So I finally bought my very own domain name for my blog. I am super excited to share my passion for fitness, healthy food, family and faith. So book mark my new web address and join me on my new site.
http://4livingthewrightway.com/
Coming May 1st the planks and tanks (not Army tanks, tank tops) challenge! I will be posting the 30 day plan on my new site. I hope you guys join in on the fun!!!!!
Hi Guys, for the past few months I have been trying to change-up my workouts especially my running. Sometimes I get in a rut and need to switch things up a bit. So for the past few months my hubby and I have been going to Orangetheory Fitness. It opened up at the about 2 months ago and I had heard about it from friends and I had to try it out. If you are not familiar with Orangetheory Fitness it is a heart rate based interval training workout. Workouts incorporate the treadmill, rowing machine, and weight training to give you a full body workout and get your heart pumping. It is a group atmosphere so you can be pushed by a friend, inspired by a neighbor or just have the support you need from the other members around you. As a group fitness instructor myself I often find that I need to be inspired and pushed by others as well, so that is why I decided to give OT a try.
Now, if you don’t have an OT studio in your area, have no fear I have an OT inspired workout you can give a try at the gym or at home. This is inspired by some of the workouts I have done at the studio and then done at the gym when I don’t have time to get to an OT class. I hope you enjoy the workout. It’s a good one!
The Warm Up (repeat as many times as you can for 5 minutes)
Strength Training Section (15 Minutes) Focus on using a lighter weight for more reps.
Treadmill Workout (15 Minutes)
Rowing Section (if you don’t have access to a rower, you can bike or do the elliptical for time). You will need a weight for this section. Keep it near your machine.
Do as many rounds as you can for 15 minutes.
Cool Down and Stretch
Wow! My legs hurt today. Tuesday was a fun and challenging workout. For the month of April I have been really trying to emphasize core and total body in my classes that I teach two times a week. This workout combines high intensity interval training, total body strength training, and core conditioning. You can do this workout at the gym or at home.
Materials you will need for the workout: Weights (dumbbells), Mat Towel, Water
Workout: Complete each set of exercises 3 times. 1st set 45 seconds, 2nd set 30 seconds, final set 20 seconds. Always finish your workout with your favorite cool down moves and some stretches. I like to incorporate some yoga stretches like the pigeon, downward facing dog and cobra.
This morning my friend Rachel and I changed our run up a bit. We usually just meet and go for a longer run or do hill repeats. We wanted to incorporate and arm workout while still getting a few miles in. This was a great workout. I will definitely be feeling my arms tomorrow.
Start off with a 1 mile warm up run. Then complete the strength exercises using heavy weights. Weights should be heavy and you should have a hard time getting in all of the reps. You may need to go to a lower weight to finish. First set complete 12 reps, second set 10 reps and final set 8 reps. Between each set do the running workout.
Hi Everyone! I got the opportunity on Saturday to do the pre-race warm ups for the Cause and Event Race series. There are three runs. A kid’s fun run and a 5k run and 10k. So here is my question for the runners out there. Do you have a pre-race warm up routine? If not, you should. I am just as guilty as the next person, sometimes I get caught up in the excitement of the race that I forget to do my pre-race warm up ritual. I can totally tell a difference when I do it. There are so many benefits to warming up, but here are just a few that I find very beneficial. First, it will lead to a successful race. I have proof of this in some of my race times and how I feel. It can prepare your body both physically and mentally. For me, it just makes me feel better during my run because I don’t feel so stiff and tense. Your pre-race warm up doesn’t have to be long. It can be a short jog, a few strides, or you can do a warm up like I did for the run. One suggestion I have is not do static stretching before your race. Save this for after the race when you really need it
One more tip, show up to the race early so you have time to warm up! Sometimes I am running to the start line pinning on me bib number. NOT GOOD!
Complete the following exercises for 8-10 reps or 30 seconds each before moving on to the next. Your warm up should be approximately 3-5 minutes.
This may seem like a lot but it goes by pretty fast. Feel free to shorten it or take out a few exercises if you need to .
If you are not familiar with Maca it is a root that is an adaptogen and is getting a lot of buzz lately. I learned about it from my naturopathic doctor and started incorporating it into my diet. Maca has a lot of benefits. I am not a nutritionist, but here are a few things that I have noticed while incorporating it into my diet.
Benefits of Maca
Now you are probably curious about how to incorporate it into your diet. There are many ways to use it. You can even make a drink out of it (I have not tried that). My favorite ways to use it are in smoothies, stirred into oatmeal, topped on yogurt or smoothie bowls with a bit of granola, and I also mix some into my energy balls recipe I make (recipe link below).
Here is a link to my energy ball recipe: https://livingthewrightway.wordpress.com/2016/02/18/pre-workout-eats/
Chocolate Banana Nut Butter Smoothie (1 serving)
1 Cup of Milk of Your Choice (I like unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
½ Small Frozen Banana
2 Tablespoons Nut Butter (I like peanut butter or almond butter)
1 Handful of Spinach
1 tsp maca powder (I use healthworks maca powder on Amazon)
1 scoop protein powder of choice (optional)
Ice (optional)
Blend all the ingredients together. Pour into a glass and enjoy!
Happy Friday ! Yesterday’s workout was a killer one! My legs are still feeling it today especially when walking up stairs. I thought I would share with you this killer workout. I hope you all give this workout a try. You can do it at home or at the gym. Have a great weekend!
Things you will need for the workout:
Lower Body and Ab Interval Workout
Warm Up:
Complete exercises in each circuit for 30 seconds each. Repeat 3 times or more if you would like.
Circuit 1
Circuit 2
Circuit 3
Core Circuit
Cool Down and Stretch (2-3 min)
A few weeks ago I started a new meal plan with Gauge Girl Training. I have been in a slump and I wanted to change things up a bit with my eating. I was always feeling hungry and my body fat was creeping up. It may have had something to do with the fact that I LOVE LOVE LOVE peanut butter. So I heard about the custom meal plans with Gauge Girl Training, so I thought I would give it a try. I got my meal plan and I noticed there were a lot of protein shakes on it. I do get a bit tired of the plain old protein shake, so I tried a new twist on my protein shakes. I made it into a protein chia pudding and now I am addicted. So I wanted to share my recipe with you. I eat it as post workout breakfast or in the evening for a little dessert treat. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Chia Pudding (serves 1)
1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (you can use any milk here)
2 Tablespoons PB2 or other powdered peanut butter
1 scoop or 1 serving of chocolate protein powder (I use the chocolate flavored Orgain)
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or jar and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. I like to leave mine in longer. Enjoy!
Here is the nutrition breakdown based on my recipe:
Calories 270, Fat 9.2 grams, Carbs 24.5
*Note: I have tried this with a whey isolate protein powder as well and it was a bit runny, so you may need to adjust your milk ratio a bit and use less if you have a different type of protein powder. It still tasted great! 
Ok I know this is gross, but I know I am not the only one who has this problem. Stinky gym clothes! Even my daughters have it from track and basketball uniforms. I try to buy fabrics that are wicking and anti-stink, but I still face the problem of smelly workout gear. It’s spring break and I try to spring clean my closet and clothes this time of year. So I set out to find ways to refresh my gym clothes. I searched all over the internet and asked my friends what they do and here is what I came up with. This is the first method I have tried and one that I plan to try today when I am spring cleaning my closet.
Method 1
Pre-Soak All Clothes In Water, Vinegar (I didn’t measure it) and Essential Oils (Young Living Purification
Oil). I let my clothes soak in the sink for a few hours. Then I threw them in the washing machine with a ½ cup of baking soda and about 4 drops of purification. I washed them on cold and I did two rinses on my washing machine. This seemed to get most of the smell out. After the wash I always hang up my clothes to dry. Never dry your workout clothes in the dryer, this will bake that smell in.
Method 2
Add 1 cup of white vinegar and 1 tablespoon of baking soda into your washing machine and pre-soak items. If you don’t have the setting on your washing machine you can do this in the sink too. If your items still stink you can soak your clothing in your sink with 1 cup white vinegar, 2 teaspoons hydrogen peroxide and 2 teaspoons of baking soda, then wash them in your washing machine with the vinegar and baking soda as mentioned.
Personally I have tried both methods and I think they both work equally as well. I like the smell of the purification oil, but if you don’t have it you could use method 2. I think the key is to not dry your clothing because that causes the smell to bake into your clothes. I have heard from friends that there are some sport detergents out there, but I have never tried them. If you have a method you like to use I would love to hear about it. And if you can’t get the smell out with those two methods it’s time to buy new gym clothes! Who doesn’t like new gym clothes!
Happy Monday. I have not been posting as much last week because I have had some major sleep trouble. I don’t know what is going on but I am so tired. I can fall asleep fine, but wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep. I have tried all types of remedies meditation, calms forte, essential oils….you name it I have tried it. So I am hoping to start this week off better. If anyone has any ideas that are natural and help with sleep I would love to hear from you. Tomorrow morning is going to come very early. This time change throws me off. So my 5:o0 AM boot
camp class has to be ready to go and get the blood flowing. We are going to do a weights and cardio workout. The workout will start off with a 2-3 minute dynamic warm up and then we will complete cardio and weights for 30 seconds no breaks unless they are needed. We will repeat it 3 times or more if we have enough time. Here is what I am planning for Thursday. I hope you guys have a great week!
