Turkey Trot Challenge

Gobble Gobble!

My workout challenge to you this week is to complete your own turkey trot race and post your time or your turkey trot workout on face book or leave a comment on here.  If you are having trouble coming up with the distance then follow the below.

Run/Walk your fastest two miles and post. 

Circuit Training



Modifed burpees! YAY!



Circuit Training is a workout routine that combines cardiovascular fitness and resistance training. It was first proposed in the late 1950s as a method to develop general fitness. The initial routines were arranged in a circle, alternating between different muscle groups (hence the name circuit training).

Depending on your current fitness level or the amount of time you have, do the following exercises one after the next with as little rest as possible. 

1. Squat Jumps
2. Push ups
3. Walking Lunges
4. Plank
5. Burpees
6. Chair/floor dips
7. Mt. Climbers
8. Superman
9. Crab Crawl (forward and back)
10. Rest 90 seconds and then...REPEAT :-)

 ***Look at Google image for pictures of exercises***

How to modify:

1. Squat Jumps – Don’t jump…just squat
2. Push ups – Do from the knees
3. Alternate forward lunges
4. Plank –take breaks by putting knees down
5. Burpees – Same great move but with NO jumping
6. Tricep dips – I recommend coming from a chair and taking breaks
7. Mt. Climbers – Don’t jump, rather walk feet up and back
8. Superman – Keep closer to head
9. Crab crawl – take breaks when needed

Depending on your fitness level, I would start out with 30 seconds or about 15 reps for each exercise.  If you are a beginner only go through once.  Intermediate, twice.  Advance three to four times through.  As you improve, start doing each exercise for 45 seconds working your way up to one minute. 

Tricep dips!  Double Yay!!

'Tis the Season for Eating!

I found a humorous Holiday Eating Tips online and giggled to myself until I started to think about how this is what truly goes on!  I thought I would start this blog post by sharing three funny, yet true tips with you.

1. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog
2. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
3. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

The eight week stretch from Halloween to New Years that is filled with more social gatherings, parties, and food than any other time of the year.  Each year we know it is coming...yet have we planned out how we are going to handle temptations?  I'm not saying, don't enjoy yourself, but make sure what you are putting in that mouth is truly worth it.  Pick and choose what you really want.  Many of us are on a weight loss plan or want to maintain our current weight...therefore we need to be picky when it comes to holiday gatherings. 

The Research:
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/holidayweightgain.cfm

Results:
When 165 of the study volunteers were weighed a year after the study began, they had not lost the extra weight gained during the holidays, and ended the year a pound and a half heavier (1.4 lb) than they were the year before.  The volunteers gained just over a pound (1.05 lb) by late February or early March. Most of that weight gain (0.8 lb) occurred during the six-week interval between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

"The good news is that people don't gain as much weight as we thought during the holidays. The bad news is that weight gained over the winter holidays isn't lost during the rest of the year." -Dr. Yanovski.

Good News:
The finding that study volunteers reporting more physical activity had less holiday weight gain suggests that increasing physical activity may be an effective method for preventing weight gain during this high-risk time.

Tips:
I worked with a registered dietitian (Sandra Koulourides M.S., R.D.) once who gave me some great tips when it came to sticking to my clean eating over the holidays.  I've added a few of my own but feel free to share what works for you! 

1. Don’t ever go to a party/dinner/social gathering hungry.
2. Limit your calories from alcohol. They can add up and they are not filling. Stick with wine, light beer, or hard liquor mixed with something non-caloric.
3. At parties, choose lean meats, fruits, veggies, nuts.
4. Avoid anything fried, crackers and cheese, chips and dip, pastry items, desserts, creamy drinks.
5. When you choose to indulge, do so in moderation, and make sure it is worth it.
6. Continue your clean eating throughout the day as much as possible.
7. Try drinking water before you eat anything.
8. After you eat, put a sugar-free mint in your mouth or a piece of gum...don't take it out. 
9. Don’t slack on your exercise. Get your cardio and muscle in every week. (Buy a DVD to do so you can't use the weather as an excuse)!
10. I'll be posting a no equipment necessary 10-20 minute work out. It is perfect when you are in a time crunch so you can't use time as an excuse. 

So much of how we choose to eat is between the ears (your mind).  Don't let your mind tell you it is ok to pig out..you'll get on track after the holidays are over because as the research shows...the pounds add up year after year.