Cari Fit

Fitness Advice, Workout Tips, and Inspiration

fit mom

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas For the Fit Mom + Fit Baby

Happy Mother’s Day weekend to all the fit Moms out there! If you are looking for a gift for a fit Mom in your life (girlfriend, sister, daughter or your own Mom) check out my favorites below. Or – if you need to send your partner or kids ideas…you may want to share this post on Facebook : )

Fitness Clothes & Gear

Every fit mom likes new workout clothes and workout gear.

For clothes I really like all of Target’s new spring and summer colors. Also, I’ve been getting a lot of my stuff from Nordstrom like these Zella crops (they are also very comfortable). I almost always wear a hat when I workout to keep my hair out of my face. I like this cute “Momlife” hat from Etsy.

I always take my phone with me on runs in case the baby needs me. The phone itself is bulky enough without a bulky arm strap and dangling wires on headphones. So, I use a neoprene armband  (lightweight & flexible) similar to this and love my Apple Wireless Airpods (headphones).

Let’s face it – as moms…we have to squeeze in a workout when we can and sometimes that means at home. I recommend getting a set of Adjustable weights for home workouts so you can keep just the one set in your workout area without taking up too much space. I love Apple TV so I can stream youtube workouts and Instagram live workouts (like the one I’ll be doing on my @Bombshell_Bootcamp Insta soon!).

Spa/Beauty

All moms want to look and feel pretty. If she likes spa days…I recommend Milk + Honey spa in Houston. If she’s been super busy and doesn’t have much time to fix her hair – get her a  giftcard to the Drybar for a blowout or braid that she can show off at her next yoga class. But, if you think she’d like a completely new look or just really awesome highlights – send her to my colorist Sarah at Ceron salon. I’ll be doing a post about her soon because she has a great transformation story! I also love these new hair bands I found at Sephora (another great idea for a gift card!) because they don’t break or damage my hair.

Items For the Fit Baby & Kid

Fit moms are setting a great example for their little ones (and big ones). Most babies and kids try to copy their parents’ behaviors – so if you are a fit parent, they want to workout just like you! Next time you do a home workout or take your kid with you on a run or bike ride – try one of these cute products:

The baby dumbbell rattle is so cute and babies love rattles! I also love this cute Under Armour baby workout outfit (shown in my picture below) for babies. Have a bigger toddler? Check out this toddler weight set with barbell! If you have bigger kids, get them excited about yoga with their own Kids yoga mat and yoga deck cards!

 

Fitness Classes

Fitness classes or gift cards also make great gifts. I personally love the Bombshell Bootcamp Giftcard ; ) but yoga or spin classes make great gifts, or just help her make time for early morning runs by watching the baby or swap carpooling the kids with another fit mom friend! Most cities also have “Mommy and Me” classes for babies and moms under 2 or ask around for baby bootcamps or just see if your favorite bootcamp will allow you to bring a baby in a stroller (mine will).

Healthy Lunch or Dinner Out

Fit moms like to celebrate and go out – but sometimes it can be stressful picking a healthy spot that the rest of the family will enjoy. My new favorite for lunch in Houston is Bebidas. For dinner I always love True Food Kitchen (you HAVE to order the crudites!) and it’s a chain – so if you don’t live in Houston check out their other locations. A few of my other local favorites for healthy (and vegetarian friendly) options are Ruggles Green and Molina’s (grilled chicken or fish platter with veggies) and Escalante’s (grilled fish tacos and their baked tortilla chips).

*All opinions on the products and companies are my own.

Exclusive Interview with Jamie Eason, Kelsey Byers and Hilary Hall

From left: Hilary Hall, Kelsey Byers, Cari Shoemate and Jamie Eason

I recently sat down with Three of Houston’s Fittest Moms to find out how they got back in shape post-baby and how they juggle family life and fitness. Below they share a little bit about who they are, their fitness journey and their top tips not just for moms – but for anyone looking to make fitness and a healthy lifestyle a priority.

Hilary Hagner Hall, Kelsey Byers and Jamie Middleton (Eason) all live here in Houston and are good friends! I’ve been friends with Hilary for years and she introduced me to Jamie and Kelsey. I’ve been following them both for a long time and have always been inspired by their workouts and healthy lifestyle. So, when I found out Jamie and Kelsey were pregnant at the same time as me – I was super excited to follow their journey!

If you haven’t heard of these 3 ladies – you must be living under a rock ; ) Hilary is super popular here in Houston and has been on local and national tv shows demonstrating her popular workouts and she runs popular Shed ‘N Shred. Jamie is a huge fitness star and has been in hundreds of magazines and on dozens of covers and can be seen each week on Lifetime’s Mission Makeover. Kelsey is an up and coming fitness star who has also been a cover girl and has competed in NPC competitions. She is the author of Eat Clean and Follow Your Dreams and she has a very inspiring 50lb weight-loss success story!

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How To Workout When You Have No Time

IMG_0717I prefer to do my workouts at the gym and I still go as much as I can. However, now that I’m a new mom I don’t get to go as often as I’d like – so that means I have to squeeze in many of my workouts at home. I always thought babies slept a lot and took many naps – so I figured there would be plenty of time for me to fit in workouts as a new mom. Right? Not quite. My baby takes 2-3 naps a day….but they are never longer than 30 minutes! 30 minutes?! That’s barely enough time for me to warmup, much less melt off this body fat! So, what is a new mom to do? Well, I’ve been working out 30 minutes at a time 2-3 times a day! It kinda sucks getting into the groove and then having to stop and wait another few hours before I can finish, so what I’ve found that works is to break up my workouts into 2 or 3 parts so that I get to finish each section and get a sense of completion and accomplishment. I do lower body, upper body and then core and cardio.

This concept can work great for others that just don’t have enough time to fit in workouts either due to family, your job, travel schedule, etc. You can do these workouts all together too – if you have time. In about 25min (after warming up) you should be able to get in about 3-4 sets of each exercise in the circuit. Here is a sample of my 3 x 30 minute daily workout:

Start each of these with a short warmup (ie. a few jumping jacks, step-touches, jog in place, short brisk walk around the house, etc).

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30 Minutes Lower Body (weights optional)

  • 30 squats
  • 20 elevated lunges on each leg (prop up your back leg on a sturdy chair, step, etc. that is about knee high)
  • 20 hamstring bridges on each leg + 30 crunches
  • 30 sumo squats (squats with toes pointing outward)
  • 1-minute wall sit (keep back up against a flat wall and your legs at 90 degrees with knees over ankles)

*Repeat this circuit as many times as you can in 30 minutes.

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30 Minutes Upper Body (2 dumbbells or or a resistance band)

  • 20 pushups (or how ever many you can do with good form)
  • 20 shoulder presses
  • 20 bicep curls
  • 20 bent over rows
  • 20 overhead triceps extensions with both weights (or you can do kickbacks)

*Repeat this circuit as many times as you can in 30 minutes.

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30 Minutes Core & Cardio (no equipment)

  • 20 jump squats (land soft with knees bent)
  • 20 reverse crunches (legs in the air – lift hips up)
  • 20 burpees
  • 20 side plank dips on each side
  • 30 seconds high knees

*Repeat this circuit as many times as you can in 30 minutes.

If you only have 30 minutes TOTAL – try this workout instead.