The Fit Skool | by Kelly

December 18, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
2 Comments

Things I’m Loving This Week

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

I actually woke up this morning at 6am and thought it was Wednesday and was mentally preparing myself to teach Group Power. I was super happy when I realized it was Friday, my body is in need for a workout rest day today!!

I wanted to share with you today some of the THINGS I’M LOVING THIS WEEK:

This past week I have gotten in some great workouts, including this short full body circuit that I shared with you in yesterday’s post. We did part of it in my boot camp class on Tuesday night and everyone had mentioned how sore their legs were, it’s a good one!

On Tuesday night after teaching Boot Camp I came home to find that the movie ELF was on TV. I felt like a kid and got all excited. Marc made a bowl of popcorn for us and we laughed watching my favorite Christmas movie!

I’m so honored that Made In Nature sent me some goodies to try this week. Yesterday I had no urge to eat veggies, but these Kale Chips with Rosemary Truffle intrigued me so I opened them up! They were crunchy tasty and I was super excited that I was able to get in a serving of veggies, WIN!

This isn’t a great picture of my chicken salad sandwich (probably because I rushed and wanted to eat it) but this was the best thing I ate all week. I bought this chicken salad from Citarella, it’s a healthy salad and I ate it 2 days in a row for lunch! I’m definitely going back for more!

My dear friend and client Sheila bought me this awesome mug from Green & Tonic. It says on the inside: EAT MINDFULLY, LIVE PASSIONATELY, GROW INTENTIONALLY, LOVE ABUNDANTLY. I absolutely love the quote and I honestly think that’s how I try to live my life. THANKS SHEILA For the thoughtful gift

Sometimes I don’t feel like cooking, okay I guess I don’t feel like cooking a lot but usually I force myself to. The other night I was in the mood for soup. Probably because it was rainy out and the thought of soup was comforting. I am a huge fan of Amy’s Organic soups. Especially this one. There’s tons of protein fiber, and vitamins. Plus you get in some veggies!

Last but never least, this picture of Cooper made me smile. This guy has been so cuddly this week I couldn’t not post this picture of him.

Your turn!!! What’s something you are loving this week? Are you all ready for the holidays? I have TONS of shopping and wrapping to do this weekend, but I’m ready to tackle it!

Have a great weekend

December 17, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
1 Comment

20-Minute Full Body Workout With Weights

I am so excited to share one of my workouts with you today. I feel like it has been a while since I posted one and I really need to get back into the workout posts.

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**

December 16, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
10 Comments

WIAW: Protein packed

Yesterday was a yummy day of food for me so I figured I would link up for a What I Ate Wednesday post and share my meals with you.

My day was packed with protein, I guess my body needed it!

I woke up around 530am. Crazy Cooper started howling because he heard a noise and that was it… Ava woke up and then our morning begun.
Lets just say the first thing I did before my usual water chug was get a cup of coffee. I finally got moving and whipped up this breakfast:

BREAKFAST: 2 Scrambled eggs, peppers & mushrooms with olive oil and potatoes

After training at the YMCA, I needed a mid morning snack to keep my day fueled and ate this:

SNACK: A banana and a bowl of yogurt with raspberries and crushed almonds

I met a friend for a quick walk on Greenwich Avenue and then came home to eat this:

(This is a recycled photo)

LUNCH: Tuna salad

and 2 veggie pancakes (one zucchini and one sweet potato) these are amazing!

After some computer catch up work, I was hungry again. This combo never fails:

SNACK: An apple with 2 scoops of peanut butter

I trained again in the afternoon and got home to prepare a quick and easy dinner before boot camp:

DINNER: Chicken Stir-Fry with Shitake Mushrooms, green beans, edamame & Brown Rice

After Boot Camp Class I needed something protein packed and chose this:

POST WORKOUT SNACK: Chocolate Quest Bar, Pineapple and Popcorn

That wraps things up over here. It was a yummy day of eats!

Your Turn: What’s something delicious you ate yesterday?

Are you a fan of stir-fry?

December 14, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
0 comments

Marc’s Birthday & Weekend Recap

Hi Everyone!!

I’m sorry for my lack of posts last Thursday/Friday. Life got crazy and I didn’t have that free hour to sit down and blog.

I’ve had tons of stuff I wanted to share and talk to you about but that will have to wait until later this week.

I will do a quick recap for you:

Saturday Marc’s parents came down to spend time with him for his birthday. Ava and I went to her 2nd cousins first birthday party in the afternoon.

She had a lot of fun and they had tons of kids activities.

Please excuse her blank stare. I think she was confused with the random lady that took our picture.

Our night was spent visiting our town’s light show from Paul Tudor Jones. I will share some pictures later this week, they are on Marc’s camera!

The rest of the night was relaxing, as you can see Ava and Cooper are laying together!

Sunday was Marc’s birthday. I woke up, made him and I some breakfast and then I trained one of my clients.

In the evening my parents came over for dinner. We had some burgers, salad and baked potatoes. Followed by some delicious cake!

I hope it was a special day for Marc, he deserves it!

How was your weekend?

Did you do anything fun?

December 9, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
7 Comments

WIAW: Hungry & Tired

Yesterday I had a constant hunger all day and it finally ended around dinner time. I’m assuming it had to do with my high activity from Monday so my metabolism was kicked into high gear.

Lets just pretend okay!?

I am linking up with the What I ate Wednesday group to share my food journal with you from yesterday!

I woke up early and the first thing I wanted to do was cook breakfast. I quickly made myself 2 scrambled eggs with peppers & potatoes. It looks messy but it was delicious & filled up my belly.

Around 9am after my training sessions, I was hungry again. This seemed a little early but I went with it and had a banana.

Which wasn’t enough because 2 seconds later I reached for a bran muffin.

Marc had the day off so he drove me to get my car fixed. I had a pretty low tire and I needed a new one. While my car got fixed we took Cooper to the dog park to play. We picked up my car and then Marc was so kind to pick us up some food from Garden Catering.

I got a GC/GV Wrap (grilled chicken and grilled veggies) It was SO good and totally hit the spot. I also snacked on some of Ava’s french fries (those are my weakness)

In the afternoon I did some computer work and ad an appointment I have been eating a lot of salad these last couple days. We had so much leftover from the weekend and I hate wasting food.

For an afternoon snack, I had an apple, some cheese and crackers.

Dinner was a last minute throw together. Marc wanted steak, so he went to the store and bought some. We also had some roasted yukon gold potatoes, sliced zucchini, and roasted SUNCHOKES. I capitalized the sun chokes because they are amazing and need to be highlighted. We don’t always see them in the store but when we do, they are put in the cart. If you like artichokes you will love these.

After dinner I got ready for my boot camp class. I had planned a hard workout as usual everyone left feeling sweaty and tired. Mission accomplished and I know it was worth all the pain.

I refueled with a Cookie Dough Quest Bar some raspberries

It was a great day of food in the books for me.

Your turn!!

What’s something yummy you ate yesterday?

Have you ever tried an oatmega bar?

December 8, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
2 Comments

3 Short Workouts in 1 Day

Some days are busier then others for me and as a mom there’s really little time for myself on the days where I’m home with Ava.

I had last Friday off from work. Usually I take Friday as a rest day when it comes to working out, but I felt like getting in some cardio.

In the morning we took Cooper for a 20 minute walk (Yes I count that as exercise especially when you are pushing a 30lb kid in the stroller and up hills) When we got back from our walk I started to do a short cardio workout at home with Jumping Jacks, Jogging, Jump Rope, Heisman Hops, Quick Feet, etc.

That was until Ava decided she didn’t want to workout with me anymore. I had to stop my workout because she was doing things she shouldn’t be doing….. like pulling glass lids out of our pantry and running around with a lotion bottle that she found in the bathroom. Oh yeah and she stuck her hand in the toilet, luckily it was just water.

So that workout got put on hold and I was fine with it, but I did log the 8 minutes of Cardio that I had completed.

We headed to my friends for a couple hours and Ava played with her friends. It was fun to catch up with my friend, even though its hard having full conversations when you are both chasing around your kids.

After a few hours, Ava was wiped and came home for a long nap! I was able to finally get some computer work done and then I decided to do a quick Kickboxing workout.

I got to about 15 minutes of kicking butt and then realized Ava would be getting up soon from her nap so I decided to stop so that I could shower.

I would have loved to continue for another 15 minutes but I try to get as much done when she naps as possible and showering was a MUST.

So while I would have much rather completed 30-45 minutes of cardio in one shot first thing in the morning, some days don’t go as planned and you just gotta roll with it. As long as you work hard those minutes COUNT!

If you work out at home, do you find sometimes your workouts are broken up from (at home) distractions like kids, phone, dogs, etc?

What’s your favorite cardio workout?

December 7, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
0 comments

Birthday Fun & Holiday Stroll

This weekend was action packed, productive & fun. I feel like every second of the weekend was filled but I don’t regret a single minute.

I hung out with family, friends, and we got to watch Ava have the best time of her life.

In case you missed my blog post this weekend, Ava turned TWO years old on Saturday.

We had a family party at our house and it turned out to be a success.

Ava smiled, danced, played with her cousins

There were lots of kisses and hugs for her cousins.

She loved when we all sang Happy Birthday to her

and blew out candles like a champ!

she loved her ice cream cake

She upwrapped tons of birthday gifts

and totally enjoyed every second of her birthday celebration!

It was such a special night with both Marc’s family and my family. I think everyone enjoyed watching Ava run around and get excited playing with her new toys.

On Sunday morning we headed to Stew Leonard’s to buy a tree with our neighbors. It was a fun adventure and we had our tree picked out in no time!!

In the afternoon I met up with some of best girl friends to enjoy the Holiday Stroll in Greenwich. They had a live nativity and animals.

There were holiday treats all along Greenwich Avenue, christmas carolers, horse and carriage rides, & the best part was the reindeer and Santa Claus.

I mean how could you not want to see reindeer????????!

All in all it was a festive and fun weekend! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tired but it was WORTH every second.

How was your weekend?

Have you ever seen reindeer??

December 5, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
1 Comment

Happy Birthday Ava

TODAY is a very special day in our house. My little Ava turns 2. How did that happen so fast? It seems like she just turned ONE a few months ago. I couldn’t be happier to celebrate her birthday today with both mine and Marc’s family.

We will be having a small party at our house and I am planning to make it as special as I can for Miss Ava. I bought a few Minnie Mouse decorations because she is so obsessed with all the characters in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I figured it would surprise her when she woke up from her nap!!

I don’t want to get all mushy mushy with you guys, so I’ll make this short and sweet. Having a child has kinda turned me into that sentimental women that cries a little easier then she did before, but it’s a good thing. I never knew how much love I had to give until having Ava. These are happy tears but, Seriously can we slow down time just a little???!!

Over the last few months Ava has shown me how smart she truly is: she is super independent like her mama, she laughs at everything and makes us laugh with her, she has secret talents like jumping on the bosu ball (she’s only 2 that’s incredible), she is so gentle and sweet when she plays with Cooper, she is caring when she plays with other kids, she’s tough and persistent like her daddy, and her determination & passion for life is going to help her achieve all of her life goals.

I’m not shocked she’s already 2, she’s a big girl and she is eager to learn more and more as each day passes. She keeps me on my toes more then I thought I ever needed to be and has challenged me to be the best person I possibly can.

Not a day goes by that I don’t hug and want to squeeze her tight and I hope she lets me do that forever.

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY AVA! Mommy, Daddy & Cooper love you so much!!!!

December 2, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
3 Comments

WIAW: Getting back on the healthy train

After a long weekend of holiday eats, I felt the need to clean up my act a bit. I’m usually not a big “sweets” gal on Thanksgiving but this past weekend I indulged on a few cannolis and chocolate chip cookies. Usually I have big servings of the real food and skip dessert so this was a totally different experience. I’m not complaining but come Monday I did feel the need to focus a bit more on healthier food choices. (well sorta!)

I’m linking up with the What I Ate Wednesday Crew to share my food journal from Monday

I started my Monday morning off with a tall glass of lemon water. I have been loving lemons in my water these past few days.

I quickly whipped up a couple eggs, some spinach and potatoes, while I simultaneously got Ava’s diaper changed and got her situated. Before i knew it I was out the door to teach Group Power.

We had a smaller group which didn’t surprise me after a long holiday weekend, but it was still a great workout.

After class I refueled with a banana, an Oatmega bar

and pistachios. It was filling and tasty.

My fit for life group at 1030 was packed as usual and I think we all agreed that it felt great to workout after a holiday weekend.

I couldn’t wait to eat my lunch on Monday. I had leftovers from Asiana a restaurant in Greenwich. I had Chicken with Mixed Veggies in a Ginger sauce with brown rice. It was delicious and as much as I love leftovers, sometimes I wish there were more. I also split a red delicous apple with Ava and by split I mean she ate 3 bites and I finished it.

In the afternoon, nothing sounded appealing so I had a bowl of cheerios with milk while doing some computer work.

Around dinner time I ran a couple errands and felt in the mood for steak so I quickly stopped at the store and bought some. I decided on some Alexia french fries and brussel sprouts with bacon. It was delicious and filling.

My night time snack was a couple clementines… I can’t get enough of them this week and we keep having to buy more!!

What’s something yummy you ate this week?

Are you trying to eat healthier now that Thanksgiving is over?

December 1, 2015
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
4 Comments

At home workouts & 21 Day Fix Extreme

On Sunday I did a quick workout from the 21 Day Fix Extreme. I chose the Cardio Fix because I was clearly looking to get my heart rate up and sweat after a long holiday weekend.

If you have never done a workout from the 21 day fix or the Extreme, they are quick but intense and they remind me of my boot camp classes.

All of the moves are creative and unique, most of them I have done before but I love the combination!

I had debated whether or not to go to the gym and hop on an elliptical or treadmill to do some cardio, but I decided to go with an at home workout and I’m glad I did.

I know I got a way better workout (because I used weights) I incorporated almost every muscle group in a short amount of time and I was dripping sweat 5 minutes into the workout.

I love going to the gym because my mind is a lot clearer then it is at home, but I end up talking to people (because I work there so it’s inevitable to run into someone I know) and then I end up taking away time from my workout.

At home workouts aren’t for everyone but I truly do benefit from popping in a workout DVD on my own time schedule and getting a quick workout in for 30 minutes.

Being a trainer & instructor is awesome but sometimes it’s nice to have someone like Autumn tell me what to do and make me do those squat jumps I really didn’t feel like doing

I’ve noticed with all of my fitness challenge groups that a majority of the people have a hard time finding time to exercise and getting to the gym is another issue. I think the convenience of at home workouts is great because you can do them on your own schedule, you can shower & refuel at your house and be done before you know it. The workouts can even be broken up into 15 minutes if you need to.

It’s a win win situation!

Do you prefer at home or gym workouts?

Are you more motivated in a class setting?