Archive for ‘Fitness’

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May 21st, 2013

Motivation & ALT

by Tiff

Hello!  First up, big thanks to all the supportive comments on yesterday’s post.  I just had to put it out there, and I knew y’all would be accepting.  K, now moving on…

My morning workouts have been frustrating lately.  I usually roll out of bed and hit the gym – no question, just habit.  However, I’ve been laying in a bed lately debating with myself.

If I sleep in now, I can just do some stretching on my lunch break…. If it doesn’t rain later, I can get an outdoor walk in after work instead of a treadmill one this morning… I probably don’t NEED to work out as often, do I?…

You get the idea.  What’s up with all this dialogue?  Why the change?  Thank goodness, I’ve still been getting it done, and 90% of the time, once I actually get my butt to the gym, I have a pretty fabulous workout.  (kinda like my hilly 5k walk yesterday)

workout

But I suppose we all have times of motivation peak and pitfall, eh?  I’ve already written a post on motivation, so there’s no need to re-hash all that.  But I can say that what’s working for me now is just telling myself to go and give it 20 minutes.  Promise to give 20 minutes, and I bet you’ll probably end up completing a full (or nearly full) and stellar workout.

20

Speaking of workouts, have you heard of Larabar‘s latest creations?  They’re called ALT bars, and I was lucky enough to receive samples last week through my FitFluential family.  I love Larabars, so I was pretty pumped.

alt

The calories are close to regular Larabars, but there are 10g of pea protein in these babies.  What a great post-workout treat!

larabar

My only beef with these bars is the added brown rice syrup.  Larabars have never tried to be low-carb, which is fine by me because they get natural sweetness from fruits.  However, I just don’t think the added sweetness was necessary in these.

larabar

Nevertheless, they taste great!  I dug right into the lemon flavor first.  Major yum!  (And no, I’m not paid to say that.)

  • Have you tried Larabars or Alt bars?  Got a favorite flavor?
  • Does the 20-minute-trick work for you and your workouts?

Posted in Fitness, Food | 14 Comments »

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May 17th, 2013

New Move & Giveaway Winner

by Tiff

Woahmygoshit’sfinallyFriday!!!  As you can imagine, I’m pretty excited.  Kevin and I have a double-date on tap for tonight, so that should be fun.  He has class tomorrow, but I have a full day planned for myself.  It includes:

  • Long walk or spin class (monitoring the HR of course)
  • Trip to the mall or Babies R Us or Destination Maternity (so many options – so little time!)
  • Pedicure
  • Laying out for a wee bit while reading my latest library book (squeeee!)
  • Baking a blackberry cobbler (my favorite!)

Don’t you just feel awful for me given this arduous to-do list???

spin

Enough of that, for those of you checking in to see who won the Bestowed box giveaway, the wait is over.  The winner is Heather from “Where’s the Beach?”!  Congrats!  I’ll email you shortly (unless you email me first) so that Bestowed can get you your goodies.

If you didn’t win, you can still use the discount code I mentioned in the giveaway post.  Yes folks, we’re all winners here.

Let’s see, I’ve covered fun, food, and so now it must be time for fitness.  If you’re like me, fitness often falls into the “fun” category too, but let’s not nit-pick.  I mentioned a move when I posted my new workout routine, but I didn’t post a description.  This video clip should help.

Got it?  As the belly grows, I don’t think pushups will be an option.  I’ve gotta get them in while I can!  This move works the chest, back, and core.  It’s a good one!

  • Tell me something food, fun, or fitness related you’ve got going on today or this weekend!!!

 

Posted in Fitness, Out & About | 13 Comments »

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May 9th, 2013

Workouts & Why I’m Not Running

by Tiff

Whew!  It’s Thursday, and we’re over the hump.  Thank goodness!  I know I haven’t been sharing much about my workouts lately, but sharing too much might have given away my secret too early.  Now that the cat’s outta’ the bag, here’s my current plan.

  • Monday: 45-minute walk with incline intervals + lots of stretching
  • Tuesday: 20 minutes at-home cardio (such as this YouTube workout) and my Tracy Anderson DVD
  • Wednesday: 30 minutes cardio + abs/core workout (*I use parallel bars for leg raises.)
  • Thursday: 20 minutes cardio + upper body workout
  • Friday: 30 minutes cardio + lower body workout
  • Saturday: 3-5 mile walk outdoors (Tracy Anderson DVD if weather isn’t permitting)
  • Sunday: rest!!!

workouts

I did this routine last week and will probably complete it a few more weeks before changing the plan.  I’ll give more information on the Tracy Anderson Pregnancy DVD in the future since I haven’t decided if I like it or not yet.

tracy

Today’s workout didn’t really happen as-planned.  I was having some light pain in the belly, so I decided cardio and abs work wasn’t really the best idea.  I did 20 minutes of yoga in the morning, this Tone It Up workout (3x through), and went for a 2-mile walk at lunch.

workout

Not to worry with the pain – I think these are just some growing pains, like ligaments n’ such.  These aren’t the worrisome pains I had back in March.  Yup, it was just a little scare, but this is why I decided to quit running for the rest of my pregnancy.

One day I happened to run, I experienced cramping, spotting, and an urgent call to the doc.  I also happened to have a 5k scheduled that weekend.  Sooooo I had a little talk with Jesus and said a lot of prayers.  He helped me realize that whether or not I could run or wanted to run didn’t matter.  He helped me see that from here on out, I’m not the only one that matters.  I don’t get to come first anymore.

I want to be very clear here: I do not thing it is bad to run while pregnant if you’re already a runner.  Once I found out what my problem was, I don’t think I needed to give up running for medical reasons.  However, I did need to give it up for personal reasons.  Sometimes my desire to go for a little jog or really push myself in a workout is strong, but it’s not as strong as the promise I made to the baby.

Sorry to be cheesy, but I just want you to know why you’ll be seeing so many walks.  Good thing I love a good walk!

  • Tried any new workout DVDs or online videos lately?

Posted in Fitness, Pregnancy | 23 Comments »

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May 7th, 2013

Burn without Feeling the Burn

by Tiff

Yeah, I just said it, “Burn without Feeling the Burn.”  I realize it sounds just as cheesy as “Burn Calories without Trying” or “Workout without Exercising.”  Just roll with it.

I recently heard a news piece (similar this article, What Housework Has to do with Waistlines in The NY Times) that discussed women’s growing weight problems.  Though this doesn’t apply to all of us, I think we all know that the population as a whole is growing… mostly around the middle.

shrimpies

The meal I cooked last night. Burn calories, not dinner.

The news piece (presumably on account of this study) said the decrease in daily activities has given women trouble.  More sitting at computers (or in front of DVRs) leaves less time for cleaning our own homes, cooking family dinners, washing our own cars, etc.

In 1965, women spent 25.7 hours/week on average cooking and cleaning.  In contrast, women spent 13.3 hours/week on such tasks in 2010.  However, time in front of a screen (tv or computer) doubled… shocker.

That may not sound like such a big deal, but there are 52 weeks in a year.  Yeah… it adds up.

someecard

This got me thinking of all the things we can do to burn without necessarily feeling the burn, at least not in the gym.

  • Fight fat with Fido – take a hike or play in the dog park with your pup (bonus points to bathe it afterwards)
  • Clean your house (or paint a room)
  • Wash your car
  • Spend “quality” time with your significant other
  • Park further from the store or office
  • Cook a meal (not Hamburger Helper)
  • Yard work, yard work, and more yard work
  • Trade massages with your spouse
  • Fidget (but not around people because that’s annoying)
  • Organize something, a closet, a pantry, anything!
  • Try a new hairstyle (your arms might notice the burn though)
  • Go shopping – bonus points for carrying goods instead of carting them
shop

Shopping the farmer’s market this weekend

You can also check out these links:

Do you make a conscious effort to burn without trying?  If so, do you have go-to activities?

Posted in Fitness | 30 Comments »

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April 30th, 2013

Date Night… on Monday?

by Tiff

Kevin and I sort of had a little date night last night, so I’m going to keep this post short n’ sweet.  There’s no time for post-prepping when there are snuggles to be had!

I started off the day with a workout.  A good sweat is the best way to start a Monday… well, unless you’re on vacation or something.  I did my Power Pyramid Treadmill Workout again, and I liked it just as much as last time.

happy

Don’t mind the semi-creepy lighting…

Lunch was simple, yet it was also simply delicious!  Romain with pear vinaigrette, strawberries, cauliflower and some of the chicken I baked on Sunday.  You’ll be seeing a repeat on WIAW for sure!

salad

Speaking of repeats, Kevin and I loved this Cuban Picadillo recipe the last time I made it, so I whipped it up again last night.  My body was craving some iron, and beef was just the ticket.  Couple that iron with the vitamin C from the tomato sauce, and talk about a winner!  The olives and raisins, on the other hand, those just taste good.

picadillo

Have I mentioned that the hubby and I are both olive freaks?  We both swiped a couple extra before throwing the others into the pot.  Yum!

Posted in Fitness, Food | 15 Comments »

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