Get Back to Basics Workout

I Love Working Out!

Wow. I had a great workout today. I did a terrific back workout.  I picked the traditional exercises to strengthen the entire back and rear delts.

Here it is: 2 sets of 15 reps. each exercises. No resting in between sets.

1 arm rows
Seated cable rows
Wide grip pull downs
Seated close hand machine rows
Rear delt flys
Hyper extensions

5 Exercises in 20 minutes

I maximize my time in the gym so I can spend time outdoors with my family!

People are busier than ever. Why spend 2 hours in the gym when you can workout smarter. I like to do compound exercises that train multiple muscle groups at once. This way I get more done in the same amount of time.

Here is a workout I did today that is 5 compound exercises that train 10+ muscle groups in 20 minutes!  Guaranteed to work up a sweat and tighten your entire body! Enjoy!

Squat/Curls:

Stand with feet shoulder width, dumbbells in each hand. Squat down until thighs are parallel to the floor at the same time, curl both weights up, keeping the elbows tight into the waist. Muscles trained: legs and biceps.

Lunge/Front Raises:

Stand with 1 foot in front of the other, core tight. Lunge forward until your thigh is parallel to the floor, keeping your knee directly over your knee. At the same time, raise the weight upward, arm straight, until the weight is in front of your shoulder, hold a beat and stand back up, returning to starting position. Repeat 15 times each arm. Muscles trained, upper leg and front delt/shoulder.

Sumo Squat/Shoulder Press:

Stand with feet wider than shoulder width, toes pointed outward. Knees over the ankle. Hold light weights at shoulder level and press upward while squatting downward. Keep core tight and exhale as you stand back up to starting position and lower the weights back to shoulder level. Muscles trained: butt/legs, deltoids/shoulders.

Push up/Leg Raise:

Assume the push up position, lower your body into the start of a push up position. As you PUSH UP and straighten your arms, lift on leg up, contracting the muscles in you butt/glutes. Repeat as many times as you can, alternating legs. Muscles trained: chest/shoulders, glutes, core.

Single Leg Dead lifts/Rows:

Hold a light weight in each hand. Stand on one foot, core tight. Keeping your core tight, slowly hinge at the waist and lower into a dead lift as if you are putting the weight on the floor, while in this position, row the weights up, keeping your balance. Return to starting position. Repeat each leg 10 times. Muscles trained: core, hamstrings, glutes, back, rear delts.

Fit Mom Tips to be More Productive

As busy moms, there never seems to be enough time in the day. How do we find the time to workout, stock our kitchens' with healthy foods, work, do chores, take care of our families and cherish each moment before our kids are adults?

Fit Mom Time Saving Tips

I wanted to share some time savers I use that help me add more time to my day. These shave off hours from my week and allow me to enjoy more meaningful moments during the day.

1. Email and Voice Mail
Whether you are a working mom or stay at home working mom, you most likely get alot of emails.  At Kiana Fitness we get over 500-1000 emails per day.  I try to answer all emails, but it is very overwhelming.

I limit the mornings and late afternoon to checking email. Not throughout the day. It is a time waster to get bogged down with the non-urgent emails, SPAM and sales offers.

Voice Mail:
I check voice mails 3 times per day. If I am busy I let voice mail pick it up.

On the other hand, my dear mother answers every call all of the time. This is good and bad. It's good when I need to talk to her. lol. It's bad when it disrupts special events or conversations.

I feel that it's to my advantage to pick and chose and focus on what I'm doing so it gets done and I don't get side tracked.

2. Organize Paper work
My grand mother who passed away at 98 told me "Touch each paper work ONCE."

To me this means either file it, pay it or toss it. Don't stack it up on the desk. When you open the mail, keep the trash nearby and TOUCH IT ONCE.

3. Charity bag
I keep a Good Will or Salvation Army designated bag in the laundry room. As I wash and fold my kids clothing, I can see what is too small or too worn and put it in the Charity bag right away.

4. Phone calls
I block out 2 hours per day for business calls. This way I can work uninterrupted during the rest of the day without getting interrupted.

5. Just say NO
This was a hard one for me. I like to say YES. I realized early on while juggling hosting 5 ESPN television shows that I cannot do everything.

Now with kids I feel even more busy. There are the endless opps for sports, birthday parties, volunteering at the school, etc. NO is a the first word out of my mouth. Just kidding. But I am selective and try to be realistic.

An opportunity may sound fun, but I visualize the reality of I can really drive the kids to 5 places at once, make cupcakes, lead the Brownie Troop, volunteer at Church, attend business meetings, get the chores done, errands, meet my Mom for lunch, etc. Ummm NO.

6. Delegate
I read an article in one of the Parenting magazines suggesting that 8 years is an ideal time for kids to pack their own lunch or help with chores such as separating laundry. Uh, my daughter has been helping with that since she started kindergarten.

I believe we are a household and all family members need to help out. Sorting laundry is easy and even fun for kids.

Lunch: The night before school, the kids pack their own lunch. To make it easy and control what goes in their lunch boxes, I keep all easy-pack lunch items: Cutie tangerines, bananas, plums, peaches, pre packaged apple sauce and mangerine oranges, crackers, string cheese, flavored water, pre packaged trail mix, etc. in one area of the pantry and frig, so my kids can pick one of each for their lunch. I add the sandwich, check their lunch and it's done.

How to Motivate Fit Kids and Family

Hi Fit Moms! Here are some tips for you that I do to keep my family fit, healthy and active!

Select toys and activities that require MOVEMENT: push/pull toys, balls, catching games, hula hoops as opposed to video games or DVDs.


Pantry Raid: I tossed out all candy, cookies, fattening chips and sodas years ago. My theory is that "if it's not in the house I/we can't eat it."


Get your crunchy (chip) fix with mini carrots, baked chips, baked tortillas, pita chips.

High-Low: Walk the dog and discuss the highs and lows of the day

Freeze dance-kids love this, you burn calories, you can dance as silly as you want since no one is watching you!

Do productive things together that are active and fun and get chores done: wash the dog, the car, see "who can put away 10 things the fastest."


Keep sliced veggies and hummus in the 'frig for easy-eat snacks.

Always eat breakfast. No exception.

Eat healthy snacks in between meals.

My kids love to paint and color. I tell them to choose foods like you're painting a picture: colorful with lots of texture.

New Foods Game at the Market: I let my kids pick a new fruit or veggie at the market to try. We eat it that night and discuss why we like (or don't like it.)

I use soda, chips and cookies as "once in awhile treats." Not a regular choice.

Bottled water is always the first choice for drinks.

I cook large quantities of whatever the meal is, I portion it up and freeze for later. This way I have healthy food that is easy to reheat on those busy days.

It's amazing what you will eat when you are starving. If you make healthier options available to you, it will be easy to feed your body with nutritious foods.


I serve sliced zucchini and mini carrots with low fat ranch dip to the kids for appetizers, while I am preparing the rest of the dinner. They eat it up!

Every Sunday I will make 2 dozen whole wheat pancakes with an added scoop of steel oats and/or trail mix pre chopped in the food processor.  I put the pancakes in an airtight container to reheat in the toaster on busy mornings. This is a much healthier and more economical option to the brands you by in the grocery store.

I chop of several types of fruit and put them in labeled containers. This is a healthy addition to yogurt for breakfasts or after school snacks.

Hard boil 2 dozen eggs and put them back into the carton. I write "Hard Boiled" directly on the carton. My kids love them in their lunch box and after school.

Recipe - Breakfast Blueberry Brown Rice Pudding

"Kiana's Fit Cooking" Episode

(View at Fit Mom TV Video Player)

Breakfast Blueberry and Brown Rice Pudding

By Guest Fit Mom TV Chef

Winner of the Iron Chef Competition and Father of 6

Eldon Pico

1 cup cooked med grain brown rice

1 cup organic soy milk (flavored if desired)

1 teaspooon Stevia

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon lemon zest

½ cup fresh blueberries

Toasted almonds to taste

In a medium saucepan combine rice, soymilk, Stevia, lemon zest and cinnamon. Cook for 6-8 minutes stirring frequently until the pudding is thick and creamy. Remove from heat and at the end add blueberries and toasted almonds stirring gently to combine. A huge bonus to this recipe is that it gives you something to do with cooked rice leftover from dinner. Serve warm or at room temperature. Eat in a bowl with a spoon and feel happy about the decision you’ve made. Serve with a side of fresh strawberries and sprig of mint to dress up the plate.