Fitness Friday

Alright, guys. I feel like a fraud...sitting here trying to talk to you about fitness when I feel like I am struggling a little bit! I mean, fitness is totally a state of mind I think. And, I am not doing great at maintaining that state of mind. I am frustrated currently because I am still fighting my body insecurities and the negative self talk. Today what's bugging me is the tummy skin and bloating. I know we make a bigger deal about our problem areas than anyone else would...but my thoughts are the only ones I hear, so they are the only ones I am working with.

This is me with Jaxon at the pool today and I felt great with the huge exception of that belly skin you can see hanging around. Oh well, I suppose I am just a huge work in progress.

I'm a Libra and I constantly strive for balance, but dang it if sometimes balance feels like an impossible goal!! Right now I am trying to balance work, family, fitness, hobbies, marriage, and house work. As far as my workout routine goes, I am trying to balance group classes, weight lifting, cardio and running as well as now adding in CrossFit foundation classes for the next three weeks. I just cannot nail down the best, balanced weekly schedule...but I am still trying.

Is anyone out there just totally gung-ho about one type of exercise? Maybe you love running all day every day? Or you hit the stationary bike religiously? Maybe you are completely devoted to a yogi lifestyle?

Me...I am the total opposite! I want to dabble in each type of activity and balance them all in perfect harmony! So, here is the only thing I want to talk about on this day in which I feel like a fraud: what types of activities I enjoy and why, also why I think it's important to balance a bunch of different activities.

1. My true love is weight lifting. I am not sure how I got so addicted to it, but I love the feeling and effects of lifting weights. It makes me feel strong and I can count the numbers on the dumbbells and see that as progress in my journey. I also love the feeling of being able to shape a certain part of my body that I focus on while weight training.

Yep, I tried to squat a person. Well, a tiny person!

2. Group HIIT classes. Sam (seen above acting as my barbell) teaches a HIIT cardio class Tuesdays and Thursdays at the rec center. I love group classes because it gives you a core group of partners. Women who will push you and encourage you and also hold you accountable. I love my IG group, but there is just something to be said about the face to face connecting of ladies who are all struggling to get through the workout together!

Here is a crazy bunch of peeps I love after we did a tough circuit last Friday!

3. Stretching and Yoga. Now I am not good at this practice whatsoever, but I am slowly learning and slowly finding that a yoga flow can really improve your strength training by helping muscles recover faster, joints keep up with the strain of gaining muscle mass and just by giving your body a concentrated relaxation!


Lots of room for improvement here!

4. Running. I have never been a natural runner. I mean, I was the goalie on my soccer team so I could play but still avoid all the running! lol! But, after discovering my love for Spartan races, I added distance running into my training routine so that I can improve my completion time. In 2015 the longest run I completed was 14 miles, even though I started the year not being able to complete more than 2 miles. Now, I can add distance but increasing pace is another story. I feel a bit stuck with my pacing, but I am not out to race anyone any time soon! Running is a steady state cardio that has really helped with the tummy fat/skin that I talked about earlier. I feel the leanest and tightest after a solid run.

5. Every day changes. I can workout 6 days a week, but I very much struggle to stay active in the rest of my day. At school, I so easily get stuck at my desk when I am entering grades, answering emails, creating the next unit, etc. So, I have been focusing on using my FitBit to give me the silent reminders to stand up and get moving. I also use the competitive aspect of the FitBit app to try to get more steps than anyone else I know! lol! Lastly, I ordered an adjustable desk stand to place my laptop on so that I can easily adjust from sitting to standing and hopefully I will stand more at work. My posture is horrendous after a day of working on the computer!


I will post about my weekly routine next week...hopefully after I find a better lineup of workouts!
For now, things are slowly improving in this Little Life!

Weekend Wrap Up

I was a little nervous going in to this weekend...Jason was headed to Texas for a racing workshop and I was solo to juggle everything. But it turned out so well, I had a blast with my little turkey all to myself!

Friday was amazing! The babysitter came an extra day so that I could get my hair colored and run an errand. Ever since shaving my hair off four years ago I've been terribly anxious when doing anything new to my hair and have been disappointed with some of the results recently. I searched social media to find a colorist that could help me update my look and I came across Janelle thanks to all of my students liking her Facebook page. I scheduled with her several weeks ahead of time, and I was having a hard time swallowing the cost of the appointment. But, let me tell you, it was totally worth it! Janelle took plenty of time, was very personable with me and is very talented in her field! We did balayage highlights and used some toner to lighten it out of the yellow blonde zone! I love the results!! 

Before and after.

Tonight when I practiced styling it myself. The round brush was much easier to use than I thought! 

Friday night was one of the most fun workouts I've done lately. I did a cross fit-ish workout with my friends at the Rec center. 

So, the plan Saturday morning was the spend three hours at Monkey Business wearing off some serious winter snowed-in energy. Jaxon was doing great at first, learning how to climb the play yard with the other kids. But after 40 minutes, it started to get really full. So full that I wondered how close they were to fire capacity. At that point Jaxon got overwhelmed and shut down. He didn't want to explore anymore and looked up at me and asked "mama house peas" (grandmas house please). 

Jaxon is still scared of the bounce house and much prefers anything that's a puzzle.

I dropped Jax at grandmas house while I finished my list of errands. I hit up both Sephora and Ulta and dug through some products I've been wanting to try. 

For makeup, I got the Makeup Forever foundation, the They're Real mascara remover, and a sample of some Nars concealer. I'll write about those once I try them this week!

For hair, I got a round brush, a wide tooth plastic comb, a sample size of Redken Satinwear 02 prepping blow dry lotion, and a sample of Pureology hydrate shampoo and conditioner. 

Here are the products in loving so far with all my samples: 

Redken Satinwear 02, Redken Wind Blown 05 hairspray, Garnier Fructis Mega Full thickening lotion, and Not Your Mothers Texture Sea Salt Spray. Not shown is Not Your Mothers Dry shampoo, that one is so good too! 

Ok, so Saturday we get home and Jaxon goes down for a nap and then things get real.... Because everyone I've seen on IG has been watching Making A Murder and I was intrigued because I LOVE a good conspiracy story! I created a trial Netflix account and downloaded the app JUST so I could watch it, and I seriously binge watched it all weekend! All 10 episodes in Eason 1!! That's a ridiculous amount of time for a Toddler Boy Mom!! I gave up sleeping, cleaning, scrap booking, yoga, working on my abs and perusing Pinterest in order to get through this series! I recommend it, but beware you WILL be sucked in and your mind WILL be blown!! 

Today is when Jason was coming back, so I made sure that the house was clean and that groceries were already done by the time he got home! Otherwise Jax and I totally just lounged around the house and played together! 

He wanted to cuddle by me while I was planning. 

He made tons of messes and ate everything in sight! Crazy Turkey! 

He's been watching Frosty as many times as we will let him. Apparently two year olds don't understand when Christmas is over.

And lastly, I finished the weekend with Sunday Runday and meal prep. The run was a crazy idea!! It was 28 degrees outside and I did not prepare well enough!! I made it to 4.5 miles, but after being outside that long I was freezing cold! I made the boys come to pick me up because I just couldn't handle the cold anymore! Good thing though-I made it 3.5 miles without knee paint, which is a huge improvement! 

Hope you all had a great weekend! We are happily settling in to 2016 in This Little Life!!