It's yoga week!

I decided that since I was experiencing some hip pain which then sort of turned into low back pain that I am making this week YOGA WEEK! I started on Sunday with a 45 minute yoga routine that was on Exercise TV On Demand. I did a shorter one yesterday morning that was a little too beginner for me. I did appreciate the extra explanations of postures, etc. I'm going to try out a new one tonight. My only gripe with the workouts is that I find they're trying to be a little too heavy on the cardio and not so heavy on the mental side of yoga. I'm actually looking for yoga... not some beast of a workout that makes me sweat and burn killer calories. No doubt I love those kind of workouts sometimes... well most of the time. But this week is all about taking things easy and stretching out.

Will keep you posted on how some of these other yoga workouts go... Exercise TV should be putting some new ones on there tomorrow!

Pumpkin Treats!

Since I've been reading up on anti-inflammatory foods, I've been trying to add more of them to my diet. Some things are easy, like reducing/eliminating sugar and moving to Stevia or agave nectar. In other cases, you have to get a bit more creative. Being that Halloween just ended, I figured I'd write a little bit about the wonderful pumpkin and how I use it for more than just desserts.

First of all, pumpkins are jam packed with lots of good nutrients, so it will be hard to list them all and why we should all be eating more pumpkin. The orange color comes from an abundance of carotenoids, which help to neutralize free radicals in the body. Free radicals wreak havoc in the body actually, and they can cause damage to regular healthy cells. Pumpkins have lots of iron, zinc, and fiber as well. I've decided to try using pumpkin year round since it has such great health benefits.

Today I'm going to be making a pumpkin chili. Sounds kind of odd, but I've done it before and it's yummy! The pumpkin tends to thicken the chili so it feels much heartier. Here's the plan:

2 cans Rotel tomatoes (I like the spice!)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 pound ground turkey breast

chopped carrots (makes a nice crunch)

chopped celery (also great for crunch)

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

chili powder to taste

cumin to taste

If you couldn't tell, I don't use recipes. I just use ingredients I like and figure out how to make it work. I have a feeling I'll need some veggie broth to thin out the chili a little. I could also add some tomato sauce if I want some more tomato flavor. If I had onions, I'd be throwing those in as well, but I am unfortunately all out. In any case, the key is using pumpkin for more than just pie! There's tons of recipes out there on the internet for pumpkin chili. Try it out!

Taking things easy

For a few days, my hip has been bothering me, so I've had to take it a little easier than usual. It's kind of an odd very dull ache that actually is worse when I'm sitting. Not sure exactly what that is, but I'm thinking that high impact workouts aren't a good idea. Yesterday I just used a long walk to school as my workout, which was thankfully 343 calories, so I didn't feel too lazy! Today I made up my own workout using my favorite moves from P90X, Slim in 6, and countless other sources I've used in the past.

I really like interval-type workout, so I warmed up for 5 minutes using classic low impact moves like marching in place, low kicks, hammy curls, etc. After that I moved into some resistance band work (totally inspired by Debbie Siebers). I did 25-30 reps of each exercise, and I alternated biceps, triceps, chest, back, shoulders, and abs with some cardio mixed in. All in all it was 30 minutes and 300 calories. I finished with some much-needed sun salutations and a bit more stretching.

Hopefully the rest will help my hip feel better!

Changing things up

I've decided I want to change up my blog a little bit, but I'm at a loss for inspiration. One of my favorite bloggers (http://annie-shrinkinggirl.blogspot.com/) has a cool little rotation she follows, like Weigh-In Wednesdays, Motivational Mondays, etc. I definitely don't want to copy her format, but I want to do something a bit different... any ideas? Anything you want to try to do but don't have time to do it? I can be your guinea pig!

My only thought so far is my quest to learn about foods the reduce inflammation. There are so many out there, and nobody knows what to do with some of them. I could always highlight some of those foods here and there and how to incorporate them into your diets. Hmm....

Not sure about that one, so I'll continue searching for the idea I need to spice up the blog... until then, I shall continue working out and writing about my journey!

Variety is the spice of life!

So is flexibility! I've decided that tonight I'm going to do some Kenpo X instead of my normally scheduled INSANITY workout. Two reasons:

1. I am sore from INSANITY! To the point where my calf really needs a day off of all the jumping, hence the Kenpo X.
2. I need some variety! And I miss P90X...

The best part about Kenpo X for me is that I can do the workout in front of the TV while I watch my favorite shows. I have no clue what I'll watch, but for some odd reason, I am quite excited about my evening plans of watching TV while I do Kenpo X. I'm glad the simple things in life keep me going!

I think the best part about my decision for tonight is the flexibility. I used to be the kind of person who was very rigid and if I couldn't do what I planned, I didn't do anything at all. That person would've said, "I can't do INSANITY tonight so I'm going to do nothing but sit around my house." Instead, I decided to change things up. I know this may seem like a small feat to some, but I find that I used to let inflexibility derail my efforts. So making these little decisions makes me realize how much better I am at a healthy life than I used to be. Good stuff!

Max Cardio Conditioning

Aaaaahhhh, just finished up Max Cardio Conditioning! It's a great workout! I think this one is most similar to Pure Cardio because you don't actually get breaks during the moves. Technically, you get an active break where you do some slow front kicks... but is it really that much of a break to kick your leg as high as you can??? Not really, but it is more relaxing since you aren't jumping around too much! I burned 721 calories on this one! Woo hoo!

It's been quite a busy week for me... my landlord decided to sell my apartment, and she just sprung that on me and told me my lease ends Nov 30. Ugh! Luckily I found another place, but now I have to move. I graduate in a little over 6 months too, so I'll be moving into a place for only 6 months. Kind of annoying! The good thing about the place (besides that it is overall much nicer) is that I'm on the ground floor so I can jump around like a maniac and no one will care! YAY!

The only other thing going on is that I'm seriously thinking I'd like to be a fitness instructor some time. I've thought about it forever, and I really think it's about time. I know I won't be able to swing it while I'm in graduate school but once I move this coming spring/summer, I'm going to figure out what it takes to do that. Why not make a hobby a little bit of a career? Right?? :)

Max is awesome!

Max workouts in INSANITY that is... I just finished up Max Interval Plyo and it was so fun! There are lots of new moves that are pretty challenging, but it's quite obvious everyone thinks they are because people are taking breaks when they need them in the video. I just paced myself and kept to it! Here are some of my favorites:

Squat Pushups - start in a squat and basically fall forward and catch yourself on your hands, then do a push up (keeping legs bent for the most part). Push yourself back up to squat when you're done... nice!

Side Pushups - really??? really, Shaun T??? These will take some serious work but, man, did I feel that in my obliques!

Pogo Jumps - balance on one leg with knee up, touch the floor, and then jump up. FUN!

I'm quite excited I did this workout today! I had been feeling really lazy for no reason at all, and I pulled myself out of bed and just did it. Phew! I'll have to keep myself on track from now on!

Dig deeper, right??? Off to WOWY to log my workout!