"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...