So last week was a pretty busy one yet I still managed to workout 5 days last week. That’s a record for me because since finding out I’m with child, my energy levels have tanked! Not to mention, my stamina has also taken a major hit. My 3 mile runs have turned into walk/jogs and even sometimes just a brisk walk. Also, since I’m now in my second trimester, I also refrain from doing any ab exercises on my back. Without further ado, here’s how last week’s workouts shaped up:

SUNDAY: REST DAY

MONDAY: 20 Minute Home Weight Training routine followed by 3 mile walk/jog alternating every .50 mile.  For the weight training, I alternated between 5lb and 8lb dumbbells.

Modifications: High plank reverse fly was done from my knees/Claw crunch I just did a plank for the 12 count/Chest fly + crunch was just a chest fly (no crunch)

TUESDAY: 3 mi brisk walk

WEDNESDAY: 15 Minute Insanity (using 3lb dumbbells) followed by 10 Minute Standing Abs *I did have to press pause after the second round of Insanity to take a breather*

THURSDAY: Body Rock Baby/Week 5 and 10 Minute Trainer Workout 3 of 3 I used 8lb dumbbells for both routines

FRIDAY: 25 Minute Ignition HIIT Workout – Bodyweight and Tabata rolled into one, I love this routine!

Modifications: Push ups from knees/reverse crunch was turned into planks/arm haulers were done as high planks rows/sit ups were done as side planks 2 sets each side/ the 2 minutes of leg raises were turned into mountain climbers with high plank hold.

SATURDAY: REST DAY

Keeping up with a daily exercise routine is a non-negotiable for me. I want to be able to have a smooth pregnancy, delivery and bounce back as soon as I can postpartum. In addition to my routine, I’m also ensuring that I’m eating at least 2200 high quality calories a day for my growing baby. I stick to whole foods just like before and I will allow myself a couple of “cheats” along the way but for me it’s all about portion sizes. 🙂

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So you’ve tackled a 5K or two, or maybe none at all and are just ready to give the good ‘ol 6.25 mile run/walk a try. I can’t say anything other than I’m proud of you! There is nothing more scary and rewarding than trying something you never thought you could do.

As you know, Coach Kozak and I are participating in the Women’s Health Run 10 Feed 10 Fun Run here in Houston on September 27th and since we’re about 2 months away from the event, I thought I’d supply you guys with a training plan so you can train with us. Remember that if you live in any of the cities listed, you can always sign up for a run near you and use the code WHKOZAK for a $5 discount, woohoo! Don’t forget that you can always donate to the HASfit Hunger Warriors if running just isn’t your thing.

The following 10K training plan will help you achieve your goal however already assumes that your fitness level is one to which you can already run 2 miles. It’s ok if that 2 miles is a walk/run and of course always remember that before beginning any physical activity regimen that you consult your physician first. Also don’t forget to warm up before your run and finish with a 5 minute cool down walk.

About your 10K run schedule

Mondays and Fridays: Mondays and Fridays are rest days. Rest is critical to your recovery and injury prevention, so DO NOT  ignore rest days. Your muscles actually build and repair themselves during your rest days. So if you run every day without taking days off, you won’t see much improvement.

Tuesdays and Thursdays: Run at a comfortable, conversational pace for the designated mileage. If you feel good during the last mile, you can/should pick up the pace.

Saturdays: This is your long run day. After you warm up, run at a comfortable, conversational pace for the designated mileage.

If you’re running outside, and you’re not sure how far you run, you can figure out the mileage by using sites such as Run Keeper or Map My Run apps.

Wednesdays: Do a cross-training routine such as this one at easy to moderate effort. Strength Training is also very beneficial to get stronger and more injury-resistant, try this routine! Of course, if you’re feeling very sluggish or sore, listen to your body and take a day off.

Sundays: This is an active recovery day. Your run should be at an easy (EZ), comfortable pace, which helps loosen up your muscles. Or, you can cross-train.

A Note to Remember: 
You can switch days to accommodate your schedule. So if you’re busy on another day and prefer to workout on a Monday or Friday, it’s fine to swap a rest day for a run day.

Good Luck and have fun! 🙂

The post Run Your First 10K – Beginner 10K Training Plan appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.

Normally I update you guys with my weekly training routine and last week Coach Kozak and I were on a little vacation for my wonderful cousin’s 30th birthday. Houston is so close to Galveston, TX that my cousin chose to go on a 5 day (Sat – Thurs) cruise for her birthday and the Kozak’s joined in on the festivities. This is our party face. 🙂

Of course with health and fitness being our livelihood, we have to lead by example and at this point I actually crave my workouts; vacations are no exception. Vacay workouts are actually my favorite because there’s no hurry and you can actually take the time to enjoy a workout without feeling rushed. I view my workouts as doing my body and mind a favor as opposed to viewing it as a laborious chore.

So with that being said, healthy vacation tip #1, change your mindset about your workout routine. Just because you’re on vacation, doesn’t mean you’re on a vacation from your daily health regimen. There is nothing harder than getting back into the swing of working out when you’ve been eating rich foods, binge drinking, and not working out. Set yourself up for success and make a promise to workout at least 2-3 times while you’re vacationing depending on how long you’re away.

Tip #2, plan ahead! Luckily the ship had a gym with free weights, cardio machines, medicine balls, and weight training machines. I was able to look at pictures of the gym on line beforehand allowing me to know what we’d be working with. By doing research on the facilities you’ll have access to allows you to plan your workouts ahead of time if need be. Don’t be the girl I shared the sauna with who stated she does CrossFit and didn’t know what to do in “this type of gym.” Plan Ahead!

Before we left on Saturday, I worked in a 20 Minute workout and two ab routines. For Coach Kozak, he took it as a rest day. We worked out twice in the gym which happened to be the two days we were at sea. We performed the following routine the first day:
Cable squat + shoulder press
reverse lunge + row
leg press
bosu ball push ups
reverse fly + good morning
decline sit up + curl combo
We performed three sets of each exercise and called it a day. Use a weight that is challenging but allows you to perform all sets with good form.

We performed the following two circuits on Wednesday, the other sea day:
Circuit 1
20 second treadmill sprint @ 15% max incline
ab machine x 15
shoulder press machine x 12
lat pull down machine x 15
Repeat 4x (no breaks)

Circuit 2
single arm dumbbell row x 15
leg raise + crunch using medicine ball x 12
ballistic push up x 8
scissor jumps x 12
dumbbell posterior swing x 12
Repeat 3x (no breaks)
Again, use a weight that is challenging but allows you to perform all sets with good form.

Tip #3, make good food decisions while still allowing yourself to have fun and enjoy the “all you can eat” perks. We’d wake up and have a protein filled breakfast (usually an omelette with turkey bacon) and hydrating fruit on the side such as melon or grapefruit. This was great because if I enjoyed one too many glasses of wine the night before, this really helped out!

Post gym sessions we’d have a lunch with protein and a great side of greens. I’d also do my best to seek out the healthiest form of carbs but if I really wanted those french fries, I’d get them. Coach’s post workout lunch!

At lunch I usually had a dessert. I’d get a small serving of anything I wanted, take a few bites of each, drink a little coffee with it and stop. Best thing to do when a plate of desserts is still staring you in the face, COVER IT with your napkin. OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND. In the afternoon I’d snack again, usually a burrito or taco from their Chipotle style bar but I’d only eat the inside and leave the tortilla.

If you’ve ever been on a cruise, the sit down dinners are FABULOUS. Five star dining options that allow you to get multiples of any dish you want.

Sometimes I’d have two appetizers, or two entrees, or two desserts but the same rules applied; take bites and sample all of them but never gorge myself. BEET SALAD, one of my faves!

I always passed up the bread basket and had greens of some sort with my meal of which I totally finished. Best part of all, after dinner only meant you get to hit the clubs and dance it off, with a couple of adult beverages in hand if you want. 🙂

Tip #4, pick active excursions! We had two stops in Mexico, Progreso and Cozumel. Again, I peeped out the excursions available at these places because they’re all made available on-line. In Progreso we did the Bike and Cenote Swim. We were taken to a Mayan village and were able to choose bicycles upon arrival.

They ran out of bikes at one location and instead of waiting, Coach Kozak decided to run the bike trail instead which cumulatively was about the distance of a 5K.

We mountain biked/ran to two cenotes and where able to get in a swim in the beautiful natural wells.

We even stopped for a few poses.

My husband makes me laugh…

The cenotes were absolutely beautiful! For more information on the Yucatan cenotes, click here.

I’m not much of a biker and I’ll admit, the trails burned out my quads and I got in a good workout. We stopped for lunch in the little restaurant on the grounds and were fed a traditional Mayan lunch to which I consumed immediately and I even enjoyed an ice cold beer.

Cozumel was a 45 minute snorkel and beach stop with an all you can drink option. I swam a lot but also took part in the bar option.

They also had the fun inflatable water slides, trampolines and “rock climbing” walls out in the water which made for even more active fun in the sun. Here are the Kozaks once again posing and goofing off.

Tip #5, booze smart! I love nothing more than a fruity frozen drink but to sit by the pool and down 3, 4, or 5 of them in one sitting is a calorie bomb waiting to go off. Normally, I drink a glass or two of wine once every 2 weeks, if that. On vacation, I did have at least one to two alcoholic beverages a day and chose one day out of my vacation to have a little more fun than normal. My drink choices were either red wine or a vodka and club soda with a lime. My “fun” day if you will was the open bar option with all you can drink margaritas on our Cozumel excursion. I had an amazing time with my cousins that day and don’t regret one sip! On the last day, Coach Kozak and I enjoyed one Piña Colada (per person) because we really really like them and we deserve one every once in awhile.

On vacation the most important thing to remember is have fun. Don’t count calories, definitely don’t starve yourself but also don’t go crazy out of control every single day you’re gone. It’s all about balance and making smart decisions along the way. Will your clothes fit a little more snug when you come back, probably, but you’ll be back to normal within a week of your regular eating and exercise routine. Enjoy your family…

enjoy the scenery wherever you go and enjoy the relaxation because that is what a great vacation is all about.

The post How to Vacation Like a Kozak – Five Healthy Vacation Tips appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.

Yet another busy training week last week as I had to incorporate some running into my routine. As you may have noticed from my Saturday blog post, I participated in a 10K and therefore ran 3 miles twice last week to at least get my body prepared.

In addition, I’m still working my abs on the 30 Days to 6 Pack Abs program and it’s getting a bit more intense as I advance through the program.

Sometimes, you just have to take yourself to your happy place! I’m trying so hard not to think about the pain in this pic, lol

So here is how my week last week broke down in regards to my training:

SUNDAY GYM WORKOUT
Shredding 8 Minute Abs
All four sets of 8
Box Squats
RDL + row + shrug
Assisted Dips 2 sets of 8; 2 sets of 6
Reverse cable fly 2 sets of 8
Cable cross over 2 sets of 12
Seated calf raise 2 sets of 20
MONDAY
Run a 5K + 8 Minutes to Ripped Abs
TUESDAY
REST DAY
WEDNESDAY
3 mile run + 5 Min Standing Abs + Six Pack Abs in 5 Min
THURSDAY
27 Minute Body Weight Workout + 6 Pack Abs in 3 Min + 8 Min to Ripped Abs
FRIDAY
REST DAY
SATURDAY
10K – Lower Ab workout

I’ve definitely been enjoying my lifting/gym workout days in the gym with Coach Kozak because it’s something different and definitely challenging for me. Between box squats on Sunday and running three times last week, my quads have really felt the burn and I’ve stayed perma sore all week.

The foam roller has been my BFF all week as a result! It’s the best kind of pain, it’s so weird. If you need to know how to foam roll to get the best results, look no further than this 20 Minute Foam Rolling Workout which is great for your entire body.

The post Training for the week of April 27 appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.

Week three of 6 Pack Ab Challenge…in the BAG! This week, the soreness crept back in because my obliques have definitely been hit with this weeks routines. I had a couple of tough nights just trying to turn in bed. Terrible yet incredibly satisfying all at the same time.

Sunday (EASTER) was a day where I indulged a little more on food and sweets but overall, it wasn’t that bad of an eating day for me. So this is how my week shaped up in regards to my workouts for the week:

SUNDAY: REST DAY
MONDAY: 30 Minute Workout without Weights + 8 Minutes to Ripped Abs

TUESDAY: 15 Minute Insanity Cardio +6 Pack Abs in 5 Minutes + Oblique Exercises & Love Handles 

WEDNESDAY: Filmed Booty Workout Video + Shredding 8 Minute Abs

THURSDAY: 2 Hours of Flag Football Practice + 8 Minutes to Ripped Abs

FRIDAY: Oblique Exercises & Love Handles + 6 Pack Abs in 6 Minutes

SATURDAY: Charity Flag Football Game Benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association (I raised $885.01 on behalf of my grandmas!)

Now that I’m done with weekly 2 hour flag football practice, I will be spending more time in the gym lifting weights with Coach Kozak, up to 3x per week. Now that I have spent the last few months leaning out with the weight loss and cardio videos, my goal is to now increase my overall muscle tone.

I will be posting my weekly training schedule as always as to inform you all of the progress and to debunk the myth that weight training makes women “bulky”. The overall look I plan to achieve is a lean and fit athletic build while maintaining femininity which I know is a concern for many women.

Stay tuned…

The post My Training for the Week of April 20 appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.

Hey y’all! I completed week 2 of the 30 Days to Six Pack Abs program and I’m loving it so far! I’m past the soreness and I can now get out of bed with any problems. 🙂 It’s really a fantastic and challenging program.

My training this past week was a great one! I’m feeling toned and energetic and these feelings only fuel your dedication to your workouts. I worked out from home and hit the gym with Coach Kozak for a heavy lifting day that I haven’t done in quite some time. Here’s what my week looked like:

SUNDAY: REST DAY
MONDAY: 20 Minute Cardio Shred + Lower Abs
TUESDAY: 20 Minute Ultimate Fitness + 5 Min Abs
WEDNESDAY: (Sets x Reps)
RDL+ROW 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 4 ↑
Barbell Push Jerk 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 4 ↑
Barbell Front Squat 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 4 ↑
Barbell Snatch from hang 1 x 12, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 4 ↑
Max Effort Conventional Dead Lift 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 3, 2 x 1 ↑ to 115lbs.
Shredding 8 Minute Abs
THURSDAY: REST DAY
FRIDAY: HASfit Warrior 20 Minute Workout + 6 Pack Abs in 6 Minutes
SATURDAY: 15 Minute Dumbbell Workout + Shredding 8 Minute Abs + 6 Pack in 3 Minutes

Now that I’ve leaned out, I’d love to gain a bit more muscle tone and I look forward to hitting the gym to hit the weights at least twice a week beginning the last week of April. DO NOT be afraid of the weights ladies, they’re your friends and will only help fire up your metabolism and build lean muscle. Trust. Hop off of the cardio train and pick up some dumbbells!

Until next week, keep up those workouts!

The post Got Weights? My Training April 13 – 19 appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.

So last week was my first week beginning the 30 Days to Six Pack Abs Program and I was so sore I could hardly get out of bed (I love that feeling)! I decided to take on the program for one simple reason….we have a cruise coming up in May, that’s my only motivation and also it’s a personal challenge for me. So I took my before pics and I’m interested to see what they’ll look like at the end of these 30 days, stay tuned for those before and afters!

Last week was an action packed week! Sunday and Saturday were my rest days so it was a busy week full of workouts and work. Here’s what I did:

SUNDAY: REST
MONDAY: 30 Minute Fat Blazing Workout (used 8lb dumbbells)
TUESDAY: 25 Minute Total Body Strength Workout (alternating between 5 – 8lb dumbbells) & 6 Pack Abs in 3 Minutes
WEDNESDAY: 1 hour of football agility training with Coach K
THURSDAY: Another 1 hour of football practice (running routes and throwing passes) with Coach K & 6 Pack Abs in 5 Minutes
Friday: 15 Minute Dumbbell Workout at Home & 5 Minute Standing Abs Workout
Saturday: 6 Pack Abs in 6 Minutes (Active Rest Day)

This week, I plan on mixing up my training and getting in a couple of sessions in at the gym. I’ll let you know what I’m doing and the weights that I’m using to complete my workouts. And REMEMBER…

The post My Training – Week of April 6, 2014 appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.

I haven’t updated you guys in awhile regarding my training lately and my apologies for that! As some of you may or may not know, HASfit is now my full time job so getting used to the work load, recipe writing/testing, all while running a smooth household and maintaining my workouts has been a work in progress for me. We don’t even have kids yet! Sheesh.

Anyway, I haven’t decided if today (Friday) is going to be an off day because I’m sore from my killer workouts yesterday. Either way, it’s going to involve running because I haven’t run in over a week. Here is a breakdown of my week for March 31 – April 5, 2014 and they all involve HASfit workouts. With so much variety, how can it not? 🙂

Sunday: 15 Minute Hurricane Cardio
Monday: 12 Minute Blitz Back and Biceps, 10 Minute Home Leg Workout, and 10 Chest and Triceps Workout
Tuesday: 120 minutes of Flag Football practice for my Blondes vs Brunettes Powderpuff Game benefitting the Alzheimer’s Association
Wednesday: REST DAY
Thursday: 12 Minute Blaster Butt Workout, 30 Minute Destruction Workout, Static Stretches
Friday: 3 mile run with Eight Minutes to Ripped Abs (Interchangeable with Saturday)
Saturday: REST DAY (Interchangeable with Friday)

I’m beat up from the Destruction Workout yesterday and I had to make modications for the ballistic pushups as well as the frog tucks in the ab round, OUCH!

Cardio and strength every other day is what I aim for and I even mix in some gym workouts once a week or so but just not this week, no time. That’s ok because all I need to do is pop open my laptop and get to it. No excuses! Happy Friday HASfitters!

The post My Weekly Training – Week of March 31, 2014 appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.

Happy Saturday!

I hope you guys have had an awesome week and have rocked all your workouts so far! I know you have because we’ve seen them. Nothing makes us smile more than seeing all of your hashtags and pictures on Instagram and Twitter showing off all of your progress and simply sharing your journey with the HASfit family. We’re nothing without you all and are ever grateful.

Anyhow, much like you, I train and workout hard during the week too as you all know by my previous posts. While we don’t have babies in the mix yet, I understand that it’s hard to work all day, come home, and try to muster up the motivation to workout. For me, it’s simple; I think of how wonderful exercise is for my body. I come from a family history of diabetes, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure and cholesterol. My exercise and my diet is the only thing standing between me and these predisposed diseases that stand before me and I won’t go down without a fight! Not to mention, exercise does wonders for your self-esteem and confidence. Just like Coach Kozak says during the most intense part of the workout, “remember why you started, remember what brought you here!” and I truly identify with that.

So my workout routine for the week looked a little something like this:

Sunday: The new 10 Minute Back & Biceps, 10 Minute Chest & Triceps, 10 Minute Home Leg Workout
Monday: OFF
Tuesday: 20 Minute Cardio Shred & 15 Minute MMA Training Conditioning
Wednesday: 20 Minute Cardio Burn & 12 Minute 6 Pack Abs
Thursday: OFF
Friday: Tabata Gym Machine Circuit – 12 machines – 20 seconds ON / 10 seconds OFF – 4 rounds of each machine
Saturday: 8 mile run

Before our workout Friday, I whipped up a quick pre workout snack to give us the energy needed. I love fast, natural, and quick snacks on the go. I made Cookie Dough Energy Bites using Maca Powder. Maca Powder is a Peruvian herbaceous plant LOADED with nutritious vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Its been shown to balance your endocrine system and was used by the Incans to provide strength and stamina. This is a super easy recipe and can be made in a snap.

You’ll Need:

1/2 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup rolled oats
3 tbsp Maca powder
1/8 cup to 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
dark chocolate chips (I used Lily’s Sweets baking chips sweetened with Stevia)

In a food processor, blend the almonds and rolled oats until it becomes a flour. To the flour, add the Maca powder and maple syrup and process for 30 seconds until well mixed. Take about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball. Press the chocolate chips into the cookie dough bites and continue rolling. This recipe will yield about 12 bites depending on how large you make them. If you have any left over (which I didn’t because someone ate them all), refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.

Y’all have a wonderful healthy weekend and make good food choices!

The post My Training Week in Review & Cookie Dough Energy Bites Recipe appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.

January is ¾ of the way over, can you believe it?! I feel like we just celebrated Christmas and now it’s nearly February. Red hearts and chocolate adorn every department, grocery and convenience store I walk into. So with all of this being said, I know you guys are in the middle of or almost done with your 30 or 60 day challenges and I hope you all keep up that momentum. I know a lot of people say that if you do anything for 21 days, it becomes habit. I’m not sure that I believe that as in my case I’d say it took a solid 45 for my exercise “habit” to kick in.

I’m so glad I pushed through and persevered through all the days I’d come home from work and force myself into my workout gear. “It’s only a 25 minute workout Claudia. You can do ANYTHING for 25 minutes and it’ll be over before you know it!” That was my usual pep talk and 9 times out of 10, it worked. My body began changing, my clothes got looser and people started noticing. Once that happened, that was all the affirmation I needed to keep this thing up. It’s cliché but nothing worth having comes easy, a fit body included. You guys rock, KEEP IT UP!

So it’s Thursday and I must run. We have that pesky “cold front” blowing through down here in Texas so for me, that means it’s a treadmill run. I don’t do cold. So inside I’ll be for an easy 4 mile run. My week thus far has shaped up as follows:

Coach Kozak clearly created a monster as evidenced by our text message conversation in reference to my workout. So I like to workout out. Sue me. 😉

The post A New Year’s Resolution Pep Talk and My Training This Week appeared first on HASfit - Free Full Length Workout Videos and Fitness Programs.