What's in your trunk?

Hey! Congrats on making it to the end of the week! It feels like it’s been a long week am I right?! If you’re week flew by well…..you’re amazing, I’m jealous and please pass some of that good JuJu my way.

So, last week was a pretty heavy blog post. If you read it I appreciate you taking the time to do so. I hope my story helped bring some awareness to eating disorders and gave an inside look at what the mind of someone suffering from an eating disorder looks like. I also hope that it helped you be more aware of your eating habits. If you feel you may practice disordered eating or you have concerns that your current dieting regimen may progress to an eating disorder, feel free to reach out to me. I’m not an expert but I can certainly relate and would be glad to listen or even offer suggestions if you would like.

Alright, this blog post will be a little more light hearted but hopefully still informative.

We’re already into March. Can you believe it? What the heck happened to January and February? If you made a resolution for the New Year have you stuck to it? If so, how is it going? I had two resolutions this year. The first was pull ups….correction…1 unassisted pull up. I’m still working on that EVERY.SINGLE. DAY. I still can’t bend my elbows on my own, meaning all of my pull ups are currently assisted. It makes me angry because I have been working on these STUPID pull ups since November and yah. Any ways…….I also resolved to accept compliments. This one is difficult and I forget from time to time but I have been making more of conscience effort to accept compliments instead of giving people reasons why I shouldn’t be complimented. I have to be especially mindful with my husband. I am so fortunate to have someone in my life that tells me how beautiful I am every day and I am so rude about it! He compliments me and typically I’ll say thank you and then tell him why it’s not true. Or he’ll compliment me and I won’t even say thank you! I’ll just tell him why he is wrong. What the what!? I mean, would he really have married me if I was an ogre? Would he tell me I’m beautiful if he didn’t really think that? And who am I to tell him what he sees? Oh Jennifer……..So I have really been trying to just say thank you and move on. It takes a lot of tongue biting not to disagree but I’ve gotten better. Ugh…why does this man love me. I’m crazy.

This past weekend I got a massage. It’s part of my new year new me shenanigans. My goal this year is to start taking better care of my body. Its not a resolution per-say, it’s like a subcategory of my pulls up and my compliments ‘ish. I have the exercise and eating right thing pretty much down but I’ll be 34 this month and not getting any younger. So, this year it’s about starting a routine of preventative care and taking care of issues I have been ignoring. I started going to the chiropractor to get everything aligned and I am making an effort to get a massage once per month.
I was getting my massage this past weekend and was speaking with my massage therapist, who I love! She’s the best! We starting talking about what jobs we would really like to have. She felt I would be good at some type of fitness job or a psychologist. Maybe she thought psychologist because I’m a good listener but hell, I can’t solve my own problems how am I going to help anyone else with there’s? So obviously, I steered that conversation toward something in fitness. She said I should start small and do classes for new moms trying to get their bodies back. She then mentioned she would want to lose some weight and she tries but she hates squats and lunges and all the fun stuff associated with working out. So, to make a long thought get to the point, that gave me the idea to start sharing each month or a couple times a month different ideas you can use to start creating or further evolve your healthy life style. Even if you don’t like working out or having to restrict what you eat I’ll give you small changes you can make to ease into healthier living. If you are already on the health kick and you have it down to a science hopefully my tips will help add variety to your routine.

I want to focus this post on what’s in your trunk. Yes, you read that right, your trunk. What is in the trunk of your vehicle right now? I don’t have a trunk as I have a pickup truck but I keep a few items behind my seats. For example, right now I have a bike helmet, ab roller, workout mat, 5lb dumbbells, a spare set of sneakers, a jump rope and jumper cables. I mean the jumper cables are just out of necessity…..i don’t use them for fitness. Or could I????? Anyway, my thought is, If you surround yourself with fitness you can’t avoid it, no excuses can be made.

On my lunch break at work I typically go for a run or a brisk walk just so I can get away from my desk, clear my mind and enjoy the weather. On days when it rains it would be so easy for me to stay inside, go to the lunch room and watch TV, surf Facebook or flip through Instagram. With a few fitness items in my truck I can create a 20-minute workout, as light or as intense as I’d like, and do so in the covered parking garage. It keeps me from excusing myself from physical activity. I also use these items when, from time to time, the stupid card reader is down at my gym and I am unable to access the gym and its equipment. With my weights, jump rope and mat I can create a good cardio workout with light weights so I don’t have to miss a workout. 

You don’t have to spend a lot of money on workout equipment either. Just pick up a few pieces to keep in your vehicle. There are consignment shops for exercise items. You can also use apps like Craig’s list and Neighborhood to find local people selling their equipment.

If you can purchase a couple of lighter weight dumbbells you can carry them as you walk around the park, mall or a local craft fair. Try to incorporate something into every activity you do. In a few weeks, you won’t even have to think about it! Plus adding a little something extra can add up to a lot.

Here is a sample work out using the equipment I have. This will help get you started. 

Here's a little glimpse....find the full video on the blogs Instagram!

                                            

It Goes a Little Something Like This

3 Rounds

30 Sec Jump rope

30 Sec Ski Hops over Mat

30 Sec Dumbbell Squats

3 Rounds

30 Sec Jump Rope

30 Sec Hops Over Mat

30 Sec Squat Press

3 Rounds

30 Sec Jump Rope

30 Sec High Knees to Hurdle Jumps

30 Sec Lateral Raise to Front Raise

3 Rounds

30 Sec Jump Rope

30 Sec Ab Roller

3Rounds

30 Sec Side Bends

30 Sec Sit Ups