The Fit Skool | by Kelly

January 5, 2014
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
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2014 Get Pumped Workout Playlist

I don’t know about you…… but music is so motivating for me during my workouts. I find the fast beat and it helps me push harder, work until the end or until I don’t have a single repetition left in me!

Music is definitely motivating but not always necessary for me to work hard. If I have a great instructor, coach, or trainer pushing me that’s all I need!

Here are a few of the songs that are pumping me up for the New Year!!

My January 2014 Playlist

Love More (feat. Nicki Minaj) Chris Brown
Love Don’t Die- The Fray
Burn (magic man remix) Ellie Goulding
Stay the night (feat. Hayley Williams) Zedd
Best song ever (kat krazy remix) One Direction
Neon Lights (Betty Who Remix)- Demi Lovato
Let her go- Passenger
Timber (feat Kesha)- Pitbull

I start teaching Boot Camp this Tuesday.. and I am more then excited to see my class and get them back to their workouts!!

What workout songs motivate you?? I would love some song suggestions…

January 3, 2014
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
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Crush Your Triceps Workout

Storm Hercules brought in some wind and FRIGID temps here in Connecticut today. I woke up this morning at around 4:30am to feed Ava and it says it’s only 5 degrees out.. I don’t even want to know the temperature when the wind blows!

Cooper is LOVING the snow. He wants to run around and be outside as much as possible but I hate having to open the door with all the cold air coming in. I gotta keep Ava nice and warm!

I bought some lean ground beef the other day since I knew the storm was coming and I’m trying to come up with a new recipe to make for dinner! A chili sounds like an excellent choice on this cold snowy day. I will be sure to let you know what recipe I come up with.

NOW.. onto a workout. I am sure most of you in New England are snowed in. It isn’t really safe to travel to the gym today so let’s try an at home TRICEPS workout.

TRICEP BURNER

10 Tricep Dips

10 Tricep Pushups

Perform 10 repetitions of each exercise, take 30 seconds rest. Repeat as many rounds as possible in 12 minutes.

January 2, 2014
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
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Cinnamon Almond Butter Protein Bites

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

If you are kicking off 2014 with a healthy approach here is a great protein recipe to consume before or after a workout or even as a snack on-the-go! I find when I buy protein bars or shakes at the store they have TONS of ingredients and I can’t even pronounce some of the ingredients. I enjoy making my own recipes because you know what your eating.

This easy recipe has just 5 ingredients, is a good source of protein, and contains healthy fats from the almond butter.

Cinnamon Almond Protein Bites

Ingredients:

1/2 cup instant oats
1/4 cup almond butter
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp whey protein powder (for the myoplex protein it is 1 big scoop plus the tablespoon)
½ tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Add in wet ingredients and mix well. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or freezer for 10 minutes. Take out roll into 12 balls. Enjoy!

(NOTE: The batter will be sticky, keep bites chilled so they stay firm)

Serving size 2 bites: Approximately 120 calories, 7g protein, 7g fat, 8g carbs

December 31, 2013
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
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Make Your New Year’s Resolution Stick!!!

It’s that time of year to set goals and resolutions not just for fitness, but for health & happiness. Remember the happiness part when you set your New Year’s Resolution! Setting a resolution that is far from attainable will set you up for failure, so be REALISTIC! In the end we want to be happy with whatever outcome we get.

Tips for making your resolution stick!

BE REALISTIC… choose attainable numbers for weight loss, think short & long term
MAKE A PLAN… how are you going to keep your resolution in 2 months from now?
TALK ABOUT YOUR RESOLUTIONS… tell someone about it or post it on your fridge
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS... keep a journal, measurements, or track weight on a calendar
REWARD YOURSELF… buy a new outfit, do not reward with food
KEEP ON GOING… If you hit your goal, change it up and keep moving forward

FITNESS RESOLUTION I am feeling different this New Year’s since I have a newborn to share it with this year. My goals and resolutions are way different from last year. Since I hit my pre-pregnancy weight, my Fitness resolution is to gain muscle and strength. I am currently feeling weak in the core and legs. To gain muscle and strength back I know I need time so it’s realistic to say I am going to ease back in with walking daily. I will then add in 2 days of strength training for a few weeks. After 4 weeks I plan to add in full body training with core as a focus. SO my 1 month goal/resolution is to feel strong and have more lean muscle.

Here is one of my XMAS gifts from Santa.. T-25 If you haven’t heard of the trainer Shaun-T he is amazing and I love his body weight training approach. I am all about it. My game plan is to use T-25 to help me gain back some of my lean muscle

HEALTH RESOLUTION I do have a health resolution. That is to eat more CLEAN foods. It is easy for me to sometimes grab a granola bar or protein bar on the go with my work schedule, so if I plan on keeping my Sunday Food Prep days going I will be able to make more on the go snacks for myself and eat cleaner less processed snacks. I know it’s all about PREPARATION, so I need to tell Marc about this goal because I do need some help so we can both have food ready for the week.

HAPPINESS RESOLUTION Creating a resolution around happiness will make everything feel more enjoyable. I thought I would make a funny resolution for myself this year and one to make me laugh and hopefully make you smile. I have already started this resolution because I don’t need the ball to drop to get going on some positive changes. So here it is…….. LAUGH off diaper messes, SMILE for 2am feedings, & ENJOY fussy baby moments. So far it’s been fun to laugh at Ava’s diaper messes. It’s easy to get stressed and upset with the amount of laundry and clothing changes I have to do but it’s more fun to laugh at how the situation unfolds and how many diapers/wipes I waste trying to clean up the mess that I pretty much let happen. The 2-am feedings are not fun, let’s be serious. Buttt it’s fun to sing crazy lullaby’s that I don’t seem to know the words to! I don’t know how I forgot them, but hey Ava doesn’t know the difference yet so if it keeps her happy I’m good! Fussy baby moments… where nothing seems to keep her calm, I try to smile and enjoy all the random faces Ava makes and tell stories based on her expressions. (I tried this one yesterday with my mom and it made us laugh!) Ava’s faces can go from smiling to angry with eyebrows raised, to what are you looking at Grandma, to happy and calm..and repeat.

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN! WHAT IS YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION?.. WHO WILL YOU TELL??

December 25, 2013
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
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Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, from our family to yours!

Our Christmas came early this year… and we couldn’t be happier!!

The best Christmas present ever….

<3 Kelly, Marc, Ava, & Cooper

December 23, 2013
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
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10 minute calorie blast Holiday workout!

With all the holiday parties, shopping, and festivities you may find it difficult to keep your scheduled workout over the next few days. Here is a CHALLENGING but SHORT workout that you can do at home before you get your day started.

Give me 10 MINUTES

do a quick warm-up of jogging in place jumping jacks and side shuffle

Complete As Many Rounds As Possible in 10 minutes The goal is to get 100 repetitions of each exercise. For beginners set your goal to 5 rounds (50 repetitions of each exercise)

I wish I could join you on this one. I have done it many times before when I don’t have time on the weekend to get to the gym or I just feel like working out at home! It’s great. Your heart will be pumping and for sure if you are working hard you will be dripping sweat. LETS GO.

I have lots to do today so I gotta get going… I have shopping to do, presents to wrap, and a house to clean! SO my workout of choice will be some low impact walking this morning.

If you participate in the workout, please comment and let me know how many rounds you were able to complete!!

December 21, 2013
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
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Winter Solstice & 56 degree weather!

Today is the first day of WINTER, and it sure doesn’t feel like it. It’s already 56 degrees here in Greenwich CT and it’s 11:45am!

My morning started out great, I fed Ava ate some breakfast and we got out of the house early to run some errands. With a newborn I haven’t had much time to do my Christmas shopping so I was able to get a lot done in a short period of time! When we got home we kept Ava in her car seat and snapped her into the stroller to take her and Cooper for a walk. We had to take advantage of this beautiful weather and I was anxious to try out my new stroller!!

This was our first family walk and man was it nice to be outside!! I am still not allowed to exercise but walking is allowed. It feels great to move and get some energy out.

After our walk Marc and I ordered something healthy wraps. We both got grilled chicken and grilled veggies in a whole wheat wrap! Deliciouss…

This weekend has been filled with a lot of relaxation and hanging with little Miss Ava. She’s wonderful.

Cooper loves her too.. it’s really amazing to see how different he is around the baby. He is gentle and wants to lick her little hands and feet. I am very proud of him for being so calm around her.

We have a lot of Christmas gifts to wrap this weekend, and I am looking forward to wrapping them while listening to some Christmas tunes!

Happy Saturday

December 19, 2013
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
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2 Week Postpartum Baby Update

I cannot believe 2 weeks has passed since Ava was born. Time flies when you are changing diapers, feeding a newborn and trying to catch up on sleep.. all while leading a normal life!! I think I am managing well and I can honestly say I am not stressed one bit and I am feeling more like myself this past week.

My normal self doesn’t sit still and I am constantly finding something to do around the house. My energy has increased and I have been able to clean, do laundry, organize, study for work, get paperwork done and bills paid. When it comes to daily tasks I am usually on top of things and now I can truly say I feel that I am able to do everything I was doing before Ava’s birth. The only thing that has not been the same is exercise.

Exercise

oh my dear friend… exercise. I definitely didn’t miss it or think about it for the first 10 days. I was too caught up being amazed by everything Ava did that I hadn’t given it a thought. This is also because my body wanted nothing to do with it and needed rest and recovery. My recovery has been smooth and pretty fast however I took it very seriously. As hard as it was to sit and do nothing for a few days, it was necessary and my body appreciated it. After a few days I felt comfortable moving around more and sometimes moving made me feel better. I think we all know our bodies and can tell when they need a break or when they are ready to go.

I am mentally and physically ready to do some sort of activity… Yesterday I took Cooper out for a stroll, it wasn’t a long walk but it felt amazing and I can tell he enjoyed it! I think I might take him again today and try to increase the distance. I am not ready to jump into a boot camp or group power class but I can’t wait to build back up to it!

Everyone recovers differently. and I am feeling like I make progress each day. Once I get the all clear from the doctor I will expand my activities. I really feel fortunate that I was able to exercise right up to my labor and delivery.. I had literally done a workout 4 hours before I went into labor! This has played a huge role in my postpartum recovery, and I am thankful for it!

AVA

Ava has been such a joy and we couldn’t be happier that Christmas came early for us. The past two weeks have been amazing but definitely an adjustment. We were more then ready to have her join our family and we have been loving all the late night feedings and diaper changes. Ava eats just about every 3 hours.. sometimes more, sometimes less, but she is pretty punctual. She starts squirming and moving like crazy when she’s hungry so it’s not too difficult to realize she needs to eat. I’m the same way, I can’t focus or relax if I am hungry!!! She is very alert and lifts her head off my chest/shoulders when I hold her. I can already tell she is going to be an independent girl and want to be on her own crawling before we know it.

Weight loss

I wasn’t too sure I wanted to post about my weight loss because it hasn’t been a priority since her birth. I decided that because I had shared my pregnancy journey with you, I should post some updates so you can see my progress. I had focused a lot on healthy eating during my pregnancy, and after Ava’s birth I’ve been eating very healthy. This has helped tremendously with shedding the baby weight. I had gained 22 1/2 pounds during my pregnancy and I am officially back to my pre-birth weight. I couldn’t believe it when I stepped on the scale, it was pretty amazing. I owe it to the healthy food choices I made during my pregnancy and also keeping up with my exercise. Does my body feel the same?? NO. Not yet. My mid-section feels a whole lot different. It is a little mushy and definitely not tight at all. Regaining core strength will be my primary focus when I do get back to training. I can’t wait to incorporate balance and stability exercises to my workout routine to increase my abdominal strength!

My Goals

One of my top goals going forward is to regain muscle. Being strong is important for me and will help with taking care of Ava. I feel like I am already getting exercise from carrying her around the house and going up and down stairs! My second goal is to increase my core strength. I will do this by doing full body training once I am cleared.

We are off to Ava’s 2 week doctor check up! I am sure she’s packed on some weight this past week and a half, she eats like a champ!

December 17, 2013
by Kelly @ The Fit Skool
2 Comments

Today is my official due date!… plus a Chicken Cacciatore recipe

Today is officially my pregnancy DUE DATE 12/17/13… but I am happy to say that my little Ava arrived 12 days early. What I’ve learned from pregnancy is that your due date means pretty much NOTHING, it’s just a guess. About 33% of babies are born early, 33% are born late and 33% on their date. There’s no predicting, and I can honestly say that Ava taught me to be more patient. She arrived when she was ready and there was really nothing I could physically do to change that. Some of us like to be in control, have a schedule, and a set plan, but there are things that are beyond our control and I can really understand that now!

Now onto things WE CAN CONTROL …. eating healthy and exercising

Last night I made my version of a healthy Chicken Cacciatore . With only 5 ingredients, this recipe is super easy to whip up last minute. You might even have most of the ingredients on hand.

Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

Ingredients

1lb chicken breasts, cut into chunks
½ jar of your favorite sauce, I used Tomato & Basil sauce from Trader Joe’s)
½ bag of frozen mixed peppers
1 container of fresh mushrooms, sliced
olive oil (1-2tbsp)

Directions:

Place a large pan on the stove, add in olive oil (1-2tbsp) and turn stove on to medium-heat. Add chicken breasts and cook about 5 minutes on each side until browned. Add in peppers, sauce, & mushrooms and cook for 15-20 minutes. Mix about ½ way through.

steaming hot!

Serve with whole wheat pasta, a salad, or just as is! Sprinkle a little crushed pepper for spice and some parmesan cheese.