Arms + Legs Workout

Arms + Legs...My favorite body parts to train! Seriously, I LOVE leg day (if you haven't noticed from all the leg workouts on the website and brutal leg workouts in our She Sweats Workout Plans!) but arm day is a close second. I did this workout a few weeks ago when I knew I wouldn't be working out enough to split my days like normal. I ended up loving it although I kind of had to piece it together from what was available in the gym.

You can do this as a circuit workout (which means you go all the way through once before resting or you can split it up how I have it split). Make it your workout - remember the last two reps should be difficult but not impossible!

You can also do this workout at home, instead of the smith machine just use dumbbells or any kind of weight that you have available.

Join our "Spring Into Summer" Workout Challenge! Get more information here.

ARMS + LEGS Workout

3X10 smith machine squats
3X10 smith machine lunges
3X8 ez bar curl

3X12 step-ups
30 second butt kicks

3X10 overhead tricep extensions
3X12 tricep extensions (tricep kickbacks)
3X10 split squats

Devils Garden Primitive Loop (Arches National Park)

Devils Garden Primitive Loop
Arches National Park

• Trailhead Location: Devils Garden Trailhead

(Latitude, Longitude: 38.783179, -109.594930)

• Payoff Factor: 4

(1 being “A complete waste of time and energy”, 5 being “The payoff is definitely worth the effort“)

• Difficulty Factor: 2 (only a couple difficult sections with some exposure to heights)

1 being your Grandma can do this hike, 5 being you’ll feel like your Grandma when this hike is over)

• Length (Distance): 7.4 miles round-trip
• Length (Time): 3.5 - 5 hours (with stops at all arches)
• Cumulative Elevation Gain: 1,100 feet (5,160 lowest, 5,487 highest)

Keep your eyes open for wildlife, like this snake slithering back into his hole!

Ignore our tired faces! At this point, we had been hiking non-stop for a week and it was super early in the morning (to beat the crowds!)

Trip Report:

This was our favorite hike in Arches National Park and in the general area of Moab, Utah.  There are amazing sites to see at regular intervals (which is great for my ADD) and interesting routes that take you along the spine of slickrock fins with mesmerizing pinnacles and endless interesting rock gardens in all directions.  Make it a point to get to the trailhead just after sunset as there were literally over 100 people starting the hike when we finished around 10:30 a.m.  Had we started around that time, it wouldn’t have been worth it to hike the loop although I imagine that most people turn around and return to their vehicles after viewing the Landscape Arch.

As with all hikes in the desert, there is minimal shade and maximal sunlight, so bring plenty of water (around 3 Liters per person) and apply sunscreen and/or protective clothing to shield the sunlight.

For a 7+ mile hike, there is a lot of action packed into this trail - seven named arches and one optional spur trail to a 150’ monolith named “Dark Angel”.  Once you get past Landscape Arch, you will see a NPS sign warning, “Caution, primitive trail, difficult hiking;”  maybe this is to warn the massive amount of people hiking to Landscape Arch not to venture onto the slickrock spines or fins, but the trail is not overly difficult…if you have any experience in the backcountry, do not back down - the little degree difficulty is definitely worth it!

We completed this hike in a clockwise manner with a visit to Landscape Arch first (before visiting Tunnel and Pine Tree Arches) in order to view the arch with favorable morning sunlight which makes for an amazing photographic opportunity against the vivid blue Utah sky.  This is definitely the most advisable route.

Here are the key highlights (mileage markers) for the Devils Garden Primitive Loop:

• 0.0 - Start at northwest end of parking lot and follow solid gravel path
• 0.3 - Reach the spur trail to Tunnel Arch and Pine Arch 
• 1.4 - Reach Landscape Arch and the official start point of the primitive trail
• 1.8 - Reach the spur trail for Partition Arch (0.18 miles) and Navajo Arch (0.33 miles)
• 3.1 - Traverse the narrow spine of a fin with exposure to heights on both sides
• 3.7 - Reach the Double O Arch (at trail left).  There is a spur trail that leads to Dark Angel - this trip report does not include this side trip.
• 4.1 - Reach the spur trail to Private Arch (0.5 mile round-trip)
• 5.3 - Criss-cross through the wash (sandy trail) and make the short climb up the trail for 0.2 mile to the prairie.
• 6.5 - Join up with the Devils Garden Trail that took you to Landscape Arch.
• 7.4 - Reach the parking lot after following the gravel path

Happy Trails!

- Scott

Strawberry-Banana Overnight Oats

We LOVE making oats in the crock pot and it seems like you do as well since crock pot oats are some of our most popular recipes! Have you tried our Cranberry Apple or our Peaches and Cream Steel Cut Oats? There are so many different yummy combinations!

You'll notice in our oat recipes (and even in our protein shake recipes) that we normally use unsweetened almond milk. There's a reason - because it provides the extra flavor needed (instead of only using water) without added sugar! Unsweetened almond milk (and now cashew milk) is a staple in our house. It's something we ALWAYS have on hand, just like steel cut oats! Our favorite brand is Silk and you can even get a coupon (using this link) to use next time you need to stock up!

For this recipe we had a few bananas that I needed to use quickly - and Scott requested added strawberries - so I simply added everything to the crock pot, went to sleep and when we woke up breakfast was ready! This is a perfect option for breakfast to pair with Greek yogurt, a protein shake, or eggs! You'll start your day off with a healthy meal and the energy you need to accomplish your goals!

P.S. Have you heard about our new Healthy Crock Pot Breakfast Recipes eCookbook?! Learn more here.

Clean Eat Recipe: Strawberry-Banana Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten free steel cut oats
• 2 mashed bananas
• 1 cup frozen organic strawberries
• 4 cups of Silk unsweetened cashew or almond milk
• 4 cups of water
• 1-2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp stevia extract
• ½ tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Spray your crock pot with non-stick spray or coat with coconut oil.
2. Put all the ingredients into your slow cooker and cook on low for around 8 hours.
3. Stir a few times and serve! Store in a container that holds at least 3.5 liters.

Yields 8 servings. To get an accurate serving size, weigh your entire batch (after cooked) and divide it by how many servings of oats you used. For example, one serving of steel cut oats is 1⁄4 dry so if you used 2 cups that is eight servings. Weigh your entire batch of oats and divide that by 8.

Macros (per serving):

• Calories - 213
• Carbs - 38 g
• Fat - 4 g
• Protein - 8 g
• Sugar - 6 g
• Fiber - 6 g

Connect with Silk to learn more about their products and try out some of their recipes!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.