FIT MAMA EMILY

Hi all! I'm Emily and I blog over at Nap-Time Creations. While my blog is mostly about sewing and food, I am also very passionate about fitness and health. I was really excited to join this series, because I don't share this side of my life through my blog.

Growing up we lived in the country, so I was very active as a kid. When I went to college I gained the freshman 15 and knew I had to start exercising.. I started jogging with a few friends and haven't really stopped since then. I love to run outside {I really dislike treadmills!} and I love to do workout DVDs, too. I was super sick when pregnant so stopped running for several months both times. As soon as my boys were born I was back out within weeks! 

I love this photo of my 2 week old son getting ready to go for a walk in the stroller. I ran several times a week with just one, and when I was pregnant with number two, I knew I wanted a double stroller. I invested in a BOB stroller and it has been amazing. 

My boys are now 4 and 6, so I don't push them anymore while running. I've now got both of them biking along side of me! I love that we can be fit together and that I'm sharing my love of exercising with them!

As well as running, I've really come to appreciate the ease of working out using a DVD as a guide. I love the Jillian Michaels DVDs and have tried most of them. I will choose a DVD to do two times a week and go running three times, then switch to a new DVD when I get bored. This summer I bought the T25 series, and oh wow, it is kicking my butt!! I love that it's only 25 minutes a day, but it is such a good workout... I did the 10 weeks as instructed, and now I'm back to running 2x a week and doing one of the videos the other days...  so that's my fitness story... when I think about tips for others or words of wisdom to share here is what comes to mind. 

Tip #1. Spend the money on a stroller that you will enjoy pushing... its worth it and cheaper than a gym membership! I am SO glad I got the double BOB stroller, pushing that double is no different than pushing my cheapo single stroller... they do glide better if they are built better ;o)

Tip #2. Find a routine that works for you.... my brother goes to a gym, my mom has a personal trainer, my husband does LONG runs, I love the convenience of working out at home. Going to a gym sounds awful, but some people hate DVDs... try several things and then go with what works for you. Don't do what someone else is doing if you don't like it. 

Tip #3. Be consistent... what ever you do, do it!!! I have found I feel best when I am exercising about 5 times a week.... Working out for 1.5 hours isn't realistic for me and my life... so if I can find something that fits in my life and keeps me fit, I'm happy. I also love that I can take my DVDs where ever we are traveling.. so I can fit in a workout anywhere!

Tip #4. Eat well too... I'm not really going to go into detail, but I feel best when I am healthy inside and out... when I eat better I feel better!!

A big thanks to Carisa for letting me share today! Hop on over to my blog and check out all my other projects! You can also find me here:

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Thanks so much for sharing, Emily! She has some really neat stuff on her blog that I would highly recommend. She is always sharing fun activities and crafts for youngsters, as well as ideas for family night and how to make life a little easier when taking care of your family! She's definitely worth a couple minutes of your time...

I love the advice Emily gives in this post and just have to put a plug-in here... I'm a huge fan of Jillian Michaels DVDs too. I've used about 12 of them! My favorite is definitely the Kick-Box Fast Fix DVD... I also love Killer Abs and I thought the Yoga Meltdown was a really fun and unique workout!

If you've missed any of the Fit Mama Series posts, you can see them all here!

Here is the post that started us off!