FREE Fitness Blender Jump Rope Workout

Every once in a while, I come across people who are doing exactly what I would want to do if given oppurtunity.  Daniel and Kelli at FitnessBlender.com are doing just that.  The married couple is taking on the fitness world in a way that most don't:  They are making their workouts available for FREE.  There is no catch.  Everything at FitnessBlender.com is run on donations.  What an awesome gift to give people!  I am so glad someone is doing this!  I am a true believer in the fact that fitness shouldn't cost, or at least it shouldn't cost much.  

Kelli does the workouts in a garage-turned-studo and they edit them in their home office.  The result is professional workout videos that are very easy to follow.  I recently bought my kids jump ropes, and because of my lack of height, I realized those jump ropes were actually the perfect length for me!  Ergo, my inspiration to find a good jump rope workout!  I had to look no further than FitnessBlender.com.  

I completed the workout and was covered in sweat.  It was only 6 minutes (aside from warm up and cool down), but extremely intense.  This workout challenged my coordination as well!  The kids enjoyed seeing their mommy jump rope!  Do you have a jump rope handy?  If you are around 5'2" like me, you most likely can use your kid's jump rope!  Try this workout and let me know how it goes.   (This particular workout is not for those with lower back, hip, or knee pain or problems.) 

Visit Fitness Blender's You Tube Channel to get access to all their FREE videos!  They have over 400 workouts for every fitness need and level!  They can be an unbelievable blessing to the everyday person who cannot afford $50+ workouts!  And by the way, they didn't pay me to say any of this!  I just want to spread the news of how good FREE fitness can be!

Frugal Fitness: DIY Kettlebottle and 25 Minute Total Body Workout

 No workout equipment?  No money?  No problem!  You can make a Kettlebottle (a cheap alternative to a kettleball) for under $5.  Here's how!

Materials:
A funnel (If you don't have one, it's $1.47 at The Home Depot)
All Purpose Sand ($2.67 for 50 lbs at The Home Depot)
Milk Bottle (I used a vinegar bottle, but discovered a milk bottle had much more room for grip!)
Garden Spade
Water, if needed

Directions:
1.  Place funnel in bottle.
2.  Put small amount of sand in funnel.  If sand is wet, you may have to keep tapping bottle on the ground until the sand goes through the funnel.  Keep repeating until bottle is full.
3.  Tap bottle hard on ground to settle sand and add more until sand is firmly packed in bottle.
4.  Weigh bottle and add water if you'd like to make it heavier.  To add water, do it slowly to allow air to escape and make room for the water.
5.  Put lid or cap firmly on.  If the cap just snaps on, make sure it is secure!

You can use the rest of the sand to make many more bottles!  I plan to have many ready for others to join me in workouts!

Our bottle weighed in at 15 lbs!  Include your kids in this process!  My kiddos enjoyed putting this together and it was nice to have the company and help.  With the kids, it took about 20 minutes to fill this bottle.

Kettlebottle Total Body Workout

12 reps, 3 x's through (takes about 25-30 minutes)*

1. Russian Twist: Hold bottle firmly with both hands slightly away from abdomen.  Twist from side to side.  Repeat.
2. Clean to Press: Take hold of bottle while you are in a squat position. Use core muscles to bring bottle up to shoulder and then continue (carefully) up to full extension of your arm.  Switch sides.
3.  Concentration Bicep Curl:  Hold bottle with hand.  Stay in squat postion.  Rest elbow on thigh and curl up slowly.  Concentrate on your negative movement, or the movement on the way down.  Switch sides.
4.  Shoulder Rotation:  Stand with feet shoulder width apart.  Take bottle in one hand.  Hold arm next to bottle and keep bent at elbow (90*).  Rotate arm up, leading with elbow, keeping arm bent at 90 degrees.  Stop when elbow is level with shoulder.  Switch sides.
5.  Overhead Tricep Curl:  Take bottle sideways firmly in both hands and over head.  Start with elbows bent and arms at 90 degrees.  Press bottle up with keeping elbows firm in place.  Press until arms are nearly straight.  Return to start position.  Repeat.
6.  Hammer Curl:  Grip bottle with one hand.  Hold arm next to body.  Curl bottle all the way up and back down. Repeat.  Switch sides.
7.  Upright Row:  Stand with feet shoulder width apart.  Hold bottle with both hands and arms close to body.  Keep bottle close to body as you bring it up and your elbows out.  Bring the bottle chest level and then return to start position.  Repeat.
8.  Squat and hold:  Hold bottle firmly with both hands.  Squat down, keeping knees behind toes and chest up.  Return to standing and repeat.  After reps, hold squat for 12 counts.
9.  Swing Through:  Hold bottle firmly in both hands.  Use your core muscles.  Bend knees and swing through your legs and then back up no higher than your neck.  Repeat.

*Please remember to warm up before hand!  Like any workout, please check with physician and/or make sure you are healthy enough to do this!

Below is a card you can print out or click on to make larger so you can read it.  Save it to your phone.  Share it.  Spread the word!  Fitness doesn't have to cost big bucks to get big results!

 Have a happy, frugal workout! 

22 Ways to Keep Kids Active in the Summer

(For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links.)

It's the first week of Summer.  The kids are out of school.  Now what?  Before your kids start saying the most common, "I'm bored!" complaint and beg to watch TV, take a look at this list of activities to keep them and you fit during the summer!

22 Ways to Keep Kids Active in the Summer

1.  Scooter ride.  For youngins, the three-wheeled Radio Flyer scooter is a great way to make it possible for them to participate in this!

2.  Bowling.  Bowling is a pretty cheap family outing, and you get a core and arm workout at the same time!  Many bowling alleys offer deals in the Summertime or during the daytime.

3.  Morning or Evening Jog.  For the little ones, put them in a jogger stroller and roll on out!  For the ones 5 and up, they can run along side you.  Walk when they (or you) are tired and then start jogging again when you catch your breath.  Running in the early morning or late evening can help your family keep a little cooler on those hot Summer days!  Be sure to bring water with you!

4. Backyard obstacle course/workout.  Be creative with the obstacles!  This activity can be free when you use things you already have.  Check out my post on how to set one up here.

5. Indoor trampoline park.  Believe me, unless you are an athlete, you will only last an hour with your kid.  Paying for an hour at the trampoline park can be a fun and cheap outing for the Summer. (Just ignore the sweaty feet smell!)

6.  Bike Ride.  The young ones can ride in a trailer at the back of your back or a seat in the front.  You can find cheap bike trailers on Craigs List.  Ride to the park in the evening and have the kids play on the playground once they get there.  They might just sleep in the next morning!

7.  Skating Rink.  Go retro and teach them how to skate.  There may be a lot of falling on your their part, but it's guaranteed fit fun!

8.  Run through the sprinklers!  This is a good, old fashioned way to stay active and cool.  Although, with droughts in some states (i.e. California), be sure to check to see if your city or area has restrictions on what time you can turn on sprinklers.  In my area, we cannot turn on our sprinklers between 10am and 6pm.

9.  Workout DVD with parents.  In the cool of air conditioning, you can pop a DVD in the player and let them join you.  Cardio can be easy for them to catch on!

10.  Swim lessons and/or a going swimming in a pool.  Go in the pool with your kids.  It's way better than just sitting and watching them and it keeps you both active!

11. Mommy or Daddy and Me Yoga.  Lay out a few yoga mats and teach your kiddos how to do the downward dog or the cobra.  Many yoga moves are pretty easy, teach coordination, and the kids will love to mimic animals!  Try these kid-friendly yoga moves from Parents.com.

12.  Go on a hike.  The cooler Summer evenings are perfect for hiking!  In our area, we have a few hills we like to hike up.  Look up if there are any waterfalls in your area to hike to!  If you live near a lake, river, or the ocean, those are wonderful destinations to hike or walk to!

13.  Go "Mall Walking."  My first job was in the mall and in the Summer, the mall opened it's doors an hour before the stores did.  The Mall Walkers would come in every morning faithfully, and beat the heat with the AC in the mall.  The best thing about this is, you can treat your kiddos to a morning smoothie from Juice It Up or a frozen yogurt after you do some rounds in the mall!

14. Water balloon toss/fight.  You and your kids will be getting wet and running to avoid getting hit.  Fun and active... and almost free!

15. FREE workout videos for kids on YouTube.  Take advantage of YouTube.  It is a great resource for kid-friendly workouts.  Click on this link for a fun, free, kid friendly workout from Fitness Blender.

16.  Run through the water fountains/splash pads at local parks or shopping centers.  The drought in California has limited our city's water use, so all the public splash pads are sadly closed for the Summer.  I have found that privately owned splash pads in shopping centers are still running.

17.  Lawn games.  This rubber horseshoe set is a cheap way to have a fun, active evening in the backyard!  Lawn darts are fun as well!

18.  Include your kids in your exercise routine.  Whether you do CrossFit, weightlifting, BeachBody workouts, cardio, or HIIT workouts, your kids can participate.  Just be safe.  No heavy weights for kids!  There are barbell toy sets for kids, but I would recommend them just mimicking your moves if they are very young, or doing 1 or 2 lb weights if they are a bit older.

19.   Indoor climbing gym.  This is an amazing upper body workout.  It's no wonder mountain climbers end up on American Ninja Warriors!  These places usually run deals in local coupon magazines.  Check your "junk mail" for these deals!

20.  Family dance party.  Put on some fun music and boogey on!  This is honestly one of my favorite memories to make with my kids! You can do it in the backyard if it's cool enough or in the coolness of the AC in the living room.

21.  Build a fort on the lawn or in the living room.  Include your kids in the process.  When you are done, enjoy the fruits of your labor by enjoying a healthy snack or meal in the fort.

22.  Sunset "field day."  Take your kids to a field at a park or a local public school at sunset.  Enjoy the coolness of the summer evening and run around, kick around a soccer ball, do relay races or sprints, or throw a football!

How does your family keep active in the summer?  If those ideas aren't listed here, please leave those ideas in the comments!  Have a happy, active Summer!

Frugal (or FREE!) Battle Rope

I really wanted a battle rope, so I made one! I just took an old garden hose that I had laying around and wrapped it around a basketball hoop pole. When I need it heavier, I'm going to funnel sand in it and seal if off! Free is the best kind of fitness! Thanks, Pinterest!

Pinterest Fitness Day 18: Health Benefits of Cherries

I went to the local farm the other day to buy produce and I discovered the cherries are ripe!  Yum!!!  This morning, I found a heart shaped cherry and it reminded me that these red beauties are full of antioxidants.  They also can help you get to sleep.  I found a nice summary of the health benefits from Oasis Advanced Wellness on Pinterest. Enjoy!

Pinterest Fitness Day 17: Bedroom Workout & Punjammies

Sometimes its nice to roll out of bed and workout.  Or perhaps in your pajamas.  That is what I did today.  I found the workout above on Pinterest.  A lot of the exercises posted through tumblr.com end up not showing up through the link, so I hope just by posting the image with the link on the bottom, I will give credit to whom it is due!

Anywho, this workout proved to be fun and invigorating---perfect to jumpstart your day!  The jumping jacks really help with that, of course.  I used my exercise ball to do the leg extensions to make it a bit more challenging.  I also leaned on my medicine ball to do the russian twists with to make it more of a challenge.  It took about 30 minutes and I built up a good sweat!

Speaking of pajamas, I want to point out that I exercised in my Punjammies.  "What are Punjammies?" Well, they are pajamas made by young girls and women in India who have been rescued from the grip of human trafficking and prostitution.  The International Princess Project is the organization that produces and sales the Punjammies.  In their words from their Facebook page, they are "ADVOCATING for enslaved prostitutes, RESTORING their broken lives, EMPOWERING them to live free."  To learn more about the Punjammies and the International Princess Project, you can go to www.intlprincess.org, and view the video above.  Human Trafficking is horrible.  HORRIBLE.  That word seems too weak.  There really are no words to show the shame, filth, and lack of human moral and compassion of human trafficking.  So, take a look at the video.  Each pair of Punjammies are made by a rescued girl or woman.  It is an awesome cause!  Oh, and they are super compfy! 

Pinterest Fitness Day 16: Widdle Your Middle

I love to do a variety of abdominal exercises to keep my middle widdled.  Doing just crunches and sit-ups doesn't cover all of your abdominal muscles.  Through Pinterest, I found that Fitness magazine has an arrangement of ab exercises that give you the variety your abs need.  You can find that workout HERE.  I did the exercise 3 times through, with the reps that Fitness Magazine suggested.  Fitness Magazine is a great resource for exercises and nutrition, as well as motivational articles from people who lost weight or achieved their fitness goals.  I get one in the mail every month and look forward to it!  The website is just as resourceful! 

Pinterest Fitness Day 15: Kitchen Tips for Weight Loss

I was inspired by a Pinterest post to make my own list of things I do in my kitchen to stay healthy. They are all important and they are in no particular order. Enjoy!

1. Keep a pen and pad of paper by your side all day long. Draw a line down the middle. On one side, write "Food" and on the other, write "Calories." Record everything you eat. Caloriecounter.com has a great App for that. This way, you can calculate the calories you need and record the calories you consume. It's on old tip, but has stood the test of time!

2. Stock your kitchen up with produce. Make it just as accessible as a bag if chips. Cut and wash ahead of time if you need to.

3. Keep in your kitchen and cook with healthy fats--- Flaxseed, Chia seed, Coconut oil, Olive oil. As long as you measure your portions, these healthy fats have great benefits.

4. Have measuring cups and spoons available and use them! Food scales are pretty cheap and those come in handy as well.

5. Own a good blender or food processor. When choosing the healthiest option for dressings and sauces, especially if you are watching your sodium intake, it sometimes is best just to make your own. You may be surprised how easy it is!

6. Have a little bit if dark chocolate everyday. Yes. One square of a Trader Joe's chocolate bar does it for me and I believe that is 1/16th of a serving! If you deny yourself those things every single day, you may just binge!

7. Put veggies in your smoothies. Spinach and carrots actually work very well.

8. DRINK WATER! Lots of water! No juice! No monster drink! No sugary coffee drink! Most of those drinks are either made up of calories or chemicals or both. Mineral water is an acquired taste, perhaps, but it is very refreshing when ice cold! Drink 8oz of water before a meal to feel up faster.

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt w/ berries and Stevia = YUMMY!

9. Pre-package your snacks. Pack 100-150 calorie snacks like string cheese and a small apple. It is way easier than walking to a vending machine and just as easy as reaching for the bag of empty calories you may consume while watching the Dr. Oz show.

10. Take your vitamins. Everyday. For those of you who are inside most of the day, talk to your doctor or do some research on the benefits of taking extra vitamin D.

11. Use your kitchen. Cook at home. Take meals with you when you are away from home. It is always healthier.

Pinterest Fitness Day 14: Waking Up to Exercise & Protein Poppers

The sound of crickets chirping from my iPhone alarm is not my favorite sound.  The crickets chirp is probably to best sound to wake up to, but it still isn't fun.  It is very hard to push myself to get up at 5:30 in the morning, but I must in order to get my workout in.  I found a post on Pinterest the other day that had some really good tips on how to make getting up early to exercise a bit easier.  (Find that post HERE).  One problem I have is trying to get breakfast down before a morning run.  The blogger even covered that!  She recommended Protein Poppers, which are basically balls of oatmeal peanut butter goodness!  I made them today and they are super easy!   (The recipe is included in the link above).  I will have to be disciplined and save them for my pre-workout meal because each ball is 100 calories.  They are small, quick, and packed with protein, which is perfect for a quick bit of nutrition my body needs in the morning.

Early morning yummy-ness  awaits!

Another favorite tip of the blogger is to sleep in your workout clothes.  This works wonderfully.  If I am in my comfy PJs, I am less likely to get up and exercise!  I hope you find these tips as helpful as I did!

PS:  I got 3 1/2 hours of dental work done today.  This was unexpected.  Needless to say, I just did an ab workout.  Here is one of my favorites!

Pinterest Fitness Day 13: Yoga for Runners

 

I know.  I know.  I've posted a whole lot of Yoga so far, but I'm finding that weight/resistance training and running can be super hard on my muscles.  To help avoid injury and give my muscles the stretch that they need, Yoga seems to be the answer for me.

Guess what?  I ran 60 minutes for the first time in my life today!  That's right!  A whopping 6.53 miles!  I'm officially over the mileage it takes to run a 10K!  Woohoo!  Right after I finished my run today, I went in my backyard on a beautiful, overcast ("May Grey") morning, and did some yoga geared towards runners.  It felt good to stretch out my hamstrings and calves, which I find are very stiff after running for a long period of time.  The video I did this morning, by Fusion Cross-training,  is included in this post.  I especially liked the "full camel" position!

Pinterest Fitness Day 12: Good Morning Yoga

I chose day 12 to be an active rest day.  This basically means I take a breather from resistance training, weight training, and running.  I decided to treat myself to a morning yoga session with BodyFlow from the BodyRock website.  The video is below.  I love how this routine makes me feel in the morning.  It gets all my blood flowing and wakes me up!  Enjoy!

Pinterest Fitness Day 11: Runner's Strengthening Workout

The other morning I passed an older gentleman on my run.  He is usually out walking when I am running.  He yelled to me, "How many miles?"  I replied "Five this morning!"  He shouted as I passed him, "I used to do that too.  And then my knee went out."  I was sad for him, of course, but this short conversation all the more verified my need to keep up with my weight lifting, resistance, and strength routines. 

There are many workouts on Pinterest for runners.  I picked this one in particular because I liked how the creator of this workout, found HERE, covered all the bases.  I did this workout after a warm up of jumping jacks and high knees, three times through and it took me about 45 minutes.  I was such a great total body workout!  I don't have a pull up bar (which I REALLY want), so I did leg raises on my ball.  That was more challenging than just doing them laying down.  Instead of pull ups on the bar I did an alternative.  Like I said, I really, really want a pull up bar!  :)  Below is a good video that explains how to do exercises if you don't have a pull up bar.

This was a good, challenging workout and I look forward to trying out the plethora of workouts for runners on Pinterest!  Plethora.  I really do like that word.


Exercise Ball Leg Raises.  Sit on ball.  Roll ball to the small of back.  Plant palms of hands on ground, fingers facing out.  Find your balance.  Lift legs to make your body straight.  Start from this position and lift legs up and back down.

(Video on how to do exercises if you don't have a pull up bar.)

The kids liked the workout too!

Pinterest Fitness Day 10: Little Bit of Everything Smoothie

Little Bit of Everything Smoothie
Yeild:  About 3 22oz servings.

Ingredients:

8 oz Lime Mineral Water (Optional)*
8 oz Water
2 Servings of Protein, Unflavored (I use Whey)
2 Tbsp Ground Flax Seed
1 Banana, peeled
1 Orange, peeled
1/2 an Apple, cored
1 cup Strawberries
3-4 Carrots, cut into several pieces
3 cups Spinach (1/2 of the Trader Joe's bag)
3/4 cup Pineapple (1/3 of the Trader Joe's bag)
Handful of Ice

Directions:

1) Add everything to your Vitamix in the order listed.  (If you don't have a Vitamix, you may have to cut the fruit and veggies into smaller pieces and/or your smoothie may have carrot chunks in it.)

2)  Blend on Variable, from 1 to 10 quickly.  Switch to high and blend until smooth.

3)  Enjoy!

*If you have no mineral water, add just water and you may need to add a dash of Stevia as well.

PS-  This post isn't from Pinterest, but I'm adding it to Pinterest!  :)

Pinterest Fitness Day 9: AR Fitness Abs and Arms

About a year ago, I started following Amanda Russell of AR Fitness on Pinterest.  She posts free workout videos, most of them under 20 minutes, on YouTube.  I like her.  She doesn't workout with shoes most of the time (which feels wonderful to me!) and she seems down to earth and comfortable with herself.  I've found that a good amount of women who are trainers and or competitors, are really into the way they look.  Why wouldn't they be?  I mean it's their business to look that way, right?  Well, it may be just be my opinion, and that's it, but I find a lot of these women tend to *ahem* enhance a certain part of their body.  Then they model it in bras a few sizes too small.  Or their websites are focused around a provocative theme. What does this say?  To be fit is all about being sexy or attracting others with your not-so-natural enhancement?  I would hope not!  At least not for me!

So, back to Amanda Russell.  She is a Canadian who came to America on a running scholarship with the hopes of Olympics.  She got a really bad injury and the doctors said she may never run again.  She set out on a journey that would prove them wrong.  She ran and won races and started a fitness company.  You know why I like about her?  She is just herself.  She isn't trying too hard.  She isn't adding things to her body or showing off too much of it.  She is always smiling.  She dresses up for themed workouts.  She's fun.   Check her out.

Find her on the web: http://amanda-russell.com

Find her workouts on Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/arfit/

And, finally, below are the workouts I did today!

Pinterest Fitness Day 8: Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers

I love tacos.  I love stuffed bell peppers.  Why not put them together?  A blogger over at Skinny Mom was brilliant enough to make a healthier version of just that.  I found the recipe through Pinterest a few weeks ago.  You can find the recipe at SkinnyMom.com.

I, however, don't really like ground turkey that much, so I used organic grass fed ground beef and quinoa.  The quinoa has a very similar texture to ground beef, so when mixed all in, you can hardly tell the difference. It really is delicious!  It also reduces the calories.

Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers
Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Red Quinoa
6 oz beef Broth (Low Sodium)
Trader Joe's Taco Seasoning
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 Green Bell Peppers
12 oz Ground Beef (Preferably Organic!)
1/2 Cup Light Shredded Cheese
1/2 Cup Salsa
Canola oil cooking spray
Greek Yogurt

Directions:

1)  Add quinoa, broth, and 1 Tbsp taco seasoning to pot. Bring to a boil and cook according to instructions on quinoa package (usually covered on low for 20-25 minutes).
2)  Cut peppers in half length-wise and clear out seeds.  Put them in a pot covered with water.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from pot carefully.
3)  Spray skillet with cooking oil and sauté onions until transparent.
4)  Add ground beef, 1/4 cup salsa, and 1-2 Tbsp taco seasoning (to taste).  Brown beef.  Turn off heat.
5)  Add quinoa and another 1/4 cup salsa to skillet and mix well.
6)  Turn on broiler in oven.
7)  Fill pepper halves with beef and quinoa mixture.  Top with 1/2 of the cheese.
8)  Put in broiler until cheese is slightly brown.
9)  Top with remaining cheese and a dollop of Greet yogurt.  Enjoy!

Pinterest Fitness Day 7: Late Night Abs & Yoga for Sleep

Sometimes when you do a silly thing like drop a knife on your foot and get a deep cut that swells and hurts all day, it's hard to fit in a workout. But, thanks to Pinterest, just before bed, I was able to fit in this "Late Night Ab Challenge" and finished it off with a few Yoga moves that are supposed to promote sleep. We shall see about that! (Update:  I did go to sleep pretty quickly!)

The Ab workout is above. It was pretty challenging, but easy enough to do right before bed.  Fitnessladies.net is where this workout originates from.  I checked them out and it is a site that will give you all sorts of plans to get you into shape.

The yoga moves I did are directly from this video.  I just ignored the music. :)

PS- My foot is fine-just hurt a bit to walk. The doctor said I can even run as long as I ice it afterwards. Woohoo! I will try to run again on Friday so I can get to a 10k distance before the race!

Pinterest Fitness Day 6: Resistance Band Workout & Hollow Rock

I love resistance bands because you can have access to them anywhere.  It's no problem to throw them in luggage because they take up hardly any space and weigh less than a pair of shoes.  You can use them at home while your children are running around you, in the yard, in a hotel room, a park...anywhere!  I LOVE this Pin on Pinterest that lists 33 exercises you can do with resistance bands.  It explains each exercise and has a link to photos or videos that further explain each exercise.  I used this to workout and completed a full body workout in about 30 minutes.

This is the exact workout I did, and I completed these 2 times through:

Front Squat
Leg Extension
Standing Adductor
Standing Abduction
Glute Bridge
Overhead Press
Standing Double Bicep Curl
Overhead Triceps Extension
Tricep Kickback

And to complete it, I tried out the CrossFit exercise, "Hollow Rock."  This isn't a band exercise, but, still, OUCH!!!  Wowzers!  That worked my core!  The video explains how to do that.  Happy workout!

Pinterest Fitness Day 5: Backyard Workout for Kids!

One of the most important things to me is that not only am I fit and healthy, but my family is also.  Kids tend to want to spend time in front of a screen, weather it be the TV,  Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or all those other brands of smart computers that I don't know because I'm an Apple user.  

I've looked many times on Pinterest and pinned some backyard workouts for the kids, but none of them were quite what I wanted for them.  I love when my kids desire to work out with me, so I decided to make a workout geared towards my three kids, ages 2-5.  They enjoyed it!  Here is what we did:


Supplies needed: 

Tonka Trucks (or vehicles of that same size)- 1 per child
2 Pool Noodles
Stools- 1 per child
3-5 Pound Dumbbells- 1 per child
Crawl Tube
Ball (the size of a soccer ball)
Bench (optional)

Warm up:

15 Jumping Jacks  (have them count with you!)
20 High Knees (or just run in place and count to 20)

Workout:

Truck Crawl:  Get out your kids' Tonka Trucks or anything about that size.  I used pool noodles to park start and finish lines.  Have your kids bend over and put their hands on the trucks, and keeping their hands on the trucks, have them run and push the trucks from one line to the other.  Repeat 2-3 times.

Stool Jump:  Get the stools from the bathroom or anywhere you keep them.  Put them on the lawn and have the kids jump over them and jump again to return to their starting place.  That is one rep.  Do 8 reps.

Dumbbell Race:  Use the same set up of start and finish lines as the Truck Crawl.  Give each child a dumbbell, making sure each child feels comfortable carrying the weight in both hands.  Have them hold the weight with both hands in front of their chest.  Have them run from one line to another.  Repeat 5 times.

Bench Step-up:  I used my kids' picnic bench for this, but you can also use a stool as long as it is sturdy.   Have the kids step up and step down to make a rep.  Repeat 15 times.

Tube Roll:  I used on of those expandable tubes for this.  Use the pool noodles for the start and finish lines again.  Have the kids stand at one line and behind the tube.  Tell them to work as a team to roll the tube to the other line and back.  Repeat 5 times.

Kick and Crawl:  Have the kids line up in front of the opening of a tube.  Have each child, one at a time, kick the ball through the tube.  Then have them crawl through the tube, pick up the ball, and run back to the starting place.  Repeat 8 times.

Sprinkler Run/Pool Time:  After the kids are done, reward them with some water play to wash that sweat off!!!

I hope you join in this workout with your kids!  How else do you stay active with your kids?

Pinterest Fitness Day 4: The Wet Foot Test

 

Have you ever purchased shoes that were just not right for your feet?  I have.  They felt comfy and supportive when I bought them.  It didn't take very long...4.69 miles to be exact to realize that the shoes I got on clearance for 18 bucks (down from 70!) were not made for my feet.  In fact, they made my arches throb---for days after wearing them!  I had several people suggest that I go to the running store that tests your feet to see what kind of shoe you need.  I have to admit that this month has been way too busy for such excursions, so, with the help of Pinterest, I found a foot test I could do at home.  Pictured above is my foot test.  I followed the directions of the test and matched my foot to the images on the Runner's World site.  Then I searched for shoes for my foot type, a normal or medium arch.  In my research, I found that Saucony was a good brand.  I tried on Saucony, New Balance (which my old running shoes were...loved them!), Asics, and Nike.  All of those are good brands, but the Saucony were most comfortable on my feet.  And guess what?  I got some 85 dollar Saucony running shoes for 40 dollars, plus 10% off that price!  $36 dollars for good running shoes!  Yea!  So, I took them for a test run in the morning.  4.64 miles later, my feet were very happy and so was I.

These shoes are made for folks with high arches, not for me!  Ouch!

My new Sauconys!  Happy Feet!!!

Pinterest Fitness Day 3: Medicine Ball Workout

I have a medicine ball but I've rarely used it in the last several years. I love the idea of being able to toss a weight around. It makes the workout fun. I found a really good workout on Pinterest that is supposed to go with Alicia Keys' Girl on Fire song, but I just turned on my favorite "80's Cardio" station on Pandora and I was good to go! I did these exercises two times through and finished in just under 30 minutes. I did the workout this morning in my backyard in the sunshine. This workout turned out to be so much fun! I loved the Medicine Ball Overhead Slams. Seriously a fun exercise! I would recommend warming up your shoulders before this workout. Now, if you are not sure what some of the exercises are, I didn't know either and did some research.  Below are some videos of exactly how the exercises should be done! Also, check out BiteSizeWellness.com for their Music Monday workouts!

Medicine Ball Squat Toss:

Standing Oblique Twist:

Medicine Ball Overhead Slams:

Lateral Medicine Ball Hops:

Diagonal Lifts with Medicine Ball:

Medicine Ball Halos:
 The video wouldn't upload, so visit this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TyTw2P4vJc to view how to complete this exercise.

Do you own a medicine ball?  If so, how often do you use it?  If you don't own one, it is a fun tool to add to your workout!