Friday Favorites 12/16

It's time for another round up of our current Friday Favorites! 

Organic Valley and Organic Prairie  

Organic Valley has a line of Protein Shakes and man are they tasty! Jared and I both think that they taste like milkshakes! They are super decadent tasting, yet they have Absolutely NO antibiotics, synthetic hormones, toxic pesticides or GMO anything. 

We are HUGE fans of having snacks on hand at all times, and these Mighty Bars and Beef Jerky packs are DELICIOUS and perfect to carry around in your purse or golf bag ;) 

Check out their Organic Valley's website, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Check out Organic Prairie's website and Facebook  

Primal Kitchen 

Jared LOVES Ranch dressing. He used to put it on EVERYTHING. In college, he started to eat healthier, so he significantly decreased his ranch consumption because most of the dressings available are full of bad ingredients. Jared was so excited to eat ranch dressing again! Here's some info about the dressing from the website: PRIMAL KITCHEN™ dairy-free ranch is the holy grail of dressings: an uncompromisingly delicious, rich, full-flavored, and oh, so healthy ranch dressing. Using 100% pure avocado oil, our ranch includes only the finest health-enhancing, nutritional ingredients, including organic garlic, onion, dill, cage-free organic eggs, nutritional yeast, black pepper and chives. And that means no dairy, no buttermilk, gluten, soy, canola or sugar in sight.  

The Grass Fed Collagen Protein Bars were absolutely DELICIOUS! The texture was chewy and packed with nuts and the collagen is really good for your skin, hair, and nails! Talk about a winner of a protein bar! If you are unaware of what collagen does, check out this info from their website: Collagen is the protein that holds everything in your body together. It makes up about 30% of all the protein in the human body, and is found in your bones, tendons, ligaments, connective tissues and skin, and plays various roles in your overall health. Collagen production naturally declines with age, reducing the structural integrity of the skin and instigating the weakening of cartilage in joints. You can help make up for decreased collagen production by eating collagen sourced from grass-fed bovines pasture-raised in Brazil.

Mayo was another favorite of Jared's a long time ago, so he is looking forward to making some chicken salad with this Mayo from Primal Kitchen! Here's info about it from their website: PRIMAL KITCHEN™ Mayo takes us back to our primal roots—pure, nutritious, real food ingredients with no artificial colors, preservatives, or ingredients. It’s the first ever avocado oil-based mayo, made with cage-free organic eggs and vinegar from non-GMO beets whipped into that full, rich classic mayo taste you love. Because avocado oil boosts the bioavailability of nutrients it’s paired with, you increase your body’s absorption of antioxidants whenever you add a dab of Primal Kitchen Mayo.  And our mayo is sugar, gluten, dairy, soy and canola-oil free, and non-GMO Project Verified so you can indulge to your taste buds delight. Healthy mayo, who knew?

Check out Primal Kitchen's website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more info and more awesome products! 

Banza Chickpea Pasta 

I am not a pasta fan, so I tried a few bites to see if I would like it better, and it tastes just like regular pasta. My husband on the other hand is a HUGE pasta fan and he clearly enjoyed it because I came home and he had eaten the ENTIRE box (minus the few bites I tried). He didn't even snap a picture before he inhaled it all. haha He definitely had his protein and fiber quota for that day! One serving of Banza packs 25g of protein and 13g of fiber! How awesome is that?!?!

Check out their website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more details. 

Fit Darlings T-Shirt!

This is my new favorite shirt! When I showed it to Jared, he immediately said, "That is you EXACTLY." I just want to LOVE JESUS, Train Hard, and Eat ALL the Peanut Butter!!!! 

Check out Fit Darling's website and Instagram for even more awesome shirts and other products as well.  (I was given 40% off for this review). 

ZOODLES 

This isn't sponsored, I just wanted to share that we finally got a spiralizer and are having so much fun making noodles out of zucchini!! We also tried eggplant, but it didn't work quite as well as the zucchini. It's the perfect way for us to eat more veggies and be able to make new meals that usually use pasta (since I don't like pasta). We love it! 

These companies were very gracious to send us free product. All opinions are our own. 

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas season! 

Massage Track

The Massage Track™ tools were invented by Eric who is 45 and has a rare condition which causes tightness in the muscles and connective tissues. This is more than a nuisance for him, but a blessing for you because his body is the perfect sandbox for developing exceptional deep tissue massage tools (what your Physical Therapist might refer to as ‘self-myofascial release tools’).

He created Massage Track for relief when he was really desperate and has used it nearly every day since. He uses it after waking and often a few more times during the day. After two years of development, Eric launched the Massage Track tools on Kickstarter to a dramatic response from around the world. 

Our tools are now in use in 35 countries. They’re great for getting relief from generic aches and pains but are also being used successfully to treat repetitive strain injury, accelerate workout recovery for athletes, manage degenerative disc disease and slipped disc pain, and last but not least, help accident victims and injured veterans.

As a couple who likes to be active on a regular basis, we love getting sports massages, but we don't love the expensive cost that goes along with it. The massage track is an affordable way for us to get a deep tissue massage at HOME and Jared can even take it on the road with him to tournaments! We absolutely LOVE our massage track and we've been having fun learning new exercises from the video that's included in your package, and they also have a bunch of videos on their website as well!  

Our new nightly routine is to use the massage track while we are watching a tv show. It's so nice to release tension in our muscles from our workouts and Jared's practice sessions! We tend to hold stress tension in our neck and upper back/shoulders, so this is so relaxing and helps alleviate the tension in a few minutes each night. 

We highly recommend the Massage Track to everyone! It's especially helpful for athletes, but I'm sure it would also be very beneficial to people who have desk jobs! Please check out their website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more info. 

Protein Packed Pay Day Waffles!

Purely Inspired is providing us with product in exchange for recipes each month. We are not compensated for these posts, just sent product. 

Today, I have a recipe for PROTEIN PACKED PAY DAY WAFFLES! If you're a non-chocolate person like I am, your favorite candy might be a PAY DAY. Peanuts and caramel, mmmm. While I eat a Pay Day bar every once in a while, I love making these waffles more often because they are healthier and give you that peanut and caramel flavor without the overload of sugar! 

For the waffle, all you need is:

Two Eggs, Half a scoop of your favorite vanilla protein powder, and two spoonfuls of Purely Inspired Powdered Peanut Butter. (You could also add a splash of milk if you'd like) 

Just throw everything in the blender, and pour the batter into your waffle maker. Top with Greek God's HONEY CARAMEL greek yogurt! That's it. Super simple and very tasty! I like to add a banana on top as well. You can get creative with your own topping preferences. 

Hope you enjoy! It's protein packed goodness! 

The One Set - 15 Rep Workout with ExMed360

Decades ago scientists found that lifting a weight makes you breathe hard and your heart pound, but lowering a weight gives you the strength without the effort. For thiry years medical fitness companies have sought to develop resistance machines that gave the benefits of lowering the weight without out the stress and fatigue of pushing and pulling it. ExMed is the result of these decades of work. Designed and developed by an Orthopaedic surgeon from the University of Florida, ExMed provides the exact dose of resistance required to strengthen bones, muscles and ligaments with the least amount of effort. This revolutionary system breaks down the barriers to resistance training and makes it accessible to normal individuals and our aging population. The computer control system simplifies complex workouts and condenses the training down to a single session of 15 minutes a week.

Resistance training involves three phases:

• Concentric phase (positive movement) which involves lifting weight and contracting the muscles.
• 
• Eccentric phase (negative movement) which involves lowering weight and lengthening the muscles.
• 
• Isometric phase (static) which involves holding a weight with no movement.

Yes, you read that correctly, ONE session per week! Jared and I were both skeptical when we heard our friend Luke talking about this workout. He had Jared come in with him one day and do the workout and Jared was on board. Then, he had to bring me in to actually convince me. This is seriously NO JOKE. It is a super efficient workout that really uses your muscles, but in a way that you don't feel the strain that comes with doing heavy lifting. 


While we were there, we did 3 different exercises. 
1. Squat/Dead Lift

2. Leg Press

3. Lower Back Extension 




We did 15 reps of a heavy weight. I actually lifted WAY MORE than I normally do in the gym because of this special machine. Jared has worked his way up to doing 400 pounds for his legs!!!! On the last rep we held it for a longer period of time. I held mine for 30 seconds (because it was my first time) and Jared held his for closer to a minute. I didn't think I would feel any burn after doing just one set of each exercise, but boy was I wrong! My legs were shaking afterwards. The even better part was that my body didn't hurt like it can sometimes after a hard workout. It's hard to describe, but I just felt like my body was worked, but because of the special machine, I didn't stress any muscles because of improper form due to a heavy load on the way down during each exercise. It is incredible and below I have listed the benefits to using this machine. PLEASE GIVE THIS A TRY!!! 

Benefits

Bone & Muscle Strength

The body can resist 30% to 40% more weight than it can push. With a higher weight load in the lowering phase (eccentric), there is a greater and faster gain in muscle strength with less repetitions. As muscles grow and increase in mass, they exert force on the bones with a corresponding increase in bone density. 

Better Balance & Improved Posture

Using heavier loads during lower body eccentric training has been shown to increase the sit-to-stand strength, balance, and knee extensor and flexor strength. For the elderly population, this approach has far reaching indications in terms of overall independence and quality of life.

Flexibility & Joint Mobility

Eccentric exercise increases the range-of-motion in joints significantly more than static stretching exercise, thereby increasing joint mobility and flexibility. This is particularly helpful in rehabilitation efforts for both athletic and general injury. 

Greater Concentric Power

By gaining greater strength using eccentric exercise, the capacity for concentric exercise is also increased. Many normal activities of living use both concentric and eccentric strength, so an increase in both capacities is optimal. The key is to increase concentric strength without damaging the body or causing an injury. Getting a head start by building eccentric strength first paves the way for increasing concentric strength faster.

Athletic Training, Rehab & Injury Prevention

As mentioned above, focusing on eccentric exercise can speed up the increase in concentric capacity as well as eccentric strength. This produces more physical power for sports that require large muscle strength as well as agility, flexibility and balance. Building muscle strength without injury, and rehabilitation after injury are both benefits of a concentration on eccentric exercise using the correct load prescribed load. 

Cardiovascular 

Concentric exercise requires a greater output of both energy and oxygen, which places greater stress on the cardiovascular system. Eccentric exercise reduces stress on the cardiovascular system while actually resisting more weight and increasing muscle strength. It is the best option for the elderly who might otherwise not be able to participate in strength training due to the stress on the body.

Quality of Life & Independence

As the body ages, bones loose density and can become brittle, muscle mass decreases making it harder to ambulate, flexibility is decreased, and joints become stiff. Eccentric exercise that is individualized to get the greatest benefit while avoiding injury and undue strain is key effectively combating these issues, and can serve as a preventive measure as well. By engaging in just the right amount of prescribed eccentric exercise, aging can be inhibited and the quality of life preserved and enhanced.

For more info, please check out ExMed360's website!