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4 Common Excuses Not to Work Out (And How to Push Through Them)
Let’s face it, we’re all pretty good at making excuses not to work out at times.
And while it’s certainly important to listen to your body and take a rest day when you need it, most people end up taking more rest than they actually need—not because their body is asking for it, but because they keep finding excuses not to work out.
But you’re not going to let excuses stop you, are you? Because you’re awesome and you’re a total badass. Excuses won’t hold you back!
Here are 4 common excuses not to work out, and how to push through them every time:
The Hotel Room HIIT Workout
One of my biggest goals with 12 Minute Athlete is to show you that you really can work out anywhere.
So that’s why I decided to film a workout for you while in my hotel room in Denver, Colorado. As you can tell from the video, it was pretty tiny—I didn’t have much space, and I had no equipment at all to work with. But I still got in a kick-ass workout—and so can you, whether all you have is a hotel room, your parents’ basement or an outdoor park.
So stop making excuses, and start getting results!
And remember, in order to get the most out of these HIIT workouts, you have to work as hard as you possibly can. If you’re not tired by the end of your workout, you seriously didn’t work hard enough.
Here’s your hotel room HIIT workout:
The Best Pumpkin Protein Pancake Recipe Ever
I’m a summer girl. Seriously, I love everything about summer: the sun (duh), beaches, camping trips, lazy days in the park, flip flops, swimming, long, summer nights… you get the idea.
And while many people start to get excited for the fall, I get a little sad. Fall means rainy, shorter days, less sun, more layers. In fact, there’s pretty much only one thing I get excited about when it comes to fall: pumpkin (ok, that and brussels sprouts).
Oh, pumpkin. I love it in everything—in muffins, in lattes, in curries, especially in cookies. But there’s one thing I made recently that I’ve been missing out on all these years: pumpkin. protein. pancakes.
Whoa.
I mean, I love normal protein pancakes and all, so much so that I eat them at least a few times a week and often make extra to keep some in my freezer. But pumpkin protein pancakes! They’re so cinnamon-y, so pumpkin-y, so healthy, so delicious! Continue Reading →
Heavenly Berry Protein Cheesecake Recipe
Ok, by now you’ve probably realized I have a sweet tooth.
Truthfully, I’ve always been this way. Despite growing up in a household that ate pretty healthy most of the time, I was always trying to sneak something sweet. When I was little, we didn’t keep a lot of sweets around (or maybe they were just hidden from me), so I’d scavenge the cupboards and sneak bowls of sprinkles, sweetened shredded coconut, or whatever else sweet I could find that had even a hint of sugar.
And of course, when you’re a kid, or at least when you’re a fairly active kid, a little extra sugar here and there really doesn’t make a difference. It (usually) doesn’t screw with your energy levels, and doesn’t tend to cause weight gain as long as you’re active and bouncing around all the time like I was.
But once you reach adulthood? Yeah, the sweets you eat start to show. Continue Reading →
High Protein Flax Waffles Recipe (So Good!)
As much as I love my protein pancakes, sometimes it’s just nice to mix it up a little.
As a kid, I loved Belgian waffles—you know, those giant ones packed with flour and sugar and topped with gobs of whipped cream and strawberries.
The only problem with regular Belgian waffles? Not only are they not so good for you (each waffle with toppings can have 500 fairly empty calories or more), they also don’t fill you up for very long and leave you feeling like you just ate a giant pile of dough and sugar (which, in fact, you did) afterwards.
So that’s why, after craving one of these carb-filled waffles one day, I got the inspiration to make protein waffles. Because, why not? The first batch was a disaster—it stuck to my waffle maker and I was left with very little edible waffle. But the second batch? It was amazing.
Packed with protein and healthy fats to keep you full, these waffles are light and airy, with a delicious and perfectly crunchy outside. Seriously, they taste like you’re indulging in the real thing, only you don’t feel like you just ate a week’s worth of carbs after eating them!
Sold yet? Yeah, I thought so. Here’s the recipe for high protein flax waffles:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup vanilla whey protein
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup gluten-free old fashioned oats (quick oats will work too)
3/4 cup egg whites
1 Tbsp ground flax seeds
Directions:
Spray or brush your waffle maker with a little non-stick oil, and start heating it up. While the waffle maker is heating, blend all the ingredients together so you have a nice, semi-liquidy mixture. Try and get all the cottage cheese chunks out if you can.
Pour the waffle mix into your waffle maker, then cook until slightly golden. If you like your waffles extra crunchy, feel free to leave them in just a little longer.
Add your toppings and eat!
Macros (per one giant waffle of the three you get from the recipe):
Calories: 142
Protein: 16g
Carbs: 12.5g
Fat: 3.5g
Fiber: 2.5g
The Easiest 5 Ingredient Healthy Cookie Recipe Ever
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just feel too lazy to cook. Whether I’ve just made a lot of home cooked meals recently or just don’t feel like doing the dishes, this cooking laziness happens on a semi-regular basis.
And that wouldn’t necessarily be a problem—except that I’ve noticed that the lazier I get when it comes to cooking, the less healthy I eat.
So to try and combat that unhealthy eating pattern, I decided to put together some incredibly easy, totally excuse-free healthy cookies. These cookies are so easy to make, you can’t even pretend to be too lazy to make them. Plus, they have absolutely zero added sweeteners and can be made with ingredients almost everyone has just sitting around in their kitchen.
Since I made these for the first time, I’ve made multiple batches—I love them as pre-workout snack or to just throw a couple in my purse for healthy snacking while I’m away from home. Try them, you won’t be sorry!
Here’s how to make the easiest 5 ingredient healthy cookies ever: Continue Reading →
Naked Chocolate Chip & Oatmeal Protein Bars
As much as I love to cook (because I love to eat…), sometimes I get lazy in the kitchen.
Even though I may want to eat peanut butter protein balls or chocolate covered raspberry coconut protein bars, I just don’t always feel like going through the whole ordeal of mixing everything together, then getting melted chocolate all over the place because there is just pretty much no way not to make a mess when melting chocolate.
That’s why I decided I needed an easy, no-bake, no-chocolate coated yet high protein recipe I could just toss together the night before and not have to do anything extra complicated afterwards. Viola! This naked chocolate chip and oatmeal protein bar recipe was born.
It’s easy to make, tastes awesome, and you can throw it together quickly the night before a flight, a hiking trip, a trip to the beach, or wherever. And since there’s no chocolate coating, it won’t drench your kitchen in chocolate.
Sound good? Here’s the recipe:
Brutal 4 Exercise HIIT Workout
Workout equipment:
Workout type: 12 minute
Timer setting: 12 x :10 x :50
1. Box jumps
2. Elevated push ups
3. Kettlebell swings
4. Step ups
Watch the full workout video:
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Leave your reps in the comments below.
My reps for today’s workout:
Box jumps: 37, 33, 30
Elevated push ups: 24, 22, 21
Kettlebell swings (35 lb kettlebell): 26, 25, 25
Step ups: 21, 21, 22
Did you do this workout? 
5 Stretches You Should Be Doing on a Regular Basis
Although I rarely miss a workout, I’ve never been very good about ensuring I give my body the proper recovery it needs to bounce back after all my hard work.
Because even though I talk a lot about taking rest days, foam rolling, and not overtraining, mobility and recovery have been some of the hardest habits for me to build (and I know I’m not alone here). After all, recovery is boring. Sitting around with a foam roller for 30 minutes? I’d rather do a workout in half that time any day.
And when it comes to stretching, I’ve been even worse. I’ll tell myself I’ll stretch while watching TV at night, but when attempting to do this the other night I realized the main reason I rarely do it: stretching hurts!
I’m not talking about half-ass, wimpy stretching. I mean real stretching. Getting deep into those muscles so that you feel like you want to scream or cry or throw up or something similar.
