Thursday, February 23, 2012

Chase Dat Kid Workout



When it's not raining, us Seattlites need to take advantage and get outside. You can see the field where Dutch and I worked out today. It was kind of spur of the moment, I had my workout clothes on and we headed out for an adventure. It started with visiting Chad for a cup of joe in the sunshine. He loved visiting his dad, then Dutch and I just started walking on the trail behind Chad's work. We ended up at this huge field by the Redmond library and the police station. It was perfect because there were lots of big ledges for tricep dips, decline push ups, explosive jumps, step ups and whatever else I could think of. I started just jogging the field and Dutch thought we were playing tag. Depending on what direction he went, I just did what I could and made it up as I went. I would do push ups, squat jumps, burpees and the other moves that I could think of with the ledge. There was no rhyme or reason, no magic number of reps. I just did what I could until he started to run away from me then I just chased him as part of the workout. I ran the field with him in my arms a few times (just like a sandbag only this sandbag was either cracking up or whining) which was actually really challenging. I tried to distract him with dirt piles to kick or grates to bang on that made a cool noise. He was never distracted for very long but I was able to get a good sweat and get my heart rate up.

I did not have a stroller with me because we had taken the bus down to Chad's work. That meant workout part 2 was walking home carrying Dutch most of the way. The gnarly part was going up Redmond Way (big incline) with my 40lb. D-Money in my arms. I kept having to switch my grip so both biceps were burning, not just one. I will say this was not the best on my back, I was feeling it by the time I got home but it was really fun. We played "touch the tree" on the walk home to distract him from squirming. We also pointed out birds, buses, cars and people. It felt really good to be outside getting creative with my baby boy. I finished it up with Scooby Doo (distraction tool) and abs when I got home.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Proud


I love my body. I am serious. What do you think of when I say that? I am curious? I think our society has tried to train us to hate our bodies and doubt ourselves so that we can buy more, need more. What I realized and have been going over in my mind is that for once in my life, I am totally and completely proud and in love with my body. I hope that by writing this and sharing how I feel will help others do the same or possibly give them permission to CHANGE how they feel about themselves. Let it be okay to be happy and loved. Every single person deserves this feeling because we are all amazing just because we exist. I just got super deep right there, but I am serious. It was not an easy journey to get to this realization. There were many many years that I did not feel this way. In fact, I probably hated my appearance for a number of stupid reasons that I completely imagined up in my head. BUT this is the first time in my life that I actually love myself, inside and out. Sure, sometimes I pick on myself or get into negative thinking but I make a decision to be concious of that, to redirect that, to be in charge of my thoughts. I have been on a journey to find peace and the key to that has been love. Every time. So, my question is, do you love yourself and is that okay? Do you want to live in a happy body that feels respected and appreciated? Seriously, what if your body was a seperate being, like your best friend. (If you think about it, your body does a whole heck of a lot more than anyone or anything else in your life) What if everyday, day in and day out you were hurtful, negative and mean to your best friend? Saying things like, you are so ugly, lazy, you could never do that, why are you so fat, ugh, you are just gross. How would that feel? Horrible! Just typing those statements got me feeling all not good. How would your body react? Negatively. Then please tell me why someone who says they are happy with themselves, they love themselves, why does society try to make them feel conceited, less than, egotistical? We are all in charge of how we react to things and how we feel about things. That is where the power lies.

The main reason I love teaching fitness classes is helping people find respect and love for their bodies. There are days I position the bikes so that people are forced to look themselves in the eye. I am shocked when an ENTIRE class of beautiful, fit women have trouble doing that. I have also seen a room that starts out avoiding eye contact in the mirror, open up to it- and realize its safe and actually pretty cool. I LOVE THAT! I want the world to know that it can be okay to completey and totally love who you are, no matter what. How did I come to this realization? It really started with setting a goal for myself because I needed something. I have been writing it down for atleast the last 5 years and that is-- I want to have a healthy and happy relationship with my body. That has been my goal for awhile because I was really struggling. Part of me didn't even believe I would ever really accomplish that goal but I knew I would never stop trying to find my path.

Let me break it down for you:
In high school I was completely insecure and so worried about being liked. I had little self respect although there was a little bit hiding in there somewhere. Of corse this lack of self confidence showed itself in my behavior and relationships.
College- I started to really love working out and lost alot of weight the summer before I started WSU but I was a little too obsessed with being HOT. I was way too concerned with the scale and being skinny with little regard to how I was feeling in my body. I had confidence but not inward. I remember thinking, "I hope I can lose weight and look really good and then I will get a fresh start. No one will know who I really am or that I am not cool at all." I decided my self worth based on how I fit into my pants or looked in the party pics. I really didnt realize how far off I was, I thought I was rockin it. oh boy, I had a long way to go.
Late twenties were a mix of finding more of myself and still struggling with my insecurities. I was too busy getting my party on, hiding behind alcohol and trying to figure out who I was after college, to even slow down and form a relationship with myself, although this is when I started to open my eyes. I started to want more.
Dont get me wrong- I was never a bad person and I had a great time through all of this, my point is, I was not proud of my body during any of those years, no matter what I looked like. That is when I had the beauty of youth on my side but no matter how I looked, I felt ugly and obsessed because of my head space.

At 33 years old I have never felt healthier in my life. I am 15 pounds heavier than my college days, I have had a baby and I am far from perfect but I LOVE myself. I have learned how to find the mind body connection and focus on how I feel rather than how I look. I do think I look great and I want that to be okay. I feel strong when I exercise, I LOVE food and am so happy that I finally know how to eat without feeling too full. I can carry my 40 lb child through the grocery store AND push that TOTALLY LAME cart that looks like a car. I eat desert quite often and love my carbs but I want to feed my body healthy foods because it feels so much better. It feels awesome to be inside a body that is healthy, strong and loved. My perspective and my mind have created this love and acceptance for my body, not the way I eat or how I workout although of corse that matters. It had to start in my mind and my heart before anywhere else. Once I let go of trying to do things to look good or fit into someone else's standards, I found what I had always wanted.....to love myself and my body no matter what. Funny how once you let go the magic happens. Once the love is there you want to eat better, exercise, see what you can accomplish.

I hope anyone who is reading this who feels lost or would like to change their perpsective, realizes you can, 100%. What if you started just by setting a goal for yourself? What is it you really want and how do you want to feel inside your own body? That might just start a chain reaction into motion that can guide you wherever you want to go.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Time Challenges and Pyramids make mommy happy




I have not done an at home workout for awhile since I have been either jogging or getting in to classes at Fly. I realized very soon after I was home with Dutch that the at home workouts with him are what I prefer to be an exception than the rule. I never know if Dutch will be on board or P.O.ed when I workout at home. I also really love getting out and away from all of my responsibilities for an hour or so. I really need that most days and the days I dont get it, I feel it. Chad is really great about helping me find time and that means alot.
I am teaching tonight and for some reason I really got the urge to try the workout at home before giving it to my class. Let me start by saying the energy in a group is MUCH more powerful. I push myself harder when there is a room full of others doing the same, especially with a good Instructor pushing me. I will say, I can push myself pretty hard and this workout had me doing just that. I got my ipod going, my cell phone stop watch and BAM! The magic happened.
Dutch was not happy when I started to workout but after about 5 minutes of me trying to dodge him (he was crying and whining and grabbing my legs during warm up) he was totally on board. He was an ANGEL the entire rest of the time and I was in shock but I appreciated it. He played with Vader and his toys and was in and out of his crib. He pretty much left me alone and did his own thing. My kid rocks!!! (I will say that whenever possible so when he steps out of line, I feel good knowing he rocked at one point in time.)
It was a mix of pyramid sets which just means you start at 1 of each exercise, then go to 2 of each, then 3 and repeat all the way to 10. If you are confused, you can always message me and I am happy to explain.

workout:
warm up 5 mins

set 1
Tabata set (this means 20 seconds going all out and 10 seconds off x8 which is a total of 4 mins)
big jump squat forward and two hops back
jog in place when you are in the resting phase

set 2
10 minute challenge (meaning, do the below as many times as you can and as fast as you can with good form, for 10 mins)
30 high knees (I mean really high and tight! You can make this easy or hard by perfecting form and speed)
10 squats with a shoulder press (I used 8lbers because that is all I have at home)
10 sit ups with straight arms, going all the way up

set 3
Tabata set
This time you do mountain climbers when you are on and whatever you need to do to get through this when you are off. This tabata challenge was really hard! Even though your shoulders and core will be tired, make sure your shoulders stay right over your wrists for proper alignment.

set 4
5 minute challenge
7 bent over rows (with the trusty 8 lbers again)
7 bicep curls
7 squat thrusts (at Fly we call these burpees but if you look it up online, this move is a squat thrust)
This set is also a killer so stay focused!

set 5
This may sound complicated so again, message me if needed
Pyramid set from 1 to 10 with
jump squat and squat with shoulder press
I threw in an ab move as I was going along because my thighs were dying. I liked the recovery the abs gave me to power through so feel free to do that here.

set 6
Pyramid set from 1 to 10 with
push ups alternating with lunges.

set 7
Pyramid set from 1 to 10 with
regular crunch, then toes to the sky and crunch with your fingers reaching for the sky

set 8
Pyramid set from 1 to 10 with
body on all fours (like a baby who is crawling) extending opposite arm and opposite leg. Do this as slow as you need to but keep your legs and arms locked solid. The pyramid is on each side so R for 1, then left for 1. R for two, left for two and repeat to 10.

set 9
Pyramid set from 1 to 10 with
oblique crunch with body in one long line alternating with leg lift
THIS SET BURNED OH SO GOOD!

I hope you all have an amazingly strong, fun, happy day filled with fitness and whatever else your kid throws at ya! I took some creepy bedroom pics along the way so you can see my workout partners and I getting our sweat on. Dutch was totally dancing in his crib, it was really cute. I almost forgot! You can teach your kid to count throughout the workout! I was counting out loud so Dutch could hear me. He was totally feelin it. I heard him throw out some numbers.
ps. if you dont want to do this workout alone, come to Fly at 5:30pm for Organized Chaos!!! Its gonna be DA BOMB!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Flymama Workout-Baby Trade and the dog stays home



I came up with a genius plan, I must say. I wanted more time to take Fly classes during the week and I figured other stay at home moms probably did to. Why not do a flip flop and babysit each others kids so the other can go workout? AWESOME! I found a friend/mom who was just as excited as I was and we have started our trade. I watch her son on Fridays while she is at class and then she does the same for me on Wednesdays. It was funny to watch the two boys together. Her son is 9 months and I quickly realized that Dutch is no longer a baby. He is a boy who wants to wrestle the baby, lead the baby around and does not want me to hold the baby. wow. It was hilarious. Baby Braden is one of the sweetest babies I have ever met so I picked a good one. He never cried and was cool with everything that came his way. I love those babies! All in all they had a great time and my mom friend, Beth, got in a great workout. I am so excited for my turn on Wednesday! I have already started to prep myself and realize Dutch might be mad when I leave. My mantra is HE WILL GET OVER IT HE WILL GET OVER IT. Beth is the most chill mom ever and she can handle anything. I was only with the kids for two hours but I found a new sense of appreciation for those that have more than one child. That requires a WAY bigger effort to find time for yourself or working out- so high five to all you moms with lots of babies! You go girls!
I am really working on letting go of stress and going with the flow. Unfortunately that means Vader, our 5 year old, 90 lb. black lab, has to stay home a little more often. I LOVE Vader as if he is my other human child. I care about him and his needs just as much as anyone else's. I know he needs a walk everyday, he needs his treats, he plays with us, he is very important. I usually try to take him everywhere that Dutch and I go. Vader is not the sharpest tool in the shed and he acts like a maniac sometimes. When we walk he pulls me, he wants to stop and sniff everything- even if that means almost pulling Dutch and I onto our asses. If I were to watch myself on camera with these two in certain moments, I might die of embarrasement. Actually there was a lady last week who saw me saying an F bomb right as Vader yanked me so hard that I actually spilled Dutch's milk on someone's car. (Not to mention we were at the hippie bookstore where everyone is chill and cool and then there is me and my crazy kids with nice hippy lady watching me totally freak out)My boys and I go outside a few times a day on the nice days. I realized one day last week that Vader can actually stay inside. I felt SO GUILTY at first but IT WAS AWESOME! It was so easy! I wasnt being yanked or yanking. I wasnt saying or thinking any F bombs. It felt right. Sorry Big V. But you know what? Vader is perfectly fine. He still goes outside. I make sure he gets to run his crazies out everyday. It is better for all of us if he doesnt go everywhere with us, all the time. Chad could not believe it when I told him I left Vader at home and he was so proud of me! He said something like, "wow, Case. You are learning how to make things easier on yourself. That is awesome." It made me feel so good and reminded me that I need to keep working on that. Find the path that feels good and just go with it. Don't analyze. Don't judge myself with a microscope. Just have fun and feel good. Sounds so simple. Really, it should be.