It’s that time of year when everything you see is Pumpkin flavoured. Coffee, tea, donuts, muffins, BEERS… everything! Turns out they don’t just taste awesome, but pumpkins have lots of health benefits too! Well – here ya go folks! Everything you need to know about why pumpkins are good for you, what you can do with them, and how you can even incorporate them into your workouts this month!
Firstly, why don’t we talk about the health benefits?
There are tons and tons of reasons why pumpkins are good for you, but I will focus on a few of my favorites!
Pumpkins are rich in fiber
We all know that fiber helps keep us ‘regular’ which is great, but it also helps us to feel full for longer and thus can help us shed some of those unwanted pounds.
Helpful following a workout
Pumpkins are extremely high in potassium offering a whopping 560mg per cup of pumpkin. Potassium is really important for recovery (following a sweat sesh) so why not throw a cup of pumpkin in your blender with some vanilla protein, a little almond milk, some cinnamon, nutmeg and ice. Yes please!
Pumpkins keep you healthy!
You know the old saying ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away?’ – Well It should be ‘A pumpkin a day keeps the doctor away’. These little orange beauties are jam packed with Vitamin C and contain 10+mg per cup. We can’t work-out, socialize properly or enjoy the things we love to do if we’re sick all the time! Load up on pumpkin to feel at your best and keep your immunity up.
Lets not forget about the always popular Pumpkin Teas
I am a sucker for anything pumpkin flavored, but I am also a HUGE loose-leaf tea lover, so I would definitely recommend getting your hands on some of these flavors from David’s Tea, or anywhere you can find them. These are a much healthier alternative than the Pumpkin Spice latte’s you might find at Starbucks.
Lets finish off this post with a little Pumpkin Workout love, shall we?
Grab the biggest pumpkin you can find and give this workout a go.
- Pumpkin lunge and press – Hold pumpkin on right shoulder and lunge forward with right foot. Hold lunge position and press pumpkin up and over your head landing on the left shoulder. Hold here while you step back to starting position. Lunge forward on left foot – hold lunge position and press pumpkin up and over head to the right shoulder. Repeat for 10 lunges per leg
- Pumpkin Push Ups – Put one hand on pumpkin and do 5 push ups, switch which hand is on the pumpkin and do 5 more push ups
- Pumpkin mason twists – Hold pumpkin in a seated position with knees bent and feet raised. Twist from left to right touching pumpkin on either side of the body each time you twist. Repeat for 30 reps
- Side lunge and shoulder raise – Lunge to the side this time and hold the lunge position while raising straight arms up about eye level (while holding the pumpkin). Return to center and repeat on other side. Do 20 reps total
- Pumpkin Sit ups – Lay on the ground with arms extended above head on the floor holding pumpkin. Sit up with arms raised above your head. Lay back down. Repeat for 15 reps
Let me know what your fav way to use pumpkin is! I’d love to hear it
Happy (almost) Monday!
Xxx Andrea
*** post originally written for www.ugifit.com ***