Archive | April 2012

Exercising My Will Power

Apr27

BeachBody Day 70

It’s not always easy to stay on track.  Some days it’s really hard, like today. Ben brought came back with Taco Bell after going to the doctor’s office and boy was it tempting to have some of those yummy looking nachos!! Luckily I was able to keep myself busy by folding the mountain of laundry for the boys.  It was out of necessity that I folded them because that was the only way I was going to find Gio’s uniform for his game. lol. For the most part, I’ve been able to stay away from fast foods since last August. If I wind up at a fast food place, I will go for a salad if they have one, or I’ll just wait until I get home. Taco Bell was one of my favorites! Giving up fast foods was my choice and I believe that it has to be Ben’s choice in order for him to stick to it so I don’t force him to give it up. I do try my hardest to always have food at home, but I am not his mother and he is free to eat what he likes. Yes, this does cause friction at times, but we work through it. The junk food fest continued at dinner when he ordered pizza for him and the boys. I was pretty tired and could have easily pigged out. I wanted to. But I didn’t. Instead, I made myself my own food – which I do a lot.  It would have been easier to just join the boys, but I know that I would have felt badly about it. I’m really glad that my will power was strong enough tonight :-) Another mental battle won!

Workouts:

Bootycall – Tone It Up’s Self Magazine Drop10 SculptingX3

Turbo Fire Day 68: Fire55EZ  for my morning workout. The more I do this one, the more I like it. It’s got some really great combos. I modified the tuck jumps to make it lower impact for my knees but I did do all the jacks :-)

Afternoon workout: NTC Kickin’ It – Reached the 1250min SpitFire Badge!! I haven’t done an NTC workout in a while but it never fails to get me sweating. Looking forward to getting to 1500min so I can unlock the Jeanette Jenkins Ultimate Hollywood Workout. Also did Drop10 Leaner Loop. Went for an easy 30min jog before the sun went down. No head phones. It was nice to just run.

Finished with a the same combo plank challenge I did last night: 25 pushups on my knees then 1min plank, 1min tummy tucks, 30 sec side plank each side, 1min tummy tucks and 1min plank. I really have no idea how I managed to do this because I was so tired.

Today’s Tone It Up Calendar challenge for Happy Hour Friday was to write down 1 thing every hour that we are Grateful for or that makes us Happy. I really liked this idea since it makes us focus on the good things for a minute. I kept track on my iPhone from 7a – 10p.

A Day full of Happiness :-)

Meals:

M1: Tried a different Chobani Champions: Very Berry with almond butter and chia seeds. I didn’t think I’d like this as much compared to the Chocolate Chunk, but I do. It’s sooo good :-)

Very Berry is Very Yummy :-)

M2: Grapes.

M3: Left over Salmon and Quinoa/peas mix wrapped in lettuce with fresh avocado and tomatoes.

Made Left overs into Lettuce Wraps for lunch.

M4: Luna bar.

M5: Turkey Meatballs and Brussel Sprouts. Zico to drink.

Turkey meatballs and brussels sprouts instead of pizza and bread sticks.

80 oz. of water 1 Zico.

Sign up for the Bikini Series at ToneItUp.com

You can also still sign up for Self Magazine’s Drop10 Challenge

BeachBody Day69

Apr26

If you’re wondering why my titles change…. One, I’m experimenting and seeing which way I like to title my posts. Two, sometimes I can think of a title that I really like. Three, and sometimes I can’t. lol. Tonight would be one of those nights where I can’t really think of anything creative. I guess I’m worn out from spending the day on my lap top :-/ Too bad I’m still way behind on videos for my boys :-( I’m planning on getting back on track after my race… which is only a few days away!! yikes!

Bootycall – Tone It Up’s Under the Sea 12 reps X3sets

Spent most of my morning working on my blog and organizing videos.

Turbo Fire Day 67 – HIIT25 didn’t feel that much longer. It’s 4 routines 2X each. I noticed that the routines were a little bit longer than the ones from HIIT15/HIIT20. We did a few more reps of each of the moves – which was quite tiring when it was the sumo squats and anything with tuck jumps.  But it still goes by fast :-) I modified the tuck jumps. With my race being a few days away, I decided that I better take it easy on my knees.  Sculpt30 was a little painful because my arms were still sore. Usually I am adding resistance but today, I eased off a bit so I could actually finish the sets. It still burned a lot! But I pushed through :-)

Tone It Up’s Bikini Series Challenge for today was SELF Magazine’s Drop10 Size Shrinker HIIT. I decided to do this on the treadmill on an incline.  I have no idea what the course is going to be like but since Big Sur is known for it’s hills, I’m assuming that there will be some hills even on my course. I figured one more day of hill training wouldn’t hurt.

Drop10 SizeShrinker with 1min warmup and 5min cool down. Incline between 3-5 and at 10 for cool down.

Still smiling after finishing Size Shrinker :-)

Seppe loves to go to the pool when I go to the gym. While I workout, Ben and the boys go swimming. We all get some exercise :-)

Ended with a combination of two plank challenges from two Tone It Up Sisters – Sophie and Emma.  Sophie’s was 25 pushups, 50 sec plank and 30 sec side plank each side.  Emma’s was that killer 5min plank with tummy tucks. I started with 25 pushups on my knees. My arms are so dead that I knew the only way I was doing 25 at one time was on my knees. But I will be working on doing 25 regular pushups :-) Then I did a 1min plank, 1min tummy tucks, 30sec side plank each side, 1min plank and ended with 1min of tummy tucks. It was tough! I will try to do this one more often because it is a nice challenge :-)

Meals:

M1: Protein Pancake with cocoa almond butter. All out of strawberries :-(

M2: Grapes with Air popped popcorn.

M3: Chocolate Shakeology with pineapple, mango, and avocado.

M4: Almond Coconut Kind bar.

M5: Left over Chicken, spinach, quinoa, mushrooms, and bell peppers.

Left overs for dinner. Using one the boys bowl.

100 oz. of water!!

Sign up for the Bikini Series at ToneItUp.com

You can also still sign up for Self Magazine’s Drop10 Challenge

A Lazy Day

Apr26

BeachBody Day68 – Turbo Fire Rest Day

Wednesday was a bit of a lazy day for me. I still got up to do my bootycall workout: Tone It Up’s Sand Castle X3set. I did 15 reps of each exercise. I was sore from my workouts yesterday and I could feel my sore muscles while I was working out.

After I dropped Gio off at school, it was time to do some homework with Seppe. I’ve been really making an effort to work with Seppe and get him ready for school. I had no motivation at all to workout. Instead of a morning workout, I took a nap and I didn’t want to get up at all. Maybe it’s PMS. I have no clue. I pulled myself out of bed because I didn’t want to be up all night long. I kept putting off my afternoon workout. I finally hit the gym before dinner. I did a short 15min HIIT on the bike. It’s the first Wednesday in a long time that I get to do my booty workouts (I’ve been doing long runs on Wednesdays lately). I’m tapering down before my 9 mile race on Sunday.

After the gym, I decided to do the Bikini Booty workout with Katrina from the Beach Babe DVD in honor of Hump Day :-) This really burned, especially after the HIIT on the bike. I also did a booty workout from BodyRockTv. It was a quick 3min one. I didn’t have a sand bag but I used my medicine ball instead. After the previous workouts, it really burned.

I ended with a 5min plank. I alternated positions in 30 sec intervals (hands, tummy tucks, hands, tummy tucks, side plank each side, hands, tummy tucks, elbows, hip dips).

Meals –

M1: Protein Pancake with cocoa almond butter and strawberries.

Had Protein Pancakes with my boys :-) So thrilled they like it.

M2: Bowl of grapes and Green Tea.

Snack time for Seppe: Larabar and an apple.

M3: Chicken, spinach, mushrooms, quinoa, bell peppers, tomatos, and avocado lettuce wrap with mango on the side.

This was very tasty :-)

M4: Luna bar.

M5: Teriyaki Salmon with quinoa, spinach, and mushroom mix.

Spinach and peas are about the only thing I have left that are green. Need to get to the grocery store asap!

80 oz. water. 1c. of green tea.

Sign up for the Bikini Series at ToneItUp.com

You can also still sign up for Self Magazine’s Drop10 Challenge

Double HIIT

Apr26

BeachBody Day66 (Monday)

Even though I was really tired from my super busy weekend, I got up Monday morning for my bootycall. Had a great day with two HIIT workouts :-)

Good Morning! Before getting to my bootycall workout.

Workouts:

Bootycall – Under the Sea X3 – 12 reps each

Turbo Fire Day 64 – HIIT20  – This is my favorite HIIT. 3 routines – 2 repeated twice and 1 repeated 3 times. It goes by so fast and before I know it, it’s over.  No modifications this time around. Followed with Tone30 and really focused on making every rep count. Since they don’t do a lot of reps, I have to really add resistance to keep it challenging.

Afternoon workout – Drop10 Sweet 16 on the treadmill with an incline. This was a short HIIT but it makes you sweat!! Followed with Drop10 Toning X3.

Drop10 Sweet16 HIIT on an incline with a warm up and a cool down.

Sweaty Mess after Sweet16 workout :-)

Ended with 2 min plank w/ 1min tummy tucks

Meals:

M1 – Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk w/ almond butter and chia seeds.

Used up all of my favorite Raw Almond Butter :-(

M2: Egg white, black beans and brown rice.

M3: Chocolate Shakeology w/ strawberries, avocado, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. And a Mango.

M4: 5 dark chocolate almonds.

M5: Shiritaki Noodles with mushroom and spinach red sauce – staying on track with my Meatless Mondays :-)

Spinach and Mushroom red sauce with Shiritaki Noodles.

80 oz. water and 1 Zico.

Sign up for the Bikini Series at ToneItUp.com

You can also still sign up for Self Magazine’s Drop10 Challenge

First 10K!

Apr26

BeachBody Day65

I signed up for the Capital City Classic 10K last minute.  My friend Malissa was doing it so I decided to do it with her.  I didn’t really train for it.  I’ve been focusing on my Big Sur training, but since I’ve been doing 9 mile runs, I figured that I could do 6 miles. I didn’t think I was all that nervous but I guess I was because I really didn’t sleep well the night before. It was also a very hot night. Despite that, I didn’t feel tired when I got up at 5a.  We were staying at Ben’s mom’s house which was an hour away from where the race was being held. I got dressed and went down stairs to eat. I couldn’t have my usual whole wheat bagel, almond butter, and banana.  Ben’s mom had whole grain bread, some peanut butter and strawberries.  Hydrated with Zico.

There was also a kids race that the boys could do. I didn’t sign them up before hand because I knew that there was a good chance that they would not want to do it.  I was impressed that Gio got up at 5a and still wanted to go. Seppe on the other hand decided to stay with grandma and get some more sleep. Ben got up with us and did the driving. We didn’t leave until 6:15 but the way he drove, it only took 45min to get there. lol.

I picked up my bib and shirt then registered Gio for his race. He was very happy to get a shirt and a bib. There was a kid’s play area with a bounce house and slide that Gio played on while we waited for my friend to get there. I used the restroom and put on my race shirt. I was wearing my Tone It Up tank. I’d love to run with it, but I didn’t want to stick the pins in it so I threw the Tech shirt on top – in hindsight I should have taken the tank off because it was sooo hot! I had wanted to have my belt pack and phone with me, but since I forgot my belt, I couldn’t bring my phone on my run :-( I like to have my phone on me to map the route and I wanted to log the race into to my Nike+ app. Oh well – it was a naked run for me.

Before the Race Not even 8a and it was already really bright and sunny!

The one thing that I really didn’t like about the race was that it started Both the 5K and 10K at the same time – without any way of organizing those who were walking or running.  There were A lot of kids there. It looked like a bunch of schools got groups together to do the 5k run/walk.  Nothing stopped them from going to the front of the line.  I knew that none of them were going to be running fast enough. As soon as the announcer counted down and the crowd moved, it was task to weave through the kids.  A bunch just stopped running right in front of us. grrrr!!!

At 8a it was already hot. I wasn’t really prepared for the heat. I’m a little spoiled with the Bay Area weather. I usually always get a nice cool breeze during my runs and it’s never 80 degrees by 8a :-/ I had planned on also brining my water bottle, but that got forgotten as well – what happens when I’m in a rush. I stopped at all 3 aid stations. At the first one, I was handed some gatorade and tried to drink it while I jogged – FAIL!!! I spilled it all over me so I was sticky as well as sweaty.  I slowed down and walked while I drank water at the other 2 stations.

It was a nice run – very scenic. We ran by the Sacramento River and over the Tower Bridge. That was kind of cool because I’ve only ever driven over it. I welcomed every stretch of shade and dreaded all the open stretches in the blazing sun. There were even a few hills that were not fun but the few incline runs I did helped out. It was a lot less crowded once we separated from the 5k runners. Once we got to Old Sac, we were mixed back in with them.  It was hard to weave through them because so many were walking. The last stretch had a hill  thatI thought was just cruel. lol. I tried to sprint at the end but had to slow down several times because there were so many people walking in front of me.  I almost ran right into a spectator crossing the street.

Hydrating with Zico at the Finish line.

My Stats! I'm Number 6 :-)

But despite all that, I was able to beat my training time by 4 minutes!! My time 50:07. Not too bad, but I wasn’t thrilled about it. I think I could have done even better if I was able sprint as fast as I wanted to at the end. I’m pretty hard on myself. Ben said he was looking for me to take a picture but I ran right by him and he didn’t even realize it. lol. The heat really got to me because as soon as I stopped running, my head started hurting.  I went straight to the Zico station to get some coconut water. I was thrilled that they were there. I love Zico!!! Ben handed me a Dark Chocolate and Cherry Kind bar and I ate that. I waited for my friend at the finish line and then we both went to Zico station and I  grabbed another one.

My friend Malissa at the finish line. She did a Great job :-)

Me and Malissa After the race - Yep that's a second Zico for me :-)

Snack Table - fruit, mini power bars, and bagels.

Zico Station. They worked hard to keep us hydrated :-)

Pop Chips Tent - We went back 3 times :-)

She grabbed some of the snacks that were there for us. I skipped it and went to the PopChips tent and picked up some Sweet Potato and Parmesan Garlic. Yum!  Then we waited for Gio’s race to start. He kept asking what time it was every minute. lol. He did not want to miss his race.  There were 3 races – 1mile, 1/2mile, and 1/4mile. At first he was lined up for the mile,  but got scared and decided to wait for the 1/2 mile. He was being very shy and did not want to be left alone at the start line. In the end, I had to run his race with him. He wanted me to hold his hand but I told him that I wouldn’t run with him if I had to hold his hand.

Me and my little runner before his race.

At the start line. It was really hot by the time his race started.

He sprinted away from me so fast I wasn’t expecting it. I had to sprint to catch up to him.  It didn’t take long for him to slow down though. lol.  “Half a mile is hard,” is what he said to me while we ran.  He wanted to stop but I told him all he had to do was slow down.  He walked for a few seconds then started jogging again.  He did pretty good staying at a jogging pace. I told him that once we reached the corner that we would sprint and he did. I raced him to the finish line :-) He was very happy to get a ribbon. I was very proud of him. He wants to race again :-)

So proud of his ribbon for doing the 1/2 mile.

Our Cheerleader and Chauffeur. So happy he was there to support me :-)

All in all a good experience.  My headache lasted most of the day though – even after taking a couple excedrin.  After the race, we went back to his mom’s and had some lunch.  It was such a hot day so the boys spent the day in the pool. After eating, I laid down for a nap. It was really hot so I didn’t sleep well, but I got enough to make my headache go away.

Turbo Fire Day65 – When I woke up, I had some fruit for a snack and then did my Fire30/Stretch10 workout. The boys were still in the pool so I as able to workout without any interruption. I was able to go all out on the Fire Drills.  Since it was so hot, I was dripping with sweat the whole time.

Ready to sweat!

After having dinner it was time to drive home.  After putting the boys to bed I did a 3 min plank with 1 min of tummy tucks before going to bed. I was very happy to be back home with wind and cooler weather.

Meals:

M1: Whole Grain toast w/ peanut butter and 3 strawberries. Zico to drink.

M2: post run – Dark Choc Cherry Kind Bar and 2 Zicos and 1 bag of sweet potato PopChips

M3: Chicken w/ brown rice.

M4: Strawberries.

M5: Chicken salad with pineapple and avocado.

BBQ chicken with lots of fresh pineapple, avocado, and lettuce. No dressing needed.

60 oz. of water and 3 Zicos.

Sign up for the Bikini Series at ToneItUp.com

You can also still sign up for Self Magazine’s Drop10 Challenge

Dragging my Feet

Apr24

BeachBody Day67 (Tuesday)

I had to really fore myself to work out today. Don’t know if it’s because I’m tired or in a bad mood :-/ Feeling a little overwhelmed with Life right now. I’m behind on my blog and doing videos for my boy’s tball games. There is just never enough time.

Picked up the May issue of SELF and some Kind Bars :-)

The one things I don’t budge on is getting my workouts in. I dragged myself out of bed at 6a and did the new Tone It Up Sculpting workout for the Self Magazine Drop10 Diet. I did 12reps x2 sets.

8 New Sculpting Moves

I had some time for myself but instead of spending 2 hours working out I ran errands. I really wanted to just go back to bed and enjoy the peace and quiet but I made myself do my TurboFire workout.

Turbo Fire Day 65 – I may not have wanted to workout but Fire45 always puts me in a good mood. I forgot about my worries and just got a good sweat on. I did all the jumps and did pretty good on the fire drills. I also did Stretch10. It really helps relax me after working out.

The rest of the day wasn’t all that great. I didn’t want to workout anymore. I jut wanted to sleep but there was really no time to. I was just a bit grouchy. I finally went out for a run before dinner. It’s amazing how a good run can clear my mind and get me in a better mood. Followed it with Tone It Up’s new Beach Ball workout. I didn’t have an 8lb ball so I used my 6lb ball and did 15reps x3 sets. As usual, end with a plank – 2min. I’m glad today is over.

My time for the new Beach Ball workout - 3 rounds - 15 reps each.

Meals-
M1: Cinn apple oatmeal with fresh apples, cocoa almond butter, and chia seeds.

Just a small amount of cocoa almond butter gives a hint of chocolate and still lets you taste the Apple Cinnamon flavor :-)

M2: handful of almonds and a small bowl of grapes.

My favorite nut :-)

M3: Avocado Egg Salad with tomato, carrots and cucumber wrapped in lettuce with as slice of mango.

SELF's Avocado Egg Salad recipe in lettuce wraps :-)

M4: Luna bar and a handful of grapes.

M5: Garlic Lime chicken with green beans, quinoa and corn.

New Garlic Lime Chicken recipe I tried.

80 oz. water.

Sign up for the Bikini Series at ToneItUp.com

You can also still sign up for Self Magazine’s Drop10 Challenge

BeachBody Day63 &Day64

Apr23

I got so busy with getting ready for my first 10k and life in general that I didn’t have much time to blog. Trying to remember what I did last week is tough – especially when I didn’t write much down :-/ So I combining Friday(Day63) and Saturday(Day64).

Day63 – Friday: I was able to get up for my bootycall workout :-) It was really tough because I was worn out from yesterday and I really really wanted to sleep in.

It was Tone It Up’s Under the Sea workout x3 again :-) Can you tell I like it? Lol.

Got my ToneItUp Beach Babe DVD!!

I’ve also been busy getting my youngest prepped for Kindergarten. I honestly can’t believe that he starts this August. So I spend about a half hour every day working with him. I usually do my TurboFire workout right afterwards.

Turbo Fire Day 61 – It was fun to do Fire55EZ. I’ve got the routine down now so I focus on giving it my all. I kept it low impact during the Fire Drills though. I wanted to save my knees for my run.

I also managed to get to the gym and do a HIIT workout on the treadmill – Drop10 Engine Revver. Wanted to get one last run in :-)

2min work, 2min rest 8 rounds w/ 4 min cool down at Incline10

Ended with a quick 2min plank. I had a lot to do to get ready for our crazy Saturday. Plus my sister came to stay the night so I spent some time with her.

Meals: I really don’t remember everything I ate.

M1: Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk with Almond Butter and Chia seeds.

M2: Mango and Pineapple

Mango and Pineapple for M2.

M3: Can’t remember.

M4: Green Protein Shake.

Green Protein Shake: Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, Vanilla Protein Powders, Almond Butter and Spinach

M5: Trip Tip and Veggies.

Dinner: TriTip and Veggies

Day64 – Saturday: It was just a crazy day. I got up early to do my TurboFire workout because I knew I wouldn’t have time to do it later on.

TurboFire HIIT20

Turbo Fire Day 62: I intended to do my workout at the gym. I packed my laptop in my gym bag and headed out but the gate to our gym was broken :-( So I came home but the boys were already awake. To keep them quiet while my sister slept, I decided to work out in their room.  HIIT20 wasn’t the easiest to do early in the morning in the boys room but I managed. Kept everything low impact but high intensity.  This one goes by so fast. Sculpt30 was also a tricky to do in the boys room but the boys did a good job of staying out of the way.

Then it was time for their baseball games, traveling 2 hours to Sacramento, a birthday party, and then finally to Ben’s mom’s house. It was a really hot day in Sacramento so the boys and Ben went swimming as soon as we go to his mom’s house. The water was just a little too cold for me but I did sit back and enjoy the show.

I did do a 2 min plank before bed.

2min PlankADay

Meals –

M1: Starbucks spinach and feta wrap.

M2: Luna bar.

M3: Snapea Crisps – on the road.

M4: Birthday party food. I was starving by the time the food was done. BBQ chicken, a tiny bit of potato salad and macaroni salad, fruit, veggies, and a small piece of birthday cake :-)

M5: Tri-tip (again)  and chicken with brown rice.

At least 80 oz. of water. I was continuously drinking water because it was so hot but I was drinking bottled water and from a glass.

Sign up for the Bikini Series at ToneItUp.com

You can also still sign up for Self Magazine’s Drop10 Challenge

BeachBody Day62 – Active Rest

Apr19

Today was a fairly easy day for me – an Active rest day. I usually do cross training for my cardio to give my knees a break from running. It depends on how I’m feeling and today my knees were a little achy so I decided to keep my workouts low impact. Started with Tone It Up’s Under the Sea workout – 10reps X3 sets. You’ll see me doing this one a lot during the Bikini Series :-)

I had another quiet morning to myself after dropping the boys off to school. Ben is still on his alternate work schedule while we wait for his medical to be cleared so he wasn’t home either.  The workout challenge for the Bikini Series today was to do the Bikini Strap workout from last year’s series :-) I was more than happy to do it because it is my favorite workout from last year.  I still do it a lot for bootycalls. I did 15reps X 3sets. I added a 6lb. medicine ball to the Thigh Slimming Squats for some resistance. I also used the medicine ball for the Waistline V-Sit Twists. I’ve improved since last year. I was able to keep my feet off the ground during the Upper Chest and Shoulder Press and during the V-Sit Twists :-) I also started the Ultimate Arm and Back Toner with 5 regular pushups. Doing regular pushups instead of modified ones really makes a difference! I’m hoping that I’ll be able to do 10-15 all regular pushups one day :-) Then it was time for some Turbo Fire.

Turbo Fire Day 60 – It was HIIT15 and Tone 30 today.  I followed the low impact moves but  modified the tuck jumps. I wanted to push myself but take it easy on my knees at the same time. I did modified jacks the first set but realized that I could do regular jacks fine without my knees hurting too badly so I stuck with normal jacks for the rest of the workout.  I also modified the Star Jacks because those were harder on my knees. My favorite is the last combo – even modifying all the tuck jumps at the end got my heart racing. Tone30 was tough on my shoulders today – probably because they were already worked from the Bikini Strap workout.

For my afternoon workout I did the Bikini Series workout challenge from yesterday – the Drop10 Engine Revver.  This one would have been perfect to do on the treadmill but I went with the elliptical to keep it low impact.  I make sure that during the work interval – I’m working.  I used a different machine than I normally do because the one I like to use was already in use when I got to the gym… don’t you hate when that happens? lol.  I put the resistance and incline at 10 for the work and lowered them to 5 for the rest intervals. I was sweaty mess afterwards and loved it.

Only 2 more rounds to go! Snapped a pic during the Rest interval of the 7th round.

Engine Revver Done! 36 minutes w/ a 5min cool down.

Another reason I took it easy today is because I decided to do my first 10K with a friend of mine this weekend. I haven’t been specifically training for it because I’ve been so focused on Big Sur.  But I figure if I can run 9miles, I can run 6miles.  Since I did a super long run yesterday, I know that I have to give my legs and knees a break so I can do have a decent run on Sunday.

Did something different for my PlankADay. My TIU sister Emma (@Roxyfull) posted her plank routine for BeachBabe Abs on twitter: 1min plank, 1min tummy tuck alternating for 5 minutes. I consider myself a fairly fit person and I’ve done 5min planks alternating but usually with more than 2 positions. This routine sounded pretty good and I figured it’d be a great way to end my night.  I was not prepared to sweat as much as I did. Lol. My shoulders were killing me the whole time but I pushed through. Doing tummy tucks for a minute after holding plank for a minute – burns!! My whole body was shaking at the end. Thanks for a great ab workout Emma! I’m going to be doing it a lot :-)

New Plank routine from @Roxyfull (Emma) - It Burns!

Meals – Completely obsessed with mangos today :-)

M1: Egg white Scramble w/ spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms.

Egg White Scramble

M2: A whole mango :-) I was so excited that they were ripe and ready to eat.

I Love Mangos!

M3: Salad w/ left over Panko Chicken, spinach, cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes with a side of mango.  I only used part of the mango for the salad but I would have eaten another whole one :-)

A very yummy lunch - more mangos :-)

M4: Almond Coconut Kind bar and a Zico.

M5: Salmon Burger patty on top of Spinach, bell peppers, and mushrooms topped with fresh pineapple. This was sooooo good. Salmon and pineapple taste great together :-)

Amazing dinner! Pineapple on top was soooo good :-)

80 oz. of water, 1 Zico and 1c. of Green tea.

Sign up for the Bikini Series at ToneItUp.com

You can also still sign up for Self Magazine’s Drop10 Challenge

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

A Losing Relationship?

Apr19

I don’t come across too many things about relationships that I agree with, but this was Very interesting. And for the most part, I agree with it. I can see where If both individuals are trying to win at “losing” for the sake of the other that it can make for a better marriage/relationship. I’m a firm believer that Both people have to want to make things work in order for a relationship to last – and Both have to be willing to compromise. One person can’t have it all – all the time! I would say that Ben and I are between the last two types. I think we trade off on who loses the most. It’s hard because Ben is Not use to the idea of Losing. He definitely has a Win at All Cost mentality. I guess that the job of the counselor would be to help someone like him accept the idea that it’s Ok to Lose. I have always been the self-less one. That is how opposite we are. There are times when I have no clue how we work together… But I think it’s because we truly love one another and Both try that keeps us together. I will definitely be keeping this in mind when I am getting frustrated with Ben …. which will probably be some time today. Lol.

UnTangled

You can be right, or you can be married; take your pick. I can’t remember who told me that, but I do remember that they were only half-joking. The other half, the serious half, is exceedingly important. This is why.

Many therapists aren’t crazy about doing marital therapy. It’s complicated and messy, and it often feels out of control. In the worst case scenario, the therapist has front row seats to a regularly-scheduled prize fight. But I love to do marital therapy. Why? Maybe I enjoy the work because I keep one simple principle in mind: if marriage is going to work, it needs to become a contest to see which spouse is going to lose the most, and it needs to be a race that goes down to the wire.

When it comes to winning and losing, I think there are three kinds of marriages. In the first…

View original post 1,238 more words

BeachBody Day60 & Day61 – Personal Bests

Apr18

I was so exhausted from my workouts yesterday that I didn’t have energy to do anything after putting the boys to bed. I’m glad that I took the night off.  I think it really helped me with my run today.

Day60 – Tuesday has become my prep day for my long run on Wednesday.  Decided to do the Surfer Girl workout for my bootycall. What a workout! Legs burned. I probably won’t do this one for a bootycall again because there was some jumping involved.  I live on the top floor of an apartment complex so I have to be quieter early in the morning.

Dropped both boys at school and with Ben at work, I had the whole place to myself :-) I decided to pretty much work out the whole time. lol. Started with a 5k run. I meant to just go at an easy pace but I wound up setting a new personal best for training. I didn’t even feel like I was going all that fast. I’m giving credit to the Drop10 Plateau Buster workout I’ve done :-) I’ve been pushing myself during the HIITs and it’s paying off!

5K run to warmup.

Then it was time for the Bikini Series challenge – the new Under the Sea workout. I was really looking forward to doing it. It really worked my legs out. Did 10 reps each X 3 sets. My favorite move was the crab crunch – even though it was also the toughest one for me to do for some reason. This is perfect for a bootycall workout for me :-) And I’ll probably be doing it a lot during the Bikini Series.

Turbo Fire Day 58 – I still had plenty of time to do my Turbo Fire workout before having to pick Seppe up. I almost decided to put it off for my afternoon workout but it was Fire45 – my favorite so I went for it. It was better that I did it in the morning because I didn’t have to worry about getting interrupted. Fire45 is more like dancing for me than a workout. The music is great and the moves are so much fun.  I also did Stretch10 afterwards. I’m so glad I did because it felt great after all the workouts.  I spent about 2 hours working out in the morning and enjoyed every minute.

I was pretty worn out by the afternoon but I decided to take the whole family out for a walk after dinner.  The boys needed to get rid of some energy and I wanted to get Ben a little more active again.  He’s recovered from his procedure but he’s so hesitant to do any exercise because he’s worried about his stomach. He even did a little jogging while we were out. It was good for all of us.

Following Daddy.

Sunset on our way home.

I spent a good 15-20 min foam rolling my legs – especially my calves which were really tight.  It hurt so good.  There was some really painful parts but it was all worth it.  My legs felt so much better afterwards. Ended with my 2 min plank.

Meals –

M1: FlaxPlus Oatmeal w/ unsweetened almond milk, cocoa almond butter, chia seeds, and extra raisins.

M2: Apple

M3: Shakeology with spinac, Zico, pineapple, avocado, and mango

Love putting spinach in my shakes :-)

M4: Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew Chew Kind Bar

M5: Brown rice, Sweet and sour chicken and broccoli

yummy dinner. stuck to one serving :-)

80 oz. water and 1 Zico.

Day 61 – Turbo Fire Rest Day. I skip bootycall workouts on Wednesdays. Not that I get to sleep in much. I was up at 7a. Still felt really tired. Walked the Gio to school with Seppe and walked back. I had a slightly bigger meal 2 because I wanted to fuel up for my run.  I wouldn’t be able to do it after Gio got out of school because that’s when Ben would be home. I was worried that it would be really hot for me since it would be so much later in the day. Luckily, I live in the a very windy part of the bay area. It made running at 3pm much more comfortable. I saved today’s Bikini Series challenge – doing the Drop10 Engine Revver – for tomorrow.

Hoping to do close to this time at my actual race in Big Sur next Sunday.

My run went much better than last week. Set personal best in my 9 mile training :-) This is the last time I’ll be doing 9 miles before my Big Sur race next weakend. I doubt that I’ll be able to do as well at the actual race. I’ve heard that Big Sur is a pretty demanding course. We’ll see how it goes. I’d just like to finish the race without stopping.

I wanted to do arms and abs but the run took a lot out of me. I think the sun had a little to do with it too.  Even though it was nice and windy, it was also pretty sunny.  I made sure to wear sun block but the sun does take toll on me when I’m out there that long. Going to end with my usual 2min plank. I am going rest so I can kick it into high gear tomorrow.

Meals –

M1: Chobani Champions Chocolate chunk with chia seeds, almond butter, and granola.

M2: Egg whites, brown rice and black beans. I know a weird combo right? lol. I’ve been really loving black beans lately and it just sounded so good that I decided to add it to my brown rice.  It was really good :-)

M3: Left over of my Quinoa, black beans, veggies, and chicken-less mix. I was going to make a wrap but my brown rice wraps were all molded :-(

M4: Luna bar and Chocolate Zico – my absolute favorite post run snack. It’s my treat to myself when I do long runs.

The Best Post Run Snack.

M5: Panko Chicken and cabbage, bell pepper, tomato, and mushroom mix. I wanted broccoli but I’m all out of that too. Time to go grocery shopping and restock my veggies.

60 oz. of water, 2 Zicos, and 1c. of green tea :-) Finally got my green tea in.

Sign up for the Bikini Series at ToneItUp.com

You can also still sign up for Self Magazine’s Drop10 Challenge