Our First Video!

First of all, I need everyone to know that we are not computer savvy and that we have ZERO experience editing films. So this is very raw. Just go with it.

In this video, Billy and I attempted Zuzana's hardest workout yet which is her 12 minute "Keep it Hard" workout. The idea is to condense a typical one hour workout at the gym into the shortest amount of time possible. This appealed to us because Billy and I are always looking for ways to get a good workout in while watching Jackson. In total, we only spent half an hour in the park which is pretty much Jackson's threshold.



I found this workout to be interesting and fun. I understand the concept and in theory, it should work however, I found that I could barely perform each preceding exercise to my best ability because I was still recovering from the one before. Having my heart rate in the max zone for 12 minutes will certainly burn fat but,it wouldnt be very beneficial to your total body to workout this way everyday.

So here is is, our very first recorded performance (and it ain't pretty)....however, pretty funny..

Enjoy
xx
Muscle Carr's

Source:

bodyrock.tv/2010/05/24/keep-it-hard-for-12-minutes/

12 minutes total. Each exercise is 50 seconds long, then 10 seconds of rest.

1. Chin Ups

2. Prisoner Jump Squats

3. Mountain Climber

4. Clapping Push Ups

5. Jump Lunges

6. Bicycle

7. Dips

8. Forward Lunge Jump Up/ Backward Lunge Jump Up (as one exercise on one leg)

9. Forward Lunge Jump Up/ Backward Lunge Jump Up (on the other leg)

10. Side Crunch – left

11. Side Crunch – right

12. Burpees

TOP 20 Worst Drinks on the Market - Like no DUH

Hi Everyone,

I took Jackson to the park yesterday and I think I over did it. One of the hardest things to do in NY is to get around with an infant. At first, I embraced it as a fitness challenge but now I can see, it is down right cruel! The park is about a mile away and so I had put everything in his stroller while I carried him in a snugly. Coming home, I put him in the stroller so he could take a nap which lead me to carry all our supplies (blankets, diapers, wipes, food, and so ...). The hardest part was getting him and everything up the stoop, into our narrow brownstone doors and up the stairs all while trying not to disturb his sleep. I overdid it. Last night, as I started my boxing workout, I felt a pinch in my neck and the next thing you know, I can barley turn my head to the left or lift my left arm. I am so disappointed!! I have all these plans for the upcoming week and now I have to rest.

Also, this means that I have to focus more on my diet (which is not fun because I love my food)

And on that note, I leave you with this year's list of top 20 Worst Drinks in each drink category that are currently available on the market. Most of them deserve a "like duh" introduction however, if you click on the link, the article will tell you some good alternatives to each beverage.

For complete nutritional facts on this list and to see their alternatives, click on the link.
Source: Men's Health Magazine:
eatthis.menshealth.com/slide/worst-beverage-america?slideshow=184612#title

1) Worst Beverage in America: Cold Stone PB&C (Gotta Have It size) - 2,010 calories
2) Worst Smoothie: Smoothie King Peanut Power Plus Grape (large, 40 fl oz) - 1,498 calories
3) Worst Drive-Thru Shake: McDonald’s Triple Thick Chocolate Shake (large, 32 fl oz) - 1,160 calories
4) Worst Froze Mocha: Così Double Oh! Arctic Mocha (gigante, 23 fl oz)- 1,210 calories
5) Worst Frozen FRUIT Drink: Krispy Kreme Lemon Sherbet Chiller (20 fl oz) - 980 calories
6) Worst Float: Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Soda (vanilla ice cream and cola) (large, 28.6 fl oz)- 960 calories
7) Worst Margarita - Traditional Red Lobster Lobsterita (24 fl oz) - 890 calories
8) Worst Froze Coffee Drink: Dairy Queen Caramel MooLatte (24 fl oz) - 870 calories
9) Worst Hot Chocolate: Starbucks White Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream (venti, 20 fl oz) - 520 calories
10) Worst Lemonade: Auntie Anne’s Wild Cherry Lemonade Mixer (32 fl oz) - 470 calories
11) Worst Espresso Drink: Starbucks Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with Whipped Cream (venti, 20 fl oz) - 660 calories
12) Worst Juice Impostor: Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (1 can, 23 fl oz) - 345 calories
13) Worst Functional Beverage: Arizona Rx Energy (1 can, 23 fl oz) - 345 calories
14) Worst Kids Drink: Tropicana Tropical Fruit Fury Twister (1 bottle, 20 fl oz) - 340 calories
15) Worst Beer: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (1 bottle, 12 fl oz)- 350 calories
16) Worst Soda: Sunkist (1 bottle, 20 fl oz) - 320 calories
17) Worst Bottled Coffee: Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino (1 bottle, 13.7 fl oz) - 290 calories
18) Worst Energy Drink: Rockstar Energy Drink (1 can, 16 fl oz) - 280 calories
19) Worst Bottled Tea: SoBe Green Tea (1 bottle, 20 fl oz) - 240 calories
20 Worst Water: Snapple Agave Melon Antioxidant Water (1 bottle, 20 fl oz) - 150 calories

Wedding Dress Use #20 - YOGA MAT

Hilarious article I read today about a man who's wife quit his a*s. All she left behind was her wedding dress and when he asked her to come get it, she said to do whatever he wanted with it. And so he did.....

My favorite of course is when he turned his wife's wedding dress into a yoga mat.



Here is the rest of the article:
myexwifesweddingdress.com/



Nama-stay

Muscle Carr

I'm Back! New 30 Day Challenge - With Special Guest Appearance

Hi everyone!!!

So needless to say, its been a long time since I have been on here. Billy and I got so busy after returning back to work full time. I didn't gain any weight back THANK GOD but I haven't lost much either. So we are starting anew. Often times, this is the best way to lose weight. You should treat your weight loss program as a marathon and not a sprint. That way, you are more likely to keep the weight off as I have done so. I continued to workout but not everyday and with less intensity. And I have also learned from my peers who have had a child to give yourself the 9 months it took to put on the weight, to take it off. That has helped be emotionally through this experience. After all, the more you stress out about losing weight, the more likely you are to not lose any!

So now please join me (With special guest appearance, my husband, Billy Carr!) as we find new ways to workout together with our son. For the next 30 days, we will both try to lose a pant size and or 8-10 pounds. We hope to accomplish this by using Zuzanna's workouts on www.bodyrock.tv, and vetoing any fried food! AHH! I love me some crispy rock shrimp! But that is not allowed on this journey.

Here are our starting stats:
Faryn - weight: 161, Goal: 153

Billy - weight: 195, Goal: 185

So please check back later tonight for tomorrow's workout regimen. This morning, I preformed the following workout. Have fun and let me know how it goes!

http://www.bodyrock.tv/2010/05/21/hard-core-abs-workout/

And by the way, the person who reaches their goal first gets a week off from the morning feedings!! So wish us LUCK!

If You Care......

HA! Just thought the name of this coffee filter was funny. Ive been using them for about a week now and I just realized that it says "If you care" on the box". Um..what? Are other coffee filters made of baby seals or something? Geeze!! Apparently these are made with no bleach so when you discard them, bleach does not end up in our lakes and streams. I am all for doing what I personally can to keep my carbon foot print low so I'll put up with the slogan. But seriously, lighten up!

Calming Sounds for Babies

Ok, so I am not even going to pretend to be an expert here. I just want to let other mother's know about something that seems to be working for Jackson. Lately I have been so tired from watching him all day (he seems to be getting needier), then going to work and then finally getting my workout in. He has been so "on edge" lately and I think I have finally discovered something that helps. I downloaded the sound "Tropical Beach" from the Album "Relaxing Sounds of Nature - The Pure Meditation Album" and it seems to really help! When he starts to get fussy and yet he was just fed, burped and changed, I put this song on and sure enough, poof! He falls asleep or just sits quietly. This is an actual photo of him asleep with this sounds on in the background. All I can say is give it a try. I now find myself calm as well and with energy saved to workout later.

Jennifer Aniston's Yoga Pro Workout

I was reading US Weekly and they had a workout in their magazine that was designed by Jennifer Aniston's Yoga trainer Mandy Ingber. I will honesty try anything Jenn does because her tiny tight frame is smokin! I did it today and I LOVED it. I will now be doing it every other day in between my Zuzana workouts.

Before doing these exercises, I went for a quick jog as a warm up because I feel like workouts are more effective at burning calories when your heart rate is already up. Below are the exercise names and what to do. I don't have images because I pulled this out of US Weekly. If you are unsure of how the pose actually goes, you can Google it and click images and it will pop up right away.

Enjoy!

*6 Exercises Total
*3 Rounds
*Perform 8 squats between each exercise

1) Chair Pose - Butt, Thighs, & Calves
Hold for 30 seconds

2) Boat Pose - Abs
Hold for 30 - 60 seconds

3) One - Arm Balance (Side Plank) - Shoulders, Abs, Legs
Hold for 15 seconds, Switch sides; repeat

4) Forearm Plank & Leg Lift - Shoulders, Arms, Abs, Legs
Pressing back in to heels, raise left leg an inch off floor, flexing
foot and holding for 15 seconds. Switch sides; repeat.

5) Temple Pose - Thighs, Butt
Hold for 30-60 seconds

6) Tree Pose - Abs, Thighs
Hold for 30 seconds. Switch Legs; repeat

Day 12 - 2 Days until weigh in!

Hi everyone,

So I have to be honest, these last few days have been pretty rough. Ive been very tired from the workouts and Jackson. Work has also been pretty long too. I haven't been on top of everything as much as I need to be but I'm getting back on track. Here is a cool new workout to do today and I hope you join me. I have a weigh in on Friday and I would like to have lost another 2 lbs. Check out the workout and let me know what you think!

Hope you have fun,
Faryn

http://www.bodyrock.tv/2009/12/10/turbo-fat-blaster-workout/

And Jackson is cheering us all on!

This Week's Workout Song

There's nothing worse than getting on the treadmill, turning on your workout playlist and quickly realizing that you are sick of all your songs. So I am always constantly trying to find a new song to workout to.
Call me cheesy or old fashioned but I still like songs from the 90's! I'm just not into Autotune. So this weeks fun song for your playlist is the famous Jay Z and The Verve mashup "Bittersweet Dirt Off Your Shoulder".

Enjoy!!

Day 10 - Booty Lift Workout

Hi everyone,

Happy Monday!! I thought it would be nice to start the week off right with a good booty workout, ha! I found a fun looking one on Zuzana's website this morning. It includes the following:

1) 2 walking lunges. Then 4 backward jumps into a half burpee with jump (no pushups)
2) Step up & one leg elevated squats (30 reps for each leg) Yea right! Ill do as many as I can though
3) One Legged Bridge - 2 sets of 15 on each leg
4) One Legged Wall Sit - hold one leg up for 30 seconds then switch. Perform twice.

Click or copy and paste the link for the video!
http://www.bodyrock.tv/2010/01/14/burn-fat-and-tighten-your-butt/

Day 9 - Pull Up Pyramid Workout

So Zuzana is busy moving to Prague (what a life, ha!) and therefore, Ive decided to do one of my own upper body workouts today. Pull ups are a great way to tone your entire arm and back. Its also good to have another challenge for yourself other than just weight loss. Sometimes trying to lose weight alone can get too boring. Ive made it my challenge to also be able to do a pull up by the time summer rolls around. Seriously!, pull ups are hard!! I use the assisted pull up machine that can be found at just about every gym nowadays. If you want to do this from home and have no way to do pull ups, you can at least work your shoulders by doing an overhead press with dumbbells (go ahead and youtube " dumbbell over head press " if your unsure what it is). So basically you will be performing reps that increase like a pyramid and then decrease after you hit the peak. Pull ups go up in increments of 1, pushups in increments of 2 and crunches in increments of 5 (perfrom these crunches on a stability ball if you can). For example: round 1 will be 1 pull up, then 2 pushups, then 5 crunches. Round 2 will be 2 pull ups, 4 pushups, and 10 crunches..

Here is the routine:
Pull ups: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4.....
Pushups: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 12........
Crunches: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 30, 25...

Good luck and let me know how it goes. I am so sore already!

Day 8 - Active Rest Day

So today I have decided to take it a little easy to let my body recover from the last few days of hard workouts. I like to consider this a day of "active rest". Sometimes I feel too sore to do anything body changing but then I feel guilty if I don't DO something. Almost like I will back track. That's where the active rest comes in. So if you read my previous post, I went ahead and jogged for 20 minutes and within that 20 minutes, I performed some walking lunges (just enough to get a good burn in my quads). When I got home, I was surprised at how much more energy I had just from that short workout that I did some crunches on a stability ball. All in all, the workout was only 30 minutes but I feel great and not guilty at all for having some delishes food today.

And in honor of active rest day, I will be getting a light massage from Billy as my reward for all the hard work. If you like massages and can get them from your partner, I have found an AMAZING massage oil called Sea Source that feels just like the oil that they use at the spa. I always ask the people at the spa if I could buy the oil they use but its never for sale! And the stuff that you can usually find at a store never seems to come close the oil at the spa. But this stuff is really great and it smells good too! And if you dim the lights in your room, light some candles and play some spa music (I like SPA Hotel - downloadable from itunes), you will honestly feel like your on a vacation. I even like to turn on a space heater in our room so it gets warm and cozy.

Give it a try! Its been instrumental in helping me to continue my journey.

Workout How You Eat

Good morning everyone! Im going to keep this brief because I do not have much time. I am about to head out into the snow for a quick 20 minute jog mixed in with walking lunges. When you don't have a lot of time, its best to at least do something like this. I have one of my best friend's bridal shower to go to in a couple of hours and it will be held at one of NYC's best restaurants. When I have the opportunity to go to a very nice place, I WILL eat what I want because life is too short to miss out on culinary masterpieces. Therefore, I will be jogging before hand and later this evening. As my friend Kerry always says, "Workout how you Eat". And on that note, I will just be leaving you with an inspiring photo of Zuzana to get you off your butt and working out with me this morning.

Talk soon,
Faryn

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Our lovely landlord may be secretly trying to sabotage my weight loss goal. No no, I kid I kid! But today I stepped out of my apartment to discover a box of Cheryl and Co. cookies sitting up against our door which said "Enjoy!" I opened the box and there they were, not just a few cookies...but we are talking about 35 thick cookies where the icing is as thick as the cookie itself! I had to be strong in this moment. I unwrapped one called "butter cream" and smelt the sugary goodness....and then I ate it.

I want people to know that its ok to indulge a little and that you dont have to say no all the time. You just have to say no to a large portion. So I split the cookie in half and shared it with Billy. The next step I have to take now is to give the cookies away. This is a challenge in itself but I must remain strong. I must go with the motto, "Out of sight. Out of mind" because honestly, if its not around, I cant be tempted.

I'm glad I wrote this out, because now everyone at work will be expecting cookies and therefore, I have no choice but to hand them over. Right?

Day 7 - Results

Starting Weight: 169
Current Weight: 167
Weight Lost: 2lbs
Days Left: 23
Goal weight: 155 (for now!)

I am so excited to report that I have lost 2 pounds in the first week of my challenge. I am feeling quite motivated to continue. Last night, I attempted the "Slap Your Ass Workout" by Bodyrock.tv. I must say that I found this workout to be more of a cardio challenge then a leg challenge. Don't get me wrong, my legs were burning but I think my cardio ability is alot weaker than my legs. I could barely breathe by the time I got to the middle of it! Good thing I had a friend keeping track of time, (that way I couldn't cheat). Here are my results compared to Zuzana's.

1) Squat Down - Pistol Up
*Zuzana - 13, 8
*Me - 14, 12 (I used her modification which explains the higher number)

2) Side Lunge Jump
*Zuzana - 35 , 30
*Me - 30, 30

3) High Knee Jump with Jump Rope- (MODIFIED)
Instead of using a jump rope, I did high knee jumps, making sure
my knees hits my hands which were held right out in front of me.

4) One Leg Bridge
*Zuzanna - 27, 22
*Me - 30 , 27

5) Backward Lunge Kick (Right Leg)
*Zuzana - 16, 15
*Me - 15, 15

6) Backward Lunge Kick (Left Leg)
*Zuzana - 16, 15
* Me - 15, 15

7) Side Squat Jump
*Zuzana - 18, 14
*Me - Forgot to keep count! I was so dead.

8) Squat Thrust to Stand Up
* Zuzana - 11, 10
* Me - 10, 10

Day 7 - Hardcore Circuit - Legs, Back & Chest

So, we are snowed in today! I found a workout I can do indoors for the most part. The workout includes:

* Jumping Rope ( I will do jumping jacks instead because I lack the space)
- Jump Rope - 1 Minute or
- Jumping Jacks - 50
* Lunges with dumbbells - 15 reps for each leg
* Bent over dumbbell rows - 15 reps
* Pushups - 15 reps

Repeat for a total of 3 rounds.

To increase your fat burning rate, perform jumping rope or jumping jacks between each exercise. For a detailed version of this workout, visit:

http://www.bodyrock.tv/2008/08/31/episode-61-hardcore-workout-part-one-310808/

Perform Better - Vinyl Covered Dumbbells Get 15% off!

If anyone is looking into getting dumbbells for their home, I would suggest getting vinyl covered dumbbells. You can see my collection in the photo. I love them for a few reasons:

1) I hate the feeling of cold steel in my hands
2) They are wonderfully bright and colorful
3) The flat edges allow you to get creative with your exercises.

I recently purchased mine from my friend Jennie Rhode. If you are interested in ordering some, you can contact her here.

Jennie Rhode
M-F Athletic and Perform Better
Phone: 1-800-556-7464 ext. 114
Fax: 1-800-682-6950 or 1-401-942-7645
jennr@performbetter.com
visit us at: www.performbetter.com and www.mfathletic.com

And if you mention Muscle Carr, you can receive a 15% discount!

Finally - A Yogurt That I Like!

Hi Everyone,

I must say that I am getting pretty anxious for tonight's workout. In the meantime, I wanted to go ahead and inform you of an amazing new yogurt. I always envied those skinny girls who would have their yogurt in the morning. Plus, I liked the idea of how easy it was to have for breakfast. I on the other hand hated yogurt and would go straight for the turkey sausage and potatoes. But I have been trying different types of yogurt for about a month now and I think Ive finally found "the one"! Its Breyers Low Fat Vanilla Bean yogurt. Its not too tart and not too sweet. Ive even been throwing some granola into it for some crunch too. I've even added blackberry's to it this morning! I never thought the day would come that I would be eating berries for breakfast! Go ahead and give it a try. I really think its going to help me get more nutrients into my diet and fuel me for my workouts better.

Here was the post for Day 6:

Sorry, I have to be honest. That title is a bit silly haha. But I have to correctly post what the creator of the workout calls it. Believe it or not, I am looking forward to Zuzana's workout tomorrow night. Just look at that image! I will attempt this move but its a good thing she includes a modification for those who cannot fully complete it. Anyways, I wanted to go ahead and post this tonight just incase you would like to join me in this challenge tomorrow. Just click on the link for the full work out and check back tomorrow night around midnight for my update on how it goes. And please, if you do this, leave your comments! I would love to know how it works out for you!
I wont be off work until 9:30pm so this is going to be extra tough to accomplish!

Good luck everyone!

http://www.bodyrock.tv/2010/02/18/slap-your-ass-workout/

Veggies - No my favorite!

I really dont like vegetables that much unless they have tons of butter on them. So I started trying to make salads. I would go to the grocery store, pick out the lettuce, carrots....and that was it! I really dont like vegetables. I also dont like a lot of the bottled salad dressings that you find at the grocery store. The only salad dressing I really seem to enjoy is balsamic dressing from restaurants. However, I can never seem to find one that comes close to it in the store. Thankfully my mother came to stay with me in my last week of pregnancy and made me some. And it was really good! Here is the recipe. I suggest making a whole batch of it to store in the fridge so that making a salad is alot easier of a choice than choosing to have a snack such as a bagel bite..(I love those things!)

By the way, I love this dressing with spinach, shaved almonds, feta or blue cheese and craisins (Yes! craisins! They are dried cranberry's that are like raisins).

# 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
# 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, optional*
# 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
# 1/2 teaspoon salt
# 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
# 3/4 cup olive oil

Days 1 - 5

Starting weight: 169
Current weight: 171
Weight goal 155 - (for now!)

Since I deleted all my posts, Im going to attempt to re-do them a little bit. Here was the first post with the pictures. So in a nutshell, Im trying to lose the baby weight in 30 days. This is a picture of me and my son Jackson. The girl in the black and white photo is a Zuzana, a woman who has her own workout blog. I will be pulling workouts from her blog daily to assist myself in this challenge. Please feel free to follow along! So far I have gained two pounds but I am chalking it up to muscle weight. This challenge is not only hard because of the workouts, but I also work on top of being a mother. I have started this blog because I feel that if this challenge is made public, I can not give up! So please help me by leaving comments and please try the workouts for yourself!
Got to go and wish me luck!

xoxo
Faryn Carr

Files Deleted!

Oh my gosh! I just deleted everything I had posted!!! I have to start over now so please bare with me. Im just learning how this blog stuff works.