This Week in Workouts: Being Back

First off, I found this video earlier today and absolutely loved it. It is a big advertisement for proper skincare, but more-so, it is just plain pretty! The music in it just might be one of my favorite parts. Another favorite was that some people seem to look prettier with the UV light and freckles showing. As a girl with freckles, I simply love seeing people who look dazzling with them!

Being back home after a long trip is one of the best feelings ever. An equally good feeling is being back in your usual hot yoga class after a long time away. I was totally able to accomplish my goal this week of taking two hot yoga classes and feel all the better for it! This week has also been a time for me to get lots and lots of work done on all fronts... Which is pretty great considering that I am taking two days off next week to have all wisdom teeth removed. Yikes!

I would tell you more about the tooth removal situation, but when the doctor started telling me, I kindly asked him to stop talking. This will be my first ever surgery and I am already nervous enough, let alone finding out what will be taken out of my mouth. A serious no thanks there!

Annnyyywayy, off that tangent and back to the workouts... This week was pretty good on the workout front and I was able to get in to Fit2Run for a run analysis. Turns out that I roll my feet in after landing. The best shoe we found for this was the Nike Lunarglides- the shoes I almost bought two weeks ago and wore religiously during college. The Lunarglides reeaalllyyy hurt to run in at first, but I think that was because of some foot injuries that they brought up; my third run this week felt fine and I am happy to see how they work for my run today. 

Sunday: 1-mile run

Monday: My first Hot Power Yoga flow with my favorite instructor in 2-months!!

Tuesday: 1-mile run in my new shoes!

Wednesday: Rest day

Thursday: 2-mile run followed by this kettlebell workout. My bum is still sore from those few minutes with the kettlebell.

Friday: Rest day- I had an Orange Theory class scheduled but had to cancel due to the immense soreness my legs and bum were feeling from the kettlebell workout. Seriously, I walked like a zombie for two days.

Saturday: 90-minute Hot power Yoga flow!!

Weekly Workout Goal

I just found out that my Orange Theory membership has kicked back up and I now have two weeks to use four classes. For that reason, this week and next week's workout goals are to use all the classes. My hope is to complete two classes per week, all with my favorite trainer!

3 GREAT SMOOTHIES WITH CHIA

Chia seeds are a pretty incredible and tiny food. Not only do you get to sing the ch-ch-ch-chia song while making/buying/looking at them, they are also a great source of protein, omega-3, and omega-6 fatty acids. Chia seeds have 4.4 grams of complete protein per ounce and over 6,000 milligrams omega-3! Overnight oats are a great way to add chia into breakfast, but do take some pre-planning. As much as I try to pre-plan meals, I am more of a "what's left-over in the fridge" kind of girl. 

Since I also work from home, breakfast and lunches are usually eaten in. This was not always the case, but when the hubs and I stopped getting to-go lunches, we both started feeling healthier and that feeling is way better than Moe's nachos. These smoothies are things that can be made pretty quick and have chia added to them for a yummy, easy, and ridiculously healthy meal on the go. Of course, you can always add some chia to your favorite smoothie, but these are pretty great as well! 

Spinach, Kiwi, and Chia Smoothie

New Zealand is trying to get kiwi's back on the map- and by kiwis, I mean the fruit. I am all too happy to help with this fruitful endeavor (haha, get it, get it), especially when it can be mixed with spinach and chia for a nice green morning smoothie! Yes, you had me at spinach. And yes, I am having a punny kind of day. There are a couple of other great ingredients listed in the "added" section that I would completely recommend adding to this powerhouse smoothie as well! 

Green Power Smoothie

There is something to love about a green smoothie; they are just so pretty! This green smoothie has all the health power that you would expect to find in a smoothie the color of fresh cut grass. But that is where the similarities to fresh cut grass end. The Green Power Smoothie has yummy things like cucumber (skinned), spinach, non-dairy milk, and orange juice. Yum!  

Blueberry Chia Anti-Aging Smoothie

Here is a non-green smoothie in case you do not like the green ones quite as much as me. This smoothie is also great for those who would prefer to cut as little as possible and exchange cutting for scooping. The anti-aging smoothie comes with lots of extras like olive oil, protein powder, and coconut water. It is, for sure, the easiest smoothie to make. Ever. 

This Week In Workouts: Running

Happy Sunday all! I hope your weekend has been wonderful. This weekend I picked up a new book series, so all my spare time has been spent reading it. Book one was finished last night and book two started. Once I finish book three, I will be sure to tell you the book and my thoughts!

The hubs has also been pretty sick this weekend with that bug that seems to be hitting 60% of us. So, it has been a stay-at-home couple of days as well. Thankfully, I am not sick and have been able to kick up my running a bit this week. Next week my cousin will be introducing myself and her sister to Barry's Boot Camp down in Miami. Needless to say, this week has been filled with a bit extra cardio in preparation. The cardio has also been spurred on with a fun new app I got called Nike+ Running. I know, it has been around forever, but I just started having fun with it this week... More info on that to come in the future!

Sunday: My first Pure Barre class where my legs and back and abs were sore for two days.

Monday: My first Nike+ run of 4-miles followed by eating soup... It has been a cold week in Florida

Tuesday: Another Nike+ run of 3-miles followed by this detox yoga flow which I loved after a run.

Wednesday: This Power Vinyasa Yoga flow by Ali K. It was great! You will be about 3/4's of the way through before it feels like 10-minutes have passed!

Thursday: Another 3-mile Nike+ run and the first one I tracked! Whoohoo, tracking! It worls pretty great :)

Friday: Rest day which was meant to be another 5-mile run but I found a book and read through the run. What can I say, I am a story addict.

Saturday: Late night AMRAP kettlebell workout from Pumps and Iron that left me dripping sweat after 15-minutes (photo above). I was part-way through number eight when that glorious timer went off. This was followed by a nice full-body yoga flow from Tara Stiles. Then more reading, and bed much, much later.

A Great Hot Yoga Replacement Flow

Last week I was a bit under the weather but, before hitting my pillow hard for two days, I did this yoga flow as a replacement for not being able to get to hot yoga. It was a great flow that had me dripping with sweat after 15-minutes. The flow is only about 35-minutes long, but should leave you sweating and sore the next day. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a quick but effective workout or those who do not enjoy slow moving yoga flows quite as much as their power yoga counterparts.