What the What?! These are Awesome

Whenever I work out I like to feel secure.  Ya know what I mean ladies?  I'm a chick with curves and those curves need to be held in tight when I work out.  PLUS when you're held in, the jiggle is eliminated, the soreness the next day is much easier and the support for your joints cuts down the risks of injury.  If you're working out in gear that is just meant to be slept in, then you are missing out.  I've found some pants that I wanted to put my stamp of approval on and pass to you... They are the CW-X Pro Tight. Here is the description.

Sleek and comfy with technology that'll blow your mind.

Enhance your workout with the CW-X Pro Tight Bottoms. The ultimate in technical training wear, the Pro Tight supports key muscle groups to dampen vibration, increase blood flow and decrease fatigue so you can go longer and train better. CW-X's parent company manufactures (ahem) Intimate Apparel, so they know how to dial in a killer women's fit. Support for the lower back, knee and hip joints helps to bring them into proper alignment to cut down on the risk of injury. The really amazing thing about the pro tights though is how comfy they are, thanks to CoolMax fabric. You'll love the incredibly moisture management and temperature control they give you, so you can keep going even if the weather changes on you.

Sounds pretty good right?  Check them out here!

Gold Digging - I've Finally Snapped

In the mornings after I take my boys to school, I come home, get a nice cup of coffee and sit for a bit to read the news online.  This morning after reading an article I think I could have thrown my laptop against the wall... I snapped.  Why?  Nike's new women's t-shirt.

Joanna Douglas wrote the article I read and says "Was there not another more positive, inspiring phrase Nike could have printed on these women's tees? "Reach for the Gold," "Go for the Gold," or "Good as Gold," would have gotten the point across in Nike's trademark "Just Do It" sort of way. A gold digger is a woman out for a man's money. In this Olympic context, a phrase like "Gold Digging" implies you don't deserve or didn't earn your prize, and you went about obtaining it in a deceitful or unsportsmanlike way. The American women at the Olympics this year worked hard for their medals, and took home twice as many golds as their male counterparts."

Now, normally I could have seen this, rolled my eyes and just chalked it up to "shock" marketing.  But for Nike to come out with this after the Olympics just ending is appalling.  After these Olympics where if the US Women were their own country, they would have gotten like 4th in the medal count.  These Olympics where the US Women outnumbered the Men for the first time and dominated.

What finally made me snap was the fact that the coverage of women at the Olympics was laced with sexism and the focus of the women athletes was more on their appearance or their attire than their abilities.  Now, I know some will take issue with that comment, but when NBC came out with their creepy video called "Bodies in Motion" it validated all the frustration I was feeling about the media coverage of these athletes (female Olympians in general) who had trained so hard, sacrificed so much, represented their countries so well and deserved to be revered for their abilities and not just how their bikini bottoms rode up.  Greg Wyshynski of Fourth Place medal summed it up nicely.  "Bodies In Motion" was an online video produced by NBC in which women competing in various Olympic sports were featured in softcore, fetishist slow-motion highlights, while porn-tastic jazz music played on the soundtrack.  It looked like something a testosterone-filled teenager with a DVR would have spliced together for YouTube; instead, it was the official rights holder of the Olympics in the U.S. that produced it."

Thankfully, after much criticism, NBC pulled the video but to me the damage has been done.  What is it going to take for women athletes to be seen as ATHLETES and not objectified? 

Ok, rant over.  I usually don't do that but I have had enough.   Way to go Team USA women for making these Olympics the most successful for the US ever.  The majority of us were focusing on you and the sport and not your bodies in motion.

Before & After

Soooo, everyone is always thinking that getting in shape is all about how your body "looks".  What you have to understand is that working out, eating healthy, resting well, fueling your spirit and caring about yourself transcends the importance of looking good in a new outfit.  By far the most hits I get on this blog are from people who are searching for P90X before & after photos.  Here is the LINK to that post where you'll see my pics.  What you won't see is how finally caring about my health made me look on the inside.  I felt fantastic, wanted to do more with my boys and was able to translate that work ethic into other areas of my life.  While I no longer am affiliated with the distributors of P90X, I do stand by the product because you will have a great game plan to new health.  You can do it in many others ways and with many other programs, but that's just how I got started so I wanted to share it with you.

Let me know if you have any questions or would just like some encouraging words to get started where you are.

Olympics Craze

Our home has been abuzz with Olympic mayhem for 12 days now.  We watch any and every sport that comes on and we care not what it is.  That's not to say we don't have our favorites.  Basketball, cycling, track, swimming and gymnastics top our lists but, no lie, we have gotten pretty rowdy during table tennis, archery and speed walking.  There is just something about the excitement of it all.  All of the training, the preparation and the hardship these athletes have endured is astounding.  Then once there, you see their hopes and dreams played out and for a moment, you feel like you're part of their story just by witnessing it.

Since our house is and "athletic" household, I think the excitement of it all gets our competitive sport juices flowing.  It gives us that extra motivation to push through and shifts our confidence and momentum into overdrive.  Maybe we're imagining ourselves winning gold or at least finishing the race but I kid you not, we're all hearing the Olympic song in our head!

There are only a few days left of the Olympics so take this chance to make it about your family and the lessons you can all learn from it together.   In our house it's been awesome to be able to discuss the sports, the athletes, work ethic, dedication, dealing with loss, sportsmanship, adversity, perseverance, heart, etc.  We have had some great conversations with our boys and we encourage you to do the same!

A New Season

Things are shaking up for me and I'm on to new ventures and endeavors so be on the lookout for this blog to be updated a little more regularly!  I started this in 2009 when a fitness journey began with P90X but I've since moved on from that and coaching.  If you're interested in learning about my previous world, you can delve into old posts but today is a new day and a new beginning.  I'll be focusing on fitness of not only the body, but of your heart & family.  The pic below is a tiny preview of what's coming!  Let the adventure begin!

Now I have to get back to my TV because as you know, the Olympics are on and I am an admitted junkie.  Table tennis or swimming... I care not.  I have to see who wins and hear their story!

INSANITY

I did it... I completed Insanity! Ok, so it's been a few weeks but I did do it :) Insanity, in my opinion, is revolutionary. It is a workout that takes the average person, whether they're in shape or not, and takes them to a level never thought possible. Especially when you're doing it in you own home. This is the kind of program you would expect pro or Olympic athletes to go through. It's challenging but totally validating. I LOVED it.

As the pic to above says, TO DISCOVER WHAT'S POSSIBLE WITH YOUR BODY, YOU MUST FIRST CONQUER YOUR MIND. I can't even begin to tell you how true that is. There are so many times I would see the exercise I was about to do and I thought "no way!" but, once I got that thought out of my head and went for it, I would accomplish what I set out to do. Mental strength is key and your body is capable of so much when you first decide and commit to doing it.

The week before I finished the program, I ran a 7k for a fundraiser here in town. I hadn't trained or ran in months and I went out there and ran the entire time and could have kept going! It was all due to the work I had just put in. Now, I'm not the best or fastest runner by any stretch of the imagination but I finished strong and that's all that matters.

If you are considering a program that will test you mentally and physically, Insanity is it. I wouldn't recommend it to those who are just beginning a work out regimen though. Many of the moves are not easily modified.

So, what's next? I'm going to be running and training for a half marathon in September (I think). I am also gonna get in another round of Insanity and then on to Turbo Fire!

First 2010 Blog!

Where does the time go??? I can't believe how I used to update this blog every single day and now I'm am dragging!!! So sorry *embarrassed*

Well, I've started yet another round of P90X and am on day 9. Classic version of course and I'm excited to see the results at the end. I have a friend doing it with me this time because my regular workout partner, my husband Jeremy, just had shoulder surgery and will be out for several months. He can start biking on his trainer so he's excited about that but bummed that he can't do much else. Thankfully, his recovery is going really well because he was fit and flexible thanks to P90X. Check out his blog when you get a chance!

I think this year will be an exciting one for me fitness-wise. I've set a goal of completing a sprint triathlon and a half marathon this year. For me, setting goals is crucial. I like to try and accomplish something to give me motivation if that makes any sense. Some people like working out just for the sake of working out and they really, really enjoy it. I WISH I was one of those people. I do like working out and the benefits from it but it's not something that I just thoroughly enjoy. I think there are a lot of us out there like that and I'm not ashamed to feel that way. I absolutely LOVE the energy it gives me when I work out and eat right so I'm going to stick with it! Do any of you have any major fitness goals this year?

To try and stick with my daily posts, I'll hopefully post again after my workout which is the fabulous Plyometrics. I hope y'all have a fantastic day and don't forget to push play!

Oh, I also want to give out to my awesome friend Demi Bean who made the latest P90X infomercial!! Way to go Demi.... love you girlie!!