In a perfect world

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Malin

I think yesterday turned into a awesome day. As I mentioned before I need to take control back over my own situation. I cannot only do yoga although I love it and could not live without it. But I have to get back on the track, I need to start running and start lifting weights on a regular basis. As most people know it was “Cinco de mayo” yesterday and my 5th grader needed to bring guacamole to school for their celebration so we ended up leaving home super early. This totally work in my favor because I managed to get a 5k in before going into an awesome yoga class with the fabulous Jodi at Lifetime Fitness in Old Orchard…I truly felt like a million bucks and in an amazing mood me and Ms Mira was playing rockstars in the kitchen as we were making dinner.

This morning still on yesterdays high I went to work teaching a private class thinking I would kick some butt lifting a little heavier than I usually do afterwards but on my way into work I get a phone call that I was having a showing of our house in the afternoon. We just put our house on the market, yesterday to be exact and my plans went down the drain and instead of getting a good workout in I ended up going home and spending 3 hours prepping the house. It is almost like making dinner, you spending hours in the kitchen and you calling your family to the dinner table over and over again and when they finally get there the dinner is over in less than 15 minutes. Well, fingers crossed that the effort will pay off

An act of kindness

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Malin

Most mornings I read a precept to my kids and today it was about the act of kindness, so today we decided that all three of us (my husband is out of town) should to a kind deed to someone who least expect it and then over dinner we will share our experiences. I dropped them off to school wishing them a fantastic day and took off to teach my group fitness class and as soon as we were done I was ready to workout on my own. I was warming up on the stairmaster when one of the clients from another trainer came up and told me that his hamstrings were so tight that it gave him lower back issue. Without even thinking about this morning conversation we had in the kitchen I gave him some advise to get into the tight areas and what to think about. Then someone shouted across the room “you should charge him” and then it occurred to me that why would I not give him some advise when he is pain? I think in this “A-type” world we are living in, when at the most part it is all about ourselves it is important stop for a second and look around to see what I can do to make the day a little better for someone else.

Later this morning while walking Gary in the forest I stared humming “See all of my kindness, is taken for weakness”. Then it occurred to me that maybe kindness should be viewed as a sign of strength instead, when you have the courage to give a stranger a smile or when you talking the long walk in the forest that is kindness to oneself as well as to others.

“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots will spring up and make new tees” – Father Faber

The only workout you regret is the one you did not do

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Malin

I was teaching a fitness class this morning and I was looking at the girls as they were super setting bench presses with pushups until they were shaking and thought to myself; “I wish I could have worked out with them”. The energy that they had was great and in a way the results and more often greater when you do workout in a group. Maybe not everyone will agree with me on this one but the benefits from a wellness, socially and for some the fitness results makes you feel better, you will more likely to feel accountable to work a little harder while you are having a good laugh at the same time.

So here I am now sitting and waiting for the rest of the family to get home from the soccer games the kids had this morning and hopefully I will have time to make a run in the forest before we hitting the streets in Chicago for a good night out with friends.

A recovery run should be easy, right?!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Malin

This morning the alarm went off at 4.45, I was taking Knut to his early morning skate and although I was tired I knew what I had to do. I went down in the kitchen brewed my coffee, that is a must for me in the mornings and boiled my eggs. I was running around the house getting everything together and before I knew it I grabbed my coffee and it was time to leave. So I thought I have my eggs when I got home, no big deal.

But for all the parents out there you know how it goes when you are about to send the kids off to school. They need to get dressed, you have to pack their lunch, homework and so on, once again time slipped between my fingers and it was time to go to the bus. I had a busy morning in front of me so I put my head down and got to my business and it was not until my way to the gym I realized how hungry I was. It was just so odd because my egg breakfast normally last me until lunch and I remembered I had not yet eaten, the eggs was still in the pot on the stove…haha, what can you do?

I had to run and I was so excited knowing it was my 4 mile recovery run, I told Megan (my trainer) that this was going to be a walk in the park! I knew it was my own fault being so forgetful and I could blame no one. Also I have my pride to protect, right? So all I could do was to make the best out of it and pretend it was a recovery run knowing I had an amazing yoga session in front of me to stretch me out!

This is how it was supposed to feel like…

…but this is how it really felt…haha

A little bit of abs…

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Malin

Yesterday morning Knut had his first session of conditioning before the tryout get starting and I guess there is no different for a child having time off as it is for an adult…it hurts! (the difference is it takes longer for us to get it back). So when Knut’s hour was over I had that in mind when I made it over to Lifestyle fitness for my own session.

We started with warming up the abs with 20 crunches and 30 second plank from the Pilates ball (no pics but arms on the ball) it is important to keep the elbows in front of you as much as you can to get the abs engaged to its max.

After the warmup kept on working the abs on the mat with 15 leg raisers with the Pilates ball between our feet. Taking them slow and let the abs contract at every single rep.

This movement was accompanied by 15 push ups from the Pilates ball, now every single rep your chest is supposed to touch the ball and you’ll use the bounce to push yourself up again. You might think this sounds simple when you can actually use the bounce but try it and you probably change your mind…lol

So it was a relief as soon as the 15 reps were completed and we moved into the last movement in this circuit…15 squat with lifting the Pilates ball overhead.

At the second circuit we exchanged the Pilates ball to a heavier ball, a 14 pound medicine ball and this routine was longer than the previous two as well as the intensity. So with 10 walking lunges with the ball overhead we traveled across the gym and at every rep we paused in the leap focusing on holding the abdominal.

Leaving the ball behind we made our back doing the inch worm. This was done from out toes and making sure that we had a nice stretch going in our hamstrings before we moved forward with our hands holding the “plank” for a few seconds.

When the 10 inch worms was completed we finished out with 50 bicycle crunched before we jumped back to our medicine ball and lunged back. At the other end of the gym we finished with 10 side lunges and 20 wood chops.

With the high intensity over and done with it was nice being able to bring the heart rate back down again but still focusing on the abs. So with 15 leg raisers from the Romanian chair, 15 chops…

…15 roll out…

…15 weighted side bend completed ( I thought) our day was over. To do the side bend correctly it is important to get a good stretch of the obliques and then contract them as you breathing out in a big belly breath. I found that after 10 reps it was hard to get a good contraction but I guess that was because I was getting tired 😉

So like I said the hour was over and both me and my companion was getting tired when Jonathan asked us we were up for some intervals and how can we turn that down…I wish I had as soon as I started…lol

We finished out on the bike with 30 second high residence as fast possible with a sufficient rest in-between to be able to crank out every single interval. The first five we were seated leaning over the handles and standing for the final 5. It took around 15 minutes and after every completed interval I thought of Knut and how hard he work…and at thought the only thing I could do was just keep on going even if it hurt…

A week of pain finally came to it’s end…

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Malin

The first week of pain was completed on friday and the last thing we did was making the arms work (the only thing that is not sore) and Jonathan had put together another intense program. We started out with a quick warm up for the shoulders and arms with 20 scarecrows, 10 hands to push ups and 10 push ups.

Again this was still ok although at the third set I had a nice burning going for me in the shoulders. It was at the following circuit the real workout started and with no rest in between the exercises the burn that was tingling in my shoulders turned into a full on fire after 15 upright rows with the barbell, 15 shoulder raise…

and 15 Arnold press…as you might have realized I haven’t been to active for the last month lifting weight I wanted to be sensitive so my first set I picked up the 12 pound dumbbell to complete my 15 but I realized fast that it was a little light for me so the second and third set I changed it into 15 pounds instead…

and finally burn out on high rows on the TRX until exhaustion before we could take a quick breather before we got going again.

When we moved into a different muscle group (still working the arms) I was very glad because I don’t think my shoulders could have taken anymore at that point and the following circuit was a fun one. We started with 15 chest flies, now this was supposed to very heavy and at the end every rep we were coming into a nice stretch for the pecks…

…and when the 15 was completed without setting the dumbbell down we finished with 15 presses. Again taking the dumbbells down deep to get the most out of the exercise.

The next three exercises in this circuit was very straight forward…15 pulldown (heavy) 15 biceps curls and 15 triceps extension.

And what is a “armday” with out the big ropes so the last 10 minutes we completed the friday workout with intervals. I will admit that at this point I wasn’t going at my fastest pace and I thought my arms was going to fall off but never the less I finished every second of every interval.

It’s painfully truthful!

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Malin

Ok, now I am back in business for real! After we came back from Sweden Freddie and I hung out a few days in here in “Chicago” before we took our 10 years anniversary honeymoon to the British Virgin Island and what a week…heaven!

So yesterday was my second workout being back for real and being back in my normal routines but today I am suffering from lying in a sun chair reading “Gone with the wind” not doing to many other things except for throwing myself in the crystal clear ocean every other 30 minutes. It is also a great reminder of how painful it is to lay on coach for to long and as panful it is so it’s great to be back to my old routines and Jonathan had set up a great leg day Wednesday for us.

First out for the workout was 20 leg abductor from the TRX followed by 10 single leg squat touching our hands to the ground to be finished off with a step up with a high knee thrust. At the time being it didn’t felt so bad but this was just the beginning and I know one of the reasons why I can’t walk like a normal person today is because of the single leg squats for a starter 🙂

But there was no time to complain because as soon as the three sets was completed we moved into the seconds circuit that contained of 20 lateral lunges with a reach, 20 forward lunged with the medicine ball static overhead.

These two exercises alone gets your hart rate up to a decant level so when we finally made it back to our mats starting with 15 “peeing dogs” and leg extension from the knees squeezing the glut at every rep was some kind of relief!

The problem was that it didn’t last for long as we finished out this circuit with 15 weighted squats. The trick to it was to squat slowly pause at the bottom come right up but not all the way and go right back down again. It was at this point my legs started to feel a little wobbly…loll

So the workout was coming to an end but we were not quite there. It was a beautiful day and not to hot so we took it outside for some drills with the agility ladder working both cardio and speed as well our coordination. So with this my conclusion from my vacation is that is painfully truthful living like a slacker…haha

You think you’ll die but somehow you always survive!

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Malin

Today we decided that my sister Helena would come with me for my workout and I know when I write this that I won’t offend her when I say she is slightly out of shape but she would like to come back to the routine of working out again. I didn’t want to do a long run as I already completed 16k in two days but I knew I needed to focus on the legs so I thought we would start with a quick warmup around the block. It was Helena who was showing the way as well as the space. She took us through fields and forests and in the middle of the thickest woods Helena started to slow down as she was getting a side stitch but at that point I told her to keep on running as we were being completely eaten by every mosquito there was! She did great and we finished the warmup run of just under 2k although she thought she was about to die but amazingly she didn’t…lol.

When we got back we pulled out the old lashing straps and started doing 15 single legs squats each leg, 15 hip abductions and 30 bicycle pull in.

In between every finished rep we did 6 sprint intervals and Helena did really well and kept up and finishing off what we started.

After my 18th sprint my legs started to feel a little wobbly and I decided to finish the day with some core exercises.

pike

This workout took us 1.45 minutes to complete and even though it was not that many circuits I have a feeling I’ll feel it tomorrow 🙂

Grilled Chicken with a coconut almond crust with Sautéed vegetables with a touch of Asia

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Malin

This is a dinner I made a few days ago when I still had groceries in the fridge 🙂

2 Chicken breast

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 almond flour

1/2 cup coconut flakes

Chopped Rosemary

Salt and pepper

Sautéed Vegetables

Kale

Broccoli

Spinach

Green Beans

Leek

Garlic

Virgin Coconut oil

Cocktail Tomatoes

Fresh Mint

Chili flakes

Salt and pepper

Start by placing the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and beat the chicken flat. Batter the egg lightly, on a plate mix the almond flour coconut flakes, rosemary, salt and pepper. Dip the chicken in the egg and then into the almond/coconut mix.

Grill the chicken (or fry it in a pan) till it is thoroughly cooked. Meanwhile sauté the vegetables in a pan and using the coconut oil that not only gives the vegetables a delicious flavor it is also very healthy for you. When the vegetables are soft-ish add the tomato and garnish with the mint.

Enjoy!

Always trust your gut feeling!

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Malin

When I started lifting weights with Jonathan back at Lifetime I used a heart monitor and every time my heart rate use to increase with about 20 beats before I was even through the front doors of the gym just because I was nervous of how hard it was going to be. Since then I have lost my monitor and I am not nervous anymore going to workout. But yesterday when I was driving towards Lifestyle Fitness the nervous feeling was creeping up on me. I could feel my heart rate increase for every mile I was getting closer and i guess my gut feeling was right because it was no joke today!

This particular morning the weather was still alright so we started warming up (2nd warmup) with skipping rope for 2 minutes twice through before we really dug into the hard work. We did 2 different variation of agility ladder drills and using hurdles, mixed up with interval sprinting and wall sits. This is a great way to build up speed, power, coordination and this combined with the interval sprinting you also improving your cardio.

After this intense “warmup” was completed it was time to bring it back inside where our first circuit was a combination of working the upper back, lats and the hamstring. I started out on the TRX completing 15 high rows, 15 hamstrings curls from a Pilates ball and 15 romanian deadlifts, twice through. This was the first variation of two as the second consisted of 15 low rows, 15 single leg hip raises from the Pilates ball (they are killers for the hamstrings) and 10 single leg romanian dead lifts.

We pretty much kept on working the same muscle groups for the next circuit but it was only 12 weighted squats and 12 pull downs. I guess I should not say only because the legs was already exhausted and the weight was heavy.

The last and final weight circuit we also put some focus on the core and the arms. From the TRX we did 15 hip abduction with a push up (when opened the legs do the push up then closed). After that we did 20 step up with high knee and a bicep curls and to complete this circuit we did 15 leg raises with the Pilates ball.

This was when the hour was officially over, but our hour does not finish until Jonathan says so. So to in order to complete this workout we picked up the ropes and did a few intense intervals before we called it a day!