Starbucks Thinks I’m Weird

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I got a late start to my workout last night, but it was a great at-home sweat session! I completed 1/2 of Bobbi‘s 20 minute Tuesday workout (weird, but it took me 20 minutes to just do half. Anyone else try this? Am I way off? I blame the altitude.) I then did a 20 min ab workout on the stability ball and some glute work on the mat (donkey kicks w/variations, froggers). Not bad considering I was about to forego the workout, but as soon as Tyler said “Ok, I’m gonna go kill a few aliens before bed,” I knew I could use that time proactively and torch some cals.

Today’s workout will have to be much more intense after wolfing down this heifer for dins last night:

We got started on painting the living room last night after those mondo sausages were scarfed. Word of advice: don’t paint in the dark; you’ll miss a ton of spots. We only got one coat on, but I’ll definitely be posting before and after pics. There really is just so. much. brown.

I used the last of my Click
protein powder yesterday (read: SO SAD! It’s hard to find and I can’t afford to order online and have it shipped to Canada! Anyone wanna help me out?!?! I need my Click! 😉 ) that said, I actually needed to brew a pot o’ coffee this AM to accompany my oats balls for breaky.

Good, but not as good as the espresso protein powder! In case you were wondering, I poured the coff coff in a juice glass because I didn’t want to keep making trips back to the kitchen. I’m way too busy watching daytime TV, talking into the internet box, and planning my day. Plus, I rather prefer lukewarm coffee. You should see the look on the Starbucks barista’s face when I order a hot coffee- half filled with iced coffee.

Methinks today is garbage day. Only because there is an obscene amount of banging going on down that weird back-alley where everyone keeps their trash bins. I’m about turn into an old bag lady and run out in my pj’s and give Mr. Garbage man a piece of my mind. Actually, who am I kidding, I’ve been up since 4:30 this morning. Prime blog reading and book reading time. Head and iPhone under the covers/pillow. Obviously. The boyfriend don’t mind, but the dog? She turns into a fury ball of bitchy when her sleep is disrupted. Perhaps she should rethink her attitude and realize she has free reign over my half of the bed, and I’m the one who suffers. Way better than the floor, dawg.

And there ya go.

Canada For The Win…today.

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I promised you last night’s workout, so here it is..

12 minute tabata (the gym was cray cray packed and I needed cardio like whoa)

incorporated up/downs, jump rope, heel taps

Upper body combo

12 bicep curls
12 side raises
12 hammer curls
12 front raises
12 open bicep curls
12 overhead press
12 standing fly
12 bicep curl to overhead press

12 minute tabata (gym was still packed and I needed more cardio)

incorporated jumping jacks, high knees, alternating front kicks and mountain climbers

Lower body combo

Weighted front lunges
weighted squats
kettlebell swings
pliet squat
curtsy lunge w/high knees

8 minute tabata

incorporated jogging in place, plank jumps, more jacks

Mat work

Russian twists
V ups
Side pushup
Side leg lifts
Crunches
Crunches with weighted oblique twist
Weighted toe touches

It was a quick, sweaty an effective workout. My shoulders and glutes feel it!

******

Today has been filled with a whole lot of nothing. I discovered that Layla sniffed the paint while it was still wet (trying to get high?)

I converted my weather to Celsius just to see what the “Canadian Way of Temperature Gaging” was

I could have guessed it on my own, since the only thing I know is 32F=0C, but I thought I’d show you the rest of the forecast as well. Not as bad as you think. These people use Celsius to make it look like they’re suffering more than they really are. I will, however, mention my desire to still be in Boston right about now. It’s like a buttload hotter. For March.

*I hate hate HATE talking about the weather, so you see how eventful today is for me to even bring that up.

Also, the ‘Rogers’ on the top left of that shot does not mean I stole a phone from a guy named Roger. It’s the cell provider here. But I like to think I was badass and stole a phone from a Roger.

I took Layla for a walk. Nothing interesting there, either. It was gorgeous out. And I let the neighborhood see my blonde pom pom. Sadie put in layers, but it wasn’t until I washed and let it air dry (curly= gross) that I realized how much was gone!

Yesterday’s fake mac was NOT a success, so I am hoping to win Tyler back with sawwwwseeeeeeege tonight. Haha, there’s a joke in there, but per usche, I’ll let you think of it on your own.

Let. me. Vent. —>

I paid way too many bills last night/today and have way too little money. The scientific calculation there suggests that that shit is not cool. I had a ~~minor~~ major panic attack last night. You have no idea what it’s like to be in my shoes! I cannot elaborate further because I am a terrible writer, plus I don’t want to get worked up again. I didn’t sleep a wink because of it (On the plus side of that, I read a LOT of Mockingjay to fill the void) Another plus: I did manage to save $471 for my health coverage for the month of April, so there. And a big tongue-sticky-outie face to you, AMERICA. And a thumbs up to you, CANADA. Ahhhh sigh.

Don’t fret, this isn’t a Woe is Me post, there are more optimistic things!

My digital free copy of Women’s Health was in my inbox this AM. (did you see all the effects I added to the word ‘free’? I have to rely on anything that comes in that form now. Free advice; free friends; free time. If you have anything free, feel free –pun intended– to send it my way – I’ll totally give you my address. Mmm-kay, thanks.)
I did laundry! (Dad, pick mom off the floor. I know, it’s a shocker. Tyler and I have an agreement that he’ll do the ironing though)

Ok, it looks like three is not the magical number for that list, but two is better than none.

Best thing you did today?

Favorite Workout Moves

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Some of my favorite workout moves:

Bulgarian Split Squats. These burn. Burn so good.
Planks. Any and every variation. Up/downs. Side planks. Side planks with dips. Jackknives. Pikes. Spidermans. On your forearms. On your palms. Upside down. Backwards. (I was getting carried away, I don’t think the last two are real. I can make them real, though!)
Bosu Ball jump squats
Tabatas (for strength and cardio)
Pushup/Side-crunch combo
Froggers
Fire hydrants
Chest press/fly
Skull crushers
Hip raises
Curtsy Lunges
Kettlebell swings
Man Makers

These are just a few that my foggy Monday-morning brain can think of.

Source

I take this book with me everywhere, just to refresh my memory when I have brain farts on incorporating different variations of some of these moves. Plus, I refer to my ACSM textbooks, other blogs, apps, websites. Golly, there’s just too many places!

******

Just finished Catching Fire and downloaded Mockingjay to my iPhone! And now, I’m off to get my hairs did!

Is no one doing anything this week? Let’s get some responses on things you are looking forward to!

Wham Bam, Thank You Ma’am Workout

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

That’s how today’s workout went. It was a good one! Correction: It was a good, but TOUGH one. (AKA: make sure you get clearance from a Dr. to do this kinda workout!)

I thought I would inspire you all with my awesome pre-workout pics.

I was totally going to delete this one because I was just goofing around, but I can’t stop laughing at it, so I thought I’d invite you to laugh with (or at) me.

Here’s a slightly better one:

Here are the deets:

5 min warm-up:

1 min Jacks
I min jog in place
i min jump rope
i min butt-kicks
1 min jacks

Around the world lunges (barbell resting on the base of your neck)

Right foot on the bench, 10 front lunges
Turn to the left, right foot still on the bench, 10 squats
Turn to the back, right foot still on the bench, 10 reverse lunges

Switch to your left foot on the bench and do the same thing. Run the whole set for both legs 3 times through

10 minutes cardio of choice

Standing biceps

10 regular curls
open your hands to the outside of your body, 10 curls
10 outward presses

Do this set 3 times through

10 minutes cardio of choice

10 plank up-downs (5/side)
10 kettlebell swings
5 man makers (Demo here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gczI5sINn9U I found this from Bonnie‘s blog)

Complete these moves 3 times through

10 minutes cardio of choice

10 overhead oblique presses (weight in right hand with elbow at 90 degree angle, right foot crossed over left, press weight over your head towards the left side of your body)
10 standing oblique crunches (weight in right hand, knee to elbow side crunch)
10 V-ups

Complete these moves 3 times through

10 minutes cardio of choice

10 leg lifts
10 laying leg press (top foot flexed, bringing knee to chest, fully extending leg, keep it hip height)
10 large leg circles

Complete 3 times through, then switch to the other side

30 second jacks
30 second jog in place
30 second jump rope
30 second butt-kicks
30 second jacks

Stretch. DONE.

Let me know if you try this (or part of this) workout! Did you like it?

Badda bing, badda boom

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

WORKOUT: DONE.

One hour of a super sweaty at-home kickboxing session. SCORE! I did the first half of CD 1 from CBC‘s Jam’n Cardio Kix, then a bunch of my fave advanced routines (you CBC ladies probably know exactly which ones I did). I only stopped because my floor was too sweaty to keep going. Perhaps round 2 later? Or maybe some muscle stuff..
I AM wearing my super awesome-y shoes that always pump up my workouts

Go me!

Source
Layla is back to normal. Stretched out on the bed, her drooling subsided.

Thank god. I was this close to rubberbanding sponges to my feet and follow her around. That would’ve been quite the sight.

And now it’s storytime. First, a picture of my non-wrinkled, non-botoxed forehead:

You’ll see why I posted that pic in the story (Sidenote: I hateeee that stupid little freckle in the middle of my forehead. At least it keeps me symmetrical.)

SO, back to the story. In elementary school, we had a teacher, Mrs. Mazur, who taught math and spanish for 6th, 7th and 8th graders. She had this reward system where she would award tickets (like raffle tickets) for those who did well on tests, performed their dialogues correctly, or who were well-behaved. The students could then use their tickets to buy things from her closet. She has candy, school supplies and cheapy little toys. Usually an A on a test would be 4 tickets, a correct answer to a question would be 1 ticket, etc. Me, being the weird student that I was (still am), I decided to save all my tickets throughout the three years then redeem my billions of them upon 8th grade graduation. I had saved over 300 tickets by the end of 7th grade (turns out she left before 8th grade for me to redeem, but I digress) Anyhoo, I decided to really WOW her in math class by going up to her and telling her I could make pi. Confused, she asked why I would tell her that I could make pie. Was it apple? Pumpkin? A-HA! I revealed my super fancy trick that got me EIGHT tickets. EIGHT. Behold the glory that is PI: