Thursday, October 31, 2013

Active Insoles by Dr. Scholls Review


I recently applied to be a part of the Influenster community. It is all about product reviews. I love reviewing products, but more importantly, I love seeing reviews about products. I appreciate this community and have used it when I have purchased makeup. 
Is what I purchased worth it? 
What are the top mascaras?
Does my makeup live up to it's title (voluminous lashes, baby soft lips, etc)?

I was picked to review and tryout The Active Series Insoles by Dr. Scholls.

If you are new to this blog you may not be familiar with my obsession with running. Is obsession the right word? Perhaps, addiction. A healthy one of course :)

My love for running comes from my need to process problems. I am definitely a worry ward and paranoid wreck at times. With running I am able to sort through issues, release them, and learn to rely on God in my weaknesses.
I'm also a very competitive person and running releases me of that. 
However, the feeling of my feet hitting the pavement was once a stress releaser, but now has begun to cause issues in my hips, knees and caused tightness and pain.

Those Active Insoles couldn't have come at a better time. My shoes were close to being retired. These insoles allowed me to continue running, wait for it, with ZERO knee pain. Despite my shoes being expired the Dr. Scholls inserts worked well, but I still need new shoes. 

I will definitely be purchasing Dr. Scholls Active Series insoles for my next pair of running shoes. I know that they iwll give me extra cushion, support, and drive to go the extra mile :).

Have you had insoles before? What questions do you have about athletic insoles?



These are opinions are my own! I was not paid to give a review on this product.


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Friday, October 25, 2013

FALL Fitness Friday






It's Friday already and almost Halloween!
I love Halloween. I love it because I LOVE dressing up. And it's right before my birthday!!
What are you planning on being for Halloween?

How was your week?
I have been contemplating training for a full marathon. But it is such a time commitment. I'm hoping though that I can at least get some longer mileage. We have a mathon in December called the CIM (California International Marathon). I did it one year as a part of a four team relay. It was incredible!! People come out of their homes and cheer everyone on. It is such a beautiful display of encouragement. It is also very inspiring. 

I wanted to share an update on how my FALL goals are going.


Fitness: I am still working on taking rest days. I find that if I can walk a few places I feel better. It's not technically resting, but at least it is low key. It's so beautiful outside and I find simple walks refreshing.
Attitude: Continuing to work on a grateful attitude for what I have. It's not always easy and sometimes I am quick to get angry or jealous, but I remind myself that that is negative and try to focus on all that I have.
Life: Totally planned to take pictures of Lilly in the park, but I forgot the battery. UGH!! With Halloween coming around and Apple Hill, I will definitely have some pictures to share.
Learning: I'm continuing to research about child development but have taken out some time to read a novel called The Dinner, which I are really getting into.


Week in Fitness:
Saturday: Jogged to work
Sunday: 10 miles
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 4 mile walk, 2 Blogilates videos


Thursday: 8 mile run with baby
Friday: planned run and stretching

Health
Well...I've fell into the slipperey slope of enjoying candy. But I am happy to say that I am learning to eat smaller portions. I'm working on eating less, but more throughout the day. I hate having that bloated, over stuffed feeling after dinner. So I'm trying to not eat such a big dinner. Although tonight is Meatball sandwiches...Yikes :)

Here are a few Couch 2 5k I made for our family's Turkey Trot this year:



How is your week going? Any challenges you are having with staying fit/healthy?










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Friday, October 18, 2013

Pumpkin Patch



Even though Lilly was 5 months last October, this was our first real trip to the pumpkin patch as a family. Last year, I went with some girlfriends, but unfortunately Hubby missed out. I was so very excited. We had planned to go to the same pumpkin patch right after church. But don't ya love how things just don't go according to plan.
We had planned to go to the same pumpkin patch with some friends, but unfortunately my girlfriend was sick. So we planned to go to a pumpkin patch by our church.

We pulled into church with a few minutes to spar, just enough time for Lil to stick her hands down her throat and purge her breakfast. Even though it got everywhere, at least she wasn't sick, and I had an extra pair of clothes (one reason my purse is the way it is). We drove back home and put her down for a nap and head back over towards our church.

The day ended up being lovely.
It sure was windy!




 We love the slide now!


 Rum pum pum, this is my pumpkin!!







 snack time


 Loved capturing their love!









Kiss Kiss goat!!


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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Health and Fitness Friday!!

Its Friday!! And welcome to Health and Fitness Friday!!
I thought if share my goals for this FALL (fitness, attitude, life, learning)!

Fitness: learn to take rest days. I struggle with feeling like I'll be lazy and won't want to get back to working out. Unfortunately my body becomes sick and I try and work through the pain, but it only leaves me disappointed. 
Attitude: thanksgiving is coming around the corner and it's a great time to be grateful, but I feel like I need to be more thankful for things. I often find myself praying for things and not being thankful for what I have. 
Life: take more pictures. I used to be so good at this. I was actually known for caring my SLR in my purse.
Learning: I love reading and am currently learning about child development. I'm hoping to also gain more knowledge in this area as having a little one and going back into teaching, this seems to be such an ever present idea in my life. 

Here was also my week in fitness and health:
Saturday: jog to work
Sunday: 10 miles, 90 squats, 12 push-ups 
Monday: 3 rounds of #friskfall workout by Tone it Up, 90 squats, 6 push-ups
Tuesday: 3 mile run to the park,  run1 mile home, 90 squats
Wednesday: blogilates "what the fox say" workout
Thursday: 10 minutes of yoga before feeling exhausted, 3 mile run, 1 mile jog home
Friday: I'd love to be able to run 6 miles. We'll see how I feel. ;)

Health:
Here were some of our dinners this week-
Sweet and spicy chicken

Tonight's dinner was meatloaf. Yum yum!!
Eating clean has still been a struggle as we are now using Emeals to help is plan our meals. Most meals are clean but occasionally I'm using ranch dressing or mayonnaise in my cooking. But I will say it is tasty and I haven't resorted to eating out, which is not only healthier, but cheaper. 

Thanks for stopping by!! 
What are your FALL goals this season


Sunday, October 13, 2013

Portable Pilates Studio by Empower


I recently got to try out the Portable Pilates Studio. I was so excited when the brown box was awaiting at my door. I quickly opened it up and assembled it quickly. It was very easy to assemble, which I appreciate because many times I have to read the instructions propr to assembling equipment. But this was simple. I was eager to try it out.




That night I put in the DVD and watched all three workouts.
My arms were burning!! I loved it. I still needed a little finesse when it came to some of the moves on the Portable Pilates bar.

What I loved about it was how versatile it was. Sure, its a little big and I probably won't take it to the park, but I can use it standing, sitting, or lying down.

What I really liked about Empower Fitness is the support they have for women. After having a baby, I have been eager to get back into shape. It's not easy, day after day, to find the motivation to stay fit and well. I appreciate their ability to provide products and quick workouts for those of us with little to no time. Even though my love for running can dominate my workout schedule, I love to throw in new things. When I got to try out the Portable Pilates studio, I went online and  found that they have so many other fun exercise tools.

The other great thing about Empower Fitness is that they have a wealth of videos for workouts available here on their website.



Overall here is my rating:

Versatility: 
Wowee Wow!! There is SO much you can do. I enjoyed the arm portion of the video where you are using the bar horizontally and lifting up toward your chest. You can also loop both hoops in one leg or cross them for added resistance.



Fitness Impact: 

I was definitely feeling a burn. My arms did a lot the first time. The next few times though, I made sure to space out my resistance between my upper and lower body. 

Fun: 
It was so much fun!! There are so many different ways to use this bar. I found it to be extremely challenging in some areas (hip flexors)
Size:
Its a little big, but not bulky. I found it to be slimmer than my yoga mat and fit nicely in my mat carrier.

Affordability: 
29.99 plus it comes with a DVD I thought it was pretty reasonable for how much it accomplishes!!

So what do you think? Have you added Pilates into your training?



Sponsored by Empower Fitness. The thought and opinions are my own :)
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