I was so excited when I saw Cathe' was putting out a video which incorporated Tabata, and even pre-ordered it, which I have never done. Cross Fire is for the experienced fitness guru, and that it is. This is one that I had to take a few breaks the first time, to catch my breath.
While the cardio part of this DVD is exceptional, I was disappointed at the lack of upper body work with weights. While there is some, I love to have a combination of, cardio, upper body with weights, and lower body. Usually I do the whole DVD, this is the first one that I did not complete from beginning to end, and still have not.
Photo credit: Vivavitamins dot com
The DVD is 55:05 minutes long, and includes the following; warm up 6:30, crossfire fitness blast 8:50, longest 8:50 minutes of my life, firewalker Tabata 4:55 is intense, crossfire circuit blast 22:45 it is during this part of the work out weights are used very little, but the most, crossfire plyo Tabata 5:20, stretch. There are also two bonuses, one for core 9:10, and one for low impact cardio Tabata 4:40.
I thought I had all the resistance bands I would ever need, but in this DVD a new one was introduced. It is a loop, and she uses them during the firewalker Tabata part of the work out. I used one of my other one, which worked for the most part, but the loop would work better for at least one of the exercises.
You have options as to how you want to use the DVD, run the whole DVD, or chose from the premixes. The premixes include short work outs, I thought this would be good to use for doing a variety of them, but found that the warm up is featured at the beginning of each one of them.
Photo credit: Pro health care products dot com
Equipment needed includes blue firewalker loop, 3, 5, 8, and 10 lb dumbbells, one 15 lb dumbbell, set of slide and glide discs, I used two wash clothes works great, and she has tubing on the list, but it is only used as a marker not really necessary if you ask me. If you have a resistance band like the one in the photo that can be used for the firewalker section, it is what I used.
Just take it and tie one of the ends around both ankles. Make sure it is tight enough so it will not come off, but at the same time you should be able to move your feet from side to side. Take the other end and hold it in your hands, Cathe' used this method in another one of her videos. While I was disappointed in the beginning, I am using this when I am just looking to really burn some calories fast, it is great for that.
The video below has a nice selection of clips from the DVD including some with the loop.
I receive nothing from this review, and I am only an affiliate for the downloads on Cathe's site.
I placed an order at the beginning of the month with The Bulk Herb Store and ordered the Tea Mug Basket Strainer. I have used this every week since I got it.
First I need to say that I like using the actual herb/herbs instead of tea bags. First I feel I get more for money purchasing in bulk. I can customize my tea, and get more of the herbs beneficial products. This product is great because it sits right inside a standard coffee cup. I use 4 tablespoons of herbs, you do have to push it down into the water as you go along. Letting the herbs sit in the water for about 15 minutes, I use a spoon to turn the herbs and squeeze out the water to make sure I get everything out of it. When the time is up I stir up the herbs once last time, lift the strainer just above the cup, and squeeze out the rest of the water from the herbs.
For $5.95 it's a great deal, I feel like I have already gotten my monies worth. I do not put it in the dishwasher, I have found if I just run water over the out side, I can use my finger to clean out the herbs, and let it air dry.
You can find it at The Bulk Herb Store by using my affiliate link on the right it is under accessories at the bottom of the page.
Ever wish you knew more about herbs and their properties, how to use them to their full potential? Now you can, and it is free!!! At Learning Herbs you can learn all about herbs, all for free. You can get a 7 day e-course delivered to your email, a free book, and more.
The video course includes 9 lessons, you do you have to sign up for the HerbMentor News, but hey than you can learn more for free. Take a virtual herb walk and learn about ten different herbs. Go to the skills and recipe section to learn how to make some healthy eats. You will learn about cold and flu care, kids and babies, stress. They also give some book reference, and you can shop easily for what you need for your first creation easily with herbs and supplies.
You will notice on the left hand side the buttons include home, board game, herbal kit etc. These are not free items, while the game looks cool, it is a board game which comes with a bunch of freebies after purchase and is currently not available. However, you can sign up to be notified when they have more. The mentoring site will lead you to another site which I will talk about more.
Photo credit: Learning Herbs free book
Not enough want some more, maybe you already have some knowledge, but would like to learn more. For a small cost of $9.99 a month or $97.00 a year you can join the sister site Herb Mentor. This is where you will find me, try it for 15 free, join and get the herb chart free to along with your free book from Learning Herbs. The main reason for the fee for the site is to keep spammers and other undesirables out.
I love it there, I am learning so much more, and get freebies all the time. I chose the monthly payment option, but I can say that I get a whole lot more of my monies worth from this site. There is a community where everyone can post messages along with learning and sharing. So much to do at this great site, if you think you are ready to take the next step this site is for you. No, you can not receive any type of certification from Herb Mentor. Also because this site is associated with Mountain Rose Herbs, which I did not know until I signed up. you can get a 10% discount on purchases made through MRH.
I receive nothing from MRH or Herb Mentor if you decide to use them. This is a great resource I just wanted to share with others.
I had written a blog about stretch marks where I talked about Palmer's Cocoa Butter, and the great results I have had with it. Well, I dumped it, I am making my own. I decided to make bars of lotion verses the creamy liquid because I feel like there is always some left on the bottom, and it gets thrown out.
I searched around for a recipe, and found one at Everyday Paleo. I chose this recipe because I had just about all the ingredients. I did not use the recipe to a tea, anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis knows I always revamp recipes. Well, this one was no different.
Photo credit: It's Your Life
As you can see from the image the organic honey, and coconut are both from Tropical Traditions, and the butters, and beeswax are from Mountain Rose Herbs. All but the coconut oil, was part of my monthly purchase. Okay, anyway I started with the beeswax, Everyday Paleo had this great idea for easier clean up, so I used it. I used a jar placed in a pot of water to melt all the ingredients, this did make for easier clean up.
Photo credit: It's Your Life
Here you can see everything melting down, I think I am going to get a smaller jar. It took longer than I believe I should have to melt. I had purchased some plastic oval molds from Hobby Lobby, went home, and thought, is there BP in this? Not knowing I took another suggestion from Everyday Paleo, and used a small muffin tin. My husband poured my liquid into the molds for me, because I obviously appeared a little awkward trying to figure out how to grab the hot jar.
Photo credit: It's Your Life
It did not take long before the mixture turned solid, and I had some homemade lotion body bars. With wax paper on the counter I had to bang the tin to get the bars to release, yeah they did not break. I did have one little issue with the last three that were poured, the bottoms did not solidify correctly, I believe I should have mixed it towards the end. No big deal I'll just melt them down when I do my next batch. I have handed a couple out to my friends to try. One of them had it taken away by her daughter who commented that not only did it smell like chocolate, but it did not leave an oily feeling on her hands.
All the ingredients I chose, except for the beeswax are known to aid the skin in the following: elasticity, aging skin/wrinkles, and stretch marks. Coconut oil I am told can repair aging skin, we will see, (having some skin aging issues under the eyes.) I created these bars not just for me, but to help others with these issues as well. I am mailing a sample to my daughter in TN to test how it holds up in shipping with this heat we experience down here.
How it works, all you have to do is rub it where you want it, for me that's all over. The bar will be activated by your body heat. If the bar starts to get too soft just put it in the fridge for awhile. There that is it, so simple.
Is anyone interested in a sample? I will send samples to the first three people who send me their name and shipping information to my email at edjumpoff at yahoo dot com.
While at Bible study someone mentioned one of the woman's shoes, I had never seen these before. She runs, and so does another woman, and they both say these shoes are awesome. We had a discussion about them yesterday after Bible study.
They said that you need to wear them for a month before doing any running in them. Also be ready to experience some shin pain when first starting out. Both woman believe the pain comes not being used to running in these types of shoes. They said that they both were so used to running in gym shoes, and they were trying to run as if they had them on.
One of the woman said she had a hard time with gym shoes due to multiple corns and bunions. She said just to hit the floor in the morning she would have to put on multiple socks just to avoid pain. Since she has been wearing these shoes she has noticed that the corns and bunions are disappearing.
If purchased from the actual company you will pay $90 for these shoes, however my two lady friends said you can get them at a discount at the web site above for $66.99. Well, just so happens I saw on Fitness Magazine this morning that they are giving away a pair, today only. I am not sure if you have to register with the site or not as I am already registered. Even if you do it is a great site.
While I prefer to workout at home, when I have been at the gym I noticed that some people either do all cardio, or just tone their muscles. Cardio and muscle toning go hand in hand, you really need to do them both to be truly fit. Than there are those that only tone certain muscles, which makes their bodies look so unproportioned.
Photo credit: Healthful Headlines
What the cardio does is take off those unwanted pounds, or help you maintain your ideal weight. In order to burn calories our bodies need to be involved in some type of activity that gets the heart rate up. A leisurely walk is a good thing because you are up and moving, but unless you step up the beat and get that heart rate up the calories are not going to come off. Not I am not saying you should not take a leisurely walk, this is a great start if you are just starting out, but challenge your self. Set a point where you maybe walk a little faster, or take on a slow paced jog. Whatever it is you enjoy doing do it, but if you want to burn calories you have to get that heart rate up.
There may be times where your heart rate reaches its peak, and tells you it is time to stop. At this point walk it out, get that heart rate back to normal don't just plop down somewhere, you need to walk it out. There are times when I am doing a new workout, and the cardio just gets too much. I pause the DVD, and walk it out until my heart rate is back down, then go back for more. Mind you I have been working out for over 20 years, your body might just say I don't think so, then stop. Make a goal to do a little more, you should be doing a cardio work out four days a week, three at the least.
Photo credit: Futinity
Tone those muscles, this is really important if you are losing a lot of weight or trying to take off those extra pounds after child birth. The cardio will take the pounds off, but you will be left with loose saggy skin, no one wants that? For a well proportioned body all of the muscles need to be worked, some like to work different parts of the body on different days, and it is even recommended. Some will just work all of the upper body one day, lower body another, and incorporate the core, abs, and back, during one of those sessions. However, we are all different, and I say do what works for you.
Personally I do my cardio and muscle toning all together all four to five days I work out. It is said that you should not work your muscles every day. The term ripped comes from the fact that when you are toning you are actually ripping the muscle, and you should give them a rest, working them every other day verses every day. How ever you decide to tone your muscles, just do it, you will feel so much stronger and healthier.
Muscle toning also aids in building bone density which is great before pregnancy, and helps to prevent osteoporosis. As a matter of fact if you or someone you know has osteoporosis working with weights can reverse it.
I also want to mention that when starting an exercise routine it can take up to 40 days to see results. At the same time if you do not exercise for 3 days you will start to lose what you have worked for, stinks huh?
For years I have used Carmex, swore by it for soft lips. The ingredients in Carmex consist of camphor 1.7%, menthol 0.7%, and phenol 0.4%. The inactive ingredients are beeswax, cetyl esters, flavor, fragrance, lanclin, paraffin, petrolatum, salicylic acid,and theobroma coco seed butter. The majority of these ingredients are actually just fine, but two of them trouble them, phenol and salicylic acid.
Phenol is common in a lot of our everyday products, but the site for phenol says it is toxic to humans by oral exposure. Wow!!!! I have been putting this stuff on my lips for years. Salicylic acid is common in most products for treating acne, however once again we are warned not to get it near our mouths. If you do you should flush with water for 15 minutes. Sorry, but there is no way you can put this on your lips, and not end up getting it in your mouth.
I have been rescued, Eden Salve is all natural, and is not only great for chapped/dry skin, but also insect bites, cuts, rashes, and boils. The ingredients are all natural, organic pure olive oil, organic beeswax, organic echinacea purpurea, organic rosemary leaf, organic echinacea root, organic comfrey leaf, organic plantain leaf, organic yarrow flower, propolis, and grapefruit extract. I knew all the ingredients except one, propolis, which is a natural antibiotic derived from the resin of tree bark and leaves.
I love Eden Salve we have used for dry lips, ant bites, and mosquito bites. Here in the south it is not uncommon to get ant bites, there mounds are every where, and sometimes you don not realize you are standing on one if it is small or hidden by grass. When used on the bites the sting is taking away, and itching stops. You know how when you get a bite you get that red ring around the bite, well not if you use Eden Salve. Be sure to have two tins of this on hand one for the house, and one for the car. You should keep the one for your car in your purse, it will melt during hot weather.
This is a great time to purchase this product, The Bulk Herb Store is having a 72 hour sale, and Eden Salve, also known as Miracle Salve, is one of the items. You can get the 1 oz now for $4.77 or the 4 oz for $13.77 both are discounted by 40%. I recommend getting two of the 1oz so you have one for the house, and one for the car.
I also need to say that the owner Shoshanna has a series of great video on Youtube, here is one where she shows us how to make homemade bug salve.
First I know I was going to blog about the other sale, but I am an affiliate with the company, plus I would like to talk more about working out. I had a hard time writing this blog as I have so much to say, and things I want to share I was afraid it was going to be all over the place, and leave everyone going, what!!!! Where did that come from.
Photo credit: Ebay
One of my favorite pieces of exercise equipment that I own is the step, I am glad I was able to get mine from the Firm when they had them because I can take the 6" piece and use it in the incline position on the 8" step. Plus I can put the 6" into the 8" for easy storage. I just want to say that The Firm no longer makes this step, nor have they developed any new DVDs geared towards the step.
There are a couple of things I like about the step, first it is so versatile, and second it is great for getting both a cardio and toning work out at the same time. While The Firm no longer is producing works out with the step, there are other programs which do utilize them. Cathe' Friedrich has some that I own, and continues to incorporate the step in new DVDs she makes. Cathe' also has a variety of steps with risers starting at $39.99, all of the steps come with a DVD, some more than one,
You can also purchase a step at a local store, just be sure to make sure you can purchase additional risers, and the weight limit.
I first starting using the step back in 2004, it was hard, and I struggled to finish, but I kept on going. Next thing I knew I was purchasing more DVDs for the step, and then The Firm put out the one pictured above, and I purchased that one. My favorite moves incorporate both stepping on the step while do some type of upper body move, say a bicep curl. The step is great for working the lower part of the body, which for most woman is a trouble area. Recently I started doing box jumps with the 8", which again at first I struggled with. Now I love that I get a great cardio while shaping my lower half. Any step DVD you purchase will not be all step, there will always be some type of floor work which actually is a good thing. For those beginning, take your time, watch your form, keep your knees slightly bent, remember never lock those joints, take breaks if needed, you can pause and continue when you are ready. Most importantly listen to your body, it will tell you when you truly need to stop.
Cathe' and others do have some step works out which I avoid. They are what I call dancy, because they are more like dancing on and off the step. I avoid them not because I do not think they are good, but truth be told I can not dance, and end up tripping all over my self in an attempt to them. Plus it takes me longer to learn them, thus not getting a good work out. The work out above is for me, just might order this, the one below you can keep.
Photo credit: Collage Video
If you would like to see some other work outs which utilize the step, or are seeking to purchase one I suggest visiting Collage Video. This is my ultimate favorite place to purchase exercise videos/DVDS here is why. I love that I can search the site by instructor, equipment, goals, or the type of work out I want. They have personal trainers who test the DVDs/videos and review them, others can review products also. I love that when I pull say the step it tells me right away if the work out is for beginners, intermediate, or advanced. You can watch a snippet, find out what equipment is used, along with what is incorporated and for how long. I also love that they carry some of the older DVDs/videos for The Firm with step. Oh and also they have great prices, weekly specials, a newsletter, ratings on work outs, and the option to chat. They guarantee their products, so if you don't like it just return it within 30 days for a full refund even if it is open.
As you can see I have become an affiliate with a variety of companies I am doing business with. I wanted to let you all know about some of the wonderful products that they have on sale, you can click on the banners located to the right. Yes, I make a little something, but not a lot, and if you blog you know how much time can go into research, or the fact we give away free information instead of writing a book, and selling it. So, if I can get a little something back, it would be greatly appreciated.
Photo credit: Tropical Traditions
Okay on with the sales, the first one is Tropical Traditions Organic Raw Honey, I can not keep this stuff in the house. My 15 year old loves it on toast, and it is great to add to smoothies. I was thrilled when I went to place my monthly order and found it on sale, so I bought two. Normally a 17.6 oz jar costs $19.99, but you can get for $9.99 until tomorrow!!! Oh no, I thought it was longer, better get over there. Also on sale is a one gallon tub of Organic Golden Label Virgin Coconut Oil at 45% off until August 16, 2012, 33% off 2.2 pounds of Coconut Flour ends August 12, 2012, along with two books at 30% off, one for
tooth decay which ends on August 12, 2012.
Photo credit: The Bulk Herb Store
I just received my order from The Bulk Herb store, and found the August savings. There is a free video clip which can be found under videos entitled "How to Store Herbs" use coupon code AUGHTS at check out, 1/2 pound of Organic Cinnamon Sticks usually $5.50 now $3.85 use coupon code AUGCSW found under bulk herbs, Herba-Smoothe Collection kit normally $59.95 now $41.97 coupon code AUGHSC, Pomegranate Green Tea normally $8.95 for a 1/2 pound now $6.27 coupon code AUGPGT found under herbal mixes, tea. Organic Lemon Peel $5.89 for 1/2 pound normally $8.30 coupon code AUGLPC found under bulk herbs, The Naturally Clean Home is $7.67 normally $10.95 coupon code AUGNCH found under books. There are more specials under the specials section which is made up of a variety of different kits. Orders for the book, teas and any herbs are limited to 3 per customer while supplies last.
I will post the sales and specials from Mountain Rose Herbs, Cultures For Health does not currently have any sales or specials, but don't forget you can get three free e-books by subscribing to their newsletter.
I am excited, for weeks I have been researching recipes for making homemade yogurt, which I mentioned in my last blog. All the recipes I found required actual yogurt to start the process, I don't want all the junk in the store bought yogurt. I mean that is why I want to make my own, then I found Cultures for Health. Well, the time has come, Saturday I am placing my order with Cultures for Health. As I looked at the cultural starters I became a little confused by the various starters. However, not to fear, you can ask questions, and often chat with someone to answer your questions.
Photo credit: Cultures for Health
I was a little overwhelmed by the variety of starters, and glad to be able to chat with someone. I want to make a traditional tasting yogurt, my 13 year old is picky about food, and I feel if it does not taste traditional, store bought, he will not eat it. At the same time I want to be able to save some of the yogurt as the cultural starter for the next batch. The individual told me that the Bulgarian yogurt cultural starter would be the best for what I wanted.
Photo credit: Cultures for Health
As I browsed the web site I noticed the yogurt makers, I love the idea of having the jars, and just putting them in the yogurt maker and go about my day. I looked at all of them, I liked the one with the timer, so if I wanted to go out it would just shut off. The Yogotherm Yogurt Incubator was appealing because it did not use electricity, thought that would be great in case of a power outage. So, the one I am going to get is the Yolife Yogurt Maker, all plastic is BPA free, loving that. Plus if I want to use another size jar I can do so easily.
You can be sure that as soon as I make my first batch of yogurt, you will be the first to hear about it. Next month it is going to be cheese, yummmmyyyyy!!!!
Forgot to mention, if you sign up for their newsletter you get three free e-books, one for making Kefir, Yogurt, and Kombucha.
