Time to Hop on the Interval Train

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Hey, hey, party people!

I am here to chat about your new best friend when it comes to cardio.

No, seriously!

I know people think cardio is some grueling task, and yes, it certain can be, but this is something that will go by in a breeze and leave you feeling exhausted in the best way.

If you haven't heard of high intensity interval training, otherwise known as HIIT, you are missing out! Never fear, though. That's why I'm here to spread the good word ; )

High intensity interval training is exactly what it sounds like - you work at your maximum for a short amount of time, followed by recovery. HIIT has been my BFF for the last couple weeks on the days where I do not want to run or do cardio for longer than twenty minutes.

Yes, all you need is 15-20 minutes to complete a HIIT work out. Super short, sweet, and sweaty.

Before I chat about what my personal HIIT workouts look like, here's the benefits. That's most important. WHY the hell should I do this?

- Kickstarts your metabolism and burns tons of calories in a shorter amount of time when compared to calories burned during a long run

- Effective at burning fat

- Strengthens your lungs, heart, and legs (especially if you kick up the incline - oooh mama)

- Promotes weight loss, not muscle loss

- Time efficient: no need to set aside an hour of your day since you can get it done in 20 minutes or less!

- You can pretty much do it anywhere. Inside, outside, in your living room, whatever!

That moody morning gym light at 5:30am, pre-HIIT madness.

This is what I have been playing around for my intervals:

Warm up: 2 minutes

Easy run: 1 minute

SPRINT ALL OUT! 30 seconds
Walk to recover: 1 minute

Repeat for 15 or 20 minutes. You will work up a huge sweat, your heart will be pumping, and you will feel amazing after. Yes, it's hard, but start wherever is comfortable for you. If you feel it's better to have a longer warm up, do that. If you want more recovery time, do that. Hell, sometimes after sprinting my butt off I stand on the sides of the treadmill for a good twenty seconds before I even begin my walking recovery. It's all up to you!

You can also mix up your intervals with jumping jacks, skipping rope, burpees, mix in strength training moves. Lots of options to keep you sweating!

Note: I like to do my intervals after so I conserve my energy for strength training, but do what works for you. Sometimes we only have 20 minutes to get a workout in, and HIIT is perfect for that!

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Let me know in the comments what your favourite HIIT workout is, or if you are a lover of HIIT as well!

Ladies: 5 Reasons Why You Should Lift

There seems to be this old tale that women who lift weights are manly and will have ginormous muscles. Well, today I wanted to chat about WHY it is important for women to lift weights, and more importantly, lift heavier than they think they can lift.

There are so many benefits to weight lifting. We will get into that, and also chat about how to get started.

So, you're ready to start lifting but have no idea where to go? If you plan on attending a gym, it may be worth booking an appointment with a personal trainer to at least get familiar with the strength training area. At my gym they have it separated by cardio equipment, strength training machines/dumb bells, and another room with another rack of dumb bells and things like yoga mats, foam rollers, resistance bands/tubes, and kettle bells. Having someone show you around the gym will not only answer any questions you may have about the facility, but make you feel more comfortable. Being comfortable is HUGE in starting a strength training journey (or any health journey for that matter), as you will be more inclined to stick to it if you don't feel awkward or out of place.

That's not to say that feeling awkward won't happen, because I can guarantee that it will happen! However, getting your bearings will help make things easier in the long run.

To get started means to simply put on your work out gear and get going. If buying a new exercise outfit will motivate you to take the first steps, then by all means, do what you need to do. That being said, in order to begin a program you just have to START, so start now, whatever that may look like for you!

When it comes to strength training, having a plan will allow you to visually see what you need to do in the gym. A plan tailored to your specific needs will also alleviate that, "OMG what do I do today!?" feeling that can arise. Start small to start - say two times per week - and build up as you start to feel stronger in the gym. Soon enough, you will have a work out split (another word for plan) that can target multiple parts of your body.

For me, my workout split looks something like this:

Legs twice per week, shoulders/triceps twice per week, and one day for back and biceps. Occasionally I will mix in some back/biceps on my shoulder days, but it is completely up to you. Every 4-6 weeks I switch things up (providing I am seeing results), and I mix some cardio in there as well because I love me some running! : )

Again, your first steps into strength training may be at-home YouTube videos, and that's okay, too! Do what works for you and what makes your body feel good.

So, WHY should women strength train?

I'll tell you why I personally do it. I strength train for mental clarity, for challenging my body, so I can withstand day to day activities with ease, so I can age gracefully (or so I am hoping anyway), and so I can be a better me.

You can tell when I haven't worked out because I am grouchy, irritable, and I won't be as in tune with my body or my mood. This is important to me as I want to be present and mindful in my interactions out there in the world, so working out can set the tone for a great day.

However, some other reasons why women should strength train are listed below.

1. You will burn more fat. Strength training builds muscle, and muscle burns more calories and fat while resting. Sure, you burn calories after a run, but not nearly as many as you would after a good strength training session!

2. You will practice the art of mental strength. Yep, you can do one more rep. Yep, you can lift a little bit heavier. Yep, you can do one more squat. Strength training (and athletic training in general) helps train your mind in that whole, "mind-over-matter" sense, which can translate to so many other areas of your life.

3. You'll strengthen your bones, as strength training helps your muscles, bones, ligaments, and tendons adapt under pressure. Your bones will become stronger and more dense, which will help stave off age related degeneration.

4. You will lean out. Yes, weight lifting (combined with a clean diet, OF COURSE) will help your jeans feel looser and make your shirt less tight. This is because muscle takes up less space than fat. Sure, a pound is a pound, but a pound of fat is more voluminous than a pound of muscle. So while you may still weigh the same weight (which I don't recommend going by the number on the scale anyway), you probably look a little slimmer since your body is increasing muscle and decreasing fat.

5. Your HEART will seriously thank you. Strength training and cardiovascular exercise is a God-send for your heart. As you get into better shape, your heart actually doesn't have to work as hard to send blood throughout your body. Exercise reduces blood pressure, and we all know high blood pressure ain't cute.

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If you are a woman who has a strength training routine, what does this look like for you? Let me know in the comments! Any AMAZING moves I should try in the gym!?

Weekend Recap + Cardio Shoulder Workout

First things first, I want to say that I am LOOOOOOVING this cooler weather lately.

Like loving it so much that I will park my butt on the couch and watch New Girl for 4+ hours.

But I'll get to that in a minute.

That pumpkin on the right? That's me, only add a pair of Christmas pajama pants. I mean, it's almost September which means it's practically Christmas time.

I am checking in after a productive morning of errands, cleaning, and hitting the gym. This weekend I'm actually running another half marathon in Kelowna, so I have been trying to stay active by doing running as most of my cardio.

Today's workout was:

Warm up: 15 minute run on treadmill, which ended up being 1.6 miles

Strength training focus: shoulders (probably my favourite body part to train!)

Warm up for strength training:

Lateral raises, front raises & rear delt-fly 1 x 12 using 8lb dumb bells

Work out:

Lateral raises 3 x 12

Front raises 3 x 12
Rear delt-fly 3 x 12

30 seconds of jumping jacks between each set to keep the heart rate elevated!

Alternating shoulder press w/ hold 3 x 12
With the non-working arm, hold the weight over your head while the other arm completes the shoulder presses. Switch.

Tricep press-down on cable machine
15lbs 1 x 15
17.5lbs 1 x 12
20 lobs 1 x 20

Dumbbell pull-ups 3 x 12

(I don't know what these are actually called, but you hold the dumbbells at hip level, then lead with your elbows and use your shoulders to pull the weights up until the elbows form just over a 90degree angle) 

Tricep extensions using dumbbells 3 x 12

30 seconds jumping jacks between each set

Cool down: 15 minutes running, easy pace

Total miles for the day: 3.2 miles (just over 5km)

Sunday was a lazy day in our household. Well, for me, anyway. Ryan was productive and was getting his stuff ready for fishing this week, but I took things slow, drank a few cups of coffee, and lazed around. We took Nala to Petsmart to get her nails clipped in the afternoon - which she did amazing! Proud puppy parents over here. While we were there, we couldn't not buy a new toy, so we got the poop emoji. Of course, because we are adults and that's what adults do.

Once we were home, my sister came over and we parked it on the couch. By this time it was pouring rain outside, so we took advantage of this and had a New Girl marathon. It was a great way to just relax, hang out, and take it easy. Usually my days off have to be GO GO GO! And I don't know why I make them that way, but that's how it goes most of the time. So, despite the lack of working out (for me - my sister at least went to the gym), it was a fun day spending time with family.

Well, there is a quick weekend recap for you! Nothing too exciting in my neck of the woods, but I'll have more to chat about next week when we return home from Kelowna!

Until next time ; )

My Return to the Gym After Almost THREE MONTHS!

Well hello, friends!

As you can tell by the title, I am back to the gym.

Yep, that's right. I am back to the gym and actually enjoying it more than I thought I would.

First off, I want to say that I never disliked going to the gym. It just got to the point where I was spending my money on a hot yoga membership (I haven't gone in about a month because it has been SO HOT out, might as well do yoga on my deck), and the thought of buying a gym membership separately had me second guessing how much I really needed it. Besides, I have a treadmill, elliptical and free weights at home. What do I need a gym for?

Well, I need a gym for the simple fact of getting myself out of the house. On the same note, the gym has 100x more equipment than I have at home, so it makes working out easier. I don't have to think about what move I can do with this dumbbell or worry about not being able to use a squat rack or quad extension machine.

So, on August 17th I made my return to the gym.

What got me there?

Well, first off I had won a free gym membership at a ladies' night my sister and I went to at the beginning of the month. This was motivation enough for me to go and take advantage of my prize.

What did I do?

Fortunately, despite not being in the gym for a few months, I got into a groove pretty quickly. I completed a back, biceps & shoulder work out that left my upper body feeling sufficiently sore for the next two days. I guess not doing any formal strength training for an extended period of time will do that to ya, hey? I also completed 15 minutes of cardio on the elliptical at level 5 after.

Taken on Tuesday's leg day!

So, yeah! There we have it. And here's what I wore to the gym, because I love a good #WOTD - workout outfit of the day. Shirt is from Lululemon, as are the pants.

Bottom line: I missed going to the gym and I am happy to be back. Mostly I am excited to see how my body changes with the increase in strength training, so I will keep you all updated of course.

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Now, off to the gym! Have a great day & I'll catch ya on Wednesday : )

Try This: Upperbody Blast Workout

Good morning!

I hope you are all having a good week so far. As you read in my Monday post, life with Nala has been both busy and lazy. During one of her many snoozes I was able to sneak in a workout, and I wanted to share that with you today!

I am all about the at-home workouts right now. Yeah, I was on the hot yoga train and yeah, I did sign up for a recurring membership and haven't been in two weeks. It is so, SO damn hot right now and the thought of going to yoga and sweating through my toes does not sound appealing. Can anyone else relate to this? Does anyone want fall to hurry up?

Okay, going too far there right now. We are, what, half way through summer? Aye aye aye.

Anyway, I'll get back on track here.

If you are looking for a good upper body workout then I would highly recommend giving this one a shot! Added bonus: you only need a pair of free-weights (or dumbbells).

Modify the exercises if you need to. I took a 30 second to one minute break in between each exercise before moving onto the next one. Once all exercises are completed, take a water break and do 'em again!

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I hope you enjoy the workout! Let me know in the comments what YOUR current favourite workout is right now : )

One Day, Three Workouts + A New Cleanse

Happy Monday!

What's up? How's life?

I hope you all had a great weekend, and a big Happy Mother's Day to all you mama's out there! Yesterday was a busy day jam-packed with family, so the day flew by and there was little downtime. Despite all the running around, it was so good to see people from both my side and Ryan's side of the family, and I am happy we could fit (mostly!) everyone into one day.

My family (as in, mom, dad, Sarah & her friend Sarah) came over for dinner, where Ryan BBQ'd some balsamic marinaded chicken. I made a big quinoa salad with black beans, as well as some grilled zucchini sticks and a spinach salad. Lots of food and lots of laughs, as we played Cards Against Humanity afterwards. Does anyone else love that game? It is one of those games where it's like. Hmmm... Do I really want to play this in front of my parents? Nevertheless, it was hilarious & my sister's friend had never played it before. Crazy! It was definitely a fun time and the day was FULL OF FOOD!

Too much food. You know when you are full, but you keep on eating because, well. It's there! And I don't want it to go to waste. That's exactly how I felt yesterday. I found myself eating things like cookies and chips, when usually I am not tempted by those. Although it was a weird day of eating, I am back on track today.

Before we jump into what happened today, I wanted to let you guys know that I am trying a cleanse. Yes, a cleanse. And not an all liquids cleanse or a soup cleanse or anything like that. I am doing the Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox. You have probably seen it in stores, and to be honest, I had this cleanse kit for over a year and a half before biting the bullet and starting it today. When I first purchased the kit, it was near Christmas time and I was starting my first bikini prep in the New Year. So, I figured prep plus a cleanse was probably too much. Here we are now!

You take the three herbal pill supplements twice per day, as well as the CL Herbal Extract twice per day. It is suggested that the supplements are taken before meals at breakfast and dinner. This is pretty doable, I'd say. The last thing I want is to be hauling out all of my supplements at lunch time at work. I know people would probably be like, oh, okay, because they were used to my food during prep, but nevertheless. It makes it easier to do at home. Additionally, it also comes with a booklet with a list of foods to eat during the cleanse. The usual bread, pasta, candy, ice cream, dairy, sugar, etc. is on the avoid list, though there are things that I eat every day that are on the YES list. This includes berries, oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, chicken, etc. During the cleanse you are to avoid things like added sauces - some oils are okay - and peanut butter. PEANUT BUTTER? That is my ride or die in my morning bowl of oats. However, yeast bacteria thrive on things like sugar and peanut butter. I am going to cut it out during this twelve day cleanse and see how my skin reacts to that. Eczema is a very picky thing, and although I like to think I know my triggers (dairy, bread), even the slightest thing can set it off. We shall see how I fare with this!

Why a cleanse? Why not! As I read through the booklet last night, I immediately thought: do it for the blog. This doesn't mean I am going to do ANYTHING for the sake of writing about it on the blog, but I read so many blogs and reviews before finally jumping in. Perhaps this will serve as a tool for you in case you are ever interested in trying it!

So, with a new cleanse on the go, it was only fitting to go grocery shopping and stock up on some more healthy items. This included more berries, rice cakes, almond butter (this is allowed!), lemons, cucumber, and apples. We'll see how creative I get with this, as it almost reminds me of my prep diet - only with more fruit! Here is a little example of a prepped lunch for the week:

Quinoa, broccoli & baked chicken breast with a sugar free (it is amazing what they put sugar in!) seasoning, which is a medley of spices like garlic, pepper, onion, etc. I also made a big salad for tomorrow, as I usually like having salads on Tuesdays as it is a rest day. More carbs on the days that I work out!

Speaking of work outs, I am absolutely exhausted from my day of working out. Yes, it was pretty much a day. If you didn't pick up on this already by the first photo in this post, I went to a hot yoga class today. There is a studio maybe four doors down from my work, and although I walk by there pretty much every day, I hadn't been inside in a long time. In fact, the first time I ever went was 2009, and since then they have undergone some ownership changes. This meant that I was eligible again for the 2 week intro pass. Myself and two other coworkers arrived at 9:30am to get our sweat on, and holy crap did I ever sweat. It is hard to grab onto your arms and legs in certain poses when literally every pore of your body is pouring with sweat. The class was an hour long, and man did I ever feel good after! There were people of all ages and experience levels too, which was really cool to see. I didn't feel like the odd one out despite not being the most flexible yogi in the room, but that's the great thing about yoga. Everyone is on their own journey and you just make space for what feels good to your body.

After yoga, I came home and started laundry while my oatmeal cooked away on the stove. I got a bit of a late start to my breakfast game (something about twisting around on a full stomach in a boiling hot room didn't sound appealing to me pre-yoga), so I started my cleanse during the first meal. Once breakfast was settled, I thought to myself. Well, what else am I going to do? So what else did I do but go for a run. Crazy, I know, but that's what I did. I ran 5km, then immediately jumped into the shower. After running some errands in the afternoon, prepping meals, and even taking a 30 minute cat nap, I headed off to another workout class.

Yes, another workout class.

Me and the two other coworkers I went to hot yoga with also went to a Barre Infusion class at our local rec centre. It was lots of fun and incorporated tons of squats! Barre generally uses things like the bar (as seen in ballet class), balls, and lighter dumbbells. The repetitions are HIGH, like to the point where I was losing count between what rep and set we were in. My legs are starting to feel sore now, so I know I will feel it tomorrow! It is also a great core workout too. If you have been interested in trying a Barre class I would highly recommend it! It is a good work out for sure.

And with that, I am off to flop on the couch and RELAX! I always tell Ryan that I need one day to just do nothing - yet on my days off I am always so GO GO GO! Maybe next weekend ; )

Until next time, friends!

Monday Funday & Glute Workout

Good afternoon from me and my new boyfriend Simba. I hope you are all having a great day!

Today is my Sunday, which means it's time to recap last week.

Last week was my first week back on the Shred plan after having my wisdom teeth removed January 14th. It felt great to be back on track, and all of my work outs felt strong. I have been trying to make an effort to push more and try more when I'm in the gym. Whether it's lifting a little bit heavier or doing a couple more reps than usual, all of these changes will help contribute to a stronger me, and that's definitely what I'm after! In my last post about goal setting I talked about writing things down, and soon enough I will be able to start checking more things off the list. I am almost half way through the Shred program (it is 8 weeks as opposed to a longer competition season, if that were my goal), and I'm on my second course for my personal training course. Progress takes time - it's not overnight! So, it's important for me to be patient and keep working hard for what I want to achieve.

With that being said, I had a check in with my trainer this morning at the gym. We did a weigh and measure, and I am down 4% body fat since I last checked in with her last Monday (we meet weekly to track my progress), and about three inches, if I remember correctly. This was motivating for me as I did go a little bit off track this weekend, but clearly my body is burning through that energy and metabolizing it in a productive way.

Rewinding to this weekend: Saturday was a short day at work as my Brownie group went camping! I am not sharing pictures on the blog for privacy reasons, but I will tell you that it was a wonderful time, and all of the girls had so much fun. When I came home on Sunday, I was pooped, but surprised to see a new desk waiting for me!

I have been looking for a desk for the last couple weeks as I have lots of notebooks and study materials that need a home other than the closet or the dining room table. So, while I was away at camp, Ryan found this desk for me. It matches pretty well to our table (a bit darker), but I can always sand it down and stain it later as it is solid wood. My first project will probably be selecting newer knobs and handles to refresh it, and then we will see what I want to do after. Sunday afternoon was spent putting things in their rightful place, and I sit here now typing up this blog post. I have a feeling this desk will get a lot of use!

Sunday night was spent with family at my parents' house around the campfire. We got to visit with some family from up island, and shout out to Kelly because I know she reads this little blog of mine! Hey, hey! It's always a good time when our families get together, and I always look forward to when we visit. It was the perfect way to unwind from the weekend and kick off the week.

Back to today...

Monday workout: LEGS! Glute focus, because booty. And also some quads and hamstrings.

So basically lower body.

It looked something like this:
Warmed up on the elliptical for five or so minutes.

4 x 12 quad extensions, then drop pin 10% and 4 x 10 reps at lower weight

3 x 12 single leg dead lifts, followed by 3 x 12 regular dead lifts

3 x 15 sumo squats

2 x 15, 1 x 12, 1 x 10 leg press, heavier each time

1 x 15, 1 x 12, 1 x 10 hamstring curls, heavier each time

3 x 12 cable kickbacks (heavier weight on last set)

3 x 12 incline leg press (alternating between feet close together and wide apart)

30 seconds of cardio (running on the spot, jumping jackets, etc) between each set to keep the heart rate up!

That's all that I can remember, but needless to say, it was a good leg day today!

I am off to enjoy some down time before I head to bed. Have a good evening & chat with you later!

Welcome, 2016!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2016 & back to my little ol' blog.

December was one of the busiest months, and I am looking forward to new routines and settling into 2016. Between my family and Ryan's family, we had some kind of event going on almost every week; some weeks we would have two or three family things going on plus work and day to day things. Needless to say, I am ready for the New Year and excited for what's to come!

So, the photo that kicked off this blog post is me and Ryan's Christmas gift. We decided to do stockings for each other still, but we were in dire need of a new table, so that was our big holiday purchase. Although it did not arrive for Christmas, we brought it home December 29th & got everything set up. The table has two leaf inserts to make it extra long, which will make life so much easier when it comes to hosting dinners or just having people over in general

On New Year's Eve my parents had a party, and it ended up being so much fun! We weren't sure who would show up since it was pretty much an open invitation, but once 9pm rolled around, the house was full of people. The party didn't stop until 5:30am too - although that was mostly my dad & his buddy in a competitive round of whiskey shooters. Yup, count me out! I ended up going to bed at 3am and, I'll admit, I was a hurting unit on Friday. Thankfully I had the day off! Saturday was back to work, yesterday was a day off full of sleeping in, taking Christmas down & then dinner at my parents' house, and here we are at today!

Today's morning view. When we left my parents' house last night it was lightly snowing. Well, I suppose it either got heavier or just accumulated during the night, because we had a couple centimetres of snow dusted on the ground when I woke up. It didn't last long, though! The little bit of rain that we had today washed it all away.

Today was spent getting organized, which includes typing up a blog post and writing in my planner for the week ahead. I am scheduling in "blog posts" in my planner to make sure I am consistent. That being said, I am aiming for blogging at least twice per week. Other 2016 goals include completing my personal training certification, going on more weekend trips (or adventures in general), reading two books per month (currently on my second one for January), running the Lululemon SeaWheeze half marathon, completing the Shred plan (offered by my competition coach), and starting the garden at my parents' house again.

Oh yeah, and then this happened today:

New hair cut, new work out plan, new goals for 2016 - ready, set, go!

What are your 2016 goals?

Throwback Thursday & Today's Work Out

Photo by my lovely friend Talia of TC Joy Photography - taken when I was 5 days out from my first bikini competition!

Happy (Throwback) Thursday, friends!

I am blogging from the kitchen table tonight after a delicious dinner. Food always tastes good after a work out, or maybe I was extra hungry and worked up an appetite.

After the work day was finished, I was debating whether I wanted to go to the gym or not. I had scheduled a gym date in my planner, but after trekking to the car in the rain (without the hood on my jacket because I took it off yesterday - bad idea), the thought of flopping on the couch and having popcorn for dinner didn't sound half bad. However, I took one look over at the lone gym bag in my passenger seat, and soon I found myself driving to the gym. Whenever I skip the gym I end up regretting not going, so I knew that I would feel better if I just did it.

I have been making a larger effort these past couple weeks to incorporate more running into my routine. Sure, I did lots of cardio during my bikini prep, but most of that was mixed between the elliptical, stair climber, and treadmill - treadmill being the last thing I wanted to do. That being said, I have been using my planner to plan out my weekly mileage. I am starting out small (small compared to what I would run before when training for half marathons & whatnot), but small steps will help me achieve bigger goals such as stepping on stage in 2016 and potentially running a full marathon in years to come. Disclaimer: I have not signed up for a full marathon! Totally not there yet, but it's one of those longterm goals or items on my bucket list.

My workout looked like this today:

Cardio: Total of 3.3 miles (or 5.3km)

Strength: back & biceps

My strength workout was comprised of movements such as lat pull down, bent-over rows, seated rows, straight bar pull down, alternating bicep curls, and bicep curls with the rope/cable attachment.

It felt good to increase the weight on some of these moves as well. I am making a larger effort to increase my lifts. If I don't, I won't see my body changing. A large part of when I was in competition prep was challenging myself to do more in every session, of course depending how my body felt and being mindful not to go over my own boundaries. I feel like I am back at that place now, and it feels good to see those improvements!

Another photo from my shoot with TC Joy Photography

Tomorrow's goal is to wake up early and get a run in before work. After the work day, we are headed over to a going away party for a co-worker of mine, so it is important to me to get that work out in before the day begins. I know I will not make it to the gym after work because of an alternate commitment, so I'll force myself to make the time! And now I have to, because I've put it on the blog. And it's in my planner. Written in stone!

I hope you all had a wonderful day & I will check in with you this weekend!

Back in Action: November Edition

Oh, why hello there!

Long time no talk, hey? I am back on the blogging bandwagon, so we will see how long this lasts.

I am going to skip through September & October, because why live in the past when we can SEIZE THE DAY! and talk about November activities. Also, I can't recall everything I did in September and October, so we are going to move right along.

Mondays are my days off, so today was spent both relaxing and being productive. I slept in and woke up to Ryan bringing me my usual giant cup of lemon water and a mug full of fresh coffee. Can I wake up like this every morning? Ryan, I hope you are reading this ;) After lounging in bed for a good half hour, I finally got up and made some breakfast. I am forever on an oatmeal kick, so this morning I had (you guessed it), a bowl of oatmeal with chia seeds, a scoop of Adam's natural peanut butter and a banana sliced on top. While I ate my breakfast, I watched some YouTube videos and completed my chapter 9 & 10 quiz for the Fitness Theory course I am taking. It is crazy to think that I am pretty much DONE that course! One down, two to go.

One thing that has helped me get through the course in a reasonable amount of time is planning ahead. In the last week of September I purchased an Erin Condren planner, and for those of you who have heard all about them online, they truly do live up to all the hype. I have been planning out my weeks, and recently have been writing in different goals that I want to accomplish during the week, whether it's packing my work lunches ahead of time, not purchasing coffee from the cafe across the street, or hitting the gym X amount of days that week. Having a visual reminder of what you need to do for the day definitely helps keep me on track!

Simba is an expert at helping me plan, too. I bet he wishes he had a planner of his own.

His day would look something like this:

1. Eat
2. Claw at the bedroom door so the humans know I am awake and waiting.
3. Sit on top of the scratch post and watch the neighborhood, ensuring everyone is safe

4. Claw under all the closet doors in the house because I am determined to know what is in there. Maybe I need a jacket or towel.

5. Randomly run around the house because WHY NOT

6. Eat

7. Eat more

8. Meow at the humans because I can see the bottom of my food bowl.

9. Flick water out of the dish

10. Sleep 

After my quiz, I went down to the basement and got in a treadmill run. I originally had 10km on my schedule, but I ended up completing 11.5km instead. It was one of those runs where the stars aligned physically and mentally, so I kept going. I stretched a little bit after, then came back upstairs to do a quick lower body workout using some dumbbells I have at home. This workout included squats, side lunges, deadlifts, and plie squats. Mondays are one of my favourite workout days, because I have recently joined a spin class with my mom. It is a fun way to incorporate other types of cardio in my routine. Eventually when I am up and running with personal training, I would like to be certified in group fitness so I can do things like spin classes and bootcamps.

Once my morning work out was done, I got myself ready for the day. The rest of the day included heading into town for a little bit of Christmas shopping (successfully found two gifts for some family members, so it has officially begun!) and to the grocery store for the usual apples, Greek yogurt & almond milk. Apples are forever a staple in my household! I have to admit, I caved in yesterday and bought my first holiday drink at Starbucks. How can one say no to those red cups!? All in moderation, of course. Tis the season for many indulgent snacks!

Anyway, there's a little update for you about my Monday! It is officially holiday time (in my mind), so stay tuned for some holiday themed posts, and just more regular posts in general. Now that I have my planner, I think that will keep me more accountable to devoting more time to this blog of mine!

Let me know if there is anything in particular you'd like to see here! Have a wonderful evening & I will talk to you all soon!

Butt Sagging, Squattage & You're Fave Strength Training Move

I hope the fitting room associate wasn't wondering what was taking me so long. I was, um, busy trying on clothes, obviously.

Hey, hey, happy Wednesday! Let's chat for a little bit, shall we?

On Monday I decided I needed to buy some new jeans. The pair I had been wearing faithfully were getting loose in all the wrong places (read: saggy butt, saggy crotch, no no no thank you). I'm not sure if squatting in crazy positions had anything to do with the saggage (is that a thing? Let's make it a thing), but needless to say I needed something new in my life! I found two pairs of jeans for a  steal, and now my jean needs have been fulfilled. Bonus: These ones have the perfect amount of stretch for awkward squattage (that's a new thing too). Don't worry; I tested them.

Tuesday after work was gym time! Originally I wanted to hope on the treadmill and get a run in, but all the treadmills were taken except one right next to the stair stepper. My gym has two types of treadmills, one that feels shorter and one that is taller, and of course it was one of the short ones left over. Hmm, I think I'll just lift heavy things for a while.

I completed a full body work out that included everything from glute bridges, planks, bicep curls, bent over rows, oblique bends, shoulder presses, chest presses, dumb bell deadlifts, jump squats... I can't remember the rest, but you get the gist of it!

Then I headed home to celebrate my dad's 50th birthday!

Mr Birthday Dude and his new laptop! He was so thrilled and it was nice to see his reaction. "Is... this what I think it is!?" OH YEAH! He was using my sister's old laptop for the longest time, and the poor thing was missing screws, literally falling apart at the corners and held together with duct tape. He will have so much fun with this gadget!

"Woohoo, I'm 50!" is what he was saying here. Dad, I hope you had a fantastic birthday. We love you so much!

And now we are at today! This week is going by quickly which makes me happy as there is a long weekend ahead. Who doesn't love a three day weekend!? After work, I headed to the gym and got in a 5KM run and a quick strength training session. I focused on upper body mostly and completed back extensions, tricep dips, some core work & some one-legged dumb bell deadlifts. I haven't done one-legged deadlifts in a long time, so I did 3 sets of 5 to kinda re-familiarize myself. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon!

I hope you all are enjoying the week so far and have a good evening!

What's your favourite strength training move?

Garden Magic & Full Body BLAST Workout

The other day I went out to the garden and saw magic happening right before my eyes. I am happy to report that I have a baby cauliflower growing and a couple baby cucumbers! It is always so exciting to see the literal fruits of your labor, and everything tastes so fresh right grown in your own backyard. I have a hard time buying things like kale now since I have a huge abundance of it, and the same will ring true when my cherry tomatoes ripen. Exciting stuff!

I started off yesterday with a 5 mile run. It was cool and crisp out - perfect running weather.

Overall I felt good despite fallin' off my pace during mile three. Oh well! They can't all be perfect and even, I suppose.

Once I was home, I quickly showered and got myself ready before it was time to make breakfast. Of course, breakfast was the usual oatmeal with coffee. So original!

Then later on in the day I headed to the gym. My legs felt good from the morning run, so I hopped on the treadmill and ran another three to bring my grand total to eight for the day. I also completed a strength training work out that focused mostly on upper body, but also threw in things like deadlifts and jump squats to keep my body guessing and my heart rate up. Here it is below:

I switched between 12 and 15 pound weights for the above exercises. For the jump squats, I used a 10 pound medicine ball as that was most comfortable for me to use. Use whatever works best for you, or use your body weight. Throwing the squat jumps into the mix was a great way to keep my heart rate up and muscles guessing. They will be appearing in many workouts to come! 

Oh yeah! I also did a one minute plank before stretching a bit and heading on my way. Let me know if you give it a try and tell me what you think!

After the gym, Ryan and I went for a walk along the trail. Lately we've been going for a walk in the evening, and I find it's a great way to catch up on the day together, get some fresh air, and unwind. There were quite a few people out and about, mostly families and their kids riding bikes, but overall a fairly quiet walk! We completed 2.1 miles, then made a delicious dinner of salmon, mini potatoes & roasted veggies which was enjoyed while watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. Kids at heart!

Hope you all had a good night and Happy almost Weekend!

The Longest Four Day Week In the History of Four Day Weeks

Here is the revised picture a coworker sent to me:

And this is 100% accurate.

FRIDAY IS FINALLY HERE!

You'd think the days would go by zipping fast because there's only four rather than five, but for some reason this week just dragged on. And on. And on. And it didn't end. And it's still not done. Perhaps it's because I have been extra frustrated and kind of stressed out this week. Lots has been on my mind (revolving around the same subject), and it's gotten to a point where my mind is jam packed with a bajillion thoughts and it gets distracting. Hopefully this funk passes soon. Have you felt that way before!?

Save my soul. Anyway, let's look back at the (incredibly slow moving) week.

Tuesday I took a rest day. My hip was hurting a little bit thanks to overstretching it on Monday, and I was advised by a certain smart man in my life that "it's better to take a day off than injuring yourself more and having to take off a whole month, OR MORE." Yes, oh wise one. I have to admit that the day of rest was much needed, and my Wednesday's run was great!

Wednesday: 6.31 mile run, 20 minute strength training that focused on squats, standing leg lifts (to strengthen the outer hips), tricep dips, and core work. I have also been walking on my coffee break + lunch break at work (hooray, fresh air and MOVEMENT!), which rounds out to 2 miles if I am only walking on one of my coffee breaks. I try to do this every day, but sometimes the afternoon coffee break is missed!

Thursday: 4.35 mile run + 30 minutes strength training.
3 x 10 squats
3 x 10 push ups
3 x 10 shoulder press, 3 x 10 chest press
1 minute plank
4 x 25 weighted oblique bends
3 x 10 bent over rows
3 x 12 bicep curls
2 x 25 weighted plie squats

I am not too sure what is on the running plan for today, but it'll be an easy paced run since my legs are a bit sore from yesterday's work out!

I'd have to say that the phrase below definitely applies to me lately. What the heck. Negative Nancy over here or what? Admitting is the first step, riiiight? And the next is probably changing the environment that is causing the stress. In the works, people. In the works.

Anywho, I am off! Have a fantastic Friday!

An Egg Kick & October Favourites!

Post 4.1 mile run lunch. I am forever on an egg kick, so as per usual I whipped up some veggie scrambled eggs. I use two eggs and a splash of milk, then add my veggies in the pan and mix it all together. Why dirty up another dish just to mix it together when you can put it in the pan all at once? Makes sense to me. I added some garlic salt to my tomato slices (and ate one before this photo was snapped) and steamed some broccoli in the microwave and voila! I am le chef.

Rewind to my run:
4.1 easy and some strength training (kinda) after.

3 x 10 push ups

15/15/20 reverse crunches

50 squats (body weight)

1 minute plank

I should do that more often. And not just say I should ;)

Since it is Beauty Tuesday (yeah, yeah, remember those!?), I figured I would share some of my October favourites with you. I generally use the same products day to day, but some things only pop up in stores when the fall season hits. Naturally, I have to buy more than one because I love them so much. 

On to the favourites!

Tim Horton's Pumpkin Spice Tea: I had a hell of a time finding this last year. Every Tim's I went to was sold out, and one of the employees felt so bad for me (after telling me a lady literally ordered ten CASES of the tea) he gave me the four tea bags that were left for store use. My mom actually picked this up and got two boxes. Thank you, mom. Thank you. The struggle is real.

Bath & Body Works Aspen Caramel Woods Body Lotion: You can't really tell in the picture, but I squeezed every last drop out of this sucker. It smells sweet and very fall-like. Bonus, it comes in other fall scents which I am currently working through right now.

LUSH Lemony Flutter: This cuticle butter can be used on any dry spots you have. I use it on my cuticles, lips, and any dry patches of skin that pop up. It smells like sweet lemons and is super moisturizing!

Bath & Body Works Pumpkin Caramel Latte Candle: And every other fall scented candle of their's that I have. So good. You can't go wrong!

MAC Blush in Warm Soul: I would describe this as a peach bronze colour with warm undertones and a hint of shimmer. Look at me sounding like a beauty guru. I've honestly had this blush for over two years, and yes that's not exactly hygienic of me, but I can't let it go! It is my go-to colour and pairs well with a lot of make up looks... Like the only one I have.

Cover Girl Flamed Out Mascara: My only gripe with this mascara is that I wish the wand itself was longer. It is quite short, but it has a cool almost hour glass shaped brush that grab onto lashes and add volume and definition. 

And in the spirit of Halloween, my sister and I carved pumpkins last night. She specifically told me NOT to carve a cat, so I hid it from her until the last possible second before revealing... Meow. A cat. It's no surprise since the last pumpkin I carved was a cat face. Then she had to one up me and did an owl. Show off ;)

Happy Tuesday!