Fit Ideas - Let's go hiking!

I love spending time with my kids, my pets, and working out. However, how do you make time for everything when you have so many other things to do??? I take a look and see what can I do to bring it all together. I took my daughter on a short evening hike with our dogs, since they have to stay fit too, and tied in the fact that it would be really cool to see the Las Vegas strip in the evening from the mountain. The video doesn't do it justice, so you'll have to head out and see for yourself how cool it looks! 

Tips to remember... even on an evening hike, bring plenty of water. I bought a camel pack because it's convenient to store not only water, but also keys, phone, flashlight... you get the picture. That said... bring a cell phone and a flashlight. If you lose track of time, you want to make sure that you can SEE where you are going and there are usually spots where you can get cell phone reception in case of emergency. I usually also bring a light jacket because the temperature changes can be quite drastic at times. 

Best thing for me is I get to spend quality time with my daughter and my fur kids while working out. Bonus: I'm setting the example for my kids to live a healthy life.

Fitness on the Road

Oh my word! It has been 3 weeks since my last post. I have been traveling with my Darren LaCroix who is a world champion public speaker, and for which I do marketing for, meeting some pretty amazing people and learning so much!

In the past month and a half, or so, I have been to California, Mexico - for the first time ever, and Indianapolis. In each place we worked public speaking events and our last stop, Indy, we worked an event and had the opportunity to attend the NSA convention. (For those that don't know, it's the National Speakers Association).

Can I say WOW?!?! I had the privilege of meeting and speaking with so many brilliant people! Each session I attended, each speaker I heard added a little more substance to my life. I can't begin to explain have blessed I am to have had that opportunity.

Ok... that said... Two of the biggest challenges I faced while traveling was keeping up with my nutrition and  incorporating fitness into my schedule. By the time we hit up Indy, I think I finally had a handle on it. They had gym in the hotel, which was pretty awesome, especially if I only had 20-30minutes to workout. However, being the outdoor enthusiast that I am, I chose to primarily run outdoors.

• I knew I was going to enjoy some of the local foods so I put to use the 80/20 rule
• 80% healthy foods... 20% not so much
• I carried healthy snacks that I could slip in my purse so I wouldn't have to leave a session to eat 
• I created a "food contract" because I noticed that sometimes the people I was traveling with would go, for what seemed like endless hours, without eating
• I found people to workout with including Eden Little (who is a triathlete, mother of 3 amazing kids with cerebral palsy), Eric Culverson, Jolene Jang, Scott Friedman and Craig Valentine. Each of these people set aside 30 minutes - 2 hours of their very busy schedules to focus on fitness. Not an easy task while attending a week long convention and working!
• To make it fun, I incorporated a light boot camp style run (for example, going on a 4-5 mile run and incorporating, staggered push ups, crunches, and running stairs). I wanted to make sure I got in upper and lower body, core, and some cardio to align with my personal goals. 

I know that Jaime Eason also has a playing cards workout that helps keep her in shape while on the road. 

I have been guilty of making excuses why I have no time to workout, even at home. However, if i want to see an improvement in my health and fitness, if I want to be an example for my children, if I want to accomplish my goals, there's simply no room for excuses. 

Cool as ice!

I saw this on Facebook and thought it was a fabulous idea to break the summer heat!

Summer Ice Cubes

In this picture are blueberry, mint, and lemon ice cubes. You can place ice cubes in different glasses for use with sparkling water or lemonade. Or.. you can make your own variety with strawberries, mixed berries, orange slices, etc... Get creative! Personally, I prefer sparkling water with mint cubes and lime cubes. It's my "Lo-cal virgin mojito". 

mint ice cubes: Add several mint leaves in hot water until water gets enough minty flavor (take out the leaves because they turn dark) Add fresh mint leaves to the mint-flavored water once it cools down and freeze

lemon ice cubes: Add lemon juice and lemon slices to water and freeze

blueberry ice cubes: Add fresh blueberries to water and freeze.

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