PiYo Test Group

Ok, you have all seen me post about PiYo over the last few weeks! What do you think? Would you want to try it out too??? Guess what!?! You can! I'm going to be hosting an exclusive (meaning like 5 people only) PiYo test group in 2 weeks through Facebook!!!

~What is PiYo? It is a fusion between Pilates and Yoga while being a cardio work out. You are always moving so you are burning calories all the time!

~What benefit will I get from PiYo? A sweating cardio workout, every time! flexibility, flexibility and more flexibility!

~Can it really help me? Sure can. Are you a runner like me? Well it will help to loosen up your almost always tight hamstrings. It will strengthen your core  and it will give you the strength workout using your own body weight that we need to make us stronger.

~I have bad knees or wrists can I still do this? YES! Every move has a modification to it. You wrists will get stronger every week, I had weak wrists before and they are doing great!

~Can I actually lose weight? YES YOU CAN! Because it is a cardio workout you are burning a ton of calories. AND When you pair it with Shakeology you will lose even more, plus combat those cravings and get all the vitamins you need in a day!

~I don't have time to work out. YES YOU DO! Most of the workouts are 25 min or less! You don't need hours worth of exercise because of the power moves you are doing and you are constantly moving (you can drop to a rest position at any time to recover thought) so you are burning a ton of calories!

SERIOUSLY PEOPLE! PiYO is AMAZING! I love it. It is a ton of fun and as a nursing mother I have had no back pain since about a week into the program because my core is tightening up. I have been more flexible and my hamstrings are not as tight as they were. My muscles have been sore though because I am working them but seriously this is a great workout. I am on my 4th week this week and will have pictures posted next week, but I am losing more and more inches every week! I feel better in my clothing! Please think about this, let me know if you have any questions because this program is truly awesome! Click here for more info on PiYo and send me an email with more questions or to reserve your spot! connectthedotsginger@gmail.com

August Week 1 Weekly Recap

Another week down and it was even my first week back to teaching! So it was a busy, big week for me. I teach private music lesson out of my home and during my lessons on Tuesday, Collin slept the whole time in his swing and part of the time in the swing during my Friday lessons. He did pretty well, but I only had 3 lessons this past week and this coming week is a full schedule, and Matt is out of town, OY! so we will see how it goes with having a babysitter and all.

This weeks workout went really well. I did a re-do of my weekly workout for PiYo since I missed so many the previous week and I did very well this week! My legs were sore from the Buns workout for 4 days! CRAZY! Just finding the time is the hard part. My goal this past week was to wake up early to exercise and I couldn't. Collin starting waking up in the middle of the night to feed and I have been an exhausted zombie mommy all week so waking up at 5 am when Mace and Collin were sleeping in till 7:30 didn't work. Thankfully they both go down for Mommy quiet time at the same time so early afternoons are working.

Workout Recap: 
Sunday: Rest
Monday: PiYo: Lower
Tuesday PiYo BUNS
Wednesday: PiYo Core
Thursday: PiYo Upper
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 3ish mile run (ran with the training program today sans Collin so I really got to get out there! Wasn't consistent running as I was stopping to help cheer ladies on their runs but I joined some ladies and ran with them, double backed and joined other ladies and so forth. It was pretty cool and I was was pretty worn out. Ran back in with M and she KILLED ME! I was running at a faster pace than I am used to which is good and we were working on hills!

Friday's 5: What NOT To Do For A Race!

Hey, hey everyone! Today is my first time doing a Friday 5. So here are 5 things on what NOT to do for a race! SERIOUSLY Learn from me. Now this post is for everyone. If you have never run in a race, READ IT and if you have run in a race before, go ahead and laugh at what I learned because chances are you have experienced these before! Just saying'!

1. DO NOT forget to apply BODY GLIDE to anywhere that rubs. That means under clothing seams at the waist, under the sports bra, between your thighs and your feet. Rubbing causes friction. Which will cause blisters or chaffing. It is not fun trying to finish a race with a massive blister on the verge of bursting, or has already burst or major chafing going on. IT HURTS!

2. DO NOT shave your inner thighs or higher, you know what I am talking about, the night before a race or the morning of the race! I REPEAT! DO NOT SHAVE! Just don't even shave. Make it a plan that you will shave  a couple of days before. Here is why. FRICTION plus razor burn! Worse than just chaffing. The morning of my 1/2 marathon I made this mistake. I shaved my upper thighs, not that they needed it but I thought it would be more "slippery" when I applied my body glide and be better. IT WAS WORSE And it hurt and I dealt with the chaffing for days afterwards.

3. DO NOT forget to use the bathroom just before you enter your corral for the start line. If you have a long wait ahead of you, ahem Disney races, then wait as long as you can to go before you have to go in the corral. Other wise you will be like a lady in the Disney Race that has to go within the first 80 ft and uses her friends as a shield so she can go in the bushes off the side of the road. Or like my friend K who had to use the bathroom by the 1st mile. Stay hydrated but make sure you empty your bladder as close the the beginning of the race as possible.

4. DO NOT attempt to run in a race in something you have never run in before. You do all this training before a race and you learn what clothing works and how your shoes fit and you are comfortable. Don't mess with that mojo on race day and run in a tutu for the first time without ever trying it out before or a costume you have never worn around the house, or in BRAND NEW SHOES. You already know what works so stick with it, don't change the gameplay at the last minute because you could end up with chaffing, or blisters or a broken ankle. Stick with what you know works!

5. DO NOT forget to have fun. Soak in all the sights, sounds, and excitement that the beginning of a race and the feeling of running a race can give you. It is ok to get teary eyed when you cross the finish line of your first race, first 1/2 marathon or even if it is your 20th race. YOU ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING that many people think is the impossible! It isn't and you showed that if you could do it, they can! We need to work together to end this obesity epidemic. It is out of control in our country. YOU KNOW IT IS and that is why you took this first step to sign up for a race, train for it and FINISH IT! You are amazing and so awesome! ENJOY YOUR RACE!

Avengers Assemble! RunDisney 1/2 Marathon

RunDisney released the medal images of the Disneyland Avengers 1/2 marathon! Spinner ALERT! Disney is sure having fun with the spinners lately! They are cool! What do you think? Are you going to be part of the Avengers this year in the inaugural race?

Collin's Baby Pictures

We just received the proofs for Collin's baby pictures. He was 10 days old when these were taken. He is not this small anymore and I miss it but I sure do love the little guy he is becoming! He loves to smile and giggle and coo like crazy. Also loves to stand. He fusses unless he is standing. But enjoy these cute pix of some of my favs!

PiYo Week 3

This week got away from me. Life got in the way. And that is okay! Life happens. Crappy things in life happen and we all have to deal with it. But the thing is not to give up. It is to keep going. So for me, I am going to re-do Week 3 in PiYo because I missed 2 brand new workouts. I did my normal ones, the Define upper and Lower that I have done every week but I didn't get a chance to do Buns, Core or Strength Intervals. So WEEK 3 Re-Do will be up next week.

The big thing though, I AM NOT GIVING UP! I AM STILL DOING THIS! So If you are interested in reading about the week 3 workout for PiYo, come back next week!

Interested in trying out PiYo? Click here!

Running Tips and Tricks: Music

I love music! I wouldn't teach it if I didn't love it. There is always a constant hum of sound around us and sound is classified as music. There is even a piece of music where a pianist just sits on the bench and allows the sound all around him to be the music. The people coughing out of discomfort waiting for him to pay, the hum of the air conditioning the outside noise that seeps in. Even our body has it's own beat and pattern with our heartbeat. Anyhew, music history lesson over. 

With that being said about music all around us. Music when working out and exercising can be a driving force to challenge us and push us to that next level. If there is a slower song playing than our run will gradually meet the beat that is playing and slow down, and just is the same as the opposite. Fast singer = faster pace. My friend recently wrote that she went to a spin class and was disappointed in the instructor because there was a great song on but didn't use the song to the best of its ability in keeping the beat or pushing the group to go harder and faster at the peak of the song. I am sure you know what I mean. Have been there. When a great song comes on and you just push yourself a little harder because that song pumps you up!

On your iPod or MP3 player, do you have your own workout playlist? I do. I already mentioned my 5 top running songs here. Jog.fm has actual pace per mile songs that you can pace your run to. HOW COOL IS THAT! Just put in the pace you want to run (12 min mile in my case) and BAM there were enough songs listed for 9 hours and 33 minutes! You can even listen to the song and it tells you where you can get it, i.e. iTunes or Amazon. Pretty neat.

Jog.fm says, "Studies have shown that listening to music during exercise works wonders on the mind and body. Not only can it improve results by acting as a motivational tool AND as a distraction from fatigue, but it can help improve lung function and it might even make you smarter." 

Time to organize my playlist on my iPod to 13 min mile and 12 min mile pace songs. New project, YEA! 

July Week 5 Workout Recap

This past week really took a tole on me and my workouts! I am actually thinking about "redoing" this week workout wise. Setting myself backwards one week because it just didn't happen. ARGH! The thing is though, it didn't happen because of life. My life got in the way. Which is ok. We all deal with unexpected changes in our life and we just keep moving. The good thing though is that I was still active. I spent Tuesday evening filling hundred of nail holes in the house we are trying to sell and Wednesday (10 hours) painting said house. Friday I was so sore I took a break because I pushed through the soreness of my legs on Thursday and did Define lower. Friday I hit a wall and my whole body was toast. And I was supposed to do a double workout to make up for the Tuesday and Wednesday I missed. And yesterday I just didn't get a moments rest to do my workout. So like I said, life got in the way and we are in a new week which means a week to improve. So here is for a REDO week and kill it!

Workout Recap- 
Sunday: Rest
Monday: PiYo Define: Upper
Tuesday: rest from working out but spent 4 hours filling nail holes
Wednesday: rest from working out but spent 10 hours paining
Thursday: PiYo Define: Lower (felt good after bug ouch later)
Friday: rest
Saturday: rest

Goal for the week: To work out early in the morning to get it done before life catches up with me!

Happy 2 Months to Collin

Sorry this is so late, 2 weeks to be exact! But here is my little guy at 2 months old! CRAZY that it is already over 2 months. Time really does go by so quickly and because he is such a great baby I wish that time would just slow down! 

 So Collin is an amazingly great baby! He is so easy. He doesn't really cry, but when he does it is either a little whimper or it is his "SUPER PISSED OFF" cry! He loves to smile now and is starting to belly laugh.

 He gives his Momma and Daddy 8+ hours a night straight. He starts crying for food at 8pm and is out cold by 9 and won't make a sound until about 5 or 6. He loves to watch his big brother whenever he is around. And loves to make coos and all super cute sounds. Even his farts are cute at this point!

 He really does look so much like Mason it is scary sometimes but he is definitely a different demeanor. Such a laid back baby! I sure do love this kid so much. I am so thankful that I am his mommy! Such a miracle and such a blessing!

RunDisney Pixie Dust Challenge

RunDisney just announced TODAY a new 10k challenge to add to the POPULAR Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon called the Pixie Dust Challenge! I am planning someday to run this race. I can't wait to see what the medals look like, which I will be posting here when they are announced!

Mark your calendars because registration opens and will probably close on AUG 12!



Speaking of MEDALS! RunDisney also announced the 2014 Wine and Dine 5th Anniversary SPINNER MEDAL you can get this year! Super awesome! 2015 W&D Here I COME!