Category Archives: Going Healthy

Personal Training From Our 1 Year Old

01/21/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Gone are the days of Avery sitting idle as Going Mom and I workout. From sitting in a swing, to bouncing in her jumper, our baby turned toddler has transformed into our personal trainer.

Not long ago, we used to only be concerned with keeping Avery entertained as we worked through an exercise routine either inside or in the garage, but now she’s part of the action and helping to increase intensity! I still remember having her watch us from her swing as we sweat it out with a workout video.

Or bringing her to the garage for first time and how worried I was to do anything.

And for the longest time, she’s been happily (for the most part) bouncing in her jumper as we lift in the garage.

babies, parenting, family, workout, fitness — Eager to workout with Daddy!

But now, with her walking and wondering all over, she prefers to get in on the action when and where ever possible. My wife and I were doing a quick body-weight routine consisting of 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off working through squats, push-ups, lunges, and planks for a total of 4 rounds; making it 16 minutes total. Short but intense and perfect for those with limited access to equipment.

Apparently, Avery didn’t think it was intense enough and she made sure to let her Mommy know to work harder!

push-ups, workout, fitness, parenting — C’mon, faster, Mommy!!!

And I guess Kelley looked like she needed a little extra weight as she doing push-ups, so Avery helped increase the intensity by adding her own weight.

fitness, workout — I’d say this isn’t fun, but I”d be lying.

Of course, I think Avery went a little too far with the intensity at one point. I’m not sure, but something tells me Kelley would agree….

What? Having trouble, Mommy? Can I have milk soon?

This happened with the plank hold too, and Avery would venture over to me every now and then to check in. I think my wife got the worst of it though, but she ripped through the 16 minutes; “baby weight” and all!

In the garage, we just hit a milestone by removing the jumper to make room for a play yard/pen (really looks like a place for a dog) that Avery can move around in as we lift weights.

I even had a second of feeling sad since it’s bittersweet to take it out. Our little girl is growing too much! Common saying from parents, and I completely understand! But there wasn’t much time to sit and ponder on the past, Avery let me know it was dead lift day and I needed to take my weight belt (she advocates lifting safely) and get to it.

Here, dad, you'll need this. — Here, dad, you’ll need this.

She looks pretty content in her new ~~cage~~ play yard, right? She seriously loves playing with the weight belt, so I know as soon as I’m done, she gets it back. It’s a good relationship though, she behaves and helps motivate me to lift heavy and keep focused, and I give her my belt once I’m done. Instant happiness….

I’ve had this mini kettlebell for kids in my Amazon cart for too long, and now I have motivation to finally buy it. Soon, you’ll see our daughter swinging her very own kettlebell with mommy and daddy!

How cool is that?

Whether inside or out, Avery’s keeping her Mommy and Daddy in tip top shape around here. And why not? Shouldn’t all kids want to have their parents be healthy so they are healthy enough to go play and run around with them?

I might joke about Avery being our personal trainer, but in a way, all parents should have their children act as personal trainers in the sense that they should want to get and stay healthy for themselves and their kids. I don’t want to be one of the parents sitting on a bench as my kid runs around playing on the playground, I want to be out there playing too!

Please, if you can’t find being healthy and fit for yourself being reason enough, do it for your kids’ sake. From chasing them on the playground as toddlers, to playing sports when they’re older, to helping them move out of the house when they’re fully grown, parents need to be there for their kids, physically and mentally.

Going Mom and I choose a healthy, active lifestyle, and I hope you do or will too. As and aspiring personal trainer (when Avery is older), I’d love to offer tips/advice to anyone who is serious, free of charge. In fact, if just one person reaches out to me, I would do my best to help you achieve whatever goal it is you have in mind.

Don’t limit yourself by thinking you can’t do something. Stay positive, set your goal, and get to it! Just like you are what you eat, you are what you think too!

Do you workout with your kids?

Any fun exercises or stories you care to share?

What goals do you have for yourself and how are you working to get there?

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Life, Parenting

Last Week’s Workouts + What Counts as Exercise?

10/27/2014 R.C. Liley 4 Comments

Something I’ve been wanting to do for a while is share my previous week’s workouts as a way to give to keep myself in check and possibly help others get or stay motivated. Many parents, at-home and working alike, succumb to the “I don’t have time” mantra when it comes to exercise, but it’s an important part of life and is worth making time to do.

You might think exercise is something that requires special equipment or is only done at a gym, but you might already be “exercising” without even knowing it. Exercise falls under several definitions, and one way it is defined is that it’s a regular or repeated use of a faculty or bodily organ. Knowing this, I’m positive we all have a long list of things we do every day that count as “exercise” and we never thought of it as such.

Carrying your kid around the house or grabbing them before they grab the cat’s tail several times a day would definitely count.

Chores and daily tasks like going for a walk, mowing the lawn, vacuuming, mopping, doing laundry, and engaging in playtime with your kids are all great ways to fit in exercise and accomplish your laundry list (pun intended) of things you need to get done.

In a nutshell, movement of any form is, in and of itself, exercise. An important thing to remember is to be consistent with your movement and make sure it’s something you enjoy. If your stomach churns just thinking of going for a run, don’t do it, you’ll never stick with it. Ride a bike, walk, swim, row, hike, or……clean house. The point I’m trying to make is, keeping active, however you so choose, helps to make a better you.

As parents, we need to be excellent role models and should let our children see us being active and living a healthy lifestyle so they will hopefully follow suit and WANT to be like mommy and daddy. Note I said “healthy lifestyle”; this means exercise and good nutrition! If you are trying to lose weight, you can workout all you want, but without good nutrition, your results will be minimal at best.

Finishing a great workout session is NOT a pass to go pig out on packaged, processed junk or order takeout without thinking of what you’re actually putting in your mouth. Do you even read the ingredients label on some of these things? Actually, real food won’t have a label at all since it’s just the one ingredient in its whole form. Crazy, right?

I plan on going into more detail with my thoughts on fitness and nutrition in future posts, but just keep these general things in mind for now. No matter your fitness goal, lose weight, gain strength, maintain current level, etc., we will all benefit from moving more and practicing good nutrition for the quality of life it provides. If you are already a conscious eater and get a good dose of daily movement, good for you, keep it up and hopefully you are inspiring others!

I’m on my feet most of the day and rarely sit down until night (I stand at the counter to use my computer) and move around a lot with Avery. I bring her with me to workout in our garage which holds a power squat rack I am quite proud of. In addition to my below strength training, I walk and/or run multiple times a day. Most days out of the week, my walk/run schedule looks like this:

Walk/run 1.5 to 2 miles with Avery in stroller and our dog, Abby; this is immediately after my strength session if there was one that day. I’m still letting my fractured foot heal all the way, but once I’m good to run again, I’ll probably increase this up to 4 miles if able.
Walk 2.5 to 3 miles with Avery in the Onya Outback after nap time while listening to a podcast
Walk 1.5 miles with Going Mom and Avery in stroller in the evening

My main goal is gaining strength (you’ll see my weights used below), but I contradict myself with so much walking/running coupled with not eating a caloric surplus in order to facilitate muscle growth. Yep, I’m aware of the issue and still can’t get it right. It’s a mental thing as a former fat boy, but I’m getting better.

I typically prefer an upper/lower body split routine, but am currently in a transition and not following anything in particular. This is bad since I am on the opposite end of the spectrum from most in that I do more work than necessary and it most likely hampers my recovery. However, working out is a great mental relief for me and I feel I must do it every day or else I’m edge. Yep, I wake up pissed off and only feel better after a great sweat session…..and coffee.

Here’s what last week’s workouts looked like

Monday: Crossfit-type “WODs”

5 Rounds:

Dumbbell Thrusters x 10 —> Pull-ups x 10

Count Down/Up:

30, 25, 20…10, 5 – KB Swings (50lb)

5, 10, 15….25, 30 – Push-ups

Tuesday:

Barbell Back Squat – 5 x 8 x 210lbs —> Superset with Dumbbell Bench Press – 5 x 8 x 57.5 lb/arm

DB Straight leg deadlift – 5 x 12 x 57.5lb/arm —> Superset with wide-grip pull-ups – 5 x 5

Lunges with 45lb plate overhead – 31/leg

Tabata Bike (20s on; 10s off x 8)

Wednesday:

Deadlift – 5 x 185, 205, 235, 255, 275, 280

Power Clean – 130lbs x 5, 5, 5, 5, 10

OH Press – 4 x 8 x 100lbs

31 Burpees, Push-ups, and Squats

Thursday:

Supreme 90 Day Cardio Challenge video + 31 Burpees, Push-ups, and Squats

Friday:

Front Squat – 180lbs x 5, 5, 5, 5, 10 —-> superset with 5 pull-ups and 10 incline push-ups

Bench Press – 5 x 6 x 175lbs —-> superset with DB Bent Row – 5 x 12 x 45lb/arm

Turkish Getup w/ 25lb Kettlebell – 3 x 5/side

31 1-leg squats and Push-ups

Saturday:

6 rounds of Tabata:

1. Bike, 2. 15lb Ball Slams + Push-ups, 3. Bike, 4. Side-to-side Ball Slams + Incline Push-ups, 5. Bike, 6. Ball Slams + Push-ups

31 1-leg squats and Push-ups

Sunday:

Mow lawn with Fiskars Reel Mower while wearing Elevation Training Mask

31 Burpees, Push-ups, and Squats

So yeah, I could tone it down and probably see a lot better results in strength gain. If I could stick to a simple 5×5 routine, I’d be good to go, but I always feel the need to do more. Anyway, I’ve carried on far too long, check back for more thoughts on fitness and nutrition in the future.

Do you struggle with motivation or find yourself doing too much when it comes to working out?

Are you health food lover who cooks their own meals or could you use some work help in the nutrition department?

What would you like to read more about first; nutrition or working out for specific goals? Let me know and I’ll be happy to share!

Contest, Food, Going Healthy

A Healthy Turkey-Mushroom Pumpkin Casserole and Chance to Win $500 for #ShroomTember

09/15/2014 R.C. Liley 3 Comments

I never understood why so many people are averse to the mushroom. I mean, c’mon, he’s a “fun-gi”!

Sorry, had to get that in there. But I feel that if more people gave the fungus a chance, it would grow on them.

Okay, seriously, I’m done now.

I’ve been a mushroom lover for as long as I can remember, and never cared for anything fancy, just plain and raw. Sometimes, when I’m feeling really crazy, I might add a touch of spicy brown mustard or use them to dip in hummus, but I mostly enjoy them sans toppings.

My love for mushrooms is no secret, and I think that’s obvious when you see the birthday “cake” I was given by my co-workers one year.

Going Mom, on the other hand, has never allowed “mushroom” in her diet for the mycelium which leaves me as the only “con-shroomer” (wow, I can’t stop). Not a problem, though, since I’m not good at sharing food I treasure.

Even now that we’re feeding Avery a mixture of veggies, I’m apprehensive to give her mushrooms at the fear she’ll just throw them on the floor. It would hurt too much to see.

Although I prefer the simplicity of plain, uncooked mushrooms, I couldn’t resist when the great guys at Life of Dad invited me to partner with them and The Mushroom Council as an official ambassador to help celebrate and promote #ShroomTember!

I am honored to be amongst several other awesome dad bloggers acting as ambassador by creating and sharing an original recipe containing mushrooms and telling you, our wonderful readers, about how you can have a chance to win a $500 Visa Gift Card by sharing your own mushroom-infused recipe!

There are two contests remaining for #ShroomTember and this week it’s all about Blendability. Here are several bullet points provided by The Mushroom Council to help explain Mushroom Blendability:

On average, mushrooms have 90 percent fewer calories than a ground meat alternative.
Finely chopped mushrooms look similar and blend seamlessly with meat, so classics can be made healthier without losing taste or satisfying texture. Simply substitute flavorful mushrooms for some of the meat in a traditional dish to reduce calories and fat.
Mushroom Blendability helps you lighten up family favorites by replacing a portion of the ground meat with mushrooms – creating healthier versions of the recipes you love.
With the mushroom and meat blend, you don’t necessarily have to consume large quantities of meat to feel full and satiated.
Research shows that increasing the intake of lower calorie foods, specifically mushrooms, in place of those higher in calories, like ground beef, can be an effective method for reducing calories and fat while still feeling full and satisfied after a meal.
Mushrooms bring important nutrients like vitamin D, potassium, B vitamins and antioxidants to the plate without adding significant calories, fat and cholesterol.

Healthy Turkey-Mushroom Pumpkin Casserole

Ingredients

1 15oz can pumpkin puree
3 egg whites
1/2
1 medium onion, chopped
2 – 4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced (I used 4 because we love garlic!!)
1 lb ground turkey breast, cooked (sub chicken, beef, or pork if needed)
3 cups steamed mixed veggies with peas, corn, and carrots
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used white button and cremini, but any kind will work)
2 tbsp. brown mustard
2 tsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (soy sauce works too)
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp paprika, parsley, and thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine steamed veggies and cooked turkey with pumpkin puree and egg whites in a large bowl
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Sauté for 2 – 3 minutes until softened and add to mixture in the bowl.
Add all remaining ingredients and mix well.

Pour mixture into greased or parchment lined 9-inch casserole dish (individual ramekins or even a pie pan will work too) and bake for 40 minutes. There should be a golden crust forming on top; watch carefully so it doesn’t turn black!
Remove from oven and place on wire cooling rack. Allow to sit 5 – 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

This dish freezes well and is perfect for leftovers!

I used glass ramekins as the individual sizes made it easier to store some for me and some for Kelley to bring to work. Serve with your favorite hearty bread and a hefty side of greens.

Now, as much as it fills me with pride to have you sit and stare with a grumbling tummy, I urge you to get in the kitchen and put your ‘shroom skills to work for a chance at winning $500. That could buy a lot of mushrooms!!

Make sure to check out The Mushroom Council’s social media pages listed below for great tips and recipes to get you motivated.

Enjoy and good luck!

Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad, LLC for the #ShroomTember promotion. Sponsored by The Mushroom Council, the #ShroomTember promotion gives anybody the chance to win a $500 Visa gift card.