Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Being Fit on the Cheap

I often post pictures like this on Instagram.

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I then get comments questioning how I don’t weigh 500 pounds.

Turns out that I don’t eat delicious donuts every day.  I only wish that I ate donuts topped in bacon every morning.  My usually egg and whole grain English muffin doesn’t look nearly as awesome.  Even with a filter.

I also like to exercise.  You read that right.  I like it.  I’m not a crazy P90x’er but I move.  A lot.  I’m a big believer in finding an exercise that you like and hop to it.  Exercise doesn’t need to be expensive.  (I sound all preachy pharmacist like right now.  I had a patient call awhile back and they asked for “the tiny one that likes to give advice”.  I think he meant it in a good way.)  There are so many free videos on-line.  I’m also a big believer in “cost per use”.  I “pay off” my exercise videos quite fast.

Today I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite exercise videos/sites.  (I always find this information fascinating on other blogs.  Pretend you do too.)  I promise to have house related things soon…ish.  As all good medical professionals recommend, check with your doctor before beginning an exercise routine.

I will start with my most expensive piece of exercise equipment.

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This dude needs a lot of exercise.  He’s 6 1/2 going on puppy.  He definitely doesn’t let us skip our nightly walk.  We walk him at least 45 minutes (usually 1 hour) at least 6 days per week.

In addition to walking, I do some form of strength activities at least 3 times per week.

I’m a huge fan of kettle bells.  Strength training and huge calorie burn in a short period of time.  My favorite video set is the Kettlebody by Brook.  Cardio, strength and yoga DVDs in one set.  Highly recommend it.  She’s only slightly cheesy and I have seen good results with this set.  The three DVDs kept me from getting bored for a good few months.  I purchased my kettle bell on mega sale at the beginning of the year.  I hear Walmart has a super cheap set. (I can’t verify this because that place terrifies me.)  I started with the 7lb.  I currently use either a 10 or 15 lb for the exercises.

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I’ve recently enjoyed this free 15 minute kettle bell workout.  Lots of calorie burning in 15 minutes.  And you get buff.  Boo-yah.

I’m a big fan of this free fitsugar arm workout from Cameron Diaz’s trainer.  It’s starts all nice and slow and by the end my arms are screaming.  Feel the burn.

One of my all time favorite yoga DVDs is MTV Yoga.  I’ve had this yoga DVD since undergrad.  So like 10 years.  Wow, that’s depressing.  But good for the video.  I like this DVD for stretching and going to my happy place.  Plus it burns the arms and thighs.

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I talked Nate into picking up a free weight bench from my brother’s neighbor.  He fell for it.  Off to test it out and be beast like.

My newest addiction is the free app myfitnesspal.  I’ll probably be bored with it in a week but you never know.  You can use it as a food and exercise journal.  I like that it breaks down the amount of each nutrient you eat.  The food data base is huge making it easy to track calories.

Any favorite exercise DVDs?  What’s your favorite form of exercise?  Who wants a donut?

40 comments:

  1. good for you! i need to do yoga.... i get exercise usually 5-6 days a week, a couple days of strength in there, and my work is sometimes more laborious. but i really could use some yoga in my life...

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  2. I would like a donut! Preferably one you made. I love that you enjoy your treats but eat well and you definitely do a lot of moving. I'm also going to start referring to you as the tiny one who likes to give advice. I think we all know my favorite form of exercise is CrossFit, but my chiro says I need to start doing yoga, too. I might have to check out that DVD!

    Also? I highly support the weight bench. Here's to buff(er!) arms.

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    1. I want Cindy arms.

      And Nate even likes that yoga video.

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  3. Or, you can talk to your sister in law who is studying to be a personal trainer and she can give you exercises to do and also help you use your fancy new weight bench. Go buy an exercise ball (or do you have one?) and 10 lb. free weights and I will send you a workout or two to get you started :o) Then we can follow through with out plan to open a gym if I ever move back to the QCA and you can teach kettlebells since I have never used one.

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    1. I'm not big on the ball but the weights and opening our own gym I am into. ;P

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    2. The ball helps strengthen your core. The ball is your friend. Or your enemy. Depends on the day. :oP But seriously if you want me to put some workouts together for you let me know. I will do it.

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  4. I've been using MFP for over three years. LOVE it - but be careful, a lot of the foods have been entered by the 'not-so-bright' and the macros are wrong. :)

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  5. I love kettle bells, there's a cross fit gym the husband and I attend that base their works outs around kettle bells. :)
    -wHiT

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  6. I LOVE these posts - for real!! Thanks for the tips. I usually end up working out in my living room and I am always on the lookout for new DVDs, etc. I might have to try the kettle ball thing, every time you mention it I am intrigued.

    Walmart scares me too.

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  7. Thanks for sharing! I'm definitely bookmarking the kettleball DVD, I've never tried it but sounds fun....I'm also kinda wanting a bacon doughnut now.

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  8. I live for yoga. It keeps me sane! But also, this is terribly embarrassing, but the Kim Kardashian work out videos are really good. I swore by them in undergrad. I swear she was less obnoxious a few years ago. But she's actually not terribly annoying in the videos and they are a great workout!

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    1. Who knew? I'm a closet Kardashian fan so I'm intrigued!

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  9. I have a couple of Jillian Michaels DVDs. Holy cow, she is a beast. I'm extremely fortunate to work in an office directly above a gym, and they offer an extreme discount to employees in the building. I love your MTV yoga, by the way, hahaha. What's next, Carmen Electra's striptease exercise tape? :D

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    1. I know the MTV sounds funny but Kristin Mcghee doesn't mess around. ;)

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  10. Now I want to go buy ALL of these videos. I've never worked much with Kettle bells in the past...but I'm pretty intrigued by that workout! Seems like something I would like.

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  11. We are on the same wave-length today. I have exercise on my mind (as evident in my post), too!

    PS - Don't feel bad about the MTV Yoga dvd. I have a Billy Blanks Tae Bo DVD that I just can't part with.

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  12. Two years ago, started with Jillian Michael workouts, then became a P90X, Insanity and now T25 devotee! I highly recommend them all for those trying to get fit rather than just skinny. :)

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    1. I've heard good things about T25. Might be a winter project!

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  13. Thanks for the kettlebell links! We invested a whole $100 in a treadmill that we keep in our basement and it was the best money I've spent in a long time. I can plop the baby in a jumper and workout. My neighborhood has roughly a 250 ft elevation change from our house to the top of the street so that plus a jogging stroller isn't happening anytime soon!

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  14. I looked at this post, and all I got from it were cravings for doughnuts. #PregoProblems

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    1. That's precisely what I was going for. Maybe you'll want to move when you aren't so focused on not puking at every turn. :(

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  15. Mmmm... donuts! I love the Jillian Michaels DVDs. I've got Ripped in 30 and the 30 Day Shred. I alternate between the two to keep from getting bored, plus I'll throw in a run here and there. Running is definitely my favorite exercise though! I try to do pilates a few times a week too.

    And I've been tracking my diet with My Fitness Pal for almost a year now! I love that app!

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    1. I used to like Jillian. Until I realized I was dreading her workouts. I still bust out Ripped in 30 on occasion. When I feel like getting yelled at.

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  16. i used to be on myfitnesspal every single day. but then i realized once i figured out my routine i literally ate the same thing every day almost (during the work week) so i feel like its a time waster now. BUT i do think it got me into the swing of things etc.
    and bacon topped donuts are probably not on myfitnesspal...just sayin ;)

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  17. I plan to only refer to you as the tiny one who likes to give advice. That made me snort.

    You are awesome and buff.

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  18. I love, love, love the Tone It Up Girls. They have tons of free fitness videos and printouts as well as recipes and challenges. I haven't been great about working out during this pregnancy. I think I'm pretty active but setting aside time to exercise has been hard (total excuse maker). I just bought some pregnancy vids but the first one was so weird I couldn't finish it. Ugh. We'll see if I have better luck tonight with video #2. Guess I better put down this cinnamon roll...

    monologue complete.

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    1. Totally going to check out the Tone It Up Girls!

      The cover of pregnancy videos always seem so cheesy. Maybe that your next big move....pregnancy video star! ;)

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  19. I'm a big Pilates fan but I don't like exercising so the 10 minute Pilates series is perfect for me!

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  20. Thanks so much for posting this! Gives me lots of awesome ideas. I'm on my last few days of 30 Day Shred and am looking for something after. :)

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  21. I eat muffins everyday too but just can't do the whole grain ;) Being called the tiny one is always great in my book by the way!
    Good for Ike that you walk him that much. I never get how people can get a dog and never walk the poor creature.

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  22. "The tiny one who likes to give advice"-bahaha. I did pilates for a while, exercise ball for a while, and started doing Zumba before I got pregnant. I'm also a speed walker. These days my exercise consists of slow walking and stretches. :P

    Rick and I both hate Walmart. (He did a rotation in the pharmacy and learned that their business practice involves telling people their prescription will take an hour JUST so the person is stuck shopping the store if they are going to wait for it. Not impressive.) I'd never go there if I had a choice but I don't always since we live in the middle of nowhere and it is the closest piece of civilization.

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    1. I was actually a Walmart pharmacy intern for 3 years and I have nothing bad to say about the pharmacy (the rest of the place...). We always told people 15-20 minutes. I haven't worked for them for 6 years so maybe things have changed?

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  23. I could eat all of those doughnuts right now. Unfortunately Myfitnesspal wouldn't know what to do. I love that app! I guess there are apps you can connect to your polar heart monitor also (perhaps just for iphone and I have an android...lame). Did you get one yet??
    I might check out that arm video. I need to get some arm and ab work into my routine. Thanks Michelle!

    And to make a comment about Erin's comment above. Is that true?? My husband stopped in Walmart to get ointment for my son's diaper rash and the place was empty, but they told him it would take an hour...he was like, an hour to put a tube in a bag?! really?

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    1. And I just realized that may have come out wrong. I know there is more to filling an Rx! ;)

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    2. Ha. The wait time at my pharmacy is 20 minutes max. Unless there is a problem with a prescription. I keep meaning to do a "day in the life of pharmacist" post.

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  24. I have also used the Lose It! app, and thank you for the kettlebell video suggestions. I'm also going to try the shape.com web site for some kettlebell exercises. So far I've looked at it. Next I'm going to pick up the kettlebell.

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  25. I'm in my second semester of yoga. You read that right. Surprisingly, I dig it!

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