FitFeat

Posts Tagged personal training

Busy Bee

Mar 28

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Hi friends!

It’s been a little quiet around the blog in the past week so I wanted to pop in and say hello!  What I’ve been up to:

I finally started that month of yoga from a Groupon that I’d previously purchased so I’ve been trying to get in some 90-minute yoga sessions, which I really love to do but am finding it to be tough on my schedule.  The class if offered usually late morning (9:30 to 11:00) so I’ll enjoy it while it lasts but I have a feeling when the month is over I’ll be back to my usual routine of working out in my home gym first thing in the morning so that I can have it behind me and move on with the rest of my day.  I don’t enjoy working beforehand then stopping and then trying to start up again – it messes with my momentum! Especially when I feel so relaxed and zen when class is over!  I have to admit though – I forgot how amazing yoga in an actual heated yoga studio is.  I sweat buckets in that 100 degree room and I feel very ‘cleansed’ of mind and body afterward.

I am revamping the coaching program that I’ve been offering through phone/online.  Whenever I’ve had time to be in front of my computer, that’s what I’ve been devoting my time to.  To do it all the way I’d prefer will take a lot of time and possibly mean that a big part of the FitFeat archives would come down off the web.  Can’t say for sure, but if there is anything that you really want to keep (articles or recipes) you might want to print it to have on hand just in case.

On the home front, we started our next big ‘home improvement’ project on our staircase, ripping up all of the carpet (which is old and gross).  Hopefully when it’s done we’ll have painted hard surface treads, plus painted spindles and handrails but there is a LOT of work that needs to be done to get them ready for paint.  The carpet was hiding a whole lot of ‘messy’ from when the house was built.  This could easily be a project that stretches into multiple months but we think it will be worth it when it’s done.  We’ve done two projects now that require ripping up carpet and it is shocking how much dirt is UNDERNEATH the padding.  Now I understand those home buyers I used to work with who said they wanted no carpet in their homes at all.  I am starting to be of that mind as well.  No wonder our house is a pain to keep dusted!

And we finally started a compost bin!  If you have any tips for me please share – we are complete newbies in this new adventure.

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And of course, I’ve been personal cheffing, nutrition coaching, recipe testing and personal training.

How about you?  Anything fun and interesting on your agenda lately? 

– Shari B.

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Last Minute Inexpensive Gift Ideas for Foodies & Fitness Fans

Dec 13

Posted by Shari B. in Do Something Daily, Handy Kitchen Tools | 9 Comments

Hi friends!

Wow, less than two weeks until Christmas.  If you are someone who celebrates Christmas and are scrambling to find some reasonably priced gift ideas, I thought I’d share some of my favorite things with you.

Now first, let me just say this is not my wish list (mom, I’m talking to you ;) )  – these are things I already have, use and love.

Second, let me just say that there are no affiliations here.  I’m not endorsing products for any kind of kickback or payment.  Again, just things I have, use and love.

For the FOODIES in your life:

1. CITRUS PRESS: this is the coolest thing and it makes using fresh lemon/lime juices in recipes a cinch (or putting fresh lemon juice in your water, like I do every day!).  Depending on the brand you can get them for between $5 and $15.  I found mine at my grocery store for $4.90.  It’s super simple to use and clean.  And you end up with a fun hockey puck lemon after each use!

2. NUT MILK BAG: you can get an “actual” nutmilk bag for about $10.  Or you can pick up a paint strainer bag at your local hardware store for about $2 or $3 and it will do the same thing.  You can use it for a lot more than straining the pulp out of your homemade almond milk.  I use mine to squeeze juice out of grated ginger, to line a regular strainer if I need a “finer mesh”, or to strain soups after blending to keep out any seeds or bigger chunks that I might not want floating around.

3. SPROUTING STRAINER LID: a very inexpensive gift of around $4 or $5 that can turn a wide mouth mason jar into a sprouting jar, which is what I used when I finally was able to grow my own sprouts.  (The cheesecloth method didn’t work for me.)  Growing your own sprouts is a fun way to have a little garden in your house smack in the middle of winter – include a bag of organic sprouting seeds and a couple of recipes and you have a great little gift!

For your FITNESS-LOVING friends:

1. MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS:  I’m a big fan of magazines as gifts, because every time that magazine shows up in their mailbox they think of the person who gave them the gift!  Runner’s World offers 12 months for $15 and Women’s Health offers 12 months for $13.97.

2. GLIDING DISKS: I have a set of ValSlides which are awesome (oh the reverse sliding lunges – killer!).  On Amazon they are selling for $39, but I didn’t pay nearly that, so I’m guessing now that they are more popular the price has gone up.  There are other brands that do the same thing, such as Gliding Disks. But really, these are just the same thing as the moving disks you can put under furniture with an upcharge for a fitness professional’s name on it.  How about spending $9 and getting the moving disks?  I think they come in sets of FOUR so you can open it, and give 2 to one friend and 2 to another friend and then you’ve only spent $4.50!  Then print off the exercises at About.com to include in the wrapping and your giftee has a very portable workout system that can travel anywhere. To see how these  work, click here for some sample exercises.

3. EXERCISE TUBING: this is the same idea as above in that it’s extremely portable.  I love to travel with my medium or heavy weight exercise tubes because they are light as a feather and take up no space in my suitcase.  Medium to heavy weight tubes run between $10 and $15.  (Skip the light weight ones – they really don’t have enough resistance). And if you ADD this to the gliding disks above , your giftee won’t even NEED to go to a gym because they’ll have enough for an awesome workout at home.

Outside of that, I also offer gift-certificates for fit living coaching (healthy eating, exercise program design, weight loss) so if you have someone in your life that is looking to make a change in their lifestyle, I’d be happy to help out.  Feel free to drop me an email me at shari [at] fitfeat [dot] com for more info.

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Update on the DDSD challenge for those of you playing along – for the second day in a row, all I was able to do was get in a walk.  The good news is that all the probiotics, wheat grass juice, kombucha, green tea, miso soup, fresh fruits and veggies have all helped a lot today and my headache is waning and my eyes are able to focus (MSP told me today that now HIS eyes were starting to hurt – sorry MSP!).  I do think it’s a cold I’m fighting because it was in my ears and throat today, but this evening I’m feeling MUCH better.  Unfortunately I had to stay home from school today (and missed RAW FOODS) because if I happened to have something contagious, I’d feel TERRIBLE if I passed anything on to my classmates, most of whom will be traveling home to other states for the holidays.  That’s NOT the kind of gift I want to be giving my friends!

Have a GREAT evening!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

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What Would You Do?

Jul 31

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Hi friends – Happy Weekend!

Before I get to the topics of today’s post, I want to say how much I loved reading your comments about the “Get Hungry” post – lots of really good comments and conversation!  Thank you so much for that and I’m so glad that you guys liked the post so much!  I’ll be sure to include more like that in the future.  If you like what you read here, please pass the link on!  (and you can follow me on Twitter to get FeatTweets!) Let’s build the FitFeat community so that we can continue to share and exchange all of our ideas!

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Do any of you ever watch that show on TV called “What Would You Do?” where they have hidden cameras taping actors doing something morally out of line to see how people respond that aren’t in on it?  I feel like I was on that show today…

This morning I completed my annual CPR/AED course, which is a requirement to maintain my ACE personal trainer certification each year.   I don’t like to be a Negative Nelly (publicly anyway, ha ha!) but the guy that taught our class today was not only dry as the Sahara desert but also completely unqualified to teach people life-saving techniques.  I take it seriously because if I’m ever in a situation where I need to put this training to use, I want to know I am competent at it.  And the steps often change slightly from one year to the next so I want to be sure I’m comfortable with the protocol.  I feel bad for the people in the class today who were first-time attendees – even for those of us that were there for renewal, he was all over the place and completely confusing.  I hope that if I ever need someone to perform CPR on me, they weren’t ONLY trained by this clown.

I’m strongly considering contacting our local Red Cross chapter – it was that bad.

So like the TV show, I’m asking: What would you do? Would you consider calling to let them know that their instructor needs further training before being let loose with a real class or would you chalk it up to him having a bad day and stay out of it?  I’d love to get your input on this!

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OK on to fun stuff!

Anyone else still suffering from Kombucha withdrawal?  Have you seen any of the main brands back on the shelves yet?  (Not the pasteurized imposter wanna-be Kombuchas – they don’t count!)  ;)

Since I’d been missing my BUBBLY booch so much, I mentioned recently that I was left no choice but to attempt to make my own.  My first experiment with making Kombucha tea is going the same way my first attempt with sprouting went, which is to say UNSUCCESSFULLY.  :(

I followed the steps to a “T”…

And hid it away to do it’s thing for 2 weeks.

But after 16 days…. I don’t think it’s really growing anything.  Which is a big Bummer with a capital B.  I think that the culture kind of expanded but supposedly I should now have a second culture growing on the TOP of the tea.  But I don’t.

The directions mention that the culture can be damaged by heat so maybe my first mistake was ordering it in the summertime when the box it shipped in had to sit in my mailbox till I got home from work one day – probably BAKING the whole time in our 90+ degree heat.

I refuse to give up!  I’m hearing that kombucha should be back on the shelves in August… so if I can get my hands on just ONE bottle somewhere then I will try again using THAT as the starter rather than the dried one.  I’ll wait until WINTER to order another dried culture if I have to go that route.

Because even when it’s back on the shelves it’d be really nice to save money by making my own anyway!

OK, blog buds.  All this tea talk has me thirsty!

Let me know your thoughts on the “What Would You Do?” question!  Can’t wait to hear what you would do!

– Shari B. =)

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