Strong & Beautiful, Where Exercise & Faith Collide

Over the past couple of years I have been on a journey. Calling it a journey makes it sounds so intense, but I'm not really sure what word could describe it better seeing I feel so far from where I first began. It is the story of me passionately chasing after something I never imagined, an active and healthy life style. My story has been full of changes, turns, setbacks, adaptions and victories.
To say it has been life changing doesn't seem to say enough.

I guess I had naively assumed that when I started this it was going to be all about me. I was finally doing something for myself, to make myself feel better, look better, and satisfy my desire for "me time".   It has taken me over two years to figure out that this story has never been mine.
It all starts with Anna. She started running just a few weeks before I did and I was instantly inspired. I wanted to do something too. I think I can run! You see, only weeks after she had began she was already making in impact on someones life, my life, and I will forever be grateful. If she hadn't started I probably wouldn't have either.

Looking back over the past two years I can recount story after story similar to the one of Anna inspiring me. Flame igniting flame, one person encouraging another. Stories that are intricately and beautifully woven together.

In a world where it is acceptable to tear down, rip apart, degrade, belittle and make each other feel foolish. Where discouragement is the norm, jealousy abounds and comparison is a thief of so much joy and the cause of so much pain. I have watched countless strong and beautiful women push back and fight not only for themselves, but each other. They push each other towards their goals and dreams giving all the glory to God along the way.

My journey has never been about me. It was always meant to encourage and point others to Jesus.

It's a ministry, a gift and something that I want to use to build up the spirit and bodies of those who God puts in my path. I want to be the voice that says you can and the example that say I will too. To be real enough to share my struggles and strong enough to keep going.
To realize that that I will never achieve physical perfection by this worlds standards but know that I am made perfect and complete in Gods eyes because of the blood of Jesus Christ.   And out of that knowledge, I do everything to the glory of God. 
Encouraging, helping, praying, sharing, inspiring and teaching others to do the same.
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. ~1 Thessalonians 5:11
That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ~Colossians 2:2

Jumping To A Healthier You!

Happy Monday morning friends. 

I hope that you had a great weekend!

Today I want to talk to you about something near and dear to my heart,

 Exercise!

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite ways to add some fun to my exercise routine, the benefits it provides and a great new product that makes it easier.

Jumping rope can:

*Improve Coordination

*Decrease foot and ankle injuries

*Burn a high numbers of calories

*Improve cardiovascular health

*Increase endurance

And that only names some of the benefits.

Long gone are the days when jumping rope was something that little girls did with beaded jump ropes.

Allow me to introduce you to the TKO Soft Grip Jump Rope. 

It is 9 feet of smooth PVC rope, has comfortable soft grip handles and functions smooth enough to make the least coordinated of us look like a pro in not time. 

My favorite part about this rope is easily the handles. They are the perfect size making them really natural to hold and have an excellent grip. Did I mention they function perfectly too? Half of the battle of jumping rope is a rope that works smoothly. The TKO Soft Grip Jump Rope is top of the line.

TKO workout ropes are affordable and fun letting you add variety to your fitness routine. That means less boredom at the gym or anywhere you choose to take your TKO rope!

Jumping rope is such a versatile way of exercising.

HIIT  or endurance, traditional jumps, high leg, one leg, alternating. 

The options are abundant!

Utilizing your legs, arms and core muscles jumping rope is a full body workout that can burn up to 170 calories in 15 minutes, yes please! I have absolutely loved rediscovering my love for jumping rope and I know you would too.

Thank you TKO for letting me try your product and share it with my readers today. 

Be sure to check out these other great products from TKO as well.

 I received this product free in exchange for my review. 

For more info you can see my disclosure statement. 

Exercise For Kids: Cosmic Yoga

Health and fitness is very important to me. I wish I could say it always has been, but that would be a HUGE lie. Just a little over a year ago I was a couch potato. I never exercised. When I finally decided to change that I had to go buy workout clothes before I could even start (kidding, not kidding).
Before I knew it something happened, something unexpected. I started to enjoy exercising and I fell in love with running. That brought a whole lot of changes, changes for the better and all of them happened just in time... little eyes were watching. 
Setting a good example for my girls was something that I never gave any thought when I began exercising. Over a year later I look back and see how me being active has made a positive impact on my kids. My journey has positively influenced my girls. It doesn't get much better than that for this mama.
Today I want to share with you our new favorite way to exercise together inside. It is the perfect way to start a morning or for those days when you want to do something, but it's to cold to get outside and play.

Let me introduce you to Cosmic Yoga on YouTube. It's yoga, stretching, exercise, stories and most importantly it's fun! It encourages kids to exercise, gives them something new to try and sneaks in basic yoga fundamentals.
Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself!

Yoga has quickly became Marissa's favorite part of our school day. She begs to do it and when a video is over she is already asking to do another. Here are a few photos from our latest "class". 

*Please pardon Emily's crazy hair ;). Those naturally curly haired folks aren't lying when say not to mess with "the beast".

Do you exercise with your kids?
What do you enjoy doing the most?
 Linking up with Stephanie for:

Runners Do More Than Run

Today I am linking up with The Chronicles of We and Macke Monologues. These lovely ladies are hosting a virtual 5K that is coming up on September 13th. If you haven't already registered you should! 
This week they have invited us to link up and share our training plans. Since I am already trained for over a 5K distance and don't have plans to work on speed right now, I don't really have a specific training plan set for this race. I thought I would use this as a chance to share with you a few things that I have learned about training over my past year of living a runners life. 

First off let me just say I don't want to sound like the "perfect" runner who does everything just as is it should be. I don't, I never will, it is hard to make time to do what feels like even more work. But when I do I notice positive improvements in the way I feel and in my running. 

{Cross training}

When I started running longer distances I was told I needed to cross train. I had to Google search what exactly that meant. I thought it meant that there must be some particular cross training apparatus that I needed to find and use. Cross training isn't nearly as hard or intimidating as it sounds. Simply put it is just doing some other form of exercise other than running.

Cross training will vary depending on your access to equipment. But consider everything from weights, elliptical, workout videos and everything in between! On a typical week I cross train 2-3 days a week, on the days that I am not running.

{Yoga}

This is a new one for me, like just this week. After months of hearing that runners can benefit from yoga I finally decided to give it a try. I have been doing an online video but I look forward to checking out a class at my local gym. 

If your looking for somewhere to start try this video.

{Foam Rolling}

This over sized pool noodle has often been one of my best friends.

It is the perfect way to relieve muscle tension, correct imbalances and help correct and prevent injuries. I would recommend doing some research before jumping on one of these there are proper and improper ways to go about rolling. 

{PROPERLY stretching}

I am pretty sure that I had been running for about 7 months before I learned that there are two types of stretching (dynamic and static) and that I was going about things all wrong. Learning what is best for the muscles and combining that with what works best for MY body has been a powerful tool. I also can always tell when I take the time to really stretch after a long run and when I skip it. It has a huge affect on how I feel and how quickly I recover. 

Stretching is always worth the time. 

{Squats, Lunges and Planks}

I will never forget going into my local running store to get fitted for shoes the first time. I explained some problems I was having and the guys said you have a weak butt. No hesitation, he blurted it out just like that. I didn't know how to respond, but my head was screaming "You don't know me!" Thankfully I didn't have to say anything. He told me exactly what I needed to do to fix things, squats, lunges and core strength.

30 day plans can be helpful, or just find a routine. It doesn't take long to bust out 20 squats spread them across the day and you will be feeling the benefits in a matter of weeks. This is one area that I don't always do so well in, but I am trying. I started this 30 day challenge a couple days ago, join me if you would like!

So there you have it. 5 ways you can become a better runner without running.
How do you like to train without logging miles?