Fitness trackers: Why you need one!

Allow me to preface this post by saying that I am a loyal Fitbit user for over a year now. Fitness trackers seem to have become popular over the past few months as they were without a doubt one of the top gifts this past holiday season. I’m not trying to say that I had one before they were cool, but instead, that I’ve been using one for a while now and I believe that my opinion matters more than some of the other reviews you’ll read online.

Here are the top reasons why I personally find it necessary not to leave the house without wearing it:

1. It’s an eye opener to see how exactly active or inactive you are. Experts recommend about 10,000 steps a day (approximately 5 miles). Where do you stand?

2. Motivational tool: This little thing has made me think that a “lazy Sunday” is for the birds. Keeping that 10,000 step goal in mind, you have a job to attempt to complete each day. If I see that I logged 2,000 steps only walking around my home, it makes me realize that I need to do more. There’s also a feature where you can see how many steps your friends have taken as well. Some people just like to compete and that’s motivation enough for them. I realize that some of my Fitbit friends are training for marathons so I’ll let them stay in first place 🙂

3. It zaps laziness. I have no problem taking the long way, taking the stairs, or parking far away now. If it gets you extra steps, why not?

4. Syncs to 3rd party applications: I have linked my Fitbit account with my MyFitnessPal account. The two go hand-in-hand nicely– when I log onto my Fitbit Dashboard, I can see my caloric intake and output for the day.

5. Fitbit Aria Scale: Trackers sync to the scale you can purchase. Your weight and body fat percentage will then automatically be updated to your account via wifi connectivity (to be kept private, of course). The best thing ever was watching the numbers on the scale go down over time and logging into my account to see a line graph showing this information.

If you’re thinking about getting one, I highly recommend it. I use a Fitbit Zip— the little thing that you can clip to your pants or inside your clothes. The Zip model is one of the few that the company sells– I chose it due to the size and that it can be worn discreetly.

Fun fact: I even wore it under my wedding dress, and logged almost 9,000 steps that day from all the dancing!

❤ M

Review: Old Navy Active Pants

      

One of the most annoying things to me is how no matter what, I never seem to have enough workout pants and I’m constantly needing to do laundry because of this. I am trying to shift away from wearing Victoria’s Secret Pink leggings while working out, because they were not made for that purpose and I’ll leave it at that.

Everyone knows that compression pants are the best to exercise in. Earlier this year, I bought an amazing pair of Under Armour crop-length compression leggings and I absolutely love them. Perfect fit, clean look and very comfortable. They cost around $40. I wasn’t about to buy 5 more pairs of the same exact pair of pants and pay a pretty penny for them, so I had been on a mission lately to find the perfect pants for a more affordable price.

I bought a few pairs of pants from Target which I liked. Not as great as the UA pair, but I’ll take it. Target’s active wear tends to be pricey as well, and I find that it’s a little bit cheaper than the brand names. At that point, it’s only worth it if their stuff is on sale, which sometimes happens.

Last week, I ventured into Old Navy to see what they had after a friend recommended their workout pants. I was pleased to see that they had crop-length compression leggings on sale for $12 a pair and full-length ones for $15! I tried them on and loved the fit– they are cut similarly to the UA ones, although the material is a little different. I ended up buying three pairs and wearing them to the gym over the last week and loved every pair. They do not slip down while running, nor did they stretch out in awkward places. The best part is that for three pairs, I only spent about $40 (the cost of one UA pair). Even if you find that they are selling for full price, they are worth it.

Will I stop buying name brands like Under Armour? Heck no. But I don’t feel the need to spend hundreds of dollars at a time on their clothes either.

❤ M

Strong is the new skinny.

One of my big fitness goals I’m working on right now is to simply tone up. I’m not trying to be a body builder. I just want to look better in my smaller jeans. I have been known to be a cardio addict where most of my gym trips consisted only of cardio. I’m not much of a runner due to shin splints, but I do enjoy running in small amounts, using the elliptical and climbing the stairmaster. My new favorite? Spinning! Sidenote: I have decided that I’d love to open up my own cycling studio someday.

Last spring, (unfortunately after my wedding) I dabbled with a little weight lifting and I was not shocked to realize that I had the upper body strength of an ant. Over time, I was able to build up the strength to lift 15 lb dumbells for exercises which was really exciting. In some cases, I can even lift 20. I have noticed that over time, I have started to gain definition in my arms, and maybe a little mass (which isn’t really what I was going for, but hey, strong is the new skinny, right?).

My biggest struggle though, has been my legs. They have toned up quite a bit since day 1, but I’m still trying to find my leg day workout. I have been working on this for some time now, and I find that every single time I do squats with added weight on my shoulders, I literally have trouble walking for the next 3-4 days. I thought since I’d amped it up, I’d be able to handle the 75 or so squats I did Monday at the gym. I woke up on Tuesday and it was like I had never done a squat before in my life.

I had to listen to my body and take a rest day twice in a row since it was incredibly painful to walk. Rest days make me feel terrible. I can’t help but feel like I’m 200 lbs on the days I can’t workout. I suppose part of this is due to the fact that I keep track of my caloric intake each day. Or maybe it’s that 3 months from today, I’ll be in a bikini for spring break. Days later, I’m still a bit sore, but feeling much better.

My question for my fitness buff friends is– how can I still be as active as possible on the days my quads are giving me hell and how much is too much? Today is definitely one of those days where I’m wanting to become certified as a personal trainer, not for a career switch, but to educate myself!