Remember how PE class always started with a warm-up of doing jumping jacks? I wasn’t a huge fan. In fact, I always thought jumping jacks were such a…joke.
But, in an attempt to break my exercise rut (which, I must admit is happening at a not-so-speedy pace), I decided to implement the old-school exercise move into my day.
You see, I’ve fallen victim to the age-old excuse that I just don’t have the time to fit exercise into my day. Once my life becomes less sporadic (i.e. not living/working from the shore anymore) I definitely plan on getting back to my normal, scheduled exercise regimen. But until then, I’m going to take advantage of the fact that I work from home and can squeeze in exercise throughout the day.
Enter: jumping jacks.
So far today, I’ve done 3 sets of 50 jumping jacks. It’s not difficult, it’s not time consuming, but it gets me moving. You see, the point of these jumping jacks isn’t to burn calories…it’s to get off my butt! Being sedentary all day is just so…painful (literally and figuratively). So throwing in a couple hundred jumping jacks (and some push-ups here and there) at least gets my body in motion. And that feels good.
I may not be entering a fitness competition anytime soon, but I’m a firm believer in the fact that something is better than nothing when it comes to exercise. Not to mention that I’m finding jumping jacks to be surprisingly…fun! 
breakfast.
Yesterday I picked up some Naturally More peanut butter (not to be confused with Naturally Nutty, which I’m still dying to try!), so I wanted to implement it into my breakfast this morning. I ended up with pretty much a repeat of yesterday’s mid-morning snack.
My bowl included:
- plain Greek yogurt
- a crumbled piece of Blueberry Walnut Coconut Cake
- peanut butter
- blueberries
- chia seeds
Taco-less Chicken Taco Salad.
For dinner last night I made a second attempt to clean out the kitchen, and I must say that it was another success.
I’m a lover of all things in casserole form, so I’ll pick a Mexican-inspired salad over a taco any day of the week. To make this dish you’ll need:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 small tomato, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3/4 cup kidney beans
- 3/4 cup black beans
- 1 tablespoon chili seasoning
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- extras: brown rice, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, salsa, etc.
First I sauteed the onion, tomato, and garlic with some olive oil over a medium heat. After about 8 minutes I transferred the cooked veggies into a bowl. Then I seasoned the ground chicken with salt, pepper, and chili seasoning and cooked it in the same pan, also on medium heat. When the chicken was cooked (about 8-10 minutes) I added the vegetables back in, as well as the beans. After another 2 or 3 minutes of cooking, it was a chili-like mixture of deliciousness!
I ate the chicken + bean mixture atop a base of romaine lettuce and some brown rice, and topped it with cheddar cheese and sour cream. It. was. heavenly.
…I think I know what’s for lunch today.
Back to work! Enjoy your Tuesday, dolls. Oh, and if you get bored…do a handful of jumping jacks for me 
xoxo G
- What’s your favorite old-school exercise move?
- Do you ever do sporadic bouts of exercise throughout the day? Or do you stick to a designated block of exercise time?
I love the sporadic exercises for the same reason… just to get the blood pumpin’
I work from home, so it’s easy to drop and do 20 pushups…or whatever and then get back to my desk, but I’ve also fallen into a workout rut. I actually started a 30 day self challenge yesterday to try some kind of out of the box exercise every day - something to put the fun back in. Yesterday was 30 minutes of frisbee with the family and it was a great workout and LOTS of FUN! Today we’re getting busy with an old tractor tire we found in the neighborhood -I really really want to flip that baby- hope I can muscle it up enough!
yogurt with muffin and nut butter is one of my favorite breakfasts! looks delic:-)
hula hooping all the way!!! I loved hula hooping growing up and never thought anything of it until a few months ago when a class of mine held an events with all old-school recess games. I hooped for 2ish hours and OUCH!!! My abs hurt for days!
sun salutations are great for warming up and getting the blood flowing as well!
At home at night, I’ll sit up from the couch and back down. It’s like a squat, but you have to use all your butt muscles to get back up.
Taco-less salads rock!
I love jumping jacks, etc and always include them in my plyo workouts!
No sporadic bursts of exercise for me. That’s what I get for working in an office for 11 hours a day. Though thinking about my co-workers’ reaction to me busting out in jumping jacks midday is kind of hilarious.
Great idea with the jumping jacks! You are so right- something is better than nothing! I, however, designate time for my workouts and when they are done, they’re done! I do cardio in the morning and check it off my life and go back and do strength training (splits) later in the afternoon and check that off the list, too. Then, I’m done for the day and don’t think another thing of it! We’re all different!
A+ on the taco salad! Ay ay ay!
Something is DEFINITELY better than nothing.
I love me some mountain climbers.
I do one minute of jacks every morning when I wake up, just to get my blood pumpin! It’s a really energizing way to start the day.
I have to say that jumping rope is my favorite “old school exercise move.” It’s fun and doesn’t feel like exercising, even if you’re really going for it.
Speaking of elementary school gym class, I have vivid memories of my 7-foot-tall male gym teacher teaching us the Macarena for an entire period. True story. Talk about fun, non-exercise!!
I use to jump rope to NKOTB, those were the days.
Good for you and those jacks, every little bit helps.
Nice work on the salad, looks like you had it planned all along:)
Jumping is so much fun
I used to be on a team in elementary school for double dutch jump rope, haha! 
That coconut flour cake looks to DIE for - I just saw it in your last post and oh goodness…I must make it soon, or a variation 
Enjoy your day gorgeous!!
mmm that salad looks delicious! How many servings does it make?
Thanks!
Hey Danielle!! I would say it makes 6 servings…give or take a serving depending on the appetites of the people eating it
YES! love sun salutations. Good suggestion
Almost every day there comes a point when I’m in my room, listening to music, and just decide to start dancing. Sometimes it can get pretty energetic; I consider that exercise
Besides that I *sometimes* whip out some random push-ups.
I love doing old school moves. I felt like I was IN the 80′s when I used to take a step class. Also, for some reason, doing those lying down side leg lifts always make me think I should be wearing a spandex unitard and legwarmers.
I know that it good to get up and mover around a bunch when you are sitting around but I still like my designated workout time. Sure I walk around getting stuff, making lunch, etc but I end up pretty stationary throughout the day :/
your breakfast looks delish!
I love jump rope! thats pretty old school if you ask me but love it!
naturally more is hands down the best PB in my opinion! its no longer in my grocery store either which makes me so sad! but its sooo good!
You HAVE to pick up Naturally Nutty. The butter toffee pb is just outrageous!
I love jumping jacks! Throw in some 5 pound dumb bells and it gets really hard. But it’s like you said, it gets you moving!
Great! Thanks a lot!
I love doing jumping jacks, pushups, lunges, and squats. I also like doing wall sits sometimes like I used to have to do at high school practice!
I still get up and do a few jumping jacks when I’ve found myself sitting at my computer for hours. It just gets your blood going and clears your head!!
I want to try Naturally Nutty too! They don’t supply it anywhere near me!
About the jumping jacks - I try to do a couple sets of 50 each day - I am testing for my Black Belt in December and we have to do 500 without stopping during the physical test. Maybe my sensei knows this info…?
I usually get one strong bout but I know I’m active throughout the day too with a toddler!
And if I tried to jump right now I would wet my pants. This baby is sitting on my bladder!
I so share your “something is better than nothing” mentality! If I haven’t gotten in a lot of movement in a day, I’ll do some jogging on the spot, squats, tricep dips (using a chair) and jumping jacks while I’m watching tv. I like the feeling of just getting my body moving and my heart pumping a bit!
I love this- I often find myself sitting on my butt for way to many hours in a row. I’ll get up and do some stretching. I also happen to love doing plank to engage my abs. Billy is in the room with me right now - I think I’ll get up quickly and start doing jumping jacks.
Yummmm, it might be because I’m starving right now, but I could literally lick my laptop looking at the foods posted LOL!!!
Jen
http://jenslosinit.blogspot.com/
I totally know what you mean about just getting up and moving. I go for a lot of walks not to burn calories but to get outside and get moving.
[...] jump around! [...]
I had Naturally More a few weeks ago and I loved it. The crunchiness of the flaxseeds were a nice change and I don’t usually enjoy crunchy PB-love that it has extra protein, too!
I love jumping jacks! They make you feel like a kid
I looove anything in casserole form! In my house, the husband calls this “messy eating”. Whenever I make anything that resembles a casserole (or just a bunch of ingredients thrown into a skillet) he is jumping on that meal lik eyou would not believe!!!
“I have vivid memories of my 7-foot-tall male gym teacher teaching us the Macarena for an entire period.” <— LOL!!
That is SO COOL that you’re testing for your Black Belt! Wow!! I’ve always wanted to try Martial Arts, so you’re super inspiring