Postpartum Fitness

October 31, 2017 by Lindsay Ingalls Leave a Comment

I’m officially four months postpartum and while I had hoped to write about all the things I am doing to stay healthy and fit while being a WAHM/SAHM to three children the reality is I am still working on finding my fitness. I always say that with most things it’s not that you don’t have enough time to do something it’s that you aren’t making time and over the past four months I haven’t been making time to workout out. So when I came across a list of postpartum fitness plans that I made months ago I thought it was finally time to share them and to actually follow my own advice.

Listen to my body. This is the one plan I actually followed through with. I listened to by body during the first six weeks of postpartum and didn’t push my activity level. If I was feeling exhausted or any sort of pressure around my pelvic floor I took that as a sign to slow down and I did. I ended up with the quickest healing I have ever had and I really attribute this to taking things slow this time around. Allowing myself to heal.

barre3 Online – 10 minutes/day. Okay so I re-activated my subscription at the start of this month and I have only done two sessions. So this is currently one of my top goals especially since I plan to attend The Mom Edit barre3 event in less than two weeks and I would like to make it through the entire workout.

Find Mama & Baby Yoga Class. This is one of those things that I think the time has passed. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a weekend class and since I am home with my bigs during the week I couldn’t attend a class. That’s okay though- can’t win them all!

Daily Walks With Kids. This is one that I feel like I am failing at the most. I really need to get outside and walk with the kids everyday (weather permitting). The fresh air, the time in nature is something we all need so this combined with the barre3 online are my two main focuses.

Get A Gym Membership. Okay so technically I have a gym membership but it’s at my husbands works which takes me anywhere from 20-90 minutes each way to get there so I honestly just don’t go. I could go on swim class days but just haven’t – so that being said I should. I am considering getting another membership to a closer gym but I have my insecurities about this which I’ll share in a later post.

So that is it. My November goals are to do 10 minutes of barre3 per day and walk with the kids most days of the week. I also want to spend more weekend time out in nature with my family.

Group Fitness | Community and Connection

June 13, 2016 by Lindsay Ingalls 8 Comments

I recently shared that I have decided to quit the gym and I joined ClassPass. For me the gym I was attending was the right price but not the most convenient to go to and one of the major things I felt like I was lacking was the social interaction that fitness can have. At the gym I wasn’t able to attend any classes so I simply headed straight to the cardio equipment, put in my ear phones and completed by workout. The only interaction I ever had with my fellow gym goers was a smile or a quick ‘hi’. Since I am a stay-at-home/work-from-home mom my interaction with other adults is often limited and I so desire the time to connect with other people.

Unfortunately when all you are doing is cardio at the gym there really isn’t much of an opportunity to interact with others. That is why I think I often prefer a workout class. It’s a time to connect with yourself and also with others. If you attend a class regularly enough you become familiar with the other regulars and overtime you can get to know them. Also if you live in a [small] big city like Portland you’ll most likely run into people from your classes when you are out around town. Just in these few short weeks that I have been reimplementing workout classes into my weekly routine I have already started to find that feeling of community and connection and I know it will only grow over the months to come.

Do you prefer solitary workouts or classes? It’s funny because when it comes to running I prefer to be alone but if I have the choice of the gym or a class I would prefer a class.

Why I’m Quitting The Gym [and joining ClassPass]

May 11, 2016 by Lindsay Ingalls 4 Comments

In January I joined the gym at Neil’s work. While not the most convenient gym for me to go to the facilities are top of the line and the cost for me to join was less than my monthly coffee habit. So I joined and I have been fairly dedicated to making it to the gym at least twice per week while supplementing with at home workouts.

The thing is I am only able to go gym when Neil gets out of work or on the weekends. For months we have been making it work but I’m going to be honest it’s not without it’s struggles. My gym time is right when I would normally be preparing our dinner so by the time I am done at the gym it is dinner time for our early birds. This means I either have to prepare a meal that can easily be eaten at the gym or we end up going out to dinner.

Sleep has also become a bit of an issue. Edith who is nearly four only naps [maybe] once per week and not for a lack of tiredness but for pure strong will that she doesn’t want to nap. That being saidcome 4pm I usually find her asleep in carseat on our way to the gym or both littles fall asleep on the way home from the gym which means bedtime is a struggle. Late bedtime means that often Neil and I have little time for each other and little time to work at night.

This weekend I was finally at my breaking point because we have been so behind on dishes, our organizing projects and oh the never ending laundry. To top things off because it’s a work gym most of the workout classes are during the day or just at a time that doesn’t work with our schedule so I haven’t been able to take advantage of them.

Since workout classes were a ‘no go’ for me I bought a personal training package assuming that I would be able to find a trainer that worked for my availability and not one was available. So since I usually just spend my time doing cardio while catching up on Pretty Little Liars I figured it was time to take the summer off from my gym membership. I can spend my time outside on walks and hikes with my family this summer and who knows maybe I’ll actually take up running again.

That all being said the decision to quit the gym was one that I was very conflicted about because I have fallen in love with routine and making that time for me. Unfortunately I just hate everything that comes along with it.

I thought about joining a gym closer to our house but it would still be a lot of the similar issues that I had with the work gym. I felt a bit at a loss but then I thought about ClassPass*. I had given it a try last May and while I loved the classes and the concept where we were living at the time just wasn’t ideal for me to keep with the pass after my trial month, but right now it seems perfect so I signed up. I have decided to go with the 5 classes for $45 option so I can see how much I will really use it. If I find that I am using it enough to get the the most out of the unlimited package I will bump it up.

With ClassPass* I can go to barre3, The Bar Method, a ton of yoga studios that I have had my eye on and a meditation studio that I am so excited to try. So my new workout plans include regular barre3 online at home, hikes and walks with my family [maybe some running?] and at least one workout class per week. It sounds pretty perfect, at least to me.

Where do you do most of your workout classes (home, classes, gym, etc)? Have you tried ClassPass*? If you are local to Portland or are traveling through Portland and want to attend a fitness or meditation class together let me know! I love to go to classes with others – especially new-to-me classes!

*Affiliate Link.

Health & Fitness Check-In | 11.16.15

November 17, 2015 by Lindsay Ingalls 3 Comments

We are half way through the month, so I thought I would take a few minutes to update you on how things are going in the health and fitness department. I am a complete mixed bag of emotions on both fronts but I will start by saying things are moving in the right direction regardless of how I am feeling in the moment.

Back at the beginning of the month I brought back the incentive program and I’m feeling a bit mixed about how I am doing this month. Just as I started the program, I got hit with a stomach bug and immediately following that a cold that has left me coughing, tired and extremely congested. That being said, my workouts have not been how I had originally planned. Neil is also taking on this incentive workout challenge and he is doing amazing with getting out for runs and going to yoga class and weight training classes and I am having a hard time not comparing our activity levels.

The workouts I have been getting in are a lot of walks with the littles. I don’t think I mentioned this before but in conjunction with my own incentive workout I have also taken on the Hike It Baby November 30 miles challenge which is basically to get out for 30 miles in the month with your littles. So some walks I will throw them in the double BOB and off we go and other days we do a littles led walk/hike which means at a snails pace. So far we (the littles and I) have just over 16.5 miles and 722 minutes this month.

The reality is I am feeling better and more active now but how active have I really been? I mean we get out everyday rain or shine, sick or well, but with being sick for the past 10 days I haven’t been active at the level that I had intended for this challenge. That being said I am reevaluating this months challenge.

This month I was to do (at least) 30 minutes of activity for 21 out of 30 days this month. So far I have been active 11 out of 21 days with 14 more days to go. I see myself achieving this goal or even surpassing it but not in the way I had intended. That being said I won’t be taking the monetary incentive this month but I am not going to penalize myself either.

Now you can see why I feel a mix of emotions around this situation. I feel like on paper I have been accomplishing my goals but my body and mind doesn’t agree. I am also considering that even though I haven’t been going out for a run or a class like Neil with how sick I have been this week that unlike the previous month I at least forced myself to get out of the house with the kids in spite of feeling like crap.

So what do you think? Should I consider this challenge a wash and penalize myself? How do you deal with feeling like you haven’t accomplished your goals?

#FitnessFriday | Getting My [Running] Groove Back

June 26, 2015 by Lindsay Ingalls 7 Comments

My journey back to running post-pregnancy has been a bit rockier than I had hoped. I started back running two days a week in the Fall and in January I bumped my running up to three days per week to coincide with my race training schedule. Two months in and I just stopped running due to knee pain. At that same time I was offered an opportunity to check out Therapydia Portland and to have a run analysis done as well as some therapy for my knee. I went for two complementary sessions and decided to stay on for weekly/bi-weekly sessions.

Here I am nearly four months later and I can say that my knee pain is pretty much gone. While I still have a bit of work to do to get stronger I am finally back to running and it’s prefect timing too because I have the Pints to Pasta 10k to train for and run.

I probably could have been back to running sooner but I have been slacking on my at home PT workouts and just doing basic strength training on a regular basis. Lately my workouts consist of about 10 miles of walking per week and around 60-120 minutes of barre workouts. Really that boils down to a few miles per day and 15 or so minutes of barre per day; in other words I need to dedicate more time to my fitness and PT.

So to help me stay on track I have put together a workout schedule (and I’m sharing it here) from now until my 10k. This schedule is one that I believe is something that I can really stick to, in other words I am setting myself up for success not failure. I am focusing on the Galloway 10K (run/walk) race plan and on my non-running days I am incorporating more barre workouts and/or my 7 Minute workout app.

I know my plan looks a little packed but there are many barre3 online workouts ranging from 10-60 minutes and some are more focused on stretching so I can really do whatever feels right for me on any given day.. So here is to getting back to running (run/walking for now) and focusing more on being active.

Are you training for any races right now? I am currently training to run the Pints to Pasta 10k (there is also a 1/2 Marathon this year) which is on September 13th. For those of you who are local and want to run it as well register soon because the fee goes up on August 16th. As part of my training schedule I am also running the Sunset on Springwater Family 5k (there is also a 10k and half for this race as well) on August 15th. I have to say I am super excited for this 5k and to run it as a family (with Neil pushing the double BOB – cue evil laugh).

Fitness Friday: Training for the Helvetia Half Marathon

June 12, 2015 by Neil Fairweather 4 Comments

Tomorrow’s the big day. It’s the day I’ve been training for for the past 2 and a half months and the race I’ve been meaning to run the past 2 and a half years. I will be running the Helvetia Half Marathon in Hillsboro, OR.

Since having kids and moving to Portland, I haven’t taken running or my fitness in general as serious as I should. This will be the third half marathon I’ve signed up for since moving to Portland and only the second one I will have run and the first one I have trained appropriately for.

Aside from being conveniently located near our house, the Helvetia Half Marathon offers a great atmosphere, starting and finishing the race in a minor league baseball stadium, features beautiful views of Washington County’s countryside, and one hell of an elevation profile.

Elevation Profile

In years past, I’ve been guilty of skipping the hill run portions of my training plans. Race day would come and I’d find myself using up all of my energy or not even being capable of running up “unexpected” hills on the course. However, that all changed this year. This year, I signed up for the Portland Fit marathon training program. The Helvetia Half was one of the goals on their marathon training plan and promised to provide me with the knowledge, camaraderie, and group setting that I needed to motivate me in my training.

Enjoying a Cold Brew After My First Half Marathon

The format of the Portland Fit training program is to provide you with the information, training schedule and community to help you run your first or fifteenth marathon. They provide you with a schedule of training runs to do during the week and a coordinated group run on the weekend for your long runs. The long runs alternate between longer, hillier runs and shorter, faster, flatter runs with easy runs, tempo runs, hill runs and interval training sprinkled in between.

Rocking out at the Montreal Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon

The participants are broken up into color groups by pace and the start times are staggered so that every group finishes around the same time so they have an equal opportunity to attend the informational seminars at the end. I chose to run in the red group which is the 10-12 minute pace group. While I have typically run anywhere from 8:45-9:30 pace, I figured after a couple years of inconsistent running and exercising that it might be a bit more realistic to train around a 10 mile pace. I think making that choice has helped me to train smarter and more efficiently and be able to run the entirety of my long runs and tackle the hillier runs better as well. The group is made up of people with a variety of experience, background, goals and abilities. The one thing they do have in common is being a positive and supportive group. There’s a great emphasis on supporting each other and never a feeling of being judged for being slower. And it shows in the teams motto, “We’re red and we’re proud.”

April 2015 – Bridge to Brews 8k

I’m looking forward to this race more than any other aside from maybe my first half marathon. I don’t have any lofty goals or dreams of PRs, I’ll just be happy to finish it knowing I’ve done my best and dedicated as much of myself as I could to training for the race.

Fitness Friday | FitFest 2015 from Title Nine #T9FitFest + Giveaway

May 29, 2015 by Lindsay Ingalls 22 Comments

title 9

Before Edith I never really felt like I needed a high impact sports bra and most of the time I wore just whatever I thought was cute. Once Edith was born this all changed because of nursing and because my boobs found themselves a entire cup size bigger. I can still remember that first run after having Edith; I only made it about 1/4 of a mile down the road before I had to turn back and put on a second sports bra. That’s when I knew I had to go shopping and buy something that would really support the girls.

Those sports bras I bought when I was pregnant with Edith worked fine until Alder was born. I actually didn’t go up a cup size but the band size changed so all of my sports bras were on the too a bit too snug side. That being said having a toddler and a baby doesn’t always leave time to go sports bra shopping so I have been either squeezing myself into one of my more supportive bras or wearing one of my low impact bras. That is until now.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a media only Title Nine fit fest. At the fit fest I received a personalized fitting from a Title Nine “bravangelist” expert. First we went over what I was looking for in bra, what I thought my bra size was and we went from there. In my case I was looking for something for running that would hold everything in place. So after a selection of bras were chosen for me I headed to the fitting room to give them a try.

I ended up finding a few bras that worked for me (one of them was the one above but it’s not the one I took home). Once I found my winner, the 2-In-1 Full-Support Adjustable Sports Bra (unfortunately in the mocha color) I went out and tried the bounce test. Now the bounce test was completely optional but I figured since I was there I might as well try it out. So I grabbed a jump rope, I’m not sure why since I haven’t jumped rope since I was probably 10, and I did a few embarrassing jumps and determined that yes this was the bra for me. I will say this I didn’t love the color option but the support was awesome so I went with it anyways.

I have to say thank you to the ladies working at the Portland Title Nine shop who were really amazing, so friendly and welcoming . I look forward to returning and stocking up on more sports bras and other cute fitness clothes/gear.

Title Nine will be holding FitFest events throughout the spring and summer that span cities across the country and include:

 Personalized bra fitting advice from a “bravangelist” expert

 An expanded assortment of bras

 Bras for sports, work-to-workout, everyday and date night

 A “Bounce-ath-a-lon” for those who want to put Title Nine’s bras to the test, with stations like hula hoop, jump rope, cup stacking, run around the block, hippity hop ball & burpees

Anyone interested in participating should RSVP at the local Title Nine Retail Location.

Visit www.titlenine.com for a full list of cities and more information.

WHEN/WHERE for the Oregon FitFest:

 June 3-4, 10am- 8pm

Title Nine Portland
1335 NW Kearney Street, Portland

 June 10-11, 10am-8pm

Title Nine Eugene
5th Street Market
296 East 5th Ave. #229, Eugene

Giveaway:

This giveaway is open to anyone in the US and will include a personalized fitting (either in-store or by-phone, depending on location) and one bra.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: Title Nine provided me with free sports bra as part of attending this event. I was not required to blog about the event, provide a giveaway or to write a positive review. I am just sharing this with you because I had a great time and I am excited to provide one of you with the opportunity to win your own sports bra!

Naturally Lindsay

Fitness Friday