Strickland Fitness

Besides doing a little bit of cleaning around the house, Springtime culminates the season of new beginnings. Forget all the new year's resolutions you've already decided to drop (and forgive yourself, more importantly) and let go of any of your winter workout blues. Spring is here and it's a great time for a new start (or kick-up) with your workouts! Spring is a great time to get serious with your activities for a couple of reasons. One, summertime (aka bikini time for many) is just right around the corner; you can practically touch it. With it being this close, it gives you that extra motivation to step up your game. And two, although spring is this close to the sunny season, it still gives us a few months to get our workout on just in time and to prepare for summer. 

Spring Equinox is heading our way this week (Wednesday to be exact) and for those who are ready to stop hibernating, we suggest you start slow if you haven't worked out in a while. We also suggest that you take advantage of the better weather and go outside for your workouts! There's no better workout partner than the outdoors sometimes. If you are, however, live in one of the colder climates and would prefer to work out inside, here's a great video to get you moving. Enjoy the sweat!

Happy March everyone! Spring is almost here and this month there will be a lot of celebrating going on, courtesy of St. Patrick's Day. As with other special days we commemorate, St. Patty's usually calls for hanging out with family and friends and eating special meals – this time heaping servings of corned beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie, soda bread and beer. Lots and lots of beer. It's easy to get off your healthy kick when this Irish holiday comes around every March 17, but with some planning, you can avoid the pitfalls of these celebrations. It doesn't mean you should enjoy the festivities less. We're just offering a few suggestions that will help you feel better about what you eat and continue to stay active.

Above is a great video on a few useful tips that you can try when preparing your St. Patrick's Day meal. Since it's best to keep things in moderation and to never feel like you're "missing" out, it might be a good idea to incorporate a few of these ideas in your meal while leaving the most important dishes (i.e. the infamous corned beef and cabbage) in tact. Meanwhile, below is a short workout that you can do the day after eating all that yummy food (you can substitute the keg for weights). Enjoy.

I know what you're thinking – this is a fitness blog – why are we about to embark on a foodie's journey to Super Bowl game day snacks? Well, because as we all know, fitness without proper nutrition is like ping without the pong. They need to go hand in hand. And although many of us use food journals to plan out our healthy meals, there are those special times (holidays, birthdays, Super Bowl parties) when we really need to be more aware of what we're eating. Now it doesn't mean we can't have delicious and satisfying munchies come game time, because what's a Super Bowl party without a chip? It just means that chip doesn't have to be a super oily one. 

Below are a few healthy recipes available online that you might want to try out this Sunday. If you're hosting the fete, this is to your advantage because you control what's being served. However if you, like most folks this year, are heading out to someone else's shindig to watch the big game, then think about bringing one of these healthy dishes along to share. It could help drown out some of the other junk food that will be waiting for you when you get there. 

1. Healthy Chicken Wings – No game day is complete without some sort of chicken wing passing through your hands and landing in your mouth. Make sure it's not only delicious but nutritious, too, with this recipe.

2. Chips and Dip – Like the aforementioned wing, chips and dips are staples in any Super Bowl party. Enjoy the Doritos commercial  but pass the bag to the next person, because this recipe will satisfy your crunchy craving.

3. Vegan Nachos – Speaking of chips, they usually graduate into full-blown super cheesy (and fattening) nachos during game day. This is a much lighter, yet still scrumptious, alternative.

4. Game Day Chili – This specific recipe calls for ground beef, so all the meat-loving folks won't miss their fill. However, ground turkey can also be a savory substitute and will make this chili even healthier.

5. Fruit/Veggie Plate – No link needed here. Just cut up your favorite fruits and vegetables in season and serve it up right along with the other goodies on Sunday. When something healthy is available, people will snack on them. 

For more ideas on healthier alternatives to game days treats, check out the video below. Enjoy!

Doing squats is probably one of the best exercises you can start practicing (if you haven't already). It works out your whole body and not just your legs, as many folks incorrectly assume. Here's a video showing a great squat move that you can try at home. Please share and comment. – Best, Chad

Our tummy – our best friend and worst enemy. During the holidays, it could be a little bit of both, but let's make sure we not only feed it with goodies this year, but also take care of it. Here are a couple of great core exercises that you can incorporate in your workouts. – Best, Chad