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Okay, and here’s the best part — I’m also giving away a free Spartan Race entry good for any open heat (non-confirmed start time) in any Spartan Race in the continental US. AROO!
GIVEAWAY CLOSED To enter, just follow the Rafflecopter app instructions — while the discount code Expires 12/2/15 11:59 pm ET my giveaway will be open another week! Good luck!
I’m just sharing a day from my Thanksgiving – it’s all good and I’m giving thanks and feeling blessed! The morning started with a run – the Thundercloud Turkey Trot (5 miles) in downtown Austin. Well, let’s back that up, it actually started with a worm – The Original Worm. The Original Worm is a massaging body roller that provides trigger point release to combat stiffness, pain and stress in muscles and joints – I’m hosting a giveaway and one of you will win your very own — so keep reading on!
So, why might I need to worm? Ha, have you looked at my Instagram profile! On Tuesday I was at the gym, and after my workout I thought I’d wind down with some yoga – it didn’t go as planned. While up in a forearm stand variation, I was taken down my a writhing, hideous calf cramp – I was trying not to howl and cry in public and after it passed, it felt like I had pulled the muscle. Plus, my hammies and glutes were still super tight from an 8 x 800m marathon workout two days prior.
The early bird gets the worm –and I’m not kidding. I’ve been putting my way-too-early mornings to productive use with this therapeutic tool – it’s like cross between a foam roller and tennis balls wrapped up in neoprene (pink or black). At first I was a little freaked out I wouldn’t be able to run the Turkey Trot on strained calf and tight glute. But, after rolling, whacking and a little wiggling, I was able to get rid of all my kinks before lining up on the start. In the end, the Turkey Trot went pretty well despite some rain and muggy conditions – out of a field of 20,000 participants, I trotted away with 7th overall female and 1st overall Master – and my calf kink is gone.
Of course, The Original Worm is a great recover aid too, and worming after a race or intense workout is a preventative measure for stress out muscles. It comes in a carrying pouch and both sizes are small enough to stick in a gym back, but big enough to get the job done. Just look at all the things The Original Worm can do!
So, if you run, Crossfit, yoga, rock climb, parkour, obstacle course race, play basketball, soccer or football, you definitely need one of these WORMS – it’s like having a massage therapist on hand at all times. Also perfect for travel – I use it for relief on plane flights or when stuck at a standstill in my car during rush hour! Oh, and this company is Austin-based which makes me love it even more!
Enter to win your own Worm via the Rafflecopter app below. Also, check out The Original Worm website to get the specs on the two sizes, colors, care instructions, more uses and such. Enter by Dec. 11, 2015! In the meantime, order a few to give as holiday gifts to your fitness friends!
Also, I have another giveaway going on right now for a $25 Visa Gift Card, check that out too – that one ends December 3, 2015.
Fear Nothing. Give Everything. I love this attitude of Storelli Sports, a really awesome company that makes next-gen sports protection gear for professional and amateur athletes.
This company’s main market is soccer; you know how crazy those soccer players get – I’m being serious! Bodies crashing into each other, dives onto the turf, abrupt lateral movements, unwanted head-to-head, body-to-goal or ground contact and more. I’ve got a kiddo who plays soccer (or you may call it football) – he also is into the rough and tumble sports of lacrosse and American football. So, it’s safe to say that sports injury prevention is always on my mind.
All this thrashing about on the soccer field sort of sounds like a day spent doing Spartan or another obstacle course race – and I’m thinking that some of their products may help me give 110% at my next race with less worry of bumps, bruises, cuts, contusions and concussions. Yeah, that’s right I said concussion – the perfect reason to wear the Storelli ExoShield Head Guard, a comfortable and stylish soccer head guard that reduces incidence of cuts and bruises on covered areas . . . and may help lessen risk for concussion.
Please note that there is no conclusive evidence on the concussion reduction, but I say “better safe than sorry,” seeing as I have given myself a concussion RUNNING (it was an epic fall) and also at the last Spartan Beast I slid through the mud and into a tree limb for a beauty of a goose egg (and thankfully nothing worse).
Honestly, the Storelli ExoShield Head Guard (below) is so comfortable and weighs only about 8 ounces; you’ll quickly forget you’re armored up!
The BodyShield FP Sleeveless Undershirt makes you look like an intimidator showing off those guns and also offers innovative technology to help control long passes with the chest, along with protection on the ribs, to reduce the impact caused by physical clashes with opponents. You may like this armor for trapping hard shots and reducing rebounds, I’m making sure my son wears this to every match. And then, I’m going to steal it out of his gym bag on race day to really help protect my chest and ribs as I hurl myself up onto some of the 10 foot walls on an obstacle course race or army crawl my body over craggy rocks.
Here is a great video rundown on how Storelli Soccer Gear can help you if you play a field position (also a video for goalie).
Did you know 50 percent of soccer players miss at least one game a year because of injury? Wow, that’s half of the players out there, don’t let it be you — #InjuriesSuck . Head over to Storelli Sports and check out their next generation soccer protection gear – right now you can get $10 off a purchase when you sign-up for the Storelli newsletter.
I also have a Soccer Strong Workout that will help keep you in tip-top shape for a healthy and productive season.
Do you or your kids play soccer”? Have you ever been sidelined with an injury in any sport? What preventative measures do you take to stay injury-free? Please share in the comments – XOXO, Jennifer
As an athlete who loves ALL the fitness things – running, obstacle courses, CrossFit, climbing, skiing and more, my body demands a good night’s sleep in order to perform optimally. Normally, I’ve been an “okay” sleeper, not a napper at all, but at least worn out enough by the day’s events to fall asleep and stay asleep without incident. But now that I’m a bit (ahem) older, I find myself tossing and turning every night – hormones and middle age anxiety may be partially to blame, but mostly I pin the insomnia on muscles that take longer to recover (I hate admitting that) and a really cruddy 25 year old bed (eek)! Thank goodness eve showed up at my door!
So, who’s eve? Well, she’s my new best friend, sleeping partner, secret sports performance enhancer and FIT for a queen! This beloved mattress brand from across the pond has just arrived in the US – and now all us running addicts and gym junkies can sleep tight all night nary an ache or pain!
The eve mattress amazingly arrives folded up in a box, but pops out into a delicious nest of nighttime bliss – it takes just about an hour to get fully plump upon arrival. It’s made of three different types of foam to create one amazing sleep experience – the bottom layer is a 17cm ultra-resilient base foam, the middle layer is made from 4cm highest quality luxurious memory foam and the top layer is 4cm natural latex which is antimicrobial and offers a bit of bounce if you like that sort of thing, and I do! Eve is just the right amount of support and cushion you need after giving your workout 110 percent.
Eve knows a great day starts the night before and I couldn’t agree more – especially when I want to be at the top of my game as an athlete! A study at Stanford University suggests that increasing sleep to 10 hours per night for a period of time improved athletic performance for tennis and basketball players – there’s no way I could do that on my old mattress, but it’s a dream come true with eve mattress!
Even if you can’t bank 10 hours (really, who can?!), strive for at least 7 or 8 hours per night. The journal SLEEP reports that inadequate sleep is correlated to declines in split-second decision making. Lack of sleep also depletes energy, hydration and breaks down muscle tissue – and keeps it from rebuilding again at night. Cortisol, the stress hormone, also rears its ugly head when sleep is compromised and this can have a direct effect on the way your body processes glucose for on-demand energy and mental focus. Bottom line, you’ll feel like you’re tanking, cranky, uncoordinated and scatterbrained without enough sleep.
In addition to getting some quality eve sleep stat, here are some other tips to help athletes get the Zzzz’s they need to optimize their next-day, next-level performance.
Follow a consistent wake-up and bedtime seven days a week. This means no late weekend nights or wild partying.
Bedroom only for sleep and . . . sex. No computers, cell phones, television, video games, stressful or high-anxiety discussions, fighting and so on.
Establish a bedtime ritual. Make a routine out of taking a hot shower, winding down, drinking tea or whatever – train your body to know that sleep is coming!
Create a quiet, cozy and comfortable sleep environment. Black out curtains, soft sheets, and just the right temperature – you get the idea!
Don’t use caffeine after about 3pm in the afternoon. Caffeine has a half-life of about 3 to 5 hours and, in some, effects can be felt as long as 12 hours later!
Consider a natural sleep aid. Avoid prescriptions, over-the-counter medications and alcohol to induce sleep. Instead try a natural sleep remedy like drinking tart cherry juice or using lavender oil.
Divert attention during sleep fails. Instead of tossing and turning all night with a brain loop (worrying about a race or waking up in time), get up and move to another room and engage in a low key activity until you feel drowsy enough to try again.
I really am impressed with eve beds and hope that you will check them out. It’s a luxury product at a fraction of the price thanks to the fact that it’s shipped straight to your door without the hassle and expense of middle men. I dread going to the mattress store (not at all pleasant in my experiences) and one of the reasons it’s taken so long to get a new mattress. The company offers a 100 night trail – if you don’t like it, they pick it up and give a full refund with no questions asked!
Right now, if you visit eve and register with your email, you can get $100 toward buying a mattress online!
Wrapping presents this holiday season doesn’t need to be stressful. In fact, it can be fun! I recently visited my local Hallmark Gold Crown store to pick up some wrapping paper. I was so impressed by both the selection of gorgeous designs and also the heavy quality of the paper – plus the grid marks on back are nice for geometry-challenged folks like myself.
Some people are truly artists when it comes to gift wrapping and others just aren’t – I probably fall into the “aren’t” category, but I actually like real wrapping and not just sticking stuff in a gift bag.
Although, I have to say that wrapping bulky items can be a little challenging – that’s why I like to make paper bows to “wrap” the larger holiday gifts at my house. Usually, I leave a little box wrapped up with scavenger hunt clues leading the recipient up to the hiding place – it’s so fun!
Here are some ways to make gift wrapping less stressful:
May I suggest a little workout to help get you in the right frame of mind for wrapping presents? Breaking a sweat always lowers my stress level and when I have less to fret over, everything seems more fun – like gift wrapping. This workout might seem a little silly (who couldn’t use a smile this time of year) but it’s actually based on some mobility workouts I do with a basic PVC pipe — you really need to try the workout, I’d hate for you to pull a muscle while wrapping presents! Ideally, use an empty roll so you don’t mess up your nice, new paper — or not!
Also, while I was in Hallmark Gold Crown, I was surprised to find so many gift items that would make the family and friends in my life smile. In the past, I have thought of Hallmark as a greeting card and wrapping paper store — but, WOW, they have everything from grab-and-go gifts to jewelry, home décor, kid’s items (I saw Star Wars and Peanuts gifts galore)! I picked up a few bars of wonderfully scented soap from the Crafters & Co. Line – the soaps are packaged in the prettiest paper (hey, they almost don’t need wrapping, how’s that for stress-busting) and the scent made my car smell dreamy on the way home. These little luxuries are quite affordable and just perfect for teacher, neighbor, work Secret Santa and hostess gifts!
So, do you like wrapping gifts or look at the process as a chore? What’s the weirdest shaped thing you’ve ever wrapped up? What’s your go-to teacher or neighbor gift? Please share in the comments – XOXO, Jennifer
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