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New Shoes In The Spring Time
New shoes in the spring time,
New shoes in the fall.
Whenever we get new shoes we like to call:
“Happy new shoes! Happy new shoes to Tera!”
When I was younger, my little sister came home singing the New Shoes song that her teacher taught her. Now every time I get new shoes (which is A LOT), I call her up and ask her to sing me the New Shoes song. Yes, I know that I am too old for these types of shenanigans and yes I know that I get new shoes much more often than just in the spring and fall, but dammit, any time I can celebrate a new pair of kicks, I will take it. Even the UPS man knows that I will always do a happy dance when I see the Zappos box heading to my door. I LOVE SHOES! But this isn’t about me right now. This is about my husband Luke and how he NEVER listens to me. He is bull headed and has to see proof that I am right before he will actually listen to me.
For those of you who personally know me, you know that the hubs has recently taken up running. And, I swear just to annoy me, he was gifted with the blessing of being a natural. It is easy for him. He took a month off after his wisdom teeth were removed and he jumped right back into it by running 5 fast miles. Jerk! Anywhoosers, recently he has been dealing with ankle pain and painfully, tight calves. Right away, I told him that it was probably time for new shoes. He thought he just needed a massage. When the massage only provided temporary relief, I told him he needed to put on his new shoes. He decided that chiropractic visits, hour long stretching sessions and even longer sessions with his hand held massager would be the magic pill. When that didn’t take the pain away, I walked away from him. I went to the closet, grabbed his brand new shoes, grabbed his current running shoes and SHOWED him why it was time to put on the new shoes already!
When I put them side by side, I think he said “Wow beautiful and amazing wife. You are right just like you always are. From now on I will always listen to you. And while we are at it, I will never leave the toilet seat up again, I will put my dirty dishes in the dishwasher and pick up all the dog poop as long as I live.” Or….maybe it was something more like “yeah I thought that was the problem”.
Here is a side by side of the bottom of his shoes. Most people look at the top of the shoes and, if there is no visible wear and tear, they think that they are still in good condition. As you can see, the yellow treads are almost worn off. Sign # 1 these shoes need to be tossed.
Here is another comparison of the back and outside of the shoes. Notice how the midsole near the heel has been compressed almost down to half of its original height, meaning that the cushion is almost nonexistent. Also, look how the old shoe is tilted. Due to Lukes running form, he is wearing the shoes out more on one side. Sign #2 and 3 why we are kicking them to the curb.
Workout shoes don’t last forever (and thank God for that cause I’d still be wearing those awful Nike Shocks that they made in the 90’s). If you are putting normal wear and tear on your gym shoes (and ONLY wearing them inside at the gym), a quality pair should get last 6 months tops! If you are running longer distances (more than 20 miles a week) and/or running outdoors, you need to keep a close eye on the condition of your shoes. Dirt, mud and dust washes off, but the integrity of the shoe breaks down much faster when you aren’t running on the dreadmill. Running outdoors causes the bottoms of your shoes to show wear faster due to the rougher surface (ie pavement, concrete, trails). For most runners, the rule of thumb is to change your shoes every 300-500 miles or every 6 months, whichever comes first.
TERAS SUPER AWESOME TIP: Whenever I lace up my new shoes for the first time, I write the date in a nook on the bottom of my shoes, where it won’t wear off. This way I know how old my shoes are and when it is time to change them out. I also note in my workout journal when I started wearing the new shoes so I can track how many miles are on my “shoe odometer”. Click here if you want to buy one of my awesome journals.
A few signs that you may need to ditch your sneaks:
~Worn off treads
~Worn down soles
~Compressed midsole
~Heel collar (the part that goes around the back of your ankle) is split, unraveling or rolling
~Pain in your knees, feet, ankles, hips, low back or neck
~They have 300-500 miles on them or are 6 months old
~You saw a super cute pair online (that’s always my excuse)
Everyone wears their shoes differently and everyone has different signs of when their body needs to break up with their current shoes. I tend to fall in love HARD with my shoes when I find a pair I like. I become a stage 5 clinger and never want to completely break up. I play games and tell them that we are so over, only to go running back the next day to the comfort of their familiar soles. It usually takes me to reach the break up point of a stiff and sore neck to finally cut the laces and throw them in the dumpster. Yes, I have to destroy my shoes in order to STOP wearing them. I’m pathetic. And I need to go away to a rehab for shoe addiction. Which brings me to the “track where old shoes go to run free”.
If you are not like me and leave your kicks in a state of utter destruction and decay (my name is Tera and I have stinky feet), you don’t have to toss your old shoes. You can give them a place to run out the remainder of their days. Recycle or up cycle old shoes with organizations such as Soles 4 Souls or Planet Aid or you can donate them to your local Goodwill. But if you can’t bring yourself to say goodbye, you can keep them around the house for outside work and non-working out activities. Just make sure you don’t try to get back together with them and take them out for one last run.
Cause we are never, ever, ever, getting back together……
Momentum Guest Post
Happy Monday!!!! I was recently given the incredible opportunity to be a guest blogger for a company that I adore – Momentum Jewelry. If you haven’t checked them out, you need to do it NOW. Well, after you read my blog, check them out. They have super inspirational items that will give you the SPARK that you need when you need a little kick in the booty to get moving OR just something cute to remind you how FREAKING AMAZING you are! But first, here is a little something that I wrote for them. Just a story of how I was inspired buy someone who had NO IDEA that they were pushing me to be better!
I was recently scrolling through Instagram and an image of a quote caught my eye. It said “Be strong, you never know who you are inspiring.” As I looked at it, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people I’ve inspired without even realizing it. Think about it! And then, think about how many times you’ve stepped outside of your own comfort zone, tried something new or pushed yourself to be better because of what you saw another person do.
The power of being able to knowingly motivate someone with your words and actions is an incredible gift, but when you do it without even realizing it—that’s a blessing. By just being you, you’ve made an impact on another person. To continue reading click here
New Year, New You?
I am still in disbelief that we are living in 2018. I am still writing 2012 on everything and have an irrational fear of Y2K looming over my head. Note: if you don’t know what Y2K is, please don’t email me asking what it is. It only makes me feel even more like an ancient dinosaur.
Back to us living in a time where we honestly believed we would have time travel and cool Jetson type vehicles. Every year that ticks by I keep seeing articles, post and memes talking about “New Year, New You.” Like what is this really supposed to mean? So at the stroke of midnight on January 31st, I am supposed to transform into a whole different version of myself? I’m going to quit all of my bad habits, start living a completely different life style and become the non nail biting, no more four letter using, vision of health and wellness with a fur free spotless home? And all because the date on the calendar changed? Well someone pull the magic wand out of my butt and make that happen right now cause in the none of your business amount of years that I have been on planet Earth, my way of living has NEVER changed because we moved into another year.
It wasn’t until I stopped putting off everything I wanted to do until the first day of the new year and started making changes on random Tuesdays at 4:32 pm was it that I actually reached more goals.
The thing that I hate more than anything, as a trainer and as a human being with a brain, is hearing someone say that they will start eating better after the Holidays. Ok, so you have 10 pounds to lose and instead of making better choices during the Holidays, you would rather gorge yourself with ALL THE FOOD AND DRINKS for weeks so that once the new year hits you now have 25 pounds to lose. Huh? So pushing yourself further from your goal and making it harder to achieve it better than pushing yourself away from the table? OK, that is NOT OK.
New Year, New You or New Day, Better You?
So, in my opinion, revamping your entire existence on January 1 is a horrible idea and sounds like torture for people who steal kittens. Instead of doing what everyone in American tries (and fails at horribly) every year, why don’t you try to do things a little differently. God willing, you have a LONG TIME left on this planet so why make yourself crazy by trying to reach 900 goals at once when you can work at being a rockstar reaching one goal at a time. I once heard a quote saying:
“You can be good at lots of things or you can be GREAT at one thing.”
Think about it…..
When you are trying to do a few things at a time, you only have so much time to do them and you can do them well. But when you do one thing at a time, you can have the focus, drive and attention to do it with all of your heart.
This month, let’s take ONE GOAL and make that your focus. What? Only ONE GOAL? Yep. You read that right. Studies show that it takes 2 weeks to make a habit stick, but in my experience, it takes at least 1 month to make it a part of your lifestyle. More times that I can count I have picked a goal (always to stretch more). At the 2 week mark I feel like I could take over the stretching world and actually contemplate taking up yoga. But a few days later the “newness” of my newfound passion kind of wears off and before I know it I am as tight as a rubber band again because I forgot to stretch for 5 days in a row. (NOTE: I don’t actually forget. To be honest I start to play the “I will do it later” game and later never happens).
So here is where I hand out homework. However you want to do this – on your phone or the old fashioned way with a pen and paper – write down the following info:
Your goal
The day you will start
How you plan to achieve it
Possible things that might be road blocks for you
How you will deal with the road blocks
How you will reward yourself when you reach your goal (NOT FOOD)
Remember that this is your goal and you need to find a way that works for you to stay on track. And if you happen to veer off that track, DO NOT QUIT. One bad meal, one bad hour, one bad day or even one bad week is NOT a reason to give up. Learn from why it happened and KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!!!!
If you are looking for a fun and convenient way to keep track of your goals, nutrition, water intake and workouts, click here to get my 12 week journal.
Eating Healthy-ish On The Go
On-the-go. To-go. Pokemon-Go (WTF? Is that still a thing?). Fast-casual. Amazon-telepathic-checkout.
I think you’ll agree with me, we’re moving faster than ever. Bustling around to try and do it all. Work, kids, school, activities, play dates and they are all fueled by our technology-enabled ‘FOMO’. (fear of missing out).
We could argue pros and cons of this “Fast & Furious” lifestyle all day- but I think one thing we can all readily agree on is that this ‘go-go-go’ lifestyle is certainly allowing us less time to find high quality fuel for our bodies!
Which is tough. Because when you are “on the go” is when you use the most energy and when it is absolutely vital that you get proper nutrition in your body to keep you going.
The question is, how do you eat healthy meals and snacks when you are traveling, on the road or running around trying to get your kiddos from one activity to the next?
The easiest answer to this question is to be prepared. If you know that you will be out and about for a big chunk of the day- make sure you grab a prepped meal or at the very least a single serving of QUALITY protein power ready to mix up before you leave the house. Easy, right? And we can end the article right there.
<Sigh>. It’s not always that simple, is it?
Sometimes the LAST thing you are thinking about as you leave the house is your next meal. And sometimes bringing your food along just isn’t an option. Have you ever tried trying to convince a TSA agent that your protein shake is so thick that it no longer qualifies as a liquid? I have.
Let’s just say it didn’t work.
So. here are some of my tips to help keep you from becoming the incredibly hangry person without resorting to quick and easy junk food…
1. Protein and Produce.
Protein and Produce. Say it again – PROTEIN AND PRODUCE. If possible, try to base your on-the-go eats around SOME form of protein and some type of produce (fruit or veggie). Both of these will keep you energized, and the fiber in veggies and skin on fruits will keep you full. Don’t fear the sugars in those fruits. If you’re body is truly in need of fuel, those sugars are being put STRAIGHT to use keeping your brain sharp and your body movin’.
2. Don’t Wait Until the Last Second.
Try to prepare for these times so that you don’t end up in desperation mode. If you are like me- when you are in that hangry mode all you care about is finding the first edible thing you can hands on. And that typically will be junk. TRY to get a plan rolling in your mind so that when the time strikes, you aren’t grabbing for that Snickers (PS – been there done that and it is nothing like the commercials. I’m still cranky and left with a sugar buzz).
How to Prepare:
Always, and I mean always, have a Blender Bottle on hand along with a ziplock filled with single servings of protein powder and individual packs of raisins dry fruit, nuts and or peanut butter in your car or bag. This rule is just for my special secret potions. Muah ah ah ah!
3. But it Is the Last Second.
Ok so the planning didn’t happen and now you’re hangry. JUST SAY NO to candy, junk and fast food. Meals on the go do not have to be bad for you. It may take a little creativity and thinking outside of the box, but you can find nutritious treats and eats. And always remember…
4. Something is Better Than Nothing.
Accept that in a pinch, your meal might not be perfect. It might not hit those carefully planned macros. It’s easy to just NOT eat because the choices aren’t optimal. But keep in mind that fuel is fuel. Sometimes putting 89 octane in the tank of your Ferrari (you ARE a Ferrari) that prefers 93 octane is better than putting nothing in it at all!
So let’s take a look at what your best options are at two of the more popular ‘on-the-go’ food.. er.. ‘destinations’.. for said 89 octane fuel…
Your Best Options at Kwik Trip or Equivalent Convenience Store:
They’re convenience stores and not health food stores- but you CAN find fuel in here that won’t totally compromise your gains! Look for:
- low fat cottage cheese
- low fat yogurt
- string cheese (don’t fear the fat! It will satisfy your hunger much more effectively than a ‘low-fat’ bag of pretzels or chips)
- fruits and veggies (better yet if they are washed and cut)
- If the store doesn’t have a cold section, you can’t go wrong with gas station staples like beef jerky (look for lower sodium) and nuts (non salted and raw if possible).
- Protein bar
Your Best Healthy Snack Options at Starbucks:
They might not be fresh off the deli counter, but you can usually find pre-made, semi-healthy sandwiches and salads that are cheap, easy and right at your finger tips. Try to avoid those colorful frosted pastries calling your name from behind the shiny glass cases!
When choosing a salad, pick one with cooked (not fried) protein, a variety of leafy greens, a ton of veggies and dressing on the side. Go towards sandwiches on whole grain bread or wraps, no mayo or sauces and lots of lean protein and veggies. And if they have coffee there – BONUS SCORE. Why, well, just because I love coffee. And I mean coffee – not fru fru mocha latte cooler a chinos. Those are no bueno on the waistline.
Pro Tip:
If the coffee shop has instant oatmeal, stir in a single serving packet of protein powder and top it with the peanut butter form your stash. Or better yet – shake any flavor of protein powder into cold press coffee and you have Protein-A-Go-Go To Go.
So. to summarize. Not every meal is going to be perfect. But now that you are armed with these hacks and tricks – YOU CAN stay fueled on the go.
The next time your body is running low on power with no plug in in sight, at least you have a back up plan to keep you going on the go.
Peanut Butter and Honey Protein Pudding
What do you get when you mix honey, peanut butter and plain greek yogurt together? I promise this isn’t a riddle or the beginning of some lame “dad joke”. What you get is the most delicious, protein packed snack in the whole wide world. Seriously! It doesn’t really sound that impressive, but I promise it will be your next go-to snack. Even my clients with super picky pallets like this treat.
What you need:
- 1/2 cup PLAIN greek yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter
- OPTIONAL – 1/2 scoop any flavor protein powder that you like
Stir, stir, stir and viola!