Good workout you can do at home...

This morning I did a workout at our CrossFit gym that's a pretty good one...you can even do it at home if you have a set of dumbbells and a jump rope.  

Here it is...

10 dumbbell thrusters 

20 dumbbell lunges

30 double unders (jumping rope) 

400 m run (or run for 2-3 minutes)

4 x 

It took me 25 minutes. 

Good luck! 

Benefits of Yoga for Mom and Baby

Yoga is a wonderful form of exercise to do anytime, even while pregnant and post partum. 

I did not love being pregnant by any means, but can safely say that I did love going to prenatal yoga. The body changes so much during pregnancy and it felt incredibly wonderful to take time to stretch and hold poses. It also felt rather amazing to connect with my baby in the womb during this practice.  Houston area Moms-to-be, check out The Motherhood Center for prenatal yoga. They have fabulous instructors that will bring you to tears. I can remember sitting in class after a hard hour's work. Instead of laying on my back in Shavasana, I'd sit in Lotus pose, (Indian style) and would rub my belly.  As told to by the teacher, I'd think of something I found funny, and I'd 'tell baby,' (in my head.)   Then she would say,  'Now think of how much you love your baby, and will enjoy watching her grow...now tell her."  Tears! It was pretty cool...

 

Now that I'm 6 wks post partum, I am back at yoga and brought my sweet baby girl to a Mom and Baby yoga class recently.  I was hesitant as to how this class would go. Luckily, my daughter loved every minute of it and never cried. We started off by having our babies lying on the mat in front of us. We moved their limbs and massaged their bellies. Then we held poses like warrior and chair, while holding the baby. We also bounced on the ball towards the end. All the babies loved that! It was a great class and might have even been tougher than regular yoga because we held our babies! 10 lbs is no joke if you've been out of the game a while, and when it's adorable and giggling, it makes class so much fun!

Yoga has so many benefits. I personally believe more oxygen gets to the brain during yoga because you breathe more deeply and efficiently during class.  

Yoga is great for babies and kids because it's a great sensory experience for them, and they get to be active as well. Regular movement promotes more settled behavior and also deeper sleep.  Yoga's physiological and psychological benefits for babies include frustration reduction, multiple body systems stimulation and parent/child bonding and communication.  

Yoga has countless benefits for adults too, and especially Moms! It improves posture, balance and sleep. Regular yoga activity burns calories and contributes to weight loss. It betters range of motion and also strengthens muscles and joints. It improves energy and endurance levels. Yoga is a full body workout both physically and mentally. It works everything from your brain to your bum. It truly softens the heart as well. It's fantastic for recovery from birth because of the stretching and stress reduction practices involved in a yoga session.  

If you haven't yet tried a yoga class, I highly recommend doing so! Locate a studio in your area and ask to try the first class for free. You can also check class schedules at gyms like the YMCA. 

Change Up Your Walk Routine

Maybe you walk regularly for exercise. Perhaps you just had a baby, like I did...or maybe you are recovering from a surgery. I'm 6 weeks post partum and haven't been cleared to work out yet. I'm big into CrossFit, but right now all I can do is walk. 

Whatever the case may be, walking is good exercise.  It can boost your mood and energy levels in just 5 minutes! It can get also becoming boring and redundant quickly though. Here are some ways to really spice up your walk workouts!

Walk an incline:

If you're waking on a piece of stationary equipment at a gym, then set it on an incline and work that booty!

If you're walking outside, try hills or stairs. Shoot for 25 minutes! 

Brisk walk:

Instead of going for a leisurely stroll, really get some speed going, and walk as fast as you can! Make sure those arms are swinging and take long strides. Speed and movement intensifies your workout and will burn more calories. Give 40 minutes a try. 

Intervals: 

Change it up by trying to walk fast for one minute, then slow it down for a minute. Keep watching the clock or stopwatch, and continue this alternating pattern of fast then slow for your entire walk. Try 30 minutes...

Ab workout:

You can walk with your abs engaged. This is tough to maintain, but it's a good technique that will create some moderate soreness you can be proud of. Draw in or engage your abs until you feel them contract. Make sure you're not holding you're breath though...Keep workin' those abs for a good 20 minute walk. 

Serenity walk: 

Don't time this walk, or listen to music, or even look at your phone. Just enjoy nature, take in the smells, sounds and sights. Focus on your breathing. Take long, filling, cleansing deep breaths...in through the nose and then blow them out, (nose or mouth.) This will calm your anxieties and worries and can help you feel more clear headed.  

Written by: Kelly Gerszewski, #fitThriftymom