10 Minute Cardio Workout

Today at the gym, we did something that I've never done before, that I hope to do again, but will hate as much as I hated it the first time!

It's simple, yet a butt kicker.

The key to this workout is that you have to push yourself. If it's a casual stroll in the park, you won't get nearly as much cardio and lung benefit as you would if you give it your all.

We had 10 minutes to complete the following on a treadmill:

Run .5 miles at a 1% incline
Get off the treadmill and do 10 jump-squats

Run .25 miles at a 3% incline
Get off the treadmill and do 10 jump-squats

Run .25 miles at a 6% incline
Get off the treadmill and do 10 jump-squats

Run .25 miles at a 9% incline
Get off the treadmill and do 10 jump-squats

My 10 minutes ran out right after I completed the .25 miles at 6%. I actually like the fact that I did not complete the task today as that gives me a goal and motivation for next time.

If you try it, let me know how it goes!!

Gym-spiration

I rarely write blogs and think about the fact that people I see in everyday life may read them. I write and send it out to cyberspace, and then, a friend of mine mentions something about the blog, and I think, "oh shoot, people I actually have to talk to face to face read some of my inner-most thoughts and idiotic statements." This is one of those blogs I actually thought about before-hand, and thought, shoot, if these people read it, they may be creeped out...but I think it's an important one, so I'll write it anyways. If you read this Heather and Therace, I'm sorry. I'm a creeper. A major, major creeper.

It's hard for even the most driven and motivated people to stay driven and motivated in the gym all the time. Especially in mommy-world! You're up in the night with kiddos. Your "alarm clocks" don't have a snooze button. Your little buddy(ies) rarely let you pee alone, let alone rest on the couch if you're feeling sleepy. Non-parents have it just as bad. Work is crazy. Relationships are crazy. Social lives are crazy. Shoot, for most of us, if not all of us, we would like another few hours in our days. Exhaustion creeps in...and if you're anything like me, it really creeps into my workouts.

I usually can pull myself into the gym knowing that I will have more energy after the workout. But many days I am not motivated (nor do I have the energy) to push myself quite as hard as I should to get the most out of my hour at the gym.

Enter: My gym-spiration.

There are a couple women in my life that are beasts...and I mean this in the best of ways. They are the kind of women who walk down the street and you think to yourself, "Are they a professional athlete? At the very least a fitness model?!" They aren't just thin. They are the women who look like they just left a hard workout and are headed home to juice something and eat a piece of raw steak with a side of kale. You know the type...ripped, but not too ripped. Skinny, but not too skinny. They look like they work hard. And like they could probably kick the butt of any man at the gym, on their worst day...asleep.

The first of which was Mckenna's swim teacher. The other is a trainer at our gym. Both of which I have befriended and adore because they are even more beautiful on the inside than their well-toned gams. They are both (even though they don't know it...until they read this incredibly creepy post about them in the internet) my inspiration. They are fit, healthy, and work really, really hard to be that way. When I workout with them, I push myself harder because a) I don't want to look like a punk and b) I want to be more like them.

These are the people I like to surround myself with on a lazy day at the gym.

I can't tell you the difference having a motivational workout buddy can make. Of course, Ronnie is motivating in his own right, and we have a blast in the gym. But I can look like Lazy McLazyson around him and not be embarrassed. It literally has transformed my workouts to do workouts with, or take a class from, women who are truly inspiring!!

If you have been feeling a bit lax in your workouts or unmotivated, this would be my one piece of advice. Well, ok, I have a second key piece to go along with it...if you find that person, just befriend them, but don't exactly mention why initially...I think it may sound super creepy...especially for a dude. Although, on second thought, who doesn't like a little stroke to the old ego from time to time? Precede with caution there ;-) But seriously, find someone. You'll be glad you did.

Started a New Routine: StrongLifts 5x5

Are you looking for a new routine to breakup the monotony of you current one? Or looking for something that is good for beginners? How about something that only has you lift weights for 3 days a week at 45 minutes a day? Something super easy and straightforward that even has an app that you can use to track your progress? Than I have the workout for you!! (Man, I definitely think they should use me to pitch their free product ;) )

I recently started the StrongLifts 5x5 program and I absolutely love have organized, easy and quick it is. The last thing I want to do in the gym is think, and this take all of the thinking out of it! I downloaded the app to track my progress and to tell me what to do every single workout and even tell me what weight to use. Couldn't be easier.

It's called the 5x5 program because there are only 5 different lifts that you have to "master" and each lift will be done at 5 sets of 5 reps (except for deadlift which is only 1 set of 5). You will only do 3 of those lifts on each day of your workout. That's it.

The five lifts are...

Squat


Deadlift


Bench Press


Overhead Press


Barbell Row



I'll keep you updated on my progress and would love to hear if any of you start this program as well!

Workout Wednesday: Today's Workout

We'll start posting our Wednesday workout every week, so please let me know if you have any questions. If it's something you want to try at home, some equipment may be needed, but it can be done at a pretty minimal cost. Also, much of it can be done with body weight.

Here is our workout for today:

STATION 1 (**Each exercise is done for 1 minute**)
Leg Lifts
Hang SquatsSquat Jumps
Leg Lifts
Dead Lift
Burpee

STATION 2
Hover
Kettlebell CurlClean and PressHoverSquat Upright Row
Swings
STATION 3
Plank
Deep Lunge Left
Deep Lunge Right
Plank
Fast Princess Lunge Left
Fast Princess Lunge Right
STATION 4
V-ups
Dips
High/Low Up Downs
V-ups
Kettlebell Tricep Extension
Shoulder Press
STATION 5
Leg raises
Rows
Toe Taps
Leg raises
Pushups
Wallsit Shoulder Press
DONE

Workout Wednesday

You peeps seemed to enjoy Mandi posting our workout last Wednesday, so we figured it could be something we do going forward. If it's something you want to try at home, some equipment may be needed, but it can be done at a pretty minimal cost. Also, much of it can be done with body weight.

Here is our workout for today:

WARMUP (*Each exercise is done for 45 seconds*)
Fast squats
Basement squats
Jump squats
Lunge forward right
Lunge forward left

STATION 1 (**Each exercise is done for 1 minute**)
Burpee
Squat front raise
Fast princess lunge right
Fast princess lunge left
Squat jump
Hover

STATION 2
Hang squat
Dead lift
High/Low up down
Princess lunge right
Princess lunge left
Fast squat

STATION 3
Sprawl
Triceps pushup
Swings
Plank to push up
Dips
Run 200 meters

STATION 4
Plank to pushup
Clean and Press
Squat upright row
Spider pushup
Mountain climbers
Hover

STATION 5
Squat press
Shoulder press
Squat jumps
Wall sit left leg only
Wall sit right leg only
Wall sit shoulder press


Active recovery
Hold a plank position for 15 seconds
5 push-ups
Hold a plank position for 15 seconds
4 push-ups
Hold a plank position for 15 seconds
3 push-ups
Hold a plank position for 15 seconds
2 push-ups
Hold a plank position for 15 seconds
1 push-up

Fast squats for 30 seconds
Basement squats for 30 seconds
Squat jumps for 30 seconds
Repeat sequence 4 times

DONE

The Key is Consistency

No, I'm not talking about this blog (although I am going to try my best to get back to being consistent), I'm talking about exercise.

From June of last year until November 2013, I was an animal at the gym. I was doing our 45 minute work-so-hard-you-pass-out-or-throw-up class at least 3 times a week, and a lot of weeks, I was doing it 5 times. The first month or so was super tough, but as usually the case, it got easier as I got in better shape. By the end of the summer, I was kicking booty and taking names. I rarely had to catch my breath and I was almost always able to complete the full workout without feeling like I was going to die.

My energy level was awesome. My lungs were awesome. My sleep was awesome. My appetite was awesome (probably a bit too awesome). My fitness was awesome. My health was awesome.

Around the beginning of November, I started battling a lingering foot issue that has given me trouble before. I scaled back my workouts as much as I could. I still was at the gym, I just wasn't doing as much at such a high intensity. My foot didn't really get any better, and after 3 weeks of a scaled back workout routine, I was in the Hole.

This is probably a good time to stress again how important exercise is in my life. Would I have ended up in the Hole (hospital) if I was able to continue exercising at a high intensity? Who knows. However, if I was a betting man, I'd say NO. It's happened before and I'm sure it will happen again - When my workouts suffer, my lungs suffer.

Anyway, after 3 weeks in the Hole and 2 weeks of Christmas and vacation, I was back to the gym on Monday. It sucked. (Usually I'm able to stay somewhat active in the Hole, but due to around the clock IV antibiotics, this stay was a little tougher to do so.)

I was sucking so much wind it was embarrassing. It's amazing to me how out of shape I've become in 5 "short" weeks.

Today, I helped a woman out who was new to the class. It was only her second time doing the workout. We were sucking wind together. It was almost as if it was my second time in the class ever. I was able to encourage her after class by letting her know what I have written above - consistency is key, if you keep coming, it will get easier.

Now, I know there are times when we can't control if we go to the gym or workout. Injuries happen. Hospital stays happen. But, if you're able to control it, please, do so. Not for me, but for you. Taking time off feels good at the time, but you'll pay for it down the road.

Consistency is key. It will get easier.

*Now I've got to go and take an ice-bath. I hurt :)

Quicker than expected...

One thing that's been pretty consistent in my adolescent and adult life is the ability to make up ground quickly in my exercise health, but just as quickly lose it if I table it for a while.

While being on our east coast trip, I did very minimal exercise. Yeah, I walked around quite a bit and rode bikes often, but rarely did I push myself to the level that I'm used to at home. Mandi and I managed to do one, yes one, crossfit style workout in the 10 days we were away and I put on my running shoes exactly one time. (And of course there is always a reason - I experienced my first UTI EVER on this trip within the first 3 days of us being away and it lasted about 5 days. With that said, I still didn't maximize all of the days that I wasn't peeing fire.)

My run actually felt a lot better than I expected it to considering I haven't run for distance in over 3 months. I get so much cardio from the group classes that we do, and cough up so many lungs, that running isn't really necessary. Well, on my trip I was inspired by my crazy wife, who ended up running like 25 miles in three days, to actually lace up the ol' sneakers and go for a run. Not knowing how it would feel, I tried not to let my mind wander about the impending pain that was to come upon me.

To my surprise, it really wasn't all that bad. Granted, I tried to run down hill as much as I could, and I'm sure the ocean breeze helped with my "freshness", but even my lungs passed the test much better than I was expecting. I ended up running about 3 miles, and if I didn't feel pressed for time, I think I could have eeked out another mile or so.

Anyway, I'm happy that I got something done on my vacation other than eating ice cream for dinner and sitting around on the beach, even if it was just 2 workouts. I think those two workouts set me up quite nicely for my return to our classes this week as I don't think I lost as much ground as I usually do the other times that I've taken off of exercise. Sure, the workouts have been tough, but they've been manageable.

It feels good to be back, and I'm looking forward to where I can take my exercise health from here!!

How Could I Choose NOT to Exercise?

One thing about exercise...it usually sucks while you're doing it.

I know I can attest to how sucky it can be. It doesn't matter if I'm running, lifting weights, biking, hiking, doing a class or an array of other activities, the "present" usually stinks. I don't know about you, but when I exercise, I experience the following:

Pain from sore muscles
Pain from stiff joints
Some type of back pain
Light headedness
Eye stings from sweat
Shortness of breath
Coughing my head off
and the list goes on...

So as you see, I don't enjoy exercise. Well, let me back up. I certainly don't enjoy exercise while I'm exercising.

I've been on the record many times about two things regarding exercise, I only do it because I love my wife and daughter and, there is NO DOUBT that it's the best thing for my health. When I'm healthier I'm a better husband and father. On the days that not a bone in my body feels like going to the gym, I figuratively, and sometimes literally, slap myself across the face and say "it's not about you!".

See, my present (both from God and in time) is what inspires me to exercise, but it's my past and future that I often think about when I'm in the trenches. When my energy is zapped and I feel like I can't push anymore and when the pain feels like it has blown past my threshold, I often think about how good I'll feel when I'm done and how terrible I feel when I'm not committed to a life of exercise. The great thing about an exercise "high" is that it often lasts all day. Sure, you're maybe a bit tired. A slight worn out feeling. But I assure you the benefits of exercise are working even when you're not. I don't know about you, but when I exercise, I experience the following:

More energy throughout the day
Better sleep at night
More mucus production through out the day
Less viscous mucus
Ability to take deeper, fuller breaths
A sense of accomplishment
Increased appetite
Better "overall" feeling
Pride in myself
Honor (keeping a promise to my wife and daughter)
Better body image
More focus on other tasks throughout the day
and the list goes on...

Now, looking at the two lists, how could I choose not to exercise?

I'm a Wimp

First things first, I feel I should say this is Mandi posting, since it's not Monday! Although, in the context of this post, Ronnie is a wimp too...

Let me explain...

On Sunday my mom and I did the Phoenix Rock n Roll Half Marathon. We decided about a month ago to run/walk it. Neither of us had been training for it, but we both are in reasonable shape and keep up a decent amount of running. Up until the race we both were just doing 2.5-3.5 mile runs a couple days a week. I should mention, I was doing an interval training class and we were both lifting at the gym, so we weren't just sitting around, but never-the-less, we weren't running much. I did do one 7.5 mile run a couple weeks before the race, just to see how it felt. The 7-miler felt ok, but to say I was ready for it to be over about 5 miles in would be an understatement.

Based on our training, or lack there of, we decided we were just going to run/walk it for fun. No pressure. We figured worse case we'd run half and walk half. Our plan of attack started at run 2, walk 1. So we'd run 2, walk 1, run 2, walk 1, repeat. Then the day before the race we decided we'd shoot for run 3, walk 1.

On race day, we felt a bit nervous. We both didn't care about our time or pace, but I think neither of us wanted to be the one to hold the other one back. Standing in our corral, we got our game faces on (aka, joked around by how out of shape we were and that we were crazy for doing this). Here we are!

The view from our corral

The gun went off and we were on our way...well almost. It was a wave start, so each corral was started separately. We had to wait 30 minutes to start...that was a LONG 30 minutes. We started out strong. We both felt good, with the exception of a couple aches in our joints from the cold air, but those went away once we warmed up a bit.

Mile 2 came and went, and we kept running.

Mile 3 came and went, and we kept running.

Mile 4 came, we ran another .5 and decided to walk a bit.

As we walked we realized we still felt our legs. We weren't out of breath while running, our legs were just tired and sore. But they continued to be tired and sore while we walked. We were being passed by people. We are both too proud to be passed (yup, I said it). So between being too competitive and still feeling our legs while walking, we didn't walk the full mile we intended, we walked around .5 miles or a little less. So we started running.

Another 4 miles came and went...and we decided to walk a bit. Again, we still felt our legs, so we started back up in a little less than .5 miles. Here's us, mid-run...clearly I had a bit of trouble getting a good shot.

We ran. We felt tired, but we ran. We joked that the key was just to be more proud than you are out of shape.

At around mile 11.5 we decided to walk another .5 just to "rest up" before the final push. Again we walked just under .5 and started back up.

It was the last 1.1 miles. We both were tired. Here is my rockstar momma pushing through (she didn't know I took this...sneaky sneaky).

It didn't feel like a walk in the park...but 1.1 miles later, we had crossed the finish line. We did it in 2:09:22 - at a 9:53 mile pace. Here we are within a couple minutes of finishing.

I learned a valuable lesson through this half marathon experience. I'm a WIMP. Yup. I am. I had only been running 3 miles. I ran one 7.5-miler, and decided that was enough. I was tired. But then, without legit training, I ran 13.1. You know what that means? That means I didn't push myself nearly enough leading up to race day. I had the ability to run FAR FARTHER than I had been. I had the ability to run 13.1, but I was stopping after 3 or 7.5 miles. I had been wimping out...FOR MONTHS.

I can't help but wonder what I am capable of if I push my body on a daily basis like I did on Sunday. How much faster would I be? How much farther would I run? How much more fit could I be? Because I put in a lot of hours at the gym and working out, I had never stopped and asked myself am I being my best? Am I achieving my full potential? On Sunday I realized I'm not! If I had to guess, most of us aren't pushing ourselves as much as we could. Most of us sell ourselves and our potential short. I think in one regard or another, lots of us are wimps. I thought I was pushing myself, until I pushed myself even further. I've decided not to wimp out anymore. I'm going to push myself beyond what I thought was pushing myself before. My motto always has been (thanks to an old soccer coach), "our body is unlike any other machine, it adapts to the stresses we put on it"...this weekend I realized I'm not putting enough "stress" on it!! Look out body, you're about to be PUSHED like never before!!

Weight Lifting Plan

Had a few questions about my weight lifting plan, so instead of answering individually, thought it would be easiest to write it up on the blog. (Note that this plan will change every 8 to 12 weeks or so.)

I generally lift weights on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, but it can change based on what else I have going. I lift after a 30 minute core class, which they don't recommend, but hey, there are only so many hours in a day right?

Chest/Triceps

Dumbbell Press - 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Smith Machine Incline Press - 4 sets x 10-12 reps
*Dumbbell Fly/Bench Press - 3 sets x 10-12 reps
**Cable Crossover - 7 sets x 10 reps

*Done as a super-set (meaning rotating lifts one right after the other with no rest)
**In between sets, alternate between 30 seconds of stretching and 30 seconds of flexing

Close Grip Bench - 4 sets x 4-6 reps
Dips - 4 sets x MAX
Skull Crusher - 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Cable Kickbacks - 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Diamond Push-ups - 3 sets x MAX

Back/Biceps 

Wide Grip Pull-ups - 4 sets x MAX
*Lat Pull Down/Seated Row - 4 sets x 10 reps
Bent Over Row - 4 sets x 10 reps

*Done as a super-set (meaning rotating lifts one right after the other with no rest)
Note: All back lifts are done to a 2-1-2 count. Concentric movement for 2 seconds, hold for 1 second, eccentric movement for 2 seconds.

*Drag Curls - 4 sets x 4-6 reps
*Incline Curls - 4 sets x 4-6 reps (start palms facing down and end palms facing up)
**Preacher Hammer Curls - 2 sets x 12-15 reps
**Preacher Reverse Curls - 2 sets x 12-15 reps

*Done to a 1-2-1 count. Concentric movement for 1 second, eccentric movement for 2 seconds and fully extended for 1 second.
**Done to a 3-2-1 count. Concentric movement for 3 seconds, eccentric movement for 2 seconds and fully extended for 1 second.

Shoulders

Side-lying External Rotations - 4 sets x 10-12 reps
Arnold Press - 3 sets x 8-10 reps
Dumbbell Press - 3 sets x 8-10 reps
Military Press - 4 sets x 4-6 reps
45 Degree Lateral Raise - 3 sets x 8-10 reps
Upright Shrugs - 2 sets x 20 reps

For those of you who are curious, I'm currently not lifting on legs as my 45 minute, 3 day-a-week class does many leg exercises both aerobic and anaerobic.

As always, if you have questions or suggestions, fire away!!

The Importance of Water

One thing I can tell you for sure from working with many in the CF community on better health plans - as a whole, we don't drink enough water. This doesn't come as a big surprise as most Americans, by a super large majority, don't drink enough water either.

I can't tell you how much better I feel on the days that I get my water needs met. And until you make the commitment to drink the amount of water you need, you'll have no clue what I'm taking about. Every single person that I have convinced to drink more water has never regretted it and in fact, ended up embracing the lifestyle change.

I ran across this article about the importance of water and I wanted to share it with you guys.

Getting enough water is the single most important thing you can do to live a healthier life.
But are you getting enough? And are you drinking the right kinds, at the right times? It is estimated that over 99% of Americans do not get the proper amount of water their body needs. Did you know that water contributes to everything from a healthy glow to your skin, to transporting oxygen and nutrients to your body’s cells?
Many health problems we treat by simply popping pills, can be solved by getting enough water in your system daily. This article aims to tell you everything you need to know about water, so read on and feel healthier!
The FormulaThe age old “eight glasses of water a day” works great for some people, but not all of us. Instead, we have supplied something a little bit more customized to your body type. Simply take your weight (in pounds) and divide it by two:

__ lbs. / 2 = ___ ounces a day.

So for example take a 120 lb female. Divide her weight by two, and you have 60 ounces of water a day. Keep in mind that this is total water intake, and there are many foods with a high water concentration. To be safe, you should drink eighty percent of this in pure water. So using our female example again, 80 percent of 60 ounces is 48 ounces, or six eight ounce glasses of water per day.Your Body, and WaterWater is vital in our body, and a lack of it certainly has its consequences. Your body is roughly 70 percent water. The build of your muscles are about 75 percent water, blood 82 percent, brain cells 85 percent, and even your bones are 25 percent water. Your body looses approximately two quarters (64 ounces) of water per day through urination, perspiration, and even exhalation. The average adult can last as much as seven weeks without food, but not much more than five days without water.
F. Batmanghelidj, MD, highlights some main benefits of keeping your body well hydrated in his book titled “Water for Health, for Healing, for Life”:Water being the main lubricant in joints, helps prevent arthritis and back pain.
Water increases efficiency of the immune system
Water prevents the clogging of arteries in the heart and brain, thus reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Water is needed to efficiently manufacture neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin and melatonin (for hormones). It also improves are attention span, and can prevent attention deficit disorder (ADD).
Water prevents memory loss as we age, reducing the risk of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Water reduces the effects of aging, making our skin smoother and giving is a sparkling luster.

Health Complications Caused by DehydrationWhen your body is not getting enough water, it will ration what it has. There are five primary organs your body hydrates above all else, and they are your brain, heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys. Thus your non-vital organs will often suffer from a lack of water. Signs tend to manifest first in your skin, joints, and gastrointestinal tract.
Arthritis and joint pains are common signs of not getting enough water. The cartilage in your joints provides a nice smooth surface for your joints to glide across during movement. Cartilage itself is eighty percent water, and is five times slicker than ice. Well, that is a well hydrated joint. When your body is not getting enough water, one of the first places it puts on a rations list is your joints. Less lubrication equals greater friction. And over time that friction causes your joints to degenerate quicker, eventually leading to arthritis.High blood pressure is another sign. Instead of spending money on medication, why not try drinking some good old fashion water? Think of a garden hose, when you constrict it at any point, the pressure flowing increases. Your body does the same thing. When dehydrated, it restricts blood flow to less important organ, which may cause an increase in pressure.Digestion problems. Do you suffer from heartburn, indigestion, or constipation? Do you constantly intake medications such as Pepcid or Tums? Your stomach has a lining on it that should be 98 percent water. This lining contains bicarbonate, which protects against stomach acid. Drinking enough water ensures a thick layer to protect our stomach lining from damage. However, not getting enough water will cause it to thin out, causing many of these problems.Water Keeps you YoungYes you read that right. Getting the proper amount of water each day will keep you looking and feeling young. For one, drinking water helps you loose weight. Not many people know this, but hunger pains and thirst pains are nearly identical, so many people eat when they should be drinking. Assuming that you are dehydrated, you body will carry extra “water weight” because it is unsure when it will get some next, and it wants to be sure it has enough to survive. This is caused by the hormone aldosterone, and its main job is water retention. However keeping your body well hydrated dramatically decreases this emergency storage, so you are not carrying around extra weight. Emerging research shows that dehydration also contributes to a low metabolism, which in turn causes your body to store up more fat.Water revives your cells, and keeps them alive. Roughly two-thirds of your body’s fluids are on the inside of cells, and the other third are on the outside of them. The first sign of failing health is when the fluids shift from the inside to the outside. After this happens, cells do not have enough energy to maintain the membrane pumps inside them, causing the cells to die. Likewise, when there is more water on the outside of cells than there should be, your blood vessels compress, causing less nutrients and oxygen to be delivered to them. Everything from your cells to the largest organ in your body, your skin, suffers.Did you know a lack of water contributes to memory loss? Your brain cells are eighty-five percent water, and your brain itself is the only organ that never rests. It is safe to say that your brain is the single most important organ to be sure is well hydrated. Ensuring it has enough water guarantees the production of new brain cells to replace damaged ones, as well as being sure the brain is working to its full potential. Many doctors today believe that long term dehydration contributes to Alzheimer’s disease.When is it best to drink water?There are two big mistakes many people make here. One is drinking when your thirst, and the second is drinking with a meal. A dry mouth is actually one of the last signs of dehydration, and when you experience it, you are already mildly dehydrated. When you drink with a meal, you are washing down all the hydrochloric acid in your saliva, and enzymes in your stomach. What results is a poor digestion process. Don’t get us wrong, you need to drink some liquid during a meal, but no more than six – eight ounces.
Here is a good schedule to follow, adopted from Don Colbert, MD’s book ‘The Seven Pillars of Health”:Start by drinking eight – sixteen ounces of water before breakfast (There is no need to replace the juice, tea, or coffee you may drink in the morning. Instead, enjoy the water with your choice beverage.)A couple hours after breakfast, drink another eight – sixteen ounce glass of water.Again, a few hours after lunch, drink another eight – sixteen ounce glass.Thirty minutes before dinner, drink sixteen – twenty-four ounces of water.About an hour before bed, have another eight ounce glass.

So what do you think? Are you ready to go and pound the water?? You won't regret it if you do, just be prepared for many more potty breaks :)

Workouts Get BORING

Let's face it, if you get to the gym with any kind of regularity, the workouts you do quickly become rather monotonous. I know for me, it usually at about the 6 week mark of doing the same workout routine that I'm ready for a new one. In fact, just the other day, I overheard a "TV trainer" say it's wise to switch up your routine every 6 sessions or so to avoid muscle memory and/or just going through the motions. And with all of the new workout crazes that stress "muscle confusion" and a host of varying movements. I'd say that it is pretty sound strategy.

With this in mind, I've recently ventured into something new at our gym (with a little coaxing from Mandi of course). The past couple of weeks, we've been giving group classes a shot. 

Leading up to this point, I was never really interested in the group class setting. Here were my reasons:

1. The classes are generally full of women, and consequently

2. All of the men in the gym are lifting weights

3. Seemed to be pretty cheesy

4. Intimated by the constant movement

5. Figured my two left feet wouldn't be great for all of the different steps

6. Did I mention that classes are for women?

So as you see, it's not as if I had some slam-dunk reason as to why I never gave the classes a shot. I did however need a little bit of a push by Mandi to actually give them a chance.

I'm glad she pushed.

We started with a class called Body Pump which is essentially a full-body workout using barbells and hand weights. It's set to various music tracks and focuses mostly on form as well as varying repetitions, positions and movements. It all feels pretty good, except for the leg portion of the class. It's crazy how weak my legs have gotten. Half way through the class I couldn't have the slightest bend in my knee without my legs shaking. I felt Body Pump for a good 3 to 4 days after my initial class. If you saw me, you would have thought that I rode in on a horse.

Yesterday, we gave Body Combat a shot. This is a high energy class that has you throwing jabs, uppercuts, hooks and various kicks for about an hour straight. I couldn't believe how much I was sweating just after the "warm-up" had taken place. I was coughing up storm and may need to look into a mucus bucket to bring with me next time. :)

Anyway, what's the point of this blog? Well, if you find yourself "going through the motions" with your exercise routine, switch it up. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself. Don't be too uncomfortable with change. Get out there and try something that you've never done before. Whatever you decide to do, give it a fair shot and don't second guess yourself. Just go for it!!

I'll be the very first to admit that I was skeptical about changing up our lifting routine. I'm just so very thankful I did...even if I did "kick and scream" a bit on my way to the first class. 

Lung Workout

At-home workout challenge - Here's my workout for the day:
25 pull-ups
50 hammer curls
50 tricep extension
50 step-ups
50 push-ups
50 v-ups
50 incline press
50 shoulder press
50 leg press
50 calf press
50 face smashers
50 jumping jacks
50 overhead tricep extensions
50 straight arm pull downs
50 pec deck flys
50 jumping jacks
50 mountain climbers
25 pull-ups

You don't have to do all of these, especially if you are just beginning to workout. Pick 5 if you are a beginner, 10 if you are a moderate and try all if you think you can handle it.
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My blog today actually has to do with the workout posted above. When I do this, I move as fast as I can through each exercise and give myself as little rest as possible. It becomes just as much of a workout for my lungs as it is for my muscles. I work up quite a sweat and I'm taking extremely deep breaths almost the entire time. I wanted to throw down a challenge for all of you today.

If you already workout regularly try timing your workouts this week and each day you exercise, try to go a little faster than the day before. The workout above took me 35 minutes. If you don't work our regularly, maybe you can pick 5 exercises from above and time yourself doing them. After you're done, right down the time. Take a day off, and then the following day, do the exact same exercises and try to beat your time from the previous workout. Do that for a couple of weeks and let me know how that feels. If it starts to get too easy, pick 5 more exercises. If it gets too hard, back off a little :)

The key to this workout, and really any workout where we want to hit both muscles and lungs, is to keep moving at a fast pace the entire time. It may feel funny at first, but if you stick with it, I promise you'll like the results. With me, I don't even pay as much attention to form as I do pace. Right now, I'm not trying to bulk up, but I am trying to expand my lungs. The only way to do that is to work them out!!

Anyway, thought I would throw this out there for those that wanted a challenge or a new workout idea!

At-Home Workout Challenge

Thank you to all who participated in the Hospital Exercise Challenge! It was such a success and I got so much great feedback, that I wanted to be sure to continue a little something at home. Here's the problem though, I'm not exactly sure what to do.

I need some ideas. What would be most helpful to you guys? Should I design a workout that I feel would be beneficial? Should I just report each day what I do and then you guys can try to match? I want to do whatever you guys feel would help the most. I'm down for whatever!!

If your curious, my workout today was...

50 leg squats on Smith machine
50 box jumps on 24" box
50 V-ups
50 pushups
50 pull-ups
50 barbell shoulder presses

I try to do all of those exercises as at quick of a pace as I can so it is not only an great muscle builder, but also a great lung workout. I'm huffing and puffing pretty much the whole way through, but it feels SO GREAT when it's all said and done.

Think you can match that today?

Workout Wednesday: Strength Training

...for babies. Tummy time, tummy time and more tummy time. Tummy time is all the rage these days to build back, neck and core strength. This is the same strength that will help Mckenna roll over, sit, crawl and walk, so we try to do a lot of it. This may sound like an easy feat, but it was a bit of a chore because she used to HATE tummy time. She is now working her way into finding it tolerable for 5-10 minute spurts.

And it turns out, hard work pays off...even in baby land. Monday night, after a long day in the car driving back from CA, Mckenna rolled over for the first time!! And you know who saw her do it? No one. Ha! We were eating a quick dinner and Mckenna was playing with her favorite toy, Zoey the Zebra, while tolerating tummy time. Ronnie was watching TV sitting on the couch, and I was sitting on the floor next to her and turned to set my bowl down when out of the corner of my eye I saw a hand and leg in the air. She was already on her back by the time my brain told my eyes what they were seeing. "AHH AHHH she rolled over," I screamed like the proud momma I am. We both rushed to her and began cheering, smiling, rubbing her belly, you name it, we did it....I even got a little choked up (yeah I know, kinda pathetic). I'm sure she wondered what was going on, but man did she look proud. She had a big gummy smile from ear to ear. She knew whatever she did made mom and dad VERY proud.

That little one-hit wonder has yet to do it again for us though. She'll roll over if when we set her on her tummy we put her up on her hands. But she hasn't rolled over without a careful set-up by mom or dad. But that's ok. She'll be our little tumbler in no time...which is very exciting and scary at the same time. Rolling means she won't be where we left her all the time...rolling means it's the start of being mobile.

Zoey makes tummy time fun!

Quick At-Home Workout

We're all busy. None of us have 30 minutes to spare each and every day to get in a solid workout. But, as many of you know, one thing I preach around here is "a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing". So, on those days that you only have a few minutes to spare, I present to you The Super Quick At-Home Workout :)

This will hit almost your entire body and best of all, it will make you breathe some deep breaths.

Start out with a wall sit. You'll want to do 3 sets of these and hold them for as long as you can.



Now that your warm, we're going to get you into a front plank. You'll do 3 sets of these and hold them for time as well! (FYI - the extremely fit instructor in this video is none other than super cyster Julie D!!)


What would a quick workout be without isolating those arms? Finish off this at-home workout with 3 sets of 10 (or as many as you can do to 10) of chair dips.



That's it, you're done!! How'd that feel?

Making the Most of Opportunities

Hi, Y'all...Mandi Here (thought I'd give you the heads up since it isn't Monday!)

The title may make it sound as if I'm going to share with you some great, life-changing opportunity that I have triumphantly capitalized on that resulted in me being transformed and bettered. If you're looking for that kind of post, you're definitely going to be disappointed. This is a tale of a tiny, insignificant opportunity that you'll likely question why I took the time to share it...never-the-less, here we go...

Mckenna likes to wake up to eat in the night...but shoot so does my mother-in-law (sorry, Denise, it was too easy...Ron Sr., maybe don't let her read this one!). Afterall, that's what babies are wired to do, right? Anywhoo, she tends to wake up somewhere between 3 and 7 to eat, and then goes back down until between 8 and 9. When I hear her on the monitor, I typically stagger down the hallway, illuminating my steps with the light of my cell phone. I then sit half-consious as she enjoys her mid-night snack, stagger back to my room, slither back into bed, and quickly drift back into dreamland. Well last night (Thursday night), I carried out my typical nightly ritual, except I crawled back into bed, only to lay awake. For those of you who have ever been up in the night, and tried with all your might to will yourself back to sleep, but couldn't, you know the feeling. It can be frustrating...right?

Well I had two choices, I could take a sleeping pill (which would require going to the store because we don't have that kind of thing in our pharmacy, I mean house). OR I could get up. So instead of getting annoyed that my little hungry monster was back to bed and I was awake, I decided to make the most of the opportunity. I got up, made a cup of coffee and started in on my work day. I figured if I was awake, why not just get up, finish my work day before she and Ronnie wake up, and then I could PLAY the rest of the day...maybe even nap. And I have to say, I have been incredibly productive (well until I decided to write this blog when I realized Ronnie didn't have anything scheduled to post...but what's a 20 minute break, right?).

Moral of the story? There are a few. First, if you don't want to be up in the night, don't make a baby. Second, if you can't sleep, but want to, choose Unisom, not coffee. And lastly, make the most of opportunities today.

Interval Training

"Has anyone else noticed that a minute of running is at least 45 seconds longer than a minute of walking??"


I posted this yesterday on Facebook after my cardio workout. I decided that I would do some interval training to switch it up a little as just running can get a little boring sometimes. (I would actually highly suggest interval training to anyone else who wants to change up their running routine as well). Basically, it's a series of sprinting, running, jogging and/or walking done in timed intervals. Yesterday I decided to do 1 minute interval training. I started with a five-minute warm-up walk and then immediately went into a 1 minute sprint followed by 1 minute of walking. I repeated the sprinting/walking cycle for about 16 minutes. All in all I covered about 1.5 miles of ground.


One thing that I love about interval training is that it always seems to get out more mucus than just straight running. I have a feeling it's because I bounce much more sprinting than I do when I'm running. And I know for a fact that I'm pulling for air much harder and it's getting deeper into my lungs. Doing the sprints followed by a 1 minute recovery walk lets me concentrate on getting as much air into my lungs as possible (as well as trying not to fall flat on my face from a lack of oxygen!). Yesterday was no different as I'm pretty sure I coughed up some stuff that has been down there for quite some time. Again, I would highly recommend this form of training to everyone.


But to get back to the quote I started with in the beginning -  it is amazing how true that feels. Like clockwork, I would look down at my watch 40 seconds into my sprint thinking that there was no way I would have any time on my minute left. And just like clockwork, about 1 minute into my walk I would look down at my watch swearing I was only 30 seconds into my recovery. It was seriously astonishing to me! It was consistent the entire 16 minutes and I can't help but think what my brain must've been processing each and every time I took off into my sprint. The hope of course is that those sprints feel shorter and shorter and those walks feel longer and longer. Although when I happens, I have to change up the routine!


Have any of you ever tried interval training?

What I Tell Myself...

I think a common myth among my friends and family, and possibly some of you out there, is that I really enjoy working out or exercising. Don't get me wrong, it's not something that I absolutely hate, but it certainly isn't something that I look forward to each day. Generally speaking, I talk myself into getting to the gym or lacing up my shoes to go for a run.

1. You've never regretted going to the gym. Sure, the 10 minutes before I actually get to the gym I go through about every excuse in the book as to why I shouldn't be going, but if I can actually get my butt in the car, it only gets easier. I actually start thinking about what I'm going to do when I get home from the gym even before I pull up in the parking lot, and I've found that can serve as somewhat of a motivation. I find if I can think of at least one thing that I really want to do after my workout, I tend to really push it and get through my workout as soon as possible. This usually means that I am very out of breath while exercising, but for someone who needs to breathe deep, that's a good thing!

2. You always take your deepest breaths while working out. Whether it's from running, doing box jumps or push-ups; I always breathe the deepest during workouts. And as only people with jacked up lungs can understand, man, that feels good! Can anybody out there reading this explain that sensation? You know, the feeling you get when you feel air get to places it hasn't been a while? More often than not, this is the feeling I get when I exercise. So in the regard, exercise is kind of like my drug, because the feeling I get from those deep breaths can't be beat by any narcotic.

3. If you don't push yourself, then shut your mouth. Like that one? One great benefit of having this blog, is that it holds me very accountable. I'll be the first one shouting from the rooftops that exercise is key in our battle with CF. Some people think it's too much and would rather me just shut up about it all, but I believe it in too much to be quite. Not only do I believe in it, but I live it. I've seen the amazing things it can do with lung function, energy and life. If I don't live it out in my daily life, how in the heck can I expect anyone else too?

4. Give 60 minutes for 60 years. Now, does pushing myself each day really guarantee that I'll be able to say that I lived a good 60 years? Of course not. Does it hurt my chances though? No way. It's all about putting myself in the best position to succeed and doing everything that I can to be the very best version of myself. I'm convinced that being faithful with exercise and treatments does just that, so I won't stop until I'm convinced otherwise. By the way, I better make it to at least 60...or Mandi will kill me!!

5. You're not doing this for you. I often hear people say "You've got to want it for you" before embarking on a life of treatments and exercise. Hogwash. The key is to do it, no matter who it's for. Do I love life? Sure. Do I love me? Yup. Do I love Mandi and Mckenna more than me and my little world combined times 1,000,000,000,000? You better believe it. If I'm ever out of energy to get up for the next workout, all I have to do is look my girls in the eye. There is no greater motivating factor on this earth.

So what about you? What do you tell yourself in order to "get up" for a workout?

Workout Wednesday: The Update

I wanted to give ya'll an update on that exciting new workout I talked about a couple of weeks ago (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, click here). The "spartan" workout has been going really well and it's provide a nice break from the routine that I was stuck in for many many months. It got to the point where I was bored while doing certain lifts and found myself starting to just go through the motions instead of really focusing on what I had to do. It's so important to exercise with purpose. Going through the motions simply won't get it done. Sure, it's better than nothing, but since I'm at the gym anyway, I might as well give it my best effort.

Anyway, the first couple times doing this workout was quite an eye-opener as it is one intense booty kicker. I knew going into it that it wasn't going to be easy, but I never thought that it would make me sweat nor breath as hard as it has done. I figured that the required 3 times a week of doing this workout was going to be a piece of cake, but I now see that they purposely give you some rest days cause they're absolutely needed! I mean, I couldn't walk straight for about the first 10 days of the regiment. But as a lot of you know, getting that sore can only mean one thing - I hadn't worked out those muscles like that for a long time. And now, it's up to me to keep those seldom used muscles in shape!

The other thing that I've added to intensify this new workout is to run to the gym on my workout days. This really gets my heart rate going and I feel warmed-up before I start "pumping the iron". Now, it also make my workout more challenging as some of the lifts require me to use leg strength and stamina, and after a mile run, my legs feel a little bit like jell-o. I like it though because I'm already sweating when I enter the gym and I continue to sweat the entire way through. There's nothing like sweating your butt off at the gym, or as I like to call it - the liquid representation of all your hard work :)

Like I said before, if you're looking for a new challenge, look no further! This is a great workout and will get your lungs as pumped as your muscles. If you have any questions, please don't be afraid to ask.

Happy lifting!!