Happy Monday Everyone!

The holidays are literally just around the corner, and I don't know about you, but I like to have a plan for how I am going to keep my fitness on track throughout the busy holiday season. Between shopping, traveling, parties, food, food, and more food, it is easy to get derailed from your normal workout routine. This holiday season, I want us all to commit to stay on track together with The 1st Annual Happy Healthy Holiday Challenge!

The Happy Healthy Holidays Challenge is simple. Commit to 3 workouts a week and 10,000 steps a day between Thanksgiving (November 27th) and New Years. This plan will help you increase your muscular and cardiovascular strength while warding off pesky holiday weight gain.

I will provide new workouts for you each week that require minimal equipment and take 30 minutes or less. The workouts will combine cardio and strength segments so you get both elements in one workout while increasing your strength, torching calories, and firing up your metabolism. There will always be one workout a week that requires zero equipment and can be done in a hotel room in case you are traveling.

Have a favorite workout you don't want to miss out on during the challenge? No problem, replace 1 or all three workouts with your favorite activity. The goal is to fit 3 workouts in each week no matter how you do it. For best results, I recommend at least 2 of your workouts include some form of resistance training (strenth training, Pilates, Barre, Power Yoga, etc). If you live in Austin, come join me for a workout at ToddPilates and participate in the Holiday Perkville Rewards challenge we have going on at the stuio as well. Double bonus!

The first part of the challenge is the workouts, the second part is the community of accountability I hope to create with everyone. If you are participating in the challenge, I encourage you to share on the Fun, Fit, and Fabulous facebook page,  post to twitter, and  share on Instagram using the hastag #hhhchallenge14 so we can all cheer each other on! I will also be posting extra tips, workouts, and recipes to these social media outlets as well!

So without futher ado, here are your workouts for this week. Even though the challenge doesn't techniqually start until Thursday, I wanted to go ahead and give you workouts today incase you wanted to get a head start.

The first workout is perfect to take with you if you are traveling for Thanksgiving. It requires zero equipment and works all the major muscle groups of the body while giving you a cardio workout as well! For my wonderful pregnant ladies participating in the challenge, you will want to trade the squat jumps for regular squats, jumping jacks for high knees, and take the plank down to your knees if you need to.


The second workout for the week is a tabata workout. I love tabatas because they get down to sweaty business right away. No gym socializing between sets here. A tabata alternates between 20 seconds of all out work followed by 10 seconds of rest. You repeat that sequence 8x's for 1 complete tabata. This workout includes 3 different tabata sets of two exercises each. Repeat exercise #1 for the first 4 rounds and then repeat exercise #2 for the next 4 rounds to complete 1 tabata. Rest for 1-3 minutes until you have caught your breath and then move on to the next tabata. Be sure to start and end with an adequate warm-up and cool down!

Our final workout of the week is a HIIT (high intensity inveral training) Kettlebell workout. In the video, I demonstrate the 4 exercises you will need to complete this workout. Repeat 12 reps of each exercise and go through the entire circuit as many times as possible in 20 minutes resting when you need to. Enjoy!



Remember, on top of our workouts, we are trying to acquire 10,000+ steps throughout the day as well. If you don't have a fitness tracker to keep track of your steps, you can pick up a fairly inexpensive pedometer at Target, Wal-Mart, Dick's Sporting Goods, Sports Authority, Academy, or pretty much any other sporting goods store. I promise they are worth the investment. If you haven't ever worn one, it could be eye opening to see how many steps you get in every day. Did you know the average American only walks about 3,000 steps each day? Yikes! That is far less than the recommended 10,000. Check back in tomorrow for a post with lots of tips on how to increase the number of steps you take. You'll be hitting 10,000 steps in no time!


In health,

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Howdy Friends,

How is your week treating you so far? I started mine off right with a killer cycle class followed by a strength training class. We did glider push ups and my arms were shaking like a leaf by the end! LOVE IT! You know that feeling after an amazing strength training workout when you get in the shower, try to wash your hair, and realize that your arms are shaking too bad to hold them above your head. That's my favorite feeling! Does that make me weird?

My friend Gretchen is doing a fitness Photo-A-Day Challenge, and I am super excited to participate. Yesterday's word was COMMIT.

I was committed to making it to the lunch time cycle class because I got busy last Monday and kept working instead of going to class. :( Here is a picture of my post workout calorie burn (I took it after doing some abs so it had erased my time)! If you don't stay committed to your workout, no one will do it for you!


What are you committed to today?

I am a huge fan of making a big batch of something on Sunday and packing it for lunch all week. I have been trying to increase my protein intake lately, and I love me some eggs, so I thought a frittata would be perfect! I came across this recipe on Pinterest the other day and used it for my frittata inspiration. One of the best things about this recipe is that it didn't call for any strange ingredients.


The magic started with some amazing smelling sauteed cinnamon apples.


No frittata would be complete without some greens.


With a little swish of the whisk all of our wet ingredients blended beautifully!


Now mix it all together, and lick your lips in anticipations of the cinnamon savory goodness.


This recipe is super easy to throw together for a brunch or to eat on all week for breakfast or lunch. I reheated it yesterday for lunch, and it was absolutely amazing. The sweet cinnamon apples blend beautifully with the savory turkey and eggs. I usually like salsa with my eggs, but this dish doesn't need a thing. The only problem is I wanted to eat the entire pan it was so yummy!

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Hello Friends!!

How was your weekend?? Mine was pretty fantastic! I told you guys on Friday that I was attending a Pilates workshop all weekend, and it was fabulous. I am a little sore today, but I feel like I really learned a lot. It's always fun to spend the weekend with people who are as excited about fitness and Pilates as you are!

It's week 2 of our Lean Legs March challenge, and I'm here to show you the exercises you will need for this week! (Click the calendar to make it bigger/clearer.)

Inner Thigh Bridge



Simply place a sponge ball or towel in between your legs and lift your hips up into a bridge. Squeeze the ball/towel to engage your inner thighs and hold for the specified amount of time. Think about pressing your big toe into the floor to really fire up your inner thighs.

Wall Sit with Inner Thigh Squeeze


Stand with your back against a wall with a ball or towel in between your knees. Slide your back down the wall until your legs are at a 90 degree angle. Squeeze the ball/towel with your inner thighs and hold for the specified amount of time.

Straight Leg Donkey Kick



Come onto all fours with your shoulders directly over your wrists and your hips over your knees. Extend your right foot back behind you and engage your glutes and hamstrings to lift your leg in line with your glute. Try to keep your hips still and your abs drawn in as you lower and lift your leg the specified number of times.

There you have it! Week 2 here we come! :) I hope you all have a marvelous Monday and a great week!

How was your weekend?

What are your health and fitness goals for the Spring?

In health,

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Happy March!!

Can you believe it is already here? I sure can't. I feel like Christmas just happened 2 seconds ago. I love this time of year. The weather is starting to warm up, the trees and grass are turning green, and my shorts start to call my name from the bottom of my dresser!

Soon those shorts will be jumping out of my drawer and on to my legs. Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback about what you wanted the March challenge to focus on. The votes were pretty even, so I thought we would start with legs and glutes and save arms for Awesome Arms April!! ;)

Without further adue, here is our schedule for Lean Legs March! If you click on the picture, it will appear larger and easier to read.

Here are pictures and descriptions of the exercises included in this weeks workouts!

Bridge (source)

When you are doing your bridge, be sure to keep your shoulders on the floor so you are not putting too much pressure on your neck. Squeeze your inner thighs together and avoid rolling to the outside edges of your foot. Most importantly, don't forget to breathe!

Wall SIt (source)

Are you having flash backs of PE right now! Wall sits are an oldy but a goody. Make sure you keep your entire back on the wall and don't lean on your legs. You also want your knees to be over your ankles. Have fun!

Donkey Kick (source)

Begin on all fours with hands underneath shoulders and knees under hips. Lift right leg up to a 90 dgree angle until your knee is in line with your hip. Bring it back down in line with your knee. Repeat for the number of repetitions indicated on the chart. Switch legs.

I hope you love it! I will post the new exercises at the beginning of each week! Lean legs here we come!

Do you love this time of year?

Is the weather warming up where you live?

In health,

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