My Workouts of the Week + A Rambunctious Pre-St. Patrick's Day

This was another week of doing pretty well at the gym! It's becoming a nearly habitual part of my day-to-day, and that's a habit I'm notttt mad about forming. Just need to make sure that I don't injure myself. God knows I'm prone to doing that, so... knock on wood.

Here's what I was up to at the gym this week:

3/9 (upper body)

3x: 13 seated rows, 37.5 lbs

3x: 13 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x: 13 bent over rows, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x: 13 chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

1x: 8 overhead press on exercise ball, 10 lbs each hand *too heavy!

2x: 8 overhead press on exercise ball, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 13 lat pulldowns, 37.5 lbs

3x: 10 deltoid flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 8 deltoid raises, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: alternating chest flys with a 6 lb medicine ball

13 overhead press, 5 lbs each hand

13 overhead press, 7.5 lbs each hand

8 overhead press, 10 lbs each hand

10 push-ups

3/10 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 30 calf raises, 17.5 lbs each hand

3x: 15 leg lifts from side plank, each side

3x: 15 deadlifts, 17.5 lbs each hand

3x: 20 side lunges + plyometric push-off, each side

2:15 jumping jacks

3x: 8 single leg deadlifts, 7.5 lbs each hand (I don't know why, but these are SO HARD for me!)

3x: 15 static lunges each leg, holding 6 lb medicine ball overhead

1:10 plank

10 mins hiking* treadmill

3/11 (core)

5 mins treadmill

3x: 30 Brazilian crunches

3x: 15 crunches on exercise ball, holding 15 lbs

3x: 10 plank pike up on exercise ball

3x: 15 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 7.5 lbs

3x: 30 cobras

3x: 30 v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

3x: 15 dynamic side planks each side

3/13 (cardio)

45 mins hiking*/jogging on treadmill - here's the min-by-min breakdown:

    0-4 varying hike

    4-5 jogging 4.4 mph

    5-9 varying hike

    9-10 jogging 4.5 mph

    11-14 varying hike

    14-15 jogging 4.6 mph

    15-19 varying hike

    19-20 jogging 4.7 mph

    20-24 varying hike

    24-25 jogging 4.9 mph

    25-29 varying hike

    29-40 jogging 5-6mph

    40-45 varying hike/cooldown

30 bodyweight squats + 20 squat pulses

3/14 (upper body)

3x: 10 chest press on exercise ball, 15 lbs each hand

3x: 10 bent over rows, 15 lbs each hand

3x: 10 deltoid flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 10 deltoid raises, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 10 overhead press, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 13 lat pulldowns, 37.5 lbs

3x: 26 alternating chest flys with 6 lb medicine ball

* When I go "hiking" on the treadmill, I adjust the intensity and/or incline every minute for the entire duration, making sure to go through the entire range of available inclines (0-15).

I'm trying to increase my arm/chest strength ("pushing" exercises like chest presses) before I increase any of the weight on my "pulling" exercises (seated or bent over rows) so that my chest muscles have a chance to catch up to my back muscles. From what I have learned, if your back muscles are much stronger than your chest then you're not building a balanced upper body. I've moved up to 15 lbs for presses now, and once that becomes easy then I'll increase to 17.5 - probably in a few weeks? And won't that be exciting??!?

Speaking of exciting, here's a sneak peek of the first video I shot with my company's YouTube channel a few weeks ago:

Watch out world, there's a whole video coming. (Update: Here it is.)

I made sure to get in a Saturday morning workout this weekend because I knew that there'd be some ridiculousness happening later that day. My friends had planned an afternoon of early St. Patrick's Day festivities!

Around 2:30 on Saturday, a group of us met up at Orleans in Somerville's Davis Square for early afternoon drinks and apps. As I promised on Friday, I did indeed enjoy some Bailey's Irish Cream mixed with iced coffee and topped with whipped cream. Obviously, my kind of drink.

From there, we decided on a whim to go bowling, so we drove/Ubered over to Lanes and Games in Cambridge, which is fo' sho' a recurring favorite place to have fun together.  Ten of us played 2 games on adjoining lanes, and more drinks and apps were had. I bowled a 101 my first game (not bad, for me) and then put in a dismal performance during the second game. I can't remember my score but it was probably less than 60? #facepalm

After bowling, some of the group splintered off, but some of us headed back to "after party" (it was only 8:45pm) at the house of my friends in Somerville. Insert drinks, darts, and dancing over the next 4 hours. It was a good night.

This morning afternoon when I got out of bed, I headed straight over to Donut Villa to fill my stomach with greasy breakfast food and the best-effing jelly donut I've ever had. How do they make them taste so good? The owner of the restaurant, John, told me with a wink that he gets them from Dunkin Donuts every morning, but I shook my head at him and told him I could taste the difference. Sidebar, they all love me at the Villa now. Score!

Anyway, I'm going to relax so hard the rest of the afternoon. You can catch me lounging in the bathtub and then watching a movie - or a few episodes of Game of Thrones. It's that kind of a recovery day, haha!

I hope you had a great weekend yourself. Any fun shenanigans or challenging workouts going on in your neck of the woods?

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Donut Villa: Uh Huh, This My Sh*t

GREAT news, guys. I finally found a down-home breakfast/lunch diner near me! I've been on the hunt for one of these places since moving to Medford, and last weekend I discovered where my hood has been hiding one. And believe it or not - it's less than a mile from me. #FacePalm.

God only knows what was going wrong the last 10,000 times I Googled "breakfast near Medford" during the last several months, but prior to last weekend, the only results I'd find were for Dunkin Donuts. Now, Y'ALL KNOW I love my Dunks, but it's hardly the breakfast diner atmosphere that I require on my Saturday mornings. From Pittsfield to Amherst to Boston to Cape Cod to Portland to Vancouver - I've always managed to find a local breakfast diner that could make my morning by serving me up a spectacular-yet-basic plate of over-medium eggs, bacon, wheat toast, home fries, and maybe even some French toast. And now, Donut Villa in Malden, MA has claimed that coveted spot in my current neighborhood. Hoozah!! Cue the "Thank God I Found You" dedications.

And you're welcome for the reminder about that song's existence.

Situated inconspicuously in the middle of a small strip mall on Highland Ave in Malden, Donut Villa is a low-key breakfast/lunch diner and bakery with a no-fuss menu that features not one single item over $10. In other words, uh huh, this my shit.

You can choose to sit at a table or at the counter on diner-style stools. I've been twice now and experienced both. Sitting at the counter gave me the opportunity to chat with the person beside me, a really charming older woman named Muriel who has been coming to Donut Villa for nearly 30 years.

Each time that I've been into the diner, I've ordered The Hungry Girl Breakfast. It comes with two eggs, choice of sausage/bacon/ham, toast, homefries, choice of two slices French toast/pancakes, coffee, and your choice of milk/OJ. SO MANY CHOICES. I go over-medium, bacon, wheat toast, French toast, coffee, OJ, and ask to hold the homefries. It's a completely sufficient amount of food for $9.95. I've cleaned my plate each time... What can I say? I was a hungry girl.

John, the old gentleman who owns the joint and cooks all the food, is a huge Patriots and Red Sox fan, with memorabilia and championship plaques proudly hanging on the walls of the diner.

Maria and Dawn, the two sassy women who make up the waitstaff, come off a bit tough at first but I got a softer vibe from both of them upon my second trip in to the restaurant. It's obvious that they have a lot of regulars, and they know most of the people who walk through the doors.

The diner is cash only, but if you accidentally go there cash-free (like I did on my maiden trip), there is a Dunkin Donuts next door with an ATM that you can run to use. Ironic that that's where I had to head to get cash for my Donut Villa bill, but... YA WIN SOME, YA LOSE SOME, DUNKS.

Oh, and obviously... Donut Villa also serves up donuts. Made in-house by John daily for the last 25+ years, they are the first thing you see when you walk into the diner. Did I get a picture of them? Well no, I didn't. But I'm not making them up, guys. They exist. And they're good. I had a powdered cinnamon sugar donut the first time I went in, but was too full  to indulge in dessert after my second breakfast there. In retrospect, it's a regret of mine. Should've gotten the donut...

Anyway, this place is definitely my new jam. I've told all my friends about it, and now I'm telling you guys about it too. They're open Monday through Sunday, 5:30am - 2:00pm, and you should go give them your money in exchange for food and donuts, pronto.

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