Fitness Fun - Crank

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days, I snuck away to Maine for the long weekend. Since I wasn't around a gym I had to improvise what I would do for the weekend. While running is always an option I did not want to slack on my strength training so Keri gave me a "crank" workout to do a few days while I was away to go along with running.
The way a crank is set up is you have 8 exercises that you do 8 reps of each of and do them 8 times through. This workout can also be referred to as crazy eights.
1. 180's

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2. Burpees with Jump Squat

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3. Mountain Climbers (16 total -8 on each leg)

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4. High Knee Run (16 total - 8 on each leg)

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5. Arm Jumps - (Heels to butt - side to side - on your arms)

6. Spiderman Jumps

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7. Prone Jacks

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8.  Pushups

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Question: What is your favorite workout when you are away from home?

Fitness Fun-Kettlebell Version

Since I have been experimenting in different exercise classes and various forms of exercises lately I felt like I should shares some of them over the course of the next week or so. I am going to begin with kettlebells.

Kettlebells

A typical round would consist of one minute of swings (I have worked up to a single arm swing so I do 30 seconds with each arm)

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Followed by1 minute of figure eight to a hold

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Followed by 30 seconds of a high pull on each arm

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Followed by 30 seconds of clean and press on each arm then 30 seconds of just presses


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Finished with a another minute of swings. Below is a one arm swing.

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This what I would consider one of my typical rounds of kettlebells.

Question: Have you ever tried kettlebells, if so what are your thoughts on them?

WIAW

I look forward to this post every week now since I started joining the WIAW party a few weeks ago. Here is my day of eating on Tuesday.

This morning for my breakfast I made a banana peanut butter smoothie.

Ingredients for my smoothie minus the banana

Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients
1 banana chopped
1 tbl all natural peanut butter
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 tbl wheat germ
1 tbl ground flaxseed
1/2 to 3/4 cup soy milk (depending on how thick you like it)
4-5 ice cubes

Directions
Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Finished product

For my morning snack I enjoyed a bowl of oats with two tablespoons of raspberry jelly. I am usually not an oatmeal fan but the jelly gave it such a nice flavor that I may be eating this more often.

Oats with jelly

Lunch was a Bangkok Thai burrito bowl from Boloco with the peanut sauce on the side. Don't get me wrong I love peanut sauce but just like with dressing I like to dip my fork into it then eat because I tend to use less this way.

Halfway gone, I almost forgot to snap a pic

While I was at Boloco grabbing lunch I also picked up my afternoon snack, which was my Soy Berry Smoothie minus the honey. I don't like things super sweet so I always up out of the honey. I knew this would be the perfect afternoon snack since it is finally hot and humid in Boston!

Soy Berry Smoothie

For dinner Joe and I met up with a friend at The Fours where we started off with buffalo chicken nachos followed by a turkey burger on whole wheat. I didn't end up eating the bread because it was just too messy, but the burger was delicious! I am sorry there is no pic.

Question: What are your thoughts on oats, do you love them?

Harpoon 5 Miler

Yesterday morning I woke up and headed to the gym for a training session with Keri where we focused on legs, upper body and sprints. I had had gone out with some friends the night before so I was a little sleepy but felt great. Altough this morning I did wake up with some soreness in my uppder body.

After meeting with Keri I hurried home because I needed to meet my sister so we could head to the Harpoon 5 Miler, which was a blast! The weather was perfect for running, slight cool and overcast. The course for the race was fairly flat with a small hill which you hit on the way out and back.  I decided to run this race staying alongside my sister the whole race since it was her longest run since having the baby.



You even get these cool bags

We were at the starting line and she said he goal was to finish under 55 minutes, which I knew would not be a problem but I also knew that she could finish in at least under 50 minutes.  We started off with a good steady pace and she was feeling great so about 2 miles in after the hill we started to pick it up a little.  She and I were both feeling great so around mile 4 I knew we could finish under 45 minutes so I made sure she had it in her and we went for it and finished just under 44 minutes.  I was so proud of her for not only finishing but also with such a great time, especially since she just had a baby three months ago.

My sister and I enjoying the after party!

Question: Do you ever run a race with someone or do you do your own thing?

Dinner Disaster

Yesterday was a long day and I am so happy that it's finally Friday, even though I have a jam packed weekend ahead of me. For lunch yesterday I had by leftover broccoli rabe and sausage. Joe and I decided the other night that this is one of our favorite top five meals. I love it and the best part is its super easy to make.

After work I headed back to the gym for my bosu and bells class with Keri. I had such a great workout and felt strong throughout the whole class, I love when that happens. We did a mix of cardio and strength training using the bosu for cardio and a circuit style for the strength training. 

Bosu



Some of the strength circuit

After class I headed home to have dinner with Joe which was supposed to be a turkey meatloaf which I had bought a few weeks ago at Whole Foods and froze.  Well apparently I should not have frozen it since it had veggies and what smelled like cheese in it. I took it out of the oven and the look alone made me decide we would not be eating this for dinner. I looked around the kitchen to see if I could throw something else together when Joe decided we would just go order takeout at a local place which has healthy options. This was fine be me since I was exhausted from class and didn't feel like cooking. For dinner I had a 1/4 breast of white meat chicken (which I dipped in Boar's Head Honey Mustard) with a side of green beans, it was delicious! I learned my lesson though not to freeze something that has been premade like the turkey meatloaf.

Question: Have you had ever experienced a dinner disaster?

Yoga Success

So I have been sticking with my goal to attend at least one yoga class a week. Last night I attended another vinyasa yoga class and I am actually starting to enjoy it. My body feels so stretched and relaxed  after class is over. Even after May is over I am going to continue my goal of attending at least one class a week and maybe even two if I can fit it into my schedule.
 


After yoga class I went home and made my broccoli rabe and sausage as I had mentioned I would in my WIAW post (which for some reason has now disappeared) from my blog.  Then it was time to cuddle on the couch for a little with Joe since I feel like I haven't seen him all week.

This morning I got to sleep in a little since I wasn't meeting for my duet session until 6:15 this morning.  This session was a kettlebell workout where we completed a full round (which consists of swings, figure eights, high pulls and cleans and presses), worked on shoulder stabilization and did a ladder (which was a round of swings followed by cleans and presses then just presses on each side and finished with a round of swings). During the ladder round we did a decreasing ladder which went from 8 to 6 to 4 of each exercise on each side.

Here is an example of a swing

Question: What is your favorite yoga class to take?



Torture Session

Last night was my first 45 minute workout with Keri for my new "The Weight is Over" program. As you know from my last post I want to firm up and sculpt my arms so that is what we worked on last night along with bursts of cardio to help me burn those calories.

We started with drop sets of bicep curls going from 17.5 lbs down to 5lbs with as many reps with each weight that I could do. Then I hopped on the bike for 3 1:00 minute sprints with 30 seconds rest. Next up was drop sets of overhead press to work those shoulders we did the same thing as bicep curls except started with 20lb weights. I didn't get nearly as many of these in as I did the bicep curls. Then it was back on the bike for 4 45 second sprints with 15 second rest.  Next up on arms was triceps using the drop sets method and a curled weight bar lying on a bench lowering the bar behind my head. My arms felt as if they were going to fall off at this point but I was loving it. After we finished triceps it was back to the bike for 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off of 4 sprints. We finished with two sets of reps of pushups, upright rows and rows with 2 bursts of 1 minute sprints on the bike. The forty five minutes flew by and I can't wait for Sunday for our next session we will we work on legs and chinups. (I need to meet my May goal of 5 unassisted).

Here is the kind of bike we were using

After all that arm work yesterday I was nervous I wasn't going to be able to move my arms this morning after last night but so far I am feeling good. Since it is Wednesday I was up bright and early for my run with BOMF, we met at Father Bill's then headed over to the YMCA since the weather was yet again rainy and cold we headed inside to the track for a great workout.

After finishing our run and leaving my BOMF team I headed straight to Marylou's for a toasted coconut iced coffee with soy.  I knew it was going to be a long day and a coffee was the perfect way for it to begin.  After grabbing a coffee for Joe (he likes the Twix) and I it was straight to the gym for a pilates workout. I missed my pilates session last week because I was sick and boy did I miss it.

It was a Marylou's kind of morning!

Question: What workouts do you miss the most when you don't do them?

"The Weight is Over"

On Sunday I signed up for this new program, The Weight is Over, that my gym is offering in May which lasts for 30 days. It is a motivating program where I will meet with my trainer, Keri, two times a week for 45 minutes for four weeks. To go along with the training Keri did a fitness evaluation on me which included taking my measurements and reviewing my diet. One major flaw we saw in my diet was the lack of variety in my meals. I usually eat the same breakfast and snacks so I need to make sure I shake that up.

My first 45 minute session is today where we will review our plan for the four weeks and figure out what we want to focus on. Keri already sent me an e-mail about how I am not going to like her tonight, so I think I am in for a treat and I can't wait!

With summer and bathing suit season soon approaching I really want to firm up my stomach and arms and I know a lot of that has to do with my diet. Below are a few goals I hope to accomplish during these 30 days are:

 1. Gain muscle definition in my arms

2. Loose weight and/or see differences in my measurements

3. Cut out all dairy

4. Increase protein

5. Create variety in my daily meals

6. Write down everything I eat and measure out portions

My food journal

Question: What are some goals you have right now?



Mundane Monday

This week in Boston we are supposed to have rain all week and the temperature is reverting back to late winter temps. It is mid May and I just wish we could get some warmer weather but I know it will come eventually.

No sunshine in sight :(

This morning started out with a indoor run with my Back on My Feet team since the weather was not very cooperative. We have been lucky to partner with the local YMCA who allows us to use their indoor track. We were beyond thankful this winter to be able to use this track, especially since we had such an awful winter.

Breakfast this morning was a peanut butter and banana smoothie which consisted of 1/2 cup soy milk, whole banana, 2 scoops Aria protein powder, 1tbl Tedy's peanut butter, 1/2 tbl wheat germ, 1/2 tbl ground flax seed and ice. This smoothie hit the spot for me this morning and satisfied my hunger.

I received some good running news this morning though, I got into the Falmouth Road Race along with my sister, brother-in-law and cousin!! This is one of my favorite races because the scenery is so gorgeous and you get to run along the water, what is better than that in August? My goal this year is to finish under 60 minutes and if I document that I will hold myself accountable.

Dear Daniella: Congratulations! Your lottery entry was selected for the 2011 New Balance Falmouth Road Race on August 14, 2011.

Question: Have you ever the Falmouth Road Race?

Milestone in Running

Yesterday I ran a local 5k run by Marathon Physical Therapy with my sister and brother-in-law. If you are ever looking for a great physical therapist this company is awesome and have several locations throughout Massachusetts.

I set a PR while running this race finishing in 23:20 which is a pace of 7:31. We left the race before they did awards etc. but I was notified later that afternoon that I won first place in my division which was gender/age group. I was so excited when I heard the news because I have just recently started working on getting faster and my hard work is paying off! I think baby Abigail my have been my good luck charm.

Question: What has been you biggest accomplishment in running/biking/swimming/fitness?

(Sorry this is so short with no pics.)

WIAW

My post today is inspired by Jen over at  Peas and Crayons.

Since I am still not feeling that good I decided to just grab a Soy Berry smoothie at Boloco. I ordered the smoothie with no honey and added a scoop or whey protein power.

My mid morning snack was a cut up Asian pear, it was so juicy and delicious. If you have never tried this fruit it is a must try! They have just the right amount of sweetness with a a nice crisp to them.

Asian Pear

Lunch today was my usual Wednesday lunch of Southwestern Corn and Turkey Chili from Cosi with a piece of their whole wheat flatbread. I have been slacking this week in making and preparing meals. I hate weeks like this because I never feel like I get enough nutritious foods when I eat out this much. I will plan to be better with preparing foods the rest of the week.

 

Southwestern Corn and Turkey Chili

Whole Wheat Flatbread

For dinner I was going to make turkey burgers for Joe and I but the weather wasn't that great to use the grill. Instead I used the turkey meat to make tacos, which was just fine by me since I love mexican, plus I could still use the guacamole I was going to put on my burger.

I love this ground turkey

Ground turkey with Mrs. Dash seasoning



Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle and Fiesta Lime seasoning

Finished tacos with refried beans

Question: What is your favorite takeout meal or restaurant?

A Fall Marathon it is!

I have been searching and searching for a fall Marathon and have been contemplating which one I wanted to run since I didn't get into NYC. A friend of mine got into the NYC marathon but was looking for something to run as her long training run so she decided to run the Maine Marathon because the timing was perfect for her training. All I needed was to know that someone else was going to run it as well. I am all signed up and ready to go!

This email confirms your transaction completed successfully for $64.25 and your confirmation number is VSJO6EEAAA6E. Please note that your credit card statement will read "BayState-ME Marathon". 
Okay enough about running let's go on to food. Yesterday for lunch I headed to Qdoba to see if the mango taco salad had made its return yet and it had! I love this salad so much mainly because I love mangos but never use them at home to cook with.

Mango taco salad

Last night I had my outdoor Stiletto Camp where it was cold and gloomy but the rain held off for us. The class was set up with an obstacle course style where we ran about a mile doing different exercises. Then we ran up to where there were benches and did two set of two different circuits which included, step-ups, pushups, dips, lunges, pop-overs and toe taps. We finished with some sprints then it was home to have leftovers for dinner with my mom, sister and Abigail.

This morning I had a massive migraine so I opted to sleep in then go to the gym, my body needed it. I woke up to get ready for work and I couldn't help but feel guilty for not making my usual Tuesday morning class.

Breakfast this morning was a quick banana almond butter smoothie with fresh banana, 1 tbl amond butter, soy milk, ice, 1 tbl wheat germ, 1 tbl ground flaxseed and 1 scoop protein powder, it was so delicious!


Some ingredients for my smoothie


Question: Do you feel guilty if you miss a workout?

Kentucky Derby and Mother's Day

Saturday was a very busy day that started about 6:45. I woke up changed and finished topping my ice cream pie I made for my brother in law, Brian.
 

Oreo ice cream pie

After grabbing a few more things I needed to make my homemade BBQ beans I headed over to my sister's house. I started the BBQ beans by first putting navy beans into a pot and covered them with water. I let them cook For about 30-40 minutes until the beans were slightly soft. I then added the bean with the water to the crockpot. I added to that 1 cup brown sugar, 3 tbl ketchup, 1/2 vidalia onion, 1 tbl vegetable stock, 1/2 cup molasses and 1 tsp dry mustard. I then cooked the beans on low for about 8 hours. I didn't get a pic sorry. Once the beans were in the crockpot my sister and I headed out for a quick 2 miler run. Then it was off for me to get my nails and feet done :)

Later that day it was back to my sisters for the Kentucky Derby/Birthday party for Brian. We had mint juleps and some southern food including cornbread salad, BBQ beans and BBQ grilled chicken. All the food was delicious and the Derby was fun to watch.

Horseshoe shaped calzone

Mint juleps are ready to drink

Ready for the Derby!

Sunday I had my family and Joe's family over for mother's day dinner. I was up early to make some homemade sauce before I headed out for a run to the gym followed by a strength training session with Keri. Then it was home to make dinner which was eggplant parmesan, chicken with pine nuts, spinach and ricotta wrapped in prosciutto, asparagus and salad. Everything came out delicious and everyone loved it all.

Eggplant dipped in egg whites then whole wheat bread crumbs and baked in the oven

Ready to go in the oven

Homemade bruschetta

Filling for the chicken

Prosciutto wrapped chicken

 The best part of the day was when I received a beautiful card and picture frame from my goddaughter.

 Question: What is your favorite meal to cook?