Saturday, January 21, 2012

deads and omelets

Happy Saturday!!! I sure hope that you have been a lot more productive than Zach and I have been!! We started out very productive and now we are currently being extremely lazy. Hey, why not?? It's yucky out and we have already done everything we needed to!

We headed to the gym for a bright and early training session. We had to take the trip because we do not have enough weight for Zach to do deadlifts at home. 

I had a fantastic training session. Felt great and strong. Here are a few things I did...

Deadlift
165lbx5x5

Squats
45lbx1x20

Band Assisted Chins
3x3

Front loaded KB walking lunges
3x8/side
35lb

Cable Pull Throughs
80lbx3x8

Swiss Ball Ab Pikes
3x6


I received lots of gift cards for Christmas. I must say that I have absolutely enjoyed every single one of them. They really have allowed Zach and I to enjoy places that wouldn't even cross our minds. We have even found a few new favorite places. One of the gift cards I received was to Another Broken Egg. During my workout, I thought it would be great to drive up there to try it out. This what I got...

Garden delight omelet (filled with fresh spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes), side of plain oats with fresh blueberries. Absolutely delicious!! I ate every single bite!  

Since we were pretty nasty and sweaty from the gym, we decided to sit on the patio. It was about 69 degrees when we got there. Needless to say I was scarfing this food down because of a huge black cloud pushing quickly over us and made the weather drop 10 degrees. It was so cold. Thankfully, I had packed a light hoodie. 

After I ate, we headed to Quick Quakes to pick up Zach a protein smoothie. It was storming! Raining so hard. We decided to go ahead and head to K-Roger and get our grocery trip out of the way. After our quick trip there, we came straight home, unpacked, showered, and have been as lazy as we possibly can! Sounds like a pretty good afternoon to me!! 

Happy Weekend!!!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

rainy day

Today has just been absolutely yucky!! I have been looking forward to today's training session because I got to do my prowler push/sprints. All day, I kept looking outside hoping for two things... 1) the rain would be done with by 230pm or 2)the rain would wait until I was done with my last sprint. 

Well... 
On the way home it poured :(
Started my first exercise it stopped :)
Started my last exercise, it started raining again :(
Pondered for a few minutes to see if I should do it in the rain or add to another workout and...

IT STOPPED!!!  :) :) :)

I grabbed the prowler and headed to the street. 

Did my 6x30yard sprints and workout was complete!

I am one happy girl!!

I put together a little video of my workout today. Here is what I did...

Foam rolled/dynamic warm up

Front Loaded Non-alternating Reverse Lunges
65lbs

Barbell Hip Thrust
95lb

Band assisted chins

Eccentric Chins x2

Swiss Ball Hamstring Curls

30yardsx6 Prowler Sprints!!

As soon as I was pushing the prowler up the driveway it started sprinkling again. So, so thankful for that little break of rain! 

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Tuesday!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

you are my sunshine

Last couple of days have been so dreary! Hope these pictures help lift your spirits!!! I know it helped me!




Sunday, January 8, 2012

Protein/Pumpkin Muffins

Zach's coworker, Rick, brought some muffins to work the other day. Zach kept talking about how delicious they were.  While I was at work yesterday, Zach picked up some can pumpkin so we could make us some. They are super delicious and low fat and low carb! 
All you need is....
1. 1 1/2 cup of pumpkin
2. 190g of Whey Protein
3. 2 eggs
4. 1/4 cup of almond flour
5. 1/4 tsp of baking soda
6. 1/2 tsp of baking powder
7. Add spices (we used cinnamon) to taste.
(Makes 12)

Mix all together and you get this delicious batter!
We doubled the recipe!
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 mins. 
Let cool.
TA-DAH!!!!
Macros:
per muffin
Calories: 80
Fat: 2
Net Carb: 2
Protein: 15

Thanks to the pumpkin, these muffins are so moist. So incredibly good!

Thanks, Rick, for the awesome recipe! Feel free to send more our way!!

Try them out and let me know what you think!!




TGU (1-8-12)

I stalk a group of girls that are apart of Girls Gone Strong. These girls are amazing. The really show how important it is to strength train. Each girl has her different expertise. My nutrition coach Jen Keck, is apart of this group. I have secretly stalked this girls... asking them to friend me on FB, follow their blogs and websites and on youtube. I have learned so much from them.

Saturday at work, I had a few regular members trying new exercises out. They asked me how to do a Turkish Get Up (TGU). I have seen this done several times but have never really tried it. Neghar Fonooni (GGS) is awesome at TGUs. I came home from work and studied her video. This chick is super strong. She was doing a TGU with a 35kg KB. In pounds that equals to 70.4lb!!!

This might sound a little crazy but I dreamed about the TGU. I woke up at 415am on Sunday, ready to get my workout on. I quietly left the room so Zach could get a few extra zzzz's. Headed out to the garage and started my workout. Here is my workout for the day...

Upper Body
1-8-12

MP 65lb/Assisted Band Pull Ups
3x6

KB Curl/Press
10lb
3x8 per side

EZ Bar Curl/Press/Tricep Extension
25lb
3x10

Rear/Side/Front Raises
2.5lb
3x15

After I got done with all of that, I was ready for the TGUs! I watched Neghar's video one more time. I had to put her video on here. She makes it look so easy with that 70lb KB.
(Just AMAZING)

Here is my very first TGU.
 I thought I did pretty well. I still need to practice and get everything down. I did 5 per side with 15lb KB. I tried with a 35lb KB but couldn't even get that sucker over my head. This was definitely a workout and I really enjoyed doing them.

After I got done with my workout, I headed in to eat this...
5oz of egg whites
1 Organic egg
Scrambled together with peppers and mushrooms on a bed of organic spring mix salad. I also had some very delicious oats, too!

I am so excited to receive my new workout program from Jen. I can't wait to see what she has me doing. I should get it either to tomorrow or Thursday.

Until then... I think I will let my body rest!

Friday, January 6, 2012

off day

So, what do you do when you have a Friday off????

Most people would sleep in and savor the moment. Not this chick! I was up at a whopping 250am! Ready for the day!! Nothing like waking up ridiculous early on your day off. 

I got on up and started my day....

1. Sent my weekly update and pics to my nutrition coach, Jen Keck. Which by the way, is my new training coach too!!! Super pumped about this! Never have had anyone to write out my training programs. Will keep you updated on this. 

2. Headed to the gym for a nice  BRUTAL leg workout! Here is what I did...

5x5 Squats 115lb

Circuit:
Walking lunges with 15lb db in each hand down a super long walk way at the gym
Hamstring Curls 65lb
Calf Raises 50lb
Plank 45 seconds
(Repeated this 4x15)

Finished off with 10 minutes of stretching.

Legs will be filling this tomorrow!!!

3. Went to pick up the smartest/ cutest 2 year old I know! Brooklee!!!
We did a little shopping to spend some gift cards I got for Christmas. 
Enjoyed lunch at Ruby Tuesday. 
My lunch- grilled chicken, zucchini, and spaghetti squash! 
Brooklee- grilled cheese, grapes and apples!
My super cool lunch date! 
Don't be j!

4. Take naps!
Got home from lunch, Brooklee went straight down and so did this girl!

5. Came home to pick Zach up to head to the grocery store and got 2 packages in the mail. Totally felt like Christmas all over again!
I ordered these with Christmas gift cards!
Check out these new kicks! Love them!
 My knew watch. Matches my shoes perfectly. Didn't mean for that to happen.

6. Headed to the grocery store for lots-o-veggies!!!!
This how we usually spend first thing on Sunday mornings before church, but I am out of veggies and have to work all weekend. It had to be done!
Friday afternoon veggie bake!

7. Spending the evening with Zach, MIL and BIL! My mother-in-law is participating in the MS Blues Marathon tomorrow. 

Pretty good day if you ask me!

Happy Weekend!!!

Monday, January 2, 2012

7 stops

We started off the day cleaning and getting rid of all the excess clutter we had in the house. Definitely not Zach's idea of fun. He was a great trooper and helped as much as he could. He was not all about going through closets and getting rid of stuff so, he did all the other "fun" stuff like sweeping, mopping and dusting. Finally, around 10am we were finally done with everything and it was time to take the stuff to the donation center.

After the donation center, we decided to take back the Samsung Galaxy tablet we got the previous week. We were thinking about just getting another Netbook since we have had one for the past 2 years but finally decided to just get a laptop. This got the 7-stop journey started. But before I tell you about our crazy laptop hunt I must first tell you about our lunch.

I received a gift certificate to a new place in town called Mezza. Mezza is a Lebanese restaurant. I have never been to a Lebanese restaurant before. Thankfully, I was given a menu with the gift certificate. Zach and I studied and studied that menu. We figured out what we could eat that would work with our diets. Unfortunately, what we had picked was on the dinner menu and we could only order off the lunch menu. Lucky for us, we knew what we wanted off of it.
Here is Zach's lunch. Yes, this is all his!
Cabbage rolls, hummus, rice, some kind of chicken with a fancy name, and pita bread.
Here is my delicious meal! The house salad with chicken added.
Grilled chicken on top of arugula with roasted beets and pumpkin seeds, red onions and a olive oil/lemon juice dressing. It did come with garlic cream sauce but none of that went on my plate. My mouth is watering just looking at this picture. 
After fueling our bodies it was time for the laptop hunt. As I mentioned earlier, we went to 7 stores before we finally found the right one. Since this was last minute decision, we were no where prepared for what we wanted and where we were going to get it from. After returning the Samsung Galaxy, we went straight to Best Buy. This was going to be easy, one stop shop, right??? Wrong!!! Since the holidays were just a week ago, Best Buy is swiped  from everything that we were interested in.

On to store #2... Sams. We just walked from Best Buy to Sams (we were on county line). We walk straight to the laptops... nothing in our price range... NEXT!!! As we were walking to the car (which is at Best Buy) Zach notices Circuit City across the street.

Store #3... Circuit City. We pull up to Circuit City to only find out that it no longer exists. DUHH!!! They closed months ago.

Store # 4... Office Depot. We walk to the laptop section and find 2 that we were interested in. We studied the two side by side and finally picked THE.ONE. Zach ask the sales clerk to check to see if they have it in stock. They have 1 left. We talked it over and thought it would be a good idea to check Wal-Mart to see what they had. Just check one more place.

Store #5... Wal-Mart. Nothing!

Store #6... Back to Office Depot. Zach gets straight in line to ask for "our" computer. They bring it to the front. Definitely not "ours"!!!! It was being held for someone to come pick-up. You have got to be kidding! We were about to give up and then.... the sales clerk calls the other Office Depot (I had no clue Jackson had 3 Office Depots within a 5 mile radius). THEY HAVE IT!!! We run to the car and head to...

Store #7... Office depot #2. We wait and wait a little longer and they FINALLY bring us the new laptop. HOORAY!!!! The laptop hunt is over. So excited!!!

After I extensive hunt, we decided to treat ourselves to Quick Quakes! Delicious white chocolate, sugar free protein smoothie with peanut butter added. YUM.

I am still getting use to the this massive thing. After using a Netbook for the past two years, this thing feels gigantic!!! Words can not express how thankful I am for this computer! I love it!!!!! =)

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Good Bye 2011

It is official. 2011 is gone and it's tme to move on to 2012. I can't believe another year is gone. It seems like time goes by faster and faster each year. 2011 was definitely a great year. I can not wait to see what 2012 brings our way.

Last week, my nutrition coach wrote on her blog about getting rid of the old. Read it Clear the clutter-making way for 2012. Jen's blogs are always so informative and really motivating. Well, in this blog post, she writes about going through and getting rid of all the unecessory belongings and starting the new year off fresh.

This really got me thinking about all the stuff we have crammed in the closets that  NEVER.GET.TOUCHED. I started Thursday afternoon with my closet. I got after it. Didn't think twice about getting rid of it. I wanted it out of here.
Here is the before of my closet...
 

After about 2 hours and 3 LARGE garabage bags later this is my new closet!

Oh, yeah! I got rid of that much!!! I had several pieces that still had tags on them, some pieces that were too big or too small, and things that I wore when we went out in college. Why in the world was I holding on to them?? I have no clue! I even went through my jewelry, shoes, and purses. It feels so good walking into my closet now.

I didn't stop with my closet. Yesterday, bright and early, I headed to the hall closet, guest bedroom closet, computer room closet and got rid of any and everything! We ended up with my car loaded to full capacity and headed to the Gateway Rescue Mission to donate everything. My car was so packed that Zach was in the passenger side with the seat all the way to the dashboard and sitting straight up. He kept saying he felt like he was in a smart car. He looked like it too! =)

I think this might be a tradition each year. If there is something that hasn't been touched within 3-6 months, it has to go. Our next step is to go through the kitchen and get rid of some kitchen gadgets that we don't use.