Summer has flown by like normal, can't believe it's already labor day, so here's a few snapshots of my summer!
Summer has flown by like normal, can't believe it's already labor day, so here's a few snapshots of my summer!
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Currently... wishing I was at the beach but I guess pools will have to do for now Currently... enjoying wineries and tacos and this guy, have already been to the Winery at Bull Run a few times this year Currently... taking advantage of the fresh produce at all the farmers markets around here (those cherries and cherry tomatoes were amazing!) Currently... finished my personal logo/mark and implemented it on my blog and website Currently... still obsessed with jeni's and love when there are new flavors, this one is one of my faves now (maybe jeni's will be a permanent part of my currently posts based on how much I love it) Currently... working in dc for a few weeks and really enjoying using public transportation and getting to see all the monuments daily So I am not doing a "program" right now and I don't have a membership to any gyms or studios I'm having to improv my workouts and try to figure out what works best for me. I'm really liking this freedom of chosing my workouts each day and trying to create my own balance throughout the week. I also like trying new things so not being on a set plan is great for this. I'm having lots of fun trying new classes while not breaking the bank thanks to groupon/living social deals, free classes offered by Lululemon and Athleta, and new yoga studios during DC yoga week! So here is what my workouts looked like this past week as an idea of what I'm doing: Sunday - Gentle yoga at Mind the Mat in Clarendon, perfect way to start the week off Monday - P90X3 Accelerator CARDIO! I'm sometimes not the best at fitting in cardio so really working on that and making sure it's part of my weekly workouts Tuesday - Jillian Michael's Body Revolution (JMBR) video #11 which is a strength workout (odd numbers are half the body and even numbers are the other half so like yin and yang!) Wednesday - Hot yinyasa at Mind Your Body Oasis in Crystal City Thursday - P90X3 MMX, another cardio and then yoga at Tranquil Space Friday - JMBR #12 Saturday - Pilates at Athleta
The final block used all the same videos except one from the previous two just in a different rotation, and I still didn't get bored. Decelerator - Pretty much a full body workout that does focus on your deceleration/landing some of the moves with control. Squats, pullups, pushups, jumping, balancing, burpees, etc. It took me one extra week since I went on vacation the beginning of April and didn't take the workouts with me (but I did workout while away so not a completely off week.) I am happy that I finally finished it, but still love the workouts and never really dreaded them or wished it was over. The hardest video for me was actually the Pilates one. I still am not the best at it yet, but a work in progress and I like it a little better each time since I actually see improvements in how I do the moves. The last week of the program was a "victory week" and then ended with a final fitness test repeated repeated from the start. I did improve pretty much on everything, but not a ton. It consisted of curls, pushups, vertical jump, wall squats, and a few other things. One was pull ups but I still can't do one so I will continue to try and work on that. The most noticeable improvement in the final fit test was actually my heart rate. It involved doing jumping jacks for 2 minutes (intense the last :30 seconds) and then taking heart rate right after and then every minute for the next four. My heart rate did not get as high and dropped to normal a lot quicker than it did 90 days ago! I was really happy with this. As far as body, not much overall change but that's from my food eating habits for sure, never got super strict and went back and forth a lot between a healthy balance and then not so healthy! I will always be working on that balance since I do like to indulge but definitely feel better overall when eating my veggies and fruits! So I'm not doing the program again, at least not right away but I will be incorporating the videos into my workouts. For now I'm going to try and plan my workouts with a good balance of strength, cardio, and yoga. If I have trouble with the variety or sticking to it on my own then maybe I'll just start the program over again, but as of now I'm doing good. I would definitely recommend this program and I loved that it had a lot of variety and focus on strength! I took a quick hiatus since the end of March and went a on a fun vacation in North Carolina. Needed some fresh air and a spring reboot! I will have some more posts coming soon, I am switching up things with my hours so will be adjusting to new routines and all but hopefully that means consistent posts. Including some from my vacation, but here's a quick bit on it. The vacation actually ended by doing a 3.6 mile race which included running up a hill. (Actually felt/looked more like a mountain and increased 1,000 feet in elevation!) It was super tough and I definitely had to run/walk parts since it was steep and I didn't prepare much, but it was beautiful and fun to do, good end to a trip that included a lot a lot of food. My time was around 43 minutes, so not super fast but the inclines were killer so I'm happy. And Kyle finished at around 32 minutes so he kicked my butt! Here's just a few pics from the race but more to come from Asheville, NC. I found an ad in one of my fitness magazines for graze.com which is a subscription snack box with lots of different healthy snacks. I decided to give it a try and get one box to see what I thought and I have to say I was impressed. It's $6 a box (but I had a coupon for the first box free). There was no commitment but you can sign up for a box every 2 weeks or 4 weeks or cancel/start anytime. After you receive the box you can go online and rate the snacks so they know what to put in new boxes. So the more you rate and mark what you like and don't like the better chance you get ones you'll love! I actually loved everything I got in my first box and have already ate them all and can't wait for my next box! They also gave me a code to invite all my friends to try it out. So if anyone is interested here's the link graze box. You get the first and fifth box free! But if you don't like it you can always cancel after the first free one (but I'm guessing you'll get hooked, I already am). Below are the 4 snacks I had, all super yummy and besides the pistachios they were pretty unique and nothing I would've been able to put together myself. Currently... sick of this snowy weather especially now that it's March (even if it does look pretty) Currently... want to retire my winter coat and hat for a few or more months please! Currently... loving creamer again and impulsively bought some candy flavored creamer, almost makes the long winter bearable sipping hot coffee that tastes like an almond joy Currently... doubling up my workouts a few days and love feeling the calorie burn #summeriscoming Currently... had an iced latte when it felt like spring the other day (such a tease!) Currently... dreaming of vacation but a little worried it won't be warm I tend to get bored/overwhelmed off and on with cooking from all the prep, grocery shopping, meal planning, etc especially with my work schedule right now. So I try to mix things up between making easy go to foods and then finding new ones. This past week I was inspired by some Pinterest finds, magazine clippings, and groceries that needed to be used before they went bad. So here are a few new recipes and I loved all of them, they will definitely be filed to be made again. So with winter feeling like it's lasting forever I am constantly in the mood for "comfort" food but I also don't want to gain a bajillion pounds before spring/summer if they come this year. Therefore I'm trying to be more creative with some meals and whenever if I see a recipe that combines some of my favorites (mac & cheese) along with something healthy (brussels sprouts and spinach) I jump on it! So here is a new recipe I recently tried. First off not the best picture....and I didn't take any while making it so it will have to do for now. I found this recipe on one of the blogs I read Carrots 'n' Cake - Lightened Up Mac and Cheese and I looove love love any type of mac and cheese but this one intrigued me because it called for Brussels sprouts and spinach plus it used some Greek yogurt for the cheese sauce. I recently had some pretty yummy Brussels sprouts over the holidays so I decided to buy some and see if I continue to enjoy them since I was never a fan before. I followed the recipe pretty closely with a few modifications: - I used fresh spinach and added to the cheese sauce once it was done cooking - I used full fat Greek yogurt (mmm) - I roasted the Brussels sprouts in the oven with some olive oil and salt and pepper so they would have that yummy roastedness flavor and then I just put them in my food processor for a few pulses to shred them before adding to the macaroni, cheese, and spinach mixture So the verdict after tasting the finished product was a win! I was pretty surprised by how much I liked this recipe (but it still is pasta and cheese and can't go too wrong with that combo). I will be making again for sure and I'm thinking Brussels sprouts may become a normal veggie now for me hmmm never would've thought that! I finished the first "block" of P90X3 last week and have loved it so far! Haven't seen many body changes yet but that is due to my eating habits the past two weeks....but I'm getting that back on track so hopefully the next two blocks I will see some changes and have good results. This first block is 3 weeks of seven workouts and then the 4th week is a transition week. I really liked not repeating the same workout for 7 days straight, I never got bored and by the time I did repeat a video in the 2nd and 3rd week I had forgotten all the details so it was almost like a "new" workout again. I also loved the mix of videos with weights, body resistance, some cardio mixed in, and yoga! (Besides the yoga video there are yoga moves mixed into the other videos) So here are the breakdown of the videos used in this block: Sorry it's a super long posting below but lots to report from the workouts! Weeks 1-3 1) Total Synergistics - Complete full body workout from pushups, side planks, squats, yoga poses, ab work, etc it had it all and was great start to the program! 2) Agility X - The name says it, this is definitely AGILITY and is fun. Basically a lot of jumping around hitting tape marks on the floor incorporating speed and balance. A good change of pace for a workout, different than most I've done. 3) X3 Yoga - LOVED it, no secret I miss miss miss going to my yoga studio 3-5 times a week so I was really happy to have a yoga video and this doesn't dissapoint, except I would love it if it was longer than 30 minutes, that's how much I miss yoga. It does go through a ton of poses though in the time and there is room for more advanced practicing and progress, but some parts are a little rushed. 4) The Challenge - Only pushups and pullups the WHOLE 30 minutes....so I can't do a pullup (but would love to by the end of this progam) instead I've been using a band with a door attachment and trying to mimic the motions, there is also one person on the videos using the bands too so I follow them. The first week I didn't pick a tough enough # to do so it wasn't crazy hard but the next two times I upped my #s so it was tougher and burned the arms. 5) CVX - This one is a cardio interval workout that incorporates weights so it definitely worked the whole body and helped me build endurance. 6) The Warrior - I think this may be my favorite besides the yoga from this block. It doesn't use any equipment and can be done anywhere anytime as they state it on the description. It includes super burpees so it has to be awesome! 7) Dynamix (or rest) - Really good stretching video and still broke a sweat, I did this one 2/3 days and rested the last one because I just felt like I needed a day off. Week 4 // Transition
There were a few new workouts this week and lots of stretching/less muscle videos this week. 1) Isometrix - Loved this one but so so so tough in a physical and mental way. As Tony says in the video it's all the hard moves from yoga and you hold them for 45 seconds each. 2) Dynamix - repeat (stretch stretch stretch) 3) Accelerator - This was another cario-esque workout but way more. Would go from cardio moves like jumping jacks to lots of plank variations and then back to mountain climbers and on and on....definitely a good workout, but have only done once so far. 4) Pilates X - First time seeing pilates and I don't have much experience with it so this one was tough for me and not my favorite yet, I will have to work on it and hopefully become a fan soon. 5) CVX - repeat 6) X3 Yoga - repeat 7) Dynamix (or rest) - more stretching, prepping for the next block! Now on to "block" 2 which I'm already through one week and loving the change up, I will let you all know about the new workouts soon! |
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