Let's Clarify Some Things, Shall We?

Hello there! The Lindsay-half of Fit with Farrar today :)

The two of us are almost always moving at a bazillion miles an hour.

Guilty.

For the past couple of years, we've grown our knowledge, focus, and interest in health and fitness, and it has and continues to spread out over various mediums.

We take for granted that most people are paying attention and can keep up with our goings-ons, when in reality, that's not always the case.

Thus - this blog post to help clarify!! YAY bullet points!

 1. Fit with Farrar is OUR brand. The term was coined in 2010, initially developed to solely be Lindsay's project and focus on her Beachbody journey. Admittedly, it fell to the way-side for a while, but in March 2012, we decided to take a new direction with it and turn it into what you see today!

 2. Speaking of Beachbody - yes, I (Lindsay) am and will continue to be an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. Beachbody programs CHANGED MY LIFE and I continue to use several of them on a regularly basis (not to mention drink Shakeology every day). The company is absolutely top-notch, the products are like nothing else in the at-home workout market, and I love being a part of their mission to end the trend of obesity. Annnddd, let's be real - the extra income is a bonus ;-) If you're ever interested in the income part, don't hesitate to contact me!

 3. We are not (yet) licensed or certified in nutrition or personal training. We do have a considerable amount of knowledge about both, but we never want anyone to have the wrong impression. We've found that most people don't give a rat's ass that we aren't certified and still want to work with us, BUT - this post is for clarification. So there you go. Note: We both will be getting certified in the near future, and at that point, we will likely start charging for our services (take-home point: get us for free while you can! kidding, kinda)

 4. Our mindset has been and continues to be this: not one type of working out is going to work for everyone and not one type of eating is going to work for everyone. We are focused on individuals and finding what works for them and their individual needs. While we love Beachbody programs and Crossfit, that doesn't mean that's all we can help you with. Our knowledge is pretty vast (and always growing), so please don't think we will pigeon-hold you or that we can't help you because you don't like the stuff we like.

So to summarize (because I love a good summary): Fit with Farrar is a passion we share that we are growing into a business. We think of ourselves as coaches/mentors and will soon have the certifications to back it up. We can help you with virtually anything and everything related to health, fitness, and nutrition: from recommending a workout program, to having you locals come to our house and workout with us, to helping you find a nutrition/meal plan that will help you make the life change. We're here. We want to help.

Love you guys! Thank you for all the support!

In Health,

Lindsay (and Timothy is spirit!)
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REVIEW: R.W. Knudsen Mega Green Juice

Who eats enough vegetables? We certainly don't. Having Shakeology daily certainly helps A TON, but even more couldn't hurt! With that said - we have been experimenting with juicing over the past couple of months to get more veggies in our diet. 

First we tried a local health foods store in the small town neighboring our even smaller hometown. EPIC FAIL. I believe it had carrots, beets, and radishes in it. Can't even describe how disgusting it was. Took one sip. Done. Tossed in the trash. Lesson #1: fruit is a MUST to make a veggie juice consumable.

Secondly, we tried BluePrint Juice at Whole Foods. We tried the green one (romaine, celery, cucumber, apple, spinach, kale, parsley, lemon ginger) and while it was certainly better than our first attempt, we still couldn't drink an entire bottle.

Third try: (can you tell we were determined to find something that worked for us?!?!), we visited a friend and she made us some fresh juice from her juicer. If we remember correctly, it was romaine, lemon, ginger, green apples, celery, etc. Definitely the best we had tried up to that point: tasted mostly the celery and ginger. But then, she pulled out a jar of R.W. Knudsen's Mega Green Juice from her fridge and poured some for us to try.

Let's be real - we saw that and had inner dialogue something like "Oh HAIL naw, that looks like sewage!" but smiled and said "Ok, we'll try just a little bit".

Tilted the glass up, bracing taste buds for horrific grossness, and then...

ANGELS SINGING!

APPLE JUICE!! All you taste is apple juice!

We were pleasantly surprised shocked and so relived. Quick check of the ingredient label: not bad! The sugar content freaks most people out, but remember - it's from the fruit (there is no added sugar)!

Here's a quick video the pickier half of Fit with Farrar did:

THUMBS UP!

In Health,

Timothy and Lindsay
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Do a lot in a little amount of time!

First there was interval training...

Then High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)....

Now there's Tabata training....

There are some slight differences between the three, but the general concept is the same: work really hard, have short lengths of active recovery/rest, and repeat for 30 minutes or less.

We are HUGE supporters and fans of this type of training. It is clearly the most efficient way to workout: you see the greatest results in the shortest amount of time. Your cardiovascular endurance improves vastly, your metabolism goes through the roof, you burn more fat/calories in those short workouts than you do when you do steady-pace cardio, and you can do it with or without equipment!

Some examples of this type of training:

AMRAP circuits (As Many Rounds as Possible) - here's a video of one Lindsay did:

Tabata Workout - here's a video of one Timothy did:

Please note that our fur-baby Bo makes cameos in both videos....he likes fitness too!


Complete programs you can invest in: TurboFire and Insanity! (We use them both!!)


We love to do Zuzana Light's workouts, called ZWOWs, too. She's super sweet and has a body to die for! Her YouTube channel is HERE. 




And the best part is - you can tailor it to your level, what you have available to you, etc. If you're just starting out and haven't invested in even a set of dumbbells yet - NO FEAR. Go to the nearest park or just out on your road/street/driveway and do 30 seconds running/sprinting, 10 seconds rest, and keep repeating for about 15-20 minutes!


We hope you try one of these soon and let us know how it goes!

In Health,

Timothy and Lindsay
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How to Survive Labor Day Weekend

It is upon us. The last holiday until Thanksgiving. The unofficial end of summer. The latter statement alone is enough to make people react like "FTW - I'm going ALL OUT!"

Well, in case you want to know how you can enjoy yourself this weekend without completely blowing all your progress out the water....here ya go:

1. Plan ahead with your workouts. If you aren't normally a morning exerciser, consider becoming one for the weekend. Most activities take place later in the day, so if you get your workout in first thing, you don't have to worry about it anymore.

2. Don't "save yourself" for meals. You know what we're talking about - the whole "I'm going to starve all day so I can eat whatever I want at the cookout tonight" mentality. All that leads to is serious binging. Eat normally, that way when you're at the party, you aren't ravenous and mauling hotdogs and hamburgers like it's your job.

3. Keep it simple with your food. Indulge a little in what you really like/stuff you don't have often. Easy tips to minimize the impact on your waistline: no buns, go easy with the condiments, keep your serving of the creamy side dishes small, and fill up on the veggie and fruit trays if available!

4. Watch the booze. No bones about it - alcohol is nothing but empty, wasted calories! But if you want a little drink, go for the "lighter" options and be sure to follow it with lots and lots of water. Booze dehydrates you like no other...

5. Last but not least - don't forget that it's perfectly, 100%, absolutely, positively F-I-N-E to just relax and let loose a little bit! Keep a moderation mindset and it'll all be good in the hood.

We hope everyone has a fantastic Labor Day Weekend!

In Health,

Lindsay and Timothy
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Fear: Use it or Get Abused by it....

We posted a question on our Facebook page (and Twitter too) the other day: "Do you have a dream or goal that's so big it kinda scares you?" We got a pretty big response - seems like there are a lot of you out there that have this big thing, likely something you haven't shared with many people because it is so big....something that you have in the back of your head...and when you think about it, you get flushed with fear.

Fear is a powerful thing - we liken it a lot to adrenaline in that it can definitely be used FOR you instead of against you. That's how we choose to look at fear....all you have to do is harness it properly and RIDE ON!

How do you do that? Take that big dream and break it down into smaller, manageable goals and objectives. Then figure out your targets that will help you accomplish those goals/objectives. There you go - you've taken that fear and now you're letting it drive you into actually putting in the work towards realizing that dream.

Here's an example:
Big, scary dream = compete in a fitness/figure competition
Goals/Objectives = reach x% body fat, lose x pounds, have great stage presence
Targets = train 6 days a week with personal trainer, track food daily, take posing class

Don't think this outlook only applies to health and fitness goals (WRONG!) Apply this way of thinking to all aspects of your life and the results will astonish you. Seriously.

Let's chat: Have you recently overcome a fear or used fear to your advantage? Tell us about it in the comments!

 In Health,

Timothy and Lindsay

Reader's Request: Detoxes/Cleanses

Holy canoli - this is a slippery slope! We say this because there is A LOT out there....products, guidelines, all kinds of stuff related to cleansing or detoxing the body. The two of us both believe that cleansing the body is an inherintely good thing, it's just some of the whack-ass products out there that make it a bad thing :(

For the sake of time and energy, let's focus on two things: 1. What does a cleanse do for you and 2. What are some good cleanse guidelines?

Just living in this world, your every move involves encountering some kind of toxin: environmental (smoke, pollution) or self-imposed (foods with artificial ingredients, for example). Guess what - this is some-kinda-hard on our bodies, externally, but ESPECIALLY internally! A good cleanse once or twice a year (or once a quarter) is an excellent idea to help your body rid itself of those toxins and simply function better!!

It is important to know that there is likely going to be a fair amount of discomfort during the cleanse process. Some common symptoms include headaches, fatigue, stomach and muscle cramps, loose bowel movements, etc. These symptoms usually don't last much longer than the first couple days, so be patient.

 OKAY - now, what are some cleanses that we would recommend?

The Sweaty Betties have a 5-Day Cleanse that is pretty good! You do not need a whole lot of special items or products. We think this would make a good short, post-holidays cleanse or something you do to "dip your toes" into the cleansing waters. (HA! Did you see what we did there? lol)

 Beachbody's Ultimate Reset is a 21-day Cleanse that focuses on taking your body gradually through the cleanse process (thus why it is 3 weeks). There are some supplements involved. We think this is more along the lines of a major body-changing type cleanse, rather than just a quick flush of your system.

If you already drink Shakeology, you could easily do a 3-day cleanse with that. The guidelines are extremely simple: 3 shakes a day, and 1 salad with 4 ounces lean white meat (fish or chicken), and as much water and green tea as you like for three days! We've done this after the holidays a lot to help get rid of the bloated, uncomfortable feeling from eating out of our norm!

Kris Carr has information on how to do green juice cleanses. This route might be the most impactful to your colon, being an all-liquid cleanse....something to keep in mind :)

 Some other related items you might find interesting: intermittent fasting and this nice way to rid any water weight/bloat. 




Let's Chat: Have you ever done a cleanse? How did it go? Post below!



In Health,

Timothy and Lindsay
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Coaching Opportunity

If you're reading this blog - it's probably because you have some level of interest in health and fitness and how it all fits into a "regular person's" busy lifestyle!!

Please take a little less than 5 minutes to watch the video at the end of this post to find out how we turned our journey going from this:

December 2007

To this:

Nearly 100 lbs GONE! Photo Credit: Laura Gordon Photography

....into an income for us!

Hope to hear from you soon!!

In Health,

Lindsay and Timothy
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