Burn, Baby, Burn

Hey there! Happy Friday 😀

Thanks for all the non-pb breakfast ideas! Sounds like I need to go get some eggs! I used my last one in a batch of waffles the other day 😉

Wanna know something funny about Niko?

 

 

Whenever Shane or I sit down to eat, she knows it’s meal time. As soon as the form hits our mouth, she walks over to our bowl and starts chowin’ down too.

 

 

 

The little weirdo can never just eat at her bowl, though. Oh no. She has to bring it over to a rug and only then will she begin to actually eat it.

 

            

And sometimes, she’ll actually bring the food pebbles over to whoever’s eating and set it on our feet.

 

 

WTF, dog?

 

 

I never claimed she was a normal dog. 😉

Pet owners: do your pets have any weird/quirky eating habits?

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This morning I had to wake up super early for an early morning client. Before leaving the house, I had my favorite “light breakfast”

 

A banana, chopped, topped with a little drizzle on honey and then about a tbsp of raw wheat germ.

 

Perfect amount of carbs, fat, and protein to getcha goin’.

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Burn Baby, Burn: Legs and Back Circuit Workout

I had to have a little something on my stomach, because after training my client, I trained myself! I completed a 45 minute circuit workout that focuses on legs and back. It was killa! I’d love to share!

Complete the workout circuit-style, going from one exercise to the next. Complete the circuit three times. Before trying this workout or beginning any workout program, please consult with your doctor first.

Warm up: 5 minutes light cardio

leg warm up: walking lunges—> 10 down, 10 back

1. Step ups w/ 10 lb dumbbells

2. Lat pull down

3. Back extension w/ 10 lb. plate

4. Bulgarian Split squat w/ 10 lb. dumbbells

5. Single point dumbbell row w/ 15 lb. dumbbells

6. Single leg stiff leg dead lift w/ 25-35 lb. dumbbell

7. Dumbbell dead lift w/ 25-30 lb. dumbbells

8. Rear delt fly w/ 5-8 lb. dumbbells

Cool down: 5 minutes light cardio

Afterward, I had a bit more time, so I completed about 25 minutes on the elliptical before peacing out to grab some breakfast before my next client coming up.

 

A cherry-vanilla protein smoothie was just what I needed!

1 frozen banana, 10 frozen cherries, 1 c. almond milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 scoop vanilla pp, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 tbsp flaxmeal

 

Topped with some brown rice crispies (newest obsession, btw!!!) and some granola.

Then I decided some healthy fats were also in order.

 

Perfecto!

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Gotta go train the next client! Have a delightful Friday, all!!

A Delusional Lazy Sunday Morning

On many a Sunday, I wake up wanting nothing more than a lazy Sunday in bed. Ironically (or due to, I’m not really sure) my long run day is also on Sunday.

Yesterday was no different. I woke up and didn’t want to leave the bed. I wanted to read and watch HGTV while eating my breakfast.

So I pretended:

 

 

 

and ate my pre-run coffee and pre-run breakfast (banana + carb + nut butter = pre-run breakfast) nestled under the covers, book in hand and HGTV on the screen. Ahhh.

And then it was 8:15, and I came back to reality. I needed to run 10 miles, and it would take a good hour and a half. Better get out there. Out there, in the blowing, cold 37 degree morning. Yipe!

So I went from breakfast in bed to ready to run:

 

 

 

And I was off…

Usually on long runs I think, “where did the miles go?!” However, on this particular 10 miler, I felt every minute of every mile. Not to say it was a bad run at all, it just didn’t fly by like it usually does.

Around mile 7, I was more than happy to take a quick pause, stretch, and down some pure honey to boost up my glycogen stores:

 

 

I just put the honey in a zip lock, and then tore a hole in the corner with my teeth to get to the honey…graceful woman that I am. 😉

And then finally, I was on the last mile…and then done!

 

 

 

10 miles down!

I try to stick with somewhat of a routine on long run days, and after running yesterday, per the routine, I immediately shed my gear and grabbed a coconut water:

 

 

 

And then showered (I was freeeeezing!) clothed, and made the usual post long-run fuelage.

 

after I took a picture of my (third day of Vita-Mix meals) breakfast, I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 11:00 a.m! This meant there was still hope – I had an hour left of the morning!

     

 

Maybe a lazy Sunday morning isn’t such a delusion after all 😉

 

 

 

I only have four long runs left in this running season. My last race of the year is on November 6th, and I gotta admit, I don’t feel too upset about that right now. I’m actually ready to start cross training, lifting more, taking more classes, and beginning a workout DVD! Oh and having a real lazy Sunday in bed 😉

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Well I’m off to train a client and then head to the other job! Have a terrific Tuesday, all!

How often do you have a “lazy morning” on the weekends – one where you lay around and watch tv/read just for pure relaxation for hours on end? My answer? Not nearly enough 😉

My second question is for purely selfish reasons: What do you look for in a gym beyond the equipment and classes? I want to offer my clients and the members of the gym I work at something in addition to the facility. To come up with ideas, I put myself in the members’ shoes and came up with ideas that range from a weekly “healthy living newsletter” to a Biggest Loser competition, but I’d love to get your input, too! Seems like you guys always have ideas to offer in the comments that I hadn’t thought of in regards to my posts in general. I really do appreciate any input 😀

A Five Star Restaurant at Home

Good morning friends! Sorry I left ya hangin’ in the dust yesterday. Had a little mix up in plans and it ended up being a very busy Sunday all day long! Actually, life in general is busy lately. No seriously, there is at least one occurrence every week where I’ve double or triple booked myself…it’s impossible not to!

My oh my was this weekend a good one! After the race, I got to hang out with my parents for a while, and then came back home to try and get some work done.

First, post-race fuel.

 

 

I’m going to maintain that smoothies make the best fuel after a hard workout. A. lots o nutrients. B. the food is all ready in liquid form – one less step for the bod! 🙂

But this post-race smoothie had a guest star: Attune granola!

 

 

My friend, Annelies of Attune, whom I met at the Healthy Living Summit, offered to send me some of their Probiotic granola, and I had to try out the maple flavor.

Probiotics!

 

 

ingredients.

 

The most important part – taste!

 

THIS IS AMAZING. Amazing! Perfectly crunchy and has little yogurt like chips dispersed throughout the crunch. Very sweet. Actually, if I had to call out  one con it might be that it’s a wee bit too sweet. but then again, I like to have a sweet granola on hand.

 

 

The flavor goes perfectly with pumpkin pie smoothies 😀

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After smoothie-ing and working for just a minute, Shane and I ran some errands. We felt like having a date night, but since the week was a big spending week, we didn’t really want to go out and spend money on an expensive dinner. So instead, we turned our kitchen into a five star restaurant!

For fun, we tried out a couple pumpkin beers to start:

 

 

Woodchuck pumpkin beer?! Could it be?!

 

     

Put your spirit(s) to the test 😉

Unfortunately, neither of them wowed me. I’ll stick with O’fallon this season. Though I’ve heard Schafly is good too?

I started dinner, which was this fusilli with eggplant and goat cheese. While dinner cooked, we played Uno!

 

 

After sticking a bottle of Pinot Noir in the fridge for about 20 minutes, it was perfect temp and we added a little Vino! to our Uno!

 

 

And some appies:

 

When dinner was ready, we put the apps and Uno aside, but kept the pinot along for company;)

 

 

Whole wheat fusilli with eggplant, portabella, and goat cheese, with a side of roasted asparagus.

 

 

Bad lighting, great food.

 

 

We finished it off with some decaf organic coffee and True Blood ( I am LOVING True Blood!!!) and called it a night. TFFD! (Too full for dessert)

What an indulgent night! It felt like a full out fancy date night, but I never left my sweats. Best of both worlds 😀

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How was your weekend? What was the most indulgent thing you did or ate?

 

Have a good Monday, everyone!!