I just found out about the workout App Aaptiv during the launch of their pregnancy program and stroller workouts.

They are launching workouts specifically designed to help you feel your best during all parts of your pregnancy.

Fitness was a HUGE part of both of my pregnancies and I wish they had this when I was pregnant because I totally would have used it.

The workouts are led by pregnancy and exercise guru Kira Kohrherr of FitBump and they have several other wonderful trainers that guide you through safe, effective workouts.

I remember feeling so sluggish during my first trimester but exercise always helped with my nausea and energy. During my second trimester I felt so much more like myself and that’s when I was able to workout more consistently. Their maternity program is great for new moms, current moms and moms to be that need to get moving!

A little bit about Aaptiv…..

Aaptiv just recently launched stroller workouts and workouts for each trimester during pregnancy. Each week includes both strength and cardio exercises specifically designed to prepare a woman’s body for birth. I think it’s awesome that they are guiding you through workouts during your pregnancy, but then they are with you to get that pre baby body back after you have the baby! Whether you’re a marathoner or novice runner, getting back into shape with a stroller or a busy schedule is a new experience for any mom.

I know the thought of getting in shape can be stressful and seem expensive but this app is affordable and the workouts are quick and effective!

Aaptiv offers audio fitness classes through your phone with real coaches guiding you every step of the way. They offer various cardio exercises and strength training routines.

The cost $$$$

The  subscription costs $9.99 per month, not bad!

I have done a bunch of their HIIT workouts and some of the workouts involving strength training. I loved the variety of classes they had to offer and the simplicity of the exercises plus as a trainer I got a break from planning my own workouts

Ready to get started? Log into the Aaptiv app and check it out!

If you want a FREE one week trial, send me an email or comment below.

This past month my workouts have been more consistent. I’ve been able to better manage my time to squeeze in some at home workouts in addition to the classes that I am currently teaching. Once I started putting myself first and getting in those extra workouts my mood increased dramatically. Fitness is a HUGE part of my life and it was on the back burner for a few months because of postpartum recovery and adjusting to my busy life as a mom of 2.

Now that my workouts are part of my daily routine again I feel like I’m functioning better all around. My mood has increased, my energy, and my fitness performance is getting better. My body isn’t quite where I want it to be but I have some big goals for myself these next 6 weeks.

I also stepped up my nutrition game and cut out sugar and processed foods. It makes a BIG difference in how I feel and I’ve seen a difference in my stomach.

I know I’m starting to ramble…

Anyways my workouts lately have been quick, intense & tiring. I have been teaching a few classes a week and besides that I do a couple at home workouts. During those workouts I try to pack in as much as I can in about 20-30 minutes so that I can get back to mom duties.

I have popped in T-25 Dvds, insanity Max30 Dvds, and have created some of my own workouts involving the kids. I find that mixing it up helps me to stay motivated and pushes me on different levels. I’ve started to incorporate Ava into my at home workouts again so that she sees how important it is to be active and stay healthy. We did a mix of yoga, squats, planks, boxing and jumping jacks. It’s fun to see her in action and she’s becoming a phenomenal counter.

I want her to know that fitness/health is my passion and hopefully one day she will find something she is passionate about herself!

Here is one of the at home workout that I created on a day when both kids were napping and I needed fresh air. I headed into the backyard to get my workout in.  This workout requires a Jump Rope, stairs, and weights.

FULL BODY BACKYARD BLAST

WARM UP with 5 Minutes of Jump Rope

10 PUSHUPS

15 STEP UPS (Each leg)

20 WALKING LUNGES

30 SQUAT TO PRESS

1 MINUTE of JUMP ROPE

Repeat 3-5x or as many rounds you can.

The jump rope warm up got my heart pumping and the blood flowing for this workout. You could always do some extra squats, lunges and stretching to increase the duration of this warm up. I will definitely do this workout again for sure

On Saturday I was looking to do a quick workout before Marc’s parents came in town for his Birthday but I didn’t feel like going to the gym.

I knew I wanted to use weights and I needed the workout to be quick and effective.

I started out with a 5 minute warm-up alternating between jogging, Jumping Jacks, high knees, butt kicks. I then completed this workout:

Quick Full Body Toner

10 SQUAT TO SHOULDER PRESS

10 PUSHUPS

15 SUMO SQUAT TO UPRIGHT ROW

REPEAT 4-6 ROUNDS (4 rounds is about 20 minutes, but you can always add on 2 rounds to make it about 30 minutes) Rest 30-60 seconds between each round and cool down at the end with some light stretching.

I really loved this workout because it was challenging, quick, and effective. My heart was pumping the entire time and by the last round I needed to switch to knee pushups because I was so fatigued. My legs were sore the next day and I didn’t like lifting my arms over my head because my shoulders were wiped.

I used 12 pound dumbbells during this workout, but next time I will go for the 15 pounders!

For all you moms out there this is a great workout to do during nap time!

Do you like full body workouts?

**Please consult your Doctor or Physician before beginning a new workout program**

If you can’t find time to workout, you can do these 3 exercises while you watch your favorite TV show. During each commercial perform one of the exercises below. I’m sure you will be tired by the end of your show!

MY 3 FAVORITE EXERCISES:

BURPEES When I’m looking for a full body workout and a workout that’s going to get my heart pounding I turn to burpees.  You work almost every muscle in your body & you get your heart rate up with this one simple exercise, plus you can do them anywhere!

PUSHUPS I enjoy pushups for the pure fact that they will always be challenging to me. I have gotten stronger over the years but I have always stepped outside of my comfort zone to increase my range of motion, increase the # of repetitions I do, or the angle of the pushup that way they are always tough! I know it sounds crazy that enjoy the challenge of a pushup but I do.

JUMP ROPE For as long as I can remember I loved to jump rope. Whether it was with playing around with my friends, basketball practice, or even at Boot camp. Jump rope gives me a great cardio workout! I prefer to use it over the treadmill or elliptical because I don’t get bored and I’m able to have fun while doing it.

For an awesome full body workout that you can do ANYWHERE, complete the workout below.

BODY WEIGHT CHALLENGE

BURPEES

PUSHUPS 

JUMP ROPE

Perform each exercise for 1 minute, Repeat 4x! (or more if you are looking for a longer workout)

Be ready to work hard and drip sweat!

What are your favorite exercises?

What are you LEAST favorite exercises?

I feel like I have so much to talk about but not a lot of time to write so this post is going to be short & sweet.

During the week I take note of some of my favorite things from food to drinks and everyday activities. I love sharing these favorite things with you all.

Here are a few “Things I’m Loving This Week”

Mamma Chia Seed Your Soul Bars

Last week I tried one of these Mamma Chia bars and I was surprised at the juiciness and taste. I had the blueberry & dark chocolate bar and it tasted like real fresh blueberries. I also loved that I was getting Omega’s from chia seeds with each bite.

21 Day Fix

On Monday I started a new 21 day challenge group with the fitness program 21 Day Fix & 21 Day Fix Extreme. I am really digging the new workouts. They are low impact and not as intense as Insanity Max30 but still give my muscles a great burn!

Oatmeal with Peanut Butter & Strawberries

Almost every day this week I have eaten Oatmeal with Peanut Butter & Strawberries for a mid-morning snack. It’s super tasty, filling & healthy!

Chocolate Protein Oat Bars

If you haven’t tried this recipe yet, I highly recommend these protein bars for a quick snack or a post workout treat. They are yummy and I really can’t get enough of them.

Playgrounds

We have made several trips to different playgrounds over the past couple weeks and the playground really doesn’t get old. The excitement on Ava’s face when we first get there is worth the trip. She starts yelling Weeeeeeeeee, like she’s going down the slide and we aren’t even out of the car. She also learns something new every time we go. This week she learned how to climb up the slide the wrong way. She thought she was on ninja warrior. After a few failed attempts she got it on her 4th try. I swear this girls determination is intense! I corrected her after and told her the right way to get to the slide was the stairs, I’m pretty sure she wasn’t happy about that.

We are heading to Bishop’s Orchards this Saturday for a fun father’s day outing with Marc’s family and we are so excited to see them.

I hope you have a great weekend and Happy Father’s Day to all the father figures out there

What are some things you are loving this week?

Do you have any fun father’s day weekend plans?

Now that I think about it, the energy in our house has been all around not normal.  I really think the weather is to blame.

(Isn’t this picture cute? She’s been laying on him and hugging him more and more)

Ava’s also been taking longer naps and having a few lazy spurts here and there (I have no complaints about the naps!) and Cooper’s been lazy as well!

Every time we have walked Cooper this week he would lay down randomly. He did it quite a few times until I realized he’s not feeling the heat. So I shortened the walk duration and kept him in the Air Conditioner.

He does have a fur coat too so that could be the issue!

Yesterday it was 90 degrees. It seemed like every time I stepped outside or got in my car I felt the need to chug a glass of water. I was thirsty all day long. Does that ever happen to you?? I kept asking myself if I slept enough, if I needed a little more caffeine, but I just kept pushing through the day.

To Keep Hydrated & Energized: I took a multivitamin, drank at least 8 glasses of water plus some coconut water, smoothies 

I ate fruits & veggies high in water like watermelon, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, & apples. 

FINALLY, after Boot camp last night I actually got a big energy boost (thank you endorphins)!

When I got home from class I did a little extra stretching followed by a personal training session with Marc. He wanted to work out but didn’t want to do T-25 or Insanity.  Those DVD’s tend to have a lot of jumping and Ava was asleep so he didn’t want to wake her up. Our house is kinda old too so when you jump the floor creeks in certain spots.

I decided to have him test out part of my Outdoor Boot Camp Workout. This circuit had no jumping so it was perfect! Before we started Marc warmed up for about 5 minutes.

Here’s a sneak peak at one of the circuits I have planned for Saturday’s class:

QUICK FULL BODY BLAST 

INCHWORM

WALKING PLANK

PLANK DIPS

STEP UPS (with weight overhead)

REPEAT 3X

PERFORM EACH EXERCISE FOR 1 MINUTE BEFORE MOVING TO THE NEXT EXERCISE

It looks like today is going to be another hot one! I hope you all stay cool & hydrated. HAPPY FRIDAY!

Do you sometimes feel less energized during really hot days? 

What do you do to keep your energy level up?

**Although I am a Certified Personal Trainer you should always consult your Doctor or Physician before beginning a new workout program**

After work Friday, Ava was quite fussy for me. I never know if it’s her teeth or she’s not feeling well but since she had her fingers shoved in her mouth most of the day I’m guessing it was her teeth. Anyways, she was pretty unhappy most of the day!

Thank goodness for playgrounds.

Ava was smiling from ear to ear and it was the perfect late afternoon distraction! I had some fun myself too. I swear one of these days I am going to get stuck going down the kiddie slides.

At 6:15pm we went to Marc’s softball game at Bruce Park. I was able to see Marc make some pretty awesome catches in the outfield before Ava started getting fussy again and was ready for bed. I was ready for some relaxation myself so I was totally cool with her getting to bed at a normal bed time

Saturday morning I got up at my usual 6am. There’s no sleeping in anymore in our house! We made a delicious breakfast of eggs & toast and then I decided to do a quick stretching Pulse dvd from the Insanity Max 30 program.

It felt good to get some stretching in because my legs were pretty tight from all my workouts last week.

Ava pretty much got in the way of my workout so I used her as my equipment to keep her occupied!

After I finished I showered and headed to the YMCA for a Massage from our Massage Therapist Susan Horstman! If you have never had a massage before I highly recommend it. Not only did my muscles thank me but I felt so relaxed and rejuvenated after I left that I decided I need to make Massage therapy part of my wellness routine.

I am so highly active that sometimes stretching doesn’t seem to do the job. With previous hip & shoulder injuries, my muscles tighten up in those areas a lot quicker then the rest of my body. The massage relieved my soreness as well as my minor aching that I had been feeling over the past few weeks.

Susan was so informative and really educated in massage. I’m not sure if you are supposed to talk during your session but I was asking millions of questions. I felt like Susan’s knowledge about massage helped me learn more about my muscles and why certain areas were more tight then others.

I will definitely be back for another one in the near future!

Now its time for me to get to work, have a great day

Do you ever find it challenging to workout at home?

What’s a highlight from your weekend?

I taught a morning and an evening Group Power class that were almost about 12 hours apart. I thought I was going to be tired for the 2nd class, but I wasn’t! I had a ton of energy and was able to lift and push myself more then I thought.

It didn’t hit me until I got home and sat on the floor to do some stretching that I realized my quads and back were already tight!

I had a surprise guest in class last night. My mom wanted to come over to see Ava, so she offered to hang out with her so Marc could get a workout in. It was nice having Marc in my class, it’s been such a long time since he’s been to any of my classes because he’s usually home with Ava when I teach. I feel like having him there definitely made me push a little harder!

I wanted to talk to you all about my workouts over the past week so lets rewind a bit, here’s what they looked like last week:

Monday: 1 Hour Strength Training Group Power class, senior fitness class and 20 minutes of Insanity Max 30

Tuesday: 1 hour Boot camp Class, (2) 20 minute walks with Cooper

Wednesday: 1 Hour Strength Training Group Power class, (2) 20 minute walks with Cooper

Thursday: 1 hour Boot camp Class, Senior Fitness Class, (1) 20 minute walk with Cooper

Friday: REST DAY, Ava was sick and I had a sore throat so we watched movies and laid around all day.

Saturday: REST DAY I still didn’t feel well. I can’t say I was really really sick, but I was fighting whatever Ava was trying to give me!!

Sunday: REST DAY With all intentions of being active, I decided my body needed to rest more so I took Cooper for a 25 minute walk in the morning and then called it a day.

Monday: (2) 1 Hour Strength Training Group Power classes, Senior Fitness Class

While I love taking a rest day 1-2x a week, last week was a very rare occurrence of 3 rest days in a row. Yesterday my body was ready for exercise, I was SOOOO rested up that I think I had too much energy to let loose. It was great though and my body thanked me in the end.

I have been doing some thinking about my workouts and I decided I need to add in a little more cardio. Besides Boot Camp, Insanity workouts, and walking Cooper I don’t do PURE CARDIO! I know boot camp and insanity are cardio based, so yes I am getting in my cardio but I guess I’m looking for something different to mix in.

I’m not a huge fan of elliptical or treadmill machines because I get bored easily so I am trying to think of extra cardio exercises I can do that are fun.

Maybe some jump rope circuits or agility ladder ciruits, what do you think? I am open to cardio suggestions!

Have a great day

I figured today is a great day to share some of the things that I have been loving this week.

On Wednesday night Marc and I went to Harvest Wine Bar & Restaurant on Greenwich Avenue to celebrate our 4th Wedding Anniversary.

We decided to share a bunch of small plates and everything was amazing. Especially this Brussel Sprout salad

and the grilled calamari with jalapeños and guacamole!

Marc got me beautiful Red Roses for our anniversary and I love that Ava knows how to smell them with her nose. It’s too cute.

Speaking of Ava, her favorite animal right now is ducks and she loves to look at them swim in the brook behind our house. We have been feeding them and they keep coming back. So every day she wants to go out and see them.

The weather has been pretty amazing here lately, I have no complaints about high 70 temps and being able to hang out and play outside with Ava and Cooper.

I am a big popcorn girl, and on the weekends a glass of wine with some healthy homemade popcorn is right up my alley. I stumbled across a bag of this Fit Popcorn when I was shopping the other day so I figured I would give it a try because the ingredients were simple and it was made with Olive Oil. That was very intriguing to me so we tried them the other night and I loved the flavor. It was different but addicting

Now that the temperatures are warmer, I find myself digging into more fruit. We have been eating watermelon almost every day and I am also loving fresh cold apples!! They are so juicy.

I got in some awesome workouts this week and I have been sore in my upper back, glutes and inner thighs. I’d be lying if I said it feels great, because every time I go to squat I feel like I can’t get back up!! I have been loving my Boot Campers as always, but this week we had some fun and we sweat a ton together!

This weekend is Mother’s Day and I can’t wait to celebrate with my family. We will be heading to Rhode Island Saturday morning to spend the day and night with Marc’s Mom and driving home Sunday morning to spend the day BBQ’n and hanging out with my Mom.

I hope you all have a great weekend

What are you doing for Mother’s Day weekend?

What things have you been loving lately? 

Next week is our 4 year wedding anniversary and then I get to celebrate Mother’s day. We also have tons of Birthday, Baby shower, and wedding shower celebrations so this month is going to be action packed.

This morning we got up bright and early, after I ate a quick breakfast I took my buddy Cooper for a long walk. The weather this morning was PERFECT for walking. It was a tad cool once we started but I warmed up rather quickly.

I’m a huge fan of morning workouts on Friday because once the day is over, I get into weekend mode and I want to wear real-people clothing. Get me outa workout capris and sports tanks.

I decided to do an at home workout today with an Insanity Max 30 DVD. It’s fun to have Shaun-T kick my butt, and once again he did.

The title of this workout was SWEAT INTERVALS.. now I get it because I was dripping sweat about 6-7 minutes in.

During the first 10 minutes I wanted to quit, I was tired, my legs were sore, I didn’t have it in me. But then my fire came out and I told myself that it was in my head. Sure my legs were screaming but its not like I couldn’t keep going.

Sometimes its a wake up call when I workout by myself. I’m used to pushing others that every once in a while I need someone to tell me to keep going and that I can do 5 more or another 15 seconds.

At the end of the workout I felt accomplished and SWEATY.

Now I have some more work to do before my weekend begins. Tomorrow night we are headed to a 30th Birthday celebration for my Best Friend Lauren. We have been friends for all 30 years and I can’t wait to celebrate with her

Do you have any fun plans this weekend?

Do you ever do a workout at home and want to quit 10 minutes in?