I'm Moving

Well, you're probably wondering where I've been. I've been not exercising and eating too much. Now only part of that is true. I've been taking a week off from exercise and working on a project that is my new blog. I am finding that I want to expand a bit so I can talk about exercise AND food.

Here's my new address. Come visit me and maybe leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!

Update on the Weekend

It's been a very busy weekend. My week off from training started on Saturday and I feel ready for a break.

On Saturday morning, we headed out early to the beach to cheer my husband and sister on in the Belmar 5 mile race. My husband did it in 46 mins! My sister did it in 59 mins but she was running with a friend. After that, we hit the beach. Amazing weather with a nice breeze and water temps were perfect.

Saturday night, we went to my husband's 20 yr high school reunion. We had a blast! I didn't know anyone at all but I make friends easy plus I had one glass of red wine which always helps. The food was very rich. Tortellini alfredo, vodka penne, chicken franchaise, eggplant rollatini, crab dip with pita chips. UGH! I had a VERY little bit of each and ate it slowly. I stopped often and had sips of wine and water in between. They had a dessert table with small pastries. I did have a lemon tart not much bigger than a quarter and a mini cannoli. I was sweating alot in my sleep last night which does happen to me when I eat not so healthy foods or drink alcohol.

Today, I caught up on all the house chores and headed over to my local organic farm and picked up some great stuff. Basil (in a bunch the size of my head), rainbow swiss chard, zucchini, white corn, beets, and honey made right on the premises. After that it was prep time. I cleaned, boiled, peeled, and chopped beets to add to salads. I boiled corn so I could cut it off the ear next week for recipes. I rough chopped swiss chard to keep in a green bag to add to my green drinks. As if this wasn't great enough, my mom stopped by with a huge tray of blueberries she picked this morning! They are huge and amazingly sweet. Perfect to go with some greek yogurt, raw walnuts, and a squeeze of that local honey.

Aside from the reunion on Saturday, my diet has been pretty typical. I did purchase Ezekiel tortillas the other day to make beach trips easier. It does contain wheat which I avoid, but it's sprouted grains which are great for you and I'm going to include them in my diet occasionally as I can tolerate them. I did purchase brown rice tortillas but they tear when you try to close them and taste like cardboard. Corn tortillas are great but don't go with everything. Someone needs to come out with a wheat free sprouted grain tortilla!

So, the plan for my week off is to eat plenty of varied colored whole foods (the deeper the better) and get plenty of rest.

Workout and Meals 7/10/09

I made it to Friday! I went to the track this morning to do my sprints and stairs and I was determined to flip that truck tire but it didn't work out as planned. That tire was freakin heavy! Now I'm determined! I WILL do it. I'll just keep trying.

I sprinted the straights and walked the curves of the track, then did about 8 rounds of stairs doing 8 vertical jumps in between each round without stopping. I was really sweating and it was only 57 degrees at 6 am this morning. The workout was about 30 mins total.

Unlike other mornings, I also had some company. Two guys were doing some stairs and other drills. One of the guys looked familiar to me and I realized he was the owner of a previous gym I belonged to. See, even the owner knows the best place to workout is NOT the gym!

Meals:
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/blueberries and raw walnuts

3. one sprouted corn tortilla w/ground turkey breast, guacamole, sprinkle of cheese, salsa w/side of steamed broccoli, cherries

4. sugar snap peas, red bell pepper w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. organic chicken drumstick and leg, 1/4 c brown rice, roasted zucchini, red onion, red bell pepper

6. serving of 2% cottage cheese w/sliced mango, nut and seed crunch bar

Now for the numbers! There hasn't been many changes as far as measurements but my weight did go down a bit. I did not take pics but I will probably do that sometime next week.

Measurements (5/24) 7/10/09
Weight - (128.5) 124
Waist - (27 1/4) 27 1/8
Hips - (35) 34 15/16
Arm - (9 3/4) 9 3/4
Leg - (19 4/8) 19 1/2
Calf - (15) 14 1/4
Flexed bicep - (11) 11
Chest (under) - (26 1/2) 26 1/2
Chest - (30 1/4) 30 1/4

Tomorrow my husband and sister are running a 5 mile race and the kids and I will be there to cheer them on. Then we will hit the beach.

Not sure if I'm going to workout on Sunday or start my week off tomorrow.

Workout and Meals 7/9/09

Another day closer to a rest week! I'm excited now but within a day or two I'll be bored.
Here's my day:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink w/brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/blueberries, serving of Mrs. Mays fruit and nut crunch

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/roasted zucchini, red onion, red bell pepper, feta cheese on a brown rice tortilla, watermelon

4. sugar snap peas w/3tablespoons hummus

5. ground turkey breast w/organic taco seasoning on 2 small sprouted corn tortillas, with some homeade quacamole, some shredded cheese, and salsa

6. serving of 2% cottage cheese w/sliced mango, nut and seed crunch bar

Workout
New Rules of Lifting for Women, Phase 1 workout B
For this last workout B you do as many reps as you can with your starting weight followed by 60 seconds rest for all the exercises.

5 min bike warm up, bridges

deadlift - 50 lbs for 30 reps
db shoulder press - 8 lb db for 30 reps
wide grip lat pulldown - 50 lbs for 25 reps
lunge - 8 lb db for 30 reps
swiss ball crunch - 45

5 min bike + stretching
Weight portion of this workout was 14:45 so a total of about 27 mins.

Tomorrow I can either flip a tire and run sprints at the track OR take a spin class. Right now aiming for flippin that tire! ;-)

Workout and Meals 7/8/09

I'm a little behind because of a modem issue which ended up not being a modem issue. Long story. Anyhow, I realized one thing without the use of a computer for almost an entire day. I spend too much time on it! I have a laptop in my kitchen and a computer in an office upstairs and each computer has something open on it. I may have a serious problem. I don't watch TV much at all in the evenings but I do spend that time on the computer. I think I am going to cut back a bit.

Here was my day:
a.m. - workout - track sprint intervals. all out sprints on the straights and walking the curves.
1. syntrax nectar protein drink
green drink w/1tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/sliced mango, blueberries, and a few raw walnuts

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/roasted zucchini, red onion, and red bell pepper, feta cheese, watermelon

4. sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons roasted garlic hummus, veggie fries (I was craving salt)

5. 5 oz shrimp cocktail w/my cocktail sauce (organic ketchup, lots of horseradish, and a squeeze of lemon), steamed broccoli, 1/4 c brown rice

6. cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

I was disappointed the bleachers were soaked so no stairs but I did notice there was a big truck tire laying at one end of the football field and a plyometric box on the other end. I didn't do anything with them but I'm thinking of skipping spin on Friday to head back there and give that tire a few flips. I want to use the opportunity before it's not longer available to me! What a way to shake up training.

In all the free time I had in the evening I was able to practice swings with my brand new 12 kg kettlebell. I also did five naked turkish get ups on each side. I practiced the swings in my foyer on a wood floor with no shoes and TGUs on a rug in my bedroom. I would have went outside but it was dusk and mosquitos like me a little too much. ;-)
This is what I did with the swings.
10 swings, 30 sec rest
10 swings, 30 sec rest
15 swings, 30 sec rest
15 swings, 30 sec rest
10 swings
I felt during this practice that going over 15 was compromising form so I stopped there. Then I moved on to the TGU practice. It was fun and a nice way to wind down the day.

After a quick shower, I sat and read Enter the Kettlebell by Pavel. An entertaining read and I picked up alot of information from it.

All in all, I felt I got quite a few things accomplished. I definitely want to continue with kettlebell practice a few times a week just to get the basics down. I'm in no rush. I just want to have fun.

What's the point of doing it if it's not fun?

Workout and Meals 7/7/09

Well here it is two days after the weekend and I'm still dragging a bit. I feel like I need to catch up on some sleep or something. Not to worry, next week I will be taking off to rest up between Phase 1 and 2 of NROL4W so plenty of time to sleep then.

Here's my day:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink w/brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/ 1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/blueberries and raw walnuts

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/roasted zucchini, red onion, red pepper, feta cheese, 1/2 avocado, and some watermelon, green tea

4. raw sugar snap peas & red bell pepper w/3 tablespoons roasted garlic hummus

5. 3 oz salmon burger, 1/2 cup brown rice, steamed broccoli

6. snack pack cottage cheese, mango, nut and seed crunch bar

Workout
This was one of the final workouts of Phase 1 of NROL4W which are set up a little differently. You do as many reps as you can with the weight you started the program with, then rest for 60 seconds, then move on to the next exercise. For most of the exercises I felt I could have done more but I didn't want to compromise good form for reps.

squat - 45 lb olympic bar for 25 reps
push up - 30 reps
seated row - 80lb for 27 reps
step up - 8 lb db for 32 reps
prone jackknifes 45

Wow I was sweating after this! I didn't have my stop watch so I didn't know how long this took but I did my usual 5 mins of the bike before and after and stretching.

In other news, I got my 12kg kettlebell today and I'm excited to get in some practice! I am planning a workout for Sunday which will probably be my final workout day before my week off. I am not quite sure what I will do with myself for a week. Maybe I can still drag strollers in the sand at the beach and swim in the pool with my son? ;-)

Catching up after the July 4th Weekend!

Well, it was a busy weekend filled with the regular Independence Day festivities. Bbqs, beach, pool, fireworks, a road trip, and kids off of their sleep schedules. Fun! I'm going to start by going over the workouts over the last several days. Food intake was pretty much the usual stuff with some bbq stuff and sushi thrown in. I'll go over that briefly as well.

Friday, July 3rd -
Workout - spin class
My typical diet during the day, a bbq in the evening. I had some bbq chicken, potato salad, shrimp cocktail, mozzerella, proscuitto, roasted red pepper kabobs, and then a fondue bar! Of course I had to have a few each of marshmallows, pound cake, and strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Saturday, July 4th -
New Rules of Lifting for Women, Workout B

Warm up - bike 5 mins plus bridges

deadlift 45x5 warm up, then 3x8 - 70, 75, 85

alternating
db shoulder press 10x5 warm up, then 3x8 - 12, 15, 20
wide grip lat pulldown 3x8 - 60, 70, 70

alternating
lunge 3x8 - 15, 15, 20
swiss ball crunch 3x15

cool down - 5 mins bike plus stretching
Weight portion of this workout was 28:35, altogether about 40 mins.

Eating was the usual stuff during the day. We ordered sushi for dinner. Salmon sashimi, spicy tuna eel avocado roll, and a shrimp tempura roll.

Sunday, July 5th
OFF from workouts
We traveled up to Long Island which isn't that far mileage wise but traffic is just terrible. It was about 3.5 hours each way. I had my normal green drink and green tea then greek yogurt/nuts for a snack. From there I'm just all over the place. I had some of my cousin's sangria which was fabulous! I made good choices at the buffet considering the options. I had salad and chicken franchaise. I stayed away from sausage and peppers, six foot subs, creamy mac and potato salads etc. but of course I had to have a piece of special made strawberry shortcake and a small brownie for dessert. Ugh! I'm a sucker for dessert!

This brings us to today Monday, July 6th
Workout - spin class
Back to the grind of clean eating. Here's what I ate today:
1. after workout - syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - green drink w/1 tblspoon flax oil, green tea

2. Fage 0% fat plain greek yogurt w/fresh picked blueberries (my mom picked them on Saturday), mrs mays nut berry crunch

3. cold thai green curry shrimp and veges w/ 1/4 cup white rice. I was at the beach and this tasted yummy cold!

4. watermelon and blueberries, mrs mays nut berry crunch

5. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/roasted vegetables (sliced green and yellow zucchini, thin sliced red onion, red pepper tossed w/EVOO, italian seasoning and salt and pepper then roasted in a 425 oven for 20 - 25 mins stirring occasionally so onions don't burn), feta cheese, and 1/2 avocado, green tea

6. snack pack cottage cheese w/sliced mango (SO good!), nut and seed crunch

Tomorrow morning I'll be doing one of two bonus workouts at the end of Phase 1 of NROL4W. I'm looking forward to seeing how strong I've gotten.

The plan for this week:
Monday - spin
Tuesday - lift
Wednesday - track sprints at the crack of dawn
Thursday - lift
Friday - spin
Saturday - OFF
Sunday - not sure yet

Separately, I was just thinking about my every day activities and chores and how it really requires me to be in good physical shape. When I think back on today, I can come up with a bunch of instances where I needed some foundation of functional fitness to complete tasks.
1. carrying and loading laundry
2. packing the truck with beach gear
3. getting the kids into the truck. I am still required to have my daughter in an infant carrier until she is a year old. That car seat with her in it heavy!
4. unloading the car for the walk to the beach
5. dragging the stroller and beach caddy in the sand and back
6. unpacking all our beach stuff, then packing it back up
7. doing laps in the pool with my son for a 1/2 hr this afternoon
8. unloading, folding, then carrying laundry back up the stairs
9. bathe and play with the kids

It's alot to do in a day! I am exhausted just typing it. I was pretty winded after the stroller drag in the sand. I am not one for monitoring numbers in heart rate or calories but I am curious about this task. I am thinking about blowing the dust off my heart rate monitor the next time I'm going to beach to see just how hard I'm working :).

Workout and Meals 7/2/09

I got up this morning at 5:30 am to do my weight workout in my new Chucks. I will say there is a huge difference. Those cushy running sneakers were doing me NO favors!

Here's my day:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. immediately following - syntrax nectar protein drink w/brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop of Miracle Reds, serving of Mrs Mays nut berry crunch

3. 2 egg whites, 1 egg in a brown rice tortilla with salsa and chopped raw red bell pepper, honeydew and watermelon salad

4. chocolate almond smoothie -2 tablespoons raw almonds, 1 pitted date, 1 small frozen banana, 1 cup cold water, 1/2 tablespoon each of raw cacao nibs, ground flax seed, and hemp powder.

5. SPICY thai green curry w/shrimp, green beans, and zucchini over 1/4 c white rice

6. cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

Workout
New Rules of Lifting Phase 1 workout A

warm up - 5 mins bike + bridges

squat - warm up 45x5, then 3x8 - 65, 75, 80

alternating
push up 3x8
seated row 3x8 - 90, 100, 110

alternating
step up 3x8 - 15, 15, 20
prone jackknife - 3x15

cool down - 5 mins bike + stretching
Weight portion of the workout 28:48 so about 40 mins total.

I could never seem to progress in my squats. Now I know why (form and footwear),but for the longest time I couldn't get past 70 lbs. Well today I did 80 so I'm thrilled. Now that phase 1 is nearly complete I'm a little bummed. I would have really liked to keep working at it but I'll move on and see where the program leads me. By next Thursday I'll be done with phase 1.

Tomorrow I think I am going to take a spin class but I could change my mind and hit the track. We'll see how I feel in the morning!

Workout and Meals 7/1/09

Wow, first day of July! That means I've been going at this pace for 9 months and that my daughter is 10 1/2 months old. I can't believe I'm planning her first birthday party! Where does time go? The little extra time I have, I've spent working towards my goal of getting leaner. The only way I know how to do that is high intensity short duration workouts, change it up often, and watch the food intake. Which brings me to today's meals and workout.

Here it is:

a.m. - workout - treadmill intervals from 8 to 10 mph in .5 increments and down again. 23 min intervals, but 30 mins total time and 2.75 miles
1. syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop Miracle Reds, Mrs Mays nut berry crunch

3. 6 inch turkey and provolone on wheat from Subway w/green pepper, tomato, cucumber, vinegar, and black pepper, water

4. snack pack cottage cheese, watermelon and honeydew melon salad

5. thai shrimp green curry w/green beans and zucchini over 1/4 c white rice

6. cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

My mom is on vacation from work this week and I was out shopping with her and the kids today. My choices for lunch were Nathan's hot dogs, pizza, or Subway. Now I probably could have gotten a salad but the chicken breasts were kind of weird looking and I was in the mood for a sandwich. I figured a wheat roll was better than white pita bread. I skipped the chips and got a water. Maybe some extra carbs will give me some extra energy to squat massive weight tomorrow? Let's hope so!

Workout and Meals 6/30/09

I was up bright and early at 5:30 a.m. to get my lifting done!

Here's my day:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink w/brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/organic spinach, kale, collards, celery, cucumber, parsley, ginger, apple, lemon juice, apple juice, 1 tablespoon flax oil mixed in and a cup of green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/a mango and Mrs Mays nut berry crunch

3. 3 oz chicken breast, green beans, 1/4 c quinoa, watermelon

4. snack pack cottage cheese, cherries

Meals 5 and 6 - Girl's night at a friends house. Snacks and fajitas are on the menu : ).

Workout
New Rules of Lifting for Women, Phase 1 workout B

warm up - 5 mins bike, bridges
deadlift - 45x5 warm up, then 3x8 - 65, 70, 80

alternating
db shoulder press 3x8 - 12, 15, 20
wide grip lat pulldown 3x8 - 60, 70, 70

alternating
lunge 3x8 - 12, 15, 15
swiss ball crunch 3x15

cool down - 5 mins bike + stretching
Weight portion of this workout was 28:48 so about 40 mins total.

My deadlift weight is going up now that my form has improved greatly and I've been doing it barefoot. I noticed some instability doing lunges with my running sneakers so I did go out and purchase my Chucks today. I hope things improve in future workouts.

I am just terrible at wide grip lat pulldowns. In most cases, my grip gives before I can finish the set. I really need to work on this. Looking forward to incorporating some kettlebell training and maybe some farmer's walks to help me with grip strength.

Also, I can normally use 20 lb dumbells for a shoulder push press and today was able to do regular shoulder presses with the 20s so nice improvement there.

If the weather is nice tomorrow morning, I'm going to rock the sprints and stairs at my local high school track with my friend Gymboss. If it's not so nice, I'll head to the gym for sprint intervals.

Workout and Meals 6/29/09

Monday again and the start of a busy week. I tried another raw meal for meal 5 today.

Here's my day:

a.m. - workout - spin class
1. syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/handful of blueberries, Mrs. Mays nut and fruit crunch

3. 3 oz chicken breast, roasted asparagus, 1/4 c quinoa

4. cottage cheese snack pack, cherries

5. zucchini spaghetti w/raw sun dried tomato marinara sauce, 5 oz shrimp cocktail (not raw)

6. watermelon, nut and seed crunch bar

The spaghetti was good but it called for briefly stir frying the zucchini in coconut oil which is supposed to be tasteless when used for frying. I felt you could really taste it so I would use extra virgin olive oil next time. Otherwise it was good. Here's a pic for you.


Tomorrow gonna hit the weights!

Update on Workouts and Plans for Upcoming Week

I have been slacking on my workout and meal posts but not to fear everything is moving along nicely. My eating has been the same. I didn't try any new raw food recipes but I have one planned for next week. Last night we went to dinner with some friends, and my husband and I had sushi and I had a glass of red wine because I didn't love the dessert menu. I was either going to do a glass of red wine or dessert ;-).

Here were my workouts from last week:
Wednesday - OFF
Thursday - run - treadmill sprints
Friday - lift
Saturday - OFF
Sunday - lift

Here are the details of Friday's and Sunday's workouts:

Fri, 6/26 - NROL4W, Phase 1 workout B
5 mins bike
deadlift - 45x5 warm up, then 3x10 - 60, 65, 75

alternating
db shoulder press 10x6 warm up, then 3x10 - 12, 15, 15
wide grip lat pulldown 50x5 warm up, then 3x10 - 60, 60, 70

alternating
lunge 3x10 - 10, 12, 15
swiss ball crunch 3x12
5 mins bike + stretching

Weight portion of the workout 31:16 plus bike and streching about 44 mins.

Sunday, 6/28 NROL4W Phase 1 workout A
5 mins bike
squat -45x5 warm up, then 3x8 -60, 65, 70

alternating
push up 3x8
seated row 3x8 - 90, 100, 110

alternating
step up 3x8 - 12, 15, 20
prone jackknife 3x15 (this was tough!)
5 mins bike
Weight portion was 26:43 plus bike and stretching about 40 mins.

I'm down to the final workouts in Phase 1 which are 3 sets of 8 reps. I felt stronger in today's workout especially with the squats because I did them barefoot. I am positive this has improved my squat tremendously in addition to the workshop I attended last Wednesday which really helped with my form. I feel that a previous knee injury has kept me from really being able to push the weights when it comes to squats and deadlifts but now I feel more confident in my form so we'll see what happens in future workouts.

This is my plan for next week:
Monday - spin
Tuesday - lift + sprints
Wednesday - OFF (or sprints if not done Tuesdsay)
Thursday - lift
Friday - sprints or spin
Saturday - lift
Sunday - OFF

I've got to take Sunday off instead of Saturday next week because I will be traveling up to Long Island for a family bbq. I have many eating challenges next week. Tuesday night I've got a girl's night get together and I'm bringing spinach dip with tons of vegetables. Friday night I have a bbq and Sunday I will be traveling in a car for a few hours each way with a bbq in between. UGH! So as always I must stick to the workout schedule!

What challenges do you have in the coming week? Have you adjusted your plan accordingly?

Functional Fitness and Combat Conditioning Workshop: An Overview

I was excited and truly grateful that I was able to attend this workshop. My husband took a half day off work to be with the kids while I headed off to the Israeli Krav Maga Training Center in Hamilton, NJ.

Upon walking into the training center, I saw good sized group of people. I'd say about 40 people, mainly men and I was 1 of about 6 women. The first thing I noticed was the varying ages of the people. It was great to see!

We all started by taking our socks and shoes off and entering the training area. From here Dr. Cheng started talking about the two things that will hold you back in your training: 1. not paying attention to the details, and; 2. being overconfident.

We then started with basic squatting/deadlifting technique. Keeping the feet facing forward and flat on the ground, and pushing the knees outward and hips back while squatting. He had us partner up and had our partners watch our form and give feedback. Were the arches of the feet lifting? Were the knees buckling in during a part of the movement? He also had our partners kneel down and put their hands on the lateral part of the knee and gently push medially while we tried to squat and fight the resistance and push the knees outward. This is known as Reactive Neuromuscular Training or RNT to help reprogram the nervous system to perform the squat effectively.

This by far was the most interesting part of the workshop for me. I recently posed the question on Twitter about what shoes one should wear while lifting and most people responded with either nothing, or something with a little cushioning like Chuck Taylors, or Vibram 5 Fingers. I asked Dr. Cheng the same question, and he agreed with those suggestions. I couldn't believe how the muscles in my feet and ankles were just untrained. It took me a while to be able to keep my feet flat on the ground while performing the squat without weight! Imagine I was adding weight in the form of a barbell and plates while doing this dysfunctional squat!

From there, we learned the swing and Dr. Cheng said I should use a 16kg kettlebell which I thought might be too much but it was fine! Once the form is good, it is much easier. We also learned the deadlift. We learned turkish get ups without kettlebells, also known as naked turkish get ups. Wow! An amazing amount of detail in this exercise. Dr. Cheng said we should not even think about adding a kettlebell until we can do 5 good form turkish get ups on each side. I better get practicing!

The workshop was assisted by a few local RKCs. One of them, George Samuelson, did a short write up on the workshop and you can find it here.

All in all a very interesting and informative workshop. 4 hours went by so quickly! I feel as though I am still taking in and processing all of the information. If you have the chance to take a workshop with Dr. Cheng, you most certainly will not regret it. Keep an open mind and be willing to learn!

Workout and Meals 6/23/09

This morning I got up to do NROL4W Phase 1 workout A. Still at 3 sets of 10 for the exercises and I increased my weights slightly.

Here's my day:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink w/brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop of Miracle Reds, serving of Mrs. Mays nut berry crunch

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/black bean avocado salsa, a pear

4. raw organic cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. My raw food dinner experiment! From the Thrive book, we had almond flax burgers w/spicy sun dried tomato marinara sauce. I served it with a side salad of spinach, red onion, red pepper, string beans, balsamic vinegar and EVOO. Here's a photo for your viewing pleasure!

I thought the burger was very dense. I couldn't finish it or the salad. I ended up feeling really stuffed. It was tasty but not sure if it agrees with me. My husband liked it though. I would try a different burger recipe from the book.

6. cherries, nut and seed crunch

Workout
NROL4W Phase 1 workout A

5 mins bike then some bridges

squats - warm up 45x5, then 3x10 - 55, 65, 65

alternating
push up 3x10
seated row 3x10 - 80, 90, 100

alternating
step up 3x10 - 12, 15, 15
prone jackknife 3x12

5 mins bike + stretching. Weight portion of the workout was 28:40 + bike and stretching about 40 mins total.

Since I will be going to a kettlebell workshop tomorrow afternoon, I will not be getting up to workout tomorrow morning. Nice!

Looking forward to learning new stuff and meeting some great people!

Workout and Meals 6/22/09

Monday again! That means my favorite 5:45 am spin class! The week has started off right :).

Here's my day:

a.m. - workout - 45 min spin class
1. after shower - green drink w/2 tablespoons hemp protein powder, 1 tablespoon flax oil, organic coffee w/organic 1% milk

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/handful blueberries, serving of Mrs Mays nut berry crunch

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/black bean avocado salsa, a pear

4. raw chocolate almond smoothie - a frozen banana, 1 pitted date, 1 c cold water, 1/2 tablespoon each hemp protein powder, raw cacao nibs, flax meal. Delicious!

5. raw organic broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas w/2 tablespoons hummus, then 3 oz grilled shrimp, 1/4 c quinoa, green beans, green tea

6. cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

I am loving this raw chocolate almond smoothie but I am finding I miss eating my regular raw vegetable and hummus snack so I just added it in with dinner!

Tomorrow I am making a raw food dinner for me and my husband. Stay tuned to see how it comes out!

Workout and Meals 6/21/09

Nothing like DOMS to greet you with a slap in the face first thing in the morning! Wow! Even though I was sore from yesterday's workout, I still felt okay to run some steady state. It was pouring rain this morning (what else is new) so I headed for the gym. Walked for a few minutes to warm up and BAM, the iPod battery is dead! UGH! Cannot run steady state without music. I walked for 3 mins then did 1 min intervals (from 8 to 10 mph) followed by 2 min rests (at 3.5 mph), then walked the last 5 mins. Total of 2.5 miles in 30 mins.

Here was my food intake today:

workout
1. green drink w/ lots of greens, 2 tablespoons hemp protein, 1 tablespoon flax oil

2. chobani plain greek yogurt, handful of blueberries, Mrs. Mays nut berry crunch

3. Father's day celebration! Few baked tortilla chips with black bean avocado salsa. Then about 2 oz filet mignon, 1/2 baked potato w/a little butter, 6 grilled shrimp, green beans. I had a tiny piece of tiramisu cake and then a 1/2 of a cannoli with a chocolate dipped shell. HELLO! Cup of green tea.

4. 6 grilled shrimp, 1/2 baked potato (no butter), green beans

5. cherries, nut and seed crunch

Here's the projected plan for next week:
Sunday - run sprint intervals
Monday - spin
Tuesday - lift (a.m.)
Wednesday - kettlebell workshop (2 - 6 pm)
Thursday - OFF or run
Friday - lift
Saturday - OFF or run
Sunday - lift

I am going to be spinning tomorrow morning bright and early!

Kettlebell Training and Meals 6/20/09

This morning I woke up excited and ready to learn kettlebell basics! After having my green drink and some green tea, my sister and I headed off to Jersey Shore Crossfit. When we arrived, the morning Crossfit class was just winding down. They were doing their stretching and it looked like people of varying ages and ability levels. I'd say there were about 20+ people there.

Mike Stehle, one of the owners, was super friendly. We started with learning a basic squat movement. From there he went into kettlebell swings, one arm swings, cleans, clean and press, clean front squats, two arm high pull, one arm high pull, and thrusters. I used an 8kg kettlebell and that seemd fine to start with. Thankfully there were only 5 of us in the class so he was able to spend some time observing and correcting our form. I really like the explosive nature of the movements. After that we did push ups, inverted rows with rings, and assisted band pull ups. I felt it was a good overview of the basics in this hour and half class. Just enough to make me want to know more and practice the exercises!

Next Wednesday, I will be attending a 4 hour workshop in Hamilton, NJ taught by Dr. Mark Cheng and I hope to learn even more! I think after this workshop I can probably get started one to two days a week in practice and if I feel like I need some assistance, I will certainly set up a private lesson with Mike Stehle. My first impression of kettlebell training is that it is very technical and you really shouldn't jump into it without getting some instruction by an RKC. You can find a qualified RKC in your area by clicking here and entering your zip code.

Seperately, I tried some different things in my diet today. These were my meals for the day:

1. green drink w/kale, collards, red swiss chard, spinach, celery, cucumber, parsley, ginger, apple, lemon juice, apple juice, 2 tablespoons hemp protein powder, 1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop Miracle Reds, serving of Mrs Mays nut/fruit crunch

3. 2 egg white, 1 egg omelet w/salsa, raw diced red pepper, and 1/2 avocado

4. raw chocolate banana smoothie (from the Thrive book)
1/4 cup raw almonds, 2 cups cold water, 1 banana, 2 pitted dates, 1 tablespoon each of hemp powder, raw cacao nibs, flax meal (serves 2)

5. Sushi Saturday - salad w/ginger dressing, side order of bean sprouts, 1 order salmon sashimi, 1 order Toms River roll (spicy tuna and avocado inside w/salmon on top)

6. cherries w/nut and seed crunch bar

For those not familiar with hemp protein powder, it is a raw food powder made from the hemp plant. It is usually imported from Canada because it's illegal to grow hemp in the U.S. It has no gluten, dairy, lactose, or artificial sweeteners. I paid $12.99 for a 16 oz container of Nutiva Organic. I will say the raw chocolate banana smoothie was delicious! High in antioxidants and easy to make. I would definitely make it again.

I am feeling a little sore but nothing terrible. Probably going to run tomorrow. I haven't done that since last Wednesday. Tomorrow I will also be updating my training and goals for next week!

Raw Food Crazy and Meals 6/19/09

I think I have gone raw food crazy. Really! I took the kids to the library today and came home with 4 books:

Eating in the Raw by Carol Alt
Eat Smart Eat Raw - Creative Vegetarian Recipes for a Healthier Life by Kate Wood
Everyday Raw by Matthew Kenney
Vegetarian Sports Nutrition - Food choices and eating plans for fitness and performance by D. Enette Larsen-Meyer PhD, RD

The truth is I love to read books about diet and fitness and I love cookbooks. I can't get enough of either. The library is great because it doesn't cost a thing and I might learn something new!

This afternoon I did my food shopping for the few raw meals I am going to cook or should I say NOT cook next week! I'm curious to see if there is anything I'd keep in my diet.

I didn't work out today. Instead I chose to relax and I'm feeling rested so I'm ready to kick butt tomorrow.

Here's my meals for today:

1. syntrax nectar protein drink, then greens drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, green tea

2. chobani plain greek yogurt w/handful blueberries, serving of Mrs Mays nut berry crunch

3. 1/2 c chickpeas, 1/2 c quinoa, few tablespoons salsa, diced raw red pepper

4. raw organic broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, w/3 tablespoons roasted garlic hummus

5. spinach salad w/raw green beans, grape tomato, 1/2 diced avocado, asian dressing served w/4 oz shimp cocktail (w/cocktail sauce), green tea

6. cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to learn basic kettlebell exercises and get a sampling of the workout they do at Jersey Shore Crossfit. Hopefully I won't be too sore to go for a run on Sunday!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post!

Workout and Meals 6/18/09

I went to bed early last night and got up at 4:30 am. I guess going to bed early really doesn't do much for me. The plus was that I was definitely well rested and ready for my workout this morning!

Here's how the day went:

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink w/brown rice cake
after shower - green drink w/1 tablespoon flax oil, organic coffee w/organic 1% milk

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop Miracle Reds, serving of almonds

3. salad with 3 oz organic chicken breast, spinach, grape tomatoes, slivered almonds and asian dressing, a pear, green tea

4. organic raw cauliflower and sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons Sabra roasted garlic hummus. YUM!

5. 1/2 c black beans, 1/2 c quinoa, few tablespoons of salsa, diced raw red pepper, green tea

6. snack pack cottage cheese, handful of cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

Workout
NROL4W Phase 1 workout B

5 min bike warm up followed by bridges

deadlift - warm up 45x6, then 3x10 - 60, 60, 70

alternating
db shoulder press - warm up 10x6, then 3x10 - 12, 12, 15
wide grip lat pulldown - warm up 50x6, then 3x10 - 60, 60, 70

alternating
lunge - warm up 8x5, then 3x10 - 10, 12, 12
swiss ball crunch - 3x12

5 min bike cool down + stretching

Weight portion was 29:29 with bike and stretching about 42 mins.

Debating what I'm going to do tomorrow. I'm thinking either spin or sleep. I've got that Kettlebell Foundations class on Saturday morning so I may need to rest up!

Workout and Meals for 6/17/09

I was up until 11:30 pm last night watching TV and that is pretty late for me. I did manage to get up this morning for my workout but somehow was just not in the mood to hit the gym. I took a detour to my favorite workout place, the local high school track. It was 6 am, a crisp 50 degrees which is perfect running weather.

Here's the workout I did:
light jog around the track
8 rounds 30 second sprints, followed by 1 min rests
6 rounds stadium stairs with 5 vertical jumps no rest
light jog around the track
stretching

I didn't have my watch with me (thankfully threw Gymboss in my bag) but this took under 40 mins total.

Meals
a.m. - workout
1. syntrax nectar protein drink
after shower - green drink w/spinach, kale, collards, red swiss chard, celery, cucumber, parsley, ginger, apple, lemon juice, apple juice, 1 tablespoon flax oil added after blended, green tea

2. 1 cup strawberry kefir w/scoop Miracle Reds, serving of almonds

3. 3 oz organic chicken breast w/black bean avocado salsa, a pear

4. organic cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas w/3 tablespoons hummus

5. 3 oz chicken burger, 1/2 cup quinoa, roasted asparagus, green tea

6. cottage cheese snack pack, small handful raw cacao nibs, cherries, nut and seed crunch bar

A friend recently asked me what I do with a bunch of red swiss chard and I told her that I throw it in a green drink I make every morning. Her response to that was, "If I didn't work I'd do that too". So that had me thinking how much time it REALLY takes to drink greens in the morning. Well, this morning I timed it. 14 minutes. That's to take the vegetables out wash and rough chop them and blend them. Clean up is easy. Wash the blender. Just because I'm home I have all the time in the world? With two littles I really don't have the time! It really just goes to show if it's important enough to you, you find the 14 minutes to fit it in. I like alot of variety in my drinks but you could take 3 ingredients and make a drink. It's still whole foods you are consuming, just blended in a drink!

Tomorrow morning is lifting! Looking forward to a good night's rest!