Too tired to exercise? Let's chat

I do my best to stay active and eat right. I also have a few medical conditions I have to work around. I have adrenal fatigue and exercise intolerance. I'm not going to get into what they are, you can google that yourself, but basically I can get tired, really really tired, very easily, and exercise can knock me out for days. "But wait," you are saying to yourself, "you are a fitness professional! How is this possible??" Well, I've been very strategic and it has taken a lot of self-education to manage these fantastic syndromes. My point in disclosing and writing this is to say that "I'm just too tired," isn't an excuse not to exercise (and I'm just hoping you can do a 25 min, that's all!). But if you are tired then you need to take the initiative to overcome that obstacle. There are different ways you can go about managing your fatigue, but I am going to focus on the products I rely on to give me the energy to fulfill my responsibilities as a wife, mother, domestic manager, fitness professional and Arbonne Consultant. First of all, I avoid yeast and gluten. I don't know why, but give me a piece of bread and I'm out! It's like you've given me two benedryl. So I avoid them. But do you know how many food products contain one of these?? SOOO MANY! Even chicken broth has yeast! I also avoid soy. And I don't eat red meat (that's personal, not medical). What I need to get a lot of in my diet is protein. Protein, protein, protein. I need to eat at least 15 gram s of protein within 30 minutes of waking up. If I don't, I play "catch up" the rest of the day- having sugar cravings, craving carbs (snooze!), and salt cravings. I have tried A LOT of protein powders in my day (I used to work in a vitamin and supplement shop) and recently noticed that those who consumed a lot of whey protein had VERY high cholesterol (that's from my work as an exercise physiologist for a medical group). Anyway, after a lot of internet research I found Arbonne Vegan Protein Powder. It. Is. Perfect. I make a shake every morning, have the energy I need, don't worry about my cholesterol, and feel totally comfortable giving it to my kids. The next item I use is a supplement called Rhodiola. This was originally prescribed to me by a great naturopahtic doctor. Rhodiola helps your body manage stress and clears up "foggy brain." Somedays I take it in pill form (you can buy it at www.naturalathleteclinic.com), others I drink it in a tasty fizzy drink form as Arbonne Energy Fizz. As you can see, I don't naturally have the energy to do all the things I need to do in a day. So don't feel like you should, too. But you should explore ways to boost your energy! If you would like to try the Arbonne products please leave a comment below, email me at amandagrace20@gmail.com, or go directly to my site: http://www.arbonne.com/pws/amandaallen/tabs/home.aspx I hope I can save you years of struggle and having to search for answers. You are not alone and hopefully I've helped you begin a new life! Check back again soon for info on the new Phytosport line from Arbonne. I can't wait!

Have you heard about the Fit Bit Zip? It's pretty cool. See why here

Fitting the workouts in!

No, I haven't fallen off the fast of the earth this week, I started a new job.  I absolutely love it, but it's been hard finding time to fit a workout it.  Believe or not, working at a health facility doesn't make it any easier to exercise.  Here's my little secret to staying fit, even when work and a commute take 11 hours out of my day: Every activity counts!  Just because I can't find an hour doesn't mean that I can't find 2 minutes throughout the day to get up an move.  Here are some of the things I do that help me stay fit even during busy times.

1.) Stretch at your desk once every 20 minutes: You don't even have to get up. Just push back your chair, sit up tall, reach your arms up towards the ceiling and take a deep breath. Stretch side to side, arch your back, and viola, you're done.  Now get back to work. Total time: 30 Seconds.

2.) Don't use that phone! Ok, actually you probably do need to answer your calls, but don't use your phone to speak to another coworker.  Get up and actually go to their desk. And don't dawdle, walk fast! Not only will you burn more calories but you will look like you have an important message and impress your boss!!  Total time: 1-2 minutes

3.) Walk the dog when you get home.  If you don't have a dog, walk your child. If you don't have a child grab your spouse and take a walk. If you don't have a spouse/significant other grab a friend or your ipod and use the walk to decompress and evaluate your day.  Your walk doesn't have to be long, you don't have to wear the latest workout gear, and you don't have walk for hours. Make a habit out of moving your body before you settle in for the night. Your brain and body will thank you. Total time 15-20 minutes.

4.)  Eat clean at work.  It takes 15 seconds to eat a cookie, and 20 minutes to burn it off.  Since I don't have an extra 20 minutes, it's easier to eat healthy.  I am so lucky to work in an office surrounded by fitness and medical professionals who take extremely good care of themselves.  A culture of health has been created; you won't find any bagels or muffins in the breakroom.  Who says you can't have this at your job?  Bring healthy, nutritious snacks in and introduce them to your colleagues.  Soon, everyone will be eating quinoa!  Total time saved: 20-60 minutes!

So there you go. My four steps to staying fit in under an hour a day.  Keep up the hard work but take care of your body!

Sometimes I fail at being all-natural

We have ants. We have had ants since we moved in. A quick google search informed me that borax mixed with sugar was a sure-fire way to defeat the bastards. 15 days later, the ants have MULTIPLIED, are everywhere, and show no sign of being affected by the borax.  Problem #2, the sugar and borax seemed to have MELTED and created a harsh, impenetrable crystal-type new chemical formation on all of my surfaces.

My attempt to be healthy and all natural has failed. I spent the day spraying spider killer chemical all over the house.  Whatever the heck is in this spray kills the ants immediately, but also leaves me coughing and gasping. But I'll be damned if I let these little buggers live one more day in my house.
I also spent the afternoon working my heiny off trying to scrape of the aforementioned crystal formation on my surfaces. At least I used baking soda and vinegar to get it off my surfaces!  However, it still took me about an hour of scrubbing, I mean intense, full body, all out effort scrubbing to get this crap of my window sills, counters, and floors.

Looking back, it would have been a lot easier and saved me a lot of time to spray the chemical crap to begin with. But, alas, I can never do anything the easy way. Here's the spray I used. I know it's for spiders but we didn't have any other bug killing chemicals in the house:

 

 Here's the borax I use for about 80 million other things, but apparently not for killing ants:

 And here's the baking soda I got at the dollar store for $0.50 that always cleans up my messes:

 

Mini-challenges and 6 pack abs

It can be hard to find motivation to workout when I don't have a specific competition or race to train for.  That's why every few months I create a new challenge for myself.There is a 5k in October I want to do, so beginning in September I will train for that. Then after the race I may take it easy for a while until I find my next challenge.   My favorite is the ab challenge: I work really hard for a few weeks to get ripped abs, then I slack off for a bit, then I do it again.  


These mini-challenges work for me. If I worked to maintain a certain level of fitness all the time, I'd get bored.  So mini-challenges every few months ensure that I'm always working toward something new and exciting. You don't have to be at your goal weight 100% of the time. You have to be close, though, you can't be gaining and losing 10 pounds every month! But try new things and see how your weight changes.  Sometimes I go through heavy weight lifting phases and try to put on weight. Sometimes my challenges (5k training) cause me to lose weight.  


Being fit should be fun.  Try new things, set new challenges, observe the changes, and develop a healthier relationship with your body.  


Here is the ab routine I'll be starting, pics will follow:

Abs

Complete following plank series without rest, then move on to other ab exercises.  Do 3 sets

Regular plank	Just a regular plank, make sure your lower abs are engaged. If you don’t feel it in your lower abs, tuck your hips under a little more.	20 seconds
Spiderman plank	In plank position (on your forearms), alternate brining one knee out to the side and up towards your armpit, so you look like spiderman climbing a wall	20 total, 10 ea leg
Twists	In plank position twist hips so that hip and side of that foot touches ground, pull back and go to other side	20 twists total, 10 ea side
Rocking planks	Rock back and forth on your toes, do not pull or push with your arms	20 rocks

Let's do it family!

Since we moved to Ca and don't have a studio to work out in we've had to be creative. Up till today our workouts consisted of running. But this morning Quaylan suggested we do something anaerobic. Anaerobic means without oxygen, and anaerobic workouts are tough, quick, and designed to get your muscles burning. It's great to include anaerobic workouts into your routine, for several reasons. 1) They are fun. How fast, how high, how intensely can you push yourself. 2) They are quick, and effective. 20-30 minutes is all you need. 3) They improve your VO2 max (fancy language for improve your body's efficiency at using Oxygen) so that you will perform better during your aerobic (your slow, longer workouts like running). The best part is that EVERYONE can participate. As Quaylan and I did our workout, Brooklyn joined in. And at the end of the workout, she insisted we do some sprints up and down the street, "We have to get our hearts and bones nice and strong, Mom," she said (I kid you not, these were her words). Try throwing this workout into your routine, maybe on the days you can't make it to the gym or simply need something new to try. Get the whole family involved, too. Warmup 30 seconds of each
Jumping Jacks 
Walk outs
Hip Stretch
Squats

 Then 15 of each of the following exercises. Rest one minute after doing the whole circuit, and then repeat for a total of 3 times.
 Jumping Jacks (yes, again)
 Push ups
 Burpees
 Squat Jumps 
 Leg raises

 VIDEOS Here are some videos showing how to do the stretches and parts of the workout. (here's a video showing how to modify a burpee to make it harder or easier) Have fun!

Running is not fun, so why am I doing it?

If you know me, I've at some point made it clear that I hate running. As mentioned before I ran track competitively for 13 years. But remember I also mentioned that I was a heptathlete and did sprinting, jumping, and throwing. There were no long, slow runs in my competition.  And thank goodness, because I hate long, slow running.

There is a common misconception that fit people are fit because they love running (or whatever exercise they do); therefore being in shape or healthy is easy.  This is absolutely not the case.  We run (or whatever) because there is something greater driving us, pushing us, motivating us to get out there and more.  Here are my top three reasons for running right now:


1. Running is just good for you.  I've known for a while I need to incorporate more running into my routines, and now that I live in sunny Southern Cali, I have no excuse not to do it.  Plus, we've been eating out a lot (healthy of course!) but I can't be gaining weight due to inactivity!


2.  My dog needs it.  My dog had ACL surgery 12 weeks ago, and literally has no muscle left in her leg. She needs the running to regain her strength, lose weight, and get healthy.

3.  I need some kind of mental release.  Since moving I haven't been working (hopefully I'll have a job soon!). But if I don't get out there and run I get REALLY cranky.

So what do you do when you need to run but don't like to run?  Well first of all, understand that even the fittest fitness professional does intervals. I run for a minute then walk for a minute. And guess what? I don't go out for 2 hour runs or 10 milers, I run anywhere from 20-30 minutes.  If you are training for a race of course you need to track your miles and time. But right now I want to keep running run and doing anything longer than 30 minutes wouldn't be fun for me right now.

You don't have to love running to do it. Keep it fun and get a dog :)

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