Physical Funness for the Motion Starved

Fit more fun into your fitness while exploring the outdoors.


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Seriously, you want me to eat that?

Planet or fruit?

Ever eat a Pomelo or Oroblanco? You’d know it if you had because they’re about the size of a small child’s head, and they require quite a bit of peeling before you get to the yummy meat. Not an experience you’d quickly forget.

The other day after a workout Cindy offered me an Oroblanco. At first I was kinda taken back by the size, I imagined it would take me a week to eat so much fruit. But, after Cindy’s detailed instruction on how to dismantle the massive orb I was able to give it a try.

Basically the Oroblanco is sort of like a giant grapefruit, only it’s not nearly as bitter and has fewer seeds.  Don’t let the size frighten you. Once you peel past all the rind, the actual fruit is about the same size as a regular grapefruit. Kinda disappointing after all the work it takes to get there.

In spite of the extra work, I can say first-hand that the Oroblanco was definitely worth the extra effort (thanks Cindy!).

As far as the facts: Half an Oroblanco contains about 100 calories, is full of potassium, vitamin C and fiber. And… I would bet you burn about 100 calories busting into the thing, so… you’ve got a win-win situation on your hands! Serve Oroblanco and Pomelo just like you would any grapefruit.

Next time you see a yellow fruit the size of a head, take a chance and have a try! You’ll want to watch this short, 1-minute video on how to dismantle the sucker though… I’m not kidding!


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FMFW’s are back by popular demand!

Glow Sticks are cool.

When I was in high school, my mom made me get up at 5am to run with her before work. She was afraid to run alone in the dark because she thought she’d get mugged, or fall into a ditch. As an adult I can see her point and while a creepy guy did follow us once, neither of us fell, and frankly you can get hurt just as easily in the light of day. Plus, creepy guys harass day and night! So, no more excuses folks, go it alone or grab a friend and get out there!

Back in the day, my mom and I ran with flashlights. Now they have fancy contraptions called headlamps, you strap ‘em to your head and look like a coal miner. Then, there’s my personal favorite the Glow Stick. Glow Sticks don’t really light your path but they’re hella fun and they come in super cool colors.

So, at the very least, giddy up and go for a walk around the well-lit city. How about this: make a pact with a friend or your kids to walk by the light of each full moon this year. Full moons come around only once a month (except twice in Aug this year) and the added light should keep you from falling off an unseen cliff or something.

For those of you here in San Francisco, I’ve made it easy for you. All you have to do is come walk with me! I’ll even bring Glow Sticks for the dark nights. Here’s the deets:

Full Moon Fitness Walks
There’s no better way to celebrate our beautiful city than to go for a walk by the light of the full moon. The evening of each full moon this year we’ll walk, look at the sights and visit corners of The City you may never have seen. Walking is the perfect way to shrug off stress, burn calories and breathe fresh air. Along the way we’ll have the opportunity to talk about your fitness questions, take in the views and participate in some light stretching and toning exercises. This is a low impact workout designed to offer folks a casual relaxing way to get a little exercise. Make no mistake however, this is a workout, you will sweat!

Time: 6:00 – 7:15 pm
Cost: 9 workouts for $50 paid in advance, or $10 drop in
Dogs are absolutely welcome as long as they’re friendly!

Schedule:
February 7th – Meet in the East Beach Parking lot on Crissy Field. Look for the orange windsock.
March 8th– TBD
April 6th – TBD
May 5th – TBD
June 4th – TBD
July 3rd – Sorry no walk this day
August 1st – TBD
August 31st – TBD
September 29th – Harvest moon! We’ll head for the hill for this one!
October 29th – TBD
November 28th – Last FMFW of the year!

For more information and to sign up contact Kelley@motionstarved.com


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Motivate Monday

"Either do or do not. There is no Try." - Yoda (Jedi Master)

Hey gang, it’s a rainy Monday here in San Francisco and my day is starting off a little dicey. My 8am client bailed on me, and my cat’s pissed because I rescued a mouse from her death grip (yea, I don’t like mice either but mice guts are worse). I’m thinking we could all use a few motivating words to get the week off to a smashing start.

Check out some of my favorite motivational quotes from the World Wide Wise:

 “It’s enduring those cold & rainy training days that get you to your goal.” – George Hincapie

 “Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” – J.K. Rowling

“To MAN UP is to do what you have to do not what you want to do.” – Chris Dovale & my Dad say this

 “A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.” – Confucius

 “A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” – Herm Albright

Happy Monday and Gong Xi Fa Cai!


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Inspiration seeds

Bespoke inspiration

You’ve heard of “paying it forward” right? It’s when you do something nice for someone and in turn that person pays it forward by doing something nice for someone else, and so on and so on and so on. Pretty soon everyone is doing something nice for someone else and the world is a much better place.

The same thinking works for inspiration. If you inspire someone to better himself, they may just inspire someone else to do the same, and so on and so on… See where I’m going with this?

Here’s a current example:

Last January  I started working with Diana, she wanted to lose some weight and tone up. At first, Diana could do about 3 abdominal crunches before she’d slam her legs to the ground and groan in pain. After a few months Diana got much stronger and actually began to like working out, she lost a nice chunk of weight and people took notice. One day about six months into Diana’s training, her mother became so impressed with Diana’s new ways that she talked her neighbor into power walking 3 mornings a week with her, something she had not done in years. After a few weeks of steady walking Diana’s mother and her walking partner inspired another neighbor to join their morning walks. Now, six months later they’re walking five mornings a week and have added another two walkers to their group.

So you see… it started with Diana, she inspired her mother, her mother inspired the other three walkers, those three walkers have now gone on to inspire their friends and family.

Pretty cool, don’t you think?

Inspire someone; all you have to do is plant the seed in one person and then watch it grow…


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Your homework assignment

Do like Dr. Oz does!

People ask me all the time for “homework” or an exercise routine they can do on their own. If you read Motion Starved often you will have seen short, home workouts I’ve posted in the past. This time after pondering for hours I decided to simply steal the workout Dr. Oz does. It’s a good one as it wakes up all your muscles, promotes strength, balance and flexibility.  Do it in the morning, according to the good doctor you’ll be ready and raring to start your day. I will warn you, this routine contains quite a few push ups. Do them on your knees or against the wall if you must, but make the effort.

Watch the video and work out along with Dr. Oz a few times to get it down. The list of the exercises below is for your traveling pleasure. You’ll need to watch the video for a better direction however.

Give it a try; what do you have to lose? It’s only 7 minutes of your time.

Dr. Oz’s Morning Workout 2011

Head Rolls
Forward Bend (soft bend)
Forward Bend with twist
Push ups (10)
Down dog (cross ankle, both legs)
Crocodile Lunge (both sides)
Wide Grip push ups (10)
Down Dog
Spade Push ups (10)
Up Dog/Down Dog
Crocodile Lunge
Lunge Twist (both sides)
Push ups (10)
Up Dog/Down Dog
Crocodile Lunge
Push ups (10)
Up Dog/Down Dog
Lunge (both legs)
Pushups (10)
Lunge (both legs)
Butterfly, open feet
Crunches (25)
Full body stretch


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Almost too easy!

Magic Fruit

Happy Friday the 13th everyone! I trust you’ll be getting outside and doing something exciting this weekend.

I thought I’d share a few simple weight loss tools I learned this week hoping to send you off for the weekend on the right foot.

  • Surely you remember that apples are full fiber (among other wonderful things). Due to this fact, research has shown that if you eat an apple every day before lunch, on an average you’ll eat 187 fewer calories at lunch, generating a loss of five pounds of weight per year. “Dieting” doesn’t get any easier than that!
  • Normally I don’t drink juice because it’s full of sugar, I learned (seems so obvious now) if you dilute your juice with half seltzer water to cut sugar and calories, you could lose 13 pounds in a year! Yow! You juice drinkers take heed!
  • You know you need to exercise, but did you know that if you workout just (fast walking counts) three times per week for just 30 minutes at a time you can lose 13 pounds a year. Imagine what you could do with a little more effort.

Enjoy your weekend, make it extraordinary!


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Things that go crunch

Crunch!

I first posted this piece, this time last year. Looking back at my year in blogging I realized that I’ve covered a shitload of topics and that my newest followers and clients have not been privy to some of my (in my mind) best work. That said, do me a favor and have a read, or read this post again. It’s got some smart ideas.

Popcorn – Popcorn is a whole grain that provides carbohydrates and fiber. One cup of air-popped popcorn contains only 31 calories, and when popped in oil is only 55 calories per cup. Stay away from the “butter” they slather all over it at the theater, that’s a whole different story. By the way, National Popcorn Day is January 19th 2012!

Leaves on the ground – Try this, it’s fun. First, think like a kid. See a leaf, step on it. Step on all the leaves you see on the sidewalk ahead of you. Unless the sidewalk is paved with leaves you’ll find that you have to zigzag and do some jumping.  It’s good for your agility, it’s fun and it burns more calories than just walking along. I do it all the time.

Lettuce – It’s popular these days to substitute lettuce leaves for bread when having a sandwich or even a burger.  Good idea for a change of pace but if you keep to whole grains you can have your bread and lettuce too.

Abdominal exercises – Okay so your abs don’t actually make a crunching sound but I’ve heard some other noises come out of people while doing ab work.  I suggest starting with as many crunches (any variety) as you can do at one time. Rest for a minute and then do it again. Do this three times.  The next day, do it again.

Toasted whole wheat bread – There’s nothing wrong with a piece of whole grain toast spread with a little nut butter before a morning workout or for an afternoon snack.

The sound a motorcycle makes when you back into it while parking – If this happens best not to panic. Get out of your car, assess the damage and leave a note containing your name and telephone number.  Then pray the owner’s not really big and really pissed.

Apples – You know what they say, an apple a day keeps the Dr. away. Make sure to eat the peel that’s where most of the fiber is.

Cereal – Choose a cereal containing whole grains and lots of fiber.  Breakfast cereals are good sources of vitamins and fiber. Watch the sugar level. The recommended amount of sugar consumed per day is a maximum of 12 teaspoons (48 grams).

Your ankle when Dr. Barbara adjusts it – Call me a dummy but I didn’t realize that I could go to a chiropractor to have my ankle adjusted. When I sprained it last month Coach B suggested that I do just that.  He was right, once the swelling went down Dr. Barbara gave it a little twist and the next day I was back on the prowl. Remember that.

Nuts – All nuts are yummy and contain lots of good things. Try Almonds as they’re full of fiber or Walnuts, which are high in fiber as well as omega 3’s, both good for heart health.  Personally I like Brazil nuts which contain high amounts of selenium. Selenium is shown to reduced risk of both breast cancer and prostate cancer.

Ice – Who doesn’t like to crunch on the ice in their glass after finishing a beverage (I like a Manhattan these days but I should probably suggest juice or water)? Crunching on the ice works your facial muscles and ice is water so that’s always a good thing.


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5…4…3…2…1… and we have liftoff!

Climbing to the moon

Climb to the Moon has launched! We are up and climbing. It’s all up to you now. We can’t get to the moon in a year without you, so get up and start moving!

Remember, you can walk, you can run or you can climb stairs. Whatever you choose, be sure to count your steps and tweet us your progress. Thanks to our master programmer Skinny Scott, moonclimb.com will grab our tweets, count the steps and mark our cumulative progress on site. Don’t fret; Skinny has taken into account retweets and potential cheaters so it’s all covered. We even have the ability to figure out which one of us has climbed the most steps so maybe one day we can award prizes, or give a special mention to the most dedicated climbers. The Moon is our oyster!

If this is Greek to you, here’s the short back-story.  Please read it!

If you’re gonna join us on our adventure to the moon, please remember you need to tweet us your steps, you can say anything you like but you must include the number of steps you took. Use the word steps and mention moon climb, moonclimb, #moonclimb or @moonclimb. You can use hash tags and we’d love it if you sent us photos to share with the other climbers. We have folks climbing all over the world and it would be super cool to see photos from other places!

Also, if you count miles, you’ll need to convert them to steps. There are 2000 steps to a mile and about 15 steps to a flight of stairs.

Stay hydrated and hang on tight! We’re on our way…


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Emergency provisions courtesy of Trader Joe’s

There are all kinds of ways to eat an all kinds of things to eat. If you’re reading this you must be somewhat interested in eating right. As a rule I’m a solid fan of eating fresh, organic and clean so I’m pretty good about severely limiting processed foods in my diet. However, there are those days when emergency provisions are necessary. With that below are three things that are processed but as far as “processed foods” go, they’re not so bad. Check ‘em out!

Steamed Lentils —  You find these in the refrigerated veggie section. Trader Joes sells them under their name but other stores sell the same thing under other names. Basically they’re just steamed lentils that can be immediately turned into anything. I’ve made soup and lots of different salads with them. My favorite way to eat these little brown bits is to: toss ‘em with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, a handful of grape tomatoes, red or green onion and little chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper. Toss in a carrot to add another color and crunch if you like. Sometimes I serve on a bed or romaine. HellaYummy!

Organic Frozen Brown Rice — At first I thought this stuff was too good to be true. It’s just so good and so easy to prepare. Something about this product seemed fishy to me, so… I asked around and did some research to find out exactly that the deal was behind this stuff. What I found was, in fact Trader Joes Organic Frozen Brown Rice is just that, real rice that’s been cooked and frozen. There are no weird additives or magic involved in the processing of this item. Basically, this rice saves me from eating everything in frig on those nights when I need something fast. All I have to do it cut a slit in the bag and pop it in the microwave. While I’m not a huge fan of microwaves (that’s another story) I make an exception for this stuff. It’s my go-to emergency food. Add some veggies or simply drizzle with a little olive oil and you’re happy as a clam.

Gone Bananas Slices —  These little two bite frozen chunks of goodness are the perfect thing to satisfy your sweet tooth. I’ll admit, some times I take a tiny bit of organic almond butter and smush it on top to make for an even better, more satisfying treat. The almond butter obviously adds calories and fat but nuts are super good for you so I figure two Gone Banana bites with a bit of almond is all good!

Seriously, get some of this stuff and keep it in the freezer in case of emergency, or anytime you need something good and fast.


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Resolutions are for sissies, goals are the real deal

My New Years resolution is to exercise

It seems like everybody wants to know what my New Years resolutions are. It bugs me when people ask that because I think resolutions are for the birds. Or, “for sissies” according to a woman I know.

The dictionary says, a “resolution” is: a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.  Okay, that’s great, but you can’t just “do something” without a firm, reasonable goal and a clear path to reach that goal. From my experience, most folks make long mental lists of New Years resolutions and abandon them by February. Why? Because once they sober up they get lost in the enormity of the resolution and lose direction if there’s no established means to the end (path to the goal).

Example: To say, “I am going to spend more time this year with my family and friends” is too big a notion. How are you gonna do that? You need a specific plan of action that you can commit to, simply determining to resolve the notion will not make it happen.

Course of action: First, set a reasonable, measurable goal. Next, figure out a path or plan of action. Then, take it one step at a time, focus on the goal and move forward until you attain the prize. Remember, take small steps. If you mess up, stop, refocus and go again.

So, it’s time. We all need to set some goals. Start with breaking the year down and setting small goals within manageable chunks of time. Example: If you want to run a marathon this year and you currently don’t run, break your larger goal down into 5k, 10K, 21K etc, chunks. Make yourself a schedule or calendar that spells out exactly where you should be, and when. Same goes for weight loss, be reasonable, schedule yourself 2 pounds of loss a week and add some exercise goals in there too. Take things one month at a time.

As for me, one of my goals is to attend bikram yoga classes 3 days per week during the month of January. That’s all I feel comfortable committing to. In February I’ll reassess how I feel about bikram and my related goal. In this case, if I focus on one month at a time I’m more likely to reach the goal. Thinking about attending bikram three days a week for an entire year is far too daunting.

Lastly, remember that it takes three weeks to make something a habit. Try starting with a three or four-week challenge or goal. Sign up for a few weeks of fitness class if you want to lose weight or get in shape. If you want to cut back on alcohol, start with cutting back for one month. Three or four weeks sound a lot better than “this year” and after those few weeks are up, you can reassess your goal. This way you’re more likely to keep with the program.

Any questions?

P.s. Here’s a post I wrote this time last year it’s called Goal setting Kelley style. You may find it interesting.