What has my fitness been like lately?

When 2014 rolled around, I set myself some fitness goals for the year.  I was very happy with everything I achieved in 2013, and was looking forward to what 2014 had in store.  I also had some personal (non fitness related goals), and if you follow be on Instagram or Twitter, you might already know that my husband and I are expecting our first child in October of this year! While I planned to be (and to this day still am) very active throughout my whole pregnancy, I quickly decided that maybe this year was not the year for these goals.  After talking to my doctor, I got the go ahead to continue exercising (and teaching fitness classes), but as far as pushing myself beyond my current fitness level - I just didn't feel comfortable doing that.  I did manage to hit one of those goals about a week before I got pregnant, so I can check off "run a 5k in under 25 minutes".

Once I found out I was pregnant, I was a little scared to keep up with my workouts, specifically running.  My running workouts were typically completed in the early hours of the morning, and while I was very lucky in the "morning sickness" department, I still didn't feel great in the mornings.  At first I did try to keep up with my "1000 miles in 2014" goal, running 91 miles in January, 84 miles in February and 74 miles in March, but tracking the miles was putting a lot of pressure on me, so I decided to save this goal for 2015.  As it turns out, at around 14 weeks, I developed some pelvic pain that has pretty much stopped all running for the time being.  I was able to run the Philly Love Run in March, and although I didn't train to hit my "under 1 hour and 50 minutes" goal, I finished the race (came in at about 2 hours and 10 minutes) and felt AMAZING!

Not running has given me more time to try out other workouts, or spend more time doing the workouts I was already doing. I'm spending more time with Insanity (about 2 times/week) and Melissa Bender workouts (about once/week).  I've also been able to continue teaching 3 classes/week (boot camp, Bodypump and step aerobics).  Sometimes it takes a little extra creativity to motivate the class when my own energy is dragging, but I'm up for the challenge.  I'm also BEYOND excited to start Chalene Johnson's BRAND NEW AT HOME PiYo workout program.  I just ordered mine yesterday, and I think it's going to be a great way to add some variety to my fitness.  PiYo is an amazing workout that previously was only available in select gyms, but now you can order your own at a HUGE discount (while supplies last).  This program is a mix between Pilates and Yoga and helps build lean muscle!  Think - fast hot yoga but with the air conditioning on and awesome music playing!

So for now, I'm still working out about 6 times/week and loving this whole pregnancy journey.  I'm taking it day by day without any expectations.  I'm trying my best not to worry about every workout or every pound gained, and I look forward to revisiting my 2014 goals next year!

What have I been blogging about?

Over the past year, my blog posts have covered topics from recipes to healthy habits to workouts and more!  Below are my top 5 blog posts: Confessions of a group exercise instructor Everything you need to know about P90x3 Friends of FitYaf - How I Became a Fitness Blogger: Melissa Bender Fitness Working out with friends & 7 other habits of highly fit people FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout

My readers come from all over the world, but here are the top 5 cities where people love FitYaf: Philadelphia New York Chicago Minneapolis Los Angeles

What is coming in the future?

With summer coming up and some AMAZING deals on Beachbody workout programs, I'm so excited to announce my upcoming Fitness Challenge Group, starting JUNE 23!  This Challenge Group is specifically for anyone who wants to start a Shaun T fitness program or add Shaun T workouts to their current routine.  If you already own one of Shaun's programs, you can dust that one off and use it, or if you're looking for something new, you can get a brand new program from Beachbody's June promotions or SUMMER SALE (this includes discounts on Insanity, Asylum, Hip Hop Abs and Rockin' Body).

How long is the fitness challenge?

What will participating mean for me?

What will the workouts be like?

What sort of nutrition program will I be following?

How do I sign up? You can email me with any questions or if you're interested in signing up, OR you can head on over to my Facebook page and send me a message there!

Happy New Year everyone!  I took a break from blogging over the holidays, but I'm back and ready for a great year!  I wasn't really planning on setting any goals for the year (I tend to think more in the shorter term when it comes to goals), but last week I attended a New Year's run at Philadelphia Runner (which wound up being a 5k in the snow), and as part of the after party, we declared our 2014 running goals.  I had some running goals that I've been thinking about for a while now, so I decided to declare them loud and proud (and throw in some extras for good measure).  After all - sharing goals with the world is one of the best ways hold yourself accountable, right?  I bring to you both my running AND fitness goals for 2014!

1. Run a 5k in under 25 minutes I'll be doing a modified version of this workout 2-3 times/week: How far can you run in 30 minutes? (doing the workout three times before going to the next level).  I'll also throw in some speed workouts for good measure.  This goal is a little bit of a "cheat" goal, since I'm already pretty close!

2. Run a half marathon in under 1 hour and 50 minutes

I'm hoping that my weekday training (goal #1), will help me meet this goal.  I haven't had many long runs since the Philly Half Marathon, but starting this week, I'm going to change that.  I'm signed up for the Philly LOVE Run on March 30, so this will be my first chance to tackle this goal.  It'll be 3:25 off my last half marathon, so it's a little bit of a stretch for me, but dream big, right?

3. Run 1000 miles in a year

4. Do 5 pullups in a row

5. Consistently use 10kg total for the biceps track in Bodypump Every time I run a challenge group, I make it a goal to do a bodypump bicep track with 5kg weights on each side.  Each time I meet this goal, my arms feel like they might fall off, and I drop my weight when the challenge is over.  I'd really like to strengthen my biceps to the point where this weight selection in the "norm" for me.  It's going to involve some strength training outside of Bodypump, so I'll start with my favorite P90x workout - shoulders, biceps and triceps.

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed me using the hashtag #Elf4Health these last few weeks.  If you were wondering why, Elle at NutritionElla and Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean organized an amazing challenge group of about 1000 "elves" looking to improve their lives this holidays season.  There were a total of 28 challenges, most of which I participated in, but I put together these highlights of my favorite challenges - ones that you can try out all year round! Also, I'd like to take the time to give a shout out to my personal elves these last four weeks - they were full of tips and great ideas! Check out their blogs: Erin @ Serendipity and the Sailor Tara @ Sugar Sweat and Sparks

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Physcial challenges make you realize what you're capable of

1) 100 Burpee challenge. Do 100 burpees throughout the day.  Modify as needed, just check out this video for ways to do this.  Here are a few ideas for tackling this challenge:  If you're a burpee veteran, try doing them consecutively! Break into sets of 33 and do a set before each meal. Do them 10 at a time throughout the day - maybe every hour! Do 50 when you wake up and 50 before you go to bed. Get up and do burpees during every commercial break.

2) Run a mile as fast as you can.  This one is pretty self-explanatory.  You can walk it if you need to, or maybe split the mile up into walk/jog intervals.  Either way, no matter your fitness level, everyone can push themselves JUST A LITTLE HARDER for just one mile!

3) Hold a wall sit as long as you can.  If you're a wall-sit pro, make it more challenging by holding a weight.

Eat the rainbow

When you eat foods that are a variety of colors, you're guaranteed to get a variety of nutrients, minerals and vitamins in your diet!  Here are some ideas: Make a frittata for breakfast and pack it with veggies. Have a jumbo salad for lunch topped with lots of lean protein and extra veggies. Color Inspiration Red: strawberries, tomatoes, red peppers Orange: sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash Yellow: spaghetti squash, summer squash Green: spinach, green beans, kale Blue: blueberries Violet: eggplant, purple potatoes

Clean out your fridge and pantry

Take some time to deep clean your fridge. Pull everything out, clean the shelves and drawers, throw away expired items and then put everything back, with healthy snacks at eye level! Then move on to your pantry. Throw away expired items, organize the shelves and consider donating some food to a local food pantry as a bonus challenge! Here are a few articles with more info: How to Clean Out The Pantry 5 Tips for Cleaning Out Your Pantry Clean Out Your Pantry To Live Healthier

Closet Cleanup

Meal Planning

Set a new fitness goal

This one might be my favorite!  If you know me well (or read my blog enough), you know I'm a huge fan of goal-setting when it comes to improving your health and fitness.  I haven't set my 2014 goals just yet, but I'm certainly thinking about it! Some ideas:  Run a particular race Try a new sport Get faster Add one more day of exercise to your weekly routine Walk 10,000 steps each day Get up every hour and move around

Death by burpees

With a continuously running clock: 1st minute - 1 burpee 2nd minute - 2 burpees 3rd minute - 3 burpees Continue as long as you are able! Don't be deceived by the first few (easier) minutes - as the minutes go by, you have more burpees to do and less recovery time.  I was able to get through the 11th minute with a few seconds to spare.  I probably could have kept going at least one more minute, but it was time to start getting ready (and I was spent)!  Take the FitYaf challenge - start with pushup burpees and when you can't continue with them, switch to regular burpees!

My partnership with FitMapped

​If you've been following me on Instagram, you may have noticed a new hashtag I'm using - #elf4health.  This hashtag is part of a four week challenge that is running from the Monday Nov 25- Sunday Dec 22, 2013.  There are daily tasks, daily winners, prizes, weekly newsletters, and a Facebook group for support - pretty awesome, right? The challenge is split up into 2 week sessions, so if you haven't joined yet, it's not too late to join for the second half! Yesterday's challenge was to workout with a buddy, which isn't much of a challenge for me, since I teach group fitness classes.  I'm ALWAYS working out with buddies!  Some of the elves who couldn't find a workout buddy participated in a virtual buddy workout, where they were all doing the same workout at home.  The workout looked awesome, I can't wait to try, and now you can too!  Check it out below!

Check out my awesome workout buddies from last night!

Elf4Health Buddy Workout

50 second plank

P90x 3 (coming soon)

You want the results, and you're willing to do the work, but your schedule is jam-packed?  Tony Horton is offering you a solution: P90x3!  Tony took everything he learned from P90X and P90X2 and coupled it with new science that shows intense 30-minute workouts can get you in better shape faster!  The result?  Short, targeted, intense workouts that take just 30 minutes — but leave you looking like you've been tearing it up in the gym all day,

Shakeology Combo Box

Problem - you love Shakeology Chocolate and Vanilla equally. Solution - the Shakeology Chocolate/Vanilla combo box.  12 packets of Chocolate and 12 packet of Vanilla in each box.

Shakeology Taste Sampler

Can't decide which flavor to buy?  Then this is the perfect way to try Shakeology's most popular flavors before committing to a full-size bag or combo box.  Each sample pack contains 4 single-serve packets of Shakeology (2 Chocolate, 1 Vanilla, and 1 Greenberry), a copy of the Shakeology Welcome Guide, as well as 6 mouthwatering recipes.  With our new taste sampler, you'll easily figure out which Shakeology flavor you love the most.  Limit 1 per person! *You can still purchase my sampler pack from the FitYaf shop