Take Advantage of the Season!

It is no secret how much I LOVE produce. That being said, there really is nothing better than fresh produce that is in season and at it's peak ripeness. I know it is very hard for some people to remember what is in season. It can be even more difficult to know what to take advantage of in your local area. I found the BEST tool that is a great solution to this issue. Epicurious has an awesome peak season map.  Here you can choose your location and the time of year and it gives you a list of what you should be taking advantage of.

Here is what is at its peak in Utah in July...

 and what we have to look forward to in August...

Another cool feature? You can even click on a certain type of produce and look at recipes for that type of produce. Awesome... 

DAY #10: Ten elevated plank mountain climbers on both sides. 

This is an awesome core exercise that is great to add to any workout! If doing them elevated is too difficult for you, start out doing them with your feet on the floor. If doing ten on each side is too easy for you, up the number of reps you are doing, or add a plate to your back!


Do you pay attention to what produce is in season? What is your favorite summer fruit or vegetable? I am a HUGE fan of fresh tomatoes, berries, and peaches! YUM!!

Family Night at The Lab

Tonight my family came into The Lab for a workout party of sorts. It was so much fun!

I put them through a series of circuit exercises, and they killed it! Don't you love my dad showing off his muscles? I am smiling so big my eyes disappeared. That is how much I love having my family here, and at work with me. So awesome!

DAY #9: Nine 10 second Sumo Squat holds. 

With these you hold your legs in a wide squat position with your knees and your feet turned out. Squat down as low as you can, trying to make your legs parallell with the ground. Squat down low and hold for ten seconds. Repeat this nine times! Hold weights if you need to increase the intensity!

Random Sunday Musings...

Sometimes Sundays are just for rambling. 
Today is one of those Sundays.

- My sister is here from Austin with her kids for the MONTH of July. How can you not love these faces? Gum ball cheeks are the best.

- I got the stomach flu AGAIN this weekend. Remember how I just had it a couple months ago. It is not my favorite. 
- I saw Spiderman this past week, and I left with a little bit of confusion. A) Didn't they just make the same movie like three years ago? B) Spiderman was pretty scrawny. I guess if you're going to be running around in spandex, scrawny makes spandex look good. However, I feel like if he was supposed to save me I could probably break him in half. C)I don't like spiders. That wasn't confusing.  D) Emma Stone is darling. That wasn't confusing either.
- I have been COMPLETELY thrown off all week as to when I should be sleeping, waking, working, celebrating, fireworking, and partying. I would choose to party, firework, and celebrate a little more, but I feel like there wasn't much sleeping. I don't know about these mid-week holidays. Throw in feeling sick on top of that, and I was all sorts of confused. 
- I am reading the book Unbroken. It is amazing. Has anyone read it? You should. 
- I love fireworks. I really really do. 
- I feel like summer is flying by WAY too fast. I am definitely loving it thus far though!

DAY #8: 8 Single leg squats on the Right and Left Leg

The July exercise challenge of the day is one of my favorite exercises! I LOVE single leg squats. You can do them anywhere, you don't have to have weights to make them difficult, and they WORK! Add them in to any workout and you will challenge your balance, work your core, and tighten up those glutes.

I love when people accomplish their goals :)

Happy Saturday! This morning I was able to go and run one of my best friends (and clients) in as she completed her first half marathon. It was so fun to see her accomplish something that she worked so hard for. Congrats Jenna!! Love you girl!

I love being able to see people accomplishing goals that they work so hard at! I know that Jenna would say that she had ups and downs throughout her training, but she just kept at it. I think this is the way it is with anyone trying to accomplish health and fitness goals, or any sort of goals for that matter. There are always going to be road blocks. Injuries come, family parties full of all your favorite foods may thwart your diet, you may have a lack of energy, or whatever other thing may come at you...BUT, achieving hard things will only happen when you move past the pitfalls and keep going.

I think I may have said this one thousand times...CONSISTENCY. Consistency is what is going to help you achieve your goals!

DAY# 7: 7 Triceps Pushups

These are hard! Start by doing them on your knees if you need to. When you build up the strength to do them on your toes do that!

Hello Ladies!

This morning my mom and sister came to The Lab, and I got to train them. I love when they are in town and we get to workout together! It is so fun! They are rockstars, and they are always totally willing to do whatever torturous exercise I put them through. :)

Today I put them through a full body circuit workout that went as follows...

2 sets of each
- 30 alternating step ups
- 15 kettle bell sumo squats
- 20 deep squats with dumbbells

2 sets of each
- 15 TRX plank crunches
- 15 pushups
- 40 walking lunges

2 sets of each
- 10 TRX full body rows (pictured above)
- 1 minute plank with toe tappers
- 15 TRX single leg pistol squats on the right leg
- 15 TRX single leg pistol squats on the left leg
- 15 jump squats

We busted through this workout to get it done in 30 minutes, and let me tell you, these ladies did AWESOME!

DAY #6: 6 lengths of shuttle runs

This is another GREAT way to finish a workout, and squeeze out all the leftover energy you may still have in there. You could also do this as an interval in between exercises to boost that heart rate. Place two objects about 20 feet apart. Sprint as fast as you can from one side to the other, touch down, and sprint back. That counts as two lengths. Do that six times. Time yourself to see if you improve. If you want to make your shuttle runs more of a challenge drop and do a burpee or a pushup at each end, and then get up and sprint back. Does this remind you of your elementary school fitness tests? Cause it should!

Finishing the 4th!!

The Beach Boys definitely brought it Last night! The fireworks did not disappoint either! The Stadium of Fire was awesome! We got some more exercise in by biking to the stadium to avoid traffic, and then hiking ALL the way to the top. When people suggest parking far away as a healthy tip for life, they should suggest sitting far away too...that was a lot of stairs.

 I went to the show with my darling friend Amanda, and my cute mom and pops.

 I have a small obsession with fireworks, and by small I mean that I cannot stop "oohhing and ahhhing" the entire time. I just think they are SO incredibly beautiful!

 

I hope that the rest of your celebration was fabulous, festive, and full of fireworks! 

DAY #5: 5 burpees with a  pushup

These are AWESOME to add into your lifting workout to make it a circuit workout. Try inserting five or ten burpees with a pushup in between sets of exercises, and you will have your heart rate sky rocketing! 

Happy 4th!!

I love the 4th of July. I really really do. I love the patriotism, the fabulous red white and blue clothing choices that come out of the woodwork, the bbq's, the pool parties, and OF COURSE the fireworks. I am ecstatic about tonight because I know that there are great fireworks in store! My fourth of July activities for today were a little out of the norm, but so much fun!

My friends and I decided to hike Stewart Falls, and it was so beautiful. We weren't the only ones with that idea...It was awesome to see a lot of families out getting their exercise on together!

Thanks to my friend Scott for documenting the whole hike! 

 It was such a beautiful hike! If you are ever in UT, take the time to get out there and do it!

It is very easy to get together with our friends and family and gather around food. We do it all the time, and of course it is so fun. However, every now and again, decide to get out and do something active with your family instead!

The July challenge continues...

Day #4: Four lengths of walking lunges.  

Find a long hallway and lunge down and back four times. Carry dumbbells if you need to make it more difficult. You should end up doing around 50 lunges :)
Tonight I'm going to The Stadium of Fire. SO FUN! I can't wait for all of the patriotic festivities! Happy 4th of July!