Archive for the ‘Fitness Fridays’ Category

Fitness Fridays

Fitness Fridays: The 5 Stages of the Triathlon

We’ve got a real treat this week. We’ve dug up Sally Kilpatrick’s very first triathlon, straight from the (really really clever) archives! Check out her site for more!

A few weeks ago, I completed my first triathlon. I wasn’t feeling as though I did a very good job until Ryan pointed out that about 10% of the entrants didn’t finish. So. Finishing is pretty awesome. The triathlon was far more grueling than the 2 half marathons I’ve done so far. This could be due to the extreme humidity. It could be that I didn’t get all the training in that I should have. It could be any number of things. It could be because it was a mother loving triathlon. Either way, forget about the stages of grief, here are the 5 stages of completing a triathlon. (Words have been changed for the good of people reading this article. I wish I could tell you my vocabulary the day of wasn’t as spicy, but….)

1. You start with the swim. No matter how much you practice, there’s something about that murky lake water that induces a certain kind of panic. So, my first thought was “Spoon! I hate this forking swim!” as I gasped my way through the first 500 meters using the…sidestroke. *Sigh*

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Essential Beginnings Kennedy Layne
Fitness Fridays

Fitness Fridays: Water, Water and More Water

Okay, #FitnessFriday lovers, I have good news and bad news.

 

The good news is that I can walk without pain again. Yay! The bad news is that my attempts to get back into shape have taken a bit of a turn for the worse thanks to my old nemesis, plantar fasciitis.

I’m on my third podiatrist—I’m beginning to think it’s me, not them—and this time I got the cortisone shot. Y’all. Some day I’m going to learn that “It’s all good. I’ve had two babies!” is not really the proper way to approach impending pain. I can’t really describe this one other than to say, “No. No, I did not want to watch someone put a needle into my heel.”

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Check out the EverAfter App!
Fitness Fridays

Fitness Fridays: Kettlebells

I’m always looking for ways to mix up my workout, and I thought I’d do you and me a solid and try out kettlebells again. If you’ve been to a gym recently, you’re probably already acquainted with the little devils, but humor me for those who are wondering what the heck kettlebells are and if a chime will announce we’re having tea and scones soon.

Alas, no to the tea and scones.

A kettlebell is a rounded weight with a handle, and you primarily swing it. Why would you want to do this? Because kettlebells combine strength training with cardio, and I’m all about doing twice the work in half the time.

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Sisters in Love Melissa Foster
Fitness Fridays

Fitness Fridays: “Simple Things & Unexpected Success” by Sally Kilpatrick

Well, I managed to shave off a pound this week, but I’m not sure you want to know the how of it.

Did you know that you can achieve ten thousand steps in one day if you clean out a garage? You can. At least you can do this if your garage is so horrifically cluttered that little animals burrowed under items and died, leaving behind only a skeleton. Bonus: you’re so grossed out by the discovery that you eat less for lunch.

But I digress.

This week we’re talking about little things because I’ve been cleaning and writing and haven’t had a chance to try any of the big things. This week’s goals have been 2000 words a day, 10000 steps a day, and eat more salad. That’s it. I didn’t count calories. I’ve only managed one run thus far. Still, I did see a little positive action on the scale due to those little changes.

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Autumn Thorns Yasmine Galenorn
Fitness Fridays

Fitness Fridays: “7 Reasons Why I Love Yoga” by Sally Kilpatrick

As many of my stories begin, my curiosity with yoga began in the Chester County Library when I was a wee wisp of a thing. Back then I would wander through the shelves picking out random books to see what might interest me, including a small yellow book with illustrations of poses. I only remember the Plow pose, but I’m sure I studied all of them. Then I moved on to Black Cats and Other Superstitions and didn’t think about yoga again until after the summer of 2008.

What happened then, you might ask? Well, I’d had two children, been diagnosed with anxiety, and carried an extra thirty pounds. My trainer at the time suggested yoga for flexibility. By that time I’d seen Carrie and the girls giggling through yoga on Sex in the City and shortly thereafter the ridiculous yoga instructor of Couples Retreat. My first yoga classes were in a martial arts studio next to the gym I attended, and I learned a valuable lesson about yoga: be careful with where you start your practice.

Despite the pervasive scent of rubber from the martial arts studio floor, I enjoyed yoga. I decided to try out Be Yoga when it first opened on the square. I strayed over to Gold’s Gym while I had a membership there—they had a class that was yoga, Pilates, and Tai chi—but I missed yoga, especially hot yoga, and back to Be Yoga I went. So here’s why the world’s most inflexible woman (some would say that’s both literal and figurative) loves yoga:

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Fitness Fridays

Fitness Fridays: “You Have to Learn to Love Yourself the Way You Are” by Sally Kilpatrick

One of those parenting moments I’ve been dreading happened on Tuesday night. My daughter asked me if I had a bikini like the character in Brooklyn. I admitted that I didn’t and pointed out that the character in question wore a one-piece bathing suit.

Her Majesty pipes up from the backseat. “I like one-piece suits better because bikinis make me look fat.”

I almost slammed on the brakes as I drove home from softball practice in the rain. “What?”

She shrugged and said matter-of-factly, “I don’t like bikinis. They make me look fat.”

A million memories flitted through my mind. From age eighteen months through at least seven, Her Majesty could almost always be seen in a bikini. Even when it’s Christmas and so cold you need socks. I had to beg the child to put on proper clothing to go to school, for heaven’s sake!

So, there I sat knowing that I’d just lost something. More importantly, my nine-year-old little girl had just lost something. Goodness knows, I was not ready for puberty and all of the pernicious things it does to a little girl’s psyche.

“I need to lose some weight,” she said.

I didn’t have to ask where she’d heard that one.

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Fitness Fridays

Fitness Fridays: Tips from Charity Beecham

Alright ladies and gents, it is time we throw away all the sweets we have left from Valentine’s Day and get our slightly fluffier butts back on schedule. I am going to share with you today some simple and easy tools that have been beneficial for me to stay on a healthy lifestyle path. Now, we all know dieting is never easy and it never happens over nights; however, with the right tools, and consistency, we will not only see the scales moving down, but we will feel amazing in the process. Some healthy tools that have helped me stay on track to living a healthy lifestyle is: My Fitness Pal, Pinterest, and Google/YouTube.

Do you count your calories like you are supposed to? Do you really? My Fitness Pal app is a free tool you can download on most all electronic devices to help count your calories for you. It is simple, all you have to do is scan the item you are eating with its barcode scanner, put in the quantity you ate, and it keeps a diary with your calorie count of each day. If you are unsure what your calorie count should be, please ask your family physician. Do not check for your calorie count online. The calorie counts you receive off of websites are the calories you need to just maintain your weight. Your family physician will give you a new calorie count that will help you lose the weight you want, and they may be able to give you more dietary ideas to reach your goal. Also, another reason I like My Fitness Pal is because it hosts challenges that allow me the opportunity to win awesome prizes which makes the “staying on track” process a lot more tolerable.

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Fitness Fridays

Fitness Fridays: “Be Kind To Yourself and Form Good Habits” by Sally Kilpatrick


Flannery O’Connor once said, “I’m a full-time believer in writing habits…You may be able to do without them if you have genius but most of us only have talent and this is simply something that has to be assisted all the time by physical and mental habits or it dries up and blows away….”

Her words pertained to writing, but so much of fitness relies on habit. I feel uniquely qualified to speak on this topic because I have been in and out of fitness more times than Erica Kane has been in and out of love. If that didn’t scare you off, then I must add this disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and I don’t even play one on television. Everything I write about comes from my own flawed experiences so you should always get the advice of your doctor before trying any fitness/diet routine.

So here I am, bereft of fitness once again. Why? I got out of the habit. It doesn’t take much. Maybe the kids get a new school schedule. Maybe you’ve suffered an injury that has you on the sidelines or a stomach virus that makes you only want to eat the very things you ought not. Or maybe you have something new, something sneaky yet sinister. In my case, falling off the wagon AGAIN had a lot to do with an injury but also with some underlying problems that I didn’t know I had. (Also, in the interest of being honest? I like food. And a nice cabernet sauvignon.)

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Fitness Fridays

Fitness Fridays: “The Last You’ll Hear about the Marathon….Promise” by Sally Kilpatrick

There’s a joke that says:

“How can you tell if someone has run a marathon?”

“Don’t worry. They’ll tell you.”

Damn skippy they will! For the mere mortals among us—not the advanced runners who do MULTIPLE marathons—completing that marathon is more than a statement of physical strength; it’s a prime example of mind over matter. Am I proud that I put one foot in front of another for 26.2 miles? Heck, yes! Do I plan on ever doing it again? Heck, no.

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Fitness Fridays

Fitness Fridays: The Marathon Edition by Sally Kilpatrick

My lovelies, as you read this I’m journeying to Orlando to run my first marathon. It may be one of my father’s infamous “Two in One Specials,” i.e. first and last marathons all rolled up into one. Okay. It’s probably going to be a two-in-one, but I have learned to never say never. In honor of this dubious achievement (Oh, please let me finish and not get swept!) I thought I’d talk a little about what I’ve learned from marathon training.

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