Fit Mom's Blog

As a mother of two, I’m always searching for ways to get a workout in and keep my children occupied.  Usually, I get up at 4 in the morning and workout before the sun even comes up!  However, that is not always feasible for me, and I’ve only recently come across Gaiam TV.  This new online streaming program is fabulous for everyone, particularly moms who need to get a workout in at home.

Now, you can watch thousands of yoga and workout videos at home at anytime you want! For only $9.95 a month, you can have unlimited access.  And watch them over and over.

Being both a yoga teacher and mom of two VERY active boys, I was especially excited to see lots of yoga for kids videos that are really good, appropriate and fun videos for kids.    Leah Kalish is the author of Yoga Pretzels and Yoga For Kids ages 3-6, and Yoga for Kids ages 7 and up.  Both are fantastic and fun for kids.  If you’re a new mom, there are also quite a few offerings for pre and post natal yoga sessions taught by Shiva Rea among others.

In addition, you can watch thousands of movies that might be interesting to you after the kids go to bed,  such as The Real Dirt on Farmer John, documentaries such as Turtle Reef, Polar Bears.

GAIAM TV offers multiple ways in which to watch these videos such as on your iphone, your computer and coming soon for those of you with Androids, and the Samsung Smart TV’s.

This post has been sponsored by Gaiam TV.

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Lovely readers,

Thanks for your patience this week. We have taken our annual pilgrimage to Monterey, California for the Sea Otter Bicycle Classic. This is a fantastic event for any level bike rider- whether it’s road, mountain, downhill, cross country or any combination of the above. Over the past ten years, my husband and myself have participated in either the road races, cross country mountain bike races or the “criterium” races that Sea Otter has to offer. All the race courses are brutally hard. Today’s “criterium” race was something like a ribbon. Either up or in the wind or up. That’s it. He’s fit. But, these types of courses are designed for the uber fit person- not a full time professional with less than ten hours a week to train. We come for the experience of the whole event- to race- but really to have fun in Monterey.

FOOD:

When here, all my good eating habits seem to slip out the window with the wind…All my good intentions of packing healthy foods for the road just seem to fall flat.  Eating at the Sea Otter Expo is great- except that it’s seriously expensive.  Better to pack a backpack full of food for a picnic and skip the $5 hot dogs that my kids won’t eat.

The best part?

Eating here.  Hula’s Monterey has the freshest, tastiest fish EVER.  If we don’t eat here twice in the next three days, I will be disappointed.  Fantastic.  You should all come to Monterey just to eat here.

Shopping:

Raise your hand if you love Simple Shoes?! There is a great outlet in Ventura that sells Simple, Teva and Uggs!  All at serious discounts.  Got these slick sneakers for $16!

Dude Girl is here at Sea Otter again this year.  I stocked up on her long sleeve thermal shirts in yummy colors like orange.  Sorry, image not available but isn’t this running skirt cute?

Whole Foods!!!  I’m on my way there now!  Hoping to find some yummy healthy foods for dinner.

Workouts:

Did you think I’d give up all forms of exercise for our 4 day vacation?  Wrong.  My healthy eating habits may be in the toilet at the moment, but there is still exercise.  I brought my 25 pound kettlebell, a yoga mat, and 2 DVD’s.  This morning, I was excited to do almost a complete boot camp workout that included staggered hand push-ups, k-bell swings, lateral lunges, side planks with a row, squats and lots of ab work followed by a 16 minute yoga DVD’s.  I bought the Level 1 of this set at Yoga Works. The instructors on the DVD are Yoga Works trained and she pays particular attention to alignment in the video.   The video is basically Sun Salutes A &B, Warrior 1,2,3. Which is seriously what my body needs right now.  I’d like to see myself doing this video after every workout- legs need to learn the poses!

So that’s it for day one!

We have rental house that we found on the VRBO website and it’s fantastic.  100 years old with a view of the ocean and bunk beds for my kids- they are in heaven and we have to beg them to leave the house. (although no Wi-Fi! posting from Starbuck’s today.)

Anybody have thoughts on your favorite dinners from Whole Foods?  How you manage healthy eating while on vacation?

Hope you are all having a great week!!

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Chris Carmichael was my training assistant today for about 20 minutes…. My plans on Saturdays are always to get a workout in hard and fast. Yes, I have mommy guilt. Leaving my kids in front of the TV causes me some guilt, however, I know that if I get it done, that I will FEEL better. And, today, both kids are sick, so TV it is.

Chris Carmichael is a cycling coach. He got famous because of Lance Armstrong, really. When Lance got famous, so did he. These DVD’s are designed to help the everyday cyclists get faster and train smarter. Each video is about an hour long (Sprinting, Climbing, Mt. Climbing are a few that we own). These are NOT exciting videos- they have a set warm-up, specific work periods with set cadence levels, etc…honestly, they are pretty boring. So, with the addition of my IPOD, I can do the workout but not listen to him talk to much. And knowing that I won’t finish the DVD, I add additional intervals during his rest periods..Except today, I had one major problem. FALLING.

I fell out of the trainer TWICE in a 25 minute period. That freaking sucks! My elbow is sore, I have greasy fingers from my chain falling off and after the second time, I quit. There is something wrong with my wheel or skewer (probably the skewer) since it’s OLD. Like old like this was my first racing bike old from 1998. This is why it’s the trainer bike not the race bike. UGGG…

After falling twice I was still pumped up and ready to go so I just grabbed my kettlebell and did intervals of KB swings, and Medicine Ball Mountain Climbers. Hopefully, tomorrow I will get to ride outside.

Recovering now with a Vanilla Hemp Protein Smoothie.

What are you doing to stay active this weekend?

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Yoga offers your brain peace. It requires you to use your senses and your body in a completely different way. And Yes, it will benefit your fitness level. It will build strength and endurance and it will compliment your regular running or cycling routine. I am certain that a high quality yoga program done once or twice per week can seriously improve your overall health and well being. The benefits of yoga are well documented- such as reduced stress, strength, coordination, flexibility, enhanced cardiovascular systems, and mental health.

If you can get to a yoga class, great! Those of us who are addicted to blogging/are a stay at home mom or are lacking the time to get to a yoga studio, then I suggest a finding a yoga DVD or an online yoga class as an alternative.

I’ve been working with the Vinyasa Flow Yoga Sessions DVD Set for about a month now, and I have to say that it is one of the best yoga DVD’s I’ve ever seen. For one hour and ten minutes, Sean Corn is in your living room giving you step by step instructions for Vinyasa Yoga. The instructional DVD moves fairly slowly because she is teaching you the placement of each body part per pose. I’ve really enjoyed this DVD because I have to think about where each part of my body should be in a particular pose. She itemizes each cue and you practice it several times through. I believe that the premise for Vinyasa Flow is to learn the Sun Salutations and to use a particular breathe technique so that an individual can practice at their own speed. You actually get 2 DVD’s: one instructional and one demonstrated without instruction, plus the interview. She offers a very candid overview of her yoga beliefs, spirituality and life. For $20, this DVD is a bargain. It is as good if not better than a yoga class- without leaving the comfort of your home and can be done on your own time; i.e.. NAP TIME. I’ve made it a goal to do it at least twice per week (as I really do love it!)

Vinyasa Flow Yoga Sessions DVD Set

This one is worth your money!! You can purchase it directly from the GAIAM website and if your feeling like an overachiever or need an extra challenge you can purchase Session 2 as well.

Please feel free to post a comment on your favorite DVD or how you incorporate yoga into your daily or weekly routine.

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Recently, I got the chance to try out the new RealPlayer Plus. This is essentially a video tool that can instantly download streaming videos to your hard drive simply by pressing a button. It’s really cool, once you learn how to use it! Installation took five minutes and I was good to go. The purpose of the RealPlayer Plus is to enable users to go to video websites and with a click of the button, download a video to the player. Once it’s in your library, you can then watch it whenever you want, you can burn it into a DVD or share the link with friends. If given multiple hours to cruise the internet to find exactly the types of workouts you like, I think this is a really awesome tool.

It was fairly entertaining browsing YouTube! I searched “medicine ball workouts” and found TONS of military style, straight out of Men’s Health workouts that I would NEVER do! Then, I searched on mom and baby fitness and found lots of interesting ab workouts while holding your 1-year old baby. Somehow, I even came across 10 Carmen Electra (too sexy for me) workouts. Another cool one I found is Kelli Roberts Upper Body Core- realistic, yet challenging with balance work as well as upper body. Finally, purely by accident, it seemed, I found Julie B! She has a good story to tell and she’s been featured on KTLA channel 5 and channel 11 here in Los Angeles.

Readers, I need suggestions for your favorite workout videos online!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD5LInt3o40&rel=1]

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Denise Austin: Fit & Firm Pregnancy

CONTEST!!

How many of you want her body? Admit it! She is seriously fit, toned and sexy. I personally want her abs. She’s had two kids too, so, what’s my excuse?? Too many Iced Mocha’s!

I’ve been getting toned up with the above DVD. This DVD is perfect for the mother-to-be and beyond! There is a fantastic 20 minute cardiovascular set that is low-impact and heart healthy. Two 20 minute strength training routines that will work your entire body. Finally, she has two bonus workouts for core strength and breathing techniques.

Fit and Firm Pregnancy really follows Denise’s own philosophy of fitness. I was lucky enough to talk to her recently, and she simply does thirty minutes of exercise a day. Three days per week she does some form of cardiovascular conditioning, two days per week she works on strength training and toning, and finally, she incorporates yoga on the off day.

I highly recommend this DVD for those of you pregnant mommies out there! It’s a complete body workout that will keep you fit and trim throughout your pregnancy. If you’re just thinking about getting back into shape – this is a good place to start. Fit and Firm Pregnancy is challenging yet can be adapted to your own level of fitness. There’s also a good segment at the end for toning your abdominals after you’ve given birth which I found challenging (my baby is almost 2!).

1 MORE FOR YOU!!

Simply post a comment below with your email address and you will be entered to win this awesome DVD!! Winner will need to provide U.S. mailing address.

CONTEST ENDS FEBRUARY 12TH!!  ***Paige is the winner.

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