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post partum fitness

Opinion Pieces

Should You Make Time for Fitness?

Posted on October 14, 2018

Did you come here expecting me to say yes? I’m not going to.

A lot of people will tell you making time for fitness is “easy” if it’s important to you.  I call bullshit – sort of.  Allow me to elaborate:

A lot of people will tell you making time for fitness is “easy” if it’s important to you.  I call bullshit – sort of.  Allow me to elaborate:

“Making time” for anything is exactly that: MAKING TIME.  It would be nice if we all had unlimited time, but alas, that is not the case.  If you want to find time for one activity, that means borrowing it from another activity.

I should mention that I’m not here to debate whether or not exercise is good for you, I think we can all agree that it is. But should you bend over backwards making time to fit it into your life?  Only you can answer that.

If you want to find time for one activity, that means borrowing it from another activity.

Running a 10K on Thanksgiving

Let’s get started with what YOU do.  Maybe you work, maybe you take care of kids, maybe you do both.  These duties are non-negotiable.  Work has deadlines, and I assume you want to keep your kids alive.

So, what else do you do?  Maybe you are responsible for the cleaning in your house, making meals for yourself and others, doing laundry, or picking up after your family.  Then there are “luxuries” we all want to enjoy such as showering, eating full meals, (can you tell I’m a mom?) and having a moment to unwind by watching tv or reading a book.

Then there are “luxuries” we all want to enjoy such as showering and eating full meals (can you tell I’m a mom?)

Now let me jump to why I make time for fitness.  When I work out, especially when I do cardio, it makes me a better mom.  I have more patience to deal with my kids, I have less anxiety, and my body feels better. 

However, making time for fitness comes at a cost.  Some days I don’t have time to make dinner, or I might have to skip washing the sheets and towels one week. Maybe I skip vacuuming and that means I’m wading through Cheerios to get across my apartment – kidding, sort of…

Making time for fitness comes at a cost.

Are these the types of things you want to give up?  I can’t answer that for you.  Maybe sleeping on dirty sheets gives you insomnia because you’re so grossed out. Maybe not picking up the kid’s toys every day gives you panic attacks because there’s too much clutter.  Does this sound healthy to you?

You are the only person who can evaluate how different activities positively or negatively impact your life.

You are the only person who can evaluate how different activities positively or negatively impact your life.

Maybe you are able to move some things around in your schedule and start a new fitness regimen right now, maybe you’ll do it when the kids are older, or maybe when you retire.  Whatever the case, don’t beat yourself up too much if you are in a fitness slump. 

Be your own advocate 

While I do sincerely hope each of you eventually finds a fitness regimen you love that fits in your schedule perfectly, I’m not going to preach to those of you who haven’t yet.  And I definitely won’t say it’s “easy.”  Be your own advocate and choose a path that makes you your best self.  There is no one-size-fits-all for the perfect life.

Daily Life ExploreLongBeach

EPIC Series Obstacle Race

Posted on May 6, 2018

The ultimate EPIC Sunday Funday! Almost exactly 1 year after my c-section and I am so proud to have just finished my first EPIC series obstacle race. It was the perfect mixture of challenging but still achievable (even for someone who may have neglected to do weights for almost a month.)

Almost exactly 1 year after my c-section and I am so proud to have just finished my first EPIC series obstacle race

I loved that this race was so obstacle-heavy, and also that each obstacle had the option to do beginner, intermediate, and hard variations. I stuck with beginner and intermediate and am feeling like I’m on top of the world, and also a little bit like I got hit by a truck.(If you look through the photos, you will see the “hit by a truck” look on my face towards the end! But in a good “I’m a badass” kind of way.)

If you look through the photos, you will see the “hit by a truck” look on my face towards the end! But in a good “I’m a badass” kind of way

It felt so good to push myself in different ways for each obstacle. Running and climbing come really easily to me, so I was able to breeze through those obstacles. Climbing the rope and hoisting the keg with a pulley were great intermediate challenges because they were hard and different, but I still did okay. The upper body challenges were the toughest for me.

Does anyone else cry after really intense workouts or am I a total weirdo?

Carrying the keg around the track for that last lap was brutal! I couldn’t even get it onto my shoulders without help! But once it was on there, I made my way around the track and finished. And totally cried at the end out of pride and relief. (Does anyone else cry after really intense workouts or am I a total weirdo?) If you are looking for a fitness challenge, definitely check out the Epic course in your city. You can use promo code PARENTDAZE for 10% off at any of their events in 2018!  Here is their link! https://www.epicseriesocr.com/

Did I mention there was a kids’ course too?  For $20, Katie got to participate in the kids’ EPIC course!  She loved learning new workouts and testing her limits.  And I loved sharing this fitness experience with her.  It was a great opportunity for the whole family to enjoy fitness together.  And watching Katie made me realize I need to improve my planking!  Hers is on point!

Daily Life ExploreLongBeach

Warrior Dash 2018

Posted on March 25, 2018

Dual caption: You know he loves you when…. / ….this is life with kids.  We had such a blast today doing the Warrior Dash together! I loved the fact that we did it as a couple and it was such a fun bonding experience for the two of us! Crawling through the mud together was a first! I like that this event was good for all skills levels. It was enough of a challenge for me, as someone who works out a lot, but was still achievable for Jason, who works out occasionally.

We climbed walls, we army crawled under barbed wire, and we waded through mud pits. It was a great course for a group, for families, or even solo. And then we finished and did a smooch for the camera and got photobombed by Katie, which is pretty much our lives! I almost cropped her out, but you know what? This is us! Even when you do things without your kids, the kids are with you. You can’t escape them! We had such a great time and they even had a kid’s obstacle course! We will definitely be returning next year!!

Use my promo WDPARENTDAZE for $5 off registration in 2018.  Here is the link to their site.

Daily Life

Getting My Strength Back

Posted on January 10, 2018

Ideal caption: “Jason was just so captivated by my beauty he took this photo for his desk at work so he could admire me all the time.” But… I like to keep it real on social media and it really went something more like “Can you take a pic of me in my bathing suit? Over here. No, over here where the light is better. Too bad we don’t have a fan to make my hair blow around…?.”

Seriously though, I have been a hiker and a jogger for a long time now because I love to connect with nature and I love the way cardio makes me feel (Hooray for good mental health!) In September I started doing weights for the first time to improve my core strength after having Isabelle via c section (because all of a sudden chopping veggies was an ab exercise )

        It was incredibly hard at first. I went from being in the best shape of my life during my pregnancy to being unable to lift Katie for 6 weeks. Now I am proud to say I can carry both girls up 2 flights of stairs to our apartment and can almost squat my body weight. It’s amazing how durable women’s bodies are. We can grow humans, birth them, and then sustain them using our bodies after they are born.

         We are so strong and so amazing. And, while I know there are more important things (and I make sure to stress to the girls that strength and wellness are the real reasons to work out), I am damn proud of how my body looks after having a baby carved out of my body only 8 months ago. It really is the icing on the cake. So here is my shameless bikini photo ?. #iamwomanhearmeroar