Monday, July 28, 2014

Quinoa Bowl -- Endless Possibilities


Recently I've become a little obsessed with my Quinoa bowls for lunch.  I love to eat salads at lunch. They are good for you so long as you don't add certain salad dressings and fried croutons.  There are so many ways to make salads to keep your lunches varied.  One way is to add quinoa.

There is a food truck that is outside of my office building that makes Quinoa Bowls.  After the first time I bought one I knew I could easily make it, make it healthier and make it cheaper.



The basic recipe:

Salad greens of your choice: romaine, field greens, etc.

Salad toppings of your choice: cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions, etc

Quinoa:  I usually cook it with some veggie or chicken stock for more flavor.

The quinoa toppings: roasted red pepper, black beans, grilled chicken, crumbled cheese like feta or goat cheese.

Salad dressing.  Keep it simple, keep it healthy.  An olive oil based dressing is best but you can use your favorite store bought dressing.  I use the following recipe from Beachbody's Ultimate Reset.  It is healthy and delicious:

Greek Dressing:
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbs balsamic vineger
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp dried oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp your favorite herbs - dill, etc
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Blend ingredients until smooth.  Store in refridgerator but hold at room temperature if the dressing solidifies.

The assembly:

I like to put the salad on the bottom and add the warm quinoa (1/3 to 1/2 cup), red peppers and chicken (about 2 ounces) (or whatever toppings you like) on top of the salad.  Then I pour 1-2 Tbs of dressing, making sure I get it on both the greens and quinoa.

It makes a salad a little more satisfying and interesting.  It is also a different way of using Quinoa.  If you still haven't eating Quinoa it is time to give it a try.  Although it is often referred to as a grain, it is really a seed.  It is a complete protein (usually you only get complete proteins in animal products), and has high levels of calcium and iron.

This could easily be a Meatless Monday meal by leaving out the chicken.  If you add black beans or other beans for extra protein, just keep in mind that they are protein rich but they are also considered a carb.  So just balance out the proportion based upon your nutritional needs.

You should give it a try.  Enjoy!

Sunday, July 27, 2014

PiYo and Running Week 3


This was week 3 for PiYo and Running.  The full PiYo Schedule is:

Day 1: Define: Upper Body
Day 2: Buns
Day 3: Core
Day 4: Define: Lower Body 

Day 5: Rest Day
Day 6: Sweat
Day 7: Strength Intervals 


I only did three PiYo workouts this week.  I did Upper Body, Core and Strength Intervals. I ran 4 times this week and I did Focus T25 twice.  I'm still feeling strong and my legs seem to recover from my runs faster.  My two short runs this week were both four miles and they were faster than the week before.  I ran them in 9'09" and 9'06" whereas the week before I ran 9'27" and 9'11".  PiYo is not making me run faster but I do think it is helping me feel better after my runs. 

Everyone wants a strong core.  I know without a doubt that PiYo is helping me to strengthen my core.  The Core workout is a 30 minute workout focusing on the core.  Even though all of the PiYo workouts work the core indirectly, this one is directly working the core. 



It starts with a good warm up getting your body loose and warm.  After the warm up, you do a series of standing moves like standing crunches.  The series has several flowing moves and it repeated with the alternate side leading.  Next is a series of prone exercises like down dog, planks, child pose and PiYo Pike!  I love this move.  It is not easy and it can be modified.  It starts with plank position.  Then you take one hand and reach under you to your other side, crunching your abs and obliques.  Intense!  But you can put one knee down to help you until you get stronger.  

After the prone moves, the workout includes a series of supine moves -- those on your back and sitting.  PiYo pedal is another good move.  You pedal your legs while rising and lowering them.  The core is feeling this for sure!

Finally the cool down! Yeah.  Well, honestly, the 30 minutes flew by.  This is another good PiYo workout.  Although it is a good workout for all levels, beginners might feel it is very challenging.  But that is ok.  You can't see change if it is not challenging.  Just don't give up and do what you can.  You'll never get stronger if you don't try.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

PiYo Week 2

Last week was my second week of PiYo.  As a reminder, PiYo is an at home fitness program where you will use your body weight, you'll perform low-impact, high-intensity movements inspired by Pilates and yoga. This program is designed to get you long, lean muscles. With PiYo, you'll work every single muscle to stabilize, stretch, and strengthen every inch of your body.

I'm finding this workout is a nice balance to my more active workouts like Focus T25 and running.  Last week it was perfect since I was also doing the 3 Day Refresh.  This workout was just what I could handle 2 out of the 3 days.

One of the workouts I did last week was Sweat.  It is a 35 minute workout that engages the core and really does get you sweating!  It is fast but not an impossible pace.  You get your whole body moving right from the beginning.  I love that the movements are big but gentle. After a warm up  you get your heart pumping a little and then move on to lower body work then plank/core work.  There is even a power section.  Guess what -- Burpees!  Yep, you even get to do burpees.  But don't be intimidated.  There is a modifier to follow through all of these workouts.  This DVD ends with some stretching and strength.


I might not be doing a PiYo every day but I am aiming for at least 4 times per week.  And no joke, I feel my core getting stronger just after 2 weeks!

So far the gals and guys in my PiYo Challenge Group are doing great.  Everyone is at a different level and they are making the workout their own.  It's fun to do this workout virtually with a great group of people from the U.S and Canada. 

If you are interested in joining my Challenge Group, send me an email and we can get you started!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

PiYo for Runners

This month my goal is to run 80 miles.  I don't want to simply run more miles though.  I want to run more efficiently.  Although I am continuing my cross training with Focus T25, I added PiYo to my routine. 

What is PiYo?








It is an at home fitness program where you will use your body weight, you'll perform low-impact, high-intensity movements inspired by Pilates and yoga. This program is designed to get you long, lean muscles. With PiYo, you'll work every single muscle to stabilize, stretch, and strengthen every inch of your body.

The program includes:

8 WORKOUTS so you'll never get bored:
  1. Align: The Fundamentals (40 min.): This workout breaks down the most important and effective moves in the program to help you perfect your form and get the best results possible.
  2. Define: Lower Body (25 min.): Get your sleekest and leanest legs ever as you lengthen and strengthen your entire lower body—from your glutes and hamstrings to your calves.
  3. Define: Upper Body (20 min.): Use this incredibly effective workout to start chiseling away at your upper body to help shape your arms, carve out your triceps, and define sexy shoulders.
  4. Sweat (35 min.): A traditional PiYo workout that incorporates effective dynamic conditioning, fast-paced cardio yoga-flows, and bodyweight resistance strength training to help sculpt your entire body.
  5. Core (30 min.): This ab-centric workout hits your powerhouse from every angle to build a strong core, flat, sculpted abs and obliques, as well as a strong and sexy back.
  6. Strength Intervals (25 min.): Twenty-five minutes is all you need of this nonstop body-carving, calorie-incinerating workout that uses no weights, no equipment, and gives you no bulk!
  7. Drench (45 min.): This endurance workout maximizes fat burning while it works every muscle in your body. It will not only leave you drenched—it will kick-start your metabolism as you scorch away the fat.
  8. Sculpt (30 min.): This workout uses varying tempos to keep your muscles under tension for different periods of time. This generates muscular endurance and metabolic changes that will totally transform your figure.
Last week was my first week including PiYo.  I did a PiYo workout almost every day since most of the workouts are short.

Although I am experienced in yoga, it has been a while and doing Align: The Fundamentals was important since it showed me where I had to work harder and showed me the ways to make the moves more challenging. 

When I did Define: Lower, I realized that I seriously need to work on my balance. Balance is important in running.  Two things you need to prevent you from failing on your face while running is stability and balance.  There are a few ways to have better balance and one of them is yoga.  The Lower Body workout will help me with that. Also, one of my favorite yoga poses is in this DVD -- pigeon.  It felt so good.

Although it is too soon to say PiYo is making a difference in my running I will say that I felt great last week.  I ran 8.51 miles on Sunday, 5.38 miles on Tuesday and 4.0 miles on Thursday.  My 4 mile run was an 8'48" which is a little faster than I normally run and doing PiYo helped me stretch out and recover.  I don't have time to do it every day but I will do it at least 3-4 times a week.


If you are interested in ordering PiYo, visit my site at Team Beachbody Coach Kats Quest

You will get free coaching and motivation!
 

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

June Running and Focus T25

June was a tough month for me.  I only logged in 49.9 miles compared to 74.8 miles in May.  There was a week that I just couldn't get up.  Allergies hit me hard.  I knew I needed to rest and I listened to my body.  Then there was a week when my husband was out of town and I just couldn't run on the treadmill.  I think I ran 2 miles on the treadmill that week. 

Instead in the month of June I mostly worked with Shaun T.
June was Alpha round.  Focus T25 is broken into 2 - 5 week blocks: Alpha and Beta. 

Alpha is comprised of the following 25 minute workouts:
  • Cardio.  25 minutes of calorie-burning, sweat-drenching cardio
  • Speed 1.0. Wow! It is fast paced but you'll get fast results.
  • Total Body Circuit - This focuses on strength and resistance. No weights needed but you will feel it.
  • Ab Intervals.  It is a mix of ab work and cardio.  This program works your core!
  • Lower Focus.  As it implies, it focuses on your lower-body.  When you work the bigger muscles you burn more calories.
Overall I think this kept me conditioned despite not getting out to pound the pavement.  Truthfully, I am getting fast.  My last few runs have averaged 8' 40" min/miles.  Let me tell you I am so excited about that!! I went out to go for a run with a mom in my neighborhood the other day.  It was just the two of us.  She is much faster than me but I ran 6 miles and averaged 8' 36" min/miles and managed to hold a conversation!  I know the Focus T25 workouts are helping. 

My goal is to run the Mohawk Hudson River Half Marathon in 2 hours.  Sub 2 hours would be awesome but my goal is 2 hours.  Shaun T is going to help me!