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:)