fitness tips

Fitness Friday no. 11

| The Bee Life

Okay, so I must admit, since the last Fitness Friday – when I was sharing my ongoing struggle of balancing, life, work and workout life, and my new goal of trying to focus a week at a time, I have come back with a vengeance!

Focusing one week at a time has been SO helpful.  The weekend before March 28th, I told myself that Monday, March 28th I was going to start my super expensive, boot camp classes that I got for Christmas.  Here is the kicker – the class times are a bit tricky for me, I either have to wake up early, leave work a bit early, or go super late and I can only go Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  Not to mention, I had everything packed and ready for my first class… except my sneakers. I was so mad, but also determined that it wouldn’t let that stop me! In a panic and on a limb I reached out to my girlfriends at work, luckily one had a pair in her car and was my size. (Thanks, A!) Fitness Friday 11 - the bee lifeSo after overcoming my first day obstacles, and making it to the class (and nearly throwing up) I looked at my scheduled and made it happen the rest of the week, whether it was after work or before I actually got my butt out of bed! Woo-hoo! So needless to say, the classes have been kicking my butt – but it feels great to be in a routine again and really working at it… I just need to start adding in a little more cardio to supplement.

Although my classes are strength, circuit training, they do include some cardio, however not as much as a full 40-minutes on the elliptical or a long run.  Adding in some extra days of sweat and burned calories is what I need to start doing in order to crank everything into gear. Now that I’ve got 2-solid weeks under my belt, I am going to try and start adding in a little extra in my in between days, but still focus one-week at a time.

Here are some suggestions on finding focus and balance in your workout routine:

Pick Strength Days: Don’t try and fit everything into one day, you’ll get burned out and the workouts won’t be as strong or impactful. I am considering my boot camp days my strength days, Monday,  Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays.  Planning and focusing on my strength time in my 1-hour classes allows me to help focus and dominate the workouts while not getting overly fatigued.

Pick Cardio Days: Find days to contribute to cardio, I am a firm believer in ‘rest days’ so I don’t need to workout 7-days a week, but adding in two-days of cardio for at least 30-minutes will help me pick up and get to my goals. It’ll also add to the current workouts I’m accomplishing in my strength days.

Plan Ahead, Make It Happen:  It gets as granular as setting out your work-outs clothes the night before.  Having these ready to go in the morning eliminates slacking, and putting off getting ready and out the door. I’ve also been blocking my calendar to accommodate for my workouts and planning to see when I can make the next one happen. If you don’t make it happen, be sure to have a Plan B – but also remember that your Plan B is your last chance, there is no skipping that!

Feed the Addiction: After you’ve gotten into a routine, whether it be two weeks or ten, you are going to start loving how you feel (because I sure do). So feed into it, and keep going, don’t stop even if obstacles come!! I look forward to getting to my workout and challenging myself and I want more, and I want to see more results.

Happy Friday!! Have any of you focused one-week at a time?

Fitness Friday no. 10

| The Bee Life

It’s a Good Friday!

I feel like a broken record, but want to be honest with all of you – in hopes that maybe you’re experiencing the same struggles and that maybe we can help each other.  My fitness life has been less than exciting, my struggle with the life –> work –> workout balance is tough, mainly because of life! So I have not been as nearly successful as I would’ve hoped coming to an end of March, and nearing close to month four, April.  It’s frustrating because things aren’t getting less-busy and time isn’t slowing down waiting for me to catch-up. So I’m going to have to figure it out quickly.

Fitness Friday 10 - the bee life

Taking my own advice, I wanted to reset and focus on short-term goals, but instead of going 30-days out focusing a week at a time and PLAN AHEAD.  Asking myself, what can I accomplish this week?  If you’re like me, try doing this too to see if the immediate focus helps allow success. So to not bore all of you with my schedule, I am going to map this out and add reminders in my calendar phone and at work to make sure I am reminded and make the time to get the workouts in.  I am also hoping to start going to boot camp in the early morning, trying to be a little ambitious with my goals!

It all comes down to mind over matter, taking the extra time and making a <small> sacrifice to make a huge improvement that will benefit your mental and physical health. My motto lately when I am fighting that battle, is something is better than nothing (I just need to do a little more something!)

 

 

Fitness Friday no. 9

| The Bee Life

TGIF!

This week is all about RUNNING! Some people love running and some people hate running! I have a love-hate relationship with running. I never considered myself a runner, until later in my life. In high school basketball sprints were the only kind of running I knew, and I knew it was not for me.  Then later in high school I joined track, and was placed on the mile, a mile seemed SO long to me.  And I was one of the slower runners coming in at just over a 7-minute mile (which is fast!).  After that I would run to release stress and clear my head, because I could only focus on the pounding of the pavement.

Fast-forward to my junior year in college, and my aunts encouraged me to run a 5k with them, and then offered to buy my registration for a half marathon if I trained and did it. So I did! I got my training schedule, and trained religiously – this was a big task for me! I finished my first half just under 2-hours and kept a great pace. I became addicted to the challenge mentally and physically especially for longer races like a half.  Since my first half in 2011, I’ve ran 5 other halfs and a handful of 10-milers, 10k’s, 5k’s – and continue to try and dabble, but my training game has not been as strong as it was in my peak time.

Fitness Friday 09 - Running - the bee life

So enough about me, here are some running tips whether you’re a beginner, a veteran, or someone like me – trying to get back into the race.

Start Slow: Don’t worry about your mile pace, and if you’re the person who says “running isn’t for me” run/walk and try interval training.  Your time will improve as you spend time and start tracking more miles.

Stay Consistent: Most training programs recommend at least 4-days during the week of lower mile runs, try and start here working your way up to a comfortable 3-miles.

Be Brave. Okay, so you’ve been running and improving, but you don’t think you’ll be able to finish that 6-miles? You can, go for it! You actually might be surprised at how easy it is! If you run the same pace and same distance for too long, the benefits of the exercise will lessen over time because you body will be conditioned. Any slight ways that you can push yourself, do it!

Stretch. Make sure to stretch out before and after runs, your muscles will drastically change from before you start to after, it’s important to tend to them!

It’s Mental. No matter the distance or skill you have, it’s mental challenge just as much as the physical, as soon as you want to stop running you need to fight and get those thoughts out of your head to keep running. You’ll be happier once you finish and didn’t stop!

It’s springtime, so get some fresh kicks and get out on that pavement and clock some miles!

 

Fitness Friday no. 8

| The Bee Life

It’s Friday, yet again, but this Friday is a Fitness Friday!  And we’re nearing the end of our second month into the New Year. I can’t believe it’s only been two-months, but yet we’re knocking on March’s door. How have you been doing with your 2016 fitness goals?

I don’t know about any of you, but this past month was definitely a struggle for me.  I felt like I made big moves in the right direction in January and was feeling good about keeping it going into February, but life got in the way – and just like that, I fell off the wagon a little bit. Which is another reason why I like focusing 30-days at a time, because I am more aware and conscious of successes and areas of improvement, in the moment, not 8-months too late.
Fitness Friday 08 - the bee lifeI watched the Biggest Loser this past season (just ended this past week) and they kept emphasizing that life happens outside of the ranch, and that’s going to be the biggest obstacle – and isn’t that the truth. So if you’re like me and had a bit of a struggle into this next month, it’s OK just remember these things:

It’s Not Easy – Understanding and accepting that it’s not going to be easy is half the battle, knowing that there are going to be continuous temptations and ups and downs, is good! It’s all about balance, and knowing you’re going to have to continually work and navigate all that comes with life. Don’t give up!

Be Aware – Be aware when you’re making a choice that might not be the best for your fitness and health success, tempted by the mini cupcakes in the lunch room at work? Or wanting to sit on the couch after a long day at work instead of taking 30-minutes to crank a workout in? Being aware, regardless of the path you take will lead to better choices the next time.

Do Change – Once you’re aware, start doing, it doesn’t do you any good thinking about the workout you missed or the salad you could’ve had at lunch – actually do the workout, and eat the salad!  Make change, and start changing those bad habits that don’t help your health.  One thing that has helped for me, do, is grocery shopping and stocking up on good snacks and food for lunches, and dinners – this prevents us from ordering take out at the last minute because they fridge is empty.

Something Is Better Than Nothing – I think I’ve said this before, but a 30-minute workout is better than nothing.  So when you’re about to pass up a chance to workout or “don’t have enough time,” you do. Make it work, and get that workout in, it all adds up and helps you become stronger in your journey to success!

This past week I stepped it up significantly, because although I realized I didn’t do as much as I could have this month, I also realized I still had time to make a difference and get back on the saddle!

Happy Friday!

Fitness Friday no. 7

| The Bee Life

This week I’m going to share my 5 go-to at home workouts, that hit all of those sweet spots everyone wants to work on!

One thing I have been relying on this year, to get back into shape, has been working out at home.  As I’ve mentioned before one of the reasons I wasn’t successful last year was because I was gifted with a few months of workouts and then couldn’t maintain them based on cost and fell right back off. So, having been gifted with <expensive> workout classes again, I told myself I wasn’t going to use them until I got into my own groove at home!  The more I’ve been working out at home, the more I love it because it fits within my schedule – so when I have 30 minutes to get a workout in, I can do it on my own time, when I want, oh and it’s free!

Squats – I love squats! These work your full body but especially your butt, thighs and hips. The key to squats is your posture and formation, putting all of your weight within your heels and sticking that butt back as far as possible. An alternate position is widening your feet to work those inner thighs a bit harder.

Challenge: 4-sets of 50 squats, at the end of each set hold low and pulse for a count of 15

No Weight Arms – You may (or may not) be surprised at how much fatigue you can feel by doing some basic arm movements, with NO weights. Of course weights will add to the workout, but if you’re on the go or traveling these will be the perfect fix. The first pictured below is “Close Grip Flies” – the key here is to keep your shoulders relaxed and pushing your arms straight through the motion. The second is Triceps Extensions, the goal is to keep your neck straight and arms as close to your ears as possible while moving your arms up straight above your head, holding your hands in a fist can help the posture.

Challenge: 4-sets of 25, for both the close grip flies and triceps extensions

Side Leg Lifts – What I love about this, is that you can modify it to adjust to skill and the level of the intensity you want. This also tones your hips, which is perfect if you’re trying to work down those side “muffins.”  To add to this you can extend your top arm straight, this will intensify the core work.

Challenge: 4-sets, alternating 25 lifts on each side

Leg Extender Abs – I found this workout from doing the online Barre classes and I absolutely love it! I especially love it because there are modifications to do that still give you a killer ab workout without killing your lower back, the key is to push that lower back down so that it doesn’t arch.  The goal here is to work through the movement slowly and meaningfully, by alternating your extended legs, as you get used to this you can elevate your head (without straining your neck) and crunch to each side as you alternate.

Challenge: 4-sets, work this slow for 5-minutes and work into the side crunches – hold the side crunch on each side at least once for a slow count of 10

Planks – For someone who has chronic back pain, I’ve never truly appreciated working the core until I started Barre. Planks again have the ability to modified based on skill and evolve over time to work up strength and build that inner core strength.  Starting on your knees (and even your forearms) is perfectly acceptable as long as you keep your back straight and pull your abs in tight, and lower that butt!

Challenge: Hold for 30-seconds at the end each set

Fitness Friday 07 - the bee lifeIMG_9247A special thanks to Allie and Bekah for being my awesome fitness models (and fitness inspiration) and the crazy talented Timothy Logan for taking these awesome shots!

The First 30

| The Bee Life

In order to be successful with goals, it’s important to reflect and have normal check-in’s on your progress, this way we aren’t 4-months in and look back to realize we’ve completely lost sight of major goals and progress!

Goals - the bee life

Here’s a look back at my 30-day focus:

1. Limit the times we eat (dinners) out: I’d say we were very successful in this area. As far as the weekends go, we only broke twice and one was because we were with friends. As far as lunches go, I also did pretty well, I only grabbed lunch a handful of times and most of those were salads I made myself. I not only noticed a huge difference in energy and feeling better but also my wallet! We are definitely keeping this up!

With this came more consciousness of better eating and prep for all of my meals throughout the week.

2. Do Barre 5-times a week: 5x was a little ambitious. Three was my sweet spot over these last 30-days, and I’m happy about that. I got into a groove and looked forward to doing it either over lunch or after work.  Which is progress in and of itself! I’m going to keep this up, and stick to at least 3-days a week! I love the progress and how I’ve felt.

3. Walk Moz on the weekends: This is a win-win, exercise for me and Moz! This was a success, out of the 10 days of weekends, we had 7 walks. From snowy walks to 4o-degrees and sunny, just your typical Midwest winter.

4. No sweets: I think “no” should’ve been “limited” – this was pretty successful, I was tempted a few times to buy some cookies or chocolate for B and I after dinner but resisted, instead a few chocolate chips after dinner filled the void, if there really was a sweet tooth. But generally there wasn’t!

5. Limited alcohol intake: I’d say this was a success. If I had a drink during the week, I kept it to one. And if I did over the weekend I definitely didn’t over indulge. Being mindful of how much we consume is better than not having any gauge at all.

These past 30-days have been a manageable focus; and it’s been so important and helpful for me to get back into a groove.

So what have I learned? I learned that this is just the beginning and I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I’m happy with my progress, but I know I can step up the game and still have a long way to go into maintaining this healthier lifestyle. I’m going to maintain these focuses (and try to add a few more), but most importantly reflecting and centering around 30-days at a time.

Here’s to the first 30-days of change and progress and here’s to the next!

 

Fitness Friday no. 6

| The Bee Life

We are 29 days into the new year and if you’ve joined along, 29 days into our first 30-day focus.  My focus items included, limit times we eat out, do barre 5-days a week, walk Moz on the weekends, no sweets, and limit alcohol intake.

So how did I do? You’ll have to wait and see… Monday I will give my full 30-day run down, but until then, we still have a few days to finish strong and start looking ahead at the upcoming 30-days and some more fitness tips to help you (and me) succeed!

Fitness Friday 06 - the bee life - emilyboylan.com

    1. Treat Yourself – Regardless of how ‘successful’ you consider yourself to be these last 29 days, the fact that you tried and accomplished feats is something to be proud of! It’s OK to treat yourself, whether that’s having some of your favorite ice cream, buying a venti at Starbucks, or splurging on some wine and chocolate. If we deprive ourselves too much for too long, we might end up over indulging in a moment of weakness.  It’s easy to focus on the negative, we need to reflect and acknowledge more of the positive!
    2. Pump Up the Volume – With music! Take some time to make sure you have an awesome playlist for your workouts, this will keep you motivated from the start of your workout to the finish, not to mention a few dance moves in between sets or while you’re on a run.
    3. Prioritize Goals –  One of the perks of focusing on 30-days, is the focus! It’s also a time to prioritize your goals.  Is one of your goals, to be consistent with workouts, week after week? And another to loose weight? And another eat better?  If you’re like me and have endless amounts of goals, start small and prioritize – in order to accomplish X I need to do Y first… aka in order to loose weight, I need to maintain working out week after week, so that is my first focus goal. The rest will fall into place.
    4. Be Practical – Just like prioritizing goals, be practical in what you’re asking yourself to accomplish.  Are you jamming too much in and it’s resulting you to not succeed? It’s OK if you can only workout 2-nights a week and the rest has to wait for the weekend. I am realizing that right now, running has to wait for the weekends and I can focus on Barre and strength during the week given the time I have.  I’ve even come to realize that 30 or 40-minutes is better than nothing – so although it isn’t to the standards I’d prefer or would like, I need to make strides in the right direction.

    Here’s to finishing the first 30-days strong!

    Fitness Friday no. 5

    | The Bee Life

    Happy Friday! How is everyone doing with their 2016 fitness goals?

    I’ve been making slow progress. I signed up for Barre3 – which offers a plethora of online videos at a low monthly cost, and right now that’s exactly what I need. I’m enjoying the challenge and core building exercises, and I’m excited to keep it up once I start training for my 10-miler.

    So this week I want to focus on the “little” things that are just as important to your health and fitness, as the actual physical work.  What’s that? Maintaining your stress and positive energy.

    Fitness Friday 05 - the bee life - emilyboylan.com

    1. Confront It. If something or someone is bothering you, confront the situation. I think the word confront often has a negative connotation – but the way you approach the situation is key and doesn’t have to be negative or defensive. Clear your chest and speak your peace, the rest is out of your hands…

    2. Lose Control. Speaking of out of your hands, you can only control yourself, aka you cannot control others. So if you’ve spoken your peace, knowing you’ve tried, work on letting go of the rest.  You’ll thank yourself later!
    *Disclaimer: I know it’s easier said than done.

    3. Release The Stress. With exercise! Not food! Personally, I often crave some bad eatings when I am stressed or had a bad day at work – I find I have a small window to get motivated to exercise, but when I do pick exercise over the burger and fries I feel 10x better AND not fat!  Challenging your mind to pick fitness over food in those situations is half the battle.

    4. Stretch! I’ve mentioned this before; but since I’ve been stretching more I can’t get over how much I can feel it in my muscles and body and how much it helps.  It helps release all those stresses that get stored in our body from long days of sitting at a desk or standing on our feet. Try 10-minutes a day, I bet you’ll feel a difference.

    5. Reflect on the Good. It’s easy to fixate on the bad, how we didn’t work out, how we ate bad, the jerk at work… and it’s easy to overlook the good. Try writing down on a post-it at least one good thing that happened during your day and tuck it away in a jar, by the end of the year you’ll have a jar full of happy memories, that hopefully also helped you in the current moment – focus on the good. You can also bring this up with a roommate, spouse, or best friend at the end of the day and both share your “goods” of the day.

    Keep focusing on your 30-days there is still time to work towards your goals and build good habits!

    Fitness Friday – New Year Edition

    | The Bee Life

    Happy New Year!! I usually share with everyone my resolutions or goals for the new year – but I am going to switch it up this year and continue with more focused tips so that we’re all successful with our healthy goals always, but especially as we enter 2016.

    Fitness Friday - New Year Edition - emilyboylan.com
    Fitness Friday – New Year Edition – emilyboylan.com
    1. No More Fad Diets – Why?  Because you won’t last.  Let’s face it, we’ve all been there before.  There is a difference between a lifestyle change and a fad diet, know what is good for you and what works with your eating habits, lifestyle and health.  For example, I need to make a more conscious effort of cutting dairy out since I’m lactose intolerant- lifestyle change, not a fad diet.
    2. Post-It On The Wall (Or Refrigerator); If you see your goals everyday, and what you’re striving to accomplish, you’ll be more likely to have success.  In college I used to have little signs posted on my wall that read, “No eating after 9pm” – “No soda!” – “Work Out!” – “One Sweet a Week” … etc. It really helped me get those notions and habits in my head and I actually followed my own rules.
    3. Focus on 30-Days; This was  a suggestion by the famous Biggest Loser trainer, Bob Harper, and I think it’s so smart and simple.  Instead of having grandiose plans for the entire year, focus on one month at a time. I received fitness classes for Christmas – but instead of using that up, I want to get into a rhythm before, since I’ll only have the fitness classes for 2-months – I want my healthy workout routine to last more than just 2-months out of the entire year!
    4. Cut Out The Sugar; Sugar drinks, coffees, soda, and sweets!  Once we have these sugars in our bodies, we only crave them more – so let’s start cutting them out!  This is going to be one of my 30-day focus items that I plan to in-bark on.

    So now what? Pick a date to start your 30-day focus, I am thinking about starting January 4th or 9th. Next, pick out your items you want to focus on for those 30-days, start small if you’re starting from square one. For example; Exercise 2-3 days a week, no sweets during the week, no soda or eating after 9pm. Then, write your items and post them up where you’ll see them EVERY DAY; and begin.  I also found that writing my progress on a calendar helped me see my progress – where I struggled and where I had a really kicked ass. It might help you too!

    Here’s to you and a healthy and happy new year!