Changes vs. Resolutions

Let me start off by saying I am anti New Year’s Resolutions. Not because it isn’t a great idea to make necessary and important changes in your life, but because often time resolutions aren’t kept. I am not talking about resolutions such as trying to be a better husband or making a better effort to improve communication with family members. I am referring to the resolutions I hear about in my workplace, the gym.


The busiest time of the year for me is January to April, because of two reasons. One, because people made a New Years resolution to lose a certain number of pounds and two, because my younger clients want an attractive beach body for their spring break trip. We will talk about the second reason later, it’s a whole post in its own.


Now, setting a goal like losing 10 pounds is perfectly acceptable, but what happens when your target is reached? Do you go back to the same old routine of little exercise and poor diet? What is the point of taking care of yourself for a couple of months?


I have a better idea. Make a strong effort to live a healthier lifestyle. Here is a list of 10 ideas for you to consider.

1.      Try to get more sleep

2.      Cut out some bad fats, added sugar and processed foods and replace with more fresh fruits and vegetables.

3.      Learn new healthy versions of your favorite recipes. See November 20^th and December 11^th, 20^th posts for ideas

4.      Get 30+ minutes a day of exercise.

5.      Try some new group fitness classes at the gym, like yoga, Zumba, or Spinning

6.      Drink more water, less sodas and juice

7.      Work with a personal trainer to incorporate strength training routines

8.      Find a workout partner, someone who needs you just as much as you need them

9.      Eat something that you know is healthy but have never tried before. Brussels sprouts maybe?

10.  Get a checkup from your doctor

Real quick lets focus on a couple of items on this list. First, #1, Get more sleep. This will be a huge help in your everyday life. Whenever I suggest this my clients will respond “I am too busy to get to bed early". Really? Do you need to watch re-runs of Sex in the City at 10:30? Do you really need to watch the 4th quarter of a blow out on Monday Night Football? Of course not, you're better than that.


 Next, #3, Learn healthy versions of your favorite recipes. For me, my kryptonite is baked goods, I eat some type of baked good at least 4 times a week. Cookies, muffins, pie, it doesn’t matter to me as long as I get my fix. To take out the guilt I learned how to make my favorite recipes with healthy substitutes like apple sauce instead of oil and Stevia instead of sugar. It makes a big difference in the total calories for each serving of some of my favorites.

Finally #4, Exercise at least 30 minutes a day. You may think this is the hardest on the list but it is much easier than you think. Some people believe that a workout takes place at a gym or health club. False. Moving for 30 minutes is a workout. You can go for a jog or walk around the neighborhood with your dog, or play with your kids at the park. Just get moving. If you miss a day, no problem, just keep some consistency and you will be fine.

So this year focus on making changes and adjustments to your lifestyle rather than setting a single target. If you still need some targets, try fitting into an old pair of jeans that have been too tight since the late 90’s or maybe run your first 5k. These targets can be part of your lifestyle changes and prove that your hard work is paying off. Stop saying “this is the year” and change it up, you’ll be happy you did.

Get Moving. Keep Moving.

Ian

Marathon Update Number 2

Marathon Update Number2

Sorry for the lack of updates on Gertrude, our favorite marathoner in training. She is starting to get into the tougher parts of her training program which of course means more running. We not only increased the durations of her runs but we are also adding frequency as well. So far she has been responding well to the workload but has experienced moments of frustration during some of your runs. Gertrude would feel great during a run one day but then without any explanation, she would feel lethargic, heavy in the legs and would struggle to hold a decent pace during her next run. I am guessing it is due to the increase in her training volume. So with her feedback we decided to pull back the volume and give her a nice easy week of running.

So far we are still working with timed runs without focusing on actual mileage but we have been steadily increasing the duration. Here is an example what her training has looked like so far. This sample is from her biggest volume week.

Monday- 50min

Tuesday- 1hr

Wednesday- 35min

Thursday- off

Friday- 50min

Saturday- 1hr30min

Sunday - off

 Next week we will start to introduce some race specific workouts to prepare her for race day. We will start out with some tempo work based of her pace at a recent 5k. This doesn’t mean that the workout has to be at her 5k race pace, we are only using the result as a baseline to determine a reasonable pace for her workouts. If we always went all out in our training we would be heading for burnout or worse, injury.  We need be able to train smart so that at on race day we are at our best and we can use the hard work to get us a well-deserved pr.

Get Moving . Keep Moving.

Ian

Dairy free,no added sugar pumpkin pie recipe

Don't let the title fool ya', this pumpkin pie is extremely tasty. I am by no means on a dairy free or sugar free diet, but I am all about trying healthy versions of my favorite desserts. While doing some recipe blog searches I found a few recipes that weren’t using condensed milk which is loaded with sugar, but still added up to 1 1/2 cups of added sugar. So instead, I went with 1/2 cup of Stevia (all natural sweetener made from plants, I used the Truvia brand) and almond milk (dairy free). I took the recipe one step further and went with a frozen spelt pie crust  because I like the texture a lot. It doesn’t seem to crumble as much as regular wheat crusts. So there you have it, a desert that satisfies two food allergies, zero added sugar, and somehow still tastes amazing.

Filling:

1 can pure pumpkin (1 pound size – the “one-pie” size)
4 large eggs (more eggs needed because no condensed milk)
½ cup Truvia
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½  teaspoons cinnamon
½  teaspoon ground ginger
½  teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼  teaspoon allspice
¼  teaspoon ground cloves
1 ½ cups almond milk

Mix it all up and pour into your uncooked  9" spelt pie shell. Put it in a preheated oven at 425 for 12-15 min then turn it down to 350 degrees for another 30-40min. It may take a little longer depending on your oven. This guilt free delight has less than 200 kcal per serving if you can get 12 pieces out of your pie. Enjoy!

Get moving. Keep moving.

Ian

BlakeFit’s super wicked awesome fish tacos

I was recently on a trip in California and a good buddy of mine was kind enough to cook up some fish tacos. All of the ingredients were super fresh with veggies from the local farmer’s market, handmade tortillas and regional pacific cod. The food was amazing and not all that unhealthy, but as I was watching my man prepare the wonderful meal the wheels were spinning in my head. How can I cut out some of the unnecessary calories while maintaining the flavor? What can I add to make this a more balanced meal? Well, mission accomplished. Check out the recipe for my take on fish tacos with kale slaw and let me know what you think.

 

(photo courtesy of Tessa Blake Photography)

Ingredients

Little less than 1lb of fresh white fish (cod works great)

2 Limes juiced

1tsp salt

2tsp black pepper

½ tsp. chili powder

2tbsp olive oil

½ large onion diced

2 cloves fresh garlic (minced, diced)

4 cups diced kale (my favorite is dinosaur kale)

½ frozen corn (thawed)

3-4 tbsp. of fat free plain yogurt

2tbsp of white vinegar

Corn tortillas

Directions

While cooking everything pre-heat your oven to 350, you will only use the oven for steaming the tortillas later. Combine lime juice, garlic, onion, salt, 1tsp of black pepper and fish and store in a deep tray on the counter to marinate for 15 minutes. If you have time, leave out the lime juice and let the fish marinate for 1hr, and add lime juice during cooking. While the fish is marinating you can start on the kale slaw topping. To make the kale slaw dressing combine chili powder, yogurt, vinegar and 1tsp of black pepper in a small mixing bowl. In a larger mixing bowl combine corn and kale, then add the dressing and shake, toss, whatever it takes to cover the slaw and let stand so the kale can soak up the dressing. Next, heat a large pan on medium heat on the stove top with olive oil. Pour the fish and marinade into the pan, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes.  Just before you take the fish off of the stove, wrap the corn tortillas in damp hand towel and place in the oven for 3 minutes. This will give you warm and soft tortillas that won’t tear when you are eating them. Finally put some fish on those tortillas and throw some kale slaw on top and go to town. If you happen to have some cilantro make its way on the taco than you my friend are winning.

Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think.

Get moving. Keep moving.

Ian

Marathon training update

Here is a quick update as to what Gertrude has been up to workout wise. For the past two weeks we have focused on improving her general run fitness by running no more than four times a week and no longer than 45 minutes. Also, we haven’t run more than two days in a row and often have days of no running to allow time for Gertrude to go to her favorite yoga, indoor cycling and group fitness classes.

 The reason why I want her to train this way initially is to let the body adjust to running. Pounding pavement puts incredible amounts of stress on our joints, tendons and muscles so it is important to let our bodies get used to the stress of running.  Also, time is on our side. The Wrightsville Beach Marathon isn’t until March 18^th so we don’t need to hit the panic button just yet. However, it should be known that Gertrude was already in very good shape before we started working together and has played sports at the division one collegiate level and there isn’t a need to improve her general health. If Gertrude was in average health with no prior exercise experience I would suggest starting out with walking and strength training with a personal trainer. Below is what a typical training week had looked like for Gertrude.

Monday- 30 min easy run

Tuesday – Hot Yoga

Wednesday- 40min easy run

Thursday- 30min easy run on treadmill

Friday- off day

Saturday – Indoor Cycling Class

Sunday- 40 min easy run

 Training Tip

Notice there is an off day in there, it is important to let our bodies rest. Sure, you can run seven days a week and feel fine, but eventually you will need some rest. Make sure to give yourself a break and don’t sweat it. When you allow your body to rest you will be able to train at a much higher intensity and keep yourself injury free.

As always, pass along any questions or comments and be on the lookout for a super fantastical fish taco recipe. It is uber healthy and tastes amazing.

Get moving. Keep moving.

Ian

Getting Started

Ever wanted to tackle a marathon but don’t have a clue of where to start? Sure, you could run as far as you can as many times a week as you can but that would most likely leave you with an injury and a mental breakdown.

Over the next 4 months I will be coaching someone to get ready for a marathon with very little distance running experience. We will call this person Gertrude for the time being and her true identity will be revealed once she has crossed the finish line on March 18^th at the Wrightsville Beach Marathon. I will post updates on training, running tips and even gear reviews throughout the coming weeks. Any questions on Gertrude’s training methods are more than welcome.

Before we get started here is a little background on Gertrude. She played soccer growing up and continued to play in college at a high level and after graduating would join the odd women’s and coed rec leagues.  But as getting tackled and taken out for a pointless game at 9pm on a Sunday’s got old she needed to fill the void with something competitive. So she took up running. That’s the great thing about running, you can be as competitive as you want in relation to what you are looking to achieve. It could be running to stay in shape or to see what you are capable in comparison to your peers. For Gertrude, the goal of her training is to run a strong marathon. Not a world record, but a time she can be proud of and more importantly stay injury free in doing so. A  Boston Marathon qualification time on the clock at the finish line would be a huge bonus but it is not the ultimate goal.

The hardest part about doing a marathon for Gertrude is going to be the training. It’s getting up early, running on the treadmill after a long day at work and getting a long run in on the weekends when everyone else is out to brunch. So, for the next 4 months we will be checking in with Gertrude as she trains her way to the starting line. Again, please feel free to pass along any questions you may have about Gertrude’s training or your own training.

Get moving, keep moving,

Ian

How to be a road warrior

Are you worried about getting out of your routine when traveling? For me the holidays are the hardest, not only because of the copious amounts of sweets, but all of the friends/family obligations that require me to hop from one house to the next and thus making my workout time minimal at best. Obviously family time is a must, but so is keeping my fitness in check.

Previously I would just give in and let it all hang out. It wasn’t until I got on a scale after a holiday trip and I noticed that I had put on 8lbs in 5 days that I decided enough was enough. Usually I don’t harp at the number on the scale, but when you can see a dozen sugar cookies in your chin and your sweat pants are tight, you have reached rock bottom.

So, here is a solution. The following steps when followed closely will help keep your fitness on point.

Step 1.
Go to the grocery store and fill up the car for your trip. This way, you don’t need to eat fast/gas station food on the road and when you get to grandma’s house and the food choices include things like, pimento cheese, liver worst cured meats, you can stick to your normal food intake methods. When traveling by plane, pack a carry on of easy to snacks like trail mix, apples and pre made almond butter sandwiches.

Step 2.
To complete my road warrior status I get on the Google machine and scope out area gyms, exercise trails and running routes. Even if I only get a few spare minutes, I can still get a workout in and keep the workout routine intact. If you are time crunched for time a quick run is your best bet.

Step 3.
Enjoy yourself and the time you have with friends and families! Don’t overdo it and go missing on a 10 mile run Christmas morning, instead get in 3 when everyone is watching A Christmas Story for the 10th time. Also, don’t be afraid to have a couple of extra sweets, it won’t kill you; otherwise you will run the risk of offending your Aunt for refusing her famous chocolate chip cookies.

There you have it, a fool proof plan to keep fit during the holidays, good luck and let me know how you do or if you have any methods to share.

Get moving, keep moving,

Ian