and I would run 500 miles

New Years Resolutions drive me crazy. For 2 reasons, mainly.
#1 I think they're dumb
#2 I can't help but make one

Justin and I are both going to run 500 miles in 2011. How's that for a challenge?

I like the balance of keeping on track with about 10 miles a week (reasonable amount)
and the flexibility of fitting exercise into the ebb and flow of our busy lives.

In these winter months, our tready is going to help us get the job done.
So I started today.

2 miles--bring it.

The first mile I was going strong at my fav pace (10 min mile) but then the second mile caught up with me.

Whew. So I slowed down to a 12 min pace and symbolically patted myself on the back for the baby steps to my New Years Res.

I'll get there...

I have to say, for being totally inconsistent with exercise...
I love, love, LOVE owning a treadmill.

If I'm in a season where I'm not using it, it's a constant reminder that--I prob should be!
If I'm in a season where I am using it, it's so convenient. No excuses, you know?!

My absolute fav exercise...
Dancing to tunes on youtube with the kiddos. Currently we're rocking out to Dynamite.
Such a blessing that there's an Alvin and the Chipmunks version they prefer....
(any other songs those rodents want to ruin?)

Anyone else have a new years challenge?
Happy Tuesday, All!

Monday Post of Random

Do you see this? This is me, watching Packer football last night, in a room sans guys.
All by myself, hubby at work, boys tucked in bed, TLC totally available to me, and yet here I am watching Packers V. Vikings.
It's Brett Favre at Lambeau Field.
It's the guy you see on the screen with the long hair who plays for the Pack and totally rocks.
(but I don't know his name--I'm not that into football)

Anyways, I didn't watch the whole game so I went to ESPN.com after to see the final score.

28-24. Go Green and Gold!

Enough of that.

Jon, my 7 yr old, made this arrangement and asked me if I'd take a pic and put on it my blog.
Now doesn't that just make you smile? He cracks me up.

I'm sitting here after just having a much-needed date with this:

...so I had this idea that I, a personal trainer who's never personal trained (YET...yeah....don't ask), should maybe throw out a tip for all you exercise fanatics out there. And those of you who aren't might just be inspired by this random fact:

it's about your EPOC. And you, after you exercise, have it.

EPOC stands for excess postexercise oxygen consumption but that's not important.... (NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training p189)

Basically, what you want to know is that your body's metabolism is elevated after exercise and continues to be elevated for some time....how long the metabolism is running quicker for is the question EPOC answers.

Research shows that higher intensity training and splitting your work-out into multiple sessions have the greatest effect on EPOC (so you keep burning those calories faster for longer. Elevated metabolism, people! Can I get an amen?!)

SOOOO if what you're looking for is greater calorie burn, go for "giving it your all" as much as you can during the workout session and divide your workout into multiple sessions instead of one longer, moderate bout of exercise (think 30 minute jog--great for your heart but not as effective for increasing your metabolism)

The Plan? Do a 15-20 minute session in the morning (or just 10 min if you're a beginner...it's a start!) and then repeat at lunchtime or later in the evening. Crank up that treadmill to go a speed that is really challenging and throw in some high speed spurts for as long as you can go.

And mix it up. When your body gets used to your same ol'/same ol' training, it will stop giving you the results you're looking for. Tricky, huh? So change it up and try circuit training moves or something.

Do you know what I'm talking about?

Really, it's about being able to consume more chocolate more times while your metabolism keeps melting it away. At least that's how I define EPOC.

Zumba = Sweaty Fun

Have you ever tried Zumba? Pretty wild name for a crazy-cool exercise that is a lot of sweaty fun. Seriously.

(not to gross you out...but maybe...the towel pictured is my designated sweat catcher for Zumba time. I figured I should just label it permanently so it didn't get mixed in with the other hand towels that look just like it. Ewww)

So for 45ish minutes you do these shake-your-hips moves to jivy music and you start to think you could be on "So You Think You Can Dance" or something....

And then you get rehydrated in between songs and realize you're just an uncoordinated white girl who mostly forgets to shake her hips because you're concentrating so hard on the beat and keeping up with the girl two rows in front of you, who you are pretty sure is spot-on every time and maybe she should just lead the class already she's so brilliant, and you kinda (but not really) wish a mirror was nearby so you could gauge just exactly how ridiculous you look in this room of totally synchronized people moving to the right and left and backward and forward and around at the same time and did you perhaps miss the memo everyone else got about yesterday's rehearsal to learn the exact choreographed version of the day?

Oh. Sorry about that. Anyways, Zumba is fun. I go on Saturday mornings to a church nearby and I rock out with about 40 other women. Cool way for a church to get people to grace it's doors for the first time, if you ask me (but maybe you're glad you didn't). We use the song "I Know My Redeemer Lives" (Nicole C. Mullen) as our cool-down--a perfect ending to a perfect way to start the day!
Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post. But did you really expect me to break out my camera in the middle of Zumba? It's not like I don't already stick out enough already, people.
ZUMBA. You should give it a try!

Project Eat Better

Okay......so Charity is 6 months now (what?!).....I know. Whenever I hit this point "postpartum" (haha....can I still claim that title?!) I realize that maybe, just maybe, I should start working on the extra pounds from pregnancy.
(she's SO worth every added pound...)

We all know that losing weight is as simple as getting more exercise in the day and eating better. Yeah.... ("easier said than done" would be such an understatement right now I'm not even going to go there)

Exercise I can do. I've been running on the treadmill and busting some Pilates moves almost every day for over a month now.

Caleb and Matt are becoming pros at "downward facing dog"
HOWEVER...

Exercise plus eating my yummy carbs = scale's not moving!! And so... I must execute

Project Eat Better.

Good-bye, brownies. My love affair with you needs to end. Temporarily, of course. You know I always come back to you.

"You can eat just one!" you want to yell to me over blogland. Yeah....well, no.....I can't. Someday, though.

 Failure is not an option.