Spring Break Workout Round Up

Okay, perhaps it's a bit premature, because spring break isn't for two more weeks, but I'm already counting down. Time off, a little trip, and soaking up the sun--who doesn't love spring break?

But as the weather warms up and the bikinis come out, I'm also excited to make sure I'm in tip-top shape to hit the pool or the beach. While I do my best to stay healthy all the time, I'm certainly a little more conscious of getting extra toned for bathing suit season.

As I studied for my personal trainer certification and as I've found what works best for me, the biggest lesson I can pass along is that no one exercise will create the body and health you want. More and more studies are showing that we need a combination of exercises that work a variety of muscles in order to increase metabolism, build strength, add tone, slim down, or increase overall health.

So I thought I'd assemble a little collection of some of my favorite workouts, and I hope you'll consider using some to improve your fitness routine this spring!

Weekly Workout Schedule Suggestion
Monday - 30-40 minutes strength + HIIT/steady state
Tuesday - 30-40 minutes cardio + core
Wednesday - Full body strength/cardio circuit (40-60 minutes)
Thursday - 30-40 minutes cardio + core
Friday - 30-40 minutes strength + HIIT/steady state
Saturday - Rest or "fun" workout--yoga, dance class, hiking, etc.
Sunday - Rest

This schedule very closely follows the usual weekly schedule for Best Body Boot Camp (are you doing Round 5? I am! Registration is open now!). I loved Tina's typical weekly routine so much that I've adapted it into my non-boot camp training as well, even though we're running more now. Of course, change it as you see fit, but remember to mix it up and challenge yourself!

As for actual workouts, mix and match from some of my favorites below. I try to keep my exercises fresh and exciting to prevent boredom.

Cardio
2.5 Mile Speedy Run
Double the Intervals
Long Interval Cardio

10/10 Walking/Running Workout
5-4-3-2-1 Pyramid Treadmill Workout

HIIT
25-Minute HIIT
40-Minute HIIT Walking Workout
Full Body Tabata
Deck of Cards HIIT Workout

Strength
Stable/Unstable Upper Body Supersets
Light to Heavy Upper Body Sets
Upper Body Series

Upper Body Muscle Groups Circuit
Sure-to-Get-You-Shaky Leg Workout
Love Your Legs and Booty
Posterior: Top to Bottom
Deck of Cards Jello Legs Workout
4/2/1 Lower Body
Lower Body Muscle Groups Circuit

Full Body Circuits
January Indoor Workout
Full Body Circuit
Full Body Timed Workout

Core
Core Circuit
Winter Core Circuit
Stable/Unstable Core Circuit

What does your workout schedule look like? Do you keep it the same week to week or change things up depending on your schedule?

Note: I updated the Better Fitness Page today to include all these workouts and more! Enjoy!

Keep Calm and Carry On

It's SO overdone, isn't it?

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But...it's still fantastic. Granted, I'm biased, because I love (almost) anything British, but even objectively this slogan has such a simple, healthy message. Don't panic; move forward. Take a breath; keep going. The idea actually does calm me down.

It also makes me wish I could be back in London.

If you didn't guess, today threw some major stress bombs at me from all over the place. When I got home from work, I needed a break from school-related work, so I spent almost two hours cleaning the house. I'm sure there's a psychological connection there--I feel like I'm not in control so I take charge of the stuff I can control? I clean the house to convince myself I'm actually organized?--but I'm not going to read into it.

When Terry got home, I was more than ready for our run. Given the late workout, we switched our Tuesday and Wednesday plans and tackled 3 miles today, though they weren't particularly speedy (6.3 mph average, not even our target 10K speed, but oh well). I also added some stretching before calling it a day and cooking dinner.

Thankfully, cooking feels therapeutic for me, too, especially when I have a glass of syrah and Cougar Town on in the background. Tonight's meal: eggplant and spinach pasta casserole. I completely forgot to buy mozzarella, so I mixed in some ricotta and sprinkled Parmesan on top for cheesy deliciousness. I promise to post a picture and perhaps a more detailed recipe tomorrow for WIAW--my camera is too far away right now. (Yep, it's been that kind of day!)

Okay, some other ways I love to relieve stress, because it will relax me before bed on this so-glad-it's-over-and-I-know-tomorrow-will-be-better day:

• Hanging out with my husband.
• Hanging out with my crazy kitten.

In this photo, Scout couldn't play with his old toys; he had to drag out the new toys--still on the cardboard.

• Reading, although sometimes reading stresses me out more because I feel like I should be doing something else. 
• Working on a puzzle. That feeling of getting a piece to fit is indescribable. 
• Organizing my classroom. 
• Planning workouts. 
• Daydreaming about vacations.

But ultimately, I know it will pass, and I know tomorrow will be better. I'm already looking forward to some time with my coworkers after school and a much less crazy day.

What's your favorite way to wind down at the end of a rough day?

By the way, if you're curious, the "Keep calm and carry on" slogan started as a morale-booster in Great Britain at the start of WWII, but it never received any public display. It was rediscovered 13 years ago and has become a wild craze--mostly on Pinterest.

BLWB Healthy Snack Ideas

I think my body is almost back on track with this whole Daylight Savings Time thing, but it still felt painful to get out of bed this morning. We even skipped our morning workout knowing it’d be better to sleep a little, but I snoozed a lot more than usual.

This afternoon I hit the gym on my own, since Terry’s not feeling great. I completed a 40-minute HIIT walking workout, which alternated between increasing speed and increasing incline.

For the above workout, I tried to get to 4.5-5.0 mph during the speed intervals and 12-15 incline during the hill intervals. Hello sweaty mess!

Toughen it up: 

• Set your base incline higher (6 or 8)
• Run the speed intervals
• Run the hill intervals
• Take a shorter rest interval (30 sec or 45 sec)

Lighten it up:

• Set your base incline lower (2 or 0)
• Take a longer rest interval and/or shorter intense intervals
• Complete 4 or 5 rounds instead of 7

Just remember that a HIIT workout should get your heart rate up to a 9-10 intensity level (out of 10), and the recovery period should bring your heart rate back down significantly before you start up again. And be sure to give your heart a rest between HIIT workouts—I aim for only one or two per week to give ample recovery time.

For my upper body work today, I tackled Tina's Upper Body Burn Out. I loved the unique challenge of exhausting my muscles with one exercise and then hitting the same muscles with a different exercise immediately after. I'm sure I'll feel that one tomorrow! I even stretched for a solid 20 minutes after all that. I’m definitely getting better about stretching and/or foam rolling while we watch TV at night, and I feel a noticeable difference in my flexibility!

Today at work I enjoyed a new favorite snack (if you follow me on Instagram you already saw it):

Greek yogurt, applesauce, almond butter, cinnamon, and honey. So much flavor, and completely satisfying, too! But of course I got to thinking about my favorite snacks, and I’ve been wanting to share a little collection here for you in case you’re looking to add some variety to your midday eats.

BLWB Healthy Snack Ideas

• Trail mix
• Bell peppers, carrots, and/or cucumbers with hummus
• Homemade pita chips with hummus
• Triscuits or Woven Wheats with your favorite cheese (Manchego for me!)
• Fruit salad with sliced banana, berries, and pineapple

• Banana-nut muffins or Whole-wheat lemon-blueberry muffins
• Brown rice cakes with nut butter and banana or nut butter and raisins
• Toasted whole-wheat English muffin with cream cheese and sliced strawberries

• Small smoothie
• Fresh berries with cottage cheese or yogurt
• Whole piece of fruit with nut butter (bananas and apples with peanut butter are my favorite)—add a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg if you’re feeling crazy

• Toasted slice of pumpkin bread, banana bread, or zucchini bread with cream cheese or nut butter
• Healthy oatmeal cookies
• Equal parts Greek yogurt (preferably full-fat) and applesauce, mixed with cinnamon and a tablespoon of nut butter (shown above)
• Ina Garten's Jalapeno Cheddar Crackers from her Foolproof cookbook (blog post from Authentic Suburban Gourmet)

What's your favorite snack? Feel free to link up to recipes below!

Seven Miles and Plans for the Week

Time changes completely throw me off. Is that just me? I woke up at eight this morning and couldn't figure out what time it "really" was. As much as I love the 7-pm-and-it's-still-light-outside, my brain just cannot handle the idea of just skipping an hour.

(Source)

Before all this confusion, Terry and I spent yesterday morning running seven miles. Our run last week felt great, despite some sore hips, and we expected this week's run to be just a tad tougher. Unfortunately, I never quite settled into that groove while trottin' along. Our route started with two big hills in the first mile and a half, so I think my body felt a bit defeated from the get-go.

Still, even with two walking breaks, we kept up a 6.3-mph pace, and I'm confident that we'll be able to get through our 10K in two weeks, even if hills try to keep us down. We spent a lot of time stretching and foam rolling throughout the rest of the day and took a much-needed rest day today.

The rest of this week looks promising as far as meals and workouts, as long as we each fight off whatever symptoms that just came on today (slightly sore throats, headaches, stuffiness...).

Workouts for the week, according to our 10K training plan:

• Monday: Upper body strength + stretching + maybe a walk to loosen up the ol' legs
• Tuesday: 5 miles (might cut back depending on our legs)
• Wednesday: 3 speedy miles
• Thursday: 4 miles + lower body 
• Friday: Yoga (going to try out a P90X yoga video!)
• Saturday: Rest
• Sunday: 6 miles (decided 8 miles was too ambitious--we're tapering instead)

Menu for the week:

• Monday: Homemade pizza and spinach salad 
• Tuesday: Veggie stir-fry

• Wednesday: Some sort of eggplant pasta
• Thursday: Maybe try a homemade veggie burger (?) and sweet potato fries
• Friday: Perhaps a new restaurant?
• Saturday: Dinner with friends

One other fun little tidbit:

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 I've decided to sign up for Tina Reale's Best Body Boot Camp again! Round 5 starts April 1st, so consider hopping on the awesome train with me for a fantastic program before summer! You can check out my post about Why You Should Boot Camp Your Booty if you're not sure what the heck I'm talking about. 

What's on the docket for you this week? Any exciting workout plans?

Full Body Circuit

Looking for something different for your weekend workout? How about a quick circuit that works your entire body?

I have to share this awesome full-body circuit Terry and I completed yesterday. I combined five exercises that require lots of muscles and lots of core strength for a tough routine I think you'll love.

Tips for form: 

• Scorpion on ball
• Hamstring bridge with triceps extension
• Turkish get ups
• Push up to unstable plank
• Wide-leg squat with upright row

Toughen it up:

Add dumbbells! I was able to use 10-lb. weights for the triceps extension, Turkish get ups, and squat + upright rows. It was certainly sufficient for a tough challenge.

Lighten it up:
Use lighter weights (or no weights), and you can omit the ball for the scorpion. You can also complete the push up to unstable plank on your knees, and you can decrease the number of reps for any exercise.

Mix it up:
If you want to combine your strength and cardio training, consider a 5-minute cardio blast between each circuit:

• 1 minute high knees
• 1 minute burpees
• 1 minute mountain climbers
• 1 minute speed skaters
• 1 minute jumping lunges

Terry and I thought this circuit hit all the major muscle groups and even got our heart rates up. Let me know what you think!

Hope you're enjoying a glorious Friday night! Have a very happy weekend!

Vegetable Enchiladas

Maybe you're trying to cut back on meat. Maybe you have a bunch of vegetables around the house. Maybe you're looking to save some money. Maybe you really like delicious meals. Or maybe you just bought thirty bell peppers and are trying to find a way to use two of them. 

Whatever the case, I guarantee you can find an excuse to make these seriously delicious enchiladas. They can seem a bit daunting, but some organization and a little time in the kitchen makes a big ol' batch of scrumptious enchiladas that everyone--even meat lovers--can enjoy.

I altered this recipe from one I got from a friend in my teaching credential program. The original instructions included quite the assortment of canned ingredients, though, and we're doing our best to stick with more natural, whole foods. Some homemade enchilada sauce and fresh produce boost the nutritional value and "real food" appeal of this dish.

Tips for success:

• Keep your sauce warm on the stove while you assemble the enchiladas. It helps keep the tortillas pliable for when you load 'em up.
• Set all of your ingredients out in separate bowls, using different spoons for each ingredient. It cuts down on the mess just a bit.
• If you have helpers (kids can totally help with this meal--except the tortilla-dipping part), give each person a job on the assembly line! Fun family time!
• Roll the enchiladas snugly but not too tight. When you place them into the dish, tuck them close together so they don't unravel. 

Vegetable Enchiladas

Serves 4 with potential for leftovers

• 2 medium zucchini
• 2 large red bell peppers
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 15 ounces black beans, rinsed 
• 12 corn tortillas
• About 2-3 cups Enchilada sauce (<-- my recipe) 
• 6-8 ounces cheese (I've used cheddar, pepper jack, jack, cotija--or a combination), freshly shredded
• 1/4 onion, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Thinly slice the bell peppers and zucchini. Toss with salt and pepper and olive oil (1-2 tablespoons) and spread onto a baking sheet. Roast for 10-12 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

Meanwhile, make your enchilada sauce:

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 6 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup water

Heat the diced tomatoes over medium heat until they start to boil. Mash with a fork or potato masher until desired consistency (I like tomato chunks). Add all of the spices (chili powder through cumin) and stir. Then add the tomato paste and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer while you prepare the rest, about 15 minutes. You can smooth out the sauce with an immersion blender (or regular blender) if you prefer no chunks.

Once you remove your roasted vegetables, reduce the oven to 325 degrees.

To assemble the enchiladas, first create a little assembly line.

• Your enchilada sauce should be first in line, either still on the stovetop or still warm in the pot but on an oven mitt.
• Rinse the black beans and pour into a bowl. Place a spoon in the bowl. 
• Set the (slightly cooled) roasted vegetables next to the black beans, either on the baking tray or in a more compact container.
• At the end of the line, place your greased 9x13 baking dish (or two, if you're making lots!). 

Heat up your tortillas three at a time so they stay warm and pliable during assembly. Wrap the tortillas in a damp dishtowel (or paper towel) and microwave for 45 seconds to a minute. Work with one tortilla at a time while keeping the other warm guys wrapped up.

If disaster strikes and your tortilla tears, just roll with it. No one will notice.

From there, it's easy! Dip your warm tortilla in the enchilada sauce (get both sides and shake off excess sauce), then add a small spoonful of beans and a few slices of zucchini/peppers. Place the tortilla in the baking dish and roll snugly. Move to the next tortilla and continue until the dish is filled. Heat up next tortillas as necessary.

To finish, pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, then sprinkle with cheese and chopped onion. Bake about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce bubbles a little. To serve, garnish with sour cream and avocado--and perhaps a Pacifico?

Enjoy!

What's your favorite Mexican dish? I absolutely LOVE tamales. Our local farmer's market has some incredible beef and pork tamales that seriously make me drool. I'm not kidding. I'm drooling right now. It's gross.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Day in the Life: Morning Edition

4:45 am - Alarm buzzes, I snooze

4:47 am - Second alarm buzzes, I snooze again, Scout purrs in my ear to let him under the covers (it's adorable)

4:50 am - Terry's alarm radio blasts music, he snoozes

4:53 am - My alarm buzzes again, I grab my phone and try to use it to wake me up (you know, e-mail, Facebook, hit myself in the head to shake off the sleepiness)

4:55 am - Finally get up. Stumble around the apartment, brushing my teeth, putting my contacts in, throwing on workout clothes, filling a water bottle, grabbing my iPod.

5:10 am - Hop on the treadmill for our warm up and/or cardio for the day, and hit the weights if that's happening.

Today's workout

Watch KTLA (Channel 5) news while we work out. We're pretty much silent during our workouts. Exceptions:

• I usually sing at least one line of each song I'm singing and ask Terry to guess what song it is. I don't know why he doesn't find this game as fun as I do. 
• I design our workouts, so sometimes I'll give instructions for the next exercise and/or provide form cues. Otherwise Terry's pretty much in his workout zone and I rock out to my music.
• If there's a particularly interesting news story, we'll chat about A) how sad the world is; B) how awesome the world is; C) how ridiculous the weather is; or D) how weird it is to watch the news when we can't hear what they're saying (we don't plug our headphones into the TVs).
• Sometimes I make Terry give me a high five while we're running.

6:00 am - Head back to the apartment. Terry starts the tea kettle while I hop in the shower.

6:15 am - Terry showers while I cook breakfast (eggs, oatmeal, or whatever we're craving), pour the tea, and start packing lunches.

This morning's breakfast: scrambled eggs + zucchini bread with almond butter

6:25 am - Get dressed, blow dry hair, eat breakfast, feed the cat, put on makeup, and fill water bottles for the day--all at the same time. Terry usually finishes getting ready first, so he fills my water bottles for the day and finishes packing lunches.

6:45 am - Gather all my stuff and head out the door, trying to stop Scout from walking out with us.

6:46 am - Realize whatever I forgot, go back in, leave again.

6:47 am - Listen to the radio and sip tea on the way to work. I love Kevin & Bean's Showbiz News in particular. 

7:05 am - Arrive at work and head into my classroom!

Now that we work out in the mornings, it's strange to think that I'm up for two hours before I even get to work. I often feel rushed in the morning, but our routine works well for now. Tomorrow we have a longer workout planned--about 30 minutes of strength plus three slow miles jogging--so I'll need to get up a few minutes earlier to leave on time.

And as for the rest of today's meals and snacks:

Check out all the other WIAWs!

Two cuties for a midmorning snack
Tomato soup for lunch--Ina Garten's Easy Tomato Soup (no photo--devoured during a lunch meeting)

Enchiladas for dinner (recipe tomorrow!)

Homemade chocolate ice cream with almond butter granola for dessert (and a sleepy kitten in the background)

Plus a few other snacks along the way: a handful or two of granola, some bites of cheese while prepping dinner, an extra cup of tea in the afternoon. You know, the usual.
Hope you had a terrific Wednesday! Off to bed for our extra-early wake up call tomorrow. 
What's your favorite part of your morning routine? I'm pleasantly surprised to find how much I love morning workouts. I feel so energized and refreshed afterward! I thought I might be distracted by the thought of rushing to get to work, but I have no trouble getting into the groove, even at 5:15 am!