fitness Archives — Thrifty Mommas Tips

Going The Distance with KURU’s New Wide Runners

Paula — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:22:14 +0000

My husband Jim is gearing up for a massive martial arts grading later this year. After years of practice and competitions and trying to eat right, this last stretch is near, but it is also the hardest. Now he needs to level up, start running occasionally and continue with a minimum of three big workouts a week. We were gifted KURU ATOM 2 extra wide sneakers for consideration here. I genuinely love this brand so much that I wanted to share our experience as a service to readers. My opinion is my own and it is honest. So, we’ve been looking for new running shoes. His old runners are ancient and frankly stained from life, that time we zip lined and celebrated the finish with ice cream which promptly landed on his shoe, plus the million times he has mowed the lawn in them or pulled out a dead Boxwood. It was time for a new and improved pair of everyday running shoes. The Wide Foot Conundrum But with wide feet the options are limited at best. In the past, we have hunted locally for weeks on end. We had a reliable family run specialty shoe store we used for a few years near our old house but it closed a couple of years ago. That left a big gap. Shopping for wide shoes or extra wide shoes has been hit and miss entirely in the past few years. Thinking of an old pair of work boots my husband bought that still sits in the garage collecting dust. Price and fit seemed okay in the big chain store when he left with them, but comfort for all day working and standing on his feet, was an entirely different story. Enter KURU. In the spring I got a gorgeous pair of Kuru sandals. They are high quality, stylish and so comfortable. I love them. This past week I found out that KURU has a brand new extra wide style of running shoe in their lineup. It’s called the Atom 2 and is available in women’s and men’s styles and sizes. Not only does my husband have wide feet but my eldest does too. So the struggle is real and both of them find they really need comfort to alleviate pain or other foot and joint related kinds of aches and pains. Luckily, this is what KURU does best. For us KURU extra wide shoes are extremely helpful and so worth the price tag. If you also have wide or extra wide feet then you know what I am talking about. The right fit means all day comfort and being able to work out or even just go about your daily activity without pain. KURU shoes are actually shoes that can 100% claim to improve some common foot and pain issues. So basically, if you have back pain, bunions, flat feet, heel pain, hip pain, plantar fasciitis or a host of other conditions, these will help make you feel better. KURU’s Guarantee Loving KURU this year because they are just that comfortable and their KURU Feel Better Promise™ guarantees your feet feel better in 91 days or you get your money back. A Few Facts About KURU and the ATOM 2: Running through the rest of the year with KURU ATOM 2 extra wide sneakers because this is one more thing that impacts how smoothly we get to the finish line which is a black belt by end of 2026. Staying injury free and pain free at this age and stage of life is like harm prevention and reduction. We don’t play around anymore. Easy on and easy off matters. Price matters, but fit even more so than that. New and improved KURUCloud+ gives better rebound and softer landings. The ATOM is already an excellent shoe and the ATOM 2 sneakers just built on that. Overall Impressions Jim is loving these KURU ATOM 2 extra wide sneakers and the confidence and comfort they provide as he works towards his black belt. But Paula don’t people who do martial arts wear bare feet or special padded shoes when sparring? Yes, they do. But you don’t get to be a black belt without actually working out on a regular basis, meaning you need to do more walking, running, weights, yoga and activity in general. These are the shoes that get that part of the training. They are just as able to give you the support you need when walking to and from the gym or the park as they are when running laps on the nights you haven’t got a scheduled class. A New Favourite I highly recommend these KURU Atom 2 extra wide sneakers. KURU is one of my new favourite shoe brands. Check them out yourself. For those of you who wonder about how accurate sizing and width is, these are in my opinion a really solid choice and size feels accurate. I know ordering shoes on line can be scary, but these fit as they indicate on the site.

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Take the 30 Day Steps Challenge Now!

Paula — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 17:27:00 +0000

Time to step up your fitness routine with the 30 Day Steps Challenge! Fitness and health are top of mind right now for everyone. Globally, January is the time that people shrug off the old year’s habits and resolve to make things better health wise. Well, typically that’s the case anyways. This time of year I am often skiing, but also I commit to reinjecting my daily routine with a stronger level of commitment. This is also the time of year that I might consider doing something new, like adopting a new challenge to see if I can make an impact on health and fitness. That’s why I am taking and sharing this 30-day fitness steps challenge to increase your steps. To Download the Steps Challenge Click Below Don’t forget to pin this for later! Need to Level Up Your Workout Gear – >

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My 2021 Word of the Year, Finally

Paula — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 18:47:55 +0000

“I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart: I am, I am, I am.” ~ Sylvia Plath Sylvia knew. Post may contain affiliate links as a service to readers. I receive a small commission from purchases made via qualifying links. Words This year, it has taken me exactly a month to find my 2021 word of the year. Why? Well, I wasn’t convinced I’d bother to choose a word of the year. Wasn’t it a ridiculous assumption to make that a year would bend to meet the shape of a word. I mean after 2020, haven’t we all seen that life is nothing if not unpredictable? And yet the concept kept working away at the back of my brain. Should I have a word? Should I ditch my tradition or start a new one? Pros and Cons In the past, I have found that choosing a word of the year has given me a goal to work towards. One year – the year that I choose mindfulness, my word was not a success. Mindfulness turned out to be a much harder state to achieve than I had originally anticipated. However, the years I chose health and reach and growth were all successful years. Is it risky to choose a word every year and commit to a resolution or a focus? Sure, absolutely it is and sometimes you fail, but at least you tried. A Year Like No Other Although I have in fact chosen a word of the year ever since 2014, this year was not like the others. Last year, I chose a word and I have looked back on it a few times and thought why did I bother? Burt, I am sure that many people were precisely in the same boat in 2020. Recently, I was hunting for quotes to caption an Instagram post and I found this one above from Sylvia Plath about breath and breathing. While Plath was an author known for going mad and writing an exceptionally gorgeous memoir about it, I thought it summed up my 2021 word of the year philosophy. Aren’t we all feeling a little bit off kilter, off-balance under water some days right now? I know I am still. FYI – this is my yoga mat. I’ve used several and this is my favourite because it is thicker than the usual yoga mats. Buy one here – > Gaiam Yoga Mat 6 MM. Lockdown Life Wasn’t the world supposed to magically be healed and promising in 2021? And yet, numbers are erratic, stay at a home Amber Alert messages gave many of us a start in Ontario recently and mental health issues are growing as the days mount. So many days we all struggle. We are trying to ignore the huge wrench that has been thrown in ski season. I refuse to give up and I am holding out hope for even a couple of ski days at some point WHEN numbers go down. But, if you know me at all then you know I yoga. I boot camp and group fit, pilates, Centergy and walk. So for now while all of that is chaos and cancelled I breathe through the yoga. My 2019 word of the year was REACH. The Breath Challenge Every morning so far of this year, I’ve been doing a 30-day Breath challenge with Yoga with Adrienne and I am nearing the end of that fitness challenge. Yoga with Adrienne and Yoga with Kassandra as well as Blogilates are favourites of mine. In fact, I shared my favourite online fitness classes here a few months ago. Why I Move When we adopted our younger daughter, a child who would eventually be diagnosed with FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder) I started doing yoga for me, for self care. So, it has become a staple and a consistent part of my life. When Covid hit and gyms closed the first time, I pivoted to online workout instructors and classes. Ironically, or perhaps insightfully, my 2020 word of the year was clarity and positivity. I’d be a huge liar if I said that I didn’t struggle with staying positive during a pandemic. In fact, I felt flat out overwhelmed and overly sad and maybe even depressed as trips were cancelled one by one and then school closed down. Of course 2020 year was hard, but there are also things that I am proud of from our pandemic year. How To Approach Each New Year? What do you believe in or measure every year? Is there a moment at the start of the year where you say to yourself: This year I resolve to read more? Or This Year I Will Drink More Water? Keep Moving This gets me moving forward towards the challenges of the day. Breath and breathing. Just a week ago I got an Apple Watch. It is my first smart watch and it is life changing. The fitness apps are rocking my world and I love that it prompts me occasionally to stand or move or breathe. So, this week it hit me that’s my 2021 word of the year – breath and breathe. For some odd reason breath and breathing and control of breath during yoga has always been hard for me. The 2021 30-day challenge with Adrienne has helped me to recognize and breathe with purpose during exercise sessions, so I will keep working on that. Word of the Year or Resolution? Whatever your thing – Word of the Year, Vision Board, Resolution – when the intention is about self improvement and even sometimes making the world a better place, then I am all about that. I wish you success, love and strength in this year ahead. What I Can Control Right now, I might not control much but I can control this. Breath and breathing. Just this week it hit me that this is my 2021 word of the year – my goal and my mantra: breath, breathe. Just breathe.

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The Simple Art of Walking

Paula — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 14:17:00 +0000

Or How I Don’t Want Your Pity Walk Became Let Me Get a Sweater and My Shoes) With gyms closed for much of the past year, I have discovered the value of the simple art of walking. We walk in all the weather, sometimes alone but often together. That’s been a highlight of this year actually. Walking. Discovering the art of walking has been an unexpected positive in a year too full of negatives. The Art of Walking It started as a way to get the kids moving and a means for me to get my steps in for the day. Way back in March, when the pandemic was new and kids were still adjusting, my youngest was reluctant to do anything. She was (as is often her default state) pissed off at the world. I Don’t Want Your Pity Walk Her anger got the best of her that day. We can all still recall the day I drove both of my daughters to Fanshawe Conservation Area, and she refused to leave the van yelling: “I don’t want your pity walk.” And she didn’t join us to walk that day. But Payton and I continued. WE walked and let her sit inside the van to calm down. Sometimes everyone needs a little space. Disappointment Takes Time It was the week that we learned the border was closed and our annual Vermont ski trip, was postponed until December (well here we are in December and yet the world is not yet safe for travel, but that’s another story.) And we were all upset and disappointed and a bit angry, but trying not to show it. And Eventually She Joined Us Too We continued several times a week. Some days, that was us joking and laughing as we walk. Occasionally it was, or is someone griping and complaining all the way about how cold it is, but still we go frequently together. And Yet… In a span of a few months angry, disappointed and reluctant finally became let me grab my sweater or my coat, or to be honest occasionally, let me throw on some pants. LOL. How We Went From NO WAY to Wait for Me Last week, my younger girl, the prickly I don’t want your pity walk teen, couldn’t wait to get going after dinner, every single night. There are a few good things about 2020 for my family. Learning the art of walking has been one of my favourite parts of this questionable year. One is that I continue to get more steps in than I did the year before. The outdoors is my gym now and it has been for months. That’s not a bad thing. I have genuinely enjoyed finding all of the trails and paths in my neighbourhood and at times I have also done my best to vary up the routine, adding jogging, running or just exploring to my walk. More often than not, my kids come with me for our walks. Some days they bicker endlessly as siblings often do, and other days they have me doubled over laughing so hard at the absurd jokes and silly things they do. As many of you know my kids have some mental health issues and anxiety is high on that list. The pandemic made that worse a lot of days. Our Mental Health Routine Our routine for supporting mental health has always been modelling that exercise, food, water and sleep are not negotiable. It pays off, and as hard as it is to get your winter coat, boots, scarf and mittens out some days, it is also important to do so. Every single time we walk we end up feeling better when we come back to our home, where school and work are currently. Our Serotonin Fix My oldest girl calls it her serotonin fix for the day, mostly because we usually see either a small child out walking or trying to figure out a bicycle, or we see neighbourhood dogs that we end up petting. There’s a tiny miniature Morkie we adore and have come to know and a sweet little toddler who once ran right into our garage as we were leaving for our walk. There’s so much value in celebrating the small stuff and of course there’s merit in moving. Laughter and Love Reflecting on 2020, and what has gotten us through the year, I can’t help but think of these nightly walks as a highlight. We talk to more neighbours; we know the names of most of the dogs in our neighbourhood and sometimes we laugh until our sides hurt. I’d Rather Be Here While we would absolutely still rather be skiing in the mountains in Vermont right now, we at least have our walks and mastering the art of walking has been a highlight of this challenging year. Disappointment and Moving On We’ve all dealt with a lot of disappointment this year, and I am certainly not minimizing that in any way. We dealt with a lot of anger and stress at the beginning of the pandemic when I scrambled to plug in supports for my younger daughter, who seemed depressed. And my older girl recently was also struggling. We’ve since found a virtual therapist for her too. Magic in the Moments At Hand Even more reason to keep moving. The art of walking means that sometimes you also find joy where you didn’t expect to. If we hadn’t timed it precisely right one night we would never have seen the beaver working away underneath the bridge we were standing on and if we hadn’t stopped to watch him, then we wouldn’t have seen the two deer bolt out of the bushes. Magic. Other nights we have seen numerous storks, herons and so many fireflies. Morning or Night WE walk in the mornings and sometimes at night. And we walk through snow, rain and heat. Often, we chase the constellations staring at the sky and naming them with an app in our hands to help. It Might Not Be… It might not be Vermont, Quebec, Ireland, Gulf Shores or even Ottawa but it could be one day. Right now, the art of walking is keeping us all sane, sometimes connected, and even mentally fit. A Different Path There’s also a point I am making every day by walking. It clears my head and gets my body started and also it’s a little bit about finding resilience and showing my kids you take the punches and keep on rolling. Life isn’t always going to roll out the red carpet at your feet. Sometimes you have to grab your boots, your coat, create a different pathway and just get walking.

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Getting My Gym Legs Back – Returning to the YMCA

Paula — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 12:27:00 +0000

After seven months of working out in my basement, I am moving on. This was the month that I found my gym legs again returning to the gym in person. Here’s how I found my gym legs again and here’s how it’s going so far… Deciding to Leave the Basement The decision to return to the YMCA near my home was not without a whole lot of introspection, hand ringing and anxiety. In fact, it kind of surprised me that I had anxiety returning at all, but after seven months of basement workouts, there it was. Nerves. Let’s face it the nerves were not unwarranted. I mean look around and you will see there are constantly gyms opening and closing and sudden Covid-19 outbreaks at Ontario gyms. That is all worrisome. How I Found My Gym Legs Again But I found my gym legs again this past month. Slowly, anxiously and then they returned just like getting right back on a bicycle. Don’t Miss this Life is Like a Bicycle Relaxing Colouring Sheet. Here’s My Why Here’s the thing – there’s only so many months that a person can work out in their basement without completely losing their mind. We have all been working at home for months now. Our homes are our schools, our offices and our gyms. It is a lot. My gym is crucial to my mental health and my happiness. Fitness matters a lot to me. It is the thing that I began as soon as we adopted our second daughter, a baby with special needs. I needed a break from parenting and I needed to get fit to be able to handle how demanding parenting her was, plus the constant advocacy was also exhausting. So, I joined the YMCA and I found my zen and my gym legs. Actually, we joined the YMCA. All of us. Pandemic Workouts As soon as the gyms closed in March, I shifted into working out wherever and whenever I could. If that meant outside, then I took to the trails near my house. If it meant, in the bedroom or the basement, so be it. The important thing was that I worked out. Yoga in my basement. That’s where I started and then to keep things interesting I did Boot Camp, Zumba, dance fitness classes and Power Walking. Here are the free virtual workouts that I followed. I’ve walked through my neighbourhood, hiked and also have been swimming. Soon, I hope to be able to go skiing locally. Our Pool Was Important Too In fact, this was the year that we kept the pool open longer than ever before and we swam more than usual and I’m grateful we had that opportunity right in our own backyard. My gym legs for months were froggy legs saturated with water and chlorine. Boy, I have grown to love that smell. The pool has been a blessing and I’ve used the pool as much as humanly possible this year, swimming most days. Our pool is heated so that’s definitely no hardship whatsoever. But Last Week The Pool Closed I’ve tried most things available to me. Still, I waited patiently for the announcement of the day the YMCA near my home opened. Anyone who reads my site regularly knows how important fitness is to me. Pre-pandemic, I was going to the YMCA 4 – 5 days a week for yoga, Centergy, various group classes and just to maintain my own health, mentally and physically. It is my break from the chaos of raising teenagers and also from running my own business and it is respite from raising kids with special needs. It was totally understandable that gyms had to close down and I completely recognize that was the only way to proceed, so I jumped in as soon as possible with virtual fitness and YouTube and all the basement fitness classes I could do. Nonetheless, when the Y opened I was thrilled… and also a little bit anxious. It’s no big shock that my family has become quite anxious as have a lot of families during the pandemic. But as soon as the martial arts studio opened up, my kids returned with all the Covid-19 protocols in place: masks on if you were indoors, extra cleaning, smaller numbers of students per class and you had to register for classes before attending. My Kids Went Back to Martial Arts So they resumed fitness classes that were important to them. They need sports for mental and physical health. We all do. Then suddenly, the YMCA started to phase in a few group classes very slowly throughout the city. I showed up one night, registered for yoga in September thinking it was indoors and wondering how that would work, only to find that it was outside and on a colder night. I was ill-equipped, with no jacket and a little out of practice. Still, I moved fast and tried to warm up leaning into the idea of in person yoga again. Would I Find Gym Legs and Stamina Again? Youtube Yoga is great in a pinch, but it doesn’t provide the same in person challenge that an instructor standing in front of you can offer. Nonetheless it was an important step getting out of the house and doing yoga. Another night my neighbour, who is now a certified yoga instructor, offered a free yoga class in a park near us and I went. That was a perfect weekend morning and it was warm and sunny. Kind of blissful actually. Finally Back Then finally the date came when I was scheduled to return to the YMCA. First you need to register. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but for whatever reason technical glitches prevented me from being able to register. First You Register The registration process is important because there are a limited number of spots available to maintain social distancing in each class. At the most classes are 15 or less. (As I hit publish on this new rules have been enacted today and that limit is now 10.) Ten is fine by me. Registration opens every Thursday. So, I picked up the phone and called someone at the front desk of the branch closest to me. Turns out the system wouldn’t let me register because the classes were already full. Bummed at that, I told them add my name to the waitlist. Because I was first on the waitlist, it wasn’t that surprising when I got a call the night before the Saturday morning class. Off I went with my mask, water bottle and my matt, leaving the other personal items at home or in the van. No purse and no extra clothing. Bring just what you need. Class began and it was slightly surreal seeing a few faces I hadn’t seen in months. Despite working out all throughout the quarantine, social distancing phases we have gone through here, my legs definitely felt the workout immediately. Squats I do at home are not the squats that we do in class. An in person instructor pushes you and challenges you to go further. Two Week Check In I have been back now maybe two full weeks. On average that is two to three times a week. I register and attend and I feel better afterwards, because I need it. Does it cause everyone a little bit of anxiety here? Yes, and I totally understand that. Yesterday my husband point blank said: you NEED to be careful. You are going too much. He is not a normally anxious person, but everyone here has become either anxious or depressed during COVID, so frankly I get it and I got a bit angry actually and lashed out. Sometimes I Need Space But, I go for me. I need fitness, for mental and physical health. Too many days I feel like that airplane safety demo. Put on your safety mask first if it drops from the ceiling. You can’t help anyone else if you run out of oxygen.

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Free Online Fitness Classes To Try While Stuck at Home

Paula — Mon, 25 May 2020 14:26:00 +0000

My friends and family members know I am all about the fitness classes. I structure every work day around the gym. Before the Pandemic, I worked out a minimum of five days a week at the YMCA. Suddenly, I was hunting for online fitness classes to fill the gap. My morning and lunchtime workouts at the YMCA are necessary for me to maintain flexibility, strength, energy and balance. I have Crohn’s Disease and my joints tend to get very sore and stiff unless I move frequently. So, for me movement isn’t optional. When the Coronavirus started was distant news seemingly contained in Wuhan Province, I was working out. We were in the middle of ski season here in Ontario and March Break was on the horizon. Gyms were still open and there were no alerts here at all, except wash your hands more. People were still flying off to their spring break destinations. So I kept going until the gyms closed and the Government in Ontario and Canada declared that social distancing was not optional, but the rule. Flights were stopped and people called back home. All gyms here were closed as were numerous businesses. That made staying fit a huge challenge for many people. So, of course, we followed the rules immediately and stopped all of our external fitness classes and sports until otherwise advised. That was one of the hardest pills for me to swallow. I enjoy all of the fitness classes at the YMCA nearby and spend my lunch break often doing yoga, pilates or centergy there. But, clearly gyms are germy places, so I completely understood the need to close them. Free Virtual Yoga Classes Yoga with Adriene Easy beginner’s yoga. Each class runs between 17 to 20 minutes. I did 30 days of this and enjoyed that it helped give me back a workout routine at home, but by the end was not at all challenged by the movements. Positives: Adriene has a calm voice and is easy to listen to and follow. Love her dog Benji who is a fixture here. My daughter did a few days of this one with me, so that was a benefit. This is a pretty gentle practice. Challenge Level (out of 10) – 6 I didn’t ever feel like this was long enough or intense enough for me. I’ve been doing yoga for over 15 years now. It is my respite and necessity when parenting kids with special needs. In fact, they are why I started. Yoga with Kassandra The best part of this channel and Yoga with Kassandra is actually twofold: Her affirmations add to the workout and the view in this chalet makes me ridiculously happy and at peace. Positives: Tight little sessions with impact. There’s a Morning series that I like that gets me moving and is middle of the pack in terms of intensity. Love the affirmations daily that support the practice and start the day off well. Kassandra also has a challenge you can do. Challenge Level (out of 10) -7/8 For me, Yoga with Kassandra is around a 7/8 for the reasons above. I wish her sessions were longer only. Pilates Inspired Movement Blogilates This one is often super short, so if you only have a short amount of time they are perfect. Intense workouts that are pilates based and sometimes involve props. Love this one, Blogilates, because it challenges different muscles and is energizing, which means I feel like I’ve done a serious workout when I am done. I often chunk these in twos or threes even. Do the Glutes and then the Abs perhaps. Positives: Bite-sized but really well put together and I always feel as if I have worked hard when I am done. My muscles appreciate this. Challenge Level (out of 10) -9 Blogilates is easily a 9 for me. Technically these Online Fitness Classes are lovely to watch and participate in. Yogi in Melbourne If you get bored with the first two here, give this Yogi a try. My favourite here is the neck and shoulders yoga video. Positives: Good variety of online fitness classes and workouts to try here. Love her soothing voice and my shoulders and neck feel so much better after doing yoga with Yogi in Melbourne. Challenge Level (out of 10) -7 Maybe not the most challenging sessions ever, but I sure feel better after doing this workout. I’d give this one about a 7. Power Walking Indoors Get your steps in, even when it’s cold or rainy outside. This is a great movement break. In fact, I might add this into my own life post pandemic, because it’s easy and quick generally speaking and a good way to squeeze more exercise in. Walk with Leslie Sansone LOVE that this gets my steps started off for the day. There are dozens of options to choose from and on rainy days I can get a mile in from my basement, or two miles in, then follow that up with a walk outside later at night or in the afternoon. That works well for me. Positives: The length is good and the cardio that comes from walking intensely works well for me in the mornings. Challenge Level (out of 10) -8 Leslie is a power walking phenomenon and she offers a decent walking challenge that I respect and enjoy doing. It is not too hard at all, but cheery and motivating. For me, it’s maybe an 8. The only negative here is that I am not sure my knees love it. Reserving judgement on that for a bit longer. Dance Style Videos and Classes Move with Colour Well, this is one that I stumbled onto last week and am now growing to love. Move with Colour uses body science to show you how to dance. This past week, I tried Latin Dance and Disco Dance and Britney Bitch. In fact, I did all three of these sessions on the same morning because I was bored with the typical yoga workout. So much fun. The instructor is pretty fantastic, but for me he moves a bit fast. That could just be me though. Positives: He breaks the choreography into chunks that are manageable. Also, the dance styles are all very different. Challenge Level (out of 10) -9 This is a level 9 for me because I am not a dancer and frankly this was a lot of fun. Choreography can be challenging and that’s a great way to make your brain fire up some new connections and learn something different. I love that for me. It just works. Online Fitness Classes for All Ages and Abilities YMCA 360 Just finally found this one, YMCA 360, which I had been hunting for several times actually. We belong to the YMCA and my one daughter works at the YMCA teaching martial arts. So, we are big fans. Over the years, the YMCA has been instrumental in keeping our family fit and healthy. Positives: Online Fitness Classes vary in size, length, scope and style. I find most extremely accessible. Also, there are several for kids and youth too. These classes are varied and they are more like what I am accustomed to doing. I’ve not done Bootcamp at the YMCA in person ever, but have always wanted to, so this is a silver lining, you could say. Challenge Level (out of 10) -8 There are dozens of classes and personalities, so you can find something for all challenge levels. I have done Yoga and also Beginner’s Bootcamp. Loving the bootcamp. Impossible to give this a number because it is accessible to all. So Beginner’s Bootcamp was an 8 and the Yoga I did this morning was also an 8. Virtual Workouts Might Surprise You I had no desire to find myself here and yet, out of necessity here I am exercising in my home every morning to stay well. There will come a time when gyms open again. Sure, things will have changed dramatically maybe, but in the meantime I will keep at it working hard to stay well. Have you found any online workouts that you love?

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How Did I Move More in 2018?

Paula — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 16:22:37 +0000

So how did I move more in 2018? Early this year I did that typical exercise you will see all over the Internet in January in which you chose a phrase or word to guide the year. My word of the year is a personal philosophy and also a goal to aspire to for the 365 days of the year. This is important for me every single January, because it helps give me some focus and provides a challenge as well. Looking back over these word of the year commitments that I have chosen consistently since 2014 I realized they all have something in common. Each of my words of the year is an active verb. My word of the year always inspires me to act, no matter what that action verb might be. Active Not Passive I think that’s fitting. Why? Because action creates and fuels motivation and change. In 2018 my goal was to move more and I documented that for several months at the start of the year and then time ran out to write about it. Why? Well, basically I was too busy moving more and doing things. This word of the year experience has often been a really positive proactive experience for me. The year I chose Grow, I grew. The year I chose productivity I was productive. And so on. My word of the year is my philosophy or vision. I’ve been doing this exercise for seven years now and each time it has worked to keep me focused. Only one year fell flat. Mindfulness was so much harder than I imagined. Might have to try that one again, but consistently and with purpose. With the exception of that one word of the year this has always been a benefit to me personally and professionally. So How did 2018 Inspire Me to Move More? Happy to report this year was probably my most successful of all the challenges I issued to myself, even though I didn’t always share that in a blog post. Ever since becoming parents, we both realized our kids needed to move a lot, especially Ainsley. She is a very active child to this day and she inspired me to start the process of getting fit. In the very beginning when we first adopted Ainsley and were hunting for a diagnosis we started going to the YMCA for short intervals while the kids did swimming lessons. We would each race upstairs at Centre Branch and hop on the machines. You squeeze tiny increments of self care and respite in where you can. Respite is a funny thing and often not at all what you think it is. As she got older, and Payton too, their activity led us outside in the winter months too. We skated together and tobogganed and more. In fact I used to hate winter, but with kids who need to be outside or moving and active 12 months of the year, that couldn’t last. So we skated and learned to ski and walk or hike outdoors all year long. We also travel all year long together and that involves a lot of outdoor exercise and sports. Over the last ten years we have learned to love winter as much or more than summer. Skiing is a massive part of that. You can read more about how our family learned to ski here in this post about Mont Tremblant. Enough Already….How Did It Go? So, here’s my accountability exercise to myself and to you as well. How did I move more in 2018 and how did I succeed at this? Moving more is simply crucial for me as someone with Crohn’s Disease. I wrote about that a few months ago here Why My Word of the Year is a Matter of Life or Death. This past week with Christmas hovering and closing in I took two days in a row off of my Word of the Year physical fitness commitment and simply stayed in to work at night and during the day. I shot more pitches out and finished up client work. And what happened? By the end of each night I was dead exhausted and fell asleep by 9:30 p.m. One evening I curled up with Ainsley and simply fell asleep because I couldn’t keep my eyes open. The next night I was fast asleep by ten. Now clearly I needed the sleep, but this to me is a crystal clear example of why I do this. Yesterday I was explaining to my daughter. I always feel better physically after I go skiing for a couple of hours, or after I have a workout. Even on days when I am exhausted I often force myself out of the office and the house so that I can go skiing, or to the gym to do Yoga, or Group Power or Group Centergy. It is a matter of health and necessity. On days when the coffee is not enough and my shoulders and knees ache I workout. Ainsley looked at me with a puzzled look on her fact and told me Mom that makes no sense. But for me it is the only logical way to be. Taking the Time to Work Out Makes Me More Productive So I force myself most days of the week to carve out that one hour lunch break and I head to the YMCA and do a lunchtime fitness class. This year I have discovered an exceptional Yoga class that challenges me with binds and headstands and bizarre poses and I am really enjoying that once a week as well. In addition I do not schedule appointments during that hour long fitness class ever. Nor do I answer the phone or check emails. I need the break to focus on my body and that benefits my health and my business too. You will never find me checking emails during downward dog (something that makes me cringe when I see others doing that.) And of course during ski season you can find me many nights and weekends at Boler Mountain, or up north, or in Vermont skiing. That’s so valuable to me and I get better every single time I go out. Hitting My 2018 Fitness Goals My goal was to make it to the Y, or the ski hill, or even simply to get back in my pool swimming at least five days a week and I hit that target almost every single week this year. I am proud of that. In total, I missed maybe 3 weeks. On weeks when travel was involved I made sure to also exercise and make fitness a part of the travel blogging experience too. Sometimes that was zip lining. Other times again it was hiking while we went Fall Camping on an RV trip. In fact our family travel adventures often involve a lot of activity too. Now I work to maintain that progress and stamina. Right now five days a week is not that hard as I live pretty close to a YMCA and love to change it up and try various group fitness classes throughout the year. And of course right now we are at the start of ski season so I am hitting the slopes every single chance I have. Luckily I can always do a little bit of work when I am out and if I need to I can write in Vermont and run campaigns from a chairlift or a chalet later in the evening. But mostly I take the break and enjoy that time making my body work hard and challenging myself to push my physical boundaries. Improvement Noted This year my skiing confidence has improved because practice makes perfect. My first year skiing I spent hours simply conquering fear of heights and trying not to fall. Truth. I was the girl on the chairlift clutching the bar and trying not to wipe out when I pushed off at the summit. The first couple of years skiing I literally went down the slopes repeating everything I was taught by prior ski instructors, counts and turns etc. My inner monologue was: “Don’t fall. You got this. One, two, three. Turn. Shave off some speed. Turn.” There is a repetition to that that helped me to make the turns and move on to try black diamonds. Remember I only learned how to ski in my mid 40s!! Practice makes a dramatic difference. The biggest change for me in that regard this year is that my skiing has become more fluid and confident and that makes me happy because I have worked hard to get there. From September on, every single time I go to the gym to workout, I tell myself this will help my energy and my stamina while working and while skiing. Also I know it’s vital for my mental health. Core and balance and strength training are goals I work on and the hard work has paid off when I ski or do yoga or tackle a long hike. This year my core strength and balance have improved and my upper body strength is so much better. Remember I have been doing this and working hard at it five days a week all year. My triceps are able to hold plank and side plank and they are getting to a point where soon I will be able to progress my inversions. Goals for 2019 are: getting closer to headstands and stronger arms always. Now my challenge will be to maintain that level of effort and to move more throughout 2019 as well. What else has changed? In 2013, 2014, or even 2016 when I went to the gym I was motivated by being healthy for my family. Parenting kids with special needs can be exhausting and draining and I needed to put in some hours on my own self care. But, to be honest my self care back then was driven by the need to be there for my family. As my kids get older, my mindset has changed a bit. Not sure how that happened but it has been organic and evolving this year. My girls are now 14 and 17. Don’t get me wrong I still see a clear need to work out to be fit and healthy for family. But the difference to me now is that self care is truly driven by my need to care for myself. Oh I love our family ski trips and days at the local ski hill too. But, I recognize that yoga is for me and about me. I am improving myself for myself. With a 17 year old daughter in grade 12 I am fully aware that she’s heading towards increased independence and my youngest will also follow that pattern. Some days I can almost see the empty nest not that far off. How will that look? Well, to be honest I am certain I’ll still be heading to the gym every day I can and working towards improved energy and health for me. Not for anyone else. Self care is actually self care. What Will 2019 Bring? There’s no crystal ball that tells me what lies ahead. Many days I wish there was one though. So what’s the goal for 2019 and the word of the year? I am still working on that and have not settled on anything quite yet. When I find my word, rest assured you will be the first to know. Happy New Year! I wish you a brilliant and healthy 2019! What was your word of the year in 2018 and how did it go?

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How My Word of The Year Became a Matter of Life or Death

Paula — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 10:21:53 +0000

“I wish Dad was younger,” my daughter said driving home from a play rehearsal the other night. “If you think about it he could be 70 when I am in my 20s.” Math is not usually our conversation on the drive home. Neither is life or death. But here we are. Often I have to wonder how their minds work. “I wish you were younger too. I mean if you think about it you could both be dead before I’m 40.” Oh my god my head hurts some days keeping up with this kid. But I get it. It’s a fear of dying and every child has that to a certain degree. Life or death questions and anxiety about loved ones are common concerns for kids. I guess something prompted that today. Who knows the whys and hows anymore. Certainly I recall being concerned myself at that age that my Mom would die and then we’d be on our own. When you are a powerless child these life or death matters are worrisome. Sometimes I try to recall how did my Mom handle that? For sure I was a shy introverted child and I worried my single parent Mom and anchor to the world would die suddenly. So, how did she handle it? I have a will, she’d say. In that unlikely event, then your guardians are Uncle Doug and Aunt Pat. When we adopted our girls we had a will drawn up and we appointed guardians too. This she knows and I repeat it. Funny how all children seem to have common questions and worries. 35 to 40 years after I questioned life or death and my place in the world my daughter does the same. And since nobody has discovered the Fountain of Youth yet or the cure for death, here we are. Building assurances and safeguards. Reality is that this is the child who prompted me to get fit. From the moment she arrived she was on the go. And so we were also busier than I could have ever imagined, from the second she started rolling and walking. So, I made it my mission. While she was always loveable, she was also hard work at times. Exhausting running after her, keeping her safe and advocating for her all the time. Many things you control as a parent and adult. Many things you do not. I control how much I move and what I eat. And I can control the effort I put into self care, health and wellness. There are both benefits and downsides to being a parent in your mid 30s, late 30s or 40s. You often have a career and a means to raise a child because you worked hard to get there. But as we know fertility is often more challenging after 30 so it’s not like you always get to choose when to start your family. As was the case with us. Anyhow I was mid 30s when we adopted Ainsley. Not that old by today’s standards. But add in the history of health issues such as Crohn’s Disease and a happy little Payton in the house as well. We were busy. And I was most certainly anything but fit before I became a parent. In fact I was acutely ill awaiting surgery when we got the call that we’d been matched with a baby girl. This is exactly what my word of the year MOVE is all about this year. My motivation. Is moving a matter of life or death? Sometimes it’s a matter of sanity. And a matter of clarity and energy and choices I make. This is the history of why and how I got fit and chose healthy living and chased better abs and stronger hamstrings and calves and endurance at every single turn. It’s why I learned how to downhill ski in my 40s and it’s why I change it up occasionally embracing a different sport or style of yoga, pilates or weights. Fitness, health, movement are not optional. Back to our conversation. Me – “Yes we could be 70 when you are 40. That is true.” Ainsley – “Just saying I wish you were younger.” Me – “But I am the most fit I have ever been. Partly because of you.” I work out five days a week, often leaving my home office to go to the YMCA for yoga or Centergy noon hour classes. Same can be said for my husband, a second degree brown belt now. Before you, we were less motivated to get fit. Who knows if we’d be fit, or skiers, swimmers, or martial artists at all if we’d never met you, or adopted you and become your parents. You changed us. That was and continues to be one heck of a gift. This is why I move. Why my word of the year is my lifestyle for 2018 and beyond.

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My Word of The Year Check in – March Progress

Paula — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 09:29:46 +0000

Time for my March Progress Word of the Year checkin. Every year I pick a word or phrase to help guide my personal goals. I find this activity helpful for my own health and wellness throughout the year. This year you might recall my word of the year is MOVE. I am working on monthly checkins here to keep myself accountable to all of you. It’s technically three months into the year. Quarter one is done. So how did March progress? Am I making my personal goals this year? Have my fitness goals evolved or changed or slipped by the wayside? What have the challenges been? Have I been sticking to my fitness routines and did I choose the right word? Let’s take a look. This year I am on the move even more than usual and I am super proud of that actually. I have been growing in that regard for a decade now. In fact in my 40s and closing in on 50 I am more fit than I ever have been before. So that deserves a moment of celebration and reflection. I work hard to make fit happen. It is a huge priority. Why? Well, because I need to show my kids that fitness is tied to health and it is important at every stage of life. BUT mostly, because I FEEL better when I am on the move often. I am healthier and I have more energy and that gives me strength to tackle life and run my social media consulting business too. My mental health benefits when I am active. That is true for everyone, but I parent two teenagers and I run a business so it’s easy to let self care slide. However, not an option. So how did March progress? In March we skied a lot as a family and we headed to Vermont again to have this amazing adventure together at Bromley. We skied sometimes 3-4 days a week. Vermont was three solid days of skiing (7 hours plus) through very deep snow, down long trails and boy did my legs burn at the end of each day. But by the end of that trip they started to get used to the challenge. Hardest thing for me is leaving Vermont every year. Skiing is amazing exercise. Back home here after we returned, some days I would ski in the evening or afternoon locally after working out that morning at the YMCA. And on days when it was rainy I headed to the YMCA. I am super conscious of this philosophy that keeps coming up – sitting is the new smoking. And writing and consulting can be super sedentary so I take all the movement breaks I can squeeze in. However, for me as a person that means getting out of my home and my office. It’s the only way moving and healthy living work for me. If you can work out in your living room or basement then all the power to you. That’s not how I am built. Anyways, so far this week I have been to the YMCA every single day. There will be at least one day without any fitness classes. And that’s okay. It’s equally important to have some breaks built in. Even on those days though, I make time to take a quick walk and try to my steps in. So on average I am doing minimum 5 days of physical activity that is at least an hour a day. The cardio portion of my routine is strong and so is strength building, core building and balance. This month I definitely have noticed more strength in my legs and the definition in my shoulders is getting better too. Shoulders are my weakest spot. They are stiff and rotation is not as good as it should be. I blame typing on a computer all day for that one. How Does April Look? With ski season done (tears) I will have to come up with a lot more chances to go do all the group fitness classes. Of course walking more is always an option too. My challenge is sometimes staying interested. Sometimes fitness routines get redundant. When your muscles are no longer feeling a really good workout the next day then it’s time to reevaluate. What Have I Learnt? Last week I got the time wrong for my usual Saturday morning class and ended up in Group Groove. There were 3 rounds of cardio that morning. I did not eat enough protein before class so it was a BIG challenge. Live and learn – next time More food before going to class. Keeping those shoes handy now that the snow is going away gives me flexibility in joining whatever class I want to. SO, my shoes are my passport to getting fit right now. Oh, and now that ski season is over it’s time for self care in the form of a pedicure. Yogis will know exactly what I mean by that. March Progress on Movement Goals So far I am really happy with my March progress on this word of the year. Move was the right choice for me in 2018. Do you have a fitness goal or a word of the year? How is your progress going?

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My Word of The Year Checkup – February

Paula — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 13:53:04 +0000

January was a hot mess. Actually maybe not even a HOT mess. Just a mess. But back at the start of January I wrote a post about my word of the year. My word this year is MOVE. So I thought it worthwhile to do a quick word of the year checkup to keep myself accountable to all of you. So here that is – my word of the year checkup. Month one. I am generally good about keeping personal goals. 2017 and mindfulness was the exception to that one. And if you know me at all then you know that I work out a lot and I am pretty good about staying on top of that. When I work out I feel better. Indeed, I have more energy when I hit the gym often and, when I ski or swim or spend time outside. My immune system responds better when I am physically active. Most of my systems do. Crohn’s Disease can sometimes mean a lot of aches and pains. That’s no fun. But I have a system that works for me most of the time. That’s monitoring my food intake. (Basically I avoid a few foods, not a lot, but a few) And exercising. Moving helps actually. Moving often and moving more. In an ideal world, I get enough sleep too, but often that’s often the first thing to go. Is Sitting the New Smoking? I have heard it said a to recently that sitting is the new smoking. So, with that in mind, I am moving more. No surprise writing and consulting can be very sedentary jobs. But I need to move and I love strength building and balance so movement is essential. This last couple of weeks have jam-packed with movement. We started January on a cruise, relaxing mostly. But, even on a cruise we found ways to workout. We hit the on ship fitness centre one day and I felt okay about that because the other days I was walking, or running or sliding down water slides. Those of you who don’t think that is exercise haven’t been to a huge waterpark like Atlantis in the Bahamas, where you march up and down 5 or 6 flights of stairs repetitively carrying an inner tube under your arm. That, my friends, is exercise. Our January started with movement and ended with movement and I am happy about that. Last year, I managed to ski maybe once a week in the winter months and I worked out 2-3 times at Centergy, which is body flow, a sort of fast pilates set to music. This month, I added a Yoga class in to the regular 2-3 sessions of Centergy a week. I have maintained all 3 Centergy classes a week almost every single week. The yoga class is unlike any other yoga I have done in the past so I like that. It’s a bit more challenging with respect to binds and balancing poses too. Typically I leave that class feeling my shoulders the next day, which is good because my shoulders are my weak spot. And I am getting better at Crow Pose and Headstands every day. Plus the vinyasa flow is very unique to that class. I love changing it up once in awhile. This month I have managed to ski twice a week almost every single week and I have squeezed in 5 workouts on top of that. So my goal to move more so far is going extremely well. I am thrilled with that. Not sure it’s possible to maintain all year round. But for the winter months it’s looking good. That’s two weeks in a row I’ve managed intense physical activity for 6 of the days each week. That’s a record for me. Hoping to keep that going. Month One Word of the Year Checkup Feeling happy with my progress at this point. The amount of movement has helped me feel better and in fact, I have not been sick this cold and flu season at all whereas my youngest daughter and husband have had their share of colds and coughs. February is so much better than January was already. When I am working out this much and skiing too I feel strong and healthy. Plus I feel better able to tackle work. Hope I can maintain this next month too. Stay tuned for another word of the year checkup then. How are your personal goals working out this year?

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