Barefoot Is Best

I hate shoes.  {I do love a cute pair of heels though}  I try and avoid any shoes whenever possible.  I call them "foot jails".  I only wear them because I have to or, it's cold.  If I wear tennis shoes for too long then my feet swell, my legs hurt, I'm just a mess.  

Did you know that there have been many studies done that show that humans were not meant to wear shoes and we are actually doing more DAMAGE to ourselves by wearing them?

These following facts are from an article title "You Walk Wrong" by Adam Sternbergh published in 2008.  Click to read the entire article

• They change the way you walk.
• “Natural gait is biomechanically impossible for any shoe-wearing person,” wrote Dr. William A. Rossi in a 1999 article in Podiatry Management. 
• If you wear high heels for a long time, your tendons shorten—and then it’s only comfortable for you to wear high heels
• We’ve come to believe that shoes, not bare feet, are natural and comfortable, when in fact wearing shoes simply creates the need for wearing shoes.
• More people are injured wearing expensive running shoes than people who ran in hard shoes

Are you an avid shoe wearer or do you prefer to go barefoot?

Un-Birthday Cake

Happy UN-birthday!!!  Yes, un-birthday.  We celebrate those once or twice a year.  They are great because with an actual birthday you get only 1 a year but you get 364 un-birthdays a year!! All joking aside, this cake is great because there is no added fat or sugar (unless your 10 year old decides it needs a pretty powdered sugar design on it).   

I actually had a piece of this for breakfast.  

Recipe from:Fat Free Vegan

1 1/4 cup flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground chia seeds 
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup blueberries
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sugar free maple syrup

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, chia and salt. In blender, combine water, 1/2 cup blueberries, and balsamic vinegar and blend until smooth.
• Make a well in the dry ingredients. Add the syrup and the blueberry mixture. Stir until completely mixed. Pour into an oiled 9-inch round cake pan.
• Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before inverting onto serving platter

Workout

If you ever find yourself looking to switch up your workout or need a semi-quick total body workout try this, Peripheral Heart Action Training System.  Peripheral Heart Action Training System is a form of resistance training performed in a circuit fashion (or little rest between exercises). The Peripheral Heart Action Training System requires you to perform multiple exercises in rapid succession, but alternating between upper and lower body exercises. This helps facilitate circulation to various muscles and helps you burn extra calories compared to traditional weight lifting.

This the way it works.  That you work each body part separately one right after the other.  I know the definition above says one thing but, for strength training I like to do it slightly different.  The order for weight lifting is: Legs, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, legs.  

Here's a sample workout.  I normally do 10 reps per exercise with moderate weight and run through it 3 times 

Legs -- Squat
Chest -- Chest Press
Back -- Bent over Row
Shoulders -- Arnold Press
Biceps -- Curl
Triceps -- Overhead Tricep Extension
Legs -- Deadlift

Looking for a high intensity version of this? Do each exercise for 45 seconds and repeat 3 times through.

Lower -- Squat jack
Upper -- shoulder taps
Lower -- Walking Lunges
Upper -- medicine ball toss
Lower -- Banded Side Shuffles
Upper -- Kettlebell Swings
Lower -- Bear Crawl


You don't have to use the same exercises I suggested.  You can switch them out for ones you enjoy more.  


Incorporate this into your next workout and tell me how you feel about it!  Leave a comment below if you've done this before. 

Jumanji Final Week

Hey y'all!  I can't believe it's been a month since I started this. It was honestly hard and not bad at the same time. I'm used to training all the time but the increased training load and volume killed me half the time.  I made it thru tho.  I'm pretty certain I gained some strength and stamina from this.  

Start 

end

Did you know that switching up your workout is necessary for muscle building, prevention of overuse injuries and prevention of workout boredom?  I normally switch up my workouts every month. How often do you switch yours up?

Jumanji End of Week 2 & 3

Normally I would have split these posts but, when I got on to write my week 3 wrap-up I realized I never posted my week 2!  I figured I would just post them both here.  

Week 2
This week was a bit easier than last week.  Honestly I felt like I wasn't doing enoyuggh.  I switched my ab and calf days.  Monday, Wednesday, Friday I did abs and Tuesday, Thursday I did calves.  {I really don't think anything will EVER help my calves though}   The Rock's plan called for 60 minutes on the treadmill.  I HATE running.  I get my 60 minutes in by biking, or using the elliptical or arc trainer.  

Week 3
I was really sore this week.  I upped the weight on every exercise.  My legs were killing me after leg day.  My quads were on fire and I didn't want to walk for 3 days.  I'm hoping week 4 will be this good.  I actually ejoy being sore.  It makes me feel like I did something.  {side note:  Soreness, or lack thereof, is no indication for how well you did on your workout}  Saturday and Sunday were busy for us this week.  We went to the beach for a couple hours Saturday and then we went to Disney Sunday.  

Jumanji End of Week 1

I was proud of myself this week.  I did it.  I made it to the end of the week without dying.  

Diet
I basically stuck to my diet. No added fat, mostly whole foods. Not a ton of carbs. Fixing my diet was a blessing. My stomach really didn't bother me at all this week.

Workouts
The Rock's workouts were a lot like my normal workouts. There was more volume to them. I only had to change a couple exercises because i either didn't have the equipment or couldn't figure out how to do them. I did abs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and calves on Tuesday and Thursday. Next week I'll switch the days.  By Friday every muscle in my body was sore. Saturday and Sunday are rest days with this workout. Normally i would be out and about with the kids on weekends but this weekend was spent at a dance competition.
Dance competitions are a lot of sitting. ALOT of sitting.....like 8+ hours of sitting. {Partially my fault. I could be walking around but, I don't} and my eating habits aren't the best while I'm there. Munching and snackies and not a whole lot of fruits and veggies.

Due to being out of town i didn't get a week 1 weight or measurement but I'll make sure to get one next week. I have to lose 35 pounds and/or 4 pants sizes by July so it's time to start werkin'.

Jumanji Workout

Originally I had planned to spend this month doing CrossFit workouts.  I was going alphabetically thru a CrossFit website's list.  {In case you're interested it's WodWell.com} I stopped after a week because I was bored.  I have nothing against CrossFit but, the workouts I did were SO repetitious.  I think I did more pull ups in that week then I have in all my years of going to the gym.  I know that this is just do to the luck of the draw but, I couldn't stand doing the same 4 exercises day in and day out.  

I came across this workout when I was wandering around the internet one day.  It's The Rock's workout that he used to get in shape for Jumanji a few years back. {CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT}  This is a perfect workout for me.  He does daily cardio, the workouts are split into different body parts every day and it's the type of workout that I enjoy.

I'm hoping that this brutal workout will jumpstart my weight loss.  I'll update you at the end of this week.

Starting Weight: 169

Spicy Spicy

Last month I found out about a company based out of Jacksonville called FreshJax.  They make seasonings.   I got a sampler pack with 5 different spice blends.  Smoky southwest, fresh bay, peppered habanero, grill master, and citrus pepper.  They also send me a bonus bottle of brunch life.  

I love spices on everything.  A meal is not complete without a spice. Garlic on this, pepper on that, chili powder on everything in between.  {Honestly, I'm obsessed with chili powder}  When I got these spices I was really excited.  The great thing about these seasonings are that they are 98% organic.  The only non organic ingredient in them is the sea salt.

They have over 50 different spices and spice blends!  If you head over to their website you can check out all of them.  They also have recipes (alot of vegetarian ones) to use the spices with.  Click HERE to goto their website.  What is your favorite/go-to seasoning or spice blend?

Smokey Southwest

Organic Corn, Organic Paprika, Organic Cumin, Organic Oregano, Organic Black Peppercorn, Organic Onion, Sea Salt, Organic Garlic, Cherrywood Smoked Sea Salt, Organic Cayenne, Organic Crushed Red Pepper. 
This is honestly good on anything. 

Fresh Bay

Organic celery seed, organic cloves, organic smoked black peppercorn, sea salt, organic bay leaves, organic paprika, organic cardamom, organic yellow mustard seed, organic smoked chili flakes, organic mace, organic cinnamon, organic allspice.
Classic seafood seasoning

Peppered Habanero

Organic smoked black peppercorn, organic bird’s eye chili, sea salt, organic habanero pepper, organic brown mustard seed, organic onion, organic garlic, organic parsley, organic lemon peel.
I love this on my eggs.  It's seriously spicy.  

Grill Master

Organic smoked black peppercorn, organic dill, organic onion, organic paprika, sea salt, organic coriander, organic thyme, organic garlic, organic fennel, organic rosemary.
Probably delicious on steaks.  I use it on my vegetables

Citrus Pepper

Organic orange peel, organic lemon peel, organic pink peppercorn, organic green peppercorn, sea salt, organic onion, organic garlic, organic lime peel, organic black peppercorn, organic white peppercorn.

Brunch Life: Everything Bagel

Organic onion, organic sesame seeds, organic garlic, Himalayan pink salt, organic black sesame seeds, organic poppy seeds

I put this one on my toast.