Category: fitness

August 3, 2016

The Cure for Sitting Disease

If you have a desk job that leaves you sitting all day–or you’re bingeing out on Netflix for hours at a time, you probably already know by now that you need to counter that with movement. Sitting disease is the new smoking. It’s bad. But so far, no one has been able to give any exact recommendations on what the heck to do about it!

Until now…

This article is a great read if you’re interested in a more in-depth look at the study.

Researchers have come to the conclusion that you should do moderate exercise for one hour per day to counteract the horrible side effects of sitting disease.

Maybe that sounds overwhelming to you. But with a few tweaks, it isn’t be hard to manage. Especially since they say it doesn’t have to all be done at once.

Here are a few tips for you 9-to-5-ers to get your hour in:

Bike or walk briskly to work. Or park far enough away that it will take you 15 minutes to walk to work.
Use your lunch break to get a walk in.
Stand for two hours: If you sit for 6 hours, you only have to work out for 30 minutes to counteract it. So, get a standing desk and reduce the number of hours you’re sitting. Feel free to sway to your favorite music or do intermittent calf raises.
Move once per hour. Sneak into a conference room and do a minute of squats. Be vigilant about this! It’s easy to ignore the clock, but with vigilance, you can make this a habit.

Thankfully I have this amazing riverwalk at my disposal!

If you want to be fit and healthy, this is what needs to be done! Even if you work out in the morning for a half-hour before work and then you sit your shift out, you’re not going to get anywhere. This could be one of those sneaky reasons you’re not losing weight!

So, get up!

Sitting disease is a real thing, and you sure as heck don’t want to catch it!

What are your favorite ways to break up the workday?

July 27, 2016

Full-Body Back Porch Workout

So, I’ve been loving working out on my back porch lately on Mondays and Wednesdays, when I do my regular strength training. (Tues, Thurs and Sat are cardio/running and Fridays are Pilates/Yoga/Barre day).

I realized what an asset this natural setting is for workouts. Why work out inside when I can work out here, listening to the morning birds and crickets?

I’d also like to share the workout I did this morning with you. Feel free to pin it so you can try it out this week:

I don’t have visuals of the moves, but you can easily Google them if you don’t know what they mean. I was thinking about Livestreaming parts of my workouts, so let me know in the comments if that’s something that would be helpful.

For this workout, I used 15 lb dumbbells to really burn out my muscles. And I just used the stopwatch clock on my smartphone to time the moves. The faster you go through the circuits, the more fat you’ll burn. I was dripping from head to toe after this!

Let me know in the comments: would you be interested in seeing my workouts Livestreamed?

Where is your favorite workout spot? #FlashMe your workout hideout.

June 20, 2016

I Got Published in the Huff Post

Eeeeee!!!! Yes I did!

I got published in the Huffington Post!

You’re definitely going to want to earmark this article for workout inspiration!

As a writer, this is a huge privilege and accomplishment. And let me tell you, I was totally fitness fan-girling at some of the people I got in contact with. Autumn Calabrese!!! Karena & Katrina!!! Lauren Gleisberg!!! If you’re a fitness nut, these are some of the celebrities in our world! I got well over 100 replies and selected only the best ones. And I tried to get a good variety in there as well.

I asked fitness entrepreneurs (the ones who live, breathe and eat fitness) how they would work out if they only had 30 minutes. Because if this is how they do it, then you know it must be effective!

This process completely validated the premise of my very own FlashFit workouts that I’ve been designing myself. Total-body strength training and cardio built into one 30 minute workout.

We can learn so much from some of the overarching themes I found:

Do cardio intervals in between strength moves to increase calorie burn.
OR shorten rest periods and move quickly from one move to the next (circuits).
Target your biggest muscle groups as they’ll give you the most afterburn.
Compound moves give you the most bang for your buck.
Intervals are bomb.
30 minutes is more than enough time to work out every day.

So basically, to build a workout that’s the best use of your time, do one compound move followed by one minute of cardio until you reach 30 minutes. This will scorch the most fat and lean you out in the shortest time.

What do you do when you only have 30 minutes to work out?

June 8, 2016

How to Find Extra Hidden Time in Your Day

You have no time to …………[fill in the blank]

Work out
Start an online business
Take your kid to another extracurricular class
Take up knitting

It’s the biggest excuse of all time. But, if you look closer, it’s one that has all different layers of meaning.

First of all, you’ve probably heard it before, but typically the “I don’t have time excuse” really just means “it’s not a priority.” You just don’t want to come out and say that, because it’s much less confronting to say “I don’t have time to come to your home jewelry party” than “I think that party is a waste of my time.”

If exercise was actually a priority, you would find the time, just like you find the time to meet with your boss because she’s a priority. There are a million things I could get done in the mornings instead of working out, but it’s important to me to get my exercise in then, so I do it.

K, so now that we’ve got that out of the way, what if you feel like you really don’t have time? Let’s dig around a little and find some for you.

Lunch breaks: you can change your life on your lunch break. 30 minute increments are enough time to make headway toward any goal in your life. Learn a language, do a workout, build your website, write a blog post (ahem!), take a course…I could go on. And in fact, changing your life on your lunch break will probably become a new feature on this blog, I love it so much. Don’t just sit at your desk scrolling through Facebook or daydreaming. Get up and hustle for your goals for those precious 30 minutes. Over time, these repeated activities are going to compound into major traction.
After kids are in bed: I would never want you to sacrifice your sacred time with your family for anything. They are likely the reason you do everything you do. But there is a sweet spot right after the kids go to bed and before you go to bed that you can use to manufacture your dreams. If you sit down and do a Power Hour every night, you will be leagues ahead of everyone in a month or two.
Involve the kids: some of the things you’re working on might make your time with your kids even richer. If your goal is to exercise 5 days per week, take a family bike ride or jump rope together. If you want to make more biz videos for your Youtube Channel, turn the whole thing into a learning experience by turning your kids into little producers and film crews. If they’re interested, you may even have them create their own channels and do films for them too. The entire process from getting the right lighting to editing is educational and will likely give them a huge educational advantage.
TV Time: I have always said and will always say, if you have time to watch TV, you have time to change your life. Period.
Waiting in the car or in lines: there are quite a few things you can do while you’re waiting in your car for school to get our or standing in line at the store. Post something inspirational to your Facebook biz group. Record an audio for your online course. Catch up on some self development reading. Get out of your car and do a HIIT interval. Do deep breathing meditation. Use those few minutes to really LIVE those moments instead of passively letting them slip away.
Commute: I would never recommend anything dangerous, but you can certainly get things done while driving, like listening to self-development podcasts or sermons. If you’re not the one driving, you can certainly do all kinds of things like knitting projects, sketching designs, reading, learning a new skill, etc.
Find 10 minutes here and there: Even if you can’t string an entire half hour together to squeeze in a workout, you should certainly be able to find three 10-minute segments to give you just as good of results. You can easily do all kinds of social media work in 10 minutes or comment on 3-4 blogs to build relationships. You could write an introduction to the book you’re going to write and then write a paragraph here and there. If you want something bad enough, you will use these little time segments to your full advantage!!!

So, come on, be honest, there are times throughout your day when you are truly just sort of puttering about, aren’t there? If you are really serious about your goals, you will reclaim that time for your own self-advancement.

But hey, if your kid really doesn’t want to go to annnnnnother club meeting, no one’s going to stop you if you say “We don’t have time for that.” But if you tell me, “I don’t have time to work out,” I will likely raise my brow, signaling that I’m reading right through that.

Where do you think you could harvest some time for your goals?

May 13, 2016

Two Quick Hairdos that Stand Up to Rigorous Workouts

Hey #flashers,

I have two new videos up on Youtube showing you two hairstyles that hold up in the gym. Cuz sometimes a girl just gets sick of the ponytail, no? These updos are:

Super quick: they only take seconds to do. Ain’t nobody got time for decorative hair.
Easy: you should be able to do them yourself or ask your 8-year-old daughter to do it.
Super durable for rigorous workouts. I hate when you can feel your hair loosen.
Meant for long hair. Cuz that’s the kind of hair you need to keep outta your face.
A little on the messier side. Just call me messy Jessie.

French Twist

Twist Braid and Bun

Come on over to my channel and subscribe. That way, you can keep an eye on what I’m up to. I have plenty more videos like this up my sleeve.

Also, I’d love for you to #flashme your favorite gym hairstyles over on Instagram.

May 9, 2016

Woven Tennis Racket DIY

So, I’m a fitness junkie (duh) but I am not very excited about the workout “look” that is pretty much universal in the world right now, from clothing to equipment to logos.

The athletic look is basically a one-size-fits-all look. Lots of athletic stripes, lots of hardcore sweaty pics, lots of iron and heathered polyester and patterned leggings. The traditional athletic look is really not my style at all–well, except for the leggings.

In fact, in my search of interior design inspiration for my home gym on Pinterest, I came up pretty empty-handed. Everything looks like a regular jock-style gym (for lack of better terminology).

Let’s change that!

So, I’m trying to come up with some of my own decorations to fuse my love of fitness with my love of vintage and boho styles. Those things usually don’t go together. At least until I get my hands on them.

One decoration I came across on a different search were these embroidered tennis rackets I found on Pinterest. Love at first sight!!!!

Woven Tennis Racket DIY

So, I picked up these two old tennis rackets at a junk store for just $0.50 each! I chose two with the most vintage-y designs that I liked. And I like the juxtaposition of wood and metal. They really weren’t in playing shape anymore, so I didn’t feel bad retiring and re-purposing them.

Then, I just freestyled a weaving design with a “me” color scheme. I used yarn, but you could also use embroidery floss. You just weave under-over-under-over the strings. You can easily weave horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Alternate light and dark yarn colors and alternate the thickness of each section to give it a variegated look. When you come to the end of a section, just tie the string off in the back.

Then, hubby helped me hang them, staggered, over my weight shelf.

I love the sporty, vintage vibe these tennis rackets add to my workout space now. I can’t wait to add more elements like this!

If this post inspires you to make your own woven tennis rackets, I’d love to see them!

Would you like more ideas like these?

PS, I finally claimed this blog over on Bloglovin, and I’d love for you to add it to your regular feed. I need my workout space to fit my personality, so I have lots of styling projects to invent and potential blog material to go along with it.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

May 3, 2016

DIY Zumba Belt

I love the idea of Zumba belts. I love the idea of wearing jingly Zumba belts for other dance programs too.

I also have a stack of silk scarves that I’ve collected from thrift stores over the years. They’re usually something like 50 cents, so it’s hard to resist their ornate designs. Problem is, it’s hard to know what to do with them. I’ve seen neat curtains and skirts made out of them, but that’s about it.

Well, you marry your love of Zumba belts and your love of thrifted silk scarves, and you’ve got yourself an upcycled dancing belt!!!

Ingredients

Silk scarf
Elastic or cord
Thread and needle
Small jingle bells
Other embellishments

Directions

Check to see if the scarf can be tied around your waist at the corners.

If not, you will need to sew on elastic or some type of cord that is long enough to tie around your waist.

Fold your scarf in half, corner to corner. Figure out where you want your cord.

Sew the cord to your scarf at 1″ intervals or so, using just a basic stitch to hold it in place.

Lay your jingle bells and other embellishments out on your scarf and once you’ve found an arrangement you like, sew the bells in place. Feel free to make it as embellished or simple as you’d like. It’s important to personalize it to your own taste.

Try it on to make sure it fits!

That’s it! Your very own, one-of-a-kind, ornate Zumba belt.

If you make one, I’d love to see it! Comment with a link!

March 24, 2016

Weekly Food and Fitness: Food Prep Video!!!

**Hey there, I thought I’d bring back my rundown of my weekly workouts and menus to perhaps inspire others to prepare in advance for a week of healthy eating and give you menu and training ideas. Now that I have more of an established schedule and all, it’s easier for me to organize.

I have been doing at least 30 minutes of exercise every morning, 6 days a week, alternating strength training and cardio days. And for cardio, I’ve been alternating steady state and interval training.

Workouts:

Monday: 30 min Brittne Babe arms, abs and HIIT
Tuesday: 30 min run
Wednesday: 30 min BB legs and HIIT
Thursday: rest
Friday:

30 BB chest, abs and HIIT
30 min walk at lunch

Saturday: 35 interval run
Sunday: rest

This week I started a new 21-day program from BrittneBabe.com just to switch things up a bit. She sells her programs for just $10, so it was an easy sell. I will do a full review when I’m finished, but so far I’m enjoying it. Brittne is a youngster with a solid business sense and ambition (not to mention a killer bod), which I find really admirable. You can follow along more of my workout journey on Instagram.

On the menu:

Breakfast:

My standby Superfood Smoothie
Egg whites with spinach and mushrooms

Lunch: Quinoa burrito bowl (see video description for recipe)
Snack: Apple and almonds
Dinners: Grilled chicken, burgers, subs, tuna salad, Easter feast!

I filmed a video of my food prep this week, and it only took about 1/2 hour to make. I hope this inspires you to prepare for the week! Food prepping really can be easy, cheap, super healthy and mostly clean!

What are your goals this week?

March 16, 2016

Weekly Food and Fitness: What To Do When You Didn’t Meal Prep

I have been doing at least 30 minutes of exercise every morning, 6 days a week, alternating strength training and cardio days. And for cardio, I’ve been alternating steady state and interval training.

Workouts:

Monday: 30 min upper fix extreme
Tuesday: 30 min interval run
Wednesday: 30 min Supreme 90 Day legs
Thursday: 30 min TurboFire HIIT
Friday: 30 min Tracy Anderson arms and abs
Saturday: 35 min interval run
Sunday: 30 min Shiva Rae Yoga Trance Dance

Meal Prep:
None!

Oh my goodness, this week was a bit “off” for me with no meal prep, but I’m hanging in there. We had unexpected company over on Sunday and didn’t get the chance to grocery shop or meal prep like we always do. I definitely don’t eat quite as healthy when this happens. But, I have a few tricks to share on what to do when you haven’t meal prepped, so you can still maintain a healthy diet.

1. Always have some backup food in the freezer or cupboard. I always have a supply of Boca Burgers in the freezer and usually a can of Amy’s soup in the cupboard. I also try to keep a few of those new Protein Steamers on hand. These are not entirely the “cleanest” meals ever, but they’re still very nutritious and a much better alternative.

2. Grab just a handful of ready-to-eat things at the grocery store–or even Kwik Trip! We grabbed eggs, cottage cheese and bananas to fill in my snack gaps for the week. There’s no reason to have to whip up something complicated every week.

3. Use dinner leftovers whenever possible. My hungry boys usually eat up everything we make for dinner, so this one can be a little difficult at times. But if I’m able, I will sneak away a few things before we start eating so I have food for the next day. This helps prevent me from having to go out to eat.

What do you normally do when you haven’t meal prepped for the week?

March 9, 2016

Weekly Food and Fitness

Monday: 30 min arms
Tuesday: 30 min interval run
Wednesday: 30 min legs (workout below)
Thursday: 30 min run
Friday:

30 min Tracy Anderson Precision Toning arms, abs and butt
30 min brisk walk with a friend

Saturday: 35 min interval run
Sunday: 15 yoga from Slim Calm Sexy Yoga

Wednesday’s leg day looked like this. I broke the workout down into

circuits of three moves each. I did two sets of each move.

Friday’s workouts came from this DVD I just ordered on Amazon. I always like to do something different on Fridays, like barre or Pilates. Whereas, Mondays and Wednesdays are usually traditional strength training. The Tracy Anderson Method is one of those things I like to do on Fridays. Kills my muscles in a whole different way.

Sunday is always rest/active rest day and I did an active rest day this past week with a few stretches from this book. I like how Tara Stiles creates routines for different desired effects, like anxiety relief or muscle toning.

On the menu

Breakfast: smoothie, eggs and veggies
Snack: grapefruit
Lunch: rice salad (see below)
Snack: two hardboiled eggs + apple
Dinners: Asian drumsticks, broccoli chicken bake, hot dogs, chicken salad, etc.

My breakfasts always kinda look the same not only because I’m hooked but also because it’s such a good way to get lots of protein and extra veggies into my day. Plus, grapefruit are in season and I’m happy to partake. I had to make an extra-large batch of hardboiled eggs because Kayne is a huge fan and wanted his very own carton, haha! I’m happy to oblige. Eggs were on super sale, they’re easy to make, and I’m always happy when he requests a healthy snack.

I found this super simple rice bowl recipe in a recent issue of Shape Magazine I was reading on the treadmill. All it requires is white beans, tomatoes and rice along with a few ingredients for the dressing. The prep was so easy. It’s such a simple, cool, summery salad that goes perfect with the unseasonably warm temperatures we’ve been having this week in Wisconsin–like 64 degrees today!!

What’s it like where you live? How are you getting healthy this week?