July 24, 2012

What a day! Yesterday was a great cardio and abs day. As usual, I did my cycling class for my cardio. It was excellent. The cycling instructor did a new routine, which was more than welcome as she had done the same routine for six weeks (Group Ride format)! My heart got pumping, I was sweating like a crazy person, and I was begging for her to ease up on us. She never did and that makes me happy! :)

After cardio was done, I came home and did my ab workout. I decided to change it up because the two exercises at the gym was getting a little boring. I used the Nike Training Club app and I really felt the burn! I've included the 15 minute ab burner workout that I did. It shows the exercises to the recover stage. The idea is to do the exercises continuously- no rest- until your recovery period. You will repeat the circuit two more times for a total of three times. It was intense and much needed. My abs still hurt more than 24 hours later. I enjoyed feeling the burn deep down in my abs!

Today was my back and traps day. It was equally as intense! I can't wait to check-in tomorrow and share my workout and supper for tonight. I've included a shot of calories burned, dinner, and the Nike Training Club workout. I hope you guys give it a try on your next ab day. It's guaranteed to be tough and worthwhile. 

July 23, 2013

Planning in life is really important. I feel like I sometimes spend too much of my life organizing my life and other times I feel like I am frazzled and can't stay organized to save my life.  The good thing staying organized though is when I have a specific time set aside for things then I save time because I know when I'm supposed to be somewhere. This goes so much further than work, school, and Chloe's activities. I take time to schedule my health and fitness. My workout is usually the only time of the day that I have for myself and I cherish that time to myself. So I make sure I schedule everything and I don't compromise. If I have to schedule an appointment somewhere (doctor, school, etc) I schedule around my fitness. There's no need to skimp on your health. That should take center stage. I really feel that making my health a priority makes me a better employee, student, wife, and mother. I'm setting an example for my daughter on taking time to be healthy. My health helps me with being active and alert for work and school. I'll be able to be a wife longer because I focus on my health.

Health isn't only physical fitness. You should also take time for mental fitness: Reading, writing, and learning are as important for your mental health as exercise is for your physical health. One thing that I love to do to make my brain really work (and something that I had stopped doing for a long time until last week) is to play a game of chess. It requires thinking and strategizing. And, if we're being honest, it's one of the only things that I can beat my husband at! I'm teaching Chloe how to play chess, and Joe had never learned how to play until I taught him last week. It's so much fun connecting with my family this way, and something that we will be able to play together and share for years to come.

Yesterday was a good workout day. Yesterday was chest and shoulders, my crunches, and 40 minutes of cardio. I felt amazing after my workout. As always, my chest, shoulders, and abs were burning! I'm excited to get my workouts in for the week- mental and physical.

For my accountability report, I've included my calories burned during yesterday's workout, my calendar for you to see where I work in my workouts, and my new chess set that my fantastic husband picked up for me (for $8.00 no less!). Have a fantastic Tuesday, everyone! I look forward to sharing my change up in abs exercises with you tomorrow.

July 17, 2013

Even the fittest girl has an Achille's Heel. Mine, sadly, are two specific foods: spaghetti and tacos. I can eat mindfully when it comes to anything else: I use proper portion control, I fill my plate reasonably, and I don't go in for seconds. But spaghetti and tacos, man.... I go in for seconds. And thirds. And more and more. By the time I'm done, I hadn't even realized I had three helpings of spaghetti or four tacos. This is something that I am constantly working on in an effort to live healthier. The good news is that I do follow the 90/10 rule: 90% of healthy and 10% of what I want. Luckily for me, my entire week won't be derailed from one day of spaghetti.

With that said, yesterday was an overall good day. I enjoyed an hour of cardio, pushing it harder and working that much more yielded great results that I'm so proud of! For breakfast, I had my fruit and kale smoothie, which I still encourage you all to try kale in the mornings. I use one cup of kale, one bananas, two cups of frozen fruit, and water (though some prefer yogurt or milk), and blend it all together. My fruit smoothies are so filling and only about 250 calories. If you require more calories in the morning, even it out with a piece of whole wheat toast covered in either peanut butter or hazelnut spread. I still have my mornings of eggs, oatmeal, and toast, but lately, the smoothies have been hitting the spot!

Yesterday was my cardio day. I took my spin class that I always take on Tuesday. This week, I decided that I needed to push myself more. Every time the instructor told me to add "a little more tension," I did, and I added more, pushing myself out of my comfort zone! The results were great! I burned 719 calories in an hour. That's 74 calories more than last week's spin class! Pushing  yourself is hard, but the reward is so worth it!

For lunch, I took some of my leftover ceviche and put it on my veggie sandwich. My veggie sandwich consists of 1/4 avocado, 1/2 tomato, a few slices of onion and mango chutney. Adding that shrimp ceviche on gave me some extra protein (which I really needed after my workout) and it tasted wonderful! You can use leftovers in a variety of ways! You never have to eat leftovers the same way twice!

On my agenda is back and traps at the gym during lunch and a run to and from the youth center before and after work. I've included my accountability report for yesterday: calories burned, my smoothie, and my ceviche sandwich. I hope you all have a wonderful day! The week is already half over... I know you can see the weekend right over the horizon!