Guest Posts

Good evening everyone! I’ve got a surprise for you all — another guest post! Paige who writes for the fabulous blog Running Around Normal offered to write a post for Eat Chic this week! Enjoy!

Hi Eat Chic readers! My name is Paige, and I blog over at Running Around Normal.

When Amari asked me to do a guest post, I was so happy to! Amari, blog’s awesome and I was very excited to contribute

I’ve recently made some changes in my life that could be considered life-altering. I’ve started a new career as a personal trainer; something I’d never thought would ever happen. It’s been a long journey for me to make that decision and come to that realization, but it’s been worth it. I’ve also learned some fun new exercise methods along the way!

Please allow me to share with you how I came to make this decision, and then finish it out by sharing with you some of my favorite not-your-typical-crunch ab exercises.

I’ve been involved in fitness and physical activity my whole life. It’s always, always been a passion of mine. Now, I’m chronically guilty of becoming obsessed with something for a few months, and then dropping it like a heavy dumbbell bad habit. However, my love for fitness has been the one thing never faltered. Well, that and writing, but that’s a whole ‘nother guest post

For some reason, it just didn’t occur to me that I could make a living perusing my passion. In college, I didn’t even think of studying fields such as exercises science, kinesiology, physical education, or anything of the like. Somehow it’s been ingrained in me that the only way to be considered “successful” is to have a career working for “the man” while wearing business clothes. I didn’t even consider making a career out of my passion. So, I graduated with a journalism degree, and only then did I decide that field wasn’t for me. However, I later got a job behind a computer as a project planner for a big insurance company (although since they instated the casual atmosphere rule, I can wear jeans rather than business attire .)  So, I was successful, right?

Well I didn’t feel that way. I always left for the day craving more, thinking to myself, is this really it? Obviously, this type of career could be satisfying to thousands of other individuals, but it just wasn’t to me. I’d been contemplating other things I could do with me life – go back to school to be a Registered Dietician? Go back to school to get an exercise science degree? It was all so much time, so much money, and so intimidating.

One day while at work, I picked up a college catalog my friend had on her desk, just to browse through it. However, the first page I turned to was for an eight-week ACE personal training course offered by the community college in my town. I thought, wow, what an opportunity! And a feasible opportunity at that! I immediately took it as a sign, and applied to enroll in the class.

It was $500, but it covered the cost of the exam, and the entire class. I got in! And that’s how it started. I looked forward to class each night and was in love with the material covered. In eight short weeks, I was driving up to Joliet to take the state exam. After four long, blood-pressure-raising hours, I found out I passed!

Took a couple weeks to chill, and then handed my resume out EVERY WHERE in town. While my ultimate goal is to (eventually) own my own studio, I wanted to get gym experience first. Finally, I gave my resume to a new-ish gym by my house, and got the job! I’m technically not an employee of the gym, but an independent contractor, and I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. This was about a month and a half ago, and I have four clients now! I still have my job at the insurance company, and plan on staying there until I can build up my clientele, but the important thing is, I’m taking action on what I want to do with my life instead of letting it take the action for me.

So far, I love the work, love my clients, and love the gym. Was this the perfect decision for me to make? Who knows! But it sure feels like it’s in the right direction

Now that you know how I got from there to here, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite ab exercises I’ve picked up along the way. I’ve always hated crunches. In my opinion, they can be kind of boring and repetitive, and thusly quite easy for me to leave out of my fitness regimen. Since I’ve started researching and studying personal training and exercise more, I’ve compiled a group of my favorite ab exercises without doing a single crunch! Instead of explaining each one, I put together a video of my favorite three.

Enjoy!

Couple quick notes!

• In the first exercise, by supine, I mean prone (on your stomach)
• Make sure to keep your core braced (flexed) and your back flat during each exercise
• Remember to BREATHE during each exercise

Thanks again, Amari, for having me write a guest post for you and your readers!

Thanks Paige for the great incite! I hope to see you at the Chicago Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon in August!

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Happy Friday Everyone! Jenna from Healthy. Happy. Well. has written an inspiring guest post for Eat Chic! Enjoy!

First of all, thank you so much Amari, for giving me the chance to guest post on Eat Chic! I love this blog and it’s such a fun honor to be a part of it!

Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoy my little guest blurb in the blogosphere as much as I enjoy Amari’s posts! I couldn’t think of a better time to write a guest post for a healthy eating blog actually. Amari’s request couldn’t have come at a better time. This weekend I ran in my first ever half marathon in good ole Dallas, TX. It was part of the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure, Rock n’Roll Marathon Series. I’m obviously not a half marathon expert, but I would highly recommend this race. For the pure entertainment factor if not for anything else… seriously, there was a band playing live music at every other mile! But yes, the 13.1 miles were fun, albeit very challenging. No matter how long or hard you train I don’t think you are ever 100% prepared for your first race. So post-race, (this is what separates the running veterans from the amateurs) I was so sore I could barely move. My body was screaming at me louder than it ever had before and my calves were threatening to outright retire and stop working if I didn’t do something to recover ASAP.

So let me tell you first what I did immediately following the race, and then I’m going to tell you what I should have done, and what I will do after future half marathons.

So immediately after crossing the finish line I was herded through the secure zone with the hundreds of other runners and made my way through the maze. A medal was placed regally around my neck and I found my running buddy for a quick photo op in front of the famous Dallas Rock n’Roll backdrop. We then proceeded to the Michelob Ultra tent for a free beer. My body was aching and numb at the same time. I looked like a blonde robot walking around because I couldn’t bend my knees. But yet, I’m a sucker for anything free so instead of heading back to the hotel for liquid hydration and a wholesome meal we sat around in the hot Texas sun, listening to live music and drinking beer. I would not recommend this to anyone after running for two straight hours. When we finally did attempt to make the walk back to the hotel I was dehydrated, starving, sore and near a delirious exhaustion.

So, friendly folks, I would like to offer a suggestion and help people learn from my mistakes in this post. I would like to play pretend and rewind to the moments after the 13.1-mile race. I would have done things completely different. My first mistake was that I stopped moving soon after I crossed the finish line. I didn’t give my overworked muscles the chance to cool down at all. I should have immediately started walking 2 miles back to the hotel as a nice breather, post race. During this walk I should have been drinking a re-hydrating drink such as PowerAde or water and eating a power bar or nu-gel for replenishment.

Once getting to the hotel I would have made my post-workout staple. I usually work out at about 10 A.M. and it’s around noon by the time I get back to the house. Perfect timing for a nutritious and delicious lunch! This is the ultimate power lunch and makes the body feel amazing. If there was one thing I wish I had after the race it is definitely this meal!

Re-Loaded Sweet Potato

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet potato cooked
• 1 half avocado mashed
• 1 handful sliced almonds
• 1 handful pumpkin seeds
• 1 pinch of sea salt
• Fresh ground black pepper

Cut a slit in the sweet potato lengthwise and fill with mashed avocado. Top with ground pepper and sea salt. Sprinkle with almonds and pumpkin seeds.

Post-Workout Power Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 2 cups spinach
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon flax seed
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 cup ice

Put spinach in blender and top with all other ingredients. Blend until smooth.

This is a winning combo. A ton of protein, fiber and a power punch of vitamins and minerals to help your body recover. My next marathons will definitely be followed by this meal. So really, If I could give one piece of advice in my sign off to Eat Chic I would have to recommend a post-race plan for recovery which includes a cool-down, hydration and a replenishing meal.

Do you have any post-workout meals, drinks or rituals, which make for a healthy recovery?

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