Wife Mother Runner Blog - Wife Mother Runner

Summer Reading List

June 25, 2021

I want to share my summer reading list with you with some new authors, that I know personally! These books are perfect for reading while floating in the pool or relaxing on the beach. I also carry a book with me to read if there is any downtime at my daughter’s softball games. They range from personal triumph over cancer, to encouraging self-help, and small-town romance. Enter to win a copy of Monica Ortega’s book The Power of Pivoting at the bottom of the blog post.

I would love for you to help them out as new authors, and purchase their books. The links I am sharing are my amazon affiliate links, which I earn a commission on; but you don’t pay anything extra for.

Non Fiction

Fitz Kohler: My Noisy Cancer Comeback

Available from Amazon https://amzn.to/35PP8xb

Fitz is a dear friend! She is my cheerleader at the Walt Disney World race finish lines. I met Fitz after a Princess Half Marathon race weekend when we were all hanging out at the Wave in the Contemporary Resort. She is a very strong, smart, courageous woman who spent most of last year battling breast cancer.

In her book My Noisy Cancer Comeback, she shares her struggle with the grueling chemo she had to endure, the extreme sickness, weight loss, and the changes that happen when you fight and beat cancer. She is honest with her experience, in hopes that her journey will help others going through it. Fitz didn’t want cancer to slow her down or take her away from the things she loves.

When I am working out and feel like I want to quit, I OFTEN think of Fitz and what she endured and fought through and still kept working as a race announcer, flying all over the country during her battle with cancer. She didn’t want cancer to keep her from announcing races and noisily greeting the runners at the finish lines.

I am a member of Fitz’ Hottie Body Fitness Group where we encourage each other, and share our struggles with maintaining a healthy life and also supporting us with our weight loss journey. I love that she tells it like it is, and is real and honest with us in the group. Of she notices that we are not making progress, or have gone quiet in the group, she’ll reach out and find out why, and help us get back on track.

Monica Ortega: The Power of Pivoting

Available from Amazon https://amzn.to/35ZAkMd

When I started reading this book I had no idea I was going to need a highlighter and page markers! This book was spot on with putting to words many of the things that I was feeling and experiencing. I know Monica from the blogging community. She is a travel blogger, but now can add the title of author to her name!

This book is about facing your fears, changing your mindset, and moving towards living the life you are meant to live with happiness. She shares her heartbreak with divorce, how she came to where she is today, and helps build a toolkit to manage a healthy mindset.

When I first started reading the book I was in a period of self-doubt, low confidence, and was downright beating up on myself for no good reason. Her words were so helpful in making me change my way of thinking and reversing my outlook to a more positive approach.

Romance/Fiction

Audrey McLelland

Audrey didn’t just publish one book this year, she has published two and she is already working on the next one! Her books are part of a series “The McKay Sisters Series”. These books are the Hallmark channel of love stories in book form. They are feel-good, small-town romance books with a happily-ever-after fairy tale ending.

Available from Amazon https://amzn.to/3gTe7pF

Available from Amazon https://amzn.to/3h4q9Lv

The second book At Last, is about one of the McKay sisters finding a way to make her ex jealous while attending a wedding they will both be at. She finds the hottest guy in town, who happens to be single. After spending a lot of time together prior to the wedding, they start to realize that their time together is turning into something more than a friendship. Find out how their relationship unfolds and what happens in the end with this second book in Audrey’s series.

I met Audrey through blogging as well, and was selected by her and her partner Vera Sweeney to attend their Permission To Hustle Mastermind At Sea event last February. I was so honored to have been selected and all of us who attended are now part of a special club…the Covid club. We returned home from the 5 day cruise to a world that was preparing to shut down. It was like we were in a bubble out to see while Covid was spreading everywhere. It was a surreal experience that will forever bond all of us!

I’m so excited for Audrey’s new books series. She has been wanting to do this for a long time so it’s wonderful to see others’ dreams come true!

Giveaway!

What Books Are On Your Summer Reading List?

I am in the process of reading all of these books. Yes, I read several books at a time because I have ADHD. But they are all unique and different from each other. I’m almost done with all of them, and I do really enjoy them!

What’s on your summer reading list? I’d love to hear your book recommendations!

Summer Bucket List

June 15, 2021

It’s here! Summer break started in our home this week. I always start the summer with a summer bucket list in my mind; but never put it on paper. I’ve finally done it, and I’d love to share it with you!

What Kind of Activities Are On A Summer Bucket List?

I love the variety of either creating your own bucket list or downloading one with activities already on it. Mine is available for you to download; but I also have a blank template you can use to make your own!

The types of activities I chose for my summer bucket list include a lot of outdoor activities. I have a 14 year old son and a 12 year old daughter. If you have kids that age, you know what my struggle is going to be this summer…. getting them outside!

We do have a pool and a trampoline; but I feel like the pandemic has created some very bad habits. They would rather be indoors in the air conditioning playing electronic games via the internet with their friends. I need to find a balance for that this year. I included activities that they can do with friends or family. Or even by themselves. But my biggest challenge this year is reversing the screen time that was “allowed” during the shutdown last summer.

Why Have A Summer Bucket List?

I like having a summer bucket list to give us some motivation to get up and go somewhere. While I work at home for myself, I do have flexibility to manage my workload so I can go with them to do fun things. I want the kids to try different things.

We have beaches here in CT; but we only go to one beach most of the time. And when we do, we go at night. The kids have never been to the beach with a packed picnic lunch and blanket to spend the day by the water and playing in the sand. We’ve done it by the lakes in New Hampshire; but I’d love to have them try something different.

I’d like to become a tourist in our own state! We have lots of state parks, great biking and hiking trails, and plenty of summer events are now starting up again after COVID.

Do You Have A Summer Bucket List?

What kind of activities do you do? Like I said, I used to always have a list in my head and may have told the kids what I wanted to do; but many times we didn’t do nearly any of the items I wanted. Then when the summer vacation comes to an end I feel bad that I didn’t do anything I wanted to.

Having a list to check off will help me motivate myself and the kids to slow down, take some time for ourselves and go play. Life is short…summer is shorter!

Share your ideas with me! I’d love to think of other things we can do during the summer and perhaps add them to my summer bucket list next year!

I Have An Addiction – How To Quit Sugar

June 14, 2021

I have an addiction, and I need to quit sugar. Ok, I said it. I bet I am not the only one who has this problem either. But it can be bad. When I give myself permission to have sugar it can go one of two ways. It will either open the floodgates and make me want more, or I can have a sip or a taste of something and then not need to have any more of the item I am tasting.

My Addiction

When I am in the right mindset, I can be very good about not doing something that I know isn’t good for me. That’s how things were when I began my wellness journey in 2019. I had gone to my chiropractor’s office to work with my doctor and we came up with a plan to find out why I was struggling with unexplained weight gain. I was “dieting”, eating well, and working out; but hadn’t been able to lose weight. She did a blood test on me and found out I was battling leaky gut. So we cleaned up my nutrition to remove gluten, dairy and eggs.

When I made these changes to my nutrition, I also lowered my consumption of sugar. I was eating more natural and whole foods, plant-based foods. With that I didn’t have as many cravings for sugar. I didn’t necessarily cut out sugar cold turkey; but my cravings were less because I was eating good quality foods. When you eat good quality foods, your need for junk food decreases. You are more satisfied from the good food you are taking in.

This year, I am struggling with sugar and my sweet tooth. I don’t know if it is related to hormonal changes, or I am not being strong enough with my will power. But something isn’t clicking in my brain right now to make me behave.

What Are The Dangers of Too Much Sugar?

We all know that eating a diet with excess sugar can cause weight gain; but there’s more. Besides obesity, a diet of more than 150g of fructose per day spikes your risk of developing high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

It can also cause mood swings, with the highs and lows from the dips and rises of your blood sugar levels. There is also the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. When you eat sugar, your body produces insulin. So every single time you consume sugar, you are making insulin. Too much insulin can affect your arteries all over your body. This can cause inflammation, heart disease, heart attacks or strokes.

Did you know that if you were to have a candy bar and a soda every day, you’ll gain a pound a week? Imagine taking in that sugar in other forms that you think are healthy! For example, having a breakfast of orange juice and a bowl of cereal is almost as bad as having that candy bar and a soda for breakfast. Take a look at the sugar contents of the cereal and compare it to the candy bar. Now take a look at a soda and compare that to the sugar in the orange juice. Scary right?

Why Is It So Hard To Quit Sugar?

Simple sugars cause an instant energy hit, which may be why people are more prone to grabbing a quick snack of something sweet. People see sugar and sweets as a reward. So if you refrain from having sweets, it feels like you are punishing yourself.

Having too many carbs in your diet can also enable the sugar habit. A carbohydrate releases dopamine and serotonin when you eat it. These are “feel-good” hormones. When those hormones go up, your mood goes up. Carbohydrates and/or sugar cause that to happen more quickly. When you do this often, your body craves more after the initial taste. It’s often compared to a drug because you have a little and then you want more.

You need fats and proteins mixed into your meal to make you feel more satisfied. The simple sugars found in breads and carbohydrate heavy foods only satisfy you for a short time; whereas foods with proteins and fats take longer to break down. This helps with your insulin control.

Tips For How To Quit Sugar

Preparation

I know I am most successful with eating well when my fridge is stocked with vegetables and fruits, my dinner options are thawed out ahead of time, and I have a plan to follow for the week. I find we get stuck when we haven’t thought about dinner ahead of time, and don’t have something planned or thawed out in time.

When getting groceries, it’s really best to clean, prep and cut up your produce before putting it in the fridge. Ideally, I wish I did this every time we brought home groceries. But I’m trying. When I have fresh blueberries on the counter that are already washed, I do grab a handful of them to snack on.

When I have snacks that are readily available and better choices for me, I am more successful. I also wand my kids to have healthier options to select from when they get home from school. I’ve always seen them excited about a new snack when it’s cut up and prepared already for them. Presentation makes a big difference.

When eating your food, be mindful of how fast you are eating. Take the time to chew your food. Slow down so your brain will catch up with your stomach. Eat meals about every 4 hours. This will help stabilize your blood sugar. Those meals should contain protein, fiber and good fats.

I made these watermelon skewers once and they thought it was the best snack!

Mindset

This is the hardest part of it all for me. At least right now, I am finding that I want something sweet more often and it’s been harder for me to resist. I think part of the reason for this is because many foods contain additional sweeteners in them.

I thought I was making a better choice by selecting a dairy-free vanilla yogurt. However, the vanilla flavored yogurt contains many more sugars in it than a plain yogurt. I need to get into the habit now of having the plain yogurt and adding fruits, chia seeds, nuts, cinnamon or a tiny amount of agave or honey to the yogurt.

Just being aware and conscious of what you put in your mouth is the first step in trying to reduce the amount of sugar you eat each day. Ideally, we don’t want to have more than 6 teaspoons a day of sugar per day. These sugars can be found naturally in some foods like fruit, breads, juices, and sauces. Be aware that sugar hides in many foods we eat like spaghetti sauces, ketchup and barbecue sauce, and natural sugars are found in fruits. Check the labels when shopping.

Movement

I’ve said it before and I am a huge believer in being active every day. I am not the perfect student when it comes to practicing what I preach; but working out is a large priority of my daily routine. I work out at least 5-6 times per week.

Here’s a suggestion, if you are feeling like you need a snack or a quick sugar fix, try taking a walk. Get up from your desk or wherever you may be and move around. Do it with intention. Set a timer and make a plan with yourself to walk for 10 minutes around your yard, neighborhood, or place of work. Be intentional in using your mind over matter. A change of scenery will help take your mind off of what you are craving.

Be Kind To Yourself

If you are the type of person who can work well with controlled portions, then it’s ok to indulge from time to time; but only a little bit. For me sometimes, a forkful of a piece of cake is all I need to feel like I am enjoying a sweet dessert along with everyone else. Sometimes, it is all I need to satisfy the craving I was having in the first place.

Mix a little sweetness into your snacks. For instance, add some chocolate chips to your trail mix. The salty and sweet are a nice combination. Or make some ants on a log with bananas (or celery), peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Feed Your Skull a Snack: Party Ants on a Log

The sweetness doesn’t have to come from chocolate; you can use raisins, fruit, artificial sweeteners, lemon juice, agave, or honey to add natural sugar to the food. But you need to be aware of the dangers with adding these to your diet. That’s why it is important to remember the “All things in moderation rule”.

Have you seen people who drink a lot of diet Coke because it is diet, so they think they are doing something better? It’s not though. They are tricking their brains into thinking they are having something sweet, which activates the body to prepare to capture the incoming sugars to process into energy. But then the chemical just goes through the body without being used, and over time, teaches the body to not process sweet things when you ingest them.

I’ve never been a fan of artificial sweeteners. I don’t like the chemical taste, aspartame gives me a migraine, and I feel better knowing the source of where the food or drink is coming from. I’d prefer to just use real sugar or a natural sweetener to control flavor and sweetness.

Do you struggle with a sweet tooth?

What do you do to help curb your appetite for sweets? I’d love to hear how you get over the struggle!

Mother’s Day Last Minute Gifts and Giveaway

May 3, 2021

I hate the sound of the title Mother’s Day Last Minute Gifts, because you are buying a gift for your mother! It shouldn’t be last minute! But if you are like me, life is busy week to week so I tackle the upcoming weekend during the week prior. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime, the Paper Store and Target!

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

But I do want to share some wonderful gift ideas I have this year to help your mom relax and enjoy some time relaxing this summer! I’m a little selfishly building my list based on what I want!

Poolside or Beach Days

Let’s start with some pool or beach day necessities! You can’t go wrong with a gift basket that includes a good book (audio version or hard copy), a sunhat, and a swimsuit wrap.

If you know your mother well enough, I would toss in one of these adorable Vintage swimsuits from Amazon. They are flattering for any body size.

A sunhat is just an adorable and fun accessory everyone should have in their closet! They are cute for the beach and also to protect you from skin cancer. Did you know May is skin cancer awareness month? Help protect your mom’s skin with one of these adorable sun hats for poolside, the beach, or any outdoor activity.

Simple Sarongs are A beautiful beach towel that easily buttons into a Simple Sarong. You can purchase a simple sarong directly from http://simplesarongs.com.

With cleverly placed button, these super soft beach towels easily create a fabulous swimsuit cover-up that is not only gorgeous, it’s super absorbent! Wear it around your waist, or wear it around your chest. And it easily works to accommodate sizes XS-XL.

The creator of Simple Sarongs has offered one of her wraps for a giveaway sarong of your choice. Check out the details below!

For the Moms Who Love Fitness

If you don’t have the budget for an apple watch, but you want to get a good fitness tracker, I have always been a fan of Fitbit. In fact, I am actually going to put this on my daughter’s birthday wish list this year!

Look at the colors! The features of this product is equal to what I use my apple watch for. So this is a great deal for mom.

- Play your favorite songs and playlists with Spotify app controls on your wrist.
- Also make secure purchases with Fitbit Pay and get called, text and smartphone app notifications.
- Track workouts in real-time with 20+ goal-based exercise modes.
- It’s swimproof and water resistant to 50M, so you can track swims, wear in the shower and more
- Get call, text, calendar and smartphone app notifications when your phone is nearby. Plus send quick replies and a voice replies on android only.

For the Moms Who Love To Read

I read so many different books. I am actually reading and listening to several different books right now. My current reads are below.

Did you know Oprah came out with a new book? I hadn’t heard about it and was surprised to see it pop up as a book suggestion in Audible.com.

Who doesn’t love to listen to the sound of Matthew McConaughey reading to you? This is a fun book to listen to.

I have yet to liken to Mike’s book. But Mike Rowe also has a voice that I could listen to for hours. Plus his stories are just so much fun to listen to!

One of my favorite weekly podcasts is The Holderness Family podcast. Kim and Penn’s lives are just like ours and I enjoy listening to the trials of parenting and being married during these crazy times.

I’m in need to break some old habits and develop new ones. Since I began working for myself there are new systems I want to put into place to help keep me organized and have productive, meaningful use of my time. But I think some of my inability to get one going is that I have some old habits I need to break so I can begin new ones.

When I got together with my girlfriends last week, the subject came up and my friend Heidi recommended this book to me. I can’t wait to put into practice what I am learning!

I can never go wrong with recommending one of Nicholas Sparks’ books. I love the lighthearted stories of love and heartache, but always ends happily ever after.

Enjoy Some Relaxation

I picture myself sitting in this swing while under our deck and in the shade of the summer sun while reading my book.

I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day.

I also like to always take a moment to think of those who lost their moms, and moms who may have lost a child. I know this holiday can be hard for you, and I just want you to know I’m thinking of you.

How To Reset Your Gut Health

April 29, 2021

I am in a state of reset when it comes to all aspects of my health. Today I’ll share with you how to reset your gut health and understand the importance of it. I am seeing a doctor to work through my leaky gut diagnosis. I recommend you check with a doctor if you are having issues with bloating, gas, trouble losing weight, inflammation, and/or brain fog.

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

I began a program with my doctor from Modern Health & Wellness back in 2019. I did very well with it; but over the past year my body is going through many changes. I just turned 49 this year and am in the phase of life where my body is starting to go through “the change”. With this, comes some challenges like weight gain, belly fat, forgetfulness, trouble sleeping, and mood swings.

I recently had my physical and blood work done, and my A1C numbers were not where I’d like them to be, and my triglycerides were extremely high. I went back to Dr. Jen to reset my nutrition and gut health. My first visit with her this week was to set my expectations and determine what is best while I do the reset.

I have cheated a little bit with my nutrition. I ate some foods with gluten or ice cream from time to time. Unfortunately, gluten is my worst enemy. So I am going back to my elimination diet where I will completely avoid gluten, dairy and eggs.

When the gut isn’t healthy it affects many other areas of our body. When you experience changes in your body (menopause, lifestyle, stress, medication changes), your sensitive gut can get out of balance.

Intermittent Fasting

The first step Dr. Jen recommended that I take is to reset my hours with intermittent fasting. This is one of the easiest steps in the reset gut health process. With our busy schedule with softball and karate, we have been eating dinners after 8:00 each night. Jen said that is almost too late for me to have my last meal of the day. She said I should be fasting from 12-14 hours.

Even if we can’t all eat together at the same time, we can certainly sit at the same table at the same time and have our family time together. I can make my digestive tea or have some room temperature water and sit and sip it while everyone else is eating. It is also important to wait at least 90 minutes between meals. Again, letting your gut do what it needs to digest your foods.

Fasting is important because it is giving your gut, time to heal from all of the work it did during the day. Your body can adjust the hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible to burn off. Your insulin levels will drop, which makes stored body fat more accessible. Your cells also repair themselves during your period of rest from eating.

Digestive Tea

Another great aid to heal your gut is to brew digestive tea and drink it throughout the day. Your body prefers to have warm or room temperature foods and liquids so this tea is good to have with you throughout the day.

The recipe is very simple:

- - 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  - 1/2 tsp coriander
  - 1/2 cumin seeds

Boil 4 cups of water, let the tea steep for at least 5 minutes, and drink with every meal for about 2 weeks. The fennel seeds help with flatulence, bloating and indigestion. The coriander seeds also help with gas. It can help calm the intestinal spasms that can lead to diarrhea. Cumin works to promote your pancreatic enzymes and assist in the digestion process, actually speeding it up. Cumin also, helps increase the release of bile from the liver, which helps digest fats and certain nutrients in your gut. It also helps with gas.

As you may be able to see here, the tea is a great source of relief for restoring the health of your gut. It stokes metabolism, and revs up the detoxification process. It also restores tone and tightness to waterlogged tissues and helps reduce inflammation.

Additional Fiber

I was also given a recipe for a special fiber drink to have every night before bed. This will help regulate my bowel movements and help clear out my intestines.

- - 1 tsp psyllium husks
  - 1 tsp ground flax seeds

Drink it quickly and chase down with water 1-2 hours before bed. If it is too hard on the intestines, reduce the recipe to 1/2 tsp until you can tolerate it.

Psyllium seed husks are great for adding bulk to your intestinal tract. This makes you feel fuller while eating less. It also helps manage glucose levels and high cholesterol. The ground flax seeds are a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids which help with lowering triglycerides.

Using the psyllium and ground flax seeds will be helpful for weight loss and intestinal issues because the fiber from these ingredients will add bulk to the intestinal tract and help flush out our system. Again, remember to start with a little and build up to what you can tolerate.

Prebiotics and Probiotics

I use a prebiotic every morning in a cup of hot water with some lemon juice. This sets the stage for my day by allowing the prebiotic (affil) to feed and nourish the good bacterial that naturally exists in your gut. When you add fiber to your gut, it’s fermented in the large intestine by the bacteria that live there. Like the fiber drink, start with a smaller serving size than suggested until you can tolerate it without needing to use the restroom frequently.

A probiotic, is a live microorganism that functions like good bacterial in the gut. You can take probiotic (affil) supplements, or you can eat foods that contain probiotics. The probiotics repopulate the good bacteria, which then overwhelms the bad bacterial. Foods that contain probiotics are: yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, sauerkraut, kombucha, pickled vegetables, kimchi, miso, and tempeh.

Elimination Diet

I already know what foods cause my intestinal inflammation from the food intolerance test that I took with Dr. Jen in 2019. In addition to gluten, dairy and eggs, I need to cut out sugar. I have a major sweet tooth. Drinking the tea listed above will also help eliminate cravings for sugar.

With my elimination diet, I am being very strict with reading the ingredients on food packaging and am not “cheating” and having an occasional piece of bread, or a cookie, or ice cream. I really shouldn’t. When I did, during the past six to eight months, I started to gain weight again. This is going to be key to my success of reducing the belly fat I am holding on to and will also help reduce my cravings for sugar.

When I eat more vegetables, and clean foods, reducing or eliminating any processed foods, I always feel so much better. I have more energy and I crave more vegetables and healthier foods.

How To Reset Your Gut Health

The key to staying true to any new plan is in the prep work. When you get your groceries at home, wash, cut and store everything ahead of time. Having your grab and go items already prepared is going to make it easier for you to make better, last minute decisions when they are in your fridge.

I’ll continue to share my journey with you, and I’m using positive affirmations to also help me be successful in this reset.

Please let me know if you have any questions about how to heal your gut!

The Silver&Fit® Fit at Home™ Program

April 16, 2021

I am pleased to share an online workout program that I have the pleasure of working with. It’s called The Silver&Fit® At Home™ Program. Silver&Fit is a healthy at home workout program to allow you to maintain a healthy lifestyle, aimed towards older adults.

This is a sponsored post with Silver&Fit® at Home™ Program, but as always, my opinions are my own.

I know the importance of maintaining my workout routine even now before I begin to age into my Medicare years. As I am in my last year of my 40’s, and also going through some female life changes, working out has been critical in helping me feel better mentally and physically. Especially strength training which will help my bone density. I know it is important to stay active at all ages. I have been an active person my whole life and continue to include fitness in my life for as long as I can.

Types of Silver&Fit Workout Options

Grab your water bottle, a yoga mat, resistance bands, or a dumbbell or two. You don’t need an entire gym set up to enjoy the benefits of what Silver&Fit has to offer for workout options.

Live Online Classes

A great feature about Silver&Fit’s online classes is that you can take them daily via their Facebook Live and YouTube classes. They offer 9 classes per day, 6 days per week.

Pre Recorded

If you can’t attend during the live class scheduled, you can always go back and view the recordings on their Facebook and YouTube pages. With a large variety of workout videos, you can customize a great workout program for yourself to include strength training days, stretching days, and cardio workouts.

Silver&Fit Workout Classes Available

There are classes for all levels from beginner, to intermediate and advanced. Some that use weights, and others that use just one dumbbell, resistance bands, or your own bodyweight.

Cardio

I love all of the different options that Silver&Fit offer for cardio. I do my own form of cardio with running or biking; but I love having options to do indoors when it is too dangerous to run outside. I also sometimes like to do a different form of cardio to work different muscles than those that I use for running. This gives me overall a better level of fitness.

Dancing

Want to move to a groove? There’s some great dancing videos from dancing from your chair to actively dancing across your living room! I am a horrible dancer; but I will dance to a workout video in the privacy of my home if I know it can also count as a workout!

I’m going to add this one to my playlist to give it a try! I may even ask my daughter to do it with me!

Flexibility & Balance

Everyone can benefit from having strong balance and flexibility. The simple, basic movements in this video are something you can do anywhere at any time to help open up your body and get some flow going to your muscles.

This is also good for your posture and supports your back while sitting in the chair. The instructor also shows what you should and shouldn’t do to get the most benefits from the workout.

Mixed Format

Mixed Format is a cardio strength circuit where the instructor provides total body strength moves combined with low-impact aerobic combos for a perfect blend. You can also use some of your fitness gear like resistance tubes in the advanced class.

This is one of my favorite types of workouts. It incorporates strength with cardio for a full body workout. Even though I am showing some advanced videos, remember there are options for all fitness levels.

Strength & Body Weight

You can do several different strength workouts using weights or your own bodyweight. That’s what makes these programs so versatile!

When doing so you challenge your strength, balance, coordination and awareness, all in one workout with just one dumbbell! Other videos are targeted to doing supersets for muscle definition using resistance bands, and alternate upper and lower body exercises to maximize the muscles.

TaiChi

I’ve always wanted to try TaiChi. I personally think of it as a slow form of yoga. It’s a program you can engage in using just a chair and your body. It involves slow flowing movements and breath work with compassion.

TaiChi teaches you how to transform anger into calm, improve your health and harmonize your mind. This is going to be added to my workout routines. Especially in the afternoon after working when I want to open up my body and lower my anxieties.

Yoga

I chose to do this workout while on vacation because of all the walking we are doing. Also, because we are sleeping in a different bed, I’m a little stiffer when I wake up. I enjoy yoga to help me open up my shoulders, loosen up my back and help ease my mind. I love when my daughter joins me for some stretching.

I’m going to do some yoga classes with my laptop or our outdoor projector outside this year so I can enjoy the fresh outdoors, the ground beneath my feet, and the smells of spring and summer upon us.

Will You Try Silver&Fit?

If you want to try their program, like and follow the Silver&Fit Facebook page and subscribe to their YouTube Channel. You won’t be disappointed!

Also share with me which workout you liked best!