Happy New Year Workout Recap

Hello 2017!

First let me get some blogging business out of the way...Congratulations JEN! You are the winner of the Spartan Race giveaway! Please check your inbox for information about your prize.

Ok, back to the weekly recap...

I spent most of 2016 trying to stay active and healthy all the while keeping my fingers crossed that one day my knee will let me return to some sort of running again. I hiked, I did yoga, I rode my bike, I started Bodypump.

I love making new goals and I'm a sucker for making new ones every year (see here, here, and here). One thing I've learned over the years, though is that you don't have to wait until January 1st, or Monday, or next month. Goals can be made anytime and we can start working on them whenever we want.

This year I'm not setting yearly goals, I'm setting a theme. I'm joining the FitApproach #IAmEmpowered campaign. It's about feeling strong and confident and celebrating what makes me, ME! I'll be pushing myself to continue to try new things, go beyond my comfort zone, and try to encourage others to do the same.

Here's my first week of feeling empowered:

Monday - mrC and I hiked. It's a quick hour-ish hike, but the beginning is a serious climb straight up 733 steps. Great cardio and leg workout.

Tuesday - I went to Bodypump. I'm really liking this class and the happy sore I get from it. I ❤️it.

OOTD details here

Wednesday - mrC and I went to Central to run some errands and I was on a mission to find Be-Juiced and break my fast with an acai bowl. Mission accomplished. My toppings ---> peanut butter, strawberries, and granola.

Thursday - I got to the fitness center a little late and it was packed. I wanted some cardio so I used a very techno elliptical for about 15 minutes (it stayed on too hard) and then switched to the rower. It was my first time and I had no idea how to use the settings. I picked JUST ROW and did that for 15 minutes. I burned 100 calories. I think I'm going to like it.

Friday - I was back at Bodypump but I brought a friend. mrC! Looks like I have inspired him to lift some weights.

Saturday - I got to the fitness center early to do my sprints and planks. It was a good workout before the NYE celebrations later.

**I had to share this photo from our NYE party boat on Victoria Harbour. We cruised from DB to Central, had some drinks, had some snacks, had a little dancing and then watched the amazing fireworks over the water. It was a great evening with new friends.

Sunday - After staying up until 2:30, I managed a NYDay walk. We're all allowed a lazy day and mine felt great!

Today - I started the Yoga Revolution challenge because my heel is finally feeling better and Adriene's challenges are awesome. It felt so good to ease back into it and actually do downward dog without my heel firing up.

After yoga I was back for more Bodypump. My goal (haha) is to attend two classes a week, but at least one.

Do you set New Year goals?
What makes you feel empowered?
Did you celebrate NYE?

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?

Shred Day 24 and More Plus Exploring Downtown Montreal

I may be slacking on my blogging, but I'm keeping up with the 30 Day Shred program and keeping busy while mrC finishes up his training.

Let's catch up a little ok?

Day 24: Fast

This was a scheduled rest day but I decided to do some "easy" pool running while doing laundry at the hotel. If you have ever tried to run in a pool, you know that it is not easy and is actually a really good low impact workout. It was also a good excuse to wear the new tankini I picked up on sale at Athleta.

I turned the shallow end of the pool into a loop and did 20 laps (both directions) 3 times. I took a break between each set to check the laundry and let my heart rate come down. It was awesome, but would have been nicer in an outdoor pool like when I was in Florida.

Later, I walked to the nearby mall to get my nails done. Don't pay attention to the time (I forgot to hit pause while at the nail salon), but it's a nice little walk there and back. My BFF gave me a pair of hand-me-down jean shorts when I visited in Ohio and I'm loving how comfy they are. There's a Rockport store in the mall, but they didn't have anything better than the sandals I already love for walking.

WIA: I broke my fast around 2PM (which is pretty typical for me) with a protein shake, rice cakes and a veggie burger. Unfortunately, I overate by the end of night, probably from being too active while trying to fast and because mrC ordered Chinese food.

Day 25: Low Carb

Since starting the carb cycling programs, I've loved low carb days for two reasons: the sprints are a killer workout and I can usually hit my macros pretty easily. I've been loving the sprints even more now that I'm able to run them out. I'm not speedy by any means, but being able to run/walk nearly 2 miles when I thought my running days were over is A-MAZ-ING!!

The workout was the usual 25 sprints using 20 seconds run/20 seconds walk intervals. I did a short walking warm-up and cool down, so most of the distance was from the sprints. I think I was a little faster this time. I wasn't worried about skipping the 30 minute recovery walk because we were going sightseeing again.

It was muggy and gray with a threat of rain (not like our last trip), so we went to downtown Montreal instead of doing the two hour drive to Quebec City like we had planned. We'd been told to check out the Underground City, a perfect place to go on bad weather days. After a quick walk around what is really just a huge mall, we decided to head back above ground and outside.

We had a great time exploring.

Christ Church Cathedral, Phillips Square, and St. James United Church

Museum McCord, Museum of Fine Arts, Archeological Garden

Rue Crescent, Chateau Apartments, Square Dorchester, Montreal construction!,
Clean City Campaign, Mary Queen of the World Cathedral

WIA: I have the easiest time with low carb days, a far cry from where I was when I first started carb cycling. We missed the breakfast buffet at the hotel, so we went to Chez Cora in Saint Laurent for a delicious made to order meal. We picked Dundees in the heart of downtown on Upper Crescent Street, a restaurant and entertainment hotspot, for lunch. Our night ended with a make your own meal in the hotel room.

Day 26: Feast

I was back in the fitness center for another serious strength training session. The 90 minute workout focused on shoulders, shoulders, shoulders, chest, and legs, legs, legs. On top of using heavier weights, this workout was a killer. I took some extra cool down time in the yoga room for stretching and restoring.

WIA: Add two strawberry daiquiris at dinner and my calories for feast day were just above my regular calorie goal. According to my customized IIFYM, I could have eaten more protein but did very well on carbs and fat. No complaints here. I even have room for a snack later!

Have you tried pool running?
Any big plans for the weekend?
How good are you at stretching after a workout?

How I Mix Workouts with Fun on Vacation

If you know me at all, you know that I like to workout.

Not everyone is into fitness, so I try to find things to do that others will enjoy but that will give me my often much-needed workout.

There are plenty of fun activities to do in Falmouth. Believe me, I have a list of favorites that gets longer every time I'm here. But I love to try new things, too.

Last year I tried SUP Yoga for the first time with my friend Danielle and loved it. She's working on her Masters Degree this summer, so she put me in touch with her friend Amy of Peace Love SUP. I was thrilled that the whole family wanted to join me. Our group of six met Amy at Great Pond for a fun afternoon session on the water.

The girls and I had a challenging SUP Yoga workout. I'd love to say that I conquered crow pose on the board, but this is really just Amy catching my one second hold. She did not catch when I fell off the board trying to do side angle pose.

The boys kept to SUP even though we tried to talk then into joining us for some yoga.



W had a great experience with Amy on the SUP boards and several of us were even a little sore the next day.

A new activity for us this year was Bottom Fishing with Patriot Party Boats. Bottom Fishing pretty much guarantees that everyone will catch a fish because they park the boat on top of schools of fish.

Even though I just went along to watch and cheer on the group, I ended up giving fishing a try. It's a lot of work bringing a fish to the surface! I'm pretty sure you can call it a workout, especially if you catch a lot of fish. I think littleC caught eight!

My new found enjoyment of hiking led me to The Knob on Quissett Bay Harbor near Woods Hole. The Knob is really a sanctuary that was donated to the people by Cornelia Carey. She wanted people to enjoy the woods, the birds, and the sea.

There are two walking trails to get to the area known as The Knob lookout. The main trail is well maintained, wide, and takes you straight to the end. We took the Harbor Cliff trail which overlooks the inner harbor in spots but is narrow and not as maintained.

Off the main trail is also access to Crescent Beach on Buzzards Bay. Many people were making a day of it, but we just enjoyed a quick dip to cool off.

One of our favorite activities in Falmouth is the Shining Sea Bike Trail. The trail extends just over 10.5 miles from North Falmouth to Woods Hole. There are several trail heads so you can jump on and off at different places.

Of course there is always swimming at Old Silver Beach. We like to walk the .50 mile there and then spend a couple of hours in and out of the water. There's also a water sports rental shop right on the beach.

Do you like to workout when you're on vacation?
How do you get others to workout with you?

Funny Things During a Workout, Carb Cycling Round 2 and GIVEAWAY ALERTS!

I've got some really great giveaway alerts for you at the end of this post that you don't want to miss out on!

But first, I woke up SUPER early this morning (5 AM!) and since I couldn't fall back to sleep I made some coffee to take out on the back deck. It was a nice until it started raining.

mrC did not have the same problem. I had to wake him up for church. We had big plans to walk there (it's only about .25 mile from the house), but the rain... Side note: I love, love my new skirt. 

After church we decided to do an indoor workout for carb cycling feast day.  I like Jillian Michaels workout videos because she takes you through a dynamic warm up and static cool down.

I'm always looking for new ways to modify cardio exercises to keep my knee happy. JM showed me that squat punches is a great option.

Three funny things commonly happen when I workout with mrC:

1) he closes his eyes during intervals  - I look over during lunges and it looks like he's sleeping!

2) he high fives after each circuit - he's a happy guy ;)

3) when he bangs into something (like today he sort of punched the drop ceiling), he never reacts - I nearly jump out of my skin at the noise, look over, and he's just jumping away. It's like he's trying to say, wasn't me. Haha.

Speaking of carb cycling, today was also the last day of round 2 which means we took measurements. Full disclosure, I was not as faithful to the eating plan as I was during round 1. I could blame all the travel, but it really came down to the fact that I let myself cheat and cheat and cheat.

THE RESULTS: My weight stayed the same but I gained (eek) 4.75 inches!

+.50 bust
+.25 hips
0 waist
+1.5 thighs
+1.5 calves
+1.5 biceps

mrC says gaining in some places (like my biceps) is a good thing. I agree, although half heartedly, because I really wanted to lose another 4 pounds and slim down my hips and thighs.

FINAL THOUGHTS: You get out what you put in. I have signed up for a 30 Day Shred and I'm making a promise to myself to stick to the plan.

The sun came out after lunchtime, so we walked to the beach to enjoy a little sun, sand and waves.  I highly recommend a beach day if you are feeling bummed.

Before I sign off, I want to share links to GIVEAWAYS going on now. There have been so many lately that I couldn't keep them to myself.

Win a Bib to the Falmouth Road Race from Carrots n Cake 

Live Free and Run Giveaway: TWO entries to a ZOOMA Run Event (for you and a friend)

Win a pair of compression socks from The Fit Fork

Lean, Clean, and Brie is hosting a Bob's Red Mill Giveaway

Win IdealFit Protein Powder from The Bikini Experiment

Lower Body Exercises, a Survey, and Eats

I really liked the video workout combination I did on my last regular calorie day, so I did a repeat today. My hips and thighs still need some toning up and I like the exercises in the videos for the lower body.

Most of the exercises are combo moves. 

Side lunge with double jump in the middle. Switch to other side.

Skater jumps with reverse lunges.

The hardest exercise is a combo of warrior 3 and reverse tricep curl. It's really hard to keep my balance while trying to stay parallel to the floor.

I added on the same exercises I learned during PT again because they are good lower body exercises. I really felt these afterwards the last time I did them. I do three sets of lateral band walks. 10 steps one way, 10 steps back. 3x. Then hamstring curls on the balance ball (no picture).

I've been seeing a lot of surveys on social media lately and this one is my favorite because I love emojis!

Can you do it? Only emojis!

 Current mood: 😍

 Relationship status: 👫

 Kids: 👩🏼👱🏻👩🏼

 Pets: 🐶

 Favorite color: 💙

 Favorite food: 🍕🍉🍷

 Favorite Animal: 🐕🐈

 Favorite season: 👙☀️⛱🕶

 Favorite holiday: 🎄

 Favorite sport: ⚽️🏈🏃🏻

 Most Used emoji(s): 😘❤️😉

 Occupation: 🏡🍎📚

What I ate for regular calorie day

Breakfast: not as fun when mrC isn't here to join me.

Lunch: plus some sweet potatoe chips

Dinner: That was a bowl of chicken noodle soup...plus some Baked Lays potato chips

Macros: I did pretty well today, even with all the chip eating and the mini Oreos I snacked on. That's the thing about IIFYM (if it fits your macros) diets...you don't HAVE TO give up your favorite foods. You just have to eat in moderation.

Do you like to repeat the same workouts?

What was the last survey you did?