Friday Favorites: My Favorite Work-Out Video

My current work-out obsession is this video:

Bikini Ready - Cyndi Whitmarsh

This work-out takes only 20 minutes and requires only hand weights. I tend to get frustrated with home work-outs because I rarely feel “worked-out” afterwards. This video is the only video I have tried that truly makes me sweat! I have been doing this video three times a week and really enjoy it. In the beginning I made the mistake of doing it right before I had to drive to pick up Joe from the train station and I cannot explain how painful it was to get into my truck. I don’t consider myself out of shape but I need to condition my muscles more on a regular basis. The video really works your muscles and you will continue to feel it a few days after.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

BluePrint Juice Cleanse

For the last couple of months I have been toying with the idea of trying a juice cleanse. Juice cleanses have become very fashionable at the moment and I cannot say that I am not intrigued. The one factor standing in my way from jumping on the bandwagon is the price. The most popular cleanse here on the east coast seems to be The BluePrint Juice Cleanse. The BluePrint Cleanse runs around $195 for a three day cleanse and they also offer an option to get the juices delivered monthly. If you attempt to go for the home-made solution I feel that you need knowledge about what specific produce provides for your body. If you make your own juices without the necessary information you can run the risk of depriving your body of essential nutrients just because your chose the produce you like or tastes the best. Personally, I do not feel as if I have the needed expertise to make the juices myself. Comparing the price of a ready-made cleanse vs. home-made, I am not sure if there will be much difference. If you choose the home-made option you will need to purchase all the organic produce as well as the juicer which can run close to the cost of purchasing an already-made cleanse. Although owning a juicer can pay off in the long run I am not ready to make that kind of commitment. 

Recently, I have noticed that my local health food store is beginning to carry the BluePrint juices and selling them individually. Individually each juice runs between $6.99 - $13.29. I am lucky enough to have a 20% employee discount at this store and everyone knows I like a bargain. So here is my announcement: I will be attempting a one day cleanse in the near future! I realize that normal juice cleanses are three days but I have spoken with a friend of mine that I consider a juice cleanse guru and she advised me to start off slow. If all goes as planned I may be expanding into multiple day cleanses. As soon as I figure out the details about when I will be completing this cleanse I will post those specifics. I will also be writing a full review about every step of the way.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Confession

At the end of January I posted that I would be starting my first fitness challenge from Pinterest.

SEE POST HERE

Lets face it, life gets away from you sometimes. I began this challenge with full force and determination. Things quickly began to get crazy here with the weather, extra long commuting hours, and to top it off getting back to the gym full time. So, I am not going to make any further excuses I am just going to say... I have failed the fitness challenge. I completed half of the days but had to take extra days in between to rest because I was insanely sore and my husband would not let me continue. I also took about four days off because we had a house guest. After thinking about how I would jump back into the challenge I decided it would be better to just restart. So here it is, my second time around:

Begining Challenge: 3/1/2014

Finishing Challenge: 3/30/2014

101 Things in 1001 Days: #70 - Complete 3 fitness challenges from Pinterest

When I am in my gym routine you can find me on the elliptical just about anytime day or night. The thing I lack sense joining a new gym is strength training. I hate exploring new gyms and trying to find the machines I want so I gravitate towards cardio and very rarely (unless I have a gym buddy) do I venture anywhere else. This has left me with one problem, my tummy. I can run my little heart out but it will never make my tummy firm. (Although it does help keep it flat!) So following the 101 things in 1001 days I am going to choose my first fitness challenge from Pinterest that will hopefully (cross your fingers) firm up my tummy. Tomorrow is the day I will begin the:

30 Day Abs Challenge

 

I will be posting a follow up after I complete this challenge (February 28th) and will be including a before and after picture. (cringe)

Let’s see if these things really work!