**cue confetti shaped like triceps**

Subtitle: No Tornado. No cry.

Ahhh People.

Ive been derailed from the workouts PLAYouts over the last month or so.

It has been hotter than the proverbial Mo Fo in the ATX and, quite frankly, I chose (theres that word again) to follow the Tornado’s pre-K lead and do what she wanted to do.

We colored (that didnt work the triceps).We painted our nails in bright circa 1980s flashy colors (that didnt work the triceps).We held hands and walked (ok that mightcould have been cardio had I NOT stopped every 8 steps to grab her by the chin and announce: I COULD EAT YOUR FACE OFF!).We practiced reading (Im woman enough to admit that experience worked my patience—but not my triceps).We giggled, snacked on crap & watched a million movies (That was good for my soul, but didnt work the triceps either).

In summation: it’s time.

I need to get back at it (three cheers for muscle memory!) and this post goes out to all of you who have ever commented, tweeted, emailed or texted me:

What’s your workout today, Miz?? SHARE!!

Here it is.

Im announcing so Im held accountable and resist urge to sit in corner counting down until Tornado returns from her book learning.

Im doing this:

Then Im doing a little of this:

Sure my workout could be longer–but you know me.  Im all about setting myself up for success and THIS I will do.

Because if I dont—youll call me on it.

Right?

Because if I dont Ill feel badly about it because I know you’re playing along at home.

Right?

Are you in to join me?

Will you tire your triceps in solidarity with this getting back to it misfit?

Please to announce yourself in the comments below.

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Food Journal and Other News

No time for much tonight except my food journal.

In other news…

oh how I’ve missed them! It’s funny how I forget about things and then rediscover themHUGE omelet with 1 egg, a ton of egg whites, onion, zucchini, ham, and spinachFinally took the leap and bought a container of egg whites to bulk up my omelets in the morningsmall sliver of chocolate cake.Long story but the HUSBAND made a cake and it’s been staring at me from the counter since last night. dinner was the chicken and portabellos over brown rice with asparagus will be posting soon! Family approved!5 mile run and 45 of a yoga class – it was all I had time for. could have done better. Off to take vitamin now.

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Finish It Monday: My Most Insane Giveaway EVER!

Calling all crazies! Go on and click the video above for inspiration.

(Special note to FWYS Challengers: Download this week’s Star Chart here to track your progress and earn your bonus stars.)

Well put me in a straight jacket and feed me happy pills! Surely I’ve gone insane in the cranial membrane? If you Like me on Facebook you might already know I’ve been itching to do this, and since it’s Finish It Monday, this Giveaway is reserved for my Finish What You Started Challenge peoples. Is that YOU?

I’ve been in the throes of Insanity for over 3 weeks now. It’s the toughest workout program I’ve even done in my life; much tougher than my beloved Bodyrock.Tv. And although I’m experiencing the fast results Insanity is designed to deliver, I still sometimes question myself (usually in the middle of a workout) with, Why am I doing this?  The discipline factor is also insane. It’s taking a lot for me (mentally) to get up every morning and push myself to do these workouts.

So in the the spirit of finishing what I, myself, have started and will definitely see through to the end, this is what I’m crazy enough to give away right now. One winner gets its all:

Brand new Insanity 60-day workout program. It comes with 10-DVD’s, Elite Nutrition Plan, Fitness Guide, Workout Calendar and 20-minute Bonus Workout DVD.Shakeology 4-pack Sampler Bonanza (because those shakes are dang important with these workouts).

How To Win It All

1) If you’re not already part of the Finish What You Started Challenge, sign up now. You must be part of the Challenge to qualify for this Giveaway prize. But serious people only, okay? No slackers allowed – not unless you’re ready to turn yourself around and make a change.

2)  Leave a comment to show me the stars you earned this past week (I earned 26) and/or share with us all how you’re working to overcoming any urges to quit or slack off in your goals.

Other Stuff To Do (But It’s Not Mandatory To Win the Prize)

1) Like me on Facebook so you can follow my short vlog updates on Insanity.

2) Join me on Team Beachbody to make me your coach. It’s free to join and it’s an awesome resource! Let’s connect there.

Your chance to win ends Wednesday, 8/31/11. Winner announced Monday 9/5/11. United States entries only. Totally null and void where prohibited.

Ready? Set? Go Insane!

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A Run-less Yet Still Sensational Sunday at Comic-Con

I didn’t get my long run in today for the Half Training. :( No excuses here. I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m going to do my best to get it in tomorrow. I have to carve out an hour and a half for myself, not sure if the baby will last a full 8 mile run.

Anyway, I had a GREAT day. Actually, a great weekend! A little over indulgent in the food department but you’ll have this. Tomorrow is a new day.

Here’s my Sunday in pictures. I’m posting these and then going to bed! I’m exhausted!

A great start to the morning. Brotherly love. :)

Camping out in the hallway as we organize laundry.

A little show from goofy big brother.

More laundry bombing! :)

We had NO food in the house except fruit.

Someone is LOVING his solids!

A little game of war.

A family outing!

Action figure heaven!

How could we not?

The boys were having fun!

We came home and watched Pee Wee’s Great adventure. This was his reaction.

And this was Little Bean’s.

I just had to throw this one in. I love this picture!

After the movie, Little Guy and I went grocery shopping. It took all the energy I could muster. I’m wiped!

Hope you had a great weekend!

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Ive judged you.

(At the spring kindergarten round-up, post-bus ride & clutching her free chocolate milk)

Oh people.

As the title states: Ive judged you.

And, by way of full disclosure, there’s a pretty good chance Ive mocked you too.

A little to your face (Im upfront like that) & more than a little at home to Ren Man while I furrowed my brow and stated, yet, again, SERIOUSLY? Have they no life??

Let me back up.

We were late to the parenting-game.

It was never in the proverbial plans to have a child starting kindergarten when I was the ripe ole age of 42—but here we are.

Sure there are other women my age with kids starting school, but typically it’s the ‘last of’ situation and not their first and only.

As a result Ive witnessed more first-day-of-kindergarten! with friends than I can count.

It stated when I was 26 or so and continued right up through last year.

I watched my friends (and mere acquaintances) grow sad as the start of school approached and witnessed more than a few cry after their little ones climbed on the school bus for the first time.

And I judged.

I assumed any woman who had a job and/or a life would be happy to procure herself a little alone time.

A chance to pee without tiny eyes prying & providing a running commentary.

An opportunity to eat non-prison style (AKA hunched over my food so the Tornado doesnt steal it), sit for a few moments and just BREATHE.

I mocked the tears (inside where it counts) in the same way I now realize weve all mocked something we didn’t or couldnt yet understand.

I have work (these days thankfully more work than there are hours she will be at the Garten of the Kinder).

Whether I have a life is debatable, but I see this gift of time as an opportunity to perhaps get me one why yes. you MAY read that as the plea for IRL friendship it is.

Still, on this day the Tornado toddles strides off to launch her independence, Im sad.

Im not sure I wanna pee alone.

I fear Ill get me a dog just so I have something at home to stare at me with those you gonna eat that?! eyes as I lunch solo.

In this early morning hour as I get her stuff and my brain ready for the first day of school Im here to admit I judged you and to admit chances are pretty damn good in a few hours I shall join you.

By way of apology I wanna wrap these bleary musings up by proffering an opportunity for you to mock me relentlessly snicker at my expense.

I give you the little somethin’somethin’ I plan to tuck in the Tornado’s lunch today & which I dragged Ren Man out semi-last minute to do.

Please to enjoy.

Dizclaimer: This will not become the kinderchronicles permanently, but it may for the next few weeks.  In addition Id like to claim it was blogging through a veil of tears which resulted in the tootiny photo above—but it is not.  I merely suck at photographs.  Youll have that.

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Put Some Zensah On That Ass! Here’s Why

Greedy Kid #1 modeling Zensah

I keep hearing the name Zensaaah! People are obviously talking. Then I heard what they do. Compresssssion … [insert music of intrigue and suspense here]

But what exactly is compression. Do you need it? And what makes Zensah the brand you should be looking at?

Instead of posing as the intellectual humanoid that i am not (I’m only 1/2 humanoid, which explains a lot), I turned to Livestrong for a thorough, reliable and respected explanation on what compression does:

Provides support and control.Reduces muscle soreness and promotes faster recovery.Improves blood circulation and lessens muscle fatigue.Provides sweat-wicking to keep you dryer and cooler.May protect against thrombosis.

You should really go read the full article. All of these compressionalized qualities can help you trainer better, perform better and get the most of out muscle-demanding workouts like running, biking and the plyometric shenanigans I’m doing with Insanity right now.

I browsed 3 different athletic stores to see if I could find compression shorts that compared to the quality of the Zensah. But nada. I did not. Before I sampled the Zensah 3/4 High Compression Capris (they sent them to me), I had long fooled myself into thinking that I already owned compression shorts. Aren’t they the tight biker-ish shorts that hug your booty and thighs, make the fat slab remnants spill over the waistline and enhance the look of those exercise-sweaty spots in, emmm, certain areas?

Nope. That’s not the same thing as compression.

I’ve had these Zensah’s since early July, but I still can’t get over the super soft and comfy feel of the fabric: 85% polyamide and 15% elastan. It’s tight and stretchy (aka, holds stuff in, smooths stuff out, and gives needed support) yet somehow allows for free movement without the feeling that you’re miserably squished into the capris. The sweat-wicking factor is also really important, because who the hell wants booty sweat showing on the backside after a hard workout?

I wish I could jump right out the blog and have you look at these Zensah’s for yourself. Their $85.99 high end pricing may give you sticker shock, but I encourage you to go for it anyway; if you’re the type to occasionally treat yourself to quality goodness, you need to be treating yourself to a pair of Zensah’s. Put them on your list of “things to buy” or add them to your wish list. It may seem like a splurge, but Zensah is a beneficial tool just like those other workout aids you invest in.

Note! Although I’m a “Small/Medium” on Zensah’s sizing chart, I would have done even better with a “Medium/Large”, because they run slightly small for women with thigh and booty curves. If you have curves, go up a size.

I have crazy respect for the hardcore types I come across that run and bike for some serious miles. Many of them sing the praises of compression for training and race day events, and some have mentioned the Zensah brand in particular. I trust what the hardcore peeps are saying.

Have you heard of compression clothing or have you tried it yet?

View the original article here

Are you a square peg?

Many thanks to Stephanie for sending this blog post my way.

It completely amazes me MizFit is four and a half years old.

(I look back on the blogging I did in 2001, too, and snicker at how rudimentary it all was—but that’s a different discussion for us old fogies post)

It seems like yesterday I sat on the couch with a now famous writer-friend, while the Tornado destroyed the play room, and announced:

Im starting a new blog. A fitness blog. A personal development blog. Im calling it Sisyphit!

Yep.

You read that correctly.

That was my plan.

You see to me, many days, the actions of getting fit & staying fit and leading a healthy life can all conspire to feel precisely like the myth of Sisyphus.

Thankfully my loving friend (& all other friends, family & veritable strangers I approached with the name) informed my while creative my new blog name sounded like a venereal disease.

So I pondered & I mulled and I tested and I settled on MizFit.

An attempt to convey what the blog is mainly about (fitness) *and* what the blog-writer really is (misfit).

Which rather circuitously leads me back to the Harvard Business Review blog post aptly titled What kind of misfit are you?

It’s a phenomenal post (Umair Haque being a far better writer than I) extolling the virtues of non-conformity.

Some of my favorite lines being (excluding the first sentence which I love since I seem to type it every other blog post):

It’s not that every misfit accomplishes something fundamentally unexpectedly awesome…But it’s also probable that most things unexpected, radical, and breathtakingly awesome take just a little bit of nonconformity; just a little bit of dissatisfaction with “the way things are.”

I stood and cheered while I read this post Haque’s post hit home the first time I read it and even more so today as this misfit prepares to head out (or am already out. or am already DONE depending on when you read this.) to Muffin Morning.

An event which is the launching pad for the Kindergarten experience complete with teacher-meeting, parent schmoozing, tattoo revealing, PTA sign-ups, Girl Scout opportunities—you get the idea.

A mandatory gathering where I find myself grateful to already know precisely the comfortable in my own skin, happily marching to the beat of my own drum misfit I am.

And thats my question for you today with many thanks to Haque for his post.

What kind of misfit are you?

An awkward gazelle in an a world of Solid Gold dancers?

A proud-tech nerd in this land of semi-Luddites (*raises hand at mention of the L-word*)?

A plain ole square-peg (who remembers fondly, as I do, when SJP was NOT a fashion icon)?

Please to hit us misfits up in the comments below.

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