Get a rockin` body

As a Personal trainer I wanna help you get the body and the fitness level you desire. Through an on going relationship as we meet for continuous work out sessions, you will see massive changes in your bodily health. This will take place at Redding`s finest gym Everyday Fitness, where you don`t even have to be a member to train with me!

My strength is making exercise enjoyable. By using many different methods and equipment, loosing weight, getting the abs of your dreams or toning up will be "mission possible"!
  I am constantly working to advance my own fitness level and through that I stay knowledgeable and on the edge of this profession.
Maybe you used to be in really good shape. You feel like your always on a new diet, you cant seem to loose the babyweight, or you really dont have any motivation, I can help.

I am extremely passionate about fitness and health and offer quality service to my clients. Contact me for a chat, questions and possibly a free work out session.

mrsjkunde@gmail.com

530 510 3215

or ask for me at Everyday Fitness

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Soup and snow

 Yesterday we spent the day in a truck, around Mt. Lassen area, hunting down the perfect Christmas tree. The snow was beautiful and powdery. My thoughts wandered to back in the days when I would go snowboarding with my friends. They were completely in to it, and living it up. I would enjoy watching snow sport people. One kind  had the newest gear and clothes. Obviously they had spent lots of money on having the coolest jacket and colorful ski pants. Up in the slope, ready to take on the challenging down hill, I would quickly learn that they were not very good at their chosen sport. On the other hand I learned about another type of people up there; those people that looked like they went in the neighbors barn and dug out an old snow jacket from 20 years ago. They would just cruise down hill like it was nobodies business - like as if it was the easiest thing in the world. 

Ya, I was neither. I did not have the gear and I never got good. =) But what I was left with, was lots of good memories from trying, bruising and crying. =) The magical view and peacefulness of sitting on the lift up a hill is difficult to describe, it has to be experienced.My favorite part.

Being outside in the snow yesterday quickly reminded me of how it is like to be cold. It just creeps up your back, your feet get wet. Oh how I hated being dunked in the snow by the boys in school, I mean seriously - that was just plain unfair.

Anyways, all this led to craving something that would really warm me up. Something tasty and fresh. After searching through my fridge, I landed on using my tomatoes on the vine. Fresh, full of vitamins and so easy to use. Here is my recipe for a simple, creamed and delicious tomato soup. 

Simple, creamed

-Tomato Soup- 

For 2 people you need

15 small tomatoes

3-4 Cups of water

Dash of salt and pepper

1-2 tbs. whipping cream

1 can of tomato sauce/paste

1-2 tbs. maple syrup

optional - 3-4 eggs hard boiled, dipping bread

• Cut the tomatoes in cubes and let boil with a cup of water for about 20 minutes
• Add the can of tomato sauce and water. 
• Add maple syrup and spice
• Stir in desired amount of whipping cream - I only use a dash because it still makes the soup creamy. I don't prefer my soup very thick. But make it how you like it.
• Keep cooking the soup for another 10-15 minutes.
• Let the eggs boil for about 8 minutes, make sure you poke a tiny whole in them. 
• Cool the eggs under running cold water, peel and cut into pieces and add to the soup. 

My husband was quick to praise me for this soup. He claimed it was THE best soup I have ever served him. Trust me, he is a picky eater so I'm excited to hear that from him. He finished up all the soup and ended the meal with saying how warm he was. Yes, this soup will surely warm you up on a cold winter day.  
What is you favorite soup?

KISSES

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Fit for the season and beyond

December is ahead of us all, and I do not know this for a fact - but I suspect this to be the month we gain the most weight? I think holiday season can be extremely sneaky and a trap for many health wise. Personally I absolutely love baking Christmas cookies, dinner parties, desserts of all sorts... but here are some of the things I will do to stay healthy and kind to my body for the season;

• Keep working out - The day I don't go and work out, will be an exception. NOT the other way around. If traveling - I bring my running shoes. And make sure you dress up well going to the gym and coming home, cause it can be freezing out there.

• Take Vitamins - Iron, vitamin C/B12/other B's/D. I like to get a big cup of fresh pressed orange juice or better yet - raw juiced vegetables. I also take Floravital - a gluten free formula of herb ekstrakts, Raw vitamin Code prenatal and bee pollen

 

• Homemade - Prepare meals from scratch. It can be healthier and better tasting then frozen, modified and messed up food. Pick vegetables and fruit that are in season. Right now typically bananas, asparagus, raspberries, cabbage, celery, cucumber and oranges etc.

 Enjoy - the options. Breakfast with the extended family during holiday season does not have to consist of bacon, potatoes and eggs. And for those of us that have sensitivities to food - it does not have to be sad either. In my family there is always fresh fruit and berries around. My sweet grandma Jan and her man loves eating breakfast at this one coffeehouse where they used to get bagels, but she cannot have gluten and such food anymore. So now she brings everything she needs for a yummi breakfast - blueberries, strawberries, nectarines, apples and some yogurt and makes it happen right there. Absolutely love it.

This morning I made a fresh fruit salad with raw raspberry sauce on top

For one person you need;

1 (ripe) pear

1 (ripe) banana

1 crispy apple

a handfull of cut up almonds

1 tbs maple syrup (optional)

Raw Raspberry sauce;

1 cup frozen raspberries

2 tbs maple syrup/agave nectar

1/2 cup of water

Mix in a blender

 -KISSES -

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Adding this to my December playlist FOR SURE!

 Introducing to you, the one and only... Lucas. He is an incredible man, good friend and phenomenal musician. Here is his last project.



Kisses

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Hopes up!

This week has been incredible. I simply feel like jumping around with joy, in my one piece, all day long. 

"You have permission to get your hopes up" -Danny Silk

That quote has been echoing over my head whenever my dreams seemed distant..
Pursuing a career as a fitness instructor has been a working project for a while. Many times I`ve wanted to quit, give up or just run away. But taking it one day at the time,  one goal ahead of me, I now find myself helping unique people reach their fitness goals.
This week for example, I got to sub the popular work out class "Briathlon" at my gym. As a first timer instructing a body sculpt class for well trained people, I was a little nervous. Very nervous actually. I cannot even tell you how many times I have attended fitness classes and envisioned myself as the instructor. And all of a sudden (not without a process of course) here it was... my first opportunity to instruct a class like that. If you ask me how it went, I might or might not have learned more what to not do. =) But the good news is that I did "good" and was asked to do it again tonight. WOOH

Some exercises I've done this week

• assisted pull up
• barbell bent over row
• barbell side bent
• cable seated row
• abdominal reverse curl
• bar crunch

I did 15 reps, then 10, then 5 with raising the weight every time. After a 20 sec. rest I would go back down same reps. The result... my muscles felt like jello. Love it!
I do miss going for long runs outside. It is just to cold.. But I am really enjoying keeping my focus on strength training. Every day I jump on a stationary bike and do Spinning intervals. They are great for  working on strength in leg muscles and to get the pulse going.

Breakfast! Oat meal is healthy fast food. Just add hot water. Boom.

Thank you for reading my post today, I hope your day is amazing and full of hope! 

What could you be more hopeful about?

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Bits and pieces from my day

Started with a Solid breakfast....

Gluten free buffins that I made the other day, with brown goat cheese and raspberry jam..

sooooooo yummi!

Then I made a little Christmas decoration, using tangerines and some cloves

Many people use this for counting down days till Christmas, when making it - put the same amount of cloves as there is days left till Christmas, every day you pull out one clove...=)

Woow, Birthday party for a friend at the bowling aly, 

I actually got a strike right after this photo was taken... Yes, I was very surprised.

It was super fun thou.

Becky my bff sure knows how to bowl with style. SHE is amazing!

Fun day =)

Kisses

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H20

It is one lazy Sunday. The clouds are indecisive about letting it rain in Redding today, just as I was completely indecisive about getting out of bed this morning. Luckily, it is Sunday - it`s OK.
I pulled myself together by noon and dished up "made from scratch meat cakes with gravy, potatoes and pea stue" - and the husband loved it. =) Personally this is the dish I have had 60% of all the Sundays of my life. Or at least close to it. Norwegians love their meat cakes.
I tried to work out for a little today but it brought on a headache, adding that with feeling tired today I finally concluded that I might infact be dehydrated. Oh dear water, I am sorry I have failed to drink enough of you!
2 liters of water later, I am starting to feel a little better. There is plenty of hours left of this day and I will keep drinking, Fiji water, sparkling water and lots of it. How much water do you drink every day?
Here I am snuggled up in our couch. Gonna take it easy tonight, maybe watch a Christmas movie with my Love and just rest.
Have a beautiful evening!

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The thing about almonds

Since I made my goodie list some weeks ago, I have been wanting to dive deeper about the benefits of almonds. Almonds is an amazingly nutrious nut and a very healthy snack. here is a few of the benefits:

• High in the health promoting monounsaturated fat which reduces risk of heart disease
• Promote cardiovascular health by providing important electrolytes
• helps decrease blood sugar rise after meals

 

Some practical tips for eating almonds 4 times a week:

•  Keep raw almonds in your purse for random need of snack
• Raw Almond butter with apples is amazing
• Make flour of it and use it in you pie crust
• Add a handful of almonds to you morning smoothie
• Chop it up and put it in your fruit punch or Glogg (Norwegian spiced Christmas drink)

I'm always for eating many smaller meals every day, versus 2 LARGE meals only. Adding a healthy snack can make huge differences in balancing out the hunger rush that hits out of nowhere. Plus it keeps your metabolism working.
I will have my almonds today in a big cup of hot Glogg, the rain is pouring outside, my friends are on their way over, we are baking Christmas cookies.

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Saturday, rainy day, Spinning class today, Gonna be a GOOD day! Happy Saturday ;)

Kisses

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My work outs - week 46

 Waking up this morning I felt rested and ready for fun. I got out of bed and went to my gym, apparently many people had the same idea. The gym was packed with all kinds of people with all kinds of goals. A surprise was waiting for me at the front desk today.. my very own business card. Hurray!

My goal for the next couple of weeks is to focus on strength training. I have allot of energy to get out of my body after all the sitting down/traveling last week. Here's my weekly work outs...

Do you schedule your work out?
What do you prefer, strength or cardio training?

Kisses

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Gluten free Bread - Buffins

There is nothing like freshly baked bread with a dash of high quality butter. This might seem weird to a person without gluten sensitivity - it's just bread, right? But for someone who can't just go down to the supermarket and get some wheat filled goodies, the freshly baked experience of GF bread, that actually tastes good (!!) is rare. Although getting more common and accessible

A month ago as I visited my sister, who also is sensitive to gluten, she served GF bread every morning with no sweat. So I got a hold of this recipe - Morten's Gluten free Bread. And here it is in my version.. I don't have a bread baking machine, neither do I have the patience to wait for a whole big bread to bake for an hour and a half. Those two facts paired with "I love my bread crusty" equals Buffins. Not bread, not muffins, but bread in muffin forms.

Here is how you do it:

Mix

2 Cups and a dash of luke warm water

with

2 oz oil

set aside

In a blender crush 

2 oz sunflower seeds

2 oz flax seeds

2 oz sesame seeds

Add to

500g GF flour (I used Semper Grow melblanding)

0,5 tps salt

1 packet of dry yeast

Mix well, spoon into muffin form and drizzle poppy seeds on top.

Shape the buffins however you prefer.

Put it in a preheated oven at about 350F for 20 minutes. Then turn down the temperature to 300F

for another 10 minutes. They should be crusty on the outside and dough free on the inside. 

Try a buffin with your salad... I like to add a dash of pure Irish butter. 

mmm

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Trust the process

   

The last week has been an amazing one. Traveling always brings new inspiration, like this quote I found. I was walking through San Francisco airport and saw these quotablecards. And this one in particular just stood out to me. -Slow down, calm down, don't worry, don't hurry, trust the process.- It can seem so overwhelming to focuse on our goal sometimes, they can seem so far away. Wether it's being in school, pursuing dreams, fitness related or even in relationships. It takes time to build anything that is good. 

I love my Husband, and I love being married so so much. It's been almost four years since I first met Jeffrey. We got introduced and shook hands, and I knew I had laid my eyes on a very special Man.

It has been an amazing time getting to know him and his family. You see, one of my biggest dream growing up, was to get married. But not with just anyone, The one. And going from knowing of someone, to deciding that it is Mr.Right takes allot of time. There has been thousands of conversations, laughs and hugs over the last four years. We have travelled, celebrated and cried together. It is one of those things that cannot be hurried, I think. And it is the most rewarding thing...investing in relationships. 

This fall we decided to get some photos taken with our family

Jeffrey's Mom is always so full of laughter and happiness.. Here she is holding her tummy laughing =)

My sister in law and Jeffrey's Mom

And here we are, the Kunde Men and their wifes.

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My Tuesday morning

My alarm went off at 5.30AM... So I got out of bed and out the door, a Spinning class was waiting! Sooo early for not having slept much the last couple of days. But that's ok, cause after my work out I felt more energetic then in days. My body was seriously itching to get moving again. ONLY 5 weeks til Christmas now, I don't know about you, but I feel extremely motivated to get all kinds of work out in before we end year 2010.

Here is my outfit for the day...

 My jeans are Nudie jeans, my sweater is from Bik Bok in Norway and my Espadrillos are from H&M.

Here is the play list for my Spinning class:

Vermillion - The Album Leaf

Glow - Madcon

Blue Suede Shoes - Elvis

I gotta feeling - (David Guetta) The Black Eyed Peas

Are you gonna go my way - Lenny Kravitz

Galapagos - Work out mix 2010

Seglopur - Sigur Ros

Heartbreak warfare - John Mayer

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California Bound

We landed in Norway on Friday - the land was covered with snow and it was a true winter wonderland! It has been an incredible weekend with loads of fun, hardly any sleep (!! so tiiired) and now we are waiting to be picked up to go the airport and journey home to California. I cant wait for my next work out...! But first, enjoy the flights home - 15 hours total of being in the air.

Kisses!

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My favorite goodie

 Woke up this morning to a freezing cold apartment, it`s like out of nowhere the fall just hit us. I hear rumors about snow falling in Tønsberg, Norway today.. and we are only a couple of days away!! =) Packing, loading up on vitamins, cleaning our home, laundry and finishing christmas shopping for my dear family in Norway - yup thats right - christmas shopping, is all on my list of things to do today.
This week I´ve been taking it very easy, I felt like a cold was coming on so no running for me this week. I did some Pilate`s yesterday, and some core training earlier this week.

Anyways...I'm absolutely thrilled about travelling this weekend! Some of the million reasons are:
 - I get to travel WITH my Husband (!!!),
 - and my friends (The Quilala family, Josh, Nathan, Brandon and Jonathan
 - I will see my mom, my sisters....my nieces and nephews...and other friends!
 - Norway, Norway, Norway (a reason in itself)

I always pack a little snack-pack with me when I travel, but a little refreshment is also good to have when running errands around town or just to keep in your kitchen to nibble on while cooking.

- Figs - When fresh and in season
- Almonds - packed full of nutrition
- Tea - hot or iced, white, green, fruity, with a splash of milk, or a spoonful of honey.
- Iced grapes - rinse your favorite grapes and pop toss them in the freezer.
- Sweet potato chips and hummus - Thank you Trader Joe`s
- Air popcorn - pop it in an airpoper with coconut oil, spiced with nutritional yeast and some sea salt
- Raw Prana Bar - apricot goji is my favorite. Love to find this one on the bottom of my purse after a good long work out. So tasty!

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Salmon Salad

 Here is one of those dishes that you either hate or you love. I made this recipe into my own after having seen a recipe similar only with a few more ingredients. My husband LOVES this salad.

This delicious salad is extremely fast to make and it`s also very flavorful!!!
Here is how to make it for two people...

At the store pick up

- a bag of arugula salad

- one container of crumbled feta cheese

- 2 pieces of salmon filets

Other then that you`ll need olive oil, salt and pepper.

 

Pour the bag of arugula in a big bowl, add the feta cheese and mix it together

 Let the salmon steam cook for about 15-20 minutes

 

Then smash the cooked salmon and let it cool down

 Now mix the salmon in with the arugula and feta cheese - sprinkle live oil, salt and some pepper on top. Mix it together and serve it right away. This salad works well with tasty garlic bread!

Let me know how it goes if you test out this recipe.. 

 - Bon appetite -

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Thanks!

I wanna say a big - THANK YOU - to you who leave me such sweet comments.... I love reading them, I love that you took your time writing it, and that I get to know that YOU read my blog.
Thank you thank you thank you!! ;)

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Building a strong core

You know how buildings need a strong foundation to stand.. Well, Our bodies needs a strong core to stand too! I'm not just talking about training our abs ("six-pack hurray!"), real core training is so much more. Improving posture, enhancing coordination, athletic performance and improved functional capacity is all related to having a strong core. It is even said to be the key component to fitness...

A building might have 100 floors and a cool structure to it, but it does not have the ability to jump and dance around.  I love dancing. Silly dancing, zumba dancing, salsa...!
There is a million of little important things happening inside our middle, around our core. Our abdominal muscles get the credit for protecting our back, but fact is that it`s only a tiny part of what makes up the core. There`s a whole bunch of other muscles playing a part in the foundation for movement.

The core is defined as the structure of the body that run from the shoulders down to the pelvis. All these joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones work together to stabilize the body. When our spine is aligned well, the center of gravity can manage the physical forces presented to the body. When misaligned, the body must make adjustments in order to compensate, creating a stress and waste of energy = Weak and unbalanced core muscles are linked to lower back pains.

So if you do experience back pains, but you want to start working out to get your core strong, please talk to your doctor before you start doing anything. In case of injuries or whatever, just handle your body with care! If you feel like you should be training and gaining some strength in your body then here are my suggestions...

Core training can be done in so many ways, including standing, on a sticky mat and on a stability ball. Classes like Pilate`s, yoga, Zumba and other cardio classes is a great resource for training our core. But it can also easily be done at home. Yey! While working on it make sure you breath deeply as it activates deep abdominal muscles and aid in stabilization to perform exercises efficiently and safely - so make sure you utilize breathing patterns and deep breathing.
for example > lay on the floor facing down, hands and feet stretched out in a "swimmer" position - do light pushes. Try doing 3 repetitions of 10, end with one where you hold to failure.

To sum it up - don't forget about your core! It is crucial to our functioning - especially if you plan on dancing on tables when your retired. Woop!

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Power Breakfast

(- Friendly recipe for people with allergies - )

They say that eating breakfast is the most important meal in a day. Some may argue and say that you can loose weight by exercising on an empty stomach. I have found for myself that I can exercise longer and better when I have had my breakfast first! Without, I can only go for so long, I get tired fast etc.
Here is a recipe I developed that is really healthy and full of nutrients. Count on it to carry you to the gym for a rigorous morning workout. It is filling, tastes good, and is good for you!
I call it “power breakfast” and it only takes a couple of minutes to make.....

You need:
1 ripe banana

1/2 cup water

1 Tb almond butter

2 Tbs hempseeds

3 Tbs ground flax meal

and

3 Tbs oat flour

Blend banana, water, almond butter and hempseeds till creamy. Pour in a bowl and add the flours. You can also add more water to the recipe and make your own “milk” to pour atop your regular cereal.

 Some of the many benefits:
The banana is an excellent source of potassium. Potassium, an important electrolyte, helps to regulate blood pressure and protects against heart disease and strokes. In addition, it soothes the gastrointestinal tract due to the fiber pectin that normalizes bowel function.
This meal also provides lots of protein, iron, vitamin B1, B6 and C and soluble dietary fiber. Almonds and flaxseeds act as anti-cancer foods. The hempseeds provide a significant amount of omega 3 (ALA) and omega 6 (fatty acid) and are amongst the so-called superfoods.

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Power - up the hill

These last three days have been busy!! I had a million of things to catch up on, Christmas gift shopping, laundry, home-cooked meals and finding the perfect color changing tree for our family photo shoot we did today. Done, done, done and done.

Here is the play list I used for my Spinning class this morning.... I called the profile "Power up the hill" - worked on strength as we climbed up 2 major hills, with a sprint in between.

You belong with me - Taylor Swift
Felt good on my lips - Tim McGraw
Need you now - Lady Antebellum
Put a girl in it - Brooks and Dunn
Clouds up - Air
Chrysalis - Dousk
I run to you - Lady Antebellum
Union House branch - Alisson Krauss
Mine - Taylor Swift
In between lines - The Album Leaf

It is good to mix it up a little when it comes to play lists for working out.. This one was fun an fitting to a slower work out, climbing those hills. Country music is so fun! =) Aaaaand here is me looking exhausted after the class...

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A perfect run

It takes some Right conditions to have a great run! What time of the day, when was your last meal, weather (if you run outside..), trail - hills, flat road ect, I think even your emotions can have an affect on a run.
Earlier this week I had the roughest time getting down a really good run. My Monday run was super long, my legs felt heavy and my body just didn`t wanna co-operate. On Tuesday I went to the gym, did some exercises for my arms and had planned to run home because we only had one car this week so Jeffrey dropped me off there. And that run was only about 2.7 miles, but with all the hills that Redding has to offer, it turned out to be a heavy intense interval training!!
It is frustrating to not achieve fully what you set out to do. That night I could not sleep very well, so I started thinking about how it would be like if I ran farther then what I had so far. I thought about what route that could be in Redding, I considered hills, I even planned out that I probably should try to run at a different time of the day then what I had previously done this week.
The next morning when I woke up I knew I had to test it out!
I got my running shoes on, my heart rate monitor, I checked the temperature outside..... the conditioned seemed perfect. But I could still be fooled. My body could say no. I started out slowly, allowing my body to get ready. A mile and a half in to my run I started building great hopes for this run. I felt ready for more..
About 3 miles in to it I found a water fountain like I had hoped for, snacked on a fig before I quickly continued my run. At this point I felt completely renewed. At about mile 5,7 I had another stop for water and the last fig. I knew I could keep going! The last couple of miles I was able to keep up with the steady pace and made it home, having finished 8.1 miles/12KM in 1 hour and 16 minutes. 

Here is me after getting home...

I am stoked to say it mildly. Focusing on doing a huge load of cardio for a season, is unexpectedly turning out to be really exciting and fulfilling! Marathon runners run this loop 3 times plus 2 more miles......... Crazy!!!!

Anyway, just instructed a Spinning class at Everyday Fitness. The rest of the day is kinda vacation...... Jeffrey and I will relax and have FUN! Maybe go Christmas shopping. It`s only a week now until we fly to Norway for a weekend. Hurray!!

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