Hot Hot Hot

I have a killer new Road ID running hat :) I love me some Road ID. And this morning, at 5:15am, I'm up, dressed, ready to go for a morning run, heart rate monitor on, Road ID bracelet on, and I stop. I'm in the kitchen and I just had a feeling... something was wrong. Don't know what. Don't know if it was because I was going to go run the waterfront by the railroad tracks at 5:30am by myself and no one knew where I was, or because it wasn't completely light out... but something just felt, off. So, I erred with caution and didn't go. Odd though huh ?
I'll go for a run in the morning :)

A couple of interesting things I found this week... one is about exercising in general .. I kinda new about the crunches, and I can't do them anyway, they kill my back. But the time of day to workout was interesting... I guess I can't use the "it's been a long day" excuse !

Crunches are one of the best moves to target your abs.
Fiction.
You probably know crunches are old-school, but you may not know why they're not very effective. What's their weakness? Most women initiate crunches with their hip flexors without engaging much of their core. This may get the surface muscles in your abs, but it ignores the ones underneath, which are also essential to a flat stomach.Plus, crunches mimic the sitting posture we use for much of the day. "We don't want to exacerbate this 'hips flexed/shoulders hunched' position," Jack explains. "The point of training is to fix the gaps and do something different. Crunches repeat a similar movement pattern.A better bet for flat abs? Focus on moves like the plank and side plan that work often-neglected areas of your core. And don't forget your butt, too. Weak glutes push your stomach out and give you a belly even if you don't have one. (Not fair, we know!)

The morning is the best time of the day to exercise.
Fiction.
If you have your pick of any time of the day, the late afternoon would be your ideal workout window. Muscle strength and body temperature both peak somewhere between 4 and 6 p.m., allowing you to work out heard with less effort. And you've eaten breakfast and lunch, meaning you'll have much more fuel in your tank."Also, your threshold for pain is at its highest in the afternoon and your mental clarity is still there," says Jack. "Of all the different variables, the most are in place at that time of day."Studies have show that the body can adapt to peak performance at any time, though, so if you'd rather work out in the morning or evening, go for it. "The best time of day to train is the time that you're able to actually do it. That's most important," notes Jack.


And.... check this out from Hungry Girl :

Cake Mix + Canned Pure Pumpkin

PER SERVING (1 piece, 1/12th of cake): 183 calories, 3.5g fat, 301mg sodium, 37g carbs, 1.25g fiber, 20.5g sugars, 2g protein -- POINTS® value 4*

Ingredients:
One 18.25-oz. box moist-style cake mix
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly -- batter will be VERY thick -- and transfer to a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray; bake in the oven until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. (Refer to cake-mix box for pan size and approximate bake time.) MAKES 12 SERVINGS

• Best Flavor: Devil's food cake mix is CLEARLY a classic choice. (Hello?! Yum Yum Brownie Muffins!) But spice cake mix... WOW. Yellow and white cake mixes, sadly, do not work as well.
  
• The Texture: Thick and dense in the BEST possible way. Brownie-like, in the case of the devil's food; the spice cake reminded us of pumpkin bread!
• The Taste: No one would ever guess this is guilt-free in any way. It's delicious!