TABATA Workout

Yesterday, I had the honor of joining the Fit Mom Diet team on the FOX 10 News Morning Show to help demonstrate a TABATA style workout. TABATA is fun and you can do it in less than 5 minutes at home with or without equipment! 

Here is a blog post written by Fit Mom Diet and posted on their page, check it out! They even posted a workout to get you going! 

Fit Mom TABATA Workout

Tabata is a popular workout phenomenon right now.  It is high intensity exercises for 4 minutes at a time, 20 seconds intense work, followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds.  Studies show that tabata style workouts have been linked to increased fat loss and improved endurance. It gives you both aerobic and anaerobic benefits, just like you would get from a both cardio and strength workouts.

These time saving tabata sessions work your entire body in less than 40 minutes. For those who have more limited time to workout, consider breaking the tabata workout up by doing rounds one through four.

Tabata workouts can be incorporated into your routine easily as there is no equipment necessary to perform them.

Below is a tabata style workout you can do in the comfort of your own home. Make sure you warm up properly before you begin.  Marching or jogging in place is an easy way to warm-up Pre-workout. Finally, after you’re done do a cool down and stretch.  Because this style workout exhausts your muscles depletes your energy, its important to fuel your body with proper nutrition post workout. Within thirty minutes of working out make sure you eat a snack comprised on protein and complex carbohydrates. Examples include a high quality protein shake such as Isagenix IsaLean, Greek yogurt with a banana, or tuna on Ezekiel bread. Remember to also drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated.

Any exercise can be incorporated into the Tabata training. However the basic outline of the Tabata training method are as follows:

•     4 minutes long (whole Tabata Session)

•     20 seconds of intense training

•     10 seconds of rest

•     Total of 8 sessions or rounds

Check out the Fit Mom Diet Team on Fox 10 Arizona Morning show demonstrating a TABATA style workout: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9445809

I had so much fun with the Fit Mom girls and have loved surrounding myself with like-minded women. It really is good for the soul!

Stay Healthy,
Rene

Excerpt taken from an article on FitMomDiet.com, you can read the full article here.

Change.

Workouts just weren't working out (haha) for me anymore. Either I wasn't able to take my dear little one to the gym daycare because he had picked up another cold from, they gym daycare, or I had too many things going on during the day and just couldn't get myself there regularly. 

Change was necessary. 

I used to go to bootcamp from 5am-6am and friends thought I was crazy. But really it's not that crazy at all. Since my workouts weren't happening as much as I liked I figured instead of complaining about it, or making excuses, I'd set my alarm for 4:35am and get to the gym at 5. 

Today was two days in a row and I feel amazing. I took control, made a change and am already noticing a difference in my mood just from having that hour of "me" time before the rest of the family starts their day. It's nice because, I get home at the time I would normally wake up, groggily, and make my dear husband and my older son's lunches for the day. Not my teenager just gives me a crazy look when I come bouncing in the house at 6am as he's just rolling out of bed. 

I am happy with this change and happy I am dedicating myself to health and working on being a happier person. Make a change, it seems hard, but if you don't try, you'll never know what good it could bring... 

And just for fun... since I'm on a "cleanse" day (which I'll explain more about later) I did a little easier workout today. Lighter weights, enough to spark my muscles but not enough to make myself too fatigued. Here's what my workout consisted of: 

Wide Grip Bench Press with Barbell 

Push-Ups

Cable Cross Over

Planks on a stability Ball 

Side to Side Push-ups

Incline Bench Press with Barbell 

Toe Touch/ Crunch Combo 

STRETCHING! 

Make it a great day!!! And check out today's Deal of the Day from Tinyprints! It's about that time to start ordering Holiday cards!! 

{Wordless Wednesday}

Ok... so this post may not be so {Wordless Wednesday} after all... 

For the past two years I've been trying to get my body back. When I was pregnant I gained 72 pounds. Yes, I just said that out loud, 72 pounds. I don't think I ever told anyone just how much I had gained... I guess I carried and hid it well to the outside eye. 

On my journey of finding myself over the past couple of years, I've also been on a journey to fall in love with my body. Friends who are close to me know that I am overly critical of myself and a little bit too hard on myself at times. Ok, pretty much all of the time. For me, it isn't about the size I wear, or how much I weigh {I don't weigh myself unless I have to} it's about what I see when I look in the mirror, how I feel and being comfortable in the clothes that are in my closet. 

I am proud to say that I do love my body. Yes, I complain to myself or my husband about my stomach, or my booty but in life there is always room for improvement. Just because I still want to work on certain areas doesn't mean I can't love my body. Even when I had gained 72 pounds carrying my second son, I still loved my body. {pictured}

Where-ever you are in your life, you must love yourself first. You must wake up with a positive outlook and know that you are the best possible version of yourself that you can be. Knowing this, deep inside will open up doors and potential that you didn't know existed. So try it, make sure you always, always, always Love Your Body first and just see what happens. You will be amazed. 

Stay Healthy,

Rene

Giving a Gold Star

Yes, I will admit, I am one of those.

I didn't really realize until reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin that I am a person who is achievement based. I know that I have a very strong type-A personality and I know that I am a perfectionist but I didn't know that on top of that I needed to have a pat on the back for work well done.

After a lot of the self reflection I have been doing lately, I decided to start GIVING gold stars instead of  wanting them. I have found that when I am always wanting them I feel empty and discouraged. Just giving gold stars, or even compliments to complete strangers has filled my cup and helped me release that feeling of needing them myself. It has taken my focus off of waiting for them and replaced it with a new focus of helping others get their gold stars.

You never know what someone else may be feeling, what they are thinking and you can't ever judge a book by it's cover. Giving someone a compliment or even just saying "hello" to a stranger could really be the highlight of their day and be that gold star they might be waiting for.

Do it. Make a change and give a gold star. You never know... giving one or two may actually be just what your day needed too.

Stay Healthy,
Rene

{Wordless Wednesday}

This day is a journey, this very moment an adventure. 

~Rebecca Pavlenko

Happy: 12 Things Happy People do Differently

I have been doing a lot of soul searching as of late; reading, meditating more, making goals and committing to them, etc... I am creating my own happiness and am always looking for more words of wisdom to help me a long the way. 

I saw this article on Huffington Post {via a friend share on Facebook} and immediately fell in love with it. It describes so much of what I feel, think and believe. I have been practicing most of these in my own life but now moving forward I want to REALLY practice them. Make them part of my daily disciplines. 

1. Express gratitude. -- When you appreciate what you have, what you have appreciates in value. Kinda cool right? So basically, being grateful for the goodness that is already evident in your life will bring you a deeper sense of happiness. And that's without having to go out and buy anything. It makes sense. We're gonna have a hard time ever being happy if we aren't thankful for what we already have.
2. Cultivate optimism. -- Winners have the ability to manufacture their own optimism. No matter what the situation, the successful diva is the chick who will always find a way to put an optimistic spin on it. She knows failure only as an opportunity to grow and learn a new lesson from life. People who think optimistically see the world as a place packed with endless opportunities, especially in trying times [3].
3. Avoid over-thinking and social comparison. -- Comparing yourself to someone else can be poisonous. If we're somehow "better" than the person that we're comparing ourselves to, it gives us an unhealthy sense of superiority. Our ego inflates -- KABOOM -- our inner Kanye West comes out! If we're "worse" than the person that we're comparing ourselves to, we usually discredit the hard work that we've done and dismiss all the progress that we've made. What I've found is that the majority of the time this type of social comparison doesn't stem from a healthy place. If you feel called to compare yourself to something, compare yourself to an earlier version of yourself.
4. Practice acts of kindness. -- Performing an act of kindness releases serotonin in your brain. (Serotonin is a substance that has TREMENDOUS health benefits, including making us feel more blissful.) Selflessly helping someone is a super powerful way to feel good inside. What's even cooler about this kindness kick is that not only will you feel better, but so will people watching the act of kindness. How extraordinary is that? A side note is that the job of most anti-depressants is to release more serotonin. Move over Pfizer, kindness is kicking ass and taking names.
5. Nurture social relationships. -- The happiest people on the planet are the ones who have deep, meaningful relationships. Did you know studies show that people's mortality rates are DOUBLED when they're lonely? WHOA! There's a warm fuzzy feeling that comes from having an active circle of good friends who you can share your experiences with. We feel connected and a part of something more meaningful than our lonesome existence.
6. Develop strategies for coping. -- How you respond to the "craptastic" moments is what shapes your character. Sometimes crap happens -- it's inevitable. Forrest Gump knows the deal. It can be hard to come up with creative solutions in the moment when manure is making its way up toward the fan. It helps to have healthy strategies for coping pre-rehearsed, on-call, and in your arsenal at your disposal.
7. Learn to forgive. -- Harboring feelings of hatred is horrible for your well-being.You see, your mind doesn't know the difference between past and present emotion. When you "hate" someone, and you're continuously thinking about it, those negative emotions are toxic for your well-being. You put yourself in a state of suckerism (technical term) and it stays with you throughout your day.
8. Increase flow experiences. -- Flow is a state in which it feels like time stands still. It's when you're so focused on what you're doing that you become one with the task. Action and awareness are merged. You're not hungry, sleepy, or emotional. You're just completely engaged in the activity that you're doing. Nothing is distracting you or competing for your focus.
9. Savor life's joys. -- Deep happiness cannot exist without slowing down to enjoy the joy. It's easy in a world of wild stimuli and omnipresent movement to forget to embrace life's enjoyable experiences. When we neglect to appreciate, we rob the moment of its magic. It's the simple things in life that can be the most rewarding if we remember to fully experience them.
10. Commit to your goals. -- Being wholeheartedly dedicated to doing something comes fully-equipped with an ineffable force. Magical things start happening when we commit ourselves to doing whatever it takes to get somewhere. When you're fully committed to doing something, you have no choice but to do that thing. Counter-intuitively, having no option -- where you can't change your mind -- subconsciously makes humans happier because they know part of their purpose.
11. Practice spirituality. -- When we practice spirituality or religion, we recognize that life is bigger than us. We surrender the silly idea that we are the mightiest thing ever. It enables us to connect to the source of all creation and embrace a connectedness with everything that exists. Some of the most accomplished people I know feel that they're here doing work they're "called to do."
12. Take care of your body. -- Taking care of your body is crucial to being the happiest person you can be. If you don't have your physical energy in good shape, then your mental energy (your focus), your emotional energy (your feelings), and your spiritual energy (your purpose) will all be negatively affected [4]. Did you know that studies conducted on people who were clinically depressed showed that consistent exercise raises happiness levels just as much as Zoloft? Not only that, but here's the double whammy... Six months later, the people who participated in exercise were less likely to relapse because they had a higher sense of self-accomplishment and self-worth.

Excerpt taken from an article on HuffingtonPost.com, you can read the full article here.