What do you like and/or dislike MOST about Valentines day?  

It’s an excuse to have a glass (or bottle) of wine on a week night;)!

Adele!!!!  Tonight was her big debut after her throat surgery a couple months ago and she stole the show giving a flawless performance and taking home a crap load of grammy’s!  I adore her:)!!!

On all the commercial breaks Mike and I decided to have some fun and make a little music of our own:)!  Enjoy…

Words cannot describe how happy I am that it’s Friday!  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

Don’t forget  that tomorrow morning is the Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold who was taken during a run in Montana and killed by two men.  I won’t be joining a group to run because we had last minute plans come up so I will be on my treadmill running a 10k in Sherry’s memory!

Into this…

Then you need to visit the blog Green Monster Movement ASAP!!!  I found this website about a year and a half ago and my first thought was, “spinach in a smoothie… EWW”!  However after making myself this little drink I was shocked, not only was it good, it was DELICIOUS!

http://healthlob.com/2011/05/spinach-benefits-health/

Now this colorful drink has become my breakfast daily for the last month.  The wonderful taste isn’t the only bonus, this drink is also FULL of  vitamins A, C, K, iron, fiber, folate, lutein, magnesium, potassium, protein and calcium.  This drink gives me so much energy that I have cut my coffee intake in the mornings in half!  I have also discovered this smoothie to be a wonderful hang over cure!

See below for my favorite breakfast recipe ——>

Morning Rush Green Smoothie

1 banana (fresh or frozen)

1 Fiber One Vanilla Yogurt

1 tsp. Simply JIF PB

1/2 scoop of Whey Chocolate Protein Powder

Ice

2 Tbsp. of water

1 cup of frozen spinach (you can use fresh but I always freeze a bag of baby spinach so it keeps longer)

Layer your ingredients in your blender always keeping your spinach the last thing put in.  That way it’s first to get grinned up and you don’t get pieces of whole spinach in your drink.   Otherwise its that easy!  Blend and enjoy!

Have you tried a green monster?  What is your favorite recipe?

]]> http://constantlyunwinding.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/not-your-coffee-shops-smoothie/feed/ 1 constantlyunwinding before after spinach1 http://constantlyunwinding.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/i-work-out-at-home/ http://constantlyunwinding.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/i-work-out-at-home/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:17:23 +0000 constantlyunwinding http://constantlyunwinding.wordpress.com/?p=2573 ]]> How many of you don’t have time to go the gym or can’t afford a gym membership? Working in the wellness field I hear those two things ALL the time. Since I do 95% of all my workouts at home or outside I thought I would write a post today on, “Working Out at Home”.

1.) Cardio- Pick your poison

Three years ago I invested in not only a very nice treadmill but also my health. Ohio weather can be straight crap sometimes but I knew that by having a treadmill in my house I absolutely had no excuse to not a least get in a walk on the days I didn’t feel like going balls-to-wall exercising. I taught myself how to run on my treadmill and typically use it 4-5 times a week. I honestly can say I have surprise myself how much I really do use it.

My most recent “larger” fitness purchase was my spin bike that I got last week! I’ve already clocked in nearly 6 hours of riding time so far! So, so far so good!

And my cheapest but most ass kicking cardio choice…

http://www.forzamma.com/Fitness-Conditioning/products/59/

Some other great cardio options are: Walking outside, dancing, running stairs, kickboxing, burpies, step ups.

“To help manage busy weight and prevent gradual weight gain, aim for 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity most days of the week. To maintain weight loss, aim for at least 60-90 minutes of daily moderate physical activity”- U. S. department of Health and Human Services.

2.) Strength Training

Strength training is a love hate relationship for most people, especially me! Most of you know just how important strength training is but I found this phenomonal article on Women’s Health that pretty much summed it up for me:

“According to the National Center for Health Statistics, a mere 21 percent of women strength train two or more times a week. What you don’t know: When you skip the weight room, you lose out on the ultimate flab melter. Those two sessions a week can reduce overall body fat by about 3 percentage points in just 10 weeks, even if you don’t cut a single calorie. That translates to as much as three inches total off your waist and hips. Even better, all that new muscle pays off in a long-term boost to your metabolism, which helps keep your body lean and sculpted. Suddenly, dumbbells sound like a smart idea. Read more at Women’s Health: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/weight-training-tips#ixzz1lnijjGgU“

Ideally you want to perform 2 to 3 sets of movements to focus on your:

Upper Body- Pectorals, Lats, Deltoids, Triceps, Biceps

Lower Body- Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Calves, Hips

Waist- Abs, Back

My at home strength training equipment includes:

Exercise ball

Free Weights: 2lbs, 5 lbs, 8 lbs, 2 changeable weights that go from 10-25 lbs.

Exercise Mat

3.) Develop a plan

http://thecityvilletips.blogspot.com/2011/01/cityville-tip-1-plan.html

Now the key is developing a plan! There are a ton of great tool on the web that can help you do including BLOGS:)! My favorite is bodyrock.tv that I have talked about a zillion times! These are kick-ASS workouts so beware.

Example- Yesterday I completed this at home workout!

-Run 1 mile (outside or on the treadmill)

-Lower Body Strength

*Step-ups w/15 pounds- 15 each leg

*Squats w/15 pounds- 15 times

*Deadlifts w/15 pounds- 15 times

*Ball Curls holding 15 pounds on chest- 15 times

*Plank- 1 minute

I repeated the running piece 4 times (total of 4 miles) and the strength 3 times. I finished with a 10 minute cool-down walk on the treadmill and stretched.

See folks it’s that easy!

Do you prefer working out in a gym or at home?

Last night I planned out a killer spin class to do today!  My goal was to kick my own ASS!  Lets just say I completely achieved my goal!  Not only was I dripping sweat but I feel like my legs are going to fall off!  YEA!!!  Like I said last week in one of my posts, my goal is to get my spinning certification and start teaching classes again.  Not only do you have to be in good enough shape to do the class but you also have to yell your head off to motivate a class.  Well at least that’s how I like to teach;)!  So I have really been focusing on my form and endurance during my rides!  Today I did a 57 minute ride:

Angela Kick-Ass Ride

1.) Warm Up- Adele, “I’ll Be Waiting”- 4:02

2.) Jumps- LMFAO, “I’m Sexy and I Know it”- 3:20

http://nationwideblast.com/2011/10/14/lmfao-sexy-and-i-know-it-music-video/

3.) Seated heavy climb- Florence and the Machine, “Howl”- 3:34

4.) Sprints- Black Eyed Peas, “Shut Up”- 4:56

http://www.comments99.com/comments/shut-up/

5.) Standing Jog- Lady Gaga, “Just Dance”- 4:02

6.) Seated heavy climb- Rihanna, “We Found Love”- 3:36

http://themetaphysicalmamas.com/2011/02/14/love-love-love/

7.) Recovery/ Sprints on the chorus- Britney Spears, “Till the World Ends”- 3:59

http://zindy-zone.dk/html/drawings/britney/britney_spears8.htm

8.) Heavy seated climb- Fun, “We Are Young”- 2:48

9.) Heavy standing climb- Outkast, “Roses”- 6:10

10.) Sprint 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off- Outkast, “B.O.B.”- 5:05- FAVORITE SONG IN THIS WORKOUT!!!

11.) Standing Jog- Maroon , “Moves Like Jagger”- 3:21

http://www.whitegadget.com/pc-wallpapers/140699-adam-levine.html

12.) Seated progressive climb- Chris Brown, “Look at me Now”- 3:49

http://thehypefactor.com/chris-brown-feat-lil-wayne-and-busta-rhymes-look-at-me-now/

13.) Recovery/Sprint on the chorus- Rihanna, “S&M”- 4:04

http://www.popcrunch.com/rihanna-bet-awards-red-carpet-candids/

14.) Cool Down/Stretch- Sia, “Breathe Me”- 4:35

It was an awesome workout with some great music!  Song #10 B.O.B. really got my hyped up to finish my workout strong!  An oldie but definitely a goodie!

What is one of your favorite songs to workout too?  Old or new???

Friday night Mike and I had a “date night”.  We went to 3 point in Akron.  The service and food were really fantastic!  I got the tilapia and Mike got the chicken alfredo.  We were going to see the movie, “The Woman In Black” but on the way we stopped home to let our dog out and decided to just stay home and get a movie on demand.  Mike loves going to the movie theater but to me nothing beats putting on my pj’s and laying on the couch!  That’s comfort baby!  We ended up watching the movie, “In Time”.  I really liked it and Mike thought it was just ok.  I mean how can you go wrong with JT?  He ALWAYS brings sexy back in my book!

On Saturday I fully intended on sleeping in but my internal clock had other plans because I was up and at em at 8am!  Waking up my hubby before 10am is just not an option so I took advantage of my “alone time” and began reading a new book I just got via my Nook.  It’s called, “The China Study” and if health/nutrition interests you at all I highly recommend reading this book.

“In The China Study, Dr. Campbell details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and also its ability to reduce or reverse the risk or effects of these deadly illnesses. The China Study also examines the source of nutritional confusion produced by powerful lobbies, government entities, and irresponsible scientists.”

Once the hubby finally woke up we ran some errands and then bummed around until it was time to go to our friend Tom’s birthday celebration.  We headed to Rivera lanes in the Ak-rowdy for a bowling extravaganza!  Never underestimate a bowling alleys bar, they make there drinks STRONG!   The night ended at a few more of our typical hang spots dancing and drinking way to much!  I think my face says it all in this picture…

Mike and I didn’t get home until 3:30am (didn’t you know 28 is the new 21)!!!!  I admit when I laid down to sleep last night I prayed to the hangover gods to take mercy on my soul.  Luckily I didn’t wake up until 11am this morning and felt great.  I had a 6 mile training run to get in today so I immediately ate breakfast (another hangover cure I believe)…

Green Smoothie

1 cup of raw baby spinach

1 tsp. of peanut butter

1 banana

1/2 tsp. of cocoa powder

1 fiber one vanilla yogurt container

ice

2/3 cup water

Blend and enjoy!

After breakfast I immediately changed into my running gear and headed to my favorite running trail, Sand Run!  Seriously fellow Ohioans how flipping beautiful was it out today!  I am loving this weather.  Since it had been awhile since I ran outside and on this difficult trail my goal was to pace myself and to take in the beautiful scenery.  I think I only looked at my Garmin maybe twice the entire run.  I finished in 66 min flat and I was really happy.  Good run + no stomach issues= happy Angela:)!!!

The rest of the day I was a straight bum until I cooked Mike and I a delicious feast for dinner.  Which included this…

We’re not big football fans so we decided our Superbowl Sunday would consist of good food and catching clips of the puppy-bowl.  The puppy bowl is the most funny/cute thing I have ever seen in my life!

Speaking of funny have you guys seen my new favorite commercial on TV right now?

http://youtu.be/VQNE0QTIItE

What was your favorite part about your weekend?

All day though my mind was preoccupied!  Yesterday I made a special purchase.  After doing some research and reading a grand review from Janae over at The Hungry Runner Girl.  I got a new spin bike!!!  I ordered it yesterday off of Amazon and last night before I went to bed it said it was already 10 minutes from my house!  When I woke up this morning is said it was on the truck for shipment and the delivery date was today, I was siked!  When I got home today this was waiting for me on the front porch!

Since the box was 100 flipping pounds it took me at least 10 minutes to even get it in the house.  Once I got that baby in the house I went to work!  My hubby literally just got home so waiting until 8pm to use my new toy was not an option!  Just like Janae said in her review the bike was REALLY easy to put together, it only took me about 40 minutes.  And the finished product…

I used to teach spinning in college and I REALLY want to get re-certified and start teaching again so purchasing my own bike was a big step in that direction.  I made myself up a class to do tonight, picked some great music and then kicked my own ass! The verdict on the bike… I LOVE IT!!! It’s so sturdy and overall everything I wanted!  So thank you Janae for the rad review!

Happy Tuesday hope you guys had/have a GREAT DAY!!!

The Rules: Post these rules.

You must post 11 random things about yourself.
Answer the questions set for you in their post.
Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them.
No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this.
You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

 11      Random Factoids About Me:

1.)     I am a major PLANNER!  I like to write things down and highlight them when they are completed.

2.)    I love sushi and could eat it every day hands down!

3.)    Some days I love to run and other days I absolutely loathe it.

4.)    I love to sing country music but it’s not my favorite to listen too.

5.)    I’m obsessed with all of the “Real Housewives of Whatever”.  I DRV all the different wives during the week and then usually catch up on Sat. and Sun. mornings.  They’re all a hot mess and I love them.

(Source)

6.)    My husband tells me I am one of the weirdest people he knows and that makes me happy.

7.)    I love to clean my house… it tends to relax me.

8.)    I want to become a hospice volunteer

9.)    I love to make crafts and paint.

10.)  Both of my animals are rescues.

11.)  In high school I was voted, “Best Dressed” and then wore a hideous outfit in the picture for the award:)!

11 Questions From Stephanie:

1.)    What chore do you most hate doing?  Cleaning the bathroom!  I HATE IT!!!!

2.)   Do you prefer e-readers or bound print books?  I recently got a Nook and love it but real books will never go out of style in my opinion!

3.)   Have you been out of the continental 48 states? Where?  Yes, I went to Rivera Maya, Mexico for my honeymoon.  It was amazing.

4.)   If you won an all-expense paid trip to anywhere in the world for one week, where would you go?  I would probably take me husband and go to the Philippines.  He has a lot of family there that would love to meet me.

5.)   Do you eat breakfast?  Yes every morning!  I typically eat oatmeal and two egg whites.  And a TON of coffee.

6.  What’s something that you are passionate about?  I love LOVE love music.

7.   Do you use coupons when you do your grocery shopping?  Sometimes!  I always say I should try and clip more… but I typically never do!

8.   If you were to go to the movies tonight, what would you see?  Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close.

9.   Musicals?  Love ‘em or hate ‘em? Love them!   Wicked is my favorite.

10. Do you have any live plants in your house?  Yes I actually do I have three plants that are actually doing really well.  I think its because I work from home more that I used to so I remember to water them!

11.  How many times a week do you eat out?  Usually 2-3.  On the weekends the hubby and I tend to go out for dinner or lunch. 

11 Questions for the lucky bloggers below:

1.)    What is your favorite TV show?

2.)   What is your favorite thing about the opposite sex?

3.)   If you had to pick one food to eat everyday for the rest of your life, what would it be?

4.)   Are you a planner or a fly by the seat kind of gal/guy?

5.)   What is one piece of parental advice you would give someone?

6.)   What would be your dream job?

7.)    Who is your favorite musician?

8.)   Name something on your bucket list…

9.)   Do you have any tattoos?  If so what do they mean to you?

10.)                        What is your favorite part on your body?

11.)   Do you like sweet or salty snacks better?

Most of the blogs I read have already done this questioner so to all you READERS pick one of the above questions and please feel free to leave your answer in my comments!  Have a beautiful Tuesday!

This card pretty much sums up my mom every night when she is driving home from work…