Get Fit Like Fido! A Pup Inspired Workout

Last week, I was contacted by Priscilla, the Community Coordinator from Dog Vaycay about trying their pup inspired workout.  It's exciting to be contacted about trying new things and putting my thoughts out there on them!  I jumped at the opportunity!

Currently, I'm 30 weeks pregnant, so I wasn't 100% I'd be able to complete the workout they'd sent.  It had mountain climbers, jump squats and running...things I haven't really been doing much of lately.  However, after gaining a little more weight between week 29 and 30 than what I needed to keep on the right track due to slowing down my fitness because of sciatica pain, I was ready for a change in my routine!

This workout was the perfect pick-me-up!  I really enjoyed feeling my heart rate go up again!  Julia Chan created a great workout in my opinion!

I really enjoyed the feeling of the "Fire Hydrants" as they helped lift my butt and even give my sciatica a good stretch!  I'm not going to lie, I took a mini break between the mountain climbers and jump squats when I was stopped at the gym by one of the employees who asked how my pregnancy was going.  If I had more time, I think the Fire Hydrants through Jump Squats should be completed 3 times through before moving into Ladders, the cardio portion.

So you are probably wondering, should a pregnant woman be doing some of this, and a running interval especially!?!  Wouldn't that get your heart rate up too much?  Yes, for me, it would.  My doctor wants me to keep my heart rate much lower for the baby than the intensity I used to workout at, but that didn't mean I had to stop working out!  So here's how you can modify these moves if you want and are pregnant, or may not be up to doing the full on routine.

• Fire Hydrants & Squats - keep these as is! I totally recommend trying these if your doctor permits you to working out.  While doing squats, practice your kegals as well!
• Mountain Climbers - Option 1, simply slow your pace.  Option 2 - Do Bird Dog Planks instead, click here to see why you may want to consider this during pregnancy as well as a picture of the pose.
• Jump Squats - there's some women that can jump just fine during pregnancy, and others that with one jump, you may not even have time to make it to the restroom!  If you aren't up to doing jumps, consider getting on your tippee toes as you come back up from the squat.  Or as another option, add a kettle bell or weight to this and just stay grounded as your do your squats, only adding resistance by swinging the kettle bell or weight as you go.
• Ladders - As I said, my doctor doesn't want my heart rate getting too high. I need to keep it at 140 and below.  Any time I run, I'm normally around 175-180.  So running is a non-option for me during pregnancy.  Instead, I did incline intervals.  
• Pace of 4 on the treadmill the whole time.  Try not to hold onto the machine at all
• Minutes 1-5 increase incline by 1 each minute until you are at 5
• Minutes 5-7, 10 on the incline
• Minute 8, 2 on the incline
• Minutes 8-10, 11 on the incline
• Minute 11, 2 on the incline
• Minute 12, 12 on the incline
• Minute 13, 2 on the incline
• Minute 14, 13 on the incline
• Minute 15, 2 on the incline
• Mminute 16, 14 on the incline
• Minute 17, 2 on the incline
• Minute 18, 15 on the incline (yes, you'll want to hold on, but resist! you and do this!)
• Minutes 19-20 2 on the incline, and you can decrease your pace from 4 to 3 as you cool down.
• My heart rate likely went above 140 during this routine, but becuase these are intervals, I was able to get my breath back and cool off in between increases in inclines.

@LivelyHappening on Instagram!

Overall, I think this was a great workout!  I will be trying it again during pregnancy.  As stated, I do recommend doing Fire Hydrants - Jump Squats 3 times through and then doing your ladders after to get an even better workout.

To cool down, I always do some downward dog as shown above.  I also add in pigeon pose for some sciatica release and stretching followed by sitting and putting my right foot out to grab, then my left, then both feet and finishing with butterfly pose.  This is my normal post run routine.

I completed this workout yesterday and feel GREAT today.  My sciatica nerve pain is even less today than it has been in 2 weeks!!!

So what do you think?  Do you love this workout and the cute pup to human comparisons Julia brings?!

Throwback: Fitness Accomplishments

Over the past few years, I have done some pretty great fitness challenges.  I feel so fortunate to have built up a body with such strength and endurance.  Sometimes, I felt like I never wanted to step a foot inside the gym again.  Many times I dream about living in the mountains of East Tennessee or West Wyoming, & I say to myself, “If I lived there, I’d always want to be active.  I’d always be outside.”  But I don’t live near beautiful rolling hills or glacial peaked mountain tops.  I live in the great Midwest, the farmlands of Indiana where it’s corn, more corn, soybeans, and corn.  And you know what?  It’s actually not that bad. 
  

In Evansville alone I have done two of my all-time favorite races!  The first was in 2010 with my wonderful dad and beautiful puppy Sasha.  We ran in the Fido Walk, Rock & Run 5K sponsored by the Vanderburgh County Humane Society.  And guess what, we each got first place!  Sadly Sasha didn’t get a trophy, but I fed her treats like a princess!

 

One of my other favorite races was in 2012 at Evansville’s Viking Assault.  It’s similar to a Tough Mudder.  It’s an obstacle course full of muddy events and challenging jumping, climbing, running, or crawling activities.  You can see the full re-cap on it here.

Neal and I signed up for the race as a 2 year anniversary outing.  You could say we like to get dirty.  For our 1 year (2011), we went Spelunking over at Marengo Cave.

Some other fun fitness challenges I have done outside of Southern Indiana:

Urban Dare in 2010. That’s Brittany and I posing at one of the many stops you had to take pictures at for this event around Nashville TN.  This is a fun race if you really know the layout of the city.  We didn’t, but still had a great time!

The Music City Half Marathon in 2011.  I was aiming for a time under 2 hours and boy did I make it! For some reason, I didn’t write down my exact time, but I know it was between 1:55 – 1:57!

 

Miami Turkey Trot in 2011.  My brother, now brother-in-law, and I all ran the Turkey Trot when we went to Miami for Thanksgiving. My mom and her then boyfriend, now husband, hosted a great Thanksgiving week of fun!  We got to go to Disney World too on this trip!  Sadly, Neal had food poisoning, so he wasn’t even able to come watch the race.  Yuck!

Climbed the Grand Teton in 2012.  This was the BEST experience of my life in terms of fitness goals.  Sure, we had some challenges and it wasn’t all easy, but we climbed a freaking mountain.  That’s a really cool accomplishment in my book!

 

 

What will 2013 bring in terms of Fitness Fun?  I have high hopes for this year.  I have truly started it off  well by doing the Tone It Up Love Your Body series.  I have some ideas of what I am going to do, but that’s a post I will save for tomorrow!

What are some of your favorite fun fitness activities?  Have you taken a long hike, a color run, a mini triathlon, a cross-fit challenge, ooh the Krispy Kream 5K, or maybe the polar plunge (brrrr)?  I’d love to hear what fun activities you are doing in your life!

NYE Lower Body & Core Workout

I awoke bright and early this morning as my husbands alarm clock continued to ring.  Little did he remember in his slumber that we weren't going to work this morning, and the alarm rang 3 more times.  I decided I should just get up and do a workout.

After finishing my workout, Neal & I spent time with your friends who came in to celebrate NYE from Wisconsin.  Their little girl is just adorable and likes to pull Walden around the house.

It took me more time than normal to get to making my post as I was playing with this sweet little girl and her baby brother.  I love them :)  Now I have proof that working from home with my own babies one day would be a challenge!

For those interested in doing a quick workout today, you can follow the below workout.

I compiled my own lower body & core moves after browsing a few different routines.

Walk Out – Works Core

·         Stand with feet hip width apart and then bend at your hips.  While keeping your feet in place, walk hands out to plank position.  Hold for 10 seconds and walk your hands back into your feet, rising up to standing.  10 Reps.

Jump Squat to Lung – Works Legs & Butt

·         Stand with feet shoulder distance apart.  Squat and then jump into a lunge with your right leg forward.  Jump back up and into a Squat, then jump once more to land in a lunge with your left leg forward.  That’s one rep, squat again to do 10 reps.

Side Plank Dip – Works Core

·         Get into side plank position with your left elbow and forearm bent and on the ground, or for a bigger challenge with just your palm on the ground under your face.  Place your right hand on your hip and lower your left hip to the floor; return to starting position. Do 15 reps and switch side to complete the set.

Leg Lift Series- Works Butt & Legs

·         Lie on your left side with your left leg straight out, your left hand behind your head and your right hand on the floor, stabilizing your body.  Bend your right knee and touch the floor in front of your left thigh, then kick back your right left diagonally behind you.  Return to starting position and repeat 15 times.

·         Next place the ball of your right foot on the floor behind your left knee and with your left leg extended, pulse it up about a foot and lower to starting position.  Do 15 reps

·         Repeat with opposite to complete the set.

Toe Bridge - Works Butt, Legs & Core

·         Get in bridge position: lying face up with knees bent and your balls of feet on the floor, your keels close to your butt. With your arms extended at your side, palms on the floor, lift hips until your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders.  Lower to starting position.  Do 10 reps while keeping your heels raised the entire time.

Exercise Ball Tuck – Works Core, Shoulders, Butt & Legs

·         Get into a plank position with your shins on your exercise ball. Pull your knees toward your chest with the ball rolling forward.  Extend your body back to the starting position.  Do 12-20 reps.

Bicycle with Long Legs – Works Core

·         Like on back with your legs extended and your hands behind your head.  Bicycle crunch with your legs still extended: left leg lowers to the floor as your rotate to the right bringing your left elbow toward your right knee.  Repeat on opposite side.  Do 20 reps alternating sides.

Heel Toe Tap – Works Butt

·         Get on all fours with your shoulders over your wrists and your hips over your knees.  Extend your right leg at hip height beside you, placing the heel of your foot on a chair.  Quickly rotate your right leg forward so your heel is on the seat and your toes are pointing forward.  Continue for 30 seconds and then switch sides to complete the set.

 
Don't forget to stretch!  I do one legged hamstring stretches, a butt stretch and some standing side stretches.

 

I hope you have a great New Years!  What are your plans?

Never Leave Me

It's cute when your dog wants to be with you all the time.  He follows you around your house.  He sticks his nose through the door crack just to see you working.  He cries if you walk your other dog without him, even though you just walked him solo.  He wags his tail so swiftly when you come back home that you fear your walls are taking a beating.  He absolutely adores and worships you.  How could you not love this dog?

 
Well the dog has another personality...he absolutely cannot tolerate the idea of you leaving the house without taking him.  He has such bad anxiety that he has been known to rip open throw pillows, chew your Dyson vacuum cord, and eat your couch.  Yes, you heard me right...He has so much anxiety that he will EAT YOUR COUCH!

 

 

That is the sight my husband walked into after being away from the house for work when I was out of town.  He called me on my drive back home from a 5 day semi-vacation to East TN and said, "Do you want to know what the brown dog did?"  He then said, "I am not going to send you the picture yet, but he ate the couch." I thought he may have gotten one of the cushions.  No, he got all four of the back cushions.   

My husband gathered all the pieces and left them in my craft room so we could decide what to do next...

 

 

We had two options.  We could repair the couch cushions ourselves, or we could get them reupholstered.  I am all about taking on a challenge and doing things myself.  So, I decided I would purchase fabric and reupholster them myself.
 
A trip to Hobby Lobby, about $30 dollars, and 3 1/2 hours of sewing were all I needed.  Oh, and patience.  Much patience.  As I fitted and sewed, I couldn't help but think how if we only had put the dog, Walden, in daycare that day he wouldn't have been able to do this to our beautiful couch.
 
So first, I tried to use Under Wonder to patch holes.  Then I put the iron on the fabric, and it made a BIGGER hole.  That's when I realized stitching was needed and ironing could only be used if thick fabric was placed above the existing & destroyed fabric of the original cushion.

 
I ended up only patching holes in one cushion.

 

 
The other three cushions, I re-did the entire backside.  Making a stitch where the edge used to be so the cousin wouldn't be so round, but more square.

 It actually all turned out pretty well.

We ended up keeping Walden, not bringing him to the pound for his misbehavior...even though at the time I was ready to lock him out of the house!  (I could never give up either of my puppies).
 
Thinking about this more, I am sure Sasha had something to do with this mess, but am POSITIVE Walden was the instigator.  They both are so cute, I love them to death and have already forgiven Walden for his 'handiwork' from eating the couch this past Monday.  I am a sucker for these two!

 Do you have dogs with anxiety that leads to chewing and destruction?  Any ideas for how I could work with my dogs on this behavior?

Fourth of July!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Thank you to all our Veterans for your dedication to this wonderful country I call home!

Mom, Dad, Kim L., Michael F., Cameron J., Josh L., Ryan B., Jason B., Conner E., Danny P., Grandaddy Bratton, Scott D. and many many more, thank you for all that you have done and all the sacrifices you and your family have made!

Today is absolutely one of my favorite holidays!  I love the Google logo right now!

This morning, was absolutely one of my least favorite mornings…

5am: Wake-up call by the one and only puppy, Walden.  Take him potty, put him and Sasha in the bed so they will sleep some more.

7am: Puppies are awake and ready for breakfast. Walden scarfs down his food as Neal and I relax on the couch…RING….RING….RING…RING – Walden is ringing his jingle bells and wants needs to go out, Out, OUT!

7:15am:  Can’t rest on couch, so we make a bowl of Multigrain Cheerios with strawberries as we watch a few episodes of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and my favorite, Good Morning America.  Every 30 minutes, RING! RING! OUT! OUT!  So out we go. 

8:45am:  Finally Walden seems to have eaten and gotten all his outside business taken care of…Neal and I decide to take a nap, closing the bedroom so the dogs are out of the room.  Three phone calls later it’s 9:15am and I think I am home free!  Nap time here I come! 

9:15-10am: Puppy noises in our hallway…Dribble drip dribble.  Whine, whine!  Calm down for about 20 minutes.  Whine, whine, paw at the door.  Calm down for another 20 minutes.  Whine and scratch the hallway and the door with my space cone (Walden is still in the cone for his broken paw).  We decide no more sleep is to be had and open the door.

10am-10:10am:   That dribble drip dribble I heard turned out to be a HUGE pile of dog pee on the carpet in the hall outside our bedroom door.  SERIOUSLY!?  I took you out 10 minutes before I closed you out of the bedroom!  And three times before that!  So I clean up the dog pee.

10:10am:  Hungry again.  To lighten the mood, I make one of Neal’s favorites delicious cinnamon cream Neufchâtel cheese for our bagel thins topped with fruit.  Ahh, finally the morning seems off to a good start.  Time to digest and go to the gym!

Cinnamon cream Neufchâtel Cheese Bagel

1 oz Neufchâtel cheese, softened

 ½ teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Thomas’ Bagel Thins Whole Wheat Bagel

Blueberries

Raspberries

 2 pinches of shredded sweetened or unsweetened coconut

Combine your Neufchâtel cheese, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl with a knife.  Toast your bagel, spread your Cinnamon Neufchâtel cheese, top with your fruit and coconut!

Enjoy!

Happy 4^th of July Ya’ll!!!

Walden's Wild Weekend

I have never met a dog with worse separation anxiety than my sweet puppy, Walden.  He drools so much when we crate him that it takes 2 towels to clean up the mess.  He pulls items off the counter, shattering drying dishes like a glass Pyrex baking dish.  He enjoys taking flour out of the pantry and moving it all around the living room.  Also, even if we are in the house, he will sneak a slice of pizza off your plate, or just finish an entire half of a pizza and 3 chocolate chip cookies sitting on the stove top.  Now he has topped them all and finds it so difficult to let us leave without him, so he JUMPED Out a TWO STORY Window!!!

Needless to say, flying out a two story window will cause some pain. Sasha amusingly looked down from the window as Walden cried and cried and cried in pain.  We think Sasha was saying, "Glad you went first." 

His attempt at defying gravity and learning to fly occurred while were visiting friends in Wisconsin  and Walden decided we couldn't leave him behind while running errands...this is the result.  You may not be able to tell in this picture, but the paw on the left is broken in 3 places.  I have a great x-ray, but am still working on getting it opened on this computer.

Look at the poor boy as he waits to be taken care of by the vet. 

 

Walden got to spend the entire weekend by our side attached to the patio table sporting the lovely little wrapped splint.

And now we are home sweet home and he has his little dog bed right next to my office desk.

He is beyond spoiled...and pathetically cute :)

Walden will be in a cast for about 6 weeks.  We hope his paw heals completely and he is able to walk and run without much pain.  Right now, he gimps around adorably :)

3AM Wake Up!

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.  Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Swimming. Swimming. Swimming!


That was my mantra this morning when my alarm rang at 3am, then again at 3:10am, again at 3:15am and one last RING RING RING at 3:20am.  OK, I am up!


I opened my eyes as Neal got up to take his shower and SWOOSH! Walden was in the bed licking my face saying, "Happy Morning Mom!  Time to play, eat, and play some more!"  Isn't that just wonderful :) (sarcasm).


We had to wake up early because Neal had to leave the house at 4am.  While most people in my position would roll over and reset their alarm for a later time, I decided I would get up!  I knew I had a e-mail from yesterday that I hadn't read yet in my inbox from the girls at Tone it Up and decided that would be my motivation to get moving.  By golly it sure was!  Read it here!  I put on some yoga pants, laced up my kicks and did their Under the Sea workout.  It is such a fun & happy go be it workout, perfect for a morning pick me up - or as the Tone it Up girls say a "Booty Call".  :)  I burned 120 calories in 30 minutes.  To find out more about the "Booty Call" workout, check out THIS POST.


During the beginning of my workout the dogs were very hyper, full of energy.  They think anytime I lace up my sneakers and put on my heart rate monitor it means a walk or a jog with them.  Excuse me mutts, but have you seen the time!?  It's barely 4am, 50 some odd degrees outside, and dark.  I am terrified of the dark, I mean stone cold terrified at times!  Towards the end of my workout, I was able to get Walden to sit or lay beside me, and Sasha laid down in the corner of the room.  They are adorable, what more can I say?


Finally, my favorite part of any day arrived...breakfast time!  This morning I made a Pumpkin Yogurt Parfait.

Ingredients

1 Serving of Plain Greek Yogurt (6oz)

2 Tablespoons Pumpkin

1 Spoonful of Honey

2/3 Cup Kashi Cinnamon Crumble Go Lean Crisp!

This was seriously delicious!  I love that the Greek yogurt fills me up, but I don't love it plain.  Adding pumpkin and honey are great ways to get the right amount of flavor with a little sweetness and no unnecessary sugars.  The Cinnamon Crumbles were the icing on the cake. They don't contain unneeded sugars and are sweetened with cinnamon.  They really do remind me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, only they are made with more whole grains and less sugar!  This was perfection! 

It was still only about 5am when I finished breakfast, so I decided to do some Pinning on Pinterest (follow me here), get clean with a refreshing shower, and write this post!  It's about 6:15am and I am off to grab a coffee from the gas station (I broke our carafe and we had to order replacement...Opps!) and start working!

Have a Terrific Tuesday!  Are you as bubbly as I am after an early morning workout?

2 Different Puppy Treats - Meaty Coleslaw & PB Remix

My dogs always seem to know when I am cooking something special for them.  Yes, they seem to linger towards the kitchen when I am cooking, but when I cook them dog treats they stay glued to my heels!

After posting about my first dog treats found here I realized that the milk in the treats was causing them to mold!  You can't feed your dogs moldy treats!  So I did some research and simply switched the milk out with beef broth.

Beefy Peanut Butter Treat Ingredients

2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1 Cup Natural Peanut Butter

1 Cup Beef Broth

(Don't forget the cute cookie cutters!)



In a mixing bowl, combine your flour and baking powder before adding peanut butter.  It can be tough stirring in the peanut butter alone, so you may just want to go ahead and add the beef broth, stirring it all by hand.  Then flour you surface and roll out the dough.  I cut mine with cute bone shaped cookie cutters.  This mix was slightly runnier than my previous recipe containing milk, so I added more flour along the way.

I cooked them at 350 for about 15 minutes.

The dogs couldn't wait!  In this picture, they actually look like they are being very well behaved and nonchalantly patient, but trust me, they were not that patient!

My second mixture was a combination of food my dogs love:  eggs, turkey and ham.  They really love just carrots, but I had coleslaw containing carrots that needed to be eaten, so they got that in the mix as well.  I will call this my Holiday Feast Treats because it reminded me of the my day after Thanksgiving sandwiches where I combine a bunch of leftovers onto some yummy bread!

Holiday Feast Treats Ingredients

3/4 Cup Coleslaw (or better yet, just carrots)

3/4 Cup Turkey (can add ham, chicken, salmon, or beef)

1 egg

Flour to combine

Put your coleslaw in a food processor and chop it up.  Set aside.  Then remove all the fat from your meat and put that in the food processor, chopping it up.  Combine your processed coleslaw, meat, and an egg in a bowl.  After that, add just enough flour to make it all stick together in a small ball. 

I baked these at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

 

They may not be the prettiest, but my dogs love them!  Store them in the fridge when you are finished giving your own dog some to enjoy!

Have you ever made any homemade dog treats?  If so, how did they turn out?

Early Morning Workout (Mutts Included!)

It was an early Saturday at our house.  It seems like that's been happening and going to keep happening now that it's getting warmer and brighter outside earlier.  Neal gets the joy of working on the weekends.  I actually will have to put in 30min- and hour today. (I pray no more than that!)  I didn't get to post yesterday because I worked OVER 12 hours! Yuck!  We had just enough time to cook and eat dinner together before I went back to work and then straight to bed.  However, I do value that I get to work from home, that makes it seem like 12 hours isn't so bad. 

After waking up at 5:15am, cooking breakfast, and sending Neal off with a PB&J - I know you must think that's cute :) - I leashed up the dogs and put them, some water, and myself into the car.  We were off to the riverfront! 

I absolutely love walking along the riverfront in our neighboring city, Newburgh.  It semi reminds me of some walks I took along the Greenway in Murfreesboro, around the Dam in Loudon, and through the beautiful subdivision I grew up in 5.5 hours from here in East TN.  I truly love Tennessee.  Well not really West TN since I have never lived there, but Middle is good and East TN is just the most fabulous region.  Who wouldn't love having the smokies out your backdoor?!

We stayed out for 36 minutes and I burned about 240 calories. Some parts we jogged, but mostly we just walked.

Sasha and Walden are sometimes embarrassing. When two early morning runners jogged past us Walden went crazy and began barking and jumping, which in turn made Sasha do the same. I felt horrible. It was only about 7am and they were waking up the neighborhood!  They are still great dogs though.  Mamma's babies!

We took a little pause for some leash adjustments.  As you may see, Sasha poses well for pictures.

Walden was a bit spastic and didn't pose so well without me holding him!

We did get to see lots of very pretty iris in bloom! 

I love all the homes along the river front.  It's a great mix of old and new, and all of them have such pretty landscaping.  I will have to take more pictures to share when I am not trying to walk 2 dogs and take pictures.  :) 

I get a kick out of this sign...I am not sure it's something to be proud of that you were the first part of the State taken by the Confederates and they didn't even have to fight you...

After walking the riverfront, we returned home and I did Tone it Up's Bikin Strap workout. (30 min 196 calories!)  I love Karena and Katrina's Bikini series.  Not only do you get daily workouts sent straight to your e-mail, you get great videos demonstrating the moves, awesome nutritional tips (who knew drinking water boosts your metabolism!?), and some fantastic motivation from two hard-working and inspiring women.  Best of all, you don't need a gym to do their moves!  All you need is some lighter weights, a mat, and a kick-booty-happy-go-be it mindset!  I am currently working on my vision board.  I will share that with you later.  I completely 150% recommend signing up for the Bikini workout series by clicking here and scrolling to where you see the same picture I posted below on their blog!

Now set yourself off right with a smile and enjoy your day!  Let me know if you sign up for the Bikini Series and what you think of the workouts and tips!