8.31.10: Pottery Banks!

Today: We picked up our pottery banks we painted this weekend! My niece did a cute penguin and I did a hippo for my new niece or nephew that is on the way.

This Week: We have been having a good time AND we have been exercising! It was so cute the 1st night she was here she said "can we exercise in the Hello Kitty room tomorrow?" So we did- she made it through 20 minutes of Get Chisled and then 15 minutes of George Foremans Walk & Box another day. Besides that we walked a ton one day at the water park and went to the mall and walked a lot today.

And be proud of me I have exercised every day while shes been here! I wake up early before her and pop in a dvd. I will be back to my regular blogging late this week and will hopefully have some giveaways up this week too!

Here are our final products.

Easy Lunch Boxes Shout Out!

Easy Lunch Boxes are sponsoring a Season 2 Contestent on Win, Lose, or Blog! And I am loving their lunchboxes so I thought I would share with my healthy Fitness For The Rest of Us friends!

 

Easy Lunch Boxes are The Best Lunchbox System You Will Find!

 

 

 Pack waste-free lunch boxes fast with our single-lid, 3-compartment, bento-style plastic food containers. Affordable lunch box containers and cooler bags for work or school lunches. This is the best lunchbox system to turn your kids lunch ideas into school lunches they can’t resist, or make your own healthy meal ideas a snap to pack for work. The EasyLunchbox System pairs food-safe reusable lunch containers with roomy cooler bags. It's the green, sack lunch alternative — sized just right for kids and adults. Easy Lunch Boxes allow you to pack lunches quickly, using your own healthy lunch recipes. EasyLunchboxes.com was born out of the owners response to disturbingly unhealthy school lunches!

Easy Lunch Box is THE perfect prize for one of our Win, Lose, or Blog Season 2 "losers!" They can continue their newfound (or reborn) healthy lifestyle by packing and bringing their own lunch. One lucky "loser" will receive an awesome, roomy cooler bag in their choice of colors and FOUR sets of comparmentalized bento containers and lids.

Easy Lunch Boxes are:

• Cost effective: No more wasting money buying daily lunches and disposable lunch bags
• Healthy: No more eating fast food!
• Green: No more filling the landfills with disposable brown bags and ziplocs.

 I had the pleasure of trying out an Easy Lunch Box system and let me tell you I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! The cooler bag is spacious enough to include my Easy Lunch Box bento and my morning & afternoon snacks. The bento boxes have a large compartment for a sandwich/ salad/ or leftovers from the night before, a medium compartment for a sidedish or yogurt, and a smaller compartment for fruit or anything else you crave.

 

 

 

Head on over to Easy Lunch Boxes and check out her large assortment of healthy lunch boxes, kids lunch boxes, bento lunch boxes, & back to school lunch boxes!

 

Thank you Easy Lunch Boxes for supporting our season 2 "losers!"

8.26.10: 60 Minutes

Today: Check out the super cute napkins and tea towel! They are from Emmi Lee Designs Etsy shop. She is one of the sponsors for Win, Lose, or Blog! LOVE LOVE LOVE them :) They will perfectly match my kitchen when I get rid of the blood red accent walls the previous owner had going on...

This week: I have really been good at getting in my entire 60 minutes of exercise in. There has been a bit of adjustment going form AM to PM w/o's and I was slacking off a bit. Putting it into context if I did 45 min per day I end up losing 75 minutes of exercise time M-F! Thats a whole w/o +! So I am refocusing and am committing to getting back to 60 min 5 days per week and 1 shorter weekend w/o.

Yesterday's Workout:
-Firm Hi Def Sculpt
-10 Minute Solution Rapid Results Fat Burner (dont forget to enter to win this dvd here)
*total w/o time 60 min + stretch

Today's Review: Firm Hi Def Sculpt
Annie Lee, 2007

This dvd was originally released in the Firms TransFirmation Cardioweights system (BSS5) but is now available individually. The full length version is 46 minutes and the express version is 25 minutes. Annie isn't the best lead but the workout is still good. This was her first time leading and she is definately uncomfortable in front of the camera.

There are four background exercisers, all Firm Master Intructors. Sue Mi shows the beginner modificaitons. The set is hardwood floor with white brick walls and foggy windows.

The workout is solid and she hits every muscle group. It is strength only (no cardio). She does intersperse some stretching throughout the workout (I could have lived without that) and closes with an additional stretch. My main pet peeve is she uses her medium weights the ENTIRE workout. She goes at a nice slow pace and you can EASILY heavy up-and I do.

There is a lot of shoulder work. She does a set of pushups and one set of pec flys for chest work. There is a lot of compound moves-most of it is appropriate so you can do both moves w/ the same set of weights. She does side lunges with rows, lunge and twist/ chop, squat with rows, side lunge w/ front raise, etc. There are a few sets of lat rows, there is some standing ab work interspersed as well.

After about 25 minutes of standing work you go down to the floor for a few minutes. On the floor she has you doing a "power press" move-tricpes tummy toner (crunch with a bench press into an overhead tricep extension), and some bridges with triceps work. Then you are back to standing work for a bit and you will end with some crunches, side crunches, and lower ab work.

I would rate this a solid intermediate w/o that you can up or down the intensity by adjusting your poundage. She pauses a lot inbetween sets so there is some down time especially considering the stretching she has interspersed throughout. All in all its a good strength w/o despite it all.

DVD GIVEAWAY: 10 Minute Solution Rapid Result Fat Burner -Anchor Bay Fitness

This giveaway is now over. Check out current Fitness For the Rest of Us Giveways by clicking on the "give-aways" link on my left hand sidebar!
This weeks DVD giveaway is courtesy of Anchor Bay Fitness: 10 Minute Solution Rapid Result Fat Burner!

Today's Review: 10 Minute Solution Rapid Result Fat Burner
Catherine Chiarelli, 2010 **** (4 of 5 stars)

This dvd has five 10 minute cardio segments that can be mixed and matched to create a 10 - 50 + minute workout. Cat leads this workout alone in the modern 10 Minute Solution set- gray puzzlemats in a nice open room with some fitness "toys" around the perimeter.

Power Sports Drills: In this section Cat does various sporty moves such as volleyball spikes, soccer kicks, a basketball drill, and it includes a w/u and c/d in the 10 minutes. I am a fan of sports drills & enjoyed this section.

Extreme Intervals: In this segment you do 50 sec of higher intensity cardio followed by 50 seconds of low intensity recovery time & then repeats that set 1ce. The high intensity isnt that intense so I did the high intensity version 3X and then used the last 50 seconds as recovery.

Low Impact Fat Blaster: This is a traditional low impact floor routine including hamstring curls, V-steps, kicks, grapevines, and mambos. It has a bit of a dancy feel to it. It was really easy to modify up.

Rapid Results Kickboxing: This was my favorite section- she mixed and matched new & traditional kickboxing moves into fun little routines. Some of the moves include: shuffle, jab, pliet side kicks, punches, knee pulls, speed bags while bouncing.


Cardio Max: This section included 3 mini routines that were a bit dance inspired. The moves were hamstring curls, V-steps, V-hops, V-runs, some plyos, side lunge, fast feet, etc.

This is an intermediate w/o that really works for all fitness levels as you can easily up or down the intensity of all the segments. Though the routines were very athletic, I get the feeling that Cat is a dancer. Her cueing is adequite. I am a fan of the newer 10 Minute Solutions w/o's and love addons so I see myself reaching for this often. This dvd contains tried and true cardio moves that most all of us are familiar with.

Want to win a copy of this dvd for yourself?

Mandatory Entry:

Head on over to Anchor Bay Fitness and tell me which dvd you would like to try. Leave your email address! And remember two entries = two seperate commetns!

Bonus Entries (After completing mandatory entry above):
-One Entry: Follow my blog.
-One Entry: Tell me what you like about the dvd (review above)
-One Entry: Like Anchor Bay Fintess on Facebook
-Two Entries: Leave a comment on Anchor Bay's Facebook wall telling them I sent you
-Two Entries: Follow Win, Lose, or Blog
-Five Entries: Reblog about this giveaway (leave a link)
-Three Entries: Add my button to your blog (& tell me where to find it)
-Three Entries: Add the Win, Lose, or Blog button to your blog (& tell me where to find it)
-Two Entries: Enter any of my other current giveaways (2 per giveaway entered!)

-One per Tweet: Tweet up to 3X daily, one hour apart (leave a link)

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm on Wednesday, Sept 1 and the winner will be selected using random.org random number generator and annouced on Sept 2. Contest open to the EVERYONE!

I received a sample of this product for this review and was in no other way compensated for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own.

8.25.10: My Mini-Me

Today: leaves 2.5 days of work left until I get three whole days off (from work). My neice (who strongly strongly resembles me as a child) will coming to visit so we will be running around causing all sorts of (9 yr old) trouble! Im very excited to see her! I wish all 3 + my nephew could visit but alas I would go nuts w/ 4 children (+ DH) for 5 days! Hopefully both the older girls can come together next summer. Oldest neice went to NY w/ my dad this summer so middle child comes alone. I hope she does good on the airplane by herself and that she doesnt melt when she gets here (30+ degree temp differences from her home). Thats her on the left.

Yesterday: I woke up early and could not go back to sleep so I did 40 min of my w/o in the AM and was good and actually did the remaining 20 when I got home last night. YAY me! Its the small things in life.

Tuesday's Workout:
-10 Minute Solution Rapid Results Fat Burner
-Exercise TV Incredible Abs (#3)
*total w/o time 60 min

Yes the 10 Minute Solution workout will be a giveaway! Anchor Bay Fitness sent it to me! I will do the last segment today and the giveaway will go up tomorrow so stay tuned!

Today's Tip: Instead of cereal Try rolled oats
Oats are a better choice than breakfast cereals because they're less refined. "Processing and packaging cereal takes a lot of energy," Geagan says. Oats are also low on the glycemic index, so you digest them slowly and feel fuller longer than you do when you eat cereal. (More from Self here).

Today's Review: Exercise TV Incredible Abs
Cindy Whitmarsh,  2010 ***** (5 of 5 stars)
 
This dvd has three separate 20 minute active ab workouts that you can do individually or "play all" for a 60 minute ab challenge! The set is nice and open, hardwood floors and bright walls. Cindy works out alone and gives great form pointers and reminders throughout. You will need light dumbbells for some of the work.

I seriously can't get over how unique and effective the ab work is in this. She does new fun moves, creating thoroughly effective core workouts. Each 20 minute w/o is the perfect intensity for me. By the end- my abs are screaming! But I can get to the end and finish strong. She hits the ENTIRE core here-upper, lower, mid abs, lower back, & obliques- nothing is missed. And my heartrate was up-BONUS! I would rate this as a solid intermediate ab workout.

The first workout has my new favorite ab move: runner abs- you're on your knees and you move your upper body/arms like your running-your abs will feel this! Very functional and effective. She also does V sits, plank knee pulls, arm walks (ouch!), side bends & reaches on your knees, some unique crunch variations, rocker abs (hits the obliques), corkscrew crunches, and more. A great way to spend 20 minutes on your abs and like I said, my heartrate was up!

The second workout is what I would classify as core cardio. Which I LOVE, I have 2 others core cardio w/o's and I use them constantly! She does a few ab/ core moves and then a nice cardio burst. Some of the moves include jump rope w/ knee pulls, a side lunge/ leg lift swing move, standing crunches, rocker abs (oblique bends), bob and weave, burpee/ blowout into updog, side plank w/ a twist, plank jacks w/ a knee tuck (tough!).

In the final workout Cindy does a 10 minute routine -first the right side, then the left side. Then she finishes up with 10 more minutes of ab work. This workout is all standing or in plank position. Some of the moves include a dip w/ an upper body twist, a dip with a dumbbell chop, a 1/2 moon (pull knee up to side and arm down to knee while standing), plank w/ clock toe taps, a dumbbell pulldown, and lower body pull, etc. This workout flew by! Lots of good active, purposeful ab/ core work.

While I truly enjoyed all 3 segments, this dvd is worth the purchase for w/o #2 alone. Core cardio workouts are excellent add-ons OR as stand alone workouts when you are time crunched. I add on ab/core work every day so these workouts are a welcome addition to my collection. No boring crunches! All fun effective and ACTIVE! Highly recommended!!!!

Today's Bargains: Dont forget about these awesome giveaways
-Enter to win my Herbal Water 6 pack giveaway here.
-Enter to win a $35 Fantasy Jewelry Box item of your choice on Win, Lose, or Blog here.
-Enter to win Orglamix Organic Mineral Makeup on Win, Lose, or Blog here.

Today's LOLz:

GIVEAWAY: Herbal Water 6 Pack!

This giveaway is now over. Check out current Fitness For the Rest of Us Giveways by clicking on the "give-aways" link on my left hand sidebar!

Herbal water is Full of flavor yet free of calories, artificial sweeteners, and artificial chemicals, these naturally fragrant beverages evoke happy feelings, like a breeze in a sunny garden. Ayala's Herbal Water is the first nationally available organically certified enhanced flavored water made with all organic ingredients. Each Herbal Water blend is all-natural and sets a new standard for healthy beverages: zero calories, zero artificial sweeteners, flavors, and colors, and zero chemical preservatives. And our water comes from an Artesian Well in Virginia.

Nothing but great taste from pure water, infused with the finest natural herbs from around the world and kept fresh in a beautiful bottle for your enjoyment. You can find Herbal Water locally at these locations or they can be found online here.

I first discovered Herbal Water at Cost Plus World Market one very hot day in the desert. The Lemongrass Mint Vanilla variety was the ultimate refreshment!. Each natural herb flavor is distinct and blended so well with the others.  "Especially versatile, the citrusy-floral taste of lemongrass gets an added jolt of cool with spearmint, while the vanilla rounds out the mix with a deep and persistent sweetness that lingers pleasantly on the palate."

I had the opportunity to try Herbal Waters variety pack that included all 6 refreshing flavors of Herbal Water:

Lavender Mint

Lemon Verbena Geranium

Cloves Cardamom Cinnamon

Cinnamon Orange Peel

Ginger Lemon Peel

Lemongrass Mint Vanilla

Each variety of Herbal Water was refreshing, light, and delicious. I could taste each distinct herb blended so well with the other flavors in each bottle. The flavors are not overpowering or sweet and each variety is unique and delicious. I am a fan! I love love love that these waters are all natural, organic, and taste so good. In one word: REFRESHING (in all senses of the word)!

Want to try Herbal Water? Head on over to their webshop and get yourself some. Want to win the Herbal Water sampler 6 pack? Enter here! Leave your email address & remember 2 entries = 2 comments.

Mandatory: Head on over to the Herbal Water site and tell me something you learned.

Bonus Entries: (after completing mandatory entries above)

~Sign up for Herbal Waters newsletter (2 entries)

~Follow Herbal Water on twitter

~Like Herbal Water on facebook

~Check out the Herbal Water blog and tell me something you learned.

~Leave a comment on their facebook wall that I sent you (2 entries)

~Follow my blog

~Enter any of my other current giveaways

~Follow Win, Lose, or Blog

~Enter the Win, Lose, or Blog Fantasy Jewelry Box ($35 item of your choice) giveaway. (2 entries)

~Enter the Win, Lose, or Blog Orglamix Mineral Makeup giveaway. (2 entries)

~Tweet up to 3X daily, one hour apart (1 per tweet)

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm on Wednesday, Sept. 1 and the winner will be selected using random.org random number generator and annouced on Sept 2. This contest is open to the contiguous US.

I received a sample of this product for this review and was in no other way compensated for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own

8.24.10: Mini Margaritas!

Saturday: We had our Sauza House Party. I didnt get any pics except this one of the cupcakes I made- margarita cupcakes w/ tequilla lime icing, lime wedges, straws, and decorators sugar around the edges for the "salt" It was fun! I always forget to pull out my camera. Ooops.  ( Custom cakes by Lindsey Lu. Phoenix custom cakes. Specialty Cakes Phoenix. Arizona custom specialty cakes. Specialty cupcakes phoenix. Custom cupcakes  Phoenix wedding cakes. )

Today's Bargains: Enter to win a $35 piece of jewelry from Fantasy Jewelry Box of your choice on Win, Lose, or Blog here.


Friday's Workout:
-Firm Supercharged Sculpting
*total w/o time 40 min + stretch

Saturday's Workout:
-Firm Dangerous Curves Ahead (cardio mix)
-Denise Austin Daily Dozen (Yoga stretch)
*total w/o time 48 min + stretch

Sunday: Rest day! Recovering from those cupcakes...

Monday's Workout:
-Firm Parts Lower Body
-BBC Mission Specialist UB beg & abs advanced
*total w/o time 54 min + stretch

Today's Review: Firm Parts Lower Body **** (4 of 5 stars)
Susan Harris, Janet Jones-Gretzky, Sandahl Bergman, LaReine Chabut, Jayne Poteet

This is a 30 minute lower body floor work workout. The sections are compiled from five of the six original Firm Classics-all but Volume 4. You will need ankle weights and some dumbbells for this workout. Kathy Derry introduces the next segments and ties the workout together since its spliced from other workouts. I like this workout as an addon to other dvds and for a change of pace. Its also nice for days you cant/dont want to wear shoes.


Some of the exercises in this workout are: bridge work, lying hip extensions, inner thigh abductions, donkey kicks and variations of. Its all lower body work- no abs.


I like floor work because it does work your muscles in ways that standing lower body doesnt. You will feel this workout the next day in your glutes in particular but also your hips and thighs. Floor work compliments standing lower body work well, does not replace it in my opinion.


I would rate this workout an intermediate as far as floor work is concerned. Using heavy dumbbells and ankle weights will up the intensity. If you are a fan of the Classics and enjoy floorwork, you will enjoy this workout-I do.

Today's LOLz:

Tuesday GIVEAWAY: Fantasy Jewelry Box!

This giveaway is now over. Check out current Fitness For the Rest of Us Giveways by clicking on the "give-aways" link on my left hand sidebar!

Fantasy Jewelry Box has generously offered a $35 giftcard for an item of the winners choice! FantasyJewelryBox.com is one of the leading online retailers of celebrity and designer inspired jewelry. Although celebrity inspired jewelry is their specialty, they are also a leading online retailer for replica celebrity rings, fake engagement rings, faux wedding sets, sterling silver jewelry, and offer a huge selection of cubic zirconia.

 

Here are some of my favorites:

 Multi Color Flower Cluster Cuff Bracelet $28.95

 Raychel's Turquoise Locket Necklace $41.95

 

  Fancy Faux CZ Wedding Ring Set $57.95

And I chose Catarina's Large Hammered Gold Metal Circle Necklace Set $37.95

This is not a cheapo piece of costume jewelry! It is made of quality metal and the clasp and chain are both strong and durable. The earrings are the perfect size-not too large, not too small! I see myself wearing this set A LOT! It is SO versatile and can be worn with a dress for a night on the town or with jeans to the movies.

Want your own Fantasy Jewelry? Head on over and buy something special for yourself in their store. Want to win an item of your choice up to a $35 value?

Enter here

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm on Tuesday, August 31st and the winner will be selected using random.org random number generator and annouced on September 1st.

I received a sample of this product for this review and was in no other way compensated for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own

And the Community Coffee Iced Coffee Giftbasket Winner is....Laura!

Congrats to Laua who said "... I would try the french vanilla flavor! Sounds good! Thanks! " Laura has been notified and has 48 hours to claim her caffienated prize! I KNOW she will love her new Community Coffee iced coffee maker and giftbasket.

Thank you to Community Coffee for generously donating this giftbasket and thank you to EVERYONE who entered! Keep checking back at Fitness For the Rest of Us for more awesome giveaways! And don't forget to head on over to Community Coffee's website, facebook, and twitter pages.

Patti Hughes Tastefully Simple Consultant SHOUT OUT!

This shout out goes out to Patti Hughes, Tastefully Simple consultant team leader who is sponsoring a "loser" on Win, Lose, or Blog this season!

Tastefully Simple offers a wide selection of convenient, easy-to-prepare foods designed to help people spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the rest of their lives! And that includes exercise and fitness among the million other things we have going on!

Tastefully Simple has a huge variety products including:

Desserts

Breads, Soups, & Sides

Meal Kits

Dip Mixes, Spices & Salsas

Oils & Dressings

Beverages

I highly reccomend the Garlic Garlic and these other favorite Tastefully Simple products:

Sweet Jalepeno Pepper Jam:

Bayou Bourban Glaze:

Juicy Watermelon Margarita Mix:

Patti-who is a "big loser" herself was very excited about sponsoring one of our contestents this season and has generously offered a wonderful package containing Tastefully Simples seasoning salt and potato soup to one of the Win, Lose, or Blog "losers"

Thank you Patti!!!!

And the winner of my Wii: 10 Minute Solutions game is.........Haley

Congrats to Haley who said... "I added W,L, or B button to my sidebar under "some great places" http://www.mainstream-mommy.blogspot.com #3" Haley has been emailed and has 48 hours to claim the goods!

Thank you to Anchor Bay Fitness for sponsoring this (and one more!) awesome fitness giveaway! And thank you to everyone who entered. Keep watching for more fun healthy giveaways on Fitness For The Rest of Us! Don't forget to check out Anchor Bays website and facebook page or just click on their logo on my right sidebar!

8.20.10: FRIDAY Where Have You Been All My Life.

Last Weeekend: I went to stamp club and made 3 cards and a cute little Halloween treat bag. Are we headed towards the holidays already? Oh my....

Today: I have a lot of errands to run and things to take care of. I NEED to get a w/o in today though so I will have to make time for at least 30 min. Actually Firm Body Sculpt w/ Stephanie Huckabee just popped into my mind-its only 40 min. I think Ill committ to do that (like how I made that kind of non-committing by saying think). See how I am....

Yesterday's Workout:
-Interval Bound
*total w/o time 30 min + stretch, wanted to do more but ate dinner before working out and let me just say that tacos + rebounding= not the greatest combo.

Today's Review: Urban Rebounding Compilation #4 **** (4 of 5 stars)
UR by JB Berns. Jo Jo, Alison, Tracie, Shannon, 2003


This dvd has four mini trampoline workouts on one dvd. The workouts range from 18-28 minutes and are each led by a different instructor. Each workout has one lead and two background exercisers. They workout in a colorful room with a few rebounders propped around the walls, Japanese paper screens, and a juicebar in the background.
Resistance Bound is led by Tracie and while its a good workout, Tracie is obnoxious and never stops talking. If you can get past her or put her on mute this is a nice 28 minute rebounding workout. She uses light 1# sand weights, and does mostly athletic bouncing.

Sports Specific is led by Shannon and is the best on the dvd. Shannon is a great lead and this one is more challenging than the others. Its 27 minutes long and as the title suggests has sporty moves in it like: skiing, boxing, volleyball, etc. She also has some power pushes to get your heart pumping.

Ballet Bound led by Alison (I think thats her name?) and is 23 minutes long. Its a nice workout and shes a good lead. She goes through a series of ballet postures adding "attitude" to each move and keeps it interesting.

African Bound is only 18 minutes and is led by Jo Jo. Jo Jo is funny and keeps me smiling. This is the least challenging of the set but still fun and you can up the intensity easily enough.

With rebounding more so than other workouts, you get into the workouts what you put into them. If you just bounce around, youre not going to get your heartrate up. If you push your feet down into the mat and use big arm movements (you can even wear weighted gloves) you will get a great cardio workout, burn a lot of calories, and work up a nice sweat. I would rate this dvd is intermediate in intensity.

Today's Bargains:
-Dont forget to enter my Community Coffee Iced Coffee maker & giftbasket here and my Wii 10 Minute Solution Workout game here.
-Enter to win YOUR FAVORITE dvd from Total Fitness dvds on Little yayas here, Reveiw Retreat here, and Simply Stacie here.

8.19.10: Thank You All For The Anniversary Wishes :)

Flower Cupcakes: Made these cupcakes for a coworkers birthday. Her best friend was recently diagnosed w/ breast cancer hence the breast cancer ribbon. They are spice cupcakes w/ orange cream cheese icing. Flowers (all but 2 fondant) are royal icing. Breast Cancer Cupcakes.

Today: Someone wants to purchase a cake from me. An 8-9" round-nothing fancy. But I have NO idea what to charge?   ( Custom cakes by Lindsey Lu. Phoenix custom cakes. Specialty Cakes Phoenix. Arizona custom specialty cakes. Specialty cupcakes phoenix. Custom cupcakes  Phoenix wedding cakes. )




Today's Bargains:
Heres an awesome giveaway for YUMMY lowfat treats from Lauras Wholesome Foods. Enter on Simply Stacie here, Little Yayas here, and Review Retreat here.

Wednesday's Workout:
-Firm Cardio Inferno
-10 Days to a Better Body (LB)
*total w/o time 60 min

Today's Review: Firm: Cardio Inferno
Sue Mi Powell, 2007 **** (4 of 5 stars)

This is a 31 minute interval workout led by Sue Mi Powell. There are 4 background Firm MI's with Robyn showing the beginner modifications. You will need a few sets of dumbbells for this workout. The set is white brick walls, hardwood floors, and foggy windows.

This workout has seperate cardio and sculpting sections-before each segment a screen comes up with "Sculpt 1" or "Cardio 1" etc to introduce the next segment. I use this dvd as a cardio workout so I only use one set of light dumbbells and amp up the moves to increase the cardio effect.

I like this workout but I dont love this workout. I do use it in my rotation on a fairly regular basis (I have a huge collection so "regularly" is relative).
All the cardio is pretty easy to follow, there are some "new" and unique moves that took me a few minutes to get, but within the 1st workout I was fine, so they cant be that difficult as I am not the best at picking up choreography. Some of the cardio moves include step touch, ski, knee pull-ski-run move, low jacks, A steps, hamstring curls,

A lot of the strength moves are more like light 4 limb work, not serious strength moves-another reason why I like to use this as a cardio workout. I use the sculpting segments as cardio breaks and use the light dumbbells to up the intensity of my cardio. Some of the sculpting moves include a lunge-glute lift-rhomboid pinch combo, side shoulder raises, etc.

I would rate this workout a lower intermediate workout that could easily be modified up or down to suit your needs. Sue Mi is a very good lead and cues well. I would have liked to see more workouts from her before she left the Firm.

Today's Tip: Carrots
Feeling stressed out? Eating a few carrots can help you feel better? Carrots contain the amino acid tryptophan which boosts levels of serotonin (the feel-good brain calming chemical). Plus, the crunching helps relieve stress-induced jaw clenching! (from Woman’s World, 6/28/10 http://www.livinginthin.com/stressed-out-chomp-on-some-carrots/)

Today's LOLz:

8.18.10: Legs Like That of a Racehorse...hehe

Today: Is our 3rd anniversary! ahhhh. We met in 1998, dated for a few years, broke up for a few years (he went to AZ, I went to Japan) and got back together in 2005, married in 2007. So in honor of our anniversary Im going to tell a funny DH story: He went home to visit a few months ago (I stayed here since Im currently boycotting home) and while he was hanging out w/ old friends one of them said "Oh I remember this chick you used to date. She had legs like a stallion." DH was racking his brain for a few minutes thinking "who could this stalion legged woman be" then it hit him and he said "Man, thats my WIFE!" hehe thats my funny story of the day (hence the title-who knows where that line comes from????)



Tuesday's Workout:
-10 Minute Solution 5 Day Get Fit Mix (yoga & kickboxing)
-Amy Bento In The Ring
*total w/o time 60 min + stretch

Anchor Bay Fitness sent me this dvd to review :) wootwoot! I never thought doing reviews would get me anywhere but woohoo to trying out new dvds!

Today's Review: 10 Minute Solution 5 Day Get Fit Mix
Amy Bento, 2009 ***** (5 of 5 stars)

This dvd has five 10 minute segments led by Amy who works out alone in a nice open set with exercise paraphanalia around the perimeter. You will need dumbbells for a few of the segments. The dvd is fully programable so you can mix & match as you please. There is an ab, yoga, strength, cardio kickboxing, and interval w/o-all very different and all enjoyable.

Cardio Kickboxing: Is a good little kickboxing workout but not super intense because she has to show you each combo slow first (which is pretty standard for KB IMO). I like the workout because Amy combines a lot of the standard kickboxing punches & kicks in a unique way. So not difficult to catch on to but still fun & fresh.

Fat Blasting Intervals: Is a nice little calorie burner! You do 1 minute of cardio and then (1 min?) of  multilimb strength work. The cardio is fun & lots of new (to me) moves that will get your heartrate up nicely. There is some impact-double knee jumps, jacks, etc. I used 10 # db's for the strength work and it worked nicely. She includes some plank jacks & mt. climbers.

Power Yoga: I enjoyed this yoga routine because it moves right along-she talks about moving faster, heating the body, and energy so I agree this is power yoga. You will see warrior 1 & 2, up & down dog, chair pose, etc.

Belly Fat Burner: This section also uses dumbbells. The first portion is standing-a dumbbell side bend, 1/2 moon, etc. Then you go down to the floor for some planks, gorilla walks, buttkicks, and other plank variations. I am a fan of Amy's ab work and this is no exception.

Lean Body Sculpt: Amy uses 5# db's in this but I used a variety. Its all compound moves- 1 legged squats with a shoulder rainse, squat-abduct-OH press, side lunges & slinge, deadlift- rear lat raise, and includes a bit of balance work too. My heartrate was up and I liked the variety in this segment.

Overall I would say this is a high intermediate but low intermediates would be fine too. I like Amy and I love the variety this dvd provides. Her cueing and energy are both great here.

Today's Bargains: Dont forget that I have 2 open giveaways right now:  Wii 10 Minute Solutions Cardio game here & Community Coffee iced coffee maker & giftbasket here. You can check out all my giveaways by clicking on the "giveaways" on my left sidebar.
-Win Native Remedies natural remedies on Review Retreat here, Simply Stacie here, and Little yaya's here.
-Win Gypsy Jen's Relaxing soaps on Review Retreat here, little yayas here, and simply stacies here.

Today's LOLz: