Mama Sweat

Beauty Short Cuts for Hot (Sweaty) Mamas

2012-01-30T07:39:00.000-06:00

Do we ever grow out of playing dress up?

When it comes to putting myself together each day I usually find myself choosing between hair or make-up. Rarely is it hair and make-up.

Fit moms are always slicing and dicing their day to squeeze in a workout, so it goes to reason we'd skip on the beautification process. Still, I want to look like I tried. Over the 8+ years of being a fit mom, I've accumulated my top ten beauty shorts cuts:

Daily showers are non-optional, so make them quick. Sure, like most postpartum moms--crusty with a mix of bodily fluids that were mine and the babies--the days blurred together and I lost track of my mornings and nights and personal hygiene, too. But once the fog lifted I realized that not only did having human beings change me profoundly, they profoundly changed my body odor. The miasma of motherhood.

Only wash hair if you have to. Typically my rule is to wash my hair either after a good sweaty workout or after two days, whichever comes first. The fun in this is to try to coincide the sweaty workout on the second day. Still, there are times when the washing and drying and styling eludes you. And that's when you...

Hide dirty hair with a hat. Hats are all the rage. Most definitely capitalize on style trends and hide your sweaty hair under a stylish hat. Fashion with purpose!

Grow a high-tolerance for body hair. Here's where I luck out. The hair on my legs is light and fine, grows in relatively soft--and bonus! The longer it gets the softer it is! Even the underarm hair is understated. So, yeah, I take advantage of this physiological windfall and shave twice a week, picking up a third day in the summer. Still there are times when I should but don't and that's when you have to camouflage. Hirsute moms, can use this option when they need to to take a break from the razor, too. Cover the legs, skip the tank, and use the extra insulation to sweat a little bit more in your workout.

Keep nails short and unpolished. I file when necessary and every now and again buff them for shine. For me, having long painted nails is a major time suck. My toes are a different story. I really like pedicures. That's my summer-time treat.

Don't fall prey to the anti-aging industry. This one is a "do as I say, not as I do" tip. Now that I'm in my 40s I'll admit I've succumbed. A few years ago I used a single jar of face cream from the drug store. That was all. Now, I own two different kinds of cleansers (one exfoliates!), a moisturizer for day and one for night, and--here's where they can really suck you in--an eye cream. Once you start I don't know if you can ever go back, so hold off as long as possible!

Prioritize make-up application. You and only you know what you need to feel good when you walk out the door. The lucky ones can get away with nothing at all. I go with a slathering of tinted moisturizer and mascara as my bare-bones basics. If time permits my cheeks get color and my nose gets a dusting of powder. On rare occasions I break out eye-liner. I think I wear eye shadow five times a year. I carry Burts Bees lip tint in every bag I own and keep some in the car.

Accessorize light. Bling. It's important. I have a drawer full of goodies. However, on a day-to-day basis I stick with the basics so I'm always adorned: Wedding ring and the diamond studs my husband gave me 15 years ago. They never come off so I'm always accessorized. If an occasion calls for a different look, then I can switch out, if time allows. But if it doesn't, I still have my sparkle.

Take time to eat nutritiously. A healthy meal takes effort, but eating healthy food is important for your inward and outward appearance. Taking the time to treat yourself to good nutrition is more effective than face creams or make up.

Redirect with self-confidence! There are days when I leave the house ready to be featured in a fashion magazine "Don't!" Here's when you let your inner-beauty shine. Especially if you've successfully finished a workout, let your sweaty glow ooze that inner-confidence and own it sister!

I'm sure you have your own fit mom beauty short-cuts to share. Let's hear them!

What is a Feminine Athlete?

2012-01-23T05:25:00.003-06:00

New meaning to mom at the end of her rope.

Last week I had the pleasure of guest posting on the Skirt Sport Blog, a company you all know I love. So I was honored they asked me to fill in on the blog series while Nicole DeBoom is away on maternity leave (she was also a guest on the Hot (Sweaty) Mamas book tour).

I'm still smitten by the reminder that I am, indeed, a feminine athlete. That teenager from the 80s--the pom pon girl who complained to the squad's sponsor that her uterus might fall out if she made her run laps--now has embraced the athlete within. Her uterus, despite 7 marathons, 2 Ironman triathlons, and 4 children is still safely tucked inside her.

I'm sending you over there this week to read about trading in my pom pons for finish lines and being a Feminine Athlete today.

P.S. Me and The Boy also traveled to Shape.com last week. I share what's in my gym bag!

Family Fitness is Not Sitting Out Storytime Yoga

2012-01-16T04:13:00.001-06:00

This pose is called "There are days when I still need a nap."

Last week I took The Boy to a special story time yoga at our local library. He's already been exposed to yoga at our house in various ways: Watching Mom do sun salutations out of the corner of his eye while he watches Thomas the Train; Knowing I'm going to a class while he plays in the child center at the gym; or together, as we read one of our favorite books, My Daddy is a Pretzel. The Boy knows Tree Pose, Triangle Pose, Downward Dog.

I wouldn't go as far as to say he's an above-average nearly 3-year-old yogi, but he likes yoga. That's enough.

Story time and yoga? Yes! In fact, I've stopped going to the regular storytime events because he won't sit still for them. He lasts all of 30 seconds before I get a look that says, "Let's cut out and play with the train set."

Quite honestly I don't want to just sit there either. I get it!

So there we were eager for our yoga session (me especially so after running hills early that morning) among a room full of tots and their caregivers: moms, dads, grandparents. Who all took a seat. Or stood there. Not moving. For the whole. stinking. storytime.

Except me. But, of course.

I was the only adult besides the yoga instructor making monkey sounds, roaring like a tiger, hopping like a frog, stomping like an elephant, barking like a dog.

I tried real hard to focus on having fun with The Boy. And we did. Yet I felt--and you are not supposed to feel this way in yoga--pissed off at all those parents and grandparents. Sure I get it. I've been that mom who just wants to sit there with her coffee. Zone out. Score 20 minutes of someone else entertaining the kids. Still I had to work at not passing judgment while I was making monkey sounds, roaring like a tiger, hopping like a frog, stomping like an elephant, barking like a dog.

Because, come on!, I was the only grown up involved. Apparently no one looked at me and said, "Well, she doesn't look that stupid, I'll go ahead and do this too." Nope. Just sat there.

Talk about a missed opportunity--not just for the chance to move and stretch for themselves, but the chance to show their children that fitness is a family affair, for the pleasure--the privilege, really--of being active together.

I'm judging.

And I know what that means. I will never again be able to sit in storytime with my coffee and zone out.

Here I am

2012-01-10T07:05:00.000-06:00

Over here! Spending the day with a local writer, blogger, mom, Nina Badzin.

Nina, aside from entertaining me and inspiring me to read, has taught me a lot about how to navigate social media. Still trying to figure it out? Go see her!

Nina just had baby #4 and is ready to eat healthier (we have many things in common, including a deep affection for sugar) and to get going on this Fit Thing; and do it for real this time. She wants to lose the last of her baby weight. She wondered about her daughters. How does she do this without driving them crazy?

Well, I think as mothers we're entitled to drive our daughters a little crazy.

I mean they need something to talk about behind our back when they're adults.

But, we have enough crazy around that our body image doesn't need to be part of it.

So read more over at Nina Badzin's blog and join the conversation. She's giving away books!

First Post of 2012

2012-01-02T13:44:00.000-06:00

Me and my sister, Erin, after climbing to the North Peak of the Franklin Mountains
in El Paso, Tx., on Dec. 30, her 40th birthday. Good bye 2011!

My mother-in-law gave me a six-word memoir calendar for Christmas. Each day showcases someone's six-word memoir and it encourages you to write your own six words each day.

I woke up on January 1 feeling this way in six words:

I want to do it all.

What is it about the new year that fills us with initiative, expectation and possibility? And why still? I hope that even into my old age I feel this way with the start of each new year.

So naturally I started January 1 cleaning out my refrigerator. Clean start! I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to empty out the fuzzy leftovers. One thing lead to another and next thing I knew I was scrubbing the sticky shelves and washing out the fruit bin. God it felt good.

But I was already worn out with my ambition and it wasn't yet noon.

I certainly didn't want to spend the day--or 2012--cleaning. I wasn't sure what I wanted for the rest of the day--or 2012. Yes, definitely there was so much I wanted to do. But do it all? What did that entail, exactly?

The barking seal cough from my son, heralding another round of croup, brought me back to the present. I wasn't sure how much I could do with my day, or where to begin. So I just decided to see what happened.

There was a group of friends heading out for a trail run at noon. So I joined them.

My husband took the kids to a movie. So I stayed behind, crawled in bed and read a book. (This might rank as a slice of heaven for me.)

I went to the 5 pm church service.

I watched my kids' perform a magic show.

We had dinner--what I could cull together after cleaning out the fridge--then we all curled up on the couch to watch Dolphin Tale.

Without any planning at all, I think it turned out to be a near perfect day. When I got into bed, I changed my six words to better represent the day, and the easier approach I'd like to take into the new year:

I want to do just enough.

Ahh, yes. I don't want to tamper my enthusiasm but darn it, setting out to do "just enough" feels right for 2012. It's a little like starting out thinking I wanted to run a marathon this year and coming to the conclusion that setting my sights on a personal record 5K was not only a respectable goal, but would work better for my life right now. I could funnel ambition into "just enough" so that I could stay grounded in the present, which is to say, take advantage of opportunities to curl up in bed with a book or stop for impromptu magic shows. If the opportunity presents itself to summit a mountain, chances are, I'll go for it.

Now, it is January 2.

I'll just see what happens next.

Do you have a six-word memoir to share?

Last Post of 2011

2011-12-26T06:44:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post since we're all spending time with family and enjoying the holidays. Since my grandfather would have turned 100 on Wednesday I've had him on my mind more lately. I've been reading some of the stories he left and came across a speech he gave on "Career Day," at a local high school. One sentence leapt out at me and I feel compelled to share. So ruminate over it as 2011 comes to a close and take it with you as you head into 2012. Happy New Year!

You do best doing the things you love to do, so love your talent and it will fulfill your life.

~Victor Hearon Douglass

12/28/1911-7/17/2009

Your Daughter's Body Image Starts with Your Own

2011-12-19T04:13:00.002-06:00

Author Dara Chadwick

Last week as part of the Hot (Sweaty) Mamas virtual book tour, I interviewed Dara Chadwick, author of You'd Be So Pretty If... Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies--Even When We Don't Love Our Own. I love that she's reminding us that our daughter's body image starts with out own and wanted to share this interview with Mama Sweat readers, too. Stop with the disparaging remarks about yourself and if you hear them from someone else, borrow Dara's response she provides at the end of the post. Brilliant.

If you have ever once said in front of your children, something to the effect of: "I look fat..." or "I hate my hips..." or "My stomach is huge..." or (enough already, you get the idea) then you really must check out the book by Dara Chadwick, You'd Be So Pretty If... Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies--Even When We Don't Love Our Own. Dara also blogs at Psychology Today and her own site, You'd Be So Pretty If.

Between Laurie and I, we have five daughters, so I wanted to ask Dara a few questions. Plus, our names rhyme and I thought the Q&A format would look stellar. Moms, buckle your seat belts, take notes and remember who you're really talking to when you're looking in the mirror (ie, look down at the reflection of the little faces staring up at you)!

Kara: I love what your book is about, the message is so important and goes hand in hand with our message about the need to feel good about your body for what it can do--be healthy and strong versus the disparaging thoughts about thighs or tummies. Sure we might workout for vanity's sake too, but when it comes to our children what should we be highlighting about "why we workout."

Dara: I always try to make it clear that I work out to feel good. In fact, I’m glad we’re having this conversation today because I’ve been super busy lately and haven’t had much time to work out – and I can definitely feel the difference. Working out always boosts my mood and helps me handle the stresses in my life in a more positive way. I have two teenagers who have plenty of stress of their own between school, activities and other commitments. I try to help them see that physical activity helps keep both our bodies and our minds healthy.

Kara: How do you and your children get fit as a family?

Dara: Walking or bike riding is usually our family fitness activity of choice, though I’ll confess we don’t do it nearly as often as I’d like. My kids don’t think of “fitness” as something they have to do; both are active in sports (my son plays football and runs cross country; my daughter is a fast-pitch softball player). I do everything I can to encourage their participation because I know that love for physical activity is something they’ll take with them into adulthood and will help build healthy habits for life.

Kara: Now let's say we have a daughter who is heavier than she should be. NOW what? If we don't want her to dislike exercise or associate it with weightloss only, how do we work around that?

Dara: Let’s face it: If your daughter is heavier than she should be, she already knows. Don’t make conversations about food or exercise only about losing weight – make it about feeling good and being healthy. I try to encourage moms to help their kids find a physical activity that is fun for them. It could be dance, skating, gymnastics, football, baseball, running, jumping rope…you get the point. There’s a huge difference between movement that you just have to “get through” (e.g., exercise simply for the sake of losing weight) and movement that you look forward to because it brings you joy, social interaction and a chance to do something fun. Don’t be afraid to let kids try different activities until they find one they love. And when they do, you can foster their involvement by paying for lessons if needed, getting them the right equipment, giving them a ride to practice and most important, cheering them on.

For kids who aren’t into sports, there are plenty of great video games out there now that encourage activity. We’ve got Zumba for our Playstation and it’s a lot of fun for the kids (and mom, too) – and a great workout. A walk with Mom or Dad is also a great way to get kids active and create time to re-connect. The bottom line is that one person in a family should never be singled out as the one who needs to exercise or cut back on treats. A family-wide approach helps keep everyone healthy and helps avoid hurt feelings.

Kara: I read your guest post about math and nodded. I felt (feel?) my own math skills are... how shall I put it... well, I'm a writer! But I don't want my daughters to feel that way so I've been careful about what I say... and yet, I've heard one already say she doesn't like math, the other say she's not good at math (which is NOT true). Then there's the daughter with curly red hair who wants it straight and blonde (although she gets nothing but praise for her hair) and then there's my daughter who doesn't have red hair, who has already asked if I'd let her dye it red. When our children start these negative digs how can we change the script? And, of course, not make it backfire into a worse situation!

Dara: Those things are hard to hear, aren’t they? Of course, we moms have to look at ourselves and see what kind of example we’re setting. If we’re quick to put ourselves down (or to put other women down), chances are good that our daughters will pick up those habits. Everyone gets down sometimes, but we can try to set a good example but speaking kindly about ourselves and others. Instead of saying things like “I’m not good at math,” we can re-frame it as “Math doesn’t always come easy to me, but when I work hard at it, I can do it.” What a powerful shift in the message!

The same thing is true about our bodies – instead of saying, “I look fat in these pants,” we can re-frame it as “These pants aren’t a flattering cut. I’m going to try on another pair that’s a better fit.” Now, it’s about the pants – not you.
It sounds simple, but how we frame our words has a big impact on how we feel about our bodies – and how our daughters feel about theirs. And when someone is really putting herself down, sometimes a gentle “Please don’t talk about my (daughter, sister, mother, friend, etc.) that way” can really make them stop and think.

Kara: I love that suggestion. We should never let a woman (especially ourselves) get away with putting herself down. Thanks for all your wonderful insight Dara!

What Fit Moms Wear-Winter Edition

2011-12-12T11:24:00.001-06:00

Another reader question! You know I love reader questions. This is a good one, too, and appropriate for a December post:

Hello Kara,
I have enjoyed reading your blog now for several years - thank you for taking the time to keep us inspired! I know you published a post this past summer about running clothing that you like, but I am curious about cold weather gear. I have been a runner for many years, but most of them in very temperate climates which made year-round outside exercise easy. I now live in upstate NY and hope to continue my outdoor/road running throughout the year. Last winter though, I found it very hard to regulate my temperature - I always felt like my core was too hot and my extremities too cold - just the opposite of how it seems cold-weather gear is designed to function! Do you have any suggestions of cold-weather running gear that has worked particularly well for you?
Many thanks from a fellow Sweaty Mama,
Wendy K.
Ithaca, NY

Let's start with a little review. I grew up in El Paso, TX, and lived in Dallas for about 10 years before moving to Minnesota. Until I moved North, I saw no reason to run if temps dropped below 20, mainly because the next day would likely be 60 degrees or higher. So I had options. No so in Minnesota. In order for me to continue running outdoors (I've discovered this is important to surviving winter outside the mental institution) I've lowered my standards and bolstered my wardrobe. Now, not only do I survive the long Minnesota winter, but with the addition of my beloved snowshoes, I thrive.

Thriving! This Texas girl does enjoy winter.

The secret is having the right clothes. Before I go into the details, I'll share a few highlights:

Had there been a blackout, my reflective vest would have come in handy.

#1 You don't have to sacrifice style when you bundle up. Here I am in a Skirt Sports ensemble that can go from presentable (literally in this case when I wore it for a presentation at the Twin Cities Marathon Expo) to perspirable. I've said it before: the best chance you have to get in your workout is to get up and put on your running clothes. As moms, we all know it could be another eight hours before you actually get to sweat, so you might as well look good in the interim.

I'm like Goldilocks, I need gloves that are just right for the weather.

#2 You need to have a range of winter gear. As I've learned to brave colder and colder temps, I've bought the gear that withstands those temps, which means I have mittens and hats for various degrees of cold, like the gloves above and the various hats, below.

Left, the hat for severe cold, middle, the hat for pretty darn cold and right, the hat for mild cold.

The Wonder Teen modeling the barely cold cap with The Boy in a fleece headband (to prevent hat head).

Keep your bank robber comments to yourself.
I don't want to lose my nose to frostbite.

#3 Fabric matters. What this means is, you might find yourself "investing" in winter running wear. After moving to Minnesota my husband did what I couldn't seem to do for myself, which was spend the money on good winter running clothes. He bought me a pair of running pants that might very well be made of Teflon because I can wear them in subzero temps and not feel even a sliver of cold through those fibers. They cost on the other side of $100 and I am here to tell you they are worth the money (see comment above about avoiding the mental institution if I run through the weather). I also recently discovered a new line called Icebreaker, when they sent me a few items to try out. The clothing is made of Merino wool, intended to be cool in summer and warm in winter. I know you're thinking thick and scratchy. But it's not. It's freakishly lightweight and soft. I say freakishly lightweight because this thin layer I'm wearing in the hot pink number above (the balaclava on my head is Icebreaker, too) keeps me as warm or warmer than many of my heavier tops. I was afraid the first time out that it wouldn't be enough so I wore another layer. I didn't need that second layer on my 20-degree run. I tested the other extreme as well. Went to a heat-cranked yoga class wearing the same top. I wasn't hot. Freakish material. But the best part? Most garments have a "Baa Code" so you can trace your clothing back to the very sheep who supplied the wool for it. Fun for the whole family!

#4 Think reflective. The thing about winter is, it's not just cold, it's dark. On my morning runs I now start and finish in the dark. I might as well be running at midnight. I wrote a post about what to wear in the dark for Innovation for Endurance. Check that out for what running experts around the country recommend.

#5 Don't be afraid to take the kids. Have you ever heard of a Brown Fat Cell? Babies have an abundance of brown fat cells that help regulate body temperature, which eventually diminishes the older a child gets. But this explains why you are shivering in the 3 minutes it takes to get the mail, while your children have been playing in the snow for hours. You know how we argue with them to wear their coat and they protest, "I'm not cold!" Well, believe them. What I'm saying here is, the kids might like to get out with you. If you're pushing a babe in a jogger, though, remember they're only sitting there, so they will need more layers than you who are moving. A weather shield for the stroller is a handy addition to fitness winterization.

Me and Emily Hedges (The Hot Sweaty Friend helping with the Virtual Book Tour) before our Sunday run.
Temp was 32 degree F with a fair amount of wind.

To complete my advice on winter wear, I've got the following chart. This is what I've learned the last nine winters in Minnesota. Trial and error. Everyone's heat making abilities and tolerance for cold is different. Get the right gear and get out there!

Temperature	What to Wear	Extras
50-60° F	In the fall this might feel chilly, but in spring it will feel glorious. Shorts still required, and a light, long sleeve layer (the kind with sleeves that can cover your fingers are nice).	If you’re prone to being cold add something over your head—like a running cap, not a knit stocking—and light gloves.
40-49° F fall &/or no snow	Same as above. For some reason having just spent the summer wearing shorts it’s easier to keep them on and transition gradually.	You might want to make your top layer a little thicker or—especially if it’s windy—add a vest. Now it’s time to consider a hat of some sort and gloves.
40-49° F spring &/or snow	Snow changes everything. Maybe it just looks colder, but I want Capris on bottom.	Same as above.
30-39° F	A pant is now required for me. Nothing heavy-duty, just offering full coverage and a top made to keep out the chill. Hat and gloves are no longer optional for me. I’m also wearing a warmer mitten and hat.	When temps dip below 40 this is when my body and brain disagree. My mind wants to bundle up, but my body will protest 10 minutes into my run. Stick with your one layer (the vest rule still applies) by the end of your run you’ll be glad you did.
20-29° F	Here is where I’m going through my drawer searching for a tight that’s a bit thicker, with a tighter weave. I might wear two layers on top, a light base with a thicker outer layer.	I’m also digging through my drawer looking for my wool socks that come up higher on my ankles. Hate when that little strip of skin between sock and tight get exposed. Also, remember to remove earrings. Freezing metal on earlobes is no good.
0-19° F	Bring on the mack-daddy winter running pants. These are the pants you hold up at the running store and wonder why they are SO expensive. When wearing these tights your legs are in Hawaii. From the waist up I’m wearing the same as above.	I might also add a jacket now or make the jacket my second layer. If the temps are closer to zero I also might add some sort of mask for my face. My heavy duty mittens come out too.
Sub 0° F	I'll get out if cabin fever strikes, but generally more than five degrees below zero and I’m at my limit. Yes, I love to run, but not so much below zero. If I’m training for something and need to run, I’ll find my way to a treadmill. Otherwise there are plenty of other fun ways to move inside.

What is a Tempo Run?

2011-12-05T07:12:00.000-06:00

I don’t believe there is such a thing as a "real runner." You know what I mean: the person who is running to drop a few pounds refers to her neighbor who finished a 5K as a “real runner.” The person who finished the 5K refers to her sister who finished a half-marathon as a “real runner.” And so on.

Phooey. If your pace is faster than a walk, you're a runner.

There is, I believe, a continuum of runners, from those who just do it, to those with a strong passion for running. Part of that passion comes from self-study, in the sport of running as well as the personal growth, which is as much a natural by-product of running as the sweat.

I just started reading a book by Jennifer Luitwieler called Run with Me: An Accidental Runner and the Power of Poo. I’m not sure where on this continuum she or I reside, but I connected to what she wrote:

Running is merely a vehicle by which bright glimmers of iridescent truth came to reside in my heart and head. Through running, and the time, thought, energy and people involved in this journey, I finally trained The Dog to stop pooping in my house; I also trained myself to identify and to listen to the right voice. I trained myself to push harder and faster, to see what I could do. Running does not make these things true. Running also is not the be-all and end-all of my existence on Earth. It is merely a way I came to know some pretty cool things.

Isn’t that lovely?

So when I got an email last week from Mamacat with this question: “What is a Tempo Run?” I had to smile.

Her birthday is this week, which makes me realize it's been a year since we got together for lunch and she asked me about helping her become a Hot (Sweaty) Mama. On that day I can say with certainty that she was not a runner.

That's all changed. Sure, we've known that for a long time. Technically, the gig is up. She finished the Iron Girl Duathlon--her goal race--and two triathlons to boot. We've talked about her future goals and I know she's committed. So committed, she’s surprising even herself:

I think something is wrong. I wake up every day and don't feel right until I go for a run. Oh, and three miles just isn't enough anymore. WTF? How many days a week should I be running anyway? Sunday was the first days IN YEARS that I did not have a Diet Coke. Who Am I?

Then the following week I got this:

It's strange how your mind changes with your body. (Or in my case, my mind but hardly my body darn it!). I never thought I'd run at all. Then I made myself attempt to run/walk in intervals of 30 seconds (because the teacher said to) and I thought my heart would fail me. I didn't like it much. Next... I never thought I'd willingly run three miles, but ended up adding three miles to a hearty swim and long bike ride. Unexpectedly, the sense of accomplishment made me want to do it again. Who new? Then curiosity got the best of me just by wondering if I could conquer 10 miles on foot. AND I did it two Sundays in a row and agreed to do it again in another week. Who knew? How could you know? I learned what running through the pain means; I learned what mind over matter means; I learned that it's as much mental strength as it is physical strength; and I've crossed some kind of proverbial path into a world of running that I actually enjoy. Crave it. Wild. What a year!

We just HAD to check this out at the library!

Mamacat--like Jennifer, like myself, like a lot of us who run--is coming to know some pretty cool things.

Happy Birthday Mamacat.

PS--Click this link for more about tempo runs and four tempo workouts.

You know you’re raising a fit family when...

2011-11-28T06:50:00.001-06:00

You know you’re raising a fit family when...

Everyone in the family has clothing made with DriFit.

The kids request protein shakes for breakfast.

Creative play includes working out, races and going to the gym.

Your kids greet the childcare staff at your gym with as much affection as they give their favorite aunt.

There is a laundry basket for darks, for whites and for sweaty workout clothes.

There is a designated workout area in the house (and the playroom doubles as a workout area when necessary).

Everyone in the family has a “finishers photo” on the mantle.

When you and your partner work out at the same time you consider it a date.

Your gym bag doubles as a diaper bag and vice versa.

Hearing “you stink” isn’t intended to be derogatory, but rather a statement of fact, even a badge of honor.

Mindfulness on the Road

2011-11-21T05:05:00.002-06:00

We have a few more days on our virtual road trip before we take a break for the Thanksgiving Holidays. If the stress of the season gets to you, head on over to the Hot (Sweaty) Mamas website. Today's book tour stop is at Ms. Mind Body, the website of Kate Hanley, author of The Anywhere Anytime Chill Guide. I interviewed Ms. Mind Body herself and she offers infinite wisdom for the stressed out mama.

I know you know you need it and I know you know I need it. So go read it!

Then, if you want some insight into how me and my co-author, Laurie Kocanda, deal with stress click on over to Ms. Mind Body, where we speak our mind on mindfulness.

Plus there are all kinds of chances to win: Enter to win a copy of the Anywhere Anytime Chill Guide, with your comment on Hot (Sweaty) Mamas, get another chance when you sign up for Kate Hanley's Weekly Vegimental, and you can also win a copy of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas over at Ms. Mind Body.

On Tuesday join us at Fit Bottomed Mamas and Wednesday we'll be at Happy Healthy Hip with more chances to win a copy of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas. Who needs Black Friday?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Getting Noticed

2011-11-14T07:46:00.001-06:00

This weekend The Boy joined me in my office. He likes to steal all the credit cards and business cards he can find to "play mail" by slipping them through the handle on a desk-top file box. Occasionally I read his mail and unbeknownst to me he was "reading," my computer screen. When I opened the Hot (Sweaty) Mamas website I heard him murmur the words, "Hot Sweaty Mamas."

His little voice speaking those words floated around in my brain like a magic carpet for a few seconds.

You all know this is much neater depiction
of the real thing. I love the boxes. Indeed
there are boxes of books on the floor.

I know that my most important job on the planet is to wipe bottoms and noses, make healthy meals and snacks, keep the kids dressed for the elements, read to them, play with them, snuggle with them, and on it goes. There are other things this mom does, too, so when they acknowledge that--say by coming home with artwork like this--the recognition means more than a photo of me in People Magazine. Only a mother knows I speak the complete truth.

But my son, he's only two. I don't expect him to know or care what mom does outside of playing trains (or in his words, "frains,") and building Lego towers. Even when I take him on a run with me, I'm pretty sure he thinks we're out there for his amusement.

So as his little voice swooshed around my head, saying the title of the book that has been part of my consciousness long before he was even conceived, I thought I hadn't really heard it, that I just linked his physical presence to what was before me somehow. To be sure, I asked, "What did you say?"

Then he said it again, to my face.

Just so you know, I just heard him say his own name out loud a few days ago, which was pretty exciting, too.

I got excited all over again. So excited that I grabbed my Flip camera and asked him to repeat the title for my enjoyment. Just so you believe me, I'm sharing it with you below.

When I say "thanks" at the end it's as if I'm thanking my supervisor after a good job review.

I'm hoping Hot (Sweaty) Mamas will be on the lips of others this week as we kick off our Virtual Book Tour. We will be visiting a blog a day from now until mid December. We have a list of all the bloggers who will be hosting us on the tour. Many of them will be doing give-aways, which is a nice way to snag a copy for yourself or someone else (it's gift-giving season!) The first five stops this week are:

11/14 Chubby Chicks Run Too 11/15 Step it Up with Steph 11/16 Fit Knit Chick 11/17 Bump Life11/18 The Well Mom

Check it out and join us on our "road trip."

Do your kids know what Mom does when she isn't changing diapers or making lunches (after washing her hands in between, of course)?

Family Fitness: Motivating Tweens to Move

2011-11-07T12:41:00.000-06:00

She's not a tween yet, but wearing a tee like the this,

which Larysa Didio kindly sent to all of my daughters,

will keep them motivated through Tweendom and beyond!

A few months back I got a question from reader Bethanie. (Bethanie, remember when you emailed me? I never emailed you back because my computer crashed this summer and I lost my email. That goes for anyone else out there who wonders why I’m such a stank for not responding. Please resend if you haven't heard from me!)

I surmise there might be a few other Hot (Sweaty) Mamas dealing with this same issue. Here’s what Bethanie had to say:

Hi Kara!

I've been a reader of your blog for a few years, and have a question that I'd love to hear your thoughts about. I'm getting married in the fall and my fiance and I both want to be more active and model this lifestyle for his 11-year-old son. However, there is very little physical/athletic activity that his son likes to do--but he really, really needs to. We are both working on increasing our activity level and watching what we eat more, and I'm keeping a careful eye on consistently serving nutrient-rich meals and snacks, but I'd really appreciate any suggestions on how to get kids who are reluctant to get active to do exactly that.

Sorry this is wordy and rambly, but I'm stuck for more ideas on what to do!

Sweatily ;)

Bethanie

Sweatily! Love that, can I steal it?

Bethanie, first congratulations on the wedding and welcome to instant motherhood! I am a few years out from tweenland, so I contacted Larysa Didio for some help. Larysa is a celebrity personal trainer and fitness expert for numerous magazines. She’s also the co-author of Sneaky Fitness: Fun Foolproof Ways To Slip Fitness Into Your Child's Everyday Life (Running Press, 2009). Here are her tips to motivate tweens:

Tween kids still love to do things as a family or group so anything that you can plan to do together is great. Sign up for a walking event, charity race or plan an active day that includes fun things like hiking, bowling, etc. Involve a friend or a group of his friends and he’ll think the event is even “cooler.” Let him help you pick which event the family will do. Tween kids love having a say and love the prep work that’s involved.

Every child can be motivated to move, you just have to find what interests them. To get a child to run on a treadmill may be fruitless but if you see he likes watching martial arts movies or playing judo video games see if he’d like to try a class. Or if he loves watching American Idol and listening to music perhaps he can sign up for some drum lessons (the most active band instrument out there).

It’s also important to note that traditional fitness options aren’t the only ways to get fit. As long as your child’s body is moving and active, he’s burning calories. Give him chores (that you agree on compensation for) that cause him to be more active like taking out the garbage or raking the lawn. Or you can have a "family car wash" and have fun spraying each other in the meantime.

One of the best ways to get your family to move more every day is the family stroll after dinner. Studies have shown that exercise after dinner is the most effective at keeping blood sugar levels stable. Take the dog for a walk, pick different routes and bond while you walk. This will also limit after dinner screen time which has been contributed to inactivity and obesity.

Bethanie, if you’re reading this, I’d like to send your stepson a Polar Activity Monitor. You probably already know how much I love mine. My kids have them too and they’re a fun way to track your activity. I’ve seen first hand how these watches motivate kids to move!

Do you have any more advice to get tweens up and moving? I’ll bet you do. Let’s give Bethanie some more tips. I’m giving away a copy of the Larysa’s book, Sneaky Fitness: Fun Foolproof Ways To Slip Fitness Into Your Child's Everyday Life. Leave us a comment and be entered to win!

Scared Sweaty: This Fit Mom Looks Like a Witch for Halloween... Without Trying!

2011-10-31T09:26:00.000-05:00

Here's what's scary for me today.

My face.

Feeling a little like those knobby pumpkins. The "warty" variety, I believe they're called. These little bumps start out on my face harmless, but I go after them like the villain in a slasher movie. What can I say, I'm a picker. This says a lot about my personality. I am not one who can sit idly by and wait for a little, tiny bump--inconspicuous to everyone else but feeling like a water balloon under the skin to me-- resolve itself on it's own. It's sport and nervous habit rolled into one.

Expected when your 16. Not so much at 42.

So I took my warty pumpkin head to my friendly neighborhood salon for a facial on Saturday. I needed two things. Professional help and a nap. I hadn't had a full night's sleep in over a week. Also scary. Every single one of my children is to blame for one reason or another for waking me up at least one time a night last week. All of them. Little goblins.

A facial would buy me one hour of lying prone in a relaxed atmosphere. Sure I would pay for my nap. I was that desperate. I imagined that I would emerge from the room clear-skinned and refreshed.

That's not exactly how it happened.

I could no more sleep through that facial than I could through childbirth. In fact, I think I used Lamaze breathing to make it through that hour. My aesthetician is a picker too, but she was armed with steam, a magnifying mirror and sharp tools. So I emerged from my facial looking as if a spooky black cat attacked my face.

Plus, the moment I walked into her room for my afternoon facial still wearing my workout clothes from that morning, she was on to me.

"How often do you work out?"

I'm proud of this answer, I don't have to fudge the numbers, like I do when the dental hygienist asks me how often I floss. I answered truthfully. I workout 5 to 6 times a week.

"Do you wash your face after you workout?"

Uh oh.

I stammered here. I knew what the right answer was, just like I know the right answer for the dental hygienist. But I felt the trap. She knew the answer just by looking at my face, as does the dental hygienist when she cleans my teeth.

So I dove right into the busy mom fall-back answer where you don't actually say you do or you don't but that you give it your best shot, and as it is you're squeezing workouts into borrowed time, and if you're lucky enough to accomplish that workout, chances are you do not have time to shower, too.

So she put it to me this way: "You know how when you make eggs for breakfast and you rinse the dishes right away they are much easier to clean later, but if you don't rinse them first you have to go back at the dishes with a scrubber and other tools to chisel the stuck-on food off the plate?"

Funny thing, I did feel a little like I had egg on my face.

Then she asked: "Do you drink wine?"

Did I mention I have four kids? Did I mention I'm holding my life together by a strand of dental floss, which I should be using to floss? Did I mention I haven't had much sleep in 8 years?

YES I DRINK WINE!

I think she mentioned some nonsense about wine contributing to the pimple problem but it's clear to me that wine is not the cause. Stress, yes. So you might mistake wine consumption for increased zits, when in fact the wine is only a correlation due to the stress. I'd even say the wine helps. With enough wine I lose the urge to pick at my face. Lose the urge or consciousness, same thing.

You know what else I'm supposed to give up? The anti-aging serum I was convinced to buy six months ago.

"Just until we get your face cleared up," She suggested. "We can worry about that later."

That?

That would be the fine lines and wrinkles, which for the moment are dominated by zits. Anyone else find this ridiculous?

More scary were her instructions to wash my face three times a day followed by an application of tea tree oil to the affected areas, making me smell like a witch who has been stewing in her own evil potion.

Just one more thing to do. As it is I eat most of my meals standing up. Does it sound like I have time to wash my face three times a day? I am supposed to floss my teeth and meditate, too, but...

What I am trying to do right by my body is to workout most days of the week. I've learned as I've gotten older, I can't just workout anymore. I also have to stretch. I have to strength train. I have certain therapeutic exercises I must do so I can keep exercising pain free. Now add washing my face to clear up the adult acne so I can get back to my anti-aging regimen. I am still young enough to roll my eyes. Or maybe I just think I'm rolling my eyes, I'll bet my eyes looked crossed instead, like that stinky witch.

As instructed I started my morning with a good face washing and followed that with an inspection in the mirror. I passed over the dark circles, zits and fine lines. You know what I saw in my reflection? Dammit if I didn't see a chin hair.

I really need no help at all with this witch costume.

Does your life as a fit mom contribute to your halloween costume?

Weekend Update

2011-10-28T08:20:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends!

Want to share the latest on the Hot (Sweaty) Mamas circuit. First for those in the Twin Cities, I'll be at Tangletown Crossfit on Saturday, October 29, at 11 a.m. for a donation-based workout (scaled to all levels) to raise money to help the family of Lorene Nystrom, who is battling cancer. Whatever you can pay for the workout, plus proceeds from Hot (Sweaty) Mamas will go to the family. You know how I feel about Cross Fit. Now's a great opportunity to try it out!

Next week I'm going to San Diego! Anyone out there in or around San Diego?

First I'll be part of a fun mom and kids event at Kidville in Carlsbad on Friday morning, November 4, from 10:30-12:30. Then I'll give the Hot (Sweaty) Mamas pep talk at the Athleta Iron Girl 5K/10K packet pick up at the San Diego Road Runner Sports at 6:45 that night.

I'll be running the Athleta Iron Girl 5K in Del Mar on Sunday, November 6, and hoping that my track workouts pay off with personal record. I'm not talking about a PR after kids, I'm going for the lifetime PR, which was set 20 years ago.

I feel compelled to be so bold because I was recently in the presence of Olympian Carrie Tollefson, when she interviewed Laurie and I about Hot (Sweaty) Mamas. Speed can rub off, right? We had a great chat, which is part of a two-part webisode on her website, www.ctollerun.com. Here's a look at part I.

Update #9 from Mamacat

2011-10-24T10:05:00.000-05:00

It's been a month since Mamacat's Iron Girl Duathlon finish. I thought I'd check in with her to find out how the fit lifestyle was going, how she planned to keep up the momentum and specifically, What Is Next! As you'll read, Mamacat is motivated to keep moving and confident she can keep crossing finish lines. In fact, the events she's planning make me want to get out and join her. She has set a significantweight-loss goal for herself and she needs your support! Please share your wisdom with her, especially when it comes to shedding those pounds and quitting her diet coke addiction!

Here's what Mamacat had to say:

You'll be happy to know I couldn't stop working out even if I tried. Despite the goal race being over, I have not lost my will or my drive. I can not skip a day of working out without going insane. It's a solid habit. We love that, don't we?

I've done the "stairs" in Stillwater (a fat burning 1000 step trail of hills, steps, more steps and steps). I've done as many 25-mile bike rides as I can with the nice weather. We've declared family fitness night for TWO nights a week. I've even started to wean myself back into club time instead of outdoor time. I'm still doing Moms on the Run and still LOVE IT. I love the women and that no one judges me even if I am the slowest runner alive. We only have about 2 weeks left and I think I'm going to cry. This season we've been doing more interval training and working on bootcamp drills. My legs have gotten really strong.

Fitness is such a habit that it naturally has a place on my to do list, daily. This is significant because I was very afraid once the Iron Girl was over I would find it easy to pop an excuse (not a reason) in here or there. No way, Jose!

One thing is certain, this journey is not over. I bought a wet suit in an end-of-season sale. This commits me to open water swimming and triathlons in the spring (lest I prefer divorce court for spending money frivolously) and keeps me 'mentally' in the game.

My most immediate goal is the Scare In White Bear 5K with my husband and son. My girls will do the 1/2 mile race. I've got my eye on the Fast before the Feast race on Thanksgiving Day, a February cross-country ski event, a paintball gun race, and a May Duathlon. I'm also eagerly awaiting details of an indoor triathlon at Lifetime Fitness and planning some kind of neighborhood family fun race day that will involve skiing, skating, sledding or all of the above.

I will revisit the early days of our journey where you challenged me to quit it with the Diet Coke. I went way down in my consumption and then back up to large amounts (no where near the 8-a-day mark but a heck of a lot more than one a day). Reality is I think I just have to cut out Diet Coke COMPLETELY. I'm still saying "yup, I've gotta do that" but have not yet been able to actually do it.

I have been writing down everything that goes into my mouth and it's not as great as I let myself think it is. I need to get back to the nutrition focus I started with that slowly got away (funny how I did eat my veggies when i was getting free massages). So I am going back to a serious focus on nutrition and not just eating my vegetables and fruits, but enjoying them in new ways. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that eating smart the few days prior to the Iron Girl made a big difference for me compared to the previous triathlon, in which I was worn down, dehydrated and lethargic.

My next goal: My OLDER sister turns 50 in a year and I want to cross a finish line with her before then. Fifty pounds lighter. I want to be 50 pound lighter before she gets to 50. And I want the finish line to be the Iron Girl.

Inspiration in the Perspiration

2011-10-17T07:26:00.000-05:00

Since I woke up thinking (and this is not unusual), "How am I going to get it all done this week?" I thought what I needed was a little inspiration from another mom.

On page 135 in Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom there is a section called "Inspiration in the Perspiration," and in it says: "Sometimes just knowing the effort it takes someone else to squeeze in a workout will inspire you to do the same and validate your dedication to getting or staying in shape."

So, I found her this morning. Her name is Erin (just like my sister!) She is a work-from-home mom of 12 training for the New York City marathon who blogs at See Mom Run Far. Impressed? She explains HOW SHE DOES IT!

Because I know you all would want to know too.

And now I feel like I can take on the world. Or, at least, I should.

But I'll settle for a workout.

Who is inspiring you this morning?

This Week's Workout: Happy Dancing

2011-10-14T10:39:00.000-05:00

Here's the ad that ran in the October 24th issue of People Magazine!

When we wrote Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom, we had come to discover how important being a role model is to our children. I wholeheartedly believe in the fifth secret: "Act Like Others are Watching Because they Are."

I just had no idea that the "others" would include the powers-that-be at Revlon.

On a cold April morning I was in Central Park with about 10,000 other woman for the EIF Revlon Run Walk for Women and participated in the free makeover Revlon offered at the finish line. Who turns down a free makeover? I just filled out a short form about why I consider myself a role model, got my hair pouffed, then my photo taken.

After the primping I ran back to my hotel and thought noting of it until Revlon contacted me months later to say I had been chosen for an ad campaign that would run in People Magazine.

And that's all I knew about it until the October 24th issue hit the newsstand. I am honored to be chosen and especially thrilled that Revlon thinks "Fitness is a Family Value," worthy of sharing with the masses.

Act like others are watching. Remember, more than your kids may take notice!

P.S.--My week of minor celebrity has not impressed my children. They complained loudly about the lunches I packed them today and I explained this was the best a super model could do.

Want Your Body Back?

2011-10-10T15:45:00.001-05:00

Do you want your body back? Show me a woman with kids who doesn’t. I too long for that body of the 20-something I once was. But it’s not what you think.

I can live with the now malformed belly button and the numb-to-the-pinch “twin skin” that lies below it. These post-baby remnants are why I roll my eyes at media that lure women into the myth of “getting your pre-baby body back.” No matter how fit you become I guarantee your belly button will never be the same.

I can live with the skin that now wrinkles above my knees when I flex my quads. Such a bummer to have such strong leg muscles covered by the flesh of an elephant. (Note, standing on your head will give your legs a “face-lift” and make them appear 20-years younger. I do this sometimes, just to remember.)

I can live with deflated boobies. Oh sure, they were always small. But I couldn’t appreciate the perk back then. Now I look at animal books with my son and when we come across the photo of the female gorilla I am certain of evolution. After all her boobies look like they nursed a few (or four) kids, too.

No, what I miss from that 20-something body has less to do with aesthetics. I miss not thinking about how my body might respond. As in, “At what point during my run will my hip start to hurt?” I miss the silence of a young body; of not hearing the crepitus in my knees when I take the stairs. I miss the body that was free of consequences: A back than never gave out no matter how poorly I picked something up or being able to turn my head to the right without feeling a shooting pain down my shoulder blade.

I could give a shit about botox. Unless, it could fix any of the problems listed above.

My chiropractor did not have any treatments for me that doubled as wrinkle reducers. Instead she suggested last week that I take a week off of running and any other intense workout to see if I could shake the chronic hip soreness that’s been part of my routine since... well since I started my quest to compete in three triathlons and a duathlon this summer. More running. More biking. More swimming.

Now, I know a lot of women who would reel at the suggestion of taking a week off of running. I am not one of them since my aha! moment that exercise can be more than hard, sweaty workouts. There are lots of ways to exercise, each with varying benefits, and yes, this is all put to paper in “Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom,” if you happen to be someone who needs help broadening your definition of exercise.

I decided my week off of any soreness-inducing workouts would be my ticket back in time. I would get my pre-baby body back--with new, bigger belly button!--so I could start working out harder again (with more care to the reality of the older body I’m in).

Now it’s time to confess. The no-running prescription was realistic because my mom had just arrived in town to take care of the kids while my husband and I spent four of the seven days in the wine country.

Knowing I would be less likely to depend on a stress-reducing run since I also wouldn’t be faced with the demands of a 2-year-old who has suddenly given up naps or an 8-year-old who insists I know nothing about 2nd grade homework, made the condition of the terms much more realistic.

I could get my pre-baby body--with new, bigger belly button!--back without losing my mind.

In fact, I had ideal non-running conditions. I took long walks with my mom and The Boy before leaving town. While I did get on a bike while in California, the 12-mile ride to visit three vineyards took 5 hours. That’s a 2.4 mph pace. I think I burned more calories lifting wine glasses to my mouth. The hotel offered free yoga, too, so I took three wonderful, restorative yoga classes in three days, opening my hips, shoulders, and finding movement again in my neck.

When you stop including workouts that would normally make you sore, you are left with this: just those places that hurt.

It’s a bummer.

So I got a massage.

Anyone thrown a tomato at me via their computer screen yet?

While my hip (and shoulder and neck) indeed hurts less, I can sense some “danger that lurks beneath.” What I’m sure I need is another week off running, that includes another 2.4 mph bike ride while hydrating with pinot noir, long walks and restorative yoga classes. But that’s not what I’m going to get. I’m going to get real life. This is OK because I miss my kids and rather enjoy my chaotic life at home. I mean you can only float in a mineral pool heated to body temperature with underwater music so long. (Ouch. OK, I felt that one.)

As hard as it may be without living at a spa, I will try to keep up the progress toward that consequence-free body I had 20 years ago. I will do my best to engage in the therapeutic and strength building exercises and hope that I can get my new, old, pre-baby body--with new, bigger belly button!--to get me through another marathon, ride my bike more than 12 miles or carry on with my quest to dead lift one and half times my body weight.

I might feel it. I might feel it like a woman in her 40s versus one in her 20s. But that’s what heated mineral pools and pinot noir are for.

Acquiring a Taste for Running

2011-10-03T14:57:00.000-05:00

The Toddler Trot. Those newly initiated into walking are introduced to the sport of running on a mini race course to experience the thrill of crossing what is likely their first finish line. Sounds innocent enough.

Except that all of their parents are die-hard runners and actually want their kids to LOVE it as much as they do.

If those parents truly have their heart set on that outcome, they might feel let down. Or crushed. Or just confused as the family's self-appointed fitness role models. If you read last year's post about The Boy's first race, then you know from my experience this love for running isn't always in the genes.

But like first foods, we know that kids have to try things several times--or 12--before they really know if they like it.

So we returned to the Twin Cities Marathon Family Events, where our children have all participated in the Toddler Trot. The Boy, now a "seasoned" runner (I mean, you should see how fast he can run *away* from me these days), would put all those "training runs" to practice. He's in preschool now, hanging out with other toddlers, so would feel less anxiety at the race start. Being more mature now that he's two-years-old, he would run to the finish and into his mama's arms with pride.

Or not.

That's O.K. Really. It is. I mean it's fine that I have to play cars and trains ad nauseam day in, day out, but he can't even pretend to enjoy a running event. And I'll just let it slide that when I'm pushing him in the stroller if I so much stop to walk a step, he is quick to yell, "Faster Mommy!"

Good thing he's cute. And he melts my heart. And I kind of like playing trains anyway.

We will continue to enjoy racing as a family because that's what mom and dad want to do. Maybe, just maybe after the 12th time, he'll find some redeeming qualities and enjoy the sport, too.

Or not.

In which case, my husband and I will hear in our aging years the stories from our grown kids about how we forced them to run with us. "Do you remember when mom and dad made us run all the time?..."

But we all look happy, don't we? Or, is that just me smiling?

Success not Dog Meat: Update from Mamacat

2011-09-26T09:58:00.002-05:00

OK, must admit I was a little concerned about my friend, when I got this email from her just three days before the Iron Girl Duathlon:

Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Subject: DOG MEAT

Kara,

I just read the rules for Iron Girl and I have to run 2 miles in 24 minutes. For you speedy types, this is a breeze. For a poky old girl who runs a 13 minute mile....umm. I be in big trouble.

FRET. FRET. FRET.

My Response to Mamacat:

Just means you can't walk. Think turnover. You can do it. You just did a triathlon in a cold rain. What can't you do??? Here's some homework if you have time before Sunday. Go to a track and do two warm-up laps, then do 8 laps all at 2:55 or less. You need to run each 400 lap in 3 minutes to make it a 12-minute mile. If you can make that easily bump the laps to 2:50 or 2:45. Give yourself a minute to recover between each lap. Go!

Mamacat's Reply:

Sent: Friday, September 23, 2011

Subject: RE: DOG MEAT

My first lap was 3 minutes. And trust me when I say they didn't get faster. Interestingly, I had to walk more in the first few laps but was able to keep going without a break in the later laps. But they were s-l-o-w. Husband insists that it was a longer track than 1/4 mile but I wouldn't know the difference. I am not worried about going the distance but do worry about the speed. I'll try again tomorrow and Saturday too - even if it's rest day. I'll just have to make it happen.

My Response (and in my head I'm thinking how sweet it was for her husband to say that the track was long):

Sent: Friday, September 23, 2011

Subject: RE: DOG MEAT

You are not factoring in the race atmosphere, which absolutely increases speed without you even realizing it. All that's required of you Sunday is to do your best.

Mamacat's Reply:

Sent: Friday, September 23, 2011

Subject: RE: DOG MEAT

Right. Good point. I will do my very best. The first two Tri's were about finishing and this race can be about starting to pick up the pace.

We eventually figured out that the cut-off was 26 minutes, not the 24-minutes she originally thought. She made the cut-off time and finished with a grand Mamacat-signature smile. Here we are after the finish:

Now, 10 months after Mamacat asked me to help her become a Hot (Sweaty) Mama, we both know she has earned that title and owns it.

Beyond Mamacat's personal goals, she has experienced the benefits of the last secret in Hot (Sweaty) Mamas, "Act Like Others Are Watching Because They Are." What started as a solo journey has ended with her whole family being more active, including "date" bike rides with her husband and "family night" at the running track. Her son wants to join the local tri store's triathlon team next spring and together they've set their next goal: to run a 5K at the end of October. Mamacat set out to be mentored, but now she has become the mentor.

I think that new role became crystal clear for her at her second triathlon, which was full of obstacles for her; namely, recovering from a root canal that put a crimp in her training, frigid water and a rainy, cool day. Here's what she said about that race, which includes a great suggestion she got from a fellow Hot (Sweaty) Mama:

When the kids saw me coming through the trail head in the woods, they started calling my name as they waited at the top of the hill. "Come on mom, you can make it, we'll finish with you!" When I got to the top of the hill and rounded the corner to the last few hundred feet, my wee ones were there and running with me and we crossed the finish line together. It was awesome.

A day or so later I started beating myself up for not going faster or doing a better job in the race. I confessed this to a mom at Moms on the Run and she, after admonishing me for such behavior, gave me a nice little piece of advice. "Write a letter to each of your children. Tell them how you ran your first real triathlon when you were sick and it was cold and rainy. Even though there were times you wanted to give up, you didn't. You kept going and kept trying and you finished it. Doesn't matter how fast, it matters that you didn't give up. Write this letter to them now while it's fresh in your mind. Let them open it later in life when they need to remember all the reasons why they should "try" or "do the best they can do" or why they "shouldn't give up." It'll be quite a gift for them and a beautiful lesson. "

Love it!

Whether because impressionable people are watching or your actions to mentor are intentional, paying it forward is part of living a fit lifestyle.

When Iron Girl sent me their post-race email, they included this quote, which I think sums up Mamacat's event, as well as her quest to become a Hot (Sweaty) Mama. We should all aspire to do this definition of success:

Success is a peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.

--John Wooden, former coach of the UCLA basketball team

Getting to (Another) Point about the Pelvic Floor

2011-09-19T11:00:00.001-05:00

As often happens when I interview someone for an article, sometimes we get off topic. I am notorious for starting a conversation about one thing and leading soon to something entirely different, but eventually circling back (because I'm convinced background is incredibly important) and returning to the topic. My husband has cut me off more than once: "What is your point?"

What IS my point? My point is, I learned something in this interview that would be superfluous background for the article but fascinating for me nonetheless and so worthy of sharing with my blog readers.

But first I have to tell you about the woman I interviewed (see, more background!). Her name is Elizabeth Noble, a physical therapist and author of a book I read 8+ years ago after picking it up from the bookstore on the way home from that 20-week sonogram appointment, which revealed not one but two babies. Her book, "Having Twins," is still on my bookshelf. I especially enjoyed the passage where I learned that my love of sweet potatoes might have had as much to do with my twin pregnancy as my family history and age. My twins were conceived between Thanksgiving and Christmas--the height of yam eating season.

Oh grief, I'm really off the point now.

Sort of. I was speaking to Elizabeth Noble, who also wrote the book "Essential Exercises for the Childbearing Year," for an article about positions that can help relieve discomforts of pregnancy. And in that conversation she shared this revelation with me:

"What pregnancy does is reveal to a woman her strengths and weaknesses in her muskuloskeletal system. She would have those problems eventually."

Wowza, huh?

So here we are going around blaming our pregnancies for this or for that (ahem pelvic floor disorder, anyone?) when we actually have our pregnancies to thank for getting us to, and addressing, our future body sooner. Of course, ideally we should prevent those problems in the first place, but we have so much working against us... like chairs and cars and computers and televisions...

Anyhow, "those problems" almost always have everything to do with a weak pelvic floor. I believe increased athletic activity can also illuminate pelvic floor weakness in the same way a pregnancy can. When you're demanding a lot from your body and you have muscle imbalances and pelvic floor weakness--where, begins the genesis of our movement--the low back, knees, hips, even feet, will eventually feel the effects of those weaknesses.

Noble, who also is an anthropologist and founder of the Section on Womens Health at the American Physical Therapy Association, echoed a strategy heard here before by Katy Bowman: Start squatting.

She said, "The pelvic floor attaches to the external rotators of the hips; when you come out of a squat, you tighten the pelvic floor." The problem, she added, is that few people in the western world squat anymore. Even when she travels to Asian countries even the younger people aren't squatting like their grannies.

I found this passage in her book interesting:

The comforts of modern life have more and more removed us from the routine physical work that compensates for these structural weaknesses by muscular development. We sit too much. We use laundry dryers instead of bending and stretching at the line. If you ever drive a car without power steering, or use a manual typewriter after an electronic keyboard, you have felt how labor-saving devices make us weak. Worst of all the "modern improvements" is the water commode--the porcelain throne on which people sit to perform functions that should happen only in squatting. Alas, around the world squat toilets are disappearing and pelvic problems for both men and women are increasing in proportion.

She told me she squats on her toilet seat. "I climb on to them," she said. "I put my feet on the rim of the toilet. It can be a dangerous position; one day my foot slid in." She also said there are platforms people can buy or make to modify their toilets so they can squat on them.

Naturally, I had to try.

Fail.

It was high time I cleaned my bathroom floor anyway. Part of the failure was that I was trying to watch (wouldn't you, I mean, to make sure you hit the target?) but in bending my neck down, I also tilted my pelvis forward. That meant missing the bowl. Another obstacle: this can't be done with panties around your ankles.

While the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is in the process of reinventing the toilet for the developing world, we might ask to include a new design for industrial countries so we can take back our pelvic floor.

Meanwhile, I harken back to Katy Bowman's advice: just use your shower to squat and pee.

What else did Elizabeth Noble leave me with? She says if you have to sit, sit on an exercise ball. I sat on one when I worked while pregnant but had since gone back to the chair. Now I'm back on the ball (as I type this on Sunday afternoon my 2-year old is sitting on it behind me and bouncing mightily).

Which brings me to something else she said (a side story? more background? information to support my point? Hell, I don't know anymore) that's worth repeating: The exercises that are good for you to do in pregnancy are good for you to do for the rest of your life.

Keep up those post-partum exercises. F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

Update #8 from Mamacat

2011-09-13T07:33:00.000-05:00

Back when we started following Mamacat's journey to becoming a Hot (Sweaty) Mama, her goal was to finish the Bloomington Iron Girl Duathlon on September 25, now less than two weeks away. Girlfriend is ready. How do I know? Because she was able to pre-empt this goal with her first triathlon on August 27.

I think someone has the bug and couldn't wait to compete.

I got to hear all about that first triathlon finish the next week when we trained together on a 20-mile ride and 15-minute run (by the way, it was her idea to go farther than we planned). What she knows, and will reminded every time she finishes a hard workout or steps over another finish line, is something we say in Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom about crossing over from "exercise as dreaded task" to fitness as a lifestyle:

The reason exercise becomes habit-forming is because it provides you with a sense of power over your life: You can control what you do with your day and take time to do something that makes you feel good. It literally makes you feel strong and powerful. Exercise is a bridge between mind and body, and it empowers them both. Once you're been exposed to that power (like the endorphins) it's hard to give up. This positive force is self-perpetuating. Now fitness is more than a habit; it's a lifestyle.

You'll see what I mean as Mamacat shares her race experience. She is definitely in a place where her fitness is self-perpetuating. In her words:

I'm am overjoyed to report I finished my first triathlon, something I never in my wildest dreams would have guessed I'd ever say. There was as much mental effort as their was physical effort involved in me getting to this point. But I did it. I had all the tools, all the support and all the drive. Had I never read Hot (Sweaty) Mamas, I never would have dreamed that I'm not the only woman to struggle with finding time or more importantly, find the WILL to make it happen.

The thing I kept with me the whole race was Kara's encouraging words the night before the race: "you have trained for this, you are ready"...without that mantra, I may have given up before getting across the start line. She was right, though, I did train and I was ready. Was I a super-power-house-record-breaking-newsflash...no, but I had worked for this and was able to apply both endurance and free will to cross that finish line.

Mamacat in pink, just steps away from her first triathlon finish.

WHAT A FEELING. Better than any job promotion I had ever received, which is noteworthy because so often it was work that stopped me from finding time for fitness. My kids and my husband were so proud, which is noteworthy because it took away the guilt I had put upon myself when I choose to run, bike or swim instead of get an extra time with them. My body did it, which is noteworthy because of all those times I told myself I never could and it never could...and then it did! And I feel so much better these days...why would I ever deny myself this healthful way of life?

I was so elated to finish this triathlon that I signed up for a second one just one week before the Iron Girl Duathlon. Who'd a thought? I'm as nervous for the Iron Girl as I am excited. All those women. Athletes. Racing against themselves. Racing against each other. Pushing their bodies to peak levels of fitness and knowing the reward of accomplishment awaits at the end. And no matter what, NO ONE CAN EVER TAKE THAT AWAY from you. How awesome.

My Moms on the Run comrades were so supportive and all Hot (Sweaty) Mamas for crossing their own finish line at the Silvera Run the same day of my triathlon. I wish I could have run with them but I was there in spirit and now glad to be back with them for the fall program.

My husband was so inspired by my inspiration that he's hogging my Hot (Sweaty) Mamas book, a book that I pick up often just for a little mental juice to keep me motivated and trying new ways to make time, take time, share time or snare time. He's replacing "mom" with "dad" and starting his own journey of fitness par excellence! (Man, talk about smoking me on the bike trail yesterday!)

Less than two weeks until the Iron Girl and less than one week until the next tri. I'm committed....100% committed!

What about you, is your fitness self-perpetuating? Crossing a finish line is powerful for a lot of people (me and Mamacat included) but if you're not one to register for an event, what is it that empowers you?

September is the New January

2011-09-06T07:31:00.000-05:00

Today is the first day of school for my girls. For a lot of people, September--with the start of school for kids (and the memory of that start still embedded in the brains of adults)--is possibly more significant than the first day of the new year when it comes to resetting, reclaiming, or recharging their life.

It's no wonder then that I'm feeling the need to get organized--my albatross, that thing I always vow to do better. As you can see from the state of my office below, it is no different (perhaps worse?) than it was when I blogged about the need to be more organized at the beginning of January.

Just for the record, I did not leave that small red shoe on my desk, nor the Belle cup, or toy tractor on the floor. I am responsible for the piles of receipts, notecards, stickies, papers, and stack of birthday cards that are now late, however.

As soon as the girls get on the bus, I will tackle the office. Unless I go to yoga... which I've vowed to do more this fall, too.

Do you find September to be a good time to reconsider your goals/resolutions/direction? Is September more significant for new beginnings than January for you? Anyone want to come over and clean off my desk?

Where is my head?

2011-08-30T06:32:00.000-05:00

Lately I've had more than a few workouts where I feel like the woman in the video below (actually five years ago I was the woman in the video below), except that I can't blame my workout mishaps on my kids. Instead I chalk it up to missing my alarm, getting rained out, not having my shit together, etc. We all have days like that (or in my case, I'm in a week like that). This too shall pass. Right? If you find my head, please return it. It's the one with the big zit on the chin I tried and failed to pop. When will I learn that never goes well?

The Goal Post

2011-08-22T20:47:00.000-05:00

I've had fitness goals on the brain lately: how best to set them, how often, how many, etc. I think they're an integral part of a fit lifestyle, even if you're motivated to workout without them. Goals are important because:

1) A goal keeps you striving, growing, improving.
2) A goal can be a workout partner; good company as you pursue new territory.
3) A goal can provide structure or a point B to your point A.

Earlier this spring I happened to be at a Cross Fit class where everyone was required to write a goal on the whiteboard. I still feel like every Cross Fit class is an accomplishment (just getting there with four kids can be the victory). I'm almost always doing something there I never have before, so it didn't occur to me that I needed a goal. But I was swayed by the group dynamic (peer pressure!) and posted my goal:

5 Pull Ups by September 30.

I chose pull ups because I wasn't very good at them. In fact, if I could avoid them, I would. At the time I could do one. Now I can do three. I'm also drawn to the pull up bar to see what I can do. Being able to get to five in another six weeks will be a challenge for me, but I like that goal dangling out front. It's measurable and attainable, as goals are supposed to be.

For busy moms who are typically pleased to get any kind of workout in, setting goals might actually add a whole new layer of frustration. When time is of the essence, goals not only need to be measurable and attainable, they need to be relevant and meaningful.

I discovered that this summer when I set out to finish three triathlons. I was in a groove with getting workouts in most days of the week. I had all kinds of options and could implement plan Bs as necessary, i.e., if my husband was traveling and I couldn't get out for an early morning run, I'd do a workout in the yard with the kids. It didn't matter what I did, as long as I did something.

But this goal required specific training. I couldn't just get any workout in and be working toward my goal. I needed to run, bike or swim.

One near meltdown early in the summer had me questioning my goal. It was measurable. It was attainable. But was it worth it?

In Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom, the first secret focuses on the mental training necessary to make room for fitness and family. It's important to spend our time in ways that line up with our priorities and set priorities according to our values. I'd say this section also applies to goal setting, too. If our goals don't relate back to priorities and our underlying values, then those goals might not be meaningful enough to see them through.

Racing toward that pre-baby identity and my goal
at the Lake Front Days Triathlon earlier this month.

I met my goal. I finished those triathlons and did well in them. I carried on pursuing my goal because I needed to involve myself in activity that I closely identified with for so long before children. Some women just want to get their "pre-baby body" back. I wanted my "pre-baby identity" back.

In addition, triathlon training was a family goal this summer. My husband had a big race and my twin daughters finished their first triathlon. We were all involved. How would that look if mom said: "I just don't have time to do this. You go on ahead without me." No way.

And ultimately, the point was to challenge myself. I'm at a place with my fitness where I know I can get a good workout in 4-6 days a week. What else could I do with that fitness base? I needed to stretch myself and I was at a good place in my life to do it: Kids were sleeping through the night (mostly) and we didn't have any other big stressors (like a move). The time was right.

Now, of course, I'm thinking: what next?

I just did some metabolic testing at Life Time Fitness to learn more about how my body performs; where I'm at with my resting metabolic rate, my anaerobic threshold and VO2 max. I've been barraged by a bunch of numbers and now I'm trying to make sense of them to use as a tool for goal setting or see if a goal arises from the analysis. I've never been one to care much about these numbers, but I'm wondering if now is the time for a more scientific approach to fitness.

In addition to thinking through how I want to go about formulating new goals, I also know what I don't want to do:

Set if/then goals, "If I can do ____, then I will do ____." (Similar to the person who will start going to the gym only after losing a certain amount of weight first.)
Set goals that are too big, for the sake of being big.
Set too many goals in too short a time period.

As I go about this goal-setting process, do you have any advice for me or others looking to set a goal? Do you always have a goal to keep your fitness progressing or use them sparingly?

Without a Map

2011-08-15T08:50:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, after wrapping up my third of three triathlons this summer, I decided I would take a break for a week. Partly self-imposed recovery, but also, because my husband was traveling, I knew my scheduled workouts would be off the schedule. This was also "hell week" for my kids, as in "what the hell was mommy thinking to sign us up for so much stuff?" So I wanted to give myself a break, too, from trying to figure it out, which as all fit moms know is more challenging than the workout itself. My rule was this: do only those workouts you feel like doing.

I took it day by day. If I felt like rest I did. If I felt like being active I did. If I could make the workout happen, great, if I couldn't, no sweat. (Hey, is that origins for that phrase?) My spontaneous workouts looked like this:

This is what Wednesday's "Day Off" looked like.

Sunday: Off
Monday: Cross Fit
Tuesday: Walk to the park while kids ride bikes
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Masters Swim
Friday: Cross Fit
Saturday: Ride 24 miles

As it turned out, I had an active week after all, while simultaneously giving me a break from the triathlon training. Getting these workouts in was uncomplicated and stress free. While I was worried not having a workout plan would mean the workouts would never happen, left to my own internal pull, they did and I was navigated to those things I sincerely felt like doing. I was excited to have the time to get to Cross Fit twice in one week and even surprised myself by going to swim, since technically I don't have a "reason," i.e. race. Why swim? I enjoy it!

I was asked recently in an interview if I talk to my children about the health benefits for why I exercise. I said that I was pretty sure if you asked my kids why I exercise they'd say, "because she likes too." And I sort of confirmed that for myself after giving myself permission not to do anything, choosing instead to have a pretty full week of activity I enjoy. Did you say all this is good for my heart, bones, brain, and pretty much every cell in my body, too? Bonus!

If you didn't have to workout, would you?

Kids Stuff Part II

2011-08-08T10:30:00.000-05:00

Here's the good news: there's an upsurge of children's books about exercise and good nutrition. I'm talking fiction, the cute little stories you'd read to your children before bedtime sending them off to dream about conquering their fitness goals. Perhaps it's the silver lining (I'm reaching here) from the pathetic state of children's health and physical fitness levels in the United States. I've been following this niche for children's books since writing See Mom Run in 2003. There wasn't much then. That's changing. I just wish it wasn't due to the childhood obesity epidemic.

The bad news? (Beyond childhood obesity, that is.) Some of these books are really, really terrible. Although none of them are as bad as the one Charlotte shared over at The Great Fitness Experiment. That is bad. Perhaps that epic failure is why there have been so few good books since.

Even with the upsurge in these books, adults are still having a hard time writing to kids about fitness in a captivating way that does not come across as preaching, pointless, or worse, harmful.

But let's talk about the good ones!

Let's start with Nancy Carlson. A trusted and true children's author who is an athlete herself (this is important publishers!). In fact, being active and honoring your body are themes in many of her books anyway, so check out her titles if you're looking for healthy body/mind themes for your kids. That said, I'm fond of "Get Up and Go!" that features her familiar characters being active and sharing the many reasons exercise is F-U-N. She is not pounding the "eat healthy food, exercise more" message over the head, which I think too many children's books are doing. Just watch those little eyes glaze over. Instead Carlson writes about how exercise can be exciting, how it can help you make new friends, can take you to amazing places, and yes, even burn up the junky food you sometimes eat. "Get Up and Go!" brings the message down to kid level and it doesn't try too hard (I think books that put their main character on gym equipment is trying too hard). And I'll add this, too: Nancy Carlson is the only one who can pull off a pig in a book about fitness.

"Stretch" is a book my daughter picked up at the library. No help from me. I was nonchalant about it on the outside but inside I was doing cartwheels. I quickly flipped the pages to make sure this was indeed a book worth reading, although I was confident because it is written by Doreen Cronin, author of "Click, Clack, Moo." The book doesn't talk about fitness directly, it just encourages moving. It's a book you can't help but move to while reading, in the same way we move when we read a book like "From Head to Toe," by Eric Carlson. Do books that celebrate and encourage activity have to be about fitness?

Perhaps I'm getting off topic, though, because my intent was to talk about the books that are fitness books for kids, like the ones I first blogged about in 2009. For the record, "My Daddy is a Pretzel" remains a favorite and there is nothing cuter than a 2-year-old doing tree pose.

So of the three books I received recently to review, only one is worth mentioning and that's "Wallie Exercises."A story about a lazy pup:

Some hounds performed in fancy dog shows; Wallie just watched on TV; Other pups jumped to play fetch with a ball; Wallie said, "Bring it to me!"

So Wallie's owner sets out to help him and they befriend the enormous Edwin the Exercise Elephant, whose enthusiasm motivates Wallie early on, but like many who start an exercise program, well, Wallie comes to that place where he's ready to quit. But enthusiastic Edwin (he's like that ultra peppy aerobics instructor at the gym) says:

"Wallie, you don't have to copy my moves. Why don't you try yours instead?"

Once Wallie does that he finds his exercise passion--I swear, this is a similar message in Hot (Sweaty) Mamas, too--and exclaims that he had no idea something so fun could be considered exercise.

And that is the goal for kids and grown ups alike: to find activity that is so fun, you don't think of it as exercise as much as a way to play. Finding a children's book that simply includes fitness in the story without a moral isn't so easy. What about you all in the trenches? Have a good children's fitness book to share?

Kids Stuff Part I

2011-08-02T05:34:00.001-05:00

You have kids. That means you go to birthday parties. If you're like me, you probably forget about the present until you're on your way to the party so you slide into some supersize center and grab the closest toy to the register. Next time you see the mom of the birthday kid, she might mutter something like, "Oh yes, you're the one that brought that offensive, annoying toy for my child that I can't wait to throw away when she's not looking."

What's worse is when you buy those horrific toys for your own kids.

You don't have to be that mom. With a little foresight you can give the best. gift. ever. for the fit kids in your life.

Let's start with clothes:

There are certain little girls that are loyal to skirts and dresses. No matter the occasion. My youngest daughter is one of those girls. If I suggest a pair of jeans or shorts, the reply is almost always, "Not fancy enough."

Did you know Skirt Sports has a Girls Collection? All three of my daughters got Skirt Sports skirts for Christmas one year and they also make a great gift for your running pal's daughter (at least it did for mine). So when Skirt Sports gifted my daughters with their very own Skirt Sports dresses, I knew we had found another winner. Do we like them? Oh Yeah. Why?

They twirl. The standard for any skirt worth wearing in our house is it's twirlability.

They're long enough for proper coverage, yet not too long to hinder climbing or riding. Because, we are, after all, tough girls.

They're cool and comfortable in the summer heat. Plus, you want to stand out in the crowd. This is helpful for mom who can easily find her little girl on the field; her pink dress underneath her red team t-shirt.

Next up, accessorizing!

In all of the photos above you'll notice my girls wearing their Polar Active Monitor. After my love letter to my very own Polar Active, Polar sent me the watches for my daughters, who literally have not taken them off since.

I happened to open the box and pass them out on a snow day (back in March) because I needed a diversion. They strapped them on and I led them through a 10-minute mini bootcamp so they could see how the watch worked as they moved. The watch is made for kids, so the little stick figure guy on the face of the watch who sits when you sit, stands when you stand, walks when you walk, and runs when you run, is tantalizing for little minds. After the 10-minute workout I went back upstairs but my girls continued moving until they hit two hours of activity on their watch. At the time I had had my own Polar Active for three months and I had yet to see two hours (the man does a little happy dance when you hit one hour of activity and then does the happy dance every hour after two hours of activity). So, I was thrilled they stayed busy (on their own!) on what normally would have been a sedentary day yet a little jealous of their Polar Active Prowess.

We have fun with the family friendly competition too. The girls always want to know what numbers each other has. I've been known to take one daughter on an outing while sisters watch TV so she can have a higher number on her watch at the end of the day. Love that.

Here's another thing I love. They've become little trendsetters. They've told me their friends at school want one. Many of my friends have bought one for their own kids. My nephews just had birthdays and for once I had no trouble knowing what to buy. Demand is high. This might partly be due to the scarcity of the watches. As far as I know Polar still isn't set up for web sales. I *think* they might be selling them at Life Time Fitness soon. I *think* they may be exploring different color options and price points. Stay tuned. If you want one send an email to sales@polarusa.com and tell them I sent you for $10 off the price.

Then there's toys, of course.

Once upon a post I wrote about discovering the Go! Go! Sports Girls. Since then I have teamed up with the creator of the dolls to write companion books for them. Suzi Swimmer Girl, Cassie Soccer Girl, and Ella Runner Girl are the first dolls to have a story and eventually the doll and book combination will be available for sale. Meanwhile, the Go! Go! Sports Girls, each with their own sport apparel and accessories can make any little girl smile. And their mommy too. She's not dressed like a hooker, isn't wearing make up, doesn't make loud noise and doesn't require batteries.

All kid tested and approved by my brood. I love that we are seeing more fit-centered products for our kids. My hunch is, if kids grow up with fitness as part of their life, they will never have to start an exercise program as an adult, what is often the hardest part for most people, don't you think?

Any great fitness-related gifts you've discovered for kids? Share! Share! The more birthday gift options I have the better!

Fit Play Date with Fit Stella

2011-07-24T23:02:00.003-05:00

Fit Stella arrived last week. She made herself right at home and had no trouble keeping up with our fit family.

We like to start our day with a little yoga.

We play outside at every opportunity and Fit Stella knows all about playouts.

Climbing is another way we get active around here. Fit Stella reached new heights.

The quality of our day is measured in the need for a bath.

Exercising our mind is important to us, too. We read every day. I was excited to see Fit Stella reading Hot Sweaty Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom. She knows a good book when she sees one.

We ended the week with a family bike ride.

But we know how to kick back around here, too.

And eat well. Mama Sweat is always looking for a healthy dish the kids will eat up complaint free. This is a hit with everyone, including Fit Stella: Creamy Basil Pesto Coleslaw.

Now it's time for Fit Stella to get fit with another family. You can follow her adventures over at http://fitstanley.com. Enjoy your travels Fit Stella. We'll miss you!

Update #7 from Mamacat

2011-07-21T08:39:00.001-05:00

How is Mamacat doing these days? Remember, the end goal for her is the Bloomington Iron Girl Duathlon on September 25.

Some days are good, as I learned in this report:

On my way out the door this morning for a bike ride before the heat set in, I bumped into my neighbor who was also on her way out for a ride. We ended up venturing off together, hitting a state trail and 17 miles later had a long ride under my belt for the day. It was nice to have company. She's a biker so keeping up with her was a good workout for me.

Some days are more challenging:

I rode to Moms On The Run this morning, ran for 30 minutes and pushed myself harder than I have been. Then I proceeded to ride 17 miles up hilly terraine. If the duathlon was 2 miles running then 22 mile biking and that is all, I know I could do it. But the thought of getting back into running mode after already having run and done the bike ride does not sound like my body will love it. I won't give up but today this is a mental hurdle. Tomorrow is a new day and perhaps I'll forget how I would have rather put screws in my eyes than run again. On the flip side, I had a great ride and I'm comfortably exhausted.

I told her that feeling of, "would rather put screws in my eyes than run again," is the training effect. She's pushing her body to new limits. The next time she'll get to that same place and be able to go farther. That's how you get stronger, but you never know until you push those boundaries. So what did she do? She pushed boundaries:

I took a trip to the local Tri store to find some skorts that actually STAY in place and ended up not only with a few new cute outfits but also asking myself when my first triathlon would be. WHAT? Did I just say that? Before I picked up your book, I would have never in a million years even contemplated any kind of race and I actually had myself wondering if I could do a tri! It's a big question for myself but the first step is just thinking about it, right? You've influenced me in so many ways!!!

She went from thinking about it to:

I am officially signed up for the "MY First Tri" out of Tri Fitness. I started swimming with the masters swim class on Thursday nights up at Square Lake. It is a deep, cold lake and you can see a lot of 'lake things' with your goggles on...that creeps me out. I did go ahead and rent a wetsuit and swimming was pretty easy peesy with that thing on. Getting the wetsuit on was like a bad spanx experience. Putting my swm cap on my fat little head and bulging eye goggles on top of that made me look more like a weeble than a snausage but heck, I tried it and it was fun.

I'm so proud of her and her bulging eye goggles I could bust out in a bad rendition of "We are the Champions." Oh, I know, she hasn't finished these races yet, but I believe signing up for the race is the hardest part. Committing. That's hard stuff. And Mamacat knows this as someone who has also battled alcohol addiction. Turns out her commitment to sobriety has a few things in common with her commitment to fitness:

Early in this journey, we said we'd talk about recovery and how one can committ to staying fit just as one commits to staying sober. It has not escaped me. And these worlds are not so far apart. It's about commitment, making habits, educating yourself and being present in the world you want to be living in. Right now. Not sometime, but right now. Specifically, in an effort to stay sober one must do a few things and it's called "working a program." It's also called having all the tools you need to find success: 1) Make a routine to go to meetings. 2) Read The Big Book or any of AA/AA approved reading material when things start to get tough. READ READ READ to remember what it was like before you were sober and how great it is now that your are sober. 3) Surround yourself with sober people.

In fitness it appears to be the same 1) Make a routine out if it. Go to your run club or your favorite weekly classes at the gym. See the same people in the same positive patterns. 2) Read. For me, I am reading Hot (Sweaty) Mamas when I need to get back on track. I carry it with me and it has become my Big Book. Any fitness related (read: inspiring) article or magazine will work, too. I like the fitness magazines as a second choice because I can pick up some much needed fashion tips. I now know who Lululemon is and she's not the skinny bitch in the Latte line. I've learned that running bras do come in big girl sizes, that there are more places to shop than the picked over fit section at Target, that neon is making a comeback! Lastly, 3) Surround yourself with fit people. I could go on and on here but I think you get my point. And you can tell I've had a good workout today because my endorphins are dancing.

Keep dancing Mamacat! She's motivated and working hard. And like an answer to the Serenity Prayer she earned a massage with Serenity Now Healing Center. I know Mamacat knows what a good massage feels like, as this is her treat when traveling for business ("What else am I going to do," she says, "I can't go sit in a bar.") When I asked about her massage from Serenity Now her eyes rolled back in her head. She couldn't even find the words, just some "Aaahing" and "Ooohing." I think I could make out the words, "Sooooo Goooood." When training this hard I'm one to believe that a good massage is a necessity, not a luxury. We all need to include a massage in the "cost of doing fitness."

Now Mamacat is not only becoming a Hot (Sweaty) Mama, she's also becoming a triathlete. Want to give this first timer some encouragement? Any other similarities between living a fit life and sober life? How long has it been since you've had a massage? Too long?

Remove Strength Training and Watch Mommy Fall Apart

2011-07-18T07:53:00.001-05:00

You know how people say things like, "getting old sucks," or "I can't do (fill in the blank) anymore," or "ever since I turned (insert age) my (insert body part) hurts all the time."

I don't buy it.

For sure, getting older is a lot more work. Think about that car with 100,000+ miles on it (I happen to drive one). An old car might require more maintenance than a new car, but it should still get from point A to B just as well.

But as moms, we also ask ourselves to do more with our body as we age. So, that sleek sports car that you used to be? Yeah, now you're a heavy duty truck with tow capacity. The problem is--if I may carry on with my car analogy--is that we too often become mini vans (no disrespect to mini van drivers) who can seat a lot of children but don't have the strength for the heavy lifting. And then, we skip the scheduled maintenance and the service appointments because we just. don't. have. time.

Low back pain. Knee pain. Hip pain. Shoulder pain. Do I go on?

I'm not being accusatory. The maladies above are my own.

As a long-time triathlete I have known I should lift weights and include strength training in my workout routine since I started all this craziness. But I was in my 20s. It just seemed I could get away with not doing strength work. Better to run or bike or swim! I thought the hip pain I had was an overuse injury. A lot of athletes think their injuries are overuse injuries. They might be, but I'm betting there's a fair amount of muscle imbalance and/or weakness going on.

Once I had kids though, I was forced--forced!--to lift weights, because as anyone who's ever picked up a newborn in a car seat for the first time knows, you almost fall over at the shock of the heft. Then your adorable little dumbbell gets bigger, almost daily. You're loading weight whether you want to or not. The most dangerous weightlifting move for a mom with a compromised core is putting down and picking up a baby out of a crib. And how many times a day do you do this?

I finally get it. I finally understand that I have to be strong. I have to make time to strengthen my muscles and I also have to make time to lengthen them. When I get the opportunity I treat myself to a Cross Fit class or yoga class. I love doing both. But sometimes I truly don't have the time to make a class. Does that mean I skip those workouts? No excuse for that. A few squats here and a few push ups there not only count, but contribute to the maintenance I need. How do I know? I learned the hard way.

As my summer got busier and the triathlon training increased, I did what I thought made the most sense. I skipped the strength work. Within weeks my hip pain returned. My shoulder ached. Then I picked up my toddler to go one way and he flung his body the other and my back was caught in the middle.

Like a fitness elimination diet, now I know what causes all that. Remove strength training and watch mommy fall apart.

In Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom we talk about the four ways to find time for fitness. When I can make time or take time for strength work I love going to a Cross Fit class and having the camaraderie of others to push me along with the advice and technique tips from the coaches. Often though I have to share time or snare time. There are options, lots of options for this. Cross Fit posts their workout of the day. For free. (Scroll down and look for workouts that don't require equipment.) I also keep hearing rave reviews about the Monkey Bar workouts.

One item that has been an enormous help with squeezing in strength work are the My Trainer Fitness Workout Cards. These workouts were developed by Carla Birnberg, who is also known as MizFit. While we've never met in the flesh, I virtually know her and so, when I'm doing these workouts I see her purdy picture and think I have a workout partner! Love tricking my brain like that!

These strength workouts are realistic. They are a no-excuses workout. They don't require an enormous chunk of time, minimal equipment (or none) is required, you can do these workouts in your backyard or your kitchen, kids can watch or join you. While they are not easy, they are easy to squeeze in. The cards can travel with you to the park, on a business trip or family vacation. They have filled in the gaps for my strength work and keep me on a "regular maintenance schedule."

My Trainer Fitness has provided a 6-pack of cards to give away. Could you use some no-excuses strength workouts? Is your engine strong enough to haul your kids? Tell me what body part gives out when you don't stay a step ahead of your strength routine and enter to win!

Lessons from Beginners

2011-07-11T14:56:00.001-05:00

My almost 8-year-old daughters finished their first triathlon yesterday. My husband and I thought we knew all there was to know about triathlon. As it turned out we learned a few things from the beginners:

1) Swimming is more difficult when you can't touch the bottom. For those logical types, this won't make any sense. This makes PERFECT sense to me.

2) For some a race is not a competition but a journey. The girls swam in the same lane and one sister edged out the other by the end of the 50 meters. She didn't rush off to the transition. She waited for her sister. Some people race for the experience and sometimes the experience includes finishing with a special friend.

3) Safety comes first. It's just a race. Be careful out there. If you need to walk your bike down a steep hill, as one of my daughters did, there's no shame in that.

4) If you walk and no one sees, does it matter? A lot of the participants, including my daughters, walked some of the 1/2 mile run. Once the finish line (and the crowds) were visible, those kids made an enthusiastic charge. No matter how your race goes, a strong finish can leave you with a positive outcome.

5) Don't project your feelings on someone else's experience. I had to keep my fear and nerves to myself before the race, but it was important after the race too. This became especially apparent to me at the end of our long day when I asked my daughter, "Are you exhausted?" And she answered, "Am I supposed to be?"

6) The magic of the triathlon lingers as long as the numbers on your arms and legs stay on. As I tucked the girls into bed I saw one daughter still wearing her swimsuit (a brand new orange and pink suit from blueseventy) under her race t-shirt. More than 24 hours later you can still see her race number on her arms. I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist on a bath now. Like the clock turning midnight, her coach will turn back into a pumpkin. Until the next race.

Wanted: Triathlon Assistant

2011-07-07T07:56:00.000-05:00

Since I'll be doing my first triathlon of the year on Saturday--the Olympic-distance MPLS Triathlon--I was reminded of a column I wrote for www.xtri.com five years ago, when I returned to triathlon after a 3+ year "maternity leave." Even though I've kept at least a big toe in triathlon ever since, I still think about the usefulness of a "triathlon assistant" for tri moms before each race. If there was such a thing, this would be their job description:

Even though it began with a stressful start, my return to racing this summer was one of my most satisfying seasons (more about that in my next installment). But there's one thing that would have made triathlon more enjoyable: a Triathlon Assistant. I'm not talking about the adored Ironmate, the loving partner who schleps around gear, doles out good luck hugs and kisses as needed and/or keeps a safe distance when necessary, then cheers you on at every possible mile and then finds you at the finish line to pick up the pieces and haul your salty, crunchy, stinky, weary, bleary self to a place-anywhere-where you can lie prone.

No, I'm talking about the need for a new profession. The triathlon assistant is every busy (and aren't we all) triathlete's dream. Somebody, I tell you, can make some money. I realize triathlon is a "new" sport, but I can't believe no one has thought of this. Entrepreneurs out there, take heed.

The triathlon assistant's first assignment is to research and present the best possible race options for you and sign you up before any of them fill to capacity. This is important. Everyone knows you hardly have time to sneeze after crossing the finish line before registration opens and--sneeze again--closes.

Actually, when the race doesn't fill immediately is when you get lackadaisical. This happened to me. There was one particular race I had intended on being a key event of my summer, but I didn't sign up in time. I kept thinking about signing up. In fact, I thought about signing up so often that I assumed I was in. I wasn't. The race filled. I had to rely on my skills of persuasion to get in (I did get in, but I have had to write poetry to get into a race before, so I have honed this particular skill.) Thing is, I don't want to do that; I want to be signed up like every other register-abiding triathlete. I could follow the rules easier if I had a triathlon assistant. (Speaking of rules, the triathlon assistant could also remind you of race rules, if you're a little rusty on those, too. This means you could tune out during that pre-race meeting in good conscience.)

The triathlon assistant's job isn't to help you train (that's why you hire a coach) but he can help you find a coach, or-for an added fee-elevate your training experience by reminding you of key workouts or the need to stretch, restocking engineered food and beverages before you run out, and buying your clothing and equipment before you have an opportunity to, say, develop an injury because you've worn the same running shoes for nine months.

Case in point. My 50-lap Timex Watch died. It had served me well, including both of my Ironmans and both of my births, which really put that lap function to work timing contractions. I put the watch away, knowing it needed the rest. Instead I ran with my one-lap heart rate monitor and didn't remember the greatness of the 50-lap watch until days before my come-back triathlon.

On the grand list of things to do before my race, replacing this watch battery wasn't going to happen. However, I would have paid a triathlon assistant to replace the battery for me.

My bike also needed a tune up in a bad way. Part of my obstacle was packing up the bike and the three small children (3-year-old twins and a 16-month old), then getting the bike and them safely in the store. Then repeating the process on the other end. Just thinking about it wore me out. I was supposed to be tapering and that sounded like a lot of work. Not for a triathlon assistant. A triathlon assistant would also be part stylist, making sure you have the perfect race attire (functional and fashionable.) This was a big problem for me this year. As I've mentioned, I'm in no mood to wear two-piece tri suits anymore and the tri shorts I had were two sizes too big. My shopping experiences have been reduced to Super Target. If they don't carry the merchandise, I don't buy it. Super Target rocks: Every mother's dream is to purchase a bra and bananas in one place. But as far as I know, they have yet to stock triathlon attire. I should have shopped online, yes, I know, but that takes forethought. Now we're talking days before the race and exorbitant shipping costs. So I hit the expo and bought a one piece tri swimsuit with that nifty pad in the crotch. Perfect! And it was on sale for half price! What a deal! Exactly what I wanted!

Until I got on the bike and I felt like I had on a tri-thong.

Not that I care what everyone else is wearing, but a cursory glance around the transition area told me this one-piece tri swimsuit thing just wasn't what triathletes wore anymore. My suspicion was confirmed at the next race when I ran into an old friend and I was whining about my "come back" and all there was to think about-how much triathlon had changed in almost four years.

"Well," he says, "At least you're not wearing one of those "Speedo-type suits."

"Yeah, actually I am," I said. And then I did not want to remove my hip sporty skirt that I wore over my uncool swimsuit. Would a triathlon assistant allow me to race in public that way? I don't think so.

The triathlon assistant idea came to me at packet pick up for my first race of the season. Packet pick up used to be one of the cursory pre-race tasks. Something I did after work, before heading home for a bowl of pasta and a relaxing beer. This time around I had to hire a babysitter. This, so I could make the 45-minute drive to the tri shop without my band of gypsies. But when I got to the tri shop, I was informed that packet pickup didn't start for another two hours. I won't do you the disservice of printing all the expletives that came pouring out of my mouth. The guy working at the store thought I was a real classy lady.

Sure I had read what time packet pick-up started, but it was only the date that I retained. A triathlon assistant would remember both date and time AND pick up the packet for me (probably for the same cost as hiring a sitter, but I would retain the right to leave said triathlon assistant with my kids if I needed to get out of the house alone.)

But the triathlon assistant isn't just for the ding-dongs like me. I shared my idea with my friend, who races in the elite division. She is the mother of 2 ½-year-old and 10-month-old sons. While she is thrilled to be racing as well as she is the burden to balance training and breastfeeding, racing after a sleepless night with a screaming child, or tuning up your bike while making sure the toddler doesn't insert the allen wrench in a light socket has, well, taken a teeny tiny bit of fun out of the sport.

She could win races and have fun with the help of a triathlon assistant. She knows this because most of her competitors are younger, childless women. "They have a triathlon assistant," she laments. "It's their mother!"

And why not have the triathlon assistant set up our transition areas for us, too? Wouldn't that be awesome? Short of using the port-a-potty for you, what could a triathlon assistant not do?

Maybe the busy, high powered executive will want to hire the triathlon assistant, but I tell you, the athletes who need them most are women with children (working outside the home, in the home, stay-at-home, no matter, it's all hard.) There's just so much to juggle and despite the fact triathlon is often regarded as a "self-centered" sport, if you're the primary caregiver of children, there is nothing "centered" about your life, and it most certainly isn't yourself. In fact, the triathlon assistant's mission is to take over the function of being self-centered for you.

Sound like the job for you? You're hired!

Observations

2011-07-05T06:28:00.000-05:00

A few things I learned over the Fourth holiday weekend:

1) Only female mosquitos bite. It seems (my personal observation) that females outnumber males by 5 to 1.
2) Ticks like hitching a ride on private parts. (So I'm told, not my personal observation, thank goodness.)
3) Don't try to get up on one water ski after cycling 30+ miles. (Personal observation; I skied on my face).

I also summed up "Everything I've Learned About the Pelvic Floor," over at Hot (Sweaty) Mamas. There will be more to explore about the pelvic floor. Stay tuned!

Second Annual Pelvic Floor Party: Kegels ARE Invited!

2011-06-29T05:27:00.019-05:00

Yes, Kegels are invited, you can bring them along like a date for your super strong booty, but only if you do them right! That means if you're following the advice of such notable experts as Dr. Oz and Dr. Laura Berman (love ya both, but ya'll need to brush up on your pelvic floor advice) then you won't get through the door.

So who decides if you get in? The Kegel Queen. She is the perfect party guest (because she wears a crown, after all). And don't even try to sneak in the back door (ha!) because she will find you and give you a royal talking to.

I know because it happened to me. Not kidding. There's video to prove it. What would you think if you saw someone wielding a skeletal pelvis at you? (The pelvic floor anatomy lesson is absolutely worth the time it takes to watch the video.)

There were a lot of people talking after that Pelvic Floor Party: Kegels NOT Invited post and the follow up post, Pelvic Floor Encore, and the Kegel Queen was one of them. After she posted the You Tube videos (the one above is part two of two), Katy Bowman interviewed the Kegel Queen on her blog. It. Is. Hilarious.

I can't help but like her. So, of course, I checked out The Kegel Queen (a.k.a. Alyce Adams, RN) and liked that her Kegel lessons did not involve the mainstream approach that Katy Bowman shuns in "Pelvic Floor Encore," where she explains her problem with Kegels which, incidentally, is also a problem for the Kegel Queen. It's nice to know that the Squat Queen and Kegel Queen are not at war over the same territory.

Loaded with all this new information, I realized I had spread that mainstream, useless approach myself in an old post I had written about Kegels in April 2009. At first I didn't concern myself with it, after all, that post was buried in the archive of my blog. Who would see it? Then, to make sure, I Googled "Kegel," and saw that my post appears on the first page of results. Crap! Rather than delete the post, I think it needs a makeover. Who better to lead the makeover than the Kegel Queen herself?

We started with this sorry paragraph:

So how do you do Kegel exercises? The easiest explanation is to squeeze those muscles "down there" that would stop the flow of urine and those that would keep you "puckered up" in a tense situation. The pelvic floor muscles are like a hammock between your tail bone and your pubic bone. The idea is to contract or tighten up that hammock. Ideally we should all be doing 200 a day. There are two main ways to Kegel: Flicks are quick contractions and you should aim to do them in sets of 10. The other option is to hold a Kegel, ideally for 10 seconds or more.

The Kegel Queen would like to send me to the dungeon for that. For starters, I include three of the biggest Kegel mistakes in that short paragraph. Here are the Kegel Queen's list of five biggest mistakes:

Kegel Mistake #1: Moving the Wrong Muscles
Kegel Queen says that the pelvic floor and only the pelvic floor--not your butt, your abs, your hip flexors--should contract during a Kegel.

Kegel Mistake #2: Making the Wrong Movement
A Kegel, says the Queen, is a contraction that lifts the pelvic floor up and forward.

Kegel Mistake #3: Doing Hundreds of Kegels a Day
Not so, says Her Majesty. A few will do, so you don't overwork the muscle.

Kegel Mistake #4: Doing Fast, Light Squeezes
Just like any other strength training, Kegels should consist of several strong and sustained reps.

Kegel Mistake #5: Making Kegels Complicated
Devices that require you to take off your pants will eventually collect dust in the back of your underwear drawer, says The Queen.

In the next paragraph of that doomed post, I launch into another Kegel Queen No-No:

The nice part about Kegel exercises is that they don't require workout clothes. They don't require a gym. In fact, you don't have to make time to Kegel, you can do it almost anywhere, anytime and no one is the wiser. The guy taking your order at Starbucks might wonder what's up with the strange look on your face, but still, he'll never know.

To do Kegels correctly, the Kegel Queen wants her subjects to please, please not do them anytime, anywhere, especially not while driving. Why?

To do a strong and sustained contraction requires focus. Could you dead lift your max weight while driving? Impossible, of course, but even if you could do this move in a car, you wouldn't because it requires too much concentration.
Having a routine is what makes any exercise program succeed. Saying you can do Kegels anytime doesn't mean you will.
A proper Kegel includes fully relaxing; letting the muscles go completely soft, and letting your mind go with it. Not something you want to do behind the wheel.

Now that I am wiser about Kegels, I thought I should get more insight from Her Royal Highness.

Kara: I was intrigued by the notion that relaxing the pelvic floor is as important a step as contracting it. I understand it from the perspective of lengthening the muscles, but love incorporating the relaxation piece as described by a commenter in one of the earlier Pelvic Floor Party posts. Here's what she said:

As a counseling student, I've become aware of valuable information about pelvic floor relaxation in trauma work and in bodily health (the idea being that if we live in a constantly stressed state, in the "fight or flight" sympathetic nervous system, our bodies will burn out, hence the need for an effective way to relax). The pelvic floor is the only part of the body completely surrounded by muscle, so by relaxing the PF for 20-30 seconds, the rest of the body is triggered to relax and switch into the parasympathetic nervous system.

You said that by incorporating this relaxing piece into a routine that it will help you enjoy it more, which of course, will help you want to keep doing it. How should we fully relax after a Kegel?

Kegel Queen: In our culture--literally starting with diapers--we’re taught to cut ourselves off from being aware of what’s going on “down there.” We’re taught that sex, pee and poo, our periods, and birth are shameful or dirty, that they should be hidden. The word “pudendum,” the medical term for women’s external genitals, comes from a Latin root that means “shame.” Seriously! Couldn’t they have named it something just the teensiest bit more positive?

Since we’ve all grown up surrounded by attitudes like this, it’s no wonder that for most women, just consciously connecting with the pelvic floor and starting to contract and release it can be a big learning experience.

So simply becoming more aware of your pelvic floor, and giving the contraction and relaxation your full attention, is a great first step.

Once you have a grip (oops, no pun intended) on contracting and releasing the pelvic floor, you can start intensifying the contractions and relaxing more completely. There’s a lot you can do to relax fully, and we talk about it in detail in the Kegel Queen Program. Keeping the rest of your body, and your mind, relaxed is part of it. Another piece is deep breathing in a particular way so that your breathing helps the pelvic floor relax and expand.

One thing you should never, ever, ever, ever do is push out or bear down on the pelvic floor to help it relax and expand out. Some people (yes, even professionals) will tell you to push out as part of your kegel workout, but pushing out like that can actually cause prolapse, or make prolapse worse. So you want to allow the pelvic floor to relax, but never push.

Kara: While a routine is important should you change up your position? Since the pelvic floor will be called to duty while standing, sitting, and lying down (wink, wink) should you rotate?

Kegel Queen: Yes and no. First, let me say that I’m absolutely in favor of experimenting with different positions for kegels and whatever else you might like to do (nudge, nudge). Yes, practicing kegels in different positions is a great way to prepare for those times when you’ll need to consciously engage your pelvic floor in real life. Using different positions is also a great way to understand your pelvic floor better. You’ll increase your awareness and control with those muscles.

Also, different positions affect your other muscles in different ways. Remember Kegel Mistake #1, Moving the Wrong Muscles.

What you want is to contract only your pelvic floor and no other muscles. Often there’s a certain muscle group that really wants to contract along with your pelvic floor, or instead of it.

Let’s say that for you, it’s your glutes. You can make kegels easier by choosing kegel positions that help the glutes relax. Or you can challenge yourself by choosing a position that invites your glutes to tense up, then focus on relaxing your glutes while you do kegels in that position.

All that said, the bottom line (whoops, another pun) is that kegels have to be DO-ABLE. All the different kegel positions in the world won’t help you if it makes doing kegels too complicated and you don’t end up actually doing them.

Remember Kegel Mistake #5: Making Kegels Complicated.

Anything that makes kegels complicated, whether it’s some device or worrying about your position too much, is not your friend. DOING kegels in one easy position is approximately one million times more effective than NOT doing kegels in a variety of positions. Know what I mean?

Kara: When should you "let go" of the contraction? And should you time them, to try to build on the time (like you might for holding a plank?) Or, is there a certain time to work up to?

Kegel Queen: All this is a huge part of my kegel course, and I could never do it justice in this short post.

One of the main reasons most kegel instructions don’t work is that there’s not enough detail there to show women exactly what to do. A lot of women think that if they know how many kegels to do and how long to hold them, they’re all set. But actually, if that’s all you know, odds are you’re not going to see the kegel results you want, like dry undies, relief from prolapse symptoms, and mind-blowing sex.

Women need a lot more detail about working up to the full kegel workout as well as breathing, positions, how to stick with kegels over time, and more--all covered in depth in the Kegel Queen Program. Once you learn how to do kegels right, it takes just a few minutes a day. But it’s critical to get the right information, ALL the right information, so you have the best foundation for success with kegels.

Women can look up the kegel instructions on the Mayo Clinic web site to start getting an answer to the question you ask. The information there is basically accurate. But it’s only two short web pages. In my experience with hundreds of women, you need a lot more detail to make kegels really work, like what you’ll find in my two-hour kegel course. When you do have complete information and you consistently do kegels right, the results can be spectacular.

Kara: I recently caught a few minutes of the Dr. Laura Berman show and dang if she wasn't spewing the old 200 Kegels a day advice. I remember it took (and still is a problem) a long time for OB/Gyns to come around on exercising while pregnant and letting go of that 140 heart rate--is this sort of the same thing, where the research hasn't caught up with the professionals? Where's the disconnect? Why does this bad information prevail?

Kegel Queen: That 200 kegels a day thing just keeps on coming back, doesn’t it? It’s everywhere! Here’s why we don’t do 200 kegels a day. Kegels work by increasing your control of the pelvic floor muscles, and by building mass and tone in the pelvic floor. How would you build mass and tone in any other muscle in your body? As anyone who does weight training knows, you’d do a small number of strong, sustained reps. Not 200 “quick flicks,” or 200 anything! Your pelvic floor is no different. We have decades of research to tell us what types of kegel programs work. Why aren’t more people using it?

Why does bad kegel information continue to prevail? I have spent years asking this question and in all honesty, I am still looking for a decent answer. Kegels aren’t the only situation in health care where the research and clinical practice don’t match up. For example, I have a book on my shelf called Obstetric Myths versus Research Realities, and it’s almost four hundred pages describing the ways conventional maternity care is not supported by research.

One problem is that kegels don’t make money for the health care industry, so there’s no incentive for them to get good kegel information out there. Surgery is an expensive, dangerous treatment for incontinence and prolapse that often fails. But this type of surgery is a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Here’s another problem with the way the health care business is set up. Imagine that Doctor Jane Doe wants desperately to teach women how to do kegels right to help them with incontinence and prolapse (and better sex!). Since all her HMO employer allows her is a seven-minute office visit with each patient, she just can’t teach kegels effectively no matter how much she wants to.

Unfortunately, the market drives a lot of what happens in health care, and there’s no big market force making sure women know how to do kegels right so we can care for ourselves at home.

I know I did my readers a disservice by oversimplifying the Kegel. Knowing how to properly contract our pelvic floor is essential for a host of reasons, beyond that, a real Kegel can be a risk-free solution to incontinence or prolapse. She might be the Kegel Queen but she also makes a great Kegel Coach. More about her program can be found on her site, www.kegelqueen.com. And she offers a special deal on her program for those who watch the webinar available on her website. Party favor! Thanks for coming to the party Alyce!

How's Your Pelvic Floor?

2011-06-26T23:40:00.003-05:00

Not everyone looks this good with a pelvis on her head:
Katy Bowman rocks the look and the pelvic floor advice.

It's been more than a year since I interviewed Katy Bowman, biomechanical scientist extraordinaire and founder of the Restorative Exercise Institute. In that post, "Pelvic Floor Party: Kegels are NOT Invited," you might remember, I asked her about Kegels, expecting to hear something insightful about alignment. Instead she informed me that too many Kegels can actually cause pelvic floor dysfunction, and she said that deep, regular squats were the answer to pelvic floor strength. From that day forward this blog (hello to any of the 70,000 visitors who discovered Mama Sweat by reading that post) and my pelvic floor hasn't been the same. To be clear, both are better for that discussion.

Katy and I wanted to check in with each other via our blogs (you can read her interview with me here). A lot has happened in a year. Katy's biggest news is that she became a mom herself. Her site should be required reading for anyone thinking about thinking about becoming pregnant. She is also gestating a few books. But I'll let her explain...

KARA: OK, smarty pants big-brain biomechanical scientist... Now that you've been pregnant and birthed a super-adorable human does the real-life experience change the text-book experience? That is to say, were there any surprises about pregnancy and postpartum? You have fantastic info for pregnancy and postpartum moms on your site, does it change at all now? (And how many different ways can I phrase that question?)

KATY: I'm glad you called me smarty pants big-brain as opposed to big-pants smarty brain. I DID have a wonderful birth, at home. (In fact, he's looking at me now, all nestled in his very own bean bag chair, wondering why I am typing on the computer instead of cooing at him all the time which is what I am usually doing.) I am also super-happy to say that I gave birth au naturel. Well, I wasn't super-happy at the time because MAN that was some intense sensations (WTF!)

KARA: I know, huh? A little like hanging over the crater of a volcano and just when you think you might fall in you heave yourself back over the top. And while as unbearable as it could possibly be the exhilaration prevails. It's some kind of awesome. A reward in itself, along with the baby, of course. And from what I can tell, you got yourself a cute one. I hope he got your brains, too. But what I really want to know is what did that big-brain cutie pie baby do to your pelvic floor?

KATY: In regards to my pelvic floor (hey, thanks for asking about my perineum) I didn't have a tear or a rip or nada. So, no, I wouldn't change anything about my pregnancy prep, which, of course, includes alignment throughout my pregnancy and lots of correct pelvic floor use via my glutes.

KARA: And all that pregnancy pre-birth prep will soon be found in a great prenatal package through the Restorative Exercise Institute, and I might add is much more useful than knowing how the size of your embryo at different weeks compares to various types of fruit. Like a good scientist you tested all that great information out on yourself. Thanks for that scientific contribution. Any observations to share?

KATY: Well, I'll have to admit that, I WAS NOT PREPARED for how birthing felt afterward. I truly believed I would feel up to going to go hiking the next day. Turns out that a cough or a sneeze was causing panic--my body was that out of whack. It is amazing to think that, in a few hours, you can totally lose touch with a part of your body. I guess that's what happens to the pelvic floor and the core muscles after delivery. And I was glad that my pelvic floor wasn’t super-tight, fighting against me during deliver. That would have caused actual damage to the muscle, instead of just weakness due to stretching.

And, fun fact: It took me about four weeks to be able to Kegel and find these muscles. Even then, it felt like my pelvic floor was in the other room. That’s a cool feeling...not.

So, professionally--while my pelvic floor info remains the same--everything else has changed. Like sleep. And my hair (chop). And other important things that I can't remember right now. Oh yah, memory. That's different, now isn't it.

KARA: What was the question again? I can't remember much anymore, either. I lose things all the time, too. But sometimes that's the kids' fault. Just wait till your adorable son starts taking off with your keys, cell phone and favorite lip gloss. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You're not chasing him around the house yet, but you ARE a Hot (Sweaty) Mama now and I'm quite certain you're finding ways to get your body moving. How have you been able to sneak in fitness so far?

KATY: Well, I made the mistake of opening my big hunter-gatherin' lovin' mouth and started quoting research about the peoples waaaay back and how women used to walk over 900 miles a year, carrying their babies, and that strollers were anti-alignment and natural strength (which is true, but...)

So now in my quest to use my human body in the way it was designed to be used, I carry this kid all of the time. That is a huge workout. That, and I haven't driven my car in two months, which means you can find me walking 3-5 miles a day running my errands while working out my arms. Which are buff now. (Hunter-gatherin' Bonus!)

Because I am walking tons, my glutes and legs are super-strong. My arms and abs are super strong carrying the little man. The one piece of fitness that was totally lacking was the stretching part though. And I am a stretching freak (strength is all about those muscles being the right length, after all.) So, after reading your book I realized that I was not going to be given a magical Why-Don't-You-Go-Take-A-Yoga-Class while I sit here quietly sleeping, not pooping or crying or needing you (and that's just my husband) moment. And I started stretching in one or two minute increments. And doing my exercises when and where I could--a squat here and there, a pull up when I pass by the bars. I even stretch my chest and shoulders (great for that breastfeeding neck tension) when I'm done changing the little man, he coos on the table and I stretch like this:

Or, I lay him on my mat and do downward dogs over him, taking breaks from one-minute holds to give him kisses. And, P.S. I mean the kid, not the hubby.

KARA: Quick though--can I make an appeal here for the best way to carry your baby? I didn't figure out till the fourth kid that I needed a baby-carrying device that distributed the weight on my hips as well as back. There are certain carriers (like Ergo and Moby) that are so much more comfortable and functional. The carriers that just drape over your shoulder seem to cause more problems, at least they did for me. I'm sure you're right about the stroller, but there is a time, there is a place (says the woman who once had three children under 2). So, how can a stroller-pushing-mum save her spine/strength?

KATY: Well for starters, use the stroller to push the kids and not as a crutch. Remember when people used to hang themselves over the stairmaster? That’s what I see a lot of. Running with the torso leaning forward of the legs...really bad for the back and, funny enough, is minimizing caloric expenditure cuz you’re using gravity to help you fall instead of your muscles to push you forward. And there’s no BUTT muscles working in a woman fallin’ forward. You catch my drift?

KARA: You got into with a lot of Kegel lovers last year. Bottom line, what's your Kegel policy?

KATY: My kegel policy is unchanged from last year as referenced in your post because it wasn’t my "opinion" as in "Hey! I like orange cats because they're pretty..." as it is a theory based on, you, know, the physics and physiology of muscle.

KARA: Readers can learn all about that policy, by the way, in Katy's online course, "No. More. Kegels."

KATY: In order for the pelvic floor muscles to function properly, long term, you have to (HAVE TO) have strong and supple gluteals and deep hip rotators (like your piriformis). When you are having a pelvic floor issue, yes, the pelvic floor muscles are weak, but most likely due to the fact that the opposing muscle group is affecting their ability to contract correctly, i.e. shorten and release.

So, I don't have a Kegel policy as much as I have a butt policy. It's called, Get One for optimal pelvic floor function. Now contracting your pelvic floor is something you need to be able to do. If you can't "find it", then you need to increase this motor skill, but any good physical therapist will be able to tell you that the research shows that people who can't contract their pelvic floor (a Kegel) is more often associated with OVER TENSE muscles, not under used ones. Unfortunately we've got people getting their health information from fitness magazines or reading the abstracts of research articles they don't thoroughly understand.

KARA: I think a lot of people (and I used to be one of them) believe the Kegel is something as easy as swallowing. We oversimplified it, and in doing so took some short cuts (the relaxing/stretching part) that rendered the exercise useless or even in some cases problematic. It's our sound bite culture. I also think a lot of women kinda resented being told to do them all the time. When the Pelvic Party Post happened last year, we (all females, everywhere) were in the process of a collective eye roll over being told to keep Kegeling when we intuitively knew that something wasn't right. Now we (all females, everywhere) are thumping our heads with the heel of our hand and saying, "of course!"

KATY: I agree--pelvic floor function has been oversimplified to “do your kegels” and really, you are talking about an area of the human body that you can study at the university level for YEARS. I was actually surprised by the number of people saying stuff like they didn’t believe that kegels could cause Pelvic Floor Disorder or that needing to squat was not research-proven. I don’t think people really understand what gets researched, what that research means, and how things not yet researched are not false. But, if your kegels work for you, then keep doing them. For those who are doing their kegels and still having problems, being open to new science-based theories are a good idea. And from the volumes of positive feedback, I am so glad you ran the post Kara.

KARA: Those Kegel posts got the attention of a lot of people for sure and I hear a book deal for you. How did that come about?

KATY: Well, the phone rang and a publishing fairy said "can I pay you to write down a bunch of stuff you love to write about?" It was amazing. And then the fairy gave me one million dollars, which was exciting, because I got into pelvic floor science to make money and not because women's health was my passion.

Just kidding.

I actually just finished writing "Every Woman's Guide to Foot Pain Relief: The NEW Science of Healthy Feet," in which I allude to the fact that your Pelvis is attached to your thighs and your thighs to your knees and feet, so you should start down at the bottom. The next book on Pelvic Health via da Butt and correct gait patterns (not via Kegels) will actually be a self-publish on Amazon.

The publishers I talked to said that they thought people weren’t really interested in the pelvis. And then I said, “you mean the 80 percent of the population who will eventually have a pelvic floor disorder aren’t interested?” and then they hung up the phone. No, really, I just decided that women need this info NOW and not in a couple of years by the time a book gets published. Soon you can just download it. Bam. Isn't technology amazing?

And, by the way, if any of you readers would like to submit "your story" of how your switch from Kegels to squats, or doing the "Down There" exercises from my DVD helped you with PF or hip issues, I would love to include it in the book. And, if I use your story, you get a free copy! Does that motivate you? How about if I sign it. How about if Kara signs it too?

KARA: You're getting my squat story. Where should we submit them and what's our deadline?

KATY: You can share your story on the "Pelvic Floor Party Anniversary Special" post on my blog and I will be taking your stories through the end of August.

KARA: While there has been a lot of pelvic floor talk on my blog this last year, Katy has been super busy answering questions and addressing issues. Here are links to a few of the follow up posts she did:

The Hunting and Gathering Mama

You Don't Know Squat

1234 We Like Our Pelvic Floor

And the conversation continues between Kara and Katy over at Katy Says! How have those squats worked for you?

Update #6 from Mamacat

2011-06-23T21:02:00.001-05:00

The last report from Mamacat had us all a little worried as she struggled to keep up with fitness with her hectic business travel schedule. That was six weeks ago. Here’s what she had to say:

I've been too busy working out to write you an update. For more than a week, my Polar Activity Monitor has been doing the boogey woogey dance with no less than 2-hour workouts each day. I've been getting back to spin class, hiking, going to Moms on the Run and general all around time for ME. When my project in Boston wrapped up and I got the Iron Girl training schedule, I had no choice but to catch up on lost time after those late Boston evenings in the office instead of the gym.

The training scared me...not that I couldn't do it but just that I should be farther along by now. I got scared straight to the gym! AND I’M ALL THE BETTER FOR IT. I've been enjoying the work break (but miss the Boston gals) and putting fitness first every single day, sometimes with workouts in the morning and again in the evening. It's been awesome.

You'd think the weight would be melting off but it's doing the opposite and I don't even care (that says a lot for my mood) because I feel better regardless of the stupid f-ing scale.

I'm still a pokey little runner that can only handle a few minutes at a time but the minutes are growing longer with the walking time becoming less. When I'm tired, I looked to my MOTR peers and they help push me—it's really quite awesome.

Oh—and check this out—I ORDERED vegetables on my chicken at lunch today. A first. (You don't have to post this part, it's actually quite embarrassing that I’m such a veggie hater. But oh, am I trying.)

Of course I have to post that part! Can you hear the enthusiasm come through? I can. However, my hunch is that she’s going to want to see that “stupid f-ing scale” reflect her increased activity level. Still, I know she can feel other benefits at work. Here’s a little more from Mamacat:

I am having a good week. It's full of variety and activity. It is almost like one workout isn't enough. I have so much more energy and therefore so much more motivation. (My knees hurt, though.)

Focusing in on your chapter 13, we (hubby and I) both have fitness goals and we are appreciating each others efforts with support. He helps me make time (and helped me to pick out my swank new bike) and I have put his fitness way ahead of his massively growing honey-do list. And likewise, I am out the door to the gym long before I tackle laundry or dust bunnies. The children are also getting in on it...helping more with their own chores and—get this—keeping track of how many Diet Cokes mom has. If I have too many, I get assigned extra sit ups before bed. There is a new chart in the kitchen to track it! Hub and I have even had a few riding dates and it is awesome.

Since Mamacat brings up Chapter 13 from Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom, which is “The Sweat on Significant Others,” I’ll elaborate on the content, which is about “Couples who do it together and those who don’t (workout that is).” The chapter offers “sweaty vows” for those couples where only mama sweats and for those that have sweat equity. Make no mistake, one situation is not easier than the other! One vow for the couples who sweat together is to go on sweaty dates. And if they end in such a way that you’re swapping sweat, well, all the better!

So I love that Mamacat is recruiting the support of her family. Having cheerleaders at home makes becoming a Hot (Sweaty) Mama all the more enjoyable.

Let’s keep cheering for her too!

What to Wear

2011-06-20T21:25:00.000-05:00

A while back I received a comment from a new reader, Meredith, who had a few questions. I thought they were great questions and information I had not yet covered in Mama Sweat, so I bring her comment here:

Have you ever talked about the clothes you wear all day and how to fit in showers? Do you try to do all the workout stuff at once so you can shower and be done for the day? What do you do if you try these 10 min workouts in the morning but plan to run in the afternoon? Just deal? I know this sounds ridiculous but it's a real life problem, you know? :)

The best way to maximize your time and improve your odds of working out and/or finishing a workout you started earlier in the day, and/or squeezing in two mini-workouts, is simple: Put on workout clothes in the morning, wear them all day and don't look back.

[Disclaimer: I realize Work-in-Office moms don’t have this choice, but consider it for weekends and holidays. If you must shower and put on “real clothes” before you can workout then dress your mind in an I-WILL-workout-today mentality, which is ultimately more important than what you have on. Also, pack that gym bag accordingly. Put something in there you can’t wait to put on later.]

When you have one of those mornings when you don’t have an opportunity to workout before the rest of the family rises (or, ahem, slept through it) don’t bother with the shower. Don’t wash your hair, silly (that’s just a waste of water if you haven’t had a chance to sweat first). Reach instead for “all-day workout wear” and be ready to sweat if the opportunity presents itself. Spandex, Dri Fit, and sports bras have a way of tricking your mind into making time. Heck, if you make time to dress for the workout, you might as well do it.

To make all-day workout wear truly functional you can’t just put on any ole smelly shorts and t-shirt. You have things to do girlfriend! People to see! Groceries to buy! Classrooms to volunteer in! Neighbors that drop in unexpectedly! Before and after the workout you want to be fit-inauspicious (especially if there’s no time to shower or refresh after). That is, all-day workout wear is sporty, cute, and presentable. But make no mistake, this is workout wear. If you were to go the whole day in these clothes and not workout, you’d consider the outfit wasted.

Exhibit A: Skirt Sports

Run or Play, the dress is a wonder.

Do I look like I can be ready
to run in 5 seconds? I am!

I was an early adopter when skirts hit the running scene. Why? Because I watched Nicole DeBoom win Ironman Wisconsin in her prototype skirt that launched running skirt mania. I have several Skirt Sport originals, including the Marathon Girl, which remains one of my favorites for racing. Still, I have to admit I was skeptical when she launched the running dress. Cute, for sure. I’d wear it. But would I run in it? Nicole sent me the Wonder Girl and I wore it the next day, which was jam packed with activity. I began the day not knowing when or if I’d get a workout in. First I took my youngest two kids to a class at a nearby nature center. No need to dress up, but no reason to be slovenly, either. The sporty dress was perfect for walking the trail and playing on the playground and, yes, I got a compliment from another mom (don’t we all love those?) Next up, I had a “professional” errand to run. I slipped on a black cardigan and presto!, meeting ready. Back home I had less than one hour to spare before my three daughters arrived home from school. That was my chance to pounce. I whipped my son in the jogger and we were off. I made it back home just as the bus pulled up (who knew I’d do speed work?) and after a quick snack (no time to shower) we were off to swimming lessons. The dress transitioned beautifully from “sprint to the bus-stop mom” to “adoring (adorable?) mom on the sidelines.”

Exhibit B: Uffdaa Wear

The dog asked if I'd take her salsa dancing.

I can say I own "hot pants"

Most of the time I’m a no-frills girl. This is not to say I don’t invite a little flair into my wardrobe. So when I had the opportunity to choose an outfit from Uffdaa, I felt the urge to sidestep normal and go for something that commands a little attention. I went straight for these “three tier pants” and now sing “I feel pretty!” whenever I have them on. People notice these pants so you have to be prepared to take the compliments. The pants are indeed, “beautiful," "adorable," "so cute,” and because you’re wearing them, they are a reflection of you. Yes they are. When you’re in need of a mood lift from other people, these pants will do it. If you are in no mood to workout, put on these pants and I dare you to avoid the gym. Personally, I don’t think these pants were meant for home workouts. These pants were made to get out of the house. When fashion magazines refer to outfits that transition from day to night, these pants might just qualify. These pants can go straight from yoga class to salsa dancing. These pants are not meant to sit solemnly in a corner. They make you want to aspire to be as good as the pants, and you can’t let the pants down. (Yes, I meant to say that).

Exhibit C: Lululemon

By all means, accessorize
the fit-mom 3-piece suit

Me and my expensive pull up bar.

How do we love thee Lululemon? If you don’t know what the big deal is about Lululemon, then you’ve never worn their clothes (that was my thinking too). I got a pair of yoga pants and matching jacket for Christmas. First of all, wearing Lululemon yoga pants is about the closest thing you can do to working out naked (no relation to comment above). There is something sleek and luxurious about the fabric (yes, I know, and the price tag). But this is the fit mom’s version of a three-piece suit. Put jacket on and you’re all business: take care of your mommy chores with precision and efficiency. But the clothes remind you to stay determined for the sweat. And when the moment comes, seize it as fast as Superman in a phone booth. Whip off that jacket and move it mama!

A few other items to have on hand when your workout might be sandwiched in your day: your best sports bra, deodorant, a nice-scented lotion, hair accessories, workout shoes.

These are my all-day workout wear favorites. Do you have any others to share?

***Special thanks to my neighbor Cara (5 months postpartum and when she's ready, she will be running with me). Even with a little wine she's a darn good photographer!

High Five for the Fathers

2011-06-17T11:33:00.000-05:00

Although you find me taking credit on this blog for being a fitness mentor to my children, I actually share that credit with my husband, seen above finishing a half Ironman triathlon last weekend. We had fun cheering for him and appreciate the "Papa Sweat" we have in the family. Have fun celebrating the fathers in your life this weekend!

Good News for Fidgeters

2011-06-15T06:30:00.000-05:00

I come from a long line of fidgeters. I call my mom "Go Go Gertie," because she never stops. I realized after a visit from my grandmother last summer that she has same the inability to be idle. I had to beg her to please sit down like a proper guest. She couldn't. But who am I to talk?

You are already familiar with my love for my Polar Activity Monitor, the handy watch/accelerometer that translates movement into exercise time, even categorizing it into "vigorous+," "vigorous," and "moderate" activity." One reason I like it so much is because it provides positive feedback on my fidgeting. Most normal days for me, not including my workout, include at least an additional 20 to 30 minutes of moderate activity according to my PAM. It's a rare day that I fall below the recommended 10,000 steps. Yes, the four kids help. But so does being genetically prone to fidgeting.

And while I like that immediate gratification I get from looking at my watch, I got news recently from the post, "Fidgeting your Way to Fitness," in Tara Parker Pope's Well Blog, that makes me even more smug. She reports findings from a Canadian study of volunteers who didn't meet the current recommended activity guidelines of 30 minutes or more of moderate activity most days of the week. The results suggest that fidgeting, which we already know can help with weight loss, just might improve our fitness level too. She says:

"But those who moved the most, and especially those few who occasionally moved briskly, did have significantly higher cardiorespiratory fitness than those who moved the least. They weren’t exercising. They may have been hurrying to catch the bus during the occasional, brief moderate-intensity spurt, but even that was enough, it seems, to bump up VO₂ max and, potentially, reduce risks of health problems."

So for those who thought they needed to medicate their adult version of hyperactivity, don't. And on those days when the kids want this and then want that and you're fetching and swapping and wiping and reaching and walking from the car to the house a dozen times because you need one more thing, don't get frustrated, know that a mom's activities of daily living DO pay off!

You might think this news made me more obsessive about wearing my Polar Activity Monitor (which is impossible because you can't get more obsessive when you're already wearing it 24 hours a day). Instead I was able to back off from it a little, which is to say I don't wear it for my "real" workouts. My Polar Heart Rate Monitor needs to reign over my training, a more functional piece of equipment to make improvements in fitness goals. But when I'm not working out... well, yeah, I strap that PAM right back on because I can't wait to see what kind of "bonus workout" I'll get for the day.

It's also nice to know that during those periods of "temporary imbalance" when other priorities need more of your attention, that any movement--not just that accomplished in your workout clothes--adds up like a good savings account. Especially as moms, when there's always more to do than is humanly possible in a day, "Non Exercise Physical Activity" should count, even if for no other reason than to give ourselves a well needed break every now and then. I don't mean a physical break (we're fidgeting too much for that), but a mental one from feeling as if you can never get it all done.

Are you a born fidgeter?

Getting Nudged

2011-06-13T05:50:00.001-05:00

As I was staring out the window yesterday morning, when it wasn't yet 60 degrees and the sun was hiding behind a thick wall of clouds, I began considering bailing on my intended 20-mile ride for a 7-mile run instead. My husband, who knows me well enough to know exactly what I was thinking, said, "Just go. You'll be glad you did."

I made a sound, a sound that said, "But it's mid-June and it's so cold and I want to ride when it's sunny and warm--sunny and warm!"

He interpreted my mewing and said, "I rode yesterday when it was the same temperature and I was wet (stud that he is did a half-ironman race on Saturday). I was fine."

Then he helped me figure out a course on Map My Ride. I had been successfully nudged.

As I rounded the driveway and up the road away from our house I remembered a time, long before we were married, when we traveled to Galveston, where I was racing in a triathlon and he was spectating. We both looked out over a pier where the swim start would take place the next morning and saw hundreds, if not thousands, of jellyfish floating by.

I was still relatively new to triathlon at the time. Open water swimming can test one's nerves even without marine encounters of the stinging kind.

"There is no way I can do this." I must have said that about 25 times before he said, with 100 percent confidence, "Agh, those things? They'll all be gone by morning."

Cut to the swim start--I swam with school upon school of jellyfish for the entire duration of the swim. To be fair to the jellyfish, they didn't so much as sting, as just provide a light velcro-like scratch to the skin. And to be fair to my story, this is exactly the sort of crazy environmental circumstance that triathletes like to brag about post race. See, I'm still doing it 15 years later.

So, my point is. I was cold. But I rode. And he was right, I was glad I did (like I was glad I finished that triathlon despite the jellyfish infestation).

Sure, a 7-mile-run would have been a great workout, but it would have been the "easy way out." Easy, in the sense that running is my "comfort" activity. I need to get out of my box right now, especially since I want to do the Olympic-distance at the Minneapolis Triathlon next month plus the Bloomington Iron Girl later in the season. With that 20-mile ride behind me I feel more empowered to get back out there again. More confident. More motivated. I just needed a nudge.

Do you need a nudge today? Let me know so I can pay it forward!

Adapting to a New Summer Schedule

2011-06-06T10:28:00.000-05:00

The last day of school is Thursday and I'm working to avoid hearing, "I'm bored!" this summer. I have spent a small fortune signing up my kids for several "affordable" programs (multiplied by 3 or 4, not so much).

The girls will stay in swim lessons and then there's a basketball camp for the twins, t-ball for my 6-year-old, and I better sign The Boy up for something soon, too. I've got all the kids in a gardening camp, which I love because they'll learn how to prepare food from the garden (let someone else tell them to eat vegetables) and even share their bounty with the local food shelf. I'm trying to figure out how to do that plus get them to a new kids running program at Life Time on the same day. I've already scheduled a few playdates at the house to see friends and we'll probably do vacation bible school and, oh yeah, there's a dance camp in August.

That's all great, except... what about mom? She needs some playdates with her running and cycling pals. I'd like to go to triathlon training camp for grown ups. Mom wants to do the free yoga class in the park on Friday mornings. I've got to find a way to keep swimming.

I feel as if I've spent the last nine months nailing down a great fitness routine, arranged around their school and activity schedule. Now, with summer here, I have to start all over again. When will mama sweat?!

Deep breath.

I think I co-wrote a book about this.

Make time, take time, share time, snare time. Oh yeah.

That's how it's done.

Tuesday and Thursday mornings I'll get a bike ride and track workout in, respectively, before anyone knows I'm gone. Make time.

Kids will visit the child center while I go to masters swim class and my niece, nephew and neighborhood sitter can cover for me while I meet friends for an afternoon ride, run, or both. Take time.

I know one of my daughters would love to go to that outdoor yoga class as much as I would. My twins are signed up for a kids triathlon and we could do a little riding and running together. Share time.

My response to "I'm bored" might have to be capturing the offender for use in a spontaneous "Training for Motherhood" workout. I think that's an excellent variation of a "time out." Plus, while I'm shuttling kids to various camps and programs, certainly I'll find a way to sneak in a workout while I wait. Snare time.

Finding fitness in the chaos of motherhood is a challenge in any season (of the year or of life). I'm sure I'll be in a groove by the end of summer and will need to adapt again come fall. And that's the secret behind all the secrets to life as fit mom: adapt.

How are you adapting this summer?

Taking a Holiday

2011-05-30T20:42:00.000-05:00

It's been a wonderful long weekend remembering and making memories. So I'm going to have a glass of wine now and call it a post.

Mother Guilt

2011-05-23T13:02:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying this post is an attempt to show off my children. All mommy bloggers do it. We can't help it. You don't have to tell me my children are adorable in the comments, but I won't discourage it, either.

My three daughters performed in their first ballet recital on Saturday. Here they are slicked back with the age-appropriate amount of eye shadow, blush, and lip color. Yup, the two in the purple are twins and yes, the 6-year-old in the middle is very tall. And, oh yes, my heart beats with love and pride for them.

The hair, the make up, the costumes--I had nothing to do with any of it. I missed the dress rehearsal. I missed the recital. I was in Dallas to promote Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom, the book I co-wrote and have spent the last five years of my life working on.

I'm fairly certain I was supposed to feel guilty for missing their big debut. One reason why this trip was scheduled at the last minute (my apologies to the places where I held the events who scrambled to put it together) is because I kept hearing a voice that said, "You should not miss your daughters' recital!" Ultimately, though, I felt compelled to make the trip. I toyed around with the idea of feeling guilty, even tried it out on some people. I dragged this Mother Guilt around "like an ankle weight on my heart," as we say in the book, most of the weekend, but didn't actually let it in completely. I wasn't convinced that was how I authentically felt. (And then I wondered: should I feel guilty that I don't feel guilty?) By the time I flew home last night, I knew I had made the right decision to go to Dallas. The big hairy truth is--I didn't feel guilty.

Even when I saw this picture. Such intent for my K on the left. And Mc is there solely for the costume, but that's perfectly fine when you're seven. Besides she can butterfly like nobody's business.

The book won out for several reasons. Primarily because I feel an obligation to my work. My "work" as a writer is marginalized by my "work" as a mom the majority of the time. I work when they are asleep, or at school or screaming at me to "get off the computer!" So, to put my work first is something I felt I deserved. Now, after chest thumping I will also tell you that, other than watching my daughters perform (which I can do on video since my husband taped it for me) I wasn't that disappointed I missed spending my day sitting through a dance rehearsal and recital. Here's the opinion of the performances from my 2-year-old, who sleeps for nothing:

I love being a mother but I don't always love everything about motherhood. Can't we all agree on that one? I think Tina Fey might best illustrate this in a passage from "Bossy Pants":

...There are many moments of my work that are deeply satisfying and fun. And almost as many moments of full-time motherhood that stink like Axe body spray on a brick of blue cheese. (These moments include: cleaning poop out of a one-piece bathing suit, getting kicked in the tits by someone who doesn't want to put on her shoes, Dora the Explorer.)

Perhaps lumping a children's dance recital in all that is a bit harsh. I have just an ever so slight nagging feeling that admitting this on my blog might come back to haunt me. (Girls, if you're reading this as teenagers and need something to hold against me, go ahead, but let me remind you I used my book advance to buy the awesome playset in our backyard.)

The irony is I spent most of my weekend talking about Mother Guilt as it relates to our fitness and often keeps moms from pursuing their workouts (along with other pursuits they deserve). What Laurie and I preach is that, as long as you're clear about your real priorities, and the way you spend your time is a reflection of those priorities you know there should be no place for Mother Guilt. Yes, there will be conflicts when our priorities have to compete for our time. "But we can love and nurture more than one priority just as we can love and nurture more than one child. What's a little sibling rivalry?"

I can't help but feel good about sharing that message with other moms who are struggling to feel they deserve the time for self-improvement, personal growth, even their own health. In fact, doing so has become a priority for me and I think that priority "needed" me more than my children did at their recital. Besides, I also deserved the time away (and boy howdy did I have some fun).

My friend Darcy's response to Mother Guilt is this: "My me time improves our we time." Deep down we all know this, right? We shouldn't underestimate our kids' knowledge of this, too.

I think the events last weekend helped me crystallize the uselessness of Mother Guilt. I'm no longer going to let it suck the energy from me. It doesn't deserve my time or attention. How about you? Have you let it go?

And just to be clear, I do not think for a single second that the flight delays I experienced on both ends of my trip plus losing my voice is any sort of "punishment" from the Universe for missing the recital.

Hot (Sweaty) Mamas Are On the Loose

2011-05-19T14:40:00.000-05:00

Chiming in before the weekend to give a shout out to my readers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I will be doing a talk, reading and signing for Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom at the following locations:

On Saturday, May 21 at Run On! Coppell from 3pm - 5 pm.
On Sunday, May 22 at the Cooper Fitness Center (for members) from 11:30 - 12:30.
On Sunday, May 22 at the Life Time Fitness in Plano (for members) a Mom's Cycle Class at 2:30 followed by post-workout snacks courtesy of the Life Cafe.

And for those in the Twin Cities, Laurie will be at the Twin Cities Kids Cross Country Event on Saturday morning at Como Park. She'll have a table with books for sale plus a few items to raffle, including a Go Go Sports Ella Runner Doll. Her table will also be stocked with everything a Hot (Sweaty) Mama needs but might have forgotten (like an emergency diaper and wipes).

Hope to see you all out there!

Safety Vs. Fear

2011-05-16T06:22:00.000-05:00

Last week, while out on a run, I called myself the "P" word, as in, "Don't be such a."

I deserved it. I was wearing my trail running shoes, had made it to my favorite trail and then creeped myself out. I thought about the two coyote sightings I had this week, very near my house. Within five steps I envisioned a coyote attacking my beloved greybador retriever. (What, never heard of that breed?)

So I scooted toward the road, intending to run through a more populated neighborhood.

It took about three minutes for me to come to my senses. First of all, really, what is the likelihood of a coyote attacking us? Besides, those coyotes were pretty puny, half my dog's size. But most of all, I was wearing trail shoes. My intention was to run on the trail. I was looking forward to the scenery, to the (friendly) wildlife, and the calm and rejuvenation I feel when I'm there. I was not going to be scared off my own trail by my own irrational thinking. So I called myself the P word and turned around.

This fear factor isn't always such a bad thing. A certain amount of fear helps us take precautions to be more safe. And let's face it, there are a lot worse things out there than mangy coyotes.

I will never forget hearing about a woman who was severely beaten and sexually assaulted in an area near our old home in Texas. I had run through and walked my dog many times in this area, forging a path to the trail by the lake, something I'm sure she was doing, too. This happened within months after we moved away and it haunted me, and haunts me still. I had always felt a certain amount of safety in those places I considered "mine." Now, as a result, I am more apt to avoid secluded areas when it's dark and when I do choose the road less traveled I prefer to run with a pal, even my four-legged one. She may be getting old but she would defend me to her death, I'm certain of it.

Sometimes weirdos are out with the masses. One of my first wake-up calls to be aware of others and take measures to be safe came when I was in my early 20s. Coming home from a run, on a path along a busy road, I was listening to tunes (on, yes, a Walkman) when a man grabbed me on my rear. I stopped, yelped, and looked around for someone else who might have seen what just happened. Cars kept driving by. I slid the enormous foam headphones off my ears and watched the man run off and listened to his footsteps. I'm certain that incident affected my ability to listen to music as I run. I just don't do it. I like to hear what's going on around me. Besides, I love the songs of mourning doves and chickadees, peepers and geese honking overhead.

We had a great run, my dog and I. We did not see any coyotes. Just two blue herons and a hawk. I cleared my head, hit my internal reset button, and enjoyed nature in a way I wouldn't have had I taken the other route.

It's a fine line between being safe and being afraid. I always want to be safe (ever more a priority since motherhood it seems) but I never want to avoid doing something out of fear. Sometimes it takes me awhile to know the difference. Last week, that was about a quarter of a mile. And I needed the extra distance anyway.

Any safety tips to share?

Tips for Running with a Stroller

2011-05-09T12:29:00.000-05:00

With warmer weather I've been running with The Boy in the stroller more often. This is exciting for me for two reasons:

I didn't run much with my daughters. I had a double jogger and 3 toddlers. I had a supply and demand problem.
The Boy, unlike his sisters on the rare occasions I got 1 or 2 of 3 out on a run, really enjoys the ride; he does not protest, beg to get out or cry halfway through the run.

So these days running with The Boy while my daughters are at school is both feasible and (this is so important) enjoyable. There's more to know about running with children than simply strapping them in and taking off. I interviewed my friend and fitness expert Darcy Franklin after taking one of her running clinics, so I could learn from her, and share with you, tips for running with a stroller.

Enjoy the video below and let me know what you like about taking your kids along for a run and please share other stroller running tips you have.

Did you know you're a fitness mentor?

2011-05-06T05:57:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to write a few articles for the Life Time Weight Loss website and want to share what I wrote with my Mama Sweat readers. This should already make sense for you, as a member of "the choir": For Parents, Exercise isn't "Me Time." It's Mentor Me Time!

I include five ideas for getting fit with your kids. I'd love to hear your best mom-and-child workout. Please share!

And Happy Mother's Day to all of you Hot (Sweaty) Mamas! If you happen to be in the Twin Cities and will be out shopping on Saturday (for your mom or yourself!) stop by the Barnes & Noble at the Galleria Mall in Edina from 2 pm to 3 pm, where Laurie and I will be speaking and signing copies of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom.

Update #5 from Mamacat

2011-05-02T06:48:00.001-05:00

When the subject line showed up in my in box, "Weak Week," I expected the worst from Mamacat. After reading the email, though, I am certain she is farther down the road to becoming a Hot (Sweaty) Mama than she realizes. In the book we talk about qualities that every Hot (Sweaty) Mama needs to sharpen. Those are 1) Initiative, because no one is going to workout for you, 2) Confidence, feeling strong about your priority to be fit, 3) Persistence, try and try again and if it doesn't work today try again tomorrow, and 4) Creativity, because sometimes we have to exercise "outside the lines."

Mamacat used all of those qualities last week, don't you think? Here's her report:

It feels like this past week was a weak one for me, but in hindsight I ran twice so it wasn't a complete wash. I left for Boston at the crack of dawn on Monday and returned home in time to make it to the launch of Moms on the Run. That is going to be really cool. I think it helped, both mentally and physically that it was freezing cold by the lake... we couldn't get started running fast enough. Before I knew it, we had completed our first run/walk class with 60 second runs and 3 minute walks. There were a few "bursts" that went by quickly and others in which I felt like I was sucking sand. The camaraderie was cool, though: Sisterhood rocks. I actually had to say outloud that I was 1) running to try and like running and 2) running so I could do a duathalon. The latter made me sound like I was fit.

Kara interrupting here to say, YES! YES, to all of it, especially that part about sounding like you are fit. You are walking the talk (quite literally).

I ate my veggies that night, too. Rutebega slices and cucumbers; both raw, both fresh and both good. I also started buying fresh fruit from the deli counter when I stop to get my morning Diet Coke. With fruit at my desk, I nibble on that instead of naughty things.

Rutebega? That's pretty darn bold for a woman who doesn't like veggies! Sounds like someone who wants to earn her massage!

No work out for the next few days after a multi-day migraine. Saturday morning I slept through the 8 am spin class and by the time I left for the gym realized they didn't have daycare hours in the afternoon. I stayed in my workout clothes and when my weekend-working husband arrived home, I took the kids to the track at the park and did the same workout as I did on Wednesday with Moms on the Run, while they rode bikes. Having had "direction" on what to do, I couldn't cheat myself.

Today, Sunday, I had to catch a flight and I felt too much pressure to hit the gym and pack and make it to the airport on time. The flight was delayed so it will be too late by the time I get in. Monday is a new week and a new day. I know I will find time to do my Moms on the Run homework and am jonesing for a spin class!

Initiative, Confidence, Persistence, Creativity. It's all there!

Oh, did I mention breaking in my new running shoes, a serious-support-the-girls sports bra and really good socks? Mental and physical difference. Tonight I'm gong to sleep with my Hot Sweaty Mamas book under my pillow so all the good karma and tips will seep out into my brain. I'm serious. Why do you think I bought the shoes? There is a chapter for that.

Just for the record nowhere in the book do we recommend sleeping with a copy of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas under your pillow, but hey, if it works for you we won't discourage it either! A New Jersey publication called Parent Paper just published a Q&A with Laurie and I, where you can read more about our thoughts on being Hot (Sweaty) Mamas!

All Over the Map Monday

2011-04-25T06:06:00.001-05:00

This image was posted with Cross Fit MN's Workout of the Day.

After the workout, I sympathize with the bunny on the left.

Small victory: I did not overdose on Easter candy. Big victory: I finished my first Cross Fit workout as prescribed on Saturday, which is to say I lifted the recommended weight. Why a big deal? I've been doing Cross Fit workouts for a year and a half and have never done this before. I have been working on the power clean technique from the beginning, with a focus on form. I love this lift, and am convinced it creates as much of an endorphin rush as going for a run. Now, I can do it right and really test my power.

The workout was four rounds of:
15 Wall balls (throwing a medicine overhead, hitting a wall, catching, repeating)
20 Double unders or 100 singles with jump rope
7 Power cleans (95 lbs. for men/65 lbs. for women)
12 Bag slams (lifting a sandbag overhead and slamming it to the ground)

Unlike in the Training for Motherhood Workout where I recommend using your children as weight, due to the "slamming" nature of the workout, kids won't be appropriate props (no matter how mad you are at them). Slamming sandbags to the floor can do wonders for your strength and your sanity. Check out this post on the benefits of working out with sandbags, how to make them at home, and what you can do with them (in addition to keeping them handy for rising floodwaters).

To add to my excitement this weekend I saw the May issue of Experience Life, which includes my expert answer to the question: How soon after giving birth can I do core exercises again? You've read me rave about the Sahrmann exercises and the Bowman squat that started the pelvic floor revolution, and now you can watch me rave! This, being my first in-front-of-the-camera experience, I get tongue tied a few times (and say "musckle" once, the way Popeye would say it) but overall, I'm overjoyed this information is getting out there and proud that Experience Life asked me to do it. Click on the video below to watch for yourself (if you're reading the post in an email you'll have to click through to the blog to see it).

Finally, on to the winner for last week's giveaway. I asked for recommendations on eating more veggies. Not for me--I love veggies--but for Mamacat, who holds her nose when forced to eat veggies. But we all know healthy eating is an important component to Becoming a Hot (Sweaty) Mama, so many of you stepped up with outstanding suggestions. I was motivated myself and likely tripled my vegetable intake last week. (This might have something to do with why I Googled "excessive gas." Did you know that gas isn't considered excessive until you have more than 25 "eruptions" in a day? Twenty five! I refused to keep a tally and concluded there wasn't anything seriously wrong with me, although my family might think otherwise).

And the winner is... Bearing! I tried her more vegetables than egg omelet, and it was winner, winner, vegetable dinner! Bearing, please send me an email with your address! You get your own Fit Deck courtesy of Skirt Sports.

I could go on, but I'm cutting myself off. This is enough to digest on a post-holiday Monday. I'm having egg salad for lunch. You?

Update #4 from Mamacat

2011-04-18T14:50:00.000-05:00

Which is harder? Finding fitness in the chaos of motherhood or finding fitness in the chaos of business travel?

Much like our children don't ever give us "time off," when you're on the road for work it can seem as if you're on the clock from take off until you touch down back home. Mamacat is persevering, but here's what she had to say in an email to me last week:

Mamacat is PENT UP LIKE A CAGED DOG doing taxes and work. I've been in my workout clothes all day--since the lead on my project called and said, "You are going to the gym? Oh, that must be nice. I had to skip church. But the client is expecting this document today and the multi-million dollar contract is waiting for YOU, so can you please make it your priority?" Like a sucker I caved. Weak, like the jiggle of my thighs (that were in route to firmness!).

Oh, haven't we ALL been there? And sometimes that person who keeps us working instead of working out is ourselves. And you know what? Sometimes, honestly, that IS the right thing for us to do. There's a little something in the book, "Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom," we call the "Sweaty Decision Tree." It helps answer that question, "Should I work out or not?"Variables include whether or not the workout will leave you more or less stressed out and what your workout plans were the day before and if you think a workout is possible the following day. Ultimately Mamacat's thighs had to wait another day for a workout. No big deal. Has she worked out since? Yes, she has. And that is enormous progress for her, because in the past, these massive work projects were an excuse for her to go months at a time without a workout. No more. If she misses a day (or two or three) she doesn't see that as giving up. Now she's finding a way to get to that workout as soon as she is able and finding ways to "snare" time, as we say in the book:

I walk instead of taking a cab, I take the hotel stairs instead of the elevator. I've even gotten up in a few (women only) meetings and done lunges while we work. It has been very challenging to get a long hardcore workout in, but I'm keeping my body moving. I also bought a new "across the body" purse so I could swing my arms better when tramping through the airport to log more time on my Polar Activity Monitor. That was a smart move (except for the divorce court I may end up in when my husband sees the price of the purse!).

One of the hardest shifts in my thinking as a "Fit Mom" was allowing these short fitness bursts to count toward workout time, or a short workout worthy of being considered a "real" workout. Not only do they do your body good, they also keep your mind engaged in the sport of snagging exercise wherever you can get it (this can become a fun challenge) and ensures that you keep thinking of yourself as a fit mom. Because at the end of the day you will feel better about doing leg lifts while waiting for a cab than if you had done nothing at all.

Mamacat is crisscrossing the continent again this week. And I want to make sure she sees this video from Coach Troy Jacobson about training for cycling while traveling.

And because you're persevering with your workouts on the road and at home (Mamacat recently watched her son play baseball while lunging and squatting on the sidelines--atta girl!) I'm throwing in a package of FitDeck Cards donated by Skirt Sports. When you're looking for a fitness idea while couped up in a hotel room (and let's face it, getting up to move will allow more oxygen to the brain, which will ultimately help you be more productive) break out these cards and keep moving!

Next challenge for Mamacat to conquer? Eating more vegetables. Girlfriend gags on just about everything except iceberg. She's motivated though, because at the end of the month she starts training with Moms on the Run, and if she eats their quota of vegetables every week for a month, she will be rewarded with a massage. Yeah, huh. Do you have a try-it-you'll-like it vegetable or recipe or sneaky way to consume veggies? Please share with us here for Mamacat (and those of us with veggie avoiders at home). Anyone who leaves a comment will win their own FitDeck via Skirt Sports.

P.S. For those readers in the Minneapolis area, Mamapedia is offering a sweet deal for the Moms on the Run Program. More than half off their 18-week fitness program and you get to train and bond with other moms! Incentive galore!

Love Letter to Yoga #2

2011-04-11T07:08:00.000-05:00

Yoga, my love, how I've missed you so. I knew when standing forward bend felt like a stranger, and a rude stranger at that, I needed more of you. Remember when I thought I had lost you forever? Of course, you're there, it's just that I long for the comfortable familiarity we once had. I know I can't ask for those indulgent, long sessions we once knew; slowly moving from pose to pose, lingering, breathing, sweating.

Still, it's so good to have you back in my life on a regular basis. I know, just quickies, more capable women would demand more, but I'd rather have a little bit of you than none at all.

I could have never known that just two sun salutations a day could give me the fix I need. I tried replacing you with daily push ups, but he was too demanding, I just couldn't commit. It was my friend Janine that planted the seed for the daily sun salutations (leave it to another woman to know what a woman needs) and even with that small taste of you I find satisfaction in that, mentally and physically.

I love our secret meetings in the living room as the sun is rising through the trees out the window. The house is dark, everyone's asleep. No one has to know. Well, maybe my husband has figured it out, but he hasn't let on that he knows. Should I ask him to join us? I'm not sure he's into that sort of thing.

What's great is, even if we miss those early morning trists, I've discovered I can have you anywhere anytime of day. Remember how I went down on the running trail the other day--two quick sun salutations--right in the middle of the running trail? No one saw. Well, the dog watched. You don't think she knows what we're doing, do you?

Until we can see more of each other, this will have to be enough. Know that every time I raise my arms overhead and breathe in your air, it fills me with hope, promise and a steadiness I take with me for the rest of the day.

Hot (Sweaty) Mamas on Mother Words

2011-04-08T14:10:00.000-05:00

My dear friend and writing superstah/mentor/coach, Kate Hopper, of the Mother Words blog, wrote one of the loveliest pieces on motherhood and running I've ever read (I teared up at the line: "Motherhood made me a runner and running made me a better mother.") I have to admit, I was smitten when she transitioned into a review of Hot (Sweaty) Mamas. I feel so honored to be part of her moving post.

If you happen to be in the Twin Cities area on Saturday, April 9, Laurie and I will be at The Herb Box restaurant inside the Eden Prairie Life Time Athletic from 4-7 pm. Join us for a mango lemonade, some yummy appetizers and, of course, books!

Have a good weekend. Hope you find time to get out there and move!

Catching My Breath and Catching Up With Laundry

2011-04-04T08:54:00.000-05:00

After being away for the weekend, and my children and house feeling neglected, I'm reaching back to my archives for this week's post. Here's an oldie but goodie (and apropos considering I need motivation to pick up around here) from 2008. The only difference is I'll be wearing my Polar Active and I'm quite certain I'll feel the satisfaction of scoring a workout as well as a neater (it will take far more than a day to say it is "clean") house.

Just Do It: Clean House, That Is

Oh The Messes We Can Make. My twins in 2005. Clothes were optional that year.

I had some further thoughts about modeling behavior, which I wrote about in my last post. I seem to be fairly confident that modeling good health and fitness habits will lead to my children growing up valuing their health and fitness, too. The reason I'm confident is because I've seen how the not-so-good modeling has already taken effect in their little lives. The poor modeling I speak of is with housekeeping, or lack there of. I do it, just so we don't live like slovenly pigs, but I always feel like I'm walking the line. I'm always close to being one laundry basket away from losing my floor. The dining room isn't a dining room, but a depository for everything that makes it out of the car (gym bags, sippy cups, towels, art work, it even hosted my husband's wet suit for a week). My philosophy about making beds? Don't. I'm all about time management and it seems silly to make something that you're only going to unmake in a matter of hours. I have taken the advice about spending time with your children over doing housework to heart. However, this backfires on me when I want them to keep the playroom clean, their rooms picked up, their bathroom free of big goobers of toothpaste. "It's too hard!" they lament. Yes, I agree, it's hard. "I don't like to clean up!" Yep, I don't like it, either. And I have taken this approach of empathy with them. We are all on the same I-hate-to-clean-up team and so at least we're in it together.

But I do strongly believe they're at an age where they need to learn to do this themselves (and, of course, I desperately need the help) and I also want them to grow up in a culture of responsibility, which includes cleaning up after themselves. To top it off, I wish they would do it as willingly as they do riding their bike or dropping on the floor for push ups. Telling them to clean up after themselves has had little impact. Mommy has to set a good example. I have to show and tell.

Training pal Pam has the sort of home that you could serve hors d'oeuvres straight from the floor. Perhaps, even the toilet seat. She manages to keep up with it. Doesn't dread it. Just does it. She is the sort of woman who can see a wet pull up in the middle of the floor and dispose of it rather than pretend it isn't there. She will wipe the peanut butter off the light switch instead of put it off for "when it's time to clean." She will sweep up the crumbs under the table instead of collecting them on the soles of her feet. And you know what else? Her children's rooms are always neat. I've never heard them once complain about picking up. There is nothing else to attribute that to except having a good role model.

I want to have a sparkling house like Pam's, in much the same way I've heard people say to me, "I wish I was as fit as you." My answer to that is the obvious: just exercise more. It never seemed that hard to me. But now, I realized my detesting the work of housekeeping is similar to how people who hate to exercise feel. It's hard to find the time when you just. don't. want. to. My little "aha" moment helped me understand this about the non-exercisers of the world, and even helped me approach cleaning up differently: Just do it. Make the effort to clean up more. (And then there are people like Pam who can be neat and fit at the same time...)

And so in the spirit of my newfound enlightenment, I decided I'd try to keep up with the house better. My new policies: only one basket of clothes allowed to go unfolded; beds made in the morning; kitchen cleared and cleaned after lunch and dinner (it's just too much to include breakfast, too, when breakfast turns into snack, which soon becomes lunch, I'd be doing nothing but wiping counters from 8 am to noon). The girls were all in on it too. We picked up our rooms together in the morning, they helped clear dishes from the table, and put away their laundry (their drawers are a disaster, but mine are too).

They each earned a dollar this week for being such good helpers. They are motivated by money because they want to buy new doll clothes. Although, this definitely makes for a more willing labor force, I saw greed at work while we were making chocolate rice krispy treats. Mc poured the marshmallows into the buttery pan and I handed her the spoon to stir it up. She looked up at me and asked, "Do I get money for this?"

I don't mind if I raise little entrepreneurs who grow up to be wealthy enough to hire housekeepers to do their bidding for them. It's not that I believe domestic work is the domain of women, either. I'd want to do the same if I were raising boys. I just know this is a weakness of mine and I don't want it to be a weakness of theirs. I don't want keeping their surroundings neat and orderly to be a challenge for them. If they see a dust bunny in the corner, I'd like them to pick it up and trash it. If they spill something I want them to take the initiative to grab a towel and soak it up. I really don't want them to be my little slaves (OK, OK, it's crossed my mind) I just want them to share in the responsibility of the home. We all live here, we all have to respect this space. (I feel I should note here that my husband isn't part of the problem. He's excellent at initiating a load of laundry, unloading the dishwasher--I HATE unloading the dishwasher--and cleans up after dinner. And thank goodness for me, right?) Respecting the space we live in is a value that will be important as they find a dorm mate in college or start a household of their own.

So yesterday after we all made our beds and picked up our rooms I kept the ball rolling by sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, wiping down counters, folding clothes. I was a woman possessed. And I was proud of my work. Then I saw JC, my three-year-old creeping toward the stairs. I knew that look. "Do you need to go potty?" I asked. "I already goed potty. I went pee pee on the flo." My clean flo. I tried not to let the futility take hold of me. Still, the thought came back as I sopped up the mess. And why do I bother?

"Mama!" I heard her little voice at the top of the stairs. "I really want to wear these panties." I came to check her out, waving her panties about her head. "OK," I said, "You can wear those." Her face wrinkled, "But they have poopy in them." She launched them to me over the stair rail. Yup, way beyond skid marks. And how long, I wondered, had they been in her drawer? Now I know, when I ask them to put their clothes away, I better be a little more specific. I considered rifling through her panty drawer in search of more skidders. I opted against it. I'd rather work out.

The Book Tour Begins!

2011-04-01T08:50:00.000-05:00

First, a big THANK YOU to those of you who have bought a copy of "Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom." So very grateful!

This week's book launch brings on the book tour!

The authors of the book, "Run Like a Mother," have featured us on their blog feature, "Follow This Mother." Check it out! (Plus their website is super awesome and they do tons of product giveaways and have adorable apparel for sale.)

For those of you in and around Chicago, Laurie and I will be heading there tomorrow. First we'll be speaking at the Empower! Fusion Fitness Celebration about "What a Mom Wants (at the Gym)." The conference is for fitness professionals, but there are three master classes open to the public, and if you mention that you're a blog reader you can get in free! So join us at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Rosemount on Saturday, April 2, at 5:30 pm for one of these classes:

More than Just Core with Holly Krohn
G-Force Reunion: Ultimate Cardio Party with Patrick Goudreau, Darrin Grove and Rob Glick
Warrior Sculpt with Nick Bez and Katie Haggerty

If you're a member of Life Time Fitness, Laurie will be leading a mom-centric cycling class on Sunday morning, April 3, 9:30 a.m. at the Schaumberg location. After the one-hour class (the music will be the reason to go) we'll have munchies and talk logistics about balancing motherhood and fitness.

We hope to get in a shower before heading to the Barnes & Noble in Oak Brook for a 2 pm book signing. Please come. Don't let us stand there twiddling our thumbs (but we wouldn't do that--we'd do calf raises). You know what I'm talking about. You've seen the sad and lonely author looking around the book store waiting for someone to take an interest. We don't want to be another neglected author statistic! And plus, we can only do so many calf raises in an hour!

For those of you in Minneapolis, please join us for a book celebration at The Herb Box restaurant inside the Eden Prairie Life Time Athletic club on Saturday, April 9, from 4 to 7 pm. We'll have goodies to eat and books to buy. We won't require you to workout before the party, either. Give them an RSVP if you can come: 952-829-8400.

Have a good weekend and hope to see you out there!

Celebrating the Book Launch with a Laugh

2011-03-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

This week I'm screaming from the mountain tops! The book I co-authored, "Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom," is out!

What? Where can you buy it? I'm glad you asked. Check with your local bookstore and ask them to order it if they don't already have it on the shelf, or head to Indie Bound. The usual suspects like Barnes and Noble and Borders carry it. And of course, there's Amazon. This is a great option because I'd love to see a great Amazon ranking. And if you buy the book and like it (I know you will) please post a review.

To celebrate I've created a little movie which is 80 percent biographical. Get your popcorn, sit back and enjoy this 90-second cartoon.

Training for Motherhood Part II

2011-03-24T06:00:00.003-05:00

I've been incorporating the Training for Motherhood Workout into my schedule and when I looked around for the right kind of weight to use, I realized it was right in front of my eyes (or hanging on my legs, sliming me with snot, asking for a snack). That's right, my own children.

So here's a follow up video to the original Training for Motherhood video. If you're wondering whether it really is that crazy at my house, the answer is YES.

Update #3 from Mamacat

2011-03-21T07:19:00.000-05:00

We are following Mamacat on her journey to Becoming a Hot (Sweaty) Mama. Last week Mamacat got to her new gym, broke out the heart rate monitor she got for Christmas and signed up for Moms On The Run. The week had it’s challenges, most notably, and not surprisingly, juggling other roles (motherhood, work) as she tried to fit in fitness. I think Mamacat is starting to feel the endorphin high that comes from accomplishing a workout despite that frenzy. I know I always feel good after a workout, but those feelings of well-being are even greater if I’ve done it successfully despite everything else going on around me. What I’m saying is, the harder it is to squeeze in that workout, whether the challenge is mental or physical, the more of a bad-ass you’ll feel once it’s over.

Mamacat’s goal for now is to make fitness a HABIT. How does fitness become a habit? Here's a little tidbit from the book "Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom"... By finding activity that is:

Happy-inducing (you have to enjoy yourself)
Authentic (the workout is an expression of the true you; it fits like your favorite pair of jeans)
Better off than before (that feeling of empowerment you get when it’s over)
Integrates easily into life (slides right into your schedule, or at least into your chaotic world)
Time-valued (when the workout moves higher on your to-do list because you really want to get it done)

Here’s a run down of Mamacat’s activity last week. I’ll interject with my feedback in bold, because I can’t help getting a word in...

Saturday

Went to the new gym and after 45 minutes on the elliptical, we took the kids swimming. I expected frolicking in the pool more than laps--but I got lucky. This was the first time I've done "true" laps in years. I don't know if it was the salt water pool or simply the joy of the water (perhaps both) but I just moved through the water like a ripple in the tide. Notice I don't say anything here about speed, but I did focus on form. I had no swim cap and no goggles but went as long as I could without burning my eyes (they burned later, oh boy did they!) I added another 23 minutes on the Polar Active. I'll up it to 30 next time.

Note that she used the word JOY to describe swimming. That’s HAPPY INDUCING! I’d venture to say that swimming is also an AUTHENTIC activity for her because she loves being in the water.

Tuesday
It took everything to drag my sorry, crabby arse to the gym. My neck hurt (the accident), my back hurt (the accident) and I was puffy. Tired. BUT, I told a friend I would meet her at spin class. The step to meet a friend makes a big difference, especially in the evening hours after a long day of work. Additionally, I knew I didn't have a reason to skip. I had an excuse but not a reason. So I went. Well, someone invited my inner Hot (Sweaty) Mama to the party because as soon as the 80's music starting blaring, I was taking names. I fleshed out every bad piece of mood in my bones and left on such an endorphin high--the party was rocking!

This is what it means to be “BETTER OFF THAN BEFORE!”

Wednesday

Today I did laps in the pool at the old gym while the kids had swimming lessons.

Are you following me folks--Mamacat swimming when the kids are swimming means this workout INTEGRATES EASILY INTO LIFE.

Thursday

Today I had to make a major effort. First I deposited kids at various places then went to the old gym. Along came my computer and client files. I got there early to secure a bike, then disappeared to find a quiet spot for a client conference call, before the 9:30 start. Once on the client call (in the gym lobby)...my boss wanted to know which one of us on said call was making the noise. With five of us in different locations on the call, I might have gotten away with the mute button. But 1) the call was mine to lead and 2) one client suggested to the other client that the noise might be her kids and I could not let her take that rap. So I fessed up, finished the call and spun my guts out! ! It was worth it.

Not only is Mamacat applying her professional title of “Director of Radical Efficiency” to her personal life, she is getting a sense for the TIME VALUE of her workout and going to greater lengths to make sure she can squeeze in that workout!

I don’t know about you, but Mamacat seems to be on her way to making fitness a HABIT. From here on out, it’s all about repetition! This week Mamacat travels to Boston for business. “No kids to shuffle around but also no girlfriends to meet me at the gym,” she says. Can we give her some advice for being active on the road?

A Peek at What's to Come

2011-03-17T07:20:00.000-05:00

Twelve days to go until the release of "Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom." (The book has a website to link to now!)

What do you think about our book trailer?

Sweating out the Schedule

2011-03-14T08:28:00.000-05:00

I love having things on the calendar. I hate saying the word "schedule" because if flies against my vision of the free-spirit spontaneous creative type I want to be (which is a total illusion when four kids are involved). But I've learned that this so-called schedule is what keeps me on track with my fitness goals and serves as "the bad guy" when dissenting children rebel. It's not me, it's on the schedule.

Like last week.

"I don't want to go to the gym," JC, my almost-6-year-old and half-day Kindergartener wailed.

"We have to go," I say. "Today is mommy's swim class."

"Don't go," she says.

Let's pause here for just a second. If you're looking for a way out of your workout, how easy is it for you, as a mom who wants the best for her children, to think, 'oh, alright, let's find something else to do' and then skip your planned workout?

Don't answer that.

I really do love my swim class and getting in a workout during the week is not easy and I only drag her and her brother (who LOVES playing in the childcare center) there once, maybe twice a week, so she's not going to wear me down.

I remind her that she always has fun once she's actually in the childcare center.

But the whining continues.

"I pay for my swim lesson," I tell her. "It would be wasting money if I don't go."

This, probably ranks even higher than having it on the calendar for accountability.

"I'll give you a dollar," she says.

"Listen," and I am so trying to hold off saying, 'because I'm the mom!' hoping that the reasoning will break through some how. "You and your sisters swim on Monday night. Your brother swims on Tuesday mornings and I swim on Thursday mornings. That's the way it is and that's the way it will be for the foreseeable future so you need to get used to it."

See, it's the schedule's fault, not mom's.

I manage to convince her to get dressed and get myself and The Boy ready, but now I have no time to spare. We have to GO, and why is getting out of the house so damn stressful all the time?

But the 5-year-old is moving through the hallway like she's studying artwork at the Louvre.

"I'm hungry," she says.

"Grab a snack quick" I tell her trying to sound nonchalant so that we don't end up with another struggle that will take more time and put me over the edge. I still have to get The Boy buckled in the car anyway. And where is my gym bag? Everything I need should be in there.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she looks at me with that look of desperation that means #2.

I want to yell at her.

I don't.

I load up the car.

I wait for her outside the door. Being diplomatic is going to make us late. Being late is better than not going at all. I breathe.

At last she makes the few lolligagging steps to the car. She has trouble buckling her seat belt, or as I suspect, pretends to have trouble.

Once I find a parking space (always a challenge mid-morning at our gym), I throw my gym bag on one shoulder and get The Boy out and hoist him on the other side. I have forgotten wipes and my own water bottle. It's always something. "Please don't poop," I say to him as lovingly as possible. I am grateful he doesn't have separation anxiety.

JC is still in her seat. "I'm not going in," she says as determined as Rosa Parks for her right to sit exactly where she is.

I'm already 10 minutes late. I still don't care. I can do the swim workout on my own if I have to. I still have enough time to swim for an hour and get her on the bus in time. But not much.

I honestly can't remember the dialogue that took place next, but I stayed focused and persuasive and she unbuckled. But she didn't move.

"I'm not going," she repeated.

Do you all know how close I am to losing it at this point? Why I didn't is still not clear to me.

So I (calmly but with resolve) picked her up under one arm, the arm that was still free but somewhat burdened with the gym bag and dragged her through the parking lot. I was seething. She was laughing. The laughing made the seething worse. I'm sure people were staring, probably thinking: "That poor child, her mother dragging her into the gym just so she can have a workout. How selfish."

I hope that's not what anyone was thinking, but that's what I was thinking they were thinking. Unfortunately this happened the week after "Guilt-free parenting week."

So how did it all shake out?

I did not erupt into Medusa Mom and she finally dropped her protest as soon as she walked in the door. I got to the pool deck 20 minutes late but my coach was happy to see me (she's also a mom and a pre-school teacher so she knows). We stuck to the schedule.

But all that? That's Mama Sweat. Mama Sweat is as much sweating the small stuff (and it is small stuff in hindsight) from the antics of making our workout happen as it is the literal sweat once we start exercising. Having a few scheduled workouts each week helps you stay committed to your fitness, but that commitment will still take effort. And a lot of Mama Sweat.

Update #2 from Mamacat

2011-03-11T06:47:00.000-06:00

Who loses 5 lbs on vacation? Someone Becoming a Hot (Sweaty) Mama! Mamacat is back from Florida. Here's her report. She has a serious challenge ahead in moving to a new gym. Leaving your comfort zone is one thing, but your sweaty sisters? Any advice for helping her with that transition?

The trip to Flordia was great even if just to have my body in constant motion in fresh air. I walked, walked, and walked...power walked, leisure walked, errand walked. There were some days I had 4 1/2 hours of moderate activity on the Polar Activity Monitor. There were others, like the day I went (via car) from Miami to Benita Beach, when I gave my body a rest. Having the Polar Activity Monitor made me concsious of "movement" at all times. Even standing in line or cooling off in the pool, I shifted my mind to squats, lunges and laps. And it paid off...my mood has been great, my stress level even, and my weight is down 5 pounds!

There was little temptation for Diet Coke while in Miami because we were at a "Pepsi establishment." That was good -- I drank more water. I do confess, though... as soon as I got to a Pepsi-free zone I overindulged in my beloved Diet Coke. In no time, I was back up the three or more. Now that I've returned to snow country, I am trying to manage back down to one or two a day.

We have joined a new gym, officially, but I'm having a hard time letting go of my membership to the YMCA. I know the classes so well and the camaraderie in the classes has been built up over a long period of time. I am in a comfort and motivated zone when I am there. I don't want to be the rookie at the new club. I fear I will look foolish trying to figure out the machines. This is stupid, I know, I must get over it.

We are mid way through March and I know April brings Mom's On the Run...the anticipation is growing and I'm excited. There is potential work travel ahead of me, and while I worry that will bring on challenges in becoming a Hot (Sweaty) Mama, I am trying not to get ahead of myself... as your book says and I learned early in my recovery program... one day at a time.