And on Mondays We Squat (plus a Presidential Debate Drinking Game)

This morning after everyone went to work, I got to workout! Today I started Week 4 of the Sweat with Kayla program.

The temperatures have dropped BIG TIME in Springfield. This morning it was only 35 degrees and I don't really have cold weather outdoor workout gear with me. Using the Sweat with Kayla app on my phone makes it easy to workout anywhere. I easily found a place in the house to do my resistance leg HIIT workout.

Circuit 1: squats with overhead press, step up knee ups, jump rope, static lunges

Circuit 2: jump squats, walking lunges, burpees, step ups

After an amazingly relaxing weekend, I needed a good, hard workout to start the week and this delivered. The whole time I was working out, I pushed myself and stayed focused on giving 100% during each exercise. When I started to feel tired, I thought about all the calories my body was burning and was going to keep burning later.

After completing the post workout stretches, I went right out for a 30 minute low intensity sustained state walk. As cold as it was when I started my HIIT workout, it was almost perfect during my walk (just a little cool after my sweaty body cooled down).

My shoes

There were some signs of autumn on my walk. I love the look of pumpkins and mums, and falling leaves.

mrC gave me a tennis ball so that I could work on my calf muscles. I'm still dealing with the stinger in my heel (that still only flares up when I stretch) and I'm hoping at some point I will pinpoint the cause. It's messing with my yoga game.

Sun in the backyard means two things:

- watering the lawn where my SIL just had a new septic tank put in.

- putting my feet up because, life is good.

Before jumping in the shower, I did a spontaneous strength workout. Just a quick one using my beloved resistance band system. I am really happy to be taking this back to China with us.

WIA

Tonight is The Big Night in politics and a lot of people will be watching the Battle at Hofstra. Some people are speculating that the candidates might come out and play it safe and the whole debate might be pretty boring. Just in case, I thought it would be unfair if I did not share this drinking game that a friend posted on Facebook with you.

Do you have a Monday workout mantra? I like "Never miss a Monday"
Favorite signs of Fall?
Ever have a stinger in your heel?
What words would you add to the drinking game? I would put Huge on Trump's list.

Full Body HIIT Workout formerly known as Calisthenics

Have you ever noticed that your HIIT workout is made up of all those exercises you did in PE Class as a kid that your teacher called Calisthenics? It shouldn't be surprising since calisthenics are exercises done using just your body weight.

Today my full body workout basically had all the staple calisthenic moves:

Circuit 1: squats, burpees, toe taps, jump rope

Circuit 2: lunge jumps, sumo squats, push ups, straight leg sit ups

I must talk about my workout. 1) The burpees went smoothly the first time through the circuits. The second time, my quads were so tired! 2) I really, really dislike lunge jumps. 3) I totally killed the push ups today!! I'm so proud of myself. 4) I'm excited that I completed all of the workouts for the week ---> three resistance HIIT workouts and three cardio workouts.

I love that the Sweat with Kayla workouts come with a cool down guided stretch session. Now if I could just make that nasty stinger in my heel go away so I could enjoy the stretching more.

The stretch session reminds me to go right to the foam roller and work on those tight spots.

WIA

mrC made us breakfast after my morning workout.

I had leftover BBQ chicken for lunch.

Still loving some delicious watermelon.

We made dinner for mrC's parents again: grilled cheeseburgers, steamed broccoli and sweet potato fries.

Tomorrow we are heading to Boston for the day and going to a soccer game.


Did you get a workout in today? Any calisthenics?
Have any big plans for the weekend?

Todays Menu: Leg Workout + WIAW

It was a perfect morning to get outside for a little HIIT leg workout.

PS: I'm thinking about getting another pair of these amazing flip flops
because they really do feel like I'm walking on a yoga mat. But what color???

Just kidding! That photo is from later in the day because it was a patio kind of day.

Back to that workout --->

On the menu today was lower body resistance and even though my legs were still feeling sore from the last time, I shrugged my shoulders and pressed the start button. My legs felt pretty good during the workout, but it was another tough one.

Two circuits. Four exercises. 7 minutes. 30 seconds rest between circuits. Complete each circuit 2X. 10 minute cool down stretch.

Circuit 1: medicine ball squats, static lunges, jump rope, knee ups
Circuit 2: squats jumps, walking lunges, burpees, weighted step ups

The best - everything was working on squat jumps today. I was feeling powerful, my legs were strong and my knee was happy.

The worst - not a fan of lunges and today it was doubled with two types: 15 static on each side and 24 walking (12 on each side). BTW, that smile is so fake.

Bonus workout --> stair repeats (I was really doing laundry) plus an afternoon walk with mrC added another 1.4 miles to our weekly total.

What I Ate Wednesday:

What was on your menu today?

Weekend Wrap: LISS, Resistance Training, and Ab Carving

We had a busy weekend with lots of family time and plenty of fitness.

Saturday:

mrC and I eased into our day with a little 2 mile walk. The weather has turned so that mornings are comfortably cool under bright sunny skies. We did this walk as a low intensity steady state workout, aka LISS, a term that is new to me.

LISS is a great activity to use when you are trying to burn fat because fat needs oxygen to metabolize into energy. During low intensity exercise your body has the most oxygen available. This works most when your activity is 30 minutes or longer.

We hung out with my mother-in-law for awhile on Saturday afternoon.

For dinner we had cheeseburgers off the grill and my SIL brought another really good cookie, chocolate chip and caramel chunks.

Sunday:

We went to 10:30 Mass and ran into some of mrC's family. My brother-in-law was recognized for his volunteer time with CCD classes and I'm glad we were there to congratulate him.

After church we went to the in-laws to move around some furniture. This is the house that mrC grew up in and his parents still live here. I love that.

Back at my SIL's, I got in an afternoon resistance leg workout. It's mostly body weight exercises, but hand weights can be added on certain exercises to increase the resistance. I like the mix of static and dynamic moves in each high intensity circuit that you keep moving for 7 minutes.

My two favorite moves from today's workout ---> step up, knee ups. My legs and booty are probably going to be feeling these tomorrow.

---> sumo squats. My inner thighs really need toning and this is a great way to hit all the leg muscles at one time.

I'm pretty excited about the workouts offered in the Sweat with Kayla app and how many calories I can burn.

Did you notice the orange and black in my workout gear? Since my beloved Cincinnati Bengals played today, I had to support my team.

I received this Ab Carver Pro from Perfect Fitness as a prize for participating in the Fit Challenge and today I finally got it out of the box. Then I found a 21 day ab carving plan on their website and made today Day 1!

Are you familiar with the term LISS?
What were your weekend workouts?
Ever tried an ab carver?