Project Reroll's Holiday Wishlist

It's that time of year folks! Here are 10 Holiday Gift Ideas for Slayers!

1. Meat Thermometer: Even if you're not eating Paleo, protein is power. Delicious protein that's cooked properly will only make you want to make and eat more. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
2. Food Processor: You can get your feet wet with more complicated recipes that keep things interesting. You can also use this to make Paleo treats to get you through the hard times without breaking your diet rhythm.
3. Sewing Machine: When it comes to cosplay, this is an eventual must buy for everyone! This is certainly on my list after doing hand sewing on four different costumes. Time is of the essence when it comes to your hobbies and I definitely don't want to craft at the expense of crunches! Here is a great pinterest page of sewing machines that my friend Angela from The Anomaly Podcast put together to help me choose my first one!
4. Fitbit or other Distance/Pedometer/Calorie Monitor: Monitoring everything is a real key to learning what your specific body and lifestyle needs for success. Everyone is different and if you don't start tracking your calories in/calories out and general activity level, you may not know how to make the changes you need!
5. A great set of non-stick pans: If you're going to make cooking a major staple of your life, you'll want to make sure you set yourself up for success! It's definitely an investment, but you'll be loving yourself when you have all the equipment you need to make a variety of dishes in the kitchen with minimum effort for cleanup. 
6. Netflix Subscription: All geeks love binge watching their favorite show. The best part about netflix is that it will keep track of where you are in each series and you can load it on to mobile devices and take them to the gym with you. I have whole series that I've only watched on the elliptical machine and treadmills. It's a great motivator when you make a contract with yourself that you'll only watch reruns at the gym!
7. Gym Membership: This is one of those things that we all complain that we can't afford. Using up my bday present to ask for a gym membership last year was the best thing I ever did. Now I do most of my working out on my own, but having a place to go and resources to pull from is incredible in the beginning. Plus, most gyms will offer classes so you can easily mix it up or try something new!
8. Etsy: Supporting fellow crafty slayers is awesome. You'll find unique gifts that help people show their fandoms in ways that can't be mass produced. You'll find outerwear, ornamets, jewelry, and all sorts of nick nacks. Seriously. It's your friend. 
9. Nerd Fitness Books: These guides are incredible and written for people like you and me. There are a lot of tips for working out outside of the gym and of course advice on diet and getting your feat wet in running, lifting, and much more. I really couldn't recommend supporting Nerd Fitness more! 
10. Geeky Gym Attire: Wearing my geeky Teefury t's and my Mockingjay pin to the gym gives me the extra push I need to work out like the badass I want to be rather than the lazy wimp I sometimes feel like. I love to keep my connection between my fandoms and my fitness going throughout my day to day life because it reinforces the idea that these things are no longer separate. Plus, imagining you're a tribute and your life is going to be on the line is a huge motivator! You can always check out the Project Reroll store for t-shirts, waterbottles, and more! #shamelessplug

So Happy Holidays, Slayers! Thanks for reading and for all you've done to support me and my guest bloggers this year! If you have any things you think people should have on their wishlists, then add them in the comments! What are you asking Chthulu- I mean Santa- for this year?

The No Gym, No Problem Workout

On Monday I gave some insight into excuses and what a slippery slope they are. One of the biggest excuses I hear is that people can't afford a gym membership, don't have time to commute to one, travel to much to take advantage of a membership, or hate exercising in public so weight loss is out of reach for them. So, I'm going to give you a tool to combat that excuse. 

The main line is: Just because you don't own a gym membership (for whatever reason you choose) doesn't mean you can't workout. You can do the following workouts in your house, at the park, or in a hotel room. It's totally up to you. You don't even have to buy a bunch of equipment or free weights to be effective!

I have a few workouts that I cycle through on days when I don't have time to get back and forth from the gym.

The first one is simple. Basically, Run. When it comes to cardio, distance running is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Without a gym membership, you can do that outside when the weather is good. I'll run in rain or in snow (as long as the sidewalk is clear). The only thing that forces me personally to go to the gym for a run is intense heat. It just completely deflates me and I can't perform well enough to get in the burn that I like. That's really only an issue in the summer. You can also try a HIIT running workout with sprints, if that's more your thing. Science tells us it may be even more effective than distance running when it comes to getting an optimal calorie burn for the whole day and strengthening your heart. If you need a training program to get started as a beginner runner, I recommend Couch to 5k and of course, my favorite, the Zombies, Run 5k Trainer app. 

Another option is yoga (or as I refer to it, Avatar training). I have attended a lot of yoga classes in my life throughout college and at the gym. I'm a big fan of vinyasa and you can easily do that in your home if you clear a bit of floor space. If you don't have access to a few free classes to get the hang of it and learn some positions and cycles, then there's a lot of great resources on youtube. You can put together your own warm ups and create goals for working on some of the harder positions. The only cost is a yoga mat and you can find those under $20 at drug stores or sporting goods shops. 

The last option is one of my all time favorites: The bodyweight circuit or the "Starbuck Special," as I like to call it. What I love about it is that it's simple and it's easy to increase the intensity from week to week as you get stronger. The idea is to cycle through a string of repeated exercises that target different areas of the body about 4 times. Here are some exercises you can choose from.

• Sit-ups
• Pilates body roll ups
• Leg lifts
• Planks
• Pushups (adjusted or regular)
• Rows *
• Squats
• Lunges
• Bicep Curls *
• Lateral Oblique Lifts *

* NOTE: If you don't want to buy free weights or resistance bands, you can try taking an empty milk jug and filling it with sand, rocks, or cement. I've also taken a small bag and filled it with heavy hardcover books. Do whatever you need do to pick up something heavy. 

There are a lot of options and you don't need to include all of them each time. I like to increase the reps by 2 every week or increase my plank time by 5-10 seconds. To help get you started, I'll give you the circuit I started with. 

Warm up: 5 minutes of high knees, jumping jacks, or a 5-10 minute easy run outdoors. 

1. 15 squats
2. 10 push-ups
3. 20 lunges
4. 10 Pilates body roll ups.
5. 10 rows on each side.
6. 10 lateral oblique lifts on each side
7. 30 seconds plank.
8. 20 Jumping Jacks

Repeat 4 times.

Cool down: Stretching. Make sure to stretch your quads, arms, and back. You'll be feeling the burn later!

I usually finish in 22-30 minutes.

You can decide how to increase the intensity of your circuit over time. Add reps, add cycles. It's up to you to continue to challenge yourself. It may seem simple, but I guarantee you'll work up a crazy sweat and you'll definitely feel the burn. The nice thing is you can pretty much do these circuits every day without harming yourself because you're not living crazy amounts of weight like in a free weight routine. All I can say is my best body results came when I alternated running with bodyweight circuits. 

What's your no excuses workout? What do you do when you don't have a gym to lean on for support and equipment? Please share in the comments!