Wednesday 4 March 2015

This Girl Can







This Girl Can. Please Watch this..1.5minutes that shows you WOMEN SWEAT and SWEAT HARD.



S-W-E-A-T - mostly water, some minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, mag,iron, zinc, chromium+++), lactate (Lactic acid), and Urea.. Adults (YES MEN AND WOMEN) can sweat 2-4litres per hour..DRINK WATER PEOPLE!!



We have 2-4million glands in our bodies and their job is to regulate your skin and interior body temperature.  Too Hot? Here comes the sweat.  The heavier you are, the harder your body is woring so you may perspire more.  Stressed? Yep, your body will sweat because your interior temperature is skyrocketing (Yet another link to mental and physical health).  The fitter and healthier you are you also begin to sweat more and more easily becasue your body is getting more efficient at regulating its own temperature. Just like every other body system, you are made to adapt and conserve.



"Women dont sweat - They glisten"  WHAAAATTT???!!!??? I EFFING HATE this saying..who came up with this shit? Do we partly bring it on ourselves with the instagram, facebook, google, magazine images of women "working out" in skimpy cloths, fake eyelashes, glitter body dust and a full face of makeup?  COME ON PEOPLE...  Why is it ok for a man to be at the gym, sweating his ass off, pumping iron and pushing his limits, being smelly and soaked and only focussed on gains and goals and we are like..ph wait, let me put on my mascara before i text my friends on the elliptical.



Ok, so i am pushing extremes (i have seen many guys come to the gym to text their friends in the squat rack :/  )  But really..can we please get over this??  WOMEN SWEAT...we ALL sweat! your body is MADE TO SWEAT. It is something you should be proud of, you have worked hard to have that tshirt soaked through.



Let me tell, I SWEAT...BUCKETS. It stings my eyes i sweat so much. My forearms sweat, my shins sweat, i drip sweat from efvery part of my body when i am working out.  I dont need a sweater at home becadsue my body and my metabolism are humming.



I love the This Girl Can Campaign. It is focussed on women who are out to be healthy, to have fun, and to push their bodies and their minds.  It celebrates women doing their own thing, no matter how or what they look like in the process. It is a campaign that wants to prove that Judgment is a barrier that can be overcome and there is No Better Message then that!



Be Strong, Be Healthy, Inspire, and DO Your Thing!

XO

Kara

Thursday 26 February 2015

How much is too much?

How often do you exercise?
For how long?
How many days/week and what distance apart?

The majority of people are trying to fit in more work out time... but there are a few (ahem) who will put gym time before most other things (including but limited to laundry and washing floors ;) pn top of the time i schedule for workouts,  if I have an hour (or more) to spend in town between dropping kids off and picking them up for extra curricular activities or an hour between wedding consultations, or time sandwiched between coffee with a friend sharing my arbonne products and picking up kids from school...my gym bagged is packed and thats where ill be. I have often worked out twice in a day

-(weights in morning then cardio at night)  -(HIIT in morning with weights and class at night)
-(hiit and weights in morning then another weights for other muscle group at night)
-(cardio, weights in morning and active yoga at night)
-(workout am then roller derby at night)

This may sound crazy to some but I need to burn and I need my body exhausted. If I have tons of energy at night I wont sleep till 2am and that happens more often then not.

With adding the kickboxing classes twice a week at night and really pushing through morning workouts.. the last two fridays my muscles have been tired and toasted and I love that feeling ♥♥♥♥

Can you over training ?absolutely but most people are not even close to that and over training is a combination of depleting your body physically but also with diet. If you are marathon training, lifting weights and change your diet to a low protein, low carb, low fat.  Your body might give you some warning signs. If you are unsure, talk to a certified personal trainer, talk to your doctor and talk to a nutritionist, read my blog ;) and many others about health and exercise nd eating clean.

Every body is different.

Some basic rules:

-exercise at least 3-4times a week and up to 6
-never train the same muscle group back to back
-allow for recovery time
-stretch!!!!!!!
-eat!!!!! (Clean)
-3-5litres of water daily
-know the different types of muscle pain and treat accordingly
-sleep!!!!!
-both cardio and lifting (heavy)weights will give you the biggest change in stored fat, heart health, and strength
-understand that the number on the scale is not necessarily a reflection  of how healthy you are!!!!

Xoxoxo  love you all!
Kara

Jiujitsu!

Wow, ok.. for some.reason Maddy and I can get ourselves into many interesting situations ;) .. people talk to us, ask our opinions, and we get invitations to many things. I think its becasue we are always happy,  always having a good time, we are intense, we have a wide group of friends ..all ages, all backgrounds,  we are humble and open to hearing advice and suggestions and number one is that we truly love life and give off a positive energy that attracts some pretty amazing people.

Last week was full of amazing people!

First, the kick boxing class is doing amazing and the incredible ladies that signed up are feeling it and seeing results. It is intense and fun and I think I could kick box every day of the week :D

Crank up some heavier tunes, focus on the pads and you wont even hear how heavy you are breathing! Recommendations from this old girl:

More human then human -Rob Zombie

Save yourself - Stabbing westward

Lose Yourself - Eminem

She Hates Me - Puddle of Mud

Time bomb - Rancid

We also connected with a friend who has been offering to teach us some self defense moves and it hasnt works out until last week . Dylan is a regular at the gym (when he is not in some remote camp diamond drilling) and I have often admired his intensity when working out. He has a passion for jiujitsu, he is calm and professional and very confident (esp for being in his early 20's!) and he trains with a professor out of sudbury. We are very lucky to have him in our gym, and even more lucky for Maddy and I to have some time with him.

After two days with Dylan showing us technique, submissions, and self defense I already find myself youtubing jiujitsu whenever I can!  It is a total body workout..especially your core (and not for the faint of heart); it is strength and flexibility;  it is keeping calm under pressure; it is thought and problem solving; and more then anything..it is technique. 

A 150lb jiujitsu can easily take down a 250lb body builder. (Hence the self defense from a womens point of view!!) Jiujitsu is more like a chess game then a typical sport and yes you can get hurt but you tap out when you start to feel it. What we are learning is more about being able to defend and protect yourself. It is incredibly important to work with the right person!!!

I love the fact that with learning these submissions and self defense I can now (with more practise :) get out of someone choking me. I can put a guy on his back if he grabs me. And I have a little better arsenal of personal safety moves then just a kick to the nuts.

I wont stop my regular weight lifting (I love growing muscles and strength) , I definitely wont stop kick boxing (sometimes you just need to hit something!) , and I wont stop cardio ( cardiovascular health is very important!!) But i will be adding in some jiujitsu whenever I can!

The link below is to show you some of the basic jiujitsu submissions. Check it out! If it interests you, I can get you in touch with my friend Dylan :)

Beginners and Teachers Welcome: Ten Basic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques: http://youtu.be/3PEj8_0Q9Qo

Be healthy, have fun, LIVE!!!
Kara

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Take a bow Miss C!

http://www.toscareno.com/2015/02/18/dont-photoshop-my-assets-i-like-them/?utm_content=buffer41980&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Have you seen the untouched, non Photoshopped Cindy Crawford image? I hope you have.   What about the overly Photoshopped Kardashian butt? (How again are these people famous?? ) 

Please check out the link above from a very empowering,  confident, and healthy role modle Tosca Reno ... not only has she put Clean Eating on the map , she is also an Arbonne user :), and she has truly inspired thousands to live a better, more fulfilled life. Love Tosca!!!

Now, dont get me wrong.  I think there is something wrong with applauding people who are obese... does that change me loving them as ?? Of course not. How they live their life is up to them... and I will certainly be their biggest cheerleader if they put their own health first and look at their diet and exercise plan..

HUGE BUT!!! Being accepting and loving of every person on this glorious earth is certai nky something I try to do and taking the focus off of being a size two and on to being healthy with a strong heart, low cholesterol,  no diabetes,  and energy to spare is nothing but a GOOD thing.

It is refreshing to see people be REAL.

To quote Tosca in the above link (again..please check it out!)

"A beautiful woman is one who is on an evolutionary path searching for her strengths, know in her weaknesses and loving herself despite it all".

Choose to be healthy and choose to love yourself enough to go out into this world and make it your own.

Kara

Holidays & Food

Every holiday revolves around food. Why is that?

Valentines was this past weekend and of course.. I want to make a yummy supper..all of my husbands favorite things which also happen to be not so good for you :/ . I find a little comfort in the fact that it is always from scratch but regardless... the calorie count is still high.

I make sure to have a glass of Arbonne full control before such an event which helps to keep the quantity i consume under wraps.. I also make sure I enjoy every bite.  Focus on how food tastes, eat slowly, enjoy it, sit, relax, take your time. You will eat less.

Valentine's day isnt complete without chocolate either.  Again..enjoy it, dont feel guilty and then continue your typical eating right after.  One of the issues with indulging is we somehow come up with "oh well I already ruined today's diet" and then a greesy poutine lunch becomes takeout supper, and then a bag of Doritos befor bed.

Dont give up on yourself!!!!!!!!!

This weekend was also family day and so to get out of the house (it was -35 the two days before! !) And to do something active with the kids we went to our local ski hill. Even at -25 Grace and Blake (and nieces and friends!) were troopers. I love skiing and i love it more that it is a sport we can all do together.

We started the kids skiing at 3 and 5 and it allnif the triednpatienxe, sore back from skiing between our legs, and a few tears has truly paid off as now they are independent,  can hit the blue trails, and keep up to me. With Blakes hockey schedule we dont get out a much as I would like but it is fun when we do. Now, watching them ski and go up the tow with their own friends brought back huge childhood memories as my sister and I would take the bus every weekend to go to this very hill. Seeing how much they have grown makes me incredibly proud :D

What a great weekend.

Xoxox
Be Healthy!

Kara

Ps..check out this youtube video of our beautiful hill!!! ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓←

http://youtu.be/-N5Eo48csbY

Thursday 12 February 2015

Burpee to Pull up !?!?!? Whattttt!?!?!?!

You know me by now.

You know I like to up the ante on a regular basis.

You know I want to push myself

You know that when I see an improvement/gain I ALWAYS want more.

Well..here it is. After the celebration pull up post it was time to raise the bar.

Ok.. so... who likes burpees? Anyone? Anyone? I know.  But the reason they are such a hated exercise is becasue they work so damn good! You are hurting/tired/and probably swearing in all of 60seconds.

Now...Up the ante. 

When you jump. .do a tuck jump which just means bring your legs up higher and bend your knees.

Do a full push up when you go down rather then just kicking your legs back.

Do all of the above and then add in a jump amd pull up under a bar. (See pic below)

10 of these bad boys and you will hurting...well I was hurting. Maybe you can do more, maybe you can one. You will never do any unless you try to.

When Maddy and I do pull ups in the gym, we get a few comments and a few looks. It feels good to be rewarded for how hard we have been working at this and it also pushes us not to stop. The lesson here though is I have no doubt there were a few stickers when we couldn't even pull up one rep for one set.. our faces showed how hard we were trying.. and we wouldnpause before attempting again becasue we knew we looked stupid....BUT it didnt matter. We had/have a goal and the only way to get there is to start with one.

Dont be intimidated by anyone else. Your value as an athlete (or mom or professional or anything else for that matter) does not depend on what others think of you. Sometimes we let a handful of naysayers deter us from what important in our lives. 

For myself, being able to do pull ups is about being strong, being in control of my body, calling the shots of what I want to accomplish, looking good, feeling proud, and proving people wrong ;) . I love doing that! It is about making my body better becasue I owe it to myself to be the best I can be and funny looks from peanut gallery as I am part way through my journey wont stop me from carrying on..dont let it stop you!

One pull up at a time my friends,  one pull up at a time.. always pushing to do more. There is such strength in that.

Xo
Kara

Monday 9 February 2015

Love thyself

Why do you workout?

Why do you get dressed/buy a new shirt/put on makeup?

Why do you want to change/better yourself?

I hope it comes from a place of love and not low self esteem.

When it comes right down to it, no one will love you more or put you fist more then you can. Fo I love my family? Of course!!! More then I could possibly explain. My friends?  Yes..a thousand percent! But that doesn't mean that they all come be for I do.

Sure...sometimes it feels like you are running around and giving everything of yourself. We do that often, especially as mothers.. .give give give .. and we do it happily...  but always.. I am very serious when I say this.. ALWAYS take some time for yourself.. to grow yourself, and to love yourself!

You will be better at everything if you do.

You will be more consistent  with diet and exercise becasue you are coming from a place of growth. You want to see how amazing your body can be. You want to hit those elusive milestones (maybe be on stage in bikini, maybe run 5k, maybe do a triathlon,  maybe walk up three flights of stairs without wheezing) becasue you know you deserve to and not for someone else.

If you love yourself you will see clearly when you are being taken advantage of. You will be able to make decisions based on whats best for you and those important to you and not be skewed by feelings of being worthless or less than.

When you love yourself you are more confident and draw amazing people I to your life becasue you freely give out compliments and look at others like how you look at yourself. You dont tear others down to try to build yourself up to fill in that love deficit.  You are a strong person and make others strong too. Ego, rejection, loss wont rattle you as much.

The bottom line is.. if you dont love yourself how can you truly love anyone else?

Listen to me.. hear what I am telling you LOUD and CLEAR. YOU DESERVE to feel good in your own skin. That comes from self love.   YOU DESERVE to be healthy, to be happy and to surround yourself with incredible people. Start by throwing those negative voices in your head away. You deserve LOVE! !!

Xoxoxox
Kara

Friday 6 February 2015

No equipment Leg Day

I wanted to incorporate a work out that was intense but also that you could do at home.

Many people dont have the luxury of going to the gym, or feel uncomfortable there,  or have no idea how to use most of the machines.  There are many exercises that are great to do at home.

Here is a leg workout that can be done any time any where..and boy.. do you feel the burn.

One leg bridge. You would not believe how much this burns. Want a nice round booty? Do these. 20/leg..keeping back straight and leg extended. Push with the foot touching the floor until you are in a bridge for a one second count and slowly lower. Switch feet. S-t-r-e-t-c-h.

Fire hydrants with extension. On all fours you raise bent knee up and then extend your foot out. 20/leg .

Rainbows. Keeping a tight core slowly move leg from right to left creating a rainbow in the movement. This works the inner and outer thigh in a big way. 20 each leg!

Curtsy lunges. You cross your leg over the back before lunging. This is so much more intense though I find it hard on the knees so I do 20 regular lunges and curtsy lunges were 15reps.

Sumo squats. Feet slightly turned out so that you are hitting your inner thigh. Up the burn by raising your heels. 20 like this, 20 with single heel raise, 20 with other heel raise..all done consecutively. Your feet will be shaking by the end of this!

No pictures but then we did calf raises. We used the weighted machine but find a stairs, hang your heels off and press up and release. 20/leg

We followed those with kick backs. Again..we used a weighted machine but it is not necessary. Stand holding onto a chair and slowly raise your leg back behind you squeezing your bum, lower and repeat 20/leg.

If you can do the circuit more then once, great! If not..work up to it or do as many as you can. You will feel it.

Xo
Stay healthy
Kara

Thursday 5 February 2015

PROGRESS!!!!!!

There are very few things that are as rewarding as seeing progress. ...in any aspect of life.

I am so proud of my workout partner and I as we have been really focused on achieving a goal of unassisted pull ups.

When Maddy and I started we could do ZERO wide grip and 3 close grip with a little push on the rear end for the last ;) .

We work chest and back once a week and have been doing pull ups (as many as we can!) consistently every week for the past 4ish months... and drum roll please......

We currently do 4 wide grip pull ups (yaaaahhhooooo)
And 3 sets of 7 close grip
**dont mind the faces..this is hard sh*$

This is a celebration blog post :) and though we are no where near our goal (which is typewriters ..google it..amazing!!) We are getting there,  seeing progress and celebrating it!

Xo
Kara

Kickboxing kicks a*&

I'm in,  100%, full on..love love love hitting.

Jab, cross, hook, uppercut, knee, front snap kick, back kick, round house...love.it.all.

Any workout that combines power, strength, brain, core and cardio totally fits me to a T . I have yet to try anything else that can totally wreck (in a good way!!) your body, have you gasping for breath, and clear your mind so fast as kickboxing.

I will be starting two days a week next week with Maddys class and though I am typically not a class type person, I am really looking forward to this. With Mercy leading the class -my regular boxing partner :(  -I am paired up with a strong and very fit friend which I am psyched for...but may bring my mouth guard as she apparently has a killer right hook ;) ..looking forward to it Steph!

Below see pics of some of the basic moves as well as some ladies boxing inspiration.

If you have a chance to take a class, dont hesitate!!! Such an excellent way to get in shape and blow off some steam as well. When im stressed I always hit the gym, and when im really stressed...I box.  Problem solved (well at least it feels better anyways :)

Xo
Be healthy, be strong, be happy!
Kara

Chia seed pudding.. my new favorite snack

Snack.   Snack. ..dont you love that word? Say it a few times... i love how snappy it is, and I also love the meaning behind it!

Chia seeds.. (pronounced cheeeaaahhh) im sure you have heard of them as they have quickly become a household name and with their incredible health benefits..i hope you not only try them but keep as a pantry staple.

Seeds are small but mighty!

A very quick, easy and delicious snack is made with this powerhouse superfood. It will give you long lasting energy,  keep you feeling full and prevents this blood sugar dips that make us crave sugary sweets... Chia seed pudding.

1/4cup chia seeds I to a mason jar or bowl. Add 1c milk (cows milk, almond milk, cocount milk, brown rice milk..your choice!) A teaspoon of maple syrup or honey and a splash of vanilla. Let it sit for three hours or I will make it the night before and throw in the fridge.. morning is just grab and go!

The seeds become gelatinous makeing the pudding thick and creamy.  Yesterday I used coconut milk and i felt like I was eating something very sinful!!

Yiu can add pretty well anything you want to the mix... peanut butter, cocoa, pumpkin, pureed fruits.. anything at all!

Such a yummy snack.

Xo
Kara