Haul: Empower Skipfit Cardio Skipper

Growing up I had a Skip-It which was a hard plastic "ball" that was attached to a plastic type rope that had a plastic ring you'd slip over your foot. The goal was to skip along, continuing to move the ball around your ankle, while "skipping/jumping" over the ball as many times as you could. To keep score, the ball had a little counter that would count (and eventually reset) your number of skips. It was a great workout for kids and one of my favorite items to play with when outside.  Needless to say, while I was at Kohl's I found this Empower Skipfit Cardio Skipper on the fitness display (near the shoe section) and I was so intrigued I snatched one off the shelf.

 

Admittedly, when I checked the price and it came up to be $19.99 I wanted to put it back. Then I googled it and couldn't find it offered anywhere online (particularly Amazon) so I decided just to pick it up and put it away for next spring/summer as an outdoor activity I can do at home.

 

This version is a plastic/nylon type ball that's attached to a fabric rope that has a fabric loop that would go around your ankle. Sure, the weather is less than stellar these days (cold/rainy) and the winter is on its way .. but it'll be a nice workout to bust out when the weather starts to cooperate.

Conquering a new Exercise: Spinning

With the change of the seasons comes a new class schedule at my gym. Typically with each change to the schedule it's an addition of a new class - usually a some version of a cardio class or just a different instructor teaching one of the classes already offered. That is until the new schedule rolled around for this fall introducing Spin Classes!

 

Now I have never taken a spin class in my life before this experience. I have seen people taking spin on videos and I've seen photos/Instagram postings of people taking spin class. I've always heard how great of a workout it was, yada yada ... but in the back of my mind I always had a small inkling of "well, that's got to be slightly boring." Why would I think that initially? Well, my gym has stationary bikes in the gym out in the workout area and I've tried to workout on them and it's just SO BORING to me. Like, why do I want to peddle and stare at this carpeted wall in front of me?

 

Since spin is held in the aerobics room I signed up (my gym was hosting a full day of introductory classes) and made my way to the gym for a 7:15 class. I had no excuses, no reservations and I went in with an open mind. After my instructor set us all up so we'd workout properly without hurting ourselves .. I found I actually LOVE the workout!

 

The instructor got us (or me?) pumped and motivated to keep going. There were three different "speeds" (low, medium, high) and we could essentially go at our own pace. There's no competition, there's no right or wrong way (other than safe) and the one thing I loved was that it was very low impact and it was killer, killer cardio. I have arthritis in one of my knees pretty bad (I wear a knee brace to most classes) and it did not hurt my knee whatsoever. All I know is after 35 minutes I was sweating like I did 2 hours of high intensity zumba.  The only downside is the seat is VERY uncomfortable and will leave you feeling sore for a few days prior ... but other than that, I'm a spin-lover and plan on frequenting the Tuesday night class from here on out.

 

That was my "do something out of the box"  ... and I found something I actually quite enjoy and will continue to do! Now the only "hard part" about it is hoping to get a coin to get into the class because there's only so many bikes!

Gold's Gym Waist Trimmer Belt

My coworkers and I walk 2 or 3 times a day Monday through Friday. One day while on our walk, they had mentioned they were wearing their belts. Belts? I was confused and inquired ... that's when they told me they picked up these Gold's Gym Waist Trimmer Belts last time they were at Wal-Mart. Intrigued I filed the thought and decided to look them up online later on.

 

Now I have seen folks in my gym wearing these belts ... but I truthfully never thought anything of it. The belts are $4.96 at Wal-Mart and are quite a decent product for the price. The belt is moderately thick, with a smooth fabric on the outside which makes it easily concealable under your clothing. While the inside of the belt is this smooth neoprene/"rubber" type of fabric.

 

The idea is you put this belt on before you workout and it helps trim your waist, by essentially sweating out any of the bloat/water weight you'd carry in your mid-section. It's not going to necessarily make you lose weight ... but it will help you sweat out any added bloat in your midsection. What I can say is ... this thing makes you SWEAT. You can actually feel the perspiration building up beneath the fabric against your skin. It's quite amazing.

 

The one thing I will say is, this can cause some minor irritation if you have sensitive skin. I found I wore it a few times and after wearing it during some cardio and after taking it off I had a small patch of irritation on my abdomen. That when I scratched, I caused some inflammation. Moving forward when I wear this, I will wear a very thin tank top underneath the belt to have a small barrier between my skin and the waist trimmer.

 

If you're interested these trimmers are available, nearly everywhere that sells workout gear. Wal-Mart does have the lowest price (right under $5).