Recently I was offered the privilege to review a new fitness book by a representative of Simon and Schuster.  I agreed and was sent the workout book, The 90 Second Fitness Solution: The Most Efficient Workout Ever for a Healthier, Stronger, Younger Youby Pete Cerqua and Alisa Bowman.  I was extremely skeptical when I first received the book, how can you get fit in 90 seconds?  Everything I have learned as a coach and pilates instructor screamed “there is no way!”  But, I was intrigued by the title and began reading this well written and illustrated book.  The book is important, it helps you to train smarter and with limited time.

Now as an “Active Mommy,” I am always looking for a way to maintain fitness even with an extremely busy schedule.  I began reading about the author’s ideas and became excited about the possibilities; he easily dispels many of the usual workout routines as inefficient.  There are different levels in the book and after passing level 1 the strength training routine takes 15 minutes just a couple of days a week.  So you are wondering, I thought it was a 90 second fitness solution?  Well the secret to his workout is holding exercises for 90 seconds; the two most important are the wall sit (squat position with back flat on wall) and the plank position (full push-up position with abs held tight).  The illustrations for the exercises are excellent and easy to follow.  In addition, the testimonials throughout the book will motivate you and encourage you to keep following the routine.

I believe the most important part of the book is that you can do this fitness routine AT HOME and only a couple of days a week.  You do not need a gym membership, a babysitter, or tons of time.   As a working mom, I am able to do this strength program for 15 minutes with my son watching me and even being a participant.  Have you ever tried to do a wall sit with your child in your lap?  How about a plank with your legs wide and your son sitting on your back?  Trust me, the strength moves burn and you get an intensive workout that makes a difference.   As someone who struggles to get a strength workout in, this 15 minute workout is making a huge difference in my life.  I do still run in the mornings because I enjoy it and of course I teach pilates three days a week, but my body is becoming firmer and I can actually see a difference in how my clothes fit.

The other part of the book focuses on the diet, the author talks about the importance of eating real food.  I have talked about eating the foods on the outside of the store; including fresh meats, vegetables, and fruits.  The author gives great evidence why this system works and includes some great recipes to help you make tasty meals.  The only part of the book I haven’t tried and I am still not sure about is the author’s fasting techniques to lose weight quickly.  I believe the “real food” diet is an important component of healthy living and weight control and the author gives you the evidence and results to support this assertion.

Overall, combining this 15 minute workout a couple of days a week with a change in eating can really make a difference in your body, health, metabolism, and well being.  If you are someone who needs a fast way to increase your fitness level or add in a strength routine this book is for you.  If you are someone who feels they do not have enough time in the day, can you find 15 minutes to make the strength training gains?  Check this book out, I have seen a definite difference in myself in just 3 short weeks of doing the prescribed workout.  Excellent book and excellent idea for all of you “Active Mommies!”

photo by Title Nine

So early last week I received an email announcement about a blow out sale for the Title Nine catalog in the Phoenix area.  I was very excited, I love the Title Nine catalog and usually drool over their merchandise.  Unfortunately this “not so wealthy” active mommy can’t always purchase these awesome active mommy clothes.  The promise of 60% off on their clearance merchandise led me to make the 45 minute trek immediately after work on the first day of the sale (hey I wanted to get the best selection!)

So, I picked up my son from his school and proceeded to fight the traffic to arrive at the amazing sale.  First mistake, making the trek to the location with my son eagerly in tow and no drinks, snacks, or diapers.  On the way, he became extremely excited to go to the Title Nine shop.  We arrived to an old Linen’s and Things store with boxes and boxes of clothes, swimsuits, shoes, sports bras, and accessories.  I was in heaven and so was my son.  It was a great wide open space with amble areas to hide, climb, and generally play around the store and mommy saw lots of outfits she had seen in the catalogs at much cheaper prices.  Needless to say, it was hard for mommy to dig through the bins to find those amazing deals, but I persevered!  Don’t get me wrong, I still found some great things, but I ended up chasing my son around most of the time.  I got some great workout clothes and even left with a new pair of shoes. 

Well, I ran around following my son while looking in the occasional bin and adding to my garbage bag full of clothes.  Honestly, they actually handed out garbage bags at the beginning of the store!  We eventually made our way to the makeshift dressing room, which was actually a sheet separating the back of the store from the rest.  It was a large area with lots of other women changing.  My son entertained the room with his random comments, including “mommy that doesn’t fit you,” “why are you trying that on mommy?.” and my favorite “mommy can I try that on?”   Unfortunately, we ended our time at the store with “mommy I have to go poopy,” we ended in the big boy bathroom with no extra diapers!  We survived and overall it was an exhausting shopping trip, but it tired my son out and I got some great deals.  Shopping with your child sans stroller, treats, sippy cup, etc is truly an adventure.  We improvised throughout the trip, having a granola bar from mommy’s purse and using the drinking fountain repeatadly during the hour.  The next day my son asked to return to the Title Nine shop, my husband nixed that idea, but I did make it back on Saturday for a quick trip to buy a new swim suit (just couldn’t do that with my son there).   Thanks Title Nine  for the entertainment and if you are looking for some great gear check them out!

photo by Shirley77

So after writing about the importance of portion control, one of my readers mentioned the Flavor Magic Portion Control Sheets.  Like me, she heard about these interesting diet sheets through some friends.  According to the five people I have talked to about using the product, the sheets help them to reduce their portion size to the size of a deck of cards and flavor their meat too.  So, I am hoping to find out if others have tried this product and what they think.  To me, it seems like a great way to marinate meat and control your portion size?  The problem is: how do you also limit your portion size of side dishes?  I am looking for some feedback on this product and what others think about it.  It seems to only be available online and the website does give a lot of information.  If you have tried this product, please comment on how it works as a diet aid, for portion control, and/or about the taste of the different marinades.

photo by flickr family

So I haven’t blogged in a couple of days.  On Thursday night the flu hit our family.  My son has been miserable and I was home from work with him on Friday and up with him the last two days of the weekend.  As a Mom, it is extremely hard to watch your child be sick.   I just wanted to be able to make him feel so much better and there was nothing I could do.  We watched countless hours of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (ok that made him feel a little better) this weekend and he now loves red gatorade, which he calls “Gator Juice.”  Unfortunately, we were up quite a few times during the night and we are a very tired group in our household, but I am proud to say I still got a workout in!  My mother showed up on Friday afternoon to help out with my son and I was able to get a good run in and enjoy the great Phoenix weather.  On Saturday, I made it to pilates class for an hour and actually was able to go for a bike ride with the whole family (my son needed to get out of the house).  During nap time today, I did a Stott Pilates BOSU workout video that was amazing and very challenging.

It is extremely hard to keep up with your workout routine when your family is sick.  As mothers, we seem to take care of everyone else and not ourselves.  I find when I get stuck at home with a sick child that workout dvd’s come in very handy.  Getting in a workout in your own living room, usually during nap-time, is convenient and quick.   I am very excited to review some pre and post-natal pilates DVD’s that a British pilates instructor is sending me, I will have more information soon.  I also enjoy all of the Stott Pilates videos, you can get anywhere from an easy to extremely advanced workout from 25 minutes to an hour.  I usually stick to ab and core work for at home workout videos, I prefer to go to the gym or get outside for my cardio and strength activities.  I highly suggest finding some great videos to use when you get stuck at home and need that extra core and ab workout.

My son is slowly recovering from his flu bug.  I think my husband is now taking his turn at being sick.  Hopefully I will miss the sickness and be able to just take care of my boys.  I cleaned the entire house this weekend in order to get rid of all the germs.  Luckily, we had great weather in Phoenix this weekend and were able to air the house out and be outside with the family.   Goal: get rid of the sickness and be healthy and stay in great Mommy shape!

by biggestloserchic

I love the show The Biggest Loser, it is the reality show that I follow religiously.  Of course, part of it is the whole reality sensationalism of it, but honestly I enjoy watching people change their lives for the better.  It is fun to watch them work hard and see the results of their dedication in the gym.  They have amazing trainers on the show who help the contestants reach new heights in their weight loss goals.   The final show and the transformations of the contestants is simply amazing!

Most “Active Mommies” do not need to lose massive amounts of weight.  Most of us have 10-20 pounds that we want to shed in the hopes of regaining that pre-baby body of old.   It is very hard to manage all parts of our lives including a commitment to healthy eating and possibly dieting.  One of the positive aspects of The Biggest Loseris that they teach the participants to eat healthy.  It is extremely hard to diet while raising a child and so a commitment to eating right should be a goal of each Mommy.  Dieting is usually a severe lifestyle change, instead knowing what to eat is important.

I found a great book that is not a diet book!  This book simply helps you to reduce calories by picking the right food choices and still enjoying many of your favorite restaurants and meals.  Ironically, some of the foods that we think are most healthy, or we choose over others, actually have more calories.  For example, did you know that a bran muffin typically has more calories than an egg-mcmuffin?  It also tells you how to reduce calories simply while still enjoying your favorite foods.  Did you know that getting a bowl at Chipotle instead of the burrito saves you 100’s of calories? 

So of course I am very excited about this book.  I am not a big fan of dieting and I think it really allows people to have a lot more knowledge about the foods they ingest.  Like I said, it is not a diet book!  It is written by the editor of Men’s Health Magazine, David Zinczenko, and has a great title; Eat This, Not That! Thousands of Simple Food Swaps that Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds–or More!. It also discusses how to shop at the grocery store, how to eat at the holidays, and foods you absolutely need and absolutely don’t.  It is an educational tool to help each “active mommy” cut calories by eating the right foods and still enjoying their favorites.  It is an easy way to reduce calories and help us cut those last little “baby fat” pounds.

by Bryan Zmijewski

My son thinks he is a UPS man.  Almost daily he rides his tricycle door to door delivering packages, well pretend packages, but deliveries all the same.  We have a great tricycle that he can pedal and I can steer from behind, it has enabled him to learn how to pedal and ride around our street at a young age.  I highly recommend it, the Radio Flyer Deluxe Steer & Stroll Trike.   We are lucky to live in a small subdivision without much traffic, so we are able to be in the street together riding around and having fun. 

Riding bikes is one of my fondest memories from my childhood.  When I was young we would load up our bikes and head to a great park near our house.  The park had great paved trails with limited traffic, it allowed us to ride together as a family and race ahead as children like to do.  For Christmas, I bought my husband a bike seat for his bike and I look forward to many rides together as a family.  Riding a bike is one of the easiest ways to get some exercise while enjoying time together.   As your child gets older, you can move on to a trail-a-bike allowing your child to be connected to your bike as you ride.  The bike looks like a tandem and allows you to control the direction and speed as your child pedals behind.  Of course, the ultimate goal is to allow your child to ride a bike by him or herself.  Riding a bike with your child and teaching them the joy of exercise during a fun activity will be a lifetime lesson and great family time.   So, I will continue to be out in our street allowing my son to ride house to house delivering his imaginary packages and telling neighbors that he is the UPS man.  While my time is currently spent walking behind him, I look forward to the day I can ride beside him.

For some reason, I have an overwhelming feeling of guilt leaving my little boy to workout.  Before I had a child, working out was easy.  I would go for a run after work, do pilates a couple of nights a week, spend extra time at the gym lifting or swimming.  Now working out is an enormous effort and maximization of a short period of time.  I find that I want to get in, get out, and get it done.  Unfortunately, classes like yoga and pilates typically take an hour to an hour and a half, couple that with feeling like you also need a cardio workout and getting a full workout is difficult.

When I first had my little boy, I was told by a salesperson at REI about a group called Baby Boot Camp.  Unfortunately, the Baby Boot Camp that I found was inconvenient for me because of location and distance away.  I tried the class and found it challenging and rewarding because my son could be at each class with me.  I continued my search and found a group called StrollerFit with a location near my home.  This group served to give me a full body workout combining cardio, strength training, and ab work together in a 50 minute workout.  In addition, my son was in a stroller with me, we sang nursery rhymes, and did funny things like scary mommies as we ran towards our babies.  Most importantly, it gave me a group of moms interested in fitness to bond with.  Unfortunately, my StrollerFit time would soon end.  The owner of StrollerFit ended up moving for her husband’s job to Colorado where she continues her business today.  Click here for Strollerfit-Denver.  (I highly recommend her if you live in the North Denver area of Colorado).  I also have a former swimmer who runs a strollerfit business in the St. Petersburg, Florida area thatt I know is an amazing instructor and a great friend. Click here for Strollerfit-St. Petersburg

So now I am back to feeling my workout guilt.  I am running with my son in a running stroller and doing pilates and yoga about 4 days a week.  As I had a second trimester miscarriage at the beginning of December, I am trying to work off some of the baby weight.  I try to workout as much as possible with my son around.  I think it is very important for our children to see us workout and stay in shape.  So while it is a daily struggle, I have found that I am a better parent and healthier person finding time to take care of my health and be in shape.  I am definitely not the competitor or athlete I was in college, but I feel much better about myself.