Happy Friday!

Happy Friday! Do you have any plans for the weekend? For me, this weekend is a lot about getting things done! Tomorrow is the last day in January (can you believe it?!) And there is so much to get done before then! The hubs will also be taking me on a date night and I am doing another quick video for all those in the Slim Down Challenge!!

But, before all this will come a great workout. My cardio and bum workouts have been lacking recently, so this workout looks wonderful! I am also wanting to do some running today and maybe even some Cross Fit this weekend!! We will see.

Here are a few other things I am excited about making, doing, and seeing!

Monday this will be launching and I just cannot wait!

Have you ever made this? It looks so yummy and just might have to be on my foodie list next week!

Did you know the Super Bowl was this weekend?! Who are you cheering for? I am going for commercials ;)

If you have not made these yet, I suggest dropping everything you are doing and making them now.

7 Reasons to Take 10,000 Steps per Day

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Movement, of course, is part of a healthy lifestyle. Things like iPhones and pedometers are a great way to gauge your activity level and see how much movement you are getting throughout the day. Health experts recommend that we all walk between 10,000 and 12,000 steps each day! That is a lot of steps and averages between 5-6 miles! Do you walk that much? I must admit that I usually do not. But, the weeks where I am making strides towards this goal, I notice that I am less bloated and have more energy. Why, you may ask. Well, it turns out that walking can to a lot more for our fitness than we may think.

1. Decreases Bloating

As said before, walking helps decrease bloating. Really, any workout will help reduce bloating when done along with proper water intake. Walking is a great way to get ride of that pesky bloat because almost anyone can do it with a reduced risk of injury. The side-to-side movement that walking creates in the torso region will also build up those abdominal muscles and increase your metabolic rate.

Oh, and did I mention that walking 10,000 steps per day will burn at least 750 calories!?!?! That is reason enough.

2. Maintains Healthy Blood Pressure

Walking 30-minutes a day can help lower high blood pressure and the bad cholesterol in the body. These 30-minute walks are a bit different than parking farther away from the store and hiking in because it is a large portion of time and one, concerted effort. Walking 30-minutes every day will, likewise, decrease your risk of heart disease and stroke since both can occur from high LDL (bad cholesterol) levels and high blood pressure.

3. Decreases Arthritis and Osteoparosis

This is music to any forward thinking lady or older woman! Yes, walking 10,000 steps per day will decrease osteoporosis and arthritis. How? Well, the light, weight bearing activity of walking increases bone density over time. Likewise, the movement will lubricate joints and help with healthy joint function.

4. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a bit like the happiness vitamin since low vitamin D levels have direct links to depression. Unfortunately, 1/4 of our population has vitamin D deficiency. Walking outside 30-minutes per day can help increase vitamin D levels since vitamin D comes from the sun. Of course, your can also take a vitamin supplement for increased levels. I recommend, as always, an organic supplement from a trusted company. Gas station and most drug store brands will not cut it since the vitamins are not well absorbed into the body and have very few checks before leaving the lab where they are synthesized. We pay a lot for our good food, there is no reason to derail all that money and effort with bad vitamins that will do nothing for our health.

There, lecture over. Other positive effects of vitamin D including increased immunity, proper organ function, and calcium absorption since vitamin D is needed in that process.

5. Gain Energy

As odd as it sounds, walking will increase your energy levels. This is because the body takes in more oxygen when we are active. Oxygen helps with mental clarity, physical energy, and proper organ function. A brisk walk will increase oxygen levels without taking away to much energy from a cardio rich workout.

6. Works the Bum and Legs

That's right, working out is a low impact activity that will increase the muscles in the legs and bum. If you are really wanting to increase your leg musculature, try walking at an incline. Inclines are one of those secret weapons for a gravity defying derriere. And to make this even better, the more muscle we gain, the higher our metabolic rate will be. This means that walking 10,000 steps today could get you to those weight loss goals weeks from now!

7. Works the Core and Arms Too!!

Yes, walking is a cross form of motion that will work the abdominal while the arm movement will help increase arm strength. So really, walking can be used a an all over, moderate workout! This is a great way to warm-up before your workout, or, cool down after one!

A Challenge for the Week

Happy Monday! Today we have the first challenge for all those who have decided to take part of the January/February Slim Down Challenge... And even for those who have not. Yes, usually we have one day challenges on P+K and even a few month challenges, but weekly challenges are very rare (barring last week's, of course).

So, this week is something that you may be able to do already, or, you may need to work up to. Two minutes is a long time to hold a plank pose and it will work a lot of muscles. Planks help the core, back, arms, and legs get lean and gain muscle. These are a static workout that will seriously have you shaking by the end.

If you laugh in the face of two minute planks, try two minutes of plank rolling instead. Or, you can even try plank on the forearms. You can even do this in a two legged plank pose. Just split the time so you are half with the right arm and left foot on the ground and half with the left arm and right foot on the ground. No matter which way you swing it, this is a great challenge for activating that core and getting a fast whole body tone.

When doing plank, be sure to keep your arms directly under your shoulders legs straight, and head up in line with the spine. You want to also make sure that you are keeping the back straight and bum even. Raising the bum up too high will bring you to down dog and work way different muscles. Letting the bum sink down will compound the vertebrate in your lower back and bring a lot of pain. Keeping it straight will make sure that you are working the right muscles without injury.

I cannot wait to hear how this goes for you!

Happy Weekend!

Hehehehe.

I am so excited it is the weekend already and have some fun plans for it! This week has been busy and exciting, so I am ready for an equally busy and exciting weekend filled with (fingers crossed) Cross Fit, catching up with some very old friends, meeting a few new friends, and getting some serious business done.

Side note: Whenever I think of the weekend, I think of that one scene in Downton Abby where Maggy Smith's character asks what a weekend is. Ha! love it.

Now, back on topic. How has your water challenge been going? Yesterday I was able to drink about 120 ounces before hitting the hay. About 40% of that came in the final hour, but it gone in! I have also found that putting lime in mine makes water drinkable. Not sure how you feel about it, but the taste of water has made me [almost] gag since I was little. The lime helps quench that thirst ans disguise that taste. 

And, because this is turning into quite the rolling thought blog, here are a few more things that might entertain you. Happy Friday!!!

Emily Henderson's Target room.

This show. I am obsessed.

A quick and crazy workout.

A carrier your cat will love.

This site made me laugh out loud earlier in the week.