LET'S GET IT TIGHT!!! : Home Workouts w/Coach Christian

Morning Brickhouses!!

I know for me when I started on my fitness journey I wasn't exactly sure where to start. I honestly didn't know what I was supposed to do besides hitting a cardio machine and eating smaller portions. It wasn't until I had a consultation with Coach Christian at my employee gym, that I learned about the RMR method, and the importance of strength training for weight loss. Christian was able to break it down so well, that a light bulb went off in my head and everything clicked into place regarding what I needed to do to get and stay fit.

The information that Christian has given to me over the last year has been invaluable. He along with my other trainer Coach Katie have given me the confidence to start my blog and work towards pursuing my personal training certification!

Each week Christian will be bringing over 10 years of experience in the fitness industry to you, providing customized at-home workouts that require little to no equipment that can be done 2-3 times a week in addition to cardio. He's a hilarious, generous and dedicated trainer and I don't mind sharing him with all of you!!

 

        FOR THIS WORKOUT YOU WILL NEED : 

• A pair of 5-10 lb weights      
• Physio Ball [optional]
• Mat [optional]

As I said before, Christian's workouts will be done with little to no equipment and there will always be alternatives given if you don't have the fitness equipment we use in the workouts.

When I have a training session with Christian, he always has me warm up on a cardio machine for 5- 10 minutes while he writes my workout on the board:

 TOTAL BODY!!!

Holiday Weekend Recap!! [Picture Heavy]

Heyy Brickhouses!!

Hope your holiday weekend was enjoyable! I had and continue to have so much to be thankful for! My Thanksgving was amazing! It started out fit-style with a Turkey Day 5K! I originally was going to do the Two River's Ford Turkey Trot but ended up changing locations since Kat wanted to join me. It turned out to be much better and more organized, as there were photographers, we got our shirt THAT DAY, and there were plenty of beverages and an amazing carb table afterwards!

Waiting in line for our Turkey Day 5K!!

Both of our GPS's showed that we ran over 3.1 miles [3.71 to be exact]  and I remember the specific curve we turned that said 30 minutes, 3.0 miles. So yes, we hit a 31 minute 5K! Victory!!!

Afterwards, we went home and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, played some football, showered, took pre-dinner nap, ate, and played Just Dance for Wii which was sooo much fun!!!


An obscure football pose!!



 


Yummy!!!

So thankful!!! The spread and the fellowship was absolutely fabulous!! I tried to keep it moderate but I failed horribly!! This week I am kicking my butt into high gear. Tonight, I freeze the yummy sweet potato pie Muffin made me with graham cracker crust!!! I do NOT need those fumes hitting me in the face!!

-KEF
xoxoxo

A Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving to youuuuu!!!

Heyyy Brickhouses!!

It's Wednesday and as far as 100 [Miles] for the Holiday challenge goes, I am at 7.5 miles. I have a looooong way to go but I will be getting my 16 miles in this week for sure! I am jog/walking the Two Rivers Ford Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning! I am really hoping to bust last years record of 34:06 and get a cool 30 minutes. We'll see! Last year I placed 6th in my age group, this year I am going for top five!!

I found some pictures on the website of me from last year:


Can you see me? Getting Pumped and People watching my favorite pasttime!! *creeper*

I hope they get some more photographer's this year! I need a winning shot!!



 Do you have any fitness plans for Thanksgiving? 5K? After dinner walk? Football with the menfolk? Tell me about it!!

HAVE A FIT-ABULOUS THANKSGIVING BRICKHOUSES!!!!





-KEF
xoxo

#operationbrickhouse
#fullbelly

LGI Food! : Feta Pizza and Sweet Potato Souffle

"Let us be grateful to friends who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." -Marcel Proust

Morning Brickhouses!!

Hope everyone had an amazing weekend!! I definitely did!! Church was amazing as usual and the message really spoke to me. I will leave it for another post but I have some decisions I need to make. Saturday night Muffin [Editor's Note: Muffin is My Favorite Negro or MFN for future references...] and I had a chance to hang out! We don't get to hang out that often with his jobs and school plus my wacky work hours, so we were both excited at the chance to have an evening of jazz, good food, a book discussion and amazing conversation!

MFN Feta Pizza - 185 calories

At one point in my life, Saturday nite was synonymous with pizza. I still like to indulge once in a while but I can't take the greasy sauce,cheese, and  bread! I am always looking for healthy alternatives so when I found this recipe on a blog recently I had to make one! By using feta in place of mozzarella, we were able to shave off  95 calories!! Building the same pizza at Domino's still has our pizza lower in calories with a 40 calorie difference. Amazing!!!

 You will need everything shown here: 

• 1 Pizza Crust [Whole Wheat if you can find it]
• 1/2 container of Reduced Fat Feta Cheese
• 1/4 cup of Marinara Sauce [Tomato Sauce shown but was too soupy to use]
• VEGGIES!!!

[I wish I had used a whole wheat crust but my local Food Lion has not gotten into better healthy options as of yet. ]

Chef KEF!!!

Muffin's favorite toppings

1. Preheat Oven to 425 degrees. Spread marinara sauce

My Sous Chef!!

Applying the Feta!! I heart Feta!!!

2. Spread the Feta

3. Add your favorite veggies! Ours was a great combo!

4. Put it in the oven on the lowest rack. Bake for 15-18 minutes

Enjoy!! And yes, I am KEF...I burnt it!

The 185 calories is per slice and this pizza made six servings so all together Muffin and I ate three slices each for an amount of 555 calories. Definitely not something I would want to make all the time!  Take in to consideration that it would have been 840 calories at Domino's I'm thinking we did pretty well!Not to mention we had a BLAST making it! I had the best Sous Chef EVER!! 

What is your favorite Saturday night meal? Have you tried any healthy alternatives or variations of your favorite meal?

LGI Life Lessons: OK OK...You're right!!!

"No one ever excused his way to success. "~Dave Del Dotto

Morning Brickhouses!!!

This time next week we will be full on into the holiday season can you believe it?! I swear this year just flew by but I am soooo glad that 2011 is coming to a close this year has been extra rough!! 

If you have been checking out the blog lately, you'll know that Healthy Girl! is hosting the 100 [Miles] for the Holidays challenge where you log in about 15-18 miles a week of jogging/walking/biking/moving etc. until Christmas. 

Since I ran a 5K last Sunday and did an impromptu birthday 4-mile run last Monday plus the challenge, I have caught the running bug! Last Tuesday and Wednesday it rained and I took to twitter to complain. My little brother/fitness Nazi didn't like it too much and told me about myself:

*can't

Now Imani is not my blood brother, but he is the absolute closest thing to a real brother. He rags on me, jokes on me, laughs with me AND at me! So this type of twabuse (twitter+abuse) is common with us! Plus he really holds me accountable for my fitness and eating habits which is great to have.

I think he meant 'adversity'

Daaaaaannnngggg!! So right!! I definitely let the rain give me an excuse as to why I couldn't run! I talked myself out of being a runner before I even had time to make it a habit! I thought to myself, "How many times have I done this?" Not necessarily fitness related, but in life in general? Talked myself out of finding a new job, finishing a challenging class, meeting new people, having new experiences? 

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you.  Never excuse yourself.  ~Henry Ward Beecher

He wins again... Imani- 978  KEF- 4

Lesson learned! Like they say, "From the mouth of babes..." 

Have a fit-abulous day!!!

 -KEF

xoxo

#operationbrickhouse

#getsome

#100milesfortheholidayschallenge

#getfitstayfit

#blackgirlsrun

Healthy Girl! Fridays: Diet Foods Yay or Nay?

"If it seems too good to be true, it probably is..." -Author Unknown

Morning Brickhouses!!!

TGIF!!! I am sooo ready for the weekend!! This week was rough and I am looking forward to new beginnings in the new week and a Word at church this weekend! I have a nice Saturday night planned with Muffin [My Favorite Negro] baking some healthy holiday goodies that I will be posting Monday!

Healthy Girl Speaks!

Q: What are some foods that I should avoid that are marketed as good for me? - Tonika [#operationSpanxFree]

A: First of all love the operation name! haha!

The #1 type of food or foods I would stay away from is anything labeled "diet". Let's use diet sodas as an example.You'd think that they would be better for you, but in reality, those products are 10 times worse than normal sodas [food] would be.

Whenever you get ready to eat, your body prepares itself to receive calories.

Calories that are then converted into energy for cellular metabolism (currently study for a biology exam).

Anywho, when you drink a diet soda [diet products], your body expects to take in calories, but it doesn't.

Long story short this triggers your body to go into "starvation mode" which makes your body hold onto fat.

In addition to that, the products they use in diet sodas [products] are not compounds that are naturally occurring. Specifically when you're drinking diet soda, pardon my language, you're basically ingesting a chemical s**t storm.

Hope this helps!

-Kyla

www.healthy-girl.tumblr.com

That's my sister! Straight to the point with TONS of substance!! Make sure you check out her blog for more fitness tips, she gives them daily! If you have a question for 'Healthy Girl! Speaks' submit a question to her blog with LGI Fitness written someplace, leave a comment on the LGI Fitness Facebook wall, or email me at lgifitnessbykef@gmail.com.

Have a fit-abulous weekend!!

-KEF

xoxo

#operationbrickhouse

#TGIF

#getsome

#HealthyGirlFridays

The JOYS of shopping...in your own closet!!!

"I've been shopping all my life and still have nothing to wear."  

~Author Unknown

Heyyyy Brickhouses!! 

Have you ever heard of an NSV? It stands for Non-Scale Victory! The definition is exactly what it sounds like, "A dieting and weight loss term for noticing your weight loss success off the scale." This can happen when you are finally able to shop in "regular size" stores, start to notice definition in your arms and legs, or get a compliment from an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend etc. 

In my case my NSV this week came from being able to fit size 10 jeans!! When I try on clothes in my closet to see if they fit, I call it shopping in my closet! You don't have to drive to find a parking spot, or spend any money, and the dressing room is ALWAYS open!! 

If you read my first post and/or have been following my blog, you know that this is not my first weight loss rodeo! Earlier this year in February, I was a solid size 8/10 in bottoms and a medium in tops. I had a BLAST throwing my "big" clothes away and wearing "regular" sizes! I was shopping like a mad woman! My bestie and I dropped so much money getting my new wardrobe together at H&M and Forever 21 in San Francisco when I visited! 

Literally shopping till we dropped in Union Square @ H&M- Feb 2011

Two months later I started to gain weight back with a vengeance! I ate anything and EVERYTHING that made me feel good to quell the pain of not graduating and my financial situation. Soon my size 8's were fitting extra snug and the girls were busting right out my shirts!! This last month with finishing the R30 Challenge and working our regularly, I went shopping in my closet, and the majority my jeans and jeggings fit again!! NSV!!!

I do need for my next NSV to be being able to wear button up/oxford style shirts. I am busting out of practically all of them!!

No bueno!!!

The girls definitely need some TLC and will be getting extra attention in my workouts so I can reduce them!

I MUST, I MUST DECREASE MY BUST!!! (Remember when that was in reverse back in grade school?! *sigh*)

I still have A LOT of clothes I still would like to fit into from before I was pregnant. I have never been a fashion risk taker and have always had a pretty classic look, so five years later the stuff from undergrad should still be appropriate for 2011/2012.

Classic Staples that I CAN'T WEAR!!! *gets into plank position*

Two bins of clothes just waiting to be worn again!!

I can't wait to dig into the bins and KNOW that I can wear what's inside. Shopping in my closet is just one of many things that motivates me on my fitness journey to get and stay fit! 

What motivates you? Do you have any pieces of clothing that you want to fit better or fit period? What are they?

-KEF

xoxo

#operationbrickhouse

#getfitstayfit

#motivation

#getsome

PS. Don't forget about Healthy Girl!'s 100 [Miles] for the Holidays! It's not too late to join! I have hit seven miles so far this week, I am behind!!! LET'S GET IT!!!

Get Moving Challenge : 100 [Miles] for the Holidays by Healthy Girl!

When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no "I'll start tomorrow." Tomorrow is disease.
- Terri Guillemets

Love This!! #GETSOME

Morning Brickhouses!!!

Thank you for all of the wonderful birthday wishes I received on Facebook Monday was truly a wonderful day! 

Now that R30 is over, I am taking a little break from the DVD exercise routine and will be jog/walking each morning while still incorporating weight training at the gym or at home! Kyla of Healthy Girl! is sponsoring a challenge : 100 [Miles] for the Holidays. This challenge is totally doable for ANY and EVERY fitness level! Basically the challenge is to log 100 miles of walking/jogging/running etc by Christmas! This is a great time to get a head start on your fitness before the Jan 1 resolution rush!! Here is a sample workout schedule for your walk/jog/runs:

• 2 miles a day/ 7 days a week until the 23rd = 14 miles a week = 7 weeks 
• 5k (3.1 miles), 5 times a week = 16 miles a week = 6.25 weeks
• 5k, 3 times a week. 2 miles, 3 days a week = 15.6 miles a week = 6.5 weeks
• 4 miles/4 days a week-16 miles a week = 6.25 weeks

I didn't know about this challenge until yesterday, but Kyla started the challenge on Sunday so I can include the 5k I ran/jog/walked on Sunday!! Plus on Monday I ran/jog/walked  four miles!! So that's seven miles logged so far! Only 93 to go!! LET'S GET IT!!!

Not sure which river this is! I ran on the Greenway at Two River's Parkway

The inbound part of my jog/walk!

 So if you want to join the 100 [Miles] Holidays challenge let Kyla know here. You can also comment here on the blog, on the LGI Fitness FB Page, or by emailing me at lgifitnessbykef@gmail.com and I will relay the info to Kyla.

Try to move today!! Your fitness journey starts with YOU!! Walk around your neighborhood, walk around your building at work or school! Take the kids out, take the dog on a longer walk, grab a buddy...JUST GET MOVING!!! You can do it! LET'S GET IT!!!

Have a fit-abulous day!!

-KEF
xoxo

#operationbrickhouse
#100fortheholidays
#LETS GET IT
#GETSOME

PS. I am proud to have been offered membership as a top health blogger at Wellsphere's Health Blogging Network. This company's mission  is to help millions of people live healthier, happier lives by connecting them with the knowledge, people and tools they need to manage and improve their health. I am honored to have been considered as someone who can provide quality health and wellness content to millions of people daily who are working to change their lives! Be on the lookout for more content from this company and LGI Fitness by KEF!

LGI Fitness Runs: The Nashville Mayor's 5K Challenge

Watch me Work!! FLEX FLEX FLEX FLEX!!

Heyyyy Brickhouses!!

Hope everyone had an amazing weekend! My weekend started Friday. I am the room mother at Mia's school so I was there until around 11am. Those three year old's are something else! I always make sure after I volunteer in Mia's classroom that I thank her teachers for their dedication. There is NO WAY that you could continue to be a teacher each year with out having the love of the job! It is SO hard!! I am exhausted just thinking about out it so moving on...

I headed over to Public Square Park to meet Holly  [#operationByeByeBelly]so we could pick up our "swag bags" and race bib for the Mayor's 5K Challenge!!!

Photo op!! Waiting for Holly in the wind!!

Holly showed up during my photo shoot so excited!! We were both extra hype! Number one, the impending 5K and number two, the end of the R30 Challenge and our celebration dinner at Spaghetti Factory!!

Holly!!!

Registration and Bib pick up

 We tried so hard to get the perfect picture! lol *shrugs*

We headed over to Spaghetti Factory for girl talk, mocktails (which is basically any non-alcoholic beverage garnished w/ a lemon or lime), and reflection of R30 and the brutality of the last 30 days!

Spaghetti Factory

I LOVE the Spaghetti Factory!! The ambiance is amazing! It was like Old Southern meets Victorian-era and my goodness was it affordable!! With drinks and an entree, salad, and bread we paid $11. That is with bottomless refills plus if you get Isaac, he will throw in free spumoni ice cream! *SCREAMS*

Holly and I were so famished we didn't get any pictures of our food. It definitely helps to have an accountability partner because instead of Bleu Cheese dressing I got Balsamic Vinaigrette on my salad which made a difference of at least 300 calories on my salad. Pasta can be very fattening when all the cheeses and sauces are added so I looked at my handy MyFitnessPal mobile app to see the best option for lunch. We ended up getting the Spinach and Cheese Ravioli for 280 calories for the lunch portion. Everything else was 500+ JUST for the lunch portion! Scary!!

Saturday I went to church and chilled and was so excited in anticipation of the 5K on Sunday! Once I got there with Kat, Holly came and we looked around at everything. They had moon bounces, games, a rock climbing wall, live music, water stands, snack stands, and so much more that we didn't look at! The atmosphere was AWESOME!! All different shapes, sizes, races, ages, and sexes were there with the same goal of FITNESS!! It was so amazing to see!!

Chillin in Public Square Park

United Healthcare Doctor Dog

The News 4 Snowbird!!! A legend!! LOL

Holly and I were extra intimidated by the stretching skills of the 'Meharry Marathoners' lol

Intimidated until we saw Metro Police training academy! HARDCORE!!

There was a rock climbing wall too!! We had so much time to spare I gave it a whirl!

Getting saddled up!

Climbing..

Ok so here I think I was getting scared!

Pretty high!!

I ended up not getting to the very top because one of my hands slipped and I began to fear for my life! If you looked at the top of the wall the clouds were moving so it looked like the wall was tilted! Just overall scary and challenging experience!

After the wall it was time to get started with the lines for the 5K. We took a couple of pictures with Metro Public Health who Kat works for and took a picture with Karl Dean, the Mayor of Nashville! His assistant was rushing us so we will have to wait until the official pictures come out! 

Kat! [ #operationGFRestoration]

They had markers based on the pace you would be jog/run/walking at. We stood with Metro Public Health at the 11 min mile mark which was kind of in the middle of the crowd of 5,000 people! It was packed! When the start gun went off it took us three minutes to even start jogging because of the congestion!! Me and Holly took the time to dance it up!! 

Look towards the tall building in the very back. All those dots were people!!!

We started jogging up A HILL at a pretty good pace. Holly and I planned to jog for two songs and then power walk in between to keep a steady pace. Metro Public Health soon passed us and we were on our own! My playlist was DOPE until my phone died! lol Me and Holly ended up sharing earbuds and rocked it out to Phontegallo until the end of the race.

Our pace was great and we stopped maybe four times along the route. The last corner we turned onto 2nd avenue and saw the finish line! Holly and I were praising GOD!! We jogged up the hill and the adrenaline hit! I wanted to scream and guess what came to my mind? "GET SOME!!!" If you did the R30 challenge you will know that Jillian said that phrase incessantly during Ripped in 30! It was so ingrained in me and really did push Holly and I to the finish!!

It was an overall amazing experience and I am so proud of Holly for doing her FIRST 5K in under an hour (39:54 to be exact) with absolutely NO prior training besides R30!! Whohooo!!! LET'S GET IT!!!

Have a fit-abulous week!!

-KEF

xoxo

#operationbrickhouse

#5Kchallenge

#GETSOME