Fitbloggin Workouts

First off: I'm doing a Dietbet starting on July 22nd. Come play with me.

The workouts! I almost forgot to post about the amazing workouts at Fitbloggin!!! I was so very, very tired (too much eating out, too little water, to many late nights, SO much emotion), but I just *had* to do the workouts at Fitbloggin. Here's my rundown....

Pyrolates at Fireband Sports

Do you see me? I'm in the back row in the middle. I'm always in the back row cause I'm tall! The instructor, Sara, is the incredibly fit looking chick on the right hand side in black.

Pyrolates (just in case you, like me, have never heard of it) is.... Ummm... I can't explain it. They do a nice job explaining it here. The workout was incredibly intense. It required a ton of core strength and stability. We adjusted the resistance bands under Sara's direction. I can totally see how the class could be adapted to meet a variety of fitness levels. I happen to be next to a girl that has done the class regularly and was super impressed with all that she could do. As a first timer it was very challenging. They aren't kidding when they say muscle-shaking and sweating. I was a hot mess by the end. Modification is the name of the game when it comes to group exercise. Towards the end we were going plie squats on the machine and I just could-not-do-it so I hopped off the equipment and did squats on the group. Thankfully Sara didn't come over and yell at me to get back on the machine. :)
My body was ON FIRE after just 50 minutes. The best part was at the end where we did some "happy baby" with the straps. It felt SO good. My calorie burn wasn't too impressive- 323 calories, but I know that I got a good workout. Classes like Pyrolates provide an amazing after burn that you won't see on a heart rate monitor. Was I sore? Oh boy, was I sore!!!! My abs hurt (in a good way) until Saturday and class was on Thursday. This is a class that I would totally do again.

Bootcamp

6 AM on Friday morning came very early. MUST.GO.TO.BOOTCAMP. Thankfully me roommates were also on board. We got up at 5:45, gobbled down a protein bar, and headed downstairs. Read here for a super detailed Boot camp report. Boot camp was tough in a "this sucks, more please" sort of way. :) Erin from Dig Deep, Play Hard was fantastic. She was so sweet, but when it was time to work she let us know that it was time to work. I loved every minute of it. Calories burned- 560 in 56 minutes. BAM!

Yoga

6 AM Saturday morning brought Yoga. I wasn't planning on Yoga, but all the cool kids were doing it so I had to go. Yoga was sponsored/led by SweatPink. Before Fitbloggin I had never heard of SweatPink, but apparently they are very popular. Yoga was fine. It was yoga. It felt good to stretch out some sore muscles from Pyrolates and Bootcamp. I did hear some comments that it was not an "all levels" class, but for me it was good.

Jumpsport Trampoline

I was most excited to attend the Jumpsport Trampoline class. I had been following Rachel on her journey to Fitbloggin and was stoked to try out such a fun looking exercise class.

Got to meet Rachel during Fitbloggin!!!

This class did not disappoint! Jeff, the instructor, had an amazing amount of energy. He kept me entertained and pushed me the entire class. The trampolines felt incredibly secure and there were so many different ways to use the trampoline that I never would have thought of on my own. My partner, and roommate, Kay, and I would switch between floor exercises and the trampoline exercise. You can find the complete workout here. I WANT a jumpsport trampoline. Not gonna lie, they are pretty pricey. My workout was so good that I am putting a trampoline on my Christmas list. Such a fun workout and I burned a ton of calories (614 in 60 min) and was wiped out afterwards. It was as challenging as running without the extra impact on my joints. I loved it!!!! This is something I could see myself doing with my daughter and we could switch off doing floor and trampoline exercise just like in class.


Killer running sprints at the end

Jumpsport Trampoline class was definitely the best class that I attended at Fitbloggin. The energy was HIGH and the class was truly designed for all levels to participate.

 

 

There was one more fitness opportunity that totally rocked my fitness world, but I am going to save that one for it's very own post.

What's your favorite form of exercise?
Do you prefer to go it alone or with a group?

~Kari






 

Fitbloggin: Lesson's Learned

*This is so long....stick with me! Good stuff in here.*

Lessons learned....hmmmm... have I really learned them?
Time will only tell. Maybe I'll learn them for a week. Maybe for a lifetime?

Most of the sessions that I attended at Fitbloggin were around the healthy living side of things. My blogging is more of an outlet than a business. I only started blogging because a co-worker encouraged me to get my story out there. When I started blogging I had no idea how much I would learn from others while working to get my story out.

The two sessions that really moved me were the Getting Back from Gaining Back and Dealing with Your Before when you Reach your after. The irony of attending a "reach your after" and a "gaining back" seminar make me laugh. If I've reached my after than why in the world did I gain back???? Both of these sessions were #1 on my must attend list.

Reaching My After

I'm not who I was when I started this journey. Mostly everything about me has changed- food preferences, hobbies, interests, priorities, relationships. I've changed but many of the things around me are still the same. There are times in my life when my after doesn't mesh with the world around me. I find myself apologizing to people that aren't happy with my changes because I am the one that has changed. They didn't sign up for this change. The changes in my life that caused me to lose weight are a good thing. I am happier and healthier. Not everyone loves that changes that my after created.

During the discussion we were encouraged to think about why we got heavy to begin with. Why? I ate too much crap and never exercised. Is there more than that?

Revelation #1- As a child I snuck food for fear that my brothers would get more than me. At a very early ago (8 or 9) I started to "feel" fat and talk to my friends about diets. I wasn't fat. I wasn't even "big" until middle school. A little self fulfilling prophesy? I remember I met someone and he told me, "Your name is Kari. That's why you are fat. Every Kari I know is fat". ((UGHHHH!!!! HATE that kid)  I truly believe that I became morbidly obese because I deceided very early on that I had no choice but to be fat. I now know that I have a choice.

The cool thing about healthy living is that there really isn't a finish line. There is always a new race to run, a new exercise to master or a new healthy food to try.

Revelation #2- My after is an ongoing process. There isn't a magical finish line when I get to put up my feet and say, "All done". There's not an "all done", just a "what's next"!


Gaining Back

It's no secret that over the past 6 months I regained 20 pounds that I was convinced were gone forever. It was so encouraging to talk with others that had gained back after losing. I felt like such a failure gaining back after having lost. I felt like I had let others down, like I had failed.

During this session I started to think about why I gained back those 20 pounds. It comes down to the fact that I had stopped tracking and was eating way more than my body needed. My exercise has been spot on, so I know that it's the food. Here's the thing- I don't want to track forever. There is nothing wrong with tracking. Nothing at all. It worked for me. It works for a lot of people.

Revelation #3- If I no longer want to record, than I need to seriously start looking at my food choices. This will mean less processed foods and more clean, natural, raw food.

Truth be told- "clean" eating terrifies me. It seems like so much work and so expensive. For the first time ever I am at a place in my life where I WANT to eat clean. I want to eat foods that don't require me to count out pieces for fear of having too many calories. I want my food to fuel my body and make me a stronger athlete. THIS scares me!


I could share so, so, so much more, but this is getting super long.
Are you still reading? What are your current fitness goals? Do you feel like you've reached your after? How do you live in a world that has not changed when you have changed in more ways that you can count?

~Kari

Fitbloggin- The PEOPLE

I learned quickly at Fitbloggin that it truly was all about the people! There were some people that were going to be there that I KNEW I wanted to meet. I wanted to meet Alan....

I wanted to meet Emily...

I wanted to meet David.... (someday I *may* tell you about making a fool of myself while gushing over him. I know now how my kids felt the first them they saw Mickey Mouse in real life. Not that David is Mickey Mouse, but you get the picture.)

I wanted to meet Carla.... AAAAKKKKK! No picture with Carla. I swear, I met her. :) 

Meeting my blog favorites was amazing! Even more amazing was meeting the people that I didn't even know existed before this weekend. People that in 3 short days I came to adore. 

So many people that I can't possibly do them justice. Liz was so authentic. Margo so inviting. There is Emily who I actually talked to randomly in the bathroom and then ended up sitting next to at dinner. Erin is hysterical and such an encouraging presence. Sarah who is from England and has a fantastic accent. My amazing roomates Sharla and Kay Lynn. Rooming with strangers was a bit odd, but totally turned out to be perfect. Stephanie was one of the firsts to come up to me the first night to say hi. Dacia took me to try on tri suits! Paola was always ready to swoop in when I was looking lonely. (She's up top with Alan!!!!!) So many more people!!! I am sure in the weeks to come that more people will pop up as I process Fitbloggin. 

I know I am leaving people out! 

Fitbloggin is amazing for so many reasons. The biggest reason of all is the people. It was such a great reminder to me to take time in my life for people. We all are busy. This past weekend was a great reminder to me that I need to invest in those around me. As I said yesterday, we all have a story. Fitbloggin reminded me to take the time to sit and listen to the stories that people have to tell. 

More Fitbloggin recaps to come! 

~Kari

We've All Got Crap- Fitbloggin Recap #1

Where does someone even begin to start recapping such an amazing weekend. I got in last night from a 4-day Fitbloggin conference and my mind is spinning.
There is so much to tell you about....my roommates, vodoo donuts, meeting some of my blog heros (while acting like a star stuck idiot!), amazing presentations, meeting new friends (some that I am pretty sure will be forever friends), facing some pretty ugly demons in my own mind, running for the first time ever with people (did you see the forever friends part?), some super fun/challenging workouts, traveling via train for the first time, missing my family, the fancy hotel..... I think you get the picture. 

Serveral people have asked, "How was Fitbloggin". CAN NOT START to answer that question. My brain is full with answers. Hubby told me last night that each time he asks I keep saying, "I meet cool people and had so much fun". That's a pretty great summary! I want to share all of it with you, but am not ready to get it out. 

Arriving in Portland was rough. Thankfully my roommate was on the same train as me so we were able to walk to the hotel together. We stayed at the Nines. It was beautiful and FAN-cy. I am a Motel 6 kind of gal, so this was really impressive to me. I'm talking fancy like thick doors on the bathroom stalls and people at every door to open doors and push buttons for you. We checked in and then my roommates (I had 2) left for a tour. I was alone in Portland. Alone.  I'm not an alone kind of gal. I'm the fat, fun friend (stick with me on this one...). I was brave (the first of many this weekend) and asked on the Fitbloggin Facebook page if anyone else was at the hotel and wanted to eat. Thankfully someone was and we went to grab a bite. The conversation and food were excellent and then we headed back to the hotel. At 3:00 I went to Pyrolates. Must tell you about Pyraolates, but not today. At Pyrolates I met some other Fitbloggin' ladies who allowed me to walk back with them to the hotel. We stopped on the way back to grab dinner. 

After dinner we split up and once again I was alone. Alone (really alone, not home by myself sort of alone) scares me. I spent the next 30-45 minutes alone in my hotel room crying and trying to convince myself to go downstairs. I called hubby. I played candy crush. I cried. I watched TV. The conference was starting. People were mingling and I was alone. I mentioned to Tara (if you don't know Tara you MUST go check her out!) on Facebook that I was sitting upstairs alone and she convinced me to get my butt downstairs. I went. I didn't want to, but I went. 

I was immediately greeted with smiling, happy faces. These Fitbloggin chicks mean business when it comes to the  "welcoming" social. I grabbed my swag (THE SWAG!) and found a table to sit at. Alone. I was getting ready to leave when the icebreakers started. Normally I hate, hate, hate icebreakers, but these were different. As I started to mingle with people I realized these are MY people. They speak Kari. They struggle. They have had major successes. They get me. 

Over the course of this weekend, I talked with some of the most amazing people. People that I might look at and think they've got it all together. Here's what I realized- We've all got crap. Every single one of us have obstacles to overcome. The stories were inspiring. People that I may have looked at and thought, "What do they have to blog about? They are so together." Some have more crap than others, but we've all got it. We've all got a story to tell. A success to share. A struggle to overcome (and maybe struggle with again). It was when I realized that I was not alone in my struggles that I no longer felt alone at Fitbloggin.

More to come, I promise!

~Kari

Fitbloggin' Bound

The house is really quiet, but in about 30 minutes things are going to be rockin! The family is taking me to the train station and I am headed to Fitbloggin in Portland. 

Nope, not scared. TERRIFIED!

I'm a pretty outgoing person, but I feel like I am late to a really big party. Many (in my mind it's all!) of these people attending already know each other. I  have two roommates. I don't know either of them. I have no stories that start with "Remember last year at Fitbloggin....". I have no amazing blog to share. My story, while important, is not uncommon in a large group of fitness bloggers. 

I'm going to miss my babies. (When do I have to stop calling them babies?) My husband is doing solo duty for 4 days. The longest I've ever been gone is 2. There are a million things to do at home.

Why am I doing this?

~ I am excited to meet many of the bloggers that I have followed for years. Some of them were the only ones that made me feel normal during my deepest struggles. Now I have to be brave enough to approach them!

~ I love learning about health and fitness. I get to hang out with other people who have common goals. People that "get" a healthy lifestyle tend to "get" me better these day. What, you don't schedule your day around your workouts???

~ The adventure is exciting and terrifying at the same time. 


I'm sure once I arrive it will be all good. When I left for college the toughest part was waiting for the plane to depart. *****DEEP BREATHS**** Going to hop in the shower, wake the family, and head to the train station. I'll keep you posted.

~Kari