Who is sharing a circuit workout ...

 It is here - Friday Friday Friday!  And not only is it Friday ... it is .... FITNESS FRIDAY!!! 

First I want to say that I had an AMAZING birthday! I felt very loved and lucky all day and then I got to share an incredible meal with my hubby at Real Seafood Company in Ann Arbor. 

Shoutout to Ann Arbor readers - I want to make sure you all know about the birthday deal at all Mainstreet Venture restaurants .... any restaurant owned by MainStreet Ventures (Real Seafood, Chop House, Gratzi), lets you have 50% off your meal if you are dining with 1-2 people ... amazing!!

The birthday continues this weekend because my parents are coming to visit and we are going to the Michigan football game and more eating =)

Back to the workout!!! It has been awhile since I have shared a bodyweight workout on the blog, so I am here to share a doozie!

The temperatures are starting to drop (starting to feel like FALL!!), which means it is the PERFECT time to take your workout outside. This workout involves a tiny bit of prep - but then once you write out the exercises, you can do the workout again in the future without prep. It is a great workout to do with a group or a partner.

Equipment Needed:
- Yourself (bodyweight)
- 11 Flashcards or pieces of paper

1) Before you start the workout, take time to write out the following 11 exercises out on flashcards or pieces of paper. You can click on the exercise to see a demonstration to make sure you know what you will be doing and you do each move with good form (maybe soon I can link to myself doing a demonstration?!?). Hopefully I introduce you to some new exercises that you can do anywhere!!

• 10 Burpees
• 20 Alternating step back lunges 
• 20 Froggers Jump 
• 10 Walkout Push Up with Swivel 
• 15 Squat Jumps
• 10 Kick Downs
• 10 Tuck Jumps
• 20 Arm Circles both forward and backwards
• 15 Jumping Jack Planks
• 20 Tricep Dips on the ground
• 16 Skater Jumps 

2) Go outside and form a large circle with the 11 pieces of paper (large enough that running around all of the paper would take you 10 or more seconds) - and keep them in the order listed above because I tried to alternate between cardio and strength.

3) Once you probably warmup (by running or doing something to get your heart rate up and muscles warm) ... you are ready to begin the workout! The workout is made up of 3 rounds.

1st Round: 
- You set the timer for 16 minutes. For the whole 16 minutes you will continuously complete the exercise at a certain station and then run (or sprint) around the circle and then complete the exercise at the next station and then run again and so on.

Give your self a 2 minute break after the 1st round to grab a drink and catch your breath

2nd Round: 
- Set the timer for 8 minutes. This round you run after every other exercise or station, therefore you will complete an exercise, complete an exercise and then run and repeat for 8 minutes.

Give yourself another 2 minute break

Last Round:
- Set the timer for 4 minute. There is no running this round, you will simply complete each exercise and move onto the next exercise.

And you are done!! If you are pushing yourself - this is an intense workout! Make sure you take the time to stretch out your muscles!

Also, if this workout seems too intense - you can make modifications by decreasing the repetitions you do for each station, or decreasing the time of each round.

Good Luck!!!

Have you done any good workouts this week?? Or what weekend plans do you have??

Who is celebrating her birthday!!

(This accidentally posted for a bit on September 8th .... the 10th is my birthday!

I am going to give myself my own little Whooo! It is my birthday!

Birthdays are a really big deal in my family ... my family's language of love is gift giving and celebrating - therefore, we loved to celebrate each others' birthdays! I remember some epic birthday parties  ... tea parties, rock climbing, Halloween parties ... and more! I feel soo lucky to have those memories and the loving support system that always celebrated with me.

As we get older, birthdays  become way less about the presents and more about the loving people in our lives that take the time to wish us happy birthday and celebrate with us.
For this birthday, I am celebrating with my loving husband this evening with dinner out on the town =) and then getting drinks with some girlfriends on Friday, my parents are coming into town, and doing a race on Saturday!

Also, I want to celebrate my birthday MONTH by taking part in a little challenge I saw online. It is called the Birthday Project. The Birthday Project was created when an average lady decided to celebrate her 38th birthday by doing 38 random acts of kindness. Since she posted about her birthday idea in 2010 - Robyn Bomar has become famous for her idea and she even created a website and company around the idea! It's called The Birthday Project (click to learn more).

They are trying to change how people celebrate their birthday - and instead of "getting" - people can "give" a little bit ... and as corny as it sounds ... make the world a little better (or at least brighten someone else's day!).

I do not want to rush all of my 27 acts of kindness into one day ... so I am going to spread 27 Random Acts of Kindness over the whole month of September - and then I am going to share them all with you at the end of the month! I am really excited!

I feel very lucky to be able to celebrate 27 amazing years and all of the opportunities and adventures that lie ahead!

Lucky to celebrate with these 2 =)

Who is breaking away from the schedule ...

Good Morning Everyone!

How was everyone's Labor Day weekend?

Mine was fantastic ... I got to relax and have fun on Saturday and Sunday and then I was super productive on Monday and got everything checked off the "To Do" list (which included studying a lot ... that is going to take some time to get used to!)

How about we take a vote - who thinks we should change up the work calendar and we always get a 3 day weekend?? I agree ... I think we should.
But seriously, people with desk jobs (not people in healthcare, or teachers, or others ...) - I think the work week could totally be changed. Who really sits at their desk and is productive for 8 hours EVERY day??? I think we should change work culture to "get your work done and then leave" - then people would be motivated to stay focused and get their work done!!

WOW - Soapbox moment right there!

This is going to be a random blog post ... and there are no good pictures to share with you, so I am just going to share some random oldies but goodies =)

 First, welcome to September ... one of the best months!
- Perfect weather
- Football starts!
- AND Birthday month =)

Birthdays have always been a big deal in my family, so I have to admit, even as an adult - I love birthdays (including my own!).

Secondly, I wanted to pop in and give an update about the blog. Blogging is still really new for me and I am trying to figure out the avenue I want to take for this blog. I want it to be personal and share snippets of my life, but I also want it to focus on fitness and health! I am trying to figure out the balance, if you have any topics you want me to cover or any questions - please email me or comment below!!

Most importantly, I want to blog because I enjoy it and to share useful information to others and get new information from others too! If my blog encourages someone to go an extra mile in a run or try a new workout ... I would be elated.
I am not blogging for money, or for fame ... so I need to remind myself that this blog does not need to be perfect and if I miss a post now and then - it will be ok!

Since I have started my classes and I am still working full time, I have been forced to focus and certain things priorities and also drop some things. I do not want to drop this blog at all, because I do enjoy talking with all of you =) I just don't want to put together half hearted posts because I feel forced to have something to post on a "Monday, Wednesday, or Friday"
I want to put time into my posts, and get some more workouts and recipes up on the blog too!
Therefore, I hope to still blog 3 times a week ... I might just skip a day every once in a while.

Thanks for reading this rambling post! And thanks for supporting the idea of this blog in general! I appreciate you!

~Enjoy the week~

I do not know this dog ... but I saw this at a restaurant in Charleston... so funny!

Mute Monday

Hopefully everyone is enjoying their Labor Day!

I am hoping for a productive day of studying and getting ready for the week ... so I am taking the "day off" from blogging and leaving you with a few pictures from the weekend!

Who shares some NYC pictures ...

It is FITNESS FRIDAY!!
I want to share a simple idea with you in honor of Fitness Friday - go on a run or a walk somewhere new and fun! Summer is coming to a close, so take advantage of the amazing weather and go explore a new area. I run the same running routes around my house every morning and they can get boring and can make running seem like a chore. Something as simple as picking a new path or running route can really freshen up your routine and remind you why you love running and working out so much!

I travel for work, and when I am in a new city I LOVE exploring new places to run!!

I was in New York for work this week and I wanted to share some pictures. New York City is unlike any other city in the USA (and I mean that mostly as a compliment). It can give you so much energy, but it can also make you feel very small too. NYC is a concrete jungle, but there are many beautiful things about it too - especially my favorite place ever .... Central Park!

Early morning flight lets me watch the sunrise ABOVE the clouds!

SO many buildings and high rises!

The cutest store front ever - look at the hanging ball jars with flowers

Cute shops around ever corner

My trip was really quick, but I was staying close to Central Park, so I had the chance to take a long walk around it one evening and then do a tempo run through it one morning too. Here are some of my favorite views of the park. I love the high rise building contrasting against the green and the water of the park!

Ahhh!! So pretty!

Also - I feel very lucky that I get to travel with my job and explore new cities, but sometimes traveling for work is not as sexy as it seems.

Eating Chipotle in my hotel room, while studying - not super glamorous (but delicious!).

So --- I will end this post by encouraging you to go explore a new running path, or even a new fitness studio! Freshen things up and energize yourself!!

Where do you want to explore?? And what is your plan for Labor Day weekend?

Who is sharing the easiest chicken recipe ever!

Good Morning! Good Morning! 

(someone at work pointed out that I like to say a lot of thing in twos - "good morning, good morning" or "hello, hello" - not really sure why? Just want to sound upbeat maybe?)

Since this blog post has no pictures - thought I would add one of Yosey =)

On Monday I mentioned I was going to share about my weekend today ... but I have to admit, I just did not get to it (and I did not take enough pictures ... need to get better about that!!).

I never want to "glorify busy" and make it seem like I am important because I am the busiest person in the world... but since I did start my Human Anatomy class and lab this week, I have been a little bit out of the loop - but hopefully I will find my groove soon and can get into a schedule.
Also, as you read this - I am probably in the air on my way to NYC for a work trip. Short trip, but get excited for some Central Park running pictures =)

I wanted to pop in today to share the easiest recipe in the world!

On Mondays and Tuesdays I will have about 10 minutes to eat dinner before my 6pm classes and I also want to be a good wife and have dinner for my hubby ... therefore, the crockpot will become a good friend! One of my favorite crockpot recipes is ....

SALSA CHICKEN

Ingredients

• 1 big chicken breast or 2-3 small chicken breasts
• 1/2 a packet of taco seasoning (reduced sodium!)
• 1 can of black beans (reduced sodium and drained)
• 1 can green chilies 
• 1 jar of your favorite salsa (Have an extra jar or a bigger jar for chips or to use if needed)

1. Put your chicken breast into the crockpot and sprinkle the taco seasoning on all sides 
2. Pour in the black beans, chilies and salsa
3. Stir the ingredients and make sure the chicken is completely covered and there is some liquid in the crockpot, if the chicken is not covered - add more salsa (or if you are going to have the crockpot on for more than 6 hours - add more salsa to insure it does not dry out)
4. Turn the crockpot on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6 hours. (You can use frozen chicken too - but allow for extra time)
5. Once the chicken is cooked, it should fall apart easily and shred it with 2 forks 

This chicken is very tasty and moist and you can use it in so many different ways!
You can make chicken tacos, big taco salads, or I have used it in casseroles too.

A tasty, easy casserole can be made as follows: take the cooked, warm, shredded chicken and put it into a 8 X 8 pan and then top the chicken with corn bread batter (Jiffy is the best!) - then bake the 8 X 8 pan according to the directions of the corn bread. Once the corn bread is cooked, you can dish it out! Yummm  ....

Now it is your turn - help me out and share some of your favorite healthy crock pot recipes?!

Who participated in a CSA

Hello Everyone!
Rise and Shine and get ready for the week ahead! Last week of August ... wow... and then it is September (great month by the way .... birthday month!!) ... and then it is Christmas before we know it.

I had an AMAZING weekend with family and friends in Indianapolis, but I am going to post about that on Wednesday ... so I can have more time to write about it.

For now - I wanted to pop in and share about my experience participating in a CSA.
I shared a bit about a CSA in this blog post, but in summary CSA stands for Community Support Agriculture.
Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

CSAs help the farmers because they receive payment early in the season, which helps with their cash flow. The consumer benefits because they get exposed to new produce and get to eat ultra fresh, local veggies.

Ann Arbor has a lot of different farms that do CSAs, so it was hard to choose, but B and I chose a lesser known, smaller farm that had a very affordable price and an easy pickup location.

We have been getting our produces boxes for about 8 weeks now and I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the process!

Lessons Learned and Thoughts About Participating in a CSA 

• Kale is very good for you ... but there is such a thing as too much kale
• B and I got kale in our box for about 5 weeks in a row, and man... we were both pretty sick of kale! We sauteed it, massaged it, baked it, made kale chips, and froze it for soups. I won't be picking a kale salad at any restaurants for awhile.

• A lot of kale (and veggies) can wreck havoc on your stomach
•  B and I have always been pretty healthy eaters, and before the CSA, we usually ate a salad with most of our dinners ... but once we started our CSA, a large portion of our dinners were veggies - and very fiber-filled veggies. This sudden influx in fiber did not go over well with my stomach.

Squash and green beans galore!

• You get weird ingredients and then you make weird things?  
• This part has been pretty fun! I like when we get "new to me" ingredients like kohlrabi (after trying it a few ways ... gross!), garlic scapes, turnip greens, and more. We had no idea what to do with the garlic scapes, so after a little research - I decided to make garlic scape pesto. Actually - it was pretty good. The baba ghanoush I made with eggplant ... not so much.

• You can roast basically anything ... and it usually tastes pretty good!
• When we got anything unusually - I just chopped it up and sprinkled it with olive oil and garlic and stuck it in the oven to roast ... and after being caramelized - it was usually delicious! Exception - radishes ... always gross.

• You will google image search leafy greens to figure out what you are eating!
• Each week we pick up our box of veggies with no other information. I wish our CSA farm provided us a list of all of the veggies that are in our box, because there has been a few times that we get something and have no idea what it is? We are google searching images of green leafy veggies to figure out what we are putting into our mouth (and the best way to cook it).

We still have a few weeks left in our CSA, and I hope to get some fall squash, like butternut or acorn! Overall, I think it has been a really fun experience, but it does add a little pressure to dinners every week because you want to make sure you use all of the veggies that you get.
I am not 100% sure we will do it next year, but I am glad we did it this year!

Have any of you done a CSA? What is the weirdest veggies you have ever eaten?