Something for Everyone!

Busy schedule? Don't think you can fit a workout in?  Goals In Motion - Ames recently announced NEW class times and some brand NEW classes for members and even non-members to try out.

Following are the GIM class times in Ames. With all of these choices available, there should be one that will fit into your schedule. Remember - someone busier than you is working out right now!

Kickboxing and Resistance Classes:

Monday - Friday 

4:55am, 6am, 8:45am

NOON (Starting Oct. 10)

4:15pm,5:30pm, 6:00pm (starting Oct. 3) 

Saturday

6:00am, 7:15am and 8:30am

New Classes!!

Power 45

This class is HIGH intensity, incorporating cardio and resistance into several stations, including TRX, plyometrics, battle ropes and much more!

Advanced sign up is required and the fee is $8/class. Maximum class size -12. Members only. Check out the GIM - Ames Facebook page for the October Power 45 schedule.

Zumba!

What could be more fun than getting your groove on for a little cardio workout? This class is open to members and non-members. 

We will be meeting October 2,5,9,11,13,16,20,23,27,30. Week days are at 7pm, Sundays at 4pm

Sign up not required, but you will need to fill out an information card at your first class.

Sign-in and payment at the door- $5/members $6/non-members per class.

"Your body wants to be healthy..." Bob Harper

I just read an online interview with Bob Harper of The Biggest Loser and really liked a couple of things he said. I'll be honest, I don't even watch The Biggest Loser, but this article came up on my Google Alert set for "food animal health" (I work in the veterinary industry), and was intrigued by the snippet I saw. Here is what caught my attention:


A: "I still believe that a plant-based diet has tremendous health benefits but I have incorporated more animal protein into my diet. I found that my body personally got to a point where I needed something more. I used to yell at people who said that, but now all of a sudden, my body just kind of went, 'I need something.'"


Bob gave this answer in response to being questioned why he stopped being a vegan.Yay Bob!! Being a born and raised farm-girl with strong ties to the beef industry, I'm a believer in a body's need for animal protein. With my background in the beef industry and my new found love of health and fitness, this article interested me from two sides, so wanted to share a couple of the question/answers with you:

Q: Is there a common mistake you see people make when trying to lose weight that frustrates you?

A: "When people work out hard, but not smart. I see people trying to go as hard as they can at the gym because they made poor choices of eating the night before and they're thinking, 'I gotta pay because I played.'"

Q: What's the better solution?

A: "If they can rein their diet in a little bit more, focus on a healthy lifestyle, then it can be a lot easier. Our bodies want to be healthy. I see that on my show all the time with people who are morbidly obese. When they start to make changes, their numbers start changing."

I love the quote "Our bodies want to be healthy". We may not always believe this as we battle with cravings for chocolate or chips or cake, but this is right-on. The fitness studio I coach at, Goals in Motion, constantly emphasizes our need to listen to our bodies. We encourage our members to eat clean and use food as fuel to sustain workouts and daily life. Everyone is an individual, so we can't tell them exactly how many calories to eat in a day or how many minutes per day to workout to see optimal results What we can tell people is to pay attention to your body and it WILL work for you.

Fall is in the air!

I've always had mixed feelings about fall-time. The thought of the long days of summer, giving way to the short, cold days of winter can be depressing; however the fall weather we experience in Iowa  may be the most beautiful we see all year. The humidity starts to subside, making way for crisp mornings, turning to warm afternoons. There is something refreshing about stepping outside, taking a big, deep breath of cool, fresh air, and getting to put on a sweater that you haven't been able to wear since April!

Fall also means football season is here. The high school teams have been playing for the past couple of weeks; college ball started on the weekend and we'll see the first NFL regular season game being played on Thursday. I've always enjoyed watching all kinds of sports, but truly turned football fan when I moved south. On Saturdays, you can find me rooting for the Iowa State Cyclones; Sunday afternoons, I'm a Vikings fan; and now, Thursday afternoons, I'll be cheering on the Nevada Cubs 7th Grade football team.

Football isn't the only sport that we're gearing up for though. Now that school is back in, it's time for soccer, volleyball, dance and cross country. Kids activities, in addition to a couple of trips for work will make the season fly by far too fast. Before we know it, the beautiful colors of fall will give way to Christmas lights and falling snow. Good thing I bought my first Christmas gift on the weekend!

Recommitting to Clean Eating

What gets you out of bed in the morning? For me, it’s looking forward to my 6am workout at Goals in Motion.

My alarm rings at 4:50am; I’d be exaggerating to say that I hit the floor running, but I do get up without hitting snooze and head to the kitchen for some breakfast. I’ve been dedicated to my 6am workouts for over a year now, but for the past few weeks I’ve had a little extra incentive to be sure I'm there and setting a good example. I started coaching at GIM on August 6^th, welcoming in the newest group of challengers to the program.

An awesome group of 6am challengers weighed in, did their push-up, sit-up and mile-run tests. Being involved with this new group of challengers has been a great energizer for me. I will admit that I had become somewhat complacent with some of my food choices over the summer. Seeing their dedication to food journaling and making good choices has lit a fire under me to do better as well.

As our challengers participate in week 3 of their program, the common theme I’m hearing among them is that they are getting bored with their food. It is normal for people who begin down a path of healthy eating, to think that chicken and salad are their only options. Although good options, yes, they are not the only ones.

Our fitness studio stresses clean eating for better health and weight loss. We don’t use gimmicks or pills or fake food. We tell our challengers that 80% of their success will be attributed to good, clean food choices. If you're stuck in the chicken and lettuce rut, I’d like to share with you an excellent resource for recipe ideas:

Clean Eating Magazine

The folks at Clean Eating Magazine do a stand-out job of presenting healthy meals that use “normal” foods and are easy to make. I recently picked up the July issue with a scrumptious looking pork and papaya dish on the front cover. In this issue there is an entire grilling section, a cheeseburger pizza recipe AND a blueberry ice cream recipe. Now who can say that is boring?! 

In addition to the magazine, they also have a website: http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/ and several recipe books.

4-H Lamb Show, Biggest Boar, Super Bull.....

Last Friday, the girls’ lambs came home after a successful FFA show at the State Fair. We had one day of “rest” before Jack’s lambs had to be checked in on Sunday. We hauled 4 lambs down for Jack and made it through the vet inspection with all of them. Sunday afternoon, he competed in Showmanship, where he placed 5^th in a tough group of intermediate show people, receiving a purple ribbon.

Monday was the 4-H market lamb show, where Jack showed all four of his sheep. The competition in the 4-H show is as tough as you’ll find anywhere in the country, so he didn’t come away with any class winners but did a great job in the show ring. Jack’s lambs made the trip home last night, putting to bed a satisfying show season.

While at the fair, I did get to take in a few of the sights outside the sheep barn. I will admit that I participated in some fair food – pork chop on a stick and a bucket of cookies being highlights; and also checked out the “biggest” competitions, including the Big Boar, Super Bull, Giant Ram and the Big Pumpkin.

See the pictures below of the 1,196 lb boar, the 2,768 lb bull, the 483 lb ram and the 1,295 lb pumpkin!

State Fair Update

Just a quick update on the FFA show at the State Fair yesterday...

Chloe, Maddie, Kaylen, Morgan, Jack and Mark

First of all it was a BEAUTIFUL day! On the way to Des Moines in the morning our car thermometer was reading 56 degrees! Yes, 56 degrees, in August, in Iowa - unheard-of, but totally welcome! With weather like this it could be nothing but a good day ahead.

Morgan and Maddie each showed two lambs in the FFA market lamb show yesterday. They are excellent show-women, so did a fantastic job of displaying them to the judge. Morgan showed two wethers, that placed 5th and 7th and both earned purple ribbons. The lambs looked excellent! Maddie also did a great job, showing her two ewe  lambs and placed 5th with a purple ribbon and earned a blue ribbon with her second lamb. There were about 20 lambs in each of these classes, so they were definitely up there with the top-end sheep.

We were lucky to have purchased excellent lambs from even better people at Friest Club Lambs of Hubbard, IA and Kelly Cox of Sioux City, IA.

Iowa State Fair – Nothing Compares!

Where can you and one million of your closest friends, go to see thousands of sheep, pigs, cattle and goats; a cow made of butter, and eat nearly anything you can imagine, on a stick? I would have struggled with this answer a few years ago, but since meeting and marrying an Iowan, I can confidently answer – The Iowa State Fair!

Growing up in Canada, the “State Fair” was not a totally foreign concept to me.  We lived close enough to the North Dakota border that friends often traveled to Minot for their state fair, mostly to take in the grand stand shows, as there seemed to be excellent entertainment every year. I personally had never attended, as that fair was always the same weekend as our local 4-H show and town’s fair. It wasn’t until I was in my 20’s that I attended my first State Fair in Iowa and haven’t missed one since.

To those with an appreciation for agriculture and youth activities, the Iowa State Fair is a must-see. Thousands of 4-H and FFA chapter members descend on the State Fairgrounds in Des Moines for 10 days of competition, camaraderie and corn dogs. To give you an idea of what entries are like for the youth livestock competitions at the State Fair, I pulled together some exhibitor numbers for you:

FFA Beef Cattle – 366

FFA Dairy Cattle – 121

FFA Dairy Goats – 31

FFA Horse – 265

FFA Meat Goats – 143

FFA Sheep – 970

FFA Swine – 1521

4-H Beef Cattle – 1003

4-H Dairy Cattle – 400

4-H Dairy Goat – 137

4-H Horse – 299

4-H Meat Goat – 361

4-H Sheep – 1731

4-H Swine - 1694

These numbers represent exhibitors, so just think of the number of animals shown by these kids. The numbers above are staggering and don’t even include the open show exhibitors.

In addition to the youth livestock exhibits, the Iowa State Fair boasts competitions ranging from the Biggest Boar, to the Super Bull to the Biggest Ram; not to mention the turkey calling, mom-calling and fiddling contests! I can hardly do justice to the extent of all there is to see at the fair in my short blog post, but invite you to experience it in person.

The fair this year runs August 11^th – 21^st in Des Moines, Iowa. Our kids will be showing lambs in the FFA and 4-H sheep shows. The girls show on Thursday, the 11^th and Jack shows on Monday, the 15^th. The girls’ sheep will be getting baths and “hair-cuts” tonight, in order for their trip to town tomorrow. Oh yeah, I think we also have a veterinarian visit to arrange, in order to get health certificates for entry to the show. I sure hope Mark found a GlobalVetLINK, participating veterinarian to issue those health papers!