Our Summer Home:)

We've found the new location for our Spring and Summer Fit Fast classes. Starting this Friday April 13th we'll be at 46100 Chilliwack Central. There's a field located at the back right side of Central Community Church and that's where you'll find us. All the details are on the drop-in classes link!

The Flu has hit our house and I'm the last one standing (for now!) Since DH is away I'm left to look after the kidlets. So instead of starting back up after Easter tonight as planned we'll be starting on Friday. Not to leave you hanging though, here's a 20 minute workout you can get done today from your house!

Do a quick warm-up and then set your timer for 20 minutes. Start with two reps of each exercise and after completing each round, tack on two extra reps. Get through as many rounds as you can during the twenty minutes.

1.Push-ups (from wall, knees, toes)

2. Mountain climbers (each rep counts as two knees in)

3. Superman

4. Triceps push-ups

5.Squats/ Squat Jump

Please remember that if you poop out earlier, that's fine, just do your best and push your hardest!

Have a great Wednesday everyone! 

Prepare for a new location!

Just a heads up that we will be moving locations from Kinkora VERY soon, so keep your eyes peeled here for when that happens. Also there will be no Fit Fast class tonight MARCH 16th! See you guys on Monday!

Sarah

Resolution Recharge Returns!

Wow, my sincerest apologies for dropping you all like a bunch of hot potatoes! Sadly the reality of technology (I hate computers and they apparently hate me!), sick kids, and stress left this blog at the bottom of the to do list. Today I'm back with some snack ideas to steer you away from the chips and towards a healthier body.

Chili Lime Roasted Chick Peas! Move over tostito's addiction!

                                                                                           Source: willowbirdbaking.wordpress.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip

                                                                                                    Source: skinnytaste.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Okay more like a meal than a snack but lots of other good ideas here!

                                                                                             Source: womensrunning.com via Sarah on Pinterest

So after those beautiful pictures, here are a few more snacks that I have on hand all the time. Yes, they are old school but a little prep goes a long way to stop those late night binges!

On the go snacks-
1 apple with 10 almonds
snap peas and a cheese string
homemade granola bar
grapes and celery
smoothies of any kind preferably with some spinach thrown in!
hard boiled eggs
100 calorie bag of popcorn

Bumming around the house snacks

oatmeal with frozen berries
frozen grapes
greek yogurt with a few nuts and sliced bananas
veggie tray- I always have cut up veggies on hand so there's no excuse to not eat them
1 piece of toast with sliced tomatoes and avocado
kale chips
salad
cottage cheese with orange slices

Indulgent snacks

greek yogurt mixed with 1tbsp of nutella (sooo good!)
hot chocolate (just straight up cocoa and milk!)
peanut butter with sliced bananas a few chocolate chips

Just one last note, when picking a snack, try to get in at least two food groups. So your oatmeal with berries has a good mix of complex carbs, and protein (as well as fiber). The peanut butter/banana/chocochip yumminess has protein, fat, carbs and chocolate. Okay maybe the chocolate isn't a food group but it should be...If your a 3 square meals a day kind of person, aim for your snacks to be no more than 150 calories. If your a 6 mini-meal a day person then your snack (aka meals) should come in around 300-350 calories. More on that later:)

Okay, enough from me, happy snacking and I'll be back tomorrow!
Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 10

Can you believe another Monday is here already? We had an eventful weekend in the Bruneski house filled with parties, bike rides and way to many treats. Hopefully everyone found time for a little R&R. Today I'm bringing you a healthy and delish soup recipe that you can throw in your slow cooker. I LOVE soup. They're so forgiving, you can always substitute veggies you have on hand. I rarely use a recipe but I do take note of the creations that have worked for future reference. Please excuse the horrible pictures, they were taken at 7am as I was putting the soup together:)

A Little Bit of Everything Soup

Ingredients 

1 large onion

2 stalks of celery

2 carrots 

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

.5 lb  turkey italian sausage

1 28oz can diced tomatoes undrained

3/4 cup sprouted bean trio (tru roots brand) 

6-8 cups of chicken stock. ( I use epicure selections chicken bouillon)

2 tbsp italian seasoning 

2 bay leafs

3 cups of chopped spinach

 Saute italian sausage and onion together until sausage is browned.

 Dice up celery, peppers, carrots

 Throw everything into your crockpot, starting with the sausage mixture, followed by the diced veggies, the diced tomatoes,the dried beans,  the chicken broth, and finally your seasonings. Cook over low heat 6-10 hours. I would err on the longer time to make sure your beans are soft.

With about 30 minutes remaining, add 3 cups of chopped fresh spinach. When ready to serve, top with a small amount of parmesan cheese and croutons (optional). Because there are no noodles in this soup, it reheats like a dream. The italian sausage gives such a nice flavor and because it's made from turkey, the recipe is really low fat. 

Enjoy! 

Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 8. A Recipe and a Challenge!

Good Morning! We're done our first week, every one's been pushing hard in the classes and hopefully you've come along and done an exercise challenge or two. Before we hit the weekend I wanted to share another one of my favorite snacks. I usually make a big batch of these and then just reheat them during the week. Add some extra veggies and you have a great lunch or eat alone as a mini-meal on the go.

Mini Pizzas

The trick to these tasty treats is to pretoast your english muffins, this way you won't get soggy crusts once your toppings go on.

Ingredients

English Muffins (whole wheat preferably)

low sodium tomato sauce

Italian seasoning

Veggies of choice (peppers, tomatoes,onion, mushrooms etc..)

protein of choice( think quick...deli meat, leftover meat from dinner,)

Cheese (for the small amount your using, I go with full fat for the better melt!)

So here's the super quick run down. I pop the english muffins in the toaster or oven depending on how many I'm making. While they're toasting, I combine a can of tomato sauce with about 1.5 tbsp of italian seasoning.Keep the leftover sauce in your fridge for your next batch (It won't be long before you make these again!)  Dice up your veggies making sure they're small since they'll only be under the broiler for a few minutes. Dice up your meat. Cade and I decided on bacon today. I cheat and have the kirkland pre-cooked bacon. Very fast and pretty good for stuff like this. Shred your cheese. Once the muffins have toasted, spread a generous amount of sauce on (1-2tbsp). Load on the toppings and sprinkle with cheese. This is about 1/4 ounce at the most per two halves. Broil in the oven or toaster oven until the cheese is melted and enjoy. These heat up well in the microwave and are great for school lunches. This is a great alternative to pizza nights. The kids have a blast making their own mini pizzas and I can control the fat content.

 We enjoyed our pizzas with baby carrots and snap peas, my two favorite lazy veggies. From bag to mouth in two seconds flat.

So there's your snack idea and here's your fitness challenge for today. Get out and do an extra 30 minutes of exercise above and beyond what you have planned. So if you're doing nothing, get out for a walk, run, bike ride, (come to class tonight!) if you already have your workout planned, then add in an extra walk. Nothing to strenuous. We're just trying to add in an extra bit movement today. It's the small changes that pay off big. Try to make this a social event. Go with your spouse, kids, friends. Skip the coffee date and get moving.

Have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday!
Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 7! Diet Day

So yesterday we took a moment to talk about motivation and what it is that drives us to take care of our health. Today we're moving onto what we're fueling our bodies with. Keep in mind that I'm not a nutritionist. I've taken multiple nutrition courses, and I make it a point be as informed as possible on the latest, greatest diet research. This advice is based on what works for me and from my own personal experience. If you have any questions, I can answer to the best of my knowledge but please consult a dietitian if you want some serious advice on overhauling your diet. So today we're going to start a dialogue on diet.

My First Tip is EAT BREAKFAST!! Yes, I yelled that at you. It really is that important. Think of your metabolism as a furnace. Food is the fire. If you wait until 10am before anything hits your stomach, you've wasted precious calorie burning time. Eating a healthy breakfast also sets up your eating pattern for the day. So ditch the donut and go for a healthy mix of carbs, protein, and fat. Think, high fiber and low sugar. Here are some of my favorites...

Eggs with tomato slices and one piece of high fiber bread.

Steel cut oatmeal with berries and a few almonds.

High fiber bread (5 grams is awesome!) with peanut butter and apple slices.

Greek yogurt with grapes and celery (weird but good)

Now, I'm getting hungry:) Hopefully one of these will inspire you in the morning. If you have any great healthy breakfast ideas, post them to the comment section or on my facebook page. Let's share our knowledge!

Come back tomorrow for a favorite snack recipe! Easy and delicious!
Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 6!

We're getting close to finishing off the first week of Resolution Recharge. How has everyone been doing? Today we're going to talk about goals ( I know at least half of you rolled your eyes, but bear with me!). It is so important to know why your doing something. To say you want to lose weight to look smokin in your bathing suit come July may be enough for some people but for most it's just simply not enough motivation to get the results you want. It is really important critical to have some well thought out reasons for why your busting your butt and saying no to life's dietary temptations. To give you an idea of where to go with this, here are my reasons for doing what I do.

I want to look great in a bathing suit but the real motivation here, is that I want to be comfortable in my own skin. I don't want feelings of self-consciousness to hold me back from living any part of my life.

I want to be strong enough to take care of Isaac (my special needs son who is wheelchair bound) for as long as possible. (i.e. functional fitness!) Along with this, is that I want to be the mom at the park who is playing with her kids, not just watching them from a bench.

I want to be free from addictions to food that are harmful to my health. A cookie occasionally is fine but eating the whole cookie jar...not so much.

I want to push myself beyond what I think I am capable of. God has blessed me with good physical health and I never want to take that for granted. I don't want to set limitations on what I can do if I put my mind to it. (Future Marathon perhaps?)

So now that I've given you some examples of what motivates me, I want to hear what motivates you. Go around the house and put up pictures or sticky notes at critical places (the fridge, bathroom mirror) to give you daily visual reminders of why your coming to my class and busting your butt or getting out for that walk in the pouring rain...

And just for fun, do a squat hold for as long as you can and let me know your time..

Get into a squat position and hold it, the more parallel your upper thighs are to the ground, the more difficult it will be. Make sure your toes aren't going over your knees as well.

See you tomorrow!
Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 5!

Good Morning! I know you have already visited the bathroom for the forth time this morning because everyone is busy guzzling the water:) Today I'm bringing you an exercise challenge! So make sure you warm up, then get moving with this AWESOME move!

 The Reptile!

 Start in a plank position with your body in a straight line and head in line with body.

 Bring your right knee to your right elbow while maintaining the plank position. Turn your head to look at your knee.

Return to the starting position and complete a rep on the opposite side. 

Here's the easier variation from your knees.

Your goal is to complete 100 reptiles! Do it all at once, in sets of ten, twenty's etc.. But make it your goal to get it done!

Have a great day and see you tomorrow!

Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 4

It's Monday, Monday, Mondaaay, it's Monday, Monday, Mooondaay. Maybe not as exciting as Fridays, but I love a Monday for resetting our mindsets after the weekend. If you overindulged or slacked off on your diet and exercise plans, start anew today! I have a super easy challenge for you today. Drink your water! This post from last year has lots of information on why this old school approach is still a vital part of shedding pounds and feeling great. Short and sweet. See you tomorrow with an exercise challenge. Keep in mind that tonight is the last night to get your fit test done at Kinkora if you want to get in on the prize action! Have a great day everyone!

Sarah

Resolution Recharge Day 1 is here!

Hey guys, I am so excited to be started this month long challenge to spur us on into the spring! Don't be caught off guard and spin into a panic come March. If the weather here today is any indication, it will be shorts season soon. The earlier we focus on working out and eating right, the more confident we'll feel come summer! A big HUGE part of having the body you want is diet so I'll be posting a few recipes a week to give you some ideas for healthy snacks and meals. In fact here's one of my go to easy snack ideas. This is perfect for an in between meal snack. It's loaded with fiber, healthy fat, and satisfies the sweet tooth!

Apple Pie Toast

Ingredients:

1 apple shredded (I use my cheese grater)

1 piece of high fiber bread (fav is Mack's Flax by silver hills)

6 almonds

Cinnamon

This is honestly the quickest, easiest recipe and it just tastes plain good:) Start by sauteing your apple in a pan with a couple shakes of cinnamon. Cook just until softened. In the meantime, toast up your bread and chop up your almonds. When toast is made, top with warm cinnamon apples and chopped almonds. If the apple you've used isn't the sweetest, add a touch of honey on top or agave syrup, but it's pretty sweet on it's own. 

There you have it! See you on Monday with an exercise challenge and go to this post to find out how to enter the resolution recharge challenge!

Resolution Recharge is Here!

So how is everyone doing with their New Years Resolutions? Are you struggling to stay on track? Well don't beat yourself up over it, your in the majority. If you're going strong, that's FANTASTIC! Either way, I have some good news for you. This coming Friday the 3rd will be your chance to re-energize your body and mind to make the lasting changes you want. This Friday, RESOLUTION RECHARGE begins! This is a month long event filled to the brim with mini challenges, healthy recipes, prizes and more! Each weekday starting on Friday you can expect to see something exciting on here to keep you pumped. And to participate fully in the challenge here are the details...

To qualify, you must...
1. Commit to coming to one Fit Fast class per week. (Check out the drop in classes tab for details)
2. Come to class either this Friday or the following Monday (6th)  early and have your body fat percentage taken (it's just a number don't freak out!) I'll be at Kinkora anytime after 6:30 or again after the 8:15 class.
3. Participate in a 6 minute fit test on either Friday or Monday. This will be part of the workout for the day.  

At the end of the month the person who improves on their fit test the most and the person who improves their body fat % will both win a prize! Up for grabs is my favorite workout tool...

Prize #2 is two free months of fit fast classes. So make sure you come to every class to take full advantage!

I cannot wait to get started with this and stick with me through this month and you'll see some great results! Even if you can't come to the class to be part of the prize action, make sure you check in for a month long motivating extravaganza!

P.S. make sure to leave a comment if you're participating with me!

Enough with the shoddy weather!

Well there's a freezing rain warning and everyone is being advised to get off the roads asap so in lieu of another cancelled class, here's a quick 12 minute workout to take the edge off your cabin fever!

After a warm-up complete 3 rounds of the following exercises...

12 rounds of 10 seconds rest 50 seconds work

Jumping Jacks
Push-ups
High knees
Bicycle crunches

Make sure you record your reps in between each round to compare your scores for improvement later!

Have a great night,
Sarah

No classes for January 18th!

Once again, due to the weather, we will be cancelling Fit Fast classes for tonight. See you all on Friday.

Sarah

Fit Fast Cancelled for January 16th

Class is cancelled for January 16th due to the snow. But take heart and do this challenge from home!

Set your timer for 20 minutes and (after your warm-up) complete as many rounds as you can in the time limit...

20 squats/squat jumps

10 push-ups (wall,knees,toes, elevated)

20 lunges (10 per leg)

10 tricep dips (off of chair, legs bent is easier than legs straight

20 crunches

20 second plank

Remember to keep your best form and push your hardest have fun and enjoy the snow!