Think you don't have time to exercise? Guess again! In just 10 to 20
minutes, you can get an excellent full body workout. Its called the
Express Workout, and you can do it wherever you are, whenever you want!
For
a quick workout at home, on vacation, or even in the office, try this
circuit (repetitions in parenthesis are for beginner, intermediate and
advanced, respectively:
Pushups - box-style, on your knees or on your toes (20, 25, 30)
Dips (20,25,30)
Butt Bumps (20, 25, 30)
Wall Sit (60 seconds for all levels)
Flutter Kick Hold 10 kick, 10 hold (3 sets, 3 sets, 4 sets)
Repeat entire circuit 3 or 4 times.
Your challenge: Do the Express Workout every (non-Bootcamp) day this week. Your body will LOVE you for it!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Meet Coach Jen
What drew you to MBC? Where were you emotionally, physically, spiritually?
I was drawn to MBC by a mom I know who was attending Mama Bootcamp classes. She looked amazing and had amazing results. It made me realize that I had to try Mama Bootcamp at least once. I did and I was hooked! I loved the support I receive and continue to receive from the mamas and our other MBC coaches. I love exercising outdoors. I had the feeling that I was finally doing something to take back my life, my health and my happiness. Before I started MBC I was depressed, exhausted and I hated myself and my image. I knew that I needed to change, not only for myself, but for my family. I wanted to be happy, healthy and always be there for them, and to learn to love myself.
What made you want to be a coach?
I had been a Mama Bootcamper for two years before becoming a coach. I decided to begin coaching because of my own personal experience with Mama Bootcamp. I wanted to inspire and motivate women to realize that being healthy, happy and creating a new life style is possible.
What is the best part of being a coach?
The best part of being a coach is to see the happy smiles on the mamas faces when they finish Bootcamp. Also to share in their results and in the feeling of knowing that I have helped change their lives and find their mojo!
What are your interest, hobbies, etc.? What is your life like?
My interests are scrapbooking and crafts. I work part time as a Recreational Aide at a local elementary school. I am also going to college to earn my degree in Early Childhood Education with the goal of becoming an Early Childhood Educator in the near future. In addition to coaching MBC at Deterding Park, I am happily married and have three kids!
What is your favorite snack?
My favorite snack is pretzel Thins with Hummus
Friday, April 19, 2013
2013 Weekly Challenge #16: An Apple A Day
You know that old saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?" Turns out it might be more true than you thought!
Apples are the perfect snack food. They are crunchy, sweet (but not too sweet) and delicious and also chock full of nutrition. Apples are low on the glycemic index which helps stabilize your blood sugar. They are also high in fiber which is not only good for your digestive system, but also helps you feel satisfied. As an extra bonus, apples don't need to be refrigerated and come in their own "wrapping" making them the epitome of a "grab and go" snack.
Your challenge: Eat an apple a day. When you do your grocery shopping, branch otu and try more than one variety of apple. Pay attention to what your favorites are, and make this challenge a part of your regular eating routine throughout the year. Be sure to come back to the blog and post a comment letting us all know what your favorites are so we can all try them too!
Have a great week, and remember: An apple a day DOES keep the doctor away, and so much more.
Apples are the perfect snack food. They are crunchy, sweet (but not too sweet) and delicious and also chock full of nutrition. Apples are low on the glycemic index which helps stabilize your blood sugar. They are also high in fiber which is not only good for your digestive system, but also helps you feel satisfied. As an extra bonus, apples don't need to be refrigerated and come in their own "wrapping" making them the epitome of a "grab and go" snack.
Your challenge: Eat an apple a day. When you do your grocery shopping, branch otu and try more than one variety of apple. Pay attention to what your favorites are, and make this challenge a part of your regular eating routine throughout the year. Be sure to come back to the blog and post a comment letting us all know what your favorites are so we can all try them too!
Have a great week, and remember: An apple a day DOES keep the doctor away, and so much more.
Friday, April 12, 2013
2013 Weekly Challenge #15: Stretch!
Taking care of your body is an essential part of any exercise
program. And yet it is one of the things we are most likely to skip.
Everyone knows they should stretch before and/or after exercise, and
that it is a good habit to have just as a part of daily living. But
really...how often do YOU do it?
Stretching keeps you flexible, prepares your muscles for exercise and helps your body heal after a tough workout. Besides being good for you, it has the extra benefit of feeling GOOD (usually).
Don't know how to start? Start by taking a look at the stretch chart in your Mama Bootcamp binder, and look for the ones that stretch the areas on your body that are tight or sore.
Your challenge this week: Spend 5 minutes at the end of your day stretching.
Pick a few stretches that target your "problem" spots (sore, tight, etc.) and do them. Hold each stretch to your comfort level, but shoot for about 30 seconds. If you're up for even more of a challenge, try to incorporate some body care into your entire day by taking a couple of minutes every hour or so to stretch. Your body will love you for it!
Have a GREAT week!
Stretching keeps you flexible, prepares your muscles for exercise and helps your body heal after a tough workout. Besides being good for you, it has the extra benefit of feeling GOOD (usually).
Don't know how to start? Start by taking a look at the stretch chart in your Mama Bootcamp binder, and look for the ones that stretch the areas on your body that are tight or sore.
Your challenge this week: Spend 5 minutes at the end of your day stretching.
Pick a few stretches that target your "problem" spots (sore, tight, etc.) and do them. Hold each stretch to your comfort level, but shoot for about 30 seconds. If you're up for even more of a challenge, try to incorporate some body care into your entire day by taking a couple of minutes every hour or so to stretch. Your body will love you for it!
Have a GREAT week!
Friday, April 5, 2013
2013 Weekly Challenge #14: Veggie Bags (aka Grab and Go!)
Even if you only just started Mama Bootcamp, you know that one of the
cornerstones in our nutrition training is eating veggies. Lots and
lots and lots of veggies.
You'd have to have been living under a rock to NOT know that a healthy diet must include lots of vegetables. But let's get real - even though we all KNOW it, we don't all DO it every day. For me, a big factor is the time - those veggies have to be washed, dried, and cut before I can eat them!
The small time investment is more than made up by the benefit. By eating your veggies, you are not only loading yourself up with vitamins and minerals that are essential to healthy living, you are giving yourself so much more. Veggies not only help your body function better, but they can help you lose weight, look younger and even help prevent cancer. Sounds like a good deal to me!
Your challenge this week looks (and sounds familiar): Eat your veggies! But this week, let's work on making it part of your regular routine and making it EASY (and fast, too!). You should be eating 7-9 servings of veggies every single day. With one serving the equivalent of .5 cups, you can fit a whole day's worth of these health-making beauties into one quart-size plastic bag.
Your challenge: Make your Grab-n-Go Veggie bags. By 7pm on Sunday, have your veggie bags for the week ready to go. Pick out several different veggies, and try to be sure to cover as many "colors" as you can. Dark green, light green and red are my favorites, with a little white thrown in, too. Chop them up into the size you like best, and fill up your quart-sized bags. Put them in the fridge so they're ready to go (maybe pair them up with your favorite dip - hummus is mine).
With just a small time investment, the "work" is done for the whole week! On your way out door every morning this week you can grab a bag full of yum! Snack on it all day long, and enjoy the awesome results.
One of my favorite quotes is: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Veggies bags are a perfect example of planning to meet your goal of eating 7 to 9 servings of veggies a day.
Put together your veggie bags and eat them up! Your body will love you for it.
You'd have to have been living under a rock to NOT know that a healthy diet must include lots of vegetables. But let's get real - even though we all KNOW it, we don't all DO it every day. For me, a big factor is the time - those veggies have to be washed, dried, and cut before I can eat them!
The small time investment is more than made up by the benefit. By eating your veggies, you are not only loading yourself up with vitamins and minerals that are essential to healthy living, you are giving yourself so much more. Veggies not only help your body function better, but they can help you lose weight, look younger and even help prevent cancer. Sounds like a good deal to me!
Your challenge this week looks (and sounds familiar): Eat your veggies! But this week, let's work on making it part of your regular routine and making it EASY (and fast, too!). You should be eating 7-9 servings of veggies every single day. With one serving the equivalent of .5 cups, you can fit a whole day's worth of these health-making beauties into one quart-size plastic bag.
Your challenge: Make your Grab-n-Go Veggie bags. By 7pm on Sunday, have your veggie bags for the week ready to go. Pick out several different veggies, and try to be sure to cover as many "colors" as you can. Dark green, light green and red are my favorites, with a little white thrown in, too. Chop them up into the size you like best, and fill up your quart-sized bags. Put them in the fridge so they're ready to go (maybe pair them up with your favorite dip - hummus is mine).
With just a small time investment, the "work" is done for the whole week! On your way out door every morning this week you can grab a bag full of yum! Snack on it all day long, and enjoy the awesome results.
One of my favorite quotes is: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Veggies bags are a perfect example of planning to meet your goal of eating 7 to 9 servings of veggies a day.
Put together your veggie bags and eat them up! Your body will love you for it.
Friday, March 29, 2013
2013 Weekly Challenge #13: Appreciate your body! (Positive Self-Talk)
In earlier challenges, we focused on being grateful and positive
instead of negative and complaining. The whole purpose of those
challenges was to realize that what you say and think makes a difference
in how you act and feel. Whatever you focus on is what you feed, and
what you feed grows. If all you think about is what you don't have, your
dissatisfaction grows; if most of what you say comes out as a
complaint, you forget to see the positive.
This week's challenge builds on that idea.
How many times in a day do you engage in negative self-talk about your BODY? I know I do it ALL.THE.TIME. "I can't wear those, my thighs are too fat." "I hate my arms." "My back is killing me." "I'm just not strong enough." Honestly, I've probably said each of these things to myself, in my head, just in the last 3 hours.
But what about the GOOD things about my body and all of the amazingly positive and wonderful things it has done for me? My legs are strong and get me where I want to go, and I can move around and play with my daughter whenever I want to. I may have stretch marks, but they came from having a baby - a wonderful gift my body gave me. My body may not be perfect, but it sure has served me well so far!
Your challenge this week: Positive Self Talk! Your Bootcamp coach will give you an index card. Give yourself a minute to think about the beauty of your body and then write down some positive things your body has done for you. As the week goes on, listen to yourself (speech and thoughts) and squash that negative body-talk. Use your card to write down something you love about your body, or something wonderful your body has done for you. Anytime you start having those negative thoughts, pull out your card and remind yourself how strong, beautiful and lucky you really are!
Have a great week!
This week's challenge builds on that idea.
How many times in a day do you engage in negative self-talk about your BODY? I know I do it ALL.THE.TIME. "I can't wear those, my thighs are too fat." "I hate my arms." "My back is killing me." "I'm just not strong enough." Honestly, I've probably said each of these things to myself, in my head, just in the last 3 hours.
But what about the GOOD things about my body and all of the amazingly positive and wonderful things it has done for me? My legs are strong and get me where I want to go, and I can move around and play with my daughter whenever I want to. I may have stretch marks, but they came from having a baby - a wonderful gift my body gave me. My body may not be perfect, but it sure has served me well so far!
Your challenge this week: Positive Self Talk! Your Bootcamp coach will give you an index card. Give yourself a minute to think about the beauty of your body and then write down some positive things your body has done for you. As the week goes on, listen to yourself (speech and thoughts) and squash that negative body-talk. Use your card to write down something you love about your body, or something wonderful your body has done for you. Anytime you start having those negative thoughts, pull out your card and remind yourself how strong, beautiful and lucky you really are!
Have a great week!
Friday, March 22, 2013
2013 Weekly Challenge #12: The SWIMSUIT Challenge
Like it or not, swimsuit season is just around the corner. It will be
time to peel off those layers, and show the world the excellent work
you've been doing at Bootcamp :) Here's a challenge to make the
transition from sweaters to swimsuits even more enjoyable!
Your challenge: Set aside 5-10 minutes a day for a Swimsuit workout! Be sure to plan it in advance, and put it on your calendar.
The workout: A set of butt shapers or butt blasters, planking 3 ways (one minute facing down, one minute each side), and 20 bicycles/20 roll outs (3 sets). Don't know what these are? Be sure to ask your coach, or check out the VIDEO link to the right!
You'll be amazed at what a different a few minutes a day can make!
Have a GREAT week!
Your challenge: Set aside 5-10 minutes a day for a Swimsuit workout! Be sure to plan it in advance, and put it on your calendar.
The workout: A set of butt shapers or butt blasters, planking 3 ways (one minute facing down, one minute each side), and 20 bicycles/20 roll outs (3 sets). Don't know what these are? Be sure to ask your coach, or check out the VIDEO link to the right!
You'll be amazed at what a different a few minutes a day can make!
Have a GREAT week!
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