August Challenge: Clean Eating & Yoga

August is upon us and with it brings us a new challenge!

First off...congrats to everyone who stuck with the July Squat & Plank Challenge. I know how hard it is during the summer to stick with these things, so even if you missed a few days (I know I did), you still did awesome if you kept coming back to it!

This month I'm changing it up a bit. I found out that many of us struggle with nutrition, so a clean eating challenge seemed like the logical way to go. I also found that many of us have a lot of stress in our daily lives, so I'll be posting  daily yoga video on the Facebook Page to help center and relax us!

I have already posted some Clean Eating basics over on Facebook, as well as Day 1 of the Yoga routine. There is also a tab on the upper right side of the Facebook page where I have a link to Pinterest. I'll be pinning lots of clean recipes over there, so make sure to check it often or follow me on Pinterest.

For this challenge I want us to all work as a team. I'll help you as much as I can but expect the following from you:

• You need to check-in daily on the Facebook Page.


• Share any new clean snacks you may have found, as well as recipes that you've tried.


• Share any slip-ups or struggles you may have. I try to be as honest as possible here on my blog and lord knows I get derailed quite often. We are all human and we can't be perfect. If you have a slip-up and happen to not eat so clean for a meal, it's okay! Dust yourself off for your next meal and make sure it's as clean as you can make it.


• No matter how much you dislike yoga, try it! If you really hate it, just lay in corpse pose for at least 10-minutes, clear your mind and focus on breathing. We all need to take a break from our daily crazy tasks to just breathe.


• Don't try to go cold turkey! If you use 6 teaspoons of sugar in your coffee a day, cut back or try something like Stevia in the Raw. Going from 0-120 with this will only set you up to binge. I'd rather you take baby steps to ingrain a new, healthy habit. Just make sure you are making changes.


• Be supportive of one another!

Following an 80/20 rule will also make this less stressful and stress is one of the things I'm also aiming to reduce with this challenge!

We have a few different diet restrictions (Gluten-Free, Paleo, Vegetarian & Vegan) participating in this challenge as well as a yoga instructor, so please feel free to post questions! If I don't know the answer, someone else might!

If you are on Twitter or Instagram and take photos of your yoga practice, meals or snacks, please use the hashtag #EatCleanWithNikki and be sure to follow me! I'll share some on the blog as we go through the month!

So who's ready to eat clean and de-stress with a quick, daily yoga workout?

Refocusing

More often than not, I seem to be refocusing. I refocus on workouts, nutrition, cleaning schedules, and priorities in general. Life seems to be a constant juggling act, and more and more items keep getting tossed in. It's hard not to drop something from time to time.

Running is the item that got dropped a while back and you know what? I miss it.

I set a goal for this year to hit 500 miles and I stalled out at 250 due to illness, frustration and then the heat. Frustration and heat are excuses and I know it. I know that you have to push through frustration and I know that there are ways around the heat. The time has come for me to stop making the excuses and start logging miles again. I'm a happier person when I run and I'm tired of feeling like a quitter.

This past week I started to refocus with Focus T25. The amount of sweat my body produces in 25 minutes with these workouts, is both amazing and gross. I'm hoping to build my cardio back up with this routine, so easing back into running will be a little smoother.

The next part of my refocus plan is an August "Clean Eating" accountability that I will be running over on the Facebook Page. I'll be posting the basics of clean eating, shopping guides and recipes over there each day. My eating has been pretty good, but it took a nose dive during Mike's vacation this past week. I'm hoping that as a group, we can stay accountable, help each other find new recipes and form new, healthier habits. I've always had success while working in groups and I'm hoping that those participating will too.

As well as the clean eating accountability, I plan on sharing a daily yoga workout on the Facebook page each day. If there is one thing I've learned during my fitness journey, it's that no matter how badly I suck at yoga, it is important to my routine. I'll benefit from a stretching/muscle recovery aspect as well as mentally with meditation/stress relief. I always feel better after doing yoga, yet I always manage to skip it...I clearly make no sense and need to fix this.

Ultimately, life happens, and our grand plans don't always work out as planned. As long as you take a moment to stop, see where things went wrong and refocus, your goals can still be reached.

Are you ready to refocus with me? What aspect of your routine do you need to focus on?

Changing Course...Again!

One might say that fitness program ADHD kicked in, another might say I gave up, but I'm saying it sounded better on paper than it actually played out in real life...and it happens!

If you follow me on twitter or know me in real life, you might have seen me posting that I was doing Insanity AND Body Beast. I started Body Beast out of curiosity with Mike and I had been wanting to do another round of Insanity. In my head, doing both together seemed like a good idea and I've pulled doubles before. I wrote out a schedule, figured I'd be done with the whole Insanity program by the start of the final Body Beast phase and hopefully I'd gain back some of my cardio endurance while building some more lean muscle. Sounds great right? Yeah...well...introduce the kids being home on summer vacation and the never ending list of things I've been working on and time gets kinda slim. I was also super sore from Body Beast and found that I was dogging it in the Insanity workouts due to that. Sigh...

After a brief phone call with my coach to discuss the Body Beast program, he confirmed that I had indeed lost my mind by attempting both programs together and I decided to back off. I also decided that my days are too strained for time during the summer with the kids home so I've just been focusing on my July Challenge.

In the past I would have beat myself up over a decision like this, or kept pushing myself to prove a point. Thankfully, I have grown by leaps and bounds since I started exercising and I now just listen to my body and do what works for me.

The other day Mike and I were talking and we decided to get the new Shaun T program that just came out, called Focus T25. It's a 25 minute workout, 5 days a week with a full rest day plus a stretch day. I definitely have 25 minutes a day to workout, without having to cram it in somewhere, so we are really excited about it.

Here is a video that shows what the program is:

I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of results I can pull from this workout since it's only 25 minutes a day. I know that I have to give it my all for those 25 minutes and that there will not be any breaks, so I'm a little nervous, but excited. I also know that I need to clean up my nutrition for maximum results as well.
Do you think this is a program you would want to do? If it is, comment below or contact me on my Facebook page. A few of us are planning on starting a "Challenge Group" on August 12th for Focus T25, and I'd love to have you join us!

{Fitness Friday} July Challenge

I can't believe that July is already lurking around the corner! It's crazy how quickly the months are flying by, right?!

At this point, everyone doing the June Challenge only has two more days to go (if you haven't already completed today's workout) and I am so proud of you all! I figured since everyone is going strong and loves to hate me, I'd keep the momentum going with a July Challenge!

Oh stop groaning...you know you're excited!

This month has less moves since I know the summer can be super busy. It's very similar to the May Challenge I found on-line, but since Jac and I had such great results doing it, I thought we would revisit it, with a twist.

 

Click to View Full Size

Plank this month is for time, instead of a set time for each day. Some people will only be able to hold for about :30 seconds, others for over 3 minutes. I want you to compete against yourself this month. Write down your time for each day and try to beat it by a few seconds the next day. Push yourself to new limits here and make sure you hold the pose until you physically can't anymore! I'll be sharing some tips to holding plank pose over the Facebook Page, so make sure you "LIKE" it!

For those who are more advanced with their fitness, feel free to add weights to your squats! Remember, your lower body is very strong, but we are doing lots of reps, so don't go too heavy. I don't want anyone to hurt themselves! I will most likely being adding heavy weights and breaking the squats into sets with rest in-between, as we get further into the challenge. The most important thing is proper form! You'll get better results with proper form than you will trying to impress people by going heavy. Always listen to your body and if you can do them in front of mirror, it's best so you can check your form every rep.

As always, I'll be doing check-in's over on the Facebook page, so don't be shy and join in on the conversations!

Enjoy your Fourth of July...stay hydrated and let me know if you'll be joining the squatastic fun we'll be having this month!

{Fitness Friday} Man of Steel Edition

As I mentioned earlier this week, Mike and I went to see Man of Steel in IMAX. While watching this movie, you can't help but notice the physique of Henry Cavill  (if you can, you're blind) so of course we became curious as to what he did to prepare for this role. Mike found this video and passed it along to me, so of course, I'm passing it on you!

I love that they talk about the mental and emotional side of fitness in this clip. With quotes like "He has opened my eyes to seeing past what I thought were my limits." and "...you come to a point where your mind allows you to break through your physical boundaries, and takes you to places you never thought you could go to." this clip really hit home for me.

I am 100% in the mental part of fitness right now. I know that my body is capable of things, but my mind holds me back many times. It's funny because in the beginning, I was scared that my body couldn't handle what I mentally wanted to do...and now it's reverse. You would think by this stage of the game I would have it all figured out, but I don't. I struggle and I fail just like everyone else, but I pick myself up and I keep pushing forward.

If you are interested in seeing the workouts that trainer Mark Twight did with Henry Cavill did to prepare for his role as the Man of Steel, watch the two videos below (they teach you how to get proper form) or go to the Soldier of Steel website where you can print them out in .PDF form.

Soldier of Steel Workouts...

I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did. While the moves in this may not be for you, I hope you at least walk away with the tips on proper form and apply them to whichever workout you decide to do!

Who's Ready For A June Challenge?

I can't believe that May is almost over! I swear my birthday was just the other day but that was in the beginning of the month. Wow! 2013 needs to slow down just a little.

With the closing of May, comes the end of the May Challenge that I was doing with Jac from Nora & Jac. The challenge was all about squats and planks and we really held each other accountable all month. Of course as the end of the challenge approached, we began to wonder what we should do for June, so I came up with a challenge that will work our arms as well as our core strength. I've really become a fan of the these monthly progressive challenges and I think that doing another one will be perfect during June, which tends to be a crazy and hectic month for me. I like that they are quick yet effective workouts and that I can see results without devoting a ton of time.

 

Click For Larger Version

I tried to change things up a bit each day, so we wouldn't get bored. Here are some tips if you are worried about the moves listed above.

• Push-ups can of course be done from your knees if you can't do a full push-up yet, but really push yourself to reach the goal of doing full push-ups. Even if you can only do one or two before switching to your knees, it'll help you improve and slowly work your way to doing more full reps.


• Chair Dips can be done in different ways too. Beginners can start with their knees bent to give added support. As your tricep strength increases, try putting your legs out straight in front of you so can get more resistance from your body weight. If that becomes easy, lift one leg or put your legs up on a chair too!


• Military Push-ups are done with your hands lined up directly under your shoulders. As you lower down into the push-up, your elbows stay back and tight to your body. These are still difficult for me, so don't worry if you can't go down very far. It'll come with time!


• Wide Fly Push-ups are exactly what they sound like. You place your arms out in front of you in a wide push-up pose. These tend to be easier, at least for me.


• Mountain Climbers begin in the top of a push-up or full plank. You'll then alternate pulling in your left and right foot...kinda like running in place. They are fabulous for building core and shoulder strength.

If you are unsure of the other moves listed her, please let me know and I'll be happy to explain them or provide links to "how-to" videos.

I'm really looking forward to another month of teaming up with Jac and keeping each other accountable. I also just started DDP Yoga (I'll talk about that soon in a separate post) and I hope to get back into running this month using the technique I posted about on my Facebook page last week.

So who else would like to join us for this challenge? We'd love to have you!

Stars & Stripes Workout

{Wordless Wednesday} Workout Edition

{Fitness Friday} Full Body Workout

Wow, it's been awhile since I've done a Fitness Friday post.

I don't have much to report about my own workouts for the past week. I'm still feeling pretty run down and I've been having issues with my breathing since being sick. I have not gone on a run in a little over three weeks, which has left me quite cranky and feeling a little defeated.

On the bright side, I did manage to do a few mini workouts this week and it felt good to workout. I stumbled upon an oblique mini workout that I shared on my Facebook Blog Page, and it left my muscles sore which felt great!

If you have not already "LIKED" my page, please take a moment and do it. I often share workout tips, mini workouts and recipes over there. You can click on the banner to the right or just CLICK HERE to visit me on Facebook.

The week has been also been spent focusing on staying hydrated, finding and trying new recipes, getting enough sleep and eating on a schedule. Being sick really turned my routines upside down and like a toddler, I tend the thrive on routine, so I get cranky when my schedule is messed up.

Before getting sick, I also made up this workout for the days that I can't get out to run. It can be done anywhere, even outside if you'd like and it doesn't require any weights which comes in handy if you are traveling, too!

I would probably even toss a forearm plank in at the end of this for a little extra core/shoulder burn!

Hope everyone has a great weekend filled with nice weather! We are supposed to be in the 60's here on the East Coast, so I'm hoping to get out and enjoy it!

Who Wants To Kick-Ass in April?

Summer is quickly sneaking up on us, although you wouldn't know it by the weather we've been having. Your window of opportunity to tone-up and shed a few pounds is quickly closing and those damn Girl Scouts and their cookies aren't helping!

(For the record I love the Girl Scouts, I was one, my daughter was one and my nieces represent...it's the evil cookies I don't like...well...I love them...but my ass doesn't.)

Anyway... I was killing time on Pinterest while being stuck in the house with sick kids and I stumbled upon this:

 

Thanks to Lauren for noticing that the dates on here do not reflect 2013. Please make a note of that if you plan to follow along. If I have time, I'll make a new graphic and post it.

Click on the image to view the source of this workout and look up past ones.

I know the same three moves daily can become boring, but they are all very effective and I think you'll be amazed by how much improvement you'll see with each passing day. Just like with the plank challenge, you start out slow but with each passing day, you become stronger. This also doesn't take a lot of time out of your day. You can easily do this before you take your morning shower, or just slip it into your usual routine.

So who wants to join me for a month of booty toning goodness?

Happy Pi Day {Mini Workout}

Today's workout had me living the Life of Pi.... no no no....I wasn't stuck on a boat with a tiger name Richard Parker ...I just had to do things with the number 3.14 in mind.

I started off my morning with a 3.14 run on the trail. It was not a pretty run and my head was seriously not present at all. I was pissed off at myself after being so close to beating my PR just a few days ago, but then I switched my mind set and gave myself credit for showing up and getting it done. Good job, Nikki!

After my run, I hit the trainer for a double Pi ride and it felt great. After pushing myself for 25 mile rides last week, 6.28 feels like a walk in the park.

I haven't pushed myself this hard in a long time and it feels great! I actually like taking an active recovery day instead of a full rest day. It teaches me that I don't have to go hard all the time, and that it's nice to just slow down and enjoy the journey sometimes.

To finish off today's Pi celebration, I didn't have a slice of pie... instead I did this circuit workout and worked up a great sweat.

[caption id="attachment_2784" align="aligncenter" width="376"] 

A big Thank You to the Billboard Hot 100 on Spotify for keeping my pace high!

Halter Tops, Sundresses and Swimsuits.... Oh My!

This week I spent some time shopping and it became very clear that warm weather is on it's way. Despite the frigid temps outside, many stores already have the swimsuit section all set up and cute little summer dresses and sleeveless tops on display. There were even racks of shorts and the shoe department had the sandals all lined up.

Are you ready to face to skimpy clothing of summer? If not, the good news is you have some time to prepare yourself!

I know it's hard to think about things like this when you're still wearing layouts of clothing, but pretty soon, you  won't be able to hide under those layers  anymore.

Here's a quick workout to get your arms ready for the sleeveless, spaghetti strap styles that summer has to offer:

Your fitness level will decide what weights you use for the bicep curls. You want to use a weight that isn't too heavy since you are doing 30 reps, but you want to make sure that it's heavy enough that those last few reps feels impossible. Another option would be to do two rounds of this, but split the bicep curls in half for each round, choosing a heavy weight to max out your reps by 15.

Notice the planks in there? They not only tighten and strengthen your core, but they help you to develop sexy shoulders. Gotta love moves that target more than one area!

Start doing this now and you will have toner, tighter, stronger looking arms and shoulders in time for the summer heat up.

Expecto Patronum! You Can Be Fit & Nerdy!

In keeping with the theme of my Wordless Wednesday post this week, I offer you the Harry Potter Workout!

What better way to get yourself and your kids moving?!

Expelliarmus!!

Drop the popcorn and quit sitting on the couch, like a spud, watching these movies the 100th time, make it interesting and fun!

How it works: Each time one the items listed on the left is seen in the film, you and your kids perform the task listed on the right that goes with it. You can pause the movie or keep watching, that's totally up to you and Potterhead level of fandom. Pretty simple, right?

I think "games" like this are a great way to get your kids moving, and make a movie a hands-on experience. Not a Harry Potter fan? Well...you're probably not human. No really..... just make up your own cues and moves for your favorite movie and share them with me here or over on my Facebook page!

Keep On Rolling, Baby!

If I ever hit the lotto, I will have a personal masseuse to address my sore muscles and help work the daily stress out of my tired body. Until then, I'll have to settle for massage gift certificates on special occasions and my new foam roller.

For the longest time, I saw fellow fitness friends tweeting about foam rolling and how blissful it was, but I had no idea what it was. I began looking these foam rollers up on-line and realized that I could truly benefit from one. I have always had super tight hamstrings and hip flexors, so seeing that there were ways to roll these areas to lengthen and stretch them intrigued me. I figure it could also come in handy now that I'm running more. My legs are always tight and sore post run.

Thankfully Santa (aka my husband) bought me one for Christmas! He got me a textured roller made by Gaiam which also came with a massage routine DVD. I've heard that the textured ones give a deeper massage to the muscle and can take some getting used to. Hopefully it's not too painful at first...I can be a wuss at times.

I also found this handy graphic on Pinterest (of course) which I think will come in very handy.

Do you use a foam roller? If so, do you have any tips or techniques? Please feel free to share below!

The Perfect 10

As usual, I was trolling around Pinterest and stumbled upon this. I used it instead of a run since the weather around here has been yucky. I felt a major burn in my lower body and teamed up with a plank hold. I really need to get back to my plank challenge, I seem to have lost some of my strength here.

I'm not a fan of the treadmill, nor do I have one (or access to one) anymore. I'm also not a fan of running in the rain, which is why I've been looking for short, yet solid at home workouts. What are your favorite workouts to do instead of running when the weather doesn't cooperate? 

{Workout} Shapely Squats

Once again, I've been trolling around on Pinterest and I stumbled upon this workout that I thought you guys might like.

I love doing lower body workouts when I'm short on time. They work so many major muscles, that you really feel your heart-rate increase and know that you are working hard, even if you are short on time.

Do It Daily Workout

This morning I decided to take my own advice from yesterdays post "Progress and Change". I haven't had to leave for work as early the past few shifts and I was either reading in the morning or wasting time on Pinterest. (Neither is an awful thing, but I have recently set some fitness goals for myself and neither was really helping me reach that goal, know what I mean?).

While on Pinterest, I tend to look for healthy recipes and new workouts to try, so it's not a total waste of time, but I could be doing the workouts I already pinned and haven't tried before looking for new ones, right?

This morning I tried this one:

It's a perfect before-you-take-your-morning-shower-workout. I felt a great burn in my core from it, and since I had extra time, I held the plank till I couldn't anymore, which resulted in 5 minutes 10 seconds of plank. (Not too shabby)

I'm in my rest week for P90X right now, so I'll be doing Core Synergystics later tonight. Phase 3 starts on Monday....I can't believe how fast this round is going by!

Today's Workout: Stretch, Cardio & Booty!

Today I woke up and my lower body was still very sore from the lower body workout I posted the other day. I decided a dose of X-Stretch from P90X would do my body good, so that is how I started today's workout. I had to skip the sun salutations, camel and back hero since I still can't stretch my core too much, but I still felt great after completing the workout.

My plan was to hit the pavement this morning since I needed to go to the post office and it conveniently falls along my walking/running path. Unfortunately, mother nature had different plans and it started to thunderstorm as I was getting ready to go. Thankfully I have a stationary bike so I hopped on there instead and got a solid 30-min cardio workout in before giving this workout I found on Pinterest a try:

I did three rounds of this, Insanity style, and felt a solid burn kick in halfway through the second round.

As you can tell, I've been putting focus on lower body workouts, and that's because I've decided to join my husband and some of his buddies in August, as they attempt the Rock Solid Mud Run. I'm a little nervous about this since I recently had the surgery, but my plan is to pace myself, do what I can and just have fun.

If you try any of the workouts I'm posting, please let me know what you think or if you add anything! Also, if you have any that you love, please pass them my way. I'd love to try it out and feature it here along with your fitness story.

This Mornings Workout: Legs

Since my body has been responding so well post surgery to lifting, I figured it was time to add a short, but effective leg routine into the mix. If your legs aren't jello after completing this, you're not giving it your all.