Winter Fitness

***BEWARE*** Unflattering pictures below! LOL

OK friends today I want to talk about winter fitness and all the hows, whys and wheres of it. {sorry about the bad grammar!}

One of my focus words this year is the word 'time' and I'm focusing on the idea of using my time MUCH more wisely than I have done in past years. In doing that it hits me square in the face that I have been making excuses for years about exercise. One my my biggest excuses? Because I'm a homeschool Mom, I just don't have time for exercise, I mean, my kids are here at home with me all day long and it makes it hard to go to a gym or anything like that.

This year I have decided I'm done with that lame-o excuse. Yes it does make things more challenging but it isn't impossible. So here is what I'm doing this winter, I hope it will encourage you in your healthy lifestyle.

*Use the snow to your advantage. Get out there and shovel it, play in it, build with it, tromp through the very deep stuff, sled with your kids {walking back up those hills burns a lot of calories!}. My former excuse was that I hated to get cold or for that matter get sweaty under all those layers of clothes. Now I just suck it up and know that yes I will get sweaty and feel icky but a simple solution is coming inside to enjoy a hot shower and a hot drink. And your kids will LOVE you for being out there with them!

*Take a winter hike in the woods. Around here we have several places where they have trails through the woods so even when it's snowy you can still walk there. Just wear snow boots and dress in appropriate layers {again you WILL get sweaty - just suck it up!} and if the conditions are icy consider using YakTracks which slip right over the bottom of your boots and allow a lot more traction. Since our puppy is very high-energy we've been taking her on hikes and it's great for ALL of us to get out and get some fresh air.

*Do something indoors. I'll admit, most days of the week my workouts have to be indoors. Partly because we do homeschool and partly out of convenience. My girls are old enough now that they can play together for a while so that I can get my exercise done. Keep in mind that you don't have to belong to a gym in order to get a good indoor workout.

What can you do indoors?

*Use a machine - if you have one. You can get a great indoor workout on a treadmill, elliptical machine or stationary bike. We have an elliptical machine. I sort of wish we had a treadmill because I'd rather run, but I recently realized that I can get a very similar workout to running on the elliptical - so once again I'm going to suck it up and just use what I have.

*Use hand weights, stability balls, floor mats, etc. You can find TONS of exercises to do by searching youtube or through health magazines.

*Use videos. Either ones you own, or one you borrow from the library or even free ones you can watch online or on netflix. One of the toughest DVD's I have is the Shred by Jillian Micheals and it only cost me $10 at Walmart. Videos are very affordable and easy to use. It's up to you to just pop in the DVD and commit to doing it! One of my faves is the TurboJam set by beachbody.com. Another great one for beginners or those who can't do something too vigorous is the Walk Away the Pounds series by Leslie Sansone.

Other tips that have helped me:

*eat a good healthy breakfast before exercise.
*stay hydrated
*have high energy, motivating music available - it's amazing how music can make you want to move faster, keep going and can really be a great motivator. I have a very small MP3 player that cost about $30. I keep a wide variety of music on it and play the really high energy stuff when I'm working out. {who doesn't love a little 'I like to move it, move it' when working out?!}

*invest in good workout clothes - now some may argue that this has NOTHING to do with getting a good workout but for me personally I feel like it's very helpful. First, have good quality clothing that wicks away moisture - NOT a cotton t-shirt! Wear items that allow for the most comfort and movement - NOT jeans! Wear good, supportive footwear - NOT flip-flops or slippers! Take care of that hair - as in pull it back out of your face - there is nothing worse than hot, sweaty hair on your neck - ICK! {I don't know how those women in the workout videos do it, that would drive me nuts!}

Back in the fall when I was running more consistently I knew that I was *hoping* to continue my fitness into the winter time. This is a first for me as most years in the past I've simply gone into hibernation mode and become very lazy and stagnant for the winter months. This year though I wanted to be different. And I knew it was going to get cold. So I invested in a really good set of workout clothes. It was costly, I'll admit. The top and bottom are from Under Armour and I'll just save ya the trouble of looking them up - they each cost $50.

Also, it's not a pretty sight - as you'll see below - the pants certainly accentuate my large thighs and my pear shape. And I'll spare ya the horror of seeing my backside. ;) But when I wear these clothes I feel GOOD, I can move with ease and the clothes feel GOOD on me. Whether I'm running, walking, hiking, biking, etc they allow for comfortable movement. And that's more important than my large thighs. {which hopefully will shrink as I keep working out! ha!} But I gotta say that I LOVE the Under Armour stuff! The hot pink shirt is sorta cute and it has a nice long torso and nice long sleeves {something I find important}. The inside of the shirt is super soft which feels great on the skin. Having a great workout outfit actually makes me want to work out more! For the record, I do have some other items I wear for working out but this outfit is definitely my fave. I sometimes wash it everyday so I can use it again the next day!

You can also see in the pics that I wear a scarf to keep my hair back. I hate having sweaty, sticky hair on my neck while I'm working out. I also hate when those little tiny pieces of hair fly in my face. So the scarf just keeps it all back and out of my face and also catches a lot of sweat!

{I warned ya it ain't pretty! Good thing I don't mind a little self-humiliation!}

This is my tough guy pose! hahaha - just being silly!

Hope took this pic of me on the elliptical ... yes it's blurry - sorry! And yes I have gloves on. Our basement is always SO cold this time of year and my fingers get so cold until my body has really warmed up. So I wear my warm running clothes and my gloves and all is good!

Well I think that's all for now. For some other great healthy lifestyle tips I highly encourage you to check out Lysa TerKeurst's Made to Crave webcast. It airs on Monday nights at 8pm EST but you can catch it again on Tuesdays at 12noon, 3pm, 8pm and 10pm if you missed it on Monday.