The What, Why and How of Meditation

     With all the stresses, noise and business of the world today, practicing meditation or any form of relaxation is critical to a health body and mind.

Ab Burning Workout

This is a workout that I made a few days ago and I wanted to share it with you! It is made to target mainly the abs but it also works several other body parts. I did it in about 30-40 minutes so its not a really long workout. I was sweaty when I finished, which to me, means it was a good workout!

Get ready to burn those abs!

100 Jumping Jacks
50 Crunches
50 Squats
25 Push-ups
15 Tricep Dips
20 Vertical Toe Touches
20 Bicycle Crunches
30 Genie Abs
100 Jumping Jacks
50 Sit-ups
50 Squats
25 Push-ups (or to change it up you can do V-Push-ups)
50 Plank Runs
40 sec. Side Plank (Per side)
5 Burpees
20 Plank Punches
40 Jumping Jacks
30 Crunches
20 Plié Squats
10 Push-ups
10 Leg Lifts
10 Lunges (Per Leg)
20 Leg Pulses
50 sec. Low Plank
Child's Pose
Downward Facing Dog
Ankle Holds
Deep Breaths.

   And that's the Ab Burning Workout! Just as a reminder, make sure that you are capable of doing all the exercises in this workout. I don't want anyone getting hurt! If you tried this workout, let me know what you thought! If you have any questions about the workout or a particular exercise in it, let me know in the comments below!

Keep Healthy and SAFE!
H.Banana

FitBit

  On Black Friday I got a FitBit Flex . Its a fitness tracker that tracks your steps, calorie burn, active minutes, your sleep and you can log your food, workouts and water intake. I had been wanting one for a while and I am so excited that I finally have one!

Why I wanted a FitBit
 I wanted a FitBit because I wanted to be able to track my activity and calorie burn more accurately. My Dad had owned a Jawbone in the past but he hadn't had too much luck with them working well for a long time. And, since I don't own an Apple device I needed a fitness tracker that had an app for the Samsung devices. FitBit fulfilled all those requirements!

What do I think so far?
I love my FitBit! I wear it all the time, except for in the shower. It is waterproof but I don't want to take any chances! I love getting up in the morning and seeing how well I slept that night and during the day I can check my calorie burn and number of steps! I am much more aware of the need to move more now because I want to reach by daily goals!  I also love the fact that I can set silent alarms to go off to wake me up! The FiBit on my wrist just vibrates enough to wake me up! Its much nicer than an annoying alarm clock!

What does a FitBit do?
Well, for starters, its a fitness tracker. It tracks your movement, calorie burn and activity level as well as your sleep and number of steps. You can program it to wake you up in the morning, remind you during the day to get moving and you can check it with a tap of the finger to the device to see how close you are to reaching your goal! It so motivating to check it during the day and see your progress. It also tell you how many calories to eat based on your needs. As you log your food during the day it tells you how many more calories you need to eat! There are also challenges you can try to compete against other FitBit owners.

  I didn't do any research into other brands of fitness trackers, besides the Jawbone because I knew which one I wanted for my needs. My Dad has ordered a fitness tracker from WiThings and I am excited to see how this one is different from my FitBit.

Let me know if you have a FitBit or other fitness tracker and how you like it, what all it does and how long  you've had it!

Please share my blog with a friend if you have enjoyed my posts! Also, follow be on Pinterest under Hannah Plunkett!

Keep it Healthy and SAFE!
H.Banana

Turkey Burner

So, Thanksgiving was yesterday and you probably had a typical Thanksgiving dinner right? With the turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and so on. So now its time to get back on track again! Here is a great workout to help you jump start you workouts after Thanksgiving. Its called the Turkey Burner from Spark People .

Get ready, 'cause here is its!
                                                The Turkey Burner Workout:

                                                         50 Jumping Jacks
                                                         40 Plie Squats
                                                       30 Burpees (Groan..!)
                                                       20 1-leg push-ups
                                                       10 bicycle crunches.

Sounds easy enough right? LOL, that's what I thought too! Man, I really don't like burpees... But I felt it work and I worked up a sweat and that's what I was going for anyways! Try this workout even if its not after Thanksgiving. Use it in your daily workouts!

Let me know what you think about this post and please share it with a friend!

Keep Healthy and SAFE!
H.Banana

Ps. Remember to keep you health in mind and never do a workout that you aren't capable of.

Fitness Fashion

Work out clothes and gear are great motivations to work out and stay active! I love getting new work out clothes and then working out in them! Here are my favorite items and brands!

Staring at the bottom with shoes!

You need a good pair or tennis shoes no matter what you are doing! I got mine at www.academy.com and they are Nikes( Academy ). I've had them a few months and I have loved them since day one! If you have a pair of tennis-shoes you love, let me know!
Its important to have a good shoes, so don't be afraid to pay a little extra for them, as long as you are getting what you pay for. Here are a few to look into.

For Training - Training
For Training-  Training
For Running - Running
For Running - Running
Don't just pick a shoe and go, or take my word on it. Do your research, as your friends and find the shoes that is just right for you and your activities. Remember, comfort over style!

Next is sock! I never work out with out socks on because I hate stinking sweaty feet and shoes! Find a pair of socks that are for athletics and make sure they breath well.

Now on to pants/ leggings. In the colder months of the year, if you are going to workout or run outside you are going to want to bundle up a little bit. I don't wear leggings much, but here are a few that I do wear.

This pair from Athleta is great! I love them because there is a little skirt built into I feel a bit more modest. Plus, they are really soft!
Another pair are these from Oldnavy are nice because they are capris and work great for the fall and spring time.
As for pants I usually get them from Target and Old Navy. Most of them aren't even athletic-wear either. You don't have to spend a ton of money on workout clothes, just go for whats comfortable and meet your needs.

Shorts come next. I own several pairs and once again they are mainly from Target and Old Navy. I tend to like longer shorts, but shorter ones are nice for Summer. Here are a few that I have and like:

These from Target
And these, also from Target

Now, we get to Sports Bras. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a good sports bra. If you have a good one you will enjoy your workout so much better than if you didn't. Here are a few that I like;
This one from Target
This one, also from Target
Another one, this one from Academy

Now we come to a space between bras and shirts, so we combine them! I don't own one of these (Yet!) but I can't wait until I do!
Here is one from Target
Another one from Athleta

Okay, now we come to the tops! I love working out in anything from a tank top to long sleeves! You can really get creative and have fun with this part of the outfit! Here are a few of my favorites!

Athleta , Old Navy , Old Navy , Old Navy

Now, Jackets. I don't tend to wear a lot of jacket when I workout, mainly because when its that cold I workout inside! Let me know if you have a favorite workout jacket though!

Extras:
A few extras I like to have when I work out are as follows (I won't give you links because you can find these tons of places!)
Ear Buds (Why? Music of course!)
Head Band. (The fabric kinds are best to help keep hair out of your face)
Pony Tails (You never know when you might need to tie your hair back! I always have a few with me)
Chap-stick. (No one liked dry, cracked lips!)

So that's about it for my Fitness Fashion. If I have left anything out, please let me know! Also, if you have a favorite workout must have, let me know!

Keep it healthy and Safe!
H.Banana

Weekend Workouts!

Pinterest is full of great workouts, and I want to try them all! Over the weekend I was able to try three of them, if you would like the link to them see the Fitness page.

The first one I did was on Friday, It was called  Abs On Fire, and boy did my abs burn!

(I hope you can read that, if not you can go to the website linked in my Fitness page!)

This workout was amazing and I could really feel it work! It didn't take long either, which is a plus for those of us with busy lives! I was sore after this and I don't know about you, but I feel so satisfied when I'm sore after a workout!

The next two I did on Saturday and they were both Burn 100 Calories workouts.

 This one wasn't bad, but I'm not a fan of Burpees, even if I do feel them work. I did this one a total of five times to get a calorie burn of 500, which I felt pretty proud of! Other than the Burpees, I thought this workout was great, and I totally worked up a sweat!
The next one I did that day was this one:

This one was amazing too! I also did this one five times to get a calorie burn of 500, so I worked up a pretty good sweat! My legs were a bit sore after all the squats and jumping jacks, which tells me that it worked!

I love short work outs like this because they don't take much time and I can combine them with other workouts to get a full workout!  Also, knowing roughly how many calories you burned is helpful if you are working on losing or just maintaining weight!

Let me know if you tried these workouts, and what you thought! Remember to always stay within your abilities to avoid getting hurt!

Keep it Healthy and Safe!
H. Banana

Insanity

   Insanity is a workout  program created by Shaun T and Beach-Body. To learn more about it you can go to this link here - www.beachbody.com .
                                                                           

No I'm not trying to sell it to you or anything, I'm just going to tell you about my experience with the program and what I thought about it.
I am completing my 60 days of Insanity today and I thought I would write about it in a blog post for those who are thinking about starting it, or just curious.
 Now, before I start I want to say that this is just my personal experience, yours might and will probably be at least a little different.

Here is what the package or box looked like:

Why I Started INSANITY
My Dad had ordered Insanity for himself way before I had any thoughts about healthy living and exercise. But, after I did begin to think about becoming healthier, I remembered that box of Insanity DVDs and I decided to try it. I wanted to lose a little weight but I wasn't exactly sure how. I wanted to workout but again, I didn't really now how or what to do. Insanity provided that for me, and that's mainly why I started. ( Also the promise of results in 60 days was very inviting)


My First Thoughts
 At first I liked it, it wasn't too hard but it pushed me, and it didn't take a whole lot of time. Every day in the first month there was a workout usually about 30 to 40 minutes long with 1 rest day. I began to see and feel differences. I had more energy, I went to sleep and slept much better and I did lose a little weight. Also I began to see a little muscle definition in my arms and legs.


How the First Month Went
 It was a smooth first month, I hardly got off track and I was loving it. At this point I was happy with the program, and in a way I still am, but as time went on my thoughts and feelings changed a little bit.  Most of the first month workouts weren't super hard to me, and maybe that's because I had been working out before hand and I didn't jump in completely new to exercise, but it was to a point where I was enjoying the every day workouts.

How the 'Recovery Week' Went
Between the first month and the second month there is a week called the Recovery Week where you do the same workout every day for a week. This workout  is a bit different and you don't have a lot of super fast movement. I found that it was a lot of just deep muscle work instead of cardio. This week was a wonderful and much needed break for my body to, well, recover! I loved this week and found the workout enjoyable!

The Second Month
 By this time I was honestly a little tired of having to stick to the Insanity schedule. I wanted to get into running and yoga but I felt tied to the program and I didn't want to 'skip' a day or get behind in the program. The workouts defiantly picked up the intensity a lot! They were harder and longer and I felt myself being pushed a lot more than in the first month. At this point I have lost about 8 pounds total and at least gain a little muscle weight. I was happy with the results, but I had hoped and expected a bit more.  I also began to fall a little behind in the program as we began to travel a bit more and also getting school going full swing. I had hard time making time for an hour long workout session in a busy school-filled day.

The 'Fit Test'
The 'Fit Test' is designed to measure your progress over the 60 time period. At first I kept track on the sheet the package provides, but I ended up not completing the tracking progress because I didn't find it overly helpful.

The Meal Plan
Insanity provides a meal plan along with the workout program. I didn't really use their program because my family and I were already changing our diet and I felt a little over whelmed with the 'Meal Plan' in general.

My Over All Thoughts
This program works, it does, and I do recommend trying it to any one wanting to build up the intensity of their workouts, or you are looking for a balanced schedule. The pros and cons for me are as follows.
Pro: I loved that I didn't have to wonder what workout to do that day, or when to take a rest.
Con: I felt tied to the program and I felt like I couldn't try something new in fear of falling behind.
Pro: I did lose weight and gain muscle, which is what I wanted.
Con: I didn't see as much of a change as I had hoped or even was lead to believe by the program.

Like I said before, I am finished my last day in the 60 day program of Insanity, and I do have mixed feelings about it. I liked it for is schedule at first but then in the end that's what made not like it so much. Will I do Insanity again in the near future? Most likely not, at least not the whole thing anyway. We still have the DVDs so I might do a few of them individually but I won't go through the whole program anytime soon.
I encourage you took look into this program a bit before deciding whether or not to try it. Don't just take my word for it because I am just one person and one opinion, after all.
Please let me know what you think of my over-view, and if you have done Insanity before, let me know what you personally thought about it.

I hope you liked this post and it maybe even helped you a bit!
Keep it Healthy and Safe,
H. Banana

Body Scrub

   Sometimes we all need to pamper ourselves, and what better way to do that than with a lovely Body Scrub! I love using a body scrub to make my skin soft, smooth and of course, smell good! There are countless recipes for different scrubs on Pinterest and I'm sure they all are wonderful, I just took a basic one and added and changed it up a bit. For the original recipe see my Recipe's page!
Alright, Lets get started!

Ingredients:
Salt( Make sure the grains aren't too big. If they are you can run them through a food processor or blender)
Sugar (This is optional. You can use all salt or do half-sugar half-salt)
Oil of choice (My favorites are Olive Oil, Almond Oil, Coconut Oil and Jojoba Oil)
Coco Butter (This is also semi-Optional. If you want more of a scrub then leave this out, but add the Butter to get a creamier more lotion feel along with the scrub.)
Essential Oil or any smell you like! (A few of my favorites are Lavender, Citrus, and Cinnamon.) You can also use Vanilla and a little of ground cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie spice to make a nice fall scrub. Just play with the flavors and have fun!
I don't have many pictures of the process, just the finally product, but here is the process.

I needed to blend my salt up in the food processor. I didn't use any sugar but if you are then add it along with the salt.
 After that I added my oils. I used a mix of the Coconut Oil, Almond Oil and Jojoba oil. You just need enough to give the scrub the right texture. Play with it until you are satisfied, and remember you can always add more but you can't take away!

Then I added the coco butter. Now you need to melt this until liquid or really soft. It will make the scrub really watery, but don't worry! Once the Coco-Butter cools the scrub will thicken up! If you want to make sure the texture is right, you can put a little on a spoon and put it in the freezer for a few minutes until it cools off.

Once you are satisfied with the texture you can gently stir in you Essential Oil or your choice of flavoring. In my particular scrub today I used a mix of lavender and rose.

Once you add the smells you can pour the scrub into a container with a lid and leave it to come to room temp.
Use this in the shower to make your legs and arms smell and feel wonderful!

I made this for my Mom (from Tea in the Morning Too ) and myself for a little pamper session!

Have fun with this and if you try it, let me know what smells you use and how they turned out!

Here is my finished product! Its lovely just plain like that or.....

Add ribbon or some twine and give it as a gift!
Have fun with this and always,
Keep it Healthy and Safe!
H. Banana