E's FIT TIP OF THE WEEK!

FIT TIP #2
LETS HAVE A BALL
(my cute boss)

Most of us have all used a fit ball in some capacity and possibly even own one ourselves. Well I am here to tell you that they are for far more then just bouncing around and a play toy for the kids. A FIT BALL is a great inexpensive piece of equipment that you can get and use for a complete full body strength training workout. While we have traditionally used them for ABS, it can be used for MUCH MUCH MORE. Here are just a few ideas below. If you want an entire 1 hour workout using only the ball that will kick your butt please let me know!

LEGS:

Exercise #1: Booty Lifters
Seen in this picture demonstrated by my collegue Jacqui, place you foot on the ball laces down balancing on the opposite foot. Once in the position Jacqui is showing pull the knee of the foot on the ball rolling it in to meet your other knee, roll it back out into position one. Do at least 15 reps on each side and you will feel the booty lift!

Exercise #2: Squats

Get up against the wall with the ball between you and the wall resting in the small of you back. Use the ball for support and begin to do squats, the ball allows you to get a much deeper squat then you would normally do. Vary tempos and pulse at the bottom, you will feel the burn.

ARMS:

Exercise #1: Mountain Climbers

Get to where you are face down tummy on the ball and roll out to where your hands are in pushup position your body is in plank position with your toes on the ball, laces face down. From here go into a pushup and come back up. (Note: the less of your legs that are on the ball i.e toes the harder it will be, to make it easier have your shins on the ball)

Exercise#2: Shoulder press

Hold the ball with two hands in front of you, just like you would do with weights raise your arms above you head into a shoulder press, while it may seem easy at first after a few reps you will start to feel it. Want to make it harder? Squat as you are pressing up!

ABS:

Exercise#1: Plank w/ leg lift
Option #1
Option #2

Exercise#2: Balancing Crunches

Get near a wall. Lay face up on the ball where the majority of your back is on the ball, lift your feet so that they are lifted in a 90 degree angle and against the wall (therefore you are completely off the ground. Your feet are balancing you by being on the wall and your body is on the ball) From here crunch up, you can also work the obliques by doing zig zags.

now everbody is ready to have a BALL!!!

WEEKEND AWAY!!!

This past weekend Hank and I decided that we needed some time away so we took off to Edmonton. We slept in, went for a great run, visited the famous West Edmonton Mall and ate good food. The best part of all was just being together for the weekend with no distractions! Hopefully we can get another weekend away soon!

Chillin in the HOTEL...

The mall has a waterpark...it is pretty crazy!

A little GLOW IN THE DARK PUTT PUTT never hurt anyone!

Edmonton Mini Temple!!

E's Fit Tip of the Week!

So I have decided to use some of my knowledge and passion for fitness and do a Fit tip of the week on my blog. If you have questions or frustrations regarding health and fitness please feel free to leave them in the comments and I will make sure to address them in my next fit tip! I just thought this would be something fun for me as well as spice up the blog. I am hoping to soon have a whole website devoted to fitness and good health in the general but that is still in the works so this will have to do for now!!!




Fit Tip #1

Get UNCOMFORTABLE



You may or may not have heard this before but I like to use this term in my classes (espcially bootcamp style classes) to give people a metaphor of how hard they should be working in order to get results!


Don't get me wrong it is great to get out there and move, doing cardio and strength training in any capacity is FABULOUS, however, if you are feeling like your stuck in a rut a good way to get out is to GET UNCOMFORTABLE...so what does this mean?


This point is different for everyone but we all know how hard we can push it. Running at a consistent speed is great but your body will start to get comfortable, you will get in a rythmn and you will feel good. Getting uncomfortable is taking it up that notch sprinting for 2 minutes and then coming back to your comfortable speed or going up a hill and keeping your pace. Whatever you do to get uncomfortable try to sustain it until you can't take it and go back to comfortable, get your heart rate back to normal and start all over again.
Another example would be in strength training, do not let yourself stop when you feel tired push past it, do a few reps when you feel uncomfortable and then stop, those last few efforts when you are pushing past your normal capacity will bring great results!

Obviously if you work out a lot this is not new to you and you understand the concept, but I have found in my classes that people who are new to health and fitness get scared of feeling uncomfortable. Don't let that be you, embrace uncomfortable and push past it!

WANT TO GET UNCOMFORTABLE...TRY THIS
Sprint the short side of a soccer field, get down do 15 pushups, stand up and go back in the direction you came doing high knees, when you get to your starting point to 10 BURPEES (jump up go down to your stomach and jump back up)
REPEAT!!!!

I promise you will feel uncomfortable. You can do this indoors just sprint the length of a fitness room twice for every length of field!

FITNESS IS A PICNIC

So I don't have any cute kids or pets to write about, therefore I resort to WORK!

This week I turned into a kindergarten teacher and loved it! We are doing a promotion at work called "Fitness is a Pinic" and we have had a blast coming up with puns using food and fitness. RELISH in Fitness, Downward HOT DOG yoga, Ant in your Pants Cardio!!! Anyhoo I had to make a board to advertise for the promotion and after all my arts and crafts skills kicked in I felt like it turned out pretty cute.

So I can't post a pic of a cute kid but I can post a pic of my boards (they may look simple but I'm not going to lie they took a lot of work)


Hope you are all as excited as I am for Summer Picnics, we are not even close to having them up here but back home I hear the weather is amazing!


(please disregard the Fork one...remember we are not in Utah anymore and things get a little racy!!!! I didn't come up with it, but it is funny!)

I SURVIVED

Well folks I did it! I survived my first 1/2 marathon! I have to give all the credit to my running partner Jacqui for kicking my butt and getting me in by my goal time! I ran a 1:50 and feel really excited about it. It was my first ever half and I had no idea what to expect! There were definately a lot more hills and up hill so it was a pretty hard course but I felt very accomplished coming in when I did! Since I gave it my all I am feeling it today. My knee is killing me which is wierd because I don't have knee problems, but I am sure by tommorow I will be back ready and roaring to go!

Still don't think a full sounds like any fun, but we will see if that changes! Thanks for all the support!

Loved the name on the bib...people cheered for you like they knew you!

Pre-Race (Jacqui and I)

Last stretch, kind of wanting to die!

Post race shot... not so hot!!!

Boston What? Policeman's Half here i come.....

Ha ha, I hope you all know that i am kidding. I don't think I could ever run Boston even if I wanted to! However TODAY my sister ADRIEN did and I am so so proud of her! She is such an athlete and lets talk about her legs...maybe if I can run boston my legs will look like that. Well probably not!!!

Ok I am not running Boston but I am running the Policeman's Half Marathon here in Calgary this weekend. Despite all my running and my active family I have NEVER run a half!! I am getting really nervous. I know that everyone says that I have more then overtrained but I am still scared to death! Am I going to eat enough food, am I going to eat too much. Am I going to get too tired and lose my running partner! I know I am a nervous nelly and I am sure I am putting too much pressure on myself for crying out loud it is a half marthon, anyone can do that and I teach 8 fitness classes a week, but that is just the way I am. I will probably stress all the way to the finish line!

Now in most families the fact that you are running a 1/2 marathon is a great accomplishment...in the ALLEN family it is like "oh really I think my yesterday morning run was farther then that"! (now you wonder why I am putting a little pressure on myself)ha ha

So here is to hoping I don't back out race day! Here is to beating my personal goal!?!? Here is to carbo loading! And here is to proving myself that I can do it!

P.S. If anyone has any good pre race food ideas let me know. My stomach does not do well (however my bag of cadberry eggs, chocolate cake, and pizza in Las Vegas made for great pre run food)!

BLISS....

Banff...April 2009

(Annie, Emily, & Hank)

My cousin Annie is in town and we got to use her super duper fabulous camera, hence the fabulous shots of our adventure in Banff!