30-Minute Kettlebell and BOSU Workout #workoutwednesday

Oh, hey.

It's Wednesday, which means it's #workoutwednesday.

It's also "What I Ate Wednesday"...

...but my workouts are far more interesting than my eats. Why? I taught my typical 60-minute Barre Fit class this morning (Example #1) (Example #2), and will head back to the gym tonight to sub our 30-minute Kettlebell/BOSU class. I'm really looking forward to it for a variety of reasons.

First up, I bought a new heart rate monitor. Well...just the strap. My old Polar died a few weeks ago, so I just bought the HRM strap that goes with my Garmin.

I've been missing this information in my Spinning class, and am anxious to see how my Garmin works in this way. Stereotypically used just for running purposes, I see that it will tell me heart rate/calories burned during normal workouts, too. But I guess it loads it into Garmin connect as a run.

I'm not picky about that. I don't care, really.
I just want to keep an eye on my heart rate and the calorie-burn info will be fun.

So, we'll see.

Reason #2 that I'm excited to teach tonight: It's been a long time since I've taught a kettlebell class. Like, before Evan was born. My strength workouts have consisted mostly of Barre and PiYo, so this Kettlebell/BOSU class will be different than anything I've done over the course of the past 9 months.

Here's what I've got planned:

If you choose to give this workout a go, please remember to be considerate of your own, unique fitness level. I can't be sure if this workout is right for you, so use your best judgement. And it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway—Check in with your doctor if there's any question as to whether or not you should be doing it.

Let me clarify a few things:

1) Remember, a kettlebell swing is NOT a squat. Hinge from those hips.

2) 3-Way Pushups: Put your left hand on the BOSU and your right hand on the floor, do the pushup, walk to the middle of the BOSU, do another pushup, then move to the left side of the BOSU. Repeat.

3) When you come into the reverse lunge out of your halo, the kettlebell should be on the outside of your leg that's in front.

4) When you plank on the BOSU, put your toes on the very top of the mound. Tap one foot on the ground, bring it back into plank position, then repeat with the other foot. Continue this for the duration of the minute.

Any other questions?
I have one for you:

Question: What was your workout today?

#WIAW: Fun, Food and Fitness

This month's theme for What I Ate Wednesday is so great. I can't believe I haven't participated yet.

Fun, food and fitness. I know, right? Let's focus on the "food" and "fitness" aspects, as I thin both of them are equally fun. And important. Let's face it—what's one without the other? An incomplete adventure in the world of healthy living, that's what. Food and fitness go together like Sandy and Danny. 

Any "Grease" fans out there?
I digress.

Why do food and fitness go together? Well...why does a car need gas? Without it, the car won't run. So without food our bodies won't move, shake and groove their way through life. When you add a certain level of physical activity to your daily routine, it becomes necessary to choose the right foods because it's form those foods that you'll find the energy you need to exist beyond couch potato status. So essentially, what you choose will ultimately make or break your fitness.

Healthy foods support basic bodily functions. 
Healthy foods fuel muscles to perform beyond the norm. 
Healthy foods repair broken cells, like those caused by exercise. (DOMS, anyone?)
Healthy foods help keep body fat percentages in check.

But really, when it comes to healthy foods, there's only one reason why they're so important.

HEALTHY FOODS TASTE DAMN GOOD!

It's true. I swear (literally and figuratively, as proven above).

Yesterday's lunch, for example:

I've been getting so many great things in my farm share that I've taken to making dump salads, which means that I grab all the produce out of my 'fridge and dump whatever I want into a bowl for lunch. It's a countertop salad bar, if you will. And so yesterday, everything I went for was either blue, green or purple.

BLUE: Blueberries
GREEN: Lettuce, Snap Peas, Avocado
PURPLE: Cabbage, Onion

Protein? On the side:

"Fried" egg on a slice of wheat toast with   Provolone cheese and some mashed up avocado. Best sandwich ever.

Dinner:

Baked chicken on wheat toast with a slice of Provolone and some Sweet Baby Ray's sauce, with a side of garlic kale chips and a sweet potato. Nom, nom, nom! Gone in a flash.

A few hours later, I finally snuck in my workout. Monday morning, I teach Circuit Sculpt and on Tuesdays, I like to follow that with some running. But the temps were against me so I opted to do my Cardio Core Blast workout from last week.

In case you missed last week's workouts, here's a recap:

CARDIO CORE BLAST

BASIC BODY BUILDER

UPPER BODY BLITZ

LOWER BODY BURNER

END WEEK EXPRESS

Question: Do you eat the same stuff from week to week? What are some of your go-to meals and how do you get out of a meal planning rut?

Valslides, Part 2

I started another week of Valerie Waters' I Want My Bikini Body Express program today. Last week went well, starting on Wednesday with a full BBX workout. The burn? I felt it. I felt it throughout the week, actually—even though I'm not following the program exactly. It would be counterproductive of me to teach my Circuit Sculpt class on Monday and Friday, and then do one of the assigned BBX workouts (which you are supposed to do three times a week, with cardio on the in-between days). So unbeknownst to my students, I incorporated some of her moves into my classes. And since today is Wednesday, I've introduced myself to a new BBX workout.

And I did so at home, in my at-home gym:

Otherwise known as the room in our basement that we haven't done anything with yet. Although we (as in, my husband) did hang a nice piece of artwork.

Heath Ledger as The Joker.
It scares the crap out of me every time I look at it.

But, it's not about where you work out—it's about how you work out. So never you mind the unfinished basement. Or the booze.

What I love most about Valerie's program is that she divides it into four portions: Prep, Sweat, Sculpt and Polish. I promise you, she's not kidding about the "Sweat" portion either. Proof:

My legs, which are still sore from Monday's workout, pretty much hate me right now. No literally, as in, they despise me. But in some sick and twisted way, I actually enjoy their hatred of me. If I don't get sore, I don't feel like I'm working hard enough. Sometimes a girl's gotta feel the burn, yo!

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to working with today's workout the rest of the week.

My thoughts about Valerie Waters' Bikini Body Express program thus far:
1) It's so super easy to follow. Down to the descriptions of each exercise, should you need them. 
2) There aren't any gimmicks. I hate gimmicks. 
3) Every exercise is easy to figure out, if not already familiar.
4) The suggested weekly workout schedule is not overwhelming.
5) Equipment use is minimal, which adapts it to the at-home gym.
6) The Valslides rock, for real. 

I wanna expand on #6 for a minute: When I first got the Valslides, I wasn't that impressed by them as I had been used to working out with sliding discs at the gym. So when the program suggested I do an inclined plank with my feet on the Valslides, I honestly chuckled a bit. EA-SY! But as it turned out, not really. 

See, Valslides only work on the carpet. Unlike the discs which only work on a hard, smooth floor. This means the Valslides introduce a continual element of instability and/or movement that gives extra zing to any exercise. Sure, an inclined plank would be easy for me. But when my feet want to slide right out from underneath me...well, that made it hard as I had to fight harder to hold the plank. 

Today, I had to do mountain climbers with my toes on the slides. All I need to say is this: Those Valslides slide like heck, man! It's no back-and-forth action. They wanted to go side-to-side, too. 

Anyway, so that's where I'm at with BBX.

And this is what I got in my CSA box today:

I gave the giant head of broccoli to my partner in CSA crime, while I took the cauliflower. We split everything else up equally. Wait, you have to look closer at the cauliflower. It's so cute:

In other news, it's What I Ate Wednesday. Sensible snacks are still all the rage, so I'll give you three favorites as of late:

Best cracker of my life. Especially when paired up with ground up black beans.

Peas. Technically not my snack, but still quite sensible. Although I much preferred my iced coffee:

Yum.

Tomorrow, I officially take over as the Foam Roller instructor. 

Go me.

Also: Don't forget about my giveaway.


Question: What kind of fitness equipment do you have at home? What's your favorite? And what's your set up? Do you work out in your basement?

#WIAW: Sensible Snacks from NatureBox

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED*

I've been noshing on some delicious snacks these past few days, which is perfect since this month's What I Ate Wednesday theme is Sensible Snacks. I would snack all day if I let myself, so it's really important that I have nutritious options on-hand for those times when I really do need a little somethin' to eat. So this is why I jumped at the chance to give NatureBox a try, a company that hand-picks delicious and nutritious (score!) snacks and packages them up in a box that is ultimately delivered right to your doorstep every month.

Or as often as you order one. "Everything inside your NatureBox will be guilt free so that you can feel great about what you’re eating," says the company's website. And it's true. Which makes it worth the fee, which...if you really think about it, isn't that bad. $19.95 a box...$3.99 per bag of snacks? I'd spend that at the grocery store. And then some. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Yum, right? I love that every box has a theme. June's theme centers around "wholesome snacks that are perfect for travel, camping, hot summer nights, and active days in the great outdoors." Totally summer. Totally makes me want to hit the beach.

I digress.

Let's talk about the June box again. More specifically, the extra June box I've got sitting right here at my desk. I won't be selfish, guys. I'm giving it to you. Well...one of you.

Giveaway! Woot!

Leave a comment below and tell me one thing on your summer bucket list, and which snack you're most interested in trying from the options above...but don't worry, you'll get all of them if you win. Contest ends this Saturday, June 23 at midnight EST. I'll pick a random winner on Sunday, June 24. Please make sure you leave me a way to get ahold of you. If you win, I'll need your mailing address.

Keep track of NatureBox on Facebook and Twitter for product updates, cool info and fun games. And if you haven't already, please take a sec to follow Daily Dose on Facebook and Twitter, too! <— Doing any of the aforementioned things doesn't get you extra entries, it just keeps you in the know.

Disclaimer: NatureBox was kind enough to send me two boxes free of charge, one of which I'll give to the winner. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own and are true to my heart. I cannot tell a lie!

How can a mom find time for fitness?

My days used to be so predictable. And then I had a baby. No, I'm not complaining. Just observing. We stick to a somewhat decent schedule 'round here, but for every five days on, well...there is inevitably one or two decidedly off. Like today. I think we're gearing up for or in the midst of another round of tooth-poppin' fun. Hannah woke up a few times last night, which she never does. Her nose has been running and she's been shoving her fist into her mouth like it's a cherry sucker or something. She did all of this just before the dawn of her two bottom teeth, which is why I think we're about to see more where they came from.

Needless to say, my up-and-down night left me way too exhausted for an early morning session of HIIT. I would have been a zombie, and one cannot be a zombie in the presence of a five-month bundle of joy. So, yeah...I shelved it for later, figuring I could sneak it in during her nap. Like, outside in the backyard or in the basement or something. And then she had a tough time falling asleep, so I spent a most of what should have been her three-hour nap trying to console her.

And then she fell asleep. It was 4:30.

I took the monitor outside and set up a nice little backyard gym, which consisted of nothing more than my yoga mat on a beach towel—I was determined to get in that session of HIIT I gave up this morning.

It was a slightly overcast day with a cool breeze in the air, evident by the flapping Post-it Note on the corner of my mat. And yet, I still managed to sweat balls because of this lineup:

Single-leg burpees are hard. And completely awesome.

I managed to make it through just three of the four circuit repetitions, but I'm totally OK with it. I still managed to find 30 minutes during which I could move this here mommy body. As the day moved on, I started to see that opportunity slipping away from me. In the end, it might not have been the best workout of my life, but it was a workout nonetheless.

How can a mom find time for fitness?

1) Plan ahead and be open to squeezing it in whenever and wherever. Sometimes you just gotta drop and give yourself ten when you can. The dishes can wait.

2) Enlist daddy's help. My husband always feeds Hannah a bottle before she goes to bed. This gives me a solid 45 minutes of me-time during which I typically go for a run. (Today, I would have done the HIIT circuit above had I not gotten her to go down this afternoon.)

3) Bring baby with you! In a running stroller, perhaps. Or in a regular stroller—remember, there's nothing wrong with a solid power walk.

4) Join a gym that has a nursery. They'll take good care of your peanut, and you shouldn't feel guilty about leaving her/him in there so that you can exercise. Baby won't forget about you in the time it takes you to run a few miles or lift a few weights.

5) Consider morning workouts. Go when the husband is home, while Baby is still sleeping. Get it over with so that any schedule-related monkey wrenches don't wreak havoc on your fitness for the day.

Most importantly, know that if a day goes by during which you truly cannot find the time for fitness...know that it's OK. If you live an active life, full of healthy eating and fitness fun, missing one day of your typical workouts isn't going to send you back to the starting line. It's all worth it for that precious bundle of joy, right? And you'll pick up right where you left off during the next day.

Speaking of days. You know what today is, right? Wednesday, which means:

 
Sensible snacking is all the rage in the health and fitness world. In any world, really. Snacks go bad for you so quickly if you aren't smart about them. I snack on a lot of Greek yogurt. Oikos was on sale this week, so I picked up a few cartons which leads me to the best snack I've had so far this week:

Half a mango with a handful of blueberries atop some vanilla Oikos Greek yogurt. Total party in my mouth, I swear. Also good, but not as good, was the apple with peanut butter. Quite refreshing, but not filling: The iced coffee with a splash of chocolate milk. And, of course, I'm still making my way through the pumpkin bars I bought at Trader Joe's. 
Anyways. Also today: Another shipment from the CSA.

More lettuce, strawberries and radishes. Hello, lovely cherries! And another bunch of bok choy. Hey-OH do I have a good bok choy recipe for you. Coming soon, I promise.
Question: What did you snack on today? If you're a mom, how do you make time for fitness?

HIIT, CSA and WIAW

How's that for a plethora of acronyms? I feel like I've had a running list of topics in my head all day, and so rather than bog down the title of this post with TMI (ha)...acronyms win. So let's start with HIIT. You know that stands for "high intensity interval training," right? Right. So I've been doing this type of training on Wednesdays as I find it to be a great metabolism booster, which has made all the difference in the world in terms of my quest to drop those last few baby pounds. More specifically, I've been doing Chichi Kix's Unleash the Beast 2 workout (so awesome).

I felt like switching it up today and swapped in some curtsy lunges and a wall sit to keep me interested. I gotta switch things up on occasion, even if it's going well. I can't stand being bored.

Case and point: After the third round, I felt myself tuning out so I took a break to plank on the wall for a minute. Some break, eh? I'm a trainer, I can't exactly get away with sitting on a bench for a breather. Ha!

So after I finally finished the workout, I was literally a walking sweatmonster. I'm not even kidding you. Here, this is what a 5-months-postpartum walking sweatmonster looks like:

No, seriously. Do you see how red my face is? And I could literally twist the sweat out of my hair.

Do the workout, guys. It's awesome.

Also awesome, my CSA box.

I've always wanted to partake in community supported agriculture, so Jason and I decided that this would be the season since Hannah will soon be eating her fair share of fruits and veggies, too. I'm splitting a full share with someone at the gym, so my half of today's loot included the following:

Bok choy, kale, lettuce, radishes and strawberries. Isn't it all so pretty? I did my best to incorporate a bunch of it into my lunch, starting with some radish slices and the lettuce in my sandwich...plus some other things I had in the 'fridge:

Yumtasty with a grapefruit on the side!

Back to the acronyms, or rather, that last one: WIAW. It's been some time since I joined in on the WIAW shenanigans. (<—I love that word.) WIAW = What I Ate Wednesday, coming at ya courtesy of Jenn over at Peas and Crayons. This month, she challenged us to snack sensibly.




And since I love snacks, I couldn't NOT join in. Sensible snacking is a huge part of the fit life. Physical activity makes one very hungry, but in this day and age, we can't walk five feet without a snack option—and not all of these snack options are good for us. So we have to be sensible because sensible snacking is fine while mindless, unhealthy snacking is not. I had two really good snacks today.

A five-seed almond bar, courtesy of Joe the Trader. And some strawberry-blueberry banana bread:

Kinda carb heavy today, but that's fine with me. I did end up using some of the strawberries I got in my CSA. And I froze half the loaf—I do NOT need that sitting out on my counter, taunting me with it's deliciousness. One half is enough for now...I'll be forced to make it last.

And so, now here I sit. 9:30PM at night, catching up on all the things I didn't get to finish today because I was too busy snuggling my little miss. Off I go to finish my night.

TTYL!

Question: Do you eat bok choy? I need a good recipe because I have NO idea what to do with it.

WIAW: Late Lunch, Great Lunch

So I didn't eat lunch until 3:30PM today. It just wasn't my day. I had to run a few errands in my little downtown, during which I thought I'd successfully pick something up from the Greek restaurant. I wanted hummus somethin' fierce. But it wasn't meant to be and I ended up getting my money back. And probably making the manager really mad, but that's what you get when you charge me too much and then tell me you don't have what I ordered. And sorry, my kid's screaming. I really just need to go.

By the time I got home, someone else wanted lunch. And then wouldn't go down for a nap.

Sigh.
Anyway.

Lunch was a late one, but it was super great:



Egg on an English muffing with a wedge of Laughing Cow Queso Fresco and Chipotle, red pepper and onion slices, and some spinach. Yeah, totally—so good.

Not pictured: The side of Chobani. Pomegranate, style. One of my favorites.

Let's back it up to breakfast. It is, after all, What I Ate Wednesday so I must share these things.





So, oats in a jar served in a bowl and eaten at 5:00AM.

Pretty typical these days, and no...those aren't black olives. Although I like them, I much prefer blueberries in my oats as shown. I also prefer decaf coffee, but when you're pressed for time, you resort to what you've got on hand. And what I had on hand was a packet of instant Starbucks Vanilla coffee. To go:

I only had one client at the gym, but I wanted to hit up the library on the way home. It was 9:15AM when I left, and since I hadn't eaten since 5:00AM, I packed a little tin full of almonds, hazelnuts and chopped prunes. Not raisins, prunes.

It was the perfect snack, especially since it held me over until 3:30PM. I ended up eating some more nuts after my late-but-great lunch, only these nuts were covered in dark chocolate.

I walked right past my favorite chocolate shop...come now, not go in? Crazy talk. And since my afternoon was, as I've already told you, quite crazy, I allowed myself a glass of wine while I prepped dinner.

What kind? Chateau Grand Traverse Late Harvest Riesling. It's a Michigan wine, actually. And yes, I am breastfeeding...but Hannah gets a bottle before bed, so it's perfectly fine for mom to indulge herself a bit. Perfectly fine, indeed.

I didn't stop the indulging at my single glass of wine. I pretty much defined the word when it came to eating my dinner:

Seven grains, garlic and  more than an extra cup of veggies. For real, that's it. I used the rest of my Harvest Grains Blend from Sarah, a few tablespoons of Garlic Expressions and whatever veggies I happened to have on hand.

It might have been the easiest meal I've ever made. Quite possibly the most delicious. And also full of veggies. I can't wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow.

Oh, hey—if you need some helping picking out your groceries, you might want to enter my giveaway. A copy of Unjunk Your Junk Food might be just the thing you're looking for.

Question: When you go to your favorite chocolate shop, what do you get? I get dark chocolate almonds, dark chocolate peanuts and a malted milk ball (or two). And if you don't like chocolate, tell me why. I need to understand these things, although I doubt I ever really will.

WIAW: Minus the Veggies

I seriously bombed in the veggie department yesterday. I'm much more prone to a fruit preference, and often forget that veggies make great snacks, too. For example:

Nine times out of ten, I eat an apple with some nut butter when I get hungry in the afternoon. But why not munch on some carrots and hummus? I love carrots and hummus. Or any veggie and hummus, really. I should stop buying apples for awhile. (Yeah, right.)
Breakfast was a two-fer again as I'm still waking up really early to pump. First up was a boring bowl of yogurt, strawberries and blueberries. I'll spare you the picture. A few hours later, I ate this:

Banana slices over honey-peanut butter on a cinnamon raisin English muffin. You know how much I love cinnamon raisin goods.
Lunch was not the typical salad, which is one of the reasons I lacked in the veggie department today. I almost always eat a salad, but wanted to try Roni's avocado and pinto quesadilla. 

It did not, by any means, disappoint me. I followed her recipe exactly, adding some of the leftover chicken breast I had in the 'fridge. Why not, right? Seriously, you need to make this. I imagine it would be good with black beans, too. I tend to favor black beans, though. Case and point:

Black bean chips and salsa, my pre-quesadilla appetizer. I found them at a health foods store in South Bend. They were on sale for 79 cents and I had a $1.00 off coupon. It was a no-brainer, obviously. They were good, too.
Dinner was made for the husband. I sometimes take one for the team. Translation: We had Hamburger Helper. But it didn't come from a box:

It was actually Rebecca's no-helper cheeseburger macaroni—decidedly not my typical meal, but when I saw the recipe, I knew it'd be a winner with the husband. And it was.
That's what I ate on Tuesday (plus maybe a few peanut M&Ms).
Question: What's your favorite veggie-based snack? I need some ideas!