Fitness Friday: Full Body Endurance Circuit

Happy New Year!

I hope you all enjoyed your celebrations, whether you were in bed by 9 or you stayed up and had a few extra drinks [<– guilty!] We spent our night at a friends’ house in the Berkeley hills; it was so fun to see multiple displays of fireworks throughout San Francisco, Oakland, and other surrounding areas.

We celebrated with some fancy beer, a little red wine, and of course, some sparkles to round off the night.. along with a build-your-own taco dinner and dessert. Anyone else wake up feeling like a good workout was in order? Luckily for you, I have one to try out! This endurance workout will have your muscles really burning after 20 reps.

Exercise Demos

• Kettlebell Squat
• Inverted Row
• Barbell Bicep Curl
• Barbell Deadlift
• Kettlebell Halo
• Dumbbell Bench Press
• Tricep Dips

If you don’t have kettlebells or a barbell available, just swap out for dumbbells. Aim to complete these exercises back-to-back without rest; after each round, rest 1-3 minutes before starting again. When you finish the workout, check in with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and let me know!

A quick note to leave you with—I’m accepting new personal training clients and am offering a January special of $50 for your first session. If you or someone you know in the bay area is looking for a trainer, hit me up! Hope you have a great weekend!

Food for Thought

Any fun plans over the weekend?

Five Things Friday {12/26}

Happy Friday, friends! I hope everyone is able to enjoy a nice 4-day weekend!

1. We kicked off our Christmas day with our second annual dim sum brunch at Lai Hong Lounge. We figure there’s a reason Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas, but we wanted to one-up it with dim sum and it’s just so darn good! We kept a bunch of faves from last year, too.
   

   BBQ baked pork buns.. these are my fave!

   

   Dry braised green beans are SO good.

   

   Garlic pea shoots.

   

   Pan-fried mixed mushroom bun.

   

   The prettiest Christmas duck I ever did see.

   

   Duck bun all wrapped up!

2. No trip into Chinatown is complete without a stop at Rogue and a walk by the water.
   

   The Bruery – Seven Swans a Swimming Quad

   

   Such a clear, beautiful [and windy] day!

3. I’ve been powering through some sort of cold or something this week so I’ve spent a lot of time on the sofa the past couple days. I’ve also done my best to make sure I’m getting my greens and proper fuel to get better fast. I decided to whip up this smoothie on a whim and it was awesome!
   Chocolate Cherry Protein Green Smoothie
   
   Ingredients
   – 1/2 bottle Cherry Charge Mamma Chia Energy drink
   – 1 bottle Chocolate Light Core Power
   – 1 scoop Skoop A Game
   – 1/2 english cucumber
   – 1-2 handfuls spinach
   – 4-6 ice cubesBlend it all up and enjoy! It would also be awesome with some frozen cherries in there too.. next time!
4. We watched The Interview on Wednesday night. I’m not really sure what all of the craziness was about but I’d say if you’re in the mood for a silly, chuckle here and there kind of Seth Rogan movie, go for it. Pretty much what you can expect from him. On the flip side, Gone Girl. Watched that last night; you need to watch it, too. Best movie I’ve seen in a while.
5. If you are in the bay area, or know anyone in the bay area, looking for a personal trainer, I’m running a special in January. First 1-hour session is $50, normally $80, and if you purchase a package of 10 sessions, you get 10% off. If you’re not in the bay area but still want to train with me, check out my 4-week personalized training package!

Hope you enjoy your last weekend of 2014!

Food for Thought

Any fun weekend plans?

Train With Me!

Hi, friends! I just wanted to pop in for a quick post today to share some exciting news. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m currently working on putting together an online training program, but in the meantime, I’ve launched my Personal Training page with information on working with me one-on-one to get a 4-week personalized training program.

If you’re interested in working with me to create a customized 4-week program, check out the details and lets chat! Hope to hear from you soon!

Food for Thought

Have you ever worked with a personal trainer, either online or in person?

Link Love #55

Hi friends! I hope your week is going well so far. I was able to have a nice, relaxing Monday without having to run off to work. It was great to take my time at the gym in the morning, eat my breakfast at a reasonable pace, prep some extra food for the week, and get myself ready for a conference call in the afternoon. Quiet weekdays are sometimes a necessary and welcome change of pace.

I’ve had a project in mind over the past couple months and am trying to workout the details, but in the meantime, I’m going to be adding an extra page to the blog [<– accountability!] for personal training. I’m hoping in the coming months to unveil an online training program for purchase! Until then, I want to offer customized personal training plans. If you’re interested, shoot me an email and let’s get chatting! And of course, if you’re in the bay area and are looking for a trainer [or know someone who is!], I’d love to work with you.

Health

Science Proves Gluten Sensitivity Isn’t Real, People Are Just Whiners – Buzzworthy

Science Proves Gluten Sensitivity Isn’t Real, People Are Just Whiners – Buzzworthy [Possibly a little controversial, but an interesting read!]
Foods You Thought Were Bad But Aren’t: Rice – Lifting Revolution
Gluten Free Food Ideas To Eat Before Your Long Run – Cotter Crunch
12 Unexpected Ways to Transform Your Relationship with Food & Yourself – Corinne Dobbas
Taryn Brumfitt’s 10 Tips to Embracing Your Body – To Live & Diet in L.A.

Fitness

Sexy Shoulder Workout – The Almond Eater

Sexy Shoulder Workout – The Almond Eater
4 Exercises You Don’t Expect To Work Your Core – Slim Sanity
Lifting Weights to Failure | Why You Don’t Need To – FitKnitChick
Booty Burner Workout – Fit Foodie Finds
Full Body Cable Workout – Fine Fit Day

Food

Autumn Acai Bowls with Vanilla Bean Cashew Butter – How Sweet It Is

Autumn Acai Bowls with Vanilla Bean Cashew Butter – How Sweet It Is
Baked Apples Stuffed with Spiced Butternut Squash and Gingersnap Crumble – Heart Beet Kitchen
Fudgy Paleo Avocado Brownies – Peachy Palate
Grain Free Almond Butter Pumpkin Bars – The Roasted Root
Balsamic Brussels Sprouts Bacon Feta Pizza – The Law Student’s Wife

Food for Thought

What are your thoughts on the gluten sensitivity post?
What are some of your favorite posts from the past week?

Currently…

Currently I’m finishing up my breakfast—a nice warm bowl of steel cut oats with coconut cashew and maple sunflower butters and a big cup-of-joe.

I’m thinking it’s going to be a multiple big cup-of-joe kind of day. I just picked up my phone to take a sip of coffee.. yea.

I’m thinking I’m really glad I went to the gym this morning, even having not slept well, because I already feel like I’m reaping the rewards. And I know that I wouldn’t have wanted to move later in the day!

Currently I’m looking into when and where I can get my CPR/AED certification so I can take my CPT exam. Exciting. Nerve-wracking. Stress-inducing. Maybe part of the reason I’m not sleeping as well?

I’m also looking into all of the fun perks of my new job at Athleta. I’m only 2 shifts in right now, but I’m really liking it. [And I’m not just saying that because they might be reading!] Also, if you’re in the bay area, follow my store on Twitter.. they’re always posting about events and great in-store deals!

Currently I’m thinking about the anniversary trip. Man, it was fun. And surprisingly enough, we didn’t really overdo it this time. Maybe because wine country is in our backyard now and we can always go back for more!

I’m also thinking about how glad I am to have done my detox before retox week before the trip. This week is definitely about getting back to normal eats again, but in a different way. I mentioned last week that my body was appreciating the lack of grains and starchy vegetables, though by the end of the week, I’ll admit I was feeling tired. Maybe my body didn’t appreciate such a change.

I’m thinking that I’ve had a hell of a time really trying to figure out how to eat lately. That nice warm bowl of oats this morning? I was staying away from that last week, but maybe it’s something my body does want. Am I over-thinking? Yea, probably. It seems like every time I think I have it figured out, things change. I’m really just wanting someone to tell me how to eat. It shouldn’t be this hard, right?

Currently I’m thinking about how ridiculous it is that Northern California apartments don’t have air conditioning. I understand that it doesn’t get into the upper 80s/low 90s that often, but that’s just silly business. We’ve had our fans running constantly.

And I’m thinking about all of the fires in Southern California and hoping that everyone is staying safe.

Currently I’m counting the days till our trip home. I can’t wait to get my hands on this little nugget!

Check out those big blue eyes! Only 43 days and she’s mine 🙂

And currently I’m off for more coffee. That first cup didn’t last long!

Giveaway Winner!

Congrats to Kelsey S. Please email me with your shipping information and I’ll make sure you get your peanut butter soon!

Food for Thought

What are you doing or thinking about currently?