Bumper Crop

We started our vegetable garden five years ago. Each summer due to a number of variables, we have a different vegetable that really does well. In the past, our bumper crops have included zucchini, okra, hot peppers, and figs. This year, tomatillo plants keep giving and giving. 

Each time we are fortunate to have an abundance of one item in particular, Shannan and I really enjoy finding a variety of preparations. Surely this is the way many recipes came into existence, experimenting with a surplus of foods. This summer I’ve used the tomatillos in sauces, salsas and even fried some with a skillet of green tomatoes. In the end, the two looked a lot alike. However, the tomatillos lacked the distinct tartness of the green tomatoes. The texture was very similar for both. It was certainly worth the effort. I probably will use that preparation again before the end of the year as the plants continue to thrive and produce.

Garden. Eat. Run.

Tom

Chalene Extreme

Greetings!  We tried the 30 day free access to Beachbody streaming fitness videos. Honestly, the program is a little like Amazon Prime in that the fancy advertising leaves very important bits in the small print. Nonetheless, we did get exposure to some programs to test-drive them of sorts. I’m mildly interested in Insanity Max and 21 Day Fix Extreme.  Shannan didn’t have a warm fuzzy sensation for either one.  We agreed on the three-month program, Chalene Extreme from Chalene Johnson. Her most popular program is the Turbo series, and she has a new program PIYO that takes Pilates and yoga hardcore. 

We purchased Chalene Extreme. The program has resistance training three days a week along with a cardio and intervals workout. The other two days are for rest or yoga. That framework holds the same all the way through the 90 days. The resistance workouts change each month, Burn Circuit1-2, Push Circuit1-3 and Lean Circuit1-3. The cardio and mixed intervals workouts remain the same all the way through. It goes without saying, using the same two routines week after week is a bit monotonous. We switched out similar workouts from Shaun T, Tony Horton and Autumn Calabrese to replace the cardio and interval training sections here and there. 

The number of repetitions changes for the middle section. In the Push phase Chalene reduced the number of reps, however you are to increase the weight. The key to Chalene’s program is slow isometric movements and what she calls the Extreme set, where you repeat the last move three times very slowly, an eight count. 

We traveled a bit during the three months and found the program easy to complete in hotel rooms using bands. During and after the 90 days we both saw strength increases and Shannan realized notable body changes.

Find a program that works for you and work it.

Tom

Passing the Plateau

Greetings!  I have posted a couple of times about my wife, Shannan. She has been exercising consistently for a year now.  This endeavor brought about changes in her body, fitness level, philosophy on food and her attitude about exercise.  It’s been a delight to experience.

 

She, like many others who have made lifestyle changes, has arrived at a plateau. The great news is the work up until this point has really created a new mindset for her.  Shannan has committed to mixing up her workout routines and a few other little changes so as to continue progress toward her ultimate goals.  That has been even more impressive to experience.

 

Health professionals continually rely on empirical studies noting radical and immediate body weight and diet changes have negative effects across a number of health and psychological areas.  Be consistent.  Keep focused and stay the course with clean eating and regular exercise. Solid fitness will follow.

 

Make a plan. Stick to it. Run.

 

Tom

Decide and Do It!

Greetings!  I never formally matriculated at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, GA. Though, over the years I have attended one cohort class and taught a session of a religion class. Recently Shannan and I spent a picture perfect weekend in Athens. We shopped at the Athens Farmers Market, visited the Georgia Museum of Art on the UGA campus, took a couple of tours at others local institutions and spent an hour and a half hiking through the Sandy Creek Nature Preserve.

Saturday morning I enjoyed a very nice run around the campus. While out in the early morning I reminisced back some twenty-six years ago to my very first visit to UGA. Back then I was overwhelmed by the size of the school, which has grown by great bounds in the last quarter century. Nonetheless, it was the first visit that really made me believe I should go to college and that it was a possibility.  I was 21 years old at the time and had never really given thought to college. By the fall of that year I was enrolled and started the wonderful journey of lifelong learning.

It was that same year that I first started running. It would be some years later I got it into my head I could run every day for a month. That was eighteen years ago. This decide and do it mode of operation has come to be my standard.

Although we had a marvelous trip, I did not have another revelation or epiphany during this visit to Athens.

Decide. Commit. Succeed. Run.

Tom