Run for Your Lives! The Race... #giveaway

 Run for Your Lives!  Zombie Preparedness Team Member: Mindy Artze

Yep, you read that correctly! I am a member of the ZPT, Zombie Preparedness Team. I hope I can handle it! I won't lie to you, zombies freak me out!

Run for Your Lives is a 5K obstacle race like no other and they take place all over the country! I LOVE obstacles races, but this one brings on a whole new challenge that I will admit I am a bit fearful of. Zombies will be chasing me in order to get my flags. Yes, that is right... Zombies... chasing... EHH!!!

Zombies will be chasing all of the racers trying to snatch their brains (which will actually be flags tied around their waists) before they reach the finish line of this 5K obstacle race. People will be in zombie costumes, and from what I understand, the crazier the costume, the juicier the brain... (I just made that up... sorry could not resist.) But I do LOVE the idea of dressing up like a zombie! Creepy! But fun!


The best part of this race is that it is really about teamwork. It's not about being first, it's about getting to the finish line with flags. So staying with your team, in a pack is going to be the best bet. The rules of the event clearly state that Zombies aren't allowed to touch the racers, so that is a bit of a relief.

Since I began CrossFit at CrossFit Blackbeard, I have a newfound toughness and strength. I feel that I can accomplish anything, so this race was something I had to do... I have to cross this off my bucket list. And I will!

This obstacle course is like nothing you have ever done before. Waiting at the end of this 5K zombie infected course is an apocalypse party that is "to die for!"

Run For Your Lives, the original zombie 5K, has invited me to be a brand ambassador on their Zombie Preparedness Team. Because of your love for my blog, you can take full advantage of my relationship with Run For Your Lives and receive 15% off when registering for any of their races in the United States.
Register here: http://www.runforyourlives.com/
When you register USE CODE ZPTD7 for 15% off!
I will be doing the Orlando November 16, 2013 race! I would love for you to join me! 

Run for Your Lives has chosen me as a blogger for the event. That means that I got a free entry for myself, and I also got one free entry for YOU! Yay! So all you have to do is enter the giveaway here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure you enter my other giveaways as well...
MostFit Suspension Strap giveaway ends 8/8:
 http://mindysfitnessjourney.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-and-giveaway-mostfit-suspension.html
Spartan Race giveaway:
 http://mindysfitnessjourney.blogspot.com/2013/08/want-to-be-spartan-try-spartan-race.html

Want to be a Spartan? Try the Spartan Race

***The winner is Amanda Xiong
Well, I have done it! I bit the bullet and signed up for a race that scares me a little but also really intrigues me! Yep, I have signed up for The Spartan Race. This race happens all over the country. 

I am going to be doing the one in Tampa in February. Who wants to join me? If you don't live in Tampa, you can do one near where you live. I am giving away one free entry right now! Who wants it??

The founder of Spartan Races Joe De Sena is going around the country and with his team they are leading Spartan strong workouts (they are free!!) ...You can register to participate and see just how spartan strong you are. 

http://spartanracemedia.com/

Watch this video and see what you think! :)

There is a special discount code of 15% for any Spartan Race in the continental US. You can be find it here: 

http://bit.ly/spartanwarrior

And for all of those baseball fans, Spartan Races has introduced Sprint Races this year at some really awesome ball parks across the nation including:

• Miller Park in Milwaukee on September 7th,
• Citizens Bank Park in Philly on September 28th, and
• Fenway Park in Boston on November 16th

Would you like an opportunity to be on TV while you race? 

This is a direct quote from the Spartan Race website:

Reebok Spartan Race and a major television network are searching for inspiring male and female professional athletes and everyday Spartans to be featured on a show about the growing sport of Obstacle Racing.

Share your story about how Reebok Spartan Race has changed your life, for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent Spartan on camera at the World Championship Race in Vermont!

I am hosting a giveaway for one free entry anywhere in the continental US! Get signed up! It's going to be great! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was given a free entry and one entry to give away. All opinions are my own.

A Day Vacation: Stay-cation at The TradeWinds Resort in St. Petersburg

A few of the Tampa Bay Bloggers were invited to spend the day at The TradeWinds Island Grand Resort – a beachfront resort located directly on the Gulf of Mexico on St. Pete Beach, just 30 minutes from Tampa in Florida. I was very excited to be one of the bloggers chosen. It meant I got to take my son, Bryce to spend an entire day participating in all of the events that The TradeWinds has to offer.

I have grown up in St. Pete and spent many days on St. Pete Beach. I have seen the slide set up and heard about all the fun, but I didn't realize that it would be so easy and that The TradeWinds are so accommodating to all of their patrons. Now that I have spent the day there, we will definitely be back! What fun!
When we arrived, we were greeted by a fellow blogger, Katie, in the lobby. She was our point person. We were given a swag bag with a beautiful TradeWinds towel, Beaker, the TradeWinds mascot, a drink coozie, and a thumb drive. What a great start! We were directed to our Hospitality Suite that was donated by GoGo SqueeZ! What a relief to be able to go into the room to cool off with a delicious GoGo SqueeZ! Some of the kids put them into the freezer, and I have to say that it was probably the most refreshing treat after lunch. 

We dropped our stuff off in the suite and Bryce couldn't wait to go on The Trippo which is the giant slide behind the resort. We stopped off to get our cabanas though. That wasn't the best move since we never sat the entire day :) Too much fun to be had.
Then Bryce hit The Trippo! I was waiting at the bottom for him with my camera, but the first time he went down the side slide and I missed him. He ran around and got right back in line. He was so fast, I almost missed him. Then he talked me into going too. Holy cow! It was so fast! I loved it!
We really had a great time on the slide. We had a bracelet pass that let us go on as many times as we wanted. I snuck away to go over to the Adventure Center to get our passes for Splash Island.

photo courtesy of TradeWinds Facebook page

We had no idea what Splash Island was, but we couldn't wait to get out there and try it. We got tickets to the 11:00 time, which was perfect because lunch was at noon. I was relieved to see that all of the participants were fitted with life vests before they went out to the water. Being a teacher and a mom, I get really stressed out when children swim. I can't relax. This certainly helped! We had a blast! Bryce wanted me to do EVERYTHING with him which made me a very happy mommy! There is something about your child wanting to share every moment of fun with you! Thank you TradeWinds!

We then had a great BBQ lunch provided by the resort. Before I could even finish, Bryce was ready to go find the paddle boats. He and Ronin (Jenny Metamorfit's son) ran to the paddle boats with me trailing behind. They got on their boat and started paddling. It was not as easy for me. I think I should have ridden with them. They were masters. They left me in the dust, but I ran back into them when they came back to the start.

This smile says it all! #blessed

Our next plan was paddle boarding. We had passes for 2:15. It was 1:30, so we had some time to kill. We heard that they were doing pool games, so we headed towards the pool. I did participate in the adult swimming race, but sadly,  I stunk! LOL... I think I may have embarrassed my son. Jenny Metamorfit was the winning female! Yay for her.

Bryce and I headed out to paddle board! That was fun but much harder than paddling at Crystal River. The waves made it really tough to get started. We had a blast though. It was getting late, and we were wrapping things up when Bryce realized that we hadn't bungee jumped yet. He ran to the line and waited. Bryce was so awesome jumping! I loved watching his excitement! I grabbed a video of him flipping! So cool!

Have you ever been to The TradeWinds? Which of these things sounds like something you would like to try?

Don't forget my MostFit giveaway is going on right now! Click here to enter!

Disclosure: The TradeWinds Resort did not compensate me for this post. They did offer the services, but all opinions are my own.

Jumping with friends at AirHeads!

Want to keep your kids moving and away from the TV? My son loves going to AirHeads Trampoline Arena! You can find them in Tampa and Largo, Florida. There is so much to do there. Last week I took my son and my nephew. We got there early, and it was great. There were barely any people there at opening, and that allowed the boys to play any video game they wanted in the arcade without having to wait. Then they went into the trampoline area and did some serious jumping. They worked on their flips, shot basketballs, climbed the walls and even played dodgeball!

It was a lot of fun. My nephew is 13 and had a blast. He is not the most daring kid, but he did enjoy jumping and climbing walls. At one point I got concerned for my safety because I think they planned on hitting me with the balls during dodgeball. 

Bryce, my 9 year old,  told me that they couldn't leave until he mastered the flip. In this picture you can see that he ALMOST had it but fell back. I told him that this was good enough.

We are excited to be heading back to AirHeads soon for a play date with a group of friends! AirHeads also has fitness classes. I have not tried them yet, but many friends have and rave about the workout they got! 

How do you keep your kids active in the summer and on weekend? 

Check out my MostFit suspension straps giveaway HERE!

Disclosure: The AirHeads tickets were provided by AirHeads but all opinions are my own.

Review and Giveaway! MostFit™ Suspension Strap

Update: Winner is Summer Irby
Are you looking for an easy, affordable and compact way to stay fit without leaving the house or when you are traveling? I recently had the opportunity to try MostFit suspension straps and loved them. I have done TRX workouts in the past and really enjoyed doing them. When the Mom Power Team asked me if I would like to review this, I was so excited! I love that this company's  mission is to "be the MostFit you can be! Anytime. Anywhere!

It was actually the perfect day to try them because I couldn't get to my CrossFit box because my son wasn't feeling well. No excuses right? So I set up my MostFit™ Suspension Strap and got to work. I first found my friend, Dani Get Your Gunz's workout using these. I am not a personal trainer, so I wanted to make sure that I got the best workout I could! (You need to go check out her blog! Amazing! http://danigeturgunz.com/)

All you have to do is use your body weight. It will give you a complete workout. There are over 100 different exercises. (push ups, squats, knee tucks, bicep curls, rows, and many others)

Bryce even joined in on the fun! 

MostFit offers health benefits you likely never would expect! As you get stronger your body will not fatigue as easy, and your muscles will protect your joints from injury and build better balance. Regular resistance training can help improve attention and reduce the symptoms of many chronic conditions.

To install:

1. Place tube over a solid, sturdy door that closes toward you.
2. Close the door and lock if available.
3. You are done! It's that easy! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to enter my Spartan Race Entry giveaway too! http://mindysfitnessjourney.blogspot.com/2013/08/want-to-be-spartan-try-spartan-race.html

Have you ever done a suspension strap workout? What is your favorite exercise?


Disclosure: This product was given to me to test out and review. All opinions are my own.

A successful weight loss helper: The DietBet

As you all know, I have been running DietBets for the past few months! They have been extremely successful. This DietBet is still open for joining, and we would love to have you join. It's $25 to enter. I have a support page on facebook, and this month I decided to feature one participant a week on my blog. Sign up here: http://www.dietbet.com/games/19977

This week I am featuring Melisha Murray. She was the first to email me and she said, "Mindy, Thanks for letting me share, I totally love your blog, instagram and your diet bets!  Your blog is one of the ones that inspired me to finally get up and start moving. Thanks so much for all the work you put into helping people live healthier lives :)"  I asked her a few questions, and here are her responses! Enjoy! 

You can follow Melisha's journey at Melisha Murray Fitness.

1. How many DietBets have you done?

I have been doing DietBets since April and have squeezed in 7 so far.  The past 4 have been with Mindy's Fitness Journey and I love that she has the extra support on the Facebook group! (https://www.facebook.com/groups/546796248675207/)

2. Why did you decide to do a DietBet?

I heard about DietBet on a blog and was already on my weight loss journey and figured, "Hey if I'm going to lose weight anyways why not add a little incentive."  I needed accountability and support and knew this would be a great motivator.  I'm super frugal so that 25 dollars isn't worth that froyo or that donut so that definitely is a powerful motivator for me.  

3. Have you won money?

I have won 6 DietBets and I WILL win this 7th one too ;) its been between 40-50 dollars each time but I pay the $25 to get started.  I've stopped rewarding myself with food and instead my dietbet winnings are my reward.

4. What is working for you in DietBet?

The extra accountability and motivation really works for me and keeps me going strong!  I post my workouts, food and diet bet weigh ins on Facebook and I was so surprised to see how much support is out there, its absolutely incredible.  It was so scary to post that first thing but now it keeps me accountable and people notice if I don't post a sweaty workout pic.  

5.  What is one thing you struggle with in your healthy journey?

I struggle with getting and staying motivated and not backsliding in between bets.  I've lost 40 lbs since February and have  more to go.  Now that I'm starting to fit in cute clothes again, I've started getting comfortable so its a struggle to stay on track.  My goal isn't only weight loss and sometimes I forget that, so I really have to redefine my goals OFTEN to stay on track.

6. What is your advice to someone who has just joined a DietBet for the first time?  

Don't do it alone, at the very beginning of my journey I connected with an amazing fitness fanatic named Jen.  I didn't know her before I started but we committed to  check in everyday, msg'd sweaty pics, food pics, and motivation.  Being able to share your struggles and have someone who truly understands and who's been there is amazing.  She has become one of my greatest friends and virtual workout partners.  The great thing about diet bet is you are in a community of other people that are working toward the same goals as you.  Reach out and I think you'll be surprised what you get out of it.     

Have fun and make it a lifestyle, Between DietBets, I don't change anything, I still eat super clean and do my workouts. You'll be a lot happier if you don't have to start over every 30 days or so.  I see a lot of people on the message boards panicking in the last week doing unhealthy extreme stuff to get the weight off for the weigh in.  If you start off strong and finish stronger you'll be a ton more successful and you'll feel amazing and be proud of your accomplishment :)  Just try it and you'll be hooked! 

This is great advice! Thank you so much for sharing! Make sure you check out the DietBet if you want to make money and lose weight while you do it!  http://www.dietbet.com/games/19977