Second offer for tonight-TRX Force Kit Tactical on sale! Great price on great gear

Here's the next offer, and this one is distinctly fitness related.  TRX is one of the pioneeers in suspension training and makes a variety of quality equipment sets and workout tapes, dvds and apps.  One of their sets is the TRX Force Kit in "tactical" design.  Here's what it looks like and includes:   If you follow the links on the side of the page,   you can get the normally $299 Force Kit Tactical for the great price of $219!  I'm not good at math, but that's $80 off, which is almost 1/3 off.  This is a limited time offer so get your's now!

Great Big Canvas-art and pictures to keep you motivated and beautify your walls

Ok, this post has little to do with fitness, but is related to the Performance bike post from a few weeks ago.  That was a “paid blogger op” that I received via e-mail.  A paid blogger op is where a company compensates bloggers for posting to their blogs.  The way the program I am part of works is I get a flat fee (usually $5-$10, but it varies) and the opportunity to receive a commission.

Well, since participating in the Performance offer, I’ve received other offers, but none of them fit at all.  A couple were for underwear-everything from performance underlayers to lingerie.  Since each post requires a photo, I’m not sure anyone wants me to do lingerie modeling!  The one I almost posted was for pajamas, but still not in keeping with the blog theme.

Then today’s offer came in.  It is also not related to fitness, but I wanted to post about all the strange offers I’ve gotten, so I decided to check this company out.  It’s called Great Big Canvas and sells art and photographs ready to hang on your walls.  At first I thought it would be all art photos, but as I browsed their website they have way way more subjects.  Some I particularly like are the military, sports and college ones.  Here's a link to their website:  http://socopm.us/rVSRy  Here's my favorite pic of the trees that used to be at Toomer's Corner in Auburn.

So I’m taking advantage of the paid blogger opportunity, and suggesting you check Great Big Canvas out.  Here’s the link again-maybe a good way to spend your Christmas cash!  And for those more interested in art pictures than the military/sports/college pictures, here's a great offer: 

From through January 2014, Great BIG Canvas is offering 40% off all Radiant Orchid prints and wall art. (if link isn't working try here)

"Savings will be automatically applied to cart through link. Promotion ends 1/31/14."

"This post was created in partnership with eAccountable. All opinions are my own"

The Return of the Son of Portion Control

I travel a significant amount due to my job (Side note:  The blogging and "YouTube World Domination Plan" basically makes enough for a cup of coffee most months...)   When you travel, you tend to eat one of three places:  The continental breakfast at the hotel, fast food places/pizza joints, and full service restaurants.  What I have noticed after returning to this job from my "vacation" in Afghanistan was that I eat much more when I'm on the road, and generally feel bloated and almost sick by Thursday most weeks.  As we tend to go back to the same locales over and over like most business travelers, it wasn't as much what I ate as how much I ate.

I normally don't eat breakfast, or much for breakfast, but I love the waffle irons most hotels have.  At one extreme the Hilton Garden Inns have a full up breakfast buffet and include anything on the morning menu!  Can you say huge omelettes or Eggs Benedict AND a waffle?  I sure have to my waitress more than once!  Then a nice combo meal from a fast food joint, and by the time we head out to supper I shouldn't even get an appetizer, let alone the dinner special with a shared appetizer.  At least we get one appetizer for every two or three of us.  Except for Chili's chips.  Gotta have lots of Chili's chips.....

So after a few days of that, I feel pretty full/bloated.  I experimented in week three of three on the road last month, and the weeks at home afterwards with portion control.  Even with Thanksgiving Dinner thrown in there, where portion control is ensuring the portions all fit on multiple plates, I felt much better the last week on the road and the two weeks at home.  This week on the road I passed up on the waffle two mornings (heresy I know) and didn't even eat lunch two days-I snacked on reasonably healthy things including fruit.  I had much more energy and felt better-even with the usual adjustements of sleeping and life on the road.  I'm not sure how it will help with the extra ten pounds or so I am carrying-that will also require more workouts, but just the quality of life changes are encouraging!

So I'd recommend watching how much you eat as well as what you eat-you'll likely find yourself more energetic and feeling better too.  Have a blessed weekend-

Visiting one of my favorite gyms while on the road

My job requires travel to multiple bases throughout the year.  One of the bases we go to regularly is Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.  As a large joint base, it has lots of gyms.  I found one during a trip up here about a year ago that doesn't look like much from the outside, but that is a wrong assessment.

Like most military fitness centers it has lots and lots of aerobic gear.  But then it gets good.  Adjacent to that is a free weight room as big as most I've ever seen on a base.  Plus some of the other normal stuff-pool, stretching/yoga class area, but then the clincher:  About a 1500 sguare foot crossfit/functional fitness/powerlifting area.  I've worked out in this room at 0515 in the morning (yeah used to be motivated!) but never seen more than about 2-3 other folks in there.  Well, hit it at about 1PM today, a Sunday, and it was packed!  Awesome, as everyone was working hard, no hanging out.

Yeah, since I've reset my Stronglifts 5x5 yet again I was moving the least weight, but got the workout done and on my way.  Hope to get back in there again this week at least once.