Mandi's Free Spirit Fitness & Nutrition

03/29/2023

Not fitness related but wanted to share my great news…Rory McKenna Moyer was born at 3:36am weighing in at 6lbs, 5oz and 19.5 inches. Her mom and dad are over the moon with their precious little bundle. This new grandma is feeling so blessed and can’t wait to shower her granddaughter with hugs and kisses soon!

03/15/2023

Go green with these healthy treats… ☘️🤪

03/13/2023

Tackle the Turkish Get Up!

Ok team, Monday’s muscle up move is the Turkish Get Up (TGU). I love this exercise because it combine several functional moves with an isometric hold, providing total body conditioning with just a few reps.

Turkish get ups will help you become stronger with several compound moves. This unilateral move also improves coordination and helps prevent injuries by increasing mobility and improving core stability.

Since it trains your shoulder isometrically, the TGU is excellent for rehabbing shoulder sprains. Both the weighted and non-weighted side of the TGU provide benefits and help with muscle imbalance. While one side is working on shoulder stability and thoracic mobility, the other side is getting better at coordination.

Please watch the video below for a few pointers, and then perform 10 on your own alternating sides. Use a light weight until you are comfortable with the move.

One last note…you have all been working those muscles hard this month, so I hope you have scheduled a little time for relaxation. Whether it is a getting a massage, letting off some steam in the sauna or soaking in a hot tub…make self care a priority.

03/09/2023

Beat Body Image Issues

Thursday is for total body toning, but today I want to spend a few minutes talking about body image issues instead of writing a workout. This topic is extremely personal for me as I struggled with it for years and also watched my sweet baby girl do the same. I have several clients who struggle with this to some degree and it really bothers me.

Last week, a beautiful healthy young woman came in for a consultation, and when I asked her to step on the scale, she said oh no, I don’t want to see how fat I am. I told her to close her eyes and I recorded all the numbers. When I informed her that all of her health markers were in the excellent range, her response was then why do I still feel so fat?

My assumption is we are trying to live up to a Hollywood stereotype that says thin is beautiful.  I’m not saying that thin people aren’t beautiful. I just want everyone to know that healthy is beautiful, strong is beautiful, confident is beautiful, and happy is beautiful.

A healthy lifestyle is not that complex. Eat nutritious food (think whole ) drink lots of water, exercise regularly (not obsessively) get plenty of sleep (aim for 8 hours) practice self care (massage, sauna, facials) and surround yourself with like minded people. If you are doing all that, STOP worrying about a number on the scale….you are healthy and beautiful!

Today’s challenge is to share what your favorite body part is and why, as well as an exercise you do consistently for that body part.

I will go first and say that my arms are my favorite because I feel they are well defined. My favorite exercise is the upside down kettlebell carry because it works the bicep, triceps, shoulders, obliques and a little bit of my back. I lift a heavy kettlebell(25lbs) and walk for 30 to 45 seconds per side for 3 sets several times a week. Can’t wait to hear from y’all!

03/08/2023

Celebrate International Women’s Day!

In addition to the arrival of Spring, the shamrocks of St Patrick and the NCAA basketball extravaganza, March is also the host month for Women’s history, and today is International Women’s Day.

The purpose of women’s history month is to empower women in the workforce, inspire the next generation, increase awareness about women’s issues, reflect on the progress we’ve made and celebrate extraordinary acts by ordinary women.

One of the most meaningful tasks of my previous career as a marketing and communications specialist at Intel was highlighting the brilliant careers, contributions and achievements of so many amazing women. They were my idols and thanks to social media, I continue to follow their storied careers.

What I would like from my Free Spirit Fitness family is for you all to take some time today to celebrate the women in your life.

>>> Reflect on the most influential woman in your life
>>> Write a letter of gratitude to one of them
>>> wear purple (linked to women’s suffrage, purple is the official color for IWD)
>>> get together for happy hour

For those of you who are so inclined, please share a story on this page about an inspirational, motivational, courageous or otherwise extraordinary woman in your life… I look forward to reading what you share.

03/06/2023

Muscle Up Monday: How to make you side plank more challenging and effective

Came across the Copenhagen side plank on my feed earlier and decided to give it a try. Unlike a normal side plank which I can hold for quite awhile, the Copenhagen had me calling it quits after 15 seconds a side.

In addition to core stabilization and strengthening of the obliques, the Copenhagen helps strengthen the groin and hips. Below is a quick snippet…Give it a try and let me know what you think…😎

Also, make time for meditation today…the March Madness Challenge is a holistic fitness program helping to strengthen mind, body, spirit and community.

03/04/2023

Wishing Linda Carbeiner the happiest of birthdays! She is a badass warrior woman who has been training 3x a week for the past year. A few injuries has limited some exercises but she loves working upper body and showing off her guns! 💪

Linda is also a gracious hostess opening her home gym for her Tierra Verde team so we don’t melt in this Florida heat and humidity.

Lastly, Linda is an amazing woman with a huge heart and I am so happy that I get to be her trainer and friend…luv ya girl!

03/02/2023

Thursday’s tasty treat recipe: Vanilla orange protein balls. If anyone wants to earn extra kudos from their trainer, please bring a few of these to our next session…🤪

These little guys are a perfect on-the-go treat, just in time for summer!

03/02/2023

Good news for those who say they don’t have enough time to work out… less than 15 minutes a day can make a positive difference :-)

Just 11 minutes of aerobic activity daily could lower your risk of chronic disease and premature death, a new study has found.

03/01/2023

MARCH MADNESS MAKEOVER CHALLENGE

This is not a weight loss challenge, although some of you may lose a few pounds 🙂

This is not a dry challenge as I’m sure we will all be drinking green beer on Saint Paddy’s day. 🍺 ☘️

This is definitely not a strict nutrition and exercise challenge as I don’t have an administrator to help with all that dang paperwork. 🤪

This is simply 31 days of healthy habits and lifestyle modifications to help us Spring towards Summer feeling fabulous! This is also a commitment from me to provide you with daily workouts, articles, recipes, photos and success stories.

As with any challenge, there will be winners ( gifts tbd) for most weight lost, most muscle gained, most push-ups performed, longest plank held, most committed to training (perfect attendance, invite a friend) most social (check in, comment, like/love and share) and maybe a few other categories.

Mondays will be about making muscle and meditating . Todays assignment is to perform as many perfect push-ups as you can without stopping. Then complete as many sit-ups in one minute as you can. After a brief rest, hold forearm plank to failure…please record all your numbers so you can compare weekly progress.

If you have not downloaded the calm app or insight timer app consider doing so as they have great guided meditations and other awesome resources. I will check back in tomorrow with Tuesday’s triple Tabata workout and a few training tips.

Looking forward to making this March a month to remember with Mandi’s Free Spirit Fitness family!



02/07/2023

Shoutout to our birthday boy Mike Young…at 76, he still has the energy to bust out burpees along with cross fit training with his wife Debbie and 3 awesome gal pals!

The OG Tierra Verde team is still going strong! Training this group is a blast and I am so grateful they allow me to be a small part of their fitness journey.