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!

{Wordless Wednesday} Happy Fourth of July

{Photo from Lilsugar.com - Click for recipes} 

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Last week I announced that I would be hosting my first ever giveaway over my Facebook page and  today a winner was chosen!

and the winner is....

You are the winner of Nora & Jac's super cute color block infinity scarf and two sailors knot bracelets!

A big thank you to Nora & Jac for providing such an awesome prize package for me to giveaway to the fans of this blog, it's been a pleasure watching your business take off!

I'd also like to thank everyone who entered this giveaway and take the time to read what I write. You are all awesome! (or really bored...I'll go with awesome, though!)

Hosting my first giveaway was actually pretty nerve wrecking for me, but it was fun and I look forward to hosting another soon!

{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!

{Summer Giveaway} Fashion Edition

I'm incredibly happy to announce, that I have teamed up with Nora & Jac to offer my readers and Facebook fans a chance to win some great items!

If you love fashionable, handmade accessories, this giveaway is for you!

Entering is as easy as 1, 2, 3...:

1. Visit the Nora & Jac Facebook page and hit "Like"


2.  Visit my Facebook page and make sure you already "Like" it.


3. Click the summer giveaway tab on the top to fill out the form.

(There are also links to Nora & Jac's Facebook page on there if you prefer)

One lucky winner will be randomly chosen on July 1, 2013 by 3:00 pm to win these great items (which are valued at approx $45):

So hop on over to Facebook to enter today and keep an eye on the Nora & Jac page....she has some great sales going on now to make way for new items which are in the works and will be launching soon!

{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!

{Wordless Wednesday} I'm KIND of Obsessed