Ski Time

Hey Jenn!

  I am having such a great time the last few weeks. I'm trying new foods and new activities and surprising myself almost daily!!  I'm looking forward to getting into some real Winter activities but we haven't had any real snow yet, it has all melted the next day.  So today, Ev, our friend Mike and I went to the Catskills to go cross country skiing. It was only a 45 minute drive into the mountains to find 20" of snow!!   It was soooo absolutely beautiful. I am what some might call a "terrible" skier. I fell waaaaay more than I was able to stand and I really hit my knee pretty hard but it was still so incredible to breathe in the fresh air and revel in the beauty that surrounds our home.  I'm hoping we can spend more time in the woods this winter. It's just so amazing what we have available to us- the sights and the opportunities to be active!! 

I'm so looking forward to the next few months. I wanna go sledding and skating and snowshoeing!  

What is your favorite way to be active outside in the colder weather?

Hope you're making the most of your weekend and keeping it active. 

Xo

Jeni

A Happy Practice

Hey Jen,

  How was your day??  Mine was a bit of a rollercoaster... I slept horribly last night, tossed and turned and maybe got a combined 4 hours of sleep. I'm typically a solid 8-9 hours of blissful sleep kinda gal... But today I was meeting up with two new running friends and I was way too pumped to miss out. So I met with them at 8 and ran 3.5 miles. When I came home I was hoping to do 3 sets of this arms and abs routine but was sooooo wiped out that I did only one set. I realized that on no sleep and just a banana for breakfast I wasn't going to break any records... So I made some protein pancakes and then did another set. I was sort of bummedout about my weak performance. But i kept reminding myself to be kind and compassionate. 

This evening I did a little self-led yoga practice and it was incredible!!! First of all, I found a pandora station called "yogini" it's aweeeesome!!  I carry around a lot of fear about hurting myself- you know, after breaking my back and all... I am a tad afraid of certain things. I always dream of getting into crow pose but my fear always prevents me... well tonight I just kept saying to go for the pose lovingly and to be supportive of myself... And sure enough, I got it. For only 1 second, but it's a step!!  Then, this week, after 8 years of being afraid of plow pose (it's a pretty deep and intense pose for my body) I have been able to put it in to my practice again!!!  I am soooo happy!!

So despite the fact that the day sarted a bit rough... i am so happy with the way it turned out.

I hope you're having a good week! 

Fit dreams,

Xo Jeni

Discipline December

hey Jen!

  How was your thanksgiving?!?  Did you see family, stay active, eat lots of pie??? Thanksgiving is so strange... The week before, I feel like "oh there's plenty of time before the Holidays and year end" and then the day after it's like instant ticking clock mode... It's December 1st. Soon to be Christmas and then New year, then our bday and then Valentines day.... I know there is so much to do in the coming weeks and months. It can be easy to get overwhelmed. 

Today I read an instagram hashtag "discipline december"- the gal was saying that no matter what the craziness she wants to have the discipline to value her commitment to health/fitness. We both know how easy it is to get off track. It starts with putting our goals asside for one day... And then all of a sudden it's been a week since we took a walk or checked in with our personal thoughts- you know besides the thoughts of checklists, deadlines and stress.  I really want to stay disciplined this December too!  

So, this last week, as an official Tone It Up gal has really helped me to make some pretty cool chamges to my normal behaviors. I have eaten 5 small meals a day for the last 8 days and worked out 7 out of the 8 days!  Changing my habits/attitude towards eating has made a huge difference in my enegery level. I haven't had coffee since last Saturday and I have not at any point of the day (other than bed time) felt sleepy!!  

Besides influencing my eating style, the last week I have been more motivated to push myself than ever before. I never really made time for crosstraining or challanged myself (outside of running).  Well this past week has been totally different. The pictures above are from my HIIT workout Saturday. I did a 3 mile tempo run- running at a normal pace for one song and then pushing it for the next song- alternating for the 3 miles.  Then i came home and did 8 exercises for time, gulped some water and then did the 8 exercises again. Look how toasted I am in the bottom picture!!!  HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. So these 8 exercises get your heart PUMPING!!  My butt is still sore today- and I love it!  

So what on your agenda this week?  

Look forward to your check in!!

Xo

Jeni