My goal is to finally get back to a regular fitness routine. I am ready to feel strong, healthy and sexy in this body of mine. While I would be lying if I didn’t say I am also hoping to lose some LBs what I really want is to feel strong and confident and happy with this body of mine right here and right now.
To help myself along I have scoured YouTube for fitness videos that I am going to try this month. Most are beginner and the length range from 5 minutes to 40 minutes which means there is no excuse not to fit at least one workout into my days. To keep things interesting I have included a variety of videos from HIIT to barre3 to yoga to ones focusing on various areas of the body.
So who wants to join me this month in trying out these workout videos? Which video are you most excited to try?
I’ll be honest since having our third child I haven’t been making fitness a priority. I spent my first 3 postpartum weeks recovering and really caring for my body and since then I feel like I have been surviving and not thriving. I have been just simply trying to make it through each day and have really not carved out anytime for me to focus on getting stronger and losing the baby weight. However, as with most new years I have a new fire to get back to feeling strong, healthy and get to a weight that makes me feel good.
The thing is all of those “obstacles” that I felt in the last 7 months are still there so I am having to figure out creative ways to increase my activity while juggling three kids and all that comes with that. Luckily, I have a little more time these days because Neil’s 2.5+ hour commute has been cut down to 0 which means there is more time in my day to focus on my fitness. That being said life happens so I have also been relying on alternative ways to get active and have my kids involved.
Set Up A Schedule With Your Partner. Your partner wants you to be successful and wants you to reach your goals so TALK with them about your needs and create a schedule together that allows you to have kid free time to workout whether that is at home or outside the house.
Get Your Kids Involved. Ideally you will have time to workout without your kids but that doesn’t always happen so it’s about figuring out what you can do with them.
Go to a family yoga class.
Head on over to YouTube and do a family yoga class together! We love Cosmic Kids Yoga.
Go on a nature walk!
Head to the playground and get in a playground workout such as this one!
If you have a child who will still go in a stroller head to a stroller mama bootcamp.
Turn music on and dance it out at home!
Utilize Any Down Times During The Day. Find times during the days such as when your kids are napping or having screen time or before the wake up to fit in a quick 7-10 minute workout. There are a few great apps for short workouts search around and find one that works for you or you can try this 7-minute plan.
When All Else Fails Go For A Walk. Get outside and more your body. The change of scenery, the fresh air and the movement will feel good and you can easily bring the kids along.
Get your kids excited to join your workouts with their own outfits just like yours. Make them feel a part of the process and you will all benefit from getting out the wiggles and spending time together. That being said don’t forget about yourself; make sure you too have the gear your need to feel confident and ready to take on each workout. I know it might sound vain but the truth is when you feel good in your clothes you are going to want to workout and want to continue to reach your goals.
Speaking of goals….
This month my goal is to workout 21 days this month. This could be going on a class, spending 7-minutes going hard, getting all the kids out for a walk, hiking or setting up for yoga in the living room. Whatever it is I want to move my body more simple as that.
What are you fitness goals? If you have kids how do you make time to workout? What tips can you share?
Bob’s Red Mill and FitApproach sponsored this post. All opinions are my own.
I have to be honest protein powders are something that I really haven’t been super enthusiastic about. I have tried a variety of them and while I have found a few that are decent I haven’t found any that I want to use on a regular basis or would consider purchasing again. That’s until this past month and Bob’s Red Mill Protein Powders.
I have been loving on the chocolate flavor because when I want a smoothie I often want it to taste like a chocolate milkshake. I combine the chocolate protein powder, unsweetened vanilla almond milk and 1-2 frozen bananas and boom instant milkshake. The bonus with this milkshake though is that I get 20g of plant-based protein (pea protein), 12g of fiber, probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids and iron. You won’t be finding those in your standard milkshake. I can also have it for breakfast or really any meal I want.
I have to say my only gripe with this protein powder is just how much of it you have to use. I serving is 1/3 cup (45g) which sounds like a lot and is more than other protein powders out there on the market. I personally feel like it’s too much protein powder to just shake up with almond milk and go but in a smoothie it is perfect. That is all personal preference though right?
For flavors there is chocolate, chai, unflavored and vanilla. Of the four I like the chocolate and the vanilla and they are also the most universal to use and make a variety of smoothies, smoothie bowls and other recipes. The chai just wasn’t my favorite flavor – a little too much for me. As for the unflavored it was fine but you have to do a little more with it to get a good flavor – it might be nice in baking though!
Overall I’m impressed with these protein powders and I’m thrilled to be able to give one away to one lucky person. a Rafflecopter giveaway
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.
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!
I’m part of the Glowing Green Community of Facebook and our first book club book is Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear*. I am nearly half way through and I am loving this book. If you’d like a full review let me know in the comments below. If you’d like to join the community you can do so here and our book club we are voting this week on our next book!
+Workout at the gym 10 times.
I know it might not sound like a lot but I am working hard to getting back to regular gym workouts. Unfortunately my gym has weird hours and no childcare so I can’t go as frequently as I’d like but I feel like 10 is a good and maybe even a bit of a challenging goal.
+Create an editorial.
This is a goal that I have had for years and I have made regular attempts but never seem to stick it. I am going to this year though and I even bought myself some really cute quarterly planners from inkWell Press* along with some stickers and pens to decorate my planner. What can I say I am a pen and paper kind of planner.
+Visit Tea Bar.
I know this one might sound like a strange goal to have but I have been wanting to visit Tea Bar here in Portland since it opened and I have yet to go. I am dying to give it a try so I am planning on treating myself this month.
+Focus on improving my Instagram accounts.
Can we first give a big shout out to Instagram for finally allowing you to toggle between accounts! I have three different Instagram accounts (Naturally Family, Naturally Lindsay and Running With Tongs – feel free to follow them-wink wink, nudge nudge) and this is making it so much easier to stay on top of all of them. I am working to improve my photos, my interactions, my entire design and I hope to do so this month
Share In The Comments Below: What are you goals for this month?
I really don’t want to start this post with a bunch of excuses so I’ll just say the first two weeks were not as successful as I had hoped. I am the only one that can be held responsible for this and while I’d like to add a but into this intro I’m going to leave it at that.
Goals in Review:
(Dietary Goal) Drink half my weight in water everyday. Well I can’t say I did this everyday but I did a good 9 out of 14 days.
(Physical Goal) Go for a walk everyday – rain or shine. I didn’t go for a walk everyday but I did 10 out of 14 days and I also have reincorporated barre3 online workouts into my routine (I completed 3 last week).
(Mental Goal) Spend 15 minutes per day reading a book. This one was a big fail. I didn’t read anything except blogs and children’s books.
Goals for Weeks 3 & 4:
(Dietary Goal) Diligently follow my 28 week transformation program. I signed up for a 28 day program with fellow health coach Brittany Mullins and there is a meal plan that I haven’t been following so closely. After talking with my husband he reminded me that when I decided to sign up for the program I told him and myself that I was going to trust the program and take it on 100%. Well I have only followed the plan about 50% so I am re-committing myself to the program and following it completely.
(Physical Goal)Do 10+ minutes of barre3 online each day. I love barre3 and I really need to focus back on myself and my body. I love the energy barre3 gives me and how strong and sweaty I feel after a workout.
(Mental Goal) Spend 15 minutes per day reading a book. Since I didn’t complete this goal I am putting it back on the list because sometimes we just need a do-over.
Review of the past two weeks:
While I was way more active the past two weeks than I have been in months my diet was not on point. I ended up eating a lot of salads and veggie packed meals but I also had beers, fries, veggie burger, movie theater popcorn, onion rings, a pastry (or 2) and coconut ice cream. While I am not abstaining from having any of those items my goal is to focus on eating healthier options and leaving those for more of an occasional treat/meal. What it comes down to is that I chose the food over my health goals and didn’t practice self-control or really think about what I was eating. When I looked at the progress photos of myself and didn’t see any but rather found myself looking more bloated it was a real wake-up call that if I don’t make good food choices that I am not going to see any real changes. So here is to a new week, new goals and to coming back here in two weeks with a more successful check-in.
*. I am nearly half way through and I am loving this book. If you’d like a full review let me know in the comments below. If you’d like to join the community you 
