The 37th week of 2014 is just about over and we are about halfway through the month of September already! One year ago today I was attending the all day ShaunTervention conference here in Dallas, TX. What a great event that was and I am so glad I made the decision to go – even though it was kind of outside my comfort zone. I typically do not do workouts in public or in any type of group settings – I have always been a workout at home person. I also met some really nice people at that event along with Shaun T and the people in his vidoes, like T-25.
Tuesday – Shiva Rea Creative Core Abs + 2 Ab Moves – 37 min
Wednesday – T-25 Core Speed + 2 Ab Moves – 28 min
Thursday – Shiva Rea Creative Core Lower Body + 2 Ab Moves – 25 min
Friday – T-25 Speed 1.0 + Yoga practice from Yoga Journal Magazine – 48 min
Saturday – Yoga – Shine On practice from Yoga Journal Magazine – 20 min
The above two photos are of the two abdominal moves I chose to do this week. They are yoga based moves that you hold for a count of 5 to 8 breaths versus doing lots of reps. I did pretty well getting them done every day except for Friday and Saturday, I forgot to add them in those two days. As you can see my friendly workout partner, the cat, approves of the moves.
I continued to do my T 25 workout dvd’s this week but varied the workouts I used. This week on Monday I did Alpha Cardio, again, then on Wednesday I did Core Speed. This is one of my favorites. It is really fast paced and there are some tough moves but I love it. You sweat a ton and feel like you have gotten an awesome workout when the 25 minutes are over. Photo above is of the one handed burpees that you do multiple times.
Speed 1.0 was another T 25 workout that I did on Friday. This one is cardio with each cardio move followed by a welcomed stretch. I had forgotten how I like this workout. It is another great sweat session with lots of stretching in between.
I also stayed with the schedule of doing my Shiva Rea yoga dvd’s on the non cardio days. The Creative Core Abs is great for your whole core.
The other Shiva workout I did was the Creative Core for the Lower Body. The cat of course joined me for part of this workout.
I made some homemade cashew butter this past week. After seeing how simple it is to make almond butter I decided that cashew couldn’t be that different or hard to make. For this I just heated about 1 1/2 cups of cashews in the microwave for 2 minutes. I then put them in the food processor and processed them for about 2 minutes – stopped the processing and then added 2 Tbls coconut oil and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and processed for about 2 or 3 more minutes. This stuff is really good – not quite as creamy as the Jif kind I have bought in the past but I really like it and the flavor it has.
Fit Tip of the Week: Simple daily exercise results in overall better health.
-Discipline yourself to get at least 20 minutes or more of some type of physical exercise every day
-People who stick with a daily exercise regime are more healthy and positive
-Daily exercise may not always be exciting or fun but the simple task of sticking with a routine is worth the positive results
Next week I will be continuing to do some T 25 and yoga- I may also throw in a Cathe video in the middle of the week. I hope everyone is planning to do some type of physical exercise in the week ahead.
This week was kind of short since there was the Labor Day holiday. I kept thinking Tuesday was Monday and Wednesday was Tuesday. Therefore when Friday got here I was wondering how the week went by so fast.
For week 36 I decided to pull out my T-25 workouts and alternate those with yoga. So my schedule was one day cardio and the next day yoga. This was similar to last weeks schedule but I used different workouts. I really liked my schedule this week and the workouts I chose.
Monday – T-25 Alpha Cardio + 2 Ab Moves – 28 min.
Tuesday – Shiva Rea Yoga – AM Energy dvd – bonus segment Heart Salutation from Radiant Heart + 2 Ab Moves – 22 min.
Wednesday – T-25 Ab Intervals + 2 Ab Moves – 28 min.
Thursday – Shiva Rea Yoga – AM Energy dvd Shakti Flow + 2 Ab Moves – 22 min.
Friday – T-25 Lower Focus + Find Instant Calm Yoga workout + 2 Ab Moves – 50 min.
Saturday – Ride Bike + yoga + 2 Ab Moves – 35 min.
The cat and I have missed Shaun T and his T-25 workout. I forgot how much you can sweat in just 25 minutes! I did the entire workout last year from August to October – the whole 10 week schedule with my facebook fitness group. Most of it is written about in my past blog posts. I also attended Shauntervention here in Dallas last year around this time. It was an awesome all day event where I got to meet Shaun T and learn more about him and his positive motivation.
Tuesday we (the cat and I) did the Shiva Rea AM Energy dvd that I own. This one contains three different 20 minute segments plus one bonus 20 minute segment from the Radiant Heart dvd. We did the bonus Heart Salutation and it felt awesome after the fast paced cardio the day before. I love the Shiva Rea style yoga and have many of her dvd’s. I guess the cat missed doing her yoga too as he was around on and off my mat for most of the workout.
Ab Intervals was the second T 25 workout of the week. This one is a combination of floor abdominal work and then some cardio in between. A great session for the abs and the back to strengthen the whole core.
The photos above are from my second session of Shiva Rea’s AM Energy dvd. This time I did the Shakti Flow session. This one has a free flow yoga dance at the beginning and then goes into the yoga poses. Another great workout the day after T 25 and my lower abs were really feeling it after Ab Intervals the day before and the core work in this yoga workout.
Friday I did T 25 Lower Focus, a combination of leg cardio and toning moves. Another sweaty workout session. After this I did a 20 minute yoga workout from a Yoga Journal magazine called Find Instant Calm. This was a good way to stretch out and “calm” down after the cardio.
The entire week I also included these two abdominal moves at the end of my workouts. You can see the cat liked those as well. I found these two moves from a popsugar video last week and decided to make it a goal to do 20 reps of each every day this past week. I almost forgot to do them yesterday but got them in – even though it was a couple hours after my finished workout.
Last Saturday I made some really good sourdough bread using some starter I made earlier in the week. My oldest son has discovered he likes sourdough bread for sandwiches so I decided to make the dough in my bread machine and then bake the oval shaped loaves in the oven. It made two loaves so I was able to freeze one. Everyone has decided (all 5 of us) that the bread is really good. I will be making it again in the near future.
Starting an exercise program and then sticking with it are one of the keys to becoming more fit and healthy – Endurance
Getting your workout in regularly is not always easy or enjoyable but the end results are worth it – Discipline yourself to Just Do It and you will be glad you did
Remember that exercise daily repeated over time will get you results – Determination
-I think that once you begin a regular exercise regime and stick with it that it becomes part of who you are and what you do. There are days I wake up and feel tired (didn’t sleep well) or just not very motivated to do my scheduled workout – but I choose to get up, get going, and get it done – which makes me feel so much better afterwards.
I hope everyone had a great week. The weather here is still hot so I am not sure about getting ready for fall yet but it looks like I need to start thinking about it. I have started stocking up on cans of pumpkin to try some of the new recipes I recently found on pinterest. I also need to make a new fall wreath so I will probably work on that later this coming week.
I am not sure if it is because it is the end of summer approaching or what but the last couple of weeks have gone by so FAST! I feel like I was just posting about week 34and now it is week 35.
This past week I chose to vary my workout schedule with some Exhale Core Fusion workouts, Cathe workouts and riding my bike. The change in the schedule was just what I needed.
Monday – ECF (Exhale Core Fusion) Power Sculpt dvd – 40 min
Tuesday – Cathe X-10 dvd – 42 min
Wednesday – Ride Bike + Exercise Ball book – 36 min
Thursday – ECF Lean and Toned dvd – 40 min
Friday – Cathe X-10 dvd – 38 min
Saturday – Ride Bike + Jump Rope + yoga – 35 min
I went back to using some of my Exhale Core Fusion dvd’s this week. I haven’t used them in a couple of months. I have mentioned before how I love the set up of these dvd’s. Each one contains five 10 minutes segments that work a different part of your body. Monday I did the Power Sculpt dvd and did four of the five 10 minutes segments. All of their workouts are done in bare feet and give you excellent toning over your whole body. They are a nice change from the high rep weights I have been doing the past couple of weeks.
So then on the days after doing the ECF workouts I did a tough cardio plus weights workout from Cathe Friedrich called X10. This workout is also kind of set up in segments where you can pick and choose what one or how many you want to do. Usually I do the premix ones that are two workouts combined to make a longer workout. You can do them single if you are short on time and need a 27 minute or less workout. On Tuesday I did the X42 premix which is Hi-Lo plus Fat Burning Circuit. On Friday I did the X38 premix which was Low Impact plus Step. Both of these workouts also have a nice warm up and cool down that is the same. I was very sore on Friday after the step session. I woke up kind of sore in my legs and hips from the ECF workout from Thursday and this workout added to that soreness. It is a good sore though – means I know it is transforming my body.
It is a little harder for me to ride my bike in the mornings with having to make sure the kids get up and off to school. I managed to do one day during the week and then another on Saturday. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if it was light out a little earlier. I can’t really go until 6:45am because it is dark before that. So, for now I am just going to be riding one or two days per week.
I did my jump rope workout once this week. I am getting more stamina with the jumping rope. I found a good workout video on YouTube that is from popsugar for a 10 minute jump rope workout. I also found some other really good workouts on their YouTube channel.
I also did some food prep on Friday (yesterday). I like to buy really large packages of chicken breasts and divide them up and freeze already cut up or marinated so that part of the prep work is done. It is a good way to save some time – that way when you thaw the chicken out it is already marinated and ready to be cooked in the oven, grilled or stir fried. I have been doing this for several years. I also have begun using this meal prep book again for some recipes. The book is above in the photo and is called Once A Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg. I bought this book several years ago from Sams. There are one month meal plans in the book with shopping lists and the directions for all of the recipes. Some of the recipes are pre-cooked and then frozen and others are just marinated or seasoned and then frozen to cook on the day of, as the ones in my photos. The book also offers tips on making menu plans and shopping lists.
Weekly Fitness Tip: Eat Healthy – one of the best things you can do for yourself, in addition to regular workouts, is eat healthy.
– try eliminating all or most processed foods or pre-packaged foods and replace them with fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts and seeds. A friend of mine once told me if you stick to shopping the store on the outer parts where the produce, dairy and meats are you are less likely to buy the processed, boxed items. Of course we all need a box of cereal, some olive oil or flour so that method doesn’t always work for everything. One thing I try to do though is not go down the chips and soda aisle at Walmart.
– learn to prep some foods and meals so you will have healthy choices available and be less tempted to go through a “drive thru” for a quick meal. Remember “failure to plan is planning to fail” I know that if I take an hour or two each week to get some meals prepped and in the freezer or just prepare some healthy snack options I am more liking to stick with healthy eating.
I hope you had a great week and have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
This summer I have read some really good books. One of the books that I read at the beginning of the summer and really enjoyed was First Love by James Patterson. Another book that I thought was really good that I recently finished was The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.
I am a big James Patterson fan and have read most of his books, or listened to them on audio. This particular book, First Love, is one I checked out from the library. It is not your typical high speed thriller book, with lots of action or twists, as many of his other books are known for. This book is a story of two young teenagers that decide to leave their homes in the state of Washington at the spur of the moment and travel to various big cities in other states for an adventure. The book is about a boy and a girl, told in the girls voice. It is a sweet and enjoyable story of young love and crazy things teenagers do. Some of them are kind of hard to believe but it is a fiction book. There are also some real life situations that are thrown in that make you realize that life is fragile and needs to be enjoyed each and every day to the fullest.
The other book I read and really enjoyed was The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I think I have read one other book by him before in the past and of course I have seen the movie The Notebook, based on his book. The Last Song was a story about a teenage girl and her younger brother that go to visit their Dad in North Carolina who they have not seen in a few years. The parents got a divorce and the kids live with the mom in New York. The teenage girl does not want to be there and makes that known to everyone. At first she gets mixed up hanging around the wrong crowd but then she meets a boy who is a good kid and from a nice family. She begins a summer romance with him and also starts to mend the relationship with her father. I don’t want to give anything away in case you read this book but some things happen toward the end to draw the Dad and kids a lot closer and make you realize that life can change at the blink of an eye. I will say you will need some tissues at the end of the book. I borrowed this book from my mom and told her she should have warned me about that for the ending. I think this book was also a movie but I have not seen it.
I also like to read non fiction books and tend to do that in the morning after I have done my workout and I am having a cup of coffee. One of the books I read and really enjoyed this summer was the above book called Living Simply – enjoying the peace of God. I got this book at the beginning of June at Mardel for half off. The book is comprised of about 40 sections, or chapters, that are each four pages. The first one, for example, is called Unpack Your Bags. There is a scripture and then a few paragraphs to read. At the end there is always One Final Thought for you to read like with the first one it is “Taking time to unpack the emotional clutter of yesterday allows you to more fully enjoy God’s irreplaceable gift of today.” The next page is titled Thoughts for Living Simple with scriptures or quotes related to the title of that day. The final page, number four, is Remember and Simplify with words of encouragement and advice. This book is small and very easy to read. I enjoyed reading the advice and scriptures of each day and I plan to start reading it over again.
On now to smoothies… I got a new smoothie book about a month ago from Barnes and Noble. The book has some really good recipes that I have tried. The book also gave me ideas for creating my own with a few less ingredients than called for in the recipes in the book.
One of the ones I created and absolutely love is this Mango Peach Smoothie. I have made it with and without the added spices and both combinations are good. Mangoes and Peaches are high in vitamin C and the mangoes protect against premature aging.
Mango Peach Smoothie
3/4 c. frozen sliced peaches (could also use fresh)
1/2 c. frozen mango chunks
1/2 to 3/4 c. mango or peach greek yogurt
1/2 to 3/4 c. orange juice
1/4 c. water
1 Tbls flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie or apple pie spice (optional)
-Blend all of the above ingredients in a high speed blender (I use a Ninja blender) for 1 to 2 minutes or until everything is smooth.
The other smoothie I created was a Raspberry Mango blend. This one is not quite as good as the Peach Mango but has a pleasant taste. The honey in this one is optional but if you prefer a sweeter smoothie then I would add it. I tried it with and without and liked it better with the honey. Raspberries are really good for you and have lots of antioxidants to help you look younger.
Raspberry Mango Smoothie
1/2 c. frozen raspberries
1/2 c. frozen mango chunks
3 or 4 slices of frozen or fresh peaches
1 container of raspberry greek yogurt
1 Tbls ground flaxseed
1/2 to 3/4 c. water
1 to 2 tsp honey
-Blend all of the above ingredients in a high speed blender for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth.
Moving on to Sandals:
I recently discovered a new shoe company. The shoes were advertised in a Yoga Journal magazine I had checked out from the library – they are Ahnu shoes. I looked them up on the internet and fell in love with their sandals. They had this particular style half off so I got them for $45.00. They are so comfortable and easy to walk in. The color of the sandal is called lead. They are a shade of blue that goes pretty well with denim or other blues. I thought they were going to be more of a gray color but I am happy with the color they actually are. I originally ordered the black but they were a 1/2 size too big – they seem to run long. They offer free shipping both ways so I sent them back but they didn’t have the size I needed in the black so I got this color. I am so happy with them! They also sell some cute flats and I plan to order some of those in the fall.
I hope everyone is having a good last week of August. My kids started back to school this week – one in 11th grade and 2 (twins) in 8th grade. We have been pretty busy this week with getting more school supplies needed for certain classes and filling out more forms for each class.
This week I had a really great workout schedule with doing weights again and riding my bike and jumping rope on the non weight days. I also tried out some new recipes for dinner that were good and made my own almond butter. It was a very busy week with fitness, cooking, errands, knitting, sewing, daily house upkeep and laundry, and getting my kids things together for back to school this coming Monday.
My workouts this week were:
Monday – Jari Love Extremely Ripped Body Rock, Weights & Abs – 35 min.
Tuesday – Ride Bike + Jump Rope + Yoga – 35 min.
Wednesday – Body Bar + Exercise Ball books + ride my bike to the dentist – 38 min.
Thursday – Ride Bike + Jump Rope + Yoga – 33 min.
Friday – Jari Love Extremely Ripped 1000 Weights only – 40 min.
Saturday – Ride Bike + Jump Rope + Stretch – 30 min
My Monday workout was a good mix of heavy, high rep weights and some ab work. This particular dvd is not one of my favorite ones from Jari Love but I decided to use it as I hadn’t done it in quite a while. Overall it is a good weight workout.
The middle of the week I did my own mix of the Body Bar and Exercise Ball book workouts and also used my slide discs with some of the bar moves – creating my own exercises with the two together. I also had a dental appointment that morning and rode my bike the 1 mile my dental office.
The Friday workout was back to weights with Jari Love Extremely Ripped 1000. I really like this workout and how all of the moves are compound moves meaning you work your arms as well as your legs at the same time. This is a very effective workout. She also reminds you during the workout how doing compound moves really increases your metabolism and makes your body burn fat even while at rest.
I have continued to ride my bike every other day and do my jumping rope after the bike ride. I do notice I am able to jump rope a little longer this week than last week – building up my stamina, I guess. Except for on Thursday – I could only do a couple of minutes of jumping rope as I woke up with a mild sinus headache and let me tell you that you do not want to be jumping rope with a sinus, or any kind, of headache. It seemed to make it worse!
As I rode my bike this morning I realized that Monday the kids start school. I knew this of course but it was hitting me at that moment as I rode that I may not be able to keep up with as many bike rides when school starts. The main factor being that I need to be at home to make sure everyone has gotten up and gets some breakfast, as well as making lunches for the 3 boys. Also, the biking route I like to take is right near the elementary school in our neighborhood and traffic will be heavy there with carpool drop off. I might try and ride one day during the week and then just on Saturday’s and see how it goes.
A week or two ago I checked out a couple of good cookbooks from the library. I used them in the past week to try out some new recipes and was pleased with the results. The one above on the left is various different baking mixes, sauce mixes, rice and pasta mixes and other things as well. The other book on the right is a really nice cookbook with lots of recipes for using fresh ingredients and cooking in minimal time – good for those who are busy or work a long day or just when it is hot out and you don’t want to slave in the kitchen for an hour or two.
I made up several mixes from the baking mix section of the Healthy Mix book. I had good results with some and just okay with others. The ones that were okay I had to tweak some to make them better. Like the brownie mix said to make them with milk – well I have never heard of doing this but tried it anyhow and they were kind of different. Not terrible but just not like real brownies, either. I tried it again with oil and a little water like you would normally do and they were much better – the kids loved them and ate them up very fast – I did get to enjoy one which is all I needed anyhow. Also, the quick bread mix in this book was a little odd as the mix seemed very dry when I blended it. It only called for an egg or two and no milk or anything to moisten the ingredients. I took it upon myself to add some milk and it turned out much better and looked like a quick bread mix should look. My oldest son said maybe the book just assumed you knew to add the milk – I don’t know about that but in my opinion it is missing something. I tried another mix in there though and that one is fine. It is hit or miss with this one. I guess you need to have some cooking experience to figure it out.
The Cooking Light Fresh Food Superfast is a great book. The book has lots of color photos of many of the recipes and everything is pretty quick and easy to make, too. Just as it implies. I like the fact that it uses fresh ingredients too and not anything canned or boxed in the recipes, for the most part. I tried this salmon one night – photo above – it was pan seared with a small amount of olive oil with fresh sliced garlic and fresh rosemary from my garden. My kids really like this recipe – that is always a plus. Another one I tried from the book was the italian sausage calzones. Those were a hit with the family, too. I was even able to make my own crust for the calzones using the Healthy Mix book and the healthy baking mix in there. That made it take a little extra time instead of using a premade pizza dough but it was worth it.
Making Homemade Almond Butter
Another thing I made this week was something I have wanted to try for a while – my own almond butter. I saw a recipe last week on pinterest and decided to try it out. I followed some of it but had to tweak this one as well to get it how I liked it, or thought it should be. Of course I did this on a whim with not a ton of time so I improvised and heated the almonds in the microwave for about 2 minutes instead of 15 minutes in the oven and then I processed them for about 2 minutes, scraped the sides down, processed them for about 2 more minutes, decided it looked like almond meal so I added about 1 tsp. of coconut oil and processed again for 1 to 2 minutes. This was the best almond butter I ever had – really. I will never be buying it again. I made this in about 10 minutes or less. It stores nicely in the refrigerator, too. If you want the original recipe click on the highlighted link to take you to the blog with the recipe – Flour On My Face.
Weekly Fitness Tip – Variety
– Try different workouts to avoid boredom. Doing the same activity (like walking or running) can get boring and stale. Alternate your activity with some other types of workouts like weights or yoga – this also keeps you interested in continuing to workout, in my opinion, and the change does your body good.
– Give new exercises or workouts a chance, don’t try something once and decide it is too hard and you just can’t do it. Sometimes you have to do things a few times to get a feel for them. Example:Five or six years ago I started doing some step aerobic workout dvd’s. I was terrible with them at first and thought I would never be able to keep up with the people on the dvd. After watching it a time or two and then trying it slowly I got the hang of it – I also tripped or fell off the step a few times but I was determined to keep on – it got easier each time. I still occasionally step wrong and stumble but not like the early days. This makes you feel a sense of accomplishment.
I hope everyone had a great week and you are getting in some exercise.
Another week has gone by and I was able to get back into my normal routine of working out each morning now that the ceiling renovations are done and I am feeling better.
I decided to do my Cathe Friedrich Low Impact Series workouts since I was still only about 70% better at the beginning of the week. The LIS workouts are still challenging but not as hard or intense as some of her other workouts.
As you can see by the workout photos above and the post workout photo of all the sweat that the low impact workout does not mean easy. These workouts are still challenging but less intense and not so hard on the joints – a lot less jumping but it still gets your heart rate up.
On the days in between doing LIS I rode my bike and came home from riding to do a little outdoor yoga on the back patio. I went out on Tuesday to a very flat tire on my bike so I pumped it up, rode anyhow and kept checking behind me to make sure it was holding air. When I went out to ride on Thursday the tire was completely flat again so I decided to walk instead and not risk riding on the bad tire. I discovered we had another tube to replace it so my husband fixed it for me Friday night and I was able to ride again on Saturday. I did enjoy walking for a change though on Thursday. It is nice to have variety – keeps me from getting bored of exercising.
On Wednesday the LIS workout I chose to do was the Turbo Barre workout. I have not done this workout is quite a while and really like it. The workout is done in bare feet and uses minimal equipment – just a chair, or a barre if you have one, some light dumbbells and a loop band – and your cat on your chair! My cat loves to sit on the chair during this workout. It is over 50 minutes so I think he left for a few to go eat his food – then he was back. This workout offers total body conditioning with a primary focus on the legs, hips and butt. I have decided to try and incorporate this in my weekly routine at least once a week for the next month to see the results. I like how it lengthens and defines the lower body.
Afterburn was the other Cathe LIS workout I used this week. It is a total body cardio and conditioning workout that offers a lot of variety using the slide and glide discs (that my cat loves), some dumbbells and dixie cups as markers or props for the workout. Again it is low impact but not easy and you will sweat a lot.
I also made a new granola recipe this week. It is one I found on another blog a couple of months ago and had pinned it to one of my pinterest boards. It is a white chocolate cranberry granola. I changed the recipe a bit to have a little less brown sugar and used oil in place of the butter. One of my son’s loves it and he is usually kind of picky. He saw me putting in the coconut and didn’t think he would like it but he said it smelled really good so he tried it and had two small bowls when it was still warm from the oven.
The photo above of the granola is with some fresh blueberries added to it and some soy milk. That was my breakfast this morning. My son didn’t want the dried cranberries in his so I am just storing the granola and adding in what I want as I eat it. This is really good if you warm the granola a little bit and then add a few of the white chocolate chips and they sort of melt onto the granola. It would also be good with dark chocolate chips, I think. I will probably try that out next.
I hope everyone has had a great week. Tell me about your workouts or any new recipes you have tried by clicking on Leave a Reply. Also, for future post and updates you can follow my blog via bloglovin, email or RSS – all icon are in the right sidebar.
Wow – the first week of June has already gone by. This past week was also the last week of school for my kids and now they are on their summer vacation. I am looking forward to having a less hectic schedule with them being out of school for a while. I also try and do a little more variety in my summer workout schedule, more outdoor activities like biking and swimming. This past week I began my outdoor workout activities by adding in some biking and outdoor yoga.
Monday 6-2 – Amy Bento Ross Body Box dvd Short & Sweaty premix – 50 min
Tuesday 6-3 – Ride Bike – 22 min + Exercise-Medicine ball magazine routine – 15 min
Wednesday 6-4 – 21 Day Yoga Challenge Magazine routine – Go With the Flow – 20 min
Thursday 6-5 – Amy Bento Ross – Body Box dvd All Cardio premix – 52 min
Friday 6-6 – Ride Bike – 22 min + magazine routine – 15 min
Saturday 6-7 – 21 Day Yoga Challenge Magazine routine – Sitting Pretty routine – 20 min
This past week I did a routine of cardio, biking + toning exercises, and yoga. I really liked this schedule as it was a change from my normal dvd routine or doing an exercise book. I also took it outdoors with the biking and I even did my two days of yoga out on my back patio at 6:45 am. It was nice and peaceful outside in the early morning and a great way to begin my day.
I did use one dvd this week. It is actually a new dvd that I bought about six weeks ago and had not done it yet. It got pushed aside when I decided to do the Betty Rocker Spring Challenge in May. The dvd is called Body Box by Amy Bento Ross. I have a couple of her older kickboxing and weight training dvd’s and thought I would enjoy this one, too. So far after using it twice this week I am not sure if I like it as well as I like her older Kickbox Xtreme dvd. It is a good overall cardio workout but some of the routines are kind of hard to keep up with for me. There are intervals that can be done between kickboxing combos and I really like those intervals – they are body weight type of exercises. Overall it is a good workout but I think you need to have kickboxing experience to keep up – I do but it is still not easy to get all the combos down the first time. I guess that is true for a lot of new advanced type of workout dvd’s though. I usually have to do them a few times to figure out all the moves.
I really enjoyed riding my bike a couple of times this past week on my neighborhood route that I do. I wore my sport watch and set the stopwatch and it takes me about 22 to 23 minutes to do the route – I am not sure how far it is. I try and ride at least half of it in my hardest gear which is 3 since I have a 3 speed bike. When I got home from the ride I would do a routine from my binder of fitness routines I have ripped out of magazines I have subscribed to over the last 10 years. I have them organized in a 3-ring binder and divided with tabs as to the type of workouts. I have not used them in a while and got a couple of them out this past week. One of them was with an exercise ball, a medicine ball plus weights and the other was total body toning with 8 and 5 pound weights.
As you can see my workout buddy was present for the exercise ball routine. When not exercising he likes to sit on the exercise mat bag as seen in the other photo.
I also made a couple of more salads this week with some green leaf and romaine lettuce I grew in our little garden out back. This is only the second time I have tried to grow lettuce and the first time at actually being successful at it. The first time a lot of bugs got to it before we did so we didn’t get very much. It is really nice to be able to go out back and pick some lettuce for a salad to go with dinner.
This past week I also preordered the new Cathe Friedrich dvd’s that are to be released in the fall. The new series is called Ripped with Hiit. All of the workouts are high intensity interval training and if you preorder you get free shipping, too. You can read more about it on her site Cathe.com if you are interested. I have used her workouts for years and they are all great and worth the money.
I hope everyone had a great week! Let me know what your workout plans are for the week coming up by clicking on Leave a Reply.
I am back into the workout routine at home once again. This is end of the 11th week of P90X3. I can not believe there are only 2 weeks left in the program. It seems like it has gone by pretty fast, in my opinion. I guess having the variety in the workouts has kept it interesting and makes you want to keep up with the schedule.
This week the schedule was the same as week number 9. To see that schedule you can look at my previous post on that week. Below are a few photos from a couple of the workouts this week.
Do you see my black cat in some of the photos? He worked out with me almost every day this past week. I think he really missed our morning workout sessions when I was gone last week. He seemed pretty happy to be hanging out with me again every morning. It is interesting how our pets get into a routine. My other cat was pretty close by too for most of the workouts but she is camera shy and tends to stay toward the side of the room by the wall – or maybe she is smart and just doesn’t want to get stepped on.
I also incorporated some of my Exhale Core Fusion workouts a few of the days this week using the Body Sculpt dvd. I did the Upper Sculpt, Stretch Sculpt and Ab Sculpt this week. I really like how these dvd’s are divided into those short 10 minute segments and it is easy to fit one in after I finish my 30 minutes of P90X3.
The black cat is once again working out with me – right next to my side in the above photo. He is kind of hard to see as he blends in with my navy shirt.
I also went to the library the beginning of this week and found a new PIlates book that I had not seen before. It is called Pilates Practice Companion by Alycea Ungaro. I really like the book and how it is formatted into beginner, intermediate and advanced workouts. I used the book a few times this week and plan to use it more in the next couple of weeks. I really like how the Pilates lengthens and strengthens my core, waist, hips and legs.
I have also gotten back into eating better this week since we are at home and I am still trying to incorporate lots of protein and fiber into my diet. I found a really good oat bran muffin recipe from another blog and have made it twice this week. It is from the Pink Recipe Box and the recipe is for Healthy Chocolate Chip Oat Bran Muffins. I did not have the exact ingredients so in place of the applesauce I used a 1/2 cup of almond milk and the first time I made them I added a little extra brown sugar as I didn’t think 1/4 cup was going to be enough since I didn’t use the applesauce. The second time I made them I did reduce the brown sugar to 1/4 cup and I thought they were just as good. I really like how this recipe is low sugar and high in fiber. The oat bran I used was NOW brand the first time and Bob’s Red Mill the second time.
My family also liked the muffins and so did my friend Karen. I met her yesterday at Starbucks for our coffee and knitting get together that we have been trying to do a couple of times a month and she really liked the muffin and wanted the recipe.
I hope everyone had a great week and got in some workouts. Have a great weekend!
One of the things I love about fall and the Thanksgiving holiday is cranberries! I have been buying, cooking with and eating fresh cranberries for at least a month now. I like the fact that I can get this huge jumbo bag of them at Sams Club.
I like to make traditional cranberry sauce, like the directions on the package of cranberries. I recently developed my own new recipe using that concept but adding some rhubarb to the mixture. It is really good – I have made it twice now.
Here is the recipe:
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I really like this combination of the cranberries with the rhubarb. It reminds me of being a child – my grandparents had a big garden and grew rhubarb. My grandma always made rhubarb pie and this wonderful strawberry-rhubarb jam. I actually bought the rhubarb to make this crisp recipe – which I did and I liked but then I decided to try it with the cranberries. I have been enjoying it in the morning for breakfast with my Bob’s Red Mill 5 grain cereal or even as a dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I also like to eat it with this Linwoods flaxseed and goji berry blend that I bought recently at Bed Bath and Beyond.
Another great thing about the combinations of cranberries and rhubarb is that both are great for your health and your skin. They both contain Vitamin C. Rhubarb is also high in calcium and water to keep you hydrated. Rhubarb is also a natural food laxative and keeps your digestive system in good order.
I have also recently made this cranberry bread in my crock pot. Yes, in the crock pot!
I got the Fix It and Forget It New Cookbook by Phyllis Good a few weeks ago from Sams. I always have to check out the books at Sams and usually end up finding something to buy. This recipe was for Cranberry Almond bread made in your crock pot. It turned out really well and my husband even liked it and I didn’t even know he liked cranberries. The recipe uses fresh cranberries. I tweaked it a little and used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 all purpose flour to make it a little more whole grain. I really enjoyed eating this for breakfast with my cranberry rhubarb sauce.
I would love to hear about any of your cranberry recipes. Please click on leave a reply to share them. Have a great weekend!
This recipe is a really great freezer recipe and saves you a lot of cooking time on busy nights. I discovered the original recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook called Freezer Pleasers several years ago. I have changed it quite a bit over the years and developed my own version that freezes well and tastes great in recipes calling for ground beef.
Big Batch Ground Beef
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This recipe is great for pre-cooking your ground beef and then freezing it in 1 to 2 pound packages that are all ready to use in recipes like chili, spaghetti or tacos. I always keep a few packages in the freezer – they are a real time saver on a busy day. The meat can be quickly thawed in the microwave or placed in your refrigerator to thaw the night before or in the morning.
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Speed 1.0 was another T 25 workout that I did on Friday. This one is cardio with each cardio move followed by a welcomed stretch. I had forgotten how I like this workout. It is another great sweat session with lots of stretching in between.
