Spin-gina Pain

Oh how I love my spin class.  A sweaty, tough cardio workout that also shapes your legs and butt like nothing else.  After class, my legs are sore jello, but as any woman can tell you, that's not all that was sore.  The spin-gina pain was so bad that I almost stopped going. It not only hurt during class, but my entire underwear area felt badly bruised for days after a spin class.  I didn't want to give up spinning, so I researched my options.  First I tried one of those gel filled seats, but it didn't work out very well for me:

These gel seats are nice and squishy, but I felt like maybe they were too squishy.  Since it was so super padded, it offered no support and I would sink my entire body into the seat instead of sitting up on my sit bones.  I keep it in my gym bag in case I forget my padded shorts, but otherwise, I don't use it anymore.

These padded bike shorts really work for me.

 

These bike shorts look good on no one!  They are tight and make you look (and feel) like you are wearing an adult diaper under spandex, but they WORK! The padding is placed in just the right places to make you more comfortable in the saddle.  Since the padding is not as thick as the seat cushion, I have better form because I can still feel the solid seat under me.

Having correct form on your bike helps immensely with that darn spin-gina pain.  Engaging your core and making sure your seat and handle bars are at the correct height help make you more comfortable.  Any good spin instructor will help you figure out what that is when you go to class.  Don't be afraid to ask for help if you are not sure about how high/low to adjust everything.

One last item that has helped me in spin class are a pair of shoes that clip into the pedals: 

 

Obviously, mine have never been outside.  The drivers here in San Antonio are morons and I refuse to be on the road with them.

These shoes force you to have good form.  They help create a nice circular motion that make me utilize my quads and my hamstrings. When I was just using regular shoes, I overused my quads and when they got tired, I would bounce in the saddle...which was a pain in the butt, for real! The stiff soles help keep my feet from hurting and the curve of the shoes force me to keep my knees in on the bike when a lot of times, people want their knees to fly out while riding. 

People seem to think you need to be a cycling pro to wear the shorts and the shoes...and I am FAR from being an expert.  I just do it because I think it's a fun way to get my cardio in. I bought the shoes and shorts because I believe paying the money for the right equipment, is better than paying the money to see a doctor when you are injured later.  Also, I'm cheap, so if my brain tries to make excuses for why I shouldn't go to spin class, I think about the money I invested in the shoes and the shorts and tell my brain to stop wasting my money.  

Thanks to my shorts, my shoes, good form, and a tight core, I don't have the pain I used to have from spin class.

If you have any questions about spinning (or preventing the hurt) feel free to ask and I will help to the best of my ability.  If I can't help you, I know a lot of people who can. Hope you give it a try.

Black-Bean Scramble

I find typical breakfast food BORING and I like to try to mix it up.  Many times I eat non-breakfast things for breakfast.  I recently started making this black bean scramble for breakfast.  It's quick, easy, full of protein and I love it.  It's even easier if you have your veggies pre-cut.

Now, if you have been reading this blog, you know I don't really use measurements.  honestly, I'm just too lazy.  I just eyeball everything according to my appetite or how many people are eating.

Ingredients:
black-beans
green peppers
green onions
egg-whites
salsa

First I spray a bot of cooking spray in a pan  to heat the black beans and green peppers.

When those are heated through I add my liquid egg whites and chopped green onions:

When that's cooked, I plate it and top it with salsa.  I don't even know if salsa is considered "clean", but I don't even care.  I can't quit salsa!

Like I said.  Simple. Quick. Delicious!

Bikini Pics (wink wink)

Sooo.... I have gotten a few emails and messages that basically ask why I don't have any bikini or sports bra shots of myself up like many of the other fitness bloggers have on their blogs and FB pages.  Pinterest seems to generate a whole bunch of forward people and comments, I guess. One commenter even asked if I was "ashamed to show my body" and I  must have "something to hide"...aye yi yi!

Honestly, it's just not me.  I don't see anything wrong with the ladies who bare their well toned and healthy bodies on their blogs.  I admire their results, enjoy seeing their photos,  and they inspire me by their fitness levels...but really, it's just not me.  I wear a bikini when I am swimming, but as soon as I get out of the water, I dry off and put on my cover up.  When I work out, no matter how hot I am, I keep my tank top on. This is just me and just how I have always been.  I am not ashamed, I am just modest. I am uncomfortable with people looking at me. I am uncomfortable with attention.   That's probably why I am a photographer and not a model...oh yeah, plus I am only 5 feet tall and lack the model-type beauty....that kinda puts a damper on a modeling career;)

So, to satisfy the curiosity of all of the people who want to see...here is the one and only bikini photo you will see of me.  Enjoy.

My Honest Opinion

Two weeks ago I wrote a blog post in which I said I would alternate two workouts from Bodyrock Tv and tell you what I think....well, here is what I think. I am not the best at watering down my opinion and I suck at sugar coating stuff, so here it is:

If I was new to working out or back to working out after a long break, these are great workouts! I would probably lose weight, lose fat, and tone. I'd be sore in a good way(I am not telling you to do this.  Check with your doctor first if you plan on doing this).

If I was moderately active and in decent shape, this would be a great workout.  It made me sweat, it was pretty challenging, and I think it would help tone and shape.

I consider myself very active and in good shape.  There are a lot of people in better shape than I am, but I feel like I can hold my own and I am always up for a challenge.  For me, this workout was good for maintenance.  I don't feel like it got me in any better shape (and I'm always trying to get better than myself) but it kept me from getting out of shape. 
It's just my personal preference, but I need more...a lot more. Mostly because I have tons of piss and vinegar built up in me and in order for me to be a good mom and a kind wifey and not go off on people who deserve it (I have a big, smart a$$ mouth) I have to work out hard....OMG, I sound like a psycho!  I'm really a nice person (if I work out hard enough...lol).

I think I will keep these workouts in my rotation, but I will have to do them in addition to my regular workouts.  Next I will be testing this:

Can't wait to see my neighbors reactions to this!

Go Farther

Salmon Patties

What the heck! 2 blog posts in a row???? This rain around here must be making me feel more motivated (plus keeping me inside so I can actually blog).
We love salmon around here. We can't get enough, so I try to think of different ways to fix the same thing.  Salmon Patties is one of our favorites and I don't know why I didn't blog this sooner!  As you know from my past food posts, I am not much of a exact measurement cook, so don't expect to see the "Blood, Sweat, and Minivans" cookbook anytime soon....or ever. So, I'll try to explain the recipe the best I can:

The main ingredients are salmon, dill, and capers.

Salmon Patties (ingredients are approximate):
2 lb fresh salmon (skin off)
1/4 cup capers
1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
2 TBS dijon mustard
2 whole eggs
1 egg white
kosher salt
black pepper
Juice from one lemon
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs to help bind the mixture.  I sometimes have to add a little more depending on how loose the patty mixture is.

First I chop up the salmon into small chunks.  Salmon is really tender, so it's pretty easy to get nice small cubes of salmon. I dump the salmon into a bowl with all of the other ingredients.  I like to use the kitchen aid to mixer to mix because it seems to help get the salmon even smaller without making it into a paste.
I form the mixture into patties and cook them on my George Foreman grill that has been sprayed with olive oil.  I have also baked them in the oven or cooked them in a pan....whatever works for you.

This is what they look like:

I like to mix a little greek yogurt with capers and use that as a topping. So good.

As side dishes I used these delicious sweet potatoes and mini sweet peppers I got at Costco.

I usually just like to drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper on my veggies and roast them in the oven:

and in the end we end up with this...but pretend that there is a green vegetable in the photo.  the photographer in me says the photo needs another color...grrr

If you try this out, I'd love to hear how it turned out and what you changed to suit your family.  I will be posting your modifications of the recipe here on our FB page :
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blood-Sweat-and-Minivans/240639366014884

It's Summer, I kinda have to Workout at Home...

Ahhhh...I do love summer vacation. The non-schedule, the staying up late, sleeping in, hours at the pool, spontaneous day trips, are all such a nice break from the routine of school days.  These summer days do make it tough to get to the gym to work out on most days, so I have been working out from home. I have been doing cross-fit type workouts,  strength training on the weights at home, swimming, and running sprints up and down the street holding a med ball (my neighbors love laughing at that one).
I wanted to change things up, so I have decided to check out the Bodyrock tv site since it is all workouts you can do from home. I love that most workouts are interval workouts that take about 15-20 minutes of hard work.

I always start out doing 3 sets of 20 ab exercises. I choose a different ab workout every day.
For the next two weeks I will be alternating these two different Bodyrock TV workouts (be prepared....the woman in these videos is very um, shapely and if you are in public maybe turn your volume down ...just sayin')...anyway, I will alternate these two workouts for the next two weeks Set Fire Workout and the Push Me!  I have tried them out the last two days to make sure they were something that I would like.  I LOVED them.  I thought they looked easy...HA! I was sweating and panting like a woman in labor by the middle of these.  I suppose I could make these easier on myself my pushing less hard, but who wants to do that.  I don't want to waste my own time, so I am a total balls to the wall kind of girl when I work out.
 I always keep a workout  journal so I can track my progress.  I feel like this is so important. It is so motivating to see how far I've come. Before each of these workouts, I set up my journal simply by writing down the name of each workout so that I can write down how many reps I did each round.  I do not have the dip station she uses for the Set Fire workout, so I took two kitchen table chairs and stuck a bar between them like this:

Then I just modified the way I did the reverse push up like this:

Set Fire was a great workout and left me sweating at the end.

I timed myself on my iPhone using the Seconds Free app interval Timer.  Having a timer during interval training is so important.

Then next workout I'm doing is the Push Me.  I had to modify this a bit also.  Instead of the dip station, I used 2 barstools:

 

and instead of a sandbag, I did a 2 handed kettlebell squat clean using a 30 lb Kettlebell. If I didn't have kettlebells, I'd probably use a bag of dogfood or something...cuz I'm inventive like that (insert ninja kick). I was dripping with sweat and sufficiently tired after this one too.

I cannot wait to see what my results and improvement are like after 2 weeks of this.  Then in 2 weeks I'll try 2 other workouts.  

BTW, I am not a doctor or certified trainer, so I am in no way telling you that you should use these workouts or use my modifications and substitutions.  I just wanted to share a pretty cool website with you and show you that you can workout from home, even without buying equipment. Don't forget to check us out on fb.  I leave updates there often since I'm not always the best blogger https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blood-Sweat-and-Minivans/240639366014884

(edited:  omg! Does it look like I have implants in that last photo? Nothing wrong with implants, but I'm pretty flat chested.  Looks like I have cleavage, lol.  I should walk around in that position!)