fitness tips

Spring 2018 fitness routine

 in Fitness  tagged fitness tips / outdoor fitness / workout ideas by

pictured: view of Saratoga Hills from Quarry Park hiking trail in Saratoga, Ca

Spring is here! Now that the spring season has officially begun, it is time for a new fitness routine.

Although our weather here in the San Francisco Bay Area is still wintry, I am going to try and push through my spring fitness routine, and get outside more!

One of my goals for 2018 was to get outside more, so I am trying to integrate more outside fitness into my spring routine. Since this is our rainy season, I need to ensure I have an indoor back-up plan in place in case of inclement weather on an outdoor fitness day.

Monday: Outdoor hike for 30 minutes plus 15 minute stretch routine

Tuesday: Spin class

Wednesday: Swimming workout-about 4000 yards.

Thursday: 30 minute interval workout at home, alternating cardio drills, core work and strength drills. (my schedule on Thursdays is crazy busy-so I need to squeeze something in at home)

Friday: BodyCombat

Saturday: Family Hike outside for 60 minutes

Sunday: Rest day.

The problem with my fitness routine, is that I need to add weights! So, as of right now, my indoor alternate workout for rainy days involves a one hour treadmill LifeFitness Course, and about a half hour of weights. This will help me integrate weights into my routine; unless we don’t get our weekly rainy days-then I need to re-evaluate this routine! Haha

As you know, in a typical fitness routine, there should be a good combination of cardio, interval, anaerobic cardio, core work, strength work (using body weight), and weights. This fitness routine addresses all of those components except for the weights; which I am hoping will naturally fall into my routine on rainy days.

What is your typical fitness routine during the spring season? If you like to workout outside, how do you incorporate weights into your weekly routine?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Keeping fitness on track during the holidays

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Bay Club at Courtside Holiday decor

pictured: Holiday decorations at The Bay Club where I workout.

The holiday season is in full swing, and all of us are experiencing busier schedules. I feel like my days are so jam-packed, keeping to a regular fitness routine is downright impossible! Thankfully, there is a way to stay on track, and fend off those nasty holiday pounds, during this festive season.

Although I have a regular workout schedule for the winter season, the most important thing about it is that it is flexible. When the holidays hit, my schedule fluctuates, changes, and becomes extra hectic. I need to have backup workout plans in my fitness arsenal in order to keep on track, and get my five workouts per week in.

If you like to go to classes, keep them in your schedule, but have independent workouts available to you as a backup plan; just in case you can’t make it to your regular classes. Here is my holiday fitness schedule, and my back-up plans.

Monday: BodyCombat (backup-treadmill and abs work)

Tuesday: Spin class (backup-jogging in my neighborhood)

Wednesday: H.E.A.T. (interval-strength class) (backup-treadmill and weights)

Thursday: Rest Day or makeup day if I missed a day earlier in the week

Friday: Insanity (interval class) (backup- swim  workout)

Saturday: BodyPump and Step (backup-treadmill, weights, and abs)

Sunday: Rest Day or makeup day if I missed a day earlier in the week

The backup workouts are all individual, so I can do them at any time during the day. If I know I can’t make a scheduled class, I can wake-up early, and do my backup workout at 5:30am, or whenever it fits into my day. It can be difficult staying on track, but having a backup workout plan is essential to keeping fit during the busy holiday season. Nothing is more difficult then not fitting into your jeans after the New Year. Can’t have that!!

What is your holiday workout routine like? Do you have a workout back-up plan to stay on track?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Fall 2016 fitness routine and outfit ideas

 in Fitness  tagged fitness gear / fitness tips / nike / outdoor fitness / workout ideas by

fall fitness outfit ideas routine

Indoor and outdoor fitness outfit ideas from top left: cobalt blue fleece / blue and purple print workout leggings / black and white fitness tank top / black and white capri leggings / blue Nike running shoes (my favorite running shoes!) / Nike ID running shoes

The fall season is here. For me, this means my kids are back in school, and I have a full schedule surrounding their activities; as well as homeschooling my fifth grade daughter. My challenge during the fall season? Fitting in my workout routine!

My fall fitness routine is not as robust as I would like it to be. During the summer I was able to workout five days per week at the gym. This enabled me to stick to me goal of 1200 calories per day, and lose the ten pounds I wanted to shed over the summer months. Yay for being ten pounds lighter! The fall challenge? Keeping the weight off, and possibly losing more!

I have another fifteen pounds I would like to shed. If I can lose fifteen more pounds, I will be back to where I was in 2013. I really liked my weight back then, and I would like to return to it! My challenge is fitting in workouts when I homeschool one child. I do not have free time to go to the gym, so my only gym time is on Saturday mornings. This means I need to get creative the rest of the week in order to at least maintain my current weight, and possibly lose more if I am lucky.

I know there are other Mom’s out there who are struggling with schedules, work, and attempting to fit in a workout. This is how I have been fitting in my workouts during the week, and maintaining my end-of-summer weight.

Monday: Rest (super sore from the weekend workouts!)

Tuesday: Walk/Run around the neighborhood 25 minutes, abs and push ups at home 10 minutes

Wednesday: Just Dance on the Wii with my daughter, 30 minutes. Squats and Lunges, 30 each side/leg

Thursday: Walk/Run around the neighborhood 25 minutes, abs and push ups at home 10 minutes

Friday: TGIF rest!

Saturday: BodyPump followed by Advanced Step. (This burns over 900 calories and incorporates weights and cardio, I die a little inside when I miss this workout)

Sunday: BodyCombat (I rush home after church, change into workout clothes, and dash off to the gym!)

This is my ideal fall fitness routine. I have not been diligent about sticking to it this season. My son is playing Pop Warner football and his schedule is quite full. This means I cannot always make it to my weekend workout sessions. My daughters have activities during the week, and my son has football practice, this can interfere with my weekday fitness goals. While I struggle to get in five workouts per week, I try really hard, and hopefully I can maintain my current weight without gaining back what I worked off over the summer.

As far as calories are concerned, I am still trying to stick to 1200 per day. I use MyFitnessPal to keep track of my workouts, and caloric intake. I love this app, if you have not downloaded it yet, please do. You will love it!

Since my workouts are not as intense this fall as they were over the summer, I am not burning as many calories. This means sticking to 1200 calories a day is quite a challenge! As long as I don’t go over 1600 calories in one day, I can maintain my summer weight. Fingers crossed this works through the fall season!

Now, about all that Halloween candy entering the house this month. . .hmmmm

How are you sticking to your fitness routine this autumn season?

Indoor and outdoor fitness outfit items on my wish list: