The Fit Girl With Curls - Blog

The Fit Girl With Curls

Always Keep Active

There is a difference between physical activity and exercise. Exercise is actually a type of physical activity that is a planned routine. While physical activity is simply doing activities that increases your physical fitness and overall health.

It is important to stay physically active, which does not always entail going to the gym to exercise. It could simply mean, taking a walk in the park, going for a jog, hiking, skating, playing recreational sports, raking the leaves in your yard, shoveling snow, power washing your house, etc.

Physical Activities

Southwest Style Stuffed Peppers - My Way

12/22/2016

The idea

Stuffed Peppers, I know I make them pretty often, but they are usually made the same way, with the same ingredients, and no change in the flavor. But today I was looking for something different. Basically the goal was to use up most of the ingredients that I had in my fridge. I only had to run to the store for a few things once I decided the type of stuffing I wanted. I decided to write this blog because I thought it would be unfare to keep this Jenna Authentic Recipe to myself. These peppers are absolutley BANGIN! :-D You must try.

Shredding For the Wedding 5/7/16

5/18/2016

I shredded for the wedding!

I am now a married woman. We had a wonderful wedding last week that was filled with love and fun- lots of fun. The stress of the wedding planning was finally released and it was a joyous time. Leading up to the event, other than the usual wedding stress of how things were going to flow and getting all the decoration details in order, I, just like many other brides, had the thought in the back of my head - the worry about how my dress would fit the day of.

Maintaining my figure and staying toned is pretty much always my goal. This was the same goal I had for the dress. So in order to keep me focused on this goal, I had to think of a different- more specific one, that would force me to stay in a weekly routine.
Take note, even if your goal is different from mine like weight loss, you need to find a more specific one to help you stay on track with fitness.

My more specific goal:
For about a year now I have been talking about training for and running a full marathon. I have done several half marathons, but never the full 26.2 miles. And with the wedding, I found that it was the perfect opportunity to get myself on a more strict workout regimen- so I signed up!!!!
(The wedding was May 7th but the race is in June, so my training has still continued, even after the I do's.)

As soon as I signed up for the marathon, I sat down and wrote out my 4 month training program for both me and my now husband (of course I dragged him into it! Workout buddies make everything fun :-D ).

Flexing for the wedding

Vogue. I was feeling myself

The workout regimen is extremely important in helping with anyone's fitness goals, but nutrition is also a key factor. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, and I get my protein from legumes, meat, and some dairy products. I continued with my normal routine. I did try to stay away from the processed foods as much as I could.

Road Trips - What am I going to eat?!?

2/29/2016

Road Trips

My Fiancé and I love to travel. We are constantly taking road trips on the weekend. Whether the destination is 20 minutes away or hours away; we are always on the move. Being on the road and traveling can make it hard to maintain your healthy lifestyle when the only places to stop at are fast food restaurants. But don’t give in to the unhealthy options. The best way to avoid giving into the processed and greasy foods, is to prep your own food for your trip.

If we are going on a long trip, I will stop by the grocery store the day before and meal prep. My Fiancé and I took a trip from Philadelphia to Charleston, South Carolina and I filled up a cooler with foods that we could eat on the way down. It saved us money, time, and our health.

Great road snacks:

Soup Made With The Pulp From Juicing

2/21/2016

I love cooking soups from scratch, even the broth. I had made some fresh veggie juice out of my juicer the other day and decided to use the leftover pulp to make a broth for my soup. The pulp was made from carrots, apples, ginger, and kale. This is a great way to use up the rest of the fruits and vegetables from your juicer rather then wasting it and throwing it away. And you can make one heck of a meal out of it!

Potato Garden Mishmash
Cook Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes

16 Tips To Help Get You Fit For 2016

1/1/2016

HELLO 2016 GOODBYE 2015

It's a New Year! Can you believe it? Make this year a better one, a fit one, and a healthy one. Your focus this year and the ones to follow should be to improve your way of life so that you can live an active and healthy lifestyle with longevity. Be happy, Be strong, Love your Life, and Love your body. Here are a few tips to help you get into shape.

Weekly food prep

5/17/2015

This upcoming week for me is going to be a busy one. At least 3 days out of the week I will be staying in Hoboken for the entire day because of the spread out and number of clients I have. It's a great time for me to get some studying and organizing done in between. My biggest issue when staying out and away from the house all day is figuring out what I am going to eat. Most of the time I'll bring something, and if I eat out I'll have a salad from the local pita grille. But every now and then are the times when I decide to grab a breakfast sandwich from across the street. I end up regretting this choice because every time I have it I feel sick, and sluggish.

This week I want to avoid any regrets, I want to have energy throughout the week, and I want to save money. I'm going to prep my food for the week with a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

Sunday is my big prep day before the crazy week begins.

Thanksgiving Dinner. Avoid Overeating.

11/22/2014

Thanksgiving. One of the biggest Food consuming holidays in America. (Next to Super Bowl Sunday)

This is one of my absolute favorite holidays. Being with my closest friends and family, catching up and enjoying each others company over a delicious meal of turkey & stuffing with gravy, and other family traditions.

Because it is a social holiday where we gather around the table and eat until the conversations come to a halt, and guests begin to leave one by one- we tend to over eat, consuming more foods than necessary on 1,2,3... Servings. Trying to load our plates with the comfort food that lay before our eyes, in fear that leftovers will be scarce this year because, the year before, our favorite dish was devoured in seconds by everyone sitting at the dinner table.

Make some healthier choices this year.
Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday season. Only one of many celebrations with a large feast. Begin with thanksgiving, to get yourself on the right holiday path when it comes to food and exercise during all the festivities.

Tips

Tendinitis, you have done it again.

10/23/2014

Oh tendinitis you have done it again. One quick, unprepared, burst of quickness, only about 10 strides in a sprint, and you have inflamed my right knee once again. You managed to hold back through 3 half marathons and the training in between the runs for the past 2 months, I guess I was due for a flare up soon.

My History

This is something that used to happen frequently with me, but now happens less often. I guess the trick for me is stretching, strengthening, and barely any sprinting. I was a sprinter in high school (200m, 400m, 4x1, 4x4), and it wasn't until my sophomore year of indoor track practice while running through the hallways of Marple Newtown that I developed this chronic injury of the patella tendon, IN BOTH KNEES- oy vey!
I was told by my doctor to stop running, strengthen my legs, and stretch. But did I do this? Unfortunately not. I was determined to continue running, and didn't do much strength training.

Throughout college, I turned myself into a distance runner by running 4 miles, at most 5. I was very wary about my knees and always hoped I wouldn't be in pain, limping around for 2 weeks in between my runs which happened often. I was not doing much strength training other than some squats and lunges here and there until around my senior year.

What has helped

After college, and up until now, I have been doing more strength training with my lower body. Adding weights onto my squats, working on my abductor muscles in my lower extremity, strengthening my lower back, gluteus, hamstrings, and quads. I make sure that my lower extremity muscles are evenly worked, and focus on stretching- to keep my muscles from tightening up.

With squats, side steps, leg abductions, side lunges, and dead lifts- I have been able to improve the strength of the muscles in my lower body. Avoiding the hard impact of sprinting and gradually increasing my distance, I have been able to build my mileage without too many problems in my knees. Making sure that I am icing after a workout, stretching to keep my muscles lose, and listening to my body during the workouts to know when my knees have had enough.

I have been able to prolong the amount of time my joints can be work. And I am impressed and very proud of myself. With the mileage that I have ran within the past two months, I have proved to myself that as long as I maintain what I'm doing, I can run the distances I desire.

What I’m doing now

As of right now, since this dreadful injury decided to visit, I am focusing on R.I.C.E-ing (rest.ice.compression.elevation) my knee until the swelling and minor pain has subsided and has been releaved. I will be stretching and foam rolling- both legs, to keep my muscles from tightening, and to release the built up tension within my muscles.

Today I took a good 30 minutes to roll out my lower extremity.
Oh the "hurt so good" foam rolling technique works wonders on breaking up the tension within the muscle fascia. My knee is feeling better already (not fully 100% but feeling more mobile then earlier.)

I rolled out my calfs, gluteus, and hamstrings by using a small ball that really located the tender sections in the muscles.

I rolled out my quads and IT Band with the large foam roller. And, boy, did these muscles need it! When the tension was released, I felt so great.

Running is my drug, my love, my passion

I have done a total of 4 half marathons in my lifetime (Delaware, lake placid, Newport-Liberty state park, and Staten Island) and plan to run more, and eventually a full. I will not allow my patella tendinitis get in my way. It may slow me down every now and then, but with the right precautions, I won't have too much to worry about.

#alwayskeepactive #motivation #fitgirlwcurls #fitfam #fitness #workout #run #ilovetorun #runner #personaltrainer

Running Diaries (Race Prep)

9/5/2014

My race is almost here! Tomorrow is the day! I have been getting myself ready for this 13.1 mile run, by running long runs on the weekend, staying flexible, drinking water, and eating right. The thursday before the race, rather than going for a long run, I took a long walk - to keep my muscles loose, and keep my body moving. It was an active rest day before the big day.

Long Runs

I began running shorter distances and built up to 10 miles. I started with 3 miles, then went to 4, 5, 6, and so on. This allowed me to build my stamina for the long run.

Flexibility

Being flexible allows you to move your muscles through a full range of motion. If your muscles are too tight, you are limited in your movements and won’t be able to perform as well.

The main muscles I wanted to target were my Hamstrings, Quads, Glutes, Calfs, and most importantly, my Hip Flexors.

For one day this week I used a foam roller, to perform a myo-fascia release on some of these muscles. This helps to release the toxins within the muscle, and loosens it up to help it perform its function better.

Other days, before my workout I performed dynamic stretches, like leg kicks, high knees, and butt kicks. After my workouts and during my downtime, performed static stretches, like the hurdle stretch, seated forward fold, stretches for the hip flexors and the IT band etc.

http://aretecomplete.com

http://aretecomplete.com

Check out some of these stretches. Click.

Hydration

Hydration is important. Water helps keep your body at regular temperatures, transports waste and nutrients throughout your body, protects the joints, and more. With exercise, we tend to perspire, and as you lose water, you want to replenish your body with what was lost.

Dehydration can cause a slack in performance, and can limit you from doing well.

I am always drinking water, making sure that I get the right amount each day. And with this race ahead of me, I have been focusing on my water intake and keeping my body hydrated.

Check out this post on hydration, and why it is important. Click.

Eat Right

I eat pretty healthy on a regular basis. I consume a lot of fruits and vegetables. I eat meat occasionally. And I don’t tend to eat junk food.

Before my morning workouts, I made sure that I had something to eat an hour or two before my exercises/runs. Fruit smoothies, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt and fruit, toast, etc. I made sure I ate to give my body something to metabolize. If I don’t eat anything before a workout - I have absolutely no energy. If I did not eat before exercising, my body would not have anything to use for fuel; so everything that seemed so easy before would become much more difficult. Eating is extremely important.

Because running such a far distance, I need to make sure I eat right the night before (have enough carbs stored in my body for the run), and eat the morning of. Stew and I will be staying at a bed and breakfast, so I don’t have to worry about preparing our breakfast. We will wake up with enough time to get ready, eat, and sign in for the race. After the half marathon, we will need to restore our body with some carbs and fats - since our bodies will still need energy - and protein, to help rebuild our muscles.

Follow My Twitter Page To Stay Updated: @FitgirlWcurls

#AlwaysKeepActive #FitgirlWcurls #LiveLife #RunRunRun #13.1 #Health #GetExcited

Running Diaries

8/31/2014

Running diaries

My boyfriend, Stew, and I decided to go on a ten mile run to prepare for a race that we signed up for next weekend. We tried a new trail that went around some ponds through a wooded area, on the bay side of Bethany Beach. The trail brought us out to route 1 highway, where we ran all the way to the Indian River Bridge - just outside of Dewey Beach. The sun was beating down on us and there was no shade around. Our bodies were getting tired with the loss of water and energy. On our run back we stopped at a market to grab some Gatorade, water, and some free cookies, since our bodies were in a calorie burning stage. It was a great run, we felt good and glad that we finished. Were both excited for this upcoming race.

My birthday is next Friday, September 5th, and the race is my present. A half marathon - 13.1 miles in Lake Placid, New York. I cannot wait. This will be my second half that I will have done. My first was in Wilmington, Delaware in May, 2013. I have been wanting to sign up for another one ever since, but have been very wary about my knees.

My limitations

Ever since high school track I have had tendinitis in both of my knees. Throughout the years the chronic injury kept getting worse. One of my knees would swell up after a sprint or long run, and the swelling would last for a good 2 weeks, limiting my range of motion and having me limping around with minor pain sometimes. When the inflammation went down and I started running again, it was only a matter of time when the other knee would flare up and repeat the same process.

Over the last few years I have been strengthening and stretching my leg muscles, wearing my knee braces, and decreasing the amount of days that I run. I was hesitant on signing up for any races when I moved to the Greater New York Area this past May, because I had a new job as a Personal Trainer and wouldn't want to be injured while on the job. Could you imagine seeing a Personal Trainer limping around the gym two weeks at a time?

I love to run, i won't let tendinitis keep me down

However, I have been on a couple long runs (Stew and I ran 8 miles the other week) along the Hudson River, overlooking an amazing view of NYC, and kept telling myself that "I have to do it."
"I have to sign up for a run. I want to keep myself motivated with running. I love it too much to stop."

So I did it. I signed up for a 13.1 mile run for the day after my birthday. I'm celebrating my birthday with something active, and something that I enjoy greatly. My goal is to do a bunch of halves to eventually work my way up to the full 26.2 marathon.

#DoWhatYouLove #AlwaysKeepActive #StayActive #LoveLife #LiveLife #GetExcited #RunRunRun #Workout #Exercise #Healthy #FitGirlWCurls

Make sure you follow me on twitter @fitgirlwcurls

Author

My name is Jenna and I am a Personal Trainer with a dream of motivating and inspiring others to live a healthy and active lifestyle. I live a life full of fun and adventure that I wish to share with all of you through my blog. With advise, tips, and my life stories I hope these posts help to motivate and inspire to begin and/or maintain an exercise program.

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