Mountain Climbers

Welcome to this week's Fit Tip Friday!We've got a new recipe, the same LF 12 Week Program discount, some new workouts, and a very special exercise spotlight guest for you. To kick this week's edition off, we'll will start with the exercise spotlight guest. I'd like to introduce you to the Mountain Climber.  

(Layman's Fitness Video Instructional Page)

How to Do a Mountain Climber

The Mountain Climber has been called many things: a core exercise, an upper body exercise, a lower body exercise, a stability exercise, a speed/agility exercise, a cardio exercise, etc...  They are all correct. This exercise really does it all. It challenges your proprioception (throw back to FTF #21), strengthens your core, builds endurance in your arms and lower body, requires mental focus, and elevates your heart rate.Mountain Climbers can be done as a stand-alone exercise, or you can add Mountain Climbers to other exercises to make them more difficult. For instance, do 5 Mountain Climbers on each leg and then perform a push-up, or a burpee, or a lateral crawl, etc...This versatile and effective movement is a great exercise to learn and add to your repertoire of go-to movements.  

15% Discount

Mountain Climbers make frequent cameos in the LF 12 Week Workout Program. This 12 week program guides you through 12 weeks of bodyweight training, and is accompanied by a 12 week devotional series that walks through topics relevant to exercise, fitness and Scripture. And we are in the last days of the January 2022 discount!!The 15% discount for the program ends February 1st. The discount code is below, and you can share the code up to 5 people. All you and your friends need to do is input the following discount code on the bottom of the LF Workout Page at checkout. Discount Code: Strength2022

New Recipe (Breakfast/Snack)

Homemade Nut Granola

Most store-bought granolas are loaded with added refined sugar. Not this one. I found this nut granola recipe about a year ago when I experimented with the paleo diet. This recipe quickly became a favorite of mine. One of my brothers even filled my Christmas stocking this past Christmas with these ingredients so I could make this granola. Over time and through trial and error I landed on the following list of ingredients as being my favorite adaptation of the linked recipe:  Ingredients: (I normally 2x this, which creates a batch that lasts my family all week)

• 1 cup of raw almonds

• 1 cup of raw pecans

• 1 cup of raw walnuts

• 1 cup of flaked coconut

• 2 tablespoons of chia seeds

• 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder

• 1/4 cup of maple syrup

  • I prefer the maple taste over the honey flavor in this granola. 

  • Don't get the cheap, overly processed, imitation maple syrup that is actually high-fructose corn syrup in disguise. 

  • Buy the maple syrup that has "maple syrup" as the only ingredient. Organic label is a plus too. 

• 1/3 cup of coconut oil

• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/4 cup dark chocolate 

Instructions:Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Chop the nuts into small chunks and pieces using a knife. You can use a blender for this, but I've found the blender makes the pieces too small. In a large bowl, stir the nuts, coconut flakes, chia seeds and cocoa powder together. Add the maple syrup, coconut oil (melted if you buy solid coconut oil), vanilla extract and sea salt, and stir together until combined. Place the granola on a baking sheet on an oven tray, and bake for ~2.5 - 3 hours, stirring every half hour. Pull out of the oven, let cool for 15 minutes, and then add the chopped dark chocolate. Once the granola is cool, put in a ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator. Here are some ways you can enjoy this granola:

• Eat as a cereal. I like this nut granola with coconut or almond milk and mixed fruit (blueberries, strawberries, bananas, etc...). 

• Eat right out of the bag for a snack. It's delicious!

• Add ontop of chia pudding and mixed fruit (blueberries, strawberries, bananas, etc...).