Working Out as a SAHM

So, I realize this is not the case for all SAHM's. I'll start with that. Because this is my unique case.
My husband and I cannot afford for me to have a gym membership. As much as I'd love one (because, hello! indoor pool for laps!!) I don't want to put us in a poor financial situation just cause I want to stay healthy. So! I have to improvise. Y'all are pretty familiar that I do workout videos and things like that. But sometimes that doesn't cut it. You gotta switch things up!

Granted, some weeks (some DAYS) are better than others. I will say, I can always count on my kids to be my workout buddies.

My at home gym is not as big as other people's but it works for me. On days I don't do a workout video I count on my hand weights and remembering things an old personal trainer taught me. Christine had blogged about using playground equipment to workout. Which is great, when we actually go to the park (but in this heat... yikes!)

I use my coffee table. At least twice a week, if not three times a week I focus on upper body and back. (My back and core is my huge problem areas!) The coffee table is sturdy enough to do inverted push ups. This works my triceps and upper back.
If I push the coffee table against the wall I can also use it for step ups and jumps. Don't worry, I clean it after my feet have been all over it!

I have 5 lb hand weights. I'd love to get bigger ones, since I've gotten to the point where I really need to do a LOT of reps to really feel anything. I'm not complaining too much though, because at least I have them!

Finally, a workout isn't complete with some sort of cardio. I have found a really amazing running partner in Zander.
Earlier this week, we tried to go on a run while he rode his bike. A mile into the run, the chain broke on his bike. We were forced to cut the run short and head back home. Sadly, I had to carry the bike the whole way back because the back tire wouldn't spin. He stayed positive the whole way back. Yesterday he was begging to go on a run again. It didn't workout because Daddy didn't get home until almost 9 last night. That was just too late for a little boy to be running with me! On days we don't run we always do jumping jacks, jump ropes (without the ropes), and other forms of cardio in the house to get our heart rates up.

Of course pictures or it didn't happen

I love that my kids will do all the workout moves with me. Their version of hand weights are some form of dog toys. It works though, right?! At least they're getting the moves down and proper form!

So this week for #BloggersGiveIt100 was a good one. I'm thrilled that I'm constantly teaching my kids better habits. Lets keep this good vibe going into next week!
Are you participating in the Bloggers Give it 100 challenge? Tell us how you did this week! Link up with Lora, Kendra, and I so we can encourage you!

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An InLinkz Link-up

30 Day Shred - Things I've Learned.

30 days ago, I made the decision to really start pushing myself when it comes to working out. Sure, I had been doing OK prior to then. I was staying active, and I had improved the way I was eating. I felt like it just wasn't enough though. I felt like I was just doing stuff to maintain my (at the time) current weight. I have had the 30 Day Shred DVD for literally years. I just have never made it an entire 30 days. I always gave up after a week. Not anymore!

This is not a sponsored post. I wasn't compensated to do a review of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. This is just something I chose to do.

Let me start by saying, I can't accurately say how much weight I lost in the last 30 days. Shortly after I started I hid my scale and quit using it! I can say that I've absolutely lost though. Even if it is just inches. But if we're being honest, I'd rather lose inches. Muscle weighs more, and if I'm losing inches it means I'm getting stronger! My size 14 shorts are (beginning to get) smaller. The DVD claims you'll lose up to 20 lbs. I'm not sure how they got this statistic, but I can say I did NOT lose 20 lbs. And I'm really OK with that.

I learned I'm stronger than I thought I was. Holding a plank pose for a minute? A week ago I would've laughed at you. Now, I try to see how long I can really go. Jumping jacks while holding 5 lb hand weights in each hand? SURE! Bring it on! There was once upon a time where if someone had asked me to do a static lunge with a bicep curl, I would have most definitely laughed at them. Now, I'm begging Josh to get me heavier hand weights. YES, smaller weight at higher reps TONES, but I do want to strengthen as well.

Mid squat and pre boxing. Couldn't squat while boxing w/ weights a month ago.

I learned I can provide my own motivation. You know that little voice in your head that keeps on saying, "Girl, this is just a DVD. No body is watching you. You can just turn it off and have a poptart." Except, what is that really going to help? Nothing. I bought the DVD to change myself. If I just turn it off, I'm not really changing anything. Pushing myself to actually finish all 30 days proved that I can motivate myself. I can change if I want to. And, really... in all honesty there are people watching me. At least one little person anyway. Ainsley. She does pretty much all of the exercises with me.

I learned scissor crunches really are terrible, but they really do work. Seriously. I dare y'all to do a full minute of just scissor crunches and tell me your abs aren't screaming at you?

I learned once you make it past Level Two, it's totally worth it. Level One: you pretty much stick with the easy girl and you really push yourself to turn on the DVD the next day. Because let's face it, waking up to screaming muscles sometimes sucks. Level Two: You just don't even want to. But you do because you've already made it 10 days... what's another 10? Even though level two workouts are THE WORST. Level Three: Killer. But by this point, you think, "OH EM GEE!!! These are really hard, but really fun! Who's up for round two?"

props to my hubby for taking this and being a good sport. sorry about the phone in the pic.. 

I learned never drink coffee and eat your oatmeal breakfast immediately before working out with Jillian Michaels. Just don't do it. It's never a good idea, and it will never end well. The best bet is to just drink tons of water before, during, and after. Once you've cooled down from the workout then you can eat. If you still really need your coffee afterwards go for it, but you might not even want it. Ok you might. If you have to have coffee before working out, wait at least an hour after drinking it. Trust me, you'll thank me for this.

So, I guess in summary, I love this DVD more than I thought I would. It was a great way to mix up my typical Zumba. I plan on doing it again for sure. Now that the 30 days is complete I'll be using Fitness Blender to mix things up a bit more. Shout out to Cassie for turning me onto Fitness Blender. She's the best, y'all. If you're on the fence about workout DVD's, this one IS tough. I'm not going to lie about that. But it IS worth it. You do see results, and it does push you.

I'm linking up with Kenji for Workout Wednesday (a day late).

And because I'm all about progress pictures & bragging about results,
I'll leave y'all with this little gem!

Why I'm Ditching the Scale

Sometimes in your life, you just have to put your foot down. Even if this means it's a decision that you don't really want to do!

Y'all, I'm probably the world's worst about stepping on the scale every. single. day! It's not good. It gives me huge mood swings. From elated because I went down 2 lbs to depressed because I went back up three. I don't let my kids see the mood swings, but they do see me step on the scale. Yikes.
And yes, I KNOW if I'm going to use the scale I should do it once a week. But let's be honest here, who really does that??

So, I've made a decision. My scale is off limits. I'm not touching it. I made the decision on Monday March 16th. This is the same day I took a "before" picture of me. I'm not sharing it publicly because it's me in my undies and it's not something y'all want to see. Let's just trust that it exists, mk?
On Monday March 30th I'll take another picture (two weeks) and another one on April 15th.

I'm committing to 30 days of really being serious about working out. I'm holding myself accountable. A few of my close friends already knew that I've made the decision to doing ALL 30 days of the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I've always made it like 5 days tops. Not anymore.

One of my close bloggy friends, Kasey, (you should totally check her out) committed to 30 days of barre classes. She's truly an inspiration. I, however, cannot afford a gym membership or fun classes like The Barre, so I have to work with what I've got.
What I've got includes daily walks / runs to the park with Ainsley (and Zander when he's out of school... spring break will be a blast!). Working out using the play ground equipment. (Christine has some great suggestions if you'd like to give those a try at the playground!) Jillian Michael's DVD, and Cassie gave me some great suggestions for at home workouts.

So ultimately, I'm still on my goal to getting healthy. I'm still aiming to lose 25-30 lbs by my brother in law's wedding. Only, I'm stepping away from the scale. I'm going to rely on the mirror and the way my clothes fit. I'm going to rely on my energy boosts from after a workout. I really feel like doing all of this will not only help me and my self esteem, but it will help my kids too. It will help them see that we don't have to rely on a number in a box to tell us that we're enough.

Have you ditched your scale? How is your workout routine? Can we encourage each other?

Rambles on Exercising.

A Random picture to go with my Rambles today!

I found that picture on google a while back, and I need it framed for when I get an office in our house! ... moving on... 
I must confess, y'all. I'm a bad blogger. Or maybe I'm a liar. Maybe both.  Allow me to explain... On my sidebar, I say I blog about staying healthy. Except, when was the last time y'all read anything from me about staying healthy? Oh wait... I can tell you... it was Jan 1, the last time I went running. 
Y'all, I even said in that post that I would do better with the My Fitness Pal app. I have not done better. In all fairness, for the entire month of Jan, I was kind of M.I.A. So there's that. I also have not been running since that last week of December. I could use the excuse that it's been entirely too cold to justify running. (Yes, 30 degrees in GA is cold! Sorry to those that are in the teens and negatives, but I will complain about 30 degrees!) 
I do have good news for y'all though. I haven't been completely inactive since my return. It may have taken me several weeks to get back on track, but I am going to do this. I do have some accomplishments to celebrate and some goals that I want to meet. I'm sharing them with you so maybe y'all can help keep me accountable. Deal?
Why I'm celebrating?  I did get back into working out. All by myself (without anyone saying, "Hey, Melissa! Maybe you shouldn't eat that donut.") 
What am I doing? Zumba mostly. No, I'm not going to any classes outside of my house. We have an xbox and a kinect, so I'm using the Zumba Rush game. I've mentioned playing it before in my old blog. Basically, you can make your own Zumba class by picking songs, or choose from a pre-loaded class that comes with the game.  In addition to Zumba, I'm doing Dance Central on xbox and free weights in my living room. (Lots of squats, y'all!) I'm also using my fitness pal to keep track of what I'm eating. I may not always eat the BEST foods in the world, but at least I won't eat the whole box of cookies... just a few of them! 

What are my goals? Well, honestly I'm not 100% sure of my current weight. I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in the rage of 185 - 190 lbs. (Yikes!) I do know, whatever my starting weight is, I would like to lose 25-30 lbs by my brother in law's wedding.  So, to break it down, I would like to lose 1-2 lbs a week. I want to be healthy about it though.  I plan to start linking up with Rebekah for the Step up Sunday to help keep me accountable. I feel like posting my success and/or failures publicly each week will help me. That's the idea anyway. 
How can you help? Add me on my fitness pal! (MCam87) for starters. If you're already friends with me on there and you don't see me do anything for a few days, feel free to yell at me!  Tweet me, message me, do whatever you need to to push me back on track! Tough love is welcomed here, y'all!  Any suggestions on healthy snacks or stuff y'all do to exercise at home is welcomed as well!
Now that I think about it, I need to go back and re-read Cassie's post about staying motivated! 
I'm starting this week with a grateful heart & linking up with Emily. 

I'm grateful that I have the willpower to do this in a healthy fashion. I don't have to rely on pills or crash diets. I think because I stick to healthy choices is a big reason that I've been able to maintain my weight for the past 6 months.  I'm grateful for all of the support I have from my friends and family outside of the blogging world. It's a big help, seriously.  So what have you done lately to get back on track? 

Dear Running Shoes...

Dear Running Shoes, I've missed you more than I thought I would.

Strange statement, I know... strange but true.

Allow me to explain. On Monday of this week, I put on my running shoes for the first time in about 5 months. I say 5 months because YES, there was ONE DAY when I went running before Thanksgiving, but it doesn't count. I've managed to run every day (so far) since Monday this week, and oh my goodness how I've missed it.

On Monday, Amanda at Keeping up With the Haneys posted a very similar post to this one I'm writing today. I want to point that out because I have no intention to copy her post... I'm simply putting my thoughts to "paper" internet.

Monday I got home from work and it was just me and the dog. It was the first day that we'd had him that he was home all day long by himself. He did a really amazing job, btw. Nothing was torn up and there were no accidents. Proud fur mommy! So we went outside and played soccer in the backyard. Translation: I threw a torn up soccer ball for him and he played keep away while I talked to Kendra.

After soccer, he seemed like he was good and worn out. But I wasn't I had energy still. I wanted to do something. Texts with Christine led to me getting my running walking shoes on.

texts with Christine. We have priorities. ;)

I put them on with every intention to just walk with the dog. I had no idea how he'd do on the leash for a long walk. Sure we've taken small walks around the neighborhood with the kids, but nothing like what I was planning. I wanted to walk and get my heart rate up, I was craving the adrenaline rush that comes from the cardio.

My pace quickened and before I knew it, Gambit and I were running around the block. I had every intention to just go a few feet. A few feet turned into a whole mile. (Thanks, map my run for tracking that for me). I'm still recovering from a cold, so after the mile I declared we were done. I knew we still had to get back to the house. Walking back I called Amanda, thrilled that I had actually ran a whole mile!

I learned something that Monday. Well, I learned a lot of somethings.
1. I really... I mean really missed running! I never really considered myself a runner. I always dreaded that part of gym class. For some reason now, I just really enjoy running. I enjoy the freedom it gives me.
2. Gambit is an excellent running partner! I really swear this dog has had training previously because he does SO well on the leash. When I broke into a slow jog he kept pace perfectly. When I broke into the run he got EXCITED! You could tell this dog was smiling. He really enjoys running! Plus, he looks super scary so- automatic body guard!
3. With Gambit being cooped up in the house all day while we're at work, this is an excellent way for him to get all of that pent up energy out in a healthy way. After the run, he was BEAT. Even walking back to the house I could tell he was done. He played a little more after the kids came home, but he was beat. This is good because he's still very much puppy and this way he doesn't chew anything he's not supposed to at night. This was him after the run, before my shower. "I'm done, mom".

4. I really need to start using My Fitness Pal again. I added the app back onto my phone. I added Amanda on Monday. It's time to get back into the swing of things. If you use it, add me. MCam87

So... this is a lot of rambling, but that's why we're here, right? (Get it? The Rambling Llama?) haha. Anyhoo... I get this kind of sounds like a new years resolution, but it's not really. Not in my mind. This is me remembering how much I love being active and getting back into it. This is me being overly annoying about talking about working out again. Hey, it's on my sidebar. I gotta blog about it at least a little bit, right?

Have you gotten back into an old routine and fell back in love lately?

I'm Such a Bad Runner!

Y'all, I haven't been to the gym since May. It's officially August! That's nearly three months that I haven't lifted weights or done any serious cardio. The plus side? I haven't gained any weight. The downside? I haven't lost any weight either. I've maintained. Which, I suppose isn't the worst thing in the world, but I'm very disappointed in myself that I haven't done more to get / stay in shape.

September is quickly approaching. Which of course means,  I have a 5k to run. My aunt that's running it with me has been doing so good in working out everyday! I just suck. It's my own damn fault though. When I lost my old job, I stopped going to the gym. I just couldn't justify paying a gym membership when paying my light bill was there too. After that, I stayed home with the kids and just stopped working out. I knew it would happen... I don't have the motivation to do anything at home. I tell myself all the time that I need to.

So why don't I? Why don't I just get off my ass and do something?
I have every excuse under the sun as to why, and I know y'all have heard them all. From "I'm too tired" to "I'm too busy". The busy part really isn't true anymore. By the time I get home from work, I still have time in the day to work out. I just don't. Honestly, I'm just too lazy.

What am I really trying to say in this post? I don't know. I started out thinking I was going to pump myself up and get this whole plan together about how I would work out "x" amout during the week, but if I'm really honest with myself that's not going to happen. I'm not sure what needs to change or what I need to do. Maybe y'all can give me some pointers in the comments. Who knows.

I do know I will still be running the Run or Dye race next month. I may be slower than turtles in peanut butter, but damnit I'll be racing! I do know I absolutely don't want to gain any weight back. We like this girl, and we want her to lose another 25-30 lbs!

I'm Trying to be a Runner

I did something a few weeks ago I never thought I would do. *Drumroll, please* I signed up for a 5K race!
I have several months until the race actually takes place, but I'm still very nervous and very excited all at the same time.

The date: Saturday Sept 27, 2014
The Race: Run or Dye
The location: Atlanta, GA

I'm trying to get as much training in as possible given my broken toe, so in a way I'm glad I have a few months before the race. The last time I got a run (read: run/ fast pace walk combo) in I finished 3.1 miles in 37 minutes. In my opinion not a bad time... and actually a personal best.
I'll be doing the race with my Aunt. She's been getting fit since last year and she's been doing GREAT! She started at a size 24 and  now she's at a size 16! She looks amazing!
Neither of us are what you would call "professional runners". In high school I was on the swim team. I still love swimming and if I could find some sort of adult league somewhere (that I didn't have to pay an arm and leg to join) I would totally join a swim team. Running has never (ever) been my favorite sport. The fact that there are people running cross country for fun makes my head spin. I can barely get the motivation to push myself for a full three or more miles. Having said that, I'm glad it's my Aunt doing the race with me, because her feelings toward running are the exact same as mine. Eventually my Aunt and I want to enjoy running. If that's even possible. We're working up to obstacle course races... you know, the kind where you end up covered in mud. We have to start somewhere right?

The Run or Dye race is a good place to start because they don't record times. It's just a fun race to work up to bigger races. From the website: these are the "rules"

RULES TO DYE BY:

FIRST RULE: Don't worry - be Happy! Run or Dye is for everyone. No need to worry about if you are too fast, too slow, too old, too young, or too sexy! Just come experience the magic of the most colorful 5K this world has to offer!

SECOND RULE: You are your own canvas - Wearing all white may show off the color-or get costume-CRAZY wearing that old wedding dress, 80's leg warmers, or those snakeskin pajamas. See you at the starting line!

LAST RULE: Get ready to DYE and go to heaven! The Dye Zone is where the magic happens! Our Color Crew is specially trained to administer Random Acts of Color with total efficiency. (HINT: We also love subliminal messages, such as: begging and pleading, striking that pose that makes us all uncomfortable, or dancing like a maniac. These are all code for "HIT ME WITH COLOR!")

Have you ever done a 5K? Do you love or hate running? I'd love to hear all about it!