Getting my blogger butt in shape

I have been absent from here and I hate that. I believe the reason for that is my lack of exercise.

I am a person who needs to exercise in order to be happy. It greatly affects my mood for the better. As some of you know, I was a regular at the gym. I would frequent it at least 5 days a week. Just before Christmas, Cory and I decided that I'd move out East to live with his Mom in order to save some money. It was at that time I decided to quit the gym. I thought I wouldn’t have time to pack and keep up with my workout regime.  Well, the plan to move changed. I still had to pack everything up and store it but the cross country trek was off. We've decided to stay in Ontario with my mom because we are finally planning our long awaited wedding. June 2nd, 2012 we tie the knot. Along with a wedding comes the many meetings, the dress fittings and bridal showers. Due to all that I need to get done in the next few months it was best for us to stay put and plan away. Everyone is pleased with my decision to a) get married and b) stay in Ontario. I am also quite content to not have to pack up life and move out East. However, I am not content with my lack of exercise because of all this commotion. I decided in the past two weeks to start finding things I can do outside of the gym to stay fit and save money. My first and most loved workout is Hot Vinyasa Flow yoga. This yoga class is focused on increasing flexibility and getting rid of toxins. To assist in this the instructor has the room set at 100 degrees. I believe this is the most wonderful thing to participate in. I love how the heat loosens up muscles and really helps me get into the poses. It makes me feel so strong and powerful afterwards. I especially love doing hot yoga at Yoga by Sarah on Thursday nights when they have a charity drop-in class. Most drop-in classes are $17.00 but the charity classes are a pay what you can class. Proceeds are donated to a local charity. It’s a cheap and fun way to get an amazing workout and also help out the local community. The class starts at 8:30pm and lasts an hour. I suggest going early because it fills up quick, it’s just THAT good! (http://www.yogabysarah.com/)

I am also trying out new workouts at home. I purchased a Jillian Michael's DVD about weight training to shed pounds. It focuses on the use of Kettle Bells and the effectiveness they have at toning muscles and scorching calories. I bought it for a whopping $8.00 at Wal-Mart. I know not everyone is aware of what a kettle bell is or what it entails. This DVD is great for beginners as it starts you off easy with level one and as you get better and stronger you can proceed to level two. I purchased my kettle bell at Winners for the low price of $16.99 (they are around 25-45 at Wal-Mart, depending on size/weight). It is a 15lb weight but I would suggest a 10lb for those just starting out. Jillian also suggests using a dumb bell if you aren’t quite sold on the kettle bell. Since I already have to take in my wedding dress significantly I thought I would just try and tone up my body, especially my ‘wave goodbye’ arms. I can already feel all my muscles being awakened and whipped into shape after only two workouts.

Lastly, I love to run. Running and I have a special bond. There is nothing liking hitting the pavement for a jog. The energizing feeling you get when your heart and feet are working together to push you that extra mile is out of this world. Running is the best workout as it fires up so many muscles  and allows for total body fat burning. I know running can be intimidating but like most things it takes time and you need to learn how to do it properly. I can now go for 7 km at a time and hope to push that up to 10 km this summer. I started off not even being able to run for two minutes. I began by doing interval training. So basically you’d walk for 5 min, run for 2 minutes. Slowly I would increase my run time and lower my walk time. I didn’t become a runner overnight but it is now something I couldn’t live without. I still do some interval training, especially if I only have 20 minutes to get in a workout. Interval training allows your heart rate to peak and fall, which in turn spikes your metabolism and keeps it working at a faster rate for a longer period of time, resulting in a mega calorie burn. If one person ran intervals and the other just ran at a steady pace the person who ran intervals would burn more calories over the course of the day than the person who ran steady. Thinking about taking up running? I suggest investing in a really great pair of RUNNING shoes (not cross trainers), trust me your shins, legs and feet with thank you. Also take it slow and work your way up. Set a goal like a 5km run 3 months from now. Running is so empowering, I love it!

So I am hoping that with the increase in endorphin releasing activities I’m doing that I will be in a better mood and more motivated to do other things I love like blogging about my upcoming nuptials

XO
Amber