Summer Challenges

I've battled respiratory issues all my life. I blame it on being born a preemie. As an early, low birth weight twin baby, I incubated for a month before the hospital set me free. My mother was already a sleep deprived new mom caring for my sister and she can't remember why I had to stay in the hospital so long. She also can't remember what I wore home from the hospital but she's pretty sure it was "clothes and a diaper". After years of breathing problems and asthma I'm pretty darn sure my month in the NICU was due to underdeveloped lungs along with trying to gain weight. Hah. That's the last time in my life I've ever actively pursued weight gain instead of weight loss.

Outdoor workouts have historically been difficult for me since I've always lived in a climate prone to humidity. I love Austin too much to move to Phoenix, so I'm stuck with learning to live with muggy air. Plenty of Central Texas asthmatics walk, run and go to boot camp outdoors, though. We just learn to deal with it. And carry our inhalers. My respiratory problems worsen with heat, too.

Even if you don't have asthma chances are good that at some point in time during a grueling workout you've felt as if you did. Ever have such a hard time catching your breath that you felt like you were sucking in oxygen out of a cocktail straw? Yup, that's what an asthma attack feels like to me. Well, if I was breathing through that tiny red straw while laying flat on my back with a loaded suitcase on my chest. Anyway, you get the idea. And why are those straws almost always red or red & white? I once saw a blue & white striped one and spent an hour begging the bartender to let me take a box home. (Of course I was not a boot camper at that time).

With hotter weather we face all kinds of challenges that normally wouldn't be an issue. You will be sweating more and feeling a greater intensity in your routine even without kicking it up a notch. Your recovery may be slower and you might just find that you need a different plan for nutrition. With this heat, water is wonderful and hopefully you are drinking at least 4 liters a day during this sweltering heat. Did you know that once we register thirst we are already at 7% diminished performance due to dehydration?

Since we're all perspiring more (and thank you for continuing to wear your deoderant to camp) we may also need electrolyte replacements. Because many sports drinks also contain nausea-inducing sugars, you may want to look at other options for electrolyte replacement. Switch out your salt shaker from regular table salt to Morton's Lite Salt. The sodium chloride in it contains potassium. Eat bananas and oranges for snacks, too. They're loaded with potassium and Vitamin C. If you do opt for good ole Gatorade or similar drink, dilute it by 50% until you determine if the sugar will settle easily in your tummy.

So take care of yourselves. Pay close attention to how you feel during these blazing hot days. Make changes where you need to, tweaking it to keep your body healthy and happy.

"The pain of disipline is far less than the pain of regret"

~Sarah Bombell, synchronized swimmer~

Baby Steps in Healthy Living

Like most years, the advent of summer brings with it a glut of "get fit" information in the media. While this is great for parts of the country where it was snowing just a few weeks ago (yes, every day during my vacation, not to rub it in, but yeah, I'm rubbing it in) it is a little harder to suddenly adopt a workout routine in the heat of a Texas summer.

One article I read by Run Tex's Paul Carroza reminded me that working out during the summer is quite different than during the cooler months. The heat will increase your efforts during your work out, automatically adding intensity. It's a good time to concentrate on building endurance rather than working on speed. And because your heart rate climbs along with temps and humidity, Carroza suggest wearing a heart rate monitor.

It isn't the easiest to stick to a work out schedule when the hot weather has you longing for Barton Springs but it's all about taking baby steps in healthy living. Some weeks we are gung ho about our diet and exercise and some weeks we can barely manage to finish a load of laundry, much less make it to the gym or boot camp. The key is to challenge yourself when you need it and lighten up on yourself when life overwhelms you. Don't push yourself to a burn out but keep your zest for working out alive.

When we choose to eat healthfully and to exercise it's like putting a little money into the 401K of our life. Over time, that little bit adds up to a nice amount. Any amount of living healthfully has an improvement on our fitness. And just like a retirement account, the more we put in, the more we'll benefit later. If one day you aren't banking as much, don't beat yourself up but also don't close the account, ya know?

And it's not just about what we as adults do for our selves. It's also in how we care for our families. I've been sneaking healthy food in slowly so my fiance doesn't catch on until after he's tried something new and loved it. The whole "hey honey, taste this" works well with him.

You can do simple things like deciding against cake and ice cream at your child's birthday party in favor of a low sugar fruit pizza or a fruit cup topped with a bit of colored shredded coconut. Think the other parents will look down their nose at you? Who cares when it's your child's health you're protecting?

In the end, even if all you take are baby steps, you're still coming out ahead.

"Use the long days and warm temperatures to change your habits and reach new levels of activity. Move. Walk. Sweat. Bike. Garden. Hike. Have fun."

~Paul Carroza~

Motivate!!

Ahhh, motivation. Where have you gone? I went on vacation and left it somewhere. I did a lot of physical activity on my all too brief escape from every day reality. We hiked everywhere in our campground. But now I'm back and well, my motivation is gone. Nonexistent. And I'm not sure how to get it back.

I've been poring over testimonials and Stephanie's story. I've been searching the net looking for other people's stories of overcoming poor health and ending up fit and happy. I've found a few, including this one, that have helped redirect me. I really liked this post and this one, too. Basically everything I've read says you have to find inspiration within yourself. You are the one who can block the way or the one who can clear the path.

I look at my relatives and their poor health and know I don't want to be in the same boat in 20 years. That's motivation. I think about my friends who are much more in shape than I am and feel a fierce desire to have their energy and stamina. Now I just have to channel that emotion into a giant bungee cord and snap myself out of my home and into my car, driving to boot camp. A friend suggested sleeping in my work out clothes so that when the alarm goes off I jump up and walk right out the door. I may have to try that.

What do you find motivating, when you need it?

"Some reward can come from others. Mostly it must come from you."

Subway Kimberly

Does This Blog Make My Butt Look Big?

I'm taking a break from frantically packing for vacation. By the time y'all read this blog I will be (fingers crossed) relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated. And a long, long way from home. The one thing I won't be is wearing my old swimsuit. It's too big. Thank you, boot camp!

I tried on what felt like a couple of dozen suits recently and none of them worked for me. Cut too high, cut too low, cut in an odd zig zag that made me think of Madonna's The Girlie Show tour costumes. There were suits that made my stomach look larger, my hips wider and my bottom, well, definitely not worth a second glance. The rest of them sagged and bagged and drooped off my shoulders. I am, it seems, a victim of that dreaded "in between" sizes phase.

That's okay. I'm fine with it. I can deal. I'd rather be wearing an ill-fitting cheapie one piece plain jane bathing suit from Wal-Mart than an expensive yet cute suit in a size I wouldn't reveal to my closest friend. And since I'm still transitioning, I don't want to shell out major bucks for a nice swimsuit just yet. Give me a little bit more time and I'll kick that "in between" phase to the curb.

"I wouldn't say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it".

~Michael Phelps, Six-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer~

Yummy Enzymes!!!!!

OK so as you all probably know I am 6 months pregnant and this heat is unbearable. I also found out that I am not the only one suffering. When we eat dead (cooked) food day in and day out it raises our body temperature. This also kills our digestive enzymes. We are born with over 5000 enzymes and by the time we are 40 years old, most of us won't have over 1000 of them left. Digestion starts in our mouth as we chew our food. The enzymes that are added via saliva aids us in the assimilation of our food. So what can we do to survive this heat and slow down our aging process?

ENZYME THERAPY: Pick two hot days and shower your body with enzymes. Your skin will thank you, your digestion system will take a much needed brake and you may even drop a few pounds. Yes, it's easy enough that even a pregnant person can do it. All you need is a blender or a juicer, ice and some fruit. For two days make yourself some fruit slushes or juices. Who needs to eat when it's so hot out?
Here are some recipes you can try:

Drink the following as much as you want.

Breakfast:

Blend some fat free yogurt with some fruit and ice. Try to have more ice than fruit. Pineapples and kiwi, or apple and strawberries. (for better skin add two tsp flax seed oil to the mix)

Lunch:

Fresh juice of carrots, celery, and apples .
Blended lemons, any berries you like a banana with ice.

Dinner:

Blended pineapples (2 rings), 2 peaches and a hand full of strawberries.


You can try to juice any combination of fruits or veggies that you like. I have been on this for 3 days now and I am loving it. I feel cooler and better and surprisingly not very hungry at all. I had to 'cheat' and eat a few walnuts to make the baby happy. Try this on days that you are not supper active. Please let me know if you tried this and give others some input.

Hot, Hot, Hot

Ole ole - ole ole / Ole ole - ole oleOle ole - ole ole / Ole ole - ole ole

C'mon...sing it with me. Feeling hot, hot, hot, hot. Welcome to summer. We had a few weeks of some actual Spring-like weather and then Mother Nature decided to flip the switch and send the temps a'rising.

Hydration is especially important when the mercury hits the 99º mark. Make sure you're giving your body the fluids it needs. Drink up! But summer weather also means I'm thinking about water in a different way: a reward. Oh yeeeaaah, what could be nicer than jumping into a pool full of cool water after a long, hot day?

Swimming is a great summer cross training idea. You can brave the chill to swim laps at Barton Springs or use on of the many city pools. Just hold on to the edge and do flutter kicks to your heart's content. Why not dangle the carrot of going tubing with friends in front of you as a reward for sticking to your fitness program?

Summer's here! Let's enjoy it. You're working hard at camp. You're busting it at work to pay the bills that just keep showing up in the mailbox. Take some time out for fun in the sun and water. Don't forget the sunscreen!

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

"Citysearch's Best Alternative Workout 2008"!

We've always said that Austin Adventure Boot Camp is the best and now the results are in...Citysearch has named us the Audience and Editorial winner of "Best Alternative Workout 2008". Thank you for your help in voting us number one in Austin!

You can still voice an opinion even though the voting is over. Please take a moment to leave a short review telling Austin why you believe our boot camp is the best. We know that you have fabulous stories of meeting personal goals and if you think boot camp helped you to to achieve it, then please share that with our city. Your words may inspire someone else to start their fitness journey.

"Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people. "

~Lee Iacocca~