My husband's thoughts: Get the most out of your Gym time!

Admittedly, I was a little surprised to receive the invitation to write an occasional post on Annie's new site.  I have enjoyed reading her family blog and have supplied some back office support for her newest writing endeavor, but never anticipated putting my occasional life and training rants out onto the blogosphere.  

I'm interested in the chance to occasionally jump in some areas where Annie gets questions.  She seems to think that some people may enjoy reading my "off the cuff" training theories.  

I have a slightly different, maybe more scientific background than Annie's, but we both are very passionate and sold on the value of physical fitness and the lifestyle that accompanies it.  I've enjoyed the chance that we've had to be a part of each other's physical fitness lives since we met in graduate school.  We always have enjoyed training together, planning meals and trying to demonstrate good habits for our girls. 

That being said, Annie and I were talking on Saturday about the amount of people at the gym - as we were looking at more than double the crowd for a typical Saturday morning at the Y.  A lot of gym-goers hate the first three months of the new year because the resolution crowd is at the local training center.  I went through that phase at one point in my life, but I'm now on the other side of the coin.

I enjoy seeing and meeting some new people and maybe thriving a little bit on the new energy of the people who have all decided to make a change in their life for the new year.  The gym's going to be crowded.  Treadmills are going to be used.  All the cool gadgets are going to be taken.  It's a great time of year to do something different.  If you're a treadmill runner, this is the perfect time to introduce yourself to the squat rack.  If you always are a "Monday bench presser", maybe this is the time to switch your workout to doing pushing movements on Wednesday instead of Monday (like everyone else).  

Over the course of my traning life, whether it be at my current local family YMCA, a college strength and conditioning center, a trendy suburban gym or the most hard-core basement training dungeon, usually the most effective equipment for true body modification are never being used.  The advanced, trendy "butt-blasters," NASA inspired elliptical machines, or some $28,000 piece of Nautillus equipment will all have 30-minute wait times for use right now.  It's now a great time to learn to create your own workouts with dumbbells, barbells or body weight.  You can get the most efficient strength training and cardiovascular training done with a few simple tools.  

As we move through this writing process, we'll start to throw out some specific circuits and workouts that may get you out of the local gym rat-race January through March.  This week, do yourself a favor and instead of being a little mad because you can't get on the treadmill one morning, try to see how long it takes you to do the following simple circuit:

4 exercises, 4 sets of 20 each with a 30 second break after the end of the set

Body weight squats

Bent row (with barbells or dumbells)

Push-ups

Back step lunges

This circuit will work all major muscle groups, should get your heart rate up into the correct interval, fat-burning range, and you should sweat.  These are all key factors in any good workout.  

I once heard Dan Gable say that we as humans waste a tremendous amount of time and energy trying to figure out the easier way to do something.  This happens all the time when we're at the gym.  I challenge you this week to try to fight that urge instead of obliging it.  Find those unused tools in the gym.  Don't over-think and go to work!

Got questions for Scott?  Email us at mamawantsherprebabybodyback@gmail.com.

Tuesdays with Daddy

 

Tuesday evenings, I give a couple lessons and Scott gets home early and takes care of the girls.  Normally, I have dinner ready on the stove and the house semi-picked up and he feeds them and gets them ready for bed.  NORMALLY, it is a pretty seamless process.  Tag-off!  Daddy in for Mommy!

The past two Tuesdays, Elizabeth has had other plans.

We went great for about a month and then last Tuesday, the wheels fell off.  Dinner was over and the girls were playing.  Scott was cleaning up the kitchen and got a phone call.  During the call, Rachel crawled past him and he noticed a massive poop stain up the back of her onesie.  Rushing off the call, he scooped her up and took her to her room to clean her up...not noticing Elizabeth passing him with the stool from the bathroom.  It was bath time, so he left Rachel naked and walked out to find Elizabeth, standing on the stool, dumping dirt out of the Christmas cactus all over the floor.  (She has NEVER messed with that plant!!)  

Then, as he was filling up the bath tub, the sound of water was too much for naked Rachel and she peed all over him.  So I walked in the door to a living room floor of cactus dirt, an unhappy (and wet) daddy and two bathing beauties in the tub.  

We really thought it was a fluke until last night.  To hear Scott tell it, the evening was going great and the girls were both in good moods.  Elizabeth was an angel, reading her books in the living room, so he decided to go ahead and give Rachel her bath.  He was rinsing her off when he heard Elizabeth behind him.

"Daddy, wite walls."

"What, honey?  You like the water?  Do you see Rachel in the water?"

"Daddy...wite walls!"

It was then that he noticed the orange crayon in our two-year-old's hand.  (Now side note that we color every day and EVERY DAY I make sure I pick up all the crayons so Rachel doesn't eat them.  She has never gone towards the walls.)  Who knows where she found this crayon...under the bookcase or something.  He turned around and the lid and seat of the potty was orange.  He put Rachel in a towel and walked down the hallway and there were big, loopy squiggles all down the walls in the hallway.  

Elizabeth, during her color time...I have no idea how I could have lost track of a crayon!

"Wite walls, Daddy!!"

So he got Rachel dressed and found the Magic Eraser (which has saved our lives many times!) and cleaned the walls.  When I walked in the door, Rachel was happy and Elizabeth was in the tub.

"How did it go?" I asked my husband.

"Did you notice anything when you walked in the door?" he asked.

"Noooo..."

"In that case, it went great!"

Workout with my Mama

My mom has been visiting for the past week and I had the wonderful blessing of getting to workout with her everyday!!  Talk about an example in commitment!  She jumped right into our  routine and went to the Y with us (someone else to help me haul in my circus = AWESOME!).  Mom's usual week consists of walking the hills of WV for cardio every day and then doing two days of weights in her living room.  So it was nice to push her outside of her box for a little bit. 

My mom...in the process of making bread for our New Year's dinner!

Let me take just a moment to brag on my mom.  She is 60 years old and you'd never guess it to look at her.  She has made a life commitment to be in shape and eat right - currently, she is on a mission to build her bone density without the use of prescription drugs.  She only drinks water and tea and rarely eats fast food or drinks soda.  Her one vice is chocolate (I get it naturally!) but she curbs that craving with dark chocolate covered raisins.  She is constantly learning and got into weights at the same time that I was learning (after I graduated high school).

People always complement her on her energy and I take a lot of pride in the fact that we are alike in that area.  Thank you, mom, for your constant example and I am so proud to be your daughter.

I am going to include our workouts in case you are looking for ideas for your week - I would label this as intermediate.  Good luck!

Mother/Daughter Workout of the half-week  (she didn't get into town until Tuesday evening, so this begins on Wednesday.)  When you workout with a partner, it's nice to alternate your lifts because no one gets stuck standing around.  Unless you are lifting heavy - then you might need the rest time.  But we were after burning calories, so we kept moving at a pretty fast pace.

Wednesday - biceps 

Warm-up walk for 15 minutes on track

Super-women (challenge of the week!) - 10 each side

3 x 10 Cable bicep curls with bar (alternated with)

3 x 20 Crunches on the ball

3 x 12 Single arm bicep cable curl (alternated with)

3 x 12 Tricep rope pushdowns

3 x 15 DB hammer curls (alternated with)

3 x 15 DB single arm tricep overhead press

15 minute walk-to-jog treadmill intervals

Thursday- legs and abs

Warm-up walk for 15 minutes on track

Super-women (challenge of the week!) - 10 on each side (less grumbling today by my mother!)

3 x 15 leg extension machine (alternated with)

3 x 15 straight leg (or bent knee) raises on Roman Chair

3 x 15 leg curl machine (alternated with)

3 x 20 incline sit-ups

3 x 15 leg press followed by 3 x 15 calf presses (alternated with)

3 x 25 Russian twists on floor with 5 lb weight

Friday - chest, back and shoulders (we didn't alternate these)

Warm-up walk for 15 minutes on track

Super-women (challenge of the week!) - 10 on each side

3 x 10 bench press (a first for my mom!!)

3 x 10 hammer-strength incline press machine

3 x 10 lat pull-downs

3 x 10 machine rows

3 x 10 lat raises followed by 3 x 10 front raises

Saturday- full body and abs

Warm-up walk for 15 minutes on track

Super-women (challenge of the week!) - 10 on each side

10 box (or low step) jumps

20 flat-back toe touches with a medicine ball

10 straight-leg feet lowers

10 bench step-ups holding a weight over-head

3 x 10 butt blasters

15 minute walk-to-jog treadmill intervals

Christmas

I think this Christmas may have been my favorite of all time.  This was the first year that Elizabeth sort-of understood what was going on and that just made everything so special.  Sickness grabbed our house early in the week and we were plagued with snotty noses and yucky coughs.  Grandpa Barry came just in time to go to the doctor and entertain Rachel while Elizabeth got a "no-infection" bill of health.

Luckily, a little tylenol and some kisses and hugs got us on the road to recovery.  Just in time for Christmas!

We didn't really talk about Santa to Elizabeth.  She knew who he was from TV and she also knew that there were Christmas presents (or birthday presents, as she called them) in our closet that she wasn't allowed to get in yet.  We got her the Fisher Price nativity set and put it out the day before Christmas and told her about Jesus being born and that we give each other presents on His birthday to show each other how much we care for each other because God loves us so much.  Our two-year-old took all this in...and then promptly took most of the nativity players and threw them in a mesh basket in her room.  So now the stable has the baby Jesus, Joseph and the angel...and that's how she's kept it ever since.  

Christmas morning, Rachel woke up first, so Scott and I got up, made coffee, and turned on the tree.  We had placed the presents under the night before, leaving a couple unwrapped for fun.  When Elizabeth woke up, she ran in to check on her Grandpa, and then walked in the living room and STOPPED at the presents.  She was more than ready to unwrap those puppies!!

Rachel, watching her big sister for guidance.

So let me get this straight...now I'm ALLOWED to rip the paper?!

Yay!  A toy!  Now where's some more paper?

Elizabeth had no problems opening her presents - and everyone else's

'

The inspector had to check everything out.

And then it was time to PLAY!

The day was just perfect.  The house smelled like turkey and we were warm while the wind blew snow around outside. 

I am so thankful for this year - for our two children and my wonderful husband and our healthy friends and family.  This Christmas, more than any other, I thought about Mary and her role in the original Christmas and the trials and challenges she must have gone through.  What faith she must have had - mixed with doubt and joy and questions...  To KNOW that you are a virgin, and yet here is a child - YOUR child!  And here are these strangers coming to worship Him.  

I thought about when Elizabeth was born and we had just gotten up to our room when Ida Brown, the wonderful woman I worked in the library with, walked in with flowers.  And after she left, our preacher, Terry Pleasant came in.  And then came the Campbell's.  And then the Swoffords...  Some we had called or texted but some had called the hospital or found out through word of mouth.  I remember thinking, "How did you know?  How did you know she was here?  How did you know we were here?"

I can't imagine what Mary thought...instead of a phone call, Angels told the shepherds.  Instead of a text, a star guided the wise men.  

They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the feeding trough.  After seeing [them], they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.  Luke 2:16-19

That last sentence makes me want to cry because as parents, we can identify with her ten-fold.  How many things have I treasured in my heart, wonderful memories of our girls?  Watching our children understand, get excited for and celebrate Christmas opened up a whole new level of joy for me - and made me realize how fitting that the whole holiday centered around a baby.

Merry Christmas!

Working out the post-Christmas sludge

Does anyone else feel like their blood is running just a little bit heavy?  We have done nothing but eat and stay in the house (we've had some sick little elves here) and eat and watch TV and eat...  I got to have my favorite leftover sandwich today (turkey, cheese, Stovetop stuffing and cranberry relish...yum) and we've had dessert after every meal. 

So today, we jumped at the chance to go to the Y and get everyone moving just a little bit.  

My father-in-law came to share the holiday with us and joined Scott and me in our workout today.  We worked hard for a good hour and shared sweaty hugs and pats on the back when it was done.  There is something about performing a great workout with another person that bonds you - I'm not sure if it's the common thread or the commitment of health for yourself and the other person.  You can pray together and talk together but it's that final element of being active together just completes such a powerful triangle. 

Scott and his dad

Our workout went something like this...

10 supermen (or superwomen!) - each part
10 pushups
10 body-weight squats
10 pushups
10 military sit-ups
10 pushups
10 bird-dogs (tutorial to come)

Rotate through 3 times:
10 snatches into 5 shoulder presses
8 reverse pull-ups on bar
8 jump switch lunges

Rotate through 3 times:
10 each shoulder plate circuit (tutorial to come)
10 incline DB press
10 lat pull-downs

Rotate through 3 times:
10 cable bar curl
10 ab wheels
10 tricep rope pushdown

Then I had to race to get the girls before the nursery closed!

Love you, Barry!

Christmas Pasts

I just couldn't resist pulling these pictures up.  It is rainy and cloudy outside and I was just thinking how thankful I am for my babies.

Elizabeth's first Christmas at Carleta's house

Little Santa

Last Christmas - cheesing for Mommy!

This Christmas - practicing the "sleeper hold" on her sister!  ha!

I don't WANT to wear this silly hat!

Christmas Dresses

It was the Sunday before Christmas and I had to dress up my girls.  Pictures before church were a no-go because Mommy was running late (of course...).  So we attempted them after church.

I went first and we were still a little agreeable.  Notice Rachel has lost a shoe already.

By Scott's turn, we were in full melt-down mode.  Rachel's saying, "Dude...I'm done being cute, ok?"  Thank you, Grandma Chris for Elizabeth's beautiful dress and I think Grammy Susie sent us the other one for Rachel.  After this, we were downright adorable, going down for naps!