Tuesday, February 25, 2014

MASH

Disclosure: I received the DVD for the express purpose of a review and giveaway. All opinions are my own.

You read that and your thoughts took you here:


(and no I am not saying goodbye- in fact, I have a post coming up this week that I am still working on) :)

or here:



(or maybe to mashed potatoes, those mash-up songs, etc) BUT you would be wrong- LOL!  No- in fact today- I am referring to:






As part of being a part of the Girls Gone Sporty ambassadors I was offered the opportunity to review and giveaway a DVD.  With some snow days; some crazy, busy days; and just general soreness I finally had a chance to pull out the dvd and complete it.

Some general info and then I'll go into the pros/cons/thoughts and then the giveaway details.

  • MASH UP stands for Mind/Body, Agility and Strength, and High Intensity Intervals
  • Each set is only 15 minutes- 5 minutes on each area.
  • Multiple levels and includes a free workout calendar and eating guide.
Pros-

-It is set up in 15 minute workouts- spending 5 minutes on each area.  You can pick and choose which particular workouts you do on each day.  I did mine in order 2 workouts per day.  You can do as many as you need depending on your time.  

-There is a clock countdown on each workout to show how much time was left.  It was so engaging that I found that we were at the last section and I wondered where the time had gone.

-Constant encouragement- Stacy has an endless stream of encouragement from the countdown to encouraging you at home to encouraging the three with her performing the exercises.

-Differentiation- there were 3 levels of difficulty for each exercise.  Within those levels there were often other modifications to make it easier or harder (and on the beginnings/early exercisers/those with physical limitations the lady was pregnant so it was easy to see how to modify even for that). 

-I wore my heart rate monitor and with these circuits of 30 minutes I consistently burned about 200 calories which I didn't think was bad at all for the exercise I was doing (I burn about 100-120 calories/mile running and in training it takes me about 22-25 minutes to run a couple of miles so not that far off and if I did the advanced I probably would have matched it)


Cons-
-I wish you could somehow select all of the videos you want to do for the day at one time so you didn't have to go back to the menu screen each time- it would keep a more consistent flow.

-The cost- I wish it were a little cheaper because I truly believe that for someone who doesn't like to exercise, someone who is just starting out, someone who is self-conscious- this is PERFECT.  As I disclosed up above I received my copy to review and host this giveaway.  Is it worth it?  I think it is (and can think of several it's perfect for).  Here is a sample!  


So, on that note- you can win one here!  I can't wait to see who gets to win :)  How?

1. Leave a comment below- tell me one thing that would help you stay motivated with exercising/healthy living!
2. Like MASH UP's FB page (and I will check)
3. Subscribe to MASH Up's Youtube account
4. Follow MASH UP on Twitter

Leave a comment for EACH ONE (Do not put them all in one comment) If you are unable to do one of them please leave a comment telling why (i.e. you don't have a twitter account).  I'm going to run this until Sunday night (March 2) at 9:00.  I'll announce the winner Monday morning!

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Sunday Inspiration

Just a reminder that you never know someone's story!





Thursday, February 13, 2014

Strawberry Plains 10K- recap

Last Saturday (February 8) I decided to participate in the Strawberry Plains 10K (there was also a half marathon but that wasn't happening last weekend…).  That was supposed to be 6.2 miles of "flat" (and flat in East TN does not mean the same thing it does in Indiana or Ohio).  Flat in East TN means rolling hills-LOL!  Anyway, crowded to start on an open course but crowds eventually thinned out.  I kept a pretty steady pace of around 12:20 (my first mile was faster and my mile 5 was slower) throughout the whole race which I was happy with.  I do want to get back a little faster but I know what I need to do first- that will come- it's not coming as quickly as I would like but it will come (and this LONG LONG LONG winter is not helping matters any).

The main thing I want to remember about this particular race is encouragement and the importance of it.  

First- before the race- I ran into several friends.  One of whom is a marathon runner and was doing the half marathon.  I told her I was "just" doing the 10K.  She informed me that I should never say "just".  And, when I stopped to think about it- she's right- so I am going to be working really hard on taking pride in my accomplishments and not saying "just" and "I am slow".  Others I ran into were friends that I have done several races with and also a friend who is a cancer survivor.  He's very much an inspiration and his enthusiasm is contagious!  I also ran into a FB friend that I finally had the chance to meet (briefly) and watch others being encouraged by those around me before the start.

Listen to the cheering voices
source

During the race- It was an out and back race so saw several people I knew as they were headed back which was very cool and encouraging as we could cheer for each other.  When we hit the turn around point I went about a mile or so and started having issues with my app on my phone (I think the GPS kept losing it's signal- we were in the middle of nowhere with lots of trees).  I slowed down to fiddle with it and this older lady came up beside me and said, "Oh good, now I can catch up with you.".  We chatted for quite a while (and I will say she kept me from walking) and in the process I found out she was 81 years old and had been running since she was 46 with a 6 year pause due to the Peace Corps.  Oh, and she is a retired teacher.  I was blown away- I told her she was amazing and inspiring and she responded the same to me.  Just a very neat experience and when she slowed down a little I told her I was going ahead- she said go for it and have a great race!  There were several moments that kept me going when I wanted to walk.  When we hit the water stop on the way back (I do wish there had been one at the turn around) the group working the stop had their radio playing and it was playing one of my favorite songs- Overcomer by Mandisa :)  And then, on top of that- when I came through the ending I could hear that song playing again from the people who were helping put on the race.  Definitely needed those pick me ups.

source



After the race- I was limited on food choices (but that's all good) and as I waited on a friend to come in I ran into that inspiring "young" lady again and, again, she was encouraging and I was so disappointed I did not get my picture taken with her (I was tired and my body hurt so I was not thinking clearly).  I thoroughly enjoyed this race and hope to do it again next year!

Oh, and my official time on race #2 in 2014- I did my 10K in 1:16:37.  My realistic goal was 1:20 and my "wish" goal was 1:15.  Almost hit the wish goal… :)  





Sunday, February 2, 2014

Sunday Inspiration

For your soul….





Lonely?  Or, feel alone?  This post will shower your heart with truth.

Don't feel worthy?  Watch this




A journey into Discerning the Voice of God (a Bible Study by Priscilla Shirer)- I am taking this study on Monday nights and just got my book today and did the first two lessons and have already been in tears!)

and this picture goes along with that study



For your physical…




**all photos were saved from Pinterest- some of them do not have direct links so I am not deliberately leaving off the info.  My personal pinterest page can be found here

Saturday, February 1, 2014

February- 1 month down and 11 to go



Just a check in on my 2014 goals:

1. Participate in at least one challenge every month.  My goal would be to participate daily but I am willing to just participate in one consistently.  This month- the Squat and push up 31 day boot camp.  I did this!  I did not read carefully and only did 2 sets of each all the way through but for my first challenge I thought I did fairly well!  I am going to share my February challenges in a post on Monday (although I will start on February 1).



2. Participate in 14 races in 2014.  I did this in 2013 and want to do it again in 2014.  I ran my first one this morning- it wasn't pretty but as I told someone it was my 2014 beginning and hopefully I have nowhere to go but up.  I have three more races already scheduled between now and the end of March but am looking at adding 2 more at least in that time frame.    I did one on January 1 and had to sit out the January 11th one due to the sprained foot.  I have 1 already scheduled for February 15 and hopefully plan to do one on February 8.  I am also already signed up for one on March 1 and then the half will be on March 30.

3. Establish my 6 month program for clients, finish my health coaching website, order business cards, brochures, and other things.  Bottom line is that I need to put it on paper and get the materials needed to get going.  The end goal for this is the end of March. Graduate from Institute of Integrative Nutrition and begin seeing clients.  I should graduate at the end of April.  I would love to start having paying clients lined up before the end of May. I have not done this yet (and there's really no reason why I shouldn't because I have had LOTS of time with snow days LOL)

4. Spend more time with God- this should really be my number 1 goal and it is (but these are in no particular order).  I know that my walk with Him directly correlates to the rest of my life and the rest of these goals being fulfilled.  I will spend time in the mornings in my Bible, in prayer, and just seeking His will for my life.  This includes weekends (which is where I struggle)  Every day I post a scripture on FB- I think I will also be writing it down and placing them in the jar with the date and a short explanation of why- at the end of the year I can go back and look at them and see the promises fulfilled.    
I did not make this jar but have been making note of the verses and quotes and putting them in a small notebook.

5. Blog regularly- for me- at this point in my life that means 2-3 times a week.  Some weeks may be more but hopefully a minimum of 2. I am getting there- I would like to do more but sometimes I just don't know what to say LOL


6. Lose weight- I know this is a "generic" goal and I am more than a number- BUT the bottom line is that I am not at a healthy weight right now.  By the end of 2014 I would like to have lost 30-35 lbs.  With that I will be within 10-15 lbs of MY goal.  By June I would like to lose 20 lbs (that's when I go back to the doctor for my physical).  January has been a rough month- I haven't seen much change in my weight but I am hoping that when I take some measurements Saturday morning I will see some difference.  I am telling myself that the steps I have taken in January have set me up for an amazing February.  If I don't see any difference in the next couple of weeks I will be making a doctor appt for some bloodwork to make sure there's not something else going on.

7. Save money and work on eliminating debt- to achieve an unnamed goal that means I need to make a plan and stick with it- so that will mean setting up a monthly budget (and understanding that it could change month to month).  It looks like I will have a second "job" (but it's not really a job) starting that will help bring in a little extra money per month- for now I will focus on putting that aside and getting the budget established. Still need to work on this!

8. I am "borrowing" this from my friend Glenneth- try one new thing a month.  All kinds of things- rock climbing, ziplining, paddleboarding, etc.  It may even be one new fitness class a month.  This month I am going to check and see if the local Y has a beginners yoga class- I have sore muscles and think that might be a good place to start. I did not make it to a yoga class because of the schedules of the classes BUT I did do a couple of yoga sessions at home so I think I will count that ;) LOL

9. Implement at least one healthy habit change a month- my change for this month- no fast food.  I am not saying no restaurants- but no fast food.  It is WAY too easy to swing through the drive thru for food then to come home and cook it so that means I need to be prepared- fully prepared!  AND: Drink more water!  Right now I don't drink enough- my goal, at the end of every day is to drink between 80-100 oz.  I need to crowd out the diet sodas and reintroduce water.  One way I am getting water in is to drink a glass of lemon water every morning.  It's a good way to introduce a cleanse and here are some benefits (and might I just say that of the two mornings I started out with this it definitely worked- LOL) I did it- I had no fast food for the entire month of January!  I did stop at Chick Fil A two times but both times I went to get a salad and that was what I drove away with.  Still need to drink more water.  My healthy habit for February will also be introduced on Monday.

10.  Read!  I love to read- it relaxes me.  I would like to read at least one "fun" book a month (for example: a mystery, Christian fiction, etc) and one "health/nutrition" book a month.  These can be "hold in your hand books" or books that I have downloaded to my Kindle on my iPad As of the time I am writing this (10:00 on January 31) I have yet to read either of these.  I have started a couple but not read them.  This will still be a goal.

11. Simplify.  I have a small house- it is just how my life has worked and for the most part it works BUT I have an abundance of "stuff".  It's time to declutter- I have not stamped in about 6 months therefore, my first order of business is to pare down on that.  I still want to keep some things but there are some I just need to let go of.  I will be putting them up for sale (and if anyone wants any let me know and I'll send you the link when I do so).  I will also need to just get rid of things I am not using.  My goal is to have this simplified and cut down on by the end of May I have sold a few stamp things and one thing from the kitchen but I still have a long way to go!

12.  Stay on top of my "school" work (aka my teaching stuff).  Spend time each week putting in anecdotal notes and such so I am not stressed at the end of the semester.  Work on lesson plans through the week and not letting them take over my weekend.  Yes, I am planning on my life looking a LOT different this semester. I have not done the anecdotal notes but I have been doing the lesson plans throughout the week and have been getting them done ahead of the weekend which has eased quite a bit of stress.

13. Exercise more consistently- You'll notice that I didn't include a specific number of days for exercise, etc.  Well, the reason for that is simple- I don't want to be tied down to it.  I am supposed to be training for the half marathon so that will be a bulk of it- BUT I also plan on incorporating strength into my life as well.  Life twists and turns on a dime so some weeks may only get a minimum while other weeks may be filled with an excess of training time- I need to take it as it comes and watch my diet. For the most part this has been a success- fairly consistent but could be better!

14. LIVE- this goes back to my "One Word" post.  My goal is to truly live- to do so that might mean saying yes to outings, spending time with friends, and getting out of my comfort zone.  It also might mean saying no when needed. I have been working on this- spending time with friends and hanging out doing fun things and yet, saying no and walking away when needed. :)

So- all in all my goals are going okay- they could be better but okay…  I look forward to seeing how these improve over the next 11 months!

How are your goals going?