My Workouts of the Week

I didn't post a workout blog last weekend because I'd only gone to the gym twice, due to my wisdom tooth extraction. I combined those two workouts into this round-up, so this is actually a "Workouts of the Last 2 Weeks" blog. It would have been posted yesterday but there was much Eastering going on, so there wasn't much time to post a blog.

LEGGO!

.  fishtailing for the gym  .

3/26 (core)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 30 v-sit twists, holding 15 lb dumbbell

3x: 15 dynamic side planks each side

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

3x: 30 cobras

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

3x: 10 plank pike up on exercise ball

3x: 30 Brazilian crunches

3x: 10 Russian get-ups (no weight)

1:05 plank

3/27 (upper body)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 10 deltoid flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 10 deltoid raises, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 20 alternating chest flys on exercise ball, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 10 rear shoulder dumbbell rows on exercise ball, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 10 overhead press, 7.5 lbs each hand

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

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

3x: 10 close grip chest press, 15 lbs each hand

3x: 13 lat pulldowns, 37.5 lbs

3x: 13 seated rows, 37.5 lbs

10 pushups

3/29 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 35 calf raises, 17.5 lbs each hand

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

3x: 15 deadlifts,17.5 lbs each hand

3x: 35 side lunges + plyometric pushoff

3x: 12 single leg deadlifts each leg, 7.5 lbs each hand

3/30 (core)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 35 Brazilian crunches

3x: 35 crunches on exercise ball, holding 15 lbs

3x: 12 plank pike up on exercise ball

3x: 35 v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

3x: 35 cobras

3x: 20 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 5 lbs

3x: 15 dynamic side planks each side

3x: 12 Russian get-ups holding 5 lbs

3x: 25 leg raises + reverse crunch

3/31 (upper body)

3:15 jumping jacks

3x: 11 deltoid flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 11 deltoid raises, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 22 alternating chest flys on exercise ball, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 11 overhead press, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 11 tricep kickbacks, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 13 seated rows, 37.5 lbs

3x: 11 chest press on exercise ball, 15 lbs each hand

3x: 11 bent over rows, 15 lbs each hand

3x: 11 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 15 lbs each hand

3x: 13 lat pulldowns, 37.5 lbs

4/1 (cardio)

45 mins hiking on treadmill

4/2 (full body)

45-minutes Vinyasa Yoga

4/3 (lower body)
3:15 jumping jacks
3x: 35 calf raises, 17.5 lbs each hand
3x: 15 leg lifts from side plank, each leg
3x: 15 deadlifts, 17.5 lbs each hand
3x: 35 side lunges + plyometric push-off
3x: 12 single leg deadlifts, 7.5 lbs each hand
3x: 40 diamond clamshells each leg
3x: 40 bridges

I hope your Easter/Passover weekend was nice! What did the Easter bunny bring you?

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Weekend Recap + My Workouts of the Week

Heyoooo, happy Sunday evening! It's the end of the first weekend of spring, so I hope you did it up right and proper.

My weekend has been a solid mix of solitude and friendship, so no complaints there. On Friday I went to the gym, did some online shopping (bought these little guys from DSW's site), went to the grocery store, and binge-watched a few episodes of Game of Thrones into the wee hours of the morning. (By the way, I just finished Season 4, so I'm all caught up now... and actually loved the show so much that I immediately started it over on Season 1 last night. Is that weird? Don't answer that; I don't care.)

On Saturday I started my day (predictably) at Donut Villa, then hit up the gym for a lower body workout before meeting up with my friends for an evening of shooting pool at Flat Top Johnny's in Cambridge. I'd never been there before, but it's an open-layout bar with food, drinks, and 12 pool tables. J-rod and I won a few games in a row - #NOBIGGIE - and a couple games of Skee-Ball were also enjoyed.

Today was Craft Club #5! That, of course, will get its own blog post, so I'm not going into too much detail about it now... but I will gladly share that I made a scrumptious fruit salad for the occasion. Noms on noms on noms!

Alright with the weekend in a nutshell, let's move on to zee workouts of zee weeeeeek! Here's what I did at the gym this week:

3/16 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 30 calf raises, 17.5 lbs each hand

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

3x: 15 deadlifts, 17.5 lbs each hand

3x: 20 side lunges + plyometric pushoff each side

3x: 8 single leg deadlifts each leg, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 40 diamond clamshells each leg

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

3x: 30 squats + 20 squat pulses

3/17 (core)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 30 Brazilian crunches
3x: 15 crunches on exercise ball, holding 15 lbs

3x: 10plank 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

3x: 15 leg raises + reverse crunch

3/18 (cardio)

40 mins hiking*/jogging treadmill:

   0:00-4:00 varying hike

   4-5 jogging 4.4 mph

   5-9 varying hike

   9-10 jogging 4.5 mph

   10-14 varying hike

   14-15 jogging 4.6 mph

   15-19 varying hike

   19-20 4.8 mph

   20-24 varying hike

   24-25 5.0 mph

   25-29 varying hike

   29-30 5.2 mph

   30-34 varying hike

   34-35 5.3 mph

   35-36 5.4 mph

   36-37 5.5 mph

   37-38 5.6 mph

   38-40 walking/cooldown/low incline

3/20 (upper body)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 10 deltoid flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 20 alternating chest flys on exercise ball, 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: 10 chest press on exercise ball, 15 lbs each hand

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

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

3x:  13 seated rows, 37.5 lbs

1:15 plank

3/21 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 15 leg lifts from side plank each leg

3x: 30 calf raises, 17.5 lbs each hand

3x: 25 side lunges + plyometric pushoff, each leg

3x: 15 deadlifts, 17.5 lbs each hand

3x: 40 diamond clamshells each leg

3x: 10 single leg deadlifts each leg, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x: 15 static lunges each leg, holding 6 lb medicine ball overhead
3x: 30 squats + 20 squat pulses

* 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).

By the way, if you didn't catch the update that I added to last week's workout post, here is the link to the first workout video that I filmed for my company's YouTube channel:  Intense TRX Interval for Your Core. A few people asked me about it, so figured I'd share here! Feel free to like/comment/share it with all your fitness-loving homies.

I shoooould have gone to the gym today, but Craft Club just sort of took over the morning/afternoon - which I'm certainly not complaining about. I absolutely love this scheduled "crafts and girls" time. Oftentimes it's more chatting than crafting, but - again - no one's complaining about that! #Love!

Annnnd here's the one grey cloud on the horizon that's been keeping me a little anxious all weekend: I'm getting a wisdom tooth out tomorrow morning. Eek! Because it's on the top (rather than my lower jaw bone), it shouldn't be as big of a to-do as the last one was, according to the oral surgeon. I'm hoping she's right!

Wish me luck in my recovery ;) And feel free to send me your favorite smoothie recipes.

How are your workouts going this week?
Did you do anything fun this weekend?

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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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My Workouts of the Week

My week of fitness started last Sunday with the filming session that I did for my company's YouTube channel. The workouts we did were quick but challenging, and we filmed five of them in about 90 minutes, so by the end of it, I was pretty wiped out. The all-over soreness I felt the next day really surprised me, but it was welcome. Muscle soreness is motivational for me - it makes me feel confident that my muscles are changing.

Since I was so sore on Monday, I took it relatively easy at the gym that day with some hiking on the treadmill. Here's how the week looked in workouts:

3/2 (cardio)

45 mins hiking* on the treadmill

3/4 (upper body)

5 mins elliptical

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

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

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

3x: 20 alternating single arm deltoid raise + deltoid fly, 5 lbs each hand

3x: 13 seated rows, 37.5 lbs

3x: 26 alternating chest flys, 5 lbs each hand

3x: 13 lat pulldowns, 37.5 lbs

10 push-ups (Note: my push-ups are NOT bad-ass status yet. I can currently only go about halfway down to the ground before pushing back up, but I'm going to work on it!)

3/5 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 30 calf raises, 15 lbs each hand

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

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

3x: 40 bridges

3x: 15 sumo squats, holding 17.5 lbs

3/6 (core)

3x: 15 dynamic side planks each side

3x: 15 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 5 lbs

4x: 5 plank pike up on exercise ball

3x: 20 v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

3x: 30 cobras

3x: 15 leg raises + reverse crunch

3x: 30 Brazilian crunches

3/7 (cardio)

35 mins hiking on the treadmill

* 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).

About 35 minutes into my "hike" last night, I was surprised by a trainer who came up to me to tell me they were closing. Until then I hadn't realized that everyone else in the entire gym had left! #Focus. So I had to cut my cardio session short, but I plan to go back today to do some arm work.

Sidebar - I added a new exercise into my core workout this week: the plank pike up. It's an exercise that I'd never attempted before last weekend (when I was filming those workout videos), but it ended up being a really awesome move that I couldn't wait to try on my own. It's challenging and effective, and I'm excited to get better at it!

Have you learned any new exercises lately? I'd love to hear about it!

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Welcome Back: Workouts of the Week!

After taking off what amounted to a solid 5 months from my "normal" gym routine, I was finally given clearance in January from my physical therapist to ease back into my workouts. For those of you who haven't been sitting at the cool table, I'd been having arm/neck/shoulder problems since the summer, which made use of my left arm pretty limited. Now that I'm feeling better, I've been going to the gym kind of a lot this past month - and hope to continue the habit so that I can start to feel like a real bad mamma jamma again.

So since the gym has come back into my life in full force, it seemed negligent not to start up my Workouts of the Week blog again. Note: This is not at all by popular demand. I don't care.

That said, here are all of my workouts from just this past week, including links to demos of each exercise in case you want to see any of them in action!

2/22 (cardio and core)

30 mins hiking on the treadmill

3x: 20 Russian get ups, holding 5 lbs

3x: 40 Brazilian crunches

3x: 20 weighted v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

3x: 30 cobras

2/23 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 40 diamond clamshells each leg

3x: 40 calf raises, 15 lbs each hand

3x: 40 seated leg extensions each leg (no weight)

3x: 15 deadlifts, 15 lbs each hand

3x: 40 bridges

30-seconds marching from bridge position

3x: 15 squats, holding 15 lbs

2/24 (cardio)

40 mins hiking on treadmill

2/25 (upper body)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 12 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x: 12 seated rows, 37.5 lbs

3x: 12 chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x: 12 bent over rows, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x: 13 deltoid raises, 5 lbs each hand

3x: 12 deltoid flys, 5 lbs each hand

3x: 24 alternating chest flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

2/26 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 40 bridges

3x: 15 side plank with leg lift, each leg

3x: 15 squats, holding 15 lbs

3x: 40 diamond clamshells each leg

3x: 40 calf raises, 15 lbs each hand

2/28 (core)

5 mins elliptical

3x: 30 weighted v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

3x: 20 leg raises + reverse crunch

3x: 20 Russian get ups, holding 5 lbs

3x: 20 dynamic side planks each side

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 inclines available. It's kind of fun and works up a great sweat.

On a related note, I had that video shoot this afternoon for my company's YouTube channel. It went better than I expected, so hopefully the videos came out well. We filmed enough for 5 different short workout videos, so that's a good crop of material for the channel. Our videographer, Matt, posted an Instagram pic of the shoot in action, if you want to see it here!

Alright, I hope that this has inspired you in some way to keep working towards your own fitness goals. Do you have any online resources for workout ideas? Share them with me!

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Afternoon Harassment... and My Workouts of the Week

I keep starting this blog and then deleting it. I was trying to make it chatty and light-hearted but that's not really an accurate reflection of how I'm feeling. Yesterday started out fine with me walking to Home Depot to pick up some tools I needed to hang up a new curtain rod in my bedroom - something that's been an ongoing project for several days now, believe it or not. Popping into Old Navy after Home Depot resulted in a new pair of grey Rock Star jeans and a new grey flannel - also not too shabby. 

However on the way home from my errands, I popped into a Starbuck's to try a Pumpkin Spice Latte for the first time ever... and was solidly sexually harassed in line by a loser meathead creep who obviously had no social skills or manners. What began as a stranger being mildly rude ("I like the way you look, are you married?") turned into an encounter that wouldn't end, even as I walked away from him to wait for my order. Long story short, he ended up saying something to me that took the "conversation" (should we even call it that?) from awkward/uncomfortable to completely effing unacceptable. Without raising my voice or making a scene, I let him know that he was being incredibly rude and that no one with any respect for herself would want to hear the kind of things he was saying. Not like I could have beaten him up instead, though giving him a hard knee to the groin was what I really wanted to do.

The worst part was that the Pumpkin Spice Latte was really, really good, and this guy nearly ruined the whole experience for me.

Well, no, in sooth, that was not the worst part. The worst part was feeling powerless to do much of anything about having someone say something so sexually off-color to me, that would make me feel so uncomfortable in a place as public as the line at a Starbuck's. I couldn't wash off the sliminess of hearing it. He couldn't take it back once he said it. Without having physically touched me, he ruined my afternoon.

After that I went home and tried once again to put up the curtain rod in my bedroom using my new tools, but it was one thing going wrong after another. You might be wondering how putting up a curtain rod could be such a big to-do... I couldn't tell you. But it's not working and I keep having to go back out to pick up new tools or hardware to finish the job. Without a car, walking to all of these stores is getting really old, and makes my projects take forever. 

With the frustration of my failing curtain rods and the lingering feeling of having been harassed earlier, suddenly my whole day felt like it was falling apart. Dramatic much? So I put the curtain project on hold and shifted gears to something that seemed like it would be more successful - hanging up a heavy mirror on one of my walls, using the help of a brand new stud-finder tool that I'd just purchased earlier that day. All seemed like it was going well, with the stud-finder seemingly working to pinpoint the stud in the wall I would be drilling into. If you follow me on Instagram, you might know where I'm headed with this...

So then I just gave up and ate Ben & Jerry's ice cream the rest of the night.

And on that note, here are all my workouts from the past week!

9/15 (cardio and upper body)

15 mins elliptical

3x: 

  - 15 M, 5 lbs each hand

  - 15 T, 5 lbs each hand

  - 15 Y, 5 lbs each hand

15 chest press on exercise ball, 10 lbs each hand

10 overhead press on exercise ball, 10 lbs each hand

9/16 (core and cardio)

20 leg raises + reverse crunch

30 alternating weighted side bends, 15 lbs each hand

20 cobras

20 Russian get ups, holding 7.5 lbs

30 Brazilian crunches

30 weighted v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

lying tornadoes (down and up once)

20 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 7.5 lbs

15 mins elliptical

9/18 (lower body)

2:30 jumping jacks

3x:  15 squats holding 25 lbs

3x:  15 single leg bridges each leg

1:15 jumping jacks

3x:  20 calf raises, 25 lbs each hand

3x:  30 alternating forward lunges

1:20 jumping jacks

9/19 (upper body)

5 mins elliptical

3x:  12 lat pulldowns, 37.5 lbs

3x:  12 tricep extensions on exercise ball, 5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 overhead press on exercise ball, 10 lbs each hand

3x:  12 M prone on exercise ball, 5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 chest press on exercise ball, 10 lbs each hand

3x:  12 deltoid flys, 5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 bent over rows each arm, holding 10 lbs

3x:  12 Y prone on exercise ball, 5 lbs each hand

The Patriots are playing today, so I'm going to head over to my friend J-Rod's house to watch that this afternoon. If all goes as planned (and I don't really bank on that these days), I'll be bringing along some Dunkin Donuts Munchkins with bacon inserted into them... which is something I thought up last week and would like to see to fruition this week. Nothing like donuts and bacon to take your mind off of sexual harassment and failed home projects, I always say.

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My Workouts of the Week

Oh heeeeeey weekly workout blog - where you been, girl?!

Yeah, you might (or might not) have noticed that it's been well over a month since my last "Workouts of the Week" blog. I took some time off from the gym after my move in August, and finally picked back up with a new gym membership in my new neighborhood a few weeks ago - at a Gold's Gym that's within walking distance from my apartment. The first week of September, I only went a couple of times, but this past week I picked it up to what is basically my "normal" routine.

.  the much-beloved instagram pre-gym snap  .

... Except that almost all of my recent upper body workouts have been focusing on trying to relieve the shoulder pain that I've been suffering from since late July. It's been a real, real bitch. To everyone who suffers from chronic pain... I feel you. Keep ya head up.

9/8 (upper body)

5 mins elliptical, .5 miles

2x:

  - 24 alternating shoulder raises on exercise ball, 5 lbs each hand

  - 12 chest press on exercise ball, 10 lbs each hand

  - 12 tricep extensions on exercise ball, 5 lbs each hand

  - 12 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 10 lbs each hand

  - 12 deltoid flys, 5 lbs each hand

  - 12 bent over rows each arm, holding 15 lbs 

  - 12 deltoid raises, 5 lbs each hand

   -12 overhead press on exercise ball, 10 lbs each hand

  - 24 alternating chest flys, 5 lbs each hand

12 lat pulldowns, 37.5 lbs

12 lat pulldowns, 50 lbs

9/9 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical, .5 miles

3x:  20 calf raises, 17.5 lbs each hand

3x:  20 bridges from tip toes

3x:  15 deadlifts, 17.5 lbs each hand

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

3x:  15 sumo squats holding 22.5 lbs

3x:  20 diamond clamshells each leg

9/11 (cardio & upper body)

25 mins elliptical, 2.75 miles

2x, prone on exercise ball:

  - 12 M, 5 lbs each hand

  - 12 T, 5 lbs each hand

  - 12 Y, 5 lbs each hand

12 chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

15 tricep extensions on exercise ball, 5 lbs each hand

12 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

24 alternating chest flys, 5 lbs each hand

12 lat pulldowns, 25 lbs

12 lat pulldowns, 37.5 lbs

12 lat pulldowns, 50 lbs

9/12 (core & cardio intervals)

1:30 jumping jacks

30 weighted v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

30 Brazilian crunches

1:00 jumping jacks

30 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 5 lbs

30 dynamic side planks each side

1:00 jumping jacks

30 crunches on exercise ball, holding 15 lbs

30 plank knee to elbow

1:00 jumping jacks

30 Russian get ups, holding 5 lbs

30 leg raises + reverse crunch

30 cobras

30 lat pulldowns, 25 lbs

9/13 (lower body)

1:00 jumping jacks

3x:  20 diamond clamshells each leg

3x:  20 calf raises, 22.5 lbs each hand

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

3x:  15 deadlifts, 15 lbs each hand

3x:  20 bridges

3x:  15 sumo squats, holding 22.5 lbs

3x:  20 jump squats, alternating wide and close stance

Let me tell you - the lower body workout I did on the 9th left me sooo sore the next two days.  Such an awesome feeling. I was still sore from it yesterday, but did another lower body day anyway rather than be a Sally about it. Now I'm even more sore!

Who else has been getting back into a gym routine lately?

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Kayaking, MORE Fireworks, and My Workouts of the Week

It's been a challenge for me to want to get to the gym this week - or even out to do too terribly much of anything - because I've been stricken with an excruciating muscle pain within my left shoulder blade that makes me want to do little more than sob in a corner. It's a rather relentless pain that only lets up when I'm lying flat on my back, so general discomfort has been a big part of this entire past week for me. 

This exact shoulder issue happens to me about once a year, can last for weeks, and is most likely brought on by falling into poor posture while working long hours on a computer. It's the best (albeit the most painful) reminder for me to maintain good posture while I'm working and to keep my core and upper back muscles strong with specific exercises to target those muscles. Having actually gone to physical therapy for this shoulder blade pain in the past, I've thankfully learned some good exercises for just that purpose - some of which I did just yesterday afternoon (see below for 8/2 arm workout).

After the gym yesterday, Dave and I went kayaking down in the English Bay. We rented kayaks from the same beach-side kiosk that we got those paddleboards from a few weeks ago. Paddleboarding had been a tentative part of our plan for Friday evening, but the water was a bit choppier than I would have liked (especially considering my weakened left arm) so we passed and went for a long walk into the city instead. Kayaking was a great alternative for us for yesterday:

 

.  hey look, that's me  .

Last night was the final night of the Celebration of Lights fireworks competition in Vancouver, with Team Japan putting on a pretty good display of pyrotechnics. 

That'll probably be the last you see any fireworks on my blog for quite awhile; I've got no more random celebratory fireworks displays in my near future.

And on that sad and low note, here are my workouts from the past week:

7/27 (mostly upper body)

6.75-mile walk into the city

5 mins elliptical

3x:  12 chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 overhead press, 10 lbs each hand

3x:  12 rear fly, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 bent over rows, holding 20 lbs

3x:  12 deltoid raises, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 tricep extensions on exercise ball, 7.5 lbs each hand

12 seated leg press, 40 lbs

12 seated leg press, 50 lbs

12 seated leg press, 60 lbs

7/28 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

3x:  13 sumo squats, holding 30 lbs

3x:  40 diamond clamshells each leg

3x:  40 jump squats, alternating wide and close stance

3x:  40 calf raises, 25 lbs each hand

3x:  40 bridges

7/29 (core)

2x:  30 weighted v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

2x:  30 cobras

2x:  30 Russian get ups, holding 5 lbs

2x:  30 Brazilian crunches

2x:  30 alternating weighted side bends, 20 lbs each hand

2x:  30 leg raises + reverse crunch

2x:  30 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 5 lbs

2x:  30 plank knee to elbow

7/31 (cardio)

16 mins biking

15 lat pulldowns, 30 lbs

15 lat pulldowns, 40 lbs

15 lat pulldowns, 50 lbs

8/2 (upper body)

30 alternating shoulder raises on exercise ball, 5 lbs each hand

3x, prone on exercise ball:

   - 15 M, 5 lbs each hand (prone row)

   - 15 Y, 5 lbs each hand (wide front raise)

3x:

   - 15 chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

   - 15 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x: 

   - 30 alternating chest flys, 5 lbs each hand

   - 15 overhead tricep extensions, 5 lbs each hand

I slept in later today than is typical for me - I didn't get up till 10:15! Normally I'm up an hour or two earlier than that on the weekends. Hopefully it's not setting a lazy precedent for my entire day. The sun is shining and I should probably be outside! Actually this weekend kicks off Pride Week here in Vancouver, which draws hundreds of thousands of people to the city each year. The Pride Parade is this afternoon downtown, so if we can make it down there in time to catch some of it, we will!

I hope you've been having a great weekend! What are you up to today?

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A Few Good Things, My Workouts of the Week, and Fireworks

A couple of weeks ago there was a Sunset Beach Social going on along Sunset Beach. We walked across the Burrard Bridge to check it out. Here's the view of the party tents from the bridge above:

After walking around the social for awhile, we putzed around downtown for a bit until it was nearly sunset, then made our way back over the Burrard Bridge as the sun set behind the mountains:

 

It was the night preceding the July 12th Super Moon, so even though it wasn't quite super, the moon was still pretty big that night:

By the way, that photo above was taken at sunset - so at about 9:15 at night. That's how bright the sky still is at 9:15 at night around here during the summer. Isn't that nuts?

Moving along, here are all my workouts from this past week. My calves have been sooooo sore from the Thursday lower body workout I did (see below). I guess upgrading to holding 25-pounds in each hand (versus 15-pounds) really makes a difference to my muscles!

7/21 (upper body)

5 mins elliptical

3x:  15 chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 rear flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 overhead press, 10 lbs each hand

3x:  12 deltoid flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 bent over rows each arm, 20 lbs

3x:  12 deltoid raises, 7.5 lbs each hand

3x:  15 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

3x:  12 tricep extensions on exercise ball, 7.5 lbs each hand

7/22 (cardio and core)

20 mins biking

40 crunches on exercise ball, holding 15 lbs

40 leg raises + reverse crunch

40 Russian get ups, holding 8 lbs

40 Brazilian crunches

40 weighted v-sit twists holding 15 lbs

80 side-to-side oblique crunch

40 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 8 lbs

40 plank knee to elbow

40 alternating weighted side bends, 15 lbs each hand

40 cobras

7/24 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

3x:  12 squats, holding 30 lbs

3x:  40 diamond clamshells each leg

3x:  40 jump squats, alternating wide and close stance

3x:  40 calf raises, 25 lbs each hand

3x:  40 bridges

7/25 (core)

40 alternating weighted side bends, 20 lbs each hand

40 alternating bird dogs

40 Russian get ups, holding 8 lbs

40 Brazilian crunches

40 weighted v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

40 leg raises + reverse crunch

40 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 8 lbs

80 side-to-side oblique crunch

40 crunches on exercise ball, holding 20 lbs
40 plank knee to elbow

The weather finally turned nice again this weekend, after a grey week. On Friday night after my core workout, I walked downtown to try to stretch out my sore calf muscles. While down there, I ended up grabbing dinner at a restaurant on Robson St. called Abode. Sitting out on their sidewalk patio and sipping on a sugar-rimmed cocktail called Summer Sandals...

.  summer sandals  .
.  vodka, grand marnier, raspberry liqueur, sparkling wine  .

... was a nice way to unwind after the work week. Unfortunately, the instant my pulled BBQ chicken sandwich was set down before me, an intrusive honey bee began dive-bombing my plate and my table till I was forced to say "uncle" while waving my white napkin and running inside to the dining room. No matter - they found me a nice booth inside their dining room next to a window, so my view was nearly identical anyway.

.  pulled chicken & slaw sandwich  .
.  slow roasted chicken, super slaw, fresh spinach on ciabatta  .

Yesterday I spent the morning getting some important things done around my apartment, and then headed out with a blanket and my iPod to catch some sunshine on the lawn at Kitsilano Beach for a bit. It's seriously so nice to have the sun back. It changes the vibe of the entire city.

.  mad peeps on the beach!  .

Speaking of the entire city, I got to check out the first night of the Celebration of Light fireworks last night, which was awesooooome... and it certainly seemed like the entire city was out for it. I was able to watch them right from my beach....

And there were so many people who came out for it! The fireworks were an awesome 25-minute display. Most of my pictures came out terribly, but this one was alright...

Well it's supposed to be another fabulous day today, so I hope to spend a good portion of my day outside. Have a great Sunday!!

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