Gunnar put me and two other bloggers — Monica from Run Eat Repeat and Whitney from Live and Diet in LA — through a fun and KILER circuit workout at the Ritz Carlton gym in LA!
We started with a quick warm up on the treadmill and then moved into front lunges, side lunges and then back lunges all with weights. We moved straight into some killer ab exercises and of course he threw in some tricep dips and pushups. So a full body circuit not for the weak!
You know it was a good workout when your shirt starts telling you to WORK HARD!
Getting my electrolytes in!
I have no idea how I was still smiling!
Here were my goals over the 10 weeks: Â
1. Doing three days of strength training (TRX) and two days of cardio workouts. (CHECK!)Â
2. Continue to focus on eating WHOLE FOODS! (CHECK!)
3. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is an advanced form of aerobics designed to strip body fat at a faster rate. Doing the SHRED!!!! (sign up) (CHECK!)
4. Drinking lots of water, including Propel Electrolytes! (CHECK!)Â
5. Inviting my friend Ronni to do it along with me! Having accountability and a workout buddy is a MUST! (CHECK!)Â
I am proud to say I lost 2% body fat over the past 10 weeks and met my challenge goal! I did TRX training for three days a week and two days of cardio. I also followed a macro diet (more to come on that) and overall felt hydrated and energized!!
*A big thank you to Propel for hosting me at BlogFest this year and for giving me the opportunity to train with Gunnar and his amazing TEAM! I can’t wait to go back next year!Â
Question: How are your workouts going this summer?Â
]]>Who’s ready fro summer??? If you haven’t signed up for my Summer Shred yet, there is STILL time! Sign ups close next Wednesday May 6th. I have already been in a bathing suit this year and felt great (thanks to Ashely Horner) , but I am always up for a little challenge that will push me to stay strong and fit! How about you? Well if you join my SUMMER SHRED then you will be working on this one with me for sure!Â
This summer I will be working with Propel on the “Lyte Up Your Workoutâ€Â Summer Challenge, because they just came out with an an awesome Electrolyte water.
“Propel Electrolyte Water is a clear, unflavored, zero calorie water with Gatorade-level electrolytes, which help support hydration and replace whatâ€
s lost in sweat. Itâ€s formulated for people who are passionate about fitness and want a water that supports better hydration.” —>ME!Â
So to kick off the challenge I got to meet up and work out with celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson! He trains a lot of celebrities..the Kardashians 
. HE IS NO JOKE! He kicked my bootie like non other!
Check out this cool ab roller, um abs are so FLIPPIN’ sore!
I told him I was a trainer and taught fitness classes and I think that made him want to push me even harder which I LOVED! I get to push people all day long, so it’a a lot of fun letting someone do it to me (although I get why people love me and hate me all at the same time). I also did the Jacob’s ladder and now I want one!!! Have you done the Jacob’s ladder before?
I learned some awesome HITT workout that I can’t wait to try out at home and I also got to talk to a wonderful Registered Dietitian about my fitness challenge goals! She was pretty impressed about how clean my diet was already;) YEARS of learning and cooking healthy..so that helps!
SO…who want’s to jump in this challenge with me?!!! Â I have fun give-aways coming too!
MY 10 WEEK FITNESS CHALLENGE: to lose 2% body fat! How will I do that?
1. Doing three days of strength training (TRX) and two days of cardio workouts.
2. Continue to focus on eating WHOLE FOODS!
3. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is an advanced form of aerobics designed to strip body fat at a faster rate. Doing the SHRED!!!! (sign up)
4. Drinking lots of water, including Propel Electrolytes!
5. Inviting my friend Ronni to do it along with me! Having accountability and a workout buddy is a MUST!Â
I want to focus on body fat % and not the scale!Â
This Challenge is from May 1st to July 16th, I am gonna start on Monday! Who’s in???Â
]]>It’s been a super fun week of celebrating, getting the house back in order after RJ’s first birthday party (post coming soon), a five day camping trip and family in town. Loved celebrating, but feels good to be back to routine (a little).
1. The Blog, what’s next?
As you can see there has been some fun new changes to the blog, new header, background, but this is only the beginning. It’s time to mix things up a bit, so you will be seeing a LOT more changes in the future.
2. WHOLE 30 Update:
I am still doing it, but I had a little break on Monday! I had a Mai Tai and some treats at Disneyland. The Whole 30 says if you get off then you have to start all over again, well I am not following that. Hey I did do the ‘Whole 15,’ that should count for something right?
Gonna stay strong until the 26th. I can not wait to share my full review of the entire plan.
.
3 At-Home Workout!
I miss sharing workouts with you all. Don’t worry they are coming back and I am getting super excited about the NHS Holiday Shred 2014 coming up.
Propel’s challenge for me this month was to share an at-home workout with all of you. I know we all get super busy and sometimes can’t make it to the gym, but that’s when we use our bodies as workout equipment and get in 30 minutes of pure sweat.
Here is a workout I have created for you all to get your heart rate up and one heck of a good burn!
#4. Crock Pot Meal Exchange:
We had another round of crock pot meal exchanges! This time there was a total 11 of us.
A lot of you have asked how this works and it’s super simple. Each person makes 11 (or however many people you have) of the same meal and puts it in a freezer bag. This can be anything from a soup, chicken tacos, meatballs and spaghetti (include the spaghetti separate). You just want to make it super simple for everyone to take out of the freezer stick in the crock pot.
I made cilantro lime chicken for everyone and then when we all got to my friends house, we walked around and grabbed one of each meal. So now we had 11 different meals to try out and have on hand to make dinner EASY! We do healthier crock pot meals and it works out perfect! Make sure to include the recipe
#5. 3D Mascara:
I finally gave it a try! An instagram follower (AmyClink) sent me some Amy Clinkenbeard’s Younique Virtual Party (Mascara) to try out and now my mind is BLOWN away!Â
It’s an incredible mascara that is all natural, made from green tea leaves with tons of beneficial ingredients in it!
It contains a gel that applies like mascara. You apply the green tea fibers to extend you lashes then the gel again to seal in the fibers. It lasts all day and washes off with your regular face soap! I am hooked!!!
s IDEA World Fitness Convention might have been the best fitness conferences I have ever attended EVER (minus Refresh Summit, of course).
In case you donâ€t know what the Idea Convention is, itâ€s a conference for fitness instructors to take fitness classes and listen to incredible lectures for 4 solid days! You can try everything from zumba, body pump and spin and/or get certified. This year it was in Anaheim, California. Practically in my backyard!
I came home feeling more pumped to chase my dreams and step out of my comfort zone, more than EVER!
It was 4 fun-filled, packed days and instead of giving you the break down minute-by-minute, I thought I would break it down to the Top 10 things I took away.
#1 // I LOVE SPIN AND I WILL GET CERTIFIED!
I mean, I knew I loved spin before I even went to the convention. I took two completely different spin classes on Saturday that rocked my world.
The first one was on a spin bike that actually MOVED with you! Talk about full body workout. You had to really use your core and move with the bike. I am not sure any of these gyms exist anywhere near me, but man was I sore! I also took a Schwinn GIRL POWER spin class. That was my favorite class of the whole weekend by far.
The lead trainers gave us tips about what we should say when we are training ladies and even how our hormonal cycles really play a huge part on our performance. After their chat, they led the best spin class I have ever taken in my life! They played all kinds of fun WOMEN songs and at the end, they had everyone in tears. It was powerful. I can’t wait to go get my certification!
#2 // I WANT TO BLOG MORE ABOUT WORKOUTS AND RECIPES
I absolutely love blogging and I know all of you amazing dedicated readers could care less what I blog about as long as I am just being me and I donâ€t plan on changing that. However, I am really passionate about giving you all workout ideas and clean eating recipes, so I need to make sure I keep that up.
The first part of IDEA was BLOGFEST, which was a two day conference for bloggers to attend and I attended some of the workshops and really enjoyed them. Every time I get surrounded by fellow bloggers, I get so inspired and motivated to continue to do what I love! I also love hanging out with BLENDS (blogger friends), they just get you!
#3 // TODD DURKIN IS AMAZING!
(Cassie and Todd)
I was so honored to have the opportunity to not only go to Todd Durkinâ€s Bootcamp workshop, but thanks to Propel, I got the opportunity to sit and chat with him for almost two hours after his bootcamp.
His bootcamp was amazing! We did some body weight stuff with a DJ playing some pretty amazing beats and then we broke up to pairs and groups to do some really fun circuits that I canâ€t wait to try in some of my classes. My favorite one, was when he had us shadow each other. One person was the leader and the other had to follow everything they were doing for 30 seconds and then switch. Itâ€s a lot harder than it sounds!
I didnâ€t know too much about Todd’s story until about a week before the event. I started asking him questions about where he has come from and was really intrigued by his answers!
Todd started as a teacher, just like me, then decided to open up a gym in San Diego called Fitness Quest 10. He started penniless and in two months, his gym started to take off! He happened to be in the right place at the right time when he was asked to train some professional NFL players and from there his business just took off!
Todd is a man of great faith and being able to hear his story truly inspired me to stop being fearful of things that I know God is calling me to step out and do! I couldnâ€t have been paired up with a better trainer to interview. He isnâ€t a professional motivational speaker for no reason! He even invited me to come out to his gym and try a class… OH YES!
#4 // BOOT-CAMP IS FUN
IÂ took a few boot-camp classes, the XTC-Extreme Training Camp led by JG, was so fun! I made sure to take lots of notes so that I can add a few of the moves to my classes.
He broke us up into nine groups and there were a total of nine stations. We were at each station for one minute with 30 second break to get to the next station. We did the entire circuit about 2.5 times and I burned over 350 calories! There was everything from PLYO PUSHUPS to Plank Pass Throughs.
#5 // OPENING CEREMONY
The opening ceremony was so inspiring. They gave awards to the Fitness Instructor of the Year, Personal Trainer of the Year and so much more. This year’s winner of the Jack LaLanne Fitness award was Diana Nyad,the amazing women swimmer who at the age of 62 years old swam 103 miles from Cuba to Florida.
Her speech was phenomenal! She had all of us sitting with our ears glued to every word she said! I was so encouraged to never give up on my dreams, I am not too young! She has a documentary and now I must see it!
#6 // THERE ARE FITNESS BRANDS THAT JUST GET ITÂ
I found some of the cutest little pieces at the IDEA EXPO! Here are two of my favorites. These cute bracelets from Momentum Jewlery that have some awesome life motto’s and you can have your own personalized.
How cute are these Fivesse bags? They are gym bags that are not only fashionable, but super functional! One of these will be on my Christmas wish list for sure!
#7 // BEST EXPO EVER!
I wish I could have taken more photos at the EXPO, but I was too busy meeting all kinds of amazing fitness folks! The expo had all the latest and greatest fitness classes, equipment, fuel and so much more!
I love going to these things because I get to see faces ‘behind the brands.’ It always intrigues me to hear where they all started and what their mission is.
#8 // PIYO WAS MADE FOR ME!Â
I have so been wanted to try PIYO for quite some time now and I had the amazing opportunity to not only take a class, but take a class with the DIVA Chalene Johnson!!!
She is the creator of PiYo and just like the name say’s it’s a mix of pilates and yoga. It was created for runners, cyclists, and all athletes that don’t get in their stretching! HELLO ME! I hope that they have a class at my gym soon!
#9 // MIXERS ARE MY ‘THANG’
We had a happy hour on the first night that we arrived at BLOGFEST and it was a lot of fun!
Subway provided some sandwiches and refreshments were provided as well. I wasn’t so much into the food as I was into mingling it up with JARED from Subway and all my BLENDS!
It was so great seeing a lot of the bloggers that I met at Fitbloggin’ two years ago! Casey, Monica, Heather, Katie, Courtney, Julie, and Gina are such a fun group of ladies! I was not as good at taking pictures this time around (Gazelle, I wish we would have got a pic!) as I was at past conferences because I was too busy catching up and enjoying the moment 
#10 // I GOT TO MEET JILLIAN MICHAEL’S!Â
I think I have done just about everyone of Jillian Michael’s videos and I was so excited that she was the keynote speaker at BLOGFEST!
She addressed some issues she came across as a trainer on The Biggest Loser and gave us amazing tips about how to be good trainer! I loved her passion behind all that she does and she is the queen of being REAL! I mean, we had an earthquake in the middle of the session and she was about to throw herself under a table, it was the best!!!
I loved this quote from her, “To excel in your business, you have to have flexibility, have an open mind and think about the possibilities that could follow, good or bad!”
I also loved that she said, “Be OK with FAILING!”Â
What an amazing four days! I was so blessed to be able to experience! I can’t wait to apply all that I learned!!!
Question: Have you ever heard of the IDEA World Fitness Convention?
]]>ve been working with Propel on their Add Flavor Challenge. For this monthâ€s challenge, Propel asked me to take a look at my personal hydration strategy to make sure that Iâ€m getting the most out of each of my workouts by staying properly hydrated.
Last week, I had a lovely phone conference with a few people at Propel, as well as Laura Daray, the scientist and “resident hydration expert†at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. During the hour-long call, we discussed the importance of staying hydrated, and also had the chance to further analyze my own hydration and fueling habits. I still need to get her some information so I can find out my hydration deets (Hello busy MOM..eek).
A couple of notes that I took away from our chat:
*Hydration helps with oxygen to your brain and muscles.
*Hydration helps to keep your body temperature regulated.
*Hydration helps with your body waste. (TMI?)
So what are some practical ways to check if you are properly hydrated or not? Well the easiest way to find out if you may be a bit dehydrated is from the color of your urine. (I know we are getting really personal today.) When checking out the color of your urine keep in mind that light lemonade color is good while dark yellow like apple juice is BAD. If your urine is clear that is not good either as it means you are overhydrated. Interesting, right?
I also asked Laura about coffee, specifically if it was true that coffee can dehydrate. She shared a study with me that says that there is no evidence of dehydration with moderate daily coffee intake! Well that’s good! You can check out the study here.Â
Ok, now how about this challenge and giveaway?!! Propel is challenging me to monitor my hydration for an entire week! Being a busy women this will not be easy. I am not gonna lie, I have a hard time drinking water during the day! I am gonna get my Sweat Rate information tomorrow so that I can get some proper data back to see how I am doing so far.
Here are the Deets! Iâ€m giving away a Propel prize pack to one lucky NHS reader, including all sorts of awesome Propel products, a Propel towel, and water bottle.
To Enter:
1. Leave a comment on this post sharing how you stay hydrated and/or some of your favorite tips for staying hydrated. (mandatory)
2. Share the giveaway on Twitter, and leave a separate comment letting me know that you did. (I entered to win a @Propel_Water prize pack from @nhershoes Check it out: http://wp.me/p1YmBD-8GW) (optional)
3. This is how you can join me in this challenge. Use the hashtag #hydratewithNHS all next week July 28th-August 1st to track your hydration along with me! (optional)
Open to U.S. and Canada residents only
Iâ€ll be announcing the winner after our fun challenge so stay tuned. Good Luck! 
Disclaimer: This promotion is solely sponsored by nHerShoes and has not been endorsed or approved by PepsiCo, Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliates. By entering, you agree to look solely to nHerShhoes for any claims in connection therewith, and not to PepsiCo, Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliates.
]]>I AM HERE!!!
This week was our anniversary and time kinda of got in front of me. I know I was supposed to be tracking my water, but I am gonna start our Propel Hydration challenge next MONDAY, don’t worry if you left a comment those will still count until next Friday August 1st!
Now how about the five-minute Friday post? This weeks writing prompt from Lisa Jo Baker was Finish and I am sad to see her pass the baton, but excited for what’s in store for her!
FINISH…
When I think of the word finish, the first thing to come to mind is a RACE..naturally. I think about all the training that goes into my marathon and triathlon races and how I just can’t wait to get to the finish line. But then I also think about finishing well in life. Like when I start a new job, project, fun new lesson with RJ, a book, a letter…I always want to finish well.
There are so many things that I start that I truly never finish, do you have things like that? I can’t even tell you how many books I have read and have never finished. I even started a baby book for RJ, that I think I only made it to month four. Or even blog serious that I have great intentions in keeping up! Even though I haven’t finished, I usually plan to…or at least I think I will.
It is interesting that there are some things in my life that I couldn’t imagine not finishing, a workout, a marathon, a meal, a house project, but then are other things that I just throw the towel in and never touch again. I guess you could say if I am not passionate about it, I won’t finish it…not always the case, but sometimes it’s true.
I want to get better at finishing the things I start. Maybe that means I need to take on less and just pour into the things that I already have on my plate. I want to stop leaving things undone (I am the worst at mailing things and they will sit in my car for months). I want to be better at following through!
So where do I start? Guess I should make a list that I actually FINISH of things that I have undone and start checking things off…or maybe just start fresh?
At the end of it all, I want nothing more than to approach God’s throne one day and have him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, well done!” Matthew 25:31.
Hope that you all had an amazing weekend. We are enjoying a week of ‘un-plugging’ up at Forest Home. It’s fun to be a family of 3 this year.
Well I did it! I finally tried out CrossFit at a real BOX. Like I said before, my friend Amy owns a local gym in town and invited me to come workout with her for a week. That week has came and gone and boy did I get my butt kicked!
I have done very similar type workouts because GPP is very much like CrossFit, but it still was a bit different. I really liked her gym, everyone was SUPER SUPER friendly and welcoming. I always was afraid to step into a BOX because I felt intimidated even though I’m not in the worst shape in the world. I am super competitive and I just didn’t want to look like the ‘weakest link’. Well thank goodness I didn’t feel like that at ALL!!!
I loved how Amy really broke down the fundamentals and basics with me, even though I am an experienced athlete. She treated me like a newbie, which was great! There are several moves that I’ve been wanting to get help with, like the Overhead Squat, Back Squat and Power Cleans. All these things we do in GPP, but with a lot less weight.
We had fun playing around on the bars and learning some new fun pull-ups…
I, of course, stayed hydrated and made sure to listen to my body when I needed breaks.
The first day was probably the hardest WOD. It was 40 minutes long and KILLER! We did Rows, Kettlebell Swings, Double Unders and Planks with Rings. I was a dripping mess!
So the breakdown of a class goes a little bit like this:
– Warm Up
– Skill
– Then the WOD
And usually just the skill in itself was a pretty crazy workout. 
So the big question is… “Am I going to start doing CrossFit?”
Although I did love it and I plan to come visit on occasion, I won’t be signing up soon. I love kickboxing, GPP, running and biking a little too much to commit to that kind of gym membership. Also lifting super heavy isn’t my “crazy.” Running 26.2 miles or riding my bike for 4 hours is my “crazy.”
Everyone has their things that drives and pushes them to be “their best possible,” and so do it! BE TRUE TO YOU!
Alright… I have met two amazing challenges with Propel so far! I can’t wait for July’s Challenge because you are all going to be invited and I have an amazing PROPEL GIVEAWAY to give a couple of winners!
Questions: Have you tried CrossFit? If you haven’t, what has been holding you back?
P.S. Only 4 more days to sign up for the last Summer Shred of the Summer! – SIGN UP HERE
]]>s next? Well they have challenged me to try one of my friend’s favorite workouts or bring them along to mine! Well, what the heck, why not both?! I have a lot of friends that I would love to invite over to put them through one of my crazy workouts and I guess I could try a friend’s workout.
So I have a friend who owns a CrossFit gym here in town and she been asking me to come check it out. (Yep, it’s true. I have never been to a CrossFit BOX). I have done some crossfit workouts, but just havenâ€t stepped into a gym. What a great chance to finally do it!!! I love trying out new workouts with friends and having fun doing it! Well, letâ€s hope itâ€s fun!
I want to challenge you all to get out and try a new workout with a friend or, hey, bring a friend along for one of your favorite workouts! What do you say?
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