Fit Links Friday: All about Fiber.

Happy Friday everyone!!!
So silly me who has been thoroughly enjoying vacation, gets to head back to work today! I know, who works just Fridays?
Guess that’d be this girl.
Really though, I only had four vacation days accrued, and it worked out really, me having to take them, before next Friday, which is MY LAST DAY OF WORK!
Hard to believe that I’m actually going back to school, but I’m ready.

I can’t remember if I heard this somewhere or dreamt about it last night, but I remember something about chasing the dream, even if it scares you (not like physically-fear-I’m-in-trouble-type-of-thing but I’m-not-sure-this-is-the-right-move-at-the-right-time-thing.) because God will be there. We just have to move forward.
So that’s what I’m doing as of next week. Moving forward to the next part of life.
Now on to some weekend reading for you!

1. You all know I’m on a LUNA kick lately, and for good reason. Well, it turns out that fiber actually seems to be all the rage right now, anyway. Did you know that more that 42% of Americans are on track for obesity? And that fiber could be the key to fighting that? Not only does fiber promote good digestive health (hello healthy g.i.) but it can also improve cardiovascular health, and help lower cholesterol. Women are supposed to get between 20-30 grams of fiber A DAY, which can be hard if you aren’t going to eat beans with every meal, but now there are more options out there. One, being the new Luna bars hitting shelves this month, and something I like to do is throw a couple of tablespoons of flax seed into whatever I’m cooking. (Like the pancakes the other night, honey. I’m sneaky and I know it.) And see, insoluble fiber helps you feel full longer, keeping you from eating all day and all those extra calories. Makes sure to check out this article because it really does some good explaining. Fiber could save our epidemic people, we just have to learn to love it.


2. And on that note, here is another article about Fiber.  I’m pretty sure this link is somewhere else on my blog, but here’s some fiber rich foods for you. And they aren’t all sticks and twigs.

3. May is National Bicycle Month, but I bet you didn’t know that next week is bike to work week.  This past Wednesday was the inaugural bike to school day, and the high school where I was observing had been promoting it for awhile. That morning 94 kids rode their bikes to school.It was so awesome to seem them all ride in and with a police escort. The high school is a little out of the way of the town and so the kids, with the event, are fighting the city to get bike lanes paved. After Wednesday’s turnout, the Mayer said he’d get trail plans started. How cool is that? I definitely think my city needs a bike initiative. Our streets are somewhat crowded, and sometimes I don’t think drivers understand bikes have right of the rode, too. The weather looks good for next week, so I’ll definitely be riding my bike Friday, on Bike to Work Day, but I’m headed out on it this morning.   If it’s a beautiful day, get out there. You won’t regret it. It’s #betterthanwalking!

4. Having you been fighting yourself on starting to run? If so, here’s 30 reasons why you should. Personally, I like this one: 26. Run stress away. Ready to pull your hair out? Instead of tuning in to a reality TV marathon, try running a real one. Not only does running boost the brain’s serotonin levels, regular exercise might actually remodel the brain, making it calmer and more stress resistant.  But if I had to give you one reason to get out there and run, it’d be this plain and simple: it’s summer and we’re meant to be outside!

5. And speaking of running, I found this handy-dandy Inspector Gadget yesterday and I’m in love. The McMillan Running Calculator.  If you plug in your best time at a race, your goal time, and a few other factors, this calculator breaks down all of your runs and tells you what pace to be training at. For instance, if my best half time is 1:56 and I’m shooting for a 1:40 then my tempo runs should be 8:33 to 8:55/min and my recovery runs should be 10:54 to 11:24/min. Seriously? If it tells me it’s ok to run slower, I think I’m in love with this. It’s a really interesting concept, and Mile Posts , who is a certified coach, breaks it down a little bit more.

Alright folks! Enjoy Friday, and get out there to ride your bike!!!

ps…last day to enter my giveaway!!! And Megan at Run Like A Girl is giving away a pair of Aspaeris shorts. Check her out!

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Seek Peace. Choose Joy.

Fitness Links Reading

Would believe me if I told you it was a busy week this week, and I actually didn’t peruse health sites too much? BUT, never fear, I have some Fitness Links reading for you!!

 

1. Do you ever wonder if you should if weights before you do cardio, or do cardio before you lift? It was a common question for me when I first started my fitness journey, and I know it’s a question most people have. In fact, I was approached a the gym this week by someone asking my advice on the topic. I’m a cardio before weights person, just because weights make me want to stretch afterwards and nothing else, so that’s what I suggested. And always thought was the best approach. Turns out, it doesn’t really matter which way you choose. It’s more personal preference/convenience according to a new study. 

 

2. I am a believer I in breakfast for many reasons. There’s so many good choices. It helps me remember to take my vitamins. It keeps hunger at bay the rest of my day. And it fuels me. So I’ll advocate for eating breakfast, and you can better believe my future children will be sitting down at the table every morning to get started. Here’s just one more reason why you should start eating breakfast, too.

 

 

3. My favorite workout shirts made the Fit Sugar affordable-stock-your-wardrobe list. Who said working out on a budget wasn’t awesome??

 

 

 

4. Ready to get rid of that back muffin top for summer? Here’s some yoga poses to target that area. It looks like a pretty good routine. And I’m all about yoga this month.

 

That’s it for today!! Enjoy Friday everyone! And don’t forget to eat breakfast this weekend!

 

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Choose Joy. Find Strong.

Fitness Links for your weekend reading. (To keep your mind off of race nerves)

Short and to the point today because it’s been a frazzling week, I’ve got race packing to do, and then it’s time to hit the road!

 

1. It’s obviously important to live a non-sedentary life to help stave off heart disease and diabetes, but a new study has shown a that movement helps keep after dinner blood sugar spikes at bay.

2. Who knew that ferrets could help prove the runner’s high?

3. Positive thoughts people.  That’s what keeps us going. Which is why, despite the rain tomorrow forecasted for my race., I am still going to PR. The rain will make me run faster.

4. But the million dollar question is when do we lose our ability to only think positively? Forget how other people would react and channel your inner child. Say “I’m awesome” [I as in you]. Brag on yourself for a bit. I guarantee it will help push you through that race/run/workout.  Maybe that should be my mantra for tomorrow morning.

5. But speaking of awesome, you must check out this gal. In under four years, she went from Wall Street woman to Olympic hopeful. She’s one of the world’s fastest women cyclists. She’s definitely heroine worthy in my book.

 

Expect a full race recap eventually.
Have a good Friday!

 

Passing the Baton: What are you reading this week? Any good articles/tips for me?

Fitness Links Friday will return...

...but due to Music Man leaving today for a short deployment. I'm filling Friday with other words.

Tune in next week for links

National Walk to Work Day

Ps....# 7 a bonus.

Did you know today is National Walk to Work Day?
Nope?
I didn't either.

Perhaps I'll go for a nice walk during my lunch break, but definitely not in those heels.

Fitness Links for your weekend reading

It's finally Friday. Not necessarily my favorite day of the whole week, but definitely my favorite day of the work week. Here's hoping it goes by fast today, though, I still have to work tomorrow morning.
C'est la vie!
 Anywho, here's some weekend reading for you. And be warned. It was another good week of reading, so I've loaded you up!

1. Female endurance athletes, I'm talking to you! Any of you ever have trouble giving blood because you're iron levels were low? Or have you struggled with fatigue, decreased performance, decreased intensity while working out? If so, this post from Runner's World Sweat Science blog is for you! I initially found it through HRG this week, and I'm going to tell you to check out her post on it too. Now, I love reading about the science behind health and fitness, but sometimes it just gets too scienc-y for my literature focused brain.
I.E.

But, HRG sums it up nicely in her post, telling us that pretty much all of our endurance work blocks iron absorption for our bodies and it might be beneficial for us to think about supplementing or eating iron-rich foods. I tend to go the latter route and some of my favorites are red meat, eggs, spinach, and beans. Running is good for us, yes, but we still have to be conscious about some things!

Fitness Links for reading

Welcome to Friday!
I seemed to disappear from my blog this week, but it's been an off week around here. I got my training runs in this week and feel great, but work has been busy! So, I've actually been busy working instead of writing.
However, I did find time to get some good reading for your weekend. Here goes:

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1. One of my biggest weaknesses with my training is my core workout. Well, not so much my entire core because I've been working on my hips, glutes, and back due to my injury, but my abs. Oh how I hate ab work. But really, I just need to suck it up, buckle down, and get busy. So, I found this, and I think I'm going to give it a try. First of all, I really like this article because it's not just all "sexy abs in six minutes" or some crazy fitness trend of the moment. Fitness magazine takes the time to explain the ab muscles, and there was a lot of research involved in this workout. Plus, it's yoga. Which I've been reading about forever how yoga is such a good core strengthener. Especially for runners. I'm not a dieter, so I probably won't try that, but I'm thinking I might take up incorporating this workout into my strength routine.

A little fitness link reading

This must have been a good week in the fitness world because I had a hard time keeping this link list fairly short today.  I've read some good articles and walked away with some great tips and knowledge. Here's 5 I'd like to share with you:

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1. Not sure how I feel about this one. I read about several mother runners all the time, and even have some good friends who are quite fit and never had issues when it came to conceiving; however, Runner's World says that new studies have found vigorous exercise to delay pregnancy. Guess I'll find out eventually if that's an issue I'll face.

2. This one gets a little wordy, but stick with it. Here's the nutshell: If you tell yourself you can't, you won't. Eventually, you'll start to believe all your negative talk and it sinks in. Don't be a doutbful engine that could. Stay positive! If it works on the negative side, then the positive talk has to be tenfold.

Some Fitness Links for this Friday

Well, I definitely read a lot of articles this week.
So, it's time to share:

1.  "One of our greatest gifts as humans in our ability to move."
I'm thinking that The Athlete's Book of Home Remedies by Jordan Metzl, MD is book I need to add to my ever growing collection of fitness books. I stumbled upon this article on the Today Show's website and even though the book is from the Men's Health collection, I'm thinking it might do me some good. The author is not only a doctor, but an athlete. He's a veteran of 29 marathons and 9 Ironmans. I'm thinking he knows just about every ache and pain out there.

Fitness Links Friday

Check it.

When I'm bored at work, I often peruse Publisher's Weekly, the news, and health websites.

I can't help it. I get really bored, really easily. And I like to read. Don't tell my boss.

So I thought, why not share some of this good 'ole stuff with you guys? That way you know some of the things I talk about are actually legit.

(I have no idea where this cool/gangsta voice is coming from, but, just roll with it with me.)

So here's to what I'm calling Fitness Links Fridays.

1. First up are these AWESOME ladies over in Portland and California who are going to be riding the entire Tour de France route before the actual race. In fact, they'll be riding each stage one day before the men because we all know the race is a male-only kind of gig. Oh, you didn't know? Well, now that I've told you, go out there and cheer on these women cause they aren't doing it race style. They'll be riding without closed off roads, cheering crowds, or other racers to draft off of.
Hard. Core.