Category Archives: workouts

Workout Challenge

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Happy  Friday, friends!

As promised, here is the awesome workout I mentioned yesterday. (I have posted about this workout before- it is a workout I originally found from Fit In Heels and did in December 2011)

The workout consists of 10 exercises. Each are performed for 30 seconds, with a 15 second rest in between. (*Ack! I just noticed that the first time, I did 30 sec work/30 sec rest! No wonder the ‘scores’ are off a bit!) If you are scarce for time, going though this series just ONE time will give you a great 6 minute workout. But, if you’re feeling ballsy (and please, feel ballsy…I dare you) do this series 4 times!

Here are the results from my first go ’round from Christmas:

And here are my results from yesterday:

I did better in some and worse in others, but I feel I was overall consistent in my abilities. At the end of the day though, I feel stronger and more fit than I did 5 6 months ago. I have switched to heavier weights at the gym, done more cross-training, and have really been trying to stay as active as I can throughout the days (now that I am not confined to a cubicle)

Oh, and if you don’t wear a watch when you workout, or hate having to keep looking up at a clock to make sure you’re starting and stopping on time, try the Gymboss 2 Interval Timer app. It comes with a few different intervals already set up, but you can create your own (that’s what I did for this particular workout). You can choose to have the background change color for work/rest periods, have sounds for start/stop times, etc. I really love having that because it’s not always that you will be in a class for these timed exercises and it really is impossible to accurately gage the time on your wristwatch (that’s how I did it the first time, and it is really tricky doing pushups and checking the time!)

Anyhoo, I challenge you to complete this workout. Let me know if you do, how you liked it, and what ‘scores’ you got!

In the meantime, I am challenging myself to be alcohol-free for the month of June.

  1. It saves $$$
  2. It saves me the temptation of overeating
  3. Eliminates the crappy next-day feeling (some call that a hangover?)
  4. Eliminates bloating
  5. Increases productivity

I’ve done this before, and it really helped me mentally and physically. Plus, I am less likely to crave a glass of wine or a beer once I have abstained for a while. Anyone ever do this?

Playlist workout

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Ok, I deviated from my intended workout plan…but not by much. I did the walk with the pup, and bootcamp, but my cardio and abwork were scratched.

I actually ended up using a really fun playlist I found on fitbottomedgirls. Below, I have posted the song and what types of exercises to complete throughout the duration of the song:

1. That Ain’t A Scene (It’s an Arms Race)- Fall Out Boy

  • get some work done on those biceps! I mixed up a variety of bicep curls, hammer curls, curls with an overhead press, chest press on the stability ball and flys

2. My Humps– Black Eyed Peas

  • Humps: the boot-ay. Backside. Rear End. Squat, Lunge, Donkey kick, Fire Hydrant…squeeze tha tushie!

3. Die In Your Arms– Justin Bieber

  • Pushups, planks, tricep extensions, tri kickbacks

4. Booty Wurk– T-Pain

  • Wall Sits, one legged squats, froggers, stability ball split squats

5. Cold Shoulder- Adele

  • Lateral raises, front raises, overhead presses, lat pulls

6. Legs- ZZ Top

  • Front, side and back kicks, step ups, plie squat and holds

7. Big Ole Butt- LL Cool J

  • Hip raises on the stability ball with alternating hip dips, hip raise on the ball with rollouts, one legged wall squats

8. Dirt Off Your Shoulder- Jay Z

  • Large arms circles with weights, plank up/downs, reverse fly on the stability ball, shoulder rotation while in a bridge position on the ball

9. Hips Don’t Lie- Shakira

  • The article said dance. So dance, I did. Lots of hopping around and lawnmowers and whatnot.

10. Hands- The Ting Tings

  • The article said to stretch it out, but I did abs for this song. I did swiss ball roll outs, side crunches with pulses and hold on the ball, plank holds

 

It was a pretty good workout, and the time flew by…therefore, I highly recommend it!

Dinner tonight was a little hodge-podgey. I combined israeli couscous, marinara sauce and sauteed zucchini. It was pretty darn delicious (I tried 24597 times to upload the pic, but I am on Tyler’s computer and it’s not working. Gah! Problems problems problems. Maybe tomorrow. That’s what I get for trying to post in the living room while sitting on my ball.)

Now, gimme a few secs to gripe about some crap. Ready? Begin. (This is going to be one long run-on sentence to accurately convey my feelings of defeat from the situation)

So I go to Canadian Tire with all the paperwork I got this weekend from Canadian Immigration regarding my car and I needed to get this inspection done but the dude there said not uh you dont have daytime headlights so come back tomorrow and we will install them then do the inspection but in the mean time, go to the registry and get some other form so we can do this other inspection mmk? And I said sure. I go to the registry with the forms and I get to one of the windows and the girl goes lemme see your bill of sale and I was all what I dont have it with me and besides I needed to present it in order to get this form I already have therefore, proceed stupid window lady. But she didnt buy that. So I went home and got ALL my information on my car then went back to the registry office. I had to wait in yet another line before getting to a different girl at a different window and she’s all gimme your title to your car and I was all PHEW I brought that but the girl I literally talked to 5 minutes ago never mentioned that I needed it. And then I got happy so I told this second girl that I would name my first born after her if this was a success. And she gets all noddy and positive looking then she says That’ll be $9.75 and we only accept debit, cash or check. And I immediately think WTF where are the signs that said that? I had American checks which she denied and I had an American debit card which automatically gets put through as credit in Canada so that was a no-go and I had a Canadian visa which is on the list of not acceptables. At this point, consider me upset. I then told her I would no longer name my child after her, and then I proceeded to tell her I was going to kill myself and then burst out in tears at her cubicle. Lucky for me, I get to go back in the early morning hours tomorrow in attempts to get that damn $10 form, then back to Canadian Tire to get a Daytime Light thingamajig (which I was told would cost $200) and then pay for the inspection (I think $75) then take all those inspection forms BACK to the stupid Registry with the stupid cubicles and pay $40957093725 for Registration and get my License.

And how did your day go?

Boozy Bread and a Bootcamp Killer

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Ok, so I do have some blogworthy things from today. First up: eats.

Breakfast

Bananas Foster Bread with Brandy Icing

…and here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 2 mashed ripe bananas
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 6 tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup brandy (or cognac or dark rum or whatever’s leftover in your liquor cabinet)
  • 1/3 cup applesauce
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 tbsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 nutmeg or allspice or pumpkin pie spice (really, who cares?)
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the mashed bananas, 1/2 brown sugar, 5 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp booze in a skillet. Heat until it starts to bubble. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl. Add applesauce, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and eggs. Stir until completely combines

2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and spice. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture. Pour the batter in a greased 9×5 loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven, and allow to cool before topping with icing.

3. For the icing, mix one tbsp booze with 1 tbsp butter and powdered sugar.

You’re Welcome.

******

Lunch

Greens with red pepper, pulled pork, bbq sauce and a teeny tiny bit of onion dressing.

Dinner

Scrambled eggs on a whole wheat english muffin and a glass of OJ.

Before today’s bootcamp, I took Layla for a super long walk. We went a route I had never taken before and it was really interesting to see some of the houses and whatnot. And I found a lake! No big deal.

I put together my bootcamp class this morning and I was itching all day to do it. Seriously, it has some pretty exciting stuff in it. So let’s get down to the nitty gritty:

Warm up: We jogged from the YMCA steps to a clear, grassy area. Then we stretched.

Round 1: Partner Burpee Suicides

Ahhhhhh, those are probably the best three words EVER. This is how it works: everyone gets a partner. Partner one gets in a plank position while partner two stands to their left. They do a burpee, hop over partner 1, do a burpee to their right, hop back over and do another burpee…etc. Once that person does 12 burpees, the partners switch. Once both partners have each done 12 burpees, they switch again and each do 9 burpees. Then they each to 6 burpees. Aka: awesomeness.

Round 2: 2 groups

The class is split in two groups. Group one continuously runs the perimeter of the field. Meanwhile, group two complete 2 exercises 2 times. First, they did a squat with alternating front kick for 45 seconds, rest for 15. Repeat. Then, they did one legged squat for 45 seconds, rest 15, switch legs and repeat. This was done after about 4 minutes, then the groups switched.

Round 3: Circuit Runthrough

Everyone started at a line. They got down in plank position, and walked their plank to the first marker (about 30 feet). Once they hit that marker, they got up and did walking lunges to the next marker (about 50 feet). At that marker, they completed 10 jumping jacks and backpedal to the start where they did 10 full bicycle crunches. I had the class do this three times through.

Round 4: Dominos

Everyone got in a circle, facing the middle. The entire group would continuously do walk outs (palms walking out in front of you until you are in a plank position, then walk your hands back in and up to standing). While this is being done, one person would do 3 burpees then run around the circle. When they got back to their place, they would join in the walkouts and the person to their left would do 3 burpees and run around the circle. This is done until each person in the circle has had their turn with 3 burpees and a run. (All the while, the rest of the group is doing walkouts.)

Round 5: AMRAP/EMOM (5 minutes)

AMRAP: As Many Rounds As Possible

EMOM: Every Minute On the Minute

This is how it goes down- Each person goes at their own pace. They strive to complete the following exercises over and over again. (Once you go through it all, start from the beginning and go through it again, and again…)

  • 10 pushups
  • 10 full situps
  • 10 squat jumps
  • 10 mountain climbers (L, R= 1)

Every minute, on the minute, I would yell “MINUTE!” and they had to stop what they were doing and complete 3 full burpees. Once they were done with the burpees, they would continue right where they left off with their AMRAP’s. I did this for 5 minutes.

Round 6: Dominos #2

Again, everyone was in a circle. This time, we were all on the ground doing crunches, while one person completed 3 burpees and ran around the circle, this would continue to the left until each person has had their turn at burpees.

Round 7: Quickfeet

I had the whole class do quickfeet as fast as they could. At random, I would yell “DOWN!” and they would have to drop and do one pushup. I did this for about 2 full minutes.

Class over.

I just got home from class so I could type this up, now I am off to the gym to get my workout in!

Fast 500 Workout

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Happy Friday (and Memorial Day weekend to my American friends!)

This morning was a rush rush rush in getting stuff done. Tyler is bumping out of work early so we can head to Montana for the night and officially export/import my car tomorrow. Isn’t that exciting?! Not entirely.

After a bowl of Cheerios, I took Layla for an hour walk on one of usual paths near the house.

Then I went to the mall. Because that’s important. And I bought stuff.

Store 1: Lululemon

I got scoop neck tank and wunder unders..in PINK. I am all too excited to wear these.

I am still an R&D member, so I was able to get a discount. Can’t really hate that. Helps feed the addiction.

Store 2: Gap

Some jean shorts and tanks and tops for the warmer weather. Obviously when I moved here in February, I was thinking I only needed to pack the essentials for winter weather. Now, I’m screwed because I didn’t bring all my summer clothes up. Insert: shopping!

Store 3: Sephora

Some summer essentials for summer from my favey cosmetic line, Benefit. You Rebel is a tinted moisturizer and Hoola is a powder bronzer. I think I have consistently used the bronzer since I was 15. Never will I ever stray from you, Benefit! I always feel so glammy when I wear their stuff, but it doesn’t feel like a high maintenance line which I love.

Ok, ok. On to the workout. Since the walk with Layla and shopping consumed too much of my morning, I only had 20 minutes to sweat before I needed to get ready to hit the road. So here’s what I banged out.

  • 10 jacks
  • 10 double hops
  • 10 plank jacks
  • 10 up/down planks
  • 10 situps
  • 10 stability ball leg lifts
  • 10 stability ball wall sits
  • 10 plie squats with raised heels
  • 10 tricep kickbacks
  • 10 lower back extensions on the stability ball

Repeat as many times as you can until you hit 20 minutes. (I did it 5 times in about 18 minutes, which is 500 reps, hence the workout name!) If you’re not pressed for time, do as many sets as you can before you pass out.

Now, I gotta really hustle my bustle to get ready..have a great weekend!

Return of the Run

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I believe the word I am looking for is PHEW!

I woke up this morning and was balls to the walls sore. Like, I’m-not-even-gonna-get-up-to-get-a-glass-of-water-because-that-requires-movement sore. But, after a quick gchat with Athena, she convinced me to try a treadmill interval workout. It was good, y’all.

At first, I didn’t think my muscles would want to go through the interval set 2x, but once I got movin’ and groovin’ those muscles didn’t mind at all!

After the treadmill, I used a foam roller to get all those kinks out of my legs, then I did a bit up upper body work. It included:

  • Front raises
  • lateral raises
  • cuban presses
  • skull crushers
  • chest press
  • clean and jerks
  • cross legged overhead press
  • standing knee to elbow press
  • weighted oblique dips

A big ol’ thanks to Athena for helping me get my bee-hind to the gym for a good long cardio session!

******(Insert smooth transition here)

For dinner last night, I made homemade calzones (even the dough was from scratch!) and s’mores parfaits.

Here’s the recipe:

For the dough

  • 1 packet yeast
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 warm water
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp salt

Mix the yeast and warm water in a bowl and let sit for about 5 minutes. Then, add the rest of the ingredients until well incorporated. On a floured surface, knead with your hands for 2-3 minutes. Place back in a bowl, covered with a towel, and let sit for 1-1 1/2 hours.

To make the calzone

Half the dough. For each ball, knead and stretch out to about a 10″ diameter (like a pizza). Add sauce, fillers of choice (I used zucchini, red peppers, pepperoni and mozzarella) to one half the dough. Fold the other side over the fillings. Take a fork and press the ends together to make sure the pie is sealed. Top with cheese (optional) Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

There were veggies in there, I promise!

The s’mores parfait was even easier.

I made Jell-o cook and serve chocolate pudding (with almond milk). After it was chilled in the fridge for a few hours, I layered it with marshmallow fluff and graham cracker crumbs. Not gorgeous, but delicious!

Good thing I ran like a maniac today after all that food. Woof!

Oh, and Layla says hi to everyone.