Friday File: heart rate monitor and the workout

Happy Friday!  It’s been a long and adventurous week for me. Life has kept me busy the past two weeks and I’ve been trying to change some of my habits.  There a lot of change happening among the chaos in my life.

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This week I’ve been trying to get my Garmin Fenix watch of unproductive fitness mode into something that made me feel better.  Do you pay attention to your heart rate zones when you work out?  I have always paid attention to my heart rate but never in the area, I should be working.  I always assumed that if the heart was pumping it was a good thing.  No people, there are specific zones that you should be tackling your workouts in.  Going balls to the walls every workout isn’t productive, according to my fancy watch.

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I’ve been paying big attention to this because I got a Wahoo Tickr chest heart rate monitor that connects to my watch and my phone. There are two versions of this Wahoo Tickr.  I purchased the $49 version. I just needed the basic function of connecting to my watch and phone.  There is also an armband or heart rate monitor with memory for $79. This has really changed how I look at my workouts and my fitness goals for the future.

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I’m completely obsessed with the new salad at Panera. It’s the spinach and bacon poppyseed salad. I don’t get the cheese so it doesn’t look like much but the flavor is big. If you’re not a fan of spinach this isn’t the salad for you. This salad has the same dressing at the popular summer salad: the strawberry chicken poppyseed salad. Y’all know I’m a huge fan of this salad so it’s nice to have a spring favorite, too.

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Lastly, I’m glad to be representing Headsweats again. This is a brand I truly love and I wear hats all of the time. I love trucker hats and this company makes the best. Plus, I’m always running in a visor because it’s always so humid around here. It’s nice to have a company who believes in me just as much as I believe in them.

I’m sorry I must cut this short now because I need to wake up super early to run.  I know you’re shocked!  I hope everyone had a great week.

What things did you love this week?

Five Things Friday #1

Five Things Friday #1

I know it’s not the first Five Things Friday I’ve done but I’m starting over to keep them a bit more organized.  I never know what to call them anyway so a number system will be best. It’s been a long week and I’m pretty sure I’m long overdue for a rest day. It will come. My new project is Mom Works It Out. So I started a new blog about being a mom and every other part of lifestyle besides the health and fitness stuff. I fully understand that you are here because you heard our weight loss story.…

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Group fitness etiquette

Group fitness etiquette

I don’t really talk about a bunch on the blog, but I am a group fitness instructor.  I am a HUGE advocate for group fitness for many reasons. There has been a surge in group fitness over the years with Crossfit, barre, spin, yoga and many other choices. If you’ve never been to a group fitness class, here are some tips before you go. Show up to class on time. I know it’s hard sometimes and there are times when you’re just running late.  Just because you’re running late doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to get your workout on.  Access…

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Five Things Friday: self care edition

Five Things Friday: self care edition

Happy Friday!  It’s late on Friday but this is the first time I’ve been able to sit down and blog.  Maybe I should have got this post going when I up at 2 am this morning because I couldn’t sleep.  Anyway, I am here blogging about my Friday favorites. This week has been pretty good for me.  I managed to hit my workouts and did a double workout yesterday (because I missed my run on Wednesday).  All I have to say is, I’m too old for the double workouts, lol.  It’s something I use to do all the time but…

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Three things to overcome during weight loss journey

Three things to overcome during weight loss journey

Anyone who has tried to lose weight knows the process isn’t easy. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to lose 30 pounds or 130 pounds. There are just some things that will get your frustrated along the way. I’m currently trying to lose my pregnancy weight so this is something that is fresh on my mind and I thought it would be a great topic to talk about on the blog. Problem #1: Avoiding the social eating. Everyone wants to celebrate with food. Birthdays, holidays, because it’s Monday…or it’s Taco Tuesday, means there’s always some social event to celebrate WITH…

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Determined to lose this pregnancy weight

Determined to lose this pregnancy weight

I’m on a mission to lose my pregnancy weight.  I wish it would just roll off but it’s not. I have to admit I am really uncomfortable in my skin right now.  It’s bothering me so much but things will get better.  The first thing I did to make myself feel “normal” again was to get out of the maternity clothes.  The pregnant look was cute for me when I was pregnant; not so much anymore. How much weight am I trying to lose?  I’m trying to lose the 15 pounds left over from the baby and then I’ll work…

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Things are not normal

Things are not normal

The best blogs are the ones when you write about what you know so that is what I have to write about right now.  Things are not normal right now.  I wish I could blog about workouts, meal prepping and healthy meals, or even just weight loss.  But I can’t do that because life is just different right now. I am extremely blessed to have a child.  She is my world and I’m thankful every minute of the day.  This is definitely a place in life I never thought I would be.  Honestly, I had given up the possibility of…

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The time I grew a human

The time I grew a human

Things happened very quickly and I really thought I was going to have another week to work on my blog. Last week things went very different than I imagined, but the best part was meeting my baby girl. That’s right, I grew a human and I finally got to meet her last week. She’s perfect! We are doing well and so thankful for everything. I’m on a workout break which is going to be something hard for me to deal with. This will be the longest period of time that I haven’t worked out since I started my weight loss…

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Friday Five: Turkey burgers, headbands, working out & more

Friday Five: Turkey burgers, headbands, working out & more

Happy Friday!  I hope all is well in the world with you.  I felt like I had a really productive morning but then the afternoon seems a little less eventful.  I guess you could say I spent it on the couch sleeping. I thought I should sit down and blog since I’m feeling up to it and I’m well rested. So there’s a blog and some hot chocolate…and here I am. I think it’s a good way to spend a Friday. 1. Today I’m officially 38 weeks which means our baby girl should be making her grand debut soon.  FYI:…

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Not filled with useful information

Not filled with useful information

I feel like I’m slacking because I haven’t been on my blogging A game since I got pregnant. I don’t like to talk about my pregnancy too much because I’m kind of a private person. Sometimes, it’s hard for strangers to know so much information about me, especially when I’m approached IRL with conversations. It’s still something I’m getting my head around and it’s been a while since I started blogging. And of course, all of my posts would be about the baby which is what people want to hear. My workout routine: I started off going to the gym…

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Tips for getting your workouts done

Tips for getting your workouts done

I know I’ve talked about this before but I have a new perspective on this subject.  Before working out was something that I wanted to do; I had no problems hitting the gym.  Now that I’m pregnant, I still want to workout but there are many excuses for me not to hit the gym.  Sometimes those are good reasons and sometimes those are just excuses.  I can now identify with some of the complaints people have about working out. I’ve been trying to workout 4 times a week in my third trimester.  For the most part, I’ve been hitting my…

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