Spice Up Your Life! Spice Up Your Workouts! Updated
What's up kittens? Having a good week? It's always hard to get back in focus after a long holiday weekend, isn't it? It's bad enough I already have issues knowing what day it is and what town I'm in but whoa, after a holiday weekend I'm really in a fog. No Jokes Please.
Anyway, I'm starting to dig the kettlebell feeling more and more. As you know, I recently bought the RKS Kettlebell DVD set and yesterday I did my first workout. I did DVD #1 which is essentially ONLY kettlebell swings. However, don't think this was 1) easy or 2) boring or 3) void of sweat or 4) void of cursing. I am VERY excited to move forward in this series and do the rest. I used- or wait, I started with 25lb kettlebells and had to move down to a 20lb kettlebell because my grip was failing.
Can you tell I'm rather addicted to Tumblr and Pinterest? DANG! Anyway-- keep reminding yourself that we only "compete" with ourselves! It's about EFFORT and pushing it, not trying to be perfect. My friend Krissa can use 30lb dumbbells for overhead presses. I use 20lbs and grunt my way through it- but that is what is TOUGH for me. If it's TOUGH, I'm working my muscles. Enough said. JUST WORK IT.
Check out my sweatfest vlog below for my "review":
Also! Spice Up Your Life is not just for workouts....I've been talking about adding spicy-ness via variety in our "diets" as well (READ: "diets" for me is WAY OF EATING, not a DIET). I'm filling my cabinets and fridge with LOTS of foods that I love and guess what-- I am NOT forbidding foods anymore....that's right. I am slowly but surely getting back to the point where ANYTHING can be in my house and I can reasonably eat and reach my goal.
Yea. You saw it here first. I have a hujazz jar of Nutella in my cupboard. I also have PEANUT BUTTER. I've also filled my fridge with vegetables, fruit, hummus, Almond Milk, Chobani Greek Yogurt, Laughing Cow Cheese wedges, organic brown eggs (for you Danielle) Brownberry 100% Whole Wheat Bread, Jell-O, Trader Joes Brown Rice Pasta (heaven!), Organic Trader Joes Marinara-- you get the idea. I'm not hosting a psycho diet kitchen, but I'm also not hosting a PIG OUT FREE FOR ALL. Balance. Every time I go to eat, I stop and think- why am I eating. Then I calm down- and if I am hungry, I eat what my body "needs" and try to keep a good balance. I am also focusing on eating AT THE TABLE. Geneen Roth talks in her books about eating in a rush, eating in the car, eating at the counter- all things I have done- and you do it because you are usually Rushing and thus you rush through a meal and don't even taste it. SIT DOWN. Eat slowly. Enjoy your food. You're allowed to do that. Go ahead.
In the spirit of "diet" balance, I am posting this gem, shared on Tumblr from The Reality of Skinny:
Here are some of the best Healthy Snacks, via Women's Health Magazine:
- Sliced tomato with a sprinkle of feta and olive oil
- Vitamuffin Vita Top
- Starbucks tall Skinny Latte
- Banana
- Edamame
- Air- popped popcorn
- Quaker Instant Oatmeal
- Greek yogurt
- 8 pieces of shrimp, with 4 tbs cocktail sauce
- Sargento Light String Cheese
- Curves Granola Bar
- 1 cup baby carrots with 2 tbs hummus
- 1 1/4 ounce turkey jerky
- 1/2 cantaloupe
- 1 cup vegetable juice, and 2 oz roasted turkey breast
- 1 tbs peanuts and 2 tbs dried cranberries
- 1 cup strawberries and 3 tbs Cool Whip Free
- Amy’s Cheese Pizza Snacks
- 1 cup raspberries with 2 tbs Greek yogurt and 1 tsp honey
- 2 egg whites with 1 slice of whole wheat toast
- 1/2 cup frozen yogurt
- 5 Hershey’s Special Dark Kisses
- 2/3 cup Barbara’s Baked Cinnamon Puffins Cereal (dry)
- 1 oz Yellowtail and 1 oz Tuna sashimi 1 packet Kikoman Instant Miso Soup
- 18 Fat Free Rold Gold Tiny Twists
- 2 oz Veggie Land Veg- T- Balls with 2 tbs tomato sauce
- Chocolate milk
- 1 Nutter Butter Granola Bar
I'm telling y'all- Shrimp Cocktail if you like it (which I do) is a beautiful thing. Lo-Cal, Lo-Fat and scrumptious. What are your favorite healthy snacks? Do you snack? Or avoid it?
Question of the Day: Have you ventured into Kettlebell Land yet? If so- how did you find out about it? If not, do you want to?
Kettlebell, Nutella, RKS Kettlebells
Reader Comments (15)
I WANT to get kettle bells but haven't yet....
yet being the operative word
and LOL to the pics from tumblr...you and I share the same brain on that cuz nearly everything you have I've reblogged on there
and the nutella in the hujazz jar...is in my cabinet -my daughter goes through it in no time...on bread, bananas, strawberries, anything!
opppps forgot to mention the sweaty vlogs...
we goin to start doing sweatfests!
and see I should be doing one cuz after fitblog I was on my bike for 80 mins
sitting here in tank top & boxers sweat running off arms! lol
Tara- I'm telling you, I don't know WHY I didn't discover the fitness peeps on Tumblr before- I could reblog all day!!
YOU SHOULD do the sweatfest vlogs girl- and when I'm in Miami we'll do one together! LOL!
Love, love, love kettlebells! Shorter but INTENSE workouts!
What's odd (not in a bad way) to me is that today- what's "hurting" the most are my butt of course, but inner thighs....interesting.
I can't wait to try kettlebells! I've been so excited about them since Fitbloggin!
You will become addicted very soon, I assure you.
I've never used a kettlebell. I'm not sure if I would get into it or not. I do like the resistance band. And I love the contents of your cabinets and fridge! Sounds a lot like mine. :)
~Michelle
I'm definitely interested in kettle bells, but my gym only allows them to be used with personal trainers. So, that will not be happening any time soon. But once that changes, I think they'd be a good fit for me. Although, I'm terrified that one would go flying.
Morgan! I had that experience at my gym as well- although in a small way I see their point-- there is such a large room for injury with improper form but hello I can fall off a speedy treamdill too!! LOL
Michelle!! ;-) Kettlebells LOOK-- in my opinion, before you've tried them they looked like a weird, potentially boring and unsafe workout. Truth be told- I really dug it once I tried it. Plus it's kind of badass and I like that LOL ;-)
About the shoes... Earlier I dated an RKC and he always told me that barefoot (or any shoes with flat sole) is important because this way your deeper muscles work more intensively while balancing. So it is the key to train your little muscles next to your spine which is very important for your good posture during the day. Plus he mentioned that on barefoot you can do better form with higher weights. And he was right, I tested him and I could do the proper form with one size bigger kettlebell than while wearing my fitness shoes.
And if your inner thighs hurt it means that you did the swings with proper form :) When starting every motion with your hips, and your hips is the source of the power, you work your inner thighs in a unique way ;)
Noemi!! THANK YOU SO MUCH for writing this comment!! That makes me feel good knowing I had correct form- with the inner thigh DOMS! WOO! And dang, I wanna date an RKC! (even though I have to google what that actually stands for LOL)-- I'm going to do a kettlebell workout later today BAREFOOT! Good call!!
well, dating an RKC is very good :) They have amazing abs and hard tighs and I am in love with these two :) :) :)
Have fun to your workout!
Yes, Noemi. How can I help you? ... Pardon? ... Oh, sorry! I saw “amazing abs” and “hard t[h]ighs” in your comment, so I thought you were talking to me.
Okay Okay - I am buying RKS... I give in!
Thank for the snack list I printed it right out - I am a snacker, so this is great.
Could you please tell me more about nutella - is this healthy? Isn't like a chocolate spread? I need more Deets Pronto!! Thanks! KO!