white christmas

Merry, Happy and Shalom!

So I arrived in the Great White North to a wintery wonderland that froze me to the bone but made The Son incredibly happy and that's what counts!

For running outside it's tough. I got in a good day on Wednesday, it warmed up to a blistering 35-40 degrees and was sunny. It was clear but windy, after a few blocks I was warmed up enough but it's super strange to breath in icy cold air.

I went to the Y in Westboro today to meet up with my friend Karen. They have a really nice facility with an indoor track which was WAY nicer than running outside in the frigidity.

Unfortunately the days are flying by and we leave soon to head back home. I'll be happy to get back but it's always too short a visit, we never seem to be able to get in everything we want to but things have been nice.

Off for another visit.

more later,

martha

hills and holidays

Well I finally shook the bronchitis, it's gone, all the way, it only took about 2 weeks but it's gone.

I got back to normal running over the course of last week after a few days of serious lung burn and today I switched up my route and took a huge hill that a friend had recommended, it was a serious ass burner but luckily levels out at just the right time.

I found a few interesting articles that I thought I would share. Here are the links:

Double Your Strength by Slowing Down

14 Natural Remedies

Beyond Guacamole

New Study Ties Hormone Treatments to Breast Cancer

I'm hoping, that this week I can start adding some resistance training back into my routine, that bout of illness really threw me off and I can feel a potential backslide coming on which I really want to nip in the bud immediately. I also need to get back into my yoga groove. The Baby has been getting up earlier and so that threw off my morning stretch ad I have been studying for a project in the evening which has been throwing that off. I need to regroup and reconfigure in order to get it back to regular I think.

Last Friday I made Christmas tamales with friends. This is a Costa Rican tradition. Basically, you get together with your family and make a mountain of tamales and then give them out to your neighbors and friends, they are really delicious and filled with tons of fat and a chunk of pork with veggies and rice and fat, did I mention they have a lot of fat and they are delicious?

I'll be running off tamales for the next couple of week for sure.

more later...

martha

cough, cough, brrr

My friend didn't bring me the magical cough syrup because the guy at the macrobiotico 

(natural remedies store) said that since I am still nursing the herbs would upset the baby's stomach. This prompted me to go to the doctor because I was miserable and low and

behold I have bronchitis. They took blood and x-rays and gave me a shot in the arse. I feel much better now, I have been on medication for 4 days or so. 

I went running this morning and had to walk a 1/4 of the way because my lungs just couldn't keep up. Little by little I guess, until I'm fully healed, but I'll tell you it was nice to get out there. Not exercising for a week is hard and I wasn't sure how hard it would be to get going again. 

In about 2 weeks we head to the Great White (or More Likely Just Terribly Cold) North for holiday cheer, drama and food. I am excited to see the family but it's hard to go be inside for a week. I'm hoping it's dry so I can still go out and run, there is a really nice park near the parents house. It will look like one of these pictures while we are there and in the Northeast you never can tell which it will be, their weather is totally schizophrenic.

I haven't run in cold weather before so I have been dorking out on runners websites looking into what I need to know. Basically it's the same as running in the tropics but with more layers. For example, drink lots of water, use sunblock, don't try to add miles or speed when getting acclimated. I just need to wear tights or long-johns under my shorts I think. I think it won't be too bad if it's dry. 

If it's wet, well, we'll see...

martha

cough, cough and protein

I have been totally sick with some kind of respiratory annoyance for the past few days. I think it is getting better, a friend is going to get me some natural herbal cough syrup that she swears by so I am hopeful to be out running in the morning. 

So that's the cough, cough, now onto Protein.

I only eat seafood and fish but lately am concerned that I am not getting enough protein for the amount of exercise I am doing. I have been tracking my nutrition with my GYMINEE account and have definitely been low on the protein numbers, like, less than half of what I should be getting which is really not to great, especially since protein is essential to build and repair muscle tissue. Protein allows muscles to contract, gain in size, and increase in strength and if you aren't getting enough protein your body takes it from your muscles leading to muscle loss. 

Of course now I am monitoring it more closely so I am going to try a few things to boost it before I make any major changes to my diet, like eating meat. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike meat, I am not really morally opposed to eating meat, I do think the food industry tries to poison us, especially with meat.  I really think it is every person's decision to make on their own. I just go through phases where it honestly, kind of grosses me out. I also have a lot of animals including a pig and lots of chickens so I do feel like a traitor eating them.

What are the options? Well, I could just start eating lean, low fat meats like chicken again and the occasional beef. I could eat more vegetable and fish based protein like tofu and tuna or I could supplement with protein powder. 

Pros and cons.

I don't really want to eat meat so that is pretty much last on my list of options. I did have 

a little bit of turkey last week but I don't really want to make it a regular thing. Last time I got back on the meat wagon it made me pretty sick for a few days and I think the larger expenditure of energy needed to digest meat could be spent doing other things, like running really fast. However, eating some meat would be the more natural, whole food way of getting more protein regularly sooner.

Upping my vegetable and fish based high protein foods would be relatively easy, a handful of garbanzos here, an extra fillet there, should be a no brainer, right? Yes, it should but occasionally, like right now I am kind of sick of everything I eat and am not feeling very creative in the kitchen, maybe that's why the meat thoughts are creeping in?

Whey protein powders are probably the most common supplements being used now. I have read a bit about these and others, there are egg protein powders, soy, and some other stuff. Apparently whey isolate is the best. This stuff is also really expensive and apparently tastes like crap. There are also noted side effects like gas, bloating, and diarrhea, three things I usually try to avoid. Okay, now protein supplements are last on the list.

more later

martha

REVIEW!!!!Total Body Workout

This DVD has been around for a while but I felt it was worth a mention.Tom Holland's Total Body Workout is a great strength training workout that includes cardio and abs. This workout requires hand weights, lots of squats and lunges and other old school moves.

Here's a sample from the workout:
Warm-up-1 minute
Light Stretches

Cardio Interval-30 seconds

Squats-15 reps
Alternating Biceps Curl-12 reps each arm

Plie Squats-15 reps

Alternating Biceps Curl-12 reps each arm
Toe-In Squats -15 reps

Cardio Interval-30 seconds

Crunches-15 reps
Pushups-10 reps
Overhead Shoulder Presses-12 reps

Static Lunges-10 reps each leg
Overhead Shoulder Presses-12 reps
Cardio Interval-30 seconds

It's a really simple set-up with Tom Holland talking you through a traditional progression of resistance training moves in real-time. Tom makes a point of explaining that the video is shot in real-time with no edits, meaning, he is really working out with you. If you like doing DVD workouts at home then you need this one in your library, it's a keeper, I revisit it regularly.

I do have to admit that there is something about this video that makes me laugh until about the 15 minute mark, I don't know if it's the scene/angle choices or Tom Holland's delivery but in the beginning I could hardly stay focused but after a few minutes I was totally into it.

For more information about Tom Holland and his training services, radio shows, etc. CLICK HERE.

To purchase Tom Holland's Total Body Workout CLICK HERE.

More after turkey tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

martha

run, run, run

I know it's better not to quantify workouts as good or bad but I had a GREAT run this morning.
I haven't been able to run for a couple of days because The Son has tonsillitis and The Husband has been out of town so I was really happy to get out on the road this morning. I seriously felt like I could have run for hours. It wasn't too hot or windy this morning and there wasn't much traffic.I was able to get in a few extra hills which will be good for the Fun Run since it's in a part of town which is ALL hills. Perhaps it's time to add some more distance onto my run, I've been pretty conservative about this because I didn't want to hurt myself. Maybe now is the time.

Also, I have a few REVIEWS of DVDs and online fitness communities posting soon.

more later,
martha

holidaze

I seriously have no idea where time is going right now. For the past week, at least, I have felt somewhat disconnected and a little scatter brained. Perhaps it's the holidays rushing to meet me, maybe it's the seasons changing here, could be some kind of breast feeding hormonal thing, I really don't know but it's starting to annoy me.

So what to do? Tomorrow I am going to calendar the next month, get things back on track or at least make myself feel that they are. I think I will be really happy when the month long holiday break kicks in for The Son. A full reset will do the body/mind good.

Regardless of my molasses brain this week I have been working pretty hard at keeping up the workout schedule/physical activities. This past week was a little slow but all in all it's become a regular part of life. I run almost everyday, on off days I totally miss it and look forward to it. 

As part of my calendar I'm going to update my workout schedule. I am feeling a bit plateaued and think I need to mix it up. I also need to get more yoga happening again. 

Okay so I'm rambling a bit but here are some links to articles about SUPER FOODS:

Super Healing Foods Index

What Makes Super Foods, Super?

Veggies A-Z

All for now, let's hope that after my little mental pring cleaning tomorrow I can get things back on track.
xoxo
martha

beef and booze and presents! oh my!

I've been thinking about food a lot lately because of Thanksgiving and Christmas being so close. In reflecting on the holidays I have been trying to strategize how to make it thorough this season without:

1. gaining back all the weight I've lost, and never getting rid of it

2. having a heart attack

3. setting myself up for cancer,  or cancer,  or cancer

Yes, I know this sounds dramatic but seriously, how totally bad for you is meat. I don't eat meat anymore, I have fish and seafood pretty regularly. I don't dislike meat, or at least I used to like meat, now, honestly, the idea of it makes me a bit queazy. 

My family, who I will be spending Christmas dinner with, eats meat, to me they eat a lot of meat. For Christmas we have a giant beef roast with Yorkshire Pudding and gravy and all sorts of creamed vegetables, it's a veritable feast of butter and cream and it's all super yummy and super bad for you. 

This year I am bringing 2 veggie dishes to share and even though it's cooked in the smoking hot beef fat from the pan I WILL eat some Yorkshire pudding because it is heavenly.

However, as it is perpetually winter where they live and they aren't gym goers I have been, as I said earlier, strategizing. 

How to get the best and avoid the worst at the Christmas feast without going off the deep end?

1. Make a plan, think about your schedule for the holidays. Establish times when you can get in some exercise, even if it's just for a few minutes.

2. Eat before you go to a party or dinner, even a small snack like an apple can keep you from going overboard with the rich foods.

3. At holiday functions look for the healthy snacks first. I know in my family there is always a tray of celery and carrots hiding somewhere behind a cheese ball and dips.

4. Remember that alcoholic drinks usually have a lot of calories, 2 or 3 drinks can equal a meal so go slow on the booze.

5. If traveling to a different town for the holidays, find out what gyms are around your destination and what there holiday schedule is. All gyms will sell you a day or weekly rate. 

6. If staying at a hotel make sure to book one with a gym, most hotels have some kind f fitness center or discounts at gyms nearby. Call ahead and ask.

7. Make sure you get enough sleep. Lack of sleep encourages poor metabolism, get 8 hours whenever possible.

8. Register on any of the fitness websites that have downloadable, printable or streaming workout videos on their websites. Self, Fitness and Women's Health all do. These are great because you can take the workouts with you. There are plenty that don't require equipment so you can get in some activity without too much effort.

9. Don't stress. When feeling taxed by all the running around, shopping, eating, drinking, whatever, just take a deep breath and relax.

10. Enjoy yourself! The holidays don't last very long, so have some fun. It's as good for you as working out.

xoxo

martha

true love

I love chocolate! There I said it, I admit it freely. If there is one food on the planet that I never tire of it's chocolate. I don't really like candy, cookies or cakes, they are okay but chocolate, I truly enjoy. 

So how bad is chocolate really. I remember hearing as a teenager that chocolate gave you zits, which is either untrue or I am now immune to this side-effect because I eat chocolate as often as possible and don't have acne.

It often has a lot of calories for the size of the enjoyment. The bag of Hershey chocolate chips I have in the freezer says that a smidgen 1 Tbsp of chips has 70 calories. It doesn't sound like much until you think about how many chocolate chips are in a tablespoon. I checked, there are about 20. Not a lot when you get a nagging craving for chocolate.

The truth is that chocolate is good for you. Cocoa contains flavonoids which have been shown to prevent heart disease and cancer. However, many of the chocolate products

like candy bars or hot chocolate have been adulterated with alkali (Dutch chocolate) or toms of fats and sugars to boost the flavor and richness. To really get the antioxidant benefits of chocolate you need to choose dark chocolate with a higher cocoa level. And forget about Milk or white chocolate, these don't have the same effect on the body and they are much higher in fat and calories.

Here are a few links to articles that discuss the benefits of dark chocolate:

Is Chocolate Good For You?

Dark Chocolate is Healthy Chocolate

Chocolate Can Do Good Things for Your Heart, Skin and Brains

Remember, even though chocolate has some pretty great health benefit, everything in moderation, especially during the upcoming holidays which always seem to involve a lot of chocolate.

enjoy!

martha

new annex addition

I've posted an update to the Snack Pack Annex   (CLICK HERE) that I started last month. This month has information about stretching, focusing on Self Myofascial Release (SMR). 

If you aren't familiar with SMR then I recommend that you definitely check it out. It is an aspect of flexibility training which can really take you help you in your fitness training or general exercise.

It is a form of soft tissue therapy that incorporates self massage using a foam roller. The process involves a gentle application of pressure to adhesions or "knots" and applying the pressure for a minimum of 20 to 30 seconds. This will stimulate neural activity which will help restore the body to optimum functioning.

SMR can be used pre-warm up or as part of your cool-down.

more later...

martha

weekend round up and recipe

I had a nice run this morning, managed to fit in the Warriors and Goddesses workout and played some basketball with my son. 

This week should be pretty hectic, it's getting closer to the holidays so there is a lot happening of course. This also means lots of eating yummy foods which are totally NOT on the regular diet list and this brings us to today's recipe. 

I will tell you right now this is not a healthy treat if by healthy you mean low in fat. It is made with whole ingredients and by whole I mean BUTTER! No margarine or oil here, I guess you could try to make substitutions but really who wants to do that. 

So here it is, a delicious holiday cookie from Vegetarian Times.

Pistachio-Cherry Sandwich Cookie

1.5 cups shelled pistachios

2 sticks butter, unsalted, softened

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tbs. lemon juice

3 cups al purpose flour

2 tsp. grated lemon zest

.5 tsp. baking powder

.25 tsp. salt

1.25 cups cherry preserves

1. Process pistachios in food processor until finely ground, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar in food processor until fluffy. add egg, lemon juice and pulse until combined. Scrape down sides. Add pistachios, flour, lemon zest, baking powder and salt. Pulse until dough clumps together, about 15 seconds. Divide dough into 2 disks, wrap in plastic and put in refrigerator for an hour or until firm.

3. Preheat oven to 350. Roll out 1 disk on lightly floured parchment until about 1/8 of an inch think. **Transfer parchment with dough to a cookie sheet and place into freezer for about 5 minutes to firm up.

4. Cut out cookies with a 2 inch cutter and place onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Place cookies 1 inch apart. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

5. Spread ***1 tsp. preserves on to half of cookies and top with remaining cookies.

NOTES

** I skipped the step of putting the dough in the freezer, my freezer simply isn't big enough. I chilled the dough as disks for about 1.5 hours and worked quickly to roll it and cut it, so it's really up to you if you want to skip this step.

*** I used less than an entire teaspoon of preserves per cookie. I also used just a tiny bit of water to thin the preserves before I filled the cookies.

enjoy!

martha

p.s. Camille, you should be getting some of these tomorrow so watch out!

i've been a bad blogger

Yes I have, I haven't been posting lately and it's for no other reason than forgetting. I got all caught up in the election !!Woohoo Obama!! and with my 1.5 week internet outage I got out of the habit. 

Which is just what can happen when you take a break from exercising. You skip a few days because you get side tracked or have to travel or any other reason/excuse we put on there and BOOM! the next thing you know it's been a month and 5-10-maybe even 15 lbs. have just appeared on your hips and you're left standing there asking yourself what happened. 

Well if you have lived this sort of scenario you know what comes next, hard work to get caught up and back on track, so that's what's happening here. I have a few posts I'm working on, a couple of SUPER yummy recipes, some fun free workouts, a DVD review, and pictures. 

I keep saying it, I know, but really I have pictures!

So hang in there with me, I will be swinging through again to post again later today, tell your friends, your co-workers, yell it from the rooftops!

THE SNACK PACK IS BACK!

xoxo

martha

expanded snack pack

Click HERE for a new annex of The Snack Pack. 

This will be updated regularly if there is interest.

Let me know your thoughts.

xoxo

martha

2 more races in CR

November 20, 2008 (Thursday)

La Transtica
San Jose, Costa Rica 2:00PM San Jose, Aptado 6745 (Between two oceans, the unique crossing of a paradise on fire earth)
Contact: Authentic tour (Company), Aptado 6745, Curridabat, Costa Rica, 01000. 0-506-253-2183 vincent@authentictour.com

January 31, 2009 (Saturday)

The Costal Challenge
San Jose, Costa Rica 6:00AM San Jose, Costa Rica, Best Western Irazu (Expedition run thru remote regions of Costa Rica, Gravel roads/mountain trails)
Contact: The Coastal Challenge, 30 Louis Street, Trumbull, CT, USA, 06611. 1-203-353-1608 info@thecoastalchallenge.com

race in the clouds

Here's another race listing:

Running Event: 10k
Maximum Participants:  101 - 250

Date, Time and Location

Start Date:  Saturday, February 14, 2009
Start Time:  9:00 am
Location: 
Centro de Educacion Creativa
Apartado 23-5655
Monteverde

Contact Information

Web Site: http://www.cloudforestschool.org/support_us/scholarships.htm
Additional Comments:  The Cloud Forest School will host its third annual 10K Race to raise money for its school scholarship program this year. The route passes through the scenic mountain roads of Monteverde, on the edge of the Cloud Forest. It is the only 10K in Costa Rica that crosses the Continental Divide. Although we make every effort to keep tuition as low as possible, 65% of our students still receive scholarship assistance because of family need. Please consider taking part in this beautiful run for a good cause! 
Contact Name:  Jennifer Cordeau
Phone Number:  011-506-2645-5161
Email:  support@cloudforestschool.org

finally back online

It seems like it's been a month since I was able to get online. For some unknown reason we had no internet at my house for the past week and a half but now we're back.

So in the last couple of weeks I've been pretty busy. Making sure to get a run in most days. I hit the big mark last week. 5K!!! That's 3.1 miles to all you Gringos out there.

Speaking of running, I have gotten a couple of posts and emails from people looking for races here in Costa Rica. I am looking into whether or not there is a central listing of races and will post more info about this soon.

I do know that the Costa Rica International Marathon will be on December 7. The contact email for this is maraintercostarica@hotmail.com contact person is Guillermo  Saenz.

Workouts! The Warriors and Goddesses Workout that I mentioned before my internet blackout is good, it's hard. It's pretty old fashioned but I like that, there's a reason certain exercises are always included in workouts or recommended by trainers and athletes and this one is chock full of them. Biceps curls, push-ups, crunches, over head shoulder presses. I really suggest that you email Ray Salomone and request a copy, he will gladly answer any questions you might have and this is definitely a good one to keep on file and in your rotation.

I'll post more later but right now it's family dinner time.

xoxo

martha

super quick

I have no internet at my house, for no apparent reason so I am in a cafe posting this super fast.

1. Warrior and Goddesses workout is killer!

2. I hit the 5 k mark with my running.

3. Summer is totally starting in Costa Rica

All for now, hope to have connectivity at home again so I get back to real posting.

xoxo

martha

quick update

Just 2 quick items to start the week.

I did my first Warriors and Goddesses workout today, it was good, definitely hard and I think I should sleep well tonight.

Also, here's a pretty cool site called Jog Tunes which allows you to search for workout music based on the beats per minute. You select and download the music from the iTunes store. 

They also have a podcast that you can download for free HERE. The music for the podcast is really diverse which is nice, I know I get sick of my songs after a while, even on shuffle.

enjoy.

martha

sunday round-up

Click links for full articles.

Apparently kids in the US aren't getting enough milk or sunshine:

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says it will double its recommended minimum intake of vitamin D for infants, children and teens, from 200 international units (IU) to 400 IU per day.

Obese people can't get no satisfaction:

New research has found that the taste of food produced less of a pleasureable sensation in the brains of those who are obese and that they may have to eat more to compensate.

Homemade pretzels are yummy, quick and easy:

ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

Apparently poop from gut bacteria helps decide whether we are lean or fat, yuck!

A single molecule in the intestinal wall, activated by the waste products from gut bacteria, plays a large role in controlling whether the host animals are lean or fatty, a research team, including scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center, has found in a mouse study.

enjoy!
martha

happy sunday

I decided to take the day off. Usually this is my yoga day and I did a really incredible short session this morning but I'm not going to my class today. I felt the need to re-adjust my week and have Sunday be a rest day.

I have a new challenge for the next 8 weeks. It called the Warriors and Goddesses Workout Plan and it was created by Ray Salomone who is a personal trainer in NY.  He gives this workout away for free, all you have to do is email him. It seems like a good well rounded program. It's made up of 3 cycles or circuits, each one has about 6 exercises. He encourages a healthy diet, preferably Mediterranean, and to include adequate cardio on the days you don't strength train. My cardio will be running 5 days and a couple of classes at the gym.

Tomorrow I am hoping to post update pictures since it has been a long time. I recommend emailing Rick and getting a copy of his workout, you need hand weights but that's it, here's the address: ray@grecoromanwellness.com

enjoy!

martha

sunshine came softly

Through my window today...

YES! 

The rain finally broke! I hit the road running at 7 this morning, fully expecting to make it about a quarter of my usual route and be forced to stop from having missed about 5 days because of the weather. I have been keeping up on cardio and strength but I was afraid it wouldn't be enough to make the run comfortable again.

Well I made it the entire way, even with the little extra I added on last week in order to push through to the 3 miles mark.

It felt great, it was definitely hard, not running for almost a week had an effect but nothing near what I was expecting. Hopefully we will have clear mornings for a while. 

more later...

martha

mental barriers block obese women from exercise

According to a study being conducted by Temple University, a major factor contributing to obese women's inability to or lack of exercise are mental barriers. When asked to fill out a questionnaire throughout the study period they gave the following reasons for not exercising:

Feeling self-conscious

Not wanting to fail

Fear of injury

Perceived poor health

Having minor aches and pains

Feeling too overweight to exercise

This is something for everyone to think about. I have a few people who are very close to me who are obese and I see these underlying fears and misconceptions holding them back all the time.  It is so hard to see a family member or close friend struggle with obesity. We should all try to be as supportive as possible and try to help friends and family breakthrough this barrier because it is possible. Seem to me that this is all the more reason to get young girls involved with athletics.

HERE is the full article.

xoxo

martha

rain, rain and more rain

It has been raining for about 4 days straight here and it's starting to get to me. Just when I was making significant progress with my morning run I get sidelined by mother nature. I went to the gym today to run on the treadmill but it's not the same. Inside, on a machine, it feels like you're running a box. It's also really hard to get proper form on the treadmill. I feel like I can't stretch all the way, it's very constricting. Hopefully the rain will break soon and I can head back out on the road.

In the meantime I have been doing lots of cardio and strength training at home and at the gym. I checked out Jillian Michael's Cardio Kickboxing DVD yesterday, it was pretty good, decent length, hard but not impossible. 

Also, just added some Women's Fitness free download workouts to the routine, you can check them out HERE! I highly recommend thee Workouts-to-go. 

more later...

martha

viva video

At home workouts can be really satisfying and beneficial. I know a lot of people who just don't like the atmosphere of the gym, which is totally understandable, and so they workout almost exclusively at home. If you're trying to develop a serious and diverse routine at home it can be really fun to incorporate workout videos.

Personally I love workout videos, I have a nice little collection, some of them I have had for years and still keep them in rotation. Lately I have been trying to update my library and honestly keep up with some of the fantastic stuff going on in fitness. Recently I have been really enjoying the Jillian Michaels DVD collection, they are super hard and satisfying. 

In the past I was often frustrated when I would try a new video. I would feel really uncoordinated and by the end, overtired and annoyed. What I discovered over time is that to really enjoy the experience you need to prepare for each video.

Here are a few tips to help you prepare for a new workout:

1. Watch the video all the way through before you try to follow along. This way you learn the rhythm, what equipment might be needed and what the terminology used is. There's nothing worse than popping in a DVD and finding out you need a weighted bar for half of it when you don't own one.

2. Be rested when you try a new video. Don't have the first time be when you're tired or at the end of the night. 

3. Have water and a towel nearby. Even when a video is short or it looks like it's in your range of ability you don't want to stop midway because you're sweating really hard or super thirsty.

4. Don't give up. Sometimes when first trying out a video it might seem too hard or complicated but it could be because it's new and you need to practice it. Give each new video at least a 5 day chance. Practice it for five days and if you still have problems with it then dump it but give anything new a decent chance.

5. Have fun. Take your time, do the modifications when available and ease into it. It should be enjoyable and satisfying to try out new moves. 

I hope you find these tips useful.  Email me with any tips you use to make a new workout more enjoyable.  Remember a diverse workout routine leads to faster results because you use the entire body more frequently, so grab a DVD and mix it up.

xoxo

martha

iPod to the rescue!

So everyone has an iPod or an MP3 player these days and honestly I think these are one of the best tools for getting fit, these and a really properly fitted pair of athletic shoes.

Almost all of the fitness magazine websites have free downloadable workouts that you can save and then put on your player. This make working out on the go much easier, you can take your workout with you on business trips, vacations or to the gym. Many of these also come with printable versions so if you don't have a player you can still get the benefits.

Here are a few links to some really great free downloadable workouts:

Women's Health  - This is a fantastic series

Self Magazine - The 2007 SELF Challenge months 1 through 3

Fitness Magazine - They have downloads mixed into their large library of workouts, they also have a pay-to-download video section HERE 

Check these out, save them to your computer, grab your headphones and get busy. I think you'll really enjoy the freedom of the download. These are especilly fantastic when you start to feel bored with your regular workout, you can throw in something new to keep you motivated.

enjoy!

martha

serene sabado

Sorry it's been a while since I posted, this week was kind of hectic, baby teething, kid with a cold, then dad with a cold then me with a cold. All are much better now.

Went to yoga today. I usually go on Sunday but my friend Camille was going today so I hitched a ride with her. It was nice, I feel stretched and taller!

I started adding a little bit onto my morning run in order to break through the 2 mile mark. It's been feeling good, it's getting hard again now that I'm adding distance but I think that's pretty normal. I hope to hit 3 miles in 2 weeks, we'll see how it goes.

Jillian Michael's 30 day shred has been kicking my butt lately too. I haven't been going to classes at the gym much because everyone was sick so  I've been on the DVDs a lot. The 30 ay shred is a great video. I'm up to Level 1 with 5lbs. and I just started Level 2 with 3 lbs.

I should have some new pix up early next week to do a comparison of before and now.

more later.

martha

weights and woe

After doing my regular morning run and some circuit work I went over to the gym to do some strength training. I had realized this morning that I hadn't done my trainer approved workout in a really long time and wanted to get it back into rotation.

I started out on the Wave, if you haven't been exposed to the monotony that is the Wave, try it at your own risk. It targets your backside and thighs which is great, I know it works because I can feel it but it is SO boring. It's kind of a speed-inline-skate motion. And no, that's not me in the picture.--->

I feel the same way about the Elliptical machine. So the gym trainer had prescribed 20 minutes of this torture and I did it.

Then I hit the weight machines, working the upper body routine. It was satisfying to see that my strength has definitely improved over the last couple of months. All of the sets were much easier than the last time I did them.

Strangely, however, I have felt a little bit lethargic today, maybe I've got the cold that my son had. I hope so. I have been working really hard and don't want to be self-defeating, get some excuse to slow down and then sputter out. I'm going to try and push through this and hopefully it's just a cold. 

more later.

martha

from 30,000 feet

So I'm back from the beach, it was fun, needed a recharge. 

In starting my week today I happened across this AMAZING article about 2 women, oh and a guy too, who parachuted Mt. Everest. 

Yes, I said MOUNT EVEREST! 

It break all kinds of records and has never been done before and a huge shout out to the ladies involved.

WOOHOO! HOLLY BUDGE!

WOOHOO! WENDY SMITH!

Just remember these two brave women the next time you hear someone make reference to throwing, running or screaming like a girl!

“It was amazing, just spectacular,” Holly Budge, 29, a Winchester-born extreme sports enthusiast, said after making a safe landing at a site 12,350 feet (3,765 metres) above sea level — the highest “drop zone” achieved by a parachutist. “We had one minute of freefall and while we were above the clouds you could see Everest and the other high mountains popping out of the top,” she said.

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE

more later

martha

sun and surf

At the beach, more later, have a great weekend!
xoxo
martha

!!!TWO MILES!!!

I'm in the final week of the SELF Run 3 Miles with Ease challenge and even though I think I will finish the week short I am super HAPPY with myself. This morning I hit the 2 mile mark without problems. I wasn't incredibly winded and it felt GREAT! Last week I had almost gotten there with the stroller and thought I was hitting wall but today I ran solo an BOOM! got there! So even though it might be a few more weeks until I hit a full 5K I am very pleased.

WOOHOO!

martha

REVIEW & RECIPE!!!!

Okay, so have you ever gotten a new cookbook and every time you make something from it you think, "Wow, I think this is even better than the last recipe" and they keep getting better and better and yummier and yummier? 

Well this has happened to me, so be prepared to hear a lot about Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman.

This is an AMAZING cookbook. Typically Mediterranean cookbooks have Spanish, Italian and French recipes only but this one covers the entire region including Turkey, The Balkans and Northern Africa. And to top it all off, all the recipes are vegetarian, SUPER YUM! 

Last night I made the SUPER DELICIOUS Vegetable Soup with Chick Peas and Spinach!

ingredients:

1 cup dried chick peas, rinsed, soaked and drained.

6 cups water

salt

4 slices baguette

1.5 tbsp. sherry vinegar

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped or 1 cup canned with juice

2 tsp paprika

1 lb potaotes, diced

fresh ground pepper

1 lb spinach, chopped

3 tbsp pine nuts (optional)

1.4 cup fresh chopped parsley

pinch saffron

1 large egg, hard cooked, chopped

directions:

1.**Combine the chick peas with 4 cups water and bring to a boil, reduce, cover, simmer for 1 hour. add 1 teaspoon salt and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes to 1 hour.

2. Toast bread until golden, tear, put into bowl and douce with vinegar. Set aside.

3. Heat oil in heavy soup pot. Add onions, cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add 1/3 of garlic, tomatoes and paprika, stir often until it's a think pulpy mess, about 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Add chick peas and their liquid, potatoes, salt and pepper and remaining 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are done. add spinach and simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.

5. Add remaining garlic, soaked bread, pine nuts (optional), parsley, saffron, and hard-cooked egg. Stir once and shut off heat. Let soup rest for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

**I used canned chick peas, the water from the can, and homemade vegetable broth to make up for the missing liquid. 

This is seriously one INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS soup and it's even better the next day. 

5 out of 5 Luv Muffins!

enjoy!

martha

standing and stretching

One of my favorite yoga poses is Uttanasana - Standing Forward Bend. This is a simple but effective pose that can really refresh you and make you feel more alert and lengthened. Along with Down Dog, I find this to be a pretty common and standard pose in most yoga practices.

Some of the benefits of the pose are that it helps with digestion, reduces fatigue and stress, and it strengthens the thighs and knees while stretching the hamstrings and hips. I use this pose as part of my cool down after I go running, it's really nice on the legs.

The pose works like this:

Stand in Mountain pose, exhale and bend from the hips, not your waist. Let your upper body cascade over the front of your legs. If possible, place your hands on the floor on the outside of your feet. this pose can be done with straight legs or slightly bent knees, adjust based on your ability, don't push or strain. Stay in the pose for 30 seconds to a minute. It can be used as a resting pose or on it's own. When you return to an upright position don't snap or roll the spine. You want to lift your upper body by lowering your tailbone. It should be a hinge like movement.

So take a few minutes, give it a try, this pose is a great pick-me-up.

xoxo

martha

REVIEW!!!!30 Day Shred

I have never seen The Biggest Loser, I don't have cable, so I didn't know who Jillian Michaels was when a friend mentioned the 30 Day Shred. 

I picked up the DVD and watched through. I was immediately impressed by the technique she employs. The 30 Day Shred includes 3-20 minute workouts, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Each work out is made up of 3 circuits with 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs. Required equipment consists of hand weights and a mat. 

I usually hate workout DVD that require equipment but I think these are pretty standard household items at this point. If you don't have hand weights use soup cans.

The 30 Day Shred is a serious workout. It's only 20 minutes but I finish it as sweaty as I finish my weekly GAP class which is an hour. If you want to really jump start your fitness program and start seeing rapid results I highly recommend this DVD.

I've worked through the beginner level for a week and this week I want to repeat it with 5lb. weights, last week I used 3 lbs. 

Here's a sample of what the workout is like:

Warm-up with stretches and light cardio. 

Circuit 1 

Strength includes alternating push-ups (yuck) and squat -n- press w/weights.

Cardio includes alternating jumping jacks and invisible jump rope

Abs includes alternating crunches and reverse crunches

This is the hardest circuit in Level one, for me at least, but once you push through the first one the rest flow nicely and you can really feel satisfied with working through it. It's also only 20 minutes so if you remind yourself of that you can do it.

Two more  circuits follow and then Cool Down.

Jillian's personality comes across as tough but fun. She doesn't sugar coat the situation and is honest with the viewer about what needs to happen if they want to see results. She is never condescending and encourages you to work hard.

There is a participant in the video who does modifications for beginners but honestly there aren't many modifications for these exercises. The workout consists of pretty old school moves but the way they are combined makes them super effective.

I highly recommend this DVD. Since I started it 1 week ago I have definitely seen improvement in my cardio ability and more definition in my muscle tone.

4 out of 5 Luv Muffins

xoxo

martha

vitamin D and cancer

Just a quick post regarding some new research that shows a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and breast cancer:

(NaturalNews) Women who are deficient in vitamin D at the time they are diagnosed with breast cancer are nearly 75 percent more likely to die from the disease than women with sufficient vitamin D levels, and their cancer is twice as likely to spread to other parts of the body.

"This study links vitamin D with the aggressiveness of disease," said JoEllen Walsh of the University of Albany, who was not involved in the study. "It suggests that your vitamin D status may affect how your disease progresses."

A number of prior studies have strongly demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of developing cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, pancreas and prostate, and perhaps others. But until now, no study has looked at how vitamin D levels affect the progress of any cancer.

For the full article CLICK HERE!

Some food sources of vitamin D are oily fish and eggs. It can also be found in fortified foods such as milk and breakfast cereal.  We get most of our vitamin D from sunlight on our skin. The vitamin forms under the skin in reaction to sunlight. It's a good idea to get a bit of sun everyday but remember, after you get your vitamins make sure to put on some sunscreen!

more later.

martha

finally friday

I know this post is going up kind of late but I just got home a little while ago and had to stop for a cup of tea and just take a break for a few minutes.

Today I did spinning class with my friends Rachel and Philippa and damn was it tough. The instructor was like a slip-n-slide, seriously, the guy had a puddle of sweat underneath him, it was kind of gross. 

Anyway, the class was an ass burner for sure but I don't think I'll do that one again, I mean that actual class, the guy's music was barf. There's a different class on Wednesday that I hear is great, music-wise, so I'm going to check it out.

Up next---->Jillian Michaels, dream trainer or bitch from hell? A review of the 30 Day Shred.

xoxo

martha

sheesh...

This week has been really busy so I apologize for sporadic posting.

Wow! Yesterday I think Silvia, the instructor of GAP (glutes, abdominals, piernas-that's legs en espanol) was trying to kill me. I've been doing her class for a while now and it's hard, it's a lot of work and afterward you feel it. I missed last week and the week before I foolishly thought the class was getting too easy for me. 

Well the workout gods put me back in my place. She made us do the simplest yet most intense exercises we have done in quite some time. There was a lot, I mean A LOT of thigh work, lots of kick-backs, leg lifts,  squats, squat and more squats, and kicks and a ball exercises, all with weights, ankle weights, a bar weight,... WOO! It was just tough.

Tomorrow=spinning. That should be fun. I will post a weekend round up tomorrow.

xoxo

martha

tuesday trackers

For the past few weeks I have been checking out some of the online fitness trackers that are out there. I like these gadgets and when they work well they can be a TOTAL asset to your life. Many include diet calendars with recipes and shopping list generators. The workouts often have animated diagrams of the exercises. Some have community sections where you can touch base with other people for support, encouragement and advice.

I have been testing 3 different "virtual trainers". They are (in no particular order) Fitness, Self and Women's Health.

Fitness Magazine has a lot of really fantastic features, many that are free just for registering on the site. The Personal Fitness Planner is not one of them. They give you 10 free days to use it, you still need to give them a credit card, in case you want to use it for longer but I doubt you will.  I contacted customer service about my problems with the tracker but I never heard back from them.

The premise is good, it has recipes, meal planning and tracking, shopping list generator and workout generator with tracking. Unfortunately you can't really enter food exclusions. For example, I don't eat meat or chicken so I have to go through each day and edit the meals to reflect this. I can check off "I never want to see this meal again" but eventually the database runs out of options. It does track caloric intake nicely but if you can't make a menu that you can actually eat its pretty annoying.

The workout tracker was what made me cancel my free trial offer. It was hard to use, it wasn't flexible and I had to keep starting over. I see no reason to put in exercises which require things that most people don't have at home, like a weight bench or 12lb. dumbells. 

Now I guess you could bring a print out with you to the gym but doesn't that defeat the purpose a little? At my gym we have trainers and they will give you a free assessment and workout plan so why do I want to pay for one online? 

They do have animated diagrams of the exercises but the actual workout tracker was a nightmare. You couldn't go back and add things that weren't on the workout for the day, there was no flexibility at all. You can't swap cardio and strength days or include extras. For example, one day I had time to go running but not lift weights, when I tried to put the info in it closed out the wrong day. It wasn't good, I didn't enjoy it so I cancelled it.

Self  has something a little different. They have a FREE, you have to register-no credit card required, Reach Your Goal tracker. With this, you select which goal you want to reach, mine is Run 3 Miles with Ease, and it gives you a plan including diet and exercises. 

The diet tracker is really just a list of meals and snack and their description including calories. It doesn't have a shopping list generator or an actual calendar of meals. You can add things that aren't on the list but you have to look up the caloric value and then enter it into the tracker. Totally annoying. For me if I have to go outside of the website I'm on and then go back to enter info I just won't do it.

The exercise tracker is good. It allows you to choose from a pull down menu of activities that are specifically designed for your goal, as well, you can choose from a pull down of all kinds of other exercises. There is no required day for cardio or strength training so if you have a crazy week and need to catch a workout whenever time allows you can mix it up and do them whenever. The selection of other activities is varied and large and for all of them it includes the calories burned information. Printables and video, streaming and download, are available for demonstrations of the strength exercises. This gets them bonus points with me because it means I can take the workout with me anywhere. 

In general the Self tracker is better than the Fitness one, it's also nicer to look at, the design is good and the progress charts are simple to read. I continue to use this one even without the meals tracker.

Women's Health offers a 30 day free trial for their FIT COACH. I have only been using it for 2 days but it seems to be exactly the same as the tracking system on Fitness but they adjusted some of the problems with it. Perhaps this is an out-of-the-box fitness tracking system that these guys customized, I don't know. They made it possible to enter extra workouts, change things and go back and edit. 

I still can't find any page with calories burned information on it but the food tracking is better on this version. You can swap around meal and ingredients without issue. The interface is easier to understand and I think it has more options, either that or the layout is just better to navigate. 

Also, I like to see charts and daily progress, it gives me a feeling of satisfaction. Unfortunately with this system you don't really see your progress until your weekly check-in, where as, the FREE Reach Your Goal tracker on Self lets you see your progress daily, entry-to-entry. I guess I will have a more complete view of Women's Health FIT COACH in a week, that right there, makes me less happy about their tracker.

All-in-all I think that the Self tracker is the best, it's FREE and FLEXIBLE. 

more later.

martha