Move Over, Gisele. I Entered the Modelling World... For Five Minutes.

A few months ago, I had the chance to be a model for a day.

I know what you're thinking:

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh. You were serious."

"Awesome! A hand model?"

"Who was in the 'after' shots?"

I understand, my friends. But no- this was for real. I was asked to be part of the spring/summer line of Kathryn Rebecca Jewelry!

I learned everything from Tyra Banks. Look at that smize!

Now, when I say "asked to be a part of", I really mean "available on a cold Saturday morning", but I was thrilled nonetheless. Kathryn Rebecca has some beautiful pieces of jewelry- and one of the best things about working with Kathryn was getting to know her! She is so down to earth, talented and sweet, and... she brought wine to the photo shoot.

Saturday morning wine.

Sign me up.

Kathryn Rebecca is also having a contest! Pin any item from the Spring/Summer collection (show your gal some love- or, the other girl. That's cool too.) and you can win a gorgeous branch wrap bracelet!

So back to the day- even though I had the wine to kick my nervousness, I was a little worried to have my make up and hair done, to be honest. ANY time I've had my make up done in the past, it has been a disaster. No matter how many times I say to the make up artist, "I'd like browns, bronzes, peachy tones- dramatic, but natural-looking," I inevitably end up looking like Dee from Twisted Sister:

This resembles my grade seven photo to a tee.
(Source)

Hot.

Enter: Angie Di Battista.

She was the hair stylist and make up artist for the shoot- not to mention the MOST hilarious (and most beautiful) girl I have ever met on earth. I, of course, wanted to impress her- so I made sure I showed up with enough make up to look as if I was wearing none. Angie smiled, removed my "natural face" (What? I usually wake up with sculpted, bronzed cheeks and no bags under my eyes!), and she worked her magic. No, seriously- I think she actually is a magician. She turned me into a woman I didn't recognize. And for the first time, I wasn't Twisted Sister! I was bronzed! My lips weren't lizard-thin! Sparkly blue eyeshadow didn't end up on my face!

I had to try really, really hard not to smile. Instead, I thought of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and their perfection of the duck mouth.
Photo credit: Stephen Macleod

I'm trying to telepathically move the wine closer to me.
Photo credit: Stephen Macleod

Yes, I normally pose with my hand resting two inches above my shoulder.
Photo credit: Stephen Macleod

Photo Credit: Stephen Macleod

I'm not sure I'm cut out for the modelling world (and since I have modelled for a total of about five minutes, I would know). The real reason: I went three straight hours without eating.

In the meantime, from now on, any calls, emails, or messages must be sent directly through my agent- and please refer to me only as "K".

Have you had any make up or hair horror stories? 


Who is your favourite celebrity? (Besides me, of course.)

Create Your Own Home Gym- the Lebert Equalizer!

The Equalizer is one of my FAVOURITE pieces of fitness equipment! Originally designed by Marc Lebert as a way to complete at-home pull ups, it has evolved to be one of the most innovative, versatile pieces of equipment in the fitness world. You can get a full-body cardio and resistance workout using one, two, four, or more of these amazing hunks of metal- and you can SAVE $10 off your purchase! :] (<-- that's an EQ smiley! Discount code below!)

This hurt like a b*tch. 

Cost: $119.99 for two Equalizer Bars (you'll never need to replace these!)

Equalizers and Pinkqualizers! 

Where to buy: Order online here (Fit In Heels peeps, get $10 off your purchase with the discount code LFKL10 - Pink Equalizers now in stock!)

Assembly: This was very easy to assemble! It comes in one box and all the instructions are included. I am not a handy-dandy person, and using the included Allan key, it took me under 10 minutes to set up both. If I hadn't been drinking a glass of wine, it may have been faster.

Why the Equalizers are a superb investment: There are tons and tons of exercises you can do using these bars. Included in your order is a list of exercises you can complete, and I've included several which you can do at home, too! Pulling exercises are excellent strength builders- especially for women- and should be incorporated into any resistance training plan for muscle balance and injury prevention.

Also, you look badass when carrying them. 

Here are some of my favourite exercises to do using the Equalizer :]

Over/Unders
Place Equalizers lengthwise with about one EQ bar width between each. Place both hands on one bar and hop over, lifting your knees up and over the bar. Then, pummel your body under the bar and move on to the next bar. Mind over matter for this one! :]

Standing Plank Tricep Dips
Place one hand on each Equalizer, and walk your feet back until you are in a plank postion. keep your core strong by broadening the chest, pulling the belly in and keeping the shoulders away from the ears. Bend your elbows in towards your sides and push yourself up to starting position.

High Knee Plank Run 
Place two to four Equalizers down on the ground, leaving about half an EQ length between each. Complete 3-4 high knees moving in one direction, place the hands on either side of the EQ bar, and jump back into a burpee and back to standing. Continue with 3-4 high knees to the next EQ bar, and complete on burpee.

Chin Up Pulses
Begin with an underhand grip on both EQ- hands in line with the shoulders. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Bring your chest up to the EQ and pulse three times, and straighten the arms to starting position. Keep your hips from resting on the ground. For a higher option, straighten the legs.

Hurdles
Line up two to four Equalizers on the ground. Complete two high knees inside the bar and outside the bar (two in, two out). At the end of the hurdles, complete one star jump and begin the opposite direction. 

Knee Ups
Hands under the shoulders, lift your feet off the ground. Just holding this position will give you a great core workout! Swing your feet forward and then behind you, trying to keep your upper body in an upright position.

Plank Options- Knee to Elbow and Pike
Begin with your hands under your shoulders. Step one foot on top of the upright EQ and hold a strong plank by pulling your core tight, shoulders down, no arch in the back. Follow your knee to your elbow and back to centre. Repeat 10x, and move to Pikes by lifting your hips as high as you can. Repeat 10x.

These are just some examples of how versatile the Equalizer is- I highly recommend it as an excellent tool to incorporate into your fitness program and I especially recommend it for any personal trainers and group fitness instructors to bring to your clients and classes- they will love/hate you for it! 

Have you used the Equalizer Bars before? What is your favourite exercise using it? 

Adventure Race Workout- Are You Hardcore?

Adventure Races are becoming increasingly popular to the general public, and I for one think this is AWESOME! It shows that:

1. People are becoming increasingly hard core.
2. The term "Eat Clean, Train Dirty" really begins to show its true meaning.
3. You guys are disgusting.

It's important when training for an event that you do as much functional training as possible (mimicking the movement you will be utilizing the day of the workout), in addition to working on overall conditioning. It's important to cross-train, meaning switch it up during a weekly training schedule, and always include some muscle recovery time (yoga will change your life! Do it.) Adventure Races involve a lot of movements that use fast-twitch muscle fibres- think fast, explosive power movements- therefore you need to push your training to burn at your lactic acid threshold. 


What does this mean? 


You need to train HARD, FAST, and in SPRINT INTERVALS! This will help you immensely on the day of the race and keep you from wanting to die. Well, mostly. 

Met Con Blue is an example of a crazy amazing Adventure Race! It is Canada's Extreme Mountain Adventure Race- a 5km run (66% uphill), in which you will encounter 13 grueling obstacles, 1400 punishing feet of incline, rocky creeks, hills, mud, snow, ice pools, fire, smoke, aliens and Bluefoot! 

I... really don't know if I can. Bluefoot?!

You can win a chance to conquer the most insane 5km Mountain Adventure Race on the planet- June 1st-3rd, 2012 at Blue Mountain Resort! Met Con Blue has a race registration for you to WIN- just Like Met Con Blue on Facebook and share this workout! Leave me a comment at the bottom (or on my Facebook page!) telling me you entered and how you shared for your entry!

p.s. did I mention that Trish Stratus, my new bff, will be there? 

SOLD.

Here's the CRAYYYHAYYZY workout for your hardcore peeps- unlike my usual workouts where I use little to no equipment, this one will be done utilizing equipment you can find in the gym! This workout is geared with the Adventure Race in mind (Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, Dirty Girl, Devil's Dash, and Urbanathlon peeps- this workout is perfect for you, too!)


You will complete each exercise 5 TIMES IN A ROW for 30 seconds on, 15 seconds off. Give yourself a 45 second break in between each exercise! GOOD LUCK, adventurer!

Equalizer Chin Up Switches
You can use the Equalizer OR a Squat Rack for these chin ups- start underhand and complete the first half of a chin up. While at the top, switch to overhand and complete one chin up. Repeat, switching from overhand to underhand and vise versa.

Double Froggers with Asymmetrical Push Ups
Begin in plank position with your hands set wider than shoulder-width, and asymmetrical (one hand higher than the other). Jump your feet to either side of your hands and drop your bum down to the ground, then back to plank. Switch position of your hands and complete one push up.

Weighted Jumping Lunges
Using a medicine ball, dumbbell, or weight, start with your feet in a split squat position and bend your front knee so that your knee is in line with your ankle. Keeping the weight high, jump up as high as you can, switching legs. Repeat.

Rotating Jammers
Use a weighted barbell or a Smith Machine bar to complete this exercise- you want a bar with more weight in the middle than the end, if possible (at least 25 lbs.). Drop the bar over your shoulder as you fall into a squat. Using your obliques/core/shoulders, push the bar forward and sink into a squat on the other side. You want to choose a weighted bar that you are truly pushing!

Box/Stair Jumps
Using a box or a set of stairs, begin in a squat position. Jump directly up onto the box or stair and immediately jump around on the box/stair and jump down, landing in a squat. Jump to turn back to face the box/stair, and repeat!

Heavy Bag Hits
Most gyms will have a heavy bag for member use- this will utilize your core, oblique, and arm strength. Begin by straddling the bag. You will contact the bag with your inner forearms as fast as you can!

Bar Drags
Use the same weighted bar that you used for the jammers. Drag the bar across the room by moving backwards until you can move no longer, and drop the bar. Move to the other side of the bar and drag the bar back across the room. Repeat.

Don't forget to enter to win a race registration to Met Con Blue! All you have to do is Share this workout on Facebook or Twitter and Like Met Con Blue on Facebook. Leave me a comment letting me know that you did! Good luck!

The Sport of Fitness.

I've always considered myself an athlete. I was an embarrassing tomboy as a child- think mushroom cut/flat chest/braces/oversized t-shirts- and related mostly to the boys who liked to play basketball and r.e.d.a.s.s. at recess (tell me someone else knows what r.e.d.a.s.s. is). The boys even let me play- most likely because they mistook me for one of them, but I didn't complain.

I felt comfortable wearing tearaways to boy/girl dances (where I stood in the corner for the entire time) and Chicago Bulls t-shirts on non-uniform days all the way through grade 11. I identified myself as an athlete playing hockey, basketball, volleyball, fastball, and badminton- I didn't know a day after school without a practice.

I went to university with some sense of style (and longer hair... thank God) but still felt in my element at the bar on the practice field where I played lacrosse. It was here that I fell in love... with another sport.

The sport of fitness.

Hollaaaaa.

Reebok Crossfit has launched these billboards and advertisements selling fitness as a "sport"- and I for one want to shriek I am so excited about it! I still play beach volleyball and floor hockey, but really have fallen in love with fitness and treat it like a sport- whether running, HIIT, weight lifting, jump rope, dancing, or yoga, I like to be competitive and that spirit helps me to push myself at the gym. It's times when I'm in the gym that I'm brought right back to my days as the mushroom-cut tomboy with no chest.

While my hairstyle has changed, some things have not.

What is your take? Is fitness a sport? 

Weight Loss Success Story!

People often ask me why I decided to blog. Here are my answers:

1. I have no friends.
2. Between my full-time job as a high school teacher, my part-time job as a fitness instructor, my part-time job as a yoga teacher, and my part-time job as an AQ Instructor at the University of Toronto, I thought I needed a hobby.
3. Fitness blogs elsewhere are boring. Except for all the fitness blog people that follow me- yours are lovely.
4. Success stories.

Meet Dineen. Today is her birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Beautiful!!!!!!

This is the message that I received from her:

So this may seem crazy but I needed to send you a message to say thank you! I started following your fitness blog, twitter feed and facebook page (okay that sounded stalkerish) because the instant I read that you were endavouring to do all of those things I knew that you would be amazing at them all. 
Over the past couple of months I have found myself eagerly awaiting each blog entry that you post becasue I LOVE the workouts that you send out to your readers. I have always had a hard time managing my weight and finding the motivation to go to the gym but your workouts make my time at the gym SO much more interesting...in fact, I look forward to going to the gym to try out new routines. 
Your blog has served as an inspiraton to me to fulfill my athletic potential, which in my 20's I didn't really think exisisted at all, but I'm happy to say since I began applying the information that you've been putting out I feel like I am in the best shape of my adult life (and it gets better with each passing day). To add to that fantastic feeling I've lost 15 pounds and saw a number on the scale this morning that I havent seen since I graduated high school...no joke! 
Which brings me back to the basis for my note...the thank you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge which has provided me the tools to get to this point, and I truly look forward to the next challenge that you put out there 
Keep up the great work Katy!!!!
Dineen 


First of all, please allow me to wipe away the tears from my laptop before it short circuits. Receiving this letter was one of the most rewarding pieces of feedback I have ever been lucky enough to read- it really made me feel like I was making a difference. 

Before- lovely in blue

After- fit and FABULOUS in blue!

Losing weight and getting fit is truly a team effort- you need support from your family, your friends, your partner, and mostly- yourself- in order for you to be successful in your goals. Dineen continually gives me great feedback on the workouts I create, which inspires me to do better. YOU guys are the reason I blog. 


Dineen started changing her lifestyle back in February 2009, and since then she has gone from 185 pounds to a svelte 150 pounds, and from a size 14 to a size 8. I have always known Dineen as a confident, amazing, hardworking, stand up woman. She has only added to her outer beauty with clean eating and fitness- and she has truly been able to prove that fitness is accessible to everyone- and that change does a body GOOD! 

Dineen was self conscious before, so would turn sideways and crop her lower body out of photos.

Holla!!!!!! Look at that teeny waist and svelte arms! I am so proud of you, Dineen!

So... the real reason I blog? 


For the praise, of course. 


Help me in congratulating Dineen! Do you have a success story to share? Email me at [email protected] if you do! 


How do you stay motivated to hit the gym?

Booty Camp Fitness- WIN an Ultimate Home Edition DVD Set- 11 DVD Workouts!

Since I've started this blog, there's a few things you may have learned about me.

1. I like to drink my body weight in wine.
2. I like to eat enough chocolate that equals my body weight.
3. My favourite way to work out is with my own body weight.

Lucky for me, some people look past the first two and just focus on the third.

A few months ago, Booty Camp Fitness- Canada's Largest Women's Only Bootcamp- contacted me asking if I'd review their Ultimate Home Edition DVD Set! I jumped at the chance, as I've taught bootcamp-style classes for years- I call them H.I.I.T (High Intensity Interval Training) and Speed, Power, Agility (SPA)- similar to Booty Camp! I also know lots of friends who have gone to Booty Camp who LOVE the workouts and the serious ass-kicking. I was excited to see what they had to offer, and was totally thrilled with the variety and hard core-ness of the exercises!

Yes, hard core-ness is a word.

I get to choose 2 WINNERS! The Ultimate Home Edition DVD Set includes 11 DVDs, a jump rope, the complete workout calendar, measuring tape, AND Lifestyle Guide!

This Ultimate Home Edition DVD Set was previously only available to women who attended Booty Camp- but now it's available to you! This isn't just push ups and sit ups. Check out the trailer with some of the AWESOME moves:

Somebody get me a towel, I was sweating just watching that. While you're at it, drop and give me 20.

The 11 DVDs range anywhere from 16 to 42 minutes, and each DVD is different! You'll get a complete set of Recruit Camp, Basic Training, and Special Ops workouts in addition to the Tank Top Toner, Ab-Salute Core, MMA (Major Metabolic Accelerator), Dynamic Cardio Conditioning, Sun Rise Sun Stretch, Burn that Booty, Booty Express and Bounce n' Burn!

Do it, or else Sammie will find you.

If you like my workouts, you'll LOVE Booty Camp! It comes complete with a full schedule of what DVDs to do for a full month, and challenges you to complete 'before and after' measurements, just like Booty Camp. I also found myself not being able to put down the Lifestyle Guide- where founder Sammie Kennedy talks about nutrition and working out- but also does an excellent job touching on other factors that can significantly impact your results- such as sleeping patterns, recovery, emotional and mental health. I really relate to Sammie. She is honest- and speaks to you on a very personal level. Sammie has an amazing grasp on fitness and living life! As a fitness professional, this was very refreshing to read. Being happy is a key component to optimizing your health, and so is being REAL. Booty Camp offers both- hard core fitness, great nutrition plans, and great support from a team of real peeps.

How did they get my silhouette?

I LOVE that these DVDs are completely versatile and accessible for all levels (this kicked my ass!!!), and the exercises are totally up my alley- if they had included a bottle of wine and a bag of Mini Eggs, I would have probably gotten down on one knee. If you're reading, Booty Camp, I'll go ring shopping- you hit up the LCBO and anywhere Mini Eggs are sold.

There will be TWO winners of the Ultimate Home Edition Set- 11 DVDs, Measuring Tape, Jump Rope, Lifestyle Guide, and Workout Calendar!

To win, all you need to do is Like Booty Camp and Fit In Heels on Facebook!

For additional entries:
+1 Share via Facebook
+1 Share via Twitter: write something saucy about @fit_in_heels and @bootycampfit Ultimate Home Edition DVD Set!
+1 Get an additional entry if you tell me on Facebook what your favourite Fit In Heels At-Home Workout is!

Please leave a comment telling me all of the entries you completed! Winner will be randomly selected and announced on Facebook on Wednesday, April 11th! GOOD LUCK!!!

The Wonder Woman Workout!

This workout is for all wonder women- mothers, sisters, daughters, grandmothers, cousins, and friends- who consistently make it look easy to balance a job, a home, a family, a social life, and finding time to rock out some kick ass fitness in the 25th hour of the day.  

This is my regular house cleaning get-up. 

I'd like to dedicate this workout to Kelly Olexa (Happy Birthday, beauty!), the founder of Fitfluential, who is a true Wonder Woman herself. She works tirelessly at her job and makes sure her "kittens" are always taken care of; while managing to look like a million bucks and be freaking hilarious at the same time. Cheers to you, Kelly! And here's some definite PROOF!!! 

Alright fine. Wonder Woman is much hotter, but I thought my ass looked good.

This workout will take you 25 minutes to complete- each exercise is to be done FIVE times in a row for 30 seconds each. Give yourself 15 seconds in between each set, and 45 seconds when moving to the next exercise. 

1. Jump Stars

Complete two jumping jacks. Every third jack you will jump so that your body looks like a star- jumping as high as you can off the ground! Repeat two jumping jacks, one star jump.

2. Double Lunge, Double Squat

Begin in a split-leg position. Complete one jumping lunge on both sides, and jump directly into a squat to the right and a squat to the left. Repeat.

3. One and a Half Push Ups

Start in push up position. Bring your chest down so your elbows are 90 degrees. Come halfway up, then back down, then all the way up!

4. Plank Twists

Begin in a plank position, hands under the shoulders. Move your right hand to your left hip while STILL in your plank position. Then turn your entire body to the left into a side plank. Return to centre and repeat other side.

4. High Knee to Burpee Jump Back

Complete 4 high knees to your right and jump back into a burpee (plank position). Jump your feet back to your hands and complete 4 high knees to your left. Repeat!

 

5. Tricep Cat

Start in push up position. Bring your chest down so your elbows are 90 degrees. Come halfway up, then back down, then all the way up!

Happy Monday, peeps! Start your week off right with this kick ass workout- and remember, you're all Wonder Women!!! (Even you, guys.)