Rave Run: Ridge Road

Ive mentioned before how nice it was to run on the beautiful Ridge Road, so I was very excited to get a chance to run out there again today when I had a couple of clients cancel on me. I took full advantage of the extra time to ease a little of my high stress level I've had lately. Its hard not to feel better with mountain views like this!! 

New bars!

From living in a college town, most of the time when you hear excitement over new bars it pertains to the kind selling alcohol and the anticipated promise of a good night.  In the fitness industry, we get a little more excited about healthy stuff, whether its new exercises or workout tools, or food! 

I was in Fresh Market this morning and found two new bars I haven't seen before, each with 20g of protein in them.  The top one, Core Pro Bar, I tried today. 1/2 before my run and then 1/2 for my afternoon snack.  At 290 calories and 25g carbs it is a pretty good choice. The flavor was Cookie Dough, and though it definitely did not taste like cookie dough, it wasn't bad. I'll try the 2nd bar tomorrow and see how it goes! 

What about you? Have you tried any new health foods lately? What bars should I try? 

Chickpea and Feta Salad

I made such a great dinner tonight! Quick and really healthy made mostly with ingredients I already had on hand.

I got the inspiration from this recipe I found in Southern Living (below, August 2013), then jazzed it up with a can of black beans and corn. So good!

Football Stadium Workout!

Football season is approaching, which is one of my favorite times of year.  I was visiting Lexington, Virginia a few months ago and whenever I do, I love running through the town and the colleges that are there.  I thought I'd share a workout I did at the Virginia Military Institute track one evening. The weather was perfect, humidity wasn't too bad and you just get a little more pumped up about your effort level when you are a military college.

Workout started with a jog around the outer lanes of the track for 2 laps, going in the "wrong" direction.  Since there weren't any other exercisers, I could do this, but you might not be able to if the track where you run is busy.  I then did a bit of dynamic stretching and warm up drills since I knew what was ahead of me.  High knees, butt kickers, skipping, bounding, etc for 5-10 minutes.

Next, the work part: Running 1/2 mile intervals at 5k pace followed by a one lap jog, then sprinting up the stadium stairs, then 1 lap jog.  Repeat four times.  Cool down with a slow jog or walk for one to two laps and don't forget to stretch, hydrate, and refuel!

Hint: If the stadium stairs are reallllllly high, time yourself for a 1-2 minute run up.  If the stairs aren't high enough, do repeats.

Pool side munchies

Not too bad for a healthier pool side snack.  It definitely satisfies the crunchy, and a little bit salty cravings, and much better for you than many other snacks! Try them out!

Trainer Tip Tuesday

Today's tip? Simple. Work hard. I am so thankful for the many blessing I have and am particularly grateful to have a job where I focus on improving the lives of my clients and class participants. I have recently started training some new clients and am thrilled to have them start training. Their workouts have been tailored specifically to meet their individual needs safely and effectively to reach their goals.

So wether its building your personal training business or working hard through training sessions, focus on your goals (short and long term) and work hard!

Upper Body Squeeze!

So that was today's quick "me" workout.  I had taught Athletic Conditioning and wanted to squeeze in an upper body workout before teaching Core and Cardio Conditioning class.  Its sometimes a challenge when you teach soooo many group exercise classes and an erratic schedule to get in high quality workouts for yourself. Thankfully, I have been sticking with my upper body 2-3 days per week goal which I set for myself to get my back and arms more toned for my wedding dress. Crazy that we're just over 4 months away from getting married!!!! :)

I ran out of time for chest and triceps and some additional shoulder work but I'll get that in later.