A month full of abs.

February is over but I think I'll try this for April.  Sounds good.  Anyone else want to give it a go?

Eat your vegetables.

Who knew Bon Appetit Magazine would inspire my latest post?  Yeah, exactly.  But as I was scanning recipes for something new and interesting I found an article about athletic performance.

According to the article Beet Juice is the latest tactic used by athletes to increase endurance.  The high nitrate concentration in beets dilates blood vessels allowing for better profusion of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues.  Essentially, it increases oxygenation of our muscle tissues extending the time before our muscles fatigue.

Well, I love beets so this is good news for me.

Here's the article if you're interested: http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/nutrition/Never-Miss-a-Beet.html

More inspiration!

Dream Board.

Ever heard of a dream board?

Basically, it's a visual of everything you want to be or do.  Sometimes we need a little help turning a dream into a reality.  Here's my fitness version. 

yuck. blech. ugh.

So here I am sitting in my bed under the covers.  And yep, I've been doing this for the last three days.  And the few days before that were exhausting as I stubbornly denied that I was getting sick.  And get sick I did.  In fact, I didn't just get sick I got the freaking flu!

I felt it coming on Monday.  After being sick the week before I couldn't possibly get sick again.  Instead of taking it easy, I went for an hour and a half bike ride and then worked in the yard for the rest of the afternoon.  Tuesday it really hit me though.  There was a moment where I was sitting at work just staring at my boss while she talked away.  lol  I guess you don't have to be sick for that one but this time I was just looking at her like, huh?  Focus, Anita.  Focus.

Tuesday is one of my favorite workout days because I go to Jim's Functional Training class.  It's an awesome class.  The instructor is great.  The workout is excellent.  Seriously, I could never push myself as hard on my own.  The hubs and I are always there.  It's really the only day of the week that we exercise together.  I've gotten to know several people in the class and most every class I can count on my close friend to be there too.  Knowing people in class really makes a difference.  They keep me motivated.  Anyway, I digress...

So I knew that I was getting sick but I thought I'd just ignore it.  I convinced myself that if I take a quick nap I can go to FT and probably a good workout will kick that sickness in the butt so I'd be fine.  Well, surprisingly I made it through the class.  Compared with my usual self I was dragging but considering that I was supposedly sick (again, in denial still at this point) I thought I did alright.

Wednesday was non-stop with school/work and my latest venture: salsa dancing lessons!  I made the hubs commit as a birthday gift.  :)  But by the end of the day I could barely stand and my throat was on fire.

At this point denial just wasn't working for me.  My body had finally had enough.  Three days and I've hardly been able to get out of bed.  Yep, I got the flu.  So moral of the story people: listen to your body.  If you're like me then you won't want to take it easy.  I never want to slow down.  But sometimes you just have to. 

Perhaps I should look at this as a blessing.  A lot of people want to lay around all day and eat popsicles and pizza.  (Yes, I did that.)  Come to think of it, maybe I should try to stay sick for just a little longer...

As if there wasn't enough evidence to stop eating sugar.

Did you know that consuming a sugary beverage can be as bad for you as eating a fatty cheeseburger?  Or, that sugar consumption can cause cancer?  Seriously, check this out.  If this doesn't motivate us to leave sugar behind I don't know what will!

Exercise charts!

Just found these and I'm so excited!  No more me at the gym wondering what exercise to do next.