Giving the Gift of SIX

As my exercise peeps will tell you, I am obsessed with flat abs.  I have been dreaming of regaining my six pack flat abs ever since baby #1 blessed my life.  A six pack hasn't magically appeared, but my stomach is flatter than it has been in years.

While I was hanging out at the Dr.'s office I read Healthy Utah magizine and tripped over an article called "the perfect ABS workout"  300 crunches every other day for smoking strong abs.  COUNT ME IN!

Here's the workout and some abs for inspiration:

30 Crunches
20 Bicycle Crunches
30 Toe Touches
20 Reverse Crunches

AB Inspiration

15 Side-Plank Hip lifts (r)
30 Crunches
15 Side-Plank Hip lifts (l)
40 Russian Twists


30 Bicycle Crunches
15 Oblique V-Ups (r)
20 Reverse Crunches
15 Oblique V-Ups (l)
10 Leg Lifts

Obviously, for this to work it must be in conjunction with healthy diet and balanced strength training and cardio work.  A great tan might help make things look better too.

Erica's Goal:  I want to give myself the gift of awesome abs (dreaming of Six) for Christmas.  We'll see how close I get.  Stay tuned.  In September, I'll show you my progress.

Finally -- Orange Chicken Mastered

Do you ever eat out and love a dinner and try to duplicate it at home.  Only to fail, and fail and FAIL AGAIN-- Sometimes in disasterous fashion.  Orange Chicken has been my nemesis for ages.  I love it in a restaurant, but every recipe I have tried from online just isn't right.

I am proud to say that FINALLY, I have mastered Orange Chicken-- and made it a smidge healthier in the process.  I reduced the sugar as much as possible, and I developed a technique that adds a tempoura dipped and fried feeling to baked chicken.  Over all YUMMY!

Erica's Orange Chicken
Marinate 1 lb chicken breast (cut into 1 inch cubes) in:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar

For Tempura:
1/4 cup flour
1 egg white

3-5 cups cut veggies for stir fry (I do 4 ribs celery, 2 bell peppers, 4 green onion)
1 small can water chestnuts

Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice (fresh is best)
2 Tbsp vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
ginger (my family hates ginger so we didn't have it in ours)
1 1/2 tsp orange zest

Marinate chicken for 30 minutes while you chop veggies and pre-heat the oven to 400.    Set aside veggies.  Drain marinade off chicken.  In a small bowl or zip bag, combine egg white and flour.   Add chicken and mix to coat evenly.  Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.  Seperate chicken pieces and arrange on cookie sheet.  Bake chicken for 8-10 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.

Combine ingredients for sauce (reserve orange zest for the end)  in a seperate bowl mixing well to dissolve the cornstarch.  While chicken is baking, pull out your trusty wok and heat it to medium-high heat.  Add veggies and stir fry.  When veggies are crisp tender pour the sauce into the wok.  Add the cooked chicken.  Stir together; allow to cook over medium heat until sauce is thick and shiny.  Add Orange Zest NOW!   Serve over rice.

Feeds my family of 6 picky eaters

FYI:  My kids hate spice, so I put the pepper flakes on the table to add as desired to the meal.  Bill and I eat them. Kids forgo the pleasure.

Make ahead strategies:  You can marinate and cook the chicken ahead of time.  Chill the meat then freeze until the day you want to eat it.  The sauce can be made ahead of time and chilled or frozen.

Tough Mudder Fun

 Try this Tough Mudder workout.  Cardio Weight Intervals at 2:1.  Enjoy a 1 minute break after 9 minutes work.
RUN 2minutes

Spider Push-Up

Start in a high plank position and descend into a push-up. As you lower, bring your right knee to your right elbow. Return to high plank and repeat on the left side. Alternate sides and work up to mountain climbing speed. 1 minute

Jumping Jacks

Just like you did in elementary school. Only this time, only bring your arms down to your shoulders (not your hips) and all the way back up. We want to see your hands graze each other when they go up. 2 minutes

Tough Squat + Press

Holding a weight to your chest, stand with feet hip- distance apart with your toes, knees and hips in a straight line. Pull your belly button toward your spine and contract your abdominal muscles. Slowly lower your body, as though you are sitting in a chair (knees at 90-degree angles). Make sure your knees are BEHIND your toes. As you return to standing, press the weight over your head and return to starting position. 
Jump Rope

Start with single jumps and work up to Double Jumps 2 minutes

Slippery Mountain Climbers

Place your feet on two washcloths or a folded hand towel. Assume a high-plank position. Keeping your upper body still, pull BOTH legs in toward your chest at the same time and then push them back out to resume the plank position. Repeat these in-and-outs. 1 minute

A.F. East Olympic Workout

In honor of the Olympics, we did this crazy fun workout this week.  The goal is to max out your arms, legs, lungs and abs.  I didn't think I would be sore, but I was.  The best part was that we were done in 30 minutes or less.

Complete the following.  Allow heart rate to return to normal between events.

400 meter walk/run:

Push up (# completed in 1 minute)

Stair run (# completed in 1 minute)

Pull up (# completed in 1 minute)

Stair/Box Jump (# completed in 1 minute)

Sit ups (# completed in 2 minutes)

We recorded our time or how many reps we completed.  In a few weeks we will see how much we improved. 

For Crazy Tough People:  Complete the circuit 2-3 times.

(FYI my results 2:09,20real-15girl, 6, 10, 20, 53)

A.F. East Exercise Class Schedule

	Focus Area	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
July 23-27 Green	Recovery	Circuit Training Green	Zumba Yellow	Jazzercise Green	Power Pump- Adrienne	Zumba Yellow
July 30- August 3	Weight Base	Circuit Training Orange	Zumba Lime	Kick Boxing- Red	Power Pump- Erica Yellow-Orange	Zumba Yellow
August 6-10	Aerobic Base	Circuit Training Yellow	Zumba Orange	Jazzercise- Green	Power Pump- Camyll- Orange	Zumba Yellow
August 13-17	Weight Base	Circuit Training Orange	Zumba Green	Kick Boxing Yellow	Power Pump-Adrienne Orange	Zumba Green
August 20-24	Aerobic Base	Circuit Training Yellow	Zumba Orange	Jazzercise Yellow	Power Pump-Camyll Red	Zumba Yellow
August 27-31	Recovery	Circuit Training Lime	Zumba Yellow	Jazzercise Green	Power Pump-Adrienne Yellow	Zumba Lime
September 3-7	Endurance	Circuit Training Orange	Zumba Yellow-Orange	Kick Boxing Red	Power Pump-Camyll Orange	Zumba Yellow
September 10-14	Endurance	Circuit Training Red	Zumba Orange	Jazzercise Yellow	Power Pump-Adrienne Red	Zumba Yellow-Orange
September 17-21	Active Recovery	Circuit Training	Zumba	Kick Boxing	Power Pump Camyll	Zumba
September 24-28	Competitive	Circuit Training Red	Zumba Yellow-Orange	Jazzercise Yellow	Power Pump-Adrienne Red	Zumba Orange
October 1-5	Competitive	Circuit Training Orange	Zumba Red	Kick Boxing Orange	Power Pump-Camyll Red	Zumba Orange
October 8-12	Erica's Race TAPER!!!	Circuit Training green	Zumba Yellow	Kick Boxing Lime	Power Pump-Adrienne Lime	?????

Suggested Workout Intensity. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!!! DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU!!!

Red- Very High Intensity- As hard as you can go as long as you can. Maximum Effort

Orange- High Intensity- Working Hard-- (Can't Talk Now)

Yellow- Aerobic Level – Heart rate is up, breathing fast, Short Sentences

Lime- Easy Work, Starting to sweat, Short Conversations

Green-- Very Light Work, Warm up, Cool Down Full Conversations

Exercise Class Reminders

Thanks for making our Stake Exercise Class a huge success. It is so much fun to teach an enthusiastic group. I hope you are having as much fun as I am. With the ever-increasing number of ladies coming to class I want to remind everyone of our governing values.

Respect-- Please help your children learn respect for the people exercising, the facilities we use and each other. Help them be aware of how their actions impact others. Throwing toys damages the facility, can hurt a child and injure an exerciser. Help your children show respect by cleaning up after themselves. The nurseries allow us to use their toys-- How Kind! Please be considerate-- let's limit the spread of disease as much as possible.

Accountability-- be responsible for your children. Watch over your kids; let them know when they are not showing respect for the people around them and not being safe. You need to know where your kids are and what they are doing always. Help them learn to be accountable for their actions.

Safety-- To help keep the women and kids safe (last Tuesday we had 30+ women exercising) we need to have NO kids running/walking across/around the gym. Children must stay in the overflow area. I would be heartbroken if a child was lost or stolen while wandering the halls (we have had a couple lost kids already this year) Absolutely no children are allowed on the stage during exercise class. Help your children remember to keep toys in the overflow area.

We are so lucky to have a Stake that allows us to have an exercise class. We need your help to keep it going! You guys rock my world!

Erica Miller

Finding Beauty Within

It has been a tough couple of months.  I was so ready for triathlon training in January.  I dove in and was working and progressing.  My runs felt good.  My swim stamina was improving.  I was on top of the world.  Six weeks into training.  I got sick.  As an asthmatic, I have to be careful with illness.  A cold can move into my lungs and cause pneumonia.  I slowed down my training (ok stopped), but it still took me three weeks to recover from the cold-- my lungs didn't heal quickly.  With only three weeks left of good training, I was back at square 1.  It was time to scrap the race and look forward to the next one.

I did use my extra time to think about things.  My whole weight loss quest -- why loose weight to run a race that might be impossible with my asthma?  Why did I care?  I decided that God blessed me with a body.  A beautiful one, too.  I ought to respect His creation and treat it well.  Fuel it properly, exercise it, keep it running (figuratively) at optimum capacity.

I have also been practicing seeing my own beauty.  After years of chubbiness, I am approaching optimal weight.  But I still have the negative image in my head.  What is enough?  When will I be beautiful?  Better question, When will I allow myself to see the beauty that has always existed?

Elaine S Dalton,  the leader of the Young Women of the LDS faith said, "The world places so much emphasis on physical attractiveness and would have you believe that you are to look like the elusive model on the cover of a magazine. The Lord would tell you that you are each uniquely beautiful.....  When you are worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost, you are confident and your inner beauty shines brightly."


Elaine "learned about what [she] now call[s] “deep beauty”—the kind of beauty that shines from the inside out. It is the kind of beauty that cannot be painted on, surgically created, or purchased. It is the kind of beauty that doesn’t wash off. It is spiritual attractiveness. Deep beauty springs from virtue. It is the beauty of being chaste and morally clean. It is the kind of beauty that you see in the eyes of virtuous women." (Ensign April 2010)

Check out your eyes and see the beauty of your soul shining through.  You are beautiful (me too) because you are God's creation.

Feel Pretty Today!