A Fit Place: www.afitplace.com

2010-10-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

How Far Can 1 Chicken Go?

This isn’t some chicken joke…no punch line here. I literally mean, how far can one chicken go…by eating it.

My boyfriend travels a lot, so I spend much of my time eating on my own and due to a crazy busy schedule, need meals that are easy on the go. Since it’s just me in the house, I don’t want to have a bunch of leftovers of the same meal either…gets boring! So, this week I experimented with how far one chicken will go.

Using a crock-pot has saved my life in my busy schedule. It’s simple to just set the food in the pot, go about your day and not worry about having to monitor it. So, on Tuesday that’s just what I did. Cooking a whole chicken in a crock-pot is so easy…

- Lightly coat with olive oil or coconut oil and then season to taste. I put oregano, fresh basil, and minced garlic on mine. Pull the skin back over the breast and rub the herbs on directly on the meat to get a bit more flavor. Then just put in the crock-pot (breast side up) on low for 4-5 hours (or until cooked thoroughly).

Here is a play by play of the meals I created with this juicy crock-pot cooked chicken to make it through my week.

Dinner Day 1

Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, and ½ Sweet Potato

Right out of the crock pot, I had a few slices of chicken with steamed broccoli and ½ boiled sweet potato. For a little flavor I drizzled some olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice on my broccoli and sprinkled a little cinnamon on my sweet potato slices.

After the chicken cooled I carved it up and stuck it in the fridge for the weeks’ meals. Here’s what I came up with.

Lunch Day 2

Chicken Salad (vary the ingredients to what veggies you want)

Romaine Lettuce

Cherry tomatoes

Mushrooms

Avocado

Added Chicken and topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Dinner Day 2

Leftovers from Day 1 Dinner

Lunch Day 3

Cabbage Wraps

2 leafs of red cabbage

½ avocado

½ small yellow bell pepper

cherry tomatoes

mushrooms

romaine lettuce

chicken

Spread mashed avocado in bottom of cabbage leafs, add in fresh veggies and chicken mixed together to fill wraps and eat like a taco. SO GOOD!

Dinner Day 3

Had a late lunch so didn’t eat dinner this night.

Lunch Day 4

Chicken and Fresh Veggies

On the go and nothing prepped so I just grabbed a chicken leg, fresh okra and baby peppers.

Dinner Day 4

Chicken Fajitas

2 small bell peppers

½ large red onion

chicken

olive oil

½ avocado

lemon juice

black pepper, red pepper, garlic powder, cumin

Saute onions and peppers, add chicken and season to taste. I also whipped up a quick, simple guacamole recipe. Mash up avocado, splash in lemon juice and season with black pepper to taste.

Lunch Day 5

Leftovers fajitas with ½ avocado and 2 chicken wings

So, to answer the question…for a SINGLE person, a whole chicken will go for about 4-5 days, give or take a few.

The Paleo Solution - Robb Wolf

2010-09-22T11:25:00.001-07:00

Getting Robb's John Hancock last night at his book signing event.

Success!!! Last night Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution that was released 9/14/10, held a book signing here in Chico at Lyon Books. It was the FIRST book to sell out at the store, the line was long and energetic. It was a cool atmosphere, a great crowd, and a monumental event in the lives of Paleo followers here in Northern, CA. Not to mention there were delicious gluten free cookies. :)

Robb is a local Chico-ite and owner of Norcal Strength and Conditioning. He is the guy that introduced me to the Paleo Diet and has been my leader (whether he knows it or not) through the last 1.5 years of strict paleo eating. His vast knowledge blows my mind every time I listen to his podcasts, talk to him and now read his book. His expertise has helped me help my clients, my family and myself eat cleaner and look/feel/perform better.

Robb, a biochemist, is way "brainier" than I could ever dream of being, but in his book he has a way of bringing a highly in depth topic down to the level of the average Joe. Unlike most nutrition books, he makes it entertaining while still being incredibly educational. It's hard to put down!

If you don't have this book yet, go to your local Barnes and Noble, Borders or order from Amazon TODAY! As of last night, #10 on the Barnes and Noble top sellers list, this book is selling out fast everywhere so don't wait...go get your hands on it NOW! You won't regret it!

Trainer's Day - Day 4

2010-09-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Being a trainer, I often work when other's don't so that clients can get workouts in before or after work. Getting up at 5am everyday isn't ideal for my health due to lack of sleep and waking up when it's still dark. But late last night I had my morning clients call and cancel (both my 5:30am and 6:45am clients)...so I got to sleep in!! I feel like a whole new person today with 8.5 hours of sleep under my belt compared to my average 6.5 hours the last few months. I mentioned in a earlier post, the importance of sleep and am a bit hypocritical due to having to adjust my schedule to fit other's. Today was a bit of an eye opener though, I seriously feel like I could take on the world today with having adequate rest under my belt.

So, after waking up at 7am, I hit headed for an interval workout on my spin bike (my road bike is out of commission right now).

Warmup 10 min

30 sec on/30 sec active recovery of sprint/heavy resistance/standing/standing sprint/jumps x 5 rounds

Cooldown 5 min + Stretch

It felt great to get some sprinting action in without having to pound on the ground running. A bit of a break for the legs.

After my spin, I trained a few clients and then came home to breakfast made by my boyfriend (nice surprise!)

Egg Scramble with chicken sausage, lots of veggies and topped with avocado and salsa. I seriously don't know that I will ever get sick of this breakfast! ;)

After breakfast I did some computer work and then walked downtown to Peet's coffee for a change of scenery. I accompanied my cup of decaf coffee with a lara bar and hammered out more computer work for an hour or so before lake time.

For those of you that don't know...my boyfriend, Marcus, is a professional waterskier so we spend quite a bit of time at his parents' house on the lake so he can train. I am able to do my online work, programming, and enjoy some R&R out there. Not bad to call the dock your "office" a few days a week! :) I skied a set again today and let's just say it wasn't as good as Tuesday, but hey, I got out and had fun! Today I also took advantage of the time at the lake to BBQ a bunch of meat. 6 chicken breasts, 1/2 turkey breast, and 4 big steaks. We are set for meat for the weekend!

We drove home from the lake, ate dinner (steak, chicken, fried okra) and I jumped in my truck and headed out to teach class.

The best part of today came tonight...we headed to a local theater, the El Rey, to a Ryan Bingham concert. These guys are phenomenal! He wrote a bunch of the music for the movie Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges and is performing with country music legend Willy Nelsen in Bend, OR tomorrow night and Eugene, OR Saturday night. It's a late night and going to be an early morning, but was definitely worth it! :)

BF - Egg Scramble with avocado

S- Decaf coffee and cashew cookie lara bar (ingredients are cashews and dates). As far as bars go, these are about the only ones I really allow in my diet because they are simple, whole ingredients and grain/dairy/soy free. They are still a bit high in sugar, but better than most bars.

L- Chicken Breast, handful red grapes, 3 cherry tomatoes, handful Trek Mex

D- 2 oz Chicken Breast, 3 oz steak, 5 fried okra (fry in pan with olive oil and season with garlic powder and just a touch of sea salt).

S- Handful of mixed nuts, clementine

*Food intake wasn't the best today...but still paleo.

Trainer's Day - Day 3

2010-09-15T10:55:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning...5am wasn't as welcoming today as Monday, but I was up and at it ready to do the day's deeds. Clients from 5:30-10a did great with their workouts. Something that I find with the majority of my clients (as well as myself sometimes) and most likely you're guilty of it too, is that we don't engage our core stabilizers. Even if we have the strength, we get lazy and our poor posture takes over our lives. This can lead to low back pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, etc...injuries are often caused by improper posture. Tip today is to think about keep your abs tight, your glutes squeezed, and your chest proud (shoulders back with ribs down). Think about it in your car, at your desk, picking up your kid, or working out.

In between clients today I wolfed down my breakfast on the go 3 hard boiled eggs (only 2 shown because I gobbled one up before I remembered to take the picture), 1/2 avocado and 3 strawberries.

The rest of the morning consisted of email correspondence with my online clients, grocery shopping (pictured below), bookkeeping, website updates and cleaning house.

Combo of Trader Joes and a local farmer's market groceries...

TJ - Broccoli, romaine lettuce, trek mix (almonds, cashews, cranberries), marinara sauce (no sugar), roast beef slices (no nitrates/nitrites), and dried mango (my treat!!)

Market - Okra, butternut squash, green onions, red bell peppers

That's not a full grocery list, just stocked up on some veggies and few 'snacky' things. Not pictured, Marcus headed to costco to stock up on meat (chicken breasts and steak), avocados, melons, and eggs. Tip, Costco is one of the most affordable places to stock up on cage free eggs.

After working hard all morning, I realized I had ignored my poor lil pup all morning. She was literally laying at my feet with her head resting on her paws just whimpering. So...I headed out for a quick 5K run around Lower Bidwell Park with her. It was HOT today! Lunch followed the run and then more nose to the grindstone.

At 5:30p I headed to the gym for a workout. It was a diagnostic workout called Elizabeth through CrossFit. Coming off of a hip and shoulder injury I didn't push too hard, but still got a good workout in. Workout was as follows.

Strength work with Presses and Power Clean movement practice then

"Elizabeth"

21-15-9

Power Clean 95lbs

Ring Dips

My Time - 8:55

Followed the evening workout with a homemade "to-go" dinner before a bit more coaching, then home by 8pm and now ready to hit the hay!

BF - 3 hard boiled eggs, 3 strawberries, 1/2 avocado

S - fresh apple from the tree with handful of Trek Mex and two pieces of dried mango

L - Left over london broil over locally grown greens, tomatoes, green beans, green onions with hard boiled egg, all dressed with olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice.

S - handful of Trek Mex

D - Wild Atlantic Salmon burger (from Costco...good for fast/easy meal...not good all the time though), 1 small bell pepper, green beens, 1/2 tomato.

Trainer's Day - Day 2

2010-09-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late post for yesterday...our internet was down last night so I had to wait until this morning to get up Monday's blog.

Today has been a great day in sunny Northern California. I am fairly new to Chico, CA (been here for about 4 months now) and I seriously thought I was going to melt this summer. Literally! But it's cooling off and the air is crisp in the morning...I LOVE IT!

The day started with that lovely 5am wake up call, but once my eyes adjusted to being open, I headed out the door. I didn't mention this before, but one avenue of my personal training business is that I travel to people's homes. It's very convenient for my early morning clients who have kids that are still in bed at that time, but want to get their workout in before work. So my 5:30 and 6:45 clients rocked their Tuesday workouts and then it was my turn. I busted butt over to Upper Bidwell Park here in Chico and hit the mtn bike trails for about an hour. The riding here is pretty rough because it's full of rock (lots of loose rock), but it forces you to be alert and be in the moment when you're riding. After my ride, I jetted to the gym for a workout. I work out at a gym here in town called Norcal Strength and Conditioning. It's great to go in there and be told what to do in the classes. I program for people all day long, so it's nice to go just do a workout and not have to think about it or set it up for myself. My workout went as follows...

35 min - (I got in 6 rounds)

5 x Hang Clean 35# dumbbells

10 x Jumping Pullups

20 x Box Jumps (24 in box)

30 sec Hollow Rock

40 sec Single Leg Plank (20 sec ea leg)

1 x 100m sprint or 2 x long shuttles (I alternated each round)

After a good stretch, I came home ravenous so busted out my go-to breakfast. I waited too long to eat today, but didn't want to eat before I worked out.

Breakfast:

Scrambled 2 eggs with chicken sausage and veggies (zucchini, broccoli, red peppers, green onions). I also had 1/2 avocado and some strawberries. After breakfast I was still a bit hungry so I snacked on a hard boiled egg.

The rest of the morning/early afternoon consisted of computer work and studying at Peet's coffee, where I enjoyed a nice hot cup of decaf coffee with a bit of half n half (a little treat). After that I packed up a quick salad and we headed out to the lake for a bit of fun. I took my first ski set for the first time in 2 months (due to injury) and it went great! So nice to be back on the water. I did a bunch of mobilization work (stretching, rolling, range of motion exercises) while I was throwing the ball 9 million times for Ziggy. Boy I wish I had her energy! :)

Lunch:

A grilled chicken salad consisting of grilled chicken (pre cooked this weekend), baby greens, cherry tomatoes, carrots and cucumber all from our local farmers market. Delicious!

Post ski, I headed home for more work this evening...blog posting, client programming, responding to nutrition/workout logs from my online clients all while munching on my dinner.

Dinner:

The last of my prepared chicken breasts from this weekend, 2 slices of tomato from my garden, 1/2 avocado and some steamed broccoli.

Overall, a great day today. Got a little wordy with the explanation of how my day went. Hope I didn't bore you too much. Please leave comments/questions about meals, timing of meals, workout etc.

Gotta finish a few things before I'm off to bed. Running on too little of sleep the last couple nights, my goal is to be in bed by 8:30 for 8.5 hours of sleep tonight. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow! :)

Trainers Day - Day 1

2010-09-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

It's Monday! Monday's give a lot of people a bad vibe, but why? It's another beautiful day to be alive! I am making a new vow to start each day with that sort of an attitude...try it with me, see how it works...

This morning's 5am alarm came sooner than I had wanted since I could fall asleep until 11:15pm, but I rolled out of bed, did my early morning primping (consisting of nothing more than brushing my teeth and splashing my face with water) and hit the road to get my early morning clients off to a great start for the week. I don't eat first thing when I wake up because number one it's too stinkin' early, number two I'd have to get up even earlier (having the first number on the clock be a 4 when you wake up sounds like a REALLY bad idea), and number three I'm not hungry at 5am. Typically when I get home I go workout, but today is a rest day for me and I was really hungry when I got home at 8:30, so I made a delicious breakfast.

Chicken Sausage and Egg Scramble

After breakfast I unfortunately had to spend several hours at the computer writing blogs, doing email correspondence, updating my website, working on programming, etc.

A tip for the "desk sitters" though...get up and move AT LEAST every 15 minutes. Our bodies get locked in a position for too long and our muscles start to tighten. Sitting at a desk/computer, our chest and hips get really tight and those tight muscles start to cause posture problems. So, get up do a few stretches, walk around, lengthen that spine, open the hips and chest and then get back to duty.

After I finished my work, I decided it would be a good idea to paint my living room (after mowing the lawn of course). Not sure why I decided today was the day. I really probably should have taken a nap because of my lack of sleep last night. But, it's done and it looks good!

With my spontaneous decision to be Martha Stuart for the afternoon, I'm glad that I had pre cooked some chicken breasts and had fresh produce waiting for me in the fridge. Remember, successful eating is all about being prepared and having healthy options ready to go.

I took a few minutes after painting to lay in the sun while throwing the ball for my dog Ziggy. Then around 5:30 had a nice dinner with Marcus. Thank goodness for crock pots...they make cooking so much easier.

Before starting up the paint job I had prepped the london broil for dinner. First I cut away the visible chunks of fat and then seasoned with garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, and fresh rosemary. I pan fried for 3 minutes on each side in olive oil and then set on low in the crock pot for 5 hours with 1/4 cup red wine. We gobbled it up with a fresh garden salad drizzled with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

On a trainers schedule, I have to hit the road for my evening coaching. Then home at 8:15pm, stretch/roll and then to bed.

Breakfast:

Chicken Sausage and Egg Scramble

- Adelle's Chicken Sausage (sliced into rounds)

- 1/2 cup of red bell peppers and zucchini (pre cut for week prep)

- 2 eggs (cage free)

- Olive Oil

Saute chicken and veggies in pan with olive oil, scramble in eggs. Serve topped with 1/2 avocado and salsa. I also had a handful of blueberries and of course my fish oil!

AM Snack:

Hard boiled egg (I keep these stocked in the fridge at all times) and handful of almonds

Lunch:

Chicken (pre cooked this weekend) carrots, celery, 4 strawberries, handful of almonds

Dinner:

London Broil with garden salad...recipe above

Water Intake: 120 oz.

Next week...

2010-09-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

WOW...where did I go?? Sorry for falling off the face of the earth...things have been crazy in my life. I don't have much time to post a whole lot right now, but wanted to get people ready for next week. I am going to be posting (in detail) what my days are like....sleep, workouts, food intake (recipes included), stressors, relaxers...pretty much how my life works. I am going to show how my lifestyle choices effect me positively or negatively and why. I am going to give tips on how to make better decisions for your health on a daily basis. I am going to lead you through a week from the viewpoint of a 28 year-old personal trainer, coach, athlete, girlfriend, and mom (to a VERY active yellow lab :).

Please post anything you'd like to hear about, questions you have, or just say hi.

Stay tuned...

Processed Food

2010-07-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

We all hear that processed foods are bad for us. Yes...most of them are. However "processed" means that they have been altered from their natural state, which isn't always "bad". With that said, eating fresh, whole foods is best.

Processing involves canning, dehydrating, refrigerating, freezing, and aseptic processing of foods. Frozen veggies for example are processed, but they aren't necessarily bad for us. They may lose some of their vitamins and minerals, but they aren't bad for us. The trouble we get into with veggies and fruits are when they are frozen or canned with lots of sugar and salt. The nutritional value plummets and our health risks go up each time we consume these items.

Now, the processed foods we all usually think of are boxed foods (cereal, crackers, chips, cakes, cookies, etc). We all know those aren't good for us...that holds true. No ifs, ands or buts about it. They are loaded with processed grains (yes even the whole grains), they are loaded with sugar and salt and other perservatives...stay away!

But, an often times overlooked processed food category is meat. As Paleo eaters, we consume a lot of meat. If we're not careful we can be doing our body quite a bit of harm by consuming junk meat. First of all, animals that are fed processed food (grain fed beef, caged chicken, etc) are loaded with the food we are trying to avoid (therefore we're indirectly consuming those foods). Even worse than that are the packaged meats (hot dogs, lunch meat, sausages, etc). These are loaded with sodium and several other preservatives to keep them fresher longer. These are the chemicals that can cause serious damage in the long run. SOOOOO....it's best to support a local rancher and buy grass fed/cage free meat or to spend the extra buck at the store to get the same meat that is already packaged for us. Take a look at the most recent food recall...seriously, we have to recall the food we put in the stores...that's scary! http://tinyurl.com/286fuot

I understand that in our world it isn't realistic that we can all go out and get fresh eggs from our cage free raised chicken in the back yard, pick fresh apricots from the tree and cut up fresh zucchini from our garden each morning for breakfast (wouldn't that be ideal though!). So when hitting the grocery stores take the above into account before throwing items in the cart.

A Different Purpose

2010-07-05T07:59:00.001-07:00

View on run up Storm King Mountain in Canyon Creek, CO.

Working out isn't just about how your look, feel, and perform. Those are definitely a good percentage of the perks, BUT we can't forget to enjoy ourselves. I am guilty as charged when it comes to this. Although I enjoy throwing weights around, sprinting as hard as I can, and trying to take off on the row machine, sometimes I need a dose of "reality"…meaning getting outside and enjoying being active without having anything but what's already there. No plan, just going and out doing.

This has been very evident to me the last couple weeks as I have been home, in the Colorado Rockies, with adventure at my finger tips. There's rafting, kayaking, hiking, etc.

A few days ago I had planned a morning hike with family/friends up Storm King Mountain. Running on not enough sleep, I reluctantly drug myself out of bed and threw on my running shoes to find that all my other "hiker buddies" had bailed on me. My first thought was to go throw my head back on my pillow, but instead I took advantage of getting up with the sun and went for a hike with Ziggy.

Driving up to the trailhead, I started to wake up a bit more and realized it was going to be a great opportunity for me to get a good trail run instead of just hiking. IT KICKED MY BUTT…lots of hill climbs at high elevation…but every step of the way was amazing. I stopped a few times to snap some pictures (below) to try and capture the beauty of the CO mountain morning.

The "reality" of this trail run was more than just being in nature though. In 1994 there was a horrible fire that due to some unfortunate situations, took the lives of 14 fire fighters. This trail was made in order to honor these brave men and women and provide knowledge to hikers of what happened. The trail leads to the memorials of each individual who braved the Storm King Fire on that tragic day.

The "reality" and "purpose" of my run that day was different than getting stronger and healthier. These activities need to be included in our "program" to keep us from getting bored and to give us something to look forward to besides the gym.

Tracking Your Nutrition

2010-06-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

So I am one of those people that absolutely hate counting calories, measuring food and watching every little ounce of macronutrients that enter my mouth. That's not a way to live, you're not going to maintain that and frankly...it's a pain in the butt!

With that said, keeping your nutrition in check is necessary if you're having trouble reaching health and fitness goals (performance, body composition, everyday life). In my opinion that still doesn't mean you have to measure everything. If you are a person that has no idea what 4 oz of meat, or a cup of broccoli, or a tbsp of olive oil look like, then measuring may be beneficial at first, but then go by sight, by hunger level and by paying attention to your body.

Now, tracking nutrition doesn't mean that you have to write down every macronutrient and do all of the above, BUT I have seen in my profession and in my own experience that writing down what you put in your body helps to keep you honest and will make you learn how what you eat effects how you look, feel and perform.

Our world is controlled by computers. I guess you could say that I'm not exactly technologically savvy, but I do own a smart phone and I know that there are a lot of cool apps with regards to health and fitness that can help you along way. The following apps can help you track your calories, macronutrients, exercise, etc right at your finger tips. There are also apps that provide the ability to set interval times for high intensity training.

Below are the top 4 iphone nutrition apps on the market.

Livestrong Calorie Tracker- tracks calories, monitors weight, nutrition info, exercise calorie burning info

Daily Burn- allows you to scan UPC of product with iphone to get nutrition info

Mint Nutrition- allows you to create "plates" of food and also tracks nutrition info in your own recipes

The Carrot- allows you to create journals, take photos and look up health info on a variety of health issues

These 4 apps all apply to a different aspect of tracking nutrition. Pick which you think will benefit you the most and try 'em out.

Flying Solo

2010-06-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

So this post isn't going to apply to everyone, but for those of you that are single or end up eating on your own a lot...read on. Even if you don't live this lifestyle, read it anyways...you may learn something! ;)

For the last several weeks I have been flying solo with Marcus on the road for skiing tournaments, promotional stuff, and testing. Of course I miss him, but in many ways it's been good for me as well. I have had time to spend on myself...reading, meditating, gardening, and just being on my schedule. One of the challenges that I found though was cooking for one. It's been several years since I've had to do this for a long period of time (more than a couple of days) and the first time since I've been paleo. Here's what I found...

Eating paleo, you are eating fresh food that won't last for more than a couple of days without going bad so it's important to know how cook enough so you're not cooking all the dang time, but not cook too much where you're feeding the raccoons in the garbage behind the house.

A trick is to be able to use the veggies you make for more than one meal....

For example, I made a curry chicken stir fry for dinner one night. The next morning I scrambled some of it in with my eggs (YUMMY!!!). For lunch I cooked up two chicken breasts and made a salad (big enough for 3 portions). While cutting up veggies for the salad, I cut up a bit extra and put them in a container for sauteing with eggs the next morning. Dinner consisted of sauteed brussel sprouts and a turkey burger (cooked 2 servings worth). The next day breakfast I cooked up those precut veggies with eggs and topped with 1/2 avocado. Lunch was turkey burger and salad with other half of avocado mashed on top of burger for (sauce). Dinner was that Chicken breast cut up and warmed up with the rest of the brussel sprouts.

So...however boring, and maybe confusing it was to read that, hopefully you can see how with just a few items I can make several different meals. I am not a person that likes to eat the same thing over and over again so it's good to be able to know how to use leftovers to make different meals.

Next time I get the excuse from someone that they can't eat paleo because "it's hard when you're single. The food goes bad.", I'll know what to tell them.

By the way, this doesn't just apply to people who are single...but if you have a family and just don't want to feel like you are cooking all the time...make extra of everything and experiment ways to make items from different meals mesh to make a completely different plate.

Workout Buddies

2010-06-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

I’ve always been one to like to workout on my own. I put my ear buds in, crank up my tunes and hit it hard. A few weeks ago, I joined a local gym, Norcal Strength and Conditioning, for several reasons…but a major one was to be able to have people to workout with for a change. As a trainer, I know how to program workouts and I have the discipline and desire to do the workouts on my own. However, I was beginning to get bored and I knew that I wasn’t pushing myself as hard as I could be.

The gym I am at offers different levels of high intensity group classes, so I am being pushed by people of similar fitness levels to me. The community at the gym is very encouraging and supportive as well, so as a result, I know that I have picked up the intensity of my workouts the last couple of weeks. Even trainers need motivation and encouragement when it comes to exercise.

Another benefit I have found is that I am developing a group of friends that are interested in the same thing I am – health! On days away from the gym, I am getting people to join me for track workouts, hill runs, etc. I love it!

So, moral of the story, find some people to work out with (friends or not) and you will push yourself harder, you will be more accountable, and you might just make a friend or two! You will be more motivated to follow the workout and nutrition plan when surrounding yourself by those doing the same.

Granted, I still like my own solitude time during my workouts, but I leave those for mindless steady state runs/rides.

Find some workout buddies and push yourself!

Priorities

2010-05-26T08:36:00.000-07:00

Think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything.”- Dan Millman

We all have things that we hold as higher priorities than others (work, families, health, play, hobbies, etc). We also often times use those items higher on the list to "excuse" us from not getting to the others.

As the quote above says, it's not about what you do it's about when you do it. One of the most common things to put on the back burner is our health. By health I mean both exercising regularly and eating healthy. Often times people will do one but not the other, BUT they are one. You can't separate them and expect to see/feel/perform at your best.

In my opinion, health should be up there on everyone's priority list because if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. We've all heard that. But it's true. If you aren't healthy, you will not perform your best and work, you will not have energy for your family and friends, your attitude and mood overall will not be as good as it could be.

If your health (exercise/nutrition) isn't top on your list of priorities, then time it around those things that are. If you know that your days are filled with getting the kids up and out the door by 8, working until 5, getting home making dinner and spending time with family at night. Then get your butt out of bed first things in the morning and pump out a good workout. If you know that after work you have poker with the guys and your weekend is filled with fixing up that old car, then get a good workout in on your lunch break. With nutrition, we've talked about this a ton, it's just about preparation. Have healthy food available so you know you'll be getting proper intake throughout the day no matter what is thrown at you. Whatever your schedule is, lay it out on paper and I guarantee you will find time that you can spend on your health!

For example, as a trainer I work crazy, inconsistent hours, so I have to revisit my schedule book daily to plan for the next. I was up at 4:30 this morning to train clients at 5:30 and throughout the day I have meetings, online training/website work, and more clients. After my morning clients, I took my dog for a run in the park (killing two birds with one stone...my workout and my dog's exercise). I had a piece of steak and a sweet potato to chow on after my run. Now enjoying a cup of Joe at a local coffee shop I am getting work done, while also taking in the community (watching cars cruise by, people visit, business' opening for the day). I am having to shower at my friends' house (since I live outside of town where I have to be all day) when I finish up my work here. After meetings and more work, I am hitting up the gym tonight for my strength work and then get home around 6:45 in time to grab some good grub for dinner and chill out on the couch for a few.

Moral of my story...even crazy busy days provide time for our health. You just have to make a plan and stick to it. No one wants to be unhealthy. You just have to figure out how to fit your priorities into a healthy lifestyle. It's about when you do it, not if you do it.

Try something new...

2010-05-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

Norcal Strength and Conditioning competitors left to right. Lani, Shawn (coach), John, Myself, Colin, Matt

Almost 2 weeks ago, Marcus and I joined Norcal Strength and Conditioning here in Chico, CA (where we just moved back to). It's been great to be able to have people to workout with since I've been working out by myself for about 2 years now. The coaches are great and the community is very supportive and motivational. See, even trainers need a boost every now and then. ;)

After just a few days in the gym, one of the trainers "suggested" to me that I should sign up for a strength challenge just a week away. I was pretty hesitant to agree because I was clueless as to what it was all about, what my ability level was compared to the competition and even if I was going to be able to do the workouts. But, nervous out of my mind, I agreed to do it 2 days before the competition began.

Friday night I did some prep work...packed my fuel (sweet potatoes, applesauce, chicken, strawberries), my essentials (extra clothes, hair ties, shoes), my first aide (bandaids, triple antibiotic, athletic tape...for my huge heel blister), and then knew I had to get good sleep or I was going to be worthless the next day. To my surprise I actually slept pretty well that night. Saturday morning I woke up before my alarm went off, showered, took Ziggy for a short walk, ate a couple of hard boiled eggs and some fruit, grabbed my bags and headed to Level 10 Crossfit in Oroville, CA where the competition was held.

Pretty much sick to my stomach, the events begins...

The day consisted of 5 workouts with about 1.5 hour or so between each workout. Here's how the day was scheduled.

9:00am- Workout 1

Row 350m, 50# Sandbag Run down 75m hill, drop sandbag, run back up hill and grab 140# for 50m down and back (100m total) farmer's walk, run down hill again, pick up 50# sandbag and run back up to top.

10:30am- Workout 2

7 minutes to get max height box jump and max weight strict press

12:30pm- Workout 3

5 rounds of 20 seconds on/15 seconds rest of...

44# Kettle Bell Swing

Lateral Burpees

15# Weighted Pullups

87# Clean

2:30pm- Workout 4

3 min of max reps 105# Front Squat (getting weight from deck). If drop weight to deck, must do 10 double unders before picking weight back up.

4:00pm- Workout 5

4 rounds for time of...

185# Deadlift - 5 reps

100ft Sled Push High Handles

35# Kettle Bell Snatch - 7 reps each arm

100ft Sled Push Low Handles

Hard, intense workouts, great competition and a lot of fun! I ended up shocking myself and winning 4 out of 5 of the events and getting 1st overall female. I think part of it was my adrenaline, but a big part of it too goes to Shawn Gower, my coach from NorCal that helped me strategize. Also, the crew from the gym that came out to support us and cheer us on the whole day.

So, in a matter of 2 weeks, I joined a gym, hesitantly signed up for my first ever strength challenge, and won it. Most importantly though, I overcame my fear of trying something new. I walked into an event not knowing what to expect and walked away from the event falling in love with a new type of competition than I have ever done before.

Moral of the story guys...try something new. If you're a competitor find events like this, or endurance races, or local adult team sport events. Find something that you're interested in, that's going to be a challenge, that's going to put you out of your comfort zone. You'll be surprised with how you do and you'll be surprised with how good it feels to dive into something new.

Below are some pics from the day...Thanks to everyone that came to support, to coach, to spectate and a big thanks to Level 10 Crossfit for putting the event on.

John crushing the Sled Push Low Handles!

185# Deadlift

Front Squats in 3 min - 41 reps total for me

Adam Mattis killing the Kettle Bell Snatch

End of the day...

Keep those muscles loose...

2010-05-18T09:16:00.001-07:00

Summer is pretty much here and that means that people are going to be way more active on the road, on the trails, on the water (running, riding, skiing, etc). This is a great thing! Unfortunately, and I am VERY guilty of this myself, when we aren't in the gym and in our routine, post workout stretching gets put on the back burner.

It's so easy after that grueling 2000 ft elevation mountain bike ascent to just get off the bike, guzzle down the rest of your water, and then get back in the car to hit the rest of your day. Or after your a long 4 hour hike to just want to throw your feet up and call it a day. But, with increased activity level and especially activities that require repetitive motion (like riding, running, hiking, etc) our muscles get really tight. This over and over again ends up causing a lot of problems that can prevent us from performing as well as we would like or even worse taking us out of the game due to injury.

I've talked about this before, but the benefits of stretching are HUGE.

-Injury Prevention

-Muscle Recovery

-Increased Circulation

-Improved Posture

-Pain Relief

-Enhanced Performance

-Stress Reduction

Hips and low back seem to be things that really nap people because our hips are where our power comes from. Below are 3 stretches for your hips and legs that you can do pretty much anywhere and NEED to do right after your done with your workout. Happy Stretching!

-Hamstrings - Lie on back, keep one leg out straight on the floor and pull the other leg straight up by grabbing back of calf or wrapping something around ball of foot.

-Hip Flexors - Kneel down, put one foot out in front so you're in kneeling lunge. Press hips forward and try to straight back leg. Lean back slightly if you don't feel the stretch.

- Periformis - Lie on Back and cross right ankle on left knee. Pull left leg toward chest while pushing out on right knee. Do on both legs.

The heat is on...

2010-05-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

Summer is pretty much here (well unless you're in the CO mountains and getting snowed on right now)!! But wherever you are, summer is just around the corner. This means everyone is more motivated to get outside and ride bikes, run, hike, play sports or just be outside.

A few things to remember...

1- ALWAYS wear sunscreen - put on each day before you leave the house!

2- ALWAYS stay hydrated - drink water even if you're not thirsty. 90-120 oz each day and more on days that you're more active

3- Eat enough - sometimes people don't eat enough in the summer because the heat makes us not as hungry

4- Don't eat too much - BBQ season is here...that means lots of food on display...make sure you eat good portion sizes and also avoid the junk (desserts, potatoes, corn, beans)

5- Have fun - enjoy the warm weather activities. Try something new outside that you've not done before (mtn bike, water ski, golf, something...)

The heat is on...enjoy!

Endurance Training Myths vs Truths

2010-05-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

*Finishing my marathon in Ft. Collins, CO....my legs were done!

Typical endurance training has a way of taking over your life. If you've ever trained for a marathon, ironman, ultra marathon or the like, you know what I'm talking about. I can speak from experience. In the fall of 2006 I was talked into running a 1/2 marathon with my friend...3 weeks before the race! Without much knowledge on how to train for an endurance event, I did quick research and developed a plan that got me up to running 10 miles 1 week before the event. So, in two weeks I went from running max 5 miles, to now running 10 miles in preparation for a 13.1 miler event 1 week later. How's that for gradual training and tapering? Now, I wasn't going into this blind or out of shape. As an athlete my whole life and personal trainer I was active and strong, just clueless as to what 13.1 miles felt like. Turns out my body was okay with it...I placed 3rd in my age group and that sparked a flame for my love of running.

About a month after completing my 1/2 marathon, I decided to go for the full that next spring. I excitedly signed up with an online running coach and went for my initial testing at the Chris Carmichael Institute in Aspen, CO. I found out my VO2 Max was close to that of an elite male, while my lactate threshold needed a bit of work. At the time I was running probably around 8-10% body fat, 140lbs at 5'7". Needless to say, I was a bit shocked by their suggestion that I needed to lose weight to be faster. They said I needed to lose muscle mass, since I didn't have a whole lot of fat mass to lose in order to stay healthy. They told me to stop strength training all together and just focus on my endurance training and nutrition. It didn't seem right to me to lose muscle, wouldn't that make me weaker? But...I went with what the "experts" said and stopped strength training for 5 months and just hit the road for miles, upon miles, upon miles, upon miles.....

Come May, the race day was finally here and I felt great...or at least I thought I did. I beat my goal time of 3:30 with a 3:19 which qualified me for Boston...not too shabby for a beginner, eh? After the race, I did some thinking. Stoked about the fact that I had qualified for one of the biggest running races around, I had this empty feeling in my gut about putting my body through the constant pounding and the monotony of the hundreds of hours of one foot in front of the other for months at a time to prep for the event. I didn't want my life to revolve around running each day. I didn't want my joints to hurt. Not to mention the personal battle I was having with my image. I had gained weight through this whole deal...up to 145 and definitely a higher body fat % due to no strength training and consuming mostly carbs per my coach's instruction for fueling. After all, carbs are our main source of energy, right? WRONG!

Anyways, my waffling of whether or not to tackle Boston resulted in a definitive "NO" for the reason that I was more concerned about walking past the age of 40 (with my own joints) and getting my health and fitness back (leanness, strength, sanity)!

So...where am I going with this story?...

Okay...be prepared for this...if you're an endurance athlete or if you have hopes of becoming an endurance athlete...it's time to toss what you've thought to be true about training with lots of miles, lots of carbs, and lots of time.

Often times you'll see in an endurance training program some anaerobic intervals interspersed. This a is a great thing!!! But it shouldn't be the majority of your training. Anaerobic training benefits the ATP/Phospho-creatine system, lactic acid system and aerobic system. The time/distance and rest periods determine the system(s) that are stressed. They are all intertwined though and as you are working all three simultaneously you are working the aerobic engine. The good news about this is that you are able to cut back on your training volume which saves you from the pounding the body takes during typical endurance training. So...why not train anaerobically if you're getting the same benefits (if not more) as long slow distance (LSD) training and you're saving your joints and your time?

I mentioned above that I was told to stop my strength training in order to lose muscle mass to be lighter on my feet. Think about that a second, how is losing muscle going to make me stronger? I may be "lighter", but I also will not have the stamina and muscles to keep me going for a long time. So, incorporating 4-6 days of high intensity strength training is extremely beneficial to endurance athletes as well. Now, with strength training, endurance athletes are often told to do high reps and low weight. NO!!! If you are constantly using low weight you are not reaching the systemic stimulus needed to improve and get stronger. It is essentially a waste of time and energy unless you are challenging your body. You have to think that strength training isn't a "supplement" to your sport specific training...it IS the training for it!

The next part that is HUGE and more important than "pushing through", is the recovery time. Rest is where we get stronger and where we recovery in order to work to our maximum capacity when training. Recover comes from fueling right, resting adequate amounts, hydrating well, and sleeping enough each night. This topic is another blog post completely though.

Hopefully this gives you all some insight as to why higher intensity, anaerobic training is crucial to reaching your full potential as an endurance athlete and why constant slower aerobic training can be detrimental.

What do you think...?

Food in a Rush...

2010-04-19T13:24:00.001-07:00

Eating Paleo is simple. Meaning not hard to understand...meat, veggies, some fruit, some nuts and seeds, healthy fat. However, eating Paleo isn't always easy. Meaning not convenient and fast....unless prepared!!!

That is the key word to eat right and be successful at it..."prepared". If you have meat already cooked in the fridge, veggies already cut up and ready to grab, healthy snacks that are at the tip of your fingers, then you'll be fine. It's when we're so busy (or lazy) and don't make it to the store or don't have time to cook or have "junk" in the house that we start to fall off the wagon.

With that said, even then it's not always easy. Sometimes life throws us curveballs and we have to be ready for them. I know that I've been guilty of going long and hard all morning and realizing that I am starving and if I don't eat in the next 5 minutes I might bite someone's head off and so I go for a less healthy option...like a "protein bar" or something like that at the convenient store. By the way, those are pretty much candy bars...it's all marketing.

I have learned it's crucial to always have a snack ready. I usually keep a little bag of my own homemade trail mix and some jerky in my truck. That way, when the urge hits, I grab that rather than sugar filled garbage.

Below are some easy things to keep with you to prevent bad food choices when you're in a rush.

1- Trail Mix - Raw Walnuts, Raw Macadamia Nuts, Dried Berries (no sugar added)...maybe a few dark chocolate pieces...but it's getting warm so they will probably melt in your car now.

2- Jerky - grass fed beef...cut into 1 inch wide and 1/8 in thick strips. Season to taste (no salt). Bake at 140-150 degrees in oven with door propped open from 4-12 hours. Cook until meat is jerky like.

3- I came across this site through CrossFit NorCal. This lets you make your own bars. Make sure to go with Whey Protein and honey for your ingredients when given those options. http://youbars.com/buildabar

4- If you have a cooler to keep things in, go with fresh veggies and berries, lean meat, and an avocado.

Remember...to eat healthy food in a rush...be PREPARED! Please if feel free to comment with your own favorite on-the-go recipes as well...it never hurts to have as many as possible!

Fatten Up

2010-04-08T21:04:00.001-07:00

I just watched a documentary on the History Channel about how beef gets to the restaurants and had to blog about it right away because it makes the concept about NO GRAINS clear as day!

Grass fed cattle are brought to the "farms" weighing in around 700lbs. In a short amount of time, being fed a mixture of grain, corn, and hay they leave the farm to be "harvested" (as they put it) weighing around 1200lbs. That's almost doubling their body weight!!! These animals are fed grains and starches because it fattens them up. Well duh...what do you think it's doing to you.

Think about it for a second, that's about how long it should take, and make the decision to stay away from grains for your health. Try to stay with grass fed beef and free range chicken to avoid the grains the other meat is fed. It's simple. Our nation is severely overweight because they majority of our diets are grains and sugars. Eliminate that and we'll be back to being grass fed cattle before they hit the "farm".

The next chapter...

2010-03-31T12:40:00.001-07:00

~The view outside of Peet's Coffee in Chico (my "office" the last month).~

Starting anew is scary, exciting, worrisome, and adventurous all at the same time. In the last month we have moved from the beautiful mountains of CO (my home) to the spring weather of Chico, CA (Marcus' home) and now today we are moving to Truckee, CA (maybe our future home). These are 3 very different places, with different things to offer and experiences to endure.

The excitement of this next move, for me, is that we are going back to the mountains, we are going to a place where we know no one, we are trying a new place out to see if we like it, there's a ton of exploring to be had. The fear comes from those same things.

As a personal trainer, I have to be in one spot in order to have a clientele (besides my online business www.afitplace.com). Going to a new location where you don't know a soul is a hard adjustment to get your name out there and starting all over again to build a business. But, it's going to be fun, it's going to be an adventure, and it's going to make me a better person because if it.

The thing with this move is to keep the stress down to a minimum and remember the potential that is there and the amazing opportunities we are likely to be presented with.

Here's to the last few hours in Chico! Cheers!

Paleo Food

2010-03-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

True Paleo...last night I made meatloaf and this is a "goof" picture of me pretending to bite into it raw!...haha!

Have you heard of The Paleo Diet? This is the way I have been living my life for over a year now and I have never felt this good, been this lean, been this healthy. I've been active my entire life and have been what I thought was healthy my entire life. From the age of 3 I was hiking 10 miles in the mountains with my family, I have been in sports since the age of 8, I've been a personal trainer for 6 years and I have always eaten "healthy" according to the food guide pyramid and what our society preaches.

Last March I was approached by Robb Wolf (www.robbwolf.com) about this thing called The Paleo Diet. Being a fitness professional and studying some nutrition in college, I was skeptical at first but agreed to try it for a month. The month of March 2009 changed my life. I could go into depth about the science behind this way of eating, but instead I am going to give you the simple version of why this is the way we need to eat. To check out more go to www.thepaleodiet.com and order "The Paleo Diet" or "The Paleo Diet for Athletes".

First of all, The Paleo Diet stems from the word paleolithic...basically time of cavemen. This approach to nutrition suggests eating what is natural and whole - lean protein, vegetables, nuts/seeds, and some fruit. This is a low carb diet (no sugar, no grains, no corn, no beans, no potatoes, no salt). Gluten (ie: wheat) is probably the worst of all. We have harvested all of these things. Even though they come from the ground, we have brought them here and grow them. They weren't around way back when.

Science proves that high carb diets negatively effect our body because we are not made to break them down. They cause insulin spikes in our systems leading to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. This list goes on and on with the negative effects of a high carb diet.

All of the diseases that are plaguing our society can be drastically reduced by a simple change in diet. That is something that our doctors often don't tell us, they just simply get on on some meds to "help". Low fat, high whole grain diets are all over the nutrition industry right now, however the percentages of people effected by these diseases continue to rise. What does that tell us? With fast food, processed food, and chemically enhanced food, our bodies are being fueled with crap. That's the other aspect of eating Paleo. Not only will you be healthier on the inside, but you also will feel better, perform better, sleep better, and look better. Getting rid of the high carb diet will lean you out, better fuel your muscles, and better feed your body/mind.

So basically you want to think each meal should have good lean protein, vegetables, and healthy fat. Cutting out carbs your body's primary fuel source will now be fat so getting in good healthy fat is critical to making this diet work.

Expect when starting this diet to feel a little fatigued the first 3 weeks or so as your body is in transition mode. Key is to get enough protein and fat.

Below I am going to list a "go to" grocery list that you can make several healthy paleo meals from...there are some foods missing that would qualify as Paleo I am sure, but this is a solid list.

Protein: (Grass fed beef, Free Range Chicken, FAS Fish if not fresh, salt free)

-Chicken Breasts

-Lean Steak

-Fish

-Pork Loin

-Lean Beef or Bison Burger

-Ground Turkey or Chicken

-Bacon (beef or turkey)

-Lean Sausage

-Eggs (cage free)

Vegetables: (Locally grown/raw is best, but frozen will work, no canned)

-Broccoli

-Cauliflower

-Spinach

-Lettuce (dark leaf)

-Cabbage

-Onions

-Zucchini

-Brussel Sprouts

-Bell Peppers

-Eggplant

-Tomatoes

-Parsnips

-Jicama

-Turnips

-Radishes

-Carrots

-Celery

-Squash

-Sweet Potatoes/Yams

Fruit: (Locally grown/raw is best, but frozen will work, no canned)

-Avocado

-Berries

-Lemons/Limes

-Melon

-Grapes

-Oranges

-Grapefruit

-Apples

Healthy Fat:

-Fish Oil (take EVERY day)

-Avocado (in fruit list too)

-Olive Oil

-Coconut Oil

-Coconut Milk

-Raw Nuts (Walnuts, Macadamia, Almonds)

Drinks:

-WATER, WATER, WATER

-Tea and Coffee (decaf in my opinion)

Spices:

-Anything except salt or products with salt in them

Climbing...

2010-03-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

- Last year when I got my new road bike. -
All winter I was in my beautiful home state of Colorado...the mountains of Garfield, Pitkin, and Summit counties are some of my favorite places on earth! I spent the winter working on my downhill skiing skills, but more to my like, I spent quite a bit of time skinning up the mountains on my skis. For those of you unfamiliar with skinning, it is basically a big adhesive that you put on the bottom of your skis that allows forward motion but not backward. So....you can climb up the hills, take the adhesive off, and then rip down the hills. SO fun!

Recently I have moved back to northern California and am spending a few weeks in Chico before moving to the Sierras (Lake Tahoe area). Chico is a different world than what I've been in the last several months. There is no snow, the weather is warm, and most of it is fairly flat (compared to CO mountains of course...not quite Kansas style). It's been in the mid 70's for about a week now so I figured today was the day to bust out the road bike and change my climbing from skis to on the bike. It all started out great, my legs were feeling awesome. The climb I took is from Chico up to Cohasset. It's about a 2000 vertical climb (nothing crazy, just a good start to the season). By the time I got to about 1500 ft my hamstrings and glutes knew this was a different motion than the last several months.

With a quick thought of wanting to turn around at that point, I dug deep in my gut and knew that I would be disappointed in myself if I quit climbing early. So, I started cranking harder, the faster I go, the faster I'm done, right? Right! About 1:10 out and 45min back...a good ride for the first of the season.

Moral of the story: Keep going even when your mind thinks it's time to quit. Our bodies are stronger than our minds most of the time and will pull through if you put your mind to it. So, when those last few reps of your strength training routine or the last mile of your run seem impossible, KNOW that you can do it and that if you push a bit harder and dig deep in your heart, you'll finish that workout. It will change your attitude, it will get you more fit, and it will make it that much easier next time around.

Changing Seasons

2010-03-19T16:21:00.001-07:00

Me last fall in Moab, UT on the Moab Rim Trail after the best summer of my life. I was better on the bike than I had ever been. My spring/summer training and nutrition was stellar and it really made the difference.

The snow is melting, the sun is shining, the temperatures are rising....that means time to start the spring/summer activities. For some that means the snow skis, snow shoes, snow boots will be traded in for water skis, bikes, and sandals. For some that means coming out from winter hibernation and venturing into the world of vitamin D.

In both cases, the new movements associated with summer activities compared to winter activities (or lack thereof) means muscle soreness and sucking wind. It's important to start slow into those activities. If weather permits get out on bike, go out on the trails, get a pull behind the boat, etc...but make sure to start slow. Don't expect to start where you ended last summer. Don't expect to tackle April like you ended October. Instead, think of this as preseason where you work back into the fitness levels and sport specific movements of the summer.

I strongly suggest that you get in a strength training routine starting now. Working the muscles to get them stronger now, will make the summer activities much more enjoyable and much more enjoyable. The stronger you are going into the summer, the more you can play vs working to get in shape. At least 3x's a week get a good full body, high intensity, constantly changing strength training routine. Combine that with some high intensity cardio vascular training and you will be stronger going into the summer months than ever in the past. The amount of cardio vs strength training will vary depending on your goals and sport specific activities, but no matter what they are...both are crucial.

Contact me at www.afitplace.com or email me and jenlabaw@afitplace.com to get started today to make this summer your healthiest, most fun yet!

Stress...

2010-03-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! This blog is about something we all have in our lives...stress. Family, friends, work, workouts, relationships, etc...even though all of these things present positives, they also all come with stresses. Some are preventable some aren't. In order to be the healthiest you can be, you need to eliminate as much stress in your life as possible. Let me clarify something real quickly though, there are good stresses in our lives that we want to keep (ie: excitement or exercise). This blog post is going to be geared toward the negative stress in our lives.

We all know stress is bad for us, but why? Stress triggers a flight or fight response in the body which causes release of cortisol, increased heart rate, slowed digestion, decreased blood flow to major muscle groups, and other autonomic nervous system reactions. These can be good when needed, but in everyday life these will cause harm to the body. When we are put under chronic stress, these reactions will result in headaches, diabetes, depression, ulcers, obesity, and many more.

I bring this up this week because I am currently under a lot of stress with moving to a new place, where I know no one. Starting a new job (building a business) from scratch. Not spending time in the area before we're not even sure we'll like it. There are a lot of factors in my life right now that I am stressed out about. Today I sat back and thought about it after reading an email from my brother and like he quoted from Bob Marley "Don't worry bout a thing...cause everything gonna be alright". Our life will bring challenges, will bring heart ache, will bring scares...but in the end it's all going to work out and if we take it day by day and find time to release that stress in a positive manner (workouts, meditation, etc), we'll be healthier and the whole process will go much smoother.

A Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 7

2010-03-07T17:39:00.001-08:00

To the left...doing thrusters in the workout.

Last day of "A week in the Life of Jenny". Today's been a great day. I stayed up pretty late last night working on a project so I was able to sleep in a bit...8:30am I finally rolled out of bed. About 9am I headed out for a 30min run with Ziggy and came back and rocked a hard, fast workout with my mom. The cool thing about working out is you can set it up to where people of all levels, ages, and capabilities (for the most part) can workout together and everyone gets a solid workout if scaled appropriately. Mission accomplished with my mom and I today!

WORKOUT

Run - 30 min of varying terrain (hills, trails, road)

Workout -

400m sprint (hill)

20 Pullups

20 Thrusters 55#

The rest of the morning/early afternoon was spent working on my online training and getting all my clients lined up with workouts for the week ahead. I love my job. I am pretty lucky to be able to spend each day helping other people to discover they can work harder than they thought, to teach people how to develop healthy habits, and to make them realize it's a lifelong commitment and more than worth it! People doing my online training are seeing phenomenal results...major weight loss, lower body fat %, increased sports performance, increased energy, better blood test numbers, higher self confidence, etc. It's wonderful!

I've been playing soccer all winter, well futsol. Futsol is a form of soccer done indoor on basketball court. 5v5 with mini goals at each end of the court. We play with the basketball court boundary lines. There are no goalies, no throw ins (kick ins instead), and no refs. It's a great way to get out, compete, and have some fun being active. I encourage everyone to find something outside of their workout routine that is active that they can look forward to. For example, hiking, biking, swimming, skiing, kayaking, etc. Do something adventurous and fun each week that challenges your body and mind.

Now it's time for some grub and working on photo albums the rest of the night.

NUTRITION:

*Late breakfast today...didn't have lunch because of it*

Breakfast - 3 small coconut flour pancakes, 4 pieces of turkey bacon, 1/2 apple and 2 strawberries

Snack - 3 handfuls almonds, walnuts, cashews and raisins

Snack - Carrot with almond butter

Dinner - Grilled Chicken, salad with olive oil and lemon juice, Butternut squash soup

Water - 120 oz + 8 oz hot tea

I hope you all have learned a little something this week by following a week in my life. I am always doing something active each day and look forward to it. I eat very healthy, real food...but allow "treats" in there too. Making the choice to be healthy, is just that...a choice...but it is the best thing you can do for your body. Get out there, be active, be smart about what goes in your mouth, and enjoy!

A Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 6

2010-03-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

Ziggy playin ball on our morning walk.

Today was a much needed off day. The day started a little slow and lazy, but once the air temp got up to 30 degrees Ziggy and I headed out for our morning walk. I threw the ball/stick and she chased it with all her might for about 40 min.

Being one of my last days "home" before making my move west, today was designated to spending some time with my daddy. We took off to Glenwood Springs and spent about 2 hours hiking up Red Mountain with the dogs. It was an incredible refreshing CO day. The sun was shining bright, melting the snow right from under our feet as we climbed up the mountain.

After the hike, it was "How to Use Your Computer 101" at a local coffee shop with me as the instructor and my dad as the student. It went well and we had a blast.

This evening consisted of a quick, tasty dinner with my mom and then we laid on the couch all night watching the end of Forest Gump and then put in Perfect Strangers. There's nothing quite like time with your family.

A good, relaxing Saturday today. That means tomorrow I have to bust out some work...better get to bed.

WORKOUT:

OFF DAY (walked about 2.5 hours + deep long stretch)

NUTRITION:

Breakfast - 2 eggs scrambled with sauteed mushrooms, bell pepper, broccoli, and chicken sausage + banana

Snack - Handful of almonds and a carrot

Lunch - Left over stuffed eggplant + Orange

Dinner - Chicken stir fry with yellow pepper, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower

Snack - 2 pieces of dark Chocolate 80%

A Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 5

2010-03-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

Friday - 3/5/10

There's something about getting outside and being active that makes every day okay, no matter what else happens/happened. Today was one of those days!

I woke up early, got a bunch of work done and then headed up to Sunlight Mountain to skin up. For those of you that don't know what "skinning" is, it is basically a material that you stick to the bottom of your ski (it is shaped like the ski) and then are able to climb up hills without sliding backwards. When you get to the top, you tear off the skins, pack them away and rip down the mountain.

When I started the climb it was lightly snowing, but about 10 minutes in, it was comin down hard! It stayed like that all the way to the top. Just as I was packing my skins away the clouds parted and the sun come shining through. It was beautiful! I stood there for a moment just taking it all in...the surrounding valleys, the tall mountain peaks, the snow covered trees, this place is amazing! I am so lucky to have been raised here. After that, I took off down the mountain in the newly powdered crust. It was a bit "chunky" coming down, but it was still great. Good enough that I took the lift up one time just to have one more fun run before heading back to work.

That was the highlight of my day. The rest is boring...work, grocery store, and then watched The Time Travelers Wife (a surprisingly good movie). Now off to bed...

WORKOUT

Climb Sunlight Mountain (about 1800 vertical) in 47 minutes

Ski 2 runs

Stretch

NUTRITION

Breakfast - 2 fried eggs topped with last nights eggplant stuffings + apple

Snack - Banana

Lunch - Chicken Curry with raisins + 1/4 avocado

Snack - Handful almonds, cranberries, cashews + 1 cup coffee

Dinner - Grilled Chicken breast, mixed veggie salad topped with olive oil, 1/2 baked yam

Snack - 1 square of 75% dark chocolate (during movie)

A Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 4

2010-03-04T21:05:00.000-08:00

To the right - amazing view from the porch of tonight's CO sunset!

Thursday - 3/4/10

"Running on Empty" was my theme song today. For some reason I couldn't sleep last night. I fell asleep at about 12:30am and was up at 5:15 without a chance of falling back asleep. NOT ENOUGH SLEEP FOR THIS GIRL!!! Sleep is a big part of leading a healthy lifestyle. If you don't sleep enough, or sleep well, then your performance will decrease, your stress will increase, and your organs won't function properly. All of which are detrimental to your health.

But, since I could go back to sleep, I figured I might as well be productive. So...I updated the website, prepared March's newsletter, and most importantly finished my taxes!!!! What a relief to have that done!

This morning was beautiful here in Silt, CO, so I strapped on the tennies and hit the road for a run with Ziggy. We did about 5.5 miles and then came back for a short core workout. Today should have been an off day for me, but it was too nice to not go for a run, so I took fairly easy.

WORKOUT

Warmup + DROM

Run ~5.5 miles

Core

4 rounds (x20,15,10,5)

BOSU Jacknives

BOSU Weighted Sit Up

BOSU Torso Rotations

Prone Ball Pike

Sprint on Elliptical 1min/45sec/30sec/15sec

After the workout, I cleaned myself up, had a quick breakfast then headed to the gym to teach class. The girls rocked the workout today. It was so nice out, we did the workout in the parking lot to be out in the sun. A nice change of environment for everyone. That's a huge component to keeping yourself interested in the workouts. Change = motivation when it comes to exercise.

I got a little "Daddy Time" after class. I took Ziggy and my dad took his dog, Jed (Ziggy's older brother) to some local trails and we all tromped around in the mud some.

Then, the games began. I rushed to the store to load up on groceries for the night. Tonight I had an "online training party" to show friends and clients how my online training works. After a yummy paleo meal, I plugged the computer into the big screen TV and took them all step by step through the website.

Now, about to head to bed, I just got a call from Marcus (my boyfriend whose a pro waterskier and is currently in Melbourne, Australia competing in the first tournament of the season). The open men skied today and he got 3rd in the first round. Headed to semi finals on Sunday!!! WOO HOO!!!

Off to bed...I NEED sleep!

NUTRITION

Breakfast- 2 egg omelet with spinach, mushrooms, bell pepper topped with avocado and salsa + 3 slices of dried mango and a clementine.

Snack - Handful of almonds and chai tea with coconut milk

Lunch - Oops....totally spaced lunch today. I've been off all day.

Snack - handful of grapes and handful of walnuts

Dinner - Stuffed Eggplant (eggplant, ground turkey, peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes) + mixed veggies salad with olive oil and lemon juice + raw veggies (carrots, peppers, broccoli) dipped in guacamole

Snack- handful of almonds

Water = 90 oz.

Today was definitely and "off" day for me. WOW! I just wasn't hungry most of the day and then I was starving at night. Not the way you want to do it. Tomorrow will be better.

A Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 3

2010-03-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

Looking up Sunlight Mtn (it really was much sunnier than the picture shows)

WOW...I'm 28 today! I can't believe it!

I was a lucky girl today and got to spend a day doing pretty much whatever I wanted. The day started off with the mistake of not turning my alarm off from yesterday's 4:45a wake up call, but I very quickly shut it off and it took me about .5 second to get back into a deep slumber! :) At 7:45 Ziggy let me know it was time for her breakfast, so I finally rolled out of bed.

I spent the rest of the day having fun. Skied for a few hours at Sunlight Mountain with my mom. Not the best snow for sure, but still great to be out on the mountain on a sunny CO day. Next, we headed to get GREAT salads at local restaurant The Daily Bread (don't judge it by the gluten reference...haha). Red Mountain was the next stop for a hike with Ziggy in the sunshine. She was killin' it sprinting up and down the mountain's snow banks fetching her stick with crazy enthusiasm.

The next part of the day was probably my favorite part. I planned a "birthday workout" for myself. Since it was my 28th birthday, I figured I would do reps of 28 for a lot of different exercises. It was HARD!

WORKOUT:

Downhill Ski

Warmup + DROM

Workout - x28 ea exercise

Pullups

Pushups

Dips

Sit Ups

Knee to Elbow

Squats

Body Row

Double Unders

Push Press

Burpees

Stretch

After the workout, I had to be responsible a bit and get some work done. Then had a nice dinner with my family and that was that. I am 28 and feel just like I did when I was 27 and 364 days....happy, healthy, and ready for what life brings! :)

NUTRITION

Breakfast- 2 fried eggs with salsa on top, 1/2 banana, 1/2 clementine

Snack- coffee with coconut milk and agave nectar

Lunch- California Salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, 1 egg, chicken) with olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon

Snack- (Postworkout)- 3 oz Paleo Meatloaf, apple

Dinner- Left overs (flank steak 2oz, 3 oz paleo meatloaf, salad with olive oil, baby carrots)

Dessert- Gluten Free Birthday Cake...mmmgood! 5 dark chocolate kisses (it's my birthday..give me a break)

A Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 2

2010-03-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

Picture taken during walk today with Ziggy

Tuesday - 3/2/10

Typically, Tuesday's for me this winter have been CRAZY days. But, today was a little less insane (client-wise) because this is my last week home before relocating to Truckee, CA.

Early morning wake up call today - 4:45a beep, beep, beep!! A little groggy at first, but then I popped out of bed because I was pumped for Ski Conditioning. I've been training this group of women pretty much since my second year as a personal trainer, so I know they can work hard and that's what we do! Lots of lunge, squatting, stepping, jumping... so fun! After killin' our legs in class, I stuck around the gym at jumped on the treadmill. I can't remember the last time I was on a treadmill, but today I just felt like running. 7.5 miles later I decided to get off...I just kept running and running (just call me Forest Gump). It felt great to just go run. Now that the weather is starting warm and ice is melting, soon I'll be crusin' outside.

I headed to the local cafe for breakfast after the workout before getting in the dentist chair for my bi annual cleaning. I've decided getting my teeth cleaned is one of my favorite things to do. 11:30 I headed to the other gym where I teach another Ski Conditioning Class (the same workout) with another group of people. My legs are shot!!!! The plan was to head to play soccer tonight, but my quads are suggesting I give 'em a break so they can do their job and carry me tomorrow.

The rest of the day was spent picking away at my laptop keyboard responding to training emails, working on the website, booking rental cars to head to Truckee and marketing. I did manage to take Ziggy for a long walk and in the process lose 2 tennis balls, chase 6 other dogs and get really really muddy! Well, I didn't chase the dogs or get really muddy, but Ziggy manage to succeed at both of those enough for each of us!

The rest of the night is designated to chillin with the fam, watching American Idol (yes I am an addict) and gettin some zzz's.

Great day today!

WORKOUT

Ski Conditioning 1

Warmup + DROM

3x10 - Front lunges, back lunges, side lunges (R and L), split lunges, pushups, supermans

3x10 - Squats, overhead squats, single leg squats (R and L), single leg jump squats (R and L), dips, thrusters

3x10 - Jacknife, mtn. climbers, torso rotations, burpees, leg throw

*Between each set of exercises - 1 min ea (jump rope, high knees, 180* jump turns, lateral hops, quickfeet, box jumps)

Run

Warmup 1 mile

10K

Cooldown .5 mile

Ski Conditioning 2

Same workout as above + 5x50 yrd sprints

NUTRITION

Preworkout - Lara Bar

Post Workout - 3 egg omelet with fresh veggies + blueberries, strawberries, banana slices

Snack - Handful of walnuts

Lunch - Fajita Salad: greens with tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers topped with sauteed chicken, peppers and onions

Snack - Handful of walnuts and 2 piece of dark chocolate (oops!)

Dinner - Flank Steak with onions and green salad with mixed veggies topped with olive oil

Water Intake = 120 oz.

A Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 1

2010-03-01T18:34:00.000-08:00

Monday - 3/1/10

This next week I am going to be taking you all day by day through a week in the crazy life of Jenny LaBaw. I am going to also include my workouts and my nutrition. Maybe you can get some ideas from it.

Today started great. Got up around 6:30am and got a good hard workout in (see below). There's nothing like starting your day off being active. It gets your ready for the whole day!

WORKOUT:

Warmup - 15 min Elliptical

DROM (Dynamic Range of Motion) - Leg and Arm Swings, Squats, High Knees, Torso Twists

Workout - Descending Reps - each exercise x30,25,20,15,10,5

Clean and Jerk

Prone Back Extensions (Supermans)

Power Squats

Dips

Time = 22:22:09

Cooldown - 15 min Elliptical and Stretch

After the workout I cooked up a delicious breakfast and was ready to attack the day.

Today was a rare day for me. Usually I take Monday's and designate them to working on my online training business, but today I went to Rifle High School (my alma mater) and spoke to a few PE classes about my job as a trainer and took them through a short workout. I was a bit nervous going into it because I remember back in high school PE how most kids didn't want to really be there. However, today I was pleasantly surprised at how attentive and engaged these kids were. A few of them even came up to me after to quiz me more and tell me that they think they'd like to be a trainer.

It was emphasized to me even more today that the problem with kids and the junk they eat is their parents'. When I asked the kids if they had breakfast, most of them didn't. When I brought up trying to sub more veggies in instead of as many grains, I was shocked by the responses. One girl said, "It's hard though. I try to eat right and my mom comes home with bag of chocolate or boxes of cookies." It's no wonder our nations childhood obesity rate is out the roof! I told them that they needed to take what they learned today and go teach their parents. Hopefully it will rub off on a few families.

So, productive day at the school. I had a blast working with those kids. I would love to get into the schools more and teach these kids how to take care of themselves.

I was able to get away a few times today to play ball and go for a walk with Ziggy, my 2.5 year old yellow lab. It's true what they say about dogs, they really are a man's best friend. She brightens anyone's day!

Tonight, I have to play catch up with my online training... and try to get up at a decent hour so I can get up at 4:45am.

DAILY FOOD INTAKE:

Pre Workout - 3 slices of dried mango and handful of almonds

Post Workout (breakfast) - 2 eggs scrambled with sauteed broccoli, mushrooms, and zucchini topped with salsa. 3 pieces of turkey bacon.

AM Snack - Lara bar (on the go...)

Lunch - 3 oz chicken breast, mixed veggies (onions, peppers, tomatoes with olive oil), orange

PM Snack - Handful of almonds

Dinner - Crockpot Meatloaf (recipe of the month on www.afitplace.com), steamed broccoli and asparagus

Water Intake = 110 oz

Overall a good day's intake. Had too many nuts today, but that's because I didn't plan well for being out at the school.

Finding Motivation

2010-02-23T07:20:00.000-08:00

Acapulco group that I recruited to train with me all week at a waterski getaway (Ski Paradise). It's always more fun to work out with a group!

We all have had days (or weeks) when "jumping" into our workouts turn into more of a sluggish roll. Days (or weeks) where putting our sneakers on for a workout seems almost an impossible task. Days (or weeks) where we're completely and utterly unmotivated to exert a whole heck of a lot of energy.

First of all, it's okay. But at the same time you have to find the root of the fatigue and/or lack of motivation. There are several things that it can be...but below are the most common reasons.

1 - Overtrained - if you've been busting your butt for awhile and not taken time off to rest, your body will rebel and tell you that it can't go anymore by being tired, weak, and unmotivated.

2 - Lack of Nutrients - if you're not fueling your body correctly it won't run like it needs to. Think of putting sugar in your gas tank. Your car will run for a bit, but not with nearly as much "gusto" as it would with proper fueling.

3- Lack of Sleep - the human body needs AT LEAST 7 hours of sleep/night to function properly. This is consistent sleep, not 5 hours and then a 2 hour nap. Research shows that less than this, our organs start to not function as well leaving our body working harder than it needs to just to keep going.

4 - Boredom - just like our brains get bored doing the same thing over and over, our bodies get bored too. If you've been doing the same workout routine for 2 weeks or more, it's time to switch it up. The only time I do the same workout is for measurable testing purposes.

So, now the question is, how do we get over this unmotivated bump in the road? Below are a few simple ways to help regain motivation and determination to get back into a habit of taking care of your body.

1 - If you're feeling burnt out or overtrained, take a week OFF. Totally off. Maybe go for some walks or a hike but don't have anything scheduled. If you've been taking time off then follow some of the other steps below.

2 - Make sure you're getting a lot of water, lean protein (meat and eggs), vegetables, some fruit and healthy fat to energize your body. Look at the last post to see what is good for post workout recovery (protein and low glycemic carbs).

3 - Give yourself a bedtime that will allow AT LEAST 7 solid hours of sleep. Make it just like another appointment in your day. Be in bed by that time.

4 - Have a plan. Go into a workout with a plan. Go into the week with a plan. Making sure that you're getting a lot of variety in your workouts. Change the sets and reps. One day can be 3x20 of everything. One day can be do a circuit as many times through as you can in 30 min. One day can be run a 5K as fast as you can for time. Vary the exercises you're doing from jump rope, to olympic lifts, to gymnastics, to plyometrics, to yoga. Keep it ever changing and fun!

There are also some little things you can do...

- Get a workout partner to help hold you accountable, it's always more fun to do things with friends.

- Get a few new workout outfits or new shoes. You'll want to wear them so that will get you to the gym.

- Get a trainer. Hire someone to get you started, to get you back on track, to give you an individually designed workout.

So, if you're feeling like you want to throw in the towel with health and fitness, DON'T! Assess what's happening in your life to find the root of the problem and then follow suggestions above to find what works for you to get you back on track!

Fruit...good or bad?

2010-02-05T07:12:00.000-08:00

We are always told to get lots of fruits and veggies. Well that should be to get lots of veggies and some fruit. But, why not a lot of fruit???

Fruit is higher in sugar than veggies. That means that the insulin response is more pronounced when consuming the higher glycemic foods. Not all fruit is created equal though...below is a list of common fruit and their placement on the glycemic idex.

Dates - 103

Watermelon - 72

Pineapple - 66

Cantaloupe - 65

Raisins - 64

Pear - 58

Papaya - 58

Apricots - 57

Banana - 56

Mango - 55

Kiwi - 52

Grapes - 46

Orange - 43

Peach - 42

Blueberries - 40

Plums - 39

Apple - 38

Grapefruit - 25

Cherries - 22

Prunes - 15

This list gives you an idea of what fruit is better than others. It's a good rule of thumb to stay with the fruit below 50 on the glycemic index. Because of the high sugar in fruit, it's best to have it after a workout because that is when our body can most use that sugar.

Now, with all that said, it's not just about the Glycemic Index rating for the fruit. When consumed fruit replenished the glycogen stores in our liver. When our liver glycogen stores are back up to where they need to be, any excess glycogen turns into triglycerides. So, this isn't exactly where we want to focus on replenishing these stores. We want to get our muscle glycogen back up after a workout. Eating sweet potatoes, yams, and squash will do this for us. These are all good sources of low glycemic carbs, but they also replenish the glycogen in our muscles that we have depleted during a workout.

I am not trying to tell you not to eat fruit, but I am telling you to eat it in moderation and to make sure you're eating it at the right time of the day (post workout is best). If you have a goal to lean out and have been eating very healthy, cutting out fruit will help you reach that goal. Focus on getting more veggies in your diet and for your more "starchy" carbs go for yams or squash.

Omega 3's

2010-01-25T07:24:00.000-08:00

Fish Oil...the sound of it isn't too appealing ...but it's SO important to our health. You've all heard of Omega-6's and Omega-3's, but do you know what they really are?

Omega-3's and Omega-6's are essential fatty acids - we cannot make them on our own and therefore have to get them through our diet. Good sources of Omega-3's come from fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel, bluefish, etc.), but not very many of us will eat enough fish to get proper amounts of Omega-3's. I'm not a supplement pusher (in fact the opposite) but taking fish oil daily is so important. It is the building block of for hormones that control immune function, blood clotting and cell growth. This is done through the components EPA and DHA. In some nuts (walnuts and flaxseeds) there's a precursor Omega-3 called ALA that the converts to EPA and DHA. It is best to get them through the fish oil itself though.

Omega-6's are very high in American diet. They come from seeds, nuts, and the oils extracted from them. Also refined vegetable oils are a source. The most prominent being soybean oil, which has taken over about 20% of our daily caloric intake in processed foods. The problem with Omega-6's is that they do the opposite of Omega-3's. They cause an inflammatory response which hinders immune function, increases blood clotting, and decreases cell growth.

A balance of both types of fatty acids is critical to optimal health. Unfortunately, as I mentioned before, the typical diet is now too high in Omega-6's which is thought to be a related cause to the increase cases of asthma, heart disease, autoimmune and neurodegenerative, and many forms of cancer due to the increased inflammatory response. The imbalance is also thought to possibly lead to obesity, depression, dyslexia, and hyperactivity.

So, it's time to suck it up, and get some of that fish oil. When you go the store make sure to get the fish oil that has been refrigerated and keep it refrigerated because when kept at room temperature it becomes harmful to the body. ENJOY!

CrossFit Level 1 Certification

2010-01-18T13:57:00.000-08:00

Earlier this summer at Lake Powell I was doing a workout that include Front Squats. CrossFit approved for sure! No excused that you can't get a workout in. There's always objects that weigh something (if even only your own body weight...but a log works too).

This last weekend was an amazing experience for me. Attending the Level 1 CrossFit Certification course was good review on some aspects, was eye opening for other aspects, was educational, was intriguing, was motivating, was contagious, the list goes on and on. Basically, it was just what the doctor ordered!

I have friends that do CrossFit, I have friends that have their own CrossFit gyms, I have friends that are CrossFit trainers, I have done CrossFit workouts...but what the heck is CrossFit?

That question was answered for me this weekend in the most clear way I could have asked for. CrossFit is a workout program that is constantly varied, full of functional movements, all at high intensity. The effectiveness of a program like this is astounding. I know when I first heard of CrossFit I was thinking that this is something for the elite athletes or for people like myself who are crazy and love to beat themselves up in workouts. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Yes, CrossFit will fulfill the needs of the "athletes" and the crazies, but it also will help grandma be able to move better for longer in life. It will help kids develop great motor skills at a young age. It will give "mom" an easier time keeping up with her kids. It will make everyone fitter and healthier. Not to mention the community within CrossFit is extremely encouraging, motivating, and supportive.

I have been told in the past that I train similar to a CrossFitter. Yes, it was similar. But this weekend has taught me what I was doing right, what I was doing wrong, and what I need to add or subtract from my programs to make them more effective.

Another aspect that I will touch on only briefly in this blog post is nutrition. Many "fitness" organizations stray trainers away from dealing with people's food intake due to liability reasons. Or they preach the typical American diet - low fat, high carb. Why? This is WRONG! First of all, food is our bodies fuel. If we don't fuel it right, it's not going to run right. Therefore teaching people how to eat right is a HUGE component of getting results. Carbs, or sugars, are what our bodies store as fat. We can't store protein or fat as fat. Toss everything you've heard about the low fat diets down the tubes! Fat and protein help us feel satiated, help us recover, and help slow down the rate that sugar enters the blood. Carbs on the other hand make us feel hungrier and are stored as fat. So why would we eat high carbs and low fat? Doesn't make sense does it. Basic things to think about with nutrition...eat Protein and Veggies, Nuts and Seeds, Some Fruit, Little to No Grains/Starch, No Refined Sugar.

I am stoked to learn more, to help others become better athletes, to help others become more independent and capable in their own physical lives. Let the games begin!

To start training with me you can reach me at www.afitplace.com. I train clients remotely and I also do train in person. Please email or call to get started to a fitter you!

Believing in Change

2010-01-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

My background...recreational athlete starting at the age of 3, high school athlete (soccer, softball, basketball), collegiate athlete (soccer and track). Currently I am a competitive distance runner, have gone back to recreational (competitive league) soccer, have picked up waterskiing, snow skiing, and am an outdoors(wo)man. On a professional level, I have a 4 year bachelors degree in Fitness and Wellness, am an NSCA certified personal trainer, coached high school soccer, and am working on my 7th year in a career as a Personal Trainer. I definitely have a history of leading an active lifestyle and helping others to do the same.

I have to admit in the last few years I've gotten myself in a rut on an educational basis. I wasn't doing much continuing education. Maybe it was lack of time, a lack of resources, or a lack of enthusiasm. Maybe it was a combo of all three...who knows. I wasn't completely in the dark, but I wasn't branching out as much as I should have. Fitness and Nutrition have ever changing research, equipment and "the next best thing". That means I have to be open to change, to learning and to admitting that maybe what I was doing wasn't the best approach.

Lately, I have been studying from videos, podcasts, websites, journals, etc from top names in the industry. Mike Boyle's ideas on technique, Robb Wolf's thoughts on nutrition, Cross Fit's "programming", etc. Through all of this I have realized that some of my previous approaches toward fitness and nutrition were either wrong or were not the best way to go about it.

At first I was a little timid about presenting the new information to my clients in fear that they would question my ability as a trainer/coach because of the fact that in some areas I was contradicting what I had previously preached. Then I got to thinking that the changes I had to offer were going to benefit them more and therefore they should be just as stoked as I was about the whole deal. For the most part that was the response I received.

Understand that change is something that is going to happen in the fitness world. The basics will stay the same, but the there will always be new research that proves something to be more beneficial than the other. Don't be afraid to let new ideas in and don't be afraid to try new approaches. Do be afraid to learn and to believe that change can be a great thing!

Support Group

2010-01-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

My workout girls in New Castle, CO. These women rock!

We all know that eating right, exercising and being disciplined to do it consistently isn't an easy task. But, often times we make it harder than it needs to be. A big part of that is our surroundings.

Sure we've all heard tips to success like keep the junk food out of the house, put motivating pictures/sayings on your mirror or in your car, or to set out your workout clothes the night before. Those are all proven helpful hints and strategies, but there's still a HUGE part we have to face....our support group.

Peer/family pressure is tough and in many cases the easiest to give into. Going out to dinner and the group orders a big plate of nachos for an appetizer. Can you say no? When you're headed to the gym, your friends "encourage" you not to go and instead hit up a movie with popcorn and a soda. Can you say no? Your spouse complains because you are going for a walk rather than sitting and watching TV. Can you invite him/her?...will they join?

Marcus (my boyfriend and part of my support group) and I after climbing Mt. Lassen in Northern California

It's crucial to your success that you communicate what your goals are with your friends/family and that you need/want their support and help. Hopefully they will have your back, but if not then they are a deterrent to your achievements. I am not saying give up on these people and exclude them from your lives...I am saying make sure that you are not letting them take you down. When you continually say "no" to their unhealthy suggestions, they will eventually get the point and who knows, they may actually participate in the healthier lifestyle too.

We all have good intentions to reach our goals, otherwise we wouldn't make them. Let's make it easier on ourselves though and surround ourselves with people that support us and encourage us.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2010!

New Year's Resolution Time

2009-12-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to make changes. This is a time when many of us reflect on our last year and think about what we can do to make make some improvements in our life. It goes without saying that in our country the most common type of New Year's Resolution is health/fitness related.

Now with that said, how many of us actually reach these goals? How many years have you had the same goal? "Get in better shape." "Lose 10..15..20 pounds." "Run a half marathon." "Eat healthier." Let's make December 2010 the year you look back at and can see that you actually achieved your goals.

There are a few simple, but crucial, steps to take that can help you reach your health and fitness goals this year.

1- Define your Goal: actually give numbers. (ie: lose 20 lbs. by April 1st...or take 5 minutes off my race time...or do 15 pushups from my feet.)

2- Make a Plan: map out the small goals you need to reach to accomplish that ultimate goal

3- Get Accountability: include other people in your goals so that you can have support and people to keep you in check (ie: family, friends, coworkers, a personal trainer).

These three small steps will undoubtably help you. You have to remember that this is YOUR New Year's Resolution. Only if YOU are truly committed and if YOU are ready to go for it, will YOU succeed.

I am here to help you. Check out www.afitplace.com and let me, Jenny LaBaw, help you reach your goals through workout and nutrition coaching and guidance.

Commit to be fit!

Holiday Spirit

2009-12-15T07:01:00.000-08:00

Tis the season for sharing and caring. This was more than evident last night...

Around 4:00pm, Marcus and I started our trek in Boogie (his sprinter van) up to Aspen, CO to Lance Armstrong's book signing. We were both pretty stoked all through the 1.5 hour drive to get the chance to meet Lance. Yes, it goes without saying that he is a phenomenal endurance athlete...but we were amped to meet a man who has changed so many lives, who has helped so many people. Marcus and I have both been effected by family and friends who've had to fight cancer, so this night was touching close to our hearts.

We drove past the book store in search of a parking spot when I saw a line out the door I said, "Oh great, a long line". But I had no idea. We parked Boogie by a snow bank and headed toward the line...it just kept wrapping all around the building. Close to the rear of the line, we had a friend call our names. Laura Patterson was there, waiting patiently like everyone else, clutching to her chest a book to be signed. As we were chatting with her I realized that almost everyone had his new book. Marcus mentioned to Laura that we were going to just buy one inside. With a look of sadness on her face she said they were all sold out and there were no other book stores in town. So, we just stayed in line with Laura chatting and hoping to just get to see Lance and maybe shake his hand. Throughout our conversation, Laura mentioned she has a friend who care takes for Lance and would probably be able to get us a signed copy at some point.

The line moved fairly quickly. As we got in the door, Laura waved at a friend across the counter, who just happened to be Lance's caretaker. She was holding two copies of the book. Marcus explained our dilemma (not asking for a book at all, just telling her the story that we were bummed and that we wanted to get this book signed for a friend). Marcus kept moving with the line but as we passed the woman, she said to me "I'm supposed to give this to you, aren't I." I said, "Oh, no don't feel like you have to do that". She apparently had one of the books she was getting signed for her brother. Long story short...she said, "No take this. Hurry get up there, or you'll miss him". So...I ran up and handed the book to Marcus just in time for Lance to sign it and for Marcus to explain how honored he was to meet him and thank him for all he does with LiveStrong.

Before we left, we went back into the bookstore to thank Rene, the care taker, for giving up her book and asked if we could pay her. Her response, "No, just donate to LiveStrong". We left last night humbled, gracious, and speechless. What an amazing thing she did for us. Thank you Rene!

Do something today to Pay it Forward!

No Better Time Than NOW!!!

2009-12-01T08:23:00.000-08:00

Marcus and Ziggy playing in the snow during a snow shoe hike. Get out with your family and do something active this holiday season!!!

Thanksgiving is over...left over turkey is almost gone...it's time to get serious again!

It's day 2 into the week after Thanksgiving. The countdown to Christmas is only 24 days away. That means you have 24 days to get back in the groove and make a habit of an active healthy lifestyle before the next holiday hits. If you're in the habit of it now, you're more likely to stick with it during the holidays.

First step in getting going again...just do it. Lay out a plan for the week. If you don't have a trainer or program you're following start with this.

Mon: 30 min Cardio day (run, bike, row, walk, hike, cross country ski, gym equipment)

Tue: 30 min weight training circuit or group class

Wed: 30 min Cardio day

Thu: 30 min weight training circuit or group class

Fri: OFF DAY

Sat: Fun day - go do something fun and ACTIVE with your family and friends (ski, hike, etc)

Sun: Fun day - " " " " "

If you want something more specific and more directed toward you individually, check out www.afitplace.com and sign up for online personal training with me. You will have no regrets. I promise!!!

There's no reason to wait for a New Year's Resolution. Just do it now!

Holiday Health Horrors

2009-11-24T13:45:00.000-08:00

Our society revolves our lives around food. Lunch meetings for work, dinner dates with clients, birthday dinners, treats for comforting, etc.... Why don't we revolve our lives around healthy things. Walking meeting with clients, birthday hikes, massages for comforting, etc....

That is everyday life. Now even worse, the holiday's are coming. I don't mean that the holiday's are bad...don't get me wrong! I mean that we are surrounded by temptations around the holidays. Cookies, candy, pies...they're always in our face. It's your job to say no. It's really not that hard...here are a few steps to help out.

1- BE PREPARED

Know when you go out into public, whether it's the bank or the office, you're going to offered some sort of treat around the holiday season. Expect this to happen, recognize it and resist it.

2- JUST SAY NO

Without a doubt you are going to be offered junk in the next month or so. It's easy, just say "no thank you." The more you say "no" the easier it gets and the better you feel about your decisions.

3- MAKE YOUR OWN

When going to parties, bring a dish that you know you can eat. Typically there are some sort of salads and meat at get togethers...but then there are tons of goodies too. Bring a goodie that you can feel good about eating. One good choice is fresh fruit (even indulge a bit and dip it in melted dark chocolate).

4- TEACH OTHERS

Your friends and family are the worst at pushing junk on you (well at least that's how it works in my circle). So, be ready to explain (not defend) your choices to them. Explain why you're avoiding the junk, explain that it's your choice and you would like their support, explain that you are trying to be healthy and you feel great about it.

5- INDULGE A BIT

I am not telling you that you can't have one piece of junk this holiday season...if I were to tell you that I would be a hypocrite. Just make sure you indulge intelligently. Know that if you eat something bad every day it will not be benefitting you. But know that cheating a little will not ruin you either. If you know you're going to a party on Thursday then make sure to eat really good the rest of the week.

Make this one of your healthiest holiday season yet! Most people gain weight in the next month or so...imagine telling your family and friends that you continued to reach your goals despite the horrors of the holidays! It's not that hard, you just have to commit to it!

Happy Holidays!

Extra Curricular

2009-11-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

*Picture to the Left is from my glory days in college soccer for Cornell College. I'm #6 (the dirty one!). This is after a win!*

I've been a soccer player for most of my life and since college, I haven't been able to play competitively very much. After our summer travels for the our promotional waterski tour, Face to Face Tour (www.facetofacetour.com), I was ready to find a way to play again. When we found out we were going to be stationed in Silt, CO I called to the community center and found a league to play on.

Now, even though I've played my whole life, even at the collegiate level, I was a bit nervous to go play with a bunch of people I didn't know on an indoor court. But I wanted something different than running, the gym, and the bike. So...last week I made the plunge and did it. It was the BEST thing I've done for myself in a long time. I get to compete, I get to play my favorite sport, I get a great workout, and I get to have the time of my life for an hour every week. I also found out that on Tuesday nights there is are pick-up games going on...so really I get two nights a week to go have the time of my life! :)

Where I'm getting at with this is that there's nothing that says you have to get your exercise by strictly being in a gym going through the same ol' routine with the cardio machines and resistance equipment. Go to your community center or town hall and find active groups that may interest you. For example (runnin/wallking groups, masters swim classes, hiking groups). If there's nothing going on, be pro-active and start something yourself. Find a group of friends and start a weekly cross country ski group..or whatever. Be active, make it fun, and get others to do it with you!

On that note, I'm out the door to play soccer!

Just do it!

2009-11-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

*Picture to the Left is showing a SINGLE LEG SQUAT. It's a very functional exercise that is great for ski conditioning. Make sure that when you squat down your knee stays behind your toes (sit butt back)*

Yesterday I was dragging butt! I had only 5.5 hours of sleep under my belt and had to get up at 4:30am to go teach my Ski Conditioning Class. Let me tell you, this class isn't for sissies! I push these skiers to their limits and in doing so, I do the same to myself. Knowing what I had in store for them had me a bit worried since all I wanted was for my eyes to close. But, I got to the gym, still wiping sleep from my eyes, and jumped on the elliptical for a quick warmup before class. At first I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest, but then I settled into it and after 5 or 10 minutes I was ready to rock and roll!

The class was intense. This group of ladies doesn't mess around. We were squatting, lunging, sprinting, skating, jumping, pushing, pulling for an intense hours.

After class I was jazzed and still had energy to go, so I took advantage of it. I hit the treadmill for 3 miles, then did a 30 min workout as follows:

Rounds in 30 min (go through the workout below as many times as you can in 30 min)

Pullups x 10

Jacknives 30x10# ea arm

BOSU Pushups x 10

Hanging Leg Raises x 30

Burpees x 10

Sit Ups x 30

The workout was followed by a great stretch, then off for a busy busy day!

Moral of the story - When you're tired, more often than not, once you start moving your body gets going and you feel great! So "Just do it!"

*Note: Still listen to your body. If you're running on empty and your body needs the rest, then give it the rest! I recommend AT LEAST 7 hours of sleep a night (Monday's night was a fluke for me).

Have a Plan

2009-11-16T10:43:00.000-08:00

Monday's...they're usually a pretty tough day to get going...you've just come off a fun weekend, you have piles of "to-do's" for work, and you have to set that stupid alarm clock. I know for me, Monday's are also the hardest day to get going with workouts...my head is still in bed. The thing that helps me the most and makes me motivated for my Monday workouts is to have a plan. Sometime during the weekend I plan out my next week of workouts. (if you're training with me at www.afitplace.com your plan is already set for you, so just print it out and have it ready to go)

Today's workout started out slow because it was SOOOO cold in my garage (23 degrees outside, not sure what it was inside), but after a good warm up on the spin bike I shed the sweatshirt and rocked a tough workout. It set the stage for my day/week!!!

Monday 11/16/09

Cardio: Spin Bike - 10 min WU, 20 min pyramid intervals (sprint 15sec, 30sec, 45sec, 1min, 1min, 45sec, 30sec, 15 sec) x2 with same time recovery between, 5 min CD

Strength: 30,25,20,15,10,5 of each exercise

Overhead Stationary Lunge (reps on each leg) 45#

Bent Over Row 25# ea arm

Pushups

BOSU Deep Squat (flat side)

50m sprint on Row Machine

Great way to start the day! What did you do today to start your week off with a bang? If nothing yet....the day is still young. Do my workout if you have nothing planned!

Finding "You" Time

2009-11-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

This picture is a few weeks ago at Lake Powell. I took time to chill back, look at the lake and cuddle with my dog. Not doing a thing!

I used to work crazy hours...up at 3:30 or 4:30 every morning to either get my workout in before I had to work or taking clients at insane times of the morning to fit their schedules. I was getting max 6 hours of sleep every night, working 12-14 hour days, and pushing myself in workouts in between. I was living on meal replacements (bars and drinks) during the middle of my day and running myself into the ground. I LOVE to help people get stronger and healthier, but while I was trying to help as many people as I could, at 26 years old my body was on empty!

My life has drastically changed in the last year or so from the long days in the gym to finding balance in my life. With the help of my family and my boyfriend, Marcus, I needed to make more time for me. I still LOVE my job as a personal trainer and don't want to trade that for the world, but I am lucky to have found balance in my life at such a young age. I am lucky to have realized how important work/life balance is for one's well-being.

Being on both sides of this issue, I am able to relate to people who think that they don't have time for exercise and health in their life. I know what it's like to feel like you have to be working all the time and making your business better and giving, giving, giving. I know the toll that takes on a body too.

I encourage you to sit back, reflect on your daily/weekly life. Think about family/friends time, personal time, work time, leisure time, sleep time, etc. Prioritize the things in your life and then adjust your schedule to fit those priorities. I can tell you that once you start to put yourself and the ones you love in front of your work, your work will actually improve too. The happier you are, the healthier you are, the more successful you'll be.

Today is a direct reflection on how my life has changed...

5:30am - woke up energized and ready to hit the gym to get people in shape

6-8:15am - loved my job training a few clients and showing them that they are stronger than they were yesterday.

8:15-9:45am - My own workout time:

Elliptical 10 min WU, DROM

x20,15,10,5 reps on each exercise

Pullups/Push Jerks/Tricep Pullover/Narrow Pushups/Back Extensions/Sprint 1 min

Run hilly route for 4 miles

Stretch

10-11:30am - Tea with a dear friend that I haven't seen for a year. Had the best time!

12-1:30pm- Finished my book "The Art of Racing in the Rain" while throwing the ball for my dog.

1:30-now - Been working on online training/marketing/updating websites/networking

Plans tonight...

- Watch an episode of "House" with Marcus (we love that show)

- Take Ziggy for a walk

- Dinner

- Indoor Soccer Game tonight!!!!

Life is about balance. I know that every day isn't going to be exactly balanced and that some days will be more fun than others, but you HAVE to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else!

Here's to YOU!

Indian Summer

2009-11-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

It's been absolutely amazing weather here in western CO! We had a 1 foot or so initial snow fall a couple weeks ago, but since then it's been in the 50's and 60's!! I have been taking full advantage of the weather by trail running, mountain biking, hiking, and just being outside as much as possible.

The picture above was taken last weekend. It's looking down on the CO river from my hike up Storm King Mountain in South Canyon (just west of Glenwood Springs, CO). This hike isn't just any 'ol hike. First of all it's pretty steep for the first mile or so straight up one mountain, then you descend on the other side just to climb up to another ridge. The second climb that day was ICY!!! I was slippin and sliding all over the place, but made it to the top of the ridge where the reason for the climb lays. I said this isn't any 'ol climb, but not because of the hike itself, more because of the meaning of it. On July 6th, 1994 there was a bad fire in these hills. Coming at the fire from the west, the fire crew was putting their life at risk to save the ours (the residents of the valley). There was an unexpected shift in direction which changed the fire's route directly toward the firemen and women. This tragic day ended the loss of 14 fire fighters. Their memorials are at the top of this hike. If you ever are in western CO, I strongly suggest you take a couple hours to go on a good hike, see beautiful country, and remember the 14 brave firefighters from that day.

With that said, the things that I've been doing for exercise haven't exactly been on my workout schedule. There's a lot to be said for going out and enjoying yourself (while being active) even if it's not on your schedule. Soon enough the trails will be muddy or covered in snow and the trail runs, hikes, and mountain biking will be put on hold until the spring/summer. So, get out there, enjoy the rest of the nice weather because soon enough we'll be stuck inside!

Colorado is inspiring!!!

2009-11-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Being back in CO has been great so far. I've been able to hook up with old friends, pick up some of my past clients, hang out with family, and enjoy the amazing weather.

My last post showed a good snow fall - we actually ended up with about a foot or so. However in the last 3 days it's almost gone from the amazing 50-60 degree weather. We've been taking advantage of that and going for bike rides, long runs, and just being outside in amazing CO fall weather.

To update you with my workouts...

THU:

Official OFF DAY (ended up not being able to stay inside so I went for an easy 6 mile run)

FRI:

30 min hilly run/Elliptical 10 min

3 x 1 min each

BOSU Jacknife

Ball Side Bend

BOSU Sit ups

3-way Leg Throw

Woodchops

Alternating Superman

Plank

SAT:

Spin 45 min {10 min Warmup/ 30 min (15 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1 min, 45 sec, 30 sec, 15 sec) sprints with same time recover spin between x 3/ 5 min Cooldown}

21, 15, 9, 3 reps of each exercise

Push Jerk

Russian Lunges

Pushups

Run Stairs

Pullups

Windmill

SUN:

Ride 45 min easy

MON:

Run 5 miles steady state/ Hill Sprints with walk back recovery (1x1 min, 2x45 sec, 3x30 sec)

5x20 each

Deep Squat

2 Med. Ball Pushup

Lunges

Step Ups

Sit Ups

Mtn Bike Ride Fruita, CO for 3 hours (BEAUTIFUL...check out the moon rise picture above)

TUE:

Today was the first day of the Ski Conditioning Class I teach. It was a great class!!! Good group who worked hard. Skiing is a lot of legs and core, so that's what we did. These skiers are going to have some sore legs tomorrow.

I came home and walked the dogs for 40 min and spent 30 min stretching and rolling! Gotta take care of those muscles.

First snow fall

2009-10-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

It's been snowing since last night and it's DUMPING!!! I don't know when the last time Silt, CO got this much snow in October...this is great!!!

If you're like me and like the snow, then it probably means you like to play in it. Winter sports are a great way to keep off the winter "hibernation" pounds and the winter holiday pounds. With that said, you can't forget to still do your routines. Just like summer activities, they are sport specific which means that some muscles get left out. It's important to keep up your strength routine and stretching routine as to not lose strength (even when that POW is calling your name). "POW" is epic powder for those of you not familiar with ski lingo ;). I have taught ski conditioning classes for several years and am starting another one this coming Tuesday at New Castle Family Fitness in New Castle, CO...if you're near come join us! If you're not close by, then let's get you going on a program through my online training (www.afitplace.com).

To catch you up on my own training...

Being close to sea level for the last year has made altitude training a bit harder than I ever remember. Living at mile high elevation most of my life, this has never been an issue for me. But the last 3 days that I've been home I've been suckin' wind a bit! :) It feels good though.

MONDAY:

Cardio:

Run

6 miles Steady State (slightly hilly route)

Resistance:

5x15

Pushups + Alt Row - 10# each

Lunges + Cross Over Head Raise - 20#

Step Ups (15 ea leg)

Thrusters - 55#

Ball Back Extensions

Elliptical Sprint level 10 x 1 min

Stretch

TUESDAY:

Cardio:

Elliptical

10 min WU, sprint/arms only/legs only/backwards/recover 1 min each x 4

Resistance:

30 min - How many rounds? = 6+ 6 Side Kick Punch

BOSU Jacknife

BOSU Superman

BOSU V-ups

Side Kick Punch

Torso Rotations - 20#

BOSU Power Jumps

Sprint 200m

Stretch

TODAY:

Cardio:

Elliptical

30 min steady state level 8

Walk Dogs

1.5 mile loop

Resistance:

10x10

Split Lunge (10 ea leg)

Med. Ball Pushup

Jump Squats

Single Leg BOSU Stand + Front and Lateral Arm Raise (10x10# ea way)

Skaters (10 ea leg)

Grip Med. Ball Hang Clean (10x20# ea arm)

Burpees

Stretch

Until tomorrow....get out and do something extra tonight...go for a walk/run/hike!

Staying Active on Vacation

2009-10-27T14:09:00.001-07:00

Ok...so this time I am really back to blogging on a regular basis....

As most of you know, my summers consist of traveling for 4 months in a big red Peterbilt motorhome, living out of a suitcase, and never knowing what my surroundings are going to be. This makes keeping a regular exercise routine difficult. However, I am very lucky to have a big garage in the motorhome where I have my workout equipment easily accessible. Now, on most vacation your "home" gym doesn't travel with you. Don't let this be an excuse to be lazy though...

The last week and a half we we've been on traveling on vacation and I was still able to have some of my toughest workouts in a while. From Friday the 16th through Friday the 23rd, we were at Lake Powell living on a houseboat. When it would have been easy to lay around on the boat, eating goodies and relaxing, I chose to take advantage of the amazing sandstone dessert for beautiful runs and hikes along the cliff walls of Lake Powell. Marcus and I collected rocks and logs to use as weights for strength training, which resulted in a really tough workout.

After Powell, the plan was to jet to our winter housesitting abode in Silt, CO, but instead we took a couple detours to again take advantage of beautiful country. On Saturday we headed to Moab, UT to get some crazy slickrock riding in. We road the Moab Rim trail...this is nuts!!! The trail starts out gaining 1000 ft elevation in less than a mile. Needless to say I didn't "ride" it all up, but it was a sick ride!

After Moab, we diverted down to Telluride, CO with the intention of getting in more mountain bike riding. However, we woke up to snow covered streets...the first snow of the year in town! This place is amazing! We spent the morning walking around town and then hit the road north toward Silt.

Kind of drained and ready to sleep in a real bed, we wanted to get home...but we couldn't help but be motivated to ride again, but this time on the Book Cliffs near Palisade, CO. We did some research, talked to some locals and found the trail head. Again, a TOUGH climb in the beginning, but we made it and the top of the cliffs were epic riding that day.

So, moral of today's blog....you can ALWAYS find a place to be active, no matter where you're at. It usually ends up being a great break from the health club or gym too. Where there's a will there's a way. You won't regret being active! :)

Mondays...

2009-10-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

Monday's have a bad rap because it's the beginning of the work week...the weekend is over. That's not a good way to look at it. Think of Monday's as a fresh start. They are the first day of the week where you can get in your routine. Start the week with a killer workout, great attitude and healthy grub to fuel your body.

That was my outlook today and I had one of the best days ever! Got up, made a smoothie, headed into Chico for a sweet mountain bike ride followed by a fun workout. Then I met up with Marcus at a coffee shop to get some work done. Then did chores...grocery shopping, laundry, cleaned my truck, cleaned the house. After all the work was done, it was time for some more fun. I had Marcus pull me for a ski ride behind our new 2010 MasterCraft. Sweet boat!!!! I haven't been skiing very well lately, but today I just had a different attitude and approach and it ended up working in my favor. I skied great today!!...and had a blast doing it!!!

Moral of my story...your day is what you make of it. So, instead of dreading the day when you get up, make the day the best it can be.

Monday 10/5/09

Workout:

*Mountain Bike Middle Trail

*21 - 15 - 9 of each exercise

Forward Lunges

Pushups

Step Ups

Assisted Handstand Pushups

Backward Lunges

Skaters

Nutrition:

8:00 - Protein shake (frozen berries, OJ, water, Muscle Milk protein)

10:30 - Banana and 1 hard boiled egg

1:00 - Salad (mixed greens, carrots, celery, cauliflower, red peppers, pecans, chicken sausage) topped with olive oil and basil

4:00 - Handful of almonds, pistachios, dried cranberries and cherries

6:00 - Pear and 1/2 of a balance bar (not the best choice)

7:30 - Dinner Plan - Turkey burger with mustard and tomato, steamed broccoli and cauliflower

Water - 100 oz

2009-09-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

*The above picture is of 1-mile recreation area in Chico, CA. I usually start my rides/runs from here and take a dip in the "pool" too cool off when I'm done. Often times I do my weight training here in the park too.

Monday 9/28/09

Workout:

Road Ride in Chico - 1 mile to Keefer Loop (1:03:27)

My legs were pooped from that last two days of hard climbing so I took a flatter route.

Resistance Training In Park -

Walking Lunges - 5x15 each leg

Pushups - 5x15

Single Leg Squats - 5x15 each leg

Assisted Handstand Pushups - 5x15

High Knees - 5x15 each leg

It was gorgeous outside, so after my ride I decided to do a body weight workout in the park. You can still get a great workout without any equipment. Your body weight is plenty. I was sweating my butt off!!!

Food Intake:

Pre-workout - Banana and Apple

Post-workout - 3 egg omelette with chicken, tomatoes, avocado and shredded zucchini

Lunch - Almonds/Cashews/Cranberries and Pumpkin Spice Latte (oops...)

Snack - Peach

Dinner - 4 oz steak, green salad, steamed carrots, onions and sweet potatoes (only a few)

Overall a good day yesterday. The workout was awesome, the day was beautiful and for the most part my food intake was good. I wasn't prepared around lunch time (obviously) and that led to a poor decision with the latte.

Tuesday 9/29/09

Workout:

Mountain Bike Ride: Upper Park - Middle trail down and back

Fun single track ride with Marcus. There was a race here last weekend so the trail was tore up and made it much more challenging with lose dirt, lose rock, and new obstacles. Fun ride! Riding in Chico will make you a better rider. This stuff is hard!

After the ride I stretched well.

Nutrition:

7:00am - Banana

8:00am - Pre workout: Muscle Milk protein shake with frozen berries

WORKOUT

12:00pm - 3 eggs scrambled with chicken sausage, zucchini, mushrooms and topped with salsa and avodaco

1:30pm - Handful raw mixed nuts and 5 pieces of cubed cantaloupe

Today is going great so far except the hour or so between finishing my workout and eating eggs. We we were in town and I didn't plan accordingly to have something ready right after my ride.

Back on track...

2009-09-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

*Picture to the left: Ziggy (my dog) hauling butt on one of our hikes in Northern Washington near Mount Baker. Pretty cool shot with her body blurred but it's focused on her head.

Okay, okay, okay...I really am back this time. Just when I thought my life was getting under control, we were on our trip north (British Columbia, Washington, Oregon) and I was busier than expected. Not to mention we were out of service area for a lot of the trip, so keeping you all posted was impossible. But...I'm back!

With a full week of travel, clinics, and more travel...I still managed to get rides, runs and workouts in. Unfortunately I wasn't diligent in recording them so I don't have anything specific to report to you all. But something I want to relay to you is that it's always good to ask where to go for a walk/ride/run when you're somewhere unfamiliar. Ask the host at the front desk of the hotel, go to an outdoors store and ask the clerk, or ask the locals. We found some really cool rides and I found a great park to go running, just by asking.

It was really hard to eat right though with living out of a van without a way to keep food fresh except a mini cooler with ice that melted FAST and a one-burner mini camp stove...but we did it. Going out to eat I just focused on lots of veggies and lean meat like I do when I am cooking on my own. You have to take into consideration the way that food is prepared in restaurants though...typically the meat is a bit fattier and the produce quality isn't as high. So, preparing meals yourself is best. We also hit up the grocery store frequently for meals. It's cheaper and it's better for you. The deli at Safeway is actually pretty decent.

We've been back for two days now and this is what I've done.

Saturday 9/26/09

Mtn Bike Upper Bidwell Park in Chico: North Rim to B-Trail to Middle Trail

It starts with a steady ROCKY climb up North Rim, B-Trail is technical switch backs downhill (I walked a lot of it), then home on Middle Trail is moderate ups and downs. It was a great ride!!! We did it in the heat of the day - about 96 degrees!!!

Sunday 9/27/09

Today I got up early and headed into Chico. I had a great morning Road Ride.

1-mile up Honey Run down Neal Road and back through Chico to 1 mile. A much needed deep stretch followed the ride!

Starting tomorrow (Monday), I will be back on track with scheduled workouts!! I can't wait!

Until tomorrow...

2009-09-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

Life has been CRAZY the last several days. Since Friday (my last post), we spent the weekend down in Brentwood, CA for Marcus' pro water ski event. The tourny went well and Marcus skied phenomenal. Water skiers at his level are some of the most outstanding athletes I have ever seen. You have to see it to believe it and if you've never tried slalom skiing yourself, there's no explaining the difficulty of it.

After the tournament we headed back to Chico and were running around with our heads cut off trying to get our Face to Face Tour (www.facetofacetour.com) big rig unpacked and cleaned spick and span. On top of all of our "to do's" we had company from an hour after we got back from Brentwood until we left yesterday afternoon. We hired a friend to come get it yesterday and drive it back to San Antonio, TX. After unloading the truck, we had to load up our van to head north for 2 weeks. We are currently on the road to Abbotsford, BC for the final pro event (picture is of our new tour rig). Prelims are tomorrow and finals are on Saturday.

Needless to say, with all the hustle and bustle my "free time" was dedicated to working out at the expense of my blog postings.

My workouts for the last several days consisted of the following:

Saturday 9/12/09

*Row: 20 min WU

*15,12,9,6,3 reps each exercise

BOSU pushups jumps

Thrusters

Body Squats

Row Sprint 1min/45sec/30sec/15sec (in order between each round)

*Row 20 min

Sunday 9/13/09

Supposed to be my off day but it was BEAUTIFUL out and I had a friend to jog with around the lake at the tournament...so I couldn't pass it up. Thanks for the jog Sandi!

*Jog 30 min easy (about 3.5 miles)

Monday 9/14/09

Got up early with about 4 hours of sleep under my belt because we were supposed to do a photo shoot for HO Skis with our friend and world famous downhill skier, Glen Plake (known for his mohawk). But, we got up to UNUSUAL rainy weather and after much contemplation, the photo shoot was postponed until the afternoon so we could have good light. We all headed back to bed to try to get a little shut eye, but I couldn't fall back asleep. The plan was to go for a run, but I was feeling so groggy from lack of sleep, I could barely function. So...instead I spent the day cleaning out the rig. We headed to a different lake in Chico in the afternoon for the photo shoot and that's where I went for a jog just to get something in. I probably should have just taken the day off completely to let my body recover, but I just had to go move.

*Jog 30 min steady state

Tuesday 9/15/09

*Ride up Cohasset (hill climb) 1:45:12

*Stretch well in the park

*Cleaned/moved/packed/unpacked for 9 hours straight (ugh!!!)

Wednesday 9/16/09

Another crazy day trying to get everything ready to go for our road trip. Plans to leave by noon at the latest turned into actual departure time of 4:30. Isn't that how it always works though. Workout was put to the last, but I got it in and I pushed hard because I knew I was in a hurry to get done.

*Waterskied in the morning (9 passes). Tied my PB of 3 at 32mph. I felt strong. My 30mph passes felt easy as pie. Something must have clicked.

*Ran 2.5 miles hard...cut 2 minutes on my typical time on this route.

*Descending Reps 10-1 (60 reps total each exercise)

Pullups

Kettle Bell Swings

Pushups

Jacknives

Jump Squats

*Brief Stretch

So...moral of my last several days. It's been crazy busy!!! Lesson to you: You can always make room for a workout, no matter what your day is like. Just plan on it, set your mind to it, and start.

On the go...

2009-09-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

The last 2 days have been ON THE GO!!! Yesterday I was planning on sleeping in a bit (since I had the chance) but instead was woken by none other than Walter, Marcus' saint bernard dog (picture to right). He is the cutest thing in the world, but his bark is SO loud.

It wasn't a bad thing though. I got up and got on with my productive day a bit earlier than expected.

Thursday 9/10/09

Workout:

Run easy 40 min - about 5.5 miles

20 min of Yoga and Stretching (feels SOOOOO good!)

Food Intake:

8am - Banana

9:30am - 1 egg + 1 egg white omelette with veggies, 1/2 avocado, salsa and 5 pcs of cantaloupe

11-3:30 - no real meals...just snacked on the following - 2 handfuls almonds, peach, frozen grapes, 2 pieces of turkey jerky

5:30pm - Chicken, peppers, water chestnuts, bamboo, broccoli, red onions, raisins

7:30pm - CHEAT MEAL (every Thursday night we go to the BEST frozen yogurt shop ever!!!) Jon and Bon's (small caffe latte with peanut butter cups on top)

Friday 9/11/09

Workout:

*Mountain Bike Middle Trail - 1:03:12 (semi technical single track...really rocky!!!)

*1x100

Situps

Jacknives

Torso Rotations

Crunches

*Stretch

Food Intake:

7:00am - Banana

8:30am - Asian Pear

11:00am - 2 eggs scrambled with broccoli, onions, chicken sausage, 1/2 avocado, salsa

12:30pm - Handful almonds, turkey jerky, peach, chicken with peppers

Comments:

Overall the last 2 days have been great for workouts, but my nutrition hasn't been exactly up to par. It's not been horrible. But I haven't been eating enough in the mornings. My workouts are in the mornings, so I should have quite a bit of calories post-workout to refuel and because post workout is when our bodies are most efficient at burning calories (therefore, we don't story food as fat).

I have been going non-stop both days and haven't planned properly for food. I haven't had stuff easily accessible to just grab. That's a BIG MISTAKE!!! So...lesson learned hopefully!

Morning Workouts and New Gear

2009-09-09T15:17:00.000-07:00

Picture to Left:

Honey Run Covered Bridge. It's the only 3 level covered bridge in the US...and it's right here in Chico, CA. My ride today (Wednesday) goes right past this.

Yesterday (Tuesday) and today have been great days! I like to start each day with my workout first thing. Several reasons why...

1- I feel good the rest of the day

2- It's over and done with and the rest of my day can't get in the way of my workout

3- It helps me to make better decisions with my food intake the rest of the day

4- My metabolism is boosted first thing in the morning and my energy is up

Yesterday - 9/8/09

Workout

*Run 3 miles steady state

*Rounds in 20 minutes

(BW=Body Weight)

10xBW Pullups

15xBW Lunges each leg

10x95# Push Jerks

10x60# Standing Cable Row

10xBW Plyo Box Jumps

Got in 5 rounds + 10 Pullups

*Row Machine - 4 min WU, 10x30 sec sprints with 1 min active recovery between, 1 min CD

*Stretch and Yoga

Food Intake

6:45am - Handful of frozen grapes + banana

9:30am - 3 eggs scrambled with zucchini, squash, red onion and topped with 1/4 avocado and salsa

10:30am - 2 handfuls raw almonds

1:00pm - Salad (lettuce, tomato, carrots, cucs, onion, avocado, turkey burger) with lime and olive oil + 5 pieces of cantaloupe

4:00pm - Handful of Trailmix and 2 pieces of turkey jerky

7:00pm - Turkey Burger w/mustard, avocado, tomato (no bun), brussel sprouts, salad (lettuce, carrots, tomato, red pepper)

TOTAL WATER INTAKE: 115 oz

Today - Wednesday 9/9/09

Workout

*1:55:36 - Road Ride in Chico 1 mile rec area - up Honey Run - Neal Road - back to 1 mile rec area

*20-2 (even numbers only - descending reps)

Leg Throws

Crunches

Torso Rotations

Side Kick Punch

+ Plank for 2.5 minutes at the end

Food Intake

7:30am - Banana

*Workout

10:30am - Apple, Blueberries, Strawberries, Chicken Breast

11:00am - Vanilla Latte (oops...but I guess if I'm going to have it, after a hard ride is a good time to indulge)

2:30pm - Handful of Almonds

3:00pm - Left overs: Steak, Zucchini, Carrot stirfry + Turkey Burger with avocado, tomato and mustard

.... The rest of the day is to be determined...plan for dinner is a grilled chicken salad

Comments:

The past two days have been great workouts. You'll notice that Monday was a long ride day, Tuesday was a more intense, short burst, interval workout, and today was another long ride day. Both of the long rides have been hard hill climbs so my legs are smokin tired and sore right now...which means....tomorrow is a LIGHT day. Notice that I am alternating high intensity with sustained intensity days. Because I got my new bike I am probably pushing a bit more on the bike this week than usual, but that's the price you pay when you get new toys!!! :)

Back in the Game

2009-09-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've blogged...sorry! Sometimes life just takes over and it seems like time whips by. I can't believe it's already September. Anyways, I am back in the game and ready to share my days with you for you to see "the life of a personal trainer". My goal of this is for you to see that I practice what I preach and to comment on the mistakes I make for you to learn from. I hope to give you info on health and fitness and answer questions you may have.

Update from yesterday...Monday 9/7/09

Workout:

First real ride on my NEW ROAD BIKE (picture above)!!! Last Thursday I got a great deal on a Giant TCR Advanced 2 road bike. I've been riding on a 12-15 year old bike, so moving to one that weights 18lbs with all the gear on was a whole new world! I am really wanting to get into racing, so I figured if I dive into the purchase, it will motivate me even more.

In Chico, CA, I rode from 1-mile rec area up to Cohasset (continuous uphill 2000+ ft elev gain) back down and around Keefer Loop and back to 1-mile rec area. It was a good 1:45 ride! Being a gorgeous morning in Chico, I finished my workout in the park....

8x through:

20 Pushups

15 Steps ups (ea leg)

15 Handstand Pushups

20 Body Squat

Nutrition went as follows:

7:20am - Handful of Trail Mix (pistachios, walnuts, dried cranberries and cherries) + banana + fish oil capsules

*RIDE AND WORKOUT

11:00am- Peach

12:00- 2 eggs scrambled with chicken sausage, zucchini, squash and topped with 1/2 avocado and salsa

1:00pm- Handful of almonds and walnuts

*WATER SKI 1 SET

3:30pm- apple

*WATER SKI 1 SET

7:00pm- Handful of Trail Mix (pistachios, walnuts, dried cranberries and cherries)

8:00pm- Pluto's Side Salad (spinach, figs, carrots, cucs, tomatoes, broccoli, red pepper, turkey) topped with balsalmic vinagrette

--Total Water for the day = 108 oz.

Comments:

Not a bad day considering it was Labor Day with lots of people out at the lake. I had too many nuts throughout the day, and should have been better prepared in town after my ride for protein immediate afterwards. We went out for dinner and made a great choice with a salad and turkey. After dinner everyone went out to dessert to Chico's infamous Jon and Bon's frozen yogurt shop and I said NO! It was hard since it's my FAVORITE, but you always feel WAY better when you make healthy decisions!

Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 6 and 7

2009-05-17T21:46:00.001-07:00

This weekend was great. The first REALLY hot days in Chico so far. 98 degrees yesterday and up to 100 degrees today. Knowing it was going to be scorching hot, I got up early on Saturday to get a mountain bike ride in before the heat came. My plan was to head home after the ride and do a core workout at home, but it was so nice the park with the fresh morning air, that I spontaneously switched my plan to a core workout in the park. After a great start to the weekend, I headed to the farmer's market and picked up some delicious produce and supported the local farmers. Household chores followed the market and the rest of the afternoon/evening we spent at the lake.

Saturday: 5/16/09

Sleep: 7.5 hours

Mtn Bike Ride: 1 hr 10 min

Middle Trail in Bidwell Park. Same as Monday, I went down the "scary" hill (it's steep with a lot of loose rock) but this time without hesitation.

Core Workout: 2x30

Crunches

Jacknife

Side Reach

Sit Ups

Leg Throw + Reverse Crunch

Waterski: 6 passes

Felt REALLY tired. I need to give my legs a day of rest!!!

Nutrition:

- Pre Workout: Banana and almond muffin

- Post Workout: 3 eggs scramble (broccoli, squash, tomato, onions, mushrooms), apple

- Snack: Orange and 1 handful almonds

- Lunch: Kiwi, green salad (lettuce, carrots, celery, tomato, mushrooms, chicken)

- Snack: Strawberries

- Dinner: Chicken Salad, 10 blue corn chips and guacamole

- Water=85 oz...not enough!!

Sunday: 5/17/09

Today was a relaxing, fun day at the lake. We got up and I fixed us a tasty breakfast and then we were off the lake for a day of skiing, sunshine, friends, and lots of laughs! A perfect Sunday!!!

Exercise: OFF DAY

Waterski: 2 sets (6 passes and 8 passes)

Today was a break through ski day for me. I felt REALLY strong behind the boat, I was running back to back passes, I was feeling the "athletic" position Marcus keeps telling me about. For those of you who don't waterski...it's a whole different world from any other sport. I have played almost all sports and the load from the boat, the continuous progressive, dynamic, ever-changing body position is nothing like anything else.

It was the most fun I have had skiing since I started a little over a year ago!

Stretch: After each ski set

(focus on back and hamstrings)

Nutrition:

- Breakfast: 2 egg omelette (zucchini, broccoli, onions, mushrooms) with avocado, 4 strawberries, 1 almond nut muffin

- Snack: Apple

- Lunch: 4 oz grilled steak, green salad with olive oil

- Dinner: Jamba Juice Fruit Smoothie (mango, orange juice, pineapple juice, whey protein)...no sugar added...real fruit - so HOT we couldn't have "real" food

- Snack: 5 strawberries with almond butter, 2 pieces beef jerky

- water = 120 oz

I hope that you all have learned something from me this week. Learned that I love and active healthy life...I preach it, but I also follow it. I also allow myself a little "cheat" so that I don't binge. I pay attention to how my body feels and I adjust accordingly. Sometimes life doesn't match our planned workouts but it's no excuse to drop it completely - something is better than nothing.

Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 5

2009-05-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

Friday: 5/15/09

It's Friday!!! Started the day with an amazing run with Ziggy (best running buddy ever) on the south rim of Bidwell Park. The trail is a HILLY route (felt it in my hamstrings and glutes!) Came home and did a quick but intense workout in my garage gym. Awesome start to a great day!

Spent the rest of the morning working on the tour, running errands, and buying tickets to the Michael Franti concert...check him out! Spent the afternoon and evening at the lake. Should have been doing work, but with a 93 degree day....the lake seemed like a better idea!

By the way, the pictures above isn't staged. She really was on the couch with my running shoe. I told you she is the best running buddy ever...she's ready to go even if I'm not! ;)

*Sleep: 9 hours

*8:30 am Run

Ran "Green Gate" - South Rim Trail to Guardian Trail in Chico, CA

30 minutes out, 26 minutes back. (negative split)

*Workout

5 x 15

BOSU Pushups

KB Swings

Lunge + Shoulder Press

Bent Over Row

Alternating Superman

*Stretch: 15 min (focus on hamstrings and glutes)

*Nutrition

- Pre run: Banana

- Between run and workout: Almond Flour Muffin (homemade: almond flour, egg, banana, cinnamon)

- Post Workout: Omelette (2 eggs, 1/2 turkey sausage, red peppers, mushrooms, broccoli), 3 strawberries.

- Snack: Apple and 2 pieces of watermelon

- Dinner: Turkey burger (no bun) with tomato. Steamed asparagus, carrots then sauted with onions.

- Handful of almonds

- Water Intake = 95 oz.

It's the weekend!!!!

Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 4

2009-05-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

Last night my sleep was all "whacked" out. I fell asleep at 11:30 and then woke up at 2, then 3, then 4 (was up to say goodbye to Marcus who left for FL), then 6, then finally got up at 8. Needless to say, I was a bit tired today.

But, the day was still great! Sunny and 86 degrees today here in Chico!!! Trained some people on how to be healthier and get stronger, worked with online training, scheduled a few more clinics for our Face to Face Tour, cleaned bikes, cleaned house, went to the Thursday Night Farmer's Market with the girls, and played with my puppy. The best part of the day was the hike I took with Ziggy though.

*Sleep: Inconsistent 7 hours

*12:30 Hike: Hike 1 hr. 20 min with Ziggy in Upper Bidwell Park

Legs and body were feeling pretty drained so a nice hike today was just what the doctor ordered.

*Nutrition:

- Breakfast: 2 Boiled Eggs, Fruit Salad (apples, oranges, strawberries, kiwi, banana)

- Snack: 1 handful almonds and 8 dried apricots

- Lunch: Baked Chicken Salad (lettuce, carrots, avocado, green bell pepper, mushrooms) topped with Annie's Goddess Dressing

- Snack: 3 celery sticks with hummus (not Paleo...but good! :)

- Dinner: Stir Fry (Turkey Sausage, broccoli, mushrooms, red bell pepper)

- Snack: 1 tbsp of sunflower seeds, 4 dried apricots

Good day today. It's sort of nice to have the house to myself this evening. But I am thinking of Marcus at the Master's Last Chance Qualifier!

Off to bed....it's Friday tomorrow!!!!

A Week in the LIfe of Jenny: Day 3

2009-05-13T22:53:00.001-07:00

Another great day in Chico! Forgot to turn the alarm on so I got up about 20 minutes late....but still started the day with a good workout (just cut 15 minutes short). That kept me going all day with training, online training, Face to Face Tour scheduling, water skiing, cleaning, and hosting a jewelry party...

*Sleep: 8 hours

*7 am Spin Workout: 10 minute warmup, 20 min (sprint, standing sprint, stand, jumps, heavy) 30 seconds each with 1 minute and 30 seconds active recovery between.

*Core and Plyos: 3x30 each (1=10:20, 2=9:19, 3=9:19)

Ball Pike

Box Jumps

Ball Crunches

Skaters

Side Kick Punch

Split Lunges

Ball Pass V-up

BOSU Tuck Jumps

Superman

Mountain Climbers

*Water Ski: 1 set (6 passes). Had a PB, running 4 of my 6 passes. It was so much fun!!! I love skiing!!!

*Nutrition:

-Post Workout: banana, almonds/raisins/walnuts/unsweetened coconut trail mix

-BF: 2 eggs scrambled with sauted broccoli, cauliflower, squash, carrots, onion

-AM Snack: Turkey jerky

-Lunch: Baked Chicken Salad (lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, avocado) topped with balsamic vinegar

-Dinner: Chicken Salad (lettuce, chicken, sliced almonds, carrots), fruit salad (apples, oranges, bananas, kiwi, strawberries)

-Snacks: Silpada Jewelry Party - 1 piece of Dove dark chocolate, 5 dessert mints, 8 cherries

*Comments:

Good day today considering it start "rushed" due to waking up a bit late. I want you to take note on my day today....even though my planned workout was cut short, I still did as much as I could. I actually probably worked a bit harder since I knew I was late and needed to get done faster. Remember, something is ALWAYS better than nothing!

Week in the Life of Jenny: Day 2

2009-05-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 5/12/09: Day 2

A great day! Busy as heck with training clients, online training, Face to Face Tour set up, errands, dentist appointments, playing with Ziggy, and more. I wouldn't make it through these non-stop days without an energetic workout to start the day on the right foot.

*Sleep: 8.5 hours

*Trail Run in Bidwell Park: 52 min

Home to 1 mile, through lower park, and back home.

7 miles (Moderate pace with 8x20 seconds pick-ups with active recovery between)

Felt really good. Legs felt strong. Lungs felt strong. It was a beautiful morning, fresh air and lots of active people and dogs in the park to share it all with.

*Resistance Workout: 20 min

Step Ups 3x20x45 ea

BOSU Pushup Jumps 3x20xBW

Front/Back Lunges 3x20x20 ea

Push Press 3x20x45

Overhead Squat 3x20x15

Tricep Dips 3x20xBW

BOSU Over the Top 3x20xBW ea way

*Stretch: 10 min

*Daily Intake:

- Post Workout: Orange

- BF: 2 eggs and veggie scramble (squash, broccoli, bell peppers, onion) with avocado and tomato on top, 6 blackberries, 2 strawberries

- AM Snack: 1/2 handful of almonds, 1/4 cup dried cranberries

- Lunch: Salad (lettuce, tomato, carrots, cucumber, sunflower seeds) with baked chicken on top with lemon juice for dressing

- PM Snack: Banana, 1/2 handful of almonds, 1 piece of turkey jerky

- Dinner: Turkey sausage/chicken/veggie stir fry (broccoli, cauliflower, squash, carrots, red onions) and 1/2 baked sweet potato

Water Intake = 100 oz.

*Comments: Great day! Thoroughly enjoyed my run and workout this morning. Notice that my fruit was surrounding my active times of the day (post workout with breakfast and then a banana after running with clients in the mid afternoon). That's when our bodies can use this sugar most efficiently. Time for a good night's sleep tonight!

Week in the Life of Jenny

2009-05-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

For my clients, potential, clients and just those who are curious.....This week I am going to track my workouts and food intake so you can see how I live and see that I practice what I preach. It will also maybe give you a few new ideas for meals. Would love to see your comments and feedback!

Day 1: Monday 5/11/09

Sleep: 8.5 hours

Finally feel rested!!!

*9:30 am workout* 1:10 riding + 20 min core and stretching

Mountain Bike Middle Trail in upper Bidwell Park in Chico, CA. Great ride with my boyfriend, Marcus Brown. BEAUTIFUL morning!!! Semi technical ride...lots of loose rock! I conquered a downhill I've been afraid of for the last year!!!

Core Workout:

Crunches 1x50

Side Reaches 1x50

Reverse Crunches 1x50

Plank Hip Rotations 1x50

Sit Ups 1x50

Plank 1x1min

Stretch

*Daily Intake*

- Pre workout meal: Banana and handful of raw almonds

- Post workout meal: 2 eggs scrambled with sauted veggies (carrots, squash, broccoli, onion, mushrooms) topped with 1/4 avocado, 1/2 small tomato. 6 blackberries, 3 strawberries, 1/2 cup sweet potatoes.

- Snack: Raw almonds, dried cranberries, unsweetened coconut, walnuts

- Snack: 1 piece turkey jerky, 1 apple

- Dinner: Baked chicken breast, brussell sprouts, green salad with mixed veggies topped with olive oil and lemon juice.

- Total Water intake = 120 oz

Comments: Slept in until 8:30 and then worked out so I didn't eat breakfast until late, therefore I was off with the rest of my day (hence no real lunch)...DON'T DO THIS!!!

It's go time!!!

2009-04-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

After a month of preparation, I am about to launch a new website for my online training. On Monday, April 13th, 2009 check out www.afitplace.com. It is new and improved!!!

It's time to get in summer shape! Tank tops, bikinis, shorts...you ready to bare it? Hikes, runs, rides...you ready to rock it? Make this year your most active and healthy summer in years. Let me guide you, motivate you, coach you, and support you in reaching your success!

It's go time!!!

Race training...what is that?

2009-03-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here's the senario....
The last few months I have been traveling alot, the weather has been RAINY, my knee has been bothering me, and I've been stuck on the spin bike for my cardio training. On top of that inconsistency I have also started a new way of eating - the Paleo Diet. I will talk more about this later, but basically I am eating like the "cavemen" did. No grains, no dairy, no processed foods...but I cook my meat! So needeless to say, I am out of my routine a bit.
However, last Monday (1 week ago today) I made a 5-day-prior decision to run a 1/2 Marathon. It sounded like fun! Up to this point I had only been running max of 6 miles at a time all winter with some intermittent long road bike rides. This same day I thought I better see if I have it in me, so I took off on a 10-miler with my yellow lab, Ziggy. On yet another rainy day, I managed to pull the 10-miles out and actually felt pretty good afterwards. I took it fairly easy on the legs the rest of the week so they would be recovered for Saturday's race.
I woke up Saturday morning about 7am, ate two boiled eggs and a banana and rolled my muscles out a bit. At 8:30 I took off for a warm up jog to the starting line (about 1 mile from my front doorstep). As I was doing my pre-run warmup, it hit me that it had been 2 years since my last 1/2 marathon...uh oh!
At 9am on Satuday March 7th, 2009, the start gun when off and the 500+ Bidwell Classic Half Marathoners took off for 13.1 miles in what was finally a beautiful sunny day in Chico, CA. The route is 2 times around beautiful Bidwell Park. My legs felt pretty good, but I could definitely tell my body is still adjusting to my new way of eating. The first lap of the race I kept my own pace and my legs were in their rhythm. The second lap I knew I could pick it up a bit. Not exactly sure of my placement, I knew that I had to start chipping people away. So, I would pick the girl with the "bouncy pony tail"...gone, the guy in the blue shirt...gone, the girl with the hydration pack...gone. Then, finally rounding the last corner I knew I was on the homestretch and just went for it. I saw the "mile 13" marker and full out sprinted in. My knee hurt, my IT bands were on fire, and I knew my feet had big blisters...it was time to be done! Crossing the finish line at 1:29:05 I was astonished - I PR'd (personal record)!!! I also finished first in my age group and 4th overall.
Now, I don't recommend running a race in the state I was in...especially not having trained for it!!! But, I defnitely encourage you all to find something you're passionate about fitness wise and make it a competition for yourself. It makes it more fun and gives you more of a reason to be disciplined in the gym, on the trail, and in the kitchen. This race showed me that our bodies can do more than we think they can. It's a mental battle - you can do it if you put your mind to it!

-The start of the Bidwell Classic Half Marathon: Jenny trying to weave in and out of the crowd to get her spot.

- Jenny crossing the finish line at 13.1 miles 1:29:05 official time.

-Jenny post race with boyfriend, Marcus, and running partner, Ziggy

-Jenny up on podium accepting award for 1st in age group.

Importance of Logging

2009-02-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

Logging....I know it can be a pain in the butt. I know it takes time. I know it's hard to remember what you did/ate that day....but, logging your nutrition and exercise is KEY to success. Of all of my clients (in-person and online) those who log have the best results!

If you're an online training client of mine you have a way to log this info and send it to me via TrainerForce. First of all, it's important for me to see this so I know how to coach you and how to progress your workouts. But it's not just for me....Looking back at your own logs provides for personal motivation, accountability, and goal setting. For example if you've been training for 3 weeks and aren't seeing appearance changes yet (which is hard to see just 3 weeks into a routine), you can look back at logs and see that you've gone up 20 lbs. in squats or you are able to run for 10 minutes longer than you did the first week. Writing down your food makes you think before you start shoveling stuff in. When you see on paper what you're putting in your body, it will help you to make better choices. Lastly, when you reflect back on your logs and see the progress you've made...you will have numbers to go by to make your goals. You will be able to make realistic and measurable goals. Rather than just saying "I want to get stronger."...you can say "I want to be able to do 20 pushups a month from now."....or "In 2 weeks I wan to have soda out of my diet."

So, yes even though it can be a pain to do, logging is more than worth it for you fitness success!

Community is Key

2009-01-26T20:43:00.001-08:00

So...you've been exercising diligently (or at least trying really hard). You've been getting stronger. You've been feeling better. Or...maybe you're falling in a bit of a slump. It's hard to get out of that warm bed to hit the workout. You need a "workout buddy". Now you can share all of your successes, discouragements, and comment with others who are doing the same. A Fit Place online training, is helping a lot of people to be healthier than they were the day before. But because you're doing it without the physical presence of your trainer and possibly no workout partners, this blog is a way to start making those personal connections with others who are working their butts off every day (just like you) to be fitter.

It's time to share your stories....start blogging today!!! Make A Fit Place a community.

Have a happy, healthy day!

Jenny