Tag Archives: health

Workout Wednesday: 20-minute Total Body #6

Prelude: This day is always kind of a weird one. On one hand, 12 years ago was the first (and still the biggest) historical event to happen in my life. It was a horrific day that changed countless lives. On the other hand, America’s reaction, the coming together of a country, was pretty spectacular.

So today, I recognize the anniversary of the sadness and the loss but also of a galvanized country. Every September 11th, let’s remember what we’ve already been through and how we reemerged. Hold on to that unity. Have a chat with your neighbor, ask your coworker about their day, get excited about nothing with a child in your life … live it up, because you never know what will come tomorrow.

And on that note, I really hope that “living it up” includes doing a workout with me!

Here is our workout for this week. No weights or equipment required! Actually, you don’t even need much space for this. So clear some floor in you living room, dorm room, vacation bedroom, or even kitchen! There are no excuses to skip this one. When a workout uses only your body weight, you define the intensity.

Did you hear that? When a workout uses only your body weight, you define the intensity. Your workout is only as awesome as the effort you put in. And those muscles you’re working for don’t just create themselves. Sweat is your friend! Now get at it 🙂

20 minute total body 6

I hope you’re now panting and sweating. Have a happy day knowing you’ve already done your workout 🙂

Mindful Monday: AHH! Too Many Options!!

For the last year or so, I’ve been deeply entrenched in the exponential growth of the natural health industry. People are realizing, slowly but surely, that the typical Western diet and lifestyle leads to a very unhappy and diseased body. Finally.

Thanks to my Mom, I was exposed to the alternative diet and exercise routine from a young age. Natural health in ingrained in me. But as I grow older and talk to more and more people about their personal stories I have realized: there is no such thing as the correct health routine. Continue reading

Wednesday Workout: 16 Minute Total Body #1

I know there are a few readers who come to this page only for the workouts. That makes me pretty happy because that means people are catching on to how awesome they are. It is very important though to vary your workout. Eventually, muscle memory gets the best of your body and your workouts aren’t as effective. The variation can be as drastic as starting a different activity, or as simple as switching up your intervals.

So this is the first of the 16-minute total body. Try to mix these in with the 20-minute workouts to keep your body guessing. Continue reading

One Year Later

Yesterday was my blog’s birthday. It’s been 365 days since I wrote my first post on Anxiety and Depression. When I started this little blog space, I actually had almost no idea of what a blog was. All I knew was that I had a lot of ideas and was tired of getting up on my soap box in the grocery store line. I was tired of talking to people who didn’t want to hear my advice. (Fair enough for the poor people who mentioned one thing about gluten and then had to hear me talk about it for 30 minutes straight).

One year later, this blog has given more than I could have imagined. Of course, I’ve cut back on my number of posts, everyday is just too much. And I’ve narrowed my focus to life updates, health experiments, recipes, and workouts (yep, that’s a narrow focus, hah). But this thing is still a lot of work and there’s a reason I keep going.

This blog has connected me with long-lost friends and new awesome strangers. It (and some advice from my bff) led me to start my Happy Bootcamp. It has helped me focus my cooking energy on healthy meals and my workout energy on a manageable routine. It holds me accountable.

This blog helped me channel my design energy when I couldn’t get it out at work. And when I finally moved on, it helped me get a new job! And now, when my work isn’t health related and I want to talk health, I come here!

But finally, and most importantly, this blog has helped me stay in touch with friends and family all over the world. When I reunite with family after a long time and they know exactly what I’ve been up to, I know it’s all worth it. Because although I may not have any clue that they’re even reading, I know that if they want to pipe up and say hello, they can. The loved ones in my life are my main reason for writing. I miss you all so much, I just don’t want to lose a connection.

This blog has become an extension of me. It represents such a huge part of my personality, health and happiness.

So please … keep reading and I’ll keep writing. I hope you’re all having wonderful Wednesdays. Hugs and a big smoocheroo (yep, you’re all getting birthday kisses today) – Ash

 

Workout Wednesday: Total Body #3

This weekend was hot in San Diego and VERY busy in Hillcrest. Our bootcamp class was early in the morning to avoid the Pride Parade traffic. We started with a bit of cloud cover but 5 minutes in, the cloud peaked out and we started sweating. Unfortunately it was too late for us to move to shade but we learned two lessons:

  1. Exercise in the shade whenever possible, no matter the weather when you start.
  2. Drink LOTS of water. Not just while sweating but when resting, walking, working, etc. The more you stay regularly hydrated, the less quickly you dehydrate when water is inaccessible.

On that note, enjoy this workout. And enjoy that sweat! With the sweat, out come toxins, stress, and fat. 🙂

20 minute total body 3

Love and a big, sweaty hug – Ash

Workout Wednesday: ABsolutely Exhausted

I’m back! I’m officially back. I took a brief hiatus while we moved from Illinois to California and I’m finally unpacked and ready to start blogging again. Thank goodness! I missed you guys.

I taught the first Happy Bootcamp Workout last Saturday and had a blast. The women that came were a group of friends I haven’t seen in a long while and it was wonderful to motivate and help them to health. I’ll be teaching the same ladies for the next 3 weeks!

The reason I mention this is because I’ve been struggling with what to share with you all, and what to reserve for paying, bootcamp clients. Then I realized, I definitely can’t put together two great workouts per week and I definitely don’t want to deprive the non-San Diegans the chance to do them too!

So weekly workout posts are here to stay. Bootcamp clients will get the added benefit of working out with friends in the beautiful San Diego sunshine. They will learn to perfect the form of each exercise and will receive the motivation they need to get (or stay) on the track to healthy. I will be a ready source of any kind of exercise or nutrition advice and all the workouts we do together will be posted here for easy access! Even without exclusive workouts, that’s a pretty sweet deal.

Enough of the chatter, on to today’s workout. We did this last Saturday at Bootcamp and man it was an awesome workout. I was sweating and burning just watching them!

20 minute total body 1

I hope you’re having a wonderful Wednesday. Love and a big smile – Ash

 

 

Big Announcement: San Diegans Listen Up

Over the last 9 months I have received so much amazing feedback about my workouts. Many people take the encouragement and guidance I give them and have turned their physical health around. Since leaving the class I taught in Peoria, I’ve been looking for another way to teach people directly, so … drumroll please …

I have decided to teach my own class right here in San Diego! We will meet every Saturday for 4 weeks and I will lead you all in one of my very fun, very effective 20 minute workouts. The total 45 minutes will include all stretching and exercise descriptions. The goal is not just to make you sweat, but to give you the tools to do it properly at home.

The first class will start on Saturday June 22nd with a one week break on July 6th. There are a few San Diegans I’m really hoping will be on board. I look forward to hearing from you all! And Happy Monday!

BootCampPoster

Workout Wednesday: Early Morning Sweat

I found the base for this workout on Pinterest. There are so many simple, at home workouts on there! It’s like a treasure trove for crazies like me. At this point, I can look at a list of exercises and know if it will be the right level for me. I had to beef this one up a bit. Continue reading

Blog Morphings and Ashley Life Update

Blog Morphings: Before I left Peoria, I was voicing a concern to my coworkers. What would my blog become when I wasn’t surrounded by health all day? It was so easy to produce content and be constantly researching and “in the know” when I’m giving exercise, nutrition, and chiropractic advice all day. My coworkers, in their infinite wisdom, just proclaimed, “you can do whatever you want!” Oh yeah! It’s my blog, my space, I can do whatever I want. MUAHAHA!

Continue reading

Mindful Monday: How to Connect

Almost every job in life requires humans to interact with other humans. Certainly, once I learned to really connect with people, I excelled at my work. The first step is always to actually care about the people you’re working with or for. Continue reading