Rest assured that plenty of peanut butter fingers have been enjoyed as snacks and fuel while making other meals (namely dinner). Today, after an all-too-long hiatus, peanut butter returns to its rightful home!
Tuesday Breakfast
Breakfast included two toasted whole wheat bagel thins, topped with peanut butter, nectarine slices and a sprinkle of nutmeg, a great substitute for cinnamon.
Oh-So-Flavorful
Sprinkle, Sprinkle
It’s amazing what a little dash of nutmeg did to this dish. Seasonings go a long way in taking a meal from good to great.
Workout
Breakfast was a great post-workout treat!
Today’s morning workout looked a lot like one of my all-time favorite interval workouts. I changed it up a bit and ended up completing this workout:
30 Min. Treadmill Workout (20 Min. of Intervals)
I followed it up with 20 minutes on the elliptical while reading the latest issue of Clean Eating magazine. I flagged a ton of recipes I’m dying to try.
I also want to add that I am really happy with my decision not to run the half marathon in March. I think my whole motivation for running the half was just to bust out of a workout rut. I figured training for a long race would motivate me and bring me out of my funk.
As it turns out, I just needed to get a little creative with my workouts. Interval training, plyometric exercises and even hip hop dancing have all helped me enjoy my workouts again. I love searching for new workouts to try and heading to the gym knowing I’m about to embark on a workout I’m excited to do is a great feeling. Hopefully this exercise mojo will continue!
On that note, if you guys have any workouts you’ve been loving, please feel free to share them with me below. Links are welcome! 
Of Possible Interest
- 42 Minute Interval Treadmill Workout (FitSugar.com)
- 7 Healthy Soup and Stew Recipes (FitnessMagazine.com)
- How the Pros Curb Food Cravings (Health.com)
I looooove interval runs! I do one that’s pretty similar to yours, or I just did this one the other day that was beyond intense (in a good way!)
http://www.sweettoothsweetlife.com/2011/01/14/tell-me-a-fun-fact/
Courtney @ Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life
i actually bookmarked this when you posted it! looks awesome!
peanutbutterfingers
Oh this workout DOES look good! Thanks for sharing! I always have so much trouble finding motivation for a good indoor workout… this looks like it’ll be good for me!
Allison@ Happy Tales
Holy Moly that DOES look like a good workout!
Kathie @ Frugal, Fit and Fabulous
I absolutely LOVE recipe hunting while exercising, it’s fun haha! I Hooooray for the return of peanut butter
Meg
Intervals are nice, they get me moving when I don’t want to move! I’m with you- my running mojo is back! Also want to try to PB and nutmeg, that sounds really good
Ellie
I have some of my favourite cardio workouts posted on the workouts page of my blog (http://eatspinrunrepeat.wordpress.com/workouts/) and lately I’ve been switching things up by adding in a bit of yoga too. Oh, and I hear ya on the Clean Eating mag… I always want to make everything in it! Have a great day Julie!
Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat
I did a treadmill interval run that you posted a couple of weeks ago. I loved it I pushed myself harder than I have in a long time. Thanks for sharing!
Jane
Breakfast looks delicious! Nectarines and peanut butter. Delish!
Hope
yay for fun workouts! I love kickboxing or doing the p90x videos when I don’t feel like running
Bess @ Bess Be Fit
I recently discovered Tabata, and LOVE IT!! It’s a style of lifting where you do 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest for a total of 4 minutes. It’s designed to max out a muscle. It makes for a quick and easy (~30 min) workout, but you are definitely sore the next day. My workout yesterday was:
-Bicep curls (tabata)
-Tricep kickbacks (tabata)
-Run 0.3 mi
-Crunches (tabata)
-Chest presses (tabata)
-Run 0.3mi
-Squats (tabata)
-Bicycle crunches (tabata)
-Run 0.3 mi
Definitely feeling my arms today!
Anne @thefitbridesmaid
what a cool concept! i’ve never heard of tabata!
peanutbutterfingers
I hadn’t until two weeks ago when my trainer said that we were doing “tabata”. I googled it, and it’s very popular for the military.
Anne @thefitbridesmaid
If I don’t get creative with the workouts I get in SUCH a rut! Glad you got tour mojo back
Heather (Heather’s dish)
I took a swipe of pb the other day and thought *hmmm..I haven’t seen PB fingers post about pb lately!* Glad to see it back in action.
Stephanie
My favorite is Dave Farmar yoga itunes podcasts! So easy to do at home and such a great class.
Lauren
Lately I’ve been loving this easy elliptical workout: create a playlist of fun, upbeat songs, and just sprint as hard as you can every time the song reaches a chorus. It’s so fun and natural- way easier than keeping track of minute times, and you naturally want to go harder at the upbeat parts, anyway. I love it!
Have you ever tried peanut flour? I have a feeling you’d love it!
Gabriela @ Une Vie Saine
When I get in workout ruts I like to find something I’ve never done before…like your dancing class! Even if I only do it once, it gets me out of the usual routine and some times I end up loving it! My other trick is to jump in the pool for a swim work out. I don’t do it a lot so it ends up being hard, and SUCH a nice break!
Maddie
Hello Julie,
. I really enjoy Zuzana’s workouts on Bodyrock.tv : http://www.bodyrock.tv/. She posts new workouts almost every day with mosltly bodyweight exercises. The workouts are short, intense and really efficient. You can do them at home, wich is very convenient.
It’s my first post on your blog
Hugs from Paris ! (You’ve got at least one french reader
)
Paola
Thanks for another workout post. Love these!
Chicago Cuisine Critique
So happy to hear you found your workout mojo back!! Must be a relief…
Allison@ Happy Tales
i love your workouts! i always save them.. do you make them yourself?? thats so impressive. I wish I had some to share.. but I am by no means as good as you at this!
Carrie
now i makeup a lot of them on the fly by myself, but at first i would get a lot of inspiration from magazines and blogs (i STILL do!). i definitely look to others for inspiration to get my creative juices flowing.
peanutbutterfingers
I know you take some classes so maybe this one will sound appealing. Its a RIPPED workout. My gym just started it and I went to a pilot class and it was a major sweat session! It combines resistance, interval training, power (weights), plyometrics, and endurance….it really works everything.
Laura
I’ve enjoyed doing this circuit workout from FitSugar: http://www.fitsugar.com/Full-Body-Circuit-Workout-Dumbbells-2825394/
Its about 20 minutes long, and the website has tons of other ones. Sometimes I take different moves from different circuits and make up my own.
You breakfast looks delicious, by the way!
Healthy Chocoholic
No pics of Sadie?! I miss my daily dose of Sadie’s smile..haha. She is toooooo cute!
I’m glad you are out of your workout funk. I get in them from time to time. Nothing like a little plyo or a homemade bootcamp/obstacle course style workout to get you out of a funk though.
Seriously though…I’m sure I speak for everyone…Sadie was missed in this posting.
Jessica
I would love to try those bagel thins but I cant seem to find them anywhere around here. Either they don’t carry them or they go off the shelves VERY fast!
Kathie @ Frugal, Fit and Fabulous
Hi!
Random question but when you’re doing intervals on the treadmill, do you set the machine to flip the speeds for you or do you just press the buttons yourself? Know that seems like a silly question but the machines at my gym don’t let you do intervals less than 1 minute which means you can’t simultaneously read a magazine or anything either
Thanks!
Laura
i push the buttons myself. it’s kind of a pain, but it also give you something to concentrate on so you’re not thinking too much about running!
peanutbutterfingers
I just purchased the Bob Harper Inside Out Method DVDS – yoga, weights, cardio. Oh my gosh! I workout 7 days a week, consider myself very fit and strong but these workouts are a challenge! They will certainly help you mix things up and provide the real-deal at-home workout.
Nicole
My favorite HIIT workout right now is 30 minutes on the treadmill. I love working out with a purpose and this sequence does not mess around. This has definitely taken my heart rate on another level. It’s a new addition to my “wedding day bootcamp routine”. Let me know if you try it.
http://healthycoconut.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/baked-maple-apple-oatmeal-hiit
Lea @ Healthy Coconut
This is my first comment but I have been reading for the past few weeks! I love doing interval workouts on the treadmill, keeps it from getting boring! I work for a corporate fitness company and we just started a 6 week program based totally off HIIT training. Love it!
Ashley
Whenever I do the treadmill, I love doing interval work!
Katy (The Singing Runner)
What is the name/brand of your favorite go-to whole wheat tortilla/wraps? like the small ones you use for your microwave dilla’s?
stefanie
they’re called tam-x-ico’s tortillas. i love them!
peanutbutterfingers
Mmm that bagel/PB/nectarine combo looks delish! I’m thinking about starting to try early morning workouts. Do you typically eat something small before you go to the gym or are you okay hunger-wise until you get home?
Kristen @ That Hoosier Girl
i don’t eat before the gym on weekdays b/c i get crampy if i eat w/in an hour of waking up(& i’m not about to wake up in the 4 a.m. hr. just to eat)! on the weekends i’ll eat something small, like a tortilla w/ cheese about an hr. beforehand.
peanutbutterfingers
Love this breakfast! Just had my first egg breakfast sandwich today, and I think I’m going to make it a regular now too! Thanks for all the great ideas all the time! Glad you’re getting your workout mojo back
Sounds like you had a fun workout!
Sophia
i’m with you on the seasonings…they really DO change a meal for the better!
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef
Ok this one is a killer workout I really dare you to try it out, it targets the whole body and its fast paste which means your heart rate is always up as you do your strength training by using your own body weight, which means double fat burn!
let me know how it goes if you decide to try
http://morehealthieryou.blogspot.com/2009/12/550-rep-double-dare-workout-no.html
Elina
Glad you’re out of your workout rut! I was in the same thing with weight & interval training, so I’m mixing it up with marathon training thrown in as well. And by that I mean *very* light marathon training as it’s still a year away..but no reason to wait ’til a few months before.
Mary @ Bites and Bliss
I’m so glad you ended up being happy with your decision not to do it. I love when that happens. A couple of workouts I created that have been getting me going:
http://wineandworkouts.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/back-on-the-530am-train/
http://wineandworkouts.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/husbands-killer-workout/
Enjoy
You might want to add more cardio to those, since I know you are bigger on that than I am.
Molly
Sounds like a great breakfast combo! I hadn’t thought of mixing nectarines and PB before… looks like I’ll have to try it.
That workout seems pretty intense- I don’t think I’ve ever put the treadmill at 9.0 before, much less at 2% incline. Something to work toward, I suppose!
Michelle @ Living Learning Earning
Hey Jul! When I was trying to do your interval treadmill workouts, I noticed at 8.0 I was sprinting and that was the highest I could go without my legs falling off or me tripping over myself lol. Any thoughts on this? I couldn’t even begin to think of increasing to 10.0 haha.
Leslie
work up to it! 10.0 is REALLY freaky fast, so do the 8.0′s as your 10.0s for a while and increase it by 0.5 when you feel like you can. 8.0 is still really fast so you’re absolutely getting the benefit of interval training even if you don’t reach 10.0.
peanutbutterfingers
That will be my goal! Thanks for the advice!
Leslie
I’ve recently started adding interval training into my workouts and love how fast they make the time go by! It’s amazing how quickly you can work up a sweat!
Erica