21 Days of Fixmas!

Greetings everyone!

Okay, so Thanksgiving is over. A lot of us are probably feeling a little guilty about some of the things we ate on Thursday, right?

And about 95% of people are probably telling themselves "well, I'm going to get back to healthy eating & start an exercise program after the New Year."

Well...what if you started doing something it NOW rather than later??

What if you were one of the few who were already well on their way to a healthier lifestyle on January 1st and you were ahead of everyone else?

This holiday season, me and a few of my friends are committing to doing either the 21 Day Fix OR the 21 Day Fix Extreme program starting Monday Nov. 30 and going through till Dec. 20.

If you want to be healthier this holiday season, then let's do this. Plus, this is a GREAT lead-in for the new Hammer & Chisel program that's coming out soon so that you can start THAT in the New Year with a nice head-start.

Time to ask yourself "WHY NOT?"

If your answer is "well I got holiday parties coming up..a cookie exchange..a birthday party. etc."

Well guess what? So do I! 

But it's all about pre-planning. 

I'll be sharing my progress on here. I know some days will be tougher than others, but I'm ready to get healthy now rather than later.

In the home stretch for 2015!

Wow, where has this year gone?? Here we are in the last 7 weeks of 2015.

This has been an eventful year for me - making progress and then having setbacks. But you know what? LIFE HAPPENS!  What matters is how quickly you get back on track.

As I said, in late August I had surgery and the doctor didn't clear me for running until October 12.  Well I have to admit, I haven't consistently started until this past week..

It was just last Sunday when I looked at the calendar and let out a loud expletive when I realized that the half marathon I signed up for last year was coming up in 5 weeks.  Today it's in FOUR weeks on Dec. 6.

Am I ready? Hell no!

But am I going to finish? You bet!

I know I probably won't meet my PR but considering the health setbacks this year, I think it would be a great way to finish 2015 by just plain finishing the race.

I picked up a GREAT book by Dr. Jordan Metzl called "Running Strong" and it has a strength training program specifically for runners.  I just started it today and holy moly, I was sweating in the first few exercises which includes some plyo, planks, lunges, squats, balancing, etc.  But hey, if it's going to make me stronger and prevent injury during the half, I'm going to power through. 

As an extra, I like to do the 10 Minute Fix for Abs routine from the 21 Day Fix program.  It hits ALL the major ab muscles and I definitely feel it the next day.

So there's essentially MY plan for the rest of the year, or at least this month - continue training for the half. 

What is YOUR plan for November?  What are you doing to improve your health this month? 

Do Setbacks happen? You bet! Move on

Hi everyone!

So I've been MIA for a little while because I had a minor surgical procedure on August 27. It wasn't due to any sickness and it wasn't life-threatening (thank goodness).  But it still knocked me down for the count these past few weeks because I haven't been able to do any high-impact workouts for three weeks now!

A little frustrating since I was on a roll before the surgery and going full blast on Cize AND the 21 Day Fix programs and running on the side. 

But that's okay.  I'm slowly building myself back up by walking and doing low-impact exercise daily.  And I know that this little setback should not completely de-rail the fitness progress I've made this year. 

So tomorrow I have a follow-up appointment with the doctor and I'm hoping I get the green light to start working out normally soon. 

My fingers are crossed!

I realize that I can't just jump in full blast to where I was.  I will listen to my body and push it a little each time. 

Just wanted to let everyone know the scoop!  And if you've ever had a setback, it's not the end of the world.  What matters is how quickly you pick yourself back up and continue on your long-term goal.

That's what I'm going to do. 

Day 1 of Cize!

Today is Day 1 of Cize and here is my Day 1 routine. First off, I was SHOCKED that I was sweating only 5 minutes into the workout!  By the end, I was sweating buckets.  Was NOT expecting that. My hat is off to all dancers out there. Here is this non-dancer at her attempt to look cool - but hey, at least I'm burning calories!  What a fun workout. Looking forward to perfecting this routine and learning the next!

Sharing some exciting news I just saw tonight on Facebook. Please excuse the messy hair and the numerous times I say "awesome" towards the end of the video - I was just excited! :)

Details here → http://bit.ly/labordayFIX
Facebook group here → http://bit.ly/LaborDayFix

Who wants to Cize it up with me in August??

Hey all!

Yesterday (July 20) was the release of the new fitness program from Shaun T called Cize.  It's supposed to be workout that's so much fun, that you forget that it's exercise.

It's a program where you learn various dance routines and in the process, you're burning up the calories.

Now this is an ironic thing because I am NOT a dancer and in fact, almost have no rhythm at all and here I am with a drummer boyfriend. :)

BUT, I'm willing to give it a try and I'll be doing the program for the first time starting August 10th.  And I'd love to do the program with people who are just like me - not too sure on the dancing thing but brave enough to give it a whirl!

So the basic rundown:

• It's a 4 week fitness program.  Come on - only a month!
• Each workout is approximately 35-40 minutes
• Appropriate for all levels of fitness: from Beginners to Advanced

If you're curious or just want more information, let me know.  I'll be posting my cool dance moves (ha!) next month....

Countdown to Reunion Time!

So on Saturday, June 27, I started the 21 Day Fix Extreme (21DFX) program because on Saturday, July 18 I have a big family reunion that I'm attending and I'd like to look and feel my best!

Today is Day 6 of the program and I got to say - this is tough!  There is a workout every single day. No rest day.  The closest thing to a rest day is the Yoga workout on Day 7 but even that you sweat a little!

Last night was a challenge for me. I ended up working late. Then I came home, made dinner and then we ended up popping in a DVD and watching the movie "American Sniper."  Well when the movie ended, it was around 9:30pm - which is close to my bed time.  And I STILL had not done my #21DFX workout.   I was SO tempted to just change to my jammies and go to bed. But I told myself "Remember why you're doing this. And this is only Week 1. Just put on the DVD and do the modification moves."  So that's what I did!  And even doing the modified moves that are low impact, I was still sweating when I finished. But I felt soooooo good afterwards!

 I felt so good that I even did an extra credit workout for a health challenge that I'm participating in at work.

So yeah, I felt like I crushed Day 5 despite not wanting to do it. DONE! Now on to Day 6...