Get Moving- Creating an Exercise Routine That Works

I think it is obvious from reading my blog that I am passionate about food. I love food.

Therefore, it is a VERY good thing that I am also passionate about exercise. It makes me feel good- allows me to set and accomplish goals, improves my energy levels, helps me sleep better...... I just enjoy it!

Over the years, my routine has changed many times, based on what my life situation looks like. When Christopher was a baby and I worked full time, I worked out (very early) at the gym 2 or 3 mornings per week, and walked on the weekends. As Christopher got older and I quit my job, I would work out at the gym 5 days per week in the late afternoon/early evening with Wade. When I was pregnant, I walked and did exercise videos at home mostly.

After I had Nicholas, and all the dust settled, I was a solid 40 lbs overweight. (Don't you just love that?! NOT) I had spent the previous 8 weeks convincing myself that once I hit the 8 week mark, all that extra weight would just be magically gone. Yeah. That didn't happen. (Of course, that didn't have a thing to do with all of the sodas and chocolate chip banana bread I was consuming. It was the BABY that did it I tell you!)

That's when I started running. Before that, I had run a little bit, mostly to warm up for weights, or every so often with my mom. But never much and never regularly. So when I took up running, it was with a rickety baby stroller (I eventually bought a jogging stroller) and a 10 year old trailing on a bike. I had a program that started with 1 minute of running and 1 minute of walking.

So at that time, my routine was 3 days per week of running, and 3 afternoons per week at the gym (I would hit the gym before dinner when it was usually Nicholas' "fussy time"- he wouldn't fuss at the gym child care so it made the afternoons go by so much more quickly!)

Now, when you're setting up an exercise routine, here are the things I like to consider:
(This is where I give the obligatory disclaimer- I am not an exercise expert, nor am I a doctor. These are just my own opinions. Take them or leave 'em...)

Where/how are you going to exercise?
This is a really important thing to determine. You need to consider a few things. If you're going to work out from home and by yourself, are you a self-motivated person? Will you force yourself to do the workout you have planned even when you don't feel like it? Do you have ample room in your home to accommodate the workout? If you aren't a self motivated person, I would suggest doing group classes at a gym or finding some workout partners. (And, for most people, please don't tell me you can't afford the gym. There are membership sales all the time for $29/month, which is less than $7.50 a week. Think for a minute about all of the things you spend $7.50/week on. Your health is worth it.)

When will you exercise?
This, I believe, is the most critical factor to your success in setting up an exercise routine. YOU NEED TO SCHEDULE IT! Get out your calendar (You know, the one that's filled with all your kids' activities) and schedule your workouts. Put it on your calendar. Do NOT schedule other things during that time. Get used to saying these words, "I have plans during that time, perhaps x:00 would work instead." If you have a family, let them know that this is important to you. Ask for their support. Most of all, know that it is OK to take time to do something healthy for yourself. It sets an awesome example for your kids. There is not one single, solitary thing wrong with you scheduling a reasonable amount of time into your week for exercise.

What are your exercise goals?
Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to gain muscle? There are all kinds of different workout plans and classes at the gym for meeting all kinds of goals. Most gyms offer an initial consultation, that would be a good time to ask questions! Set goals and feel proud when you accomplish them!

BE REALISTIC:
If you have a tightly packed schedule, set a realistic plan for you life. If you are doing zero days of exercise per week right now, and you can schedule two days per week, that's good, great even!! That's 200% more days than what you're doing now! Look at what will work for your life. PLEASE don't set yourself up for failure by planning to work out 5 days per week when you don't have the time for that. Make a plan that you can stick to, so that you have NO excuses.

Finally, just start doing something!! Don't keep waiting for the "right time" to begin exercising! If you can start on a Wednesday, for heaven's sake, you do not need to wait for a Monday to begin! If you feel like you want to start today, go for a walk! Do some push ups or sit ups, or dust off an old work out video and pop it in the dvd player (or the vhs player, or the beta player.....) (This reminds me of a VERY unfortunate Jane Fonda pregnancy workout video I had when pregnant with Christopher... in the era of leotards and tights and leg warmers....lovely)

I have made this point before- we make time for the things that are important to us. If exercise is important to you, spend some time thinking through and creating a workable routine. Then start!!

If you do, I'd love to hear about it!! Email me or comment below!

Happy sweating!

Success on the Downhill!!

So, today I went for a bike ride with my amazing husband. (He is so cute)

 (Here we are...... I'm the one with the less hairy arm.... )


It was a beautiful morning!!!!!!

(I LOVE when you can see palm trees and snowy mountains in the same shot!)

So, something GREAT happened on the ride today!!

I descended an ENTIRE hill without hitting my brakes! (this is a big deal for me..... I have been struggling with this, you can read about it here if you didn't already: Striving Against Fear )

When I got to the bottom, I was SO excited!! I have worked on this several times in the last few weeks, and this is my first "no brake" downhill since! (A quick side note- my Brother-in-Law Mike, who is a great cyclist, once FLEW down this hill, in the pre-dawn hours, on a ride we did together. I was terrified for him, and also in awe. So it's not a ridiculous hill, but still an accomplishment for me :) )

After the ride, we came home for lunch and I made some good grub:

 Salad, spinach with turkey, tomatoes, feta, and dried cherries, and whole wheat pita bread with hummus (I made that whole wheat pita bread! I'll show you how next week!!)

And some strawberries, blueberries, and tangerines (the tangerines are from our tree!! So good!)

So, needless to say, it's been a great morning!! Enjoy your Saturday! :)

Five Minutes.... (It's JUST Five Minutes......)

So, around December/January, I started getting the itch to find a new challenge.

I like challenges, mostly ones that involve running or biking long distances.

The kind of distance that makes people say, "I don't even like to drive my car that far!" (yeah, like I haven't heard that one before....ha ha)

What I am really itching to do is a 100 miler (and when I say "really itching", I mean dying to do one), but Wade has gotten some new responsibilities at work that make me feel conflicted about committing to something that would require that many hours of training. (plus, I have this secret goal of having 10 whole toenails, all at the same time, that aren't purple. It's the little things....)

Ok, a short, (I PROMISE) quick, tiny aside....... sometimes it's hard to balance life stuff, have you noticed? Sometimes there are things I know I could "fit" into my life, (like training for a 100 miler) but I want to make sure that I am not going to neglect the most important things- the things that are already there. Like my husband, and supporting his career. And my kids, and my home. (I am going to do one though. But when I do, I'll know it's the right time and feel great about it!)

So I decided last month that, instead, I would attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon. For those of you who haven't heard of this race, the Boston Marathon is one that you have to first run another marathon under a certain time to "qualify" to sign up for and complete the race in Boston. So there's a list of other marathons that are "Boston Qualifiers" where you can run the 26.2 mile distance in the prescribed time, then sign up for Boston. My time to qualify is (or, rather, was) 3:45. Now, granted, that's not super fast for a marathon, but I am NOT a fast runner. My strength tends to be more in endurance, and that's why I gravitate more toward ultra marathons and trail running. Boston, however, would be a different kind of training than what I'm used to, and it would really be a serious challenge for me.



(that's not MY hand, by the way....come on, even my hand doesn't look that wrinkled!!)

.....then, less than a month after I decide to shoot for it, the Boston Athletic Association decides that they are going to lower all of the qualifying times by 5 minutes!!!! What??!! So now my time is 3:40. Yikes. Thanks A LOT!

Luckily, I have a good friend who is a SUPER fast runner, who knows what I need to do to train for and run my best race. (and also, he is really fun to run with, because he knows like a million Seinfeld quotes.....) So I guess soon I'm going to be diving more seriously into tempo runs, interval training, hill repeats, and the like. It should be fun. (I realize that things that seem fun to one person may not seem fun to another person. Sky diving for example, sounds AWFUL to me. So does riding a motorcycle.)

I am pretty nervous about this goal, because running fast is different then just running to finish. I could give it my all and fall short. (man, I REALLY hope that doesn't happen!!!) But I guess I won't know unless I try!!

Do you have any goals like that? Stuff that you want to do but are kind of afraid to try?? Do tell.....

So, yesterday I did my first weight lifting workout. Oh. My. Gosh. I am out of shape. I was bench pressing the bar, just the bar for heaven's sake, and I was shaking like a leaf by the 3rd set. Of course, there's all the buff dudes there so I try to act like it's no big deal, and I meant to miss the little holder thing when I was putting the barbell back and dropped half of it. Sheesh. Oh, and by the way, if you go to a different gym then the one you're used to, you should PROBABLY check the signs on the locker rooms, because even though the Women's locker room is the first one down the hall at your usual gym, it MIGHT be the SECOND one down the hall at your new gym. I'm just sayin'....(this is actually like the 4th time I've worked out there, but I was tired this morning and not paying attention....)

....I really shouldn't be allowed at the gym. I have a history of this type of dorky, ridiculous behavior. Like the time I flew off the treadmill. Or the time I fell off the Spin Class bicycle, but had my foot stuck in the pedal. Or the multiple times I have tried to do flip turns in the pool. Whatever, I am a runner, people! I can't be expected to also be graceful and aware of what locker room is where!! Ha ha!

So here's my weight routine-

• Crunches- 3 sets of 15-40 reps
• Bench Press- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Bent Over Row- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Wide- Grip Lat Pulldown- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Triceps Pushdown (rope or v-bar)- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Bicep Curl- 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Barbell Sqat- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Leg Extensions- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Lying Leg Curls- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell Lunges- 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Standing Calf Raises- 3 sets of 12-15 reps

I also did a few miles on the treadmill to warm up beforehand. I can't believe how hard it was to do some of the exercises! I'm planning on doing this workout 3 times per week for the month of March and then seeing if I like the results. Considering I can only do one push up, and zero pull ups, I have nowhere to go but up!! :)

Have a great day!! (and don't go flying off any treadmills.......)

Dinner Tonight:
~Baked Potato Soup(I don't do the bacon, and use 2% milk and light sour cream) (the boys eat Bacos on theirs. Ugh!! Bacos are so gross!!)
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Baked-Potato-Soup-3
~Salad
~Orange Slices

Homemade Energy Bars

Around our house, these are called "Candice Bars" because my friend Candice was the one who showed me this recipe :)

I started looking for a homemade energy bar recipe when I was doing more intense training for a race, because store bought bars are REALLY expensive. Also, Wade likes taking a bar for breakfast every day, and both of my boys like them for snacks.

Here's what you need to make them:

Rolled oats (old fashioned regular oatmeal), Rice Krispies, dry roasted peanuts, dry roasted sunflower seeds, dried fruit (I used dried cranberries and golden raisins, but you can use whatever you like/have), wheat germ (optional, but good), peanut butter (I use creamy because I think crunchy is gross), brown sugar, vanilla, and honey

First, you want to get a large mixing bowl, and put in 2 cups of rolled oats, 2 cups of Rice Krispies, 2 cups of dried fruit (I only use about 1- 1 1/2 cups), 1/2 cup peanuts, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, and 1/4 cup wheat germ:

See how many good, healthy, yummy ingredients are in these suckers??

Then you want to mix it all up- I used my big spoonula, or you could use a spatula or your hands:

Next, you need to make the topping. Now, you have two options- I use double the topping ingredients, and the bars are more like a cliff bar- all of the ingredients are coated with the topping. Or you can use the regular amount, and it's a little more like a chewy granola bar. Your choice.

So in a microwave-safe bowl, you'll put either 1/2 cup (for the chewy granola bar-type bars) or a full cup (for the cliff bar-type bars) of each; peanut butter, brown sugar, and honey:

Microwave it for 1 minute, then stir, then microwave for another minute. Then add the 1 tsp of vanilla, and stir until smooth:

Then you want to pour the topping into the dry ingredients, and mix it until it's all evenly coated:

Then dump it all into a 9x13 pan that you've lightly coated with Pam spray and push it all in so it's even and packed into the pan:

At this point, what I like to do it throw some foil on top and stick the pan in the fridge for an hour or so. This makes the bars easier to cut and to wrap. (I like to wrap mine individually in saran wrap because I think snacks that are easier to grab and go are more likely to be consumed )

Ok, so while the bars are chilling, let me tell you what I've been thinking about. My workout routine. So below is my current routine:

Monday-rest
Tuesday- swim
Wednesday- trail run
Thursday- bike, and usually afternoon tempo run
Friday- road run
Saturday- long bike
Sunday- long run

I'm thinking about adding a weight lifting workout 3 times per week (and maybe dropping the swim. Oh how I would love to drop the swim), so I've got to look at my schedule and see where I can fit that in. I found an awesome full body weight lifting routine, and a great app on my phone (I have a Droid X- love it!) where you can enter your weight routine and then keep track of your reps and sets. My thinking is that I will add this routine 3 times/week for the month of March, and then evaluate at the end of the month whether it's something to do for April. (if I look all buff and awesome by April, I'm TOTALLY keeping it! hahahaha!!) After I do the workout a few times, if I like it, I'll post it here so you can try it too if you want. :)

(we now return to our previously scheduled program..........)

So then I cut the bars (I make 16 per batch) and wrap each in a square of saran wrap (or you could put them in sandwich-sized ziploc bags):

I like to store them in the fridge in a plastic container. They are great for biking or hiking, good for lunch box snacks, and nice to have on hand for a quick, easy breakfast! :)

I LOVE when I can find ways to make things we would normally buy at the store at home. They usually taste better, save money, and you can make them how you like them! :)

Dinner Tonight-
~Chicken, Cashew, and Red Pepper Stir Fry (from Cooking Light Magazine)
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001886437
~Brown Rice (steamed in a rice cooker)
~Tangerines

Question:
Do you work out? If so, what is your usual routine? If not, what would you like to do?