Happy Workout Wednesday!

It's time for another edition of Workout Wednesday, and today I want to talk about working out when you feel like you have zero time to spare. We all have those days that are so jam packed we just don't think there is any way we can fit in a good workout. But what actually constitutes a good workout? Do you have to dedicated an hour, 45 minutes, 30 minutes, more, less? I live by the motto "Anything is better than NOTHING!" Sure, I love getting in great hour long workouts, but sometimes, that just isn't an option. Does that mean you should just give up on working out? Definitely not! Sweat is beautiful no matter how long it takes you to work up a good one!

This was the story of my life on Monday. Belle woke up with her chompers really hurting. The only thing that made her happy was being held and chewing on her cold teething keys (which would only keep her happy for about 5 minutes). Poor Baby!


By the time I got her down for her morning nap, I had an hour to workout, shower, answer emails, and get some work done for the studio before we had to head in for my 11 AM Barre class. I thought about skipping my workout all together but "anything is better than nothing" right? I decided to pick four of my favorite butt kicking moves, go all out for 4 round, and then call it a day.


Man oh man! It may have only taken me slightly under 12 minutes, but they were a sweat inducing 12 minutes. I was huffing and puffing the entire time and my muscles were burning. My triceps were even sore the next day from the burpees (I did chest to floor burpees with my arms in a tricep push-up position)! It may have been short, but it definitely got my blood pumping and made me feel strong. Mission accomplished!


Life is busy and full of reasons to skip your workouts, but stay committed to your goals and your mind and body will thank you over and over again! If you are a new mom, I feel your pain (and sleep deprivation)! Hang in there an try some of these tips for fitting in workouts with a new baby! In need of more quick and efficient workout ideas? Head over to my workout page!

Linking up for Workout Wednesday and Wild Workout Wednesday!


Do you ever do quick workouts or are you an hour or nothing kind of person? Both are totally fine!!

What is your favorite way to sneak in exercise when your short on time? I try to do squats while holding Belle. She loves it and so do my legs! 

In health,

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Howdy Friends,

I take my workouts with......

...... a side of baby monitor

....... a steaming cup of coffee (pre-workout, normally while feeding a sleepy baby)

....... a dash of kettlebell

....... a hearty serving of Pilates

........ a healthy dose of Barre

........a pinch of burpees

....... a splash of TRX

...... a dallop of walking

...... a dash of breathlessness

...... a heaping dose of efficiency!

Stir in some amazing students and bake it all together in the comfort of my garage or the ToddPilates studio!

I talk a lot about fitness here on the old blog and in life in general (I guess the name gives that away). During some of these conversations, a lot people ask me what my favorite types of workouts are or what I think is the most efficient workout. Honestly, I think that is a really hard question to answer and my answer changes from year to year. I believe everyone is different and everyone's bodies respond to different things in different ways. Some people only like to run, while strictly taking Barre classes work for some, and hitting the weights 5x's per week works for others.

I started my fitness career teaching 10-15 high impact aerobics classes per week, and although I was having a blast and felt fit, I had a few stress fractures to show for it as well. When I started doing Pilates about 8 years ago and Barre about 4 years ago, I knew I had found something that I would continue doing for the rest of my life. They make me feel strong, give me great results, and are definitely my favorite fitness format to teach (Belle is a big fan of the Pilates studio as well)! Since we moved to Austin, I've been doing mainly Pilates, Barre, and running........until recently.

So why did I decide to switch things up? Because variety is the spice of life my friends oh and running was killing my joints and making me feel like I got run over by a mac truck! I 500% love Pilates and Barre and think they are amazing, but I still crave the occasional sweat dripping, muscles screaming, lungs burning workout. So enters HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training..... aka quick, effective, and dirty) workouts to save the day.

It's really only been in the past few months that I have swapped out my runs for HIIT workouts, and I can honestly say, I have never felt stronger. The Pilates and Barre keep me feeling long, lean, and centered while the HIIT workouts give me an opportunity to push myself in new ways. This formula seems to be working for me at this stage in my life so I am going to roll with it until my body tells me otherwise. I was truthfully super worried that it would be hard for me to take off the rest of the baby weight if I stopped running 3-4 times per week, but that was not the case at all. My body happily shed the rest of the baby weight and then some with my new workout schedule. :) Am I saying all runners should stop running and switch to HIIT workouts, absolutely not! I am just sharing where I am in my fitness journey at this moment in time.

Here's a look at what a typical week looks like for me exercise wise. Please note that I am teaching all of those Pilates and Barre classes, I am not advocating doing that many classes in one week (I would say I typically do about 85-90% of a class when I am teaching it). Additionally, I have been teaching multiple classes per day since I was a freshmen in college so my body is totally used to it.

Weekly Workouts:

Monday: 30 minute HIIT workout + Barre at 11 AM

Tuesday: Pilates Mat at 7 AM + Barre at 9 AM + walk with Belle

Wednesday: Barre at 6 AM + Pilates Mat at 11 AM

Thursday: Pilates Mat at 6 AM + Barre at 7 AM + Barre at 9 AM + walk with Belle

Friday: 30 minute HIIT workout + Barre at 11 AM

Saturday: Rest + family walk

Sunday: 30-40 minute HIIT workout + family walk

If you are new to my blog, here are a couple of my typical HIIT workouts. You can find more than you probably care to browse through on my workout page as well!




So there you have it folks! I take my workouts with a side of ....... well everything and I like it that way! Since variety is the topic of this workout, be sure to head over to the Workout Wednesday linkup to find even more great workouts!


What do you take your workouts with a side of?

In health,

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Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a nice, relaxing, and fun weekend. Ours was extremely low key. Baby girl got her 6 month shots on Friday plus a flu shot, so she wasn't feeling very well over the weekend. We mainly hung out at home and had extra snuggle time.

On Saturday, I woke up early and got in a great HIIT workout before Belle started to stir. E's parents came in town to bring the pup back to us (they watched him for us since we couldn't fit him in the car after Christmas), so we spent most of Saturday just hanging out at home spending time with them. It is always great to have them over! Since we got the thumbs up from the pediatrician on Friday, baby girl got to test out solid food for the first time on Saturday. We started with sweet potatoes, and I don't think she completely hated them. The faces sure were funny!

Sunday started with a killer tabata workout (I will post for workout Wednesday), and then it was grocery store time for little bit and I. It is so weird to me that she can sit up like a big girl in the cart. I think she was still feeling a little under the weather from her shots because she wasn't her normal smiley self. We spent the rest of Sunday watching the Cowboys game (sad day), snuggling and prepping for the week. It was definitely a low key weekend, but those are nice from time to time!




Next up, I have a DELICIOUS new recipe for you guys. What better way to start out the week than with chocolate? I can't really think of one. Can you? As I mentioned last week, I am really trying to cut back on my sugar intake so this recipe is sugar free but you won't even know it (really, I promise)!




I have seen avocado pudding recipes on many of my favorite blogs, but had never given it a try. I love avocados and I LOVE chocolate, but the two mixed? I was skeptical to say the least! Last week the stars aligned and I had avocados and cocoa powder in my house at the same time, so I had no excuses not to try it. I checked out a few different recipes and then ended up coming up with a creation of my own to keep the sugar count low.


Hallelujah! I am a total believer now! It's rich, chocolaty, and oh so satisfying. I literally had to force myself not to eat the entire bowl in one sitting (the recipe makes four servings). It's the perfect treat to crush a sweat tooth without derailing your healthy eating goals. I dare you to give it a try!


If you try it out, let me know what you think! I'm off to finish a little work before the tiny human wakes up from her nap. I hope you have a marvelous rest of your day! Linking up with Katie for Marvelous In My Monday and wishing you all a marvelous Monday!

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Happy Happy Friday!

It's been a busy but great week over here at the George house full of lots of baby giggles, new recipes, and great workouts! This weeks Friday Favorites touches on some of my favorite moments from the week. Linking up with Heather, Katie, and Clare for all things fabulous and Friday related!

#1 Annabelle Turns 6 Months Old Today! 

I can't believe this tiny human has only been in my life for half a year! I seriously can't imagine it without her and it just keeps getting better every single day. I'll have a full 6 month recap up next week once we take her official 6 month pictures (those are super important you know). However, I have to say the funniest thing she is doing lately is her excited face.Lately, whenever she gets really excited she opens her mouth extremely wide like she is trying to eat you. There isn't much that makes her more excited than her jumper so jumper + crazy face = tons of hilarious pictures! Happy Half Birthday Baby Girl!!!




#2 Healthy Fast Food

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I eat breakfast at the studio between my 7 AM and 9 AM classes, so I have to bring something with me. Lately, I have been loving mason jar chia pudding. I simply mix 1 cup of almond milk with 3 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp flax seeds, 1 packet of stevia, and a dash of cinnamon. Just throw all of the ingredients in the jar and shake it up. Voila! Breakfast to go!


#3 Tasty New Eats

I've been trying to mix things up in the kitchen this week and had some definite success. My top picks for this week include sweet potato and turkey sausage scramble, Easy Peasy Paleo Meatballs, and avocado tuna salad. I also tried Cashew Cookie Larabars for the first time, and it is definitely one of my new favorite flavors.


#4 Mixing Up My Workouts

I told you guys on Wednesday, that I often get stuck in the rut of always doing 12 reps for every exercise. I'm not sure why 12 seems to be the magic number, but it is. This week, I blew measly old 12 out of the water and did 50 reps of each exercise! It definitely mixed things up and made my body work for it! If you want to give this workout a try, check out the exercise descriptions here.


#5 Lunch Dates With Aunt Emily

On Thursday, we got to have lunch with Aunt Emily, and all three of us had a blast. Annabelle just got to the point where she can sit in a high chair and she loves being able to sit and look around at everything (and try to chew on the table). It makes going to lunch with her so much fun because she can actually interact with us the whole time now! She had such a good time she was worn out by the end!





And that about wraps up our week! Another great one in the books. I can't believe this little booger is 6 month old today!

What was the highlight of your week?

In health,

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Happy Workout Wednesday Friends!

I hope your week is going well so far! I am slowly getting back into a routine after the holiday break! I have a killer workout for you today, that I tested out on Monday. Can you say oh my fiery shoulders and legs (hence the name)! When you look over the workout, you can tell it is going to be a doozy for the legs, but the arms sneak up on you. I seriously spilled a little water on myself afterwards because the hand holding my cup was shaking so bad. Now, you know that's a good workout!

I must admit, I totally took a break at rep 30 during the push-ups and rep 25 in the v-ups. Those babies get hard!! Try to keep rest to a minimum between exercises so you keep your heart rate elevated. I did the core part of the workout (minus the warm-up and cool down) in 23 minutes. Fast and efficient just the way I like it! :)

Now, for the exercises:

You can see a video of kettlebell swings here.

I'm sure we all have the push-up down by now. Feel free to do them from your knees or toes or some combination of the two.

Surrenders:
This is officially my new favorite move, and made me realize how much weaker my left glutes are than my right. To perform a surrender, start on your knees with dumbbells by your side. Step forward with one foot and bring dumbbells to shoulders. Step forward with the opposite foot coming to a standing position and press dumbbells overhead. To return to start, drop down onto one knee bringing dumbbells to shoulders, and then lower to both knees bringing dumbbells back to start. I did 25 reps on each let.

Source: gethealthyu.com

Rows with tubing:
Anchor your tubing around something that won't move. I used our dumbbell rack. Stand facing tubing, and lower down into a semi squatting position. Start with arms extended out in front and then squeeze shoulder blades together as you bring elbows past our rib cage. Return to starting position. You can do one arm at a time (as shown), or both together. I did 50 with both arms rowing at the same time.

source

V-ups:
Begin in boat position - legs in table top with abdominals tight as you recline slightly (top picture). Straighten legs and lean back until lower back touches the floor (lower picture). Return to starting position. Repeat 49 times. Yikes! You can do it!

source

Thrusters:
Begin in a standing position with feet slightly wider than hip distance apart and dumbbells by shoulders. Lower down into a squat keeping weight on heels. As you come into a standing position, press the dumbbells overhead. Think about keeping a tight core the entire time and really squeezing your glutes as you stand up.


Plank Jacks: 
Begin in a plank position with hands under shoulders and back flat. Jump your feet apart like you were doing a jumping jack and then jump back to your plank. Voila! I love these because they get your heart rate up while working your entire body!

source

And there you have it folks. Although it was tough, I loved this workout. It's fun to play with rep numbers and get out of the whole 12 reps for 3 sets routine that I usually do. I hope you enjoy it!

After that Fiery 50 workout and teaching a barre class on Monday, my legs were toast. Luckily, I have a very cute walking partner to help me shake out my legs in the afternoon. It was a chilly 50 degrees here (I hear the eye rolls from my northern friends), so I had Belle bundled up pretty good.





Do you usually stick to a certain number of sets and reps for workouts or do you like to switch things up?

In health,

Lauren George

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Howdy!

Happy first full week of 2015! I hope this year has been treating you well so far. Yesterday, I told you about my New Year's resolutions for a stronger Mind, Body, and Soul. Today, I thought I would give you a peak at a few of the EASY recipes I am using to work towards my goal of a stronger body through less sugar and processed foods. Additionally, my good friends over at Spartan, are keeping me motivated to work towards my stronger body with a ton of exciting new events for 2015. They have even been generous enough to offer all Fun, Fit, and Fabulous readers a discount on any race in the continental U.S. and one lucky reader will win a 100 % FREE RACE ENTRY!

So let's start where all healthy days start..... with breakfast! As you guys know, I am a HUGE oatmeal fan. I would eat it every day if I could, and not that there is anything wrong with oatmeal, but I have been trying to increase my protein intake in the mornings. I get tired of scrambled eggs pretty quickly, so I am always looking for ways to jazz them up. After my noodle arm making workout (full post on that tomorrow) yesterday, I whipped up an easy breakfast scramble. I had left over sweet potato fries from Sunday night and some delicious turkey sausage begging to be used in the fridge.

To make this scramble, I chopped up roughly 1/2 a cup of left over sweet potato fries and 2 small links of breakfast turkey sausage. Next, I heated up a non-stick skillet with 1 tsp of coconut oil and tossed in my sausage and sweet potatoes (remember the sweet potatoes were already cooked). After I felt like they were warm, I added three eggs (pre whisked). Mix until the eggs are completely cooked and voila!

Next up, is my new favorite lunch - Avocado Tuna Salad (zero mayonnaise to be found here). All I did was combine 1/2 a ripe avocado with 1 can of chunk white tuna in water, 1 tbs lemon juice, and a dash of salt and pepper to taste. I am really not a huge tuna fan, but I know how good it is for you so I try to incorporate it into my diet whenever possible. Now that I have found this combination, I will be eating it A LOT more often. I think avocados just make everything better! Yes, those green apple slices are gigantic!!



Last but not least, we have yesterday's dinner. This recipe comes to you compliments of Pinterest and You Hunt I Gather. We all know E is just an overgrown (a very intelligent one of course) 12 year old, and he definitely has the taste buds to go with it. When I saw this recipe for Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders, I knew I had to give it a try! They were so easy to make and delicious. Since I baked them instead of frying them, there was no messy grease to deal with. I will definitely be making these babies again very soon!



My second New Year's resolution for a strong body was to focus on increasing my strength in 2015. I specifically set the goal of increasing the number of pull-ups I can do throughout the year. I am definitely going to need that strength to conquer in a Spartan Race! I'm hoping to compete in one of the races when Spartan comes to Austin in May!!

The goal of the Spartan Race team is to bring the excitement of obstacle racing to spectators and athletes (even if you don't consider yourself an athlete) alike! With course lengths of 3+ miles (sprint), 8+ miles (super), and 12+ miles (beast), each course is filled with mud, water, and signature obstacles designed to help you discover your inner Spartan. Athletes of all fitness levels can participate and enjoy these challenging and invigorating obstacle courses! Spartan Race even has events for kids! They believe that fitness and adventure should involve the whole family. Now, that is something I can get excited about!

They have some exciting new things coming out in 2015! The new 2015 Spartan season pass has just been released with tons of great perks such as unlimited racing, special travel discounts, free bag check, and much more. The 2015 World Championship Spartan Race is also moving to Lake Tahoe California (somewhere on the top of my list of places to visit)! For all my podcast lovers (I love to listen to them when I'm walking or running), Joe Desena's "Spartan Up!" podcast is launching soon. Last but not least, the first ever Spartan Cruise is happening in March. Talk about not letting your workouts slide during vacation!

If that's not exciting enough, the Spartan Race team wants to offer all Fun, Fit, and Fabulous readers 10% off any race. Simply use the code SPARTANBLOGGER at checkout! They are also going to be giving one lucky reader a FREE RACE ENTRY into any race in the continental U.S.! Enter below for your chance to win!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Howdy,

I have been blogging for about four and a half years now, and one of the things I love most about the healthy living blog world is how much I have learned from other bloggers! Almost every day, I stumble upon an interesting article, delicious recipe, or fun workout I want to try. Today, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite posts/articles from the week!

First up, is an article by Deanna, at Fit To Be Pregnant, I think all breastfeeding moms should read this article about how breastfeeding affects fat loss. I will totally admit, that after having Belle losing the baby weight was definitely something I thought about OFTEN and even caused me quite a bit of stress (just being honest here). Taking care of Belle is my #1 priority, but I do feel like there is so much pressure to "bounce" back right away after a baby. Heck, didn't some Victoria Secret model walk the run way the day after she gave birth or something? For the most part, the weight came off fairly easily with healthy eating, exercise, and the fact that I was not longer caring around an 8lb baby and extra water weight. However, those pesky last few pounds are giving me a run for my money. This article explains how breastfeeding does indeed burn extra calories which may help you loose weight. However, the hormones that go along with breastfeeding can make your body hold on to extra fat as well to protect your milk supply. Deanna does a great job of breaking it down in a very easy to understand way!

If you don't read the blog Purely Twins, you totally should! These girls are fabulous and come up with amazing recipes and workouts. Last week, they posted a Peppermint Fudge Brownie recipe that looks too delicious to be true. They are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, and grain-free. Pretty much the perfect thing to take to a party because you have all the major food allergies covered!



Another delicious looking recipe I came across yesterday was by Mrs. Lindsay, at Cotter Crunch, These Grain Free Orange Maple Sugar Cookies sound delicious. The name just makes you hungry doesn't it? I have tried a few of Lindsay's recipes, and they have always turned out amazing. I can't wait to give this one a try!


I don't know about you, but I am definitely guilty of being attached to my smart phone. Having your work email on your phone is a blessing and a curse all at the same time. Being a work from home mama, it is extremely convenient to be able to answer emails, look up things on our MindBody app, or post to social media from my phone. Additionally, as a blogger and overall fan of social media, it is all too easy to reach for my phone during a commercial break, post to instagram while strolling with Belle, or send out a tweet while riding in the car with E. For the most part, I love my cell phone, but I know that it definitely acts as a distraction and keeps me from living in the present moment a lot of the time. This article by the Huffington Post discusses how excessive cell phone use is actually sucking the fun right out of our leisure time. It's definitely a great read if you are a cell phone junkie! I think one of my New Years resolutions is going to be to have more "unplugged" time each day.

Research shows the more you use your phone, the less fun you'll have.

Next, up is a blog series compliments of my fabulous friend Alison, over at Fearlessly Fierce. She is doing a special Christmas themed Elf On A BOSU series where she demonstrates a fun new exercise on the BOSU every day. I am a huge fan of the BOSU, so I am loving checking out her fun new ideas! If you post a picture of yourself to social media doing the moves, you will be entered to win a BOSU Fitness Ball!

Elf On A BOSU!

Some other great posts I've read this week include:

Holiday Sopping On A Budget via Annette, at Enjoy Your Healthy Life

14 Most Inspiring Weight Loss Stories Of 2014 via The Huffington Post

I'm sure there are a ton of great articles that I missed, but those were some that stood out to me this week. Baby girl is waking up from her nap so I have to run!

Have you read any great posts/articles that we should all check out?

In health,

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