The Chocolate Diet

Prevention Magazine posted a cute article saying those who eat chocolate a couple times a week have a lower BMI than those who don't and the chocolate eaters actually consume more calories. Chocolate (in moderation) really does help your metabolism. Love it!

Study by The University of California, San Diego

Breaking out of the Winter Blahs

I keep watching for the snow to melt and praying I can keep a good attitude until it does!
Au Pair Care had a great article on how to beat the winter blahs.
The boys and I are turning the music loud and dancing and popping lots of Vitamin D pills to get through this winter.
How do you keep yourself happy when it's depressing outside?

Quitter

This morning was my last class at Smithfield Rec. I feel sad to leave those cute ladies, but I am just going too fast and in too many directions. Do any of you feel like you just have to slow down or you're going to miss out on the important things?

Here is the fun workout we did.

Plate push across the gym floor, run stairs, calf raises (40), push plate back, up the stairs backwards
Plie holding plate (25-35 pound plates)
Frontal raise with plate
Lunges across gym and back (we did knee up going and glute press coming)
Pullup and pushup (12-20 of each)

Repeat through entire workout 4 times.

Fun Workout

This morning's workout was fun and hard. Loved it!

Warm-up

Do the following exercises in a circuit, 7 rounds of with 20-15-10-5-10-15-20 reps.

Plie (with jump to middle)
Upright row, flip weight over, overhead press
Lunge with back leg on ball
Pushup and knee pull-in with toes on ball
Dead Lift
Bent-over Row
Box Jumps
Tricep Dips

Have a fabulous day!

Beach Runs

Had a fabulous vacation with my boys at Newport Beach. My beach runs each morning were definitely a highlight. I'd sprint past people, kicking up sand, and saying, "Sorry, I'm used to 4800 feet elevation." I am seriously going to run my next marathon at sea level.

Variety

The cave men used their physical strength to provide for themselves and their families. They had to work extremely hard. The human body adapts quickly to stresses placed upon it. This was a very good characteristic for our ancestors. Not so great for us stuck in a modern society of computers and Pop Tarts. Few people have to eke out an existence by the sweat of their brow which is one of the causes of an increase in obesity, heart problems, and many different health challenges.

Because our bodies are so amazing we have to work harder and challenge ourselves differently to maintain optimum health and vigor. If we want to increase our fitness and health we have to be willing to push ourselves and add some spice to our workout.

Variety is key when you're trying to lose weight, get past a plateau, or become more fit. If you do the same cardio or weight routine over and over it will become easy. This is a good thing because it means you're getting stronger, but it also means that you are burning less calories because your body is accustomed to the demands placed upon it. 

You can fix this problem by upping the intensity, duration, and speed of your workout or by changing the type of workout you do, known as cross-training. Cross-training recruits different muscle groups, challenges your body in a new way, and will help you burn more calories. 

How can you cross-train? If you always bike, try swimming or running. If you love the elliptical machine, try something fun like Zumba. If you faithfully lift weights, sample a yoga or Pilates class. If you workout at home and need some variety, rent a new workout video, borrow one from the library or plan a girl’s night out at the gym or hiking a nearby canyon.

Variety really is the spice of exercise. My challenge to you is to try something different this week. Mine isn't exactly new but I'd like to start incorporating more yoga. Please share which new activity you're going to try.

Win iFrogz products, $50 Running Chics, and $50 or $25 Amazon G.C.

The blog tour for Dead Running and Dying to Run is finishing up tomorrow. Last chance to win $50 from Running Chics, $50 from Amazon, $25 from Amazon, and three sets of iFrogz armbands and earbuds, plus Dead Running will be going from $.99 to $4.99 after tomorrow.

Click here to win the Running Chics or $50 Amazon card.
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Click here to read a sample of Dead Running or Dying to Run.

Thanks so much to Kathy from I Am a Reader Not a Writer for organizing the tour, Running Chics and iFrogz for their amazing donations, and all the wonderful bloggers who participated in the tour!