Hello legs, it was nice to have you shaking at the end of a workout again

First thing's first I'm the realest. So I'll talk food before launching into today's workouts. For the record, if I don't post a workout for a day, it's usually because it's a repeat of something that is already on my blog thus it feels unnecessarily to retype and repost them.

FOOD. I did meal prep last night, Sunday funday and all. I'm kind of sticking to basics of chicken, rice, and some sort of veggie or fruit. Grilled chicken was real simple. Threw some lemon juice on and then sprinkled them with oregano while they were grilling. Sweet potatoes are pretty damn tasty. Cut them however you please, I opted for slices. Each sweet potato gets it's own tin foil pouch to be thrown on the grill. Once cut place in tin foil pouch and add some butter (next time I'm going to try it with coconut oil instead) and this simple seasoning mix I found online. For two sweet potatoes here's the recipe: 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tsp of ground cumin, 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper (or more based on taste preference), and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle this mix on top, seal up the tin foil pouch and toss on the grill for 20-30 minutes moving around every 10 minutes or so. Cilantro lime rice (yeah, that's the stuff they serve at Chipotle). Make rice as normal, I have been using brown basmati rice and cooking it in vegetable broth instead of water for more flavor. Upon being cooked, (adjust amounts according to taste preferences) I squeezed the juice of one lime over rice and stir in 1/4 cup of freshly cut cilantro. Oh, and I made 1 cup of uncooked rice.

WORKOUTS.

  AM cardio today had me dripping in sweat with this heat. It's simple but still challenging. 16 x 100 m sprints with about 35 seconds rest between sprints. To make the workout a bit easier you can break it into 4 sets of 4 x 100 meter sprints and add an additional rest period between sets.

Leg Day :D
Leg curl machine 3 x 15 (1:00)
Leg extension machine 3 x 15 (1:00)
Squat jumps with kickback backwards each leg and then laterally each leg. 3 x 10 (2:00)
Barbell backwards lunge 3 x 20 each leg (do all reps on one leg before switching) (1:30)
Back squat 3 sets of: 10 reps narrow stance, 10 reps medium stance, and 10 reps wide or sumo stance (1:30)
Donkey kickbacks with imaginary hurdle behind you (again, I use a free bench for a literal hurtle to be lifting my leg back and forth over) 2 x 15 (1:00)

LEG DAY (AND I TRIED A YOGA CLASS!!)

I promise I meant to put something up sooner. But in all honesty it would have been me reposting workouts that are already on my blog for the most part. Although I did try a slow burn vinyasa yoga class the other day with a coworker. The class was awesome! And I had never taken any yoga class before or attempted any yoga before but parts of it challenged me. Primarily the balance and coordination involved (not exactly among my strong points). I'm definitely going to look into taking some more yoga classes in the future!

Today I did throw some weights into my leg day since I am allowed to do lighter weights with higher reps so I believe that what I opted for today is within those parameters. I'm not posting how much weight I use because what works for me is irrelevant when determining what weights work for you.

Leg curls 3x15 (:45)
Leg extension 3 x 15 (:45)
Back squat 4 x 12 (1:00)
In --> Out, squat, jump, kickback, in (repeat) 4 x 10 (1:30)
Superset (1:00 rest)
Pulse Bulgarian Squat 3 x 20 each leg
Single leg glute-ham bridge 3 x 12
Donkey kicks with object behind you (I used a flat bench near the free weights) 3 x 10 each leg (1:00)
Split Squat jumps 3 x 20 (1:30)
Squats on a flipped over half bosu ball 1 x 40, 1 x 50 (1:00)

I mean I was dripping in sweat with all of that jumping..

Leg day :D :D :D :D Which keeping it honest, after hearing that I couldn't lift the thought of losing leg day was devastating. So I've done what I can to find ways to maintain leg days in my life because of the love and passion I have for them. Workout from today is below:

 (Among my current favorites)[ Feet in --> out --> squat --> jump --> squat --> feet together --> repeat 4 x 10 (1:30)
{Superset} (1:00)
[pulse Bulgarian squats (FEEL THE BURN) 4 x 20
[single leg glute-ham bridge 4 x 12
[split squat jumps 3 x 20 (2:00)
Donkey kicks with imaginary hurdle 3 x 10 (1:00)
[Straddle a bench --> place hands on one end of bench --> jump feet towards your midline and up onto the bench --> jump feet back out and down --> repeat 3 x 15 (1:00)
[Weighted calf raises on smith machine 3 x 45 (1:00) (15 toes pointed out, 15 toes pointed in, 15 toes pointed forward)

Seriously, Try This Workout --> Have Trouble Walking in a Few Hours

But before sharing this workout, here's my current playlist. It should last at least through this week ;)
Talk That Talk : Rihanna
Addicted to You : Avicii
You Make Me : Avicii
I Could Be the One : Avicii
Flashback : Calvin Harris
We'll Be Coming Back : Calvin Harris
Rather Be : Clean Bandit
Impossible is Nothing : Iggy Azalea
Thinking About You : Calvin Harris

Now for the workout, it gets the full body so if you're at all like me, your back will be nice and sore too.
I get ideas for my workouts from Devoné Martin (@dev1fit on Instagram) and Zoe Rodriguez (@zoelivelovelift on Instagram)

in-->out, squat jump squat, right leg kickback, left leg kickback 3 x 20 (2:00)
superset:
pulse lunge 4x20
single leg glute-ham bridges 4x12
(1:00 rest)
split squat jumps 3x20 (2:00)
donkey kicks with leg extended the whole time and then moving it from one side of the body to other as if over a high hurtle that has been placed behind you 3x10 each leg (1:00)
---------------------------------------
assisted pull-ups 4x8 (1:00)
push ups with knee to elbow while in the "down" position 3x10 (1:00)
tricep dips on bench with "jump" during the up part of the movement 3x10 (1:00)
assisted chin-ups 4x8 (1:00)

Above is from Tuesday's workout, finished up with HIIT on the elliptical.
Below is today (HIIT and abs)

Warm up of some form
20:00 on the stair master :30/:30 split

Tabata ab workout. Tabata being :20 seconds of work, :10 seconds of rest. Repeated for 4 minutes total. That is then one round.

Round 1:
circle crunches (left)
circle crunches (right)
straight arm crunches with weight
leg lifts

Round 2:
side plank with weight and arm raise (right)
side plank with weight and arm raise (left)
Russian twists with weight
heel touches

Round 3:
elbow plank
straight arm plank lifting one hand to opposite shoulder and then switching

Home from vacation!!

I returned from paradise, if you will, late Saturday afternoon. From there I spent the evening in the cities with some friends. Then came Sunday, which wasn't so much a Sunday Funday since I worked from 9:00 in the morning until about 11:30 at night. Shortly after arriving  home I was passed out and happily asleep. 

So now we're at Monday. I had the intentions of being super productive but then as I was looking at my schedule for the week I saw the 1:00 appointment I had today. That quickly took priority to everything else and has put me where I currently am: done with my biometrics appointment, needing to gather all my visa application materials, sitting and enjoying Jimmy John's before work at 4:00.  In other words I might get my intended post up later tonight otherwise tomorrow it is! 

Day 6 of vacation and driving home

Day 6 was a HIIT/ cardio day. Here's the workout:

Warm up: jog 5:00

5 rounds of the following:

:30 sprint

3:00 jog

:30 sprint

1:00 walk 

 Try this outdoors in the sun! ☀️😱💦

Day 7 is currently being spent driving the roughly 6.5 hours home 🙈 thus it's a rest day. 

Day 5 of vacation and coinciding workout playlist

My musical selections for today's workout come primarily from my days of being a freshman in high school / the more alternative spectrum of what I can workout with. 

Last Night : The Strokes 

First Dance : Never Shout Never

Animal : Neon Trees 

Misery Business : Paramore 

Little Razorblade : The Pink Spiders 

Hum Hallelujah : Fall Out Boy 

Ocean Avenue : Yellowcard 

Candle : The White Tie Affair

Gold On the Ceiling : The a Black Keys

Modern Swinger : The Pink Spiders 

Take It Home : The White Tie Affair 

Chop and Change : The Black Keys 

Normally I don't feel sore until the next day but I'm feeling this one already 😬

Workout ideas taken from Devone Martin (@dev1fit on Instagram) and Zoe Rodriguez (@zoelivelovelift on Instagram) seriously both are great pages to follow for motivation! 

Workout: 

Squat jumps with kickbacks 3 x 20 

      Start with feet together, jump out to whatever is comfortable, squat, jump, land in squat position,stand up, kick right leg straight back, then left, feet together. That's one rep. 

Superset 1:00 rest

Pulse lunges 4 x 20 ea.

Single leg glute-ham bridge 4 x 12 ea. 

tricep dips on bench with sort of a "jump" on the way up 3 x 10 

Split squat jumps 3 x 16 

Modified shoulder push ups using a bench 3 x 8 

Push ups bringing knee to elbow while in down / bent position 4 x 10

Donkey kicks position then extend leg so that it's straight and bring outside body line then to opposite side of body as if over a hurdle. That is one rep. Do all 10 with one leg before switching. 

Days 3 and 4 of Vacation; and Coconut Oil

Day 3:
I took my workout from one of my Instagram idols (yes, those are a thing in my world). You can find the workout on @censkiii 's account. My last blog post provides an image of what to look for on her page.
After doing that workout I did the following
superset (2 sets x max reps)
squat with alternating leg kick backs
two leg glute-ham bridges, followed by one leg glute-ham bridges
superset (2x10)
shoulder push ups
tricep dips with alternating leg raises

Day 4:
HIIT cardio
And we're back to my beloved jump rope
30:00 minutes of a :45/:30 split

Coconut oil:
I've been trying to incorporate this stuff into my diet when I can. I find it easy to mix into hot oatmeal or spread onto toast (before adding peanut butter of course! ;) ) I've read a lot of articles about the benefits of coconut oil, feel free to research yourself but a few links to articles are posted below:
http://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil/
Here's just a bunch of great uses for it :D
Wish I had access to more than just the abstract but....

Long Hair Don't Care : Workout Day 2

Dinner picture from last night, my hair is getting long!

Today was a HIIT cardio day, my new favorite since real leg days are no longer allowed to be a thing ( still looking into alternatives ). That feeling of dripping in sweat after a workout is all too satisfying. I felt a little sore/stiffness after yesterday's workout so that was nice 👌 

Moving on to today's workout which I took on to the sand! 

Warm up: 

1:00 butt kicks

1:00 toe touches

3:00 jogging

Workout:

Tabata style (:20 work, :10 rest --> for 4:00 minutes = 1 round) 1:00 rest between rounds

Sprint/ walk along beach

I did 4 rounds for 20:00 total and followed it with barefoot skips along the beach. And yep, sun was out so I came back to our cabin dripping in sweat. 

Currently sitting on the porch eating whole fat Greek yogurt with blueberries and granola, it's delicious bad packs in 20 grams of protein

 🍴😈

Day 1 of Vacation Workout

Here's a panorama of my workout location on the beach  ☺️ Today I did a calisthenics workout since I have no weights or equipment here other than my jump rope. Started it all off with meditating, good way to start ( or end ) any day! 

Warm up: jump rope ~5 minutes

Workout: squats 3 sets x max reps

Wall sits 2 x max

🐠🐠superset🐠🐠 3 sets x max

Walking lunges 

Side lunges

Curtesy lunges

Step ups

🐠🐠🐠

One leg calf raises 3 x max 

Push ups 2 x max

Incline push ups 2 x max

Decline push ups 2 x max

Super mans (torso raises) 2 x max

🐚🐚🐚triset🐚🐚🐚3 sets x max

V-ups

Bicycle crunches

Leg raises 

🐚🐚🐚 

I took what I could do here on vacation from a workout I found on bodybuilding.com which is a great resource for workouts, tips, lifts, etc. 

Reworking my blog!

Okay, I made a blog back in the day and really did have the intent to regularly use it. But at this point instead of putting more personal details and updates on here I am using it to focus more on fitness and health and etc. So for this post we'll go through a quick summary of background information on my experience with athletics and working out and then share links to what I am doing and find to be worth reading. There will probably still be the occasional personal post on here every once and a while.

Short summary: Back in the day, elementary school days, I played a lot of sports. Volleyball was my favorite. Thus I focused my athletic pursuits  on volleyball (personal trainers, private coaches, private elite clubs, elite camps..) Shitty high school politics sort of wrecked volleyball for me since I wasn't in the coach's inner circle so I quit after high school season during my junior year. From there I joined the speech team and by senior year I was competing on the debate, student congress, and speech teams. I had taken to distance running somewhere along these lines, had a stint with anorexia during my senior year. College came and I joined intramural volleyball and the mock trial team. I was working out semi-regularly in the midst of the normal stress of starting college. Was over my eating and body image issues for the most part. After freshmen year I got back into lifting and fell in love with it (who doesn't love seeing gains!? ;) ) Now we'll flash forward to about a week ago.

I met with my cardiologist (they discovered my heart deformity when I was about 12 or 13, bicuspid aortic valve if anyone wants to look that up) who told me that I had to stop heavy lifting. Obviously I was devastated, argued with her for a while, and am working on bitterly accepting that my lifting days are over. With that news I decided to revamp this blog and stop placing my passion for fitness behind closed doors. I had a private Instagram account for my fitness posts for almost a year now and then I decided I didn't care what all you people thought of them. I like that stuff, if you don't then don't pay attention to it. (I'm trying to be courteous of people by not posting my stuff all over Facebook...) ANYWAYS, despite this limitation I am looking to become a certified personal trainer (CPT) in the next 2-3 years to help pay for graduate school and because it's something I would like to do.

Given that it's almost 11:00 I'm keeping this part short and sweet since I plan to be up around 6:00 to workout on the beach! (Perks of being on vacation). The following link provides a tabata strength workout that is within my workout bounds: http://exercise.about.com/od/circuittrainingworkouts/l/bltabatastrength.htm
It only requires a timing mechanism, ~30 minutes, and some dumbbells!
Eating related, I attempted to make these and while I think I burned them, they still tasted good and are a good way to get protein! http://dailyburn.com/life/recipes/chocolate-banana-protein-pancakes/

Will be posting more workout ideas and eating ideas and health/fitness stuff with time. This week will be primarily workouts that can be done with minimal equipment since I'm on vacation and have minimal equipment. Feel free to comment or contact me if there is anything you would like to see or have questions about! (Keep in mind, I'm not a professional and would be merely giving advice as a friend).

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

I guess my first one is to actually update and utilize my blog. I mean I made it back in the day for that purpose, right? So in general, a lot of people all scoff at New Year's Resolutions, right? But I'll bet those exact people are all making resolutions themselves and just not admitting to anyone else so that they can continue to scoff. But to validate their perspective, I understand the cheesiness of new years resolutions. "NEW YEAR NEW ME!" Uh, really? I don't think that you're entirely new person because the year changed. But I can understand where people think "oh new year--> I could make some changes in my life this year." That logic I get.

Now I wouldn't exactly call what I'm doing "making new years resolutions" but refocusing on things. And those things are as follows:

--> Live up to my potential. You know, actually putting in the time and effort to be the best I can be. Whether that be in mock trial, leadership positions, classes, or within my majors (research, internships, additional scholarships). I hate looking back on things and wondering how they would have turned out if only I had given them my all.

--> Strengthening my relationships with people. There are a ton of great, fantastic, incredible, inspiring, caring people in my life. I really want to do more to let them all know how much I value having them in my life and having those people there for me when I need them. Maybe even you know, expressing more emotion to show it? Ha, the thought of that. I think my point is made though. Make more time for people essentially.

--> Learning to love myself. Not that I don't like myself or anything, but I could care for myself more. Learn more about who I am, what I value, what I want, instead of trying to fit to a mold of what I think all of those answers should be for me.

--> Be healthier. Which is probably the most popular new year's resolution but actually commit to my fitness and build a body that I like because I like it not because of some meaningless number on a scale that measures the effect of gravity on my mass.