Running and Abs while on vacation!

I am super excited that I get to be visiting my friends this weekend in Kent Ohio. I went to college here and wanted to get a chance to visit and catch up before the winter.  

When I woke up this morning, I found an amazing little bike trail just next to my friend's apartment.  I got in a solid 3 mile run before breakfast and felt amazing. 

Finding fun new places to run when I'm traveling is a great way to motivate yourself to get out and exercise.  Normally when traveling, the last thing I want to do it workout, even though it is definitely what I need with all this food.

I also got a short ab workout after my run, I like to do a few short ab sessions a few times a week to keep them working all week. When I can I like to use the 10 Minute Fix for abs which is part of the 21 day fix program.  

I like this set of moves for a quick ab workout that really gets a good burn.  Literally everyone can find ten minutes to fit into their schedule.  

Moves: 

Crunches - 20x

Table Top Crunches - 20x

Crunches with right leg up - 20x

Crunches with left leg up - 20x

Cross Crunches - 20x

Tap Crunches - 20x

Twist Crunches - 20x each side

Oblique Crunches - 20x each side

Bicycles - 20x

Repeat whole cycle twice.

Bonus 

Flutter kicks - 20x

Ankle Crosses - 20x

After this, my abs are crying.  

Another reason why I love to make time for exercise during travel is to prevent feeling horrible when I get home.  We all tend to go a bit harder on the restaurant food and booze when we travel, which of course leaves you feeling like a bloated whale after. When I know I've gotten a good workout in or two, I don't feel nearly as guilty when I get home.  

I hope you all have an amazing weekend.  Happy almost Halloween!

Graze snackbox!

I've tried subscription boxes before.  Ipsy and Scentbird were okay, neither seemed to be worth the money after a few months.  My boyfriend and I do use Dollar Shave Club, which we like a lot.  

But then I got a coupon for a free taster box with Graze and decided to give it a try.  

How Graze works is, you create a quick account (with a credit card) and then you are presented with all of the snack options.  You then go through them and either opt in or out of each snack.  You have the ability to check the nutrition and ingredients before opting into each snack.  If you do choose to opt out of any snack, they ensure you that your boxes will never contain those snacks.

Graze first put together my tasting box which contained 4 snacks and was of course free.  I was scheduled to receive that box the week of Oct 12th.  It ended up being a week late and showing up today along with the 8 snack box.  That actually annoyed me, but oh well. 

They put you automatically on a weekly box subscription for their regular size box.  The regular box contains 8 snacks and is $11.99 per box.  

One nice option is the ability to make them bi weekly, so you don't feel like your spending too much each month on snacks.  

Graze had a ton of different options for snacks.  I received:

Snack Box:

Kettle Kern Pops (weird popcorn like stuff)

Active Nutrient Blend (yummy nuts)

Cocoa Cookie Dippers with Cherry Compote

Garden of England (dried fruit)

Regular Box:

Peachy Orchard (dried fruit)

Hot Pepper Jam with Multi Grain Crackers

Everything Bagel Sticks

Zesty Chili Lime Cashews

Three Seed Protein Flapjacks (crunchy bars)

Honey Drizzled Cashews

Herby Bread Basket (mini breadsticks, oregano crackers and garlic crostini)

Honeycomb Crunch (nuts, raisins and chocolate covered honeycombs) 

They definitely aren't very large snacks, they are meant to be about 150-200 calories.  But the convenience factor is undeniable.  

Overall, I really like the idea and all the snacks I received.  Maybe a bit more expensive than making the snacks myself, but its fun!

Lentils, sneaky protein heroes!

I want to venture a guess that most of you, haven't tried lentils before. They are weird 

little earthy colored beans and they look like a lot of work.  

Plus, what exactly are legumes?

First I want to assure you, lentils CAN taste amazing.  Eat them plain, with no seasoning, 

and you might as well have cardboard.  

They are pretty easy to make, no soaking or hours of waiting.  

Basically, you rinse them in a colander for like 30 seconds, then you add 6-8 cups of water or broth and your one pound of lentils (most packages come in that size unless you buy in bulk) to a large pot and simmer about 20 minutes. 

You can make it anyway. Italian, with tomato paste and Italian spices.  Indian spices pair 

amazingly and so traditional salt pepper and garlic.  My personal fav is a combo chili powder, cayenne pepper, and taco seasoning.  Its spicy and delicious.  

Lentils are part of the legume family, and are small circular shaped seeds.  They are small and firm until cooked, when they slightly expand and can become very soft and tender.  

And for the best part, a serving (about 1 cup) of these bad boys is 10 grams 

of protein, zero fat and 11 grams of fiber.  

The macros on these guys makes it super easy to fit as much as you want into your diet.  

I try to keep these on hand in my house most weeks for a quick snack.  I heat up some and have 

it with some wheat crackers and veggies.  

Arbonne Phytosport After Workout. BCAAs to help recovery.

After workout BCAA supplements, do you really need them? 

I didn't think so, for a really long time.  

During heavy exercise, muscles get small tears where growth happens.  These tears give us 

the pain and soreness following our workouts. 

BCAA (Branched chain amino acids) supplements are designed to support muscle 

repair, help build lean muscle tissue and support recovery. They are formulated to absorb 

into the muscle tissue and metabolize quickly.  

If you've ever done a "leg day" workout, then you know the ridicules pain that incurs afterward. I

have been having a particularly hard time with soreness and muscle pain following heavy squats and dead lifts recently. So I bit the bullet and got a BCAA suppliment.  

Arbonne International is a line of all natural vegan and gluten free products.  They recently 

launched their line called Phytosport which carries a pre-workout, electrolyte replacement 

and post workout supplements. 

Arbonne After Workout claims makes all of the typical claims of similar products (recovery and repair, less pain).  However I see one big difference.

No harmful chemicals. 

Honestly, I expected to not notice much of a difference.  I waited until a day I knew was going to kill me, a day that would leave my boyfriend carrying me up the stairs. 

And, I only took 1/2 of a serving, 

I felt a fraction of the pain I normally do and felt loads better the next day at the gym.  Also flavor wise, Triple Berry, tasted just like a mild fruit flavor, and I mixed it right in with my protein shake with no texture change.  

This will be a staple in my workout routine from now on and I definitely will be able to get much more out of my workouts with less pain.  

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I've been away for a few months...

Recently, I've been a bit busy. I may have let things slip a bit.  I got a new job, started graduate school to get my MBA, and my dog has hit the terrible 8ish month age.  But today I realized that it may be time for a refocus and start doing the things I love again. 

This blog will mainly focus on fitness and healthy lifestyle, cooking, and happiness.

I will have recipes, reviews, workouts, and tips. 

Yay, I am so glad to be back and rededicated!

Skye Marie Nye, at 5 months