Fit Your Life

Okay, let’s get real for a few minutes. Being a mom of two is awesome, a ton of fun, humbling, and tough. Yea, it’s tough. Brooke and I were in such a groove on the days we had together – I knew how long it would take to get fed, ready, and out the door. Toss (not literally!) an adorable newborn into the mix and goodness knows how long it can take! I love the learning adventure and the little daily challenges, but most of all of the extra love that having two sweet girls has added to our home.  Nearly two months in and I am feeling more confident each day in this new routine and the chaos it ensues. Sure, Mikah is still feeding on demand, so that is not always 100% predictable, but it is getting better. She is also a snuggly baby, which is lovely and incredibly sweet, however, a little tricky with a busy and fun toddler who wants to play and needs to eat! Therefore, Mikah is in the carrier a lot. Good thing she loves it! I usually love working out first thing in the morning and the...

We welcomed our second daughter to the world on October 4, 2016 at 8:27am.  Mikah Marie is sweet, snuggly, and so precious. Big sister Brooke is incredibly proud and loves "Baby Sister" so much already! Our birth story is not one that you typically find when searching for "perfect birth experience", however, it was our perfect delivery. Actually, we have been blessed with two perfect deliveries. Being a labour and delivery nurse for five years, I have seen nearly every type of delivery and heard many birth plans. So for Keith and I, with our first daughter Brooke, our perfect birth experience was one where she arrived safely into this world. On April 16, 2014 I went into labour, but by the morning of April 17, I needed some assistance increasing the strength of the contractions with an artificial rupture of membranes (my obstetrician "broke my water"), followed by a syntocinon augment. After hours of strong contractions and not much change in cervic...

Yes! It is true! We welcomed our sweet baby girl to the world earlier this month and have been in awe of her ever since. I will post about our birth experience and more about her very soon.  In the meantime, I have been asked multiple times in the past few weeks about my transverse abdominis (TVA) or deep core activation techqniques; how I used these techniques throughout my pregnancy and how I am re-introducing them to my daily routine as my body heals from our cesarean birth. To begin, I did not know about these techniques when I was pregnant with Brooke, our oldest daughter, who was born in April 2014. I had a great recovery after her delivery (also cesarean), as I was cleared to begin upper body exercise with slow integration of lower body exercise at 4 weeks postpartum and cleared to begin core work and running at 6 weeks postpartum. I felt great! That being said, my core already feels so much stronger than it did at 2 weeks postpartum with Brooke. I already feel like mysel...

I love morning workouts!  I find it is the best way to start my day and keep me going through whatever comes my way. Getting out of bed is not usually easy, especially as the sun is rising later, but with these tips I hope you will give it a fair shot! Yes, even at 38 weeks pregnant and off work, I set my alarm for 6am and sneak in 20 minutes of "me" time to sweat before I begin my day! Remember, it takes time for a habit to form. Some say 21 days. So, give yourself a month of at least three first-thing-in-the-morning workouts per week and see how you feel! Journaling is a great way to keep track of your energy levels; both on the days you complete your morning routine and on the days you do not. Once in the rhythm, I find that I am actually more tired on the days I didn't exercise!  Here we go: 1) Set out your workout clothes the night before By choosing what you will throw on the minute you roll out of bed is motivating for two reasons. One, you don't hav...

When you first read the title, you probably thought, well that's obvious. What I really want you to think about is how we move throughout the 9(ish) months of gestation can affect our bodies for the rest of our lives. We need to honour this amazing process and respect the changes that occur.   Some of you might feel physically and emotionally fantastic throughout your entire pregnancy and only have to modify a few exercises or your intensity as you progress. Others, may notice a significant change from the first trimester and really need to slow things down. There are also those who did not move their bodies regularly prior to becoming pregnant, however crave that connection with their growing physical body, but unsure of where to even begin. How can we ensure that we minimize long-term harm to our bodies during our pregnancy? Balanced nutrition |  Health Canada recommends increasing our food intake by two or three food guide servings through the secon...

Last week was wonderful! It was busy, full, emotional, fun, and so very lovely. We had our four final sweaty Fit Your Life classes of 2016 filled with motivated women and celebrated the beginning of my "mini maternity leave" or "sabbatical" (as Keith is calling it) with a BBQ in our backyard for whomever of them could make it! Our yard has never held so many Moms, Dads, and Littles! We loved every minute of it!  Thank you to each of you who have joined us along this journey! It has been the most incredible adventure I could imagine and I am grateful for you everyday. Without you, my lovely "clients", this dream would not be a reality. You have created this wonderful community of supportive and inspiring Mamas! Pushing yourselves and each other to be the best that you can be in this extremely special time of our lives. I cannot wait to continue to get to know each of you better during my leave and upon my return to classes! To Keith, my rock and my...

Thank you Roughley Originals ! The past few weeks have been emotional as I have said "see you soon" to many clients as classes wind down for the summer. Next week is our final week of scheduled classes before our sweet girl is born! We are planning to take a few months off to enjoy the special time with her and then gear back up for classes early in 2017. Fit Your Life has been an amazing journey thus far. The growth that we have experienced, the truly incredible women I have met, and the daily joy that fills my whole being are more than I ever could have imagined! Thank you to every single person who has supported, encouraged, loved, and pushed us along this path! We are so excited for many things to come in the next year and to share with all of you!  We will be in touch!  xoxo kellie

Being present is something I think many of strive towards in this society where we want to do everything, be everything, and make it look pretty at the same time. I am no different. I thrive on having a full schedule of things that make my heart and mind happy , but sometimes struggle to be completely focussed on where my feet are, not where they are headed next.  The past few weeks have been exceptionally busy with weekend getaways, an amazing friend's wedding celebrations, shifts at the hospital, a new round of fitness classes with more clients signing up every week, and trying to enjoy the beautiful weather with Brooke and Keith. At the end of each day, I reflect on the events, laughs, memories of the past 14 or so hours with my hands on my growing belly and connect with the Littlest Willie kicking and rolling around inside.  People tell you that your pregnancy will be different when chasing a toddler. You don't have as much time to enjoy each f...

I love learning new techniques and ideas! I find it is so easy to get stuck in the same fitness routine, whether is be my own workouts or creating fresh classes for my clients. After attending AFLCA's 2016 Fit Rendezvous, I felt inspired to create new and fun classes using everything I learned.  Fresh & Fun! full body workout was created the week after the fitness conference. I love this new-to-me technique of combining basic combination movements for a short amount of time, but with many sets. My clients loved the fresh format!! It is a struggle to push through this many sets, but they were so thankful they had each other and made it through! Fresh & Fun! full body workout My incline push-up on the MoveBALL from my knees prenatal exercise modifications are in blue Warm-Up | 5 minutes 30 seconds per exercise Prisoner walk lunges Plank | Reverse plank Prisoner walk lunges with added one lunge at bottom Plank with walk | Reverse plank with walk...