In years gone by I have hit the road countless times just running for 30-45 minutes, although I found this fun I was always naturally inclined to throw in things like sprints and pushups but wouldn’t as I had been brainwashed into ‘Jogging’ which is slow monotonous and simply painful. As time went by I discovered the joys of what I like to call a “Playful Run.”How to Run PlayfullyI go about my playful runs by simply putting on my Nike Free’s/Shorts/ T-shirt grabbing my iPod and hitting the road. I run at varying paces and throw in all kinds of things which make the whole process a 20-30 minute workout of varying difficulty dependent on how I feel that day; Some days I will throw in more sprints and pushups, other-days I will do more running and lunges. It all depends on how sore I am and how energetic I am feeling…Favorite things to do while Running1- Sprint Combinations: I love to throw in a few sets of sprints while running I usually go for 100-200 meters and then throw in a set of either explosive pushups or jumping squats. This combination of exercise has been shown to elicit a great HGH response.
2- Lunges to Burn: This is something to throw in at the end of a run, simply lunge until you feel your legs really burn, this will normally be 10-15 reps for each leg. It’s a great way to finish off a run and get a good burn in your quads.
3- Agility Training: This basically means doing things like sidesteps, running backwards, doing some long jumps and weaving between objects. It’s a great way to work on your balance and agility. Preparing you for a sport and it really works your mind-body connection.
4- Drop and Give me 20: This is quite simply stopping your run and either doing 20 pushups, 20 body-weight squats or Burpees. It’s a great way to change the rhythm of running and allow you to get a full body workout.
5- Hill Running: I am lucky to have a nice uneven hill near my house, which I can do, sprints up. These are especially challenging, as the surface is uneven and your running at an incline. If you don’t have access to a hill try and find an uneven surface to run on like grass or gravel.

Give it a Try

Hit the road and improvise, just keep things intense and keep the time under 30 minutes. If you throw in a combination of the above techniques you will achieve a great full-body workout with no equipment and it will allow you to get in touch with nature, try and improvise even further if you see a solid tree branch do some pull- ups, the beauty of a playful run is that it allows for so much creativity and randomness allowing your mind and body to be free….

I personally love doing these workouts first thing in the morning and there is no better way to start a day!

Photo Credit: ansbachers

About the Author

Chris writes on his blog, Zen To Fitness, to pass on things he has learned through life about fitness and lifestyle.

The following is a guest post by Leigh Mohammed from The Soap Kitchen.

When friends and people hear I am vegan they always ask me …
” What the hell does a vegan eat? “

So I am doing this for all the inquisitive ones, my hope is
1. You would be surprised to find out we do eat food
2. Maybe…hopefully, after you realize we do eat a vast array of food you would be tempted to also stat a vegan life style.

These dishes I cooked recently, and they all tasted wonderfulllll..:) you should try them too.

Tofu a la Orange
I was reading “Kitchen Mysteries” by Hervé This where he described a method to infuse flavor by injecting a mixture of Cointreau, salt and pepper into food and then microwaving it to evaporate the mixture inside.

Not having a needle handy, I decided to take advantage of tofu’s sponge-like nature and vacuum-seal the tofu with the cointreau mixture (1/4 cup cointreau, pinch of salt dissolved and fresh black pepper brought to a boil, then cooled).

After refrigerating it for six hours, I quickly seared the tofu cutlets in peanut oil in the wok (cut into six pieces with a slit cut in the center, rather than the standard eight pieces). With the cointreau permeating the tofu, it will scorch if you don’t keep an eye on it, so rotate often. Once it’s golden brown on both sides, turn the tofu down to low, and splash with a little tamari and let cook for another 1-2 minutes on both sides.

We had a little scape and onion filling leftover from the griddle cake the other night, so I used that to stuff in the pocket of the tofu.

The tofu was then placed on a sheet pan with a rack in the oven for 15 minutes at 350F to finish cooking the insides.

The final texture was almost creamy/melty inside with a nice balance of orange flavor throughout.

 

Tofu a la Orange

 

Stay tuned for more recipes from Leigh, and do not forget to visit her website, The Soap Kitchen.