All posts by R.C. Liley

I'm an ex-mutual fund accountant who left the cubicle world to be a stay-at-home dad to my beautiful little girl, Avery, who entered our life on 11/15/13 and handsome little boy, Wes, who joined our family on 11/19/17. Also happily married to my wife, Kelley, as of 8/17/07. Sorry ladies... :) Fitness and nutrition is of the utmost importance in our family and we strive to reflect this in our daily life. I always prepare our meals at home and only go out if it's a special occasion, and even then I tend to not get much. Food should be fun and a joy to eat, not something quickly consumed from a fast food chain or scarf down before the next meeting. I have come from strictly logging high miles to train for the next marathon to keeping exercise varied and focusing more on strength. I still enjoy going for a run when I can, but nothing crazy, and I prefer hill sprints while pushing my daughter, Avery in the stroller. She loves it and I get a great workout! I want to show the world how to appreciate their body and feed it real, wholesome food while moving more throughout the day. In doing so, everyone would be healthier, happier, and we'd all live in a better place as a result. I blog mainly about my life as a stay-at-home dad and frequently include reviews, participate in campaigns, and share my thoughts on fitness and nutrition. If you ever have any questions or thoughts to share, please reach out as I'm always open to listening or helping others however possible. That is, when I have free time since Avery is and my wife are the number one priorities!

Denver Broncos Super Bowl Victory Workout

I’ll be honest, it didn’t matter to me whether the Panthers or the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. I’m glad Manning claimed his second Super Bowl victory and all, but I’m honestly more excited about turning it into a workout and sharing it here.

Manning’s career should be coming to an end soon, and I mean that in a good way. He has a beautiful family, plenty of income (I’m sure that Budweiser plug at the end helped), and it just makes sense to end on a high note. Just as I hope you can end this Broncos Super Bowl Victory Workout on a high note with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Using the creative paperweight attached to my shoulders, I took a few key numbers from the big game and thought of what moves would best represent a bronco. Obviously, bucking bronco comes to mind, and I used the numbers 50 (for the Super Bowl), 24 (the Broncos’ final score), 10 (the Panthers’ final score), and 18 (Manning’s number). A little while later, and I give you a workout to get your heart racing and hooves feet moving.

Denver Broncos Super Bowl

Bucking Broncos Super Bowl Victory Workout

AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in 18 Minutes:

Run 50 meters

24 Kettlebell Swings

10 Burpees

Rest as needed before repeating rounds, but try not to “fumble” around too long. If you can’t run, do 50 jumping jacks instead. You can use a dumbbell in place of a kettlebell for swings, and make sure to use a weight that’s challenging but allows for good form the entire workout. Just like the work it takes to make it to the Super Bowl, you have to work hard to get the results you want.

I’m not sure what I would’ve created if the Panthers won, maybe rope climbs since, like most cats, they’re great at climbing. Phew, good thing the Broncos won, huh? Try out the “victory dance” and let me know if it was bucking hard or lame as a horse.

If you partied a little too hard during the game, hope you’re on the mends now. Just need to make it through this Monday and then there’s only 4 days left until the next weekend, yay!

Do You Have Enough NuttZo for the Super Bowl?

It’s Super Bowl weekend! Either this means nothing to you and you aren’t watching, or you’re super pumped and ready for the Big Game. If it’s the latter, chances are you have a game day plan for what eat as you watch the Panthers and Broncos duel it out at Levi’s Stadium.

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While I’m hardly a huge NFL guy, I’m sure we’ll have the game on, and we really don’t have much planned for snacking. But I know we have a few jars of NuttZo which is all you need to have a delicious, healthy snack in no time.

super bowl, nuttzo, snacks, healthy
It’s true, see!

Now, I’m not here to talk crazy Super Bowl commercials or blab your head off about trying to stay active instead of sitting for the whole game (it’s hard not to though!), I just want to share a nice discount for NuttZo.

As a NuttZo Ambassador, I’ve been given the power of sharing good health and deliciousness for 20% off. Just go to NuttZo’s website, choose as many jars as you’d like, and enter code dad-20 at checkout. Yep, it’s that easy.

While you won’t get it in time for the Super Bowl, you can use it as a way to replenish your stock after a big snack attack on Sunday, or just to add to what you have or try it for the first time. Just remember to enter this code….

dad-20

Hope you enjoy your weekend whatever you are doing, and hope you get to enjoy NuttZo for yourself and everyone around you. Just be careful, you never know who might try and steal a bite……

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He won’t mind if I sneak a bite of this NuttZo Cinnamon Banana Frittata.

5 Ways Our Naturepedic Mattress Provides More Than A Good Sleep

We’ve been sleeping on our Naturepedic organic mattress for about 3 weeks and, simply put, we love it! Not only have we been sleeping better, but it’s become a wonderful gathering place for our small family of three.

My wife and I both agree we made the right choice with our Naturepedic EOS Series mattress, but I know it’s best to give it some time before coming to a solid conclusion. Guess we’ll just have to “sleep on it”. C’mon, you knew it was going to happen at some point. #CornyDadPuns

I can, however, confidently say our comfort is much improved since ditching our “high tech”, “NASA inspired” Temper…..umm, memory foam mattress. Going Mom and I used to wake up way too hot, sometimes covered in sweat, from the lack of circulation in our old mattress. Now, we keep plenty warm, but it’s just right, like baby bear’s porridge. No sweating or tossing from side to side, just a chemical-free organic mattress beckoning us to sleep soundly on it each and every night.

Now, back to the ways our Naturepedic mattress provides more than just a good sleep. In just the 3 weeks we welcomed them into our home, our new mattress has been the main location for….

1. Tickle high fives. Going Mom and Avery have been playing a game (I guess you can call it that) where my wife asks for a high five from Avery, and as she raises her arm to deliver a five, Going Mom delivers a tickle attack instead. This game can happen anywhere at anytime, but Avery always asks demands to “Go to Mommy and Daddy’s bed for tickle five.”

2. Jump-Reading. Jumping on the bed is a given, but what about jumping, doing a butt buster, and going right into a book or two? How’s that for combining exercise and education? Exercation?

3. Nighttime chats. Having a kid can seriously cut into quality time with your significant other. We only have one, but I assume it’s increasingly difficult with multiple little ones demanding your constant attention. Now, we set aside a specific day where we have “us” time after getting our girl to bed. We get comfy on the mattress and play a game of The Walking Dead Yahtzee (I got it for her birthday) or simply talk without having a jealous (but oh so sweet) toddler getting mad for not looking at her. It never seems long enough, but every minute spent together helps grow and keep a strong bond, and I love having this time with my wife.

Naturepedic EOS Campaign_6

We’re just like this, only inside a home in our pajamas with a zombie shaker cup for the dice in our game of The Walking Dead Yahtzee. I’m winning, by the way.

4. Pretending to sleep. Sure, the sleep is awesome, but pretending to sleep is pure bliss! Or Avery seems to think so. Just another fun game where she “sleeps” on Mommy and Daddy’s bed, complete with loud snores, and sometimes asks us to join. She even has the same head-at-the-end position as in her own crib!

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It never lasts long though, she’s up and jumping again within seconds.

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5. Home base. No home is complete without a home base, and our Naturepedic mattress as become just that. It’s where we seem to gravitate to when we’re all together. As soon as Mommy comes home from work, her and Avery usually end up playing together on our bed. If I’m in another room, I can hear the loud giggles emanating from our bedroom. Nothing warms this dad’s heart like the laughter of his wife and giggles of his sweet daughter. Sounds mushy, but it’s the truth! It’s also perfect for escaping the vacuum.

Naturepedic, organic, mattress, sleep

As you can see, we’ve been spending a lot of time on our new bed, and it’s been a very welcome new addition to our family. No matter how hard we try, we are all exposed to chemicals that are normally foreign to our body, but now we can escape exposure on our organic Naturepedic mattress.

Some mattresses, no matter how expensive and full of high tech materials, overwhelm our body with artificial chemicals we were never meant to be around. Do you want to sleep on a pile of chemicals? What about your precious little ones who spend a good chunk of the day playing or sleeping (or should be) on their mattress? I never thought much of it before, but what we sleep on truly does impact our entire life. Here’s why Naturepedic stands out among the rest and earns a spot in everyone’s home.

We made our choice, and feel better in doing so. To make my point, I’ll end this post with a quick discussion my wife and I had one lazy day on the weekend. Avery was blessing us by sleeping in, which meant we slept in, but even after waking, we still didn’t move.

Me: Why is it soooo hard to get up?

Wife: Because it feels sooooo good to sleep.

Thanks to Naturepedic, I couldn’t argue there!

Disclaimer: I received a heavy discount from Naturepedic to purchase the EOS Series king mattress in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. All opinions are strictly my own.