Fab Ab February « The Everyday Warrior

Fit March

by Betsy

With February behind us, that means the Fab Ab February Challenge is also!

I am still having a hard time believing that I mastered a 2 minute plank!!! It is super hard to do and I am pretty darn proud of myself for doing it I think I am going to do planks on a regular basis so I don’t lose the ability to hold it for 2 minutes. You know what they say, use it or lose it. (The longest one I have held was 2:32, when I challenged ViewSPORT to a plank off. I lost by the way, as he clocked in a plank over 3 minutes!!! )

Now just because February is over, that doesn’t mean that we should place fitness on the back burner. No way! Besides, swimsuit season is right around the corner! Don’t believe me? Every retail store is already selling swimsuits! With that in mind it is time for our March challenge!

Looks like fun, right? It’s up to you if you want to do this every day, every other day, a few times a week or whatever you come up with. That’s the best thing about exercise, you can customize it to make it work for you. I am going to try to do it a couple of times a week as right now I am in full training mode for the Tough Mudder and I need to stay on track with that. (Which reminds me . . . . I still need donations for my Wounded Warrior Project fundraiser. Click here and help a girl out!)

If you decide to join in on the challenge and you are on Twitter, use the hashtag #FitMarch so I can follow your progress. If you are not on Twitter feel free to let me know how the challenge is going by posting a comment on my Facebook page.

In the meantime, I want to know what goals you have for the month of March. I can’t wait to hear to hear about your fitness and non-fitness goals!!!

Fitness Fun Health Life Tough Mudder Wounded Warrior Project

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Like Mother, Like Son

by Betsy

It’s safe to say that with Fab Ab February in full swing I have push ups on my mind all the time! Speaking of push ups, I have 90 to tackle today! Who wants to join me?

And even if I didn’t have the Fab Ab workout to keep me motivated, I have this little guy.

My son getting his push ups in!

My son is a 4 year old drill sergeant! It’s not unusual for him to say “Let’s do some push ups Momma. Count to 10 with me.”

I certainly don’t make my son do push ups. He genuinely WANTS to do them. Push ups and fitness in general is so integrated into my life that my son is naturally inclined to joining in on the fun as well!

In all honesty when I see my son enjoying push ups, running and other fitness type activities it is in those moments that I feel like I am doing something right. Because lord knows there are tons of other moments when I am not so sure if I am doing the parenting thing right. But for him to view fitness as something fun and normal in his life, I would like to believe I have had a part in that.

On the flip side of that, he motivates me to stay healthy and fit as well because I want to be a good role model for him and I want to be around to enjoy the many milestones he has ahead of him. Not to mention, running and working out makes me a better Mom at the end of the day.

How do you integrate fitness into your kids’ life? If you don’t yet have kids, how do you promote a healthy lifestyle to your loved ones.

Family Fitness Health Kids Life Parenting

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Fab Ab February

by Betsy

Since I recently jumped on the Wordless Wednesday bandwagon, I figured it was time for me to start doing follow-up posts to explain them in greater detail. I am going to start with this one.

My Twitter friend @EmilyRatcliff found this:

And then our friend, @BethLynch tweaked it into this!

Yep, we are crazy!

I haven’t had too much difficulty with the sit ups. However, the planks and the push ups are another story. I have actually had to take a break from the push up portion of the plan to give my chest muscles time to recover. Between this and the Tough Mudder workout they are SOOOOO sore!

The plank has become more difficult as the time required to hold it has increased. Not sure what a plank is? Check out this video to find out.

Did you think I would actually post a video of me doing a plank? My son hasn’t mastered shooting videos yet and I thought opting for a hot shirtless guy showing us how to do a plank was a win-win. You’re welcome!

As much as I love the Fab Ab February plan and love challenging myself in general, I have decided that it is in my best interest completely rest on my rest days. Previously if my training plan called for a rest day, I was still completing the Fab Ab February exercises. This has just made me extra tired and has not given my muscles a chance to recoup. But you can be certain I will be completing the Fab Ab February exercise on my regular work out days!

You should join in on the fun too! If you are on Twitter you can follow @EmilyRatcliff, @BethLynch, @PelsRenovation and myself as we complete this challenge. And a Twitter challenge wouldn’t be complete without its own hashtag! Once you complete your Fab Ab Workout of the day (either the original plan or the tweaked plan) just tweet your accomplishment using #FAF, you can be certain that we will be there to congratulate you and motivate you to keep going strong!