Peak Week OCR Gym Workout + Spartan Strong Life Time Fitness

This post is sponsored by  Life Time Fitness, however all opinions, workout suggestions, and enthusiasm are strictly my own. 

20% off Spartan Code: SAP-JFf21

In a perfect world, obstacle course racing training would happen in the great outdoors. What could be more magnificent (and challenging) than charging up a mountain, leaping across creeks and hauling around rocks and logs? But, let’s be real, for many of us, it’s hard to get to Mother Nature’s gym on a regular basis. Towel Pull Ups Life Time Fitness

Between work schedules, kid’s activities, inclement weather (cold and hot), and too many accidents running in the dark, I’ve redirected about 75% of my obstacle course training to the gym. I’ve been a member of Life Time Fitness for several months now and have never been at a loss for equipment to get a fierce solo workout accomplished, for a fun and motivating group fitness class to join, or for other amenities to keep me strong, adaptable and resilient for my upcoming Spartan World Championship in Lake Tahoe on Sept 30.  Read on to get my Peak Week Spartan Training Gym Workout and also find out about some ways that Life Time Fitness is helping me reach my athletic goals – and can you too! 

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20-Min Kickboxing Workout to Punch Monday in Face

Jennifer thefitfork handstand in kickboxing class Sometimes it can be a real fight to get daily exercise accomplished. No joke. Ready to get it done and get on with the day? This 20 minute, high-intensity (HIIT-style) workout gives you heart-pounding cardio combined with working every muscle in the body. It’s a real calorie-torcher and productive way to relieve stress before your day begins or as it ends.  There are NO handstands as the above picture implies, I’m just flipping out and having fun after finishing my workout! 20 Minute Full Body Kickboxing Workout engages every muscle in the body and kicks up the cardio too! What you need: In addition to 20 minutes, you’ll need a visible clock with a second hand to keep track of the intervals / rounds. Also, you’ll need access to a free-standing punching bag or one that hangs low enough that you can throw punches from a seated, sit-up position.  Don’t forget to gear up with a pair of kickboxing, sparring or boxing gloves. Explanation of Rounds

  • Jab & Cross Punch:  Throw straight punch from front hand followed quickly by straight punch from back hand.
  • Round House Kick: Step forward with front leg and foot rotated outward as far as possible. Rotate hips and kick leg to shoulder height while lowering torso.
  • Upper Cut Punch: Throw a rising punch that moves upward with palms facing chest, alternate arms.
  • Sit Up with Hook Punch:  Sit with legs wrapped around bag base, lean back into prone position and then sit up quickly delivering a rounded punch to the bag with an arching motion with one arm, quickly followed by the other arm.

I hate wearing the sweaty, stinky kickboxing gloves from the gym . . . so I just got these!

Do you like to kickbox? What is your alternative cardio workout on days you don’t want to run? Did you have a race or run this weekend, please share in comments – XOXO, Jennifer 

Winter Workouts – 40 Fitness Hacks for the Holidays

40 Fitness Hacks for the HolidaysRaise your hand if you love the holiday season as much as me!  Now, raise the other hand and jump up and then down to the ground in a burpee – yay, now we’re exercising! Between parties, shopping, baking and volunteering, I sometimes find my self fa-la-la-ing too much and forgetting about my normally-scheduled sweat sessions. Well, I never really “forget” to run or workout, rather I just just can’t figure out how to fit a fitness session into the whirlwind of winter celebrations. Even sneaking in a quick run can be unpredictable when the weather won’t cooperate, traveling is on the agenda, or you’re hosting overnight holiday company.

But, I’ve found that just doing ANYTHING is SOMETHING – fit in a holiday fitness hack wherever you can!  As a firm believer that “all the little things” add up, I’ve made a list (and checked it twice) of exercises you can sneak in when life gets busy. Don’t worry about getting side-glances doing some of the crazy-sounding moves in public — soon you’ll be get getting ALL the attention with your super fit New Year’s body. By the way, I originally came up with these 40 Holiday Fitness Hacks for Core Power High Protein Shakes — an excellent way to power up with 20 – 26g of protein and keep your belly from shaking like jelly!

At home:

  • Wrapping Paper Roll High Knee: Lay out a series wrapping paper rolls on the ground about 2 feet apart. Quickly move laterally, pulling knees up to waist while moving between rolls with each step.
  • Rake Yard: Work up a sweat rounding up all those fallen fall leaves – offer to do the neighbor’s yard, too!
  • Shovel Snow: No leaves left, but have snow? Clear a path for company with this heart-pumping chore!
  • Front Box Carry: Take that heavy box of holiday decorations and hold it at your chest. Walk down the longest hall in your house and back.
  • Ladder Side Plank Dips: After putting up holiday lights, use lower rungs of ladder for a challenging side plank. Rest feet on a rung that is even with your hips and dip down and back up to a side plank.
  • Kitchen Squat Jumps: Take a break from slicing and dicing with a few sets of squat jumps. Put your knife down, lower into a squat and jump upward explosively; repeat.
  • Bar Stool Pistols: Stand side-by-side to bar stool and lower down into a pistol using bar stool for balance; repeat on opposite leg.
  • Yoga Tree Pose: Stop and admire your holiday tree with a classic yoga pose that will challenge and improve your balance. Stand with feet together; bend one leg up at the knee, resting foot anywhere between knee and crotch. Extend arms upward or to sides for balance. Hold until failure and repeat on opposite side.
  • Ab Rolling Pin Roll Outs: While on knees, use rolling pin to extend forward while keeping core engaged; roll back up and repeat. This is proof abs ARE made in the kitchen!
  • Commercial Break Cardio: When watching holiday classics with the kids, get everyone moving with jumping jacks, burpees, mountain climbers or other heart-pumping exercises until the show comes back on. No fast-forwarding with the DVR!

 

In a hotel:

  • Ice Bucket Goblet Squats: Fill ice bucket up to give more weight and hold at chest while dropping down into squats; repeat.
  • Towel Hop: Lay out a series of hand towels 5 or 6 feet apart in a line and use them as your target for standing long jumps.
  • Bed Decline Push-ups: Put feet up on bed and lower down into push-ups; repeat.’
  • Wall Sit: Find an uncluttered wall and slide back down wall until thighs parallel with ground and knees bent at 90 degree angle. Hold as long as you can.
  • Burpees: Knock out as many traditional burpees as you can before hotel room guests below start complaining.
  • Water Bottle Tricep Extension: Grab that one-liter water bottle by the mini bar and get after one-arm tricep extensions. Hold bottle overhead and bending backward at the elbow. A liter only weighs about 2.25 lbs. so ramp up your reps.
  • Bed Bridge: In a room with two beds, see how long you can hold a plank with feet on one bed, arms on the other.
  • Hallway Handstands: Practice handstands in the small hallway inside the hotel room. Kick up to a handstand and balance against the door, or place a folded towel on the ground for headstand modification.
  • Luggage Sumo High Pull: Grab a duffel or small carry-on at the handle with both hands and pull to chin moving elbows upward; lower and repeat.
  • Polar Bear Swim: Head to the hotel pool and knock out a few laps! If not heated, you’ll be motivated to swim fast!

At the mall:

  • Mall Walk: Not just for seniors, you can rack up extra daily steps by taking a couple bonus laps around the stores.
  • Stair Climb: Always choose the stairs over the escalator or elevator – it’s less crowded too!
  • Fitting Room Stretch: Loosen up before sliding into those new skinny jeans with toe touches, windmills and arms-behind-back stretching.
  • Food Court Booty Squeezes: No one will be the wiser if you are flexing and relaxing your glutes repeatedly with this isometric exercise.
  • Park in the Boonies: Leave your car in the furthest away spot from the mall entrance.
  • Shopping Sherpa: Volunteer to carry the entire family’s load of purchases. Distribute weight in bags evenly between both arms for a farmer’s carry type workout.
  • Bench Hops: Find and empty, backless bench and grab sides firmly with both hands. Starting with feet together on one side, jump legs and torso to clear bench and land on the opposing side, with hands staying in place; repeat to other side.
  • Santa Line Lunges: While waiting in the long line to see St. Nick, take every step forward with a lunge. Repeat as the line permits.
  • Ice Skate: Most malls put up rinks during the holiday season, take advantage of the fun and burn around 362 calories per hour.
  • Grand Total Jumping Jacks: When back in the parking lot, tally up your receipts and bust out the same number of jumping jacks. For example, $250 spent means 250 jumping jacks – you’ll warm up as a bonus!

At the market:

  • Top Shelf Calf Raises: Extend up onto your tip-toes for 10 to 20 reps as if reaching to grab a can from the top shelf.  
  • Lower Shelf Squats: Rather than bending over to get an item squat and hold for 15 seconds; repeat.
  • Cart Rows: Hold handle bar of shopping cart with both arms extended and legs shoulder. Pull cart toward you and then push away, without letting go of handle. Fill cart with big bags of dog food for an extra challenge!
  • Milk Jug Side Bends: With legs shoulder-width apart, hold milk jug by handle, hanging arm downward at side. Bend torso at side; return upright and repeat on opposing side.
  • Freezer Aisle Agility: Park cart at one end and run high knees to last freezer door. Stop, do a tuck jump, get anything you need from the freezer and side skip back to cart.
  • Shopper Wood Choppers: Grab heavier items for your holiday recipes (like 5lb. bag of sugar) and set on ground near feet. Pick up with both hands and rotate upward with arms overhead; repeat 10 to 20 times before putting in your cart.
  • Line-Wait Leg Circles: While waiting in line to check out, lift one leg about 8-inches off ground. Keep leg straight, point toe and rotate around in small, imaginary circles.
  • Chest Opener Stretch: Also good while waiting in line, stand with back straight and shoulders pulled back. Reach behind and clasp both hands together while bringing hands up towards head as far as possible. Hold for 15 seconds.
  • Bag It Bicep Curls: Bag your groceries and then hold by handles and knock out a few bicep curls on each side.
  • Homeward-Bound Quad Pulses: While driving home in car, pulse your quads alternating left and right for the duration of each stop light.

Jingle Bell 5k AUstin 2015

I woke up early this weekend to run in the Jingle Bell Dash 5k with a friend. Done by 9 am and still out and about, I was able to tackle last minute holiday shopping!

How are you sneaking in fitness this holiday season? Please share in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer 

Soccer Strong Workout, Injury Prevention + Giveaway

Fear Nothing. Give Everything.  I love this attitude of Storelli Sports, a really awesome company that makes next-gen sports protection gear for professional and amateur athletes.

TheFitFork.com SoccerThis company’s main market is soccer; you know how crazy those soccer players get – I’m being serious! Bodies crashing into each other, dives onto the turf, abrupt lateral movements, unwanted head-to-head, body-to-goal or ground contact and more.   I’ve got a kiddo who plays soccer (or you may call it football) – he also is into the rough and tumble sports of lacrosse and American football. So, it’s safe to say that sports injury prevention is always on my mind.

Storelli Next Generation Soccer Injury Prevention Gear

All this thrashing about on the soccer field sort of sounds like a day spent doing Spartan or another obstacle course race – and I’m thinking that some of their products may help me give 110% at my next race with  less worry of bumps, bruises, cuts, contusions and concussions. Yeah, that’s right I said concussion – the perfect reason to wear the Storelli ExoShield Head Guard, a comfortable and stylish soccer head guard that reduces incidence of cuts and bruises on covered areas . . . and may help lessen risk for concussion.

goose egg advilPlease note that there is no conclusive evidence on the concussion reduction, but I say “better safe than sorry,” seeing as I have given myself a concussion RUNNING (it was an epic fall) and also at the last Spartan Beast I slid through the mud and into a tree limb for a beauty of a  goose egg (and thankfully nothing worse).

Honestly, the Storelli ExoShield Head Guard (below) is so comfortable and weighs only about 8 ounces; you’ll quickly forget you’re armored up!

Storelli Soccer Head GuardStorelli Soccer Injury Prevention Gear

The BodyShield FP Sleeveless Undershirt makes you look like an intimidator showing off those guns and also offers innovative technology to help control long passes with the chest, along with protection on the ribs, to reduce the impact caused by physical clashes with opponents.  You may like this armor for trapping hard shots and reducing rebounds, I’m making sure my son wears this to every match. And then, I’m going to steal it out of his gym bag on race day to really help protect my chest and ribs as I hurl myself up onto some of the 10 foot walls on an obstacle course race or army crawl my body over craggy rocks.

Here is a great video rundown on how Storelli Soccer Gear can help you if you play a field position (also a video for goalie).

Did you know 50 percent of soccer players miss at least one game a year because of injury?  Wow, that’s half of the players out there, don’t let it be you — #InjuriesSuck .  Head over to Storelli Sports and check out their next generation soccer protection gear – right now you can get $10 off a purchase when you sign-up for the Storelli newsletter.

I also have a Soccer Strong Workout that will help keep you in tip-top shape for a healthy and productive season.

soccer strong workout

Do you or your kids play soccer”? Have you ever been sidelined with an injury in any sport? What preventative measures do you take to stay injury-free? Please share in the comments – XOXO, Jennifer

5 Ways to Make Gift Wrapping Less Stressful + Empty Roll Workout

Wrapping presents this holiday season doesn’t need to be stressful. In fact, it can be fun!  I recently visited my local Hallmark Gold Crown store to pick up some wrapping paper. I was so impressed by both the selection of gorgeous designs and also the heavy quality of the paper – plus the grid marks on back are nice for geometry-challenged folks like myself.

Hallmark Wrapping PaperSome people are truly artists when it comes to gift wrapping and others just aren’t – I probably fall into the “aren’t” category, but I actually like real wrapping and not just sticking stuff in a gift bag.

Although, I have to say that wrapping bulky items can be a little challenging – that’s why I like to make paper bows to “wrap” the larger holiday gifts at my house. Usually, I leave a little box wrapped up with scavenger hunt clues leading the recipient up to the hiding place – it’s so fun!

5 Ways to Keep Gift Wrapping Stress Fress

Here are some ways to make gift wrapping less stressful:

  • Have all your supplies on hand: I always keep a plentiful stash of scissors, tape, gift cards, pens, tissue paper, ribbon and of course, wrapping paper from Hallmark Gold Crown.
  • Don’t worry about perfection: You may see the little folding flaws or unmatched ends on your gift, but most recipients won’t care – if they even notice at all. Instead, it’s the time and thought you’ve put into thinking of them that will make the biggest impression! For example, I know my teen boys can’t wrap gifts well, but I appreciate that they make the effort and don’t pass the duty on to someone else!
  • Get creative: There is no rule that says the entire gift has to be wrapped or that there is only one way to get the job done. If gifts are huge, make a little scavenger hunt game as I mentioned . . . or if gifts are very small, wrap them up in a large box to throw off your recipient!
  • There is more than one way to make a bow: While silks and satins are lovely, it’s also fun to make a bow out of wrapping paper. My sister-in-law is a pro at this and she showed me how to take paper scraps and make pompoms, bows, fans, feathers and more – search Pinterest!
  • Get in the right frame of mind: Put on holiday music, make hot chocolate, turn on the holiday lights, make it an EVENT!

May I suggest a little workout to help get you in the right frame of mind for wrapping presents?  Breaking a sweat always lowers my stress level and when I have less to fret over, everything seems more fun – like gift wrapping.  This workout might seem a little silly (who couldn’t use a smile this time of year) but it’s actually based on some mobility workouts I do with a basic PVC pipe — you really need to try the workout, I’d hate for you to pull a muscle while wrapping presents!  Ideally, use an empty roll so you don’t mess up your nice, new paper — or not!

Wrapping Paper Roll Workout - TheFitFork.com

Also, while I was in Hallmark Gold Crown, I was surprised to find so many gift items that would make the family and friends in my life smile.  In the past, I have thought of Hallmark as a greeting card and wrapping paper store — but, WOW, they have everything from grab-and-go gifts to jewelry, home décor, kid’s items (I saw Star Wars and Peanuts gifts galore)!  I picked up a few bars of wonderfully scented soap from the Crafters & Co. Line – the soaps are packaged in the prettiest paper (hey, they almost don’t need wrapping, how’s that for stress-busting) and the scent made my car smell dreamy on the way home.  These  little luxuries are quite affordable and just perfect for teacher, neighbor, work Secret Santa and hostess gifts!

Crafters & Co Soap - Hallmark Gold Crown

So, do you like wrapping gifts or look at the process as a chore? What’s the weirdest shaped thing you’ve ever wrapped up?  What’s your go-to teacher or neighbor gift? Please share in the comments – XOXO, Jennifer