Fitness Friday: Tone it up!

I am gradually easing my way back into the water went swimming last Friday and it was a very good work out so that was awesome; I used to swim weekly not too long ago just got lazy somewhere along the way despite the fact that I love being in the water I am most at peace in water.  My focus for the next few weeks is to tighten and tone especially my arms they are not too bad but they could look better. I have been incorporating the five minute arm workout below in my daily routine all week it’s only five minutes but I sure do feel it. I am currently using alternative weights will be putting in an order for proper weights/dumbbells online in a bit. I also incorporate modified push ups in my workouts to strengthen my arm muscles.  I restarted my Jillian Michaels workouts today and will incorporate them twice a week since I don’t want to fully stop walking because I can really see the results of walking especially on my thigh area.  If anyone has recommendations for any good toning workouts please do let me know in the comments. 

This is what February is looking like at a glance;

Mondays and Fridays – Workout with Jillian Michaels

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays – Walk with Leslie Sansone

Arm workouts – Daily (weekends inclusive) it’s only five minutes after all

Swim as the spirit leads! If I wake up with an urge to go swimming so be it but I don’t want to allocate a day or time to it like I used to just yet for fear of being non compliant.

Sidebar: what are your thoughts on waist trainers? I wear shape wear to hold everything in place and give a smooth outline but lately I have been thinking about investing in a waist trainer and would really love to hear first hand thoughts from someone who does on what she thinks about them or just your thoughts in general on waist trainers so please help a sister out in the comments below. Thanks ladies! 

A kinky wash day!

I washed my kinky twists at exactly two weeks post installation. Braids wash days have got to be the simplest wash days ever this one was no exception except I had forgotten how much shampoo kinky extensions and braids in general use; this is my third time installing afro kinky hair. I diluted a bit of TRESemme naturals with water in a spray bottle. Wet my hair sprayed the shampoo mixture all over my hair realized it was not enough ended up using my liquefied African Black Soap that was in the shower stall as well and because that soap is primarily for my face I didn’t want to use too much of it and ended up grabbing the next shampoo that my hands could reach from the cabinet which turned out to be Black silk and ended up finishing the wash process with that. Hair shampooed twice and rinsed I wrung the excess water out and then towel dried turban style until damp and then let it air dry. I sprayed my homemade braid spray to my hair (length of real hair)  and scalp which at the moment is a mixture of moisturizer, Aloe Vera Juice, coconut, olive, castor oils and glycerine and let it air dry some more. I washed my hair at around 1pm in the afternoon and it was completely indoor air dried by evening. I oiled my scalp the next morning with my castor oil and that was it for this wash day.

Braids Prep!

I took down my sew in at exactly four weeks post installation and oh it felt so good to be able to have stress free access to my scalp again! I think going forward sew ins will only be for occasions when I want a bit more volume I can’t deal with my scalp not being able to breathe well and not being able to feel it. Anyway I took it down myself against my better judgment from previous experience and ended up snipping off a bit of my hair with the thread! It wasn’t much, a very very tiny piece nothing to worry about and it will catch up with the rest of the hair in no time. Take down over I proceeded to henna my hair I always henna my hair for strength before a long term protective style installation. I left the henna in for about 3 hours I think this is the longest I have had henna in; thank God for the numerous house chores I had to do that kept me busy and away from the shower.

House chores done I rinsed the henna off and then shampooed with ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo it had been a minute since I used this shampoo and it felt so good using it again. Shampoo done I conditioned in shower with Natural Classic Henna Wax Treatment I left that on for about 15 minutes as I scrubbed the shower and wall tiles there was henna residue all over and as usual looked like someone had a mud bath in there. Bathroom clean hair back to its softness (henna leaves my hair dry and coarse so I condition again to bring back the softness even though henna is a natural conditioner) I rinsed off the conditioner blotted dry with a towel then moisturized and blow dried on low heat to stretch it. My hair had a two day break in between removing the sew in and getting these mini chunky kinky twists which I am so in love with installed I had the stylist spray oil my scalp after installation. I love this size it’s very easy on my hairline. I just can’t be bothered to deal with my hair right now so it only made sense to get something else installed soon after. And at least with these twist I can reach my scalp with no fuss at all and it can breathe easy as well, I hope to carry them for 4-6 weeks give or take so we will see how it goes.

BYE BYE SEW IN

 HELLO KINKY TWISTS!!!

Happy Fitness Year!

Howdy ladies! Hope your holidays were all that you wanted them to be! I am happy to report that I did not over indulge during the holiday season okay I indulged a little bit but not too much only because these “bad foods” were always present and staring me in the face everywhere I went lol! Anyway I ate everything in moderation drank a little bit more soda than I wanted to but it’s okay because I hardly drink soda I can go months without drinking soda but once in a while I get serious cravings that have to be quenched and this was one of those times. I am currently back on the homemade smoothie train consistently so that’s good too. 

I kept up with my fitness routine and even managed to go swimming just before Christmas how about that! On occasions that I did not do my Leslie Sansone walk at home-a-thons I went outdoor walking and it was so refreshing to be walking outdoors for a change. I started the new year with a workout so hopefully it stays that way for the rest of the year; you know how they say the way you start the year is how it’s gonna be…yeah let’s hope I keep it up. Well that’s my brief fitness update for now. Cheers to the new fitness year!