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Today we're shining a much-deserved spotlight on ENELL Ambassador Brooke Pleger. Today she's competing in the Olympic Trials in her sport of Hammer Throw. 

summer like the finish line for our wellness goals when we could use it as a starting platform?

Here are a couple of ideas for healthy habits you can implement this season to keep yourself feeling healthy and strong long after those tan lines fade.

Eat your colors

With so many fruits and veggies in season, summer is an easy time to time to stock up on your favorites. Many produce options freeze well to be enjoyed far past their showcase at the farmers market. Pop zucchini, tomatoes, tomatillos, and berries in the freezer now to make tasty stews and smoothies all year.

Let the grill times roll

Who says the grilling fun has to stop when the leaves change? Investing in an inexpensive grill pan is a great way to keep enjoying meals of grilled veggies and lean proteins, even when your outdoor grill is frosted over.

H2Oh so important

You’re drinking a lot more ice water for a sip of cool relief right now. Developing this habit of drinking more water in the summer months makes an easier pattern to follow come fall. Use fun printed cups to feel a little more fabulous. Or, for a little more glam, sparkling varieties are a delicious way to enjoy some tasty bubbles, no ID required. Plus, staying hydrated will help you combat dry skin in the winter months. Win-win!

Oops, I think I just exercised?

Staying active is easy in the summer, so keep the momentum going year-round by adding a few extra layers when the temperatures drop. Or, if your favorite trail starts to require snowshoes, try out a new fitness class to keep your workouts fun and exciting, no matter what the weather.  

Stay-cation state of mind

Days spent poolside keep us feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. Maintain this clear mind by incorporating me-time year round. Finding an indoor lap pool or try meditation for ideal ways to create time for yourself. Coloring and journaling are also simple ways to de-stress when bikini season flees.  

Be a sunscreen queen

It’s easy to stay on top of sunscreen application in the summer months. However, it is important to remember that you can still get sunburned in the winter. Continuing to use products with an SPF of at least 30 will help to reduce sun damage and risk for skin cancer. So, lather up!

Forget the gym bag, it’s summatime!! If you plan it right, you’ll be swimming, dancing, and hiking your way through the best season of the summer and won’t have time to mess with the gym. Outdoor yoga fests, trendy 5K runs, and heavy lifting transferring fresh salsa and tortilla chips to your mouth--what more does a girl need this time of year?

We want to see you having fun wherever your pretty little feet may land -- in the river, in the sand, in your hammock. Packing a “beach bag” that goes along on all of your summer adventures ensures you’re at the ready for a good time no matter what.

For starters, The Feminist Activity Book needs to be the first thing you pack. By artist Gemma Correll, it’s filled with activities that fuel “your egalitarian dreams,” like Feminist All-Star Trading Cards and Sexist Social Media Bingo.

If you’re not coloring at the beach, are you even living? You can go super adult with the irreverent Sit the F*ck Down and Color or the more inspiring Good Vibes Coloring Book. Keep these and your favorite pens or pencils close for a coloring timeout anywhere you please.

Of course, if you color an adult coloring book -- or spend any IRL time with friends -- you’ll have to take a picture or it didn’t happen. The Podo camera is hot! Fits in the palm of your hand and sticks to any surface to take a picture of you and your friends living up the summer. It syncs with an app that automatically drops the photos on your phone for instant sharing.

The perfect sipper for sharing at the beach, on a boat, at a concert, or wherever you find yourself is canned wine. It’s delightful, mobile, shareable, and will make your summer 2016 photos look supremely better than 2015. Union Wine Company was the first, and Infinite Monkey Theorem and Sofia also make tasty, widely available options.

A water-resistant zipper pouch is also essential, in case you spill your canned wine or fall victim to a cannonball splash. Cute options are available everywhere to hold your ID, cash, keys, and even your phone. We like this one at Heyden Reis.

Don’t just protect your valuables, though. Your skin needs some coverage, too! This homemade/DIY coconut oil sunscreen smells delicious, makes your skin feel great, and offers and an SPF of up to 25.

Finally, keep your entire body hydrated in the summer heat by never being without water. The Hydro Flask bottles come in a rainbow of striking colors - one sure to match your ENELL SPORT bra - and vacuum insulated to keep your beverage ice cold for up to 24 unbelievable hours!

To see a runner take a walk may seem like some sort of failure. Not only are they beating up themselves for not being able to hang in there, but you may be giving them side-eye from the street wondering why they couldn’t hang.

Everyone, stop it!

Taking walk breaks during a run is actually one of the most effective methods for runners. The notion of giving runners of any level — beginners or veterans — a break on their route was first introduced by Jeff Galloway, one of the foremost authorities on running in the U.S. Known as America’s Coach, Jeff has trained more than a million runners through his 1:1 training or through his books, retreats, schools, and other access points. He’s kind of a living legend for runners!

When he started training beginner runners in the 1970s, he noticed that his trainees were going to need to take breaks to walk. It wasn’t a bad thing! He discovered the “huff and puff” rule, where if you hear huffing and puffing, you should take more walk breaks and slow your pace. Together, this method has become known as Run Walk Run and it is highly embraced by the running and fitness communities.

For those following Galloway’s training style, aches, pains, and injuries are reduced to a near zero! As well, his runners are stronger and faster.

Still think taking a walk mid-run is for the weak? Not hardly!

There is some strategy to these built-in walk breaks, and when used effectively, not only will they improve your ability as a runner, but also give “you control over your attitude as you feel the positive results,” says the Jeff Galloway website. They even claim that the Run Walk Run method can help you gain 7 minutes in a 13.1-mile half marathon.

As well, the method is key for energy conservation, too. “Most if not all ultrarunners use a run-walk strategy for training and racing,” reported Coach Jenny Hadfield at Runner’s World. “Only they go by the terrain – they walk the hills and climbs and run the flats and downhills. This strategy helps them conserve energy to run stronger for longer.”

BENEFITS OF RUN WALK RUN

• Energy conservation
• Faster finish times
• Reduced injuries
• Reduced aches and pains
• Faster recovery
• Reduced core body temperature
• More likely to find the “runner’s high”

HOW TO RUN WALK RUN

Run Walk Run is considered interval training, in which you alternate between two activities for different speeds, exertion rates, and lengths of time. In this case, you speed up and go hard for the runs and give yourself a break with a slower pace for the walks. The results pay off! Active.com suggests the following for executing a run-walk program:

• Commit one week for each of the 13 stages.
• Pay attention to pain and allow days off to recover; move to a previous stage if needed.
• Start with a 3 minute walk/1 minute run in stage one, then a 2 minute walk/1 minute run, and two-two by stage 3.
• Concentrate on steady paces, keeping the arms moving.
• Increase distance as you progress through the stages.
• In stages 4-8 you’ll spend more time running than walking, progressing from a 4-minute run with a 1-minute walk to a 9-minute run with 1-minute walk.
• In stages 9-11 you’ll increase run intervals from 7 to 9 minutes, each with only a 45-second walk.
• Stages 12 and 13 are final preparations for a distance race. If you’re looking at, say, a 7:30 mile, intervals will look something like a 15-minute run with 1-minute walk.

APPS FOR RUN WALK RUN

If you’re ready to try this approach to running, there are a few apps that can help you manage the intervals so that you can concentrate on form and pace.

• Easy 5K with Jeff Galloway
• C25K
• RunKeeper
• MapMyRun
• MapMyFitness

Thanks to ENELL Retailer Fleet Feet Sports Scottsdale for including an ENELL SPORT bra in this segment on Sonoran Living on ABC 15 Arizona.

Smoothies are the ubiquitous summer drink that double as a meal or snack that basically everyone has had by now. While fruits and vegetables blend into smoothies in the winter as easily as summer, there’s something so much more refreshing about them this time of year. When you’re trying to hit that breakfast trifecta of fast, easy, healthy, the smoothie is where it’s at. You can sip down most of your daily produce needs in one sitting and be on your way in minutes.

Plus, let’s not kid ourselves, you look great carrying a smoothie. The ones that look like muddy swamp juice are all the more intriguing… “Wow, she really takes care of herself.” And the ones that have a pop of color complement summer attire, or perhaps a bright and colorful sport bra!

Smoothies may be trendy, but they’re one trend you can embrace. So if you’re going to have a trendy drink this summer you may as well fill it with some trendy ingredients. You need something to keep your Instagram and Pinterest followers on their toes, right?

Here are some new smoothie recipes to add to your repertoire this summer using some of the year’s trendiest “on point” foods.

• Mint Chocolate Seaweed Shake: wakame seaweed, cacao nibs, fresh mint, bananas, spinach, vanilla
  Seaweed does offer protein and minerals, but richness may be exaggerated for realistic serving sizes. Iodine is the key benefit here, lacking in most foods and necessary for thyroid health.
• Papaya Strawberry Kombucha Smoothie: papaya, strawberry, kombucha, honey
  Fermented drinks like kombucha are all the rage this year, either because people actually love it or because they can’t get enough of those probiotics for healthy digestion.
• Natural Protein Smoothie: berries, bananas, chickpeas, milk
  The UN called 2016 the year of the pulses -- chickpeas, lentils, beans, and peas -- citing their stellar nutritional profile. Not just for hummus, these legumes add a powerful protein punch to a smoothie.
• Tropical Carrot, Turmeric, Ginger Smoothie: orange, carrot, mango, coconut water, hemp, ginger, turmeric, cayenne
  Hard to tell in that list but turmeric is a big, spicy star this year. This anti-inflammatory is most common in curries, but adds a peppery, warmth (and color!) to more hearty smoothies like this one.
• Paleo Black Raspberry Vanilla Smoothie: raspberries, blackberries, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, coconut milk.
  You’re getting three times as many antioxidants in the black raspberry than the garden variety. And they are not the same as a blackberry; they have several discernable differences. Most notably, black raspberries are less tart.

Runners hear it all the time and novices try to warn others off of the sport for this one perpetuated myth. So let us clarify that running, as a sport, is not bad for your knees.

Do you know what is? Bad running.

“If you train properly and run with good technique, running does not have to be bad for any joint,” clarifies Holly Perkins, CSCS, author of Lift to Get Lean.

It’s true, you can hit the bricks running any ‘ole time your heart desires. But like most things, there is a right way and a wrong way, especially if you don’t want to bang up your knees and other joints, get shin splints, or any of the other side effects that result from bad running.

Proper Training Requires Strength Training

Holly describes proper training as at least 4-6 weeks of full body strength training before you ever run a single step. Strength training can reduce the risk of injury, including aches and pains, substantially by improving joint mechanics. Her recommendation includes complex, compound moves each week:

• Deadlifts

• Squats

• Walking Lunges

• Single Leg Deadlifts

“I have had massive success with my runners by making them have an off-season where they don’t run at all, and instead focus on strength training to correct muscle imbalances and joint misalignments,” she said. “Once you experience what’s it’s like to run with a strong and resilient body, you will never make [the knee] comment again. It’s incredible.”

Good Technique is All in the Cadence

Holly goes on to explain that good technique the next complement to proper training, and it is mostly related to improving your running cadence.

“One mistake many runners make is to spend too much time with their foot on the ground, striking with their body mass behind the foot. A running cadence of 90 cycles per minute (180 foot strikes) significantly helps to decrease joint issues and general fatigue from running,” she explained.

Good Technique is in the Shoes

The other side of the good technique two-headed monster is on your feet. Runners love to talk about shoes as much as they love to post a sweaty finish line picture… but it’s not without cause. Shoes are serious business. Holly recommends keeping them fresh and using the right technology for your body.

“It’s critical that you determine your foot strike style and select a shoe that supports your needs. Then, it’s important to keep your shoes fresh. If you run more than three times per week, it’s a good idea to have two pairs of the same shoes that you can alternate during the week. Then, replace your shoes every 3-4 months, or at the first sign of new joint aches.”

Don’t Swap Accuracy for Speed

“Nearly every runner I have ever worked with automatically emphasizes running speed over running technique. The speed/accuracy tradeoff rule states that the faster you move, the less accurate your movements are,” reminds Holly.

She says that in order to become a good runner, you’ve got to slow down a bit. Ensure you’ve got the training, mechanics, and cadence in place before working to increase speed. Holly has corrected many of her clients’ knee issues by simply having these runners slow down for a month to just focus on technique.

Eating has become too complicated. Allergies, sensitivities, trendy ingredients, trendy nutrients, this diet, that diet… no wonder no one can figure what to actually put in their mouths.

When it comes down to it, just eat clean. It’s a facet or tenet of most eating plans out there, but it gets dressed up and covered up by a bunch of other more marketable phrases, like locavore. Clean eating is a mindful approach to food — eating real foods, those that are minimally processed, fresh when possible, and free of junk ingredients like dyes and chemicals. It’s food the way nature intended! It’s how our grandparents ate.

What you end up eating are whole foods — fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, whole grains, fish, poultry, eggs. These foods naturally contain the macro (and micro) nutrients you need to fuel your body. These foods deliver optimal nutrition, satiate with fiber, and even satisfy with fresh, simple flavor.

Eating in this style will give you the energy you crave, the focus you feel you’re lacking, the nutrition your immune system needs, and a host of other disease-fighting, health-boosting benefits. Even your hair, nails, and complexion stand to benefit.

Makes sense, right? When we “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants,” as Michael Pollan prescribes, our diets are free of most impurities and our bodies are allowed to operate in the way in which they were intended. You don’t necessarily need to count calories, but maybe pay more attention to your macros — carbohydrate, protein, fat. Every food is comprised of these macro ingredients. While every person’s body and physical needs are different, a good rule of thumb is a division of 40/30/30 percent for the day, respectively. The MyFitnessPal app does an excellent job of tracking these macros for you.

How does this actually look on your plate? Consider a daily meal plan like this:

Breakfast 

Hard boiled eggs with oatmeal topped with fresh berries and nuts

Snack

Cottage cheese with fresh peach slices

Lunch

Greens (kale, spinach, baby greens) caesar salad with grilled chicken and roasted vegetables

Snack 

Baby carrots and hummus, or our Apricot Sunflower Protein Balls

Dinner

Grilled fish like salmon or cod, baked sweet potato topped with olive oil, and steamed broccoli

Beverages 

Limit soda (especially diet), fruit juices, and other sugar-heavy, processed drinks. Your body needs water, which can be drank pure or via hot or cold unsweetened tea. A little coffee won’t hurt, either!

Sweets

Your go-to candy bar or ice cream fix isn’t exactly clean, nor is it off limits. Consider the moderation rule and treat yourself on occasion. Or make healthier swaps. Trade a milk chocolate bar for a piece of 65% dark chocolate. Swap that pint of ice cream for true frozen yogurt — stir up your favorite Greek yogurt before dinner, place in the freezer, and enjoy an indulgent FroYo later!

Adulting is hard has become a popular meme. Never before have adults been able to adult with other adults in such an open and social forum. Perhaps it really is harder than ever? (Nah, come on. Modern conveniences and all.) Or maybe, we’re just all hyper-aware of how adulting kind of blows sometimes and we had a really good thing when we were kids.

Naps…honestly, why did we fight them? Eating dinner in such a passionate way that you wear half of it to bed. Running barefoot in the yard chasing fireflies. Heck, running braless in the yard because you didn’t have giant knockers.

The joys of childhood are too plentiful to name here, but we’ve got room for one special piece...summer camp. School’s out, sun’s out, peace out mom and dad! A week, a month? Didn’t matter. It wasn’t ever long enough to be out in the woods and on the lake with friends curated in the magic of those long, lazy days.

This summer, recapture a bit of that magic with your own take on adult summer camp. Take a vacay that’s just for you. Look, if the diamond industry could convince us all that our right hand needed a “ring for me,” then we can convince you that a day or seven away from adulting is something you actually need.

Here’s where we’d go…

The Sonoma Cycling and Yoga Experience will delight your senses in California’s wine country. You’ll fill a week cycling through the vineyards, hiking in the redwoods, daily yoga, meditation, dancing, and massage. Plus, you’ll be treated to culinary and wine experiences.

Glamping Getaways really get you in touch with the summer camp style of yesteryear… but with far more style. Imagine camping in unique destinations with tricked out accommodations. Glampsites are available around the world to suit every size party and interest.

Running Cruises are exactly what they sound like…cruises that involve some mainland running excursions. Pack your swimmies and your best runners and hit the trail in Alaska, Italy, France or the Caribbean.

Yoga on the Rocks lets you practice your flow in the one of the most extraordinary venues in the world. Make a weekend of your trip to Denver and add hiking in the mountains, runs along the Platte River, and refreshments at any number of local breweries.

FitBloggin is a fitness and wellness blogging & social media conference that is routinely referred to as adult summer camp by its fun-loving, highly inspirational alumni. Join them in Indianapolis in July for four days away from reality and deep in the heart of something truly rewarding.