is made with Almond Flour. Here are the ingredients. I found this on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet website but used less honey, more bananas, and added spices to make it a little healthier and tastier. Here is the recipe. 3 cups of Almond Flour 1/3 cup of honey 3 eggs 2-3 very ripe bananas 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and nutmeg Smash Bananas or put in a food processor. Mix all ingredients together unti smooth. Pour in a loaf pan and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes depending on your oven. If you pour in 3 mini loaf pans (which I did) then bake for only 40 minutes. It was moist and sweet. I

Nice hands or a nice ass???

What do you choose??? Well if I have a choice I will choose the nice ass! As all you kettlebellers know, swinging those bells can really roughen up the hands with ugly calluses. I have several people including myself that every now and again get bothered by it. I have never been one to spend time making my hands look really pretty in the first place. With the work I do they would be ruined in one day, so I don't even bother too much. So this is a message for those ladies who let the calluses stop you from swinging kettlebells and doing pull-ups. One of the affects that kettlebell swings have on the body is a very strong nice butt! Tracy Reifkind, the swing master, is the woman to talk to if you have a question on swings and hand care! She is a perfect example of what the swings can do to your body. Suck it up because the rewards are worth it!!!! On another note, today was an awesome class. It rained outside during the class but my husband and I managed to put a tarp o

Loving my baby and a typical day of feeding her

I wanted to wait until her 8th month birthday but I am bursting with love so I felt like expressing it today. As I write this blog she is crawling all over me trying to press all the buttons. Life is sooo different right now. Everything I have she wants to put in her mouth. It is very funny! It is amazing how life changes so much as a new parent. I am so lucky to have the career I have. I am able to be with her most of the day. I don't know how I would have continued to breastfeed if I had a different schedule. I will say that priorities change big time. I don't get the personal time to myself like I use to. Especially big windows to do long workouts. When you see the schedule below you will have an idea why. This does not include diaper changing, bath time, play time, etc... This probably wont interest you unless you are a parent or an expecting parent! A typical day of feeding Lyla. I have had to add some extra nursing times because I was starting to lose my m

Saturday's Circuit Class

Lately I have been having many more women show up to the classes. To be honest with you, I think that the girls overall are tougher than the boys! I'm sure you guys know that though. Today it was a mix of beginners, intermediate and advanced kbellers. So it gave the advanced people a chance to go heavier than they are use to safely. Here is the workout. I took a couple pictures to give you an idea of what it looked like. Warmed up with Joint Mobility Body Weight Squats 15 x 3 Windmills 3 x 3 Low Swings 15 sec Medium Swings 15 sec Alternating Swing 30 sec Medium Swings 15 sec Low Swings 15 sec Rest for 1 minute and Repeat 2 times Circuit 30 seconds on 30 seconds off with a partner Kettlebell Tricep Pushups Alternating Step Ups Double Clean, Squat, and Press Knee Tucks on skateboard Alternating Snatches Ring Rows Repeat 3 times Finished with a Plank Hold and Stretched! Another gorgeous day!

Breaking in the new Rings

Here are sompe photos of yesterdays class. We had lots of fun because it was a partner circuit class. Each station was either a kettlebell exercise, a ring exercise, bosu, or bodyweight. The rings were probably the most challenging part for some. Thanks to Greg Everett for suggesting me to get them, I am having the most fun with them. They are brutal though. I love it! Some of the exercises we did in the partner circuit were Snatches, Swings, Double Clean and Press, Bosu Pushup Burpees, modified pull ups with rings, Turkish Get Ups, and more.... The weather was beautiful this week.

20kg was still calling my name

Still on very little sleep due to coughing. But I couldn't get it out of my head that I wanted to try to snatch the 20kg. Even at my strongest when I was weighing 117 pounds right before my pregnancy I have never tried this. This morning my weight was 110 so I thought for sure my strength would be compromised. I pretty much did the same workout as yesterday, which is posted on the previous post. After I was fatigued from my workout, I was impatient and wanted to try it already. So I picked up the bell and my heart started racing. The last thing I want to do is hurt myself. But I went for it and then did it again. Now I am really fatigued, but wanted to do it one more time just to get it on video. I am very shakey at this point as you can tell in the clip. Next time I'll get a video at the beginning of the workout when feeling fresh.

Feeling a bit under the weather workout

The past several weeks I have been surrounded by 2 friends with Bronchitis and a client getting over Bronchitis. I have been lucky to have a great immune system and normally don't get sick. If I am not sleeping very well, I am bound to lower my immune system, no matter how healthy I am eating. So with that being said, I picked up a nasty cough and have been fighting it for over a week. This bronchial cough has taken even more sleep away from me. It has been hard to find the energy for a good workout. It has also been disgustingly hot here in San Diego, and I don't have air conditioning! Today I made myself do a 30 minute workout. I kept the reps low but the weight high. Warm Up Set 1 Pistols holding 8lb medicine ball 1/1 One arm Push-ups on 18 inch box 3/3 Turkish Get Up 16kg 2/2 Snatches 12kg 15/15 Rested 90 seconds Set 2 Pistols with 8lb medicine ball 2/2 1 arm Push-ups on 18inch box 3/3 Turkish Get Up

Ever get bloated? It could be a food intolerance

I'm discovering that I probably have a wheat or gluten intolerance. I like to experiment with my body, so I will go through stages of eating only gluten free and wheat free products. When I am strict with it I will notice an increase in my energy and no pain or bloating in my belly. This past week I decided to try the corn tortilla crips from Trader Joes. Normally I look at the ingredients, but being in a hurry I didn't realized the first ingredient was whole wheat flour. I just assumed it was corn flour. Since it was already in my house I decided to eat them anyway. I only ate about a serving a day hoping that it would not have an effect on me. Within 3 days my stomach was bloated. There have been times where I can get so bloated I look 5 months pregnant. The bloating does not happen right away which lets me know that it is most likely not a food allergy, but a food intolerance. Two or three days can pass before seeing any problems, so it can be very hard to pinpoint wha

My humble outdoor gym and todays kettlebell class workout

I'm thanking San Diego everyday for the beautiful weather it has. This city has allowed me to have such a wonderful outside gym. It was a bit over cast this morning which was nice because it cooled things down to about 72 degrees. I know that is nice and cool compared to most of the country right now in August! Here are some pics of where most of my training and teaching happens. Todays workout is below. We had some high intensity music going to keep the energy up! Warm Up Joint Mobility exercises in Neck, Hips, Shoulders, and Knees Light Swings 10x Body Weight Squats 10x Figure 8's 60 seconds Workout Sequence 1 Sumo Squats 12x Fisted Push ups 10x One Arm Swings 10x each side Alternating Swings 10x 2 Handed Swings 10x Rest 1 minute after last exercise and repeat 3 times Sequence 2 Renegade Rows 5x alternating each side Single Squat and Press 6x per side High Pulls and Snatches 10x per side Rest

Lyla's 7 month birthday and SUPER fun day

Today has been such a perfect day. I woke up and actually went surfing!! It has been way over a year since I have paddled out. I thought today would be a great way to celebrate Lyla's 7 month. We took some cute photos of her. Ben was actually able to get a picture of me on a wave. After I got home I was so pumped up that I did a fun kettlebell workout. If you have time try this one. Here is the workout. Single Leg Deadlift with 2 12kg's 8x per side Windmills 12kg 3x per side Swing to Head 12kg 10x Swings to Chest 12kg 10x Swings to Belly 12kg 10x Rest 1 minute Repeat 3 times Push-ups on Kettlebells 10x Clean, Squat, Press 12kg 6x per side One Arm Rows 12kg 10x per side Snatches 12kg 10x per side Rest 1 minute repeat 3 times Moving Plank 4 on each side Medicine Ball Twists 20 No r

Olympic Weightlifting

Yesterday I drove WAY out to MIke's Gym in Bonsall, California. This place is in the middle of acres and acres of land with a gorgeous view. MIke's Gym is based in his 2 car garage which is packed with kettlebells, olympics weightlifting equipment, crossfit stuff, and much more. This is all you would ever need for a hardcore workout. Greg Everett (USA Weightlifting Club Coach, Crossfit Trainer, RKC, and CSCS) was nice enough to invite me to the gym and teach me a couple moves. I would have to say I have never tried Olympic lifts and I felt extremely humbled by them. They are far more challenging than any kettlebell moves I have ever tried. I had a good time trying to maneuver some of these lifts. My body definitely was trying to resist, since it was such an unnatural feeling. Here is Greg's info. Greg will be doing an Olympic Weightlifting Clinic Oct 6 & 7th. You should definitely check it out! http://www.cathletics.com/ Here is the event info http://www.perf

My 25 minute workout today and 10 minute WO from last night

Sqeezing in a quick workout. WIll try and do another one this evening before I train some clients. Warm Up 30 seconds on 30 seconds off 3 times Up and Over on Bosu Ball Box Shuffles Workout Step Ups on 24 inch box holding 2 8kg's 10 L & R Double Snatches 2 8kgs 10 Back Lunges 2 8kg's 10 L & R Double Snatches 2 8 kg's 10 Repeated whole thing 4 times My heart rate was up there. I tried to keep the rests under 30 seconds. This morning weight is 110 pounds! Last night one of my clients was 10 minutes late so this is what I decided to try and do. I need to do this more often because I was surprised I was able to do this at all! Pull-ups 2 reps (woo hoo) Pistols 2 reps on each leg (stoked) Push-ups on KB's with one leg 6 reps on each leg Repeated 3 times

Live on the Spanish Channel

My friend Yoana asked me to come on the Spanish Channel with her to show people how you can exercise with your baby. This was filmed about 2 months after I had Lyla. We had a great time doing this. I hope you enjoy!

Another challenge to face

Well last night I bumped in to my new plyometric box and broke my toe! I knew right away it was broken. I saw stars for a moment. I thought maybe 3 of them were crushed, but the X-ray confirmed only one. With that being said, I will have to modify my workouts tremendously. Kind of bummed since I was just starting to enjoy my freedom again. I believe the saying, "What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger". Maybe some how I will end up stronger with this little bump in the road.

Lyla's 6 month birthday today!

We made it to the 6 month mark. This post has nothing to do with training. Just want to show off pictures of my little girl. I felt she looked cuter than ever today. Here are a couple pictures. I guess I am turning in to one of those extremely proud parents already!

Traditional Weight workout in a gym

I worked out with a female bodybuilder today that has won many competitions. She is super super lean and looks great. I love to train different ways. This is what she had me do. Light Weight, HIgh Reps Deadlifts 45lb 8 Roman Deadlift 45lb 8 One arm Roman Deadlift 10lb 16 left and 16 right (a bit too easy, but got my heart rate up) Did all without any rest 3 sets through Renegade Rows on barbells 15lb 8 on each side Push Ups on barbells 5 reps Hang Clean, Squat, and Press 30lb 6 reps (pretty light) Did all without any rest 3 sets through Step Ups on Bench 30lb 16 reps Leg Raises for lower Abs 12 reps Cross Crunches 12 on each side 2 sets Bicep Curls 12 reps Tricep Pull down 12 reps 3 sets I still feel I get a much better workout using kettlebells. But it is definitely nice to switch it up.

I wanted to use the 16kg no matter what!

Today I decided it's time to go a little heavier with some of the exercises. I haven't been posting my workouts, since there has not been any consistency with my training, due to various reasons. Trying to go heavier without training much is not always the smartest thing. But I felt if I can keep my form for 1 rep then that is good enough for me today! So I was prepared to not even be able to do one Here is my short training A. Turkish Get Up 16kg 1 rep on each arm 4 set ( little wobbly at first but did it with success!) Snatches 16kg 6 reps on each arm 4 sets Total 8 TGU's and 48 Snatches. Took longer breaks, 2-4 minutes, so I can have perfect form each time. B. Push ups on Bosu upside down 10 reps 3 sets Pistol Holds (held for 5 seconds at the bottom and came up with 2 legs) 8kg 2 reps 3 sets Morning weight was 111.2lb and 19.1% body fat. Still breastfeeding, so not sure how accurate the body fat scale is if I am walking aroun

5 Months Today!

It's crazy how the pregnancy went so so slow! It felt like an eternity. And now that Lyla is born I can't believe it has actually been 5 months. It feels like yesterday So just wanted to show a couple pictures to show you my progress and my journey. First picture is me 2 weeks before I gave birth, I know I was extremely huge! Pretty embarrasing picture. Pic 2 is 1 month later, still sore from C-section. Pic 3 Two and half months postpartum. Pic 4 Today at 5 months, I am at least 6 pounds lighter from pic 3 to pic 4. Pic 5 is today doing a pistol. Have to admit I did not train at all for the pistols. If I wanted to be able to do more than one I would need to start training. So I guess my body just remembers after not doing them for a year. Thank you for your interest in our cutting edge fitness programs and information. To be apart of Lauren’s unique and motivating online gym experience; sign up here for our virtual gym, Lauren’s Playground , while registration

Feeling Revived!

i have to admit, these past 2 weeks I have felt extremely lethargic and low energy. With what life has thrown my way, I have not been able to stick to my goals. This is the first time in years that I haven't followed through with my word. I understand life can get in the way and get you off track. The longer you wait to jump back on, the harder it may get. So finally I forced myself to make some time for me. This morning I went in my back yard and had one of the BEST workouts I have had in a long time. Because it had been weeks since I've been consistent in my training I was surprised that I had the strength to do this fun workout. My weight for the past week has been 111 pounds and I'm still exclusively breastfeeding. The only thing I can say I have really been doing right, is eating super super clean. I never let myself go hungry and I'm snacking all the time! I haven't been this light for 8 years. So I thought for sure I wouldn't have the strength to

Getting back on Track and new goals

We may finally have some answers with Ben. The doctor is now pointing the finger to Ulcerative Colitis. The only thing is the pain does not match up to this type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, so there could be something more to it. The doctor even agrees, but said it's possible in some rare cases. For now he is off the pain meds and taking special anti-inflammatory medications for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's. So we will just wait and see how that does. I am just happy that we are starting to get some answers. Still don't feel 100% satisfied, so time will only tell. Now that things are going to be somewhat more stable, I can get back on track with my own training. Yesterday I had a 15 minute time frame to do some training. So this is what I did. Windmills 26lb 4 on each side Single Leg Dead Lifts 2 26lb 8 on each side It felt really good to do these. Almost like my body was craving these two exercises. I feel so much more balanced today. Weighed

Update

First I want to thank everyone for all their positive thoughts, prayers, phone calls, emails, and so on. I never realized how many people I have around me that would help me out in need. So thank you! The good news is Ben is out of the hospital and home. He is still in pain but slowly recovering back to his old self. He has been on a liquid diet and will be moving to soft foods shortly. After almost 3 weeks of waiting patiently to get the results of the camera test, we find that the video camera NEVER left his stomach during the test. When I found this out my jaw dropped and could not believe it. Supposedly this happens to 15% of the people. I was angry because it took them 3 weeks to tell us this. He now has to redo the test in a week. This time instead of swallowing the camera they are going to place it passed his stomach so this does not happen again. So hopefully they will find some kind of answer for these horrible episodes. Poor guy has been through way too much! Tomorrow w

Life can be a nightmare!

LIfe has been one heck of a rollercoaster this past week. Ben had to be carried away in an ambulance and is now staying in the hospital. Still no word about the camera test results. I am so angry with the ambulance. They took 15 minutes longer to get to the hospital than I did. But that is a whole other story that I can go on with. IDIOTS is all I can say. We are also only 5 minutes away from the hospital. The stupid driver got lost! AND on top of that when I got to the emergency room the people at the front had no idea that my husband was even coming in. They said, "Are you sure they are taking him to THIS hospital?" I was about to collapse from being so upset. And on top of that having to rush out of the house to kiss my baby g'bye in a panic. Thank god Ben's cousin lives right around the corner and was able to come over immediately. I will write on this more later. I am going to go back in to the hospital now. Once things settle down I will continue to blog. But

My husband swallowed a VIDEO CAMERA!

Yesterday my husband swallowed a pill with an extremely small wireless video camera inside it. He had to wear a pack around him with wires that made him look like a bomber for 8 hours. This pack held a special tape to record from the wireless video camera passing through his body. Technology is absolutely amazing these days. Why did he do this you ask? Well the past 2 years I have had to rush him to the emergency room at random times due to EXTREME and unbearable abdominal pain. He has had every test done to figure out what is causing this pain. From blood work, CT scans, Endoscopic Ultrasounds, Endoscopies, Colonoscopy, you name it. Still no diagnosis! I have even tried taking out certain foods and still nothing has been consistent of why this happens. How frustrating can this be? It all started almost 2 years ago when we took a family trip to Hawaii. His entire family got sick towards the end of the trip one by one with vomiting and diarrhea. Fortunately I did not get it. Ev

Breastfeeding or low body fat?? hmmmmm

I have been flucuating on my body fat scale this past week. Getting a bit frustrated, I have been averaging about a 21.6% body fat. I consider this way too high for my own personal standards. My weight of 115 is great, but the body fat is telling me I need to start working a bit harder. BUT I have a big question running in my mind.  Does breastfeeding hold on to that last bit of fat I am trying to shed? I am fitting in to all my pre pregnancy clothes but I want my super lean look back! Most people say breastfeeding helps you lose weight. Which initially I agree with. I am definitely not trying to make excuses, but I think nursing causes you to hold on to a certain amount of fat. Back in the days in order for the baby to survive when the food was scarce, I believe the mother was designed to hold on to a certain amount of fat, to make sure milk could still be produced for the survival of the baby. I have spoken to many many women who breastfed and said they dropped about 5-7

Should personal trainers have trainers??

Absolutely! No matter how great of a trainer you are you can always learn from having a trainer yourself. If you are in the training business, you will know it is hard to find the time and motivation to train yourself after training people all day long. Even if you just get 2 or 3 sessions here and there from a respectable trainer it will drive your motivation back up and help you revamp your own training. After I had my baby I luckily was able to lose all my weight by 6 weeks with plain old nutrition. After I got the clearance to start working out at 6 weeks I slowly started working out again. It was very humbling going in to a gym and lifting 50% of what I use to lift. My goal was to put some muscle back on and get my strength back. I managed to gain a little strength back but I wanted something more. It was hard to juggle my time with my daughter and working again. I needed an appointment with someone and did not want to think for once. So after some thought I decided to get

Working Out with Friends

This morning I decided to invite a couple friends over to do a little workout in my backyard. Some of them have been asking me to show them how to do kettlebells so I though this would be fun. It was 6 of us total and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I had some good music going and the sun came out for a little while. Since I was lacking equipment I put together a circuit for 6 and everyone was winded by the end. Most of the group was new to kettlebells so I kept it as simple as possible Warmed up with Good Mornings and Light Swings 1 minute on 1 minute off 3 sets in this order Kettlebell Tricep Push-ups Medicine Ball Twists No handed TGU's Clean and Squat Skateboard Back Lunges (Yoana Snideman taught me these) They are AMAZING!! Swings Stretched

Sharing an activity with your spouse

It's been 2 and a 1/2 months now since I have had my baby. Now that I am feeling myself again I felt the need to share an activity with my husband other than watching tv, eating, and taking care of our baby. We took walks together with the stroller, but that got old pretty fast. Since my husband prefers sports I had to think of something we can do together. I don't think he would have much fun if we played basketball together, since he is really good. So I have convinced my husband to start playing tennis with me. Neither of us are very good, but it's something that the two of us can share together. And when we travel it's something you can do all over the world. I don't know how many times I hear complaints from different people that they don't do any activities with their spouse or significant other, except eat and watch tv. I feel every relationship should try and share something together that they can do outside. Since my husband and I have such differ