Traveling? Just get to a WALL

Here's a workout you can do as long as you have a wall nearby:


Facing the wall:
12 - Wall push-ups (hands on wall, do a push up)

12 - handstand kick-ups (hands on floor, kick legs up to vertical, alternating lead leg)
12 - volley ball blocks (jump up and touch wall with fingertips)





Get down:
12 - bridge hip raises (facing wall with feet on wall, back to floor, raise hips up)


12 - reach for the sky (facing wall, legs vertical against wall, reaching up for feet)
12 - single leg bridge hip raises Right leg
12 - single leg bridge hip raises Left leg



Going into plank:
12 - plank push-ups (facing away from wall, feet against wall, hands on the ground)
 

12 - plank to handstands (in plank, facing away from wall, feet against wall, walk feet up so your body becomes vertical)


12 - side plank (in plank but on one forearm in side plank)


1 minute - plank hold (facing away from wall, feet against wall, hands on the ground)





Face away from Wall:
12 - Right leg lift in wall sit (R leg lifts, L leg is 90 degrees, butt & back against wall)
12 - Left leg lift in wall sit (L leg lifts, R leg is 90 degrees, butt & back against wall)
1 minute - figure 4 Left leg in wall sit
1 minute - figure 4 Right leg in wall sit
12 - R leg lunges (Left foot against wall, Right knee lunging)
12 - L leg lunges (Right foot against wall, Left knee lunging)
1 minute wall sit (both knees 90 degrees, butt & back against wall)


figure 4 @top left picture, wall sit @top right, and single leg lifts @bottom left (single leg lift hold @bottom right)


wall lunges






repeat whole workout x2

Foot Soak Recipes

Sometimes our feet hurt from work, or workouts.. Here are a few foot soak ideas when your feet have had a long day.


Each of these recipes is for use with one gallon of water. You can also add some marbles or small rocks to rub your feet over to provide a light massaging sensation.



Recipe 1:1 part Epsom salts
1 part baking soda
2 drops essential oil of choice



Recipe 2:4 bags of chamomile tea
1/8 cup of dried parsley
4 drops essential oil of choice
Note: Steep ingredients in hot water for 10 minutes before soaking.



Recipe 3:
2 cups kosher salt
1 cup Epsom salts
2 drops essential oil of choice



Recipe 4:
1 ¼ cups Epsom salts
1 ¼ cups kosher salt
¼ cup baking soda
¼ cup cornstarch



Recipe 5:
1 cup lemon juice
3 Tblsp olive oil
¼ cup milk



Essential oil ideas: peppermint, lavender, mint, orange, lemon, eucalyptus

10 Benefits of Cardio Kickboxing

I love it but let me tell you why you might love it too:

1. It helps with self-defense skills. Maybe not with total application but at least you'll know how to kick and punch.
2. It's a total body workout. I come of class drenched in sweat. Kicking and punching is great for you and your hot bod.
3. It combines an aerobic workout to resistance training. It not only works your heart but builds muscles too! 
4. It actually incorporates five components of physical fitness: cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition, and flexibility.
5. Its a confidence booster!
6. Creates stamina.
7. It helps relieves stress. Just picture someone you really want to punch on that bag.
8. I learn to have better hand eye coordination during partner drills.
9. It increases your energy.
10. I think it's a blast!

New Years Resolution

My New Year's Resolution is to stop eating crap and get healthier. My fitness goals are to show up to TRX more, get TRX certified eventually, and stop eating junk I don't need. I have the workout portion down. I can show up, I have no problems motivating myself to workout - I love to workout! I love Kaia! I need to love to eat better. Fuel my body with nutritious foods that are healthy and good for my body. Love my body by fueling it better. I have such a hard time with nutrition so that's what I want to focus in on for 2016. Maybe by the end of next year, I can see some abs? Not seeing my abs isn't the end of the world, because I know I'm pretty healthy. But seeing abdominal muscles does not come from working out; it comes from eating healthy.

I will definitely need my hubby's help on this one. If he's on board, we can stop eating out as much, eat more prepared meals and more greens. This will be the year that I buckle down in the kitchen. The kitchen will NOT defeat me this year!

Snow games are afoot!

With snow on the ground, getting outside is a great way to have some fun while burning some calories. You also don't need to have children to enjoy the winter activities. Go play outside! Just make sure to bundle up!

- go snowboarding ($$)

- go skiing ($$)

- sledding ($)

- snow-mobiling ($$)

- snow-shoeing ($)

- walk dogs in said snow (free)

- shovel your driveway (mostly free)

- build a snowman (free)

- make a snow-angel (free)

- build a snow fort (free)

- build a snow doghouse 

- have a snowball fight with friends or family (free)

- make a snow sculpture (mostly free)

- crush snow sculpture (free)

- have a snowball fight w friends using snow-forts and crushing each other's snowmen (priceless)

Kaia ladies: involve your family

Kaia lifestyle is not a solo journey you take in the middle of the desert while taking drugs and hallucinating. (I think that's finding your spirit animal?)

Kaia life has to involve your family members because they are part of your life. How can you be successful if your partner/husband/children are not on the same page as you?

Are you going to eat a separate meal from your family? I hope not. Including your family in your fitness lifestyle can be tough, but doable. Slowly introducing healthy and nutritious meals is the way to go unless your family is already there with you. Education is key. Let them know what's up, why you are doing this, and what it means to you. They are going to be more receptive if you explain things rather just surprise them with a whole new way to eat. Maybe explain that they may not look unhealthy now (if children are younger), but if they continue on this path (of eating junk food), they may have lots of health issues later, and may have lots of problems down the road.


Don't let it just be nutrition either. Including your family in your journey will help you reach your fitness goal faster. You can include your family in your fitness routines: start walking your dogs as a family, go ice skating together, try stand up paddle-boarding as a family, take a group dance class together, walk around the marina and invite friends and family - it's a great way to catch up while also burning calories! Instead of inviting your friends to dinner, go out and go rollerskating? When was the last time you roller-skated? I think roller-kingdom is still open? When your family knows that you are trying to lose weight, or fit into that size ___ whatever__ dress, or just be healthier, they will help you in your efforts once you are on the same page.

When Ryan (my husband) and I got together, he wasn't really healthy. He would drink beer during the week after work, binge drink on the weekends, and played video games a lot. At that time, I would occasionally workout, but I wasn't very active otherwise. We were going down a dangerous path. We both came down to Las Vegas one Christmas and our families were brutally honest with both of us, since we had both gained some weight. That definitely hurt my feelings but I also found that to be an eye opener. Who else is going to be honest with you besides your tribe? I joined Kaia later. Later Ryan started doing his own P90X workouts after work. We have also now found something together. We like kickboxing together. We drink less often, just special occasions and are a lot healthier than when we started. The point is, I told him, that I wanted to be healthier and he got on board. I didn't force him to do any of it. He has to be ready to allow that change to happen. So ladies, don't force it, but explain to your family that this is something important to you.


Life changes made Kaia aren't just for 6 weeks, it's made for a lifetime.

Nutrition goal: Take the white stuff out

Think about it: what are foods that are white? 

- white rice

- cream cheese

- cheese

- flour

- sugar 

Of course, there are exceptions (egg whites are super healthy and nutrient packed). But this list is a really good start. To start working out, and working on that six pack abs, one must stay away from these white foods. Replace white rice with quinoa, or brown rice. Replace dairy with more leafy greens. Flour can sound healthy on the package label, but what "enriched white flour" really means is that the company, stripped the flour of nutrients, then added unnatural nutrients of its own, which is still not as healthy as whole wheat flour (or if the company just left the flour alone in the first place).

And of course, sugar. Our goal is to eat less than 10 grams of it, or none at all. That's pretty hard unless you have the time to cook everything yourself or have a personal chef. But just be cognizant when you read labels. A lot of things that seem healthy, have a lot of sugar in them: flavored yogurt (also white), canned spaghetti sauces, BBQ sauces, instant oatmeal, bottled teas, Gatorade, vitamin drinks, canned or packaged fruits, and the list goes on and on!

Read up on specific brands 

http://www.m.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/sugar-shockers-foods-surprisingly-high-in-sugar

http://www.everydayhealth.com/pictures/high-sugar-foods-youre-probably-eating-every-day/

So main point here: read your labels and try to stay away from white foods.

No shortcuts

What do we achieve when we take shortcuts in fitness? Not as much as when we take the time to master proper form of each exercise. Speeding through the workout not only hurts the outcome (not burning as much calories - hence not losing as much weight, or not creating as much strength/flexibility/power/etc.), it can also increase the risk for injury. So just a heads up: take your time to master your balance level. When you've done that, then take it up to strength level. When you don't hear your coaches correcting your form on either one of those, then take it up the Kaia level. We tend to see greater results when we don't take shortcuts!