I'm lucky

Let's start with yesterday.  I know I have been complaining my butt off because this week has been so hard/busy/overwhelming.  I have been going to bed way to late and I know that lack of sleep is a lot of the problem.  I made myself get up yesterday and get to spin.  I did the hour spin class and then headed out for weights.  Here is what I did:

GPP:

Biceps Medley - 4 rounds.

20 alt BB biceps curls 25/45
20 T2T bent rows 25/45
biceps 21's
Rest 30 sec.

Abs Medley - 4 rounds.  

20 sec. plank hold
10 plank complex R
10 plank complex L
20 back ext.
Rest 30 sec.

Triceps Medley - 4 rounds.

10 (ea.) seated uni OH triceps ext R 10/15
10 (ea.) seated uni OH triceps ext L 10/15
10 (ea.) shoulder crushers R 10/15
10 (ea.) shoulder crushers R 10/15
20 narrow pushups  * I can't believe I pulled off 80 narrow pushups!  I was shaking so bad and my muscles were screaming but I pushed them to the max.
Rest 30 sec

I haven't worked on triceps all week so I decided to do a couple more things focusing on the tri's. 

Tricep kickbacks on pulley-15 (I dont use a handle....just the pulley)

Glute raise with BB-15

Woodchoppers-15

*repeat three times

French press-15

Mountain climbers on ball-50 (I do this with my forearms on the ball so I'm in a lower plank.  I love, love, love, this ab exercise.)

Tricep bench dips with feet on ball-20

*repeat three times

I walked in the door a starving beast.  My husband had made the kids breakfast so I indulged.  Whole wheat pancakes topped with agave, unsweetened applesauce, and plain greek yogurt.  I also sprinkled a little cinnamon on top.  I made sure to get some protein in with a quick water+protein powder shake.

I was having a really hard day.  I fixed myself a yummy snack a little later on.  Plain greek yogurt with cocoa almonds and Kashi Crunch.  Right when I shoved the last bite in my mouth the doorbell rang....

My best friend who also happens to be my sister in law (how lucky am I ?) was at the door with all my naughty favorites.  That diet D.P. was a lifesaver!  I am so grateful that I have good family and friends.  Especially at times when I need them the most.  I needed that that day.  I saw her and just started crying. Awkward!  Sorry Meghan.  :)  But she made my day.  Well, she made my whole week.  

Yesterday I started feeling a little sore in my upper quad/hip at the gym.  I really, really, really hate being injured so I was crossing my fingers that it was nothing.  I was planning on going on a run today and when I woke up I knew immediately that it wasn't going to happen.  I was cursing my leg.  So what did I do?

I got online and self diagnosed myself.  Here is what I think it is:

What is the rectus femoris muscle?

The Rectus femoris muscle is one of quadriceps muscles. It goes from the hip to the knee and can be used to straighten the knee or lift the knee up. This muscle can rupture or become inflamed at the upper part where the muscle attaches to the hip. The main cause of this is overuse through kicking or explosive movements as in sprint starts.

Symptoms of an inflammed rectus femoris include:

• Pain which develops gradually with no sudden point of injury.
• Pain at the front of the hip during and after exercise.
• Pain when you press in on the muscle at the top.
• Pain when you lift the knee up or straighten the knee against resistance.
• A straight leg raise is also likely to cause pain.
• The front of the hip may feel stiff.
• Pain and stiffness may be worse first thing in the morning or after periods of rest.

What treatment can the athlete apply?

• Rest. This is important.
• Apply cold therapy
• Maintain your fitness by cycling if this can be done pain free.
• See a sports injury professional.

What can a sports injury specialist or doctor do?

• Prescribe anti-inflammatory medication e.g. ibuprofen.
• Use ultrasound or laser treatment.
• Use sports massage techniques.
• Prescribe a full rehabilitation programme to avoid re-injury.

  (Source)

Those are my exact symptoms.  However, did you notice it says that you can still cycle?  So I went to the gym and did 20 minutes of spin and a couple of back/bicep exercises.  Not much but it was something.  I am so bummed.  Hopefully this heals soon.  Cuz as of now I can barely lift my leg high enough to put on my own pants!

Is it not the weekend yet??

This has been the longest week!  It has been a hard week for me...a really hard week.  I have had so much going on at every second and so many things to do.  I have had two get togethers at my house at my house and taken someone dinner.  Tomorrow I watching my niece and nephew...and the list goes on.  On top of that I have been really pms-ey and ornery as all get out!  Ahhhh, the poor people who live with me. 

However, I did make it to the gym this morning even after the late night I had last night...so that's positive right?  Here's what I did:

I warmed up with gpp:

For time:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (reps)
pushups (strict)
pullups
v-ups

Then I worked chest a bit:

DB chest press-15 (heavy weight)
DB fly's-15
Narrow grip BB chest press-15
1 minute sprint
*repeat three times

Pushups-10
100 bicycle crunches
narrow pushups-10
1 minute sprint
*repeat three times

Tick tocks-20 each side
Pike pushups-15
Hanging abs-15
1 minute sprint
*repeat three times

**On the sprints I switched off sprinting on the treadmill and running the stairclimber.

Skipped cardio today.  Spin is in the morning!

Came home and had a coconut chocolate shake.  1 container coconut water, ice, 1 1/2 scoops chocolate protein, a handful of kale.  It was huge and good.

Good luck to all the St. George marathoners this Saturday.  You guys are all amazing!!  I made my friends who were doing it a little good luck goodie package.  Nothing fancy...just a lil' something...trailmix, protein bar, and an energy shot.  You guys are going to crush that race!

Yesterday I took my little ones to a local farm.  It was hot.  I packed lunch on the go....

Salad with veggies and chicken.  A little low fat cottage cheese and yogurt dip.  It was great except that all I want is chocolate since its that time ya know?

Cousins!  These guys are just a couple months apart and are going to be getting in to lot's of trouble.  I can't wait. 

The kiddos looking kinda wt.  My three year old always smiles like that.  What?  I dunno.

I made lot's of yummy food last night for dinner.  We had a couple people over for dinner and had a lot of people over after dinner.  On the menu:

Spring rolls with almond sauce

Sushi

Rice Noodles with veggies and peanut sauce

Smore bars...again.

 To make the spring rolls you throw on a bunch of sliced veggies.  I used broccoli slaw, carrots, bean sprouts, avocado, red peppers, fresh basil, and fresh cilantro.  Then it roll it half way....

Fold the sides in...

Finish rolling it all the way up.!  Easy peasy.

Cut it in half so you can get maximum dippage in the sauce.

The finished product....these are my favorite.

And now for the sushi.

The spread.  Crab, crab/cream cheese mix, green onion, avocado, bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, lemon, broccoli slaw, carrots, (can also use cucumber, peppers, jalapenos.....etc).  I also have used raw tuna, raw salmon, and shrimp.  This was just crab for the little ones.
 

 

Do we make a big enough mess?  Sheesh!

My sushi is usually a lot prettier.  I let someone borrow my special bottles that squirt the sauce on all pretty and I never got them back.  So I didn't even try to go for presentation. 

 

I couldn't get enough of the veggies with almond sauce.  So good.  

Hopefully I can wake up and get my butt to spin.  All these late nights/early mornings are killing me!

workouts and goals update...

This week has been absolutely crazy to the point of me wanting to pull my hair out.  This post will be boring and pretty picture-less but it's something.  I have been up late both nights this week and will be up again late tonight with friends.    Lets start with today's workout:

I warmed up with this workout from gpp:

6 rounds for time:

400 m run
25 V-ups
25 ea. lunge steps

It was a great warm-up and I was a sweatin.  Then I worked biceps:

4 rounds:

BB curls (7-bottom to middle, 7 middle to top, seven full...no stopping.)
DB curls-15
Incline DB curls-15

3 rounds:

Crunches on ball with pulley-20
Lying bicep curls with seated row pulley-15 ( I really need to video this one but I really don't want to have someone videotaping me at the gym)  Maybe a picture??  We'll see.

Then I talked to friends for two hours or so before I made myself do cardio:

30 minutes on the Stairclimber to finish off.

 When I got home I was starving and a protein shake did not sound good.  So pumpkin protein pancakes it was.  Doesn't that syrup look like vomit?  Well it was good.  A little pumpkin, agave, and plain yogurt went in it and on top of my pancakes. 

Let's see how I am doing on my weekly goals shall we?  (I think I made too many)

1. No sugar... I should have said no sweets because I do get some sugar in my shakes and bars.  However, I have done really well on this one.  I ate one teensy bite of my husband cookie, and the middle of a cinnamon roll.  If you know me well you know cinnamon rolls are my weakness and when one of my hubs scouts brings me over warm cinnamon rolls to say thank you I had to eat the middle.  :)  No regrets. 

2.  Log 20 miles of cardio of choice, no walking...I am up to about 10 miles

3.  Lift five days this week...three so far.

4.  100 ounces of water every day... So far so good!

5.  No eating after 7 pm...I ate after seven last night.  We had girls night at my house and we made veggie spring rolls.  However, I did eat all veggies after seven.  Tonight we are having a big shindig here too so I will probably eat after seven again.  I gotta live peeps....I don't want to be the lame friend who never eats.

6.  Go on a date with the hubs...Still working on this one.


Ok, bear with me for a moment.  I have a bone to pick about this no sugar thing.  When I first got married I ate zero sugar or white flour.  Ever.  I remember one time when a few of my husbands friends invited us over for dinner.  They made lasagna.  Well I was the lame one who picked out the meat and sauce and tried not to make it look to obvious.  I just could not eat those noodles.  Well,  eventually it got to the point well going out with me wasn't all that fun.  I would never just go grab ice cream or a hot chocolate.  I was lame.  Then I got pregnant with my first baby.  I started to eat things I craved!  My husband loved me!!!  I would eat with him.  I know it is not healthy eating those things all the time but occasionally it doesn't hurt.  

What I am trying to get at is that you have to live life people.  Make goals....stick to them as best you can.  When it doesn't happen, don't stress.  Don't give up.  There is always tomorrow.  If your friends are going out....go!  And enjoy it.  Life is short.  I am still working on this.  I try to enjoy myself when I am eating out.  Sometimes I do, other times I feel the guilt creep in.  You can still be healthy and enjoy life.  So enjoy it when you have the chance.  Do I think you should always say yes to crap food?  No!  If I have already had ice cream that day I probably won't eat it at the birthday I'm at.  Or if I ate out for lunch I would probably turn down a dinner date.  Just make good choices.  Pick the things you enjoy.  Life is good. 

Weekly Goals....

Ok guys....After this weekend I have got to recommit.  This weekend was horrible and I am feeling it!  I ate horribly, I mean horribly.  I think that time of the month must be creeping up on me but that is no excuse.  Every Sunday I am going to do a post of all my goals for the coming week.  So here is this weeks goals.....

1.  No sugar...my body needs a detox! (this might kill me...I love my sugs.)
2.  Log 20 miles of cardio of choice....but no walking.  Has to be hard.
3.  Lift five days this week
4.  100 ounces of water every day
5.  No eating after 7 pm.
6.  Go on a date with the hubs... :)

I will post next Sunday and see how much willpower I have. 

I got my run in last night.  My sis and I went 8.1 ish miles and averaged a 8:40.  I felt great that I- one....went that far, and two...that it was a good pace.  We had a lot of uphill as well.  I don't "run" all that often so it was a good change.  I will probably run more this week to log miles.  We'll see.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I am loving pumpkin these days!!!

Mix together:

1/3 cup oat flour
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
3 egg whites
1 scoop vanilla protein
1/3 cup pumpkin
Can add cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or any other spices to taste.

Then cook em and eat em!

This whole recipe is about 375 calories and has about 45 grams of protein!!

Smore's bars

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 18 whole graham crackers, crushed, about 3 cups
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 milk chocolate bars, approximately 1 1/2 ounces each (I use the huge ones...like bigger than the king size so my chocolate is thick)
• 3 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows (I use one bag)

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350°. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in crushed graham crackers, flour, and salt. Reserve 1 cup of the graham cracker mixture and press remaining mixture over the bottom of a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Arrange chocolate bars, in a single layer, over graham cracker crust mixture in the pan. Sprinkle with marshmallows. Crumbled reserved graham cracker mixture over the marshmallows. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Cut into bars and cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen bars.