Fitness Trackers: Fitbit Surge vs. Jawbone Up3

Well I have whined here before about being desk-ridden all day and having no way to accurately track how active I am and how effective my workouts are, today my complaint is about all the websites advertising their latest fitness trackers that have not been released yet.

This rant has been a long time coming, I have been looking for the ideal fitness tracker for quite some time now and I have refused to buy one without a continuous heart-rate monitor. I am now keen on idea of having multi-sport functionality as well. I have been unable to find one that I like the look of that has all the specs I want until now. Now, I am torn between two. The holding top-spot in my brain is the Jawbone Up3 and competing for that precious real estate is the Fitbit Surge. 

Yesterday I had my credit card out, ready to make the big purchase to no avail. Literally, there were none available online.

Now I want your feedback, which would you pick? Is there a fitness monitor that I am missing that has a sleek, functional look with all the advanced features on the market right now?

Honestly, I am pretty hung up on the Jawbone Up3 but it is missing the display function that the Fitbit Surge has (making it a little less useful). Also, after downloading and playing with the apps for both trackers I am more impressed with the Fitbit app. 

Do you have a fitness monitor? What is your preference and why?

Help a sista out! J

For more on the Fitbit Surge click here. For more one the Jawbone Up3 click here.

Midwinter New Moves Fitness Challenge: #1 Deadlifts

In my last blog I talked about all the dope stuff that was under my Christmas tree and why I am motivated to sty fit in 2015. It has been a busy month with my new job, my old job and the puppy but I have still been in the gym every week (or playing sports) 5 out of 7 days each week. New Years Eve I actually worked one job and then went to the gym, had a healthy lunch and then finished the day at my second job. It was a very productive day.

Going from working at a restaurant in the evenings to working 9am-5pm everyday has been a struggle. I used to have all the time in the world to workout everyday and maintained a very specific training plan. Things have changed; now my workouts have to fit in between work and supper, most days supper comes pretty late in my house. 

Now my workouts have to be quick and thorough. One thing I am doing is breaking out of my comfort zone more and moving away from single muscle group exercises. I am challenging myself to do new workout moves that are more productive for my body. As I mentioned in the previous blog I am easily intimated at the gym and now that I am becoming more comfortable at my new gym I think it is time to learn some new moves for my new lifestyle.

In December I started doing squats and now they are one of the key parts of my training routine. I see and feel the impact squats have on my body. I am so happy I moved past the short-term awkwardness and now can feel the long-term gain.

January has been all about deadlifts. Again, I am so happy I have added the deadlift to my program. I had been disappointed with my efforts over the first few weeks of working my new job and fitting in time at the gym. Now with squats and deadlifts added to my training plan I am feeling like I am gaining back what I lost.

Here is a great video of some tips that helped me feel comfortable enough to try deadlifts for the first time at the gym. Check it out.

From now until the end of February I am going to try to do something new every time I lift.  I am thinking that will be about 20 blogs. Give or take. For example today I should have soccer and would not be having a full weight lifting session and at least two days a week I work both jobs (making it impossible to get to the gym).  I’m hoping to not get sick again (I am sick at home right now, moping around because I was too sick to go to work). Also, I will have to have my wisdom teeth removed over the next month or so too.

New Move #1 -> Deadlifts

New Move #2 -> Lumberjack Squats

Check them out here:

 

I’m a girl in love with squats right now so I am pumped to try doing Lumberjack Squats! That’s what it is all about right?

Also, I love the “Buff Dudes” channel on Youtube. I like these videos so much that I am able to get past being called a “Dude”.

Welcome To 2015! Happy New Year!

I do not consider myself one of those people who are obsessed with fitness. I work two jobs and on the days where I only end up at one of my two work places I hit the gym; normally about 5 times a week. I take pretty good care of myself and watch my diet without really ever feeling like I am missing out on anything.

At one point I was very unhealthy and overweight, it started in my 4^th year of university and ended in halfway through my 1^st year of trade school. That year of binge eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted with little to no exercise was worth the lesson it taught me about life. Unfortunately no one really told me I was getting fat. I was 200 lbs and felt super hot. Usually because it was because I was winded from walking up stairs or moderate movement in general, but I never felt ugly.

I went into radio school bigger than I had ever been in my life. I started to realize what was going on with my body when I looked at my photos from my first trip to Disneyland in California and finally when visited Value Village and stepped on a scale for the first time in over a year. Late night snacks, quick drive-thru trips and 7/11 sugar rushes were adding up... fast.  

After deciding that enough was enough I started with the smallest step possible. Something manageable that I could do everyday, every morning I woke up with enough time to drink a protein shake before heading off to class. This was strategic, protein early in the morning helps you feel fuller later in the day and it was easy to do. Waking up early in the morning really was not my jam. Doing something quick and easy to start the day in the right day was key. I had been starving myself for the first half of the day and then fueling myself with something quick and easy for lunch at school. Unfortunately quick, easy and cheap is not a good combination in a school cafeteria.

My protein shake breakfast started during the winter months of 2012 and it is hard to believe it has been almost 3 years! To this day I have a shake for breakfast on mornings that I have to rush out to work and I still hate waking up before the sun.

That one easy step helped me drop weight quickly. The first pounds seem to be the easiest for me. I cleared out my stock of high carb food and scheduled my first cheat day. I have been doing this ever since.

The weight that I lost just by keeping an eye on my diet did more for me than I ever imagined. I had energy again. I had been napping every day since I was in high school and struggled to stay awake every day; that ended after about a week of smarter eating. I liked to look at myself again. Even though it never bothered me seeing photos of myself when I was overweight once I realized what was going on it tainted the moments a little bit.

It took a little over a year for me to feel comfortable enough to go back to the gym. I had been regularly going in the fall of 2010 but as I learned about health and my body I realized that my intense cardio workout were part of my problem staying committed to the gym. I knew as I was dropping weight from a healthier diet that I was going to have to change the way I exercised my muscles.

The first time I visited a gym after dedicating myself to eating properly was in the spring of 2013. I learned how to properly schedule my workouts and a variety of new diverse things to do at the gym. It was very intimidating. I was back in the gym that I had stopped going to when I started to gain weight but using a completely different floor with new machines. I did things wrong and it scared the shit out of me to be told that maybe I should tweak things to do them a more effective way but I kept at it.

My mother owns a tanning salon in a gym so growing up I spent a lot of time in a gym. I started lifting weights when I was in 8^th Grade in the weeks between seasons when I was not playing sports. As I got older my workouts changed into being straight-up cardio sessions. Why? It was easy, mindless (for me) and there was little chance that someone would approach me to correct my movements. I hated it which made me think it must be what I needed to do to lose weight and have a kick-ass body. Cardio was all my friends wanted to do when they went to the gym and there were rarely women downstairs on the weight lifting floor.

It was a big change to program workouts, track progress and lift heavy things. I still do cardio; I just do it differently and in conjunction with lifts.

Changing my thought process regarding working out has been the most challenging part of my weight loss story. I do get bored with my workouts some times and my schedule has changed multiple times since I started working out. These things have taught me another valuable lesson about being healthy and fit; willpower is a muscle you have to train just like any other part of your body.

In 2013 I made it about 15 weeks straight hitting the gym. I moved across the country during this period, finished post-secondary education and internships. When I was offered a job in British Columbia it brought me into the 9-5 fold and I was thrown from my fit routine. It took me about 9 months to get back into a gym after the move.

That was 40 weeks ago today. Yes, I keep track. That is one of the key things for me. I am a nerd who carries around a notebook at the gym so I can proudly tell you exactly what I did the last time I was there and how many times I have visited the gym since I started going back. It has been 40 weeks and 165 gym sessions and I feel great. I feel better than ever actually. I would be going to the gym today if it was open, I could write a massive rant about why the gym should be open on New Years Day but I decided to start 2015 on a positive note.

Back to willpower, it is a “muscle” that always can use an extra set. Even on the days I do not feel like going to the gym (which is pretty much every weekday after working at my desk job) I go. I put an hour on the clock and go hard. I let myself do some mindless cardio and rock out to my music. I prove to myself that my mind is as strong as the body I have spent so much time to build.

Now, to be clear I do not have the perfect body. Not even close. Especially coming out of the holiday season. That is not why I go to the gym. I go to release the energy that I now have from eating and sleeping well, I go to get out of the house and see people, I go because I like to binge watch television shows and I go because I LOVE to eat. And sometimes when I make the turn to go home instead of to the gym I think about seeing myself on the TV monitor while I was taking Radio and Television Arts and seeing my bloated face’s headshot. I think about how crappy it felt to not want to watch myself on TV, something I has wanted all of life. That for me is the kicker, the thing that gets my ass into the gym and helps my willpower kick in when it needs to at the grocery store.

We all have motivations and things that drive us to be the person we want to be. I like to think I had a kick ass 2014, I hope you did too! As great as the past year was, lets make 2015 even better!

This year I am not setting New Years Resolutions. Not one. There are things I would like to keep up on, but I will not be beating myself up to get them done. I would like to continue to learn; so I have gifted myself Lynda.com access. I would like to continue to be fit and healthy, so Santa has brought me 40lbs of protein powder and 4 boxes of Quest bars to go with my year gym membership. I have also gifted myself a new gym outfit from Fabletics. Nothing feels as good as slipping into new workout gear after a day in heels and business attire!

The most challenging thing I would like to do in 2015 is to continue to create. Working two jobs I find I have no time to write a blog or something witty for radio and that is the big thing I would like to exercise my willpower on this year.

So I’m going to sum up how I would like to see 2015 in my mission statement right here:

“2015 a year of learning, exercising and creating”

What would you like to happen in 2015?

All the best and Happy New Year!

Kate

PS

A BIG THANKS to CanadianProtein.com for all of the awesome deals on my Christmas gifts. Yes, I know where Santa shops. It is my favourite place to order pre-workout, protein powder and protein bars. Click here to check out CanadianProtein.com.

One more shutout, this one goes to Fabletics. I am obsessed! I used to be all about Lululemon and saving up to treat myself to a new piece of workout clothing. Now I shop at Fabletics.ca and get an entire outfit for the price on one of the Lulu shirts I bought at a Lulu Outlet! Check out Fabletics here.

PS. This is my new outfit! I love it! At 50% it was $56.00 with shipping and taxes. 

"Savage"

What Have You Done For Your Body Today?

Happy National Women’s Health & Fitness Day!

I do not normally blog about fitness because lets face it, these days everyone who lifts up a dumbbell occasionally feels the need to tweet, blog and Instagram their fitness exploits.

Honestly I try not to, it is just not me. If it keeps you in the gym and on the right track, right on! Keep it up! To each their own.

Today I celebrated National Women’s Health and Fitness Day by kicking it off with a big Canadian Protein order. It has been a long time coming and I am so excited for the Quest bars that I have treated myself to.

I woke up pretty sore and since we are being honest here I really did not want to go to the gym. Yesterday morning I worked back and biceps and then had my first ice time for hockey in well over a year so my body’s muscles were sore from all the skating.  I could have made excuses; my boyfriend stayed in bed (still sore from hockey) and I worked late last night and was on my feet until 9:30pm. But, I exercised my willpower and chugged my pre-workout and got in my car to head to the gym as quickly as possible. Sometimes as strong as our bodies are from working out our lazy minds can still win the battle to be active.

Today I pushed it. I trained legs and shoulders with intervals of intense cardio between supersets. To adjust to my soreness I cut my heavy lifts by one set and during my cardio intervals listened to my favourite gym tracks. I treated myself to half an infrared sauna session after to sweat a little more and relax with my book after my solid gym session.

Someone once told me that you will never regret getting up and going to the gym; you will regret not going. I really took that message to heart. It may sound silly buy my cookies and cream protein shake tastes better when I know I have had a successful workout.

I am now off to throw together a great reward lunch, a spicy chicken salad (you can see that below) with a FOLDit Chicken club sandwich.

Remember: Crap in, crap out! If you are expecting your body to perform physically fuel it properly! Just like at the gym you only get out what you put in!

Today marked my 28th week since I returned back to my training plan, today specifically was workout 156. 

Rant: Gym Selfies

I’m not sure what annoys me more constant pictures of babies or gym pics on social media.

If you didn’t enjoy that line, stop reading now. You really won’t like what is to come.

You know what, I actually I have an answer to that. I would much rather see cute photos of your baby or pet then a body shot of you at the gym.

Maybe I am a jerk saying this, but to me it is the most self-centered thing you can post. As a friend, I am so proud of your efforts to get out and work out. Good for you (seriously)! Going to the gym everyday takes dedication. It truly is like having a part-time job taking care of your body to get it to competition level for bodybuilding; or working of extra weight you have been carrying around.

Last year around this time I became a dedicated gym-goer, for no real reason. I love the size and shape I was, I was the smallest I have ever been when I started at the gym but my body was still giggly. Also, I had a lot of time on my hands while I was at radio school. I never got on the on my phone at the gym photo-train, in fact I have stopped going to gyms because of people who do this.

At my gym in Calgary every time I went I had to side step around people taking pictures of themselves and talking on the phone while working out. I think it is so obnoxious and (again) self-centered.

To me, the gym is a sacred place. Gyms are places where make-up melts away from your face like you are the Wicked Witch (if you are doing it right). They are places where fashion is not as important as functionality, who cares what you are wearing! The goal is that no one will want to see that outfit and this may sound harsh, but your face when you’re done working out.

I will admit, as soon as I am back from California I am joining the gym in Castlegar. I was pretty obsessive about working out before I moved to B.C., but once I started working my career became my obsession.

Every time I stop going to the gym or playing sports regularly my mind trips me up. I see that I am losing weight (muscle) and think it is all going to be okay by just eating smart. But, after that drop in weight and fun period that makes you think you never needed to go to the gym in the first place to drop weight, you start to blow up the scale again.

Right now I will gladly post that I am 171lbs on vacation (yup, a little chubby). This is the largest I have been in a while, I have been weighing in about 165lbs but on vacation I have been retaining water and eating pretty poorly (sweets and wine).

I actually really like the routine of going to the gym. For me, it has been really hard to try to get back to working out since I have moved to B.C. I have not really had a routine since I moved to B.C.; at first it was constant trips around to Calgary and Vancouver. Then it shifted to periods co-hosting the morning show and pretty much constant exhaustion (it really was not for me). I am a person who thrives when I am able to have a routine and it looks like now I can finally get back into one.

Right now, I can’t wait to get back to the gym when I get back to B.C. But, I can promise you I won’t be taking daily update photos of my journey to fitness. I won’t even be blogging about it.

Right now I do not have a goal for working out. I always try to set goals for things I do, maybe I will try a natural physique competition next year? I do want to run at least a 5k this summer. Maybe that is my goal…