Red Light Green Light Workout

This is kind of a fun way to workout...

Please if you have any topics you would like me to blog about leave a comment.  I would love your feedback!:)

Happy Friday!!!

Sleep and Treadmill Workout

I have been back from vacation for a week now.  For some reason I am still so behind on everything!!!  Do you ever feel like you are just barely keeping your head above water?  I did get my nutrition and exercise back on track and it feels so good.

Although I have been focused on getting back to the gym and eating healthy my main goal this week has been to get to bed earlier.  Sleep is hit or miss at our house and it is wearing on me.  You would never guess by looking at me this morning in my over sized sweatshirt, messy hair, bags under my eyes, yesterday's mascara running down my face...basically I am a hot mess.

  I crave sweets so very badly when I am tired so around 7pm every night I am ready to binge just to stay awake.  So frustrating!!! Sleep truly is so important to stay on track with your health and fitness goals.  

I have made an effort to go to bed earlier this week and I have even taken a few naps.  It is hard because it means leaving a few things undone and the house a little messier than I like, but for now sleep needs to take priority.  

Enough rambling...

A couple days ago this was the workout I did at the gym with the hubs.  It was a good little workout and one you can adapt easily to your level of fitness.

Warm up on treadmill for 3 minutes
At minute 3 you will start your intervals-

1 min 6.5
1 min 5.5
1 min 7.0
1 min 5.5
1 min 7.5
1 min 5.5
1 min 8.0
1 min 5.5
1 min 8.5
1 min 5.5
1 min 9.0
1 min 5.5
1 min 9.5
1 min 5.5
1 min 10.0

Then work your way back down the same way until you get back to 6.5.

Essentially you up your speed by .5 for every interval and recover for a minute at 5.5.

Obviously if you are a beginner you won't be able to get up to 10 so you can adapt as necessary.  You could also make the recovery slower.

If you are more advanced I recommend doing the 10.0 two times before making your way down and adding a 2.0 incline to the whole routine.  You could also finish with another sprint at the end.

I finished this with a set of lunges, pull ups and pushups.  I did three sets of this combo.  12 lunges on each leg, 8 pullups (I use the assisted machine), and 20 pushups. 

Farr Cleaner Life Guest Blogger.....

Today I am excited to introduce you to another fellow fitness blogger and friend. I have known Ashley since we were little.  She is absolutely amazing and has become quite the inspiration when it comes to health and fitness.  Seriously she has some awesome arms!  Be sure to check out her blog. She has a ton of great info and lots of yummy clean recipes.  ENJOY!!!...


Oh hi! I am Ashley, I blog over at www.farrcleanerlife.blogspot.com

 It seems exciting and humbling to be Meg's guest post today! I have known Megan my entire life and it used to make my YEAR when as children she would give me her old clothes--I would be so giddy to have "hand-me-down" clothes from her.  In fact, I would probably still rejoice if she gave me old clothes!

We haven't seen each other in years but a little over two years ago I sent an email to Megan asking how to get ripped! She gave me simple but amazing advice that pointed me in a great direction.  Though I still don't consider myself "ripped", I have realized it takes a lot of time, work, and dedication to get your dream body but it is possible!  Why not you?

A few things about me:

1. My Weight Vest.  I used to adore cardio--we're talking half-marathons, sprint triathlons, run, bike, swim, run, run, run.  It got my body nowhere!  A few months after I started lifting weights it all changed... my body finally became tight and took shape.  These days I love ANYTHING with heavy resistance and my weight vest allows me to strap it on and lunge, box jump, sumo squats.  I am a weight vest addict. It is killer.

2.  Lately lunges have been my love/hate exercise.  I lunge until I can barely walk 2x a week and my butt it getting tighter!

3.  I love to eat healthy and clean.  Eating real food changed my body more than any amount of exercise could give me.  As a former slave to sugar and dessert addict (I can't do one cookie, it's more like 20) I had to practice discipline and learn how to eat things my body needs and now loves!  I love snacking on honey-sweetened cottage cheese with raspberries, my homemade protein bars, homemade microwave popcorn, anything from the crockpot....and of course steak.  I seriously love steak. My husband's favorite healthy snack is my recipe for Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs.  

4.  My sexy Hubs and I love hiking and anything active. He is my gym buddy and number one supporter--even if my new recipe experiment isn't terrific, he'll eat it with a smile or at least not a frown.

What are some questions you have? What are your struggles? What do you hope to become better at?

Thank you Ashely for sharing your tips with us!!!  I am looking forward to trying her Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs.  And I am pretty sure I am going to buy a weighted vest now.  

Playing Catch Up...

OK friends vacation was awesome but I feel a bit behind in life now...laundry piles, grocery shopping, planning group exercise and training routines, fitting my own workouts in, cleaning the house...oh I am tired just thinking about it.  Speaking about being tired, my goal this week is to get more sleep. My body is begging for it.  But I promise I will be back to blogging more regularly this week. 

In the meantime check out this yummy salad...

I will be adding this to our meal schedule this week.

And if you are a quinoa fan be sure to check back later this week for lots of recipes.

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Avocado and Cumin-Lime Dressing
serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado, chopped into chunks
• handful cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into chunks
• small handful cilantro, diced
• 1 limes, juiced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Warm the olive/coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s hot add the rinsed quinoa and toast for about 2-3 minutes until it starts smelling nutty and lovely. Add water, stir once, cover, and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare all other ingredients. Prepare the dressing by combining the lime juice, oil, cumin, and salt. Whisk it aggressively. Adjust seasoning as necessary.
3. When the quinoa has finished cooking, remove it from heat and fluff with a fork. Add black beans and toss to warm them through.
4. Let the quinoa cool for about five minutes and then add all the remaining ingredients, including the dressing, and mix. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Just another Burpee Challenge:)

Just in case you really like workouts that are centered around burpees...

Happy Friday!

Just a Little Test for Fun:)...

I am a huge fan of the Les Mills group exercise programs.  Unfortunately they don't exsist where I live right now.  I use to teach BODYPUMP and I miss it oh so much.  I came across the one of the newer programs ...GRIT.  It looks awesome.  The GRIT people have some fun challenges on YOUTUBE that I thought I would share with you. 

We will be doing these tomorrow in my small group training session:)

I want to challenge you to try these two exercises as part of your next workout.  And please share with me how it goes.

I will do it tomorrow too and share my results.

ENJOY!!!!

Time to Meal Plan!...

Vacation ends for us on Tuesday.  It will be nice to get back to routine but I am sad to say goodbye to my family.  My sweet baby girl cried tonight as she said goodnight to her grandma knowing it was her last night staying with her. 

 Living far from family is a bummer.

Since it is time to face reality soon I started my meal planning for the rest of March.  I know my house is pretty empty of food right now so we will have to hit up the store ASAP.  I hope my hubby is surviving since he already flew back home yesterday.

  Here is a sneak peak of a few of the recipes we will be trying over the next few weeks...

 

Mexican Haystacks

Caprese Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Reduction

 

Naked Grilled Turkey Burgers w/Roasted Veggies

 

Don't they look Yummy?

More St. Patty's Fun!

Check out these yummy green snacks.  Avacado makes everything taste better:)  My vacation is almost over and soon I will be back to blogging some fun stuff.  The break has been nice and I am reinvigorated:)  Hope you are having a fun weekend! Ingredients

6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise

1 fully ripened avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced jalapeño

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

Garnish: chopped fresh chives

 
Preparation
1. COMBINE the egg yolks and avocado in a small bowl; mash until smooth.
2. STIR in yogurt, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Stir in jalapeño and onion

3. SPOON into egg white shells, dividing equally. Arrange on a serving plate. Cover lightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate for up to 3 hours. Garnish with chives before serving.



St. Patty's Day Smoothie

In celebration of St. Patty's day coming up this weekend I thought it would be fun to share a yummy green 

smoothie recipe....

The original link can be found HERE

Yields: 4 servings

12 ounces 100% apple juice
3 - 4 large kale leaves (stem removed)
3 bananas (peel removed)
2 cups of ice

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!

A Little R & R...

Please excuse my absence while I enjoy this view with my little family. I will be back to blogging the first of next week:)

Tabata Music...

I posted the other day about a Tabata workout.  This video plays music and counts out the 20 second and 10 second intervals so you don't have to try and time yourself.  Quite handy if you ask me.  I will be using this tomorrow to get my workout in for the day. 

 

Here is another great Tabata workout as well...

 

 

Happy Friday! 

 I can't believe it is already the weekend.  Time flies when you are having fun:)
 

Birthday Spoils...

I seriously got spoiled on my big day.  It made turning 31 not too bad:)  I already posted about my Ninja.  I could go on and on about that baby.  Love it!!!  It makes smoothie making so much quicker and I love that it is a food processor too. 

I also got spoiled with some other fun healthy gifts.  One of my training clients and friends gifted me with the most delicious protein bars I have ever had.  

Have you ever heard of Quest Bars?

I had never had them before.  They are yummy!  Plus they don't have all the crazy ingredients that most protein bars have in them.  There are so many flavors I can't wait to try.  I went to GNC to buy some today but they didn't have very many flavors so I will be checking out Amazon.com to get my hands on the cinnamon roll and Cheesecake flavors.  I did buy a few to take on my airplane ride tomorrow so I don't chow down on the treats I am bringing to bribe my children to be good:) 

I also received some PB2.  Many of you may have probably heard of this and tried it already but this was my first time.  I love, love, love it!  So far all I have done is throw it in my shakes, but I can't wait to try it in other recipes.  The calorie count is so much less than regular peanut butter but the flavor is awesome.  At least in the shakes. It is probably easiest to get this stuff off Amazon too.

Ok I need to head to bed.  I am flying with my 3 kids sans husband tomorrow...kind of scares me.  Let's hope I survive without one of us having a major breakdown:)

Make sure you check out the awesome TABATA workout I posted.  You can do it at home or the gym.  Your arms will thank you come summer time:)

UPDATE:
We survived the flight.  We are loving being with Grandma and Grandpa for the week.  I am headed off now to do a workout to get my muscles less stiff from being on the plane all day yesterday.

What is your Wednesday workout looking like?

Dare to Bare those Arms!

  I get asked a lot for exercises to tone the arms, especially the back of the arm...aka the tricep muscle. The flabby underside:) I have a workout for you that will not only target the arms but keep your heart pumping.  

Warm up:
  Spend about 5 minutes jogging, doing jumping jacks or anything that gets you moving and heart rate up.

This workout is done Tabata style.  For those not familiar with Tabata you will do 20 seconds of work followed with 10 seconds of rest for 9 rounds.  Each set is made up of 2 exercises.  You will do 20 seconds of the first exercise, rest 10 seconds, 20 seconds of the second exercise, rest 10 seconds, Repeat 9x. 

First Set

9 Rounds: 

Box Jumps and Tricep Dips

 

Second Set

9 Rounds:

Burpees and Bicep Curls 

Choose a weight that makes it challenging to finish the 20 seconds each time.  

Cool-down and stretch and you have yourself an awesome little workout that won't take you very long to finish.  

DO YOUR GOALS INSPIRE YOU????

Last week my husband signed up to do the Tough Mudder.  

If you are not familiar with this race it is pretty much for a bunch of crazy people who like to be tortured:)  The race is 10-12 miles and is full of obstacles along the way....Swim in a pool of ice water, army crawl under electrical wires, climb over walls, run throw fire...sound fun right:)? 

The cool part about this whole thing is my hubby has found a goal that actually is motivating him to exercise!!!!!  He doesn't like to exercise just to exercise.  But with his busy work schedule he doesn't have time to join a basketball league or anything like that.  

But he has now thrown down the $160 registration fee and is committed to the race.  He has since been to the gym multiple times.  We even got to workout together on Saturday.  We did an awesome workout that I will share with you soon. 

Do your goals inspire you to do the work it will take to be successful?

Do your goals excite and even scare you???

Once I get my goal figured out with all the specifics I will share with you.  Mine totally scares me!!!

Goal Setting Part 1-

Ok so it has taken me a few days to get this one typed up and posted.  The last week seemed to be crazy busy and the weekend even busier. 

I want to chat a minute about setting goals.  I will focus on setting health goals, but this can work for any kind of goal. 

I was reading a research article about goals and rewards.  It was rather lenghty so I will save you from reading it and give you the run down.  Basically we as humans are more motivated by many small rewards than by one big reward.  Even if the smaller rewards pale in comparison to the ultimate reward. 

The article also talked about how the participants were more motivated by the reward when they were able to pick a prize from two different categories than if they had to choose one prize from the two categories.  It is a more is better mentality.   

Do you agree?

I do.  Aren't we all fans of instant gratification?  

How many of you make a to-do list every day just to feel the gratification that comes from checking things off the list?

When it comes to setting goals we can use the girl or boy scout merit badges as an example...

Each skill that is passed off earns the scout a reward.  The badges can be displayed on a shirt or sash.  It is a small reward but as the badges start to fill up the shirt the progress becomes more tangible and motivates you to pass off more skills and earn more rewards.

These small steps will be the stepping stones to get you to your goal.

All too often we give up on our goals because we don't feel like we are seeing progress or the ultimate goal becomes too overwhelming.  We don't allow ourselves to be rewarded for the small changes we are making, and we downplay our successes. 

It is time to set up your own "badge" reward system. 

Instead of setting a goal like "lose weight" or "Run a Marathon" or "Fit into a size 6 dress" you are going to create much smaller goals that can be acheived in a much shorter time frame.  You are going to create a to-do list that can be checked off often (Maybe even daily).  And you are going to reward yourself for each of these items on your list.  

Here is an example-

If your goal is to lose weight your "badges" for the week could look something like this...

1. Workout five times this week.

2. Eat a healthy breakfast everyday.

3. Pack my own lunch instead of grabbing fast-food. 

4. Don't eat after 7pm 

These are all very measurable and specific goals that will help you to lose weight.

Each day you can check off the things you accomplished.  Even if you didn't get a workout in but you ate a healthy breakfast, didn't eat after 7pm and packed a homemade lunch you can still check things off your list.  And those three things you did do are going to help you reach your goal.  Don't beat yourself up for not working out for one day.  Instead focus on your successes and get your workout in the next day! 

And don't forget to reward yourself!

Today is a great time to get back on track with your health goals.

Figure out what you are going to accomplish this week and make a plan as to how you are going to earn your "badges". 

I will be back with more tomorrow!

Happy Monday:)