Brea Getting Fit » exercise

Cardio Barre Beginner Workout Giveaway GIVEAWAY CLOSED

breefawn — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:12:54 +0000

I had some extra energy (yay for getting 5 straight hours of blissful sleep!) and was jonesing for a barre workout when I got home from work today. SO…I have been wanting to do the beginner version of Cardio Barre: Four Workouts on One DVD, and as I was dragging out my barre (if you’ve never tried to maneuver a Fluidity barre at 6 months pregnant, you should be VERY proud of me!! That thing is AWKWARD and heavy!!) thought that I might share my thoughts (and a giveaway) with you, my loyal readers (you’re still out there, right??) I know that I have been VERY baby-obsessed the last six months, but I can’t really help that. I promise that after Tater gets here, you’ll hear all about me getting back into shape. Scout’s honor. Okay, moving on. So I finally got the barre set up (YAY!) and the DVD put in (note to self: move the DVD player to a higher location!!), and the Intro workout started. I have done the third and forth workouts before, and KNEW that I could not keep up…ummmm…yeah. I did okay. The workout is 144 bpm, which definitely got my heart pumping, and the moves were clearly explained. Some of the twisting I was unable to do for obvious reasons (and nothing on the floor…that heavens for my exercise ball!!), but I thought that it was a nice, short and to-the-point workout.

Now for the giveaway….I have a BRAND-SPANKIN-NEW Cardio Barre: Four Workouts on One DVD to giveaway! How do you enter, you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you. Leave a comment here telling me WHY you want this workout. It doesn’t have to be long, just tell me why you want it. The contest will run until Midnight EST on Sunday, April 11, 2010 (contest now ended).

I haven’t done this before, but I thought that I’d give it a try: EXTRA ENTRIES!!

-Follow me on Twitter, then post here (separate post, please) to tell me you are a follower.

-Fan me on Facebook, then post here (separate post, please) to tell me that you are now a fan.

-TWEET about this contest (one tweet per person, please), and post your tweet.

Good luck all!!

**Thank you for all the entries and follows!! We (Ish and I) drew the winner tonight…and…it’s DANIELLE! Congratulations!! Please email me your mailing address and I’ll get the DVD right out to you!**

Pregnancy Update

breefawn — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 04:36:35 +0000

Hello to all of you who are still reading my blog! I am sorry that I have not been more diligent in my posts, but life has been absolutely CRAZY! To catch you up, we set up our crib, picked out paint colors, and have been stocking up on good baby deals. (I LOVE Ross and Marshalls for onesies!) I also found a great deal on nursing covers, thanks to a wonderful friend. Have you ever heard of Udder Covers? They’re pretty neat, and although Tater won’t be here until July, this is a deal that I could NOT pass up. If you go the udder covers website and enter the promo code “onefree”, you can get your udder cover for just the price of shipping! I have 2, in the Carson and Jones patterns, and they are really neat! I have to admit that I tried on the Carson, and the covers have this neat neckline that is moldable so that you look at your baby while you are covering up your nursing activities. Beyond that nifty find, I really haven’t had much time beyond trying to workout and eat healthy. I do really enjoy Suzanne Bowen’s Long and Lean Prenatal Workout, which is produced by Ruah, and will be great even after the pregnancy. The workout is very fluid, and I am really enjoying the barre quality (even though it’s probably more pilates-based to be completely fair). I will post a full review soon.

EVERTHING hurts…

breefawn — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:04:39 +0000

So, I finished my first 1/2 marathon today…walking (and jogging to start off for about a 1/2 mile and 200 feed to the finish so that I didn’t get trampled!). I have to say that I am sorely out of shape. When I found out that I was pregnant, I had to stop running because my heart rate gets too high for me to be comfortable that nothing will happen to Tater Tot. SO, I’ve been doing LOTS of pilates, barre work and stretching. DEFINITELY not a good training regime for 13.1 miles of walking today. Ish and I (with our AWESOME friend who finished the FULL MARATHON!!) finished our 1/2 in just under 4 hours. My hip flexors hurt, my toosh hurts, my feet and shins hurt. Thankfully, nothing in my abdomen hurts. I’ve been resting, stretching and trying to walk it out as much a possible….call me CRAZY, but this experience has made me FAR more convinced that I want to do this AGAIN. I know, I know. But I’m thinking that a 1/2 would be a great motivation to get back into killer shape after Tater Tot arrives this summer. I am very proud of ALL of us, and I think that I’m going to call it a night.

My new addiction

breefawn — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:49:17 +0000

I always love finding new fitness gadgets, and I’ve been intrigued by the pilates magic circle for quite awhile, but never owned one. THEN, a friend was nice enough to donate their unused ring to poor little me! So, now I have a YogaAccessories (TM) Pilates Resistance Ring, and it TOTALLY ROCKS! Most people remember the awful Thigh Master (or worse…the Butt Master!) commercial…or more recently have you heard of Zone Pilates? The ideas for those products are based off the ring…but the real thing has SO much more potential! The actual YogaAccessories (TM) Pilates Resistance Ring has TONS more resistance than any of the other three (which I am slightly ashamed to admit that I own…but they were purchased at Goodwill many years ago), AND I can work my upper and lower body without having to pull out different pieces of equipment. I use mine while I’m being lazy and watching television…or FOOTBALL! I have noticed that since I’ve been using my ring, my legs are definitely changing shape (yet again!), and it’s ALL GOOD.

Adding weight

breefawn — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:56:50 +0000

I’m always looking for new ways to challenge my body, and I love incorporating my 4-lb medicine ball into my workouts. I’ve been using it for weighted sit-ups, reverse curls and upper body work lately, and have been seeing great results. I have quite a few “gadgets” but this is one that I keep going back to….especially with my barre work. I find that using the weight works muscles (especially in my upper body) that I feel like I have missed. I do a lot of chest presses, overhead pull-downs, and even some plyometric-inspired pop-ups. I normally go through phases, and this evening, I realized that this is one thing that I consistently use. Today was my “day off” (I’m working out Saturday AND Sunday this week), so I wasn’t planning on working out…then, while I was watching Top Chef, I got the itch to exercise. Shocking, I know, what with all that food that I would NEVER eat (seriously….someone needs to make a vegan cooking show. Anyone?)…. So, long story short, I grabbed my medicine ball and played for almost 45 minutes. I’m exhausted, sore (in a good way) and cannot wait to do Essentrics in a few minutes. My shoulders, biceps, triceps, back and abs are KILLING me, thanks to my Valeo WFB4 4-Pound Weighted Fitness Ball (4lb). I think that part of the reason that I’m sore is due to the low weight of the medicine ball…it’s only 4 pounds (I know that Tracy Anderson would be FREAKING right now), but when I use it, I do VERY high reps of each exercise, and I don’t stop moving. I love that burn! Okay…enough said…I’m just really excited about my workout…time to stretch….

I can do almost anything for 57 minutes

breefawn — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:49:30 +0000

One of my friends has been absolutely RAVING about the BRAND NEW workout from Physique 57…so when I (finally) got my copy of the full body workout, I could not wait to try it…of course, it sat next to the DVD player and taunted me…until this morning. I finally got up the guts to try this workout, and I must say that I’m officially addicted. I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to stick with a rotation for the month…and next month I can change it up. This month’s morning rotation is P57 and The Tracy Anderson Method Presents Mat Workout DVD. After work, I’ll be doing Essentrics Workout: Arms, Abs&Waist Toner / Legs, Butt&Thigh Thinner intermidiate-advanced level, alternating between the two workouts. I am SO excited! I posted a list of things that I wanted to accomplish this year, and I’m already well on my way! Okay…back to my fantastic workout this morning. I have done just about every barre workout there is, and I have to say that I really love the style of P57. Tanya Becker, the creator of P57, was a Lotte Berk instructor for 10 years, and it SHOWS. The “warm up” includes a full sequence of upper-body strength sequence, which targets your biceps, shoulders and back with weights, and then moves to push-ups and tricep dips. I really appreciated that even during the warm up, there was an “advanced” example, as well as a modifyer. After you warm up, and stretch your upper body, it’s on to thighs. One word: OUCH. Tanya has you doing pulses, squeezes and elevators (you actually drop your rear down to your heels and get back up…sounds easy enough, but try doing this when your thighs won’t stop shaking) that make you want to throw the playground ball that the workout uses at the screen. I had to remind myself that I would have to replace the TV…not something i want to do right this moment. The thigh work is broken into two segments, which allows you a short break and then you get right back to that burn. And believe me, this workout will make your muscles SCREAM. But that’s a good thing…it’s what causes those changes that we’re all looking for. I will admit that I had to take a quick break during the second thigh sequence…but I did 99% of it! After thighs, you get to put your rear in gear. This workout has a great standing seat sequence, followed by (my favorite!) pretzel. I like Tanya’s take on pretzel, and my glutes were on FIRE when I was done. The abs segment in the full body workout actually made my abs…SORE. Yup. You read that right. I was SORE. BUT, I think that it was worth it! Most of the abs work is nothing new, but she did utlize a cusion for a large majority of it, which was rather innovative, and definitely takes any pressure off the lower back. After abs, there is a lower back sequence, which is often ignored in other barre workouts. Did I mention the thigh and back dancing? Talk about TOTAL BODY BURN!! The workout does need equipment: you need 2 sets of weights (light and medium), a playground ball (not really optional, but you can find them pretty cheap), a mat (unless you have carpet) and a cushion or thick towel…OH! AND you’ll need a barre or high-backed chair. I know that it sounds like alot, but it is SO very worth it. Currently, you can only purchase the workout directly from the Physique 57 webpage. It’s definitely worth it. I haven’t had this much fun being in pain in awhile!

Want a preview?

In Tanya’s words: “Physique 57 isthe ultimate transformative physical fitness experience. It’s the only exercise program I’ve seen that changes bodies so efficiently. It targets all the major muscle groups so clients see rapid, obvious results. Plus it’s fun, invigorating, and incredibly intense. It makes people feel good.” I defintely agree.

One more thing…over the weekend I posted a contest for the Pershing Square 2 DVD…and had some wonderful entries. I decided to let an outside party pick the winner (Ish), and he picked Patty, who gave a great explaination as to why she wants the workout. See her winning entry here.

Is it possible?

breefawn — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:06:31 +0000

I think that I might actually be (at least) a whole inch taller! I started working on the list that I posted yesterday by doing an Essentrics workout after I got home from work. I must say that I really enjoyed it. I did work up a sweat, which surprised me, especially since all the hype around the workout is that it helps you get longer and leaner through stretching. That shouldn’t be hard, right? I did the arms, abs & waist toner (30 minutes), and WOW did I feel it. I didn’t know that I had some of the muscles that I worked, but I really enjoyed it. The actual arm work (not the stretching part) was very Tracy Anderson-esque. My shoulders were BURNING!! I could feel my muscles releasing tension, which is great. Now I just need to get to the point where my arms don’t feel like they’re going to fall out of their sockets…. I definitely think that this is going to help with my posture and get rid of that funny arm jiggle…you know what I’m talking about. I think that if I rotate between the upper and lower body series I could actually do this workout everyday after I get home. I honestly feel like a MILLION BUCKS!! I’ll be interested to see if their claims of losing inches in a short amount of time is true…of course, because I’m also running and doing barre workouts, it might be hard to tell which workout specifically is causing the changes…but I do think that I will notice significant changes…it’s just a matter of when and what. I am most excited about increasing my flexibility…any lost inches are just a bonus. Okay, back to my review…the stretching feels so good, and I don’t think there was a arm, ab or waist muscle that didn’t get stretched. Did I mention that the abs section was great? Pretty basic…and a variation on v-ups that was SUPER hard, but definitely worth it. I think that if you’re looking to increase range of motion and build long muscles, this will do it for you. But you have to be consistant, especially when you’re dealing with flexibility. Okay…enough about my AMAZING workout…I’m off to make some soba noodle stir fry! YUM!

If you want to get your own copy of the workout, you can find it here.

It’s all in the timing

breefawn — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:17:45 +0000

I set my alarm clock for 5:15 this morning so that I would have time to do some treadmill dancing before attempting Pure Barre: Pershing Square 2. BUT, my alarm clock (and my sleepiness) had other ideas. I thought that I hit the snooze button…but instead I turned the alarm off. Much to my chagrin, I woke up late (6:00). I did however, manage to drag myself out of bed, and frustrated as I was, I didn’t let that interupt my workout. At least, I made the best of it. I got up, set up my barre and popped the DVD in. I am not quite ready to write my review, as I was not able to do the workout to its full potential (my palms are still pretty tender), but GOODNESS am I sore! My hips, thighs and glutes are definitely protesting my wanting to do Pure Barre: Pershing Square 2 again tomorrow. I think I’m going to be doing Cardio Barre… But we’ll see. I am definitely going on a run…have to keep up with my training!!

Conquering your fear

breefawn — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:16:27 +0000

I haven’t blogged much since I fell last week…probably because it hurt to workout…my palms literally throbbed anytime my heart rate got elevated. Interestingly, I did do some modified workouts during the week, but I was terrified to run again. Well…this morning I conquered my fear! I ran our 3-mile run (the same route that I fell down running) with Ish this morning and am VERY proud to say that I stayed totally vertical for the entire 30 minutes. I honestly felt like doing the Rocky dance at the end of the run. Tomorrow is a rest day, at least running wise. I am going to take advantage of my awesome gym and hop on the strider for 30 or 45 minutes. Cardio is SO very important, especially if I want to speed up the results of my barre workouts. I have honestly been on cloud 9 all day today! I even wore high heels to work!! I figure that since I’m on a roll…I need to finally get down and dirty and try Pure Barre: Pershing Square 2. I have been avoiding it because the workout involves quite a bit of floor work, and I wasn’t sure that my poor torn up hands could handle the abuse. Thankfully, my palms are healing well, and I think that I am going to go ahead and move past Pure Barre: Pershing Square 1, which is a great workout in and of itself. I honestly don’t think that my thighs have EVER worked that hard!! I was lucky enough to be given a copy of Pure Barre: Pershing Square 2 to give away by Carrie, and will be doing that giveaway in the next two weeks…. Watch for my workout review and the giveaway!! If you just can’t wait…or didn’t win the copy of PS1 that I gave away earlier this month, they workouts are now available at amazon.com! Buy your copy here! You won’t be sorry!! Carrie’s workouts are butt-changing! I can’t wait for my workout tomorrow! (can you tell?)

In the words of Scarlett:

breefawn — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:24:37 +0000

Tomorrow is another day.

It doesn’t help that Gone with the Wind is my all-time favorite movie (if you couldn’t tell), but I find that the words of Scarlett O’Hara help me to get through those moments when I’m not sure why today ended up like this. Tonight is one of those nights. I got home from work, made dinner, and then decided that I really, really, really wanted some coconut milk ice cream. Turtle Mountain Mint Chip, to be exact. So, I went out to get some…in the middle of a THUNDERSTORM. Okay, so maybe there are some issues that I need to deal with, because right after work, I stopped by the grocery store and purposely loaded up on healthy items, like hummus, bell peppers, broccoli and cauliflower. Yes, I like cauliflower. Don’t judge. So why, then did I also load up on fried plantains, and some vegan potstickers for my freezer? AND go back to get ice cream? Maybe I need to eat MORE fruit…is it possible to have a sugar deficiency? I think that I just wanted some variety…but I also think that eating raw is really hard. Until today, I am proud to say that I’ve done a great job of eating raw…then I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast this morning…and pad thai for dinner…. Not exactly the 90% I was hoping for. AND, to top it all off…I skipped my workout tonight. Granted, I want to get up and run tomorrow morning, and exhausting my muscles now would be silly. So…here’s the plan: eat 90% raw tomorrow, which will start off with a shake for breakfast, and then some hummus and veggies for lunch…then a HUGE salad for dinner. I can’t wait for the salad. I’m also going to head down to the gym and get some cardio in, then come home and do Pershing Square 2…hopefully I can modify so that I’m not on my hands as much as the video requires. If it’s too difficult, I’ll just do a Bar Method workout. Either way, I’m back on the semi-straight and narrow for my training. (I can’t believe that I signed up for a 1/2 marathon! I am seriously beginning to question my sanity!!) So…yes. Tomorrow IS another day. Thank heavens!