2012 Archives - fitknitchick

Review, reflect and move forward | 5 lessons from 2012

December 31, 2012 by Tamara 34 Comments

My very favourite thing about January 1st? The need for new stationery! (Are you a stationery geek too?)

A new calendar to keep my family’s activities organized. A new journal for me to write my thoughts and dreams in. My first Fitbook to plan and record my workouts and nutrition.

But before I move forward, I’m taking the advice of my blogger friend Kareen (of iameatingright) and making time to review and reflect on my accomplishments and near accomplishments of the past year.

While these reflections are personal, I do believe that many of you will have had similar experiences and will relate to one or more of them.

1. Make a fitness plan and stick to it. When I look back at the workouts and programs I engaged in throughout the year, I’m struck by how often I changed plans midstream. From whole body metabolic training to body part splits to incorporating yoga and running, I tried to do a lot of different things; none of which I stuck with for long enough to really reap the benefits. I like to think of this as ‘shiny new thing’ syndrome.

I did, however, get to the gym and engage in some sort of exercise 5 days out of 7 almost every week in 2012!

2. Find ways to work around injuries. Way back in July, I strained my intercostal muscles. The recovery and rehabilitation process was long and drawn out. There were a lot of movements that I couldn’t perform pain-free. Although I continued to teach and hop on the Cybex ARC trainer daily, I let my weight training slide. Rather than figure out what I COULD do, I worried a lot about what I COULDN’T. As a consequence, I lost considerable ground in the weight room. And because I didn’t adjust my nutrition to take into account all of those calories I was no longer burning daily, I saw the scale go up (and stay there!).

This experience has made me much more sensitive to my clients’ injuries and has led me to getting more creative with their workouts, so as to keep moving them towards their fitness goals.

3. Acknowledge and accept that the hormonal effects of aging may require you to change the way you exercise and eat. I am 45 1/2. Peri-menopause is part of my daily experience. Mood swings. Food cravings. Hot flashes. All caused by changes in my hormonal profile. Like it or not, my body responds to food differently than it used to. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted without repercussion. Not so now. Same with exercise. In the past, cardio and light weights were enough to keep me lean and strong. Now I find that my body needs heavy weights to maintain muscle mass and keep the belly fat at bay.

Earlier this month I PR’d on three exercises in the same workout; squats, dumbbell bench press and bent over row. I’m excited to keep up the strength training momentum in 2013!

4. Place your own fitness needs before those of others. I spend 15-20 hours per week teaching group fitness classes and training clients. As I look back at my 2012 calendar, I see many, many days when I cut my own workout short or delayed it to a low energy time of day to accommodate a client’s last minute schedule change or to sub a class for a colleague. I put on everybody else’s oxygen masks first.

I will remember and avoid this tendency as I plan my own January workouts.

5. Don’t be afraid of trying something new. Over the past year and a half I stepped outside of my fitness comfort zone more often than ever before! I took a Burlesque class! I tried CrossFit and Trampoline fitness! I made yoga a regular part of my fitness routine!

What shall I try in 2013?

Whether you’re making resolutions or not, I encourage you to watch Kareen’s video and take a few minutes to think back on your OWN 2012. Celebrate your successes, identify areas where you could have done better and make a plan for tackling those aspects of your life in 2013.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and fit 2013! xo Tamara

What was your biggest health and fitness accomplishment in 2012?

How will you improve even more in 2013?

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#FatblasterFriday | Staircase Circuit Workout

December 28, 2012 by Tamara 24 Comments

No matter how fit you are, climb a long staircase quickly enough and three things will happen:

your heart rate will skyrocket
your thighs will burn
you’ll continue to huff and puff for a minute or two afterwards

Perhaps not the most desirable of consequences when you’re dressed for an evening out, but EXACTLY what you need if a stronger, leaner body is what you’re looking for!

In addition to being great for your legs and lungs, because stair climbing is anaerobic, you’ll also continue to burn calories AFTER the workout is done (a little trick known as the ‘after burn’ effect).

Presenting #FatblasterFriday’s “Staircase Circuit Workout”!

An all body weight, multi-level, staircase circuit workout designed to build muscle, torch fat and strengthen your heart and lungs!

Tailor the workout to YOUR fitness level and ability by varying (1) the length of the staircase and (2) how quickly you ascend.

Do the circuit in the video 3 times through for an efficient and fat-blasting workout!

It MAKES MY DAY when you —>>>

WATCH and DO the workouts with me
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Disclaimer: Although I am a registered Personal Trainer, I am not YOUR Personal Trainer (although I could be! Check out my NEW ONLINE TRAINING PROGRAM). Always adapt workouts to suit your body and fitness level. Always consult your doctor before beginning a new exercise program.

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Eat, drink and be merry | Christmas over fitness, not fitness over Christmas

December 24, 2012 by Tamara 21 Comments

Finally, Christmas eve is here.

The presents are all wrapped (well almost). Christmas dinner has been prepped (except for dessert). All that’s left is spending time with family and friends, enjoying the tastes and traditions of the season. All of them.

In my house that includes chocolate fondue (with fruit and pound cake) on Christmas eve, eggs and bacon and cinnamon buns on Christmas morning and a turkey, with all the trimmings for an early Christmas dinner. And baking with the children!

Lots of food, lots of fun and lots of time with my family.

Notice that I didn’t mention fitness at all. No exercise (formal exercise, that is) for this girl. Oh sure, they’ll be walks to see the neighbourhood lights, some Super Mario Bros. on the Wii, ice skating at the rec centre and perhaps a beach walk, weather permitting. But no trips to the gym or home workouts on Christmas Day or Boxing Day (and maybe not even for the rest of the week; shocking!).

I’m choosing Christmas over fitness (rather than fitness over Christmas) and I’m okay with that.

It’s not like I’ll lose the muscle definition or cardiovascular conditioning I’ve earned over the last twelve months. Exercise consistently and progressively for 50 weeks out of the year and you can afford some down time without fear of having to start all over. And it’s not like I plan on gorging myself with rich, calorie-laden indulgences. Just enough to feel like I’ve experienced the holidays fully.

Are you with me? Allow yourself some time away from the gym (no feeling guilty) enjoying the all-too-short season of family and festivity! The weights and treadmills and squat racks will still be there when we get back…

I’ll be taking some time away from blogging and social media over the next few days (you should too; a break is a great way to re-discover your creative side!). Watch for my January #freshstartfitness challenge. A new, free home workout every day in January. Make sure you’ve liked my Facebook fan page to stay in the loop! And of course, there’s still time to join in the DietBet I’m hosting. Head on over here for all the details!

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#FatblasterFriday | The ‘snowed in’ home workout

December 21, 2012 by Tamara 13 Comments

As important as it is to plan and schedule your workouts (“failing to plan is just planning to fail”), sometimes life happens and you can’t get where you need to be when you need to be there. The key to success is being flexible. Change your plan to work with what you’ve got, rather than ditching your workout entirely.

Take this week. Tuesday morning I awoke to Vancouver’s first big snowfall of the year. (If you live somewhere that gets a lot of snow, please don’t laugh; this is a ‘big dump’ for us!)

As beautiful as it was, there was no way I was driving kids to school (2 miles and uphill all the way…). That also meant I wouldn’t be heading to the gym. Wednesday brought more of the same with the added bonus of a vomiting child. Children at home, a Christmas tree filled living room and too cold to work out outside meant that I needed to get creative.

While I managed my own limited-equipment-at-home workout, filming a workout video for this week’s #FatblasterFriday was out of the question. Rather than leaving you up to your own devices , I thought I’d share one of the workouts I did while snowed in.

All you need is a set of hand weights (I used 15 lbs, go lighter if you need to), the bottom step of a flight of stairs and your own body weight. Work through the circuit at least twice, stopping only after the burpees to grab a quick drink and catch your breath!

home workout

If you’re one of those people that really needs company when exercising, check out my #FatblasterFriday playlist on YouTube. I’ll be happy to work out with you if it keeps you from skipping your workout entirely!

Did you like this workout? Then PLEASE

SUBSCRIBE to fitknitchick on YouTube
PIN the above WORKOUT PHOTO
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Does it snow where you live?

Favourite snowy day activity?

Disclaimer: Although I am a registered Personal Trainer, I am not YOUR Personal Trainer. Always adapt workouts to suit your body and fitness level. Always consult your doctor before beginning a new exercise program.

{13 Comments }

5 reasons to trade your glasses for contact lenses during exercise

December 19, 2012 by Tamara 30 Comments

I have worn glasses nearly all my life. Although I am a devout contact lens wearer, I have always had a pair of glasses to wear for mornings and evenings and sick days at home.

From my first pair of oh-so-fashionable ‘hex’ frames at the age of 10 (my mother let me choose; for obvious reasons, my children do not have the same freedom)…

contact lenses

to the dark, round, over-sized look of the mid-eighties (sadly, I could find not a single photo of myself wearing these…)

to the ‘evening-only’ pair I currently wear (contact lenses for company, glasses for family)…

and the reading glasses that I should be wearing, but don’t (so much easier to just enlarge the image on the computer screen)…

Yet until last year, when I contracted a bout of pink eye (nasty, nasty business), I had never worn my glasses while exercising.

After 3 days of teaching and training in glasses, I understood why I rarely see participants wearing them in my group fitness classes.

5 reasons to trade your glasses for contact lenses during exercise

Contact lenses do not slide down your nose. When I exercise, I go hard. I typically sweat a lot. Enough to cause my glasses to continuously slide down my nose. Hard to push them back up when your hands are busy with heavy weights.
Contact lenses do not fog up. Condensation occurs when warm, moist air meets a solid, cooler surface. Like the air between your glasses and your face as your body heats up during exercise. Hard to do HIIT when you can’t see where you’re placing your feet.
Contact lenses do not have a frame to obstruct your view. Today’s preferred glasses styles have fairly small frames. Frames whose edges you can plainly see when you look up, down and side to side. During the choreographed step classes that I teach, I need to have an unobstructed view of my feet and the edges of my step. Wearing glasses while teaching made me much more cautious about my foot placement; I had to move my entire head, rather than just my eyes.
Contact lenses do not have arms to interfere with your wireless mic. Or your big old headphones, if you’re a big old headphone wearer. When I teach, I wear a wireless microphone that hooks behind my left ear. Although my right ear sticks out enough to accommodate both the mic and my glasses, my left ear does not.
Contact lenses do not break if your workout partner or teammate elbows you in the face. Exercising is a risky endeavour. So much potential for injury. From dropped weights to full on contact with training partners and teammates. Glasses are expensive to replace (my boys have each broken a pair playing team sports).

Of course, ’comfort’ is an obvious addition to this list, but most people who exercise aren’t afraid of a little temporary discomfort, right

The best thing about contact lenses? You can order them online! (If you follow me on Twitter you know what a big fan of online shopping I am…). Unlike glasses, you don’t need to try on a dozen pair to find one that flatters your face. All you need to know is your prescription and your credit card number!

And, 1800Contacts sells my prescription for less than half of what I’ve been paying at my local optometrist’s office. Bonus!

Are you a contact lens wearer?

Do you wear glasses or contact lenses to exercise in?

Disclaimer: This post was generously sponsored by http://www.1800contacts.com/. The oh-so-flattering photos and opinions about the benefits of wearing contacts during exercise are obviously my own!

{30 Comments }

Join my January DietBet: lose weight, win money and have fun!

December 18, 2012 by Tamara 16 Comments

I’ve done a ton of Christmas baking this year. While I’d love to tell you that I’ve been happy to just sample a bite, here and there, I can’t. I’m a terrible liar; always have been, always will be. But in my own defence, I have thoroughly enjoyed every single bite : )

I’ve upped my daily exercise in an attempt to offset the increase calories-from-sugar load (you’ve been following my Twitter #30FOR30 hashtag, right?), but I suspect that it’s not quite enough to prevent the inevitable 3 or 4 pound weight gain I’m likely to notice come January (I don’t weigh myself regularly, but I can tell when I’ve put on weight by the fit of my favourite jeans…).

Sound familiar?

If so, I invite you to join my January DietBet!

January DietBet

Here’s how it works:

Join Fitknitchick’s DietBet <<<<—— by clicking on the link.
Set up your profile and ante up ($25)
Submit your starting weight photo a couple of days before the contest starts (photos and weights remain private; nobody will see it but you!)
Lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks and claim your share of the pot!

The more participants, the bigger the pot and the larger your share of the winnings!

In addition to the monetary prize, I’ll also be rewarding the top ‘loser’ with a special ‘Fitknitchick’ prize. Watch the video below for more details!

And since a big part of weight loss is getting adequate exercise, I’ll be posting daily workouts on my Facebook page for the entire month of January! Make sure you’ve ‘liked’ my page and have added it to your interests list (details on how to do it can be found here).

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?

If yes, is losing weight one of them?

Will you be joining my January DietBet?

What size are your feet?

{16 Comments }

#FatblasterFriday | The Virtual Partner Workout

December 14, 2012 by Tamara 22 Comments

Last September I attended Fitbloggin. During the Reebok-sponsored Crossfit workout, I was lucky enough to be partnered up with Brendon Payne of Sequel Life Fitness. An incredible athlete, enthusiastic coach and all-round great guy, he lifts weights, runs AND practices yoga!

(Great hair and smile too, don’t ya think?)

We had so much fun we promised to schedule another fitness collaboration; a bit of a challenge given that we live in different countries and on opposite sides of the continent! Who doesn’t love a good partner workout?

Thank goodness for video cameras, Skype and iMovie!

Although Brendon and I did this workout together (well, ‘virtually’ together), you can do it with or without a partner. (Partner workouts are a blast IF you have the RIGHT partner…).

Today’s #FatblasterFriday is an interval partner workout;

6 body weight exercises (actually there are 7; I snuck an extra one in. Can you find the second ’5′ in the video?)
30 s of HIGH INTENSITY effort
15 s RECOVERY between exercises
2 or 3 times through

You can take turns performing the 30 s of work (thereby earning a 45 s rest) OR each perform all of the moves as written above. Your choice.

Note that we purposefully didn’t plan the workout in advance. Neither of us knew what move the other would request, setting the stage for ‘pay back’ lest one of us be too demanding!

You can use the same format (and different moves) next time you do a partner workout (just be sure and go first….he, he!). And even train with friends who live nowhere near you! (I seriously LOVE Skype!)

If you LOVED this workout, please share it via Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter (sharing buttons are at the bottom of the post). We promise, it will make our day!

Who did you think was better at following directions (I have a very thick skin…)?

Will you do this workout solo or with a buddy?

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January motivation and inspiration | tearing into 2013

December 12, 2012 by Tamara 25 Comments

Assuming we survive the Mayan end of the world, January 2013 will be here before you know it.

Even with the best of exercise and health eating intentions, most of us will indulge over the holidays and be looking for ways to get back on track come the new year.

How about we jump on the January motivation and inspiration train a bit early this year?

I’ve got four announcements to get through today. Three of them are exercise and weight loss-themed. The fourth is for my fellow healthy living bloggers (or any of you are thinking of starting a blog, but haven’t the faintest idea where to start).

January motivation

Choose one (or more!) of the options below, commit to following through come January and enjoy the holidays knowing that you have a plan in place to quickly (and painlessly too, I hope) get right back to where you were health and fitness-wise before the seasonal madness began!

1. Need to lose a few pounds? Join my DietBet!

I’m excited to be partnering with the newest online weight loss program, DietBet! Ante up ($25), challenge yourself to lose 4% of your body weight in four weeks (January 6th through February 2nd) and split the pot with everyone else who succeeds! DietBet provides an online platform for interacting with the other challenge participants; a place to motivate, inspire and encourage each other daily. More details to follow!

Click on the link to join Fitknitchick’s DietBet. I’ve already thrown my $25 into the pot; I know that I’ll be looking to shed a few pounds in the new year…

2. Fell out of your gym routine? Try my #freshstartfitness challenge take 2!

Last fall’s #freshstartfitness challenge was such a success, I’m repeating it this January, with a twist. Rather than have participants visit my blog and log their responses to the weekly challenges there, I’ll be taking the whole thing over to my Facebook page. Each and every day in January, I’ll be posting a pinnable workout that you can print and take to the gym with you. Workouts will require minimal equipment and will be appropriate for new and returning-to-exercise-after-a-hiatus peeps.

All you need to do to join in is ‘like’ my Facebook fan page and make sure you add it to your interests list (otherwise you may not see all of my posts!). Don’t know how to do this? See below*** for step-by-step instructions!

3. Need a little one-on-one attention? Try online personal training!

I’ve had so many queries about online training, I decided to plunge right in! If you’re interested in working with a certified and knowledgable personal trainer to achieve your health and fitness goals, I’m your girl!

I’m a big believer in ‘relationship-based training’. In order for personal training to really work, clients need to trust their trainer. And trainers need to take the time to really get to know their clients before creating an individualized roadmap to health and wellness. Click the links to read more about my credentials, some client testimonials and the online personal training services I offer.

And as a special incentive to commit to a January training plan, I’m offering the first 5 registrants a 33% savings on the introductory 8 week package ($100 rather than $150). What are you waiting for?

4. Want to expand your blogging skills? Register for The Blog Genie’s “Blog Challenge Program”

Rita, the owner and chief designer of Blog Genie is running a year long Blog Challenge Program to help new and aspiring bloggers to take their ‘baby’ to the next level. Each month, her online learning program will feature a different topic, ranging from content creation to social media marketing to monetization and beyond! Registration is ongoing, but register before December 19th and you’ll also receive your choice of one of two ‘gifts’; free transfer of your existing blog to WordPress self-hosted OR a Premium StudioPress Theme.

Why am I sharing this with you? Last April, Rita worked with me to redesign and transfer my WordPress.com blog to WordPress self-hosted. She also happily held my hand as I learned how to manage the ‘behind the curtain’ details of my blog. Just this past weekend she answered my desperate email about fixing a broken blog (why do blogs always break on Sunday nights???).

I think referrals are the highest form of praise, don’t you?

And Rita was kind enough to give me a coupon code to share with my readers! Valid from December 12 until 11:59 (MT) December 19th, it’s good for $50 off the cost of the program!

There you have it. January motivation and inspiration before December is even finished. Just what you need to tackle the holidays with confidence and hope!

Have your regularly scheduled fitness and nutrition routines taken a back seat to holiday preparations?

Do you have a plan for getting back on track?

*** If you want to see ALL of my Facebook updates, please take a moment and do this-

Facebook is now pushing administrators to PAY to promote every post/update from their page. In an attempt to make page administrators pay for “promoted posts,” Facebook will now only let 7% of you receive each update I post.

Meaning that now, in order to receive all of my messages/posts, you must do the following:

1) Go to my Fitknitchick fan page.

2) Hover your mouse over where it says “LIKED” and click on “ADD TO INTEREST LISTS”

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

{25 Comments }

On the benefits of letting go of holiday exercise expectations (Guest Post)

December 10, 2012 by Tamara 18 Comments

In the spring of 2012 Julie & her family hit rock bottom. They finally realized, after years of dreaming, that it was time to leap. 6 months later they have moved to a small island in BC from their home in Vancouver, quit their jobs and re-focussed their life on their kids. Julie’s blog “Pursuit of Happyness” follows their journey, shares their stories as they face their fears and redefine success for themselves.

We just returned from a two week vacation in St Lucia, thanks to a fabulous win from the tomtom map paradise contest.

Two weeks at an all-inclusive, full of food, fabulous sunshine and lots of fun!

julie nowell

Before we left and as I was packing our cases, hubby walked in on me as I was slipping my sneakers and workout gear inside with wishful thoughts of running off my pina coladas on the beach at sunrise, partaking in the daily yoga classes and reminding my abs of their existence via the sweaty fitness classes.

But, the reality is that it really was wishful thinking.

Hubby’s look said it all. . .

See, what I forgot was that we were going away as a family, all five of us, for two weeks of fun and frivolity. As much as fitness was a part of my life, it wasn’t all of my life, and me taking time away from the 3 kids, in a new (sweaty environment) just wasn’t going to happen.

And honestly, I didn’t really want it to.

Instead of bringing my runners, I focussed my energy on my kids, and spent my sweat sailing with the family, building sandcastles and enjoying a few rambunctious games of volleyball.

I did indulge. . . I enjoyed the evening dessert bar, and far too many sugar and rum laden frothy drinks, but I also tried to focus my food intake on proteins and simple veg (pretty hard to find at an all-inclusive that caters to mainly British!)

And I imagine I burned a few calories laughing at our 3 year old learning to body surf and at the girls racing each other down the beach.

Julie Nowell

And I relaxed, I smiled and I let my expectations for my body go for a moment.

See, I believe that we should be comfortable with our fitness level, which sometimes means letting go of the structure of a routine and allowing ourselves the freedom to stray, always knowing and being confident in the fact that we will return and find our strength again. I believe it is ok to have breaks, changes and adjustments in all of our life, all while maintaining a happy, balanced existence. And yes, that means enjoying, guilt free, that pina colada and nap on the beach!

I did not want to take time away from my family each day, or even every few days to maintain a moderate intensity exercise program.

So, I let it go.

I will return to my fitness routine, absolutely, and I will return with a new vigor and intensity that I may not have had if I had maintained it on our holiday and missed the giant caterpillar or the totally awesome sandcastle. My fitness is a part of my life, as are many things, but it didn’t need to come with me on my holiday.

Plus, it was seriously hot here . . . there was no way I was running in 40’ heat with massive humidity! Yikes!

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#FatblasterFriday | Best exercises for your back (and back side)

December 7, 2012 by Tamara 8 Comments

Everybody’s seen that guy in the gym. You know, the one who loves to train his biceps, chest and abs? Bulging arms. Gorgeous pecs. A well-defined six-pack.

And forward sloping shoulders.

We all love to train the muscles we see in the mirror.

But what about the muscles that everybody else sees when we turn and leave the room?

Back of the body (or posterior chain) exercises not only improve how you look (think ‘posture’), done regularly they can also;

strengthen your core
improve shoulder and hip mobility
decrease or eliminate lower back pain
reduce your risk of sports-specific injuries
burn a lot of calories (when performed at a moderate pace with heavy enough weights)

Today’s #FatblasterFriday workout features some of the best exercises for your back (and back side). Exercises that you can do at home or in a small hotel gym with just two sets of dumbbells. (Exercise balls, UGI and stability are optional).

Only 6 exercises, performed in superset format (two exercises, worked one after the other with no break in between, for 2 to 3 sets), to work your hamstrings, glutes, lower, mid- and upper-back, triceps and posterior deltoid.

Each superset combination has both a lower and an upper body move. Make sure to choose a weight that will challenge your muscles by the end of 10 repetitions! Watch the video below for explanations of the exercises and tips for making them more difficult (as you get stronger!)