I know what the extra's on "The Walking Dead" do before they go on set....

Legs. They do legs!! 

If you haven't guessed it, I am currently walking like a zombie from a leg workout that I did on Monday. Holy Moly. I could totally be an extra on TWD right now. But I love it! I have a love-hate relationship with these thighs of mine. (As I'm sure other girls do, too). Anything that makes them sore DAYS later is just fine with me! 

I figured I'd share my leg workout with you. In case anyone else wants to give it a shot. 

I did not make up this workout. I saw it on Instagram posted by the fit and fabulous Puertoricanfitchick. I changed a couple of the exercises to best suit my needs and here it is:

Warm up for 5-8 min. on the treadmill. Fast walk to slow jog. 

Barbell Squats      40lb BB  x 12 reps x 10 sets

Barbell Deadlifts   40lb BB  x 12 reps x 10 sets

Cable kickbacks         7.5lb x 12 reps x 6 sets (each leg)

Bosu ball squats         15lb x 15 reps x 4 sets

Hamstring curls           40lb x 10 reps x 3 sets

Leg press                    70lb x 20 reps

                                    90lb x 15 reps

                                   110lb x 12 reps

                                   130lb x 12 reps

Now, this amount of  weight that I used might be easy for some people. It might be hard for others. I only listed the amount of weight that I used so you have a guide of some sort. 

Also, please do not attempt any kind of squatting without some proper instruction. Ask one of the trainers at your gym or go on YouTube and find some instructional videos. You do not want to hurt yourself!! 

Here is an example of cable kickbacks:

I track all of my workouts in my "Fitbook" but if you want to log your weight and sets to see growth, head to Bodybuilding.com. They have printable workout logs and a ton of other awesome resources. 

Also, go check out Puertoricanfitchick's blog or her Instagram. She is awesome!

I have a trainer! :D

I am a firm believer in being self-made. I research recipes, exercises, and how to fuel and nourish my body in the best way possible. In the past I have looked at the members of my gym with their trainers and thought, "Well, I know what I'm doing, I don't need a trainer..." Wrong. Very wrong.
3 days after my first 2 training sessions and I am SORE! 

Now, I will admit that it is pretty embarrassing to tell someone your stats and what your goals are. Saying to anyone (especially a fit man) that you want to work on your hips, rear, and thighs is quite humbling. haha But these people are trained professionals and are very encouraging. Not to mention they are great for accountability! At this point I am so determined to make sure my diet and exercise are on point JUST so I can make sure to make my trainer proud. If you spend nearly $500/year on gym fees like I do, do yourself a favor and get some personal training. You want to make sure you are making the most out of your money AND your time. So, yes ladies, this means PICK UP THE WEIGHTS! (Steps off soap box.)

Unfortunately, my training sessions - 4 total including the introductory session - are limited. The deal I got for these sessions was affordable enough but looking at the long term training costs... those are out of reach at the moment. :) But it got me thinking that I want to do this. I want to educate and motivate people to better themselves and live a healthier lifestyle. So, I am going to start researching how to become a certified personal trainer! Even if I can't become certified (maybe I can't afford it or have the time to do it) at least I am continuing to educate myself. Silver lining? :) 

Meanwhile, I will continue to share what I learn (mostly on Instagram, I'm so bad at blogging!) along the way. If I can't personally train anyone, at least I can share bits of knowledge here and there! 

Gym Confidence - How to fake it

So, maybe you're new at the fitness thing. Or maybe you're a cardio "junkie" and you just have no idea what to do with weights and/or machines. Well, have no fear because I am going to outline for all of you how to have confidence at the gym.

Step 1: Fake it. Walk up to weights with purposeful and determined steps.
Step 2: Keep pretending. Choose weights. Smirk. Keep walking. Keep faking it.
Step 3: Seriously, no one is looking at you!!! Now go lift!

Seem simple enough? GREAT! You are going to do a wonderful job at the gym!

Okay, but really, no one is looking at you. I will admit that I sometimes still have some anxiety about going upstairs to the weights and executing my workout for the day. Today was one of those days. Here I will attempt to humor you with a short look into my thoughts as I began my workout tonight.

Scene: Upstairs free weights area (after delaying doing weights for 45 min on various cardio machines downstairs...)

Ok, quick! Find a place to put your water bottle. No! Not there, that's too close to that guy. Geez, why do guys still work out over here. This is CLEARLY the girls section. I wish they would just man up and go over to the big boy part of the gym... OH! That corner! (Grandma speed walks to vacant corner.) Now focus... Chest and back day, chest and back day. Oh forget it. Just go grab some weights. (Shuffle around person who is lifting INCHES away from the dumbbell rack) Weights, medicine ball, corner - good to go. Wait, is that person watching me (They weren't) No. Stop it. You're being crazy, just focus! What number was that? 10? Sure. 11, 12, 13... Whoops! Almost fell off the ball... I'm sure no one noticed... Okay, maybe THAT guy did... Just go to the boys side already! GRRR Crap! How many was that?! Probably enough...

This crazy episode only lasted a little bit longer. I did move on to some standing fly's with a shoulder press, messed up the flow of the move, hit myself in my thighs - yes, both of them AND multiple times - but I pressed on. *No fitness joke intended*  The only thing I changed about the workout was my attitude. I stopped my inner anxiety rant by pretending that no one was around me and that I was a skilled weight lifter.When I started to believe, even momentarily, that this was true, I pushed myself and lifted and felt really good about what I had accomplished. It turned out to be a pretty successful gym session. Oh, I also turned the volume on my iPhone WAY up. That helped A LOT. ;-P

No matter what you look like, how long you've been going to the gym, etc. we all have those moments where we feel self conscious. It's totally normal. But you're at the gym to challenge and improve yourself. You are on a personal journey that no one in the crowded girls section at the gym knows. They aren't judging you. You are your worst critic. And even if you are CERTAIN they are judging you i.e. you see them pointing and laughing and maybe they stick their tongue out at you; just remind yourself of this: If they have enough time and energy to judge you, you are clearly burning more calories and gaining more muscle than them and you will soon be able to beat them up. ;) *I do not support you beating anyone up. Use your words. Or walk away. A little PSA from yours truly, Kindergarten teacher extraordinaire! 

I hope this helps someone with a little gym nervousness. Or at least makes you laugh. :-) 

Just fake it till you make it!!

Is Neflix to blame? Or am I just being lazy?

I have been one lazy (you know what) lately. 

I thought the new year would make me feel great or inspired... Instead, I have struggled these last few weeks to overcome what the holidays did to my eating patterns. 

I am a creature of habit and I do NOT do well with days off. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE not having to leave for work at 6AM sometimes but I feel so much more successful when I have a schedule to keep. 

When I don't... I find myself parked on the couch for HOURS watching episodes of Netflix STUFFING my face until I feel too uncomfortable and miserable to do anything. Even the dishes. And I love doing dishes.             

 It's not a pretty sight.

So, what is the solution? Well, I know there is no quick fix. Just days of trial and error. And last week I made a decision to help me start to move on from the butt dent in my couch. I changed my diet a little bit. I started to incorporate meat back into the picture just to see how it would go for me. And it started out fine in small portions. But combined with my EXTREME laziness and overindulgence, it turned into a 24hr abdominal pain. I felt better after one day of not eating meat and after a full week I feel almost normal again. :) 

The first change turned out to be pretty spot on and I felt well enough to  work out 4 days last week. They were by no means excellent workouts and my calorie burn was pretty shameful for the amount of time I spent in that gym and running and working out at home. But I am trying to start a habit and 4 days a week is a pretty good place to start. 

However yesterday was the first day that I actually did not over eat and this morning I feel better than ever! I had to mentally set myself up for success. I did NOT want to go to the gym but I did and it was AWESOME! Hardly anyone was there (at 8AM on a Sunday) and I was able to get a pretty decent leg workout in. Which I am feeling today... :-D

Point is, your mind will fail you a thousand times before your body does. DO NOT let yourself convince yourself that you can't do something. You will be tired, you will have excuses, but put on your shoes and step outside and just see how you feel. Maybe wash your face? Stretch a little? GET UP AND MOVING! You will feel so much better than you will after a cookie or almost an entire box of graham crackers...(<----- Guilty...Darn you Publix and your BOGO's! GRRR)

Now, I hope you're feeling inspired cause I am going to share the HIIT that I did yesterday. It only takes about 25 minutes and you could probably do this at home if you modify it a bit. :)

                                                  Five for five circuit
                              5 Rounds of 5 Exercises - - 30 secs work/ 30 secs rest
           Circuit:
1. Kettlebell Swings (20lbs)
2. Reverse Lunges (15lbs dumbbells; 30secs each leg)
3. Jump rope (OR jumping jacks)
4. Stability ball knee tuck ins
5. Burpees

Rest for 30 seconds and repeat 4 more times

Good luck!!!

Pinterest Workouts

Pinterest has become an obsession for many people lately - myself included. It includes pictures, quotes, ideas, etc on several different categories. One of my favorites is the "Health and Fitness" category. 

I'll be honest, I have pinned 131 pins related to health and fitness and until today I had only tried one other workout posted there. This afternoon I tried this workout that I'm sure several of you have seen floating around there:

 This interval set took me about 15 minutes and according to my Polar Ft40 (see previous post for details) I burned around 100 calories and had a 40% fat burn. **These stats are based upon my particular height and weight so you may have different results.**

I feel it was a pretty good workout if you need to get your heart rate going. Especially if you've been sloth-like as I have today :-P This would be a good warm up to a leg day. Being as though I did legs yesterday I was really hurting with the squats. haha. 

Hopefully I can try some more Pinterest workouts soon so you can either enter them into your own workout routine or not waste your time. :)

Just call me "Phoenix"

Yes, Phoenix as in rising from the ashes.Metaphorical ones of course. No need to call the Fire Department ;)

I will be the first to admit that I take on too much all at once. Hence why my last blog post was in October... In my defense, I moved, traveled out of state twice, and then the holidays came steam rolling through my life. Thank goodness I finally have a chance to sit and relax. And blog of course :D

So here I am freshly risen from the burdens of every day life and ready to share some of the fitness related things I've learned recently.

First off I have to say that I am slightly obsessed with Instagram and I find a lot of my fitness inspiration from people that I follow on there. Whilst social media stalking certain fit folks I noticed many of them have a heart rate monitor watch called a Polar FT40. It comes with a heart rate monitor that straps around your chest and the watch of course. You program your weight and age, etc and it calculates how many calories you burn during your exercise.

 I have been using it for the past week and I find that it is far more accurate than apps on your phone or the machines at your gym. It's also SO cool to see how many calories you're really burning from cardio and from lifting weights. I have always been a cardio-aholic and I have always believed (for some reason) that cardio was THE KEY to weight loss and calorie burn. Well, plainly said, it's not. I burn more calories from lifting weights - and lets be honest, I'm no Hulk so it's not like I'm lifting super heavy weight - than I do from simply running. In a shorter amount of time as well.

I am not trying to get you to buy this product (though you can from Amazon for about $80-$100). My point is do NOT be afraid to pick up weights. Seriously. It is INSANE that women think they will get "manish" from lifting weights. Have you ever thought about the time and practice it would take for a woman to even BEGIN to put on muscle? Especially enough to LOOK sculpted and muscular. Stop making excuses and pick up some weights - even light ones! You will look and FEEL better. And after all, isn't that what life is all about, feeling better? :-) Thought so.

Do something for yourself and find something heavy to lift and put it back down. I know some of you have children and I know they are the CUTEST chunky-chunks around. LIFT THEM UP and PUT them DOWN. ;-) And start now. Don't wait till the New Year, you know you want to look FAB for the big countdown. 

Good luck!

Meal Planning on $50 a week!

I am a little obsessed with lists and checking things off and planning things out (guess it's good I am a teacher). This week I really put in some time to plan out every meal I would eat. Oh, and I decided to do it all on only $50 per week.

I have a tiny problem with keeping my food spending within an acceptable range. I just LOVE to cook and sometimes give in to cravings and then BAM I have accumulated a pretty scary total in my grocery budget. (If you don't have mint.com you should go check it out. It categorizes your spending for you! Does anyone else get excited by pie graphs?!?!?!)

I decided that I was really going to stick to a budget for the rest of October and see how I could make it work. I thought that $50 a week was pretty reasonable being as though that would be around $200 in groceries total and that would be at LEAST $100 cheaper than I had been spending on groceries in the past. (My dad is probably flipping right now if he's reading this. hehe)

I spent $32 on vegetables at my local Freshfield Farms. I spent the other $18 at Whole Foods. Here's the breakdown:

Vegetables:                                                            Whole Foods:

3 Zucchini                                                                Chickpeas

1 red pepper                                                           Almond Milk

1 green pepper                                                       Eggs

steam in a bag broccoli                                          Soy yogurt

2 packages of mushrooms

romaine lettuce

5 apples

4 bananas

3 avocados

3 limes

1 GIANT head of cauliflower

1 tomato

First I made a list of all of the food I had in the house already in combination with what I bought for the week. I'll just give you a heads up that my meal plan for the week is on it's 3rd revision and it's likely it might change again. Revisions took place for several reasons: 1. I had to make sure that I was eating the food that would spoil first 2. I ordered some powdered pb online and it won't be here till Tuesday 3. I plan meals around the BF's schedule. He hates when I use the food processor so the meals that involves a lot of blending or noise I put at the end of the week HAHA. I'm sure there were more reasons, my being easily distracted, putting something on the list when I don't actually have it in the house, etc. I could go on and on. Here is what I have so far:

       Monday                         Tuesday                                      Wednesday

Bfast: Banana                Bfast: Banana & apple w/ PB      Bfast:Soy yogurt, apple w/PB

AM Snack:                              AM Snack:                                 AM Snack:

*pumpkin omelet w/              2 hard boiled egg whites           2 hard boiled egg whites

protein frosting

Lunch:                                       Lunch:                                        Lunch:

Cucumber, avocado, &         *Veggie "chicken" salad          *Roasted cauliflower & 

tomato salad                                                                               chickpea pattie
                                                                                                      w/ salsa

PM Snack:                              PM Snack:                                  PM Snack:

soy yogurt                              soy yogurt                                      celery & tofutti cream cheese

Dinner:                                    Dinner:                                          Dinner:

Veggie "Chicken"                Roasted cauliflower &                  *Zucchini noodles w/

Salad                                   chickpea pattie w/ roasted            basil & garlic pesto 

                                               zucchini & salsa                             sauce

    Thursday                                                                     Friday

Bfast:soy yogurt, apple & PB                           Bfast: soy yogurt, apple & PB

AM Snack:2 hard boiled egg whites               AM Snack: 2 hard boiled egg whites

Lunch: Broccoli, cauliflower rice,                   Lunch:  Salad w/ leftover veggies & beans

w/ corn & spices on top

PM Snack: Celery & PB                                  PM Snack: Celery & PB

Dinner: black bean, cauliflower                      Dinner:  Leftovers :)

rice & salsa lettuce wraps

What I did not include was a PlantFusion protein shake that I will have after workouts. That helps with keeping the dinner portions smaller. As you can see, the meals towards the end of the week get pretty vague. This is because I don't know yet how much will be leftover/if anything will have spoiled. Let's just call this trial and error week :)

The asterisk (*) by some of the meals means that I found these recipes from other people/blogs. I will post the details of those meals later but can by no means take credit for them. Like I mentioned in the blog before this one, I follow some amazing ladies who come up with these creations themselves. I modify them to suit my body's needs but the core of it all comes from them. If you are interested in the recipe look to their blogs or look here later for some specifics. :)

 Let me be SUPER clear about this weeks meal planning. I am by NO stretch of the imagination certified in nutrition or exercise. I do what works best for me.This is a flexible plan that I will most likely add to or take away from depending on my needs throughout the week. I have not calculated calories yet. If I have time that day I will use my myfitnesspal app to calculate what I'm putting into my body. I'll make adjustments based upon how I feel during the week. Other than that I am not suggesting that anyone follow this to a T. If you like some of the ideas on here, GREAT! If not, cool. This is an experimental week for me! If I can make it work, great! If not, I will adjust where my spending goes and try for another $50 week on Saturday. :) 

Enjoy your Sunday!