Fitness Friday: Meditation

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No matter what "shape" you are...LOVE your body. Accept all your lines, curves, dimples, wrinkles, color, freckles...EVERYTHING. All those things make you the beautiful creature that you are.

One thing that I have started doing this year is taking 5 minutes every morning to meditate. Clearing my mind before my day starts has helped me to keep focus. Not just on life and the day, but on eating right and working out. Even stress. I learned to meditate from Bex on her youtube channel BexLife. (If you've been around my blog for awhile, you know I love doing her workouts too.)





Take time to really enjoy YOU and LOVE the skin that you're in!

"Health and fitness isn't only about moving around and working up a sweat. A lot of it is just taking the time to be kind to yourself." ~ Bex

Fitness Friday - Fall back in love with YOU

*yes I know it's Saturday, but for some reason this did not get posted yesterday*

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Well It's February :-) The month of LOVE :-) And for this month, I thought I would do something a little different for Fitness Fridays...Love Your Body Fitness Fridays.
So to start off, a little exercise...

Stand in front of your mirror. Before you look at yourself, close your eyes. Take 5 deep, slow breaths in and out. Clear your mind. There is no one else in the room with you. With each exhale push out any "hang ups" that you may have about your body or how you eat. Now open your eyes, and look yourself in the eye. Starting from the top of your head look at each part of your body (that you can see) in the mirror. Take in everything: the way your hair falls, the curve of your shoulder, the color of the inside of your elbows, the lines on your palms...EVERYTHING. No thoughts, just look. Then look back into your own eyes. Take a deep breath and smile.

We are all different. What I see in my mirror is not what you see in your mirror. Be in love with the person in the mirror. You know her better than anyone else does (yes even your spouse or significant other). Being a woman is an awesome thing. Remember that and remember to love that.

This month, I want us all to fall back in love with our bodies and NOT our hang ups. So in the coming weeks get ready for more little exercises like the one above, quick little workouts to make our bodies smile and stories from different women at different stages in their fitness/healthy lifestyles.

Who's ready? ;-)

Fitness Friday - Check In

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It's the last Friday of the month and I want to know how y'all have been doing with your fitness and/or healthy living goals that you set for yourself.

My goal for this year is to train insane for a bikini/figure competition. I plan to wait to enter a competition until the end of the year or even wait until next year. I have been working out harder at the gym and revamped (again) how I am eating...LOTS of protein and veggies = as clean as possible. Now I do stray and have cheated but I don't beat myself up for it...I just work harder at my next gym sesh. As for my workouts, I am lifting weights again and am going to the gym in my apartment complex at least 5 times a week. I've been doing more cardio...riding the stationary bike at least 3 times a week tabata style: 20 seconds as fast as a I can go, 10 seconds to recover (slow pedal). I do that anywhere from 10-15 rounds. My goal is to get up to 20 rounds in the next month on my current resistance.
At the end of December I entered into the bodybuilding.com 2013 transformation challenge. Today marked day 31. All my workouts that I've been doing are through the plan I choose for this challenge. Since I started the challenge, I gained muscle and have now lost 3 lbs. I am now in Phase 2 of my program: the fat burning phase WOOHOO!!!!!

How are y'all doing? Comment below and let me know how everything is going.
(I think I will be making this a weekly linky...thoughts?)

Fitness Friday - New year...now what?

2012 is a thing of the past...it is now 2013. This is the year that you WILL eat better and you WILL workout and get fit. But where the heck do you start?

I read something the other day and I was like yup THAT'S exactly it:

Decide now that quitting is not an option.
Yes, you will fall sometimes, but what you do when you do fall will determine how successful you will be in reaching your goals. Keep trying, and don't stop!

Now with that said and done...oh and P.S. I am so ordering that saying in one of those vinyl saying thingys that you can stick on the wall for the little dudes' room...I think what helps with any fitness and/or lifestyle change is to write what you want (or expect to happen) down.

So you wanna lose weight? Don't stress. Write it down and just do it. Don't worry about how much. All that matters is that you just do it.

With your goals staring up at you, what is your first step? Do you already belong to a gym? Maybe you can get a personal trainer. Do you need to purge the "junk" food and go shopping for healthier choices? Do you want some hand weights? Write all those things down too! All the things you 'need' you might not be able to get right away but write them down and get them when you can. Decide how you will go about getting those things and plan accordingly.

Now what do you do?

With regards to food, I totally suggest meal planning. It was hard for me at first and took a lot of time, but it was all so very worth it. I would start with just planning out your full day of food the day or night before. Once you get used to that, do 3 days at a time, then 5. Next thing you know, it'll be a Sunday or Monday night and you are meal planning a full week. And don't just do 3 meals. Include snacks and drinks too.

If meal planning is just way too much, try keeping a food diary. The hardest part of a food diary is remembering to write in it. I use a cute hello kitty notebook that I carry with me everywhere. Every time I put something in my mouth, yes even a piece of gum, I take out my notebook and write it down. Now you don't have to do it the way I do, but try it...and be honest. If you had a snickers, own that snickers and write it down. You only hurt yourself when you lie. And trust me, once you see everything you're eating on paper, you'll be like WHOA! and want to make good choices.

Now working out...the good stuff. You don't have to make this elaborate show about it, especially if you're just starting out. Find a DVD, check YouTube. You don't NEED a gym or weights. There are a ton of free "workout programs" out there to get you started, just remember to choose one that is right for you.

You may not be the P90x type (heck, neither am I) so don't just do it because you think it's the only option. Do your research because seriously there are a ton of options out there. Don't want such a rigid workout? Try walking and/or running. Shoot hoops, ride your bike....just get moving! Whether you are a beginner or not, I totally suggest checking out Blogilates. Casey is fun and the workouts are easy and great for anyone, and you don't need any equipment. If you're more advanced, check out TheDailyHiit (also known as bodyrock.tv). Don't be discouraged to try something new.

The most important thing is to make time. Decide when the best time for you to workout is. Decide when is the best time to grocery shop or meal plan. You have to make time. Whether it be 15 minutes or an hour, you have to make time.

If you're ready to take on 2013, link up below and tell us what your fitness plans/goals are for this new year!

And before you leave, don't forget to follow your hosts Frikken Duckie and me, Nicole Johnson and grab our button:

<a href="http://www.frikkenduckie.com"><img src="http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd363/frikkenduckie/FitnessFridayButton.jpg" /></a> (*So in a perfect world the linky should be showing up here in this spot, but its not...and I have no idea why. Let me work on it, but for now, head on over to Frikken Duckie and link up there*) *Disclaimer - I am by no means a fitness or nutrition expert. These are my opinions based on my experiences alone. Always consult a doctor with any major life changing activities such as diet and exercise*

Fitness Friday - Workout Buddy

Let's face it...it's the holidays...we're all busy trying to get ready: presents, decorating, food planning, even preparing for family visits. It's hard to squeeze in time to get it all done. I know. I'm hosting Christmas eve this year and I feel like I am in over my head and its only December 14! Whew I am exhausted...I don't want to work out..."I don't have time." WRONG! You know what I have that helps me to make sure that I do make time? My "buddy" Maria. Yup. I have a workout buddy.

Maria is a stay at home mom just like me. Our sons are in the same class at school and we live in the same complex. She's trying to get ready for her 1st holiday away from her family (she just moved here from Chicago over the summer). She's into fitness like I am. We both get those days where all we want to do after we walk the kids to school is just go back to our homes and sit/lay on the couch until our little ones come home at 11am. She has kept me motivated to keep going, and I do the same for her. Periods (sorry, overshare) don't even stop us. She is petite just like I am, so any weight that we gain is very obvious. We've been baking up a storm, and with all those treats, we make sure that we carve out at least 10 minutes of the day to "prep." LOL. Short is one thing...short and chunky is another. 

I cherish those 10 minutes of "sanity." We gossip,we laugh, we work out our frustrations of "not enough time in a day." We get it done together. It helps. 

I also have workout buddies online as well. These are men and women who I've met through blogging and twitter and even instagram. I like progress motivation. I love seeing when people go to the gym and post sweaty pictures of themselves, or pictures of what workout they are going to do or just completed. I like before and after pictures. I look to these people as motivation as well to keep me going. From them, I find new workouts to keep my body challenged. I even share these workouts with Maria.

I'm lucky that Big Daddy shares a love of fitness with me. He's actually the driving force behind my working out and wanting to be in the best shape I can be. Before Maria, he and I used to work out together at least once a week (our schedules clashed so much that there was only one day we could work out together). He would do his work out and then come and walk me through mine, helping me with form and just pushing out that last rep. Trust me, nothing makes you feel sexier than when you catch your man smiling at you as your doing your reps. It feels just as good as when you're pissed off because he makes you do another rep after you're obviously exhausted and after you crank out that rep he smiles so big and gives you a high five...you forget that you were pissed off just .2 seconds ago LOL.

Working out is tough...and yes...sometimes it is hard to make time for it. But do it. Find someone who shares an interest or love of fitness with you and attach yourself LOL. Seriously. It's so much easier to have someone who is there right next to you physically and even online supporting you. Share your goals with that person...this will help you to remain accountable and not fall of the wagon. In turn, that person will share with you and you can help them as well. 

Oh ya...I almost forgot...



Now you KNOW I won't let you off the hook and have an "off" day. :-)
Today's workout is brought to you by Kandee Johnson and Natalie Jill. Perfect and simple to get you through the next couple of weeks...hopefully with your workout buddy.

Fitness Friday - Hey Sexy Lady

Yup I'm talking to YOU! ;-) Heard this song this morning, and I was in such a grove, I swear they were singing it to me! LOL




No matter, what size or shape you are, tall or short, fair skinned, tan or dark YOU are sexy!!!

It's that time of year for all the sweets, cakes, pies and oh the cookies!! Mmmmmm....I want some now. LOL. This is also the time of the year that we (women) "forget" about eating healthy and slack on working out. The weather is cooler and all ya wanna do is cuddle on the couch. MmHmmm. Yup, me too. NO! I will not go down this holiday season. I made some great progress and made great habits that I do NOT want to just go away. YOU...YOU shouldn't want that either. Get a jump start on your new year's resolution to be healthy and fit. I challenge each of you to do the below video at least twice in the next week. Twice...that's it. All you need is a pair of dumbbells or water bottles or soup cans...no excuses. The whole workout once time through is about 15 minutes.



Yup it's Casey again. I LOVE her!

Fitness Friday - Leggies

"It's Friday and I'm ready to sing. Pick up my girls and hit the party scene. Tonight...oh, oh it's alright ummm"

Were you just singing? Heehee, me too! Well lovers it IS Friday!! *cue crazy applauding crowd* Oh and it has been a doozy of a week for me. I was not feeling so good the beginning of this week but am definitely doing better. (And just so y'all know...VonTrapp aka CRAZY SICK LADY aka my MIL for my new followers) got me and the barbarians sick over Thanksgiving weekend). So I haven't really worked out all week. Except for walking the boys to school and then home and then back to school to pick them up and then back home. Only having 1 car is actually pretty awesome in that sense...always working out.
Well today since I feel great, I decided to start back up slow and work out my legs. I mean with all that walking, I know my legs can handle it...or so I thought LOL. It was intense. Good intense. The right kind of intensity to get me back to where I left off.

Dear Cassey...I love you! Love always, my legs

Work those leggies! It's tights, leggings, jeggings season so keep your legs looking FAB!

Fitness Friday - We're going TOPLESS

Goood Moooooooorrrnnniiiiiiiing! Too much? Heehee. It's FRIDAY! Day 1 of Formula 1 weekend. But before all that I thought I would bring back.....

That's right folks! Thanksgiving is less than a week away. And then comes holiday parties. And then Christmas. And then New Year's. You need to get into a routine NOW.

If you follow my other blog, you know I love BexLife and BodyRock and Blogilates. Today I'm bringing you the workout that I actually did this morning. Like literally maybe 10 minutes ago. It's from the bikini blaster series from this past summer. Bikini season is year long in my eyes ;-)




Get of your booty and get topless!!! But if perhaps you may be at work or at a coffee shop or something, wait till you get home ;-)

Fitness Friday 5 - My Goals

Instead of going on and on about how important it is to set real and attainable goals for yourself regarding your fitness, I thought I would share with you 2 of my fitness goals...

1. Run in the Zooma Austin 5k next year (March 23, 2013)

2. Run in the Cap10k next year (April 7, 2013)

I am NOT a runner. If you follow my fitness/beauty blog you know that I do not like running at all. I want to up my cardio and lose my love handles and I know one of the BEST cardio workouts IS running. A friend of mine is a marathon runner. She told me that she HATED running when she first started doing it. She said her biggest mistake was thinking that she was just going to be able to do it. Just run. No training or other types of preparing like finding the right shoes...just start running. So she ran...and got hurt. It wasn't fun, she didn't know what she was doing or even why she even wanted to run. So she got with a runner friend of hers who told her to pick a race and start training for it...slow and steady pace. And thats what she told me. I have fun with all my other workouts so why not make running fun too by training for a race. Big Daddy bought me a great pair of shoes for my birthday so I have good shoes to start running with...OMG...I think I may be getting excited LOL. I'm starting slow. Walking, then jogging, then running. I can do this. I don't want to place first in any of the races. I just want to have fun. 

If you want to see more fitness stuff from me check out my fitness blog Workin It.

Fitness Friday 4 - Family Fitness

I've missed a couple of these due to LIFE and had to go back and actually count how many I have done. So let's do this then shall we...

Working out for me and my family is down right fun...like seriously! Big Daddy and I try to work out at least 4 times a week, leaving the weekends as our "active rest days" which includes fun active stuff with the little dudes. For the dudes, working out is just part of life...not anything scheduled. They see me and the hubs doing it and they want to do it too. Awesome right?!

warning: here comes the mommy bragging moment...

So awesome that they even come up with their own workouts...

The beep you here in the beginning is their tabata timer. YES, my dudes do tabata too. Now before anyone goes off on a rant about pushing your kids and making them do crazy stuff, let me (pre) interject and say my guys ASK to work out. And this little part of their workout that they did, like I mentioned, they came up with on their own. (They super love video games, hence the title "new level") The one in the blue and white shorts is Juju, my 6 year old, and in the green and white is BamBam and he's 4. They workout about 3-4 times a week either at the playground in our complex or they walk to the elementary school to run sprints. :-) I am one proud proud mommy.

Fitness for anyone, young or older, should just be a part of life. Make it fun by doing something fun and including your whole family. It doesn't have to always be lifting weights in a gym or completing some DVD or online exercise program. Go for a walk, go hiking. Heck its summer time, go swimming! Just keep active and trust me, you, your family, you'll all be happier and healthier and fitter. And you're doing it together.

This week I started a new workout regime.

The hardest part was starting back up after almost 2 weeks off .

My greatest accomplishment this week was not eating the greasy pizza my office ordered for lunch on Tuesday.

Okay, I felt guilty because instead of having a black coffee like I should, I added some salted caramel hot cocoa mix to it. Not once this week, but twice.

Next week I'm gonna try replacing one meal a day (meat, veggies, starch) with a vegan option. (More on this in a future Fitness Friday post).

I hope everyone has had a great week! I would love to see y'all link up as well. How are you keeping fit? Do you involve your family too? What fun family activities do y'all do?
If you don't want to do a post, just answer the 5 questions. Easy peasy. So go ahead and do your post, head on over to Frikken Duckie, to link up, and come back here and let me know! I wanna see what y'all are up to. :-)

It's Friday and I'm ready to sing....

It's Friday Bitches! And I totally said that in a Snooki voice too. Friday means 2 things...besides the obvious start of the weekend...1) PARTY TIME! And by party time, I totally mean sleeping in until 7:30am and staying up waaaaay late ;-), and 2) FITNESS FRIDAY!

So I haven't really done too much in the way of working out for the past week. We are finally moved into our new place. One of the things I love about it, is the fact that we live on the 2nd floor. Um duh, built in workout every.single.day. So I guess I can say I sorta worked out? I kid, I kid. But I have been swimming almost everyday this week so there you go. Since I haven't been doing any of my "hard core" and "aggressive" workouts, I have been really good about what I am eating. So good that my snacking consists of things like popcorn, string cheese, and even a salad. Not all at one time of course. I will be back to my regular schedule of workouts starting this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

To make linking up easier, Duckie creates a fill-in-the-blank thingy. Easy peasy. So link up!

THIS WEEK I: Added swimming to my daily routine and have made better eating choices like cutting my portion size down.

THE HARDEST PART WAS: Believe it or not, but it's hard just not being able to workout. Because of the move, we have boxes everywhere and I have given all my free time to just unpacking. Man we have a lot of ish! Also saying no to going out to lunch with my coworkers everyday. 

MY GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT THIS WEEK WAS: Definitely portion control. Y'all know I LOVE food! But I cut down my portion sizes at "big" meals and have been more consistent with eating 6-7 small meals a day.

OKAY, I FELT GUILTY BECAUSE: Even though my eating has gotten a lot better, I did have 2 sugary ass sweet teas this week. I also have had at least one beer every night this week. Talk about bloat city!

NEXT WEEK I'M GOING TO TRY: Weight lifting 3 times a week instead of 2,  and get back on my regular bodyrock workout regime.

Head on over to see Duckie and link up. Comment here so I can come on over and support you on your fitness journey as well.

Fitness Friday - Short shorts

"We wear short shorts..."

Sing it ladies! Summer time is here so let those legs out! Tis the season for mini skirts, sundresses, and short shorts. Time to get those gams looking FA-BU-LOUS! 

Don't worry, I got you covered. Couple little things that you can start doing today (or tomorrow) to get those legs ready to be seen.

Take the stairs. Up & down LOL. I had to add that since a lot of folks don't mind walking down stairs but never ever walk up. Keep your posture straight and if you want to make it harder don't stomp up/down the stairs, stay on your pallet the whole time. You'll feel it in your thighs and calves...oh yes you will. I've been walking up & down 4 flights of stairs to and from my office all this week. With as much as I work out you would think it would be a cake walk. WRONG. I was winded and out of breath and sweaty. Now a week later, it is definitely getting better ;-)

No stairs? Try squats. I personally LOVE squats. And you can do them anywhere, at anytime because all you need is your body. It works you legs and your booty. Just remember to do them right. Knees directly over your toes, heels on the ground, like your sitting down in a chair. In our house we like to do contests on who can get the lowest and stay low the longest without losing form. Hard core? Squat down and as you come back up, add a quick jump at the top.

Lunges. Don't know what else to say about these except oh ya feel the burn! Just remember to keep good form. (You should ALWAYS keep good form while doing any exercise)

Donkey butt kicks. Aw come on y'all already know about these. Channel Jane Fonda and get to it.

There are a ton of leg workouts that you can try. Look online, check YouTube. OR....just do 3 sets of 12 for each of the exercises I listed above. Well except the stairs lol. 

Don't forget to link up with my love Duckie and check out my girl Stephanie! These 2 chickies are FAB & have really kept me on my toes and keep motivating me. 

P.S. You can follow me and my workouts on my other blog Workin' It.

*I am not a fitness professional. All the above is from just ME. I just like to workout and let everyone know what works for me. As always, please consult a physician before starting any new major workout routine.*

Fitness Friday - a link up and share

Ladies (and gents) its not just about bikini season. 

It's about LIVING a healthy life.

Y'all know how much I obsess love to workout. I've teamed up with Duckie to bring you nothing but fitness/workout goodness every Friday from now on. And we want to hear from you too! Tell us what your doing or eating or both. Got a great exercise that you love? Link up and tell everyone about it! Let's challenge and motivate each other.

So for my first Fitness Friday post, I want to talk about time. We all have it, but we all wish he had more of it. "Not enough hours in the day." I used to think like this too. Especially when it came to working out. Well I have a (mini) solution for you = 4 minutes. Yup that's right. Just 4 minutes...

The workout:

0:00 - 0:20 high knees

0:20 - 0:30 rest

0:30 - 0:50 mountain climbers

0:50 - 1:00 rest

1:00 - 1:20 jump squats

1:20 - 1:30 rest

1:30 - 1:50 walking push ups

1:50 - 2:00 rest

2:00 - 2:20 high knees

2:20 - 2:30 rest

2:30 - 2:50 mountain climbers

2:50 - 3:00 rest

3:00 - 3:20 jump squats

3:20 - 3:30 rest

3:30 - 3:50 walking push ups

3:50 - 4:00 rest (WATER)

Feeling froggy? Do 2 sets with about a 1-2 min rest in between. Work up until you can do 3 sets. You can also definitely change up the exercises. MOST importantly...watch your form. Its not so much how many you can do right now in 20 seconds, but how many you can properly do without losing perfect form in 20 seconds. You can really hurt yourself if you're not careful. 

I hope you join us every Friday for this new meme. Maybe y'all could even challenge me with new workouts.

Want to see how I've been working out? Check me out @ Workin It.

disclaimer: *I am not a fitness professional. These ideas/opinions are 100% my own. Please consult a doctor before starting any fitness routine*