Our latest giveaway is Denise Austin’s Hot Body Yoga, which I received free from Lionsgate. This is another DVD that hasn’t even been released yet. It looks like the release is set for September 7th.
Here’s what it says on the back:
Body sculpting moves to firm and tone!
Find the “Om” at home and get the hot body you’ve always wanted with Denise Austin: Hot Body Yoga! It’s designed to sculpt long, lean, sexy muscle, both workouts include effective moves and poses that burn fat fast. Begin with Yoga Fit for a traditional body-slimming vinyasa, then advance to Yoga Sculpt, using small weights for accelerated toning. Perfect for all levels, this is the yoga practice you’ve been waiting for!
2 Yoga Workouts – 2 Levels
YOGA FIT (30 min): Melt away fat and define a leaner physique with an invigorating flow of traditional yoga moves and balance poses.
YOGA SCULPT (30 min): Punch up your practice using light weights to reshape your arms, chest, back and shoulders while toning the lower body with dynamic moves.
To win, just comment below. Tell us if you do yoga workouts at home or do you prefer a class. Or maybe you like to do yoga in the park — I remember when I lived in London I could look out my window at the community garden and see a group of people doing Tai Chi out on the grass. They looked silly but also as if they enjoyed it. As always, you can continue to comment for one week. Giveaway is open to anyone in the U.S. or Canada. I’ll come back next Monday (the 6th) and post the winner. Good luck!
Now all you have to do is send your email address to me at fig[at!]fitfig.com and I’ll email the gift certificate to you as soon as I can.
Everyone please come back later today for another giveaway announcement. For now I have to go put the baby down for a nap and do my own workout for the day!
I just ordered this new little dealie called a Fitbit. You can check it out on their website here. I guess it’s a similar product to the Bodybugg or Go Wear Fit. I also found a new one called BodyMedia Fit (there’s a mention on the website of this one that it is from the makers of Go Wear Fit so I guess they are somehow related). I read about both BodyMedia Fit and Fitbit in Real Simple magazine. The Fitbit is supposed to track your daily activity as well as your sleep. Then you can track both as well as your nutrition on their website.
Fitbit is a little different from the other activity-measuring gizmos. I chose to try it out because it’s only $99, it’s a clip-on apparatus rather than an armband, they say it will work with my Mac, and there are free website tools to use with it (there’s an option for a paid web subscription as well, but it’s not required). I actually ordered a Go Wear Fit once and had to return it as I could not get the darn thing to work with my Mac.
Now maybe it will be less accurate as it’s not an armband nor 200 bucks, but I’m eager to try it out and see how I like it. At half the price (or less) of the other products it’s worth a try. It’s apparently on backorder and won’t be shipped until after September 10th, so I’ll have to wait a while. I’ll be sure to report here soon after I get it to tell you my initial impressions.
I STILL have a broken toe and not much else to talk about, so we’re going to have another fun giveaway here. It’s well-known that I’m a big Cathe Friedrich fan and I like to spread the word about her great workouts, so let’s have a Cathe.com $25 gift certicate giveaway. If you’re interested, just comment below. Tell us if you already do Cathe’s workouts, if you’re interested in trying one, or if you’ve never heard of her before. Or maybe you just want to check out the cool equipment they now sell on her website.
Now all you have to do, Pinky, is send your address to me at fig[at!]fitfig.com and I’ll get this DVD in the mail to you as soon as I can. I’d also like to see that video if you’re really willing to share one with us.
My husband sent me an instant message tonight with a link to this article about barefoot running. Since I’m not a runner I assume he just sent it to me just because of my interest in fitness–that or he just thought the Vibram FiveFingers shoes pictured were funny-looking.
I love my exercise shoes (f.y.i.: my favorite brand is Ryka and I usually buy them from Walking Sue on Ebay) but there are times I prefer to work out barefoot. Obviously I do yoga and Pilates barefoot, and I’ve mentioned before that it annoys me when I do a flexibility-oriented DVD and the instructor and cast are wearing shoes. I also like doing certain weight workouts without shoes. I like to do squats either barefoot or with flat shoes like my Chuck Taylors. But as for cardio–I don’t do much of that barefoot except occasionally with the Wii. Of course right now everything I do is wearing a stupid giant special shoe for my broken toe.
I would like to try more cardio barefoot. I have yet to get Ellen Barrett’s Barefoot Cardio workout, though I’ve considered it. Regardless I’ll have to wait until my toe has healed. As for that, I went to the doc on Monday and got another X-ray. Still broken. I have to go back in two weeks to see if it’s healed by then. Ugh.
So how about you? Do you exercise barefoot or with shoes like the Vibram FiveFingers? If so, how has it changed your workout or your ability? The article I referenced above says: “Running without shoes can strengthen your feet, ankles, and lower legs and improve balance.” Do you find this to be true? If you haven’t exercised barefoot before, would you like to try it? (I mean, besides yoga or something like that which most of us already do barefoot.)
Let’s have a poll on this (Note: you can choose more than one answer):
I just got this new Strong and Sexy Full Body Workout DVD with Dr. Teri Jory free from Poise Productions. I’m still recovering from my broken toe (maybe for another week?) so I can’t do it myself just yet. Instead I’m going to do a giveaway to see who else might like to do it.
Here’s what it says on the back of the DVD:
P PILATES, POWER and PELVIC FLOOR O ONENESS of Body and Mind
I INSPIRATION S SCULPTED and SEXY Body
E EMPOWERED and ENERGIZED
EVERYBODY NEEDS POISE FOR INNER AND OUTER BEAUTY…
SECTION 1 (19 minutes)
Sculpts and builds upper body. Forearm strikes and front punches carve and chisel your triceps and biceps while stabilizing your trunk with martial arts stances. Continue reading »
We picked three words (EXERCISE, STRONG & SUPPORT) and interviewed the little people in our lives to see what their definitions of the words were.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to join in the potential mayhem post as well.
Grab your child.
Snag a neighbor-kid, niece, nephew or any other willing little person in you can find.
And ask them what the words EXERCISE, STRONG, & SUPPORT mean.
Video tape their musings.
Jot down what they say & transcribe later.
So I did that today. I wasn’t clever and organized to do the different words in different videos as they did with their adorable girls. I just sat down my two oldest boys (ages 8 and 5) and asked them all in one sitting. (The drawback is I had to use YouTube to upload the video as it’s too big for WordPress).
Apparently exercise is “running and swimming and moving around.” I loved their explanations of strong. “Like you could pick up a car if you had really big muscles.” When I asked if they knew anybody strong they said they themselves were strong. “I can pick up a whole chair!” Support was helping someone or picking someone [up]. Here they are if you’d like to see them:
So I have mentioned the broken toe and the mono (which I apparently still have) and sadly I manage to get injured or sick way too often. Sometimes this drags me down and I think, “Well, there go all my exercise plans. Woe is me. Life sucks,” etc. It’s not in my nature to feel like Debbie Downer too often, though, so I try to look for other options.
So I’ve thought about it, and here’s what I can’t do while sick with mono and nursing a broken toe:
Jumping
Running
Step Aerobics
Kickboxing
High impact exercise
Anything else requiring any dependence on all 10 toes or loads of extra energy
However, here are all the things I can still do:
Pushups
Crunches
Other upper body or ab work
Yoga/Pilates/stretch poses that don’t require toes–like poses involving sitting or lying down
Play Wii Fit (with the exception of certain games that use more of lower body or require really good balance
So I’m looking on the bright side and I’m going to go ahead and enjoy what I can do and make the most of what I’ve got, instead of belly-achin’ about what I can’t do. How about you? Do you have any exercise restrictions because of health issues or just poor coordination? What do you do to make up for what you lack?
Oh, and little mono update: I have an appointment with an infectious diseases specialist on August the 24th, so wish me luck. (Also wish me luck that I find a sitter since mine will be on vacation that week.)
I forgot to do an update. I know you are just dying to know about my toe. Front page news and all that. Well, it is indeed broken. My podiatrist took an X-ray and said, “See that crack?” I didn’t, but I believed her, especially as it still hurts. So she taped up my toe and put me in a big awkward strap-on shoe. Fun. So not much exercise around here except a bit of upper body work. Very annoying.
The good news is I got a Wii finally, so I’ve been enjoying playing with that. I can’t enjoy it quite as much with the toe, but there are still some fun games even without the use of feet or good balance. Speaking of balance, I also got the Wii Balance Board and Wii Fit game so I’ve been tracking my weight on there. It’s not fun to have the little squeaky voice tell me I’m overweight, but it’s still fun in general. The other day it asked me why i thought I was overweight and it gave me a multiple choice list. “Had a baby” was not on the list. Sure the baby is 10 months old now but I was hoping I could still squeak by with the excuse. *sigh*
Anyway, I go back on Monday for the doc to re-tape my toe; then the following week to see how it’s doing. So it looks like I’ll be in the crazy shoe for at least another week or two. Amazing how annoying one tiny broken pinky toe can be.
I just got this new 10 Minute Solution: Rapid Results Fat Burner workout free from Anchor Bay Entertainment. This looks like a fun one I’d like to try but unfortunately I hurt my toe on Thursday (I think I broke it–will see a doc on Monday to be sure) so I’m not fit to do a good workout at the moment. Instead I’m going to do a giveaway to see who else might like to do it.
I love getting workouts like this because it hasn’t even been released yet! It will be in stores on August 3rd. The instructor is Cat Chiarelli. I know I have done one of her workouts before–a Crunch DVD, I think. I seem to remember she had a good personality in that workout, but I can’t find that I blogged about it here. The fact that this is all cardio appeals to me. I sometimes feel like I’d get a better workout with the 10 Minute Solution DVDs if they had a more singular focus (instead of 10 minutes of upper body, 10 minutes of lower, 10 minutes of cardio, etc.) so I like that they’ve done another all-cardio one (there are a couple others with all cardio already). Continue reading »
I am looking to add a few step aerobics DVD’s to my collection. I want something that has more advanced choreography but could be used for intermediate workouts.
Also, do any of you have kettlebell DVD’s that you would suggest?
Well, after my recent trip to the doctor (after over a month of being feverish) I had to get blood work and a chest x-ray. The blood work came back and apparently I have mono, even though I already had that in college. Leave it to me to get something twice you’re only supposed to have once. My only instructions were to avoid contact sports, avoid alcohol, and to call my doc in a month if I’m not better. I also read that I shouldn’t do heavy lifting (it’s all to do with your spleen being at risk when you have mono). Then she said I might have to see an infectious diseases doctor or something like that. This is what she told me on Wednesday. I called her on Friday to get some clarification (like if I’m contagious around my kids and husband–answer: yes) and at that point she asked me again how long I’ve had the fevers. I told her since at least early June so she said maybe I should go ahead and call the infectious diseases specialist if I’m not better soon. So we’ll see. So far still having fevers. And burning eyes very often, like right now, so I won’t be typing much longer tonight. Please send your healthy vibes and prayers winging my way.
I just love this website title: HuffandBuff.com. Isn’t that cute and memorable? It’s even meaningfully related to exercise. Now why couldn’t I thought of that instead of the goofy Fit Fig (or my original Fitness Fig title)? Anyway, you might want to click on over there to check out her giveaways–she’s got some great ones going on right now. So hurry, go over there! (But come back and check on me some time, won’t ya?)
Summer has officially arrived, and as Fig alluded to the temps have been high and extremely hot. As a result, my workout plans have shifted around. I am no longer exercising outdoors. Instead, I am spending more time on the treadmill and have started to revisit my extensive DVD collections.
However, I long to be outdoors during my runs. Therefore, I am going to once again attempt to move my workouts outside, but I will be keeping the following tips in mind: Continue reading »
Well the temps are down to a more reasonable level so I am back to working out this week. (I admit to not working out last week but the outside temps were up as well as my fever.) Here’s the plan:
I may also try to squeeze in a couple new DVDs I have — Strong Knees and Aligned and Well: Fix Your Feet. I have issues with my feet and my knees which can get in the way of my fitness goals so maybe these could help. How about you? What are your workout plans this week?
I got the 10-Minute Solution Knock-Out Body for Wii video game free from Activision and as I don’t have a Wii myself it seems like a good time for a giveaway. We have an Xbox 360 and I have a fitness game for that which I haven’t even tried (don’t know why–I think I keep forgetting it exists).
This workout video game looks fun. Here’s what it says on the back:
Customizable and stackable workout sessions allow you to tailor your own workout experience. From cardio to strength training, 10 Minute Solution for Wii is a total-body workout that delivers powerful results while easily fitting into your schedule. Continue reading »
We don’t claim to be fitness experts. We don’t dispense medical advice and we're not qualified to do so. We are also neither nutritionists nor personal trainers. We are just women on the journey to better fitness and a richer life. Please consult a doctor if you are starting a new exercise routine.
Our latest giveaway is Denise Austin’s Hot Body Yoga, which I received free from Lionsgate. This is another DVD that hasn’t even been released yet. It looks like the release is set for September 7th.
