Efficient a.m. Workout

Thanks to Lily's Health Pad, I had a great workout this morning with Wendy. We did cardio and strength training in 50 minutes... and we had time to spare! We threw in a few ab exercises at the end. I have to run off to work now, but I wanted to share the workout with you from Lily's page. We made some modifications for Wendy's knee, and we replaced the jack flys with wacky jacks.... video on this to come soon!!! =) off to work for me!!!

You will find this on Lily's fabulous blog!!!! I am going to start following her:

10 minute warm-up at easy pace

12 overhead tricep extensions

16 plyometric lunges

10 chest pushups

16 plyometric lunges

12 overhead tricep extensions

16 plyometric lunges

10 chest pushups

20 plyometric squats

12 standard bicep curls

20 plyometric squats

10 chest pushups + 10 tricep pushups

20 plyometric squats

12 hammer curls

5 fly jack sequences

10 chest pushups + 10 tricep pushups

5 fly jack sequences

12 bicep curls at 45 degrees from navel

5 fly jack sequences

12 bent over rows on right and left (24 total)

16 plyometric lunges

12 bent over rows on right and left

20 plyometric squats

12 bent over rows on right and left

5 flyjack sequences

This extreme, fabulous workout is found at www.lilyshealthpad.com.

Time Management and Family

In this season of life, I probably need the most help with time management. Someone told me the other day that she did not particularly care for the magazine REAL SIMPLE because her stage of life right now is pretty simplified. This is true for her, and I appreciate what she was saying. However, that is not me. I work full time. I am in graduate school. We just moved. I have a lot going on. I have been struggling with lack of motivation to exercise (run) lately... probably because October and November of 2010 were extremely full of races and exercise events for me. I am ready to lie low. I am ready to learn new recipes and catch up with loved ones. I may not even run my half marathon in March... I want to go to the gym like a normal person, do my workout, and go home. Does anyone else ever feel like this? In my stress management courses I teach at work, I encourage people to take moments to be thankful.

I am thankful for my fabulous husband. He is my best friend.

I am thankful for sunsets.

I am thankful for my mom, dad (taking the picture), my sisters, and their husbands (missed you at this one Nathan!!!)

Speaking of thankful, I am going to go upstairs and watch Jeopardy with my hubby. Goodnight all.

Healthy Heart: Blood Pressure

Blood pressure. We all know the general numbers... or at least I thought we did. Recently, I have been in contact with young males (20s-30s) who have had blood pressures in the 160's/80's. Even one of my family members told me that his blood pressure has been normal... 170's! In nursing school, we learned that hypertension (high blood pressure) is known as the silent killer. Young people allow their blood pressure to be higher than normal (making their hearts work harder) for most of their youth/early adulthood. Unfortunately, that catches up with us when we get older. If we get injured, forget exercise. If we get busy, we stock our freezers with frozen meals (SODIUM!).

A normal blood pressure needs to be 120/80 or less. Individuals with 120-139/80-89 are now considered PREHYPERTENSIVE. Unfortunately, most people do not start worrying about blood pressure until they have symptoms (headache, fatigue, dizziness, palpitations...) until their blood pressure is REALLY high.

Most of the time, high blood pressure is caused by our diet, weight, stress, and insulin sensitivity (diabetes...). However, there are risk factors that create a higher risk. Family history, age (over 55 if you are a woman, younger than 55 if you are a male) , race (African American), and gender (male) all play a part. Of course, please see your primary care physician if you have concerns about your blood pressure. Here are some things that you can do to help:

- Cut sodium from your diet. Do not add it to your food. Try to eat fresh foods... not prepackaged meals. NO SODA. Watch your soups.

- Add fruits and vegetables.

- Cardiovascular activity... power walk. Go play Frisbee. Ride your bike. Get your heart BEAT'N!!!

(Even this healthy soup has 400mg of soup... you should aim for <2300mg)

Why cut salt??? Here is the tricky part. Salt causes your body to RETAIN WATER... think of your veins as a hose. If you put your thumb over the top, water squirts out faster and HARDER... that is your blood pressure... your thumb is like your heart. Think of that blood putting PRESSURE on your heart. Furthermore, increased volume in your body (which happens when you retain water) actually hinders your kidneys from releasing salt in your urine... SO YOU GET SALT ON BOTH ENDS.

(lovely drawing, right?)

OOOOH how the body is so fascinating. I hope this helps !!!! Have a good evening.

SOURCES:

Medical Surgical Nursing (2004). Lewis S., Heitkemper M., Dirksen S. Mosby, Inc.

FREE Online Weight Loss Tools

I just put this together for work, and I thought I would share. These free resources are available online and MOBILE APPS. This just may help you reach your new year's resolution!!!


Calorie King:
- www.calorieking.com
- Look up food lables and nutrition facts
- BMI and calorie calculator tools
- ** You have to pay monthly to keep a diet log,
But it is FREE to look up food and use the calculators.
Livestrong
- www.livestrong.com
- Look up food lables and nutrition facts.
- Log your food daily for FREE.
- Look up exercises and fitness tips.
- iPhone and BlackBerry app for $2.99
- BMI and calorie calculator tools
SPARK People
- www.sparkpeople.com
- Look up food lables and nutrition facts.
- Easily to use calorie diary for FREE.
- Recipes and accountability groups
- Log exercise and activity
- BMI and calorie calculator tools
- iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android apps FREE.
My Pyramid
- www.mypyramid.gov
- FDA approved
- Daily calorie needs as recommended by dieticians.
- Informational handouts
- Food log
- Sample diet plans for adults and children
Fit Day
- www.fitnday.com
- Look up food lables and nutrition facts.
- iPhone and BlackBerry apps FREE.
- Exercise log and tips
- BMI and calorie need calculators

What is Healthy???

As people flood the gyms and attempt, once again, to kick off their new year's resolution to lose weight, I feel more motivated to educate people on what health is. At work, my coworker and I have started a WELLNESS CHALLENGE instead of a WEIGHTLOSS Challenge. The point is for people to track healthy behaviors for 6 weeks. Each person who participates, WINS. You get points by checking off your daily checklist. Each check = one point. On the daily list, there are tasks like drink 8 glasses of water, eat two fruits, eat three vegetables, engage in 10 minutes of activity (this is a great way to start if you are not already exercising), and take a moment to be thankful for what you have EACH DAY. Our mindset behind this is to help people learn healthy behaviors BEFORE they attempt to lose weight. We want people to reach a healthy weight and MAINTAIN it... Not lose it and gain it back.

While I am on my soap box: CARBOHYDRATES ARE NOT THE DEVIL. WEIGHT WATCHERS, SOUTH BEACH, and other popular diets can be used as tools, but they will not teach you to keep the weight off unless you change the way you view food (as fuel) and portion sizes.

I want people to realize that cleaning up your diet FREES you; it does not TRAP you. Our society is ADDICTED to junk food and ADDICTED to quick fixes.

So HEALTHY is not just a combination between weight and exercise; it is a lifestyle. Stress management, a healthy support system, and sleep are all ALSO a part of health and WEIGHTLOSS.

Speaking of HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS:

I have decided to learn golf. I want to exercise. My husband does not want to go to the gym. I like to run. Clay will NOT run. Clay will golf. I will learn to golf. Do you see my reasoning? I have realized that my own gym schedule will not be worth it in 10 years, unless I get to spend some of it with my husband. Sure, I will be healthy, but I want to be with Clay. Do not get me wrong, I really enjoy my workouts with girlfriends, or by myself in my zone ... but my husband is my best friend. I want to do things with HIM. If golfing with him leads to walking or stretching with him. FABULOUS. Maybe that will lead to doing some shoulder exercises to strengthen our swings... WHO KNOWS.

I am off to finish some cleaning, get in some strength training, and then maybe, JUST MAYBE, I might watch the bachelor. Every year I am disappointed in the human race; however, a preview I saw the other evening about this season sparked my interested. Have a good night!!!!

Wrapping Up 2010

I cannot believe this year has come and gone. Clay and I have been married two years. Both of my sisters have also been married within two years. I have been a nurse for a year. We bought a townhome. We both switched jobs. We both started grad-school.... What were we thinking?!?!?! Clay and I are both pretty busy, high energy individuals. Sometimes we take on too much at one time; however, we have been able to accomplish so much in our first two years of marriage because of our desire to set goals and persevere. God has taught us so much and we owe all we have to HIM. *SIGH* What a year.

Anyways, my last workout of 2010 started this morning at 7:00am with my dear friend, Wendy. I have known Wendy for 10+ years and I cherish our friendship so much. She did an intense cardio circuit on the treadmill, while I walked at an incline (it BURNS!!!). We then completed an ab workout of crunches, bicycles, and side planks (MORE BURNING!!!).

After the workout, I walked home, made breakfast, and woke Clay up. He had a fishing appointment and I had a running date with my new, dear friend Courtney. I am really enjoying getting to know her! We met a few months ago in the gym at our townhome complex. We are training for a half marathon in March and today was our first long run in a while. We were both pretty tired this morning, so our 7 mile run seemed longer than usual.

I am pretty tight today from yesterday's PLYOMETRIC PANDEMONIUM workout from Jill Coleman (@JillFit on Twitter). My legs are pretty strong, but I am trying to get leaner. Plyometric exercises for legs are very beneficial (for strength and cardiovascular endurance) and my body responds quite well.... after my heart rate gets back to normal!

After the run, I had to run to the grocery store to buy food for tonight's NYE party. I made a recipe from my favorite blog, PBFingers, and cannot wait for C

lay to try it. I just combined goat cheese and honey to make a dip (for pretzels, pita chips, graham crackers...) and I followed Julie's recommendation to use vanilla wafers (yes, these are a simple carb snack and not usually something I purchase, but it is NYE and I wanted to make something for Clay.... to distract him from all the vegetables and healthy foods I bought ;)

I actually did not use as much cheese as PBFingers suggested, but I want to see how Clay likes it first. Right now, it is sweet and creamy. I think I would like it more if it was thicker. The recipe calls for 10 oz. I used a 5 oz. package.... again, trying to make sure Clay likes it.

After I set the dip in the refrigerator, I made myself a spinach salad with goat cheese (see the trend???), red wine vinaigrette, and left over flank steak slices..... YUMMY!

I now have a date with a cup of coffee and a book =) I am enjoying my lazy day. Have a safe, fun evening tonight!!!!

Date night, condensed

Clay and I try to have a date night once a week. We have been really busy with my sister's wedding, family visiting, and Christmas, so we have not been as consistent. We went shopping, grabbed dinner, and rented a movie. I wore my new pumps and regretted it once that last minute decision was made to go shopping at the mall. We were looking for a new jacket for Clay. First at Macy's, then at Dillards.... OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE MALL! I am a "running shoes" girl.... I was not prepared to walk 1.5miles.

.

Not quite a pump, not quite a boot..... But super cute and great with my trouser pants.

We got a few gift cards for Christmas so we went to Longhorn. I have not been there in YEARS. They have a grilled rainbow trout that has lemon and olive oil on it. It actually tasted pretty fresh and it was seasoned well.... Not loaded with buttah!!!!

We had ever intention of going "out on the town," (and by that I mean, actually going to a movie that is not an early matinée showing. This did not happen. We ended up visiting our friend Blue Box in our local Publix. I love renting movies. I can stay in my PJ's, under my covers, and I can ask Clay all the questions I want, without disturbing ANYONE =) Well, sometimes he has to hit "pause" so that he can actually pay attention to my question, but he listens, nevertheless. Date night this week was relaxing. Work was very busy this week, so I enjoyed being out of the house with Clay.

This morning, I am training two friends of mine at the gym. We are going to do a cardio circuit, followed by a core circuit. I have a long run today at 9:00am, so I plan on hitting the stationary bike or working upper body. Today's long run is 7-8miles. My friend Courtney and I are going to see how we feel. Both of us had a race in November and have slacked off, or "taken a break," in December.... TIME TO KICK IT INTO GEAR!!! I have a half marathon in March, in which, I am hoping to qualify for NYC Marathon in November. I need to go map out my run for today, so I must go.... But I leave you with this.... To help myself get out of bed in the morning to run, I sleep in my running shorts =) Getting ready is half way finished.... Not the most attractive PJ's, but lingerie is over rated sometimes!!!!

(I purposefully cut off my toes... this "frigged winter" that is hitting Florida right now KILLS my motivation to keep cute feet).

QUESTION: What are you guys doing for New Year's Eve tonight????