Grand Rapids Tri

The Grand Rapids Triathlon is usually my first race of the season so it's a good marker of the progress I've made since the year before. Going into this year's race I didn't expect any gains so I went into it with the mindset of having the most fun possible.

This race also happens to be the Athena National Championship which means a big party/reunion of strong Athenas from across the country. It's one of my favorite events and I've done a couple reviews before so here is just the highlight reel...

Hedstrom Kamagon

adding the Kamagon to my pain cave

Last month I got a Kamagon Ball from Hedstrom Fitness for free in exchange for an honest review of their product. There is a discount code and links to the product but they are not affiliate links and I will not receive any further compensation for this campaign.


 Word on the street is that hydro inertia workouts are a new trend for 2017 so when I got the opportunity to test out the Kamgon I had to give it a try. First things first, the Kamagon has two handles which makes a lot of workouts I tried to do with a kettlebell SOOOO much easier. It always felt awkward to hold onto a kettlebell (especially with my short arms) so this made squats, lunges, twists, etc way more comfortable. There are lines on the side to let you know how much water to add for a particular weight. I love that I can add as much or as little as I want to adjust the weight which in turn affects the resistance. This is great for traveling since I can empty it out and not worry about lugging heavy weights with me on trips. A dvd came with it and provided some awesome workouts, I've included a few below that were my go-to moves each Friday:

• Squats with Overhead Press
• Reverse lunge with oblique twist
• Standing rows
• V-Ups
• Bicep Curls

• Jump squats
• Side Lunges
• Tricep extensions
• Russian Twists 
• Side Planks

• Shoulder raises
• Deadlifts
• Side lunge with overhead extension
• One legged hamstring extension with overhead press
• Bicycle crunches

• Standing oblique twists
• Sit-ups 
• Sumo squats or one legged squats with overhead press (or tricep extensions)
• Lunge and press
• Skater lunges

It was such a blast using this and I've now incorporated it into my daily workouts. It sits in front of my tv so whenever I decide to watch a show I grab the ball and so some squats, deadlifts, etc. The hydro inertia took a bit to get used to but I think this would be a great tool for fitness enthusiasts of every level. I'm glad I was able to test it out and if you check out the info below I've included a discount code if you'd like to get one of your own!

Hedstrom is giving us a coupon code for Surge/Kamagon products to share with our readers for 25% - it is SPHF25 and is valid from Friday, 1/20 until 2/28. It can be used by anyone in US / Canada.

CELEBRATE!!!

OK OK I know, I've been a bit of a downer and no real fitness or beer posts lately (other than my insta which has been my main outlet lately). BUT the good news is that I accepted a new job offer today so I've already started making plans to get back on track and devote myself back to my training. I'm working with a running coach to improve my pace and I have a new toy that I'll be posting about soon!

So what are my goals for the year?

-faster pace times
-more efficient swimming
-lose the weight I've put back on and get back to an optimal racing weight
-hang out with friends more
-learn to love my bike
-travel more
-try cooking new things
-write consistently

I only have a couple races on the board for next year but I'm pretty excited about them. I'll start my season off with the Shamrock Shuffle, followed by the Grand Rapids Tri, a relay for Ironman Ohio 70.3, Michigan Titanium Tri, and then hopefully the Chicago Tri. Hopefully I can sprinkle a few more races in there but for now I'm excited about what I have lined up. This season will be all about getting back to basics!

New Year, New Me?

Today I got my first phone call for an interview. I am beyond excited! This is my top choice so I'm really looking forward to it. (don't want to jinx it so I'll keep the details secret for now but seriously, this could be amazing)

I have to say its been an interesting month. Since I had some extra free time I decided to take a longer holiday break than usual so I could spend extra time with my family. I made the most of the holidays despite feeling a little anxious about the job situation. I decided to not let anything get to me and just take it a day at a time. Now that I'm looking to new job interviews and a new year I've realized that I've totally lost track of my fitness goals. With all the hoopla surrounding resolutions it occurs to me that I don't have any. My one and only focus has been finding a job.

I'd love to say that I'll start dedicating more time to getting back to where I was, but the truth is, until I know I have the safety of a new job lined up it'll be hard to focus on anything else. Fingers crossed things go well!