Friday, February 26, 2016
Monday, June 15, 2015
5 Things of Interest Lately: Beach Edition
“Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste.” - Charlotte Brontë
Beaches. Sunshine. Food. Running. Sweat. Books. Sleep.
These are just a few of my favorite things when summer rolls around and since I know you’ll be hearing a bit more kvetching about the humidity, I thought I’d take today to share with you some things that I’m loving right now.
I call this a beach essentials list..plus a little extra fun.
SNACKS
You know I’m a nut fiend, but these are a staple for any beach day. Did you know new research shows that you are likely to eat less with a spicy food?? Plus that spice speeds up your metabolism, so it’s a double punch with the Siracha Blue Diamond Almonds. Keeps me from just downing them by the handful because I do love ‘em.
Reason to include almonds in your beach snacks:
- 6g protein
- 4g fiber
- Vitamin E (35% DV) – important antioxidant that helps protect cells from damage & promote healthy skin and hair
- Riboflavin (20% DV) – important for red blood cell production
- Magnesium (20% DV) – helps regulate muscle & nerve function, blood sugar levels and blood pressure
- Phosphorus (15% DV) – helps build strong bones & teeth
- Plus calcium, potassium, niacin and iron
CAMERA
I know a lot of runners have started to master taking photos on the run {yup guilty as well}. But sometimes you just can’t get a great photo with your phone and when I’m running in great places like the beach or brand new trails, I really want to fully capture the moment…uh but no one runs with a BIG DSLR camera… enter the Samsung's 16.3 Megapixel Smart Camera. 
If a photo is taken and not shared was it ever really taken? Social media strategist humor.
ORGANIC SUNSCREEN
Coola was my first introduction to spray sunscreen and now is my go to because let’s be honest I kind of hate the feeling of being greasy and used to use that as an excuse to skip sunscreen. OR it would make my face breakout, so again I’d skip. But the organic seems to work for me!
BOOKS
I could happily leave the TV off and spend my summer reading. Recently I had the chance to dig in to Kilian Jornet’s book Run Or Die. I’ve got a full write up coming for you, so I won’t spoil it..but lets be honest there is rarely a running book I’ve met and not loved.
TOYS
As a kid summer meant pool toys…as a runner, it basically means time for more fun running gear. HHGregg reached out to tell me about this new watch from Samsung and have I mentioned that my birthday is in August…just sayin’!
Samsung Gear™ Fit Watch has my needed HR function, it’s cute and um I could wear it all the time because it is indeed waterproof, so no issues with the quick ocean dip and I could finally prove to David that I totally take more steps than him during the day. {Hopefully I can test it out and give you lots more details}.
UPDATES
In other exciting news, after many many years I’m finally making a couple big updates on the site like switching to Wordpress…yeah long overdue. So have some patience with me in the coming weeks as I get things sorted out and hopefully get a new exciting design in place too.
What’s on your BEACH must have list?
Any summer TOYS on your list?
Other ways to connect with Amanda
Instagram: RunToTheFinish
Facebook: RunToTheFinish
Get new posts via BlogLovin
This was a sponsored post, but all happiness and opinions are my own.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
DailyBurn Black Fire Review–AKA I want to die
This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of DailyBurn. All painful burpees are my own.
After committing to #SpringTraining I was thrilled to find myself actually hitting a weekly goal of multiple strength workouts. So when Fitfluential reached with an opportunity to test out the DailyBurn Black Fire workout program with Bob Harper, I thought “All right time to get serious”.I didn’t realize just how serious.
Apparently it’s called Black Fire because you will walk around with a burning sensation in every muscle of your body for days on end, while your heart turns to stone so you can keep going.
Turns out no amount of dirty looks or crying will get Bob to go easy on you.
With that in mind, you might be surprised by what I have to say…so after all my Instagram comments about Black Fire, let’s break this down!
WHAT IS HIIT or TABATA?
The truth is 90% of what is being called a Tabata is not, it’s a HIIT…and most HIIT’s are…just a fancy way of saying intervals.
TABATA
20 seconds maximum intensity
10 seconds recovery
Total duration no longer than 8 minutes
HIIT
30-90 seconds of near maximal effort
Equal recovery
Total duration can be up to 30 minutes
It doesn’t really matter what you call it at the end of the day, these are both workouts designed to maximize your intensity and calorie burn within a short time frame. They can be done with bodyweight or weights and are an increasing favorite of people who feel short on time.
MY EXPERIENCE
Black Fire is a 60-day total-body workout program that combines strength and power movements with high-intensity metabolic conditioning exercises. During your 20-minute training sessions, you’ll burn hundreds of calories by moving rapidly through a variety of exercise sequences, while working to build muscle tone and definition.
Day 1
”This sucks…why am I still going? Not much time left now, might as well finish. Huh…that was kinda cool, it went really fast and I feel really strong now.”
Day 2
After finishing the second day workout, I realized I would likely be unable to move my arms the following day. I haven’t done burpees two days in a row in years.
Gahh maybe this is good for me.
Thank goodness it’s just a mobility workout…wait a second why are we moving so much, my arms are on fire, my arms, my arms. Admittedly I think this is an extremely awesome thing for them to add in the training because it really worked on loosening up joints and breaking down scar tissue…still I thought it was going to be more Zen.
Day 4
I’ve lost my damn mind, why am I doing this?
Oh…David just mentioned that my arms are looking really great from my recent commitment to strength workouts…damn him, now I have to finish this. Here we go diamond push ups, jumping, something like a burpee with a different name to trick me.
Yeah it takes very little to convince me to flex what I think are my new muscles.
I should really consider not doing these workouts right after a run, but thus far every one has been after a run because that’s the only time mentally I will do it.
I don’t have the cool looking crossfit box they do for jumps, so I pull out my good old aerobics step {hello 80’s workout} and guess what it works just fine.Think we will ever laugh at our current workouts like we do the old one’s??
Hallelujah yoga. And I love that it’s available through the app, so I can do this on my phone or iPad in the gym after my run.
Day 7
Have I mentioned I have NEVER, no not ever, bothered to actually follow an online workout plan for 7 days straight…maybe there is some kind of subliminal message in this workout program. And in other news I was actually way worse at doing the video by itself without a run first.
Day 8
Well there goes the streak! After we travelled all day to the beach to do my long run, I didn’t have a tabata left in me, but I did switch over to another DailyBurn program for Pilates. I am hand down in love with that program and you’ll be seeing more of it.
Nope didn’t get my HIIT workout in today either instead I used the DailyBurn full lower body mobility video which was phenomenal after my run and followed it up with the TRX.
Day 10
All righty, back on track, look at that! Having finished up today, I can now say I am actually enjoying these workouts in a very weird painful way, but they aren’t a good fit with a high volume running plan for me personally.
I think we all want to believe we are going to stick to a program exactly as designed and want to push our boundaries, which his why these keep being created. But I also believe we have to find what best works for our personality and life.
BLACKFIRE BREAKDOWN
Would I recommend it for runners?
Yes. I just wouldn’t recommend it during the middle of a training cycle. I think if you are doing some easy runs, you can still do these workouts without overtaxing the body…doing speed workouts and long runs on this schedule is a little harder.
Who should do it?
While I bemoaned how hard it is, the truth is it will be hard for everyone from a beginner to an advanced athlete, which is exactly the beauty of body weight and HIIT workouts. The intensity level is driven by you and for whatever reason a burpee is just always F**king hard.
What does it involve?
Burpees, lunges, squats, push ups, plyometrics <<< these in a wide variety of variations to keep your brain and body in a complete state of meltdown. HA! Bob does a great job of keeping you motivated throughout the entire workout, whether it is a HIIT or tabata style.
Will I be doing it?
Yes, I’m going to throw some of these workouts in as cross training. BUT I’m going to use the Pilates program that DailyBurn has after my runs now instead of Blackfire. I mean I hated it and loved it, which I still have yet to figure out…it’s actually a little reminiscent of how I felt when I first started running!
Find out more about the Black Fire program or other available workouts for just $12.95/month. Plus get all kinds of good info on nutrition and fitness following DailyBurn; Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Burpees – love or hate??
How well do you stick to online programs?
Other ways to connect with Amanda
Instagram: RunToTheFinish
Facebook: RunToTheFinish
Get new posts via BlogLovin
