FITMOM Ottawa Motivated Monday - Challenge 9

I'm back at it, after two weeks without posting.  It's crazy how much time goes into organizing before and getting back to real life after a vacation!  Add in the jet lag...  But, we had a great time in Paris and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  So, here we are, finally getting caught up and back on track for another Motivated Monday!

I am often asked what the key is to achieving a strong, healthy body.  The answer is a healthy balanced diet and moderate exercise.  Research has proven that people who perform moderate exercise 3-5 days per week for at least 30 minutes a day will reduce their risk of health issues including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and osteoporosis.  Regular exercise will also help you decrease stress and sleep better.

A good fitness program also incorporates cardiovascular exercises to burn fat and keep your heart strong,  strength training to build strong muscles and a stretch and flexibility program to keep your muscles balanced and to help prevent injury.

Below are FIVE of the best exercises known for developing core strength, strong muscles and cardio function.  They are also some of my favourites and you'll see most of them done every week, in some form or another during all of our FITMOM Classes (except burpees in the FITMOM 2B class!). Modifications are always given in class to ensure the safety of our members and to meet each individuals fitness level.  

5.  Burpees:  They are the ultimate full body workout!  Not only will they help develop and improve strength but they can also burn more fat (research has shown that it can burn up to 50% more fat than conventional strength training exercises).  So, you may not like doing them, but they are good for you!  Burpees can be modified from beginner to advanced fitness levels.  

4. Squats:  Are known to build strength in the legs and give definition to your gluteal muscles.  Squats are an example of a compound exercise as they work more than 1 muscle at a time. There are hundreds of variations to keep your workouts interesting and can be modified for intensity.

3. Push Ups: Push-ups are another example of a full body exercise.  When performed correctly a push up will target your upper and lower back, biceps, triceps, shoulders, forearms and abs.  They are also effective in building endurance so you can do other things; like lifting children!

2. Lunges:  Lunges are another great lower body workout.  When performed correctly they can help build up your abs, butt, hips and thighs.  They are also another great example of a compound exercise.  You can increase the intensity of lunges by moving forward, backward or laterally, by adding weights or dynamic movement.

1. The plank.  This exercise is an example of isometric contraction, when you contract your muscles against stationary resistance.  The plank exercise helps strengthen the entire midsection, upper-body and lower-body muscles along the front of your body. Planks also strengthen inner core muscles that support your joints.  You can make it easier by holding yourself up against a wall or using your knees instead of your toes on the floor.  The wall is a great place for beginners to start as you begin to build up core strength.

Thanks to the awesome moms demonstrating great form in the photos!  Enjoy your week!

FITMOM Ottawa Motivated Mondays - Challenge 8

Welcome to the start of another great week! One that I'm REALLY looking forward to. I'm taking my nearly teenage son to Paris for a quick holiday to visit one of his best friends. I've never talked to anyone who doesn't LOVE Paris, so I'm looking forward to my first visit there!

This week, I thought I would share my personal top Five reasons for working out. Perhaps you have a similar list. Please feel free to share what motivates you to make time for fitness every day.

What motivates me to work out?

5.  To sleep better.  The fitter I am, the better I sleep. And I love to sleep ALL night. When your body is physically exhausted, it has no choice but to shut down and rest, which means that you can sleep all night and feel refreshed and ready to go in the morning. I still enjoy my coffee first thing in the morning, but when I've slept well, I don't NEED it.

4.  To feel happy.  Exercise helps release stress and makes me more patient.  It's how I got through my toddler and preschool days without losing it. And now, with kids right around the corner from entering their teens, I suspect my patience will be tested even more! Feeling less stressed and more patient = a happier mom.

3.  To eat what I want.  I generally eat a well balanced diet, but I have a few weaknesses that I am able to indulge once in a while, because I'm burning calories. I don't have a sweet tooth, but I do love to eat cheese and put cream in my coffee, two things that come with calories! Being active every day allows me to indulge guilt free!

2.  To feel good about myself.  Being fit gives me confidence and energy, makes me stronger and helps me with my volleyball game. All things I love. But it also makes me feel good about my body and the way I look. We all have things we don't like about our appearance and I'm no exception. But, being fit goes a long way to loving myself fully. I didn't really understand this until I had to lose over 50 lbs when I had my first born. Pushing my body through exercise was how I was able to feel much better (and lose the weight!). It also made me more fully appreciate the struggles associated with weight loss.

1.  To stay healthy.  I want to live a long life. My father died of heart disease when I was 21. He's missed graduations, weddings and grandchildren. I don't want to miss any of those things. He loved sports (watching them from his arm chair) and I miss having him on the sidelines of all of the sports his grandchildren play. He had a quadruple bypass at 45, followed by 2 heart attacks. He died before he was 55. I'm almost at the age where we found out he needed open heart surgery and I REFUSE to let heart disease take me down also.

FITMOM Ottawa Motivated Mondays - Challenge 7

Welcome to the start of another great week!

This weekend Jen, from FITMOM Durham had the opportunity to take part in Tommy Europe's "Shred It" Bootcamp in Toronto.  Most of us probably know Tommy Europe from the Slice Channel's Bulging Brides and The Last 10 lbs Bootcamp shows that were recently popular, where he is portrayed as quite intense and even a little bit scary.  He has since shifted his focus slightly and is now going across Canada running his popular "Shred It" Bootcamps for he general masses.  Lucky for Jen, she was able to take part this time around and says that he's a lot nicer in real life!

Jen says she found the bootcamp a challenging, fun and positive experience for her and two of her FITMOMs who joined her. They spent the hour squatting, lifting and lowering their bodies and challenging their core, using just their body weight.  What they discovered was that it felt great to push themselves and experience just how much their bodies were capable of.  

While I wasn't able to join them in Toronto this time, I was inspired to push my own body.  Teaching FITMOM classes keeps me in relatively good shape, but I don't often push myself as hard as I could (I still have to be able to show you what to do and use words to motivate you through your workout!!).  So, I decided to do my own workout and see how far I could push myself.  Since most of my FITMOMs and FITWOMEN did tabatas last week, here is the set I did:

1. Pushups
2. Step-ups
3. Reverse flies
4. Jump squats
5. Plank on the ball
6. Reverse plank to hamstring curls on the ball
7. Bench tricep dips
8. Running with knees up

I struggled through the tricep dips (in women, it's our weakest muscle), but managed the rest.  It was a tough workout and I haven't pushed my body that hard in a while, but it felt good.  Since I was alone, I had to play a few games with myself to get through the 7th and 8th set of some of the exercises and push harder to finish up.

This week, I encourage you to push yourself and see what you are made of.  Instead of stopping your workout when you normally do, go for a little longer.  Run a little farther or walk a little faster.  Add 10 more reps to your set or try a new exercise.  I am sure you will be surprised by what your body can do!

And, finally, check out how great Jen looks hanging out with Tommy!  Lucky girl:)

Jen & Tommy at Shred-It Bootcamp

ME by FITMOM: A Better Mom Experience

Experience 50 days (10 weeks) of amazing support, programming and connection!

FITMOM is very excited to launch our new health and wellness program, catering to our valued clients, on November 1st!

ME by FITMOM is a health and wellness program that combines online support with in-class teachings. Designed to affirm the FITMOM principles, it reinforces and helps teach moms the importance of being N.I.C.E.R (Nutrition, Invest in time alone, Connect with Community, Exercise, Rest & Repeat) to themselves. The busyiness of life and mainstream culture finds many women challenged to try to balance it all, with increasing pressure and stress building up. We want to help you change this.

Over our 10 week program our registered clients will receive:

1. Daily bite size challenges to filter into your day based on the N.I.C.E.R principles
2. Email support
3. Exclusive access to online life and fitness coaching sessions
4. Online community
5. Video workouts
6. Support journal
7. Support guide
8. Access to trained professionals
9. Strategies for stress management
10. ...Lots more!

If you aren't currently registered for a FITMOM class, but would like access to our ME by FITMOM on-line support and email program, there is a cost of $50 to join. 

Please register by emailing Susan at:  FITMOM Ottawa or calling 613-617-4537

FITMOM Ottawa Motivated Mondays - Challenge 6

Let's start off the week with another tip to help keep us motivated and on track with our wellness plan!

So many of us are in a rush to lose those extra pounds immediately after birth.  We want to quickly reclaim our bodies after giving so generously to our precious little ones over the course of 9 months.  Weight loss, when done right, is best achieved through a healthy diet and regular exercise.  One without the other will likely keep you from reaching your goals.

Sustaining a nutrient dense diet is as important in the post-partum period as it was during your pregnancy.  For those of you who are also breastfeeding, it is even more essential as your body will take what it needs from your storage to make fabulous breast milk for your baby.  Unfortunately, it means that we are often left depleted!

Ideally we should eat every 3-4 hours, to help ensure that our glucose levels don't drop dramatically and to keep our metabolism working hard for us.  Whenever possible we should ensure we are reaching for whole foods instead of pre-packaged meals and snacks (they are often the biggest enemy to achieving a healthy diet!).  A healthy diet requires adequate intake of:

• a quality protein source (meat, poultry, eggs, beans, nuts/seeds etc)
• healthy fats including DHA (fish including salmon, sardines, mackerel etc, cod liver oil, walnuts, avocado, peanut butter)
• quality carbohydrates (whole grains, cereals, oats, fruits, vegetables, beans etc)

Also remember that we should be eating at least 6 servings/day of fruits and vegetables (including at least 2 leafy green vegetable sources)

Refer to the Canada Food Guide recommendations to achieve overall good health and vitality.

Here are some other great examples of meals and snacks that hit the mark for this weeks challenge. 

Finally,here is another good resource to help you better understand Good Fats vs Bad Fats.

The article Choosing Healthy Fats can also provide some guidance on your next grocery shopping excursion.

Enjoy!

FITMOM Ottawa Motivated Mondays - Challenge 5

Welcome to the start of another great week and Motivated Monday Post.

This week I am challenging you to focus on your core, paying special attention to those obliques!

Here are some simple, yet effective core exercises that you can do in under 15 min.  There is not always time in your day to fit in a full body workout, but spending a few minutes every day with some effective core exercises will go a long way towards helping you build strength, reduce lower back ache and feel fit.  A great time to do these exercises is while your baby is doing some 'tummy time' on the floor. 

• Plank x 30 seconds (knees for beginners)

• Side Plank R 30 seconds (knees for beginners)

• R Lying side crunch x 16 (10)

• R Lying side triceps press up x 16 (10)

• R Lying side lower leg lift x 16 (10)

• Side Plank R 30 seconds (knees for beginners)

REPEAT on L Side

For those of you who have been exercising regularly you can try to get this workout in 3 times over the course of your week.  If you are brand new to fitness, then aim to complete this mini workout once this week. 

Thanks to FITMOM Durham's Jennifer Rogers for the great video demonstrating each exercise!  Have FUN!

 
FITMOM Durhams's Motivated Monday from Jennifer Rogers on Vimeo.

Remember to always check with your care provider before starting a new fitness program.

FITMOM Ottawa Motivated Mondays - Challenge 4

Achieving a goal always feels good and is an important part of personal motivation.  Setting goals can help you manage your time, identify what's important to you and build self confidence each time you reach a goal.

Today I encourage you to revisit some of the goals you have set for yourself, or if you have not done any goal setting to date, spend a few minutes brainstorming a goal for the week (short-term goal) and a long term goal (3-6 months from now).  The goals can be related to your attitude, career, personal relationships, artistic endeavors, a physical goal or family activity.  Anything you want. The sky's the limit!

To help with goal setting remember this mnemonic:

S - Specific (or Significant)
M - Measurable (or Meaningful)
A - Attainable (or Action-Oriented)
R - Realistic (Relevant or Rewarding)
T - Time Bound (or trackable)

Here are 2 of the goals I have set for myself for this weeks post:

Short Term Goal:
Complete one workout on my own at home and get my garden in order for the winter.

Long Term Goal:
Work towards finishing up my FITMOM year end and corporate tax return (a necessary evil, but not much fun!) and take a fitness course to both satisfy my continuing education needs and improve my fitness related knowledge (much more fun!).

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."

Henry David Thoreau

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."

Michelangelo

FITMOM Ottawa's Motivated Mondays - Challenge 3

Happy Thanksgiving FITMOMs and FITWOMEN!

I hope you were able to spend this Thanksgiving weekend enjoying good food, friends and family.  We had a fantastic weekend visiting family north of Toronto.  We enjoyed celebrating my mom's 70th birthday and had a wonderful family turkey dinner, rounded out by my mom's homemade pumpkin pie (yes, homemade pastry and made from real pumpkins!  It doesn't get better than that!).

FITNESS CHALLENGE!

This week I have a fitness challenge for you!  All you need is a park bench and access to a track or soccer field that is approximately 400m (the size of a track) and a stopwatch.  This workout is suitable for all fitness levels and is a great way to boost your metabolism, especially if you feel as though you have been experiencing a plateau.  For those of you in Old Ottawa South/Old Ottawa East, the track at Immaculata HS is great.

Try to do this workout twice over the course of the week to see if you can improve your time.

Warm up:

Run 2 laps of the 400 m track/field followed by full body dynamic stretch (leg swings, arm circles, etc)

When you are ready to begin, grab your stopwatch and start the timer.  The time will run until you have finished 3 sets of the workout.  Once you are done, record your time.  Later in the week, see if you can improve your time.

Workout:

Step ups on the bench x 20 each leg (beginners can do stationary lunges instead)
Push-ups x 20
Tricep Dips x 20 
Run 1 lap of the 400 m track

Repeat this cycle for a total of 3.

Cool down:

Follow up your workout with a full body static stretch, similar to those we do at our FITMOM classes.

Enjoy!