FitFeat

where daily feats & eats can be adventures in themselves

Posts Tagged Tabata

9 Tips to Ease the Pain of a Killer Workout

May 24

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature, Keeping Fit | 12 Comments

Hi friends!

Oh boy am I sore today from Saturday’s leg workout.  After having been sporadically following the Insanity program over the last month, I have used my legs more for sports drill workouts and apparently they forgot what it was like to do a solid strength session!

THE WORKOUT:

Tabata Sets:

  • Smith Machine Squats (8 sets, 4 minutes)
  • Leg Extensions  (8 sets, 4 minutes)
  • Leg Curls (8 sets, 4 minutes)
  • Plyo Lunges (6 sets, 4 minutes)

Followed by:

  • High Step Ups (2 sets per leg)
  • Front Curtsy Squats (2 sets per leg)
  • 11 minutes of ‘dance cardio‘

And all I’ve been saying for the last 36 hours is “oh my legs, my legs!!!”  My hamstrings are so sore, that it is almost painful to stand up completely straight!  Yes, I like to be sore after a good workout.  But I’ll admit this is a step beyond that.  So I figured this would be a great time to share with you the tips I employ when DOMS sets in (DOMS: delayed onset muscle soreness).

1. Move the sore muscles:  blood flow to the muscles will help to speed the repair and move the toxins out faster.  By “move” the muscles, I don’t mean you should strength train those muscles again while they are sore but getting in some light to moderate aerobic activity will do the trick.

2. Light massage of the sore muscles: keyword here is light.  This is not the time to get a deep tissue massage – my massage therapist says at least 24 hours before a deep massage after a tough workout or you risk releasing toxins too quickly.  So I will lightly rub sore muscles by hand, or else I’ll do some easy foam rolling.

3. Light stretching of the sore muscles: again the keyword here is light. You don’t want to cause additional microtears to muscles that are already in the process of repairing.  The idea here is to just get some blood flow in there and keep them from stiffening up.

4. Ice up: I like to use frozen peas wrapped in a thin towel applied to the sore muscles for 10 to 20 minutes every few hours.  This also expedites blood flow to the area.

5. Soak: After (or between) ice applications, take this opportunity to pamper yourself with a hot bath with Epsom salts.  (I usually toss in 1/2 cup.)

6. Ginger root capsules: I got this great tip from Joan, who knows I won’t take ibuprofen.  She introduced me to ginger root capsules to fight inflammation when I had a stiff back and the stuff works!  It doesn’t have the ‘immediate’ relief you get from OTC drugs, but you don’t get the toxic liver either!  And I have noticed a difference when I take two in the morning and two in the evening.

7.  BioFreeze: I’ll use this as a last resort (because I aim to minimize products that contain paraben) but this stuff works wonders when I do choose to use it.  It’s like an extra strength IcyHot.  A chiropractor recommended this to me years ago and I’ve kept a bottle around ever since.  I’ve used it on sore joints, aching muscles, and it also clears the sinuses right out for you!

8. Water: the lactic acid and toxins need to go somewhere and if you aren’t hydrating they won’t move anywhere very quickly.  Be sure to increase your water intake (especially when muscles are sore) and minimize dehydrating beverages like coffee and soda.

9. REST: when you work out hard, rest is extremely important in order to allow the body to repair, adapt and grow stronger so that the next time you do that same workout, it won’t seem as hard and you can do a little more.

What favorite tips do you utilize? Drop a comment!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , ,

The BEET of My Own Drum

May 13

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 8 Comments

Hi friends!  It’s Friday-EVE!  Wahoo!

Ahhh I feel so relaxed at the moment.  I just got done with an hour-long yoga session and let me tell you … I have MISSED yoga.  (Gosh, a year ago I don’t think those words would have ever crossed my lips.)  I haven’t had a yoga sesh since before we left on vacation because when we got back we started into the Insanity routine (that I was lucky enough to borrow from a friend).  It’s definitely fun and different, and I sweat more doing this than I do in 100-degree Bikram studio.  However, 2 weeks in and I’m already a little bored.  Although you are changing DVDs daily, there is so much of each day’s routine that is just like the previous day, and the day before that, and the day before that, so all of a sudden I find myself not looking forward to the workouts.

So like everything else in my ‘fitness’ life, it will be mixed in when I need a good sweaty cardio/plyo routine or want to change things up. But it will no longer be a 6-day Insanity week.

This is one of the biggest reasons I think personal trainers can be a HUGE benefit (OK yes being a trainer, you may think I’m a bit biased ;) ) Because most of them will listen to your likes and dislikes.  I strive to find out what my clients really enjoy and incorporate it.  If you tell your trainer there are certain exercises you REALLY don’t like to do, they should adjust the program.  Because otherwise you may start to DREAD the session.  And that’s the fastest way to see your client list dropping like the stock market of 5-6-10!

This is also why you see on the blog that I’m always reading new fitness/nutrition books and trying new DVD workout programs.  Gotta keep it fresh for both MY workouts and my CLIENTS’ workouts!  I don’t like to be bored with exercise.  And I never give clients an exercise that I haven’t done myself so I am always trying my programs first, as I design them.  I want to know how much weight feels right, how sore it might make me afterward, if anything feels “off’ about a new movement.

One thing that I find myself NOT bored with still, after all this time is TABATA!!!  So quick, so intense, and then it’s done.  LOVE THAT!  Monday I did the following routine using my Tabata timer:

  • Straight-Arm Planks
  • Seated Row
  • Overhead Shoulder Presses (standing on one leg for increased balance work, alternate legs each set)
  • Tricep Kickback + Straight Arm Tricep Pulses
  • DB Bicep Curls
  • Boat Pose for Abs

I felt it for the 2 days following.  I really don’t think I will ever get bored with this style of training. It speaks to my short attention span. :D

On the food front, beets have also been speaking to me this week.  I roasted three of them on Sunday and have been adding them to a lot of my salads.  If you missed it, I talked about my salmon, beet and goat cheese salad earlier in the week.  This time I made a “deconstructed” salad with beets along one side, sauteed kale and a bit of herbed goat cheese in the middle and sliced pears on the other.  This was another flavor winner.  The sweetness of the pear and beets meshed perfectly with the lightly salted kale and goat cheese.

Beets are an amazing veggie health-wise.  Beets are very high in folate, manganese, potassium and rich in compounds that are found to help reduce inflammation, fight heart disease, and colon cancer.  While higher in natural sugars than other vegetables, they are still only 74 calories per cup, plus very high in fiber.

During a kitchen session with a client this week, she asked if I put beets in my smoothies.  I haven’t tried that yet.  But I’m considering it.  So I’ll keep you posted.  :)

Drop a comment on any one of the topics above!  Got any favorite ways to eat BEETS? Have you had a personal trainer that made you do exercises you hated?  Any workouts that you’ve been CRAVING lately, but just haven’t gotten to?

Have a TERRIFIC Thursday friends!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Hot and Cold Salad

Feb 23

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 8 Comments

Hi blog buds!

I am SO tickled that you are enjoying the Marathon Monday posts.  I can’t THANK YOU all enough for that.  When it’s icky outside or I’m facing a long run, you have no idea how much it helps to know that YOU are right there with me!  Because I pay more attention when I know I get to write about it for you each time!

Oh the healthy eats I have to share with you today… makes me hungry just thinking about it!  But FEATS first then EATS, since I owe you some recaps.  Otherwise you might start thinking that all I do is EAT and only exercise on the weekends.  :D

Sunday we had even SNOWIER weather than we’d had for the Saturday run.  So MSP and I bundled up in our snow gear and took off for a little ‘snow hike’ on the hills around our house.  The view out the window:

Ultimately we only ended up with 3.75 miles, but it seemed so much longer trudging around in the snow.  We had such a good time.  It was so peaceful – no one was out.  The perfect start to our Sunday.

For Monday’s exercise I did more weight training Tabata-style.

  • 5 min warmup on TM
  • Squats with Overhead Press 4 minutes
  • Chest Flyes with tubing 4 minutes
  • Rear Lunge off Low Step PLUS Bicep Curls 4 minutes (alternating legs each set)
  • 45° Upright Row 2 minutes
  • 2-Arm Bent DB Row 2 minutes
  • Glute Bridges on Ball 4 minutes  (Can you say OUCHIE??)
  • Triceps Pressdown 4 minutes
  • Ball Crunches 4 minutes

I am crazy about my Tabata timer (the one I use is an app on my iPhone).  I LOVE working out this way. I’m NEVER bored and it ALWAYS burns!

Now about those EATS!

A tasty snack on Sunday:  baked kale chips with a small side of Buffalo chips and a few slivers of raw goat cheddar.

Sunday night snack (because I was itching to try this Artisana Coconut Butter).  Ezekial Cinnamon Raisin Toast + Coconut Butter = DREAMY.

Monday morning after my workout I had my daily green smoothie!  Mmm I love when I have avocado and pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for my smoothies – they end up SO creamy.

A mid-morning Larabar while at my desk – the awesome “Chocolate Coconut Chew” that to me tastes like a brownie with nuts in it.

Now let me just preface my lunch a bit here.  When it is cold out for days, like it has been, I find it a bit of a challenge to want to eat my usual humongous salads because COLD GREENS are refreshing and when I’m chilly ‘refreshing’ is not on the top of my list. All I want is something warm (and often full of carbs.)  Here’s what I’ve been doing lately that has really helped keep  my salad intake up. I’m topping my salads with ROASTED VEGGIES.  I took the time Sunday to pre-roast some stuff I could use during the week (kale, mixed veggies, squash) and have available to take to work.

I packed a large spinach salad in one container topped with sundried tomatoes, a few kalamata olives, nutritional yeast, dulse and balsamic vinegar with a teaspoon of olive oil for dressing.  In another container were my roasted veggies:  red pepper, zucchini and mushrooms with balsamic.  I reheated the roasted veggies and plated them next to my salad.  After I took the picture, I mixed them all up.  And it was LIP-SMACKIN’ GOOD.  The HOT veggies + the COLD spinach makes a really delicious meal.

It looks a bit small in the picture, but this was one HUGE dinner plate.

For my mid-afternoon snack I had half of a “Go Raw” pumpkin seed bar.  This was my first try with this brand and I LOVE it.  I’ll be getting this one again for sure!  I’ve already been looking for them online to order in bulk.

Dinner wanted in on the fun veggie action too.  Another find while at Sprouts:  Golden Flax “roll-ups”, made with flax flour and soy flour.  It seems to be a cross between a flatbread and a tortilla.

So I made this with it:

Lightly ‘grilled’ in a pan to give it a panini feel.  Inside was Tofutti (non-dairy cream ‘cheese’ spread), avocado, tomato, clover sprouts and a bit of romaine.  The rest of the romaine went into my side salad.  Then I poured a little Annie’s Lite Honey Mustard Vinaigrette on the side as a ‘dipping sauce’ for the wrap.

It was really a finger-lickin’ good kind of day.  Mondays can be rough, but not when I have tasty (not to mention ultra-healthy) meals like these to look forward to!

Wow writing this post made me hungry.  I think I need a snack! Do you mix your hot and cold veggies?  Any favorite combos to share?

Have a terrific day!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Miss Sissy Soles

Jan 23

Posted by Shari B. in Marathon Training | 8 Comments

Happy Saturday everyone!

I hope that you are enjoying your day and that your Friday evening was nice.  I rushed out after publishing yesterday’s post because MSP and I had an impromptu ‘date’ at a local wine bar so that we could share a budget-friendly meal during their happy hour.  I like to eat off of appetizer menus because the portions are (usually) more in line with what a normal size should be and the prices are more reasonable.  Especially during happy hour!  I had a $5 glass of pinot grigio, shared some hummus with MSP and then a delicious Mushroom Gnocchi (from which I STILL had leftovers to bring home.)

Did you get some exercise in on Friday?  I had an efficient upper body workout:

Tabata Upper Body

  • Warmup on TM followed by arm circles
  • Straight-arm Planks (4 min)
  • Tricep Dips on floor (4 min)
  • Side Raises for Shoulders (SLOW, no momentum – 4 min)
  • DB Rows top half of movement only (4 min)
  • Biceps Curls with arms out to side (4 min)
  • Rotator Cuff movements (no weight) and stretching

I woke up yesterday morning worried that I had come down with a cold.  My nose was runny, my throat a bit scratchy and I felt the stirrings of a headache.  I made sure to take a double dose of probiotics and followed that with a BUBBLY (Raw Kombucha Tea).

And a super green smoothie.

I felt good as new in NO time flat – pretty much by 10:00 AM.   YAY!  No cold after all.  Or if I had the beginning of one, I gave it a good ol’ probiotic/nutrient power punch and nipped it in the bud!

Then this morning I met up with one of my running partners for a 7.6 mile run through two of Denver’s scenic parks.  He runs faster than I do which is good because it pushes me to be better.  But man alive was my heart rate high in my attempt to keep up.  I saw 186 quite a few times and my Garmin told me that I averaged 175 through the ENTIRE run.

Back when I was running a LOT I had built up some pretty good (not to mention ugly) calluses on the balls of my feet.  Since I backed way off my distance over the past year, I have prettier feet again but no more tough skin.  About 5 miles into today’s run, I felt like the bottoms of my feet had been rubbed raw with sandpaper and now I’m hobbling around trying to keep my weight into my heels.  I have sissy soles at the moment!  A few more long runs and I’ll be well on my way to having feet that have no business being seen by eyes other than mine.  :)   That’s OK – I know those calluses are hard-won so I see them kind of like a little badge of honor.

How about you if you’re a runner?  Do you get calluses on your feet?  Blisters?  Black toenails? What’s your running ‘battle scar’? Fortunately I’ve been blister-free since having discovered the Wrightsock.  And as of yet, no black toenails.  But this could be the year!

Make it a GREAT night!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , ,

The No-Slacker Tracker

Jan 19

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature | 5 Comments

Hi friends!

Hope you had a great start to your week yesterday.  I have a feeling this one is going to fly by.  I have to show up tomorrow for that jury summons I mentioned a while back and knowing my luck I’ll get picked to sit for a trial.  Not that I mind serving my civic duty, I just think it’s a little lopsided seeing how MSP has never even received a summons.  :)   Actually the real reason I think I’ll get picked is because I’m totally slammed with things to accomplish this week at work and sitting on a jury will totally put me behind on my deadlines.  But I’m sure everyone feels that way when they get a jury summons in the mail, right?

Even though I was off work yesterday for MLK Day I still got up at the usual silly hour to get my workout in and get my day started.  First I did 30 minutes of yoga with Bob from the Biggest Loser (yes, I’m Team Bob.  You don’t even want to get me started on Jillian.  I have started writing many a post to discuss that particular issue of mine, but I figure I’ll get a lot of hate mail if I post it, so I always end up scrapping it! But I digress…)  So the yoga was actually pretty good – not terribly challenging though.  It is broken into different levels and since this was my first time using this particular DVD I decided to stick with level one.  I will need to try levels two and three to see if they are harder or more of the same just longer.

Since I didn’t feel like that was as much of a workout as I would normally do, I then did 20 minutes of the Exhale Core Fusion “Gluteal Toner” that I recorded from FitTV.  Similar to Physique 57, but actually a little too easy.

To wrap it all up, I added a few Tabata sets of thigh and hamstring moves to get a good burn going.

Afterward I had a terrific green smoothie.  I’ve been back to getting these in regularly again, and I can’t say enough how great I feel when I have one of these to start my day.

This beauty had banana, clementine, hemp protein, spinach, cucumber, a scoop of dried green superfoods, and a little bit of white chia seeds.  Lip smacking good!  Riley and Rascal thought so too… since they get a little bit of green smoothie in their bowl whenever I have one.  The pups need their greens too!

For an afternoon snack, I FINALLY ate some of that cute little kabocha squash that I bought recently.  I drizzled just a tiny bit of blackstrap molasses (a little goes a LONG way – it’s a STRONG flavor), and then sprinkled some cinnamon and some dried ginger on it.  (Yes I roasted the squash first!  Figured I bet put that out there, lest someone try this raw!)

I’m not sure what all the fuss is about with these.  Yes, there was a bit of a nuttier flavor than that of butternut squash but not different enough that I’ll drive all over town trying to track one of these down.  I think it was a fluke that I found it in the first place because when I went back to the store where I found it, they didn’t have any on the shelf.

Dinner was quick and easy, a usual requirement for my ‘cooking’.  Step one was opening a jar of 505 Green Chile:

(This one is even gluten-free, made with rice flour – which impressed me for some reason!)

Pour jar of chile into a small soup pan and heat over medium till bubbly.  Add egg(s) and ‘poach’ in the green chile.

I plated my egg on half of a whole wheat tortilla and then topped it with some nutritional yeast for ‘cheesy flavor’.

For extra cheese, eat while watching “The Bachelor” like we did.  ;)

***

As I mentioned yesterday, I thought I’d share with you my very simple method of keeping an eye on my level of exercise.  I have used other methods in the past, including spreadsheets and logging programs (like The Daily Plate).  However I like a very quick visual on whether I’m getting something done most days of the week.  Generally it’s pretty easy to keep track of in my head as well, but by that same token it’s also easy to “forget” some of those missed days here and there.

I print a blank calendar page and keep that page on my bulletin board just for this particular tracking.  This calendar doesn’t have anything else added to it: no appointments, birthdays, etc. For every day that I get in my exercise, I mark a star on that day, sometimes jotting a note about what I did that day.  If I don’t get a workout in, there is no star.

Now keep in mind that NOT having a star is not a bad thing, either.  I like to be sure I’m taking rest days when I need them, or at least active recovery days.  So this isn’t a matter of telling myself  “Uh oh, bad girl, no star for the day!”  This type of ‘dashboard view’ just lets me know at a glance if I’m slacking or if I’m overdoing it.

I took this picture on Friday and have since added my stars for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  So 18 days into the new year, I’ve worked out 16 of the 18, averaging a rest day about every 9 days.

One could take this a step further and color-code their days, such as one color for cardio, one for strength, maybe another for yoga/flexibility.  Or if you are training for a marathon, you could mark one color for your speedwork/hill runs, one color for your tempo runs and a third for your long runs.  Or mark the days off as you do Cindy’s 30 Day Core Challenge. :)

No matter what goal you have or habit you might be trying to change, using this type of tracking can be a good tool to see quickly and easily how you’re doing on that journey.  For example, let’s say you wanted to increase your veggie intake.  You decide you want to eat veggies with at least 3 of your meals/snacks each day.  You could start a calendar with a marking system to show the days you met that goal, and the days you didn’t.  This might also show you some trending, such as not doing as well on Fridays as you do on Mondays, etc.

Are you a “tracker”?  How do you keep track of your workouts?  Or do you skip tracking/logging altogether?

***

OK, friends!  Off to train a client and then on to the other j-o-b.  Have a TERRIFIC TUESDAY!

– Shari B. =)

PS:  There is another Vitamix Giveaway going on in the blogosphere!  That is an AWESOME Giveaway!  Get yourself to Katie’s blog to enter!

Tags: , , , , ,

Stop, Drop and Roll (Your Shoulders)

Jan 16

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 4 Comments

Good morning friends!  Happy Saturday!

Did you all have an exciting Friday night? Mine was SO exciting that I fell asleep on the couch at 8:30!  Haha… I’m so lame!  :)   MSP and I did go out for a fun dinner and then wandered around Bed Bath and Beyond for a bit.

Dinner was at the Grand Lux Cafe, which is owned by The Cheesecake Factory.  Grand Lux used to be one of my favorites and we hadn’t been there in a really long time (over a year, at least).  They have such a huge selection of things to order you feel like you could eat there every week for a year and never have the same thing twice.  That was the case when I was a meat-eater and didn’t pay any attention to the vegetarian selections.

I thought for SURE I’d have tons of amazing veggie dishes from which to choose seeing how they have such a diverse menu.  I was really shocked to see ONE dish under there vegetarian section, which was stir fried veggies with tofu, WHITE rice and orange sauce.  Or your other meal option would be to choose up to 4 of their butter-laden side veggies and have them served on a plate (again with white rice).  This menu option had a very original name “Vegetables as a Meal”.

I can get great veggies and tofu at Tokyo Joe’s any day of the week (for a lot less money) so I ended up choosing from their tapas menu instead.  I went with the Vegetable Tempura (carrots, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini) with a mustard dipping sauce and a Roasted Beet with Goat Cheese side salad.  Not the healthiest from a ‘waistline’ perspective, but both were very tasty.  Or they were made better by the Pineapple Basil Mojito I was drinking.  ;)   That could be the case!   (BTW, I did snap some pics on my iPhone but it was SO dark in there that you can’t even tell what you’re looking at, so I’m not even going to bother including them here.)

I don’t want to slam Grand Lux too badly because I still like the restaurant and the food is good.  But Grand Lux, you do need to get with the times a bit.  The rest of your menu is so creative, so why the unoriginal tofu/veggie stir-fry?

Regardless of the food, MSP and I had a wonderful time chatting away and relaxing, ran a few errands, then came home to relax some more with our long-lost pals from Grey’s Anatomy.  Grey’s has been gone so long I couldn’t even remember what happened on the last episode (which was in November, I think?)  So glad to have it back now!

***

To rewind a bit to Friday’s FEATS, I started out on the treadmill for 20 minutes of intervals before moving on to some Tabata-style leg work.

  • Penquin Squats heels in toes out (4 min)
  • Wide Plié Squats low half of movement only (4 min)
  • Seated Thigh Raises (I was on FIRE after 2 min so I’ll have to work UP to 4 on this one)
  • Right Glute Work in external rotation (2 min)
  • Left Glute Work in external rotation (2 min)

Ouchie. Mama. But in an “oh so good” way.

***

I think it will soon be time to give in to spending a little extra money and getting some massage done.  I’ve definitely got some tight spots and can feel some of the trigger points in my neck and upper back acting up a bit again.  I used to get a massage every couple of weeks because I truly believe it is a necessary part of keeping our muscles fit and healthy.  It’s just one of those things that quickly gets cut out when I have to “tight the budget belt”.   I have a tendency when I’m at a desk too long to lift my shoulders up toward my ears and hold them there, without realizing I’m doing it.  I catch myself doing it all the time.

I do this:

When I should be looking more like this:

Do you tend to wear your shoulders as “earrings” like I do when you are working at a desk? When I do catch myself, I’ll take a few minutes to do some shoulder rolls (forward and back) to get some blood flow to the traps/shoulders and then perform this trapezius stretch to bring my shoulders back down.  Or I’ll stay seated, grasp one side of my chair and pull away, dropping my head down and to the side until I feel a good stretch.  Hold for up to 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side.  Like this:

I did those pics on the fly with my webcam and I still have all my running gear on, POST RUN.  That’s just PURTY right there, eh?  ;)   Guess I better add SHOWER to my Saturday TO-DO list!  ;)

Have a super Saturday friends!  See you again soon!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Green Smoothie Grinch

Dec 23

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 5 Comments

Good morning!  It’s my FRIDAY!  Wahooo!  Love it when you get to have Friday on a Wednesday!

Let’s cover the FEATS today before the EATS, since I glossed over them in a hurry yesterday.

To further expand on my Tabata workout from Monday:

Weight Training – Tabata Upper Body:

  • TM Warm-up – 5 minutes, followed by arm circles and muscle-specific warm-ups
  • Incline DB Chest Press – 4 minutes
  • Bent 2-Arm DB Row – 4 minutes
  • Rear Delt & Back Extension Static Holds – 4 minutes
  • Overhead Shoulder Press (seated on FitBall) – 3 minutes (by this time my arms were already toast and holding them above my head became problematic!!)
  • Bicep Curls with ExerBand – 4 minutes
  • Tricep Overhead Extensionwith KB – 4 minutes

With warm up, this workout was only 30 minutes total.  And I felt it!  I am hopelessly crazy about Tabata for my weight training it seems – I really LOVE getting in an effective workout in a short amount of time.  However, I ordered something online that I’ll be discussing in a future post – after it arrives and I’ve had a chance to try it out long enough to give a review.  We’ll see if it changes the way I work out or not!  :)

Then for my Tuesday exercise, I did another round of “See Shari Dance“.  I warmed up to Run This Town by Jay-Z.  Then got busy with the wildly jumping around dancing to get my heart rate good and high.

The playlist also included:

  • Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
  • Make Me – Janet Jackson’s latest (GREAT song for cardio BTW – click here to check it out)
  • Damaged - Danity Kane
  • 3 - Britney Spears
  • Single Ladies – Beyoncé
  • Calabria 2008 – Enur
  • Get Back – Britney Spears
  • Ring the Alarm – Beyoncé

With cool-down, it was a little over 40 minutes – truly an incredible way to start the day.  It’s not possible to be in a bad mood when you start your day with a little boogie-ing!  Between dancing for cardio and Tabata for weights, I may be in a bit of a workout RUT but I’m having a blast!  I suppose if one gets stuck in a rut, a WORKOUT rut would be a good one to get stuck in!

Afterward, I went upstairs to make a post-workout smoothie.  And there was a little cutie waiting in the kitchen with his question-mark ears.  Apparently I’ve created a monster (of the green smoothie variety).

“Puppy mommy, I’m ready for my greens please..!”

Unfortunately I had to tell him that I was using my new protein powder so there’d be no greens for him this time.

So then he threw me his “Whatchu talkin’ bout, Willis?” face, complete with sideways eyes:

I’m the Grinch of Green Smoothies in Rascal’s eyes. :(

I had a BEIGE Smoothie instead, using aforementioned protein powder (almost ready to provide a review)…

Then I packed up my lunch for later:

A green smoothie was consumed at my desk (leftover from the previous day):

A veggie sandwich for dinner (toasted Ezekial with fat free Nasoya Soy Mayo, sea salt, pepper, pepitas, roma tomatoes, sprouts):

***

Today is essentially our Christmas.  MSP and I are like little 5-yr olds when it comes to Christmas.  Or maybe it’s just me and he plays along.  It used to be that our tradition was we open our presents on Christmas Eve, after driving around to view holiday lights.  We’d come home, put on a fire and turn on our tree, then start opening.  We liked the ambiance of an evening Christmas as opposed to the first-thing-out-bed in the morning.   Then we tried  opening ONE gift on the evening of the start of our long weekend and last year we lost control after opening one and ended up opening everything! :)   So tonight when we both get off of work it will be the start of our 4 day weekend and we anticipate that we will likely open our gifts tonight.  This way we have all weekend to play with our new toys!

MAYBE we’ll be able to hold off until tomorrow night, but I doubt it!

I’m really hoping that Santa brought me a veggie spiralizer!  It was at the top of my list!

Then on the actual Christmas day we always go eat at a Chinese restaurant and see a movie.  This year the movie will be “Sherlock Holmes”.

How about you?  Do you have any fun, NON-traditional traditions?  Got any fitness- or health-related items on your list for Santa?

Speaking of fitness items, it’s time to go get my workout in!  Have a WONDERFUL Wednesday!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , ,

Super Seaweed

Dec 19

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature | 5 Comments

Happy Saturday FitFeat friends!  I hope your weekend is off to a FANTASTIC start!  I am hoping to get OUTSIDE for a run sometime this morning – but it’s currently 19 degrees (and I’m a cold weather sissy!)  Can’t decide if I want to bundle up or treadmill it!

Yesterday was a great Friday.  It started with a Tabata workout, just something quick to give a little ‘jumpstart’ to my day.  I upped my weights from the last time for all exercises in this session.

Friday Morning Tabata JumpStart:

  • 5 min TM warmup then arm swings and circles
  • Smith Squats 4 minutes
  • Seated Row 4 minutes
  • ValSlide Rear Lunge with KB 4 minutes (alterating legs)
  • DB Chest Press 4 minutes
  • Rear Delt Static Holds 4 minutes
  • Overhead 1-arm KB Shoulder Press 15R, 15L

Personally, I don’t feel I’ve had a good workout if I don’t FEEL it the next day.  I can say that today I DO feel it!  :)  Love that! 

After my workout I had a jumbo green smoothie.

  • 10 oz water
  • Rice protein
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 large peeled cucumber
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/2 pear
  • lots o’ spinach
  • a few turnip greens
  • sprouts
  • 2 stalks celery

Then I made another one to take to work.   This one was minus the chia seeds and the rice protein.  I figured the chia seeds would swell way up and I did not want to eat my smoothie with a spoon like some sort of green pudding.  :)

img 1022

My mid-morning snack was a Cashew Cookie Lärabar at my desk: 

img 1023

Lunch was the travel smoothie shown above.  My afternoon snack and dinner kind of ran together:  movie popcorn.  :) MSP and I had a date to go see a movie.  We chose “Avatar” in 3D and all we have to say about it is that it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.  A great movie with so much to look at.  I highly recommend splurging on 3D if you decide to see this movie, especially with all of the computer-generated scenery and effects.  Just BEAUTIFUL.  Two thumbs up and maybe even a couple of TOES up as well!

***

OK, let’s segue from movie reviews to food ‘reviews’, shall we?  Yesterday I mentioned that I’d be back today to talk a little bit about DULSE.   

img 1024

What is Dulse?

Dulse is a dried sea vegetable.  I’d read about the benefits of seaweed years ago but the best I did to incorporate them into my diet at that time was a sprinkle of kelp powder on my salads here and there.  And probably not nearly enough for my body to even notice it!  I was reacquainted with sea vegetables (seaweed) again when I started receiving acupuncture therapy and began to do a lot of reading on Traditional Chinese Medicine and healing, alkaline foods.  According to Paul Pitchford in Healing with Whole Foods, “Sea plants contain ten to twenty times the minerals of land plants… In addition to a wealth of minerals, vitamins and amino acids, seaweeds are especially excellent sources of iodine, calcium and iron.”  They assist in detoxifying and alkalizing the blood.  

Another great read,  The Thrive Diet by Brendan Brazier, further sold me on this group of superfoods, especially when I read that they contain “10 times the calcium of cow’s milk and several times more iron than red meat” not to mention that they are the “richest source of naturally occuring electrolytes.”

Why Do I Eat Dulse?

Having struggled off and on with iron-deficient anemia since high-school, the information about the iron and mineral content of seaweed was important to me, especially because I’d stopped eating meat.  And moreso because I am a runner.  Runners have a higher tendency toward anemia due to the destruction of red blood cells each time their feet make impact while running, often known as footstrike anemia.  Typically when I end up at the doctor’s office feeling really fatigued and low, it’s due to the anemia and it’s almost always around spring when the weather turns nice and I’m out a lot more often for runs on concrete and pavement.  Now that I’ve been through this ‘cycle’ a few times, I know to really boost my intake of foods with naturally occuring iron in them whenever my running mileage increases.

I also liked the idea that sea vegetables are rich in calcium, since cow’s milk dairy is something I don’t typically consume anymore either.  Additionally it has a great potassium:sodium ratio.  Take a look at the nutrition facts from the package:

Dulse Nutrition Facts (sorry for the blur!)

Dulse Nutrition Facts (sorry for the blur!)

 

Dulse happened to be one that I found at the local health food store and thought I’d start with it first .  I like this one so much that I haven’t tried others yet.  But I should because there are so MANY from which to choose!

How Do I Eat Dulse?

Currently, the main way I eat my dulse is as an add-in for my salads.  I’ll pull a palmful from the bag and tear the strips into bite-size pieces.  When you see photos of my big “Shari Salads” that dark purple stuff you see is the dulse.

Pic3 119

The package says you can bake it into chips, but I didn’t care for it that way and ended up using what I’d baked as a crumbled topping on my salads.  Dulse gives a great ‘salty’ flavor to your salads without the need for adding any extra salt.  You can add it to stir-fries, to soups or broths, or sandwich fillings.  Pretty much anywhere you’d use another leafy green.  The book I referenced earlier, Healing with Whole Foods, even has a recipe for Sauerkraut with Dulse. :) Not sure how soon I’ll try this one, but if/when I do, I’ll let you know!

I hope this dulse info interests you enough that you’ll try some in your next salad!  It’s inexpensive, about $5.00 for the size bag I buy – but it lasts me quite a while.  I’d say that’s a bargain for the amount of nutritional punch packed into such a tiny food.

Today’s questions:  Have you tried dulse or some other version of sea veggie?  What made you try it initially?  If you don’t currently eat seaweed, do you think you might now? 

***

All this talk of seaweed, green smoothies and Lärabars has made me hungry!  I’m off for some pre-run fuel and then hopefully out the door!  Have a SUPERB Saturday!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Some Fridays Are Made for Margaritas

Dec 5

Posted by Shari B. in Exercise Instruction, FitFeature | 3 Comments

And last night was one of those nights.  It felt like a long week and I was starvin’ Marvin when MSP got home from work.  So off to the Rio we went for dinner. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this margarita that was about the size of my head.  (Caution:  grainy photos ahead, courtesy of my iPhone!)

marg

I also thoroughly enjoyed not only chips and salsa, but a “half-order” of their veggie quesadilla.  I asked them to go as light as possible on the cheese since I prefer not to ingest cow’s dairy whenever possible, and they TOTALLY delivered!  To be honest I couldn’t even SEE any cheese on there where I opened it up!  Thanks RIO, you guys rock!  I ate the dollop of guac that didn’t make it into the pic (but not the sour cream that did!)  I also enjoyed the steamed veggies they made for me on the side:  carrots, spinach, squash and red pepper.   It’s been a LONG time since we’ve been to the RIO and it did not disappoint.  I enjoyed every last bite. 

marg 2

And then proceeded to fall asleep on the couch the minute I sat down (at about 7:45!)  It was much-needed sleep though!

I’ll work backwards through the rest of my Friday.  When I left the office at 2:15 I had an unpictured decaf soy latte (no chai this time, just coffee) as my afternoon snack.  It was FREEZING outside still and totally hit the spot.

My ‘quickly consumable at my desk’ lunch was half a can of Amy’s Low Sodium Lentil soup with a slice of Ezekial bread and a BUBBLY!!!  (The bubbly always makes me happy!)

img 940

Mid-morning was a Larabar!

img 934

And my breakfast was oatmeal with half of a crumbled Coconut Cream Pie Larabar and a splash of almond milk.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  crumbled Coconut Cream Pie Larabars are seriously the tastiest topping ever for oatmeal!  TRY IT!

img 939

My Friday morning exercise was 40 minutes of treadmill time (incline intervals) while catching up on this week’s episode of mindless television known as “Melrose Place”.  Even the return of Heather Locklear as Amanda Woodward is in no way making this show better.  I expect a cancellation soon.  If they can cancel great shows like “Lipstick Jungle”  I’m curious how garbage like this revamped version of MP can stay on.  (Yes, it’s been over a year since they cancelled my beloved “Lipstick Jungle” and YES I am still bitter!)

I also owe you my Thursday workout.  It was leg day and I did TABATA!!!  And here were are on Saturday and I’m STILL feeling it!  I’m starting to think I will designate days of the week that start with ”T” as Tabata days!  :)  

Weight Training:  Tabata Legs

  • TM warmup
  • Smith Squats  4 minutes, 74 reps
  • VS Rear Lunges 4 minutes, 44 reps per leg
  • Leg Extensions (machine) 4 minutes, 88 reps
  • Leg Curls (ball) 4 minutes, 80 reps
  • Straight Planks 2 minutes
  • Side Planks 1 minute left, 1 minute right

FitFEATure tip:  If you don’t  have a Tabata interval timer but would like to try Tabata-style weight training, do this:

Do a set of 10-12 reps of an exercise of your choice.  Stop and count to 10.  Then do another set of 10-12 reps.  Stop and count to 10.  Repeat this until you have completed 8 sets of that exercise.  Then move on to the next exercise on your list.  If I’m doing Upper Body, I’ll do one  Tabata round for chest, one for back, for shoulders, then triceps, then biceps. 

Have a SWELL Saturday, friends! 

= Shari B. =)

Tags: , , ,

13 Exercises for Friday the 13th

Nov 13

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 4 Comments

Happy Friday the 13th FitFeat friends!  Any superstitious readers out there?  In honor of Friday the 13th, I did this crazy workout this morning:

Today’s Feat:  Shari’s “13 for the 13th” Workout

Warmup on treadmill, 5 minutes

  1. Smith-squats (tabata style, 4 min)
  2. Seated Row (tabata style, 4 min)
  3. Leg Extensions (tabata style, 4 min)
  4. DB Upright Row (tabata style, 4 min)
  5. Leg Curls on FitBall (tabata style, 4 min — I was crying by the 3rd minute on these)
  6. DB Chest Flyes 1 set of 15 reps
  7. High StepUps 15 left, 15 right
  8. KB Side Lateral Swings 15 right, 15 left
  9. Band SideSteps 25 right, 25 left
  10. KB Biceps Curls 20 right, 20 left
  11. KB Ab Twist (in boat position) 30 reps
  12. Triceps Dips 15 reps
  13. Explosive Lunges 20 reps

OK, I officially have squiggle arms and squiggle legs…  ;)

Yesterday’s Feat

A beautiful (and tough) 3.6 mile hilly run with a training client 

Yesterday’s Eats

I had my standard pre-run meal Coconut Cream Pie Larabar with coffee about an hour beforehand.  I’m now officially out of this flavor in my Larabar stash and will have to wait until they go on sale again.  :( I refuse to pay more than $1 per bar if I can avoid it. 

img 705

After our run, my client was telling me about these wonderful breakfast burritos she picks up on occasion, and it inspired me to come home and make a Breakfast Wrap:  whole wheat tortilla, leftover roasted potato bites, one HB egg, a bit of avocado and a drizzle of salsa.  It was SO good!  And it hit the spot after a fast-paced hilly run.  Perfect!

img 706

It did such a good job of filling me up, that when lunchtime rolled around all I really wanted was a green smoothie!  And Brendan Brazier snuck into the picture too…

img 710

I don’t often like to have two Larabars in one day, but a Lemon Bar sounded too good to resist.

img 713

I spent some time late afternoon putting together dinner:  Heavenly Ginger Curry Squash Soup, for which I posted the recipe earlier today.  As mentioned in that post, I had to make myself eat a large salad to tame the hungry beast inside before I devoured my soup.  I KNEW I wouldn’t have leftovers if I started with it, it was that yummy.  My salad included spinach, dulse, sundried tomatoes, carrots, nutritional yeast and 1/2 tbsp of Goddess dressing. 

img 719

And then the main event.  I am already dreaming of lunchtime today when I can have some more of this delicious meal!  Behold the best soup ever:

img 721

And I didn’t figure the evening could get any better, but it DID!!!  MSP surprised me with dark chocolate covered cacao nibs!!!  WAHOOO!  (Thanks MSP!  You’re the best ever!)  Wow these are delightful.  Good thing these come in small bags… Not something I’d want to stay stocked up on because I had a hard time putting them down last night.

I’m looking forward to tonight when I get to catch up with some girlfriends over wine & apps tonight!  In the meantime, there is a LOT to accomplish so I better get crackin’!  Have a FANTASTIC Friday! 

See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes