Tag Archives: sweat sessions

Workouts and a ‘Me’ Day

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You’d think I could publish a post everyday since I don’t work, but I NEED those couple of days to get enough material to write about. Ha.

So I did manage to post on Monday, but I didn’t tell you that I got my hair done. Big whoop!

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Just a little touch up. Keeping my hair on the less-than-platinum side because I think it needs to be a bit darker for optimum wedding hair. 

I then proceeded to ‘ruin’ my salon hair by going straight to the gym for some cardio. (I did the strength portion before my hair appt). Yup, no more straight hair. But 50 minutes and 20 miles on the bike were worth it!

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Check out those chub fingers.

ImageThat was my gracious pre-workout picture from Tuesday. I think too much blood got to my brain. I completed 35 minutes of a circuit interval that LITERALLY kicked the shit out of me. 2 minutes of FULL OUT sprint followed by 3 minutes of recovery. Repeated 6 times. I came home and just about died.

Check out that bum!

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Ow OW!

I managed to clean myself up in time an head downtown to meet my friend Mackenzie for drinks. (More water than actual beer, but I had to drive home!)

Yesterday, I took a ‘me’ day and headed to Banff. A pretty easy, short (and beautifully scenic) drive.

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When I left, it was nice and sunny. Most of the snow had melted. But as I got further into the mountains, snow snow SNOW.

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I got to downtown Banff and walked around through most all the shops for a few hours. Maybe some purchases were made. I also managed to have lunch at Wild Flour Bakery. A veggie wrap that could have been better, but the ambiance was perfect.

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I ended up looping the main street a few times because there were a few gifts I wanted to purchase. I am not an impulse buyer- I literally went into every store without making a purchase, THEN went back to stores where I knew I got the best deal/gift.

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I was looking forward to getting back to Calgary because I wanted to get out of the snow. I don’t like driving in it, especially when it’s not plowed and people drive like maniacs. Oh, and wildlife. As I left, I spotted a huge buck near the train tracks. I immediately thought to myself “I come all the way out to the Rocky Mountains and all I see is a friggin deer? C’mon mountains, you can do better than that!” No sooner did I think that to myself, I got on the highway and saw about a dozen of the largest Elk I’ve ever seen. Still no moose, though. Le sigh.

The initial portion of the drive back was not fun (think bleeding hands from hardcore white knuckling and music off because I couldn’t concentrate enough)

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I just kept telling myself I’d be out of the woods soon- back to sunny Calgary.

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh……no. I brought the snow home with me around 6pm yesterday and it hasn’t stopped since. Even Layla’s like “WTF man!”

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After the tense drive home, I switched into my ‘home workout’ clothes (usually really ghetto outfits that I feel comfortable sweating in, but not in public) and got my workout on. I modified the Workout B with Intervals B to Workout B with Cardio Intervals from Best Body Bootcamp. Rather than getting through the strength portion and having a separate cardio session, I incorporated the circuits with a 5 minute cardio blast after each set (similar to the format of Workout A- for those of you who are in BBB). The strength moves got me really sweaty on their own, so the addition of the cardio blasts were a one, two punch to my energy levels. 

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Please ignore the mess in the background- I am packing/unpacking/making a mess. But I did have my workout buddy with me. I do all my home workouts in ‘my’ room- the door is always propped open with a door stop, but I close it whenever I workout because I try to muffle my music/singing for Tyler as much as possible. Layla freaks if I close the door without her in with me, so she is now a regular in the room. The dog who is afraid of everything now doesn’t so much as flinch when I swing my ropeless jump rope just above her head. She just stands or sits or lays around with maybe an eyebrow twitch here and there.

Now you’re caught up.

 

 

Recipe: Chili. Workout: Strength

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If I just want to wish you an average Thursday, do I just say “Thursday?” Instead of ‘Happy Thursday!”

Thursday.

Pardon the headache and grumpy mood.

Today started cheery and bright with the puppy. She got her morning cookie out on the patio. She’s too cute.

‘Mama, just gimme the cooooookie. I sit real nice this this”

“Look, mom. I even give my paw. I’m a good puppy”

And then, I somehow managed to take my favorite picture of the day

I absolutely love that face.

So I took her for a super long walk. She, of course, led the way.

I kid you not, I looked a wreck on that walk. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t even wearing a bra. Disgusting.

You can even see my flyaways in this shadow pic

We ended up walking longer than expected and Layla needed a shade break

Oh right. Before the walk, I did two things

  • I made chili
  • I worked out

The chili was sort of a throw-together meal, so I can’t really give you EXACT amounts, but it went like this

Ingredients

  • 1 large zucchini
  • 1 red pepper
  • 2 medium yellow onions (from our garden!)
  • 1 can of corn
  • 1 can of black beans
  • give or take 10 mini carrots

(chop all that stuff up)

  • 1.5 lbs ground beef

(brown the beef in a skillet)

  • paprika
  • cayenne pepper
  • chili powder
  • onion powder
  • salt
  • pepper
  • parsley
  • basil

(to taste)

  • 1 big ass can of tomato sauce
  • 1 small can tomato paste

Directions

Throw it all in a crock pot. Cook on high for 2 hours, low for 2 hours. EAT.

It was soooooooo good. I can’t wait for leftovers.

On to the workout…

My leg felt a bit better when I woke up this morning, but I didn’t really want to take any chances with high impact stuff in case it made it worse. So I stuck with strength (ps: last night I couldn’t go without doing any kind of workout, so I did 200 situps on the stability ball. phew)

I did 5 ‘sets’ of exercises. Each set I did 2x through. If you need me to further explain moves, let me know!

Set 1

  • weighted lunges (12 each leg)
  • weighted squats (12)
  • weighted split squat (12 each leg)

Set 2

  • Donkey kicks (16 bent knee, 16 straight leg toe taps, 16 crossover knee)
  • Double leg glute squeeze (video shows the exercise on the ball, I do these on the floor)

Set 3

Set 4

  • Concentration curls (8 full, 8 all the way down-halfway up, 8 all the way up-halfway down. each arm)
  • Tricep pulls & extension (8 each)
  • Chest press & Flys on the stability ball (8 each)

Set 5

  • Behind your back pulses (12 count)
  • Overhead press- palms in (12)
  • Lateral extension (12)

Time from this cranky pants to hit the hay.

Night!

bust A move

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Just another boring day back at the grind here in Calgary. Ugh. (I would rant about this whole not working and being in a different country with no friends and family thing, but you’d just x out of the whole post. and we don’t want that)

I cleaned. LAME

I went to Wal-Mart. LAMER

I did homework on ethnic subcultural marketing strategies. LAMESAUCE.

But, I painted my nails some awesome colors.

 

I made sure to get all the laundry done prior to painting. Nothing is worse than having to do something immediately after doing your nails. And I had to put the duvet back on the comforter. I may have mentioned this before, but that is my SINGLE MOST hated chore. I would rather scrub toilets and express my dog’s anal glands than deal with that stupid piece of fabric.

 

I also cleaned the coffee table which made for a fabulous black backdrop in this photo.

Oh wait. There was an exciting thing. The FedEx man came to the house. Yes, it’s a sad thing when making small talk with the FedEx guy about the weather is a highlight to your day.

Sidenote: Speaking of weather, I never understood why people must always discuss the weather. Talking about it doesn’t change it. Does the cashier at Safeway care to hear your thoughts on upcoming clouds? No. Neither does the FedEx guy, I found out. I always make fun of my parents when I catch them having a serious conversation about the big W. And now, here I am following in their footsteps. Mom, you’re laughing now!

So the FedEx guy brought my textbooks for my last semester of grad school. $330 for two books. OR SO I THOUGHT THEY WERE BOOKS. Ummm…what is this??!

 

It appears they forgot to put a cover and a spine on this $110 ‘book’. Thank goodness they went through the trouble of at least 3-hole punching it.

On to greener pastures: Today’s workout.

I had no motivation for dealing with creeps at the gym, and I have had some shin pain since I went rollerblading last week, so I decided to bust out a nice little workout of my own at home.

bust A move

Today’s workout emphasized my current favorite exercise, single leg dead lifts. (The video demonstrates with one weight. I held a 10 pound weight in each hand. Your choice)

After a 5 minute cardio (of choice) workout, I did THREE sets of:

  • 12 single leg dead lifts on each leg
  • 90 seconds cardio (of choice)

Followed by a pyramid of:

  • 10 pushups
  • 20 crunches
  • 30 high knees
  • 40 alternating front kicks
  • 50 second wall sit
  • 40 alternating front kicks
  • 30 high knees
  • 20 crunches
  • 10 pushups

and then…………I did it all again.

Nice, wonderful, lovely, sweaty workout for my monday evening. You should try it. And then let me know what you think.

Anyone doing something exciting this week? I’m mopping the floors tomorrow!!!

The Post-Buyer’s-Remorse Workout

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Where do I start? How about after I took Layla for a long walk yesterday, I ended up dragging my booty to the mall. I really shouldn’t have, but I made out like a bandit. I got 2 dresses and a necklace from Banana Republic; a dress, sandals and pajamas from Gap- and all that was for about $120. Not too shabby.

As soon as I got back home, I turned right around and ended up going to Tyler’s football game. Where he managed to dislocate his shoulder. Not good, since today he is off golfing with people from work. I hope it doesn’t make it worse! He was having so much fun on the field and it was only the first game. Perhaps my persuasive powers to get him back in the gym will finally take into effect now that he knows he’s gotta keep himself strong to prevent injuries!

With all that hubbub, I was only able to squeeze in an at-home workout last night. Not really what I was aiming for, but it was better than nothing. I ended up doing about 20 minutes of kickboxing, then another 25 minutes of strength stuff: stability ball reverse lunges, plie squats, weighted stability ball oblique twists, chest press and flys.

Today, though= different story. I completed the Fitnessista’s Schweaty September Workout

Mine was only slightly modified:

Cardio #1

1. Shake Senora- Pitbull (Warm up)

2. Americano- Lady Gaga (Speedier)

3. Pass at Me- Timbaland (Tabata; 20 seconds work, 10 rest, repeated 8x)

Strength 12-15 reps of each move 2-3 sets

Front/Back overhead press (Using a body bar, do an overhead press, then bring the weight down and behind your head so it almost rests on your shoulders. Then press it back up and have the bar come down in front of your face, almost resting on your chest. Each full front/back movement counts as 1)

Shoulder raises (first set: lateral raise; 2nd set: front raise; 3rd set: combo of the two)

Cardio #2

1.Princess of China- Coldplay and Rihanna (moderate pace, increasing the resistance every 1 minute)

2. Papa Don’t Preach- Madonna (30 seconds speedy; 1 minute recovery)

3. Love on Top- Beyonce (moderate speed)

Strength 12-15 reps of each move 2-3 sets

Right leg squat + bicep curl, regular weighted squat, left leg squat + hammer curl, 25 calf raises

Step Ups: 1 minute each leg

Cardio #3

1. Boomerang- DJ Felli Fel (2 minute warm up then pace for the rest of the song)

2. Please Don’t Stop the Music- Rihanna (Tabata; 20 seconds work, 10 rest, repeated 8x)

3. Back in Time- Pitbull (moderate pace)

In my workout, I did the elliptcal for Cardio portions #1 & #3 and used the spin bike for #2. Here is the playlist I used for the hour long workout. It timed out perfectly- even with the machine wipe-down times!

Now, I must write up tonight’s bootcamp! I will check back in with that workout later tonight 🙂

PS: This is my first month in the Foodie Penpal program run by The Lean Green Bean. I just got my penpal today, and I am super excited to send her a package full of goodies! The best part: She has a list for US and Canadian residents and penpals are paired with those who reside in the same country to alleviate any customs/shipping problems. Love!!

I made balls…and other topics

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As promised, here is the recipe from last night’s dinner (from Eights and Weights)

Healthy Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

  • 1 lb lean ground turkey
  • 1/4 c breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp soy milk (I used almond)
  • 1/2 tbsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 2 gloves garlic (I used minced garlic)
  • Grated veggies (I used carrots)
  • 1 pack of whole wheat spaghetti
  • 1 28 oz can tomato sauce
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1 onion (I used 1/2)
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degress and spray baking sheet with the cooking spray

2. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, breadcrumbs, parmesan, milk, egg, black pepper, thyme, 1/2 clove garlic, grated veggies, and half the salt

3. Once combined, form into balls (I did 12 medium sized)

4. Baked for about 15 minutes, until balls are browned.

5. For the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan. Add in the onion and rest of the garlic. Right as it browns, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and the rest of the salt. (I threw in a little chili powder as well)

6. Let the sauce simmer. When the meatballs are done, carefully add them to the sauce and allow at least an additional 15 minutes of simmering before serving (I had them simmer about 45 minutes. The longer, the better)

7. Cook the spaghetti per the directions on the box. Top readied spaghetti with balls and sauce and dinner is served.

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Ok now that we’re done with that, I’d like to give a shout out to Athena for the workout she posted from her Tuesday night class (Oh how I miss Two a Day Tuesdays. Not only for the workouts, but for the peeeeeeople!)

I started with 10 minutes of HIIT on the spin bike, then got right to it.

There were 2 rounds of tabatas. Then cardio after each round. I chose to do a minute of cardio between each tabata for a little extra punch.

Round 1

  • On the bosu: Pushups/Burpees
  • With a medicine ball: Woodchops/Pulses
  • Bands: Bicep curls (In and out)

Round 2

  • On the bosu: Planks/Mountain Climbers
  • With a medicine ball: Front lunges w/twist
  • Bands: Tricep extensions

Then I did all the ab work she posted. (Seriously, just check out her post-linked above- for a more complete description).

Last, I hopped on the elliptical for another 10 minutes of HIIT.

It was a GREAT workout. I swallowed so much salty sweat. (Gross. Cringe. Barf. TMI- I know)

Only difference in my workout from Athena’s was the music selection. She chose to go with a Cinco de Mayo theme. Me: not so much. I have been hearing way too much techno-y/pop-y music lately, that I needed me some rap, hop-hop and otherwise ‘thuggy-thug’ music. (This is no offense to anyone by referring to it as ‘thuggy-thug.’ I just think it’s an amusing way to get the vibe across.) Little Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Kayne, Snoop and Notorious all made appearances on my playlist this am. I gotta tell ya, that music really revs my engine.

On the way to the gym I heard this song and I got really amped to work out. It really just makes me wanna dance and twist and shake and shimmy. Please tell me that you clicked on the link. And that as soon as the music played, you started bobbing your head or rocking your shoulders back and forth. Admit it. Because that’s what I’m doing. RIGHT NOW. Of course I’m playing it on repeat until I finish this post.

Then, on the way back, I heard this song. It was my very first favorite song that wasn’t and oldie or a Disney tune. Total throwback. Not gonna lie, I have used it quite a few times in playlists for classes I ran in Boston. Best part was when someone in the class would be like “Aww man, great tune” They scored 50 points in my book.

Ok, on to address the notes I left for myself in the last post.

1) Lululemon Swimsuits.

(Source)

I’m pretty sure I am going to buy all of them. I went to the mall yesterday just to “visit” them and I fell in love. Tyler, are you reading? Your lady wants a swimsuit. The gal who freaked out at the Hot Springs 2 weeks ago because of the dreaded bathing suit wearing…WANTS A NEW SUIT. I suggest you take that as a hint.

2) Calgary Beerfest

(Source)

I got tickets for Tyler and I for Friday night. Very excited. VERY. There are so many new-to-me beers that are going to be there. I know, it’s a tough job trying all of them, but I feel I am up to the challenge. A lot of these Canadian beers have rivaled my favorites from the states, and some of them have been just awful. I checked out the list of who will be there, and some of my new faves are..so I’ll at least have some backup.

3) Copycat blogging. I’m actually in a good mood today, so I don’t want to bring myself down if I really get into this topic. Next!

4) At home workouts. I used to hate doing at home workouts because I either didn’t have the space or didn’t have the equipment. But now, I totally love them. I have my own room that I can sweat to my heart’s content. I’ve got my mat, my stability ball and my new weights. So many options.

5) How much I hate washing dishes. The end. I just hate it.

6) Positives and negatives of being a lefty. Positives: I got on a lot of sports teams growing up. I got the lefty desk in school. Negatives: Coaches had a hard time teaching me the ‘opposite’ way. I smudge over pretty much everything I write.

I know there are more, but I can’t think of them right now. I think I just wrote that on my list last night because I had completely smudged up some important paperwork. #fail

7) Sleeping positions. On my belly or on my side. If I am drunk, I sleep on my back with my arms over my head. Totally weird.

8) Favorite chapsticks/lip glosses/what-have-yous. Chapstick: Carmex. But only in the classic stick and only in the original and cherry flavors. Strawberry? Blughk. Lip gloss: Benefit Ultra Shines. I have had just about every color and love every single one of them. What have yous: Exude Lipstick. I have the lip cream in Nude- I got it from my Birchbox a few months ago (which I had to cancel when I moved because they don’t deliver to Canada! Tears, people. Tears.)

This should be sufficient reading for you all for now..There’s a lot more to get done today!

Anyone want to rant/rave on anything? I’m all ears!