I'm going to Bootcamp...again!

Well hello again. Things have been pretty crazy around here. Some how we are less than a month away from our wedding (seriously, how did that happen) and we are in full-on wedding mode. I am soaking in every moment because I know it is going to be over before we know it.

Anyways, with little time left before I have to walk down the aisle in my white dress, it's time to start Round 4 of Best Body Bootcamp. You already know I loved Tina Reale's Best Body Bootcamp and I am excited to start it back up today after the last couple of weeks "off" from BBB.

(source)

At first I was a little nervous about being "off" from BBB. What was I going to do? Was I going to be motivated? Would I loose the muscle definition I had just worked hard for? I was worried how hard it was going to be to stay active and in the shape without BBB and through the holidays. But you know what? I made it work! Did I workout as much? No, but the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge helped to motivate me as well as the upcoming wedding and dress fittings!

So what did I do?

• I stuck to the same "routine" that Tina had used for BBB - alternating days of strength/circuit training with cardio and core work.
• At first, I tried some workouts from Jamie Eason's Live Fit Training Program but something about it just doesn't keep my attention the same way. Plus they take longer! 
• Thanks to Tina's help, I went back to one of the phase's of BBB from round 3 and used that as a guide! Some days I would incorporate additional arm/core work or some days I would increase the time on the treadmill. On the "cardio" days, I would find some routine from Pinterest or try something different like spin or yoga.

We were mailed phase one workouts last week and I was excited to see an entirely new workout routine. I didn't think that was possible given all the variety that was given to us in last round, but Tina is just that amazing.

Last round, I didn't take any measurements or pictures beforehand, but did notice a positive change in my body. This round I was excited to see Tina included a fitness test for us to perform before starting Phase One. Yesterday was my "rest" day, but I headed to the gym to complete the fitness test and look forward to checking my progress through out the rounds! I feel like I am in pretty good shape right now and feel good about my fitness test, so it will definitely be interesting to see the change throughout the weeks and to push myself more!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year friends! I'm feeling a little groggy hungover this morning, but wanted to stop in and say hello and share my 2013 goals with you.

2012 was such a good year, but I can't wait for 2013 especially since we are getting married :)

(source)

You see, I'm not interested in making resolutions. But I want to make goals. Goals to push myself further and goals to enrich my life more.

I don't think I documented my 2012 goals anywhere, but I set some "mini" goals that I most certainly accomplished:

• Trained and ran my first half marathon
• Got a new (old) job where I am much happier
• Cook and meal plan - I do this regularly
• Get fit for the wedding - I currently feel amazing but just trying to tone my arms up a little more!
• Read a book a month - I didn't accomplish this one by any means, but I do try to read every night before bed. 

My goals for 2013 aren't too different, but just a little more challenging!

• Run two half marathons - currently eyeing the Run to Remember in Boston in June and the Newport one again in October
• Start cycling again and incorporate rides into my fitness regimen
• Sprint Triathalon - this is a goal that has been in the back of my head and now that I wrote it down, I guess I have to look into it ;)
• Get involved with volunteering - pets or kids!
• Read a book a month - carrying this one over from 2012!
• Bring Peanut on more walks - she'll like this one! Regular walks sort of took a back burner to my training and morning gym workouts, but this little lady certainly deserves more walks.
• Be the best wife to my new soon-to-be husband :)

Lots to look forward to in 2013! I'm going to start this year off right with bootcamp with a girlfriend followed by brunch. Happy New Year!

Best Body Bootcamp Round 3: You Should Sign Up Too

As you guys already know, I was a huge fan of Tina's Best Body Bootcamp. So much in fact, that I have felt lost at the gym without it. So, I went ahead and signed up for Round 4, and this is why you should too.

I have a hard time sticking to diet plans and even workout plans. I tried Jamie Eason's Live Fit trainer for all of two or three weeks and then quit. Diet's are hard when you live with a man whose body doesn't even care that he just ate a whole bag of chips. His abs still show. So at first I was a little skeptical about signing up (and spending money) on an online bootcamp class. But after reading other blogger's reviews and seeing Julie complete it twice, I was definitely intrigued. So I signed up! And I even got my BFFL, Tayla, to sign up with me.

8 weeks later, and I successfully completed every single workout. Yes, I took a day here or there, but for the most part, I stuck with it and am definitely seeing the benefits:

• My arms are more defined. I never thought this was possible, but I actually have arm definition! Which is awesome since I will be wearing a wedding dress in less than two months.
• I am not longer afraid of burpees, squats, lunges or any other lower body work. 
• Working out the booty helped me increase my running mile times. I completed a Thanksgiving Day 5 Mile Road race in 40 minutes! My miles were 30 seconds faster than when I trained and ran my 1/2.
• Got me into a routine and held me accountable. I loved having the spreadsheet that Tina and I shared. It held me accountable, but also helped me see what I was doing each week.
• I set goals and I reached them. I know goal setting is good, but I never really did it until now. 
• You can win $100/week and $1000 at the end. I didn't win, but pay $25 and you get a chance to win $1000 just for working out and meeting your goals? Talk about motivation!
• You can do the workouts at home with little equipment! A lot of the participants easily do this!
• I feel more in shape than I have in a LONG time. Before BBB, I would go to the gym and do my thing, but would never see results. BBB has taught me so many new exercises, ways to train, and that sticking with something = results.

I didn't take measurements or before and after pictures. But my clothes definitely fit a little looser and I feel more toned than ever before. While I wait for the next round of BBB to start, I am continuing with weight and circuit training as much as I can. I plan to start off a little harder with the next round, as I will be even closer to my wedding day and know that I will see results if I work hard and stay with it.

And that my blogsphere friends, is why you should sign up for the next round of Best Body Bootcamp too.

Another Week of Meals & Plans

Every week I make a plan. I plan my eats, workouts, and what I think I want to blog about. Then I eat, workout, and forget to blog. These weeks are going by so fast and before I know it, it's Friday and another week is gone.

But, here we are, another Monday and another week of planning!

We went out Saturday night and woke up a bit groggy. But with less than 2 months (o-m-g) til our wedding, I knew I wanted to get to grocery shopping and prepping for the week. It's time to get for real serious. I had my dress fitting on Saturday and my next one is in 2 weeks! So I want to feel my extra best :)

Food
Lots of clean eating! Most of these recipes are from Clean Eating Magazine and a Cooking Light cookbook I picked up at Home Goods (steal!)

Monday: Slow cooker white bean chili from Clean Eating Magazine. Prepped and in the fridge Sunday night!
Tuesday: Spinach-Parm Chicken Skillet with frozen steamed feggies
Wednesday: Visiting some friends for dinner! (I think)
Thursday: Chicken Enchiladas
Friday: Pork & Zucchini Stir Fry
Saturday: Wing it!

Workouts
I'm sad that Best Body Bootcamp is over. BUT it's back in just 3 short weeks! So what am I doing until then? I want to focus more on weights these next couple of weeks. I'll be doing a mixture of online workouts and some workouts from BBB. Then January 7th will be here before we know it!

Last week I announced that I signed up for another challenge, Elf for Health. I have to admit, I properly have taken on too much "extra curricular" stuff. I didn't do very good with the completing the challenges. I have been trying (and will continue this week!) to motivate my elf with some tips that I do during the week, but I am not sure I can sign up for another run.

I'm off to watch the rest of Ashley & JP's Wedding on the Bachelorette. What can I say? It's one of my guilty pleasures. Don't judge.

Weekly Planning & HBBC Check-in!

I didn't get too crazy in the kitchen today. The FH and I had a couple one too many drinks last night and we both were feeling it all day. However, I still made it to the grocery store and managed to tidy the apartment up a bit.

Food
Monday - Trader Joe's Salmon Burger with veggies
Tuesday - Dinner at Mom & Dad's
Wednesday - Pork Chops (any good recipes? I never make these!)
Thursday - Chicken Stir Fry
Friday - Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers

My lunches and snacks pretty much stay the same week to week. Salads, fruits and veggies! Gotta get in my 7-9 servings of freggies everyday!

Workouts
I'm really sad that this is the last week of Best Body Bootcamp until January 7th! I am definitely going to be doing a full recap next week and I think I have already expressed how much I have liked BBB to you, so I won't bore you with too many details. I'm still trying to decide what to do these next couple of weeks. I am thinking about doing the last phase of Jamie Eaton's Bootcamp to keep up with strength training or even going back on a couple weeks from BBB.


Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge
This was the third week of HBBC. So far it's going pretty good, I like how it makes me think about what I am doing each day and motivates me to complete my workouts even if that means going after a long day at work. It has been a little confusing on where to find everything and I wish that there was a spreadsheet like the one BBB has to track our points everyday, instead of doing it once a week. I suppose I could add my own, but I have just been using the print outs and tallying at the end of the week.

Here is how last week shaped up:

HBBC ~ 12/3 - 12/9

Outside Run: 5 miles
Walks with Peanut: 1
Strength Workouts: 3
Cardio: 4
Fruits/Veggie Servings: 6 days
Bonus: 6
Total HBBC Points: 33.1

Week 3 Goal: Drink half my body weight in water everyday. 
Completed! I carry my Camelbak water bottle with me everywhere. Pretty sure my coworkers would know where to return it if I left it in an office room or bathroom because it's always with me.

Week 4 Goal: Stretch or foam roll for at least 10 minutes everyday. I was good about this one week, but then completely stopped once the week was over. My body is definitely more achy after my 5 mile run and workouts last week that I am recycling this goal!

Elf for Health

I also signed up for Elf for Health after seeing some bloggers tweet about it over on Twitter. I am now an Elf for another Elf and we'll be helping each other stay motivated these next two weeks! Looking forward to virtually meeting her and maybe even learning some new things.

Lots going on!

I Sweat Pink!

You might notice I have some fancy new badge in the right hand column on my site...

Guess who was accepted into the Sweat Pink Ambassador program. This girl.

It's funny how things work out. Today I was feeling discouraged with blogging and feeling like I don't have the time to keep up with it. And then, just before the work day ended, I received an email in my inbox.

Well you might be wondering what Sweat Pink is and why applied in the first place? Besides seeing all the other inspiring bloggers who are part of the Sweat Pink community out there, Sweat Pink's mission statement really resonated with me and inspired me to apply to be one of their ambassadors:

"We believe that kicking ass is best done in pretty shoes. We've learned that real woman sweat, and sweat hard. We know that assertiveness, strength, and ambition are the ultimate feminine qualities. We concede that sometimes it takes hours to get ready, but we're also no strangers to just rolling out of bed and going. We're convinced that we run faster in pink shoelaces. We believe in pushing ourselves, and we believe in giving ourselves a break, too. We're all about the rush of endorphins and the thrill of the challenge. We're all for looking great and feeling even better. We're committed to finding our best fit, and making it stick."

 

I'm really excited to embark on this new phase of my blogging journey and hope that I can share some of the love with you along the way!

Weekly Meal Plan & Food: Is it already December?

Hi Guys! Sorry I went a little MIA last week. We are getting really close to the wedding and my life brain is being consumed by my ever growing to-do list. Work is also picking up with it being the last month of the year. Needless to say, I just haven't felt like I have had enough time to blog. I don't want to give it up, but right now, it's just really hard for me to dedicate all my free time to it. So, apologies in advance for more sporadic posting times while I focus on finalizing all my wedding details :)

(flowers from my shower Sunday)

Weekly Plan

This week I didn't do too much planning. Sunday was my Bridal shower, so I did all my grocery shopping on  Saturday and didn't do too much prep. 

Meal Plan

Monday: Leftover Chicken Pot Pie Soup from Skinnytaste. Holy yum, this was delicious. I even made the biscuits with some whole wheat mix from Trader Joe's. They were so easy and so delicious.

Tuesday: Roasted Chicken & Veggies 

Wednesday: Out to dinner for my Aunt's birthday

Thursday: Beef Stir Fry

Friday: Wing It

Saturday: Wing It/Out

Workouts

Monday: Rest day - I needed more sleep after Sunday's long and fun day

Tuesday: BBB workout A + sprints on the treadmill. Ended up completing about 2 miles

Wednesday: Maybe a run outside? I am craving an outdoor run, but am definitely a wuss in the cold. If not, some cardio at the gym + Abs

Thursday: BBB workout B + Intervals

Friday: Cardio + Abs

Saturday: BBB workout C

Sunday: TBD or Rest Day

I'm really sad that it's the last phase of Best Body Bootcamp. I will do a full write up on my review once it is over, but for anyone looking for a great challenge, BBB Round 4 is now open so be sure to head on over and sign up for the next round that starts January 7th!

Something to read:

• Fitfluential's founder, Kelly Olexa, writes an ispiring post about "Thinking Bigger". It includes a highly recommended video from Gary Vaynerchuk. I actually had the pleasure of seeing GV live at a company conference a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed his speech and this was an inspiring reminder of his message. Check it out!

Talk soon! :) 

Weekly Meal & Fitness Plans: Back on Track

Oh Monday, how you always sneak up so quickly. It was so nice to have the last 5 days off of work and to be home with the families. But coming back to a full 5 days of work is sometimes a struggle. What's keeping me going? It's getting closer and closer to the wedding and I can't wait!

Last Week Recap

Last week I did really good with my fitness regimen. I got work outs in Sunday - Friday, running two races and completing all the strength days in Best Body Bootcamp. I took Saturday and Sunday off because my body needed it. My legs were extremely sore from running two races at a pace of under 8 min/miles.

I did not however do as good as I thought I would with eating 7-9 servings of veggies a day. Monday-Weds, I did great. But the rest of the week I really struggled to fit them into my meals when I didn't have as many options or have my meals planned out. It's not an excuse, but it was eye opening to see how I need to do better when traveling... even if it's just to my parent's house.

I am really loving the HBBC for keeping me accountable but also challenging me to set new goals and stick with them. I am looking forward to doing even better this week.

It's a New Week

When we got home I planned out our meals for this week and made sure it included lots of veggies.

• Monday: Chicken Sausage, peppers, onions and spinach "stir fry"
• Tuesday: Crock pot shredded chicken fajita bowl. Tortilla for the FH.
• Wednesday: Fish (TBD) + Asparagus 
• Thursday: Asian Stir Fry
• Friday: Wing It
• Saturday: Wing It

I also took some time (2 hours to be exact) to prep for my breakfasts and lunches this week:

Oven roasted chicken for salads

Salads (4)

Steamed broccoli for salads

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

Quinoa for dinner sides

Chopped pepper, celery, carrots for afternoon snack w/hummus

I also plan to add spinach to my post workout smoothies and eat a pear for my lunch "dessert"

Workouts for the week are courtesy of Week 6's Best Body Bootcamp. Only 2 more weeks to go :( I don't want it to end!

I think I'm ready to get back on track :)

Stuffed

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Each year always seems to be better than the last!

The FH and I headed back to our home town in Central Mass on Wednesday night. It seemed like everyone ended up heading home on Tuesday night, because traffic was non existent... fine by me! We ended up meeting up with a couple friends for bowling before calling it a night.

Thanksgiving Day
Thursday morning I woke up bright and early for my 5 mile road race. It was a little chilly at first, but the weather ended up being perfect for running and I even enjoyed the course despite having been very familiar with it.

My first mile was slower for me and once my legs warmed up I started picking up the pace a bit. I was planning to stay around the pace I held for my half marathon, but I somehow ended up running a lot faster like my 5K on Sunday. My RunKeeper stats were slightly different (what gives?) but official race  times ended up being 40:23. Overall I placed in the 31.2% coming in at 246/789 people and for my age group placed 18/85 in the 21.2%.

I'm pretty excited and proud of both my race times this week. I probably won't be running much more outside until spring, so I am happy to end my 2012 race season on a high note. :)

After the race I met up with an old friend for some celebratory (and well deserved) drinks at a local bar before heading home to finish up my Thanksgiving dishes and head to my aunts. It was a great day and even though I felt like I didn't pile on the food this year, I was still stuffed by the end of it all. We ended the night back at my parents house where we watched the Pats game before calling it a night.

Friday
After waking up today, my mom and I took Peanut on a nice 2 mile walk. It was just what I needed to get my legs moving, as they are definitely sore from the two races this week.

Earlier in the week I had planned to head to a local gym to complete workout C of BBB, but I know my legs need rest and a date with the foam roller. So I created my own little circuit and used some weights and a bench my dad has in the basement.

The circuit was adapted from arm exercises from BBB. I performed the weights in a ladder circuit  with a short burst of cardio in between each exercise. It looked like this

Arnold Shoulder Press

30 seconds Mountain Climbers

Chest Press

30 seconds Jumping Jacks

Plank Rows

30 seconds Mountain Climbers

Lat Shoulder Raises

30 seconds Jumping Jacks

Tricep Dips

30 seconds Mountain Climbers

Underhand Rows

30 seconds Jumping Jacks

Bicep Curls

30 seconds Mountain Climbers

The circuit took about 30 minutes and was exactly what I needed for the day! 

Another walk might be in order for tomorrow, but otherwise I will be resting as my legs really need it before I can tackle all the burpees in next week's workouts :)

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

Anyone score any good Black Friday deals? I don't brave the stores but I do make sure to check online :)

Just Checking In

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Going to make this post short and sweet since I know a lot of people are probably trying to wrap up their work and get out of work for the extra long weekend. I know I am, but wanted to check in!

So far, this week has been incredibly motivating. The HBBC and BBB communities that I am a part of are so motivating. You already know I am a fan of the Best Body Bootcamp, but Holiday Bootie Buster challenge is proving to be pretty awesome too.

Workouts
So far this week's workouts have been going pretty good! I'm still feeling the DOMS from Sunday's 5K, so my legs have been really feeling the burpees and leg work in this week's BBB. I completed workout A on Monday and B today. Today I kept count of the burpees I did in between each round, and completed 130 burpees! I can't say they were the most glamorous (are burpees ever glamorous? probably not), but I pushed through each 60 second set and don't regret it now!

Last night I had every intention of going to a spin class at my favorite spin and yoga studio, Sweat & Soul Yoga. But traffic was so bad (early Thanksgiving commuters?) and by the time I got to the studio it was 7pm and there were no parking spots in sight.

I was pretty frustrated and knew that the FH wouldn't appreciate my bad attitude if I showed up at home, so I headed to the gym since I had the printouts from BBB with me and completed some hard intervals on the elliptical  followed by some ab exercise.

It looked a little bit like this:

• Warm up: 5 minutes at 8
• Increase resistance by 3 and hold for 5 minutes 
• Decrease resistance by 2 and hold for 2 minutes
• Repeat 3x

I couldn't even flip the pages of a magazine or read twitter because I was afraid if I let go of the handles, I wouldn't be able to start up again.

Working out last night after work really solidified for me why I like working out in the morning so much and why it's worth it to roll out of bed at 5:45am. There aren't things like traffic and a hungry stomach in my way.

Food
I've been really loving all the healthy Thanksgiving ideas this week, and was inspired to contribute to my Aunt's Thanksgiving menu with some healthy options:

• Sarah Fit's Ultimate Pumpkin Pie
• Healthier Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes - I'll be interested to see if anyone notices the difference!

Here are some great lists that I used for ideas this week:

• Iowa Girl Eats 30+ Thanksgiving Recipes
• Fitensissta Thanksgiving Recipe Round-Up
• Skinnytaste Thanksgiving Recipes

And a no-excuses workout that will take you a couple minutes in between prepping the food:

• Thanksgiving Week Workout - love this workout from Eating Bird Food. Exercise moves to get your heart rate up but a little strength as well! I might do this on Friday as my Cardio blasts as part of BBB's workout C.

Also, something food related I have been loving? Salads with hummus as my dressing. So much flavor! I can't get enough!

Alright, that was longer than you probably wanted! Off to finish some work and hopefully head out early for the long weekend! Tomorrow I have a 5 mile race on deck and then some cooking to do before relaxing and enjoying the day with family!

Have a great day!

The Plan for Thanksgiving Week

Happy Monday! And it's a Happy Monday indeed for a couple reasons:

• It's a short work week
• Thanksgiving...duh
• Feeling great after PRing a 5K yesterday
• Week 1 of Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge
• Week 5 of Best Body Bootcamp
• Running my first ever Thanksgiving Day race

Sunday I started off the week with a 5K, and I PR'd! Running it in 23:18 with an average pace of 7:34. By far my fastest mile, ever. I am pretty sure I have BBB to thank for that. Proof that booty work really helps.

This week's workouts include Week 5 of the Best Body Bootcamp as well as a Thanksgiving Day 5 mile race!

Goals for this week:
With it being a holiday week that revolves around eating, my goals this week are to help me stay on track! 

• Eat 7-9 servings of fruits and veggies every day
• Complete daily workouts from BBB
• Bring a healthy dish or two to Thanksgiving dinner! 

In addition to my goals for BBB, I really want to clean up my eats more and get a bit more strict. This weekend I overindulged in some late night pizza, and noticed a difference in how I felt for the rest of the weekend. Eating clean really makes me feel better and this weekend reminded me of that.

Alright, time to work! Have a great day :)

PS. You might have noticed I updated my blog a bit, hope it didn't scare you away!

Holiday Challenges

With the wedding about three months away and the holidays right around the corner, I need to stay focused and on track with my fitness goals for the wedding. There is only one major minor obstacle in my way... the Holidays.

It's a hard time of year to stay on track... how can you pass up all those delicious carbs and cocktails? They seem to be everywhere... my mouth is watering just thinking about all the Holiday goodies. But what about all that hard work you completed over the last 11 months? It's important to stay on track during the holidays, especially because of all the hard work you put into getting in shape in the last11 months!

So, what am I doing to stay motivated through the Holidays and continue to tone up for the wedding? Thanks to the amazing blogging community, I have a plan... and anyone who knows me, knows I love plans :)

Best Body Bootcamp
I am in the middle of week four of Tina's Best Body Bootcamp, and love it. I feel stronger and feel like I am toning up! For $25 for 8 weeks, you really can't go wrong. Plus, Tina holds you accountable through a check-in doc that only you and her share via Google Docs.

Since the bootcamp ends on 12/16, I already am starting to think about a plan for what I will do in between then and the next round (set to start in early January). As of right now I am thinking about repeating some of my favorite phases with heavier weights or more challenging moves in order to keep my body challenged.

Thanksgiving Day Race
I signed up to run a 5 mile race on Thanksgiving Day in the town next to where I grew up. Running this race will help to keep me on track during Thanksgiving Eve and Day. I know from half marathon training how taking part in Tday eve festivities will affect my running. So, this year, I'll opt to be the DD or simply stay in. I also know that by putting in time and effort to complete a race on Tday morning, I am going to be more conscious about what I am going to put on my plate for the rest of the day. I will, however, have earned that slice of pumpkin pie for dessert ;)

Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge
Thanks to being a part of the BBB, I learned about HBBC. It's a motivational "bootcamp" to help get everyone through the holiday without the weight gain. Wait, it gets better...stay motivated and check in and you can win free stuff! Who doesn't love free stuff?

Who: Everyone! You'll compete against people at your same level.
When: CHALLENGE STARTS ON NOV 19 - Jan 5
How: Register by clicking the button above
Cost: $25 - goes towards management and mailing of all the prizes


CHALLENGE BASICS

• Earn points for being active during the holidays.
• Earn points for eating 7-9 servings of fruits and veggies.
• Meet other like minded folks to help you stay on track.
• Win prizes!!
• Get answers from experts in nutrition, running, cross fit, yoga and mor

This is perfect timing for me since BBB ends in mid-December. Having HBBC to keep me accountable will help keep me motivated on my own, without having my workouts already planned by Tina each week! So head on over and sign up today! If you are finding out about the HBBC through me, I would greatly appreciate the referral :)

How do you plan to stay motivated through the holidays?

Weekly Plans: Food, Fitness & Goals

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Ours was filled with some quality family and friend time. Nothing crazy, but some good fun.

This morning I am off to Chicago for a day trip to visit with a client. It's going to be a long and tiring day, but it's always nice to get out of the office for a change!

After last week, I am feeling pretty amazing. I managed to get up out of bed every morning before 6am and made it to the gym to complete the workouts in Best Body Bootcamp. I also kept a journal of my meals everyday, which is really helpful and makes you think about what you are eating and why. It's a good way to hold myself accountable. I think I prefer writing things down vs. entering them into my phone.

The FH is taking care of grocery shopping for us today and I planned out meals for the week last night. Here is what my week is shaping up to look like:

Food
Monday: Wing it - I'll be flying and the FH will be on his own
Tuesday: Veggie + Chicken Sausage "stir fry"
Wednesday: Fish + veggie
Thursday: Fajitas - I'll be wrapping mine in lettuce or collard green
Friday: Out!
Saturday: Wing it

Breakfasts - a post-workout whey protein berry smoothie followed by another small breakfast TBD when I get to work
Lunches - Salads w/veggies and a protein
Snacks - Lara bars, ants on a log, veggies + hummus

Fitness
Monday: Traveling
Tuesday: Workout A + Interval A
Wednesday: Intervals B + Core
Thursday: Workout B + Interval B
Friday: Intervals B + Core 
Saturday: Workout C + optional cardio
Sunday: Yoga, Pilates or rest

Goals
It's week four of Tina's Best Body Bootcamp and I need to set two new goals for the week.
1) Drink at least 60 ounces of water a day - with traveling a lot tomorrow, I need to make sure to stay hydrated, so I want to make sure this is a goal I can focus on this week.
2) Take Vitamins - I've been slacking on taking my vitamins these last couple of months - it's time to get back on track!

Happy Monday!

What are your plans and goals for the week?

Tabata Tuesday

Happy Election Day! Did you get out there and vote? I decided to make an attempt before work and lucked out with no lines and was in and out within 10 minutes. I felt a sense of accomplishment as I was walking back to my car.

via my Instagram 

I loved yesterday's ladder sets as part of Best Body Bootcamp. I chose challenging weights and I felt strong as I completed each ladder set. It was a great workout and my muscles felt fatigued.

This morning I woke up not feeling like doing intervals on the elliptical (I try to alternate with my "running" days). I remembered that my gym offers a 30 minute Tabata class that I have taken before, and opted to do that instead.

What's Tabata you ask? It's a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) session that consists of a warm up period of exercise, followed by 6-10 repetitions of high intensity exercise, separated by medium intensity exercise, and ending with a cool down exercise (source).

From my experience, this typically includes 4-6 rounds of 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds or rest for 4-6 rounds, totally about 2-4 minutes of work. For some reasons those 20 seconds always feel minutes longer than the 10 seconds of rest...but I guess that means you are pushing yourself, right?!

Here are a couple of rounds that we did today:
Warm-Up Round
20 seconds of push up planks - plans in push up position, squeeze and release shoulder blades
10 seconds of rest
20 seconds of lunges with our without weights (I opted without since I did Workout A yesterday)
10 seconds of rest
20 seconds of push ups
10 seconds of rest
20 seconds of lunges
10 seconds of rest
repeat 4x

Killer Butt Round (I'm calling it this because this round was painful)
20 seconds Burpees without the push up
10 seconds of rest
20 seconds of wall squats
10 seconds of rest
20 seconds of plank jacks
10 seconds of rest
repeat 4x

Tabata has some really great benefits. It's short, sweet, but painful. It also has some other benefits such as (source):
- Increasing both the aerobic and anaerobic body system
- Works to help fire up your metabolism during the workout and have a higher affect after as well - helping to burn fat!
- Helps to improve mental toughness. We can all do anything for 20-30 seconds, right? :)

One of my favorite blogger's, Gina, also has posted some really great Tabata workouts on her blog. Definitely ones you can do at home, in a hotel room, or at the gym. Check them out!

Not going to lie, I definitely felt like I was overworking my lower body in some of the rounds. This class seemed to be more focused on that than I was hoping as I did some lower body exercises yesterday too. So tonight, the foam roller and I have a big date.

Happy Tabata Tuesday...and Election Day!

BBB Week 3: Prepping for a New Week

Ok, so maybe I'm not shredding per say. But I am ready to take it up a notch and get more toned stronger for the wedding. With three months to go, it's time to step up my game a little bit more. I think that's why last week I had a hard time staying motivated. As silly as it sounds, I think I needed a mental break from the gym knowing that I wanted to step it up in the final 90ish days (HOLY CRAP).

Even though I did miss day 1 and 2 of Bootcamp last week, I feel like I completed the week strong. I got in workouts A and B and on Saturday, I took advantage of the beautiful fall day and headed out for a run. Originally I was thinking 4-5 miles, but shortly before heading out I decided on pushing myself to 6.

It felt so good. 

Best Body Bootcamp

I'm excited for week 3 of Tina's Best Body Bootcamp. I was really excited when I received the next two weeks of workouts to see that it was different than the first. I was worried about getting bored with the 40 minute of steady cardio days. I loathe cardio only days...well unless it comes in the form of spin or a class...which can sometimes be hard for me to get to with my work schedule.

Another thing I am starting this week is cleaning up my diet for the wedding. I know that if I want to see more results, I need to eat cleaner. I've mapped out my meals for the week and looking forward to holding myself accountable. I'm going to list my goals for Best Body Bootcamp this week too, to hold myself even more accountable.

Goals
1. Complete everyday of Bootcamp
2. Journal meals
3. Be more committed to blogging (added goal)
4. No starches after lunch (added goal)

Workouts
M: Workout A + Intervals
T: Intervals B + Core
W: Workout B + 20 minutes steady cardio if I have time
Th:  Intervals B + Core
F: Workout C + 20 minutes steady cardio if I have time
S: 4-6 mile run, weather permitting or a class at the gym
S: Rest

Meals
M: Baked fish w/Asparagus (potato for the FH)
T: Home-made burrito style bowl
W: Chicken Stir-Fry
Th: FH is in charge of dinner since I have a work event
F: Pasta-less spaghetti w/turkey meat sauce. I've been loving all the squashes in season and I can't get enough of spaghetti squash
S: wing it

Couple other things I am going to be doing in regards to my meals this week:
- Making a protein shake when I get in from the gym
- Eating breakfast #2 when I get to work
- Salads w/chicken or veggie patties for lunches
- Snacks will consist of veggies or "ants on a log" ...yes celery w/Peanut Butter and Raisons. Don't judge.

Ok, let's do this.

- K

Needing Rest

Hi Everyone! Hope you are all doing well.

This weekend the FH and I were away at our Bachelor and Bachelorette weekends (not together)! We both had the most amazing time and came home even more grateful for our friends than when we left. we are so loved and can't wait for everyone to be together again at our wedding!

I haven't been able to get my workouts in the last two days, as I have been feeling super run down and my body has been craving rest. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a week, and it's really starting to run me down. Peanut came back from my parents on Sunday with a case of the fleas, so we have been up every night with her while she is scratching and checking her for more fleas. Fleas have to be the worst. The FH and I have never had to deal with it before, and it's been a nightmare cause you have to clean everything she touches...which in our small apartment, is everything.

Needless to say, I didn't Monday or Tuesday's workout in this week. On Monday the gym had closed due to the delightful Sandy and today I overslept. I had every intention of going to the gym after work, but was feeling pretty beat, so I headed home. BUT, I'm pretty proud of myself for getting in a 5.5 mile run on my first day away at my bachelorette party, woohoo!

So, here is what my week is shaping up to look like:

W: 4-5 mile run + Planks

Th: Workout B + Intervals on Eliptical or Spin Bike

F: 4-5 mile run + Planks

Sat: Bootcamp at my gym + Intervals

Sun: Yoga - I've been dying to go to Yoga since my half marathon

With my three month wedding countdown coming up, I am also planning on cleaning up my diet starting next week and maintaining through the wedding. If I want to start seeing more results, I know I have to eat more lean, clean, and green. One of the things I have said since the beginning was I didn't want to deprive myself of anything or "crash diet", I want to make sure I go about this the healthy way. And that is still my plan. 

I'm off to get some rest, but just wanted to check in!

Best Body Bootcamp: Day 3

It's Day 3 of the Best Body Bootcamp and I'm really loving it! The workouts are challenging, but only take up about an hour of my day. How can you not love that?!

I started Best Body Bootcamp a day early because of my schedule this week. Day 2 was 40 minutes of steady cardio followed by about 5 minutes of core work. Since I have been really missing running since my training ended, I opted to go out for a run after work. I work in a big office park and we have a road that surrounds us that is about 1.25 miles or so. It's nice because it actually has a steep incline in it. So I headed out and ended up doing a 4.59 mile loop in about 39 minutes.

Side note - it's now completely dark by 6:30. I miss the sunlight hours of summer already!

I headed home where the FH and I had breakfast for dinner and then did about 5 minutes of core work before bed.

This morning my alarm went off at the dark hour of 5:15 am. I proceeded to hit snooze for another 30 minutes before finally getting out of bed. The FH probably was not happy about this, but it's hard to get up while it's so dark out! Luckily the pups and FH rolled right back over and I snuck out the door shortly before 6am.

I hit the strength workout B first. I had fun with trying the Push Press on the Bosu. I was definitely a little skeptical at first, but thanks to the link Tina provided I followed the instruction and got up on the ball. I did do this in front of the wall mirror, and used it as support.

I started with 5lb. dumbbells because I was worried about stabilizing with heavier weights. After the 2nd set, I switched to 8lbs, feeling a bit more confident. Every time I squatted, everything shook, but it felt good. I think another good modification for this would be to stand on the top of the bosu ball, as you need to still activate your core to stand on top.

After the weights, I went to the spin room and hopped on a bike for the interval workout. I am really enjoying using the spin bikes on my own. I'll work on posting the workout I did on here this week!

Weekly Plans: Food & Fitness

Monday, again. Although, I'm pretty excited for what's in store this week!

Last week I ended up taking it easier than I had planned. My claves were extremely sore killing me all week. I ended up going to bootcamp on Tuesday and Thursday, simply because I paid for it, and I wanted to try and do what I can to loosen it up. By Saturday, they finally felt good enough for a run. I had to stop a couple of times, but I was able to squeeze in a comfortable 5 miles, and it felt so good!

Here is what this week looks like:
Sunday: Workout A + Intervals from BBC
Monday: Planning a morning run + some plans
Tuesday: Workout B + Intervals from BBC
Wednesday: Run + Planks
Thursday: Workout C + Intervals from BBC
Friday: TBD
Saturday: TBD/Rest
Sunday: Rest

For this week's meals, I didn't really plan anything too exciting:
Monday: Pork Tenderloin + Roasted Squash
Tuesday: Chicken + veggies
Wednesday: Wing it
Thursday: TBD/Out!
Friday: TBD/Out!
Saturday: TBD/Out!

How do you accommodate your weekly fitness and meal plans when you know you have a busy week?

Sunday Funday

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you wake up with a clear head. And by clear I mean that I didn't go out the night before. It's been a pretty low key weekend around here, and that's ok with me. The FH (future husband) and I have our bachelor and bachlorette parties this coming weekend, and I needed the rest. As lame as it makes me sound, I've been enjoying these kind of weekends more and more lately!

This morning I slept in until 8 am and it felt wonderful. The next two weeks are going to be pretty busy for me, so I wanted to get a kick start on the Best Body Bootcamp workout today.

After waking up I immediately headed to the kitchen. I knew if I wanted to head to the gym, I needed to get something in my system to wake myself up. Well, coffee and a bowl of Greek yogurt with pear and Kashi Go Lean did the trick!

I ran 5 miles yesterday morning (first run since the half marathon!), so opted out of doing the intervals on the treadmill. Instead I went into the empty spin room and hopped on a bike. I've taken a number of spin classes before, and really like them. But I have never thought of using the bikes on my own before. I always feel like I need that extra push, but I figured I would give it a shot. So I hopped on a bike and  spent the first 5 minutes warming up. After a warm up, I followed Tina's interval workout - spending some of the intervals in the seat and the rest standing with high resistance and climbing. I've never done interval workout using a spin bike on my own before, but I liked it and I was sweating by the end!

Then I moved onto the strength training. I've definitely missed strength training in the last 12+ weeks. I tried to keep up with it, but running became the priority. So it feels good to get back into it! The workouts were divided into three supersets, which helped it go by quickly! I can't wait to continue with the rest of the workouts.

I spent the rest of the day at the mall with one of my girlfriends shopping for some new staples for the upcoming festivities. Now I'm finally putting my feet up and writing this post before Peanut and I go and pick FH up at the train station. That lucky one was enjoying the Pats game today! Good Night!

My First Half Marathon

Three days later, and I think I've finally come down from my runners high...I think.

Sunday was nerve racking, exciting, challenging, rewarding, and fun.

We arrived in Newport the day before the race and I'm so glad we decided to stay overnight. It took away a lot of nerves and anxiety about getting there.

On the morning of the race, I got up on time, ate, hydrated, put on my clothes and was ready to go.It was a little confusing navigating to the start line. I can't say it was very well organized, but I found my friends in line at the bathrooms and shortly after we headed to the start line. It was hard to get into our time corrals, but we squeezed in a gate opening shortly after the gun went off. We ended up crossing the start line almost two minutes after the initial gun.

The first mile went by pretty quick. I spent most of my time weaving in and out of people trying to get to my comfortable pace. I wanted to make sure not to go out too strong. At mile 2, I ditched my long sleeve shirt and was able to check my pace on RunKeeper. I was pacing at about a 9:15 mile and knew that I could pick it up. My goal was to stay around 8:45.

The first three miles flew by and before I knew it, I was at the 6th mile marker. I was very careful to make sure to stay hydrated, I knew this was going to be key to finishing after my struggles during my last long run. I choked on drank water at every rest stop I could, even if a majority of it ended up on the ground. I also took advantage of the GU Chomps I had on hand. My plan going into it was to take them at mile 6, almost an hour in and at mile 10 to help push me to the end.

When I reached mile 7, I looked down at my app to see that I was just under 1 hour. As I continued to run, I did the math in my head. If I kept up my pace, I would be accomplishing one of my goals... to finish in 2 hours. I also knew that there was a chance I would finish in under 2 hours. But I didn't want to burn myself out, so I maintained my pace and kept trying to learn how to drink water while running myself hydrated.

Miles 7-9 went by pretty slow. I remember thinking 10 miles felt like they were never going to come and started to get worried that I would have a hard time when I reached 10. But shortly before the 10 mile mark, I saw a spectator holding a sign, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. The sign said: "Take a breath and enjoy the moment". And you know what? That's exactly what I did. Before I know it I hit mile 10, and I felt strong.

The last 3 miles, adrenaline took over. The crowds started getting thicker and louder. I kept my pace until the last mile, and then picked it up. I was so excited to find my family and the Fiance. The last part of the race was a downhill into the last stretch to the finish line, and I gave it one last push.

Right before crossing the finish line, I saw my family and fiance and pure happiness and excitement came over me. I finished...I finished strong. I stopped my app, grabbed a water, checked my time and ran to my Dad.

My unofficial time: 1:48:52

I was on cloud nine. My first half marathon, and I had exceeded my own expectations.

On our way out to the shuttles, I noticed that some of the times had been posted. I quickly went over and found my name on the list.

My official time: 1:48:38
61st out of 662 woman

And the reward...totally hit the spot.