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Come with me this week as I fit in my training alongside our homeschool schedule and offer some fitness tips for busy moms. It's not easy to make health and fitness a priority when we have so much else on our plate...but you CAN do it!
My FAVORITE at-home workout platform: https://try.lesmillsondemand.com/
Great running training plans: https://www.halhigdon.com
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0:00
Hey guys, welcome back to my channel or if you are new here, welcome. I'm going to be taking you with me this week sharing a week of my workouts, what they look like and how I fit them in
0:23
Fitness is something I'm really passionate about, maybe just as much as homeschooling, and it has been a big part of my life
0:30
for a long time. It's not something that I see talked about as much among the homeschool community
0:35
because I think it's something that can easily be put on the back burner most days. As moms
0:40
were constantly juggling so many things. Housework, appointments, sports and activities for our kids, meals, some of us work from home, all the things. It's so easy to make excuses
0:53
No free time, no energy, no space to work out in my home. It's too cold or hot outside
1:00
whatever. It's so easy to put off our health and fitness and think it's not that important
1:05
I can just start tomorrow or I'll move more tomorrow. But this is the type of thinking that I want to
1:11
help you move past because it is important. There are so many reasons we should be moving our
1:16
bodies, taking care of them, stewarding the bodies God gave us. There are so many benefits
1:22
physical and emotional. And yes, sometimes finding the time, making the time is not easy. It's hard
1:30
But we're homeschool moms. We do hard things all the time. And this is something that you can do too
1:36
So this is your encouragement to start today. You don't have to have a big elaborate plan yet
1:44
You can do that eventually if you want to, but today just start with something simple with what you have
1:50
I will give you some tips throughout this week and I'm thinking about some more videos
1:53
I'd like to do in the future. But today I just want to encourage you to make fitness and health a priority in your life
1:59
as a homeschooling mom. Some of you know that I do have a background in fitness
2:03
I got AFIS certified when I was 19 years old and taught all types of group fitness classes
2:09
when I was in college. I taught step, boot camp, cycling, kickboxing, general aerobics
2:16
I loved it. I was assistant manager of our fitness program at my college for about two years
2:20
And then about 14 years ago, I got certified as a Les Mills body pump instructor
2:26
and also have my RPM certification. So although I am not, a personal trainer. I'm not a doctor and can't give you any specific health advice or things
2:34
like that. I have lots of experience in the fitness industry and love talking about it and
2:40
encouraging people to make fitness a part of their lives. And finally, I feel like I want to
2:44
preface this week by telling you that please do not watch this to make a comparison or think
2:50
that you need to be doing exactly what I am doing. That's not my intention at all. Exercise has been a
2:55
part of my life or practically my whole life it feels. I've made it a really. I've made it a
2:59
routine. It's second nature because I create space right of my day. I'm very focused and
3:05
disciplined, mainly because I have a few very specific goals I'm working on. However, please
3:11
please know that there are days that I struggle to. There are days that I don't wake up in
3:18
the morning to get my workout in like I want to. There are days that I tell myself I will get
3:23
it done in the afternoon and it get busy and it doesn't happen. There are days when motivation is
3:29
and I have to make the decision about what I want to do about that. I don't have all the answers
3:34
but I want you to know that I'm a busy homeschool mom just like you probably are. And if you want to
3:39
make fitness a priority in your life to find more energy, to get better sleep, be in a better mood
3:45
around your family, all the reasons. You can do it too. So I hope this video will be encouraging to you
3:52
this week. All right. So it is currently about 550 in the morning. And I was going to show you my plan
3:59
for today. This is my running plan. A lot of you know I am a marathon runner right now. I am currently
4:06
just about four weeks out from my next race. And so I'm doing some pretty intense training for
4:14
that. So you should know that before going into this week. This is actually a plan that I
4:20
purchased from a company called Run, Dream, Achieve. It's the first time I've used one of their
4:25
plans. I really like it so far. But, today is Monday. So this is the workout for today. I have an easy run, which means I'm going to be
4:35
keeping my heart rate in the blue zone, meaning it's going to be slow, and I'm going to do it on
4:41
the treadmill because it is dark outside. I don't like running outside in the dark. So it just
4:49
is what it is. I am thankful that we got a treadmill a long time ago, and I put that to good use
4:54
I'm also going to be doing body pump afterwards because this is my strength training
5:03
And I have that scheduled two times this week. It is really important to get strength training in
5:10
I struggle with that sometimes with fitting it in alongside the training runs that I have to do
5:16
But I'm going to get it done today. Weight training is so important to do
5:21
It helps with your metabolism, helps with injury. prevention, bone density. Ladies, as we get older, this is really important, and it helps me
5:31
stay strong to keep up with my kids. It helps my body burn calories even after I'm working out
5:39
Weight training is great for that because it's going to elevate your basal metabolic rate
5:43
for up to 48 hours, so those calories are going to keep burning. It is important. So I am going
5:49
to fit it in. I try to pick at least two days a week. Ideally, I would do three, but, but
5:54
But sometimes it just not possible with the other training I got when I have a marathon coming up So I picked the two days during the week that I thought I would be able to find the time to do it
6:05
I made a plan, got it down on my calendar, and so that's what we're going to do
6:10
It is early this morning. I had a wake up pretty early because I have a Bible study fellowship meeting right after this
6:20
And I know if I put this off today, it's not going to happen
6:25
So as much as I didn't want to get out of bed today, I made sure to get everything ready the night before
6:32
I had a cliff bar ready to go and I'm going to get downstairs and get it done
6:38
So first step is the run. Okay, the run is finished and now I'm getting ready to do a little bit of weight training before I head upstairs for my meeting this morning
6:46
I have recommended it before and I love using less mills on demand
6:52
I am a Les Mills instructor. These workouts were originally designed for training the instructors
6:58
but they have adapted them for people who want to workout at home
7:02
and they have an app that you can actually download and use for your home fitness training
7:07
I absolutely love it. This is the equipment that I have on hand
7:12
I use a stepbench. I have a bar. This is actually a Les Mills bar and weights
7:18
The band I have I use for some workouts, and then I have some free weights. And then I have some free weights
7:23
You do not have to have anything fancy for this app. If you are just getting started with at-home workouts
7:30
the best thing to have is going to be some free weights, which it's really going to depend on what your workout level is as to what size weights you get
7:40
If you're just buying one set to start with, you know, maybe around 10 pounds, 12 pounds, 15
7:48
I don't know. That's really going to depend on you. But even if you don't have equipment, they have many workouts that you can just use your body weight for and get a great workout
8:00
So if you just don't know where to start, I highly recommend using an app like this, there are so many options, you will not get bored with the different workouts that you can do
8:12
And again, you don't have to have a lot of equipment to start. Eventually, as you go and you continue to use it or you continue to work out more at home, you can graduate
8:20
purchase more pieces of equipment that you might need but don't let that stop you
8:25
from just getting started all right guys I just finished my weight training
8:29
workout it's done for this morning it was really hard to get out of bed this
8:34
morning but as always once it's done I am so glad that I did it I feel awake
8:40
now I feel stronger I feel ready to get on with the rest of the day and I don't
8:46
have to worry about trying to fit this in at some other point during the day
8:49
So like I mentioned earlier, I do have a BSF meeting this morning. It is over Zoom. So I'm going to go upstairs and clean up a little bit and then get ready for the meeting. I'm looking forward to my oatmeal and coffee. And while I am in my meeting, my kids are going to be doing their independent homeschool work. And then after the meeting, I will be getting with them to do the rest of our homeschool work that we do together or that I need to do with them
9:19
that was it for day one of these weekly workouts and I will see you guys tomorrow. Good morning you
9:26
guys. Welcome to Tuesday day two of this week of workouts video. Yesterday was a running and weight
9:34
lifting day. Today is just a running day and we have BSF Bible study fellowship this morning which
9:41
means I need to get my workout in early again so I can get ready in time and as much as I would
9:46
prefer to run outside. It is just not happening in the dark. So today it's seven miles again
9:53
which is the same mileage as yesterday, but I've got some intervals. So I'll be doing a two-mile
9:59
warm-up and then two-by-two miles at about an 815 pace with six minutes of rest in between
10:06
each set of two miles and then a one mile cool down. I don't love doing speed work on the
10:11
treadmill. It's difficult to measure because my watch never wants to read very accurately how fast I'm going. The other day I went from running a 5.5 speed on the
10:23
treadmill to a 7.0 and my watch actually said that I was going slower. So I don't know. There's that
10:30
So I just try to do the best I can to hit the speed. I'm fairly okay at this point of knowing
10:37
how fast I'm running. So I'm just going to give it a go and do the best I can. Yesterday I talked
10:43
a little bit about less mills on demand. I'm obviously going to
10:46
leave a link for you in the description below to check that out. But my advice slash tip for today
10:52
is to simply make a plan. If you're anything like me, making a plan, making that commitment
10:59
really helps me to stay motivated. And if you're not like me, make a plan anyway. If you're
11:06
interested in running, there are so many free plans available online. You can certainly sign up
11:12
for a race if that motivates you, but you don't have to find a training plan
11:16
to simply follow. It's really satisfying to check the boxes off each day when you get it done
11:23
I purchased this plan, this particular one, from Run, Dream Achieve, but when I first got into running
11:30
I used a lot of free plans from Hal Higden.com, so you might check that out. If running isn't
11:36
your thing, maybe you're going to try Less Mills on Demand. They have so many plans there as well
11:42
and they'll actually load those right into the app for you, which makes it really easy to follow each day and check it off as you go
11:49
Maybe you have a gym membership and you just pick out a couple of days that you want to go. Put it on your calendar
11:56
Pencil in those appointments and stick to it like you would stick to an appointment or meeting with a friend You know the saying if you fail to plan you plan to fail right So each weekend I pencil my workouts into my planner
12:10
Well, if I don't have something like that's printed out already, but even then, sometimes schedules have to be tweaked or I want to add in weight training
12:18
or modify the plan a little bit. So I plan it out every weekend so I know exactly what I'm going to do the next week
12:26
It's just as important to me as the homeschool plans that I make for the upcoming week because
12:31
I know this is for me and it's for my well-being so I can be a better mom because I'm going
12:38
to feel better. So if you're inspired to make fitness more of a habit, more of a routine in your life, you
12:44
have to actually do that. And making a plan is how you do it
12:48
So spend some time this week thinking about that and what your plan will look like
12:53
Whatever it is, make sure your workouts are something that you are going to enjoy. you're more likely to stick with it. And I also have to say this, give yourself grace
13:02
Sometimes things legitimately come up that throw our plans off and that happens. We adjust
13:08
Don't make excuses for yourself, but don't get discouraged when you really can't make something
13:13
work out that you had planned out. Just readjust or continue moving forward with the next thing on
13:19
your calendar. Okay, enough chatting for this morning. I'm going to go run and I will see you guys again tomorrow
13:26
Good morning, friends. It's Wednesday, and here we are again. You are definitely not going to see much Friday this week in workouts for me. And I'm sorry about that. But I do hope that I'm encouraging you or motivating you in some way my plan today. And remember, I'm a distance runner. That's what I love
13:56
love to do. You have to find something you love to do when you're making fitness part of your
14:01
routine. So I'm about a month out for my next race, which is why my mileage is ramping up a
14:07
little bit and the workouts are a bit more intense. Today I actually don't have anything going
14:14
on super early, so I am going to run outside. I have light out this morning. Most everyone is still
14:20
sleep. My son is up getting a little bit of work done and I was actually just helping him
14:24
with his math, but I'm going to go out and get eight miles in before everyone else takes up
14:28
and we start the rest of our school day. After that mileage, I have 500 meter strides, which are just
14:33
short 100 meter pickups, basically building up to top speed from start to finish of the stride
14:39
No strength work today. I'm planning on fitting that in again tomorrow, probably. Tonight, I actually
14:45
have a little bit more mileage to complete another five easy miles to shake out the legs a bit
14:51
This will be challenging to fit in. Honestly, Wednesday nights are busy for us because we have Awana and our youth group until about 8 p.m
14:59
So what that means is that once we get home, I will do a quick treadmill run while Josh will, you know, help the kids kind of settle in, get ready for bed, showers, teethbrush, things like that
15:12
And I will come up after my run and tuck them in, probably read and sit with them a little bit before bed
15:18
It's not often that I do two workouts in one day, but I've got some goals that I'm working towards with my running and this is where I'm at in the training
15:26
So if it seems like a lot, yes, it is. Do I necessarily want to do another run tonight when I know I'm going to be tired and I would much rather curl up on the couch with a bowl of ice cream
15:38
I'd honestly probably rather choose the ice cream, but that's what it is
15:42
It's a choice. There's always a choice when it comes to fitness and what you set your mind
15:48
to do to reach your goals. Goal setting is big for me. I mentioned this before, but setting goals
15:54
and making the plan is a big step for me even to be able to show up. And I want to encourage you
16:00
that there's no perfect workout or perfect plan and your plan is going to look different than mine
16:06
But whatever you decide that you want to work towards, whatever your goals are, showing up counts
16:12
If you miss the day, it's not an all or nothing thing. Show up the next day. Keep showing
16:18
up, keep making those small steps, show up for yourself every day and take that time for yourself
16:23
to get stronger physically and mentally, which will carry over to other aspects of your life as well
16:42
Hey there, you guys. It is Thursday afternoon. This has been a
16:48
busy week, but a good one. Last night I was able to get in my evening run. Both runs yesterday
16:54
were easy runs, which I mentioned earlier this week, that they are supposed to be blue heart rate
17:00
zone, so nice and easy. I have not done a lot of heart rate training before, but with this
17:06
current training plan, I'm trying to pay more attention to my heart rate because I've been
17:10
fairly close to my goal on my last few races, but there's been something missing. I just haven't
17:15
been able to keep the pace I've wanted to for as long as I need to during my race
17:20
So one of my running coaches has always talked about needing to take the easy run days
17:24
to run slower to get faster. And I think I've just always been kind of stubborn and didn't
17:31
think it really mattered because I like to run fast. I like to get out there and get my workout
17:36
done and be done with it. But on my easy run days lately, I'm really trying to keep my heart
17:42
right down. I'm reading that there are actually multiple benefits to doing this, so we'll see how it plays out
17:47
So I think a lot of this is a mindset shift for me, and maybe it is for a lot of people in general
17:53
So many times we think we have to be pushing as hard as we can for the workout to count We have to be sweating buckets and completely exhausting ourselves for the workouts to make a difference that we have to work out for an hour do high intensity each day whatever When the
18:09
truth is that we actually need those rest days, those easy days for many reasons. Today, I really
18:16
wanted to get in some strengths training, but it's just not going to happen. I needed some extra sleep
18:20
this morning after yesterday's training. This morning, we had an early orthodontist appointment and then
18:25
co-op and then I had a meeting so it is 522 and I'm just ready to get my workout in and I came to
18:34
a track today because the workout is a two mile warm up eight 100 meter repeats and then a two
18:40
mile cool down no strength training is going to happen that's a struggle during training
18:45
seasons and even the workout today we will see if I can fit it all in before the sun goes
18:51
down. So I'm about to get out there and get it done and then get home, do dinner, finish
18:57
entering some school hours, and then take it easy for the rest of the night. All right
19:03
you guys, it is late on Thursday night. The kids are in bed and I am taking this time to
19:11
finish up a little bit of work before I go to sleep for the night. I'm wrapping up this week
19:17
of workouts video right now because I am not going to do a workout tomorrow on Friday. It's actually a rest day in my running plan. And we'll say I am really
19:30
tempted to try to fit in a strength training day. However, I also recognize the importance of rest
19:37
and how it's really needed to let the body recover, let the muscles recover. That can be just as
19:44
important sometimes as all the training. So although I only fit in one strength day this week and I would
19:51
have loved to fit in another one. I'm going to hold off tomorrow. I'm going to take a rest day
19:56
We have a full day tomorrow with our quilting class in the morning, our normal homeschool routine
20:02
here, and then we have music classes in the afternoon. So it'll be a full day. It'll be a good day
20:07
to take the day off. I do run over the weekend. So the day varies for the rest day in this
20:15
training plan I'm following right now. So tomorrow will be a rest day. Saturday and Sunday will be more
20:21
running days and then just a couple more weeks until my marathon. So training and working out looks
20:28
different for me throughout the year. When I am training for a race, I am running more often
20:35
And especially when I get closer, you'll see a lot more of the high mileage days like I had this
20:41
week. And when I'm not training for a race, I typically will do more cross training. I do fit in more
20:48
strength training days then I like to get on my exercise bike and do some less mills r p.m
20:55
or sprint classes really kind of a variety of the less mills classes that I talked about before
21:01
So after this next race, which is mid-March, I have about two months until my next race after
21:08
that. So I'll have another race in May and then I will have a pretty long break. My next race
21:14
won't be until the fall. So it'll be a good chance for me to get some cross training in
21:20
still do some running here and there, but mix it up a little bit more. I hope you enjoyed this
21:25
week, just kind of seeing what I do. I know it was kind of a lot of the same thing, but you know
21:32
you have to find what you love to do because that's what you're going to stick to. And if you're
21:38
looking to make this a habit, you're going to want to find something that you enjoy. For me
21:42
that's running. And you're also just going to want to find that consistency, try to make that habit
21:49
try to build it in. It is definitely not easy. That motivation comes and goes. The energy comes and
21:57
goes. But I definitely always feel better after I get those workouts in. It helps me with my mood
22:03
helps me with my mindset. It helps me during the week just to be a better mom, be a better
22:09
homeschool mom, be a better wife because I'm feeling a lot better and it's there's just so many
22:15
benefits overall. And obviously if you are not training for a long distance race, your workouts don't
22:23
have to be super long. I know the workouts that you saw to speak from me were on the longer end
22:30
And so a lot of days I do have to wake up earlier or just make that extra time to fit it in
22:35
But if you're just starting or you're working out for just your general fitness, don't feel like you have to go overboard
22:44
Find that thing you like to do. Make your plan and make that choice that you are going to be consistent with it
22:51
Obviously, things come up and it's not going to be perfect. And there's grace for those days
22:57
But even as a busy homeschool mom, you can do this. You can take that control of your health and you can make it a priority
23:05
in your life. The next video I do will maybe be a video about my race and the trip we're going to
23:12
take for that. We're going to do a couple of fun things on that trip actually. So that will be in
23:16
March. And then I would love to just kind of share more fitness content with you guys
23:24
since it is a passion of mine. I'm not exactly sure what all the videos will look like just yet
23:30
But if you are interested in content like this, give this video a like and let me know in the
23:35
comments, what your thoughts are, what was motivating to you about this, what made you think a little
23:43
bit more, or what are you going to do to implement your own fitness routine? I would love to hear it
23:47
So leave that comment below, subscribe to my channel if that's something that you want to do
23:52
And thank you so much for watching and coming with me this week. I will see you guys next time
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