Cinnamon - Fit Tip Tuesday!

Fall is in full color here, which means lots of people are "pumpkin-fying" everything ... pumpkin this, pumpkin that. We tend to add dashes of cinnamon here and there, too ... but did you know that cinnamon has amazing benefits?

BUT did you know that different types of cinnamon have greater benefits for you?  

Cassia is what we see mostly in the United States, and unfortunately it is the inferior kind of cinnamon. It contains higher amounts of coumarin, a chemical compound, that is toxic for the liver and kidneys.  AHHHH!!! Why don't they tell us these things????? Seriously???? 

So we want to make sure to get Ceylon cinnamon. It is more fragile, easier to break, lighter in color, and more fragrant. Most of the supermarket cinnamon is Cassia ... so what do we do???? Go to Amazon, of course :-) 

I've been loving Amazon Grocery! You can find plenty of Ceylon cinnamon at Amazon for regular prices of Cassia. 

So what can we do with all this awesome cinnamon? There are various ways to spice up your day - breakfast toast sprinkled with cinnamon offers a potential metabolism boost, a dash of cinnamon stirred into a cup of coffee or tea adds a dynamite flavor, and a cinnamon sprinkle on your Shakeology will add that much power to the dense nutrition.

Like all other spices, cinnamon loses its strength in fragrance and color over time. Store your cinnamon powder or sticks in air-tight bottles in a cool place, away from any moisture, sunlight or heat. Racks above the stove or near a window are poor storage choices. Refrigerating spices without any tight sealing is not recommended due to the high humidity level in fridges. The shelf life of properly stored cinnamon is about 4-5 years for whole cinnamon and 2-3 years for ground cinnamon.

Typing this post has got me thinking about one of my favorite TV shows, Psych ... when Shawn and Gus went to the Cinnamon Festival in Dual Spires, a throwback episode to Twin Peaks.

Anyone else love Psych???? :-)

So there's today's fit tip! Now go add cinnamon sprinkles to your food :-)

Motivation Monday

Hello, all!!! Hope you had a great weekend! I have been planning for my upcoming birthday countdown that starts Sunday. I will be doing the 21 Day Fix and am so excited to mix things up and try something new.

Love this quote by Anne Frank. We all can learn to see more of the beauty in things!

Post-Workout GLORY

Happy Friday, all!!!

So I've been diligent this week with all my PiYo workouts and marathon training. I usually split them up during the day, so I'll usually do one of them in the morning and the other at night. Running usually gets shuffled to the evening, which makes for interesting moments when I'm running on gravel ...

Anyhow, today was a day that I couldn't split them up. My schedule won't allow for it. However, that didn't mean I was going to skip one of them. Instead, I did them back-to-back, which is pretty difficult.  This is not the first time I've done it, so I knew what I was getting myself into. But that doesn't mean the effects are any less ... devastating on my body.

Five mile run versus PiYo Full Body Blast with strength slides. My legs felt the BURN!!!! They are like jello now. Glad I have the tools to help with a good recovery. Not to mention that my body is stronger and can deal with it way better than before I started PiYo.

Do you have workouts where your face ends up looking like death??? I can't be the only one. :-)

Tomorrow I am doing another PiYo workout. Sunday is my long run (13.1 miles this week). I'm sticking to my goals, even on the weekend ... and even after a tough day of working out!!! 

What are you doing to stay on track this weekend?

Have a great one!!!

PiYo Certified!

My PiYo Certification is in the books!!!

On Sept. 27, I spent the entire day doing, training, teaching, and loving PiYo! It took place in Bloomington, IN at IU and was taught by my coach and PiYo Master Trainer Julie Voris. The day was hard ... we were moving the entire day. I thought for sure my body would rebel at some point.  But it didn't and left feeling refreshed and uplifted in the PiYo glow. 

The day was spent breaking up the different sections of a PiYo live class. Julie also led us through an entire live class. We broke up into small groups and taught the "flow" section to each other. We ended the day with more working out, discussing teaching and formats, and then we were all certified! 

I am so excited to finally be able to bring this in a live format. The first group of people getting this experience from me will be my music students! They will thank me later :-)

I thought for sure the next day I would be completely sore head to foot. I also had to run 10 miles the following day for my marathon training. I was so scared. SCURRRRED. 

BUT my body was only sore a bit in my shoulders and upper biceps (probably from all the planks and down dogs we did). My hamstrings were only slightly sore, too. Other than that I felt great the next day ... and I ran the BEST 10 MILES EVER!!!

Thanks to doing the PiYo program the last 3+ months, my body was much stronger than I expected and barely blinked an eye by doing it all day. I'm so thankful for the program and that it has not only helped me lose weight and gain strength, but it has also helped me become a better runner. PiYo really is for everyone. 

If you're interested in it, let's connect and start livin' it up!!!