Have you ever seen a fitness routine designed for different ass types and what exercise you should do to make it perfect that actually works? Neither have I, because it doesn't exist.
What IS the definition of a great ass? Tight? Round? Small? Big? Muscular? Soft? Looks good in tight jeans or a bikini bottom?
A great ass is one you are proud of. Who cares what it looks like in clothes or when its naked, it is all about how it makes you feel. Mine is genetically flat like a pancake and I'm ok with that. It does motivate me to do few more squats and hipthrusters, maybe walk a few more hills so it is not a wimpy pancake. I want it to be a strong pancake and worthy of a "good game" on occasion. We might not be able to change deeply rooted genes but we can take control of our strength, our ability to be great and harness our inner badass. Without comparing ourselves to anyone or a photo of anyone, not mimicking someones journey or copying their lifestyle and settling in on creating a life and a body we are proud of. Pancakes and all.
Nosh Two. Weekly Conversation.
My conversation today is with fitness expert, CrossFit Level 1 Coach, Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coach and Postnatal Fitness Specialist, Heather Osby.
I have had the joy of knowing Heather when I moved to the beautiful city of Des Moines, Iowa, I was connect with her to be my house-hunting warrior. After looking at over 100 homes and then deciding to build, I think that's when she decided she didn’t want to be a real estate agent anymore. No, not really, but life took its tricks and turns and she currently has found her passion in the wellness and fitness world. She is currently a wife and a mom of two, kicking ass in her own garage gym, at her local CrossFit gym and focuses on helping moms all over the country find their own fitness passion, in a safe way. She specializes in pregnancy and postnatal fitness (insert diastasis recti) and even has her own pelvis model she named Nancy to best educate her clients. What I love about her the most is her down-to-earth approach on exercise and nutrition, her virtual business and website and the fact she likes to cuss a little.
Connect with Heather at heather@heatherosby.com and her business Hot and Healthy Life www.hotandhealthylife.com to work with Heather.
Even though her 2 week #MetconsforMoms challenge is over, you can still register here and get the workouts! Follow her on Instagram and see how fun it was. (My ass is still screaming at me!)
Nosh Three. Week in Review.
I am pretty sure you have caught on with my mantra to life, which I have also been applying to my physical fitness and lifestyle goals.
Back in June, I decided it was time to get my shit together and focus on being the strongest and healthiest person I can be. I can honestly say at 41 years old, I am the strongest and healthiest I have been, but I know I can be better. It is 100% a personal goal for myself and has nothing to do with wanting to be like anyone or to fit into anything. I just want to see what my body is capable of and set some goals for it. It is something I have never done. I have exercised and ate well from time to time but in my podcast with Heather above, it really is ALL ABOUT CONSISTENCY. I have not been consistent. I also have not tried different ways of incorporating consistent physical activity into my lifestyle. I am trying new things and mixing things up with my movement, my food and my mind. I have been focusing mostly on lifting heavy shit and getting stronger, metcon workouts (thanks to my friend Heather) and walking/steps with a little spinning and a session of HIIT.
To try something new, my friend Amanda and I signed up for a free session with a new and upcoming buzzworthy fitness program working its way into Iowa, Orangetheory Fitness. Recently, my employer announced a franchise partnership with Orangetheory Fitness and it got me very interested in the program.
The Clive location by my house has this to say about the workout: "Our one-hour high-intensity sessions at Orangetheory are a great blend of cardio and strength training. Our gym trainers will lead you through intervals using treadmills, indoor rowers, hand weights, and floor exercises designed to help you achieve the results you are looking for. During your training, you will be wearing a heart rate monitor, as sessions have been designed to keep your heart rate within a targeted zone. When you do so, metabolism is stimulated and your energy increases. This is what we call the Orange Effect--extra energy and increased calorie burn for as much as a day and a half following your workout!"
I told Amanda I was scared for an hour-long class and working my ass off but I ended up really liking it and the class went by really fast. It was a little chaotic for my first workout, just because I did not know what was going on. There are 3 stations: strength/floor, rowing and treadmill. You start out at one station and work your way through the others during the hour. The instruction is great at letting you know what to do and when and no workout is the same. We started out on the floor and did strength in a AMRAP style of different exercises like burpees, TRX push-up, squat thrust, etc. A screen displays the exercise and suggested reps. We spent about 15-20 minutes there. Then we headed to the rowing machine and went through a series of higher intensity rowing and spent about 15 minutes there. Then it was off to the treadmills and intervals of low, medium and high intensity. It was a great workout and I would consider doing it once a week for a change up my routine.
Lil g helps keep me off the scale in the morning and sits on it for me instead (just because the floor is too cold for her precious paws). But truthfully, as I am building muscle with lifting weights, the scale is not anything to be focused on. I have gained weight but my clothes are fitting better than they ever have. It has been very important for me to be consistent with the scale during this journey. Since I have decided to go with how I feel in my clothes, I weigh myself the first of each month.
I recently hit my 3 month mark of my consistent fitness goals and I will be checking my body fat and measurements in the next month. I also will be changing up my routine so my body doesn't get used to doing the same thing. As I have been lifting more weights, I realized my springy running shoes were not the best shoes and got a pair of less springy and more stable training shoes. I do better with these shoes when doing squats and deadlifts and find myself much more stable, less pushing forward. Who knew you needed different kicks?
Part of my wellness journey is meal prepping. I recently had the opportunity to try out this fancy cooking tool I knew nothing about, the ChefSteps Joule Sous Vide. This tool has made my protein food prep a breeze. I struggle, I mean struggle with cooking proteins properly. They are either crusty and dry or undercooked. This tool prevents all of that and you can cook in batches, so it is perfect for meal prep. Read my entire review in the Food and Nutrition Magazine Stone Soup Blog.
I wanted to share one last part of my introduction to my wellness journey. From time to time, I will share updates on how this adventure is going and the things I am using helping me along the way. I have this section in my phone and these are the apps working for me right now. I am trying to figure out my calorie needs with exercising more to build muscle, so MyFitnessPal is a must. (I have to eat a lot more food than I ever thought, so that's fun!), Music (hello!), Interval Timer is what I use to do my 10-15 minutes of tabata, Netflix for those HITT workouts or leisurely walking on the treadmill (getting my mindset ready for the snow), UA Record helps me track my steps and miles and Headspace is a must for my daily meditation. One new one I have added is Zero, as I have started to experiment a little with Intermittent Fasting (I will have more on this in a later post). What apps do you use along your wellness journey? I would love to hear your favorites!!!
Nosh Four. Workout Playlist of the Week.
Maybe this post helps you understand why music is so important to me: MOTIVATION!!!
Move your great and strong ass to the playlist of the week on Apple Music and Spotify!
Nosh Five. What I Love Right Now.
As I mentioned above, the sous vide has really helped me in the protein meal prep and I have also discovered the glory of roasting a weeks work of vegetables for the week. I especially like doing this with potatoes, white, purple, golden, red or sweet. Have you ever been to the grocery store and there are sweet potatoes the size of your head? At my grocery store, Hy-Vee, I buy Misfits produce. With Misfits® program, customers get delicious, imperfect fruits and vegetables at a lower cost while helping to reduce food waste and the sweet potatoes are a normal size. I buy a 3-5 pound bag of sweet potatoes, wash and cut them all into 1 inch cubes.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper, placing the sweet potatoes on the pan. I drizzle the sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil and then just move the cubes around to make sure they are all coated. Next, I sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of sea salt on the cubes. Again move the cubes around for better distribution of the cinnamon, salty goodness.
Bake for around 15-17 minutes, checking with fork for desired tenderness. I do like my cubes to get a little brown on the edges for that delicious caramelizing. I let cool in the pan for about 1 hour and then package 1 and 1/2 cup servings into bags. These bags go into the fridge for the week and if I don't eat them all, they freeze amazingly. I just empty the bag into a dish and head for about 1 minute if refrigerated and 2 minutes if frozen. Real Deal and Really Delicious.
~AE
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