Two Things

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hey there. Just a couple things to share today. There should be a lot more on the blog later this week as I have a couple of different hikes planned…which I’m totally excited about.

First up, COOKIES. I’m a huge fan of them and whenever I want something sweet around the house, a big batch of chocolate chip cookies is usually my go-to. Partially because I can eat the dough and cookies don’t take that long to bake. Well, lately, I have been using this recipe. Except I have never included the corn starch since I never had any in the house and none of my previous recipes included it in the list of ingredients, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to skip. And trust me, it didn’t. Tyler and I managed to force feed ourselves about 2 dozen different batches without the corn starch and we’re still alive and kicking.

But yesterday I went to the store and mindfully purchased a canister of corn starch to see just how different the batch would turn out. And yup….they’re chewy motherfluffers. Like SOOOO good.

Please go make them.

Second: My daily workouts have consisted of Hot Yoga and either an outdoor run or intervals on the treadmill. It’s been working wonders for my body and I totally love it. It has been over a week since I did any strength training- which is totally weird for me- but I will probably incorporate it back into the old routine sooner or later. I find that my muscles are getting a pretty good workout in yoga. Especially with all those chaturangas!

Source

Anyhoo..I did a pretty decent set of HIIT intervals yesterday that I thought I’d share with you. It was pretty easy and went by FAST. (I didn’t want to totally overdo it before yoga, but I also wanted to break a sweat and make sure I was torching some serious calories, which HIIT totally does.)

The left columns are the time and the right columns are the treadmill speed. You can obviously change the speeds to tailor your specific needs, but you get the idea how the intervals get progressively faster, then slower, then faster again. I loved it, and I felt nice and limber heading into yoga later in the evening.

If anyone gives this a go, let me know!

What’s your go-to dessert?

Favorite way to pass time on the treadmill?

A treadmill workout! And music! And..well just read.

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Here’s the treadmill work I did (2x through!) last night

3 minutes of running, 2 minutes of running, and 5 one-minute sprints with a minute walking between each interval, 2x.

Then, I somewhat followed Workout C from Best Body Bootcamp. I did three sets of 10 reps for each exercise; after each set, I did as many partial reps as I could (going halfway through the contraction). I didn’t move on to the next exercise until all sets (with partials) were completed.

Barbell squats on the bosu
Barbell side lunges on the bosu
Stability ball barbell chest presses
Stability ball barbell skull crushers
Barbell overhand grip standing row
Barbell underhand grip standing row

I also saw a celebrity look-a-like while I was at the gym. Brownie points if you know what this guy’s from:

(Source)

So, all day I have been listening to this song:

And when the base kicks in, I can’t help but dance like this:

In other news, I’m on a medicine to supposedly fights infections (I feel fine, but my doctor gave it to me just in case). Side effect? No booze. For 10 days. I’m going to be a ball of fun this weekend. All homework and no fun makes Jen a dull girl.

Other ramblings:

-I went to Teavana for the first time today to try and find some peppermint tea. The girl working there was such a complete female dog- and I don’t mean this kinda female dog:

I mean THIS kind:

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Never going back there again. Good thing I saw a DavidsTea place is opening up in the same mall.

-Hello, new best friend:

(Source)

-Extreme Cougar Wives. Seriously? That was 60 minutes of my life I’d like back.

– I am going to invent washers and dryers that do their specified jobs for.the.same.length.of.time. I hate when I do a load of towels, then put them in the dryer, and put another load in the washer. Then, when the washer is done, the wet clothes have to sit and wait for the dang towels to get all fluffy and dry.

[Sidenote: We are covering the Theory of Constraints in one of my courses this week, and they gave that exact ‘problem.’ Smart people of the world, why have you not fixed this yet?!]

– Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Abby from The Amazing Race looks like the actress, Kim Raver? (from Revolution,

(Source)

No? Ok, I’ll shut up then.

– I saw a commercial today for a new Words With Friends board game. Last time I checked, it was Scrabble.

-Other songs that have made it into this week’s weekly rotation:

Random, I know.

Now, after having a dinner that has resulted in pesto burps, I must be off to the gym!

Falling back in love..with the treadmill

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

The day starts with this:

A big ol’ drink with my all-time favorite pre-workout fuel, Razor 8. Ohmygosh y’all, I swear my this stuff (I’m starting to say ‘y’all’ too much because of The Bachelorette. Grr). But really, it gives me the best oompf I need before I workout and there are no jitters or crash afterwards… Just the best!

On to the workout. Another day on the treadmill. I am starting to fall back in love with the treadmill. Like, I hug the machine after I’m done. Yesterday’s session looked like this:

Warm up: 5 minutes at moderate pace
0-5 run
5-6 walk at brisk pace
6-10 run
10-11 walk at brisk pace
11-14 run
14-15 walk at brisk pace
(my ‘walk’ was at 4.0mph and I varied my run from 6.0-7.0mph)

-Then, I did a squat series. With a body bar on my shoulders, I did 10 front split squats, 10 side split squats, and 10 reverse split squats. On each leg.

-Back to the treadmill for another 15 minute set (same as above)

-another squat set

-3rd set on the treadmill. Add a 5 minute cool down.

DONE

It was a fantastic sweat session. So fantastic, that I talked Tyler’s ear off about how great I felt afterward. Better that than bitch and moan to him!

And on to more randomness…

*Oo oo oo! I got my foodie penpal package yesterday, but I can’t share with you until the 30th, so watch out for that post!

Layla was a pooped dog last night. We took a long walk and chased bunnies and woofed and sniffed and rolled in the grass. And my we, I mean just Layla. I was tempted to woof though.

I got $115 back from Geico yesterday (for returning my MA plates) and I am seriously contemplating a trip to Lululemon. I’ve already done my research and know what I want. Is that bad….?

***Leave me a comment. About anything. I’m in the mood to hear some randomness from readers.***