Category: fitness

Great Tasting Energy Tea from Zest Tea

When you think about tea, what do you think of? Honestly I have so many thoughts. I think of a cold refreshing tea on a hot summer day. I think about a nice warm cup of morning tea to start my day. I think about a beverage that has benefits beyond quenching my thirst pallet.

Zest Tea offers a variety of energy teas to enjoy anytime you need a boost of energy.

This high caffeine tea is delicious, refreshing, and just the kick you need without the crash.

Zest Tea loose leaf tea and tea bags are available in 6 different flavors:

  • blue lady
  • pomegranate mojito
  • earl gray
  • cinnamon apple
  • spicy masala chai
  • superberry samba

The Zest Tea sparkling teas are available in different flavors and varieties

  • Passionfruit Berry (this is the flavor I sampled and LOVE IT!)
  • Sweet Chai Infusion
  • Pomegranate Mint
  • Blackberry Lime Zero Sugar
  • Blood Orange Mango Zero Sugar
  • Cucumber Melon Zero Sugar

So what is in a cup of Zest Tea caffeinated tea?

  • ENERGY: Up to 150mg caffeine = 3x regular tea
  • FOCUS: 40mg L-Theanine = no jitters, no crash
  • HEALTH: Natural, Non-GMO certified ingredients

Honestly, I loved all the teas. The flavors, the quality of the tea, the fragrance, it was definitely high quality.

One thing I really loved though was the Sparkling Teas for the summer. Cold, refreshing, crisp, just what I need on a hot day. I took several cans with me when we went to the beach. Because Zest Tea is the tea with the most caffeine, it’s great for long road trips. The added focus benefit was awesome too.

I’m usually the one driving when we go on roadtrips. My husband actually enjoys the fact that I drive and it benefits me because I get motion sickness as a passenger. I’ve tried a lot of caffeinated drinks during road trips but this was by far the best. I’m gonna have to order more for our next trip. We’re headed to State College in November to see Kane Brown, just me and the hubs.It’s a long awaited overnight getaway for me and the hubs. That hasn’t happened without the kids in a couple years.

With the kids starting back to school I’ll be enjoying my sips of hot Zest Tea on the porch while waiting for the bus to drop them off. That way I’ll be sure to meet them with the same energy they meet me with.

You can check out Zest Tea out here. I haven’t had the opportunity to try the zero sugar but the flavors sound amazing. I’ve been trying to cut sugar out of my beverages because it’s a pretty easy way to start reducing daily sugar intake.

GIVEAWAY

1 US winner will win a 20 ct package of Zest Tea tea bags.

Zest Tea

I received sample products in order to complete this post. Any opinions expressed are my own.

iFit Compatible Rower Deal!!! Almost 50% off!

I’ve been hooked on iFit every since we got our iFit compatible Proform treadmill almost two years ago. The programs are engaging, the trainers and guides are interesting, and I love the opportunity to earn magnets, t-shirts, etc as part of being an iFit member. It’s definitely motivation for me.

When we got our studio bike it HAD to be iFit compatible. I enjoy the bike programs just as much as the treadmill. The next piece of equipment on my home gym wish list is a rower. And yes, it needs to be iFit compatible for us.

Walmart currently has the ProForm Pro R10 Smart Rower with 10″ touchscreen and one year iFit membership nearly 50% off right now! The original price was $999. It’s currently on clearance for $524! I’m trying hard to talk my hubby into this.

Have you tried iFit before? Do you own a rower that is iFit compatible? What do you think? I understand there are less workouts available for the rower when compared to the treadmill in the bike but I’m ok with that.

On a side note, did you hear that iFit and the Sweat app have joined forces? It’s true. I’m so excited. iFit is continually growing. I feel like there is constantly something new happening to make it bigger and better. So much variety. They also have strength training, HIIT, and yoga workouts available too even if you don’t own any of the equipment.

Also, one tip if you are considering buying a treadmill or bike that’s iFit compatible. We opted for a cheaper treadmill that did not have the screen. We have to use our phones or ipad to do the programs on our treadmill. That means making sure the device we want/need to use is charged. After getting our bike that has a screen built in, I’m really wishing we would have chose a treadmill with a built in screen. Oh well, you live and you learn right?

This post does contain affiliate links. I will earn a small commission from sales made through my links.

I Worked With A Personal Trainer Virtually For 2 Month Here’s What I Got Out of It

Before the spring of 2020 I had never worked with a personal trainer. It was something I had thought about but I thought it was just something for celebs and people with money. I am neither.

As some of you know I’m a bit of a sweepstakes junkie. I like to enter sweeps as one of my hobbies. I had entered a sweepstakes through Forever Fitness F2 for 2 months of personal training and nutrition coaching. I never expected to win.

You can probably guess, I did end up being one of the winners. I was both excited and nervous. I had some many questions and concerns. Things like: Am I going to have to work around the trainers schedule or will they be accommodating? What if I just can’t do it? How will virtual personal training work and why is it different than me just taking live online classes? What if I start and I just don’t like it? I’m gonna feel bad and I’m gonna feel like a quitter. What if they hand me a menu and I don’t like half the things on it? I hate mushrooms!

I wondered how to become a personal trainer, like, what all is involved?

Dwayne from Forever Fitness F2 contacted me via email (that’s how I’m most comfortable) and had me fill out my profile. Choosing foods I liked and was willing to eat and putting foods in a category I did not want to eat. Bye bye mushrooms! I was asked what days and times are better for me to work out. He got a feel for where I was at related to my fitness level. I filled out a form letting him know what equipment I had access to which, at that time was an old treadmill, a few hand weights, and one kettlebell lol

My schedule was set up that I had a half hour 1:1 personal training sessions on Monday evening (I’m an evening workout person. I hate mornings and they accommodated me). I was scheduled for 2 virtual live workout classes a week. Bootcamp on Tuesday evenings and Cardio kickboxing on Thursdays (this was my favorite class). If I had something come up I could let them know and reschedule or jump in on a different class. They were always flexible.

So what benefits did I get out of working with a personal trainer for 2 months? More than I thought actually.

#1 When I started with the trainer I had been in a weight-loss plateau for about 2 months. The trainer helped me break that plateau and I lost another 5 lbs. This was huge for me because I don’t lose a lot of weight at one time with any program.

#2 While working with the trainer I had also won a Nossk trainer. Which is a body weight suspension trainer. He noticed it in one of our training session and told me he was going to incorporate it so I can learn how to use it. It was super helpful. Turns out I was trying to do some of the exercises from the booklet wrong! But he straightened me out.

#3 For years I had been doing squats. Never once did I think I was doing them wrong. Never once did anyone teach me proper form. Thanks to my trainer, I found out I was doing squats wrong my entire life! Again he straightened me out and my knees are thankful.

#4 I don’t often lack motivation to start working out, it’s just, I tend to not push myself as much as I probably should. The trainer helped me learn that I can do more than I thought I could.

#5 I was able to ask fitness and nutrition questions that would pop up in my journey. He always answered them without making me feel stupid. I felt like if I had a concern, question, or what-if question it would be answered professionally.

So how is working with a trainer different than taking live fitness classes? Listen I’ve done live classes. If I sign up and pay for a class and don’t show up they usually just take my money and run or sometimes offer me to reschedule. If I didn’t show up I got texts lol. One time I mixed up the time for a class. I thought it started at 7 pm but it actually started at 6 pm. at 6:05 I got a text “I don’t see you in class” lol Sometimes i need someone to help me stay on track and hold me accountable.

I think most people get the idea that they have to have a personal trainer for months until they reach a goal or to get the benefit. But, I really got a lot out of the 2 months working with Dwayne. I’d recommend it to anyone thinking about it, even if it’s just a month or two like me to get on the right rack. You might even learn a few things! Being able to do my training sessions virtually was a huge convenience for me too. No worrying about finding a sitter, driving there and back, forgetting something, the usuals of going to a gym.

This post is brought to you by Diamond Bloggers. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Everybody Walk Across Pennsylvania: A Virtual Walking Program

Penn State Extension has done it again with another fun program to help you stay fit. As a Pennsylvania native myself, this is particularly interesting to me. Do I have any Pennsylvania readers here?

Everybody Walk Across Pennsylvania is a free virtual walking program designed to help participants meet their health goals this spring. The eight-week, semi-structured program encourages participants to increase their physical activity and develop healthy eating habits. The program will run from April 5 to May 24.

Participants can join individually or form teams of five with family, friends, coworkers or even the family dog. Since it is a virtual program, locations and times of walking can be customized completely: mornings at the local park, lunchtime at home or around the neighborhood in the evenings. The program also includes an exercise conversion chart to convert many activities into reportable miles.

Each team member will try to walk an average of 10 miles per week. Team captains will be asked to report the total number of miles walked, and all participants will receive weekly emails with motivators to keep walking and strategies for healthy eating.

The weekly emails are related to the program’s themes. This year, Penn State Extension is collaborating with the Penn State Cancer Institute to provide more information about health and wellness, heathy eating, chronic illness and cancer prevention resources and tips.

Of course, Penn State Extension encourages you to follow all CDC and local guidelines during the pandemic. They even offer helpful tips. Maybe instead of walking as a group consider calling a teammate on your cell while you walk and talk.

I would personally add that, if you’re going to be in an area around other people don’t forget your mask. I also keep hand sanitizer in my car just in case. If it’s too cold to walk, I’ll be logging the miles on my treadmill.

The last time that Penn State Extension did this they had 471 participants that logged over 62,000 miles in all. That’s an awesome job!

If you’re interested in participating, registration deadline is March 29. You can find out more info, and register here: https://extension.psu.edu/everybody-walk-across-pa

Oh I forgot to mention, it’s also a free program. What a fun way to kick up your fitness or add to your fitness goals. I’ll be participating for sure!

Dancing & Life: Positive Quote For The Day

I love it when I see people really achieve their intentions.
The secret to creating resolutions that will last is creating plans with intention.
You succeed when your plans are aligned with your big-picture goals.
Tell us what your goals are for the year, and how they align with your resolutions.
How do you plan to put your intention for this year into action?

For me, I did so good with my health and fitness journey last year. When I say so good, I mean I was able to be pretty consistent with my workout programs, I learned how to calculate macros and became more aware of what i was eating. I even lost 10 lb. Though, over the holidays I slacked off and gained some weight back. But I’m back at it. For me, it wasn’t about waiting until Jan 1st or trying to fit into a certain article of clothing this time. I realized how much working out and eating better has helped with my depression, anxiety, and overall health. That is my intention. Sure I still have some weight loss goals and clothing size goals but that isn’t my driving force anymore.

So what will you set your intentions toward this year?

This post is sponsored post through Blog Meet Brand. Any opinions expressed are my own.