September Sweat Sessions: Workout 3

September 14, 2015September 11, 2015 | Megan

This week’s workout is designed to get you up and out of your seat! That’s right, we’re going to be working on some cycling stands. One important note about a standing climb is that you need to make sure that you have enough resistance on your fly wheel to support your weight as well as your climb. In other words, you should be able to stand fully on your bike without the aid of your handlebars (in theory, for just a few seconds, this isn’t an acrobatic challenge) without feeling your knees collapse.

If you continue to need to support yourself of your handlebars, or your legs are wobbling under you it probably means that you need MORE resistance.

Another note is that this ride is meant to be steady. Maybe not SLOW, but it is not designed to test your speed. If you find that sweet spot at a resistance level of 7 (meaning that you are on a mid-heavy resistance on your bike), you should need to work hard through all of these minutes. Your Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) should match your resistance level on your bike– 7 (see the sliding scale below).

Push yourself to the top of each climb. Your quads and hamstrings should burn. You might sweat. You might be looking forward to that flush (where you pull all of the resistance off of your fly wheel for 1 minute). All of that is AWESOME! Don’t be afraid to push yourself. Don’t be afraid to work hard.

Workout 3

Warm-up:

3 minute seated stretch

4 minutes of 30 second pick-ups. 30 seconds pick up your cadence. 30 seconds back to rest.

4 minute hill climb, adding gear every 30-45 seconds. Find a 6 or a 7 on if you are using resistance levels from 1-10 on your bike for your ride.

Profile:

4 minute standing climb, 4 minute seated climb

1 minute flush

3 minute standing climb, 3 minute seated climb

1 minute flush

2 minute standing climb, 2 minute seated climb

1 minute flush

1 minute stand, 1 minute seated, 1 minute stand, 1 minute seated for 4 minute total. No flush in between.

1 minute flush

Repeat in reverse order, adding a minute to each stand and sit…

2 minute stand, 2 minute seated, 1 minute flush

3 minute stand, 3 minute seated, 1 minute flush

4 minute stand, 4 minute seated, 1 minute flush

Cool down. Spin for 2 minutes. Stretch all the way down.

HOME! You’re DONE!!!! You may be tired, but I hope you’re feeling STRONG! And I hope you have a body movin’ MONDAY!

XX. Megan

September Sweat Sessions: Week 2

September 11, 2015September 11, 2015 | Megan

HUMOR, HABIT, and HOPE

The second week of any reset is never as exciting as the first, right?

Bah! That’s what it feels like sometimes! Or this:

Or maybe it feels GREAT! You’ve got the wind at your back! You’re hitting the gym five times a week (or whatever schedule you committed to)! You are making healthy meal choices time after time, night after night! You are revving and raring to go! That is FANTASTIC!

Keep it up! Carry on! Don’t Stop! You rock!

On the other hand, if you are a little more tired due to renewing your regular workouts (like I am!). If you are a little more antsy about healthy eating. If you are stressed out or burnt out, TAKE HEART!

These are the doldrums. They happen every time you choose to commit to something. (I am writing this for myself, too, you know.) There really is light at the end of the tunnel. For one thing, September won’t last forever! 🙂 For another thing, my husband never tires of reminding me that it takes 21+ days to MAKE a habit, and 3 to BREAK one.

He really isn’t far off. In fact, it may take 21 days, it may take even longer! Insert surprised (and a little nervous) emoji here! Check out this article, “How Long It Takes to Form a New Habit.” (hint: sometimes 50 days?!!!!!?)

Or better yet, in the words of William James, 3 clear objectives to apply to oneself when seeking NEW HABITS.

1. The acquisition of a new habit, or the leaving off of an old one, we must take care to launch ourselves with as strong and decided an initiative as possible. Accumulate all the possible circumstances which shall reenforce the right motives; put yourself assiduously in conditions that encourage the new way; make engagements incompatible with the old; take a public pledge, if the case allows; in short, envelop your resolution with every aid you know. This will give your new beginning such a momentum that the temptation to break down will not occur as soon as it otherwise might; and every day during which a breakdown is postponed adds to the chances of its not occurring at all.

2. Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again. Continuity of training is the great means of making the nervous system act infallibly right … It is surprising how soon a desire will die of inanition if it be never fed.

3.Seize the Very first possible opportunity to act on every resolution you make, and on every emotional prompting you may experience in the direction of the habits you aspire to gain. It is not in the moment of their forming, but in the moment of their producing motor effects, that resolves and aspirations communicate the new ‘set’ to
the brain.

So much good information there. First, launch with strength (flexed bicep emoji). Then, NO EXCEPTIONS (big eyes emoji). Last, ACT! At every opportunity, reinforce the habit you are seeking to gain!

So here you are, for whatever reason you followed me into this endeavor. I applaud you. I have to applaud you because I am certainly applauding myself, cheering myself on to keep going.

So today. Friday. The end of our Week 2 September Sweat Session, check in with yourself. What have been some high points for you this week in terms of exercise and healthy eating? What have been some lows? What do you plan to improve upon next week? What will you do to continue to motivate yourself? What will you do to build upon what you’ve started?

I challenge you to KEEP GOING!

I’ll be posting another cycling workout on Monday. Remember, you can use it at the gym, at home, outside, on a recumbent bike, or even on an elliptical machine!

Because honestly, as tired as you are from hitting a workout, aren’t you MORE TIRED of the excuses you’ve been using to avoid exercise? I thought so. Check out this article on the Huffington Post to prepare yourself to banish those excuses.

If you need ever MORE MOTIVATION, don’t forget the TUNES! Here’s a good playlist from earlier this year you can tap into. I’ll be talking more about MUSIC next week. Until then. Picture me atop that ugly old stair climber today. Pounding out 40 minutes, cause that’s where I’m headed!!!

XX, Megan

September Sweat Sessions: Workout 2

September 7, 2015September 6, 2015 | Megan

Alright! Wonderful friends and readers, are you ready for your next indoor cycling challenge?!?

Perfect for Labor Day, cause you can hit the road, hit the gym, hit your at-home recumbent, and pump this out and then call it a day!!!

I have affectionately titled this workout BY DEGREES. It’s an honest, straightforward, incremental hill climb with an increase in resistance every 3 minutes.

Workout below!

Workout 2:

BY DEGREES

For this workout you will need to pick THREE distinct gears. One, a medium gear. On your scale of resistance, 1-10, picture finding a gear in the 4-5 range. Something with more resistance than a flat, but definitely NOT a hill-climbing gear. This gear should allow you to keep up a consistent cadence of 90-110 RPMs.

Two, a middle-high gear. This gear will begin to feel like a you are climbing a hill, but this isn’t your Everest. You are looking for a 6 or 7 on your scale of resistance. Three, you will need to find a HEAVY gear. This is that 8% grade, that super steep pitch on the hill. This is where your legs are burning and you are reaching for the top of that climb!

You will maintain each of these “gears” for 3 minutes. So each interval is 3 minutes, with 3 levels of increasing resistance, making each set a total of 9 minutes long. You will cycle through this pattern– 3 minutes middle gear, 3 minutes middle-heavy climb, 3 minute HEAVY climb– 3 times. Each of your 9 minute sets will be followed by a 2 minute flush. You will remove all resistance for those 2 minutes. So let’s get started!

Warm-up: 3 minutes on a true flat, plus arm stretch. 6 minutes of pick-ups meaning one minute on, one minute rest. 3 minute practice climb. Beginning at that true flat add one gear every 30-45 seconds.

3 minutes, Middle Gear. A 3 or 4 on a 10 point resistance scale.

3 minutes, Mid-Heavy Gear. A 6 or 7 on a 10 point resistance scale.

3 minutes, HEAVY Gear. An 8 or 9 on a 10 point resistance scale.

2 minute flush.

REPEAT 3 TIMES!!!

Thanks for stopping by to sweat it out with me! I hope you are able to use this workout 2 to 3 times this week, and then sub in a couple of your other favorite workouts for the rest of the week!

Have a rockin Monday, an awesome Holiday, and a wonderful week!

XX, Megan

September Sweat Sessions: The Challenge

September 4, 2015September 5, 2015 | Megan

I posted a call to action on Monday, but I didn’t do a very good job of explaining my intent or promoting my purpose before diving right in to my September Sweat Sessions. Typical.

Plus, then I posted the most perfect Peach Upside Down Cake on Wednesday. The consumption of which is totally counter to my September fitness goals. I wanted to slip that delicious recipe in there for you before all of summer’s perfect peaches were gone!!! So if you, my wonderful readers were a bit thrown off, I understand!

Or if you are just tuning in to accept the challenge to Sweat with me this entire September, WELCOME to my second challenge post!

Allow me to elaborate with part of my story. (*Or skip directly to the challenge.) I am looking to lose some summer weight. Unlike some, I actually find that I gain the pounds more during the summer than I do during the winter. Call it reverse hibernation, call it falling off the proverbial wagon, call it lack of self-control, and love for all of summer’s juicy foods. It is all of those, I’m sure, and this has been my cycle for many years.

In fact, maybe last summer was the first time that I maintained my exercise goals through summer break. I’ll credit that to an incredible personal trainer, and the fact that I was prepping to for bikinis all day, every day in Costa Rica.

I feel that my summer weight increase goes all the way back to my college days in Alaska working in the seasonal tourism industry there. I always kept up a rigorous workout schedule while I was in college. I ran nearly every day and had periods where I was weight lifting three or more times a week. This kept me in great shape.

But when summer hit and I headed north (for seven glorious summer seasons, mind you!), the weight came on. I let all of my working out and healthy eating habits slide. I can cite all of the reasons for the slide– I was constantly traveling, it was an every summer reunion with some of my best friends, I was making up for all of the stricture and schedule I placed myself under during school, work was long but the days were longer. I was hungry.

I find a similar cycle in my life now. When summer comes I’m ready to cut loose! I’m ready to break the rules. I’m ready to eat all the shaved ice. I’m ready to NOT pass on the french fries. I’m ready for a milkshake-a-day, and I can assure you that it is NOT the same as an apple, kids. I also tend to eat more meat as we grill and entertain during summer months, and look the other way when it comes to making sure I am eating my veggies.

My meal planning game gets weak. Because another thing that has kept us eating healthily over the years is definitely The Scramble. Roll your eyes, I know that I talk about it all the time, but the meals in this plan are healthy and filling. This is the Goldilocks of meal-planning sites if you ask me. The meals aren’t too big and they aren’t too small. They are JUST RIGHT.

But sometimes in the summer even those meals go out the window! And that doesn’t even cover VACATION and TRAVEL! OY-VEY!

Then comes September. NOW. I’m ready to shape up and lean out. I’m ready to eat clean and leave the junk behind. What is the point of all of this fitness/exercise/eating talk? The point is it is ALWAYS good to reset. Health and well-being of our bodies require it. Again, and again, and again.

What about you?

What are your fitness cycles? Do you see a pattern in your exercise and eating habits? What are your get moving and eat clean weaknesses? What are your motivations? What keeps you working out? What help you to make healthy food choices? Are you prepared? I hope you are prepared to:

Be prepared to Sweat

Be prepared to Work Hard

Be prepared to Hurt

Be prepared to be Out of Breath

Be prepared to Want to Quit

Be prepared to Keep Going

Be prepared to Drink more Water

Be prepared to Eat Healthily

*Here is my plan. I am going to work out every WORK day in September. That’s five days a week. At least. I am going to split my time between indoor cycling and weight lifting with a smattering of yoga because those are my go-tos. I will be posting an indoor cycling workout here on the blog once a week. This week’s workout is posted, here. You can repeat this workout 2, 3, even 4 times a week if you’d like to.

Then I am going to keep my weekends active, and by active I mean FUN! I am going to go out there and revel in Autumn. Whether that means going on a hike with my boys, taking a walk around my neighborhood (I don’t do that nearly enough), hit the paddle board for a sunrise moment, or pedal down to town for some more peaches.

I am going to reign in my sweet eating. For me, I’ve found it’s best not to cut treats out altogether. So I have a sweet or two each week. Fine. But it will not do for me or you to be eating something sweet EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. It is counter to all of the hard work you will be putting into your workouts.

I am challenging you to do the same.

The reality is that you can do this. My advice is that you shouldn’t be afraid to sweat, don’t be afraid to grit your teeth and dig in to your workouts, and don’t be afraid to smile while doing it. My advice is to take it easy on the food. Don’t go slashing carbs and burning all of your refined sugars. Moderation. (I say this as a person who could pound a pint of ice cream in one sitting, so please understand that Moderation is a constant practice for me.)

I really want that extra pick-up in metabolism. I want to feel a little lighter, and I want to have that strong edge. I’ve also noticed that as my boys have gotten older, I have actually had to work HARDER at my weight training goals simply because I’m not lifting them and hauling them around anymore!

You can cardio until you’re blue in the face, but if you really want to CHANGE your body for the better, if you really want to be in the best SHAPE (and it will be YOUR SHAPE, friends. You will also have to love the package that your body is altogether, because it is a beautiful thing), you will need to incorporate strength training into your workouts.

I’ve often said that I didn’t have biceps until I had babies. For me, having children made me stronger– both mentally and physically. Chanel whatever makes you feel strong and use that as your impetus to get moving!

Plus, I hope you’ll think of THIS SONG every time you head to the gym– the treadmill downstairs, the stairclimber, the weight lifting class, the kick boxing circuit, the elliptical machine, the yoga flow, the core blast, your insanity tapes, or Pilates video.

If you do those things consistently, you will see a DIFFERENCE in your body. Coupled with healthy eating you will begin, gradually, to feel better. You will have more energy. You will have more endorphins. Your pants may fit just a little bit better. You will certainly see an increase in endurance for the stairs at work, and the local walk-a-thin, and chasing after your kids, and that hike with your buddy into the hinterland. You will most likely even breathe easier.

SO, in the words of Snoop Dog, “I want to make you sweat.” Will you join me?

Let’s do this!!!

XX, Megan

P.S. Another cycling workout will post Monday, and we’ll check in again on Friday, shall we?

School Lunch and School Snack Shenanigans

August 26, 2015January 14, 2016 | Megan

UPDATE! The Scramble is giving away the Back to School Survival Kit away FREE to everyone through September 30th! Just follow this link! http://share.thescramble.com/bts/ Thank you, Aviva Goldfarb, and Team Scramble!!! – Megan

With the return of school comes the return of the school lunch. The school my oldest attends doesn’t have a lunch kitchen, so lunch is solely provided and packed by us. I grew up as a school lunch kid, meaning that my parents sent us with money to eat lunch from our lunch kitchen.

I’ve never been a very picky or discriminating eater, which may have been a boon for my time-strapped mother. Unfortunately for me, sometimes that meant that I would gladly eat ANY food, especially the processed, empty-calorie filled junk variety. I’m talking about the Velveta shells and cheese or Pringles chips by the stack, a candy bar from the school vending machine or a grease soaked piece of pizza.

While my eating choices have grown healthier as I’ve grown older, I’ve had to TEACH myself to eat more healthily. To be honest, I also have to constantly REMIND myself to make healthy choices in the kitchen (and at the grocery store, and at the restaurant). I’m going to say it again CONSTANTLY.

Basically this post is to share two fabulous school lunch connections we’ve made in our household this year. The first is our family’s favorite, tried and true meal planning service– The Scramble.

The other wonderful website you should check out (for their school lunch pictures alone!) is 100 Days of Real Food. I simply typed “School Lunch” in to her search box. You can subscribe to Lisa’s meal plans here, and at the very least you can gather ideas from the awesome photos of the school lunch she packs for her girls every. single. day!

So first, The Scramble. A few short days before school began I received a wonderful email in my inbox titled, “Your Free Back to School Survival Kit”. The email included three downloadable lists for Back to School meals. One for Breakfast, one for Lunch, and another for Power Snacks. I was over the moon.

My top three picks from The Scramble Back to School Meals download are as follows:

Breakfast–

A toasted whole wheat bagel with almond butter, avocado with a little coarse salt, cream cheese and smoked salmon or a smoked salmon spread.
Egg and vegetable muffins such as these Garden Quichelettes.
Scrambled eggs, salsa, sliced avocado, baby spinach, and shredded cheese in a warm corn tortilla or whole wheat flatbread or wrap.

Lunch–

Leftover vegetarian soup, stew or chili in a thermos (make a big batch on Sunday).
Diced tofu drizzled with teriyaki sauce.
Pizza bagel.

Power Snack–

Edamame: Kids and teens love salted edamame in their pods (sold frozen).
Monkey Milkshake: In a blender, combine 1 frozen banana, 1 cup milk, 2 Tbsp. peanut butter (or other nut butter) and 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder or cocoa nibs and blend for about 30 seconds.
Black Bean Dip: In a food processor or blender, puree 15 oz. canned black beans, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. orange juice, 2 Tbsp. lime juice, 1⁄4 tsp. each of garlic powder and salt, and 1⁄2 tsp. each of chili powder and ground cumin. If too thick, add 1/8 – 1/4 cup water. Serve with whole grain tortilla chips and cut up veggies.

I hope a few of these ideas resonate with you. I hope I’ll use a few more of these ideas this year as I prepare lunch for myself and my littles. Have an awesome Thursday!!!

XX, Megan