Mondays in May, Get Moving: Manual Labor

May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 | Megan

Yes. I originally had a book review of The Invention of Wings scheduled for today. I will return to that review in June, because today is another MONDAYS IN MAY, GET MOVING post! Yes, admittedly, I forgot that this was the programme until this morning!!!

Today I want to talk about a form of work, or working out that ISN’T as dear to my heart, but CAN be an INTEGRAL part of good fitness, good health, and an overall good work ethic. I am talking about the merits of MANUAL LABOR.

I hope to encourage us all (me especially!) not to forget that physical activity can also be motivated by WORK. Case in point, my everyday since returning from Palm Springs (yes, it was a harsh awakening back into the world of home ownership).

I have to be honest and state that outdoor chores are not my very favorite endeavor. For me, it seems much more straightforward, easy, manageable to get my work out at the gym or on a dedicated activity such as running, biking, swimming, or paddling.I am not one to wake up in the morning and say, “Hmmm, what am I going to do in my yard today to burn some calories.”

Maybe I need a paradigm shift! Maybe I needed this shed, fence, deck project– otherwise known as #shedfencedeck– as a reminder that good old hard physical labor can be a GREAT WAY to GET ACTIVE and GET MOVING!!! (And wear yourself out! I am pooped after all of our labor!) I am willing to guess that many of you Refined + Rugged readers are already well-versed and maybe well immersed in the ways of yard work, garden work, manual WORK!

Every Spring construction and renewal are a HUGE part of the daily life of many, many of us. So what I’m saying is that many of you are probably saying, DUH. I already knew that I could smash some calories and get fit while I upkeep my home and garden. DUH.

For those of you who are a bit more skeptical I’ve complied a list of some the top manual labor calorie burners. As well as linked to some expert opinion articles to bolster my stand: here, here, here, here, here.

MANUAL LABOR CALORIE BURN (outdoor)

Shoveling snow: 400-600 calories per hour

Heavy yard work (landscaping, moving rocks, hauling dirt): 400-600 calories per hour

Raking and bagging leaves: 350-450 calories per hour

Outdoor construction and remodeling: 250-300 calories per hour

Gardening: pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc.: 200-400 calories per hour

Mowing the lawn: 250-350 calories per hour

Washing the car: 175-250 calories per hour

MANUAL LABOR CALORIE BURN (indoor)

Major cleaning (turning mattresses, washing windows and blinds): 175-250 calories per hour

Moderate housecleaning (laundry loads, mopping and sweeping, vacuuming): 150-200 calories per hour

Light housecleaning (dusting, straightening up, taking out the trash): 120-170 calories per hour

Child care: 300-600 calories per hour (depending on how old the kids are and how active they are)

If you don’t want to jump into yard work just yet, pick an indoor chore to stay active and fit. I mean, if I can burn up to 600 calories per hour playing tag with my boys, why not? If I can get a physical boost from Spring Cleaning I had better go after it!!!

Yes. I spent my weekend staining every single board for our fence. That meant that a couple nights we were up until 11:30 p.m. staining and screwing! There are pictures below of all of our current projects: shed, deck, fence. You can see our late night fencing in the last shot. I love the dark of the night against the trees and the glow of the fence in the industrial work light we borrowed from our neighbors.

I don’t know specifically how many calories I burned, but I can tell you that my back and arms and hands ached every night it was time to crash into bed. Seems to me that my body was experiencing a really good, rather intense work out. No gym. No dedicated path required! What are your favorite WORK tasks?

Have you experienced the healthy benefits of getting up and putting some elbow grease into it? Whether IT is deep cleaning the carpet, remodeling your kitchen, creating a new garden space, or maintaining your current yard, how do you get moving with manual labor? I’d love to hear!

Have a brilliant Monday!

XX, Megan

P.S. I really need to give credit where credit is due here. NONE of these project would have happened without my SUPERMAN of a husband. He has the most incredible work ethic of anyone I have ever met. In his day job, and in his constant commitment to make our home and yard a beautiful space and place to live! I am one very lucky gal! Thank you, babe!!!

Mondays in May: Outside is Free

May 11, 2015May 12, 2015 | Megan

Continuing on with my Mondays in May, Get Moving series, today I wanted to talk about a mode of workout that is near and dear to my heart: OUTDOOR WORKOUTS.

I was lucky enough to grow up with parents who saw to it that we spent plenty of time outside. Camping, exploring, fishing, hiking, biking, running, and more. All were encouraged.

As I got older, I really got into my running game. I ran almost solely outside. A friend of mine and I recently compared notes, we both hit a wall on the treadmill at about 3 miles. Consequently, I hit the road.

This is not to say that I was EVER a high level runner. Never a pro. Never competitive. But I LOVED to RUN. I ran outside nearly every day.

A climbing accident my sophomore year of college put the brakes on my running for a couple of years. I shattered my fibula and cracked off the bottom of my tibia. After some extensive surgery and fancy titanium hardware, I now have a wonderfully reconstructed ankle.

After some intensive rehab, I continued running through my twenties. Completing one marathon and many, many 1/2 marathons, 10 milers, and more Saturday long runs than I can count. I logged countless miles with our Bob and double Bob strollers! (Truly wish I’d been better about using a pedometer just to have a record of the distance.)

I hit 30 and had to address the fact that my running days were over. I had a lot of pain associated with every step, and after longer runs my ankle would ache for up to a week. It simply wasn’t wise to keep pounding the pavement.

So the very same day my orthopedist told me that running probably wasn’t going to be my gig, my husband went to the local bike shop and picked out a sweet road bike for me.

Now let’s turn this toward the outside, shall we? The reason I touch on my running history here is that almost all of it was done OUTSIDE.

With the exception of a few aforementioned miles here and there on a treadmill in college when the weather was simply too frigid, icy, and snowy to run outside, I ran outdoors day in and day out.

Now that I cycle, I would say my ride time is split almost evenly between outside and the gym. I like it that way. I really love my gym classes, and the awesome workout they afford me.

But my heart was sold to the great wild long ago. I LOVE being outside to work, play, and live. (Don’t mistake. I also bless the name of indoor plumbing and hot showers.) One of the best parts of working out outside is that you can go wherever the wind takes you. Literally.

My friend Emily recently started hashtagging some of her outdoor workouts #outsideisfree. That’s “outside is free”, to the lay person. She really got me thinking about just how wonderful outdoor workouts can TRULY be! (Plus her pictures are fabulous, as well. Just makes me want to be running, riding, swimming right alongside her!)

Emily is an all-around athlete. She began her active career as a high school swim champ, but has since branched out into running, cycling, an all-around outdoors woman.

She’s always loved nature. I know that from our years as fellow graduate students. Her point is well taken. Gym time can be so needed, and really necessary for many climates. But if you want a great workout, look no further than that first step out your front door.

There is something so satisfying about escaping outside to get your sweat on. The wind in your face, the views for your eyes, the sound of your breathing and heart rate and hard work all happening en plein air. It is absolutely exhilarating.

So this Monday, rain or shine, heat or cold, wind or clam, I am challenging you to break out of your rut and hit the open road! Run, bike, swim, walk, skip, dance, saunter, jog, soft pedal– it doesn’t matter the pace you keep or the company.

Just go ahead and get outside. I think you will like what you see, how you feel, and look forward to the next time you hit the trail, street, byway, or thoroughfare!

Get out there!

XX, Megan

Science Friday: Geodes

May 8, 2015May 6, 2015 | Megan

My dad is a rock hound. Some of my earliest memories are of nature walks in the Uintah Mountains. Dad has brought home rocks for his “rock garden” for years. It comes as no surprise that he wants to share his love of rocks with his grandchildren!

I don’t remember the occasion for which he gifted our boys these geodes, but we have been delinquent in slicing them open and checking out the awesome insides until this week!

My wonderful hubs got out his dremel and a small hand grinder. Because we didn’t have enough protective eyewear for all of the kids, cousins, and neighbor friends, we made them stand back and watch from afar. This didn’t seem to dampen their excitement one bit!

A geode is a geological anomaly that has sometimes perplexed scientists as there is not ONE known way that geodes form. Additionally, geodes can be made up of sedimentary rock, igneous rock, or both! They are formed through a process of chemical precipitation whereby dissolved silicates and/or carbonates are deposited below the surface of a gas or lava bubble (in the case of igneous rock), or in a hollow chamber of sedimentary rock. The chamber fills with deposits from groundwater or hydrothermal solutions over time, allowing the crystals to form.

The bedrock containing these geodes eventually weathers and breaks down through erosion or other chemical decomposers and the geodes nodules are left for us to find! (That is obviously a VERY cursory description of the entire process, but you can read more about geodes and their formation and discovery HERE.)

After Perry cut the geodes open, the boys wanted to share their treasure with everyone. Perry took a hammer and chisel and broke the first geode into smaller pieces. Plus, there was another tiny geode on the back side of one part of the larger geode that he unattached and cut open individually.

The excited eyes and exclamations of surprise at seeing the crystals and banded interior of the geodes was absolutely grand! Leave it to children to make every experience 10 times better.

Thanks, Umpa for sharing your love of geology with us and our boys! Here’s to continuing the rock hunt all over the American West for years to come (with a leave it where it lays, policy for the most part, of course)!

I truly hope you have a wonderful Friday and a fabulous weekend all around! Go out there and create your own Science Friday!

XX, Megan

Grilled Curry Lime Pork Tenderloin

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015 | Megan

Oh, Summer! You are right around the corner and it feels SO GOOD!

In other exciting news, it’s official! We had our first real outdoor BBQ of the season this last Sunday and it was oh. so. wonderful! I made another winner of a dish from The Scramble* (gasp!). My sister was in town from San Francisco so we invited the family over to share in the food, and fun, and yum!

Suffice it to say that the meat alone was a huge hit. I will definitely be making this pork again this summer!

XX, Megan

Ingredients for Pork Dish
1 1/2 – 2 lbs. pork tenderloins, or use boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lime, (use 3 Tbsp. juice and 1/2 tsp. lime zest)
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil
2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Marinate

Because we were having a large gathering for our BBQ I doubled the pork serving to just over 3 lbs. and consequently doubled the marinade, so if you’re making a six serving dish, you may not have nearly this much meat!

Place the pork loins into a shallow baking dish with sides. Juice the lime, zest the lime, chop the cilantro, and mix these with the oil, brown sugar, curry powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. You can marinate your pork for as little as 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. I think I marinated mine for 12 hours and the flavor was magnificent!

Grill

Once your meat has marinated to your liking. Grill the pork for 20-25 minutes, flipping once. Once you flip, I would recommend watching the meat closely. Pork is super dry when overdone.

Mix

If you are making a side salad, you can throw it together while your meat is grilling. I chose to use harvest grains instead of rice for a side, either option is delicious!

Next time

The Scramble suggests a savory side of grilled artichokes to compliment your pork tenderloins. However, the artichoke selection in our little town wasn’t to my liking, and I didn’t have time to run to the “big city” to grab the artichokes. Next time we head outside for a BBQ I will DEFINITELY be doing up these grilled artichokes. Don’t they sound absolutely yum!

To add the artichokes to your meal, prep the meat as instructed above. About 10 minutes before you are ready to begin grilling your pork stem the artichokes and start them steaming in about two inches of water. Steam artichokes for 20 minutes. Pull them out of the water and let cool (alternatively, you can run them under cool water to speed up your process).

Mix 2 Tbsp. of the oil, all of the salt, and 1 tsp. of the garlic in a small bowl. Your pork should have hit the grill about 10 minutes prior to this step.

Slice the artichokes in half from top to bottom. Remove the fuzzy choke near the bottom with a spoon. Baste with oil, salt, garlic mixture. (The Scramble recommends doing this in a bowl so you can use the leftover oil for basting mid-grill.)

Grill the artichokes for 5 minutes each side until it begins to show spots of char. Remove from grill and squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon over all.

Lastly, as your pork and artichokes are finishing their time on the grill. Mix together the aioli sauce with 1 tsp. of the remaining oil, 1 tsp. garlic, 1/4 cup mayo, and juice of 1/4 of the lemon.

Grilled Artichokes with Aioli Sauce
4 baby or small artichokes
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. minced garlic, (about 4 cloves)
3/4 lemon, juice only, about 3 Tbsp.
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

EAT!

*The Scramble is a meal planning service to which you can subscribe here. For a fantastic price you will receive 5 weekly meals which means 5 recipes (main course plus a side dish), complete grocery list, the ability to tweak the number of people you are making for, and full nutrition facts. PLUS tips as to how best to PREP your meal beforehand, add a punch of FLAVOR, and how to SLOW COOK almost every recipe if you’re especially slammed that night. This wonderful service really does live up to it’s name. You can come home at 6 p.m. and be sitting down to a DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, HOME COOKED meal by 6:30 p.m. most nights.

Mondays in May: Get Moving!

May 4, 2015May 5, 2015 | Megan

One part of my life that I haven’t touched on a lot here on the blog is my love of a good workout. I have wanted to do another set of content specific posts since we wrapped up the White Shirt Files in February. So I am dubbing all Monday posts this May GET MOVING MONDAYS!

I go through a workout doldrum about this time every year. For me, I don’t struggle to go to workout or eat right during the winter months. I don’t have a hard time eating a balanced diet during the major food Holidays of November and December. Instead, I feel as though I can steam through Thanksgiving, eat a delicious meal and stay on the clean eating wagon. I can eat a sweet here or there over Christmas, and still maintain a healthy weight and good attitude about hitting the gym.

For me the problem actually occurs AFTER the huge “return to the gym” movement of New Year’s Resolutioners in January. Around the beginning of February I am often so over winter. I’m tired of the darkness, the cold, and dragging myself out in said frigid conditions to get a good workout in (yes, even if this is only to jump in the car and head to the gym!).

I start to want to eat everything in sight! I don’t lean one way or the other in the carb vs. protein struggle. While I really like breads and pastas, I eat them in moderation and enjoy normal portions without trouble. But come February/March I start to want to pound a loaf of bread by myself in one sitting. I look at salads with disdain. I don’t do a great job of making sure I am adding veggies and fruits to every meal.

My morning breakfast of two eggs with salsa and wilted spinach devolves into two or three pieces of toast with bread and chocolate milk. Ask my trainer, she’s already informed me MANY times that this sort of meal is not only high in carbohydrates, it’s also super nutrient deficient.

Right about NOW I need a reset. I need a reason to propel me back to the gym. It is usually the start of Spring and the promise of a new outdoor cycling season that get me amped up to return to a more regular workout schedule.

I look to music, and enjoyable classes, and outdoor road rides with awesome friends to get me back into shape after my poor eating choices come end of winter.

The Fatboy Slim remix of the Beastie Boys song Body Movin’ (though one of the weirdest music videos EVER) always keeps me in the right mindset for a great workout!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/WcnTxcqcNEE” target=”_blank”>

I have some major foot and ankle issues. I’m sure I’ll write about them at some point here. But for now I’ll share that where I used to be an avid runner. Taking my boys out for a run nearly EVERY DAY is now a thing of the past as I have had to shift gears in my 30s. Cycling, both indoor and outdoors has become my go-to cardio workout of choice.

Cycling is low impact, uses most of your major muscle groups, and is a great way to shape up.

Have you fallen into a workout rut? Are you trying to shake some winter weight that has been haunting your hips? Are you looking for more energy, better sleep patterns, and a transference of strength into everyday activities?

All I have to say to you is GET MOVING! It does not matter what mode or manner you choose. It does not matter if you are a walker, a runner, or a roller bladder. You do not need to devote inordinate amounts of time to each and every workout. But what you do need to do is get out there, get off of your proverbial couch, and get moving every. single. day.

Below is an example of an indoor cycling profile you can try in the gym, on the road, or in the comfort of your own home if you have a bike trainer or a stationary bike at home. Check it out and tell me what you think!

3 Minute Movers

Warm-up:

3 minute stretch

5 minute warm-up

3 minute pick-ups (30 seconds sprit, 30 second recovery, done 3 times)

Here comes the meat of the workout:

Pick a gear that mimics a flat on an outdoor cycling ride. (Just make sure that you aren’t free wheeling it, or have absolutely no gear on at all.

3 minute run on a flat. (Try to get a handle on a quick cadence. One that will keep your heart pumping and your legs moving.)

3 minute mid-hill climb. (Pick a medium gear on your bicycle. You can pretend that you are gaining elevation outside, just makes sure you don’t have too much gear here because your big hill comes next!)

3 minute HEAVY climb. (Pick a gear that feels almost like molasses. Your cadence will/should decrease dramatically here. You should feel as though you are pushing up a gnarly climb outside. Stay strong. Come in and out of the saddle as you see fit.)

3 minute pick-ups. (After your heavy hill, drop your gear back down to a flat. You should take a 30 second recovery. After 30 seconds, see if you can do a pick-up or a sprint for 30 seconds. Do 30 seconds on, 30 seconds recover 3 times.)

REPEAT!

You can repeat this 12 minute interval 2 or 3 times depending on the length of your workout.

Get out there and get your body movin’! Have a fabulous Monday!

XX, Megan