Taking Stock of 2012

Hey everyone,

We hope that you enjoyed a wonderful holiday!  We certainly had a lovely Christmas, enjoying a somewhat indulgent amount of delicious food.  As we head towards 2013, we are taking a moment to pause and look back at the last year, learn from our challenges and be thankful for our successes, and renew our motivation and dedication to fitness and healthy living.  Will you take the time to remember, learn, be thankful, and plan ahead for a healthy 2013?

Upper Body Ladder Workout!

Hey everyone,

To help battle the holiday bulge, we have put together another ladder workout for your upper body.  This workout consists of four exercises, completed two at a time.

Holiday Fat-Blasting Lower Body Workout Ladder

Hey everyone,

The holiday season heralds celebrations with friends and family, which translates into many temptations (and deviations from our usual fitness and healthy eating routine).  While it is a great idea to try to limit your food and alcohol intake over the holidays, keeping up with your workouts can also help offset some of that dreaded holiday weight gain...

Recovering post-HKC and Getting Outdoors!

Hey everyone,

Wow, has it ever been a busy few weeks for us!  The first weekend of December we traveled to Toronto to complete our HKC (Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification). This was an amazing, but grueling, day.  We learned a huge amount of information from Master Jon Engum, our course instructor.  Stay tuned as we write about surviving the day and what we learned. We are very excited to be certified kettlebell instructors!

After about a week of recovery from our HKC (yes - it took that long!), we didn't get back on track to working out as quickly as we had hoped, as we welcomed a new puppy into our family!  We rescued our little guy, Makoto, from Big Sky Ranch, an animal sanctuary in Kemptville, Ontario. Check out their website to see the amazing things they do for these animals in need (http://www.bigskyranch.ca/).

While we have still managed to do a few workouts a week, we are hoping to get back into things over the holidays.  Despite a decrease in formal workouts, we have been out walking Makoto 2-3 times per day. 
Even these short walks will add up in distance over time.  Try this with your dog, or if you don't have one, get outdoors anyways and give walking a try! 

-Tannys & Alex

Skipping - A Great Cardio Tool

Hey everyone,

When we were down in Fort Lauderdale in November, we were browsing through a sports store and decided to purchase a skipping rope.  Both of us remembered skipping when we were children, but hadn't done it for years.  We have since tested it out and have discovered that it offers a great cardio challenge!

Traditional Lower Body Workout

Hey everyone,

Having recently tried a 'traditional' upper body workout, we decided to revisit this format for a lower body workout.  In this type of workout, you pick your exercises and move through them one at a time, doing your sets and taking ample rest in between.  These types of workouts are best suited for when you have plenty of time, since they seem to take about an hour, on average (depending on how many exercises and sets you do).

Another Great Lower Body Workout!

Hey everyone,

We have really enjoyed the countdown workout format lately.  It is very efficient and scaleable to how much time you have available (by picking a different starting point (# of reps), and/or by choosing a different number of exercises).

Traditional Upper Body Workout

Hey everyone,

Sometimes we get nostalgic for the kind of workouts we used to do when we went to a 'big-box' gym.  They were lengthy, yet pleasant workouts.  We would pick several exercises and just do them sequentially, one at a time, taking ample rest in between each set.  This format of workout works well if you pick challenging compound exercises and lift heavy weights (for strength building).  It can also be a social, relaxing workout when you take a break between sets to chat.  That's why this workout style is great when you have lots of time, like on an evening where you have nothing else to do, or on a weekend.

Another Great Upper Body Workout!

Hey everyone,

If you are doing a morning workout, the countdown format is a good option.  It is an efficient (but challenging) way to get a lot accomplished in a short amount of time.  We completed another great upper body morning workout using this format.  This workout included four different exercises (two of the exercises used both right and left sides). 

18 minute Fat Blasting Tabata Workout!

Hey everyone,

During the past week, we had several evening commitments.  Thus we switched to morning workouts.  This can be difficult (and a shock to the system), especially when you need to be at work by 7:30am! Even a quick workout, however, is better than nothing.  When we are short on time, we try to choose exercises that will recruit the major muscle groups and challenge our cardio too, maximizing the fat-burning benefits!

We chose a simple Tabata-style workout format for efficiency on the days that we had the least time available.  As a reminder on Tabatas, each exercise is completed for 4 minutes (20 seconds work, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for 8 cycles). After each exercise, you have 2 minutes of rest.  We chose three different exercises, to complete this workout in 18 minutes.

Full-Body 10-9-8 Countdown Workout

Hey everyone,

We enjoyed our previous 10-9-8 countdown workout so much that we decided to stick with this format for our next few workouts.  It was very time-efficient, yet still allowed us to workout all of the muscle groups we wanted.  For this workout, we changed the format slightly, to include both upper and lower body exercises.  Again, we completed 10 reps of each exercise, followed by 9 reps, 8 reps, etc...

Lacking in Motivation?

Hey everyone,

When we returned from our vacation to Fort Lauderdale, we found our motivation to workout suffered. With the nights getting dark earlier and the cold weather upon us, all we really wanted to do was come home from work and curl up on the couch!  Based on a recent comment from one of our readers, it sounds like we're not the only ones who have struggled with motivation...

"I'm having a really hard time with motivation. I wasn't feeling well for a week or so and as a result I didn't go to the gym. Since then I've had a really hard time getting back on track. Any 'words to the wise' on those of us having trouble getting and staying motivated? By the way, didn't anyone ever tell you that vacations are supposed to include martinis and beaches, not workout gear and beaches!!"

To get inspired to exercise again, we decided to change things up and get our days going with early morning workouts.  This has given us a fresh outlook and the motivation to get back on track.

Outdoor Workout in Sunny Fort Lauderdale!

Hey everyone,

We just returned from a terrific family vacation to Fort Lauderdale, Florida! During our week-long stay, we managed to fit in three outdoor workouts, along with several swims.  We brought our JungleGym XT with us for suspension trainer exercises at the villa we had rented.  We also had a great run/outdoor gym workout by the ocean. 

One early morning (before it got too hot), we ran down to South Beach Park...

Lower Body Couplets + Finisher!

Hey everyone,

For this workout, we decided to focus on two couplets, followed by a great conditioning finisher!  Couplets are an efficient way of working out, as you complete two exercises back-to-back.  This is a great way to boost your metabolism.  The finishing sets are also designed to give your metabolism a boost - and to provide a challenging ending to your workout. 

"Tight on Time" Upper Body Kettlebell Workout

Hey everyone,

As a follow-up to our previous post "Tight on Time" Workout, here is another variation with upper body exercises.  This workout is great for those tight on time, as it can take as little as 5 minutes to exercise (and surely everyone has at least 5 minutes to devote to their health each day)!

Amazing breakfast recipe - Omelet Bites!

Hey everyone,

Creating a good breakfast (which tastes good and is also nutritious) can be a challenge.  We find we are often short on time for making breakfast during the week, but we don't want to settle for a quick carb-laden bowl of cereal.  That won't keep you full until lunch and it certainly doesn't support a healthy and active lifestyle.

Finding nutritious, protein-packed breakfasts can be hard.  Luckily, we have found a great recipe that can be made ahead of time, lasts in the fridge for the week and is delicious.  It will keep you full until lunch and will give you enough protein to support muscle-building and a healthy metabolism.

"Tight on Time" Lower Body Kettlebell Workout

Hey everyone,

Are you looking for a quick workout that can be modified depending on how much time you have to exercise that day?  Check out our new lower body kettlebell workout...

"Like" CoupleFit on Facebook!

Hey everyone,

Check out our new facebook page (link on the left-hand side of our blog)! 

With this new page, we hope to bring you updates when we post, as well as links to articles and recipes that we think are interesting and helpful.  Feel free to share our information with your friends, family and co-workers to help inspire and motivate them to get healthy. Let us know if you are enjoying our content by "liking" us!

-Tannys & Alex

Are you getting the most out of your workout?

Hey everyone,

Here is another recent question by one of our readers:

Can you tell me if there's any truth to the following two beliefs regarding working out:

1. You have to change your strength training workout regularly or your muscles become 'lazy' and used to the workout.

2. A steady cardio workout (i.e. 30 minutes steady jogging on the treadmill) isn't effective. In order to be effective you need to do high intensity interval training.

These are terrific questions and are commonly discussed in the fitness community...

Celebrating one year of CoupleFit + the 2012 GCWCC 5km run!

Hey everyone,

We started this blog one year ago, following the 2011 GCWCC 5km run, which Alex participated in with his colleagues at work.  It's for a good cause - raising money for the Government of Canada's United Way charity campaign.

On October 11th, Alex participated in the 2012 GCWCC 5km run (also known as the GCWCC Wellness Challenge).  It was a colder day this year, but the sun was shining as the runners moved along the Ottawa river parkway.  Alex ran with Tyler (a veteran from last year's run) and Kelly.  The team managed a respectable time of 28 minutes - and had a good time throughout the run.

 

Not only was the run a great chance to get active for a good cause, but it allowed us to reflect on the last year and what we've accomplished in our fitness.  We've had hundreds of workouts, overcome injuries, set new personal records, and taken up new fitness activities (e.g. swimming).

 

Our next fitness goal is preparing for the HKC kettlebell certification, which we have signed up to do in Toronto in early December.  This is another milestone on our path of fitness and healthy lifestyle and will help us improve our kettlebell knowledge, form and give us the tools and techniques to officially train others.  We are really excited about this course and are looking forward to all of the fitness challenges and endeavours in the upcoming year!

 

- Tannys & Alex



Alcohol in Pregnancy?

Hey everyone,

Last week, we received a great pre-pregnancy question by one of our readers:

"What about alcohol? Is a glass of red wine with dinner okay, or should one who is trying to conceive and having difficulty omit it all together?"

This is a common question for both women trying to conceive and expectant mothers... 

Fitness Challenge: "Beep Test" Workout

Hey everyone,

Remember back in high school gym class when you participated in a fitness assessment once or twice a year? You had to complete tasks such as push-ups and sit-ups - and the dreaded "beep" test...

For this test, everyone started off by lining up on one side of the gymnasium. Then you ran from one end to the other, timed by "beeps" that sounded closer and closer together (i.e. diminshing periods of time).  Rest periods became shorter as the "beeps" came faster, until it was no longer possible to run the length of the gym before the next "beep" sounded. This post's fitness challenge is inspired by our memories of those beep tests!

Water Workout

Hey everyone,

It's always difficult to keep up your exercise regime when travelling. However, if you are creative, you can always find something to do!  If the weather is nice, take a walk outside and check out your destination.  Or, if you have the time, many cities have bicycles for rent.  Another great option is swimming.  Plan to stay at a hotel with a gym and/or swimming pool if possible.  No excuses!

Thanksgiving: Fitness + Feast

Hey everyone,

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday (and a great chance to reflect on what we're thankful for in our lives, such as good health and family).  It's also a time of big meals - delicious things like turkey, gravy, stuffing, pumpkin pie, etc.  To maintain our health and fitness through this holiday, we put together a fun density kettlebell workout.  This fast-paced workout will rev up your metabolism, which will at least partially offset a larger holiday meal!

Run for the Cure!

Hey everyone,

On Sunday, we participated in the Run for the Cure with Alex's mom (Kathy).  We signed up for the 5km run and raised money in honour of Lynne Small, a close friend of Kathy's.  It had been a while since we had gone for a run (as we have been swimming a lot lately for our cardio), so it was exciting to get outside and be a part of this event.

Tannys, Alex and Kathy before the run

Lower Body FGB Workout

Hey everyone,

For this workout, we had the opportunity to workout with Alex's sister, Sarah. We chose a Fight Gone Bad style workout, and created a circuit that would allow for three participants.  We found that working out in a small group can be very motivating as you cheer each other on!

Beginner Upper Body Workout

Hey everyone,

In response to requests for more beginner kettlebell workouts, we have put together an upper body circuit using four basic exercises.  This workout is great for beginners and requires only a single kettlebell (or you can easily substitute a dumbbell).

Get Excited! Get Outdoors!

Hey everyone,

With the recent fall weather, we decided to take our kettlebells outdoors and enjoy the cooler temperature.  A change of scenery is a great way to instill some excitement into your workout and keep things fresh.  It's too easy to get into a rut with your fitness routine and if this happens, it will rob you of your motivation and results.

Get excited about exercise - like this little guy! 

 

Lower Body Circuit Workout

Hey everyone,

We are rehabilitating some injuries and have thus been carefully designing our workouts and selecting safe exercises (to avoid re-injury).  We consciously choose to not let injuries hold us back or lead us to abandon our training.  By safely working around our injuries, we can keep fit and likely even speed up our recovery.  This lower body workout is a good example of how we have adapted to avoid significant spinal compression (due to a back injury) or deep knee bend (due to a knee injury).

A Workout for Office Workers

Hey everyone,

In today's 'knowledge economy', a large number of us work in office jobs where we spend most of the day sitting, inactive.  Numerous studies are showing how detrimental this is to our health, as it promotes weight gain, muscle loss and even reduces our lifespan.  If this is your daily reality, then you need to fight back and find some time for exercise in your day.  We've designed a very simple and efficient workout with you in mind.

Getting to Awesome

Hey everyone,

Who doesn't love awesome?  Looking awesome... Feeling awesome... Achieving something and knowing that what you just accomplished is awesome...

Everyone has experienced awesome at some point in their life.  However, getting to awesome can be a difficult thing.  It is a rare thing.  When was the last time that you got to awesome?  When was the last time that you worked that hard, sacrificed that much, gave 100%, so that you truly felt awesome?  It's a universally achievable feat, but the feeling will not create itself.  Awesome has to be forged.  Awesome has to be earned.

Testing a New Kettlebell Workout

Hey everyone,

The other day we came across an intriguing new kettlebell workout, at http://www.liftkettlebells.com/Workouts/Easy-Kettlebell-Workout.aspx. There are actually two workouts available, with or without music (one is 20 minutes and the other 30 minutes).  We tested the 30 minute workout, called the Easy30 Kettlebell workout. With that title, how hard could it be?

Lower Body Tabata Workout

Hey everyone,

To change things up a bit for this workout, we decided to return to an old-favourite workout style: Tabata!  For those who are unfamiliar with this workout style, it was originally developed for training Japanese Olympic athletes.  Each exercise is completed for 8 blocks of 20 seconds all-out activity, followed by 10 seconds of rest.  For a full description, check out our "Workout Styles" tab at: http://couplefit.blogspot.ca/p/workout-styles.html

Upper Body Superset Workout

Hey everyone,

For this upper body workout, we decided to use supersets.  This is a great way to fit in a chalenging workout, while cutting back on the amount of time it takes to complete it.  Performing exercises back-to-back also increases the intensity, which helps you focus on conditioning and fat-loss as well.

Increased Appetite

Hey everyone,

Many exercisers experience an increase in appetite (due to the increase in their activity level).  This increased appetite can become a concern, as it can be counterproductive if you are trying to lose weight.  One of our readers who has recently started an exercise program is facing this issue:

"Ok, so I've been really good and been going to the gym now for about three weeks, averaging 4 times a week. The problem is...I'm hungry all the time! I could eat morning, noon and night. Does this calm down after a while? At this rate I'll be as big as a house by Christmas! Any suggestions on how to deal with this?"

Running - A great solitary or group activity!

Hey everyone,

During the summer months, we often find it hard to fit running into our workout schedule, given the long hot days.  With an early work day, there is not much time to run in the morning and it is often scorching hot in the afternoons. 

Today, however, I took advantage of a beautiful (and cool) summer day to put on my running shoes when I arrived home from work and headed outside...

Lower Body Superset Workout

Hey everyone,

When we arrived home from work, neither of us were overly inspired to exercise.  We had both had long days at work and were exhausted (not to mention very sore from our upper body workout the day before!).  Despite this, we had no good reason to not workout, thus we decided to suck it up and exercise...

Basic Workouts: Lower Body Kettlebell Circuit

Hey everyone,

We received a request to put together and share a basic kettlebell workout.  Some of our readers have found certain exercises we perform too challenging, while others have been limited by the equipment available.  Many of you have access to a single kettlebell (while others can access a dumbbell, which is a good substitute for these exercises).  Thus, we have composed this workout using basic kettlebell exercises - minimal equipment and experience required.

Upper Body Bodyweight Circuit Workout

Hey everyone,

Years ago, Alex injured his lower back.  Lower back pain is very common, with some studies showing that 8 out of 10 people will experience it in their lifetime.  Unfortunately, Alex re-injured the area recently, which has posed some challenges to our training.  Rather than viewing this as a huge set-back, however, we are looking at it as an opportunity to try out some new styles of training.  For the time being, our training will focus on 'back-safe' exercises, primarily bodyweight movements, until his injury has healed.

A Versatile Workout for Either Home or the Gym

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One of our readers recently asked "I'd like to work out with the free weights instead of the machines, but I can't afford to have a personal trainer show me which exercises I should be doing. I'm looking for a series of free weight exercises, that work out both upper and lower body, that I can do by myself at the gym..."

Lower Body Circuit Workout in Winnipeg

Hey everyone,

When we were in Winnipeg recently, we tried out a new lower body circuit workout.  When we are travelling, we make a conscious effort to keep active, through walking and regular workouts.  It helps make the trip more enjoyable, keeps us on track for our fitness, and helps offset any extra calories that we might consume!

Another Great Bodyweight Workout!

Hey everyone,

For an upper body workout, we decided to stay with the bodyweight exercise theme and complete an AR7 workout.  We really enjoyed revisiting this workout style, which focuses on three exercises. 

The results of bodyweight training...

Are You Up For A Challenge?

Hey everyone,

We were looking for a challenging workout.  We wanted something that would be short duration, high intensity and require some real dedication to complete.  When we selected our workout, we designed it to include only bodyweight exercises and no special equipment.

Pre and Post Workout Nutrition

Hey everyone,

Most of us are aware of the importance of proper nutrition in supporting a healthy lifestyle and the achievement of our fitness goals.  One common area of confusion, however, is what to eat before and after a workout.  As with many health topics, there is a lot of confusing and even conflicting information on this subject.

Bike + Circuit

Hey everyone,

With the extra time we had this long weekend Monday, we decided to complete a longer workout that consisted of both an upper body circuit workout, followed by a long bike ride.  It was a beautiful day to get out and enjoy the weather!

Another 5-Minute Workout!

Hey everyone,

Some days it is tough to find the time to workout.  On other days, even when you have the time, you may not have the motivation or energy for a full-length workout.  For these occasions, we encourage you to try to fit in a 5-minute workout.  This isn't a path to ultimate fitness (there's only so much you can realistically accomplish in 5 minutes!), but it is certainly a step in the direction towards fitness and a healthy lifestyle.

Long Weekend Workout!

Hey everyone,

When we arrived home from work on Friday, we were both exhausted from a long week and really not very motivated to exercise.  Despite this, we decided to push ourselves and do a lower body workout.

Testing the 'Ultimate 2-Exercise Workout'

Hey everyone,

Recently, we decided to try out a new exercise format that we discovered on the Men’s Health website (http://www.menshealth.com/deltafit/ultimate-two-exercise-workout).  Pitched as the ‘Ultimate’ 2-exercise workout, we were quite intrigued to see what this workout had to offer.

5-Minute Bodyweight (Beginner) Workout

Hey everyone,

How is your day going?  Many of us will say it's a busy day.  There's lots on the go, between work, family and other commitments.  Do you feel that you are too busy to fit in a workout today?  What if we could show you how to do a 5-minute workout - one that anyone could do, without any equipment.  Could you find 5 minutes in your day to improve your health and fitness?  Most of us probably could...