New Lily

These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things…Three Fitness Picks for 2014

There are so many ways to do a push up....a great body weight exercise!

There are so many ways to do a push up….a great body weight exercise!

These are a few of my favorite things that I will be doing lots more of in 2014…

1.Body Weight exercises

What it is: Body weight exercises are strength training exercises that do not require equipment; your own weight provides the resistance for the movement. Movements such as the push-up, the pull-up, and the sit-up are some of the most common bodyweight exercises.

Why I like it:  Using my own body strength, this kind of workout engages the core, utilizes many different muscle groups, and can be done basically anywhere.  From push-ups and squats, to lunges and planks, there is really no end to the variations I can do.  Sometimes I do the workout on its own, and sometimes I will stick a few body weight exercises in at the end of a run.  Here’s my favorite quickie (source:crossfit): [Read more…]

A Go-To Workout When You’re Pressed for Time

Be careful of your form...If you feel it waning, lessen reps.  Better to do less with good form.

Be careful of your form…If you feel it waning, lessen reps. Better to do less with good form. This is me about to start routine.

Looking for a solid workout but you’re pressed for time?  This is my favorite (Cross Fit original).  Sometimes Ill do it right after a run, and sometimes just as a stand alone when time is short.  Try it…you’ll be hooked!  5 push ups/ 25 squats, 10 push ups/ 20 squats, 15 push ups/ 15 squats, 20 push ups/ 10 squats, 25 push ups/ 5 squats!  LOVE IT!!!!  For a greater challenge if you have more time…Do it again! What’s your favorite quickie workout!

Running, Barre Classes, and Strength Workouts Combine to Make a Great Workout Schedule in My Mid-Forties

In my mid-forties strength workouts are one of the keys to fitness

In my mid-forties strength workouts are one of the keys to fitness

I turned 46 last February.  Wow…I am now closer to 50 than to 40 (but I’m ok with this – really)!  As I look ahead, I realize that I have settled into a routine that is suitable for my stage in life. Running, barre classes, and an at-home strength routine (often including the Lifecycle) …these are the workouts I love.  Of course for a mother of nine the other key to continuing fitness as I get older is strengthening my pelvic floor. [Read more…]

A Look at The Pregnancy Project DVD (Guest Post)

A different way to work out during pregnancy…The Pregnancy Project DVD.

The following is a guest post from Kallah Oakes who is pregnant with her second child.  I saw Kallah when she was only a few weeks along, and she told me she was planning on using The Pregnancy Project DVD throughout her second pregnancy.  I had not heard of this method, and so asked if she could share with us a little about how the exercise program works and how she is faring (she is almost six months pregnant now).  I wished that I had learned about this kind of exercise when I was pregnant as I think a lot of the running that I did was hard on my joints, etc.! I was especially interested in what she says about our mindset during pregnancy in regards to exercise.  It’s good to workout but we shouldn’t be “results oriented” while we are allowing a child to grow inside! So true!

Enjoy…and let us know if you have used the DVD and how you rate it! [Read more…]

Some Twists on a Tried and True Exercise: The Push up

 

Push Ups  – Some New Twists to an Old Friend (and some extra core work as well)

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This push up routine was much harder than I thought it would be!!

 I tried Alan’s push up routine the other day. I love push ups because they work the core and the arms without using weights or equipment.  I was very surprised how difficult some of these variations on the standard push up are…try them at home! [Read more…]

9 Kid Fitness Year in Review

Typically I am not one to regularly look back over the past and reassess things for the future.  It always sounds good in theory, but in my world the reality is that I usually just plow ahead, hoping for change in areas that need it… and just as typically doing the same things with the same results.  However, I think this year calls for something different.  So I will try to view the last year, especially in terms of health and fitness, a little more analytically, to see if I can improve on things in 2013. My post today will look back…and tomorrow I will look ahead.  I updated my workouts this morning and took the time to really inspect last year’s fitness regimen.  There were a few things I noticed….some good, some not so good.  I’ll start with the good[Read more…]

Two Quick Workouts for the Last Few Days Before Christmas

It’s catch as catch can right now.  During the last few weeks, if I don’t get a workout in before 7 am..it’s hasn’t happened.  But I am tired and the sound of the alarm at 5:45 lately has not been nearly  persuasive enough….  So I am looking at a quick workout today to fit in before 5 pm…and I am guessing the next few days will be the same.

The following are a few quick and dirty workouts that take no more than 20 minutes but work the whole body. 8-10lb. weights are needed, but other than that no equipment is necessary. The first workout is my own go-to plan which I’ve been doing for a while and which I have always found effective.  The others are 10 minute workouts from Oprah.com. [Read more…]

One Cool Dude with One Cool Dog…(and an Exercise Philosophy to Go with It)

Eric’s cool dog, Cadence.

When I told my son (#4, Peter) the title for this post, he looked at me and said, “Mom…you’re not really going to say that.” I realize that the word “dude” has no business in this middle-aged mom’s vocabulary, but when you read about Eric Lane I think you will understand that it is a word that fits.  I’ll put up with the rolling eyes of my teenagers and say it anyway…Eric is one cool dude and he has one amazingly cool dog. [Read more…]

Life is Difficult…So “Never, Never, Never Give Up”

“Life is difficult”. I remember reading that first line of the book by M. Scott Peck The Road Less Travelled when I was about 18 years old. Peck’s premise was that once we realize this reality, we are not bound to the false notion that this life should be easy. Perhaps Naval Lieutenant Bradley Snyder understands this better than most. Snyder, who won gold last week in the Paralympic Games, was robbed of his vision while serving in Afghanistan twelve months ago. Yet the fact that his life suddenly became a lot more difficult has not deterred him from pursuing his dreams. [Read more…]

Hills…We Hate Them, But We Love Them…Here’s Why we Need Them!

Running hills on our recent trip to Maine was unavoidable….but now I see their value. I’m even wishing I had a fall marathon to run!

Having just returned from nine days in Maine, I was elated this morning as I began a run with my sister, Susan… 9.5 miles of gloriously flat terrain. During the trip I had actually come to dread the start of each run because it was always a whopper of a hill.  Actually, with the exception of a four mile run that was an out and back course, there was no way to avoid the hills in Maine.  Truth be told, and dreading aside, I found myself a stronger runner at the end of the trip.  In fact, I am disappointed that I am not in training for a fall marathon this year because I believe the last few weeks in hilly Maine would have been an outstanding base for a marathon PR. [Read more…]