To all of you who are enjoying the long weekend at the beach or in the mountains or somewhere else fabulous…I am jealous! Have fun! I’m staying in Charlotte but the weather is supposed to be beautiful so pool time is definitely in order along with lots of reading, rest and relaxation. I’ll just pretend I’m at the beach.
Today’s post is a video blog. I was hoping to get this done during the day but that didn’t happen so you get me at 9 p.m. with no makeup on the couch. You are welcome! 🙂
Topics covered include…
– How to motivate yourself to workout after sitting at a desk all day
– How to adjust to early morning workouts
– My relationship with food and how I handle splurging/not eating clean all the time
– Why I so strongly believe in cross training
This is slowly becoming a video-heavy blog, huh? It’s just one of the easiest and best ways for me to communicate information. Let me know if you have any questions or feedback on any of the topics I covered.
What are your Memorial Day Weekend plans?
Great vlog, Jen! I loved hearing about your food/nutrition philosophy; the 80/20 approach is the way to go! Clean eating is important in terms of physical fitness and healthy living, but there should definitely be some wiggle room. Life would be so boring without those occasional splurges! And I totally agree with you in terms of cross training and incorporating different types of workouts into fitness routines. Since I started doing triathlons last year, I can’t imagine only running or only swimming or only biking now. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
thanks carrie! i’m glad you enjoyed it. so cool that you are doing tris now! i’ve yet to take that plunge yet. that does ensure that you get a nice mix of activities in!
You always have such a balanced perspective on everything – it’s refreshing! I view food and exercise in a similar way to you and I agree life would not be fun eating clean 100% of the time (at least for me). I am really trying to keep up with doing a bunch of different types of workouts rather than resorting back to only running like I have in the past and it is making me feel stronger overall so far!
hayley – i would go CRAZY if i tried to eat clean 100% of the time…and i wouldn’t have much of a social life! 😉 it’s great that you have been diversifying your workouts this year!
Love seeing your vlogs! I 100% agree with your last topic – cross-training is key! I also used to run pretty much exclusively and have completed 5 marathons. For years I ran a consistent 10:00 min/mile and was satisfied with that. About 8 months ago I really started cross-training and adding strength/circuits into my routine. I stopped GPS-ing my runs until a couple of weeks ago and found that I now average around a 7:45 min/mile… so crazy! Muscles seriously make all the difference – as well as knowing what pushing yourself and your heart rate feels like!
Keep up the great posts and have a great weekend!
sarah – thanks! glad you like them!
that is crazy how much your pace has improved! your hard work and the addition of strength training has DEFINITELY paid off for you! wow! hope your comment has inspired some others! 🙂
Nice video post, have a safe enjoyable holiday weekend.
thanks russ! hope you had a great weekend. always good to hear from you!
Yessss to cross training!! It’s so important and I don’t know how ppl just do one or two forms of exercise due to boredom. Great video and approach to all topics!
I LOVE your blog; you have such a great, balanced approach to food and working out- keep it up. I am a
pastry chef from the east coast of Cananda who runs, spins, lifts, does yoga and chases after a three year old and a nine year old. Peanut Butter Runner is a breath of fresh air!
mary – thanks so much for taking the time to comment and for reading! pastry chef – wow! sounds like you have a great job and a great life balance outside of it!
Hi all – I thought I’d check in here to see if anyone had any suggestions. I’ve never spent much time in Charlotte but I’m heading there today to drop someone off at the airport and thought it might be nice to do some shopping. Any suggestions on good shopping areas — either major malls, outlets, or trendy areas? I’m going to be dependent on my GPS to get around so I’m pretty flexible. Thanks!!
hi! i would check out southpark mall. it’s our big mall/shopping area. also, phillips place for more boutiques (close to southpark). outlets are farther north of the city and i wouldn’t head up there today due to race traffic from the coca cola 600.
Thanks! I did head to Southpark but was a bit overwhelmed to wander through it all on my own. I ended up going to the outlets in Concord on my way back to the Triad — race traffic wasn’t too bad and I did some damage. 🙂 I was sad that I was in the city too late to make your class this morning.
Also, great video!
hey jen – that’s great! glad you were able to hit the outlets and miss the traffic. i actually have never been up there but i’ll have to check them out since you had such good luck!
Love the video and your balanced perspective! Thanks for posting!
thank you megan!
I seriously love your blog, Jen, and I really appreciate that you keep up with it so regularly despite everything you’ve got going on in your day! You keep me motivated and I’m inspired by your balanced approach to diet and fitness! This was a great video, and you are beautiful with or without makeup!
thank you so much michelle! <3
Hi Jen,
Who does your eyebrows/ They always look clean and crisp. I have dark hair to and lots of it. My brows are monsters right now. I need a new place to go. I thought you said Ariana at Varji and Varji but when I called there they acted like they did not know who she was. Thanks
Great video! Can’t agree with you more on food, running, cross training, etc. I used to only run until I hurt myself and then discovered spinning. A few years later I wanted to get stronger and more defined and then strength training entered my life. I love mixing it up! And once I started strength training my running got faster!
Foods always a little tougher because so often I feel “guilty” for that glass of wine or something indulgent, but as my husband always reminds me, “you always make the right decisions”! And you are right…it’s so important to have balance so we can enjoy our lives.
Hey….saw your question about brows. I see Martyna at the Benefit Brow Bar at Belk in Southpark. She is amazing!!!!!!!!!!
Ariana is now on her own out of The Rejuvenation Center in the brick office park across from Phillips Place. I am sure Jen will pass along her number…I go to Ariana, too. She is awesome!
linda – thank you! so glad you enjoyed the video blog! so interesting to hear everyones take on mixing up their workouts and cross training. so happy it has worked out so well for you!
your husband is so right! 😉 it would be no fun to work so hard and not enjoy guilt-free living from time-to-time!
christina – i will e-mail you ari’s #!
Thanks Mary and Linda! I need to tame these monsters! I am a teacher and hanging on to dear life…gotta get them done!
Thanks Mary and Linda! I need to tame these monsters! I am a teacher and hanging on to dear life…gotta get them done! Thanks Jen!
Thanks Jen!!!!
We spent the weekend in Asheville for our anniversary and hiked up to John Rock based on your recommendation! Next time we’re doing Greybeard! Had an amazing dinner at Plant, and lunch at the Laughing Seed. Now we’re home and enjoying the last bits of the long weekend.
that’s awesome mary beth! so glad you enjoyed the hike and the food. the weather was perfect this weekend!
I sometimes can get tired of other healthy-living blogs because I feel like they set an unrealistic bar for eating well and staying active, but I never ever feel that way when I come here. Your yoga blogging is so amazing too — I think it’s a big reason why your posts always have this undertone of gratitute and balance.. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for having such a great blog.