Fit Mom's Blog

Runner’s get ready!

This moisture-wicking, long sleeve shirt will be perfect for all your outdoor activities.  Designed to be mult-functional, light weight and super soft, you’ll want to wear this one again and again.  What’s even better is that it has a UPF 50!! According to the press release, this shirt can block 98% of the sun’s damaging rays.

After doing a little research via Google, I found NOT a lot of clothing designed for women athletes that will protect you from the sun!  And what I found (only first 2 pages of google) was ugly, frumpy and for the beach only!  So, I was thrilled to receive this shirt for review!

What’s so great about this shirt? It IS so SOFT.  Soft like the cheeks of your little ones.  There are little thumb holes for extra hand protection or for warmth and a little pocket on the upper left shoulder that fits an Ipod perfectly!  You might think it’d pop out, but, I ran lots of hills and it did not budge.  The fit is great, as it’s fitted slightly but not boxy.  On my run today, the temperature was in the high 80′s and I did not feel hot at all- in fact the fabric may be cooling- or it seemed that way to me.

Anyway, would I recommend this to you, my readers??

YES.  Without hesitation.  Be the first in your group to be both protected and stylish!

You can find them online at BloqUV.com.

[Read more →]

How many of you are tired of hearing about how you can lose 2 dress sizes in 2 weeks? Believe the crap about eating cereal twice a day will help you lose weight? Eating this or that will bring the changes you want to see in your body? Or how about lifting weights? Interval work, blah blah blah…You’ve heard it all before and so have I. I’ve also tried many of the current fitness rages and blogged about them here. I’m here to tell you that I’ve thrown all those damn rules out the door!

Kettlebell swing, kettlebell squats, one arm leg lunges, abdominal work with a kettlebell; all been done here.

Marathoning. Check.

Bike Racing. Check.

Basic Weight Training on the Shawn Phillips philosophy. Check.

David Kirsh’s methods of training via his book (2 weeks to Ultimate Body). Ok, book read, exercises tried, but did not follow plan.

Interval work on bike or feet. Check.

People, I could send you links to evidence to all of the above posts. In the last two years, I’ve tried MANY MANY methods in which to stay fit and healthy and lose body fat. At this point, finally, my youngest is 3 and 1/2 and my weight is lighter than I’ve ever been in my life. My food is fairly intuitive in that I eat a green smoothie, a salad, mostly fish diet, that includes dark chocolate, lots of NUMI tea, occasional beers and sometimes, crap. But, for the most part, I am leaner and lighter than I’ve ever been in my life.

Guess what?!

I AM NOT LIFTING WEIGHTS. AT ALL. That 35 pound kettlebell is sitting in my garage collecting dust. My stability ball is my desk chair. The elastic bands are used as jump ropes for my kids. The weight bench is used for all kinds of imaginary adventures for the boys but I’ve not lifted, pulled or flexed on that thing in almost a year.

Honestly, I still do something physical daily. But, the fact of the matter is that I am not specifically training with any particular plan. I simply run or do yoga. Once a week, I will do Graeme’s CORE AB-Blaster DVD that takes 14 minutes. That sounds simple enough right? The thing with the yoga is that it has made me stronger and leaner than I ever got lifting weights. When I was lifting weights 3 times a week, I was QUADZILLA!! Biggest legs of a girl you’ve ever seen, really. Take one yoga pose like Warrior 2. Hold it for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Feel the burn. Where do you feel it first? If it’s done correctly, you will feel it everywhere!! Take any yoga pose and hold it for even 5 breathes and you get tired. Because it is working your entire body at once!

Learning yoga has been the best gift I ever could have gotten for my body, for my mental health and for my sports. When people ask me about their various running related injuries, I send them to yoga.

It can only benefit you.

[Read more →]

Thanks to all of you for commenting on the Just Be Kind post!  Glad we all agree that there needs to be more Random Acts of Kindness in the world.  Not saying that the moron driving 50 mph on a residential street and trying to pass me is going to get the Kind Fit Mommy, though.  He might get the aggressive one who steps on the gas and will tell him just exactly how rude is he for trying to pass on the right on a two lane road…Maybe I’m the one who needs the intervention for MORE YOGA??!

The following are some ways to get yourself BACK ON SCHEDULE for your fitness goals.  I’m sure they are things you’ve heard before but they are worth repeating!

*Reset or change your goals to accommodate the daylight savings time.  When are you going to work out?    Will it involve 5AM wake-up calls?

*Get a buddy.  Find a running buddy who will meet you at least once a week to workout with.  This is a BIGGIE.  If someone is waiting for you, you are much more likely not to hit the alarm.

*Decide what you are training for.  Want to lose a few pounds, maintain, or train for a 5km or longer? Maybe a century ride or a mountain bike ride or race?

*Find a yoga class.  This is important.  Sorry, it’s a must.  If you are an athlete of any sort {remember, I think you are all athletes}, you NEED yoga.  This is a tricky subject because there is a LOT of strange things happening in yoga now- but, keep searching until you find one teacher that speaks to you.  Make it a goal to go once a week, if not more.  The flexibility, balance, strength that you build in a yoga class will transfer to benefits in your sport and life.

*Look at your schedule and decide when you can carve out time for yourself and then do it.

*Have some kind of plan in place for your decided goal.  When you’ve spent the time to carve out YOUR TIME, you should have an idea of what you’re going to do with it!!

*Eat copious vegetables.  Make a protein/green smoothie daily.  Drink your water, blah, blah blah…You know what to do.

*Avoid AVOID avoid the crap food offered in the workplace.

*Use your lunchhour productively.  Thankfully, there is lunchtime yoga in the big cities now, it’s a great way to get your workout DONE before kids and dinner become the priority.

*Buy a PowerWheel. Cheap. Fantastic way to work your core in 1 minute.

Ok, your turn, what can you add to this post?  It’s time to crack down and get on a schedule!  It’d prolly be a great time to train for a winter marathon, btw.  Who’s racing this season?

[Read more →]

Wow. Amazing to have so many motivated women in one place! We gathered at Redlands Cyclery for registration, pre-ride meetings, introductions and then we were off. For the 75 women, we had 3 main groups each with a dedicated Cat 2 Woman as the director. And, then each of those groups had an additional mentor who could help out when the groups needed to be split again. There was a “beginner” group, a strong recreational rider group and a racer group. I went with the racer group- even though I haven’t been on my bike in literally 4 months. We also had 25-30 Team PossAbilities men on hand to help with the set up and take down of equipment and provide sag support in vehicles.

This event has a cost of $30 per person. And, they will be provided with three solid meals in addition to all fueling needs for on and off the bike.

As for the actual riding time, I had a blast! I got to work on pacelines, attacking, counter attacking and bumping. Very cool. Dorothy Wong was also here in attendance working as a mentor and she was complimenting us on how strong we are. I am just in awe of the strength and motivation of all the riders.

I also wanted to let you about about She Pedals a new magazine just for women’s cyclists! She’s here riding and writing about our event.

Here are some photos of the event:

Promise to have more photos of on the bike coverage tomorrow. Must carry small digital in jersey pocket! Have a great, active weekend everybody!

[Read more →]

105 degrees was the temperature today. Crack an egg on the black top and I swear it’d fry! I remember the old days of teaching phys ed in the summer and I’d have to check the temperature every hour until it hit 100 before I could bring my class in for indoor PE!

In Paul’s case, training in this kind of heat doesn’t actually benefit his fitness, AT ALL. In fact, he can see a noticeable difference in his power output based on the temperature alone like as much as 10%! Training in the heat really (in my humble opinion) offers more risks than benefits. You run the risk of heat exhaustion, you can’t train as hard or as long in the heat, you must increase your water intake before, during and after the workout, and it’s just not fun!

And it’s a good rule of thumb is to decide what benefit could come of training in the heat unless you are going to be racing in the heat.

If you are going to train in the heat:

Consider that you’d need twice as much water as you’d usually drink on a ride or run

It will take longer to recover

Plan on lower intensity runs or rides

Plan on shorter rides or runs

You run the risk of heat exhaustion

Plan on utilizing electrolyte replacement drinks during the workout

Alternatives to Working out in the Heat

Change your focus: work on the things you neglect like your CORE

Be willing to do different forms of exercise to still get your cardio – such as swimming

Workout at the crack of dawn

Do less, but, workout harder on alternating days

Swing a kettlebell!

Go to Yoga

Set goals for the winter of 2010 and make plans to be fit and ready

How do you train in inclement weather? What challenges are you facing to get in your daily workout?

[Read more →]

This weekend,  Team PossAbilities will be hosting it’s first ever women’s bicycle clinic.  This clinic is the brainchild of one of my teammates, Wendy, who is passionate about helping women get started in cycling.  It’s always a curious question about how women get started in cycling, I started riding in high school, but I didn’t get serious about it till some friends invited me to join the collegiate bike team.  Anyway… we have 75 women confirmed for the clinic this weekend!! 75. Mostly local women! Holy Cow!! That’s a lot of women.   And, about 2/3 of the women are brand new to cycling and riding in groups!  That’s really encouraging for cycling and for women’s racing.

On schedule for these women will include on the bike instruction taught by professional women bike racers, off the bike lectures on nutrition, training, massage, core work, and bike maintenance.

Our community has really come together to support us in this event.   We have had food donated from all over town!  We will be eating like queens for those two days and I can’t wait!  The sponsors have also been amazingly generous as we’ve had donations from Redlands Cylcery who has provided us with one of my all time favorites : Recoverite from Hammer Nutrition, Action Wipes, Sage Rountree, Reps for Life, Sambazon, Owater, Mission Skincare, CVS Pharmacy, Voler, Sheila Moon and I don’t know what else!! Image being handed a bag full of useful items!

My teammates and I met at my house today to stuff the bags and here is just a glimpse of what the participants will be getting!

Teammate Joy and someone hiding among the bags…

Looking forward to participating in this great event and writing about it here.

[Read more →]

[Read more →]

Today’s guest post is written by Mama Likes. She has a hilarious blog and is an enthusiastic, athletic mother of two boys. Here to share about her upcoming triathlon plan! You totally can do it!

When Fit Mommy put the invite out for guest writers, I thought my foray into the world of triathlons might make a good series. Especially since I have no idea what I’m doing. It could be quite amusing. Not to mention the plethora of puns that are possible for post titles (say that five times fast!).

I’m a mom of two boys, ages 5 and 9. We live in Northern New Jersey and the event I’m signed up for is part of the Trek Women series on Long Island. Even though I don’t work (for money) full time, trying to find time for exercise can be tricky and with kids spring sports it’s gotten even more complicated lately. My Busy Body book is working overtime right now! I have a feeling I’m going to have to give up some sleep to get workouts done before the rest of the family wakes up.

So why am I doing this? Good question. I’m turning 40 in October. The triathlon I’m doing is in mid September. I think that might have just a teensy, weensy, little bit to do with it (this year’s mantra, “never surrender”). I am fit, but not fit like a triathlete is fit. I’m more of a gym rat. The cycling part of the event is the only part I feel even remotely comfortable with. I spin two to three times a week and just became certified to teach. However, I know that riding outside is a completely different animal. I rode my new bike home from the auto body repair shop today (all of a half mile) and was winded. Uh oh.

Ever since I was in elementary school, I’ve had an aversion to running. I have a bit of exercise-induced asthma and have really negative memories of every jog-a-thon and running event I had to participate in. Much of what I need to overcome to do this event is mental. I need to believe that I can do it. I’m not there yet. This tri is a sprint distance (the shortest kind of tri) so everyone says “it’s just a 5k” or “it’s only a half mile swim” but I still psyche myself out. I was on vacation recently and tried to swim laps. Doing the crawl, I could do two without stopping. Breaststroke, four. Uh oh, again.

I know that to train adequately I need to run, bike and swim each week and I have four months. Here’s my progress for week one.

Week of 4/20

Monday: Did yoga

Tuesday: Did 35 minutes of spinning because I hit a parked car right before class

Wednesday: Nada

Thursday: Did 15 minutes of spinning to warm up before 30 minutes of weight training

Friday: Ran 3 miles on the treadmill

Weekend: Total loser

Week of 4/27

Monday: Rode bike home from auto body shop

Icing ankle from running 3 miles on the treadmill Friday

E-mailed someone about swimming lessons

Not exactly off to an impressive start am I? That’s part of the reason I wanted to write about this, for extra motivation and support. If anyone has any tips for doing your first tri, I’m all ears. My goal for the tri is really simple: I want to complete each event without stopping to walk, rest at the wall, etc. I have no grandiose goals of running 7 minute miles or swimming like Dara Torres. Just no stopping, that’s all I ask. We’ll see how it goes. In the meantime:

Never surrender!

Thanks MamaLikey for this great post! I also wanted to share with you all some posts I’ve written about Multisport Training!

Multisport Training Tips: Part 1

Multisport Training Training (The clothing edition)

Multisport Training Tips: Part 3

[Read more →]

What’s up with my knee, heh? Is that a pronating right knee?

First, we can do foolish things and get away with it- sometimes.  Like take a “flyer” from the group.   In tennis I’d call it a “hail mary”.  Hitting the ball to nowhere.  Sprinting away from the group for no particular reason.

Second, most women cyclists (professionals and the upper catergories) are HIGHLY EDUCATED. Either they’ve become a cyclists late in life after already having professional careers or they started racing in college- but most have college degrees if not masters or Ph.D’s.

Third, they (and I’ll include myself) do it for the love of it.  Not for the money.  Even the Cat. 1 and 2′s who were here for the Redlands Classic are NOT PAID.  They are racing in the professional categories- but aren’t earning a dime.   Amber Neben has her own category and there are a few teams who are paid a “salary” but it is hardly worth their time.

Fourth, they all have a professional career (life) that they must return to after all the big races.  And, having a career that involves 40+ hours a week does not allow that much time to train.  

Fifth, bike racing is a sport and it is a team sport.  Racing as an adult gives us women the opportunity to be aggressive, work together in a group and to share experiences with other women.  Not too many sports can offer that for a woman who’s already a grown up!

Finally, they (we) are freakin fast.  And we are getting faster with age.  Tina Pic (Colavita Racing) is over 40 and is still dominating the professional stage races.  

What did I forget?

Cycling for women in any aspect is an amazing experience. Whether you ride with a Burley attached or ride to eat or ride to the wineries or where ever, cycling is freedom.  

Here’s my invitation to you to try it!

[Read more →]

Most endurance athletes I know never leave the house without their heart rate monitors! Wearing my heart rate monitor insures that I know what’s happening in my own body. And, I do a lot of interval training. Although the “I can’t breath test” would work, I’ve preferred a heart rate monitor for the last 10 years. The research I’m reading is indicating the HIIT heart rate training will burn more fat than endurance training (see link). This fascinates me! If you want to burn lots of fat fast, interval training is the way to go!

Polar is still my watch of choice and I haven’t bought a new one in 4 years or so. And they have graciously offered to let me try their new Cardio Bra so that I may write about it here.

The bra comes in either black or white and are sized small, medium or large based on your chest size. It’s worn more like a traditional bra with a back closure. This bra has been designed for it’s ability to function and less for the style in my opinion. The bra has a u-shaped front with wide shoulder straps offering incredible support. The Wear Link unit is sold individually clips in to the bra on the outside and within five minutes, it activated itself (no strap required with the use of the bra).

As you can see from the picture, the older versions of the strap are a hard plastic and the new one is a thinner softer kind of plastic. This has always been a huge complaint with me because that hard plastic strap hurts! I do not recommend running with that hard plastic strap under a jog bra- unless you want to come home with blisters or red nasty wounds on your chest.

Personally, I would never think of doing any kind of workout without my heart rate monitor. This type of accessory is incredibly convenient for those of us who swear by heart rate monitors! And it will FOR SURE save my skin- no chaffing with the clip in Wear Link monitor. How many of you workout with your heart rate monitor?

[Read more →]