fitness

Lindsay & Neil Run Disney

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Today marks the official start of my training for my first half marathon ever. I am lucky enough to be running it at Disney world with my loving husband. This is a huge deal for me because I never thought I’d be writing this post but I’ve got the running bug and I’m so excited it brings tears to my eyes, literally, I’m not joking you I cried watching the above video. I also cried watching 15+ other videos including this one;I’m just so overwhelmed with excitement. This is going to be an amazing, challenging, worthwhile experience and I look forward to sharing it with you along the way.

I don’t want to overload CVL with posts about training so I will be limiting my posts to Fitness Fridays. However, if you want to read more Neil and I have created a blog to document our experience called One Step At A Time for this purpose. We will both be blogging here and discussing how we are feeling, what our training is like and will be looking for any guest posts on your own 1/2 or full marathon experiences.

Let the training begin!

Q: Have you runDisney? If you have an want to share your experience email us here. 

 

5 Things: Food, Fitness & Fashion Blogs

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I read a variety of blog from food to fashion and today I am going to feature a few of my favorites.  I read these blogs not only for entertainment but refer to them for recipes, fitness tips/ideas/motivation, and fashion ideas (I’m trying to be more fashionable).  This is by no means a complete list of the blogs I read but a high light of five from each category that I really enjoy. 

Five Food Blogs:

  1. Peas and Thank You
  2. Spabettie
  3. Pure2Raw
  4. Oh She Glows
  5. 101 Cookbooks

Five Fitness (/running/healthy living) Blogs:

  1. Carrots ‘n Cake
  2. Healthy Ashley
  3. Meals and Miles
  4. Healthy Tipping Point
  5. Faith Fitness Fun

Five Fashion Blogs:

  1. My Style Pill
  2. What I Wore
  3. The Sartorialist
  4. Kendi Everyday
  5. J’s Everyday Fashion
Q: What are you favorite food, fitness and fashion blogs? 

{Giveaway} Sweaty Bands

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I have always struggled to find the perfect sports headband to wear for running and other activities.  I have always found ones that are okay but they end up slipping off after awhile, so when I Sweaty Bands offered to send me a sample of their product I jumped at the opportunity.  Sweaty Bands are made to grip and hold your hair all without slipping or causing breakage. In addition to holding your hair back they soak up sweat without dripping and keep those wispy little hairs out of your face.

I was a little skeptical when I first took it out of the package because it looks like a few of the other active headbands I have but I was surprised by how well it worked.  I first tried it out during my last training run and it worked well but the real test was going to be my 5k race.  Since it’s been so hot out I have been wearing a bandana to help keep the sweat from dripping down my face but it’s bulky and tends to shift a lot during my run so I was hoping that the Sweaty Band would help with both keeping my hair out of my face and catch a bit of my sweat.

To my delight the Sweaty Band did indeed keep my hair out of my face and most of the sweat off too.  The band did not shift at all during my run and I barely even noticed it was on my head.  In addition to keeping my hair back and the sweat off my face it is super cute and comes in a number of styles; I want the 13.1 Sweaty Band when I finish my first half.

Well now that I’ve told you how great it is (and it really is) I am going to give you a chance to win one yourself.

To Enter: 

Giveaway closes at 8pm EST on July 31, 2011. 

Winner: Sabrina!

Mandatory:  What activity do you get most sweaty at?

Additional Entries (YOU MUST LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY FOR IT TO COUNT):

  • Like Health & Wellness With Lindsay on Facebook
  • Sign up for my Health & Wellness Newsletter 
  • Tweet about this “I want to win @cookveganlover @sweatybands giveaway http://wp.me/pFVWo-2pJ”
Disclaimer:  Sweaty Bands provided me with a sample of their products to review and giveaway, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway.

Fitness Friday: Power Plate

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This week (well since my last post) workouts have been going really well. Today is a cross train day and tomorrow is a run. Today also marks the start of the Hotter than Hades Virtual Half-Marathon

This week I tried a new machine at the gym the Power Plate. So what exactly is the power plate?

“Power Plate equipment is the premium vibration device powering a new dimension in wellness solutions for all ages, lifestyles and physical abilities. It uses the principles of Acceleration Training™ to stimulate the body’s natural response to vibration. These vibrations transmit waves of energy throughout the body, activating muscle contractions between 25 and 50 times per second, enhancing overall performance in sessions as short as 15 minutes a day, 3 times a week.

Acceleration Training™ on Power Plate equipment offers a host of benefits, ranging from an immediate improvement in blood circulation, to a variety of other measurable outcomes: such as increased muscle strength and flexibility, improved range of motion, decreased cellulite, increased bone mineral density, reduced pain and soreness and faster recovery. Our three-dimensional vibration technology continues to lead the industry, and its benefits are grounded in extensive academic and independent scientific medical research.” (source)

The Power Plate that we have at the gym has settings and instructions for strength & stretch workouts, massages and relaxation. After our weights workout I decided to give the massage setting a try and did a massage for the lower back, right and left abductor, calves and upper body. It felt so great! I can’t wait to use this machine more.

Have you ever tried a Power Plate?

Take Yoga Anywhere Giveaway

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I have been lucky enough to get away this weekend and do hours and hours of yoga.  For those times when I want to get away (for a non-yoga retreat) or don’t have time to go to a yoga studio I like to do a home practice and YogaDownload.com has been a great way to do this.

Why YogaDownload? (their reasons in black, my responses in red)

Yoga Download empowers you to practice yoga your way, on your time, wherever you see fit. Check out some of the best reasons to choose classes from YogaDownload.com:

  • Superior Quality – every yoga download class is professionally recorded and mastered to give you the highest quality experience. I agree with this- I find that the recordings are really well done and are really easy to follow on your own.
  • Unparalleled Selection – and Growing! – with hundreds of classes in dozens of styles, you can practice your favorite form of yoga or experiment with new styles. This is one thing I love about the site- they have so many different types of yoga from Hatha to Power to Kundalini to Yoga for Runners- it makes it fun and exciting to try new types of yoga at home to decide whether you like them enough to spend the $15-20/class to do them at a studio.
  • Yoga Your Way – whether you’re looking to relax for five minutes or sweat for an hour and a half, Yoga Download offers classes to fit your schedule and needs. Another great feature about yoga download – you don’t have to schedule your time around the class that you want to go to you can schedule your practice around your time.  I love being able to do a quick 20 minute practice after work or 60 minute practice on the weekends when studios in Burlington are all closed.  Additionally, there are times when studios don’t have the type of class I want to attend during the hours I am available but with yogadownload.com I am able to take any class (that they have) whenever I want.
  • Options Galore – choose audio classes, video classes, slideshows or build your own custom class from your favorite poses, then choose to stream it once or download it and keep it forever. See above.
  • Affordability – stream, save to your computer or become an unlimited monthly or annual subscriber. Yoga Download makes a high-end yoga practice attainable for all. This is the biggest plus- you can get a number of free 20 minute downloads and if you like it go back for the 30, 60 or 90minute downloads for only a few dollars! Way less than studio practice and all those expensive DVD’s that you can’t take with you everywhere.*
  • For the Teacher, By the Teacher – Yoga Download is designed to be an outlet for a wide range of deeply talented yoga teachers to share their gifts and practice with a global audience.

*Note: I don’t think YogaDownload.com is a replacement for studio classes- it is not the same by any means but it does provide you quality podcasts for your at home practices or for the times when going to the studio just doesn’t fit your budget.  Additionally, I love my yoga DVD’s but with one TV in the house it makes it difficult to do them at times as well as I can’t always bring them with me when I travel.

Overall I loved my experience with Yoga Download an I plan to continue using their services and podcasts for those days I don’t make it to class or just want a quick practice at home. My favorite YogaDownload classes are the gentle Hatha Yoga and the Yoga for Runners

Yoga Download has generously donated a free one month membership to one reader.

To Enter: You must leave a separate comment for each entry and YOU MUST do the mandatory entry for your additional to count.  This giveaway closes on June 30, 2011 at 6pm EST.

The Winner is:

1. Like YogaDownload on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/YogaDownload (MANDATORY)

Additional Entries:

  • Visit the YogaDownload site and tell me which class you would like to try.
  • Follow me on twitter.
  • Follow YogaDownload on twitter.
  • Tweet about this giveaway: “I want to win @cookveganlover giveaway for a free month of @YogaDownload http://wp.me/pFVWo-2dX”
  • Tell me what your favorite yoga pose is

May Fitness Wrap Up & June Goals

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So I didn’t get my Fitness Friday and giveaway post up this past Friday because the Hubz and I decided to run away early to celebrate our Third Wedding Anniversary. As part of the post I was going to my MPG Sport Review and Giveaway but I am going to do it this week. Until then MPG would like to give you the opportunity to save 25% off a one-time purchase (expires 6.30.11) please use the following discount code: veganloverlovesmpg


Here is the weekly wrap up of my workouts:

  • Friday: Off
  • Saturday: C25k Week 4 Day 2 plus walk 32 min
  • Sunday: off
  • Monday: C25k and walk 1hr 8min
  • Tuesday: Elliptical 10 minutes; weights 35 minutes
  • Wednesday:  walk 36min
  • Thursday: C25k 32min
  • Friday: Off
  • Saturday: C25k 32min
  • Sunday: C25k 32 min
  • Monday: Off
  • Tuesday: Walk 2 miles- 36min

Days: 22/22 Days  21 hours & 02 minutes/15.5 Hours

June 2011 Goals

  • 80%
    • Must workout 24 days
    • Total of 22.5  hours

OR

  • 70%
    • Must workout 21 days
    • Total of 25.5 hours

IIn other exciting news the Hubz and I decided to cross another thing off our Bucket List last night…..we signed up for a half marathon! Not only did we sign up for a half marathon we signed up for the Disney World Half Marathon!!!