Fit Friday: Pregnancy Fitness

Workout clothes c/o Lorna Jane

We've been lacking in our fit Friday department and we're sooo sorry! Brooke is pregnant and we've been so busy and just haven't been good at it. We are trying to make more time for it, and I've made some personal goals to a better healthy life, so expect more fitness posts coming your way. I always struggle finding workout clothes that I like, and have become obsessed with Lorna Jane. They're based in Australia and are huge over there,  and are now taking the states by storm. Be sure to check them out for workout clothes that are actually comfortable to work out in.

A couple of weeks ago we did a Walk for Water with Aveda Institute in Phoenix, and it was so much fun. Working out for a cause makes you actually want to do it :) Brooke was talking to me about how good walks like that are for everyone, and for women who are pregnant. Here's Brooke to take it away to talk about how to stay fit while pregnant...! 

Hi guys. remember me?  Ya, it's been awhile since my last Fit Friday post.  I'm going to blame that on the fact that I don't wear gym clothes to work everyday now that I'm pregnant.  You would think they would be the most comfortable thing to wear when pregnant. WRONG.

Everyone has a different opinion and different guidelines for exercising while pregnant.  I have learned to listen to my body and not get frustrated with myself.  I love to run and it has been the hardest form of exercise for me to do while pregnant.  I had plans of running my second marathon this past February, when I found out I was pregnant I decided to take a step back and do the half marathon.  A month before the race I decided I should only do the 5k.  Did I even run the entire race?  No.  While other runners continue running long distances, I could not keep up.  I lose my breath within minutes, my hips hurt and I almost pee my pants. So, I realized early on that I needed to focus on other forms of exercise throughout my pregnancy to keep myself sane.

1.  Walking, hiking and short distance low intensity running intervals:  I have never been into walking for exercise.  It's boring to me, but during pregnancy it has been so enjoyable, relaxing, and energizing to go on long and short walks.  I have always loved hiking and while I have been pregnant I have found any excuse to skip the gym and go outside for a hike.  When I feel like pushing myself a little harder I will do running intervals on the treadmill.  Usually they consist of 1-5 minutes of running followed by 1-5 minutes walking, repeated several times.

2.  Low-Moderate intensity resistance training: I am a weight lifting junkie.  Although my high intensity resistance training workouts have drastically been scaled down, I find myself in the gym several days a week lifting weights!

I couldn't imagine not exercising during my pregnancy, it is a part of my life.  Some pregnant women can't imagine working out during pregnancy and some are unable to due to complications.  Listen to your body, talk to your Doctor and create a plan that is right for you!

Fit Friday: 10 Day Running Challenge

A lot of people stress out about running, and don't know how to start. Brooke has ran marathons, and even convinced me to do a half marathon with her a couple of years ago. She has come up with a running schedule to help ease you into running!

Here's your 10 day running schedule.

Brooke says, "Try to get a minimum of three running days in a week!  Don't worry if you have to stop and walk, your endurance will build over time."

Be sure to check out the YMCA for more healthy living tips, and activities going on near you!

Sedona.

Sweater- c/o Kiki La Rue, Bag- c/o Nena and Co , Jeans- c/o Dittos brand

We just got back from a weekend in Sedona with my family... just in time to watch the Super Bowl. 

And by Super Bowl, I mean that I made sure I got home in time for my dad's Sunday dinner spread.

We stayed at the Red Agave Resort (Sedona always has awesome Groupon or Living Social deals) and went to support my brother in law in his first marathon. Can we talk about how I'd rather just die than run that far at one time? Holy. Smokes.

Our weekend was full of food, hiking, cold, and fudge.

 But most importantly, I'm SOOO excited to finally be able to tell people....

My sister is pregnant!!!

I'm so excited for her to become a mom, and to become an aunt.

We're going to have to get some SHINE baby gear now ;)

Hope you all had a great weekend.

S.H.I.N.E. Goals: The Shine Method of Thinking

S.H.I.N.E. Goals

Well we planned to have an awesome video for you today, but let’s just say Ashley’s air conditioning broke and it’s over 100 degrees in Arizona…so it didn’t happen.

Instead, today is all about goals.  The base of every dream, accomplishment, challenge, you name it starts with one simple little goal.

You’ve heard it time and time again, but it is CRUCIAL to set health and fitness goals if there is something you are trying to obtain.  I initially created S.H.I.N.E goals for our Threads employees, but they can easily apply to many different areas of life, including fitness.

About 7 years ago I set a goal to run a half marathon.  I was in high school.  I trained, I worked my butt off and the day before the race I got the stomach flu.  Instead of anxiously waiting at the starting line for the race to start at 6:00am I was laying in my bed puking.  It was what it was, so I signed up for another race the next month.  That race has been my favorite race to run and I look forward to it every year.                                      

7 years ago I set a goal to run a half marathon and this month I set a goal to run my 10^th half marathon.  Every dream starts with a goal, don’t ever give up.

Follow the steps bellow to successfully set goals!

Sensible: The Shine Project is all about dreaming big, but there comes a point when goals must be sensible.  So, what does sensible mean anyways?  A sensible goal is realistic and reasonable.  Working in the fitness industry I have had client after client sit down at their goal setting appointment and say they want to lose X amount of weight in a very short period of time.  Is it possible for that individual to lose that much weight in a short period of time? Probably, but it’s not realistic and it would cause more damage in the end.

Hard: A good goal should be difficult to accomplish.  Push yourself to your limits and you will never fail.  You might not reach every goal, but you will get somewhere close along the way.

Inspiring: You should feel inspired by every single goal you set and your goals should inspire others.  Some goals are more exciting than others, some goals are big and some are small, but you should always feel encouraged to reach your goals.  Think about why they are important to you and how they could inspire other people to be better.

Near:  Can you picture yourself achieving your goals in the near future?  Near might be in 6 months, 1 year, or ten years, but you need to give yourself a sense of urgency in order to work toward accomplishing your goal.  If you always think “someday” it’s never going to happen, give yourself a time frame.

Exact: When setting goals it’s crucial to know exactly what you want and how you are going to get there.  Be specific. Ask yourself who, what, when, where, and why?  Example: I want to lose three pounds in two weeks by exercising three days a week for 45 minutes and cutting out processed food.  

Wigwam Style (Sung to Gangnam Style)

 me- Skirt c/o Kiki La Rue, vest c/o Chicwish, hat- Ralph Lauren

So yesterday I posted about the second part of our trip (camping... yikes), but I haven't told you about the Wigwam yet. When my sister told me she was running a half marathon in a small town in AZ, I knew I had to go. Why? Because they are the home of "The world famous Wigwam Motel."

I booked the last teepee available, which obviously means it was fate.

Not only did the Wigwam have teepee rooms, but the lot was full of old cars.

We searched the town for a good dinner place and EVERY SINGLE restaurant was Mexican/American food, which is usually not our cup of tea. 

So our table was full of pancakes and tacos. I almost died after eating what we ate.

We always do the most random things together, which is one of the million and ten reasons I'm so happy that Brooke is finally back in Arizona!!!

She's working for me full time now, and will also be creating a healthy living section on the site!

She'll be posting healthy recipes, work outs ((she's a personal trainer)) and tips to feel your best.

If you have any workouts, questions, or anything you'd like future posts of from her, leave them in the comments below!

And if you ever in a million years make it to Holbrook, AZ, you must stay at the Wigwam.

The Most Ridiculous Camping Family

 We aren't campers, just to level the playing field before I tell you some of our camping stories. I didn't check the tent box our parents gave me before we left. You guys, there was NO tent inside. There were the stick things you use to hold it up, and that's about it. We found this tiny tent in my brother in law's truck and tried to figure out if the four of us could fit in it. At this point I cast my vote to forget the whole thing and go get a hotel room. The closest store was about 30 minutes away if we wanted to go buy a tent, and this monster was rolling in.... 

Luckily, my brother in law brought three tents, so we put up our shelter before the rain came pouring in. More on that in a second...

I can count on two fingers the number of times that I have been camping. The time before this was absolutely freezing and I slept for two seconds. The only reason I even went was because I was in charge of a youth group and had to. Now that we have kids, I wanted to be fun and test out the whole camping thing again. I love being outside. I love hiking, and outdoors stuff... but at the end of the day, I just want a nice bed and a warm shower. Which is where my predicament with camping comes in.

My sister ran a half marathon in a dinky little town (I'll post about that tomorrow, you will die when you see where we slept...it was so funny) this past weekend, and we decided to make a little vacation out of it. Since it was in the middle of nowhere, I suggested we camp the day after. WHY WAS THIS MY IDEA?!? 

Everything was all fine and dandy until the huge thunder storm rolled in. We sat in the car for an hour as we watched our camp site be poured on, and then decided to make a run for it and get in our tents. when I opened the tent up it was already soaked. Somehow my sister's tent was dry as can be... but of course ours wasn't. I slept in wet blankets and on wet pillows all night, but somehow managed to keep the kids dry. Points for that. Oh, I also get points for packing no jackets, no socks, and flip flops. Hard to imagine it being chilly in other places when it's 115 every day.

Before bed we ran up to the bathroom the camp site had (outhouse). And when I opened the door, moths were EVERYWHERE. I swear, there had to be at least 200 of them in the 2x3 foot "bathroom". Zoe started screaming and refused to used the bathroom, and Shiloh said, "I guess I'm going to have to learn how to pee like a man right now!" So, he went outside and took his first pee into manhood. Zoe basically took off all her clothes so she could pee outside, and the entire time it is just pouring rain. Meanwhile I had moths flying in my pants, underwear, hair, etc and was screaming inside of the outhouse. Zoe heard me from outside and started crying... and it was just a typical LeMieux situation.

I didn't sleep at all that night.

It rained until we were about to leave at 7:30 in the morning... 

and then the sun came out so we stayed and played for a few hours.

 I might consider camping again for one reason, and one reason only...

Reese's S'mores. 

I had like 3... or something like that ;) 

Let's be honest, I ate my way through this camping trip to remain sane and happy.

We may not know how to camp, but we sure know how to eat well. And that's all I really need.

Arizona Home Tee- c/o The Home T, Jeans- c/o Dittos Brand

softest tee ever, and portion of proceeds donated to multiple sclerosis research

Are you a camper? What are the secrets that I'm missing to make it enjoyable?

I'm giving it one more try before never doing it again :) ....

Hope you had a great weekend!!!

Vegas Top 10

  Vegas Top 10

1. Playing Mrs. Pacman at a yogurt shop for 3 hours with my sister. Seriously, why is that the best game ever invented? We had blisters on our thumbs from the joy stick. I'm embarrassed that I'm not embarrassed.

2. Being with Mike for a whole weekend. This never happens because we both work over 50 hours a week.

3. M&M world. It's the only reason I even wander down to the strip when we're there. I'm obsessed.

4. Zoey and Shiloh... our two favorite kids we always hang out with then we're there

5. Being able to be at the finish line of my sister and brother-in-law's half marathon. They dedicated their run to Ty's best friend Alex who died in the Colorado Batman shooting.

6. The huge man in a little pink fringe number singing on the sidewalk. Or maybe that was on my other top 10 list of things I wish I could erase from my memory...

7. Being with my sister 24/7

8. Being the only people over the age of 10 who were riding down a huge pumpkin slide at a pumpkin patch.  We went on it way more than once.

9. Making the 5.5 hour drive in 4.5 hours. I was sleeping which made it even better.

10. Did I mention that we played Pacman for 3 hours? Because later that night when my sister and brother in law were in their race, I made Mike take me back to the place to play another 3 rounds...