Workout edition…
Which is comical since this mom is NO workout guru…not even close. For the first year of my kids’ lives while I’m breastfeeding, any semi-intense cardio makes my milk supply drop like it’s hot so I get my arms toned by lifting babies and my legs toned by walking to the toilet after I hear “ALLL DONE MAMA!!” a thousand times. My grandma gave me a step-counter and it’s still buried in my nightstand which is still full of stuff I put in there to move BUT before we moved, I wore it during a few average, stay-at-home mornings and no joke, I was up to 3600 steps by noon…in my own, small house. Who needs a gym? ;)
Anyway, I thought it’d be fun to write about something other than our mini-kitchen reno that’s going on at the moment so why not a Five Faves post? It’s been awhile and I’m due to share some stuff I’ve come across that I genuinely like.
So…
The thought of getting a gym membership is a great one in my mind but, because we’ve always been on a pretty tight budget, I’ve never done it. Plus, when I get a little bit of time by myself, my first desire is not to go work out. It’s usually to go waltz through the aisles of a thrift store to find treasures or grab supplies for our latest project. So, I’m a HUGE fan of workout dvd’s. I’m not especially diligent about working out with them daily but I try to turn one on at least two or three times a week when the kids are sawing logs.
Two of my very favorites and the ones that have been in constant rotation for the past several months are ONE – Cardio Dance Express with Tracy Anderson* and TWO – Ballet Beautiful, Total Body Workout*. Tracy Anderson’s dvd is SO FUN. I love both music and dancing so when you put the two together andi make it a work out…right up my alley. Her routines are prety simple…once you learn them. She doesn’t actually walk you through the steps but just jumps right into the work out so it literally took me 15-20 times going through the entire workout during several nights to get one entire routine down pat. But now that I’ve memorized some of them, I’ve been able to take the kids outside where they can run around and do what kids do outside, turn on some music, and dance those routines a bunch of times to get a little workout in. I really, really like how she has six, 10-minute workouts to choose from. I don’t usually have time to workout for more than 20 minutes at a time so it’s nice to be able to pick and choose and get a whole workout in in 10. I first started doing Ballet Beautiful when it was free on Amazon Prime a couple of years ago. It has since become not-free (such a bummer!) but I loved it so much that I just bought it off Amazon. It is HARD. But hard means so good in workout lingo so bring it on. I still cannot do the entire dvd lest I fall over and die but even ten minutes of it is worth doing and makes that burn burn.
THREE – My Savi Sleek*. The designer, Terry, is the wife of a friend and high school classmate of mine and they sent me a bracelet last fall and it. is. awesome. When they first announced their kickstarter campaign last year, I saw the Savi Sleek and thought it was a genius idea. Basically, it’s a bracelet that holds a hair tie. It’s for those of you who, like me, wear hair ties around their wrist because you just never know when you’ll need one and it’s usually pretty frequently. Well, obviously wearing a hair tie on your arm is not the most attractive way to debut that extremity so Terry went ahead and made it so that it was! I know that technically it’s dubbed sportswear, but I say it’s perfect for any and every mom. When you have kids running around, you just never know when you’re gonna need to throw your hair up. Proof:
Me plus kids plus bubbles. Post-church. Post-heels. Post-hair curled and down.
IN FACT, I’m hosting a giveaway over on Instagram right now and you could win one of your very own! It’s open until Sunday so get over there quick before you miss out!
FOUR - these Danskin leggings from Walmart. I’ve just recently jumped onto the whole printed workout leggings wagon (soooo late, Kate Hudson would faint) and passed by these leggings on a stand in Walmart during a trip there a few months ago. I probably own three pieces of clothing from Walmart…it’s not really my go-to. But, I bought them because I had been looking, they were the least expensive ones I’ve seen, and I’ve gotta say, I really, really like them. They’ve been worn and washed several times and are still going strong. I can’t speak for how they compare to higher-end leggings except to say that my wallet is just as satisfied as my lower half with them on. If you grab some, make sure to go down one size though because I feel like they run a little big. Here they are in action:
Besides the work out dvds, the other thing I’ve been doing is running laps in our back yard. It’s fantastic to be able to get in some cardio while the kids play (or run along with me…spot the offspring).
FIVE – this bralette* from Target. Whilst doing my usual perusing of the Target clearance racks a few weeks ago, I found this bra on clearance for $4.91 (mine is pink…which I see they aren’t selling anymore) and grabbed it and man, am I glad I did. It is, hands down, the most comfortable workout bra I have ever owned. I know they’ve technically called it a “bralette” but it easily rivals my sports bras. I always struggle with sports bras rubbing the front of my shoulders/arm pits but I have had no such struggle with this one which means that I can and do wear it all the day long. My favorite part is the thick, seam-free band around the bottom. So comfortable. The one downfall it has though is that you can kind-of see the padding through the front (maybe it’s just the pink). It wasn’t a deal breaker for me though since it’s always an undergarment. Still worth every single penny for the comfort. I’ll be buying more.
Well, that’s enough about working out. I’ve gotta get going to work out this pendant light situation we have going on in the kitchen. We ran into a small snafu and I’m hoping it’s fixable! More details later this week!
Over and out.
. . .
*Affiliate link to product I purchased (with the exception of the Savi Sleek, which was given to me from a friend). If you click and/or purchase through this link, I’ll make a small commission. Thank you for your support!
Have you tried SoulCore?
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