Livening up my routine

It's rainy and yucky outside, but I won't let it get me down. I started out my usual routine with a tall glass of water and a workout. As a busy mom, I have found that workout DVDs, tapes and OnDemand have been my best friends in terms of convenience. If I had to go to the gym, I'd never stick to a good exercise regime. I rarely even make it down to the basement to use our own workout equipment.

Recently, I discovered the exercise section of the OnDemand service offered by our cable company. When I've exhausted my extensive exercise DVD and tape collection, I turn to this service to liven up my rotation (you should always alternate your workouts, not always relying on the same old standby).

The latest addition to my routine has been the Girls Next Door (Hef's women from the successful E! show) workout video. At first, I had the same reaction you're probably having.

About a week ago, I was flipping through the OnDemand menu with my husband when we came across it. We put it on for giggles that evening, but I decided to give it a try the next day. At that point, I just found the girls to be amusing.

To my surprise, I woke up the next day really feeling the results of this one, which usually happens when I try something new. Talk about a pain in the rear, and my thighs could feel it, too.

Brittany's Bootcamp actually has some great bridges and planks (she keeps one leg lifted), and Holly gets you using weights and a balance ball (but this can be done without them; try water bottles instead of weights). She also has a great ab move using hand weights, while twisting in a modified Pilates "V" pose. Kendra offers a kickboxing style mini workout, but I haven't used it as much.

The three individual workouts are only about 15-20 minutes in length, so its best combine workouts or add some extra cardio. I also take some extra time to stretch (its so important), since this, as well as many other exercise videos tend to only toss in a couple quick stretches at the end (not nearly enough).

After my workout, I had yet another green smoothie combining lots of kale (which can be strong for beginner green smoothie connoisseurs), orange, banana, raspberries, wheatgrass and spirulina. It looked a little sludge-like (berries tend to do that), but it was still good.

Now, that I've kept with my exercise program, I'll feel less guilt later when I polish off some more raw cookie dough. I have a plan for it (the cookie dough) in another recipe; if it works out, I'll share it with you later this week.