A Days Hike

Last week we took a family vacation to Lake Superior. The weather was ideal and we visited beautiful little towns, went on vigorous hikes, and were able to truly enjoy the outdoors. While I was unable to 'workout' all week, we went on multiple hikes that more than made up for the lack of a gym. It is trips like these that remind me how easy it is to work fitness into your life aside from going to the gym.

I encourage you this week, to work fitness into your daily life. Try taking the stairs whenever possible, park in the back of parking lots or going for walks after dinner to enjoy the last of these cool summer evenings.

Every little bit helps and fitness is about more than just a daily workout. When exercise is incorporated this way, it seems less like a grueling workout or in our case a tough hike seemed less like exercise when there was beautiful scenery surrounding us. Enjoy some pictures from our trip!

Protein it is!

As mentioned in my 'Update' post, I have been giving a lot of attention to my nutrition, both post workout and throughout the day. I have made a conscious effort to incorporate protein into every meal. When I say every meal I mean all 5 or 6 meals I eat a day. This method of eating works to increase energy, by keeping blood sugar levels steady. I normally eat breakfast right when I first get up and then eat about every three hours until a couple hours before bed.

Sample daily meals
Meal 1: Oatmeal, skim milk, and almonds
Meal 2: Greek yogurt and fresh berries
Meal 3: Egg white vegetable omelet
Workout
Meal 4: Fruit smoothie with Whey protein powder
Meal 5: Grilled chicken, cooked greens, and quinoa
Meal 6: Low Fat cottage cheese (close before bed)

The challenge is keeping the 5-6 mini meals, mini. It is critical that at the end of the day, the calorie content of the mini meals does not exceed what you eat in three larger meals. Make sure you get protein in each of your meals to help you feel full, build muscle, and burn fat. Check out this website for a great list of protein sources and get prepared for some delicious high protein recipes coming your way!

Update

Now that I have gotten into my new workout routine, mentioned here, I figured I would give you an update on how it is going and what I have been doing. I have really focused on resistance training for muscle growth and interval runs for cardio, I explain the interval runs here. Here is a sample of my workout week...

Day 1: Chest and Triceps, followed by a 20 minute interval run
Day 2: Legs, followed by a 30 minute medium run or ab workout
Day 3: Back and Biceps, followed by a 20 minute interval run
Day 4: 4 mile timed run, ab workout
Day 5: Shoulders, ab workout, stretching or cross training
Day 6: Long run (up to 6 miles)
Day 7: Rest Day

I have really enjoyed this plan as I change up my routine daily and get to work specific muscle groups. Most of the exercises I do, I complete 3 sets with a high number of reps (12-15). I use dumbells for many exercises instead of machines and am constantly moving from one exercise to the next to keep my heart rate up.

I enjoy the interval runs because they are tough but they don't last long so I don't get as bored. I still have intentions of possibly training for a marathon so I need to keep up my endurance running as well.

Based on your goals, you can alter this routine to fit. Do you want to build more muscle? Incorporate more weight training into your routine, and don't overdo the cardio. Do you want to train for a long distance run? Incorporate more longer runs, instead of the interval runs. Do you want to burn fat? Incorporate more weight and resistance training, and do interval cardio sessions.

I have really enjoyed these past weeks because I have defined a definate plan but I am constantly changing up my exercises to keep my body guessing. What a lot of people don't realize is how important recovery is after a tough workout. More on that soon!

Summer Grillin'

It occurred to me this weekend, as we grilled out on a warm summer evening, that summer is coming to a close. I have so many things that I want to fit into these last precious weeks, including late summer night swims in the lake, kayaking, outdoor runs, and finally to get good use out of the grill. I love grilled meats, vegetables, and even mushrooms. The foods available to grill are abundant and it is fun to change up from the normal grilled hamburger and hotdog routine.

Several weeks ago, we grilled large portobello mushrooms and served them with sauteed greens. Portobello mushrooms make the perfect substitute for a burger as you can put them between two buns, and add your favorite fixings!

We marinated the mushrooms in an herb marinade (recipe below) overnight and it added the perfect touch to create this light summer meal. I am hoping for some more delicious creative ideas to make use of those last few "grill-worthy" summer evenings!

Pan- Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Herb-Infused Marinade
from The Vegan Table (Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

8-12 large porotbello mushrooms
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup tamari soy sauce
1 cup water
3 sprigs fresh rosemary (1 tsp dried)
3 sprigs fresh thyme (1 tsp dried)
3 springs fresh oregano (1 tsp dried)
black pepper

1. Remove stems from mushrooms and clean well. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients. Add mushrooms and make sure each is covered by the marinade. Let marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat the grill to medium and cook each side 5-7 minutes until tender.