Workout Wherever You Can

My original intention in creating this blog was to share the workouts that I end up doing at home most days. Lately, I've been able to make it to the gym quite a bit. So, let's just workout wherever and whenever we can get it in!

I've been doing spinning classes a lot lately, which I love. One hour on the bike, riding hard, hills, pushing myself, gobs of sweat, love everything about it. I made it twice this week. My first love though, is lifting weights. I just love that strong feeling I get from lifting heavy and hard. The "heavy" part is relative, as we are all different shapes and sizes. I like to challenge myself and push myself, enough so that I get a good sweat on when I'm lifting.

My Saturday workout was:

20 minutes on the treadmill. Half of that was at a 15% incline. Love doing that. I really feel it in my glutes and I feel like I'm pushing myself. My speed at that incline is anywhere from 2.5 mph to 2.9 mph. I'm working up to faster.

After that, I worked legs, did some chest and a bit of abs:

Hanging leg raises 3 sets of 8 - 10
Hammer Strength Incline Press, 3 sets of 10 - 12
bench press 3 sets of 12 - 15
Cable kickbacks, side kicks for outer thigh, and inner thigh. Did about three sets of these on each side, with extra reps on my left leg as it is less strong than my right.

I had worked legs on Thursday, hence the short leg workout. I wanted to try my new ankle torture device I bought to do these:



Love this exercise! I haven't done it in awhile because my gym doesn't have the ankle wraps so I had to buy my own, lame yes? Other than that I am pretty happy with my gym. Brooke likes the daycare, which makes my life easier, and is the reason I've been able to go so much lately.

At home, I ended up doing 5 one minute planks, and foam rolling later in the day. I have back issues and foam rolling has helped a lot. I had planned to do pushups at home as well, but sometimes that sweet life gets in the way! Have to go with the flow people.

How was your workout today?

Cramming a Workout in

Today is a typical day for me with running around and not having a lot of time to fit in what I'd like.

Get up at 6:30 to get my oldest on the bus at 7:20. Feed her and make sure she's ready. Load the dishwasher, quick clean up in the kitchen.

Then have about an hour to myself before the little one gets up. What do I do with that time?

Fit in a yoga dvd, this one: YogaFit for Cyclists. Love this dvd. It has a lot of chest openers and hamstring stretches that everyone needs, not just cyclists, from all the sitting and reaching forward that we do. Think computer time and driving. Yeah, chest openers rock. I did a review of it a year or so ago, here. And still love it, 16 months later.

Then I eat. This morning I have a slice of protein quiche that I whipped up this weekend. I made up my own recipe when I couldn't find my favorite one online.

Here's what's in it:

1 cup of egg whites

1 cup of lowfat cottage cheese

2 cups steamed broccoli

1 cup parmesan cheese

2/3 cup of chicken I found in the refrigerator

1/4 cup of onion

I blended it all up in my handy Vitamix (love my Vitamix! more on that another day) and put it in a round pie dish and baked at 350 for 45 minutes. It's quite good although no one in the house but me thinks so......hmmmm...

Little one is taking a bath as I write this. Will soon need to get her out and to her first appointment. Just checkups today, nothing serious. She just turned 4 so it's time to visit the dentist and get tortured by her doctor. Kidding, our pediatrician is great.

Will hopefully fit in a weight workout later, in the 2 hours we have before her next appointment. Maybe some quick biceps or triceps exercises, easily done with the dumbbells I have at home. More than likely I will be running around the house making lunch for the little one, transferring loads of laundry, quickly feeding myself and then running back out the door.

How was your workout today?

Tip of the Day

Drink more water!

Yes, this is an obvious one that you've heard and seen too many times. So many times that maybe you ignore it now and think "I'm doing just fine with my water intake, thank you!". Well, I don't think you are. Although maybe I'm just projecting because I know I'm not.

My goal is to get 130 ounces of water a day. I am lucky to get half that. What I've read is that when you are very active, working out every day etc. you should get close to an ounce of water per pound of body weight. I am slightly over 130 right now, ahem, due to my holiday obsession with Trader Joe's peppermint whoopie pies, but that's okay. 130 ounces would be plenty. So, let's talk water. How much are you taking in? Do you drink coffee? soda? Give it up! Don't get me started on soda, there's no reason to drink it. I don't drink coffee myself, but realize that most do. Drink more water.

Get a water bottle that you like and that isn't a pain in the butt to drink from. I personally don't like those screw off bottle tops, I like straws. I will drink more from a straw, even though my husband laughs at me about it. Not only kids drink from straws! In my attempts to save the planet I use a reusable water bottle with a straw. I use this Camelbak one pictured, only in purple and red. My kids have a couple too, they are easy for them to open and shut, and they lock close which is one of the most important factors for a kids' water bottle.

Welcome to my life

A little bit about me: I'm a stay at home Mom, slightly obsessed with fitness and eating well. I have two little kidlets who keep me very busy (duh!) so I often can't make it to the gym. Hence the title of my blog: Fit From Home. I do workout DVDs, different workouts that I make up, hike, bike, mountain bike and a few other things that you will hopefully find somewhat interesting.

I'm not much of a cook, but I like eating. I have been a vegetarian in the past, but am not now, although I haven't eaten a cow, pig or deer (or buffalo!) in about 20 years. So I do eat chicken, turkey and some seafood. I am obsessed with cookbooks, many of them related to sneaking vegetables into my picky children who will scream if something green goes on their plate. Okay, that is not really true, but close. They do love broccoli but haven't come around to spinach or kale yet unless it's hidden. I am still working on brussel sprouts and collard greens for all of us.

I go to the gym whenever I can. I like spinning classes, most cardio, and lifting weights. I don't really do any other classes other than spinning.

Occasionally I get sent DVDs to review for another site I write for, if I like the workout I will include it on here.