I firmly believe that part of making your life more awesome involves self-care. I also believe in carving out small chunks of time for fitness and tweaking your nutrition gradually so you don’t set yourself up for failure with lofty goals that are, well, too lofty. So, following my post on intention setting for 2014, I wanted to share a roundup of links to help inspire your fitness and nutrition journeys.
Today, contributing writer (and fitness trainer) Jules shares 6 killer medicine ball exercises:
It can be daunting to try out new fitness equipment, but medicine balls are easy to use at home for a productive and time efficient workout. Medicine balls are basketball size and come in weights varying from 2 to 25 pounds. It’s helpful to have two different ball weights so you can use them for different exercises depending on your strength. Here are 6 exercises I frequently use with clients:
Friends, I'm turning 40 this year and I'm totally good with it; I embrace natural aging! I also think about milestones a lot and have been reflecting on personal goals lately (I'll soon share a post about how to tackle goals like a boss!). There's one goal I've been daydreaming about; I wasn't sure I'd pull the trigger on it this year, but I did. And assuming all goes to plan, I'll be tackling it the day after I turn 40:
I am all about encouraging more play in life (particularly given the amazing weather and since I recently decluttered the playroom) so I'm thrilled and honored to announce my new ambassadorship with Let's Play, an organization devoted to inspiring play through general awareness and supporting playground builds and renovations around the country. This month marks Let's Play's one year anniversary and they are celebrating with their first playground build of the year in West Philadelphia (where a school was destroyed by a fire and students later provided input on the playground design that is being implemented today by over 200 volunteers!), and also by launching their Let's Play Pledge.
Today, Jules shares 8 indoor fitness activities to jump start your spring fitness plans:
The weather has been a little unpredictable lately, and when the April showers (or unexpected cold days) hit, it's nice to have an arsenal of indoor fitness activities at your disposal. Working out at home can be challenging for obvious reasons (the pile of unfolded laundry staring back at you, bills waiting to be paid, etc.), so I generally prefer to leave the house to get my sweat on, but sometimes you don't have that option. Here are 8 exercises that are will get your muscles pumping and your heart thumping, all within the comfort of your own home.
Today, Jules shares five resolution pitfalls and how to avoid them:
You know the concept: a commitment to a personal project or goal. You know the time: the New Year. You know the problem: it rarely happens! And that's typically because people tend to set the bar high too high and too vague. This year, make a resolution to keep your resolution and actually get there by setting goals that are realistic and tangible. Here are 5 resolution pitfalls and how -- as a trainer and social worker -- I suggest avoiding them.
Like many people, I periodically fall off the fitness and eating well wagon, typically due to stress and sometimes due to injury. And though I happily resumed exercise once I received my 6-week postpartum clearance, this fall, self-care fell to the wayside due to new home and work commitments. And it's taken it's toll. Not only do I feel a little squishy around the edges, but more troubling, I've felt tired, tense, and well in need of a vantage point beyond my laptop.
Today, Kate shares a home fitness recommendation (shockingly well timed as I've been thinking of taking ballet but haven't found a class that works with my schedule):
I have written before of my love of ballet, a love that has been kept at a very long arm's length by my lack of necessary talent, drive, and height. However, a recent discovery allows me to feel like a prima ballerina for a few minutes each day: Ballet Conditioning -- a wonderful DVD by Element (the producers of Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners) -- offers several hours of appealing and fun exercises, all based on classical ballet positions and stretches and all aimed at toning and lengthening different muscle groups.
As I mentioned last week, I'm super excited to see Smucker's Stars on Ice this Friday in Boston (there's still time to get tickets if you want to see the show!). And thanks to the folks at Stars on Ice, I had the lovely opportunity to chat with US champion, two-time Olympian (and Olympic silver medalist), and world medalist Sasha Cohen, who is one of the headliners of the tour. Read on for my interview with Sasha, where we talk about everything from family, to staying grounded as an elite child athlete, to encouraging kids to try or stick with hobbies, to competitions vs. shows, to the awesomeness that is Boston.
Last week, I officially decided to shelve running until after I deliver the baby. And since yoga subsequently has been my main fitness practice, and since many of the sequences I typically enjoy aren't so great while carrying a giant pumpkin belly, I decided to buy a copy of Prenatal Yoga with Bec Conant following the rave recommendations for Bec (a local prenatal yoga teacher, doula, and hypnobirthing teacher) and her classes when I queried about favorite prenatal yoga classes in Boston.
It was so great to get back into the studio this week, and it was wonderful to kick off my 2011 programming talking about reflections and new routines. Definitely check out the episode if you didn't see it live on Thursday! I chatted about the #reverb10 reflection/manifestation project with Gwen Bell, and about starting and sticking to fitness routines with Leah Segedie of Mamavation. Check out the episode for full commentary and inspiration, but for easy reference, below are the resource links that I shared during the interviews.
Today, Carole Arsenault of Boston Baby Nurses shares recommendations for getting back into a food and fitness groove postpartum:
After a holiday season full of delicious and plentiful food, the task of working on getting back your pre-pregnancy body may seem daunting. But with the momentum of the new year, now is the best time to get yourself healthy and in shape. Since your metabolism slows down after pregnancy, a combination of some simple exercises (cardiovascular and muscle strengthening) along with smart food and portioning choices will help you can get fit and stay healthy. Below are simple changes you can make, and safe, easy ways to get your body moving.
Yesterday on BabyCenter's Momformation blog I guest posted on seven ways to stay fit during pregnancy (or really, any time!). Whether you're pregnant or looking to get rolling with a fitness plan, I hope you'll check it out. Also, a note on running (per a discovery I made after submitting the article to BabyCenter). I wrote off regular runs a few weeks ago (~20 weeks) because longer runs weren't feeling comfortable anymore. However, I recently discovered that doing intervals feels fantastic. So, I'll alternate walking and running (e.g., 5 minutes walking/3 minutes running) for ~3 miles. It feels great to sweat and get the heart rate up and so far has felt completely comfortable. And it seems like a fitting nod to how I started running in the first place, via the Couch to 5K program.
Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Today's Dear Boston Mamas question comes from Jenny via e-mail:
Dear Boston Mamas, I'm pregnant with my first child and would love to find a prenatal yoga class in Harvard Square or Watertown. Do you know of any good classes/instructors? Thanks!
On Friday I had a super fun time visiting Laurel's classroom as the Mystery Guest, during which time parents can read stories or introduce the kids to their profession or hobbies. Given that most of my work (writing, editing, graphic design) and recreational (e.g., baking, sewing, learning to play mandolin, etc.) endeavors aren't exactly conducive to in-class demos, I decided to teach the kids yoga. I started by telling the kids what I do for work and then explained that because I spend so much time at my computer, it's important to be active too. And that yoga is a great way to calm down while strengthening the body if you're feeling restless or cranky (hint, hint). I thought it would be fun to share the poses I did with the kids, should you and/or your kids need a little calming and strengthening during the day. Enjoy!
Today, Kate recommends something I also love doing (I'm enjoying my flexibility while I can still see my toes) -- yoga at home:
Several months ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with an inspiration. I had been considering whether to sign up for a yoga class -- a practice I have always enjoyed but often found hard to squeeze into my schedule and budget -- but hadn't quite taken the leap yet. And then I figured why not try yoga DVDs at home? They're readily available at my public library in many varieties, can be done on my schedule, and don't require schlepping exercise clothes or dealing with unfamiliar locker rooms. I never thought of myself as someone with the discipline to exercise at home, but I decided to experiment with setting aside 30 minutes in the quiet of the early morning to stretch and sweat (just a bit), and have found that it has paid off in general well being, expense (free!), and convenience. Here are some of my DVD recommendations:
As some of you may know, I took up running last summer and have gotten into it enough to actually run some races. I love the minimalism of running -- you can hit the pavement on your own schedule and can go pretty minimal gear-wise, with running shoes being the major expense (that is, unless you're like some of my crazy barefoot running buddies). But one piece of gear that I was thrilled to learn about and now use regularly is the Moji Knee. I wanted to share my thoughts about the Moji Knee here because it's been great to have it in my running "toolkit" and it also seems as if every week I connect with more readers and bloggers and friends and family who are taking up running.
Apparently, today I’m in a bit of a PSA mood. In addition to asking you to get out and vote, I wanted to urge you to take care of you. I firmly believe that you need to take care of yourself in order to better take care of others (think oxygen mask airline instructions) and I felt compelled to post this PSA because: a) I’ve been fielding a lot of questions these days about self-care (mostly informally, but also more formally via a recent fit mom profile over at Momtrends); and b) this past weekend I had the lovely opportunity to host a yoga event that was infused with personal and global mindfulness; the deliriously happy looks on the attendees faces made it clear that self-care was not happening enough.