Fitness Archives - Page 9 of 16

The Anywhere Pyramid Workout

August 20, 2015 by Tamara Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: Not all exercises are suitable for everyone and this or any other exercise program may result in injury. To reduce this risk of injury, please consult your doctor before beginning this, or any other, physical fitness program. Any user of this workout assumes the full risk of injury resulting from performing the routine.

Pyramid training is highly effective, challenging and can be tons of fun! When pyramid training you focus on completing certain amount of reps and recording how long it takes you to complete the circuit. In this anywhere pyramid workout you will be moving from one exercise to the next quickly, with little to no rest in between, so there is no need to then do additional cardiovascular exercise.

The anywhere pyramid workout can be done just as the name implies, anywhere. There is no equipment needed. Get ready to get sweaty!

THE WORKOUT

Complete the entire circuit as listed below by doing 4 reps for each exercise. Go back and repeat the circuit but now do 6 reps. You will continue adjusting the rep amounts as listed below until you finish with 4 reps. Set a timer and go as fast as you can.

UP DOWNS

Start in the top of a push up position.
Jump your feet in, bringing your knees to your chest and keep your hands on the floor.
Come to standing and jump into the air, raising your arms overhead
Return to a squat with hands to floor and then jump your feet back plank.
Modification: Instead of jumping to and from your hands step up instead.

SHOULDER PUSHUPS

Start standing with your feet hip-width apart. Fold your body forward from your hips until you can reach both hands flat on the floor in front of your feet.
Walk your hands out and away from your legs until your body is in an upside-down ‘V’ position, pressing your chest back towards your thighs.
Bend both elbows and bring the top of your head closer to the mat (be sure to keep your chin into your chest so you don’t strain your neck). Then, press away from the floor and straighten your arms.

STANDING KNEE TUCK

Stand with feet together. Lift left leg straight back, hinging forward at hips, reaching hands forward by ears; keep hips level and body straight from hands to heel.
Using your core, draw left knee in to chest, bending elbows to pull arms down to knee; return to previous position.
Modification: Hold onto the back of a chair.

PLANK JACKS

Start in plank postion.
Jump your feet out wide to the sides.
Jump your feet back in together.
Continue jumping your feet out wide and back in.
Modification: Instead of jumping your feet out wide, step one foot at a time out wide.

KILLER LEG CIRCLES

Start on your back. Reach your arms over your head and lift your shoulders off the mat. Engage your core and pull belly button into spine.
Place left foot on mat with ankle stacked under knee and extend right leg straight up in the air.
Make small circles with your right leg.
Make it harder: Extend left leg 1 inch off the floor and leave it hovering for the duration of your leg circles.

Let me know if you try this. Happy Sweating!

Filed Under: Fitness, Workouts Tagged With: Bodyweight, Exercise, Pyramid

The Drop & Squat Workout

July 16, 2015 by Tamara 2 Comments

I am fairly certain I won’t be able to move this morning. The last two days I have been at Yoga Sculpt Training for CorePower Yoga and I think I might have squatted myself silly. I can’t remember the last time I did that many squats at once. It has been awhile and my legs are letting me know.

Learning a new format has really taken me outside of my comfort zone. It is humorous to hear yourself try to teach knowing where you want your class to go but being unable to verbalize it effectively.

In honor of the insane amount of squats and pushups I have done over the last two days I wanted to share the love with you! Here is a fun workout that has just the right amount of squats and pushups to get your heart rate up with a fun little cardio burst thrown in at the end. Have fun and remember to drop low into each and every squat. Keep your chest up and those hips back.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Just curious, has anyone taken class at CorePower Yoga? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Filed Under: Fitness, Workouts Tagged With: CorePower, Pushups, Squats

Body After Baby: 4 Months Postpartum

October 7, 2014 by Tamara 28 Comments

Wow, I have so much to share. I am anxious and slightly nervous to write how I have been recovering during these last several months. But before I continue please read the following disclaimer…

I don’t use extreme measures, deprive myself, or sacrifice my sleep in order to obtain results. I was active during both of my pregnancies and I fully believe that staying active has helped my body recover. I have found that being patient, consistent, and determined are the greatest ways to regain strength and stability in my body. I am a mama to two, and a wife to a firefighter. I don’t have a chef, housekeeper, or nanny. I am real person and I am inviting you to come on my postpartum journey with me. If you are recovering from childbirth please listen to your own body and know that each woman’s pregnancy, labor, and delivery is unique.

To read Maisie’s birth story click HERE. You may also be interested in reading Body After Baby: 1 Month Postpartum Update.

PRE-PREGNANCY STATS

Waist 27″ | Hips 37″ | Weight 130 lb.

39 WEEK PREGNANCY STATS

Waist 38″ | Hips 39″ | Weight 154 lb.

4 MONTH POST BABY STATS

Waist 31.5″ | Hips 37″ | Weight 133 lb.

I am really not even sure where to start. I was feeling really great up until around 6 weeks after giving birth. Both Caden and Maisie were healthy and Josh was back on his regular 24 hour shifts. I felt like supermom. Sure I was exhausted at the end of the day but all things considered I thought I was managing fairly well.

Around 8 weeks postpartum I started to feel very run down. I remember the newborn phase with Caden and being tired but this time around I just seemed to become more fatigued as time went on, experienced frequent heart palpitations, and felt a looming sense of dread hanging over my head.

Thinking that I might have a nutritional deficiency I set up an appointment with my naturopath and she recommended that I see a cardiologist. One doctors appointment turned into another and has since spiraled out of control. I really can’t tell you how many times in the last 3 months I have been to a doctor. These appointments have included the dermatologist for skin biopsies and exzema, dentist for a root canal, cardiologist, naturopath, vein specialist for varicose vein treatments, and lastly to my primary care doctor.

I don’t even want to think about how much money I have spent on co-pays. Thank the Lord for insurance!

Multiple doctors visits, waiting for various test results, and trying to manage squeezing all these appointments in while nursing Maisie has been stressful to say the least. The “what if’s” started to pile up and before I knew it I was spending the majority of my time worrying about what could happen to myself and my family.

Crying seemed to become a normal part of my routine and I seriously felt like my bubbly personality was never going to make a reappearance.

I never thought I would battle with postpartum depression or anxiety. Like never ever.

With Josh’s encouragement and support I made an appointment with my primary care doctor and told him with tears in my eyes what I had been experiencing. That was the turning point. It was scary but empowering at the same time. I knew from that instant going forward I would be in a much better place. Maybe not right away but I was at least taking steps in a more positive direction.

Sharing all of this is not easy, and I debated over and over if I even wanted to share. In the end it feels better to be open and honest. I am not perfect and don’t have it all together and would never want anyone to get that impression from my blog.

I am so thankful I went to see my doctor when I did. Waiting would have only allowed me to sink deeper and deeper into a dark and bottomless pit.

This past week I learned the results from the testing that was done at the cardiologist. I have to say that it was a relief in a way to find out that the heart palpitations I have been experiencing were not a result of an over active imagination. The pulmonic valve in my heart is leaky. It is mild leak that could have been a result from pregnancy or I could have had it my entire life there is really no way to know. It is not life threatening but later on down the road if it should worsen I may need heart surgery.

My heart is also misfiring electric signals causing it to contract in an abnormal rhythm, this is why I have been feeling the palpitations. I had to wear a heart monitor with electrodes and wires for two weeks which was slightly annoying but worth it because I now have the answer I need. Again this is not life threatening and should it get worse I might need to go on medication but the cardiologist thought it could be related to postpartum hormones so I just have to wait and see.

All of this to say I am doing better. I can still exercise and I now have a plan to get back on track mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Without God at the front of all this I would be even more of a mess.

Enough of all that. Hopefully that gives you an idea of what has been going on. This next part seems slightly less important to me now in comparison to what has been happening with my overall health but I know I said I would share my before and after pictures from using the MuTu System 12 Week Program.

1 MONTH POST BABY STATS

Waist 33″ | Hips 39″ | Weight 139 lb.

4 MONTH POST BABY STATS

Waist 31.5″ | Hips 37″ | Weight 133 lb.

Ladies, if you have had a baby recently or even if it has been several or more years I highly recommend the MuTu System. You can read my MuTu System 12 Week Online Program Review for more details. Since my last update I have lost 6 pounds and 3.5 inches. I can’t sing it’s praises enough! If you feel like you are looking pregnant months or years after having your baby do yourself a favor and click HERE to watch a quick video explaining the program and how it works. I’ve also been using my Fitbit to track my steps each day which has helped me see how much (or how little) I have been moving.

I am averaging around 7 hours of sleep each night and Maisie is nursing every 3 hours during the day and sleeping 12 hours at night. It is great! Over the last 6 weeks I have been waking up at 5am to pump breastmilk to stash in the freezer. The treatment I am having done on my varicose veins requires me to pump and dump for 24 hours after my appointments. All you moms who exclusively pump you are rockstars! I am planning to write a separate post on this in the next few weeks. So far my treatment has been going well and my legs are already feeling better. Yay!

I think that I need to hit publish on this post before I decide to delete it. To see cute pictures of my kiddos follow me on Instagram. I would love to hear from you! Leave me a comment below.

Moms how have you dealt with your postpartum recovery?

This post may contain affiliate links of items that I have used and loved. Thank you for supporting this blog and our family by purchasing through my links.

Filed Under: Fitness, Personal, Postpartum, Pregnancy Tagged With: 4 Months Postpartum, Body After Baby, Cardiologist, Mutu System, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, Varicose Veins