Traverse City Bayshore Marathon

Tomorrow is an important day for my mom. She is running her very first marathon. 26.2 miles at 50-some years old, I think, is an accomplishment anyone would be proud of. She will be running in the 29th annual Traverse City Bayshore Marathon. My entire family is going to support her and I am planning on running the last 6 miles with her (which is plenty long for me..) The marathon is an out and back course along the water, which should be beautiful. I hope the weather is cooperative for all the runners. Check out the course map here. Everyone wish her luck!

Look forward to the results and some pictures from the race next week. Enjoy your active weekend!

"Life is short... running makes it seem longer."

-- Baron Hansen

Inter-coastal Cable Pull-down

My new favorite exercise, which I just discovered this past week is called the inter-costal cable pull-down. The inter-coastal section of your abdominals runs along your ribs. The inter-costal cable pull-down targets this area as well as your obliques. What you need is a cable cross-over machine which most gyms provide.

Set the cable at the very top and adjust the weight (you may have to play with the weight to figure out what works for you) and kneel on the floor with your back to the weight rack and your torso bent slightly forward. Keep your butt of your heels and you should be holding the handle above your head with your arms angled out and bent.

Contract your obliques, bringing your upper torso towards the floor so your elbows nearly touch your knees. Think of it as curling over a small beach ball. Return slowly to starting position and repeat. Do three sets of 20-40 reps and play around with different weights.

This exercise is a little awkward when starting off but once you do it a couple times, you understand what parts of your abs it works and can really focus on isolating those regions.

Bonus: This is also a good exercise for your triceps!

The Decline Crunch

As promised, I am going to introduce you to some of my favorite abdominal exercises. Some of them you can do at home but some require gym equipment like this one, called the decline crunch. This is one of my favorites because it creates a natural tension in the center of your abs before you even move, which assists in keeping your abs flat throughout the entire exercise.

Tip: When completing any abdominal exercise, focus on keeping your abs tense throughout, as this enhances the effects of the movement and protects your lower back.

You do not need any weight for the decline crunch because your own body weight is enough, but you do need an adjustable bench (shown below).

Sit on the declining bench with your feet under the holding pads. Place your hands behind your head, but don't pull your head, just rest your hands there. Crunch forward toward your knees while keeping your abs tight and then return to your starting position and repeat. Check out a video here. Complete three sets, 25-50 reps

Variation: twist to the side as you come up to get some oblique action.

If you are feeling ambitious, you can grab a partner and a medicine ball and throw the ball as you come up and catch it as you are going back down, all the while keeping your muscles tense and your movements fluid. You could also use the medicine ball when twisting side to side, to work the obliques even more!

More to come soon!

Conquering Middle Earth

In high school, during cross country and track season I had issues with my hip flexors. I went to physical therepy for nearly a year and during that time I learned how important it was to have strong core muscles to support my legs and hips as well as my upper body. I love finding new abdominal exercises with the hopes that I will feel the tired burn in my midsection the next morning. Like other weight training exercises, it is important to change up your routine by varying the movements/weights/repetitions ect. because your body is efficiently adapting every time you workout.

In addition to strengthening exercises, your diet plays a huge role in slimming and strengthening your midsection. Sugar and enriched carbohydrates diminish the amount of visible muscle due to bloating from these foods. Instead eat lean proteins, vegetables and whole grains!

I am going to introduce you to some of my favorite abdominal workouts with the next several posts and hopefully you can alter your abdominal routine using some of these exercises!
Stay tuned.

The First Lady

Michelle Obama was featured in this month's issue of Time Magazine as one of their Time 100 World's Most Influential People. With all political views and opinions set aside, I think her areas of focus are beneficial and inspiring specifically to the youth in America. She got right to work on the defining issues of her children's generation: 'obesity and improving the health of America's kids'. She created a 'Let's Move' campaign to combat the growing problem of child obesity, encouraging people to get up and do something. Americans under the age of 25 are the first generation expected to live shorter lives than their parents because of diet related issues. This is amazing to me and ever enforces the issue of living a healthy lifestyle, no matter the age.

Obama has been the initiator of many projects around the country from improving school lunches to convincing mayors around the country to embrace obesity prevention programs. I discussed the corrupt food industry, as shown in the film Food, Inc., last week. Obama has conducted meetings with some of the largest food corporations in America and convinced them to change some of their practices for the sake of the children.

She stands by her conviction that if we can all eat better, and move more we can fight childhood obesity. I salute the first lady for her inspirational work! So today I encourage all of you to get up and do something, whether it be a walk around your neighborhood, pilates in your basement, or a leisurely bike ride through a park. Every bit helps and encourage others to improve their own health.

A Lighter Lasagne

Recently my family has begun eating a majority of our meals vegetarian. Cooking vegetarian has always seemed intimidating to me, maybe because I am not accustomed to using only vegetables. Regardless, the other night, we made vegetarian lasagna that was both delicious but filling as well. This lasagna was so rich with vegetables, and herbs that you don't even miss the extra cheese and meat that normally resides in standard recipes.

Serves 6-8, preparation time 40 minutes, baking time 60-70 minutes.

2 cups cubed zucchini
1 cup cubed bell peppers
1 cup chopped tomatoes
4 cups sliced mushrooms (about 12 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dry red wine
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
10 ounces fresh spinach, rinsed
2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup grated low-fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound uncooked lasagna noodles (uncooked)

1 recipe Tomato Wine sauce (see below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, salt, and wine in a saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, and then simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes, until all of the vegetables are tender and juicy. Stir in the basil and set aside.

Cover and cook the spinach on high heat in just the water clinging to the leaves for 3 minutes, until wilted but still bright green. Drain and chop coarsely. Combine with the cottage cheese, mozzarella, and Parmesan and set aside.

Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce evenly on the bottom of a 3-inch deep nonreactive 8 x 12-inch baking dish. Layer with 5 or 6 noodles, 1 generous cup of undrained veggies, and 1 cup of the spinach-cheese mixture. Cover with a second layer of noodles, 1 cup of sauce, 1 heaping cup of veggies, 1 cup of the spinach-cheese mixture, and a third layer of noodles. Finally, add the rest of the veggies, the remaining spinach-cheese mixture, a fourth layer of noodles, and the rest of the sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake until the noodles are tender, about 60 minutes. Let sit at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Tomato wine sauce

2 teasoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 medium garlic cloves (minced)
1/4 teason salt
2 teaspoons ground fennel
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/3 cup red wine
3 cups undrained canned tomatoes
salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a saucepan, warm the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic, sprinkle with the salt, cover, and saute on very low heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the onions are beginning to soften. Add the fennel, oregano, and basil and cook for another minute. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Whirl the tomatoes in a blender until just pureed and add to the pan. Cover the sauce and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I know the recipe looks intimidating but is in fact quite simple. Take the time to try it out and you won't regret it. We served the lasagna simply with warm whole wheat bread.

I would prefer to use whole wheat noodles, as whole wheat is always better than enriched but finding whole wheat is sometimes are to come by. When making the tomato wine sauce I found the secret to understanding why this recipe is as delectable as a meat based recipe. Fennel is the surprise ingredient. Something about its unexpected flavor often fools people into thinking that this is a meat-based sauce. Whether you are vegetarian, vegetarian want-to-be, or simply looking for healthy alternatives in your diet, try out this lasagna and let me know what you think!

Grainy Morning

My favorite meal of the day is breakfast. It is so important to eat a good breakfast because what you eat first thing in the morning dictates your appetite for the rest of the day. If you start off healthy, you will be more likely to end healthy. I love eggs and whole wheat toast for breakfast with some plain greek yogurt and fruit on the side. What is your favorite breakfast meal?

My brother absolutely loves pancakes for breakfast and has come up with his own recipes that are variations on the basic pancake (cottage cheese pancakes anyone?). More recently I have bugged him to make pancakes using whole wheat flour instead of enriched flour. He came up with the following recipe. These pancakes are hearty and healthy while remaining delicious. Add a touch of maple syrup for natural sweetness or top with fresh berries and honey!

Combine all the ingredients (don't over mix) and cook on a hot griddle!

1c Whole Wheat Flour
1/4c Instant Oats
1t. Baking Powder
1/2t. Baking Soda
2T Flaxseed Meal
2T Wheat Germ
2T Honey
2T melted Butter
1 egg
1-1.5c Buttermilk or Milk

Rarely does he measure and as such these measurements are ball park figures, but try it out and play with the consistency.

Variation: I wasn't kidding about the cottage cheese pancakes! Cottage cheese adds a delicious touch to pancakes. Even if you don't like cottage cheese, these taste amazing (I haven't met someone yet who isn't surprised by how yummy they are). Add about a cup of cottage cheese to this recipe and cut out some of the flour. Exchange skim or 2% milk for the buttermilk and determine the amount of milk based on the consistency of your batter. Cottage cheese adds more protein to your pancakes while replacing some of the carbs. These are by far my favorite pancakes!

Food Inc.

We recently had a "forced family fun" movie night at our house and watched the movie Food, Inc. Check out the trailer here. Filmmaker Robert Kenner exposes our nation's food industry, focusing on the highly mechanized food environment that remains hidden to the American consumer through the assistance of the USDA, and FDA. It is a scary thought to know our goverment's regulatory agencies are allowing our food supply to be controlled by a handful of corporations that have put profits ahead of our health, workers and farmers safety and wellbeing, as well as the environment.

This topic has been the discussion of multiple books including, The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, and Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser. I have read both of these books but the film placed a visual to what I had been reading and has put me off meat for a while. Food, Inc reveals suprises about the food industry that, while disheartening, I found extremely interesting. The shocking truths that are revealed place a larger emphasis on the importance of knowing what we put in our bodies.

Official Food, Inc. Movie site

Next time you go to the grocery store look for the following things...

Buy organic and local: know when fruits and vegetables are in season and purchase from local farmers and farm markets

Make sure your beef is grass fed, NOT corn fed

Avoid factory farmed meat: These animals are raised in inhumane conditions and as shown in the movie farmers, and the environment are suffering greatly from the factory farmed meat regulations.

Read nutrition labels: the smaller the list of ingredients, generally the better. If you cannot pronounce it, don't eat it.

Avoid processed foods.

Processed meats contain sodium nitrate which can lead to a multitude of illnesses, this means avoid bacon, hotdogs, lunchmeat, and sausage (sorry I know bacon makes everything better...)

The bottom line is that processed foods are a large part of the reason so many Americans are overweight. Learning to eat right takes time and knowledge. Now you know what to look for and what to avoid. Food, Inc. does a great job of showing the public what the food industry is like. There is so much hidden in our food that we aren't even aware of. Take the time to make the changes in your diet, accompanied by an active lifestyle and you will live a much more productive, happy and healthy life!

Spring into Running

It is a fabulous spring day here. The trilliums have bloomed, and the leaves are opening up, meaning it is a perfect day for a run outside. After being cooped up all winter inside the gym it feels great to get out. Whether you are training for a marathon (like my mother), running for fun, or need an excuse to get outside, take the time to enjoy this beautiful spring day.

Are you sick of those dreaded 60 minute runs on the treadmill where you see little results? Instead try an interval run of 2 minutes jogging followed by 30-60 seconds running fast or sprinting and repeat 5-8 times. This type of workout burns fat much more efficiently than monotonous single speed runs and makes the time go by quickly! Bonus: your metabolism stays active for longer after these types of workouts than long distance runs. Enjoy the beautiful weather with a new type of cardio workout.

What do you love to do?

I soon begin the next stage of my life, as I graduated college today and am on my way into the 'real world' I am often asked what I will be doing with my future. If I were asked the question, 'what do you love to do?' My answer would be that I love to workout, eat healthy, and find ways to create an overall wellness lifestyle. I enjoy finding new workouts to do, new recipes to try and learning about nutrition and how the body responds to exercise.

This blog will allow me a way to channel what I love to do to all of you while allowing me to further my education in this area. I have hopes of eventually pursuing a career dedicated to helping others achieve a healthy lifestyle.

If you have any requests about topics you would like to learn about, shoot me an email rebeccam.mcmurray@gmail.com