OUR LIFE IN 3D

The Home of Daddy's Day Dare! ~ I am just trying to stay above water

Archive for the category “Fun Family Fitness”

26 Feb 2013
19 Comments

A Mental Holiday

In contrast to the way my old crinkled body was feeling at the beginning of the week, I did manage to find my way to the gym Saturday morning. It was kinda vital given the state of things.

If you have been following along you may have picked up on my being seduced by the dark side of Christmas Cookies. Yes, we’ve been having a torrid love affair since pre-Christmas. I am due for a few detoxifying runs over the weeks ahead.

I did a few quick rounds around my upper body circuit. I did what I could given my neck and back. I spent a few long minutes stretching and headed over to the treadmill.

If you want to click on the video below you can get a feel for the pace and intensity I try to muster when I hit the treadmill. My running workouts usually are at a fairly quick pace. Like another blogger put it, I’m a runner not a jogger. I usually try to knock out 400-450 calories over a 30-35 minute run.

But, since those cookies told me I need to burn considerably more calories then 450, running like somebody was chasing me on the treadmill was not what I needed. My actual goal was to drain 700-800 calories over an hour long Saturday run. So, you can kill the music on the above video. I need to switch gears a bit.

As you can imagine, trying to keep a decent pace for over an hour takes a bit of willpower; or a good running Ipod. Since I can’t muster the willpower of OneFitMomma or Fitness 43 anymore, I needed a different plan. I felt like a good run on the beach instead, despite the fact that a typhoon type storm was hitting our fair city.

I pulled out my vacation Ipod, filled with the same images I dreamed of on my back in Jamaica and Curacao.

Do you feel like a mental Holiday? Click on the video below of some coastal background music and. let it play while you read on, and see if  it works for you. Hopefully you can get a good visual of the beach, sounds of Caribbean drums, feeling the warm sun on your face, and a gentle tropical breeze in your hair. Maybe you too can slip away to the beach for a run;  or whatever. If you are stuck inside, with some ‘weather’ going on outside, you may need this…”a great beach tune with a magic kind of medicine that no Doctor could prescribe”.

If the video has the feel of a small beach party on the banks of a tiny tropical island that’s because that’s where its at. ~Let the imagery begin!

Yes, these Jimmy Buffet songs had me running on the beach last Saturday, bronzing in a lounge chair, or sailing on a summer breeze; skipping over the ocean…like a stone. Like him or not, Mr Buffet is a genius at painting coastal images via words, melodies, or Caribbean drums.

The songs I went running down the beach with Saturday were the same ones I listened too on those tropical trips before. I pictured myself running on the beach, running all the insulation off my 6 pack.

I heard this next song about cabin fever that made me think of my family up north and friends north of our border as he sings “I want to go where its warm!”….

Speaking of cabin fever, if you have been cooped up this weekend and you want to get up and move, here is a song that may do it for you….on the beach

‘Fins‘ is one of my girls’ favorite Buffett songs. They do “Fins to the left, Fins to the right” in the car while we are driving. Yep, she’s doing it behind me now…practically moving the curtains with the fun she has acting this one out. It may be the closest Buffett ever gets to physical fitness!

If I haven’t lost you and you still want to continue on this mental Holiday, here are few songs you know that he covers in his tropical way. I think they illustrate, again, how Jimmy can take any song and turn it into a care-free, salt on your lips, sun in your eyes casual getaway.

Brown Eyed Girl:

Take the Weather With You:

So that’s how I went for a run on the beach Saturday, to some place warm, where I’ve been before. I did run off 725 calories on the run. I hope I can take another long run on the beach next weekend too! Come on along!

What songs do you have that take you some place far?

Posted in Fun Family Fitness and tagged , , , ,
07 Feb 2013
17 Comments

Our 3D Workout Video will have you looking and feeling younger!

Have the post holiday blues got you round down?

Feeling guilty about all that sugar you’ve comsumed over the Holidays?

Envisioning the summer coming but too scared to try on that bathing suit?

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This fun dance video has proven results to tone up flabby parts, burn the calories, and gain that youthful appearance. No dieting. No meal plan. We’ve developed and perfected this fun, simple 7 minute workout to slim and tone while having fun dancing to the classics. That’s just 7 minutes a day! You have time for that?

We start off this great workout video in the 3D Boot Camp with some stretching to loosen those tired muscles and get the blood flowing through your veins, raising you heartbeat, and starting the burn. Follow along as we all stretch to “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”:

Now that we are feeling loose the dance party begins in at 3D. Hot Dog! Here we kick up the tempo a notch, burn some calories and have a lot of fun. This aerobic dance party literally turns into an all out, anything goes Rage, where anything goes and nobody can be too Goofy. Check out the rockin’ clubhouse, the “Mickey Mouse Club House”.

Next, with the sweat running and the caloriesmelting away we slip into the new dance craze, the 3D Zumba workout. In our 3:30 minute Zumba workout we tone and burn, Zumba style! You won’t even know you are excercising  when having so much fun dancing and shaking in 3D with fun lyrics like, “You put it in, you put it out, and you shake it all about”. You know will be dancing off the fat and toning those stubborn areas. Try to keep up in 3D’s “Hookie Pookie”:

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Posted in Fun Family Fitness and tagged , , ,
04 Jul 2012
2 Comments

Take a Deep Breath

A few years ago I had a good friend on Facebook. She appeared to be a nice, soft-spoken written young lady from the UK. After a month or so of trading stories and new baby pictures I found out she had asthma. A sadder part of the story was that she got her asthma after a particularly nasty bout with pneumonia. Though she never complained, you could see the asthma’s limitations on her daily, active life. It made  me think.  Somehow, her having asthma made me run harder.

Later that same year, I ran in a local 5K, ironically sponsored by the American Lung Association (ALA). Not only was I running in the event, I was also doing a race summary article for the local running club. In interviewing the winners and some other participants, I talked with a young lady that was the third place female finisher in the race. This young collegiate runner also had asthma. It had hindered her running career. In fact, she collapsed at the finish line shortly after completing the race. She told me she had picked up asthma after her father had quit smoking a few years back.

At that same race I met and interviewed some of the ladies running our local chapter of the ALA. They gave me some story lines. Then they invited me to be on the Leadership Board for the ALA to help promote a new event they were planning, the Fight For Air Stair Climb. Given my recent new awareness to asthma as well as my appreciation for my own good health I signed on immediately.

You see I do try to stay physically active and have been for many, many years. Like many of you fit and active runners, bikers, and lifters, without clean air in our lungs and efficient lungs to utilize the oxygen where would we be at?

Me? Clean lungs are a big deal to me. Without the use of healthy lungs I would have missed out on many great moments in my life. I never would have won that race in Stone Harbor in 1976. I never would have enjoyed going on the many bike rides years ago. I never would have enjoyed the honors or joy in my running and track successes. And I never would have had the strength or energy to rehabilitate my bad shoulder. In fact, I’d probably be a 200 pound couch potato! Without the efficient handling of oxygen to my lungs and then in my blood I would have been finished a long time ago!

I don’t want to lose you with statistics so I just want to leave you with a few areas that the Lung Association helps.

1) Lung Cancer: This past year we lost a college football legend, Joe Paterno. For close to 50 years he was a competitor. He coached elite athletes at a high level in college football.  In late October he ran onto the football field and his team won his 412th game as a head college football coach, more than any one else in his sport. In mid November we were told he had an “operable” form of lung cancer. In mid January, just 2 months later, he passed away, falling victim to the very aggressive lung cancer.

2) Air Quality: Most of you that are runners probably run outside along the streets and roads mapped out for a good run. Did you know that the air you breathe along the roads is actually bad for you? Air with car exhaust in it can burn your lungs, much a like sunburn from the inside. In fact, most major cities don’t have a great quality of air for anyone; runner, worker, Mom, or child. Here’s a link to test the air quality in the air where you live.

3) Asthma: Did you know asthma is the leading reason kids miss school and actually be hospitalized? Its true. More kids miss school from dealing with their asthma than any other reason.

Our local ALA sponsors a summer kids camp every year, Camp Puff and Stuff. With some of the proceeds from our annual events the ALA puts on a week long summer camp teaching young kids how to deal with their asthma. And it works!

Kids and counselors from this year’s Camp Puff and Stuff

Rebecca Downs, a director at our local Lung Association, told me about a victory from this year’s camp when I asked her if she could elaborate on what the camp does.

Rebecca and other counselors at Camp Puff and Stuff

Rebecca told me, “I do have a good story from this year’s camp.  A school nurse shared with us that one particular child used to visit her room 2 or 3 times a week due to his asthma the year before he attended camp.  The child attended camp last summer, and he only visited the nursing room 2 to 3 times the whole year last year!”

Kids with asthma have a hard time, playing baseball, enjoying a Zumba class, or running half as far; at least in a comfortable manner.


I am helping to organize and also participate in this year’s Fight For Air Stair Climb, being held on Saturday July 28th. It is a big deal to me based on my past experiences and these recent successes. We are trying to raise money for the local Camp Puff and Stuff, as well as research and care for lung cancer patients, and national clean air and non smoking initiatives.

Checking our results after the stair climb

If you are inclined to help charities I would welcome any support. Any good will donation would be very appreciated and, as I mentioned earlier, actually gets results. Any amount, large or small, goes to helping people breathe easier and lead healthier lives, something we take for granted. In fact, I will send anyone donating $20.00 or more one of our event’s silky red t-shirts (they really feel great!) with a big “Thank- you”!

If I remember right today is supposed to be my old FB friend’s birthday (although she won’t be jumping for joy) as we here in the states celebrate our national birthday as well. I hope you had a festive day and week! Later this week, when you are running or biking, swimming or lifting and you are breathing hard trying to catch your breath. Thank your lungs! Without the efficient healthy digesting of oxygen you might just be an uncomfortable spectator.

If you are interested in supporting my healthy air initiatives please click on the link below. This link takes you to my web page for the Lung Association. Each bank draft is safe and tax deductible. More importantly, they can actually help to save lives!

Thank you for your consideration and support! Take a deep breath. Doesn’t that feel good?

http://action.lung.org/site/TR/Climb/ALASE_Southeast?px=3268581&pg=personal&fr_id=5381

Posted in Fun Family Fitness and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
13 Apr 2012
6 Comments

The Fight For Air

Imagine…..for a second…that where you work….there is an endless supply of…..snacks!

That’s my job currently. I order and manage product locally for a global snack leader. It’s a curse. If I ever get hungry there are literally hundreds of different products to try. All kinds of snacks too. Try? You open a bag and then eat it. The whole bag! I’m such a pig. Plus, I feel it is sort of my corporate duty to try these products as it is a new job and I should become more familiar with its products. Right? Or so I tell myself as I dig for another handful.

Thank goodness for the beginning of the local American Lung Association’s annual Fight For Air Stairclimb!

A few years ago our local American Lung Association (ALA) held a 5k run downtown. It was a bit small but lots of fun. As I walked to my car to get a check for the drive a nice young lady picked me up in her car and asked if I needed a ride? (can never get enough of that).

It turns out she was one of the directors for the local ALA. We chatted a bit and she introduced me to some of the other leaders in the organization. I was so impressed with these ladies I volunteered to write a race summary for our local running club in hopes I could drive some interest for the following year’s 5k.

Some call it a 5K run, some call it a 5K walk

The following year they contacted me to be on their Leadership Board for a new event to our area, their inaugural Fight For Air Stairclimb to help get it off the ground, so to speak. I was thrilled.

Have you ever done a stairclimb or run some stairs? The first year I ran the stairclimb I thought I was in shape. My 5k times that year were as good as they had ever been. I ran up and down those stairs and I have to tell you, when I was done, my lungs were hurting! My lungs now, not my legs or my calves, my lungs. Can you imagine going through life that way? I thought what a great cause to support, trying to get the world healthier lungs, as I was bent over catching my breath. And a great way to do it too! I think any fitness fanatic can agree, if you don’t have fresh air in your lungs, or healthy, efficient lungs, you are not going to get fit. So that is what the ALA tries to do, fight for lung health, cleaner air, as well as lung diseases like asthma.

Had to run to the bathroom...

I know there are several of you reading this that are runners or other healthy, fit, wellness individuals. There are many types, ages, and fitness levels all working to improve their health, kill some kalories, or fit into last year’s clothes. You know what? What a great hobby and passion!

Great hobby because you not only have the ability, drive, and stamina to make yourself a healthier human being but you have the ability to help others get healthier too. Your gifts, skills, talent and hard work can help less healthy people improve their standard of living by doing what you love (?) to do, running. All these fun events raise money for great causes. Whether you choose to benefit healthier lungs, breast cancer, or a long list of other great charities, you can take your talents, raise some money (shamelessly via your blog) and help others. And, to me, that is as good of a feeling as the great things I  we do for ourselves. Isn’t it?

I’ve said it before, have some fun with your fitness, join some races. Then think about other causes, other people you would like to benefit and join those races and events as well. They’re fun!

You may meet some people you know that you had no idea were runners too.

You can start by joining me in our Fight For Air Stairclimb. Join my (WordPress) team, or sponsor me from afar instead (it is tax deductible here in the states). I can reimburse your kindness with a very cool Stairclimb t-shirt, tub of ice cream or sorbet, used toddlers clothing and toys, or even a guest post. Sound too good to be true?  Check out my homepage.

You can join my team, one way or the other, or please have fun with your fitness in your own hometown. Join a race, help some less fortunate ones, and celebrate your great health that you have worked so hard on (you really have, haven’t you?). You can help less fortunate ones get healthier, in addition to your own rockin’ self. And run off all those snacks from work too.

Posted in Fun Family Fitness and tagged , , , , , , , ,
07 Apr 2012
11 Comments

Guest Post: BreezyK’s Anatomy of a Treadmill Run

One of my favorite blogs from the beginning, here in WordPress, has been The Camel Life by BreezyK. Being a big fan of creativity and humor I always checked in to see what Breezy was up to. This was further enhanced by a picture of the girl having fun in purple hair. Her Camel Life theme come from finding funny things in the normal or mundane things in life all around us.  And she completes the trio of fantastic Toronto bloggers that I have been following. She’s fun, she’s 26ish ( I sooo hope I am right here), a lawyer, and very creative with her version of the English language that I can only envy aspire to emulate and you will never know what to expect next.

Today is my gym day with the tests I put myself through with the weights and treadmills. The following is  a normal day of Breezy’s escapades in the gym. Grab a towel. Have fun!

Anatomy of a Treadmill Run

Holla peeps! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m BreezyK of The Camel Life, where I blog about all sorts of ridiculous things most people are too afraid to admit.
Since Andy and I are both masochists heart-healthy, and like to stay in shape by running, when he asked me to write a guest post, I immediately knew I wanted to write about running on the treadmill. (Or, as I affectionately like to refer to it, the “DREADmill“).

Second only to the subway turnstile, the dreadmill is my #2 nemesis in life. This is only strengthened by the fact that due to the unpredictability/long hours of my job, most of my runs take place at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am. I know. I’m insane.
Anyway, I thought it would be fun to document one of my early morning torture rituals runs for you guys – from should-be-illegal wakeup time, to collapsing in a puddle of sweat, tears, and self-loathing at the end. So here goes!
5:45 am:

  • Alarm goes off
  • Ponder why God hates me.
  • Hit snooze.

6:15 am (aka: 3 snoozes later):

  • Finally drag my butt out of bed.
  • Log onto wordpress to see how many new comments I’ve received on my latest blog post.

6:20 am:

  • Find out the answer is none.
  • Sadness.

6:22am:

  • Procrastinate. (This may take the form of arbitrarily opening and shutting kitchen cupboards, fake-cleaning, eating handfuls of dry cereal, etc.)

6:30am:

  • Finally put gym clothes on.
  • Take a picture of myself in front of the mirror.. because what the world really needs is more of this 6:30am beauty:


6:45am:

  • Finally make it out the door after doing way too many takes of aforementioned beauty shot. Note to self: it is impossible to look hot in a grainy blackberry shot at 6:30am… put that one in the “Get over it” box.

6:50am:

  • The face-off:

It's just you and me, buddy

6:55-7:05 am:

  • Begin running.
  • Attempt to find a song on ipod that doesn’t increase my desire to strangle myself with the treadmill emergency cord.

Hint: it’s not this one:

Enjoy my sweat droplet on the right hand side? That's just for you guys.

or this one:

7:05-7:15 am:

  • Generally hate life. Continuously ask myself: WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?

7:15 am:

  • Channel my anger by hating every personality on morning television.
  • Come around a little when they show a video of a cute bear dancing.
  • Try to take picture:

  • Fail miserably.

7:16 am:

  • Field suspicious gazes of fellow gym-goers, who clearly think I am crazy for taking pictures of the TV while running on the treadmill. (Judy McJudgersons).

7:20am:

  • Think about all the delicious food I’m gonna eat once this horror show is over. (Who am I kidding- I’ve clearly been thinking about food this entire time)
  • Plan my outfits for the next week with such detail you’d think I worked at Vogue rather than a generic office building.

7:25 am:

  • Start to get sort of comfortable. Think to myself “hey, this actually isn’t so bad! I should do this every morning!!”
  • Develop false sense of confidence.
  • Visualize myself winning the Toronto Marathon
  • Form overly ambitious mental to-do lists.

7:30:

  • Temporary euphoria recedes, pain sets in once again.
  • Begin downward spiral.
  • Think, once again, “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS YOU CRAZY WOMAN??”

7:35am:

  • FINISHED! Take victory shot:

x3, because extreme fatigue has caused me to have an unsteady hand

7:36 am:

  • Tend to atrophied muscles.
  • Retire to ab mat, where, in lieu of stretching, spend 2-3 minutes curled in fetal position.
  • take unnecessary second photo of myself, where I still don’t look hot.. and probably shouldn’t post on the internet:


And that’s it! Hope you guys enjoyed my little trip down the masochistic highway- and If you want more where that came from, come and visit me over at my blog!
Peace and love,
BreezyK

Posted in Archives, Fun Family Fitness
22 Mar 2012
4 Comments

Get Over It

There’s a big race coming up in Charleston, SC. It’s maybe one of the biggest 10k’s on the east coast that you never heard of, the Cooper River Bridge Run. It gets runners from all over the world. Lots of them! And I am not going to run it this year. Actually, I haven’t ran it in the past 3 years I think. Why? Its too hard to get to the starting line!

On your mark, get set...

The CRBR has grown into a 40,000 runner /walker event. They actually cap the limit at 40,000. Some of the best runners in the world will be here. Runners, that will run in and possibly win the Boston Marathon a few weeks later will run in this race. They come from Kenya, Ethiopia, Russia, New Zealand, and the US.

Slow down guys!

When I first got back into running about 10 years ago, the only race I had heard of was the Cooper River Bridge Run. I used to be a pretty good runner in high school so I wanted to see how I did. I drove some 70 minutes to get to the start and finished around 52:00 minutes. It was a learning experience. What I found was every runner I ran into always had a conversation include, “What’s your Bridge Run time?”. Every local runner looking for a challenge ran the CRBR. And I ran it every year after for about the next 10 years.

 

It took me a few races to realize the 10k run is actually 2 races in one. The bridge run gets its name because it spans the Cooper River in Charleston, SC. The Cooper River bridge is a two mile long span bridge. It’s about a mile going up, at a 4.5 degree angle, and a mile going back down at a more gradual decline. What makes the run nice is the bridge is right in the middle of the run. So you get a 2 mile start to warm up your legs before conquering the very challenging 4.5 degrees for an entire mile. The CRBR’s motto is “Get Over It”. A very cool name once you have climbed the bridge.

So, to me, the first race is to run 3 miles and make it to the top of the bridge at a competitive pace. This is the hardest race of the two I think. The second race, of course, is the second 3 miles in which I like to say I just put it on cruise and finish up. Your legs get some strength back on the long slope down and then you just run your pace to finish, sprinting the last few blocks if you can. Here is a video that is a good representation of the entire run:

Since doing my first CRBR I worked hard on my running. The next year I did the 10k in 48 minutes. But I knew I still had more. My goal was to come in under 44 minutes. Two times I finished in the 45′s. Finally, a few years back, all the training I learned, the workouts, preparation and trial and error paid off and I completed the race in 43:05, blowing away my goal. I was in the top 10% of all, including the Kenyans! I was a happy camper.

The run is always a lot of fun. It finishes at a park downtown, complete with bands, freebies, all sorts of vendors, and some of the happiest runners on the east coast. The smiles on the runners for completing the race is probably on of the best perks. We would end up walking downtown to the restaurant district get a great lunch, replace some fluids, and go home and take a nap or lay on the beach.

So why am I not running it again? The race has actually turned into 3 races in my mind. Now the first race is to get downtown, stuck in a 5:00am traffic jam, find a place to park, run to the bus shuttles that take everybody across the bridge to the within a mile of the starting line, get to the starting line and wait an hour for the run to start. It was kinda stressful just getting there. Check out this years video on the rules  tips on how to run the race.

Sorry, that is too many rules to follow, at too early of an hour on a day I should be sleeping in, in order to make me wish that I had not gotten out of bed. There is the early hours, traffic jams, finding a place to park, looking down while you run so you don’t trip over a set of ankles in front of you and then trapped in another jam as 40,000 people attempt to leave the downtown around noon.

Ok, I am exaggerating here. But it isn’t as fun as it used to be. A few weeks later is a mild-mannered, less competitive 5K run that is more my style. It starts at the local minor league baseball stadium, a miniature Camden Yards, then circles a local college before you come back to the baseball stadium, enter it by the right-field foul pool and cross home plate as the finish line while lots of the baseball players and other runners cheer you on, on the field. Afterwards a local seafood restaurant, Bubba Gump’s, caters a shrimp and grits dinner in the upper deck, complete with tasty shrimps, wines and beers before all the runners get bleacher seats to watch a great minor league game as the sunsets over the river. Does that sound like more fun than the Bridge Run? It actually inspired my fastest 5k of 19:20, something I haven’t come close to matching since.

Boy that is such a long way to get to the point! The point of this blog and my running history summary is there are a lot of fun races for runners of all levels out there. If you are a runner, at any level, do yourself a favor and go out and run in some. Running is one of the very few organized sports that we still have an opportunity to compete in, with our scholastic days in the rear view mirror. Take advantage of it!

Practically every local race, whether 5k, 10K, marathon, etc. is for a charity. So your entry fee is for a good cause. These charities want as many people to run these events as possible so they really try to make them fun. Check them out! There are runners of all levels, of all ages, of any ability running these. You are not racing any of these. You run for the challenge and to race yourself.

Simply, the next race try to beat your previous time or personal best. It can be a great motivator while your pounding all the pavements or battling the treadmill. For the 10+ years I have been entering races I found myself running faster in my mid 40′s than I did in my mid 30′s. That’s a great feeling! Howabout you? What are you capable of? You’re not just getting healthy, you’re building a sports franchise!

So where can your running hobby or training take you? Better health? Confidence? Stress killer? All great reasons and more to jog or run. Celebrate your hobby and passion! Make a date to do a local run or two or three. They are literally “Running Parties” at the post race events. Shouldn’t somebody throw you a party after all that time you spent running the streets and in the gym? You have earned it. Right?

Good luck and celebrate your achievements! And Have some fun!

Post Race goodies...biscuits and gravy and Red Velvet Cake

Posted in Fun Family Fitness and tagged , , , ,

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