Rain Or Shine

Using the Buddy System

Working out with other people has got to be one of the biggest motivators I’ve had. My little sister has been thinking about becoming a personal trainer when she gets older and I decided to let her try her hand in training over the time we’ve been staying home. She’s really awesome at holding my boyfriend and I accountable. The biggest thing about working out with someone is finding someone who is dedicated and wants to see a change in you and themselves. When I was just working out with my boyfriend, I think I was the one who had to motivate both of us. My sister has lifted some of that responsibility off me and I have been much more motivated because of that.

Working out with someone (aka using the buddy system) can make a workout more enjoyable. You basically have your own personal cheerleader there with you. When they are there, you are more likely to push yourself, whether it is because you know they can spot you or they just bring out your competitive side. You can also help each other come up with different exercises by bouncing ideas off one another.

Like I mentioned before, you need to make sure that you workout partner is committed to making it to the gym and having a consistent schedule. They have to want to make progress. If this isn’t the case, you will most likely end up doing your workout by yourself, or sitting in the gym running your mouth instead of actually getting a workout in.

I Don’t Even Know What Day It Is

What have you guys been up to since most people have been stuck at home? Are you still working? Doing schoolwork? Finding new hobbies?

I live with my boyfriend and we are definitely enjoying the extra time we are getting to spend together for the time being. My job has shut down temporarily for COVID-19, but my boyfriend is still working. Every day looks really similar lately. It just depends on whether he has to work or not.

On days when he does have to work, he gets up around 9am and heads to Little Rock. I’ve been staying in bed a little longer than that. Around 10, I’m out of bed, making breakfast. Eggs and bacon and French toast have been my favorites. After breakfast, I get on YouTube and find a workout to do. A lot of the at home workouts I’ve found have been full body workouts, so I don’t have specified days for certain muscle groups. Once I finish my workout, I eat lunch and then I do any homework I can and then I watch TV until my boyfriend gets home. We go walk a nature trail near our apartment and then it’s time to eat dinner and get ready for bed.

When he doesn’t have to work, we do basically all of that again, just together. Like I said, all of our days look the same, and that’s okay. Like most people, we are ready for everything to get back to normal but for now, we are just taking it day by day.

Social Distancing

While social distancing has been boring and has been separating people from their friends and family, it can also have positive effects on people. It is hard being told that you shouldn’t do the things that you were doing daily, like going to work or doing workouts at the gym. All the places you used to frequent are either closed or have adjusted their business to accommodate social distancing policies. It’s easy to focus on all the negatives that have come from our current situation, but I think it’s time to focus on a few good things that have and will come from it.

To begin, social distancing is keeping people safe. That is the entire purpose of doing all of this in the first place. COVID-19 is a virus that affects the respiratory system and can spread through sneezes and coughs. Social distancing is keeping at risk people away from the threat.

Alone time sparks creativity. Even if you aren’t alone, creativity can still have more presence when you take a break from your normal routine. Use this creativity to make some art, make up new recipes, create new workouts, or whatever else comes to mind. Just because you’re staying home doesn’t mean you should sit and watch Netflix or sleep all day.

You can get more done. It seems like I always have a never-ending to-do list. Lately, I’ve been able to actually get things done and get to the bottom of those lists. The key to this is making it a routine to get things done. My days have consisted of waking up, getting in a workout, and then getting started on my list. Currently, my list is focused on schoolwork. I’m trying to get everything from this semester done by the end of next week, if it is available to me.

This is a really basic list of good things that have come from us having to stay home. There are so many things we should be thankful for, even if circumstances aren’t ideal. Y’all stay safe, wash your hands, and count your blessings.

Baked Crack Chicken

Cooking bacon is not fun. The grease pops scare me, and it makes the apartment super smokey. However. Bacon is SO good. Luckily, bacon is a food that you are allowed to eat while maintaining a Keto diet. This week, I found a recipe called Baked Crack Chicken. I was able to meal prep for six different meals, each with four-ounce servings of chicken. It tasted really good and if you like ranch, you’ll love this dish. It looks like there are a lot of steps, but it is actually pretty simple. Cooking the bacon is the hardest part.

Baked Crack Chicken:

4 slices thick cut bacon, diced

4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Chicken

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon butter

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ¼ inch thickness

Salt and fresh ground pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon paprika

Ranch Cream Cheese

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 package of ranch seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400ᵒ F
Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside
Use kitchen scissors to dice bacon into small chunks. Use a large skillet to cook bacon.
Remove bacon from skillet, but don’t get rid of the bacon grease.
Return skillet to heat with remaining grease and add the vegetable oil.
Pound chicken breasts to a ¼ inch thickness and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
Add chicken breasts and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side
Remove chicken breasts from skillet and arrange in previously prepared baking dish.
In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of ranch seasoning. Mix thoroughly and adjust according to taste.
Top each chicken breast with 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture. Spread to coat the surface of each chicken breast.
Sprinkle each covered chicken breast with cheese and cooked bacon.
Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes
Remove from oven and allow to cool.

This recipe came from https://diethood.com/baked-crack-chicken-breasts/. I simplified it just a little so that I wouldn’t have to make my own ranch seasoning.

My boyfriend and I both ate this meal three times over the week. I do suggest eating these meals before other meal prepped meals. They were delicious warmed up but after about the fourth day, it didn’t taste as good as it originally did. I paired this recipe with steamed broccoli again (I just like broccoli). I hope y’all give it a try!

Dear Quarantine: YOU SUCK.

This is day four of quarantine. Arkansans and people all around the world have been told to stay at home to avoid the risk of spreading COVID-19. School is fully online now, my job stopped letting us come in to work, and all gyms are closed. Total bummer. I did get scared a few days ago because of rumors that Walmart was going to shut down for the next two weeks. Needless to say, there are a bunch of higher protein cans of soup in my cupboard right now. Today I finally got out of the little funk I was in and decided to start cleaning my apartment and then I found an at home workout to do since I’m not allowed to go to the gym. Enter Whitney Simmons at home workout. I’ll add the link at the end of this post in case you need it. Since we got that out there, I would like to share a couple other ideas and thoughts about all of this Coronavirus stuff.

It is scary. All of the sudden changes that have come up in the past few days have been major. I normally adapt to change very easily, but this is something different, at least for me. When classes were cancelled, I thought, “Okay, cool. This is like an extended Spring Break. No big deal. It’s just some extra time to take care of myself.” But then I got the news from my job that the store wasn’t going to open back up until April. Grocery stores were running out of things before their employees could get it on the shelves. People are dying from this virus. Everything started to get real. As a fan of The Walking Dead, I did run into the problem of being paranoid because of my lack of preparedness. Hence, all the cans of soup in my cabinets. I don’t suggest doing that. It’s okay to be scared, but it’s not okay to panic. I brought anxiety upon myself from a hypothetical situation and it was far from okay. Everything will go back to normal in time.
Everything is going to be okay. God has everything under control and that will always be the case, no matter the situation. There are lots of brilliant doctors out there working on figuring this stuff out for us. All we have to do is stay away from other people for a while. We have to quarantine because medical materials used to identify and/or treat the virus are running out too quickly. The Coronavirus has been around for a long time. This is just a new strand. Doctors will figure it out. If we obey the rules that have been suggested, we will help reduce the spread of the virus itself which in turn will help by keeping huge numbers of people out of the hospital.

You are allowed to have your opinion on the quarantine and all of the other effects that have come with this virus, but please, be kind to one another. We are all going through something at least relatively similar. My sister is probably going to have to reschedule her wedding, lots of people had their Spring Break trips cancelled, people are losing their jobs, and so much more. None of those are anywhere close to ideal situations, but there are people out there who are legitimately at risk of losing their lives because of the virus. Show compassion to one another, as a majority of people are having difficulty adjusting. Just keep doing your best in all of this craziness. God will handle the rest.

This is the link to Whitney’s at home workout. This is one of her Christmas time videos, but the workout is still awesome. Workout

The Best Turkey Chili

I have tried several diet plans over the past several years. The most recent was the MRC diet. I came across one of my favorite healthy recipes when I tried the program with Metabolic Research Center. They are awesome and they helped me lose almost ten pounds! This was my absolute favorite recipe that came from this program. It was so good that I had to share it with my family. I had them over one night and I told them I was making chili, but they didn’t expect it to be healthy. My dad originally crinkled his nose up about it and I was worried I would have to order pizza or something in case they didn’t like it. Eventually, I got everyone to try it and they all liked it too. My mom called the next day and told me that my dad had lost a pound after coming over to eat with me. I just thought wow. He ate at least a fourth of the pot and he still lost weight!

The chili has a little kick to it but adding some crackers helps. It makes eight one-cup servings. When I make it for myself, I scoop one cup into eight different containers and that makes lunch or dinner for an entire week. When my family came over, I doubled the recipe and it made plenty (there were two guys there who are basically bottomless pits). I paired it with steamed broccoli. Was this the best combination? Maybe not. The chili itself is mostly turkey meat, so I do recommend pairing it with a serving of your favorite veggies for a healthy meal.

Turkey Chili:

16 oz. ground turkey breast
16 oz. turkey sausage
1/2 cup green onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 lg. can of tomatoes
1 tsp. each: chili powder, cumin, oregano
1 Tbsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/2 cup water

Spray pan heavily with Pam. Sauté onion, garlic, and bell pepper. When onions are clear, add turkey meats, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes. If too thick, add 1/2 cup water and simmer 5 minutes more. Makes 8 servings (1cup).

Finding Your Max

This week, in preparation for my March workouts, I found my maxes for bench press, squat, and deadlift. A max is the highest amount of weight you can lift only one time while maintaining good form. I highly recommend having a gym buddy with you or recruiting someone to spot for you when you try to figure out these weights. You are lifting the heaviest weight you possibly can. If you aren’t careful, you could get seriously injured. I also recommend talking to your doctor before doing heavy lifting, just in case.

Finding your max is important because it allows you to calculate the weights you need to lift in the future so that you can progress to more weight. If you are new to the gym, this shouldn’t be your first workout. Many sources recommend that you go to the gym for at least a week and find weight amounts that you are comfortable with before trying to max out. At first, finding your max is kind of a guessing game. You can increase the weight until you think you can’t lift anything any heavier. However, there are ways to calculate your max without actually lifting that weight. By going to the gym for at least a week prior, you can use the weight you are comfortable with to calculate your max. If you choose to try this method, do 3 sets of 8 and a final set until failure. If you look up 1 RM calculator on Google, you’ll find several calculators that can predict you max within a few pounds. Plug your weight and the number of reps from your last set into those calculators and they’ll do the work for you. Don’t worry about the numbers being small at first. Over time they will get better.

After I find my max, I lift 75% of that weight for 3 sets of 8. This is easiest for me because I only have to do the math one time that day. The last reps of the last set are usually hard but after a couple times of doing exercises at the determined weights, I will keep that weight and increase the number of reps I do. Once that gets easy, I will increase the weight I lift and go back to doing sets of less reps.

It is always important to listen to your body and do a safe amount of weight. Make sure that you can hold the correct form of the exercise you are trying to do.

What It Means To Be Strong

Strong
Adjective
1. Having the power to move heavy weights or perform other physically demanding tasks
2. Able to withstand great force or pressure

While there are many other definitions of strong, these are by far my favorite. Being strong doesn’t have to be associated with being super muscled up.

When I was little, Disney’s Hercules was one of my favorite movies. Hercules was known for his strength. My dad was strong because he could lift me above his head with ease. I associated strength with lifting things and that was as far as it went. My niece is six years old. I asked her what she thought it meant to be strong. You know what she said? She held up her arms and tried to flex and she said, “Be like aunt Rye-Rye.” Aunt Rye-Rye is my little sister, the same one who was mentioned in my first blog post.

I asked my sister (who is seventeen) the same question. She answered with one word: Overcoming. I asked her to clarify and she said, “It’s getting over something you didn’t think was possible.” She likes being in the gym every day and has the goals to get really toned. Hence my niece’s answer.

Then I asked my mom and dad what they thought it meant. They listed several ways you can be strong. “You can be strong willed, strong minded, strong physically…” Strong is kind of a loaded word and it can be applied to almost any situation.

I’ve seen people struggle but continue to persevere. Strength can come from almost anything. Having a good diet and exercising has many benefits including making you stronger mentally and physically.

A healthy diet helps by lowering the risk of chronic diseases like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and even cancer. It also helps with depression because certain foods call for certain chemical reactions in your body when you eat them. One source listed chickpeas as a good source of tryptophan, which is a precursor of serotonin, also known as the feel-good hormone. Besides the more scientific benefits, having the control over your diet and having the discipline to stick with it also makes you stronger. I almost left out the most important part! EATING FOOD GIVES YOU ENERGY! How on earth are you going to go to the gym and have a successful workout if you don’t eat?

Working out will obviously make you stronger if you are consistent. Weightlifting will make it to where you can lift more with time. Cardio will help with stamina and endurance. Exercising also releases endorphins that will make you feel good and enhances your mood.

The key takeaway is that you must be consistent with workouts and maintain a healthy diet. By doing both, you will start to notice how much stronger you feel.

7 Ways to Show Self-Love

Happy Valentines Day! It is the day of love and whether you’re in a relationship or not, you deserve some love. These are some easy ways you can give yourself some love today.

1. Wear an outfit that makes you feel good

Self-love and confidence go hand in hand. If you have a favorite pair of jeans or a shirt that makes you feel good WEAR THEM! You might get some compliments too – Just icing on the cake!

2. Eat what you want to eat

One day of eating unhealthy foods isn’t going to kill you or knock you way off track. Cook yourself your favorite meal, or even eat some chocolate. Just pay attention to your body and don’t make yourself feel sick.

3. Go shopping

So maybe your favorite jeans/shirt/other clothes aren’t available for Valentines day. This is the day of self-love! Go buy a new outfit!

4. Plan an evening of fun with your friends and/or family

Time with people you love is very, very important. Plan to spend the night out with those people or maybe stay in and just hang out.

5. Do something you love doing

If you love spending your day in the gym, by golly, go do that! But if you don’t want to go on Valentine’s Day, don’t. I promise it’ll be okay. Go hiking or do artsy things or maybe go see a movie! It’s completely up to you!

6. Make new goals or switch up your workouts

Keeping a variety of exercises in your workouts will increase the chances of you staying consistent. Make a goal of targeting new muscle groups by adding to current workouts or trying a completely different routine. Use this day to mix it up!

7. Stay off Social Media

Don’t worry about what Bob and Tina are up to. As you already know, people usually post only the best parts of their lives on their social medias. Valentine’s Day is a good day for proposals and all the love-y things. If that kind of stuff is a trigger for you, STEAR CLEAR for the day.

Starting A Healthy Routine

After a clean diet, the next most important thing to start having a healthy lifestyle is getting exercise. This can be tricky because not everyone has the same fitness level or the same goals. Cardio is also one of those hard things to gauge because lots of people absolutely hate it. Despite how difficult it can be to establish a routine that works for you, cardio and strength training are both very important.

I follow several fitness influences to get inspiration for my strength training workouts. My absolute favorite is Whitney Simmons and I highly recommend looking her up on YouTube if you need some inspiration or would like a demonstration of different exercises. She’s super cute and personable and I think you’ll enjoy her videos.

As far as cardio goes, I am training to run a 5k race at some point this year. I have wanted to participate in a race for a couple years, but this year I decided that I will finally do it. I’m currently using the training app C25K. Cardio typically lasts 30 minutes, but it isn’t all that hard.

While it is important to do both cardio and strength training, it is equally important to listen to your body and take breaks when needed. When you rest, your body restores itself so that you gain muscle and become stronger.

In various posts, you’ll find the workouts I do each week and you can use them or adjust as needed.