Category Archives: Motivation

June 9, 2014 · 6:45 am

What If ‘Plan A’ Didn’t Work?!

Good morning, lovelies!

What do you do when things don’t go as planned?

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Take my weekend as an example.

Planned:

Workouts – 2
Birthday party – 1
Photo shoot – 1

Actual:
Workouts – 0
Birthday party – 0
Photo shoot – 0

*** A little disclosure: I think I’m getting old, the birthday party, turns out, was always supposed to be in a week from now. MY BAD! Haha!

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Of course, I could have let this ruin my weekend. But then, why would I do this to myself?! Instead, my hubby and I had a BLAST and:

spent time with a friend of mine visiting from Toronto,
had friends over for supper *with their puppy, so Bella had a blast too!*
had an awesome Sunday with my family-in-law *they are a funny bunch!*

In other words, I wouldn’t change a thing!

Here are some pictures.

*We got to tan! YAY!*

*Bella with her new friend, Mishka. They were hilarious! Look at that flip. No one got hurt. Haha!*

Unfortunately, this is not always a case. Somehow, we do let an unexpected change in plans affect our mood, like a workout that didn’t go according to our expectations. However, if you think about it, this is the worst thing we can do to ourselves. Not only that something didn’t go as we wanted, we let it affect us. But then, we don’t pay attention to little things that can actually make our days unforgettable! Don’t you find this a bit ridiculous?

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A few days ago, I was reading a post of my fellow blogger, Stephanie from Crowned in Victory. She listed 16 simple *yet GENIUS* steps to happiness *please, make sure to stop by her blog and give her some loving!!!*. Here they are:

Get up before the rest of the world.
Fall asleep earlier.
Eliminate processed food from your diet.
Cook yourself a beautiful breakfast.
Stretch.
Buy a 1L water bottle.
Write down everything in a beautiful diary.
Strip your bed of sheets and empty your underwear drawer into the washing machine.
Organize your home.
Treat yourself, have a luxurious shower with your favorite music playing.
Go for a walk more often.
Be random and message your old friends with personal jokes.
Challenge yourself not to ridicule anyone for an entire day, then two, then a week.
Think long and hard about what interests you. Develop those hobbies.
Become a person you would ideally fall in love with.
Lie in the sunshine and dream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t possible. Now, act on it!

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What are the little things that can make your day awesome? How’s your Spartan 30-day ab challenge going?

xoxo
Olena

17 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation

Tagged as 30 sit-ups for 30 days, 30-day challenge, fitness, happiness, health, motivation, running, Spartan Race, weight loss, Yoga

June 5, 2014 · 6:45 am

Fitness & Happiness: Bringing The Kid Back Out Found Within

Good morning beauties… and beautifuls *LOL!*

As you can see, I am in a great mood, and my trip to the spa yesterday is largely responsible for that!

I got a 50-minute Swedish massage and it felt great! The masseuse had strong hands *just the way I like it!* and really worked on my shoulders and legs. I was in heaven!

Plus what could be better than a date with a friend that you haven’t seen in a WHILE at the spa?! Girl’s time at its finest!

Everyone deserves a treat every now and then. Even Bella!

Guys!!! She is crazyyyyy about carrots! She’ll do anything for them!

There is something I’d like to discuss with you today. I’ve got a question: What happens to us when we grow up?

Last summer, as I was sitting outside in a square during my lunch break. I saw these two kids. They where having the time of their lives!

Do you remember being a worry-free kid running and jumping around all day long, climbing trees, falling down, scraping knees and yet getting up laughing and continuing to run? Somehow throughout the years, we tend to lose this ability. Running and jumping becomes a chore or a to-do thing on our daily list. When we ‘fall’, we fall hard. When we get hurt, we tend to shut ourselves off as a defense mechanism.

How about going back to basics and being a kid within again? Not only will this bring in happiness and enjoyment back into our lives, but also health and success.

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My workout today, as per the Spartan guide, is as follows.

Cross-train: Do this outside.

Jump rope for 10 minutes.
15 walking lunges on each leg
15 push-ups
15 stone deadlifts
Belly-crawl 10 yards
10 stone squat chest-pass (hold the at chest height, squat the stone, then chest pass it as far as possible. Pick up the stone and repeat 10 times)

Repeat the cycle twice.

Super Spartan Run: 4-mile trail tempo run

Warm up 2 miles with a heart rate in zone 2;
Run 4 miles with heart rate in zone 4;
Cool down 2 miles with heart rate in zone 2.

30 sit-ups for 30 days Spartan challenge

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How do you bring your kid out from within?

xoxo
Olena

24 Comments

Filed under Fashion, Fitness, Motivation

Tagged as 30 sit-ups for 30 days, 30-day challenge, Cross training, fitness, Funny, happiness, health, motivation, Relaxation, running, Spartan Race, weight loss

May 30, 2014 · 6:45 am

The Cookie Experiment: Are You Gritty? Instant Reward VS. Delayed Gratification

Good morning, beauties!

I can’t believe it’s Friday already! It’s time to finish this week off strong and plan a fun weekend.

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I’m pretty satisfied with the way this week is going. Yesterday I had a nice easy pace 10 km evening jog, and it felt a-freaking-mazing. I feel like a whole new person!

Today I’d like to go over something that I read in Spartan Up! by Joe De Sena. It kind of struck a cord.

In one of the chapters, the author and the founder of the Spartan Race mentioned ‘the cookie experiment’. This experiment was very simple. A Stanford researcher, Walter Mischel, decided to give to kids their favorite treat. Then he offered them a choice, if they would wait for another 15 minutes, they could eat 2 treats instead of one. The outcome was pretty awesome. It seems like the kids who refused the first cookie became more successful as adults.

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If you think about it, here is the answer to many problems that our society faces today. Everyone wants everything now: money, spotless relationship, perfect body, big house, expensive car, the list goes on.I am definitely not saying that desiring those things is a bad choice. Not at all! The problem with it, however, is that many of us do not want to actually work to achieve these results, everyone prefers to find a miraculous shortcut. Think of countless quick fixes that are being advertised on TV, radio and in magazines around us. That’s pretty insane!

According to the book, ‘Science has found that the most successful people are not the most intelligent or the most talented but rather the ones who tough it out.’ And that’s great news! It means that average people, like you and I, can be very successful. There is no secret to it, all we have to do it to stick to our plan, be persistent, consistent, and not to be discouraged by ‘failures’.

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Do you want more. Try out the following steps that Joe De Sena suggested in his book Spartan Up!:

Write down your plan.
Share it with someone who can offer you some constructive criticism while being supportive at the same time.
Eliminate distractions.
Keep a journal of your successes and failures. Reward yourself.
Make adjustments if needed without jeopardizing your goal.
DON’T EVER GIVE UP!!!

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No one ever said that this will be easy; however, think of the ultimate reward. It is soooo worth it!

What are your thoughts?

xoxo
Olena

12 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation

Tagged as Delayed gratification, fitness, health, Instant reward, motivation, running, Spartan Race, Spartan training, The cookie experiment, weight loss, WOD

May 26, 2014 · 6:45 am

Training For A Spartan Beast & Managing Glycogen Levels

Hiyaa!

First of all, Happy Memorial Day to my dear American readers and fellow bloggers! I hope you’re enjoying the long weekend. I must admit, I’m slightly jealous just because long weekends rock. I know, I know, I had mine a week ago, but MORE long weekends never hurts, right?!

That being said, I had a wonderful weekend! I feel so refreshed and full of energy, and it’s a wonderful feeling.

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A little bit about my weekend…

Bella was probably the happiest doggy out there. She was super happy to be united with her mommy and daddy *a.k.a. us* and get all attention at her. Here is her playing at a doggy park.

To make things better, I had a nice and easy Spartan workout in the park yesterday morning. Here is what it looked like.

Warm up: 2 km easy

25 push-ups
25 squats
20 mountain climbers

Run 1 km slightly faster

10 squat jumps
25-meter lunge walk
10 lunge jumps
20 flutter kicks
10 side-to-side hops

*had to run here some more but didn’t so as I can ease back into training*

25 push-ups
25 squats
20 mountain climbers

*another run that didn’t happen*

10 squat jumps
25-meter lunge walk
10 lunge jumps
20 flutter kicks
10 side-to-side hops

Cool down: Stretches

In the evening: 500 Ab workout

Cute little remark… Look who was snooping on me! He was clearly disturbed by all huffing and puffing that was going on under the scorching sun.

This little gopher looked so grumpy, I couldn’t help but laugh!

The workout felt great and I am motivated more than ever! The timing couldn’t be any better either because my big race is in July, and I really have to push myself harder than ever. *I decided to focus on training for the Spartan Beast> It should be enough to complete the Spartan Sprint in June.*

Training requirements:

Running/hiking a minimum of 3 days/week,
Cross training and/or strength training 3 days/week,
Effective and well-established nutrition plan + refueling that works best for me,
Build up the stamina to tolerate at least 3-5 hours of intense physical activity

The Spartan training guide brings up the importance of understanding and managing glycogen.

Folks who are training for marathons and ultramarathons are very familiar with this concept. If it’s the first time you hear about it, nothing to be worried about. It is fairly simple, as Runner’s World put it, “When you run, your body burns a mixture of carbohydrate and fat. Your body stores carbohydrate as glycogen in your muscles and liver (the fitter you are the more you store), which is broken down to glucose as needed. The harder you run, the more carbohydrate you use. As your glycogen stores become progressively more depleted during a run, your body conserves what’s left by relying more on fat. Because fat is about 15 percent less efficient than carbohydrate as an energy source, when you run low on glycogen you slow down.“

According to the guide, there are 2 strategies that can be used to fight glycogen depletion:

Train Low, Compete High: involves training in a glycogen-depleted state (training on an empty stomach, performing HIT prior to a LSD workout, training on a chronically low carbohydrate diet). Advantage: improvement in fat metabolism during exercise. Disadvantage: the effectiveness of training may decrease. Suggestion: “If you decide to try this strategy, it is advisable to train in a glycogen-depleted state for less than 50% of your total training time.”
Very low carbohydrate diet in 2 weeks leading up to a competition: “During the last three days of the two-week period, you would switch back to a high-carbohydrate diet which then will cause glycogen levels to rise 50% over normal levels.” Disadvantages: irritability, weakness ans immune system suppression.

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What is your favorite strategy when you train for a long race?

xoxo
Olena

15 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation

Tagged as fitness, Fueling, Glycogen, health, Low carbohydrate diet, LSD workout, running, Spartan Race, Train Low Compete High, weight loss

May 23, 2014 · 6:45 am

Q & A: Life Is Too Short To Be Serious All The Time (Part 2)

Oh my gosh, it’s Friday! How exciting is it?!

My body is finally getting back to normal and the soreness is fading away, which means that most likely I’ll go for a nice jog this weekend. I can’t wait!

Oh, and check out what I got from Amazon yesterday.

That’s right, it’s Spartan Up! by Joe De Sena. For those of you who don’t know, he is the founder of the Spartan Race. I kept on seeing this book everywhere over the past few weeks, and finally gave in.

I read only a few pages and I am already hooked!

This book is a guide to leaving your comfort zone and aiming for more, despite how difficult this may be. It teaches how to:

conquer your greatest obstacle – your will
embrace your greatest friend – discipline
make limitations vanish and establish a new normal
achieve the ultimate – obstacle immunity

Here is a short excerpt from a prologue:“An inverse correlation links how miserable you feel in the race, and how great you feel after it, so you can bet I felt like a million bucks afterward. When you break through the other side of hell and finish an event that did not seem possible, that stopped you in your tracks over and over, something happens. You feel accomplished, incredibly proud of yourself and, in some ways, a different person.”

Believe it or not, that’s exactly how I felt on Monday. I am looking forward to reliving this experience over and over again.

Today, I’d like to finally answer questions from Michelle, a blogger behind Baby Blues to Running Shoes, who was super kind and sweet to nominate me for a Liebster Award.

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1. What was a defining moment in your life so far?

It’s definitely a moment I wish never happened. About 2 years ago, I almost lost my mom because one bad driver decided to burn a stop sign and hit my mom, who was crossing the street on her bicycle, at full speed, even though it was her right of way.

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Needless to say, this event shook my world. At that moment of time, my mom was only 46 years old,as you can imagine, I never really thought that something bad could happen… I was wrong! I am very grateful that she is okay now, but this whole incident taught me to live my life to the fullest and appreciate people around me, and also not to forget to tell that I love them all the time.

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2. Who is your biggest inspiration?

Probably, my future unborn children. *Did that sound cheesy? lol!*

3. What is one thing you are too scared to try?

Giving birth! *Not that it’s going to be a choice when it comes to it!*

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4. What is a goal you are working towards right now?

Even though there were a few setbacks throughout my training, but I am really keen on obtaining the Spartan Trifecta Medal this summer.

5. Do you have any phobias?

Giving birth?! *AHAHA! Crying silently…*

6. Have you ever broken a bone?

Scared to jinx it, but I am glad to say that I don’t have any broken bones in my body.

7. What is your favorite time of year and why?

I love spring/early summer when everything around comes back to life! I find this time of year I get extra energy and motivation to set new goals and accomplish more.

8. Who are 3 celebrities you would want to have dinner with and why?

I always have a difficulty answering this question… Probably Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock and Ellen Degeneres… These women inspire me!

9. Do you have a nickname?

According to my husband, I am ‘baberoo’, ‘tootsie roll’ and ‘toots’. Go figure!

10. What decision are you most proud of?

To marry my husband! Even though, at times I tell him otherwise *girls, girls, girls*, but meeting him is the best thing that has ever happened to me. He is my world! *Babe, you didn’t really just read that… You must be dreaming or something…*

What is the book you are reading right now? What is it about?

xoxo
Olena

21 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation, Puppy Love

Tagged as books, fitness, German Shepherd, health, Joe De Sena, Liebster Award, running, Spartan Race, Spartan Up, weight loss

May 21, 2014 · 6:45 am

My First ‘Big Girl’ Race: Montreal Super Spartan Race

It finally happened!!! I completed my first ever Spartan Race! And it wasn’t just any Spartan Race, it was a Spartan Super Race: 13+ km (8+ miles) and 20+ obstacles.

Without a doubt, it was the best and most intense fitness challenge of my life. The Spartan slogan ‘You will know at the finish line’ strongly resonates with how I feel at the moment.

The thing is, I don’t think I’ve ever thought I could push my limits this far. The notion of a ‘limit’ has shattered. An emotional limbo I was in is finally gone. I know that I am capable of so much more and I am motivated more than ever!

But first things first!

MISTAKES NOT TO BE REPEATED *EVER AGAIN*

1. Not breaking in the new shoes ahead of time: I know, I know, I sound absolutely foolish, but I did it. I mean… I didn’t do it… I didn’t wear my new shoes until 2 days before the race. BIG MISTAKE! I put them on for the first time on Saturday morning to go for a light jog with my pup: 5.5 km later I had blisters on both of my ankles. I think the issue was with the ankle cup. Apart from this though, Reebok all terrain shoes are great and they definitely served their purpose and kept me from falling down in the mud.

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2. Taping & Mud Races: Some of you may be very surprised that I haven’t heard of it before, but for some of you it may be a new concept. When I got a pair of two bloody blisters just two days before my race, I was very very worried. There is nothing worse than a blister standing in the way of running. I was desperately looking for ways to diminish the pain and discomfort. When I came across this potential lifesaver, I happily prepared a band aid and duct tape for the morning of the race. My happiness lasted about 30 seconds into the race. Lesson learned: water and duct tape do not work together. Haha!

3. Uphill running: When your training calls for running on a mountain, find the biggest hill around. Don’t skip on it or try to substitute it for something else! It is the biggest challenge when it comes to the Spartan Race. Just to give you an idea, I had to run up the mountain about 5-6 times, which was about 8 km (if not more) of uphill running. I definitely didn’t expect that! *Silly me!*

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Here is a quick review of the race just to give you an idea of obstacles that were included in Montreal Super Spartan Race.

According to a runner who participated in the same race, the distance was about 14.3 km and the altitude – 1,126 m.

I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge; and even though I am super-duper sore and can barely move around, I can’t wait for the Sprint in the end of June (5+ km) and the Beast in July (20+ km)!

Here is a few pictures from the race itself.

Anxious and excited me before the race

Climbing

Rope Climb

Monkey bars

Wall climb

Slippery wall

FINISH LINE!!!

Can you tell I’m a happy trooper?

Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of all obstacles or breathtaking views from the top of the mountain since I didn’t have a camera on me and spectators weren’t allowed everywhere. Some of other cool obstacles were a spear throw, traversal wall and barbed wire crawl. But just believe me, I had the time of my life!!! Can’t wait to get my Trifecta medal in 2 months!

What was your first big race? What did you like the most about it? Have you had any life changing experiences during one of your races?

xoxo
Olena

28 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation, Race Reviews

Tagged as fitness, health, Mud Race, Obstacle race training, Reebok ALL TERRAIN SUPER, running, Spartan Race, Spartan Race obstacles, Spartan Trifecta, Super Spartan Race, weight loss

April 2, 2014 · 6:45 am

The Happiness Project, How To Be Organized & De Sena Cross-Train Workout

It’s a HUMP day!

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I say, what can be better than starting a day with a giggle or two?! That’s right.

I’ve been in a very good mood this week, despite the busyness at work. I guess, it’s a spring effect. The sun has been shining brightly for the past 2 days, and today should be the warmest day of the year so far! And you know what happens when it gets warmer…

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No, please, don’t get scared away! I don’t have any spring harvesting to do, I simply couldn’t resist putting this picture up. Haha!

By the way, did you have the chance to prank someone yesterday? My colleagues decided to fill up the office of one of my coworkers with 4 big bags of balloons. Can you imagine? Such a brilliant idea!!! It put a big smile on his face.

To top it all off, I started reading a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I kept on seeing good reviews for a while, and decided to give it a try.

The timing couldn’t be better, the author pursued a different set of resolutions each month in order to amplify the happiness in her life. So as you can imagine, the chapters are organized by month. Not that you have to follow it, but I decided why not? Extra happiness is always welcome in MY life. *You might remember one of my previous posts that looked into the benefits of laughter and why you should laugh more. If you missed it by any chance, you can read it here.*

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The first chapter is focused on how to boost energy in our lives. The solution is actually pretty straight forward:

Go to sleep earlier. *Read more on how to sleep better here*
Exercise better: All it takes is to get moving.
Toss, restore, organize: my biggest challenge!
Tackle nagging task: We all know how great it feels when one of those gets done.
Act more energetic: Sometimes we need to work on getting more energy, even if it starts by acting energetic.

Personally, I could improve on all of them. Thus, it wouldn’t hurt to try this Happiness Project out! I’ll try to review each chapter and a new set of resolutions *I prefer to call them goals though* at the beginning of each month. So feel free to join in!

Since organizing is one of my biggest challenges *mostly because of my laziness haha!*, I looked online for some help *as always*. Look what I found!!!

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Isn’t it neat?!

My workout for today is as follows.

De Sena (cross-train)

Jump-rope for 10 minutes.
Repeat this cycle twice:
– 15 walking lunges on each leg
– 15 push-ups
– 15 stone deadlifts
– Belly crawl 10 yards
– 10 stone squat chest-pass

Run

Warm up 2 miles with heart rate in zone 2;
Run 4 miles with heart rate in zone 4;
Cool down 2 miles with heart rate in zone 2.

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How did your April Fool’s go? Did you prank someone or got pranked? What are your thoughts on the Happiness Project?

xoxo
Olena

17 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation, The Happiness Project

Tagged as Cross training, fitness, Funny, Gretchen Rubin, health, Organizing, running, Spartan Race, The Happiness Project, weight loss

April 1, 2014 · 6:45 am

The Success Indicator: Setbacks & How To Deal With Them

Happy Tuesday y’all! *In my mind Southern accent = warm = Summer!!! Could you tell I’m fed up with cold?!* It’s April Fool’s Day, so beware! Haha!

Today, I’d like to write about something that each and every one of us stumbles upon at some point of our lives: SETBACKS. The reason why I decided to bring this subject up is because one of my fellow bloggers, Laura from The Gluten-Free Treadmill, who is my big inspiration, attempted to run an ultra marathon this past weekend. It was super windy and as a result Laura was able to complete 75 out of 100 km. It’s not really surprising that she was feeling upset, frustrated and disappointed.

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Obviously, running 75 km is a HUGE accomplishment in itself, and Laura definitely should not feel this way. That being said, it’s very easy to be a bystander and give advice on how to feel or not feel. However, let’s just think for a moment of how many expectations we have of ourselves. It is important to have goals and dreams. The problem is, however, when those dreams and expectations fail to motivate us and on the contrary make us doubt our abilities and alter our progress.

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So how do we move on from setbacks? According to Huffington Post, there are a few things we can do:

Put it into perspective.Source
Evaluate: What is the lesson learned from this situation?
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Do something differently: ‘Do you want to try again to achieve the same goal or relationship or career change with a different tactic? Or maybe you want to achieve something totally different the next time. Whether you want the same thing or something else, you need to take what you discovered in tip number two and figure out how you are going to approach working towards the goal differently this time. And although you cannot plan out all of life and its obstacles, you can decide to try something new such as taking on a new attitude, or being more flexible to changing course sooner, or being more open to whatever comes your way.’
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Commit to self-integrity: ‘Hold yourself up to not repeating the patterns that are stopping you from getting what you want, and follow through on the new ways that you have committed to doing things. Making this commitment is important for two reasons: First, it builds confidence because you learn that you can have some control over the direction of your life, and second, it stops you from backsliding and repeating the past experience (and then saying “see, I knew this would never work”).’
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Be all over the place: Change it up, spread your possible options.
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Always be your best friend: Don’t beat yourself up. It’s okay to have setbacks. What’s most important is how you come back up.
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In other words, it’s okay to be upset, but just for a little bit. Be proud of your accomplishments and your journey. Don’t let any setbacks get you off the road to success and happiness! *Love you, Laura!!!!!*

My workout for today is Bourbon on the Rocks (cross-training) and Ab 500 (strength). Also, do not forget that today is the first day of the Spartan 30 push ups for 30 days challenge!!! *Woop woop!*

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How do you deal with setbacks? Have you ever had a roadblock that you weren’t sure you could overcome?

xoxo
Olena

16 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation

Tagged as 30 push ups for 30 days, Cross training, fitness, health, motivation, running, Setbacks, Spartan Race, strength, weight loss

March 31, 2014 · 6:45 am

The Spartan 30 Push Ups For 30 Days Challenge, Doggy Park & More

Good morning beauties!!! How are you? I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

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My weekend was really great. Even though it didn’t really go the way it was planned *stupid weather lol!*, my hubby and I spent a lot of time with our little beauty Bella. We decided to take her to a doggy park for the first time. Despite being somewhat intimidated by bigger dogs, I think, she really enjoyed the experience.

Needless to say, she was EXHAUSTED.

When my loves were sound asleep and there was absolutely nothing on TV, I started snapping some selfies with my cell. *My pest bit through the rear-end camera lens… for the second time… I guess, that’s what they call LIFE. Haha!* Here is the result.

Oh! And we finally got to watch Frozen. I LOOOOVE Olaf! ❤

*PS. This specific scene is so actual for the weather in Montreal. We all wish for summer/spring very much, but the real surroundings are very close to those in the cartoon. But I’m not losing my hope! Haha!*

Guys!!! You will not believe me! It seems like finally the Spartan Gods have heard my plea and sent a challenge that I needed for a while!

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As you may remember *or not*, one of my fellow fitness bloggers, Emmeline, threw a challenge to see who will be able to do the most push ups and pull ups by June 21, 2014. I diligently did my thinking and decided to set a goal of 30+ push ups. It’s all sweet and dandy, but I felt like i needed a solid plan in order to reach my objective. And VOILA!

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I am super duper excited to share that the challenge starts TOMORROW on April 1! All you have to do is 30 push-ups a day for 30 consecutive days. SIMPLE!!!

Here are a few more tips from the Spartan Race itself:

No fancy gym memberships required. All you need is the floor beneath your legs, your own body (safe to assume you have this) and determination. Post your pictures and/or your times. Then do it again the next day.
So how do you complete a push-up? Follow these steps: 1 – Get into plank position, with your hands slightly outside of your shoulders. 2 – Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor, keeping your elbows close to your torso. 3 – Push away from the floor and back to the starting position. Repeat 29 more times!
If you can’t do one push up, start the challenge with the “modified push-up”. To perform a modified push-up assume a push-up position but bend your knees allowing them to touch the floor and cross your ankles. This will make the push-up easier and can be used as a stepping stone to the standard push-up!
If your wrists hurt, Try using a pair of dumbbells or push-up bars. The modified grip will allow you to keep your wrists straight.
You can even time yourself. By keeping track of your progress, you can watch yourself improving
Feel free to push yourself further! Don’t stop at 30, if you can do more.

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*** Also make sure to read one of my previous posts for more insights on push up technique, some laughs and cute pictures of little kidos ‘doing’ push ups: Push Ups 101: A Cheater’s Guide To Lousy Push Ups, 35+ Push Up Variations, And Fast & Effective Bodyweight Upper Body Workout.

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How was your weekend? Are you going to embark on the Spartan 30 push ups for 30 days challenge? How do you challenge yourself every day?

xoxo
Olena

15 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation, Puppy Love

Tagged as 30 push ups for 30 days, 30-day challenge, fitness, German Shepherd, health, Puppy, push up variations, Push Ups, Spartan Race, weight loss

March 28, 2014 · 6:45 am

Between Us Girls (And Boys): ‘That Time Of The Month’ & Fitness

Sorry, guys, it seems like you were excluded from my post today! Wait… Wait a second!!! Actually, this post might be for you after all. How come? Well, as the saying goes, happy wife happy life… Haha! So yeah, this could be a great help for you when your significant other is not at her… um… best behavior because of a tremendous pain she is experiencing.

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*That’s me last morning… TRUE STORY!*

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*Like, really!*

We know really well that crappy feeling of waking up from bad cramps with no energy, in a horrible mood, and probably craving all the wrong things. Going to the gym is definitely the LAST thing on my mind!

However, it seems I got it all wrong! According to Women’s Health,

When you have your period (and the week after), your body is more like a man’s. During this part of your cycle, your levels of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest, making you a little more dudelike—at least metabolically, says Stacy Sims, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at Stanford University and a leading researcher on the impact of menstruation on athletic performance. […] Her research shows that during this low-hormone phase, women also recover faster and have a higher pain tolerance. Why? “A probable theory is that your body isn’t preoccupied with preparing for a possible pregnancy,” she says. “Your baseline is reset into a more relaxed mode, so these other systems operate optimally.”

*One second girls, gotta keep boys entertained!*

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Back to the subject, there are 7 workouts that She Knows suggests to do during your period:

Walking: Active rest is definitely better than nothing. If you’re in a lot of pain, the walk should definitely help you unwind.
Running: As mentioned previously, your body recovers faster during this period *no pun intended lol!* of time. So if you feel up to the challenge, increase your incline!
Yoga: Relaxing seems like a great option! Go for a nice stretch routine and don’t forget to meditate.
Aerobics: I personally love Tabata, so much fun too!
Dancing: Why not make yourself feel sexy? Have you tried dance workouts from Fitnessista?
Planking: Definitely, one of those things that could be done between commercials. If you’d like to diversify your planks, read this post.
Working out from home: Not up for the challenge, take it easy and do this 7-Minute Workout.

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Girls, what are your thoughts? Any specific workouts you give preference to?
Guys, share this with your significant others, it could be a life savior for her and for YOU! Haha!

xoxo
Olena

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Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation

Tagged as At home workout, fitness, Funny, health, Menstruation, Period, PMS, running, weight loss, Yoga