Popsugar Fitness Two-Week Video Workout Challenge

After taking a brief hiatus from scheduled workouts and enjoying a bunch of family fun, I was ready to get back to regular workouts. I was in the mood for something different, so I challenged myself to follow the Popsugar Fitness 2-Week Video Workout Plan.

For 14 days, I did a variety of 30 minute workouts that mixed cardio, strength, Pilates and yoga. One day a week was dedicated to active rest with stretching and foam rolling.

Here's the plan and my thoughts on each workout:

Day 1: Cardio workout (burned 335 calories). This was a fun video with a blend of cardio and strength circuits to keep things interesting. Each circuit takes about 5 minutes to get through 4 moves and you do each circuit twice. A couple of minutes of stretching is included at the end.

Day 2: Cardio Pilates workout (burned 268 calories) Mix of cardio and Pilates with weights that really worked my abs. After a cardio warm-up, the exercise sequence targets legs, arms, and abs...spending about 20-30 seconds on each move.

Day 3: Power Yoga Flow (burned 154 calories) Perfectly timed full body yoga to stretch things out that were feeling very sore. A typical yoga flow, the workout stretches and tones at the same time.

Day 4: Active Rest with Foam Roller (burned 65 calories) Full disclosure, this was a pretty painful session, but another well timed activity. The must-do foam rolling moves provided probably made this the best foam rolling session I've ever done, especially because I actually timed myself.

Day 5: Tabata Workout (297 calories) I love this form of HIIT that alternates between 20 seconds work and 10 seconds rest in four minute rounds. Just when you think you can't go any longer, you get a quick break. Another bonus to this workout was the instructor ---> great energy and super funny!

Day 6: Strong, Toned and Full-body workout (253 calories) Another circuit training session, but this time with weighted moves added in. I like the mix of exercises in circuit workouts.

Day 7: Active Rest with Stretching (95 calories) I did both the 10 minute video and the ultimate stretching guide (see it here) ---> 28 different stretches. My body was grateful for this head to toe love-fest.

Day 8: Cardio Boxing & Core (308 calories) This was my first try at cardio boxing and I didn't love it, but was pleasantly surprised to see the calories I burned. Obviously no experience necessary to get a good workout, even one that feels a little awkward.

Day 9: Pilates workout (196 calories) This should have been called Speed Pilates! The pace was hard to keep up with at times, so I focused on going at my own speed. Some of the moves were killer, but the instructor kept things fun and lively.

Day 10: Feel-Good, Feel-Strong Yoga (186 calories) easy to follow flow that hit all my favorite poses. I liked how the instructor grouped poses together and tossed in a couple challenges ---> like side plank with leg raise!

Day 11: Active Rest with Foam Roller (did not track) This was the same as the previous foam rolling day but it didn't hurt as bad. That's a clear reminder that the more you roll, the happier your muscles are.

Day 12: Cardio and Toning Boot Camp (283 calories) Simple 8 move circuit repeated 3 times. I liked the mix of cardio (jump squats, mountain climbers) and strength, but I loved the combination moves (squat shoulder press, bridge chest press) the best.

Day 13: Total Body Toning (262 calories) This workout had a fun mix of moves that focused on legs, cardio, arms, and abs. Each move was demonstrated in modified version first and then the advanced options were shown.

Day 14: Active Rest with 10 Minute Stretching (74 calories) Easy 10 minute stretching routine that hits all the important areas. It's a nice option to always doing the same stretches from memory and some of the stretching variations were new to me.

So, what did I think?

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen the answer ---> I LOVED following this two week workout plan. It was a great way to get away from repeating the same workouts day after day, which I am known to do. The mix of cardio, strength, yoga, Pilates, and rest days felt really good on my body too.

30 minute workouts really are manageable and effective. It was apparent right away that I was getting good workouts because I was sore! On the days that I missed my morning workout, knowing that it would be 30 minutes made it easier for me to get myself moving to do the workout in the afternoon or evening.

In addition to the 30 minute video workout, many of the days I also walked (usually 2 miles) or swam laps. I LOVED that I could do the video workouts at home, especially since we were having a lot of rainy days during the two weeks, but I also love to get outside.

I would definitely do it again.

PS: To make it easier, I created a playlist of the videos on YouTube here. There is also a direct link to the Popsugar Fitness plan there.

Have you ever followed a free online workout plan?
Do you like workout videos?

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap!

Friday Five: Kicking Off Summer

It turns out that living out of my suitcase for nearly a month took it's toll on me. As much as I wanted to jump right back into my normal routine of fitness and blogging when we got back to Hong Kong, my brain just wasn't ready.

Has it really been a month since my last blog post???

Today it finally felt like it was time to catch up and write a Friday Five post about what's been going on around here.

1. We were blessed with some incredibly nice weather when we got back from the states and I did some swimming and walking.

2. I researched a lot of different juices until I found a favorite ---> Happy Apple <3

3. mrC and I got dressed up and went to our first Chinese wedding celebration in Macau. If you think their celebrations are over-the-top, you are right! It was a lot of fun.

4. And then little C arrived for a kick off the summer two week visit ---> just as Hong Kong was having record-setting hot weather.

We went to Stanley Beach to show her one of Hong Kong's most popular sports and cheer on the AWA Dragon Boat team.

We got nice and sweaty hiking at Cape D'Aguilar and then cooled off with a swim at Shek O Beach.

She and I got to spend the day on a junk boat cruising around Hong Kong Island while her dad was working.

5. We played on our SUP boards.

A couple of weeks of living up to my 2018 goals, I felt refreshed and energized. In my next post, I will tell you about the two week fitness challenge I took.

I'm linking up with Lacey and Meranda and Rachel for the Friday Five 2.0!

Did your summer weather kick in early?

Tell me something you have been up to lately!

Walking HIIT Workout and Random Hong Kong Things

My Monday started seriously early ---> 2:30 am wake up when mrC hit something (the bed, the wall?) in his sleep. Once I was awake, I couldn't go back to sleep.

At 5:30 I decided to go for a walk. I got the bright idea to make it into a HIIT workout since we had a busy day lined up. So I walked and every few minutes stopped to plank, push-up or burpee until I finished the PPB challenge days I missed. I was a sweaty mess by the time I got home.

2.3 miles
2.5 minute plank
60 push-ups ---> did 10 at a time
60 burpees ---> did 20 at a time
3 minute forearm plank ---> one minute, then 4 @ 30 seconds

The reward for jet lag induced early mornings is watching the sky light up. I still do really love where we live here in Hong Kong.

A couple hours later I broke my fast ---> scrambled eggs, chicken apple sausage and rice cakes. It feels good to be home and have my favorites all on one plate.

After waiting for a handyman hired by our landlady to fix our toilet, we went to Central to run a bunch of errands. It's almost a mandatory activity after being away for so long.

Our first stop was to the new Shake Shack that opened on the mall rooftop garden. We were in the mood for simple good food and so were A LOT of other people. We joined the ordering line that was almost out the door. While we were eating, the line was out the door and a roped off queue was being used!

Even though it was a little warm, we chose to sit outside and enjoy the view of the harbour. Luckily there was a nice breeze and some shade from the potted trees. It was a beautiful day in Hong Kong.

With full bellies we were off to the shoe repair shop, the seamstress, to pick up mrC's newly modified headphones and back to the shoe repair shop to pick up his shoes.

Then we headed to one of my favorite places, Be-Juiced. I'm trying to find a favorite go-to flavor to supplement my low veggie intake. Since we were there, we ordered acai bowls because they are perfect on warm days! Mine is topped with apple granola, peanut butter, and goji berries.

By the time we returned to our apartment, my let lag was catching up with me again. For dinner I drank the Veggie Bomb (good for anti-inflammatory, cellular repair, eye health and replenishing collagen) and had some watermelon. The juice wasn't bad, but I don't know if it will be the one.

You know who else is talking food today? Patty, Erika, and Marcia for Tuesdays on the Run linkup! They're talking about their favorite meal the night before a race. When I was running more, my favorite pre-race food was anything Italian ---> pasta, pizza, CALZONES. I was a believer of the carb loading philosophy.

Do you catch-up or skip ahead when you get behind in a challenge?
Do you like dining outside?
What is your favorite meal the night before a race?

Colorado was Awesome | Weekly Wrap

Our extra long spring trip to the US came to an end and we returned to Hong Kong over the weekend. We spent our last few days in the US enjoying time with middleC and watching him graduate from University of Colorado Boulder. We squeezed in workouts, explored new hiking trails and soaked up as much Boulder springtime as we could. Colorado was awesome to us and it's always hard to say good-bye, even after living out of my suitcase for nearly a month.

I fell off the PPB challenge wagon as of Thursday. Between graduation activities, travel and jet lag, I have not been able to keep up. I have a plan to catch up and I will let you know what happens here.

After only a few hours of sleep on Saturday night, the most adventurous thing I did all Sunday was walk to the grocery. It felt good to be out, even though the heat and humidity arrived in Hong Kong while we were gone.

Weekly Wrap (with links ICYMI):

Monday - Elliptical sprints and a big hike on Boulder's beloved mountain

Tuesday - Run sprints and hike

Wednesday - Easy morning hike

Thursday - middleC graduation day at CU

Friday - travel --->  leave Denver 8:30am

Saturday - arrive in Honk Kong 11pm

Sunday - jet lag induced rest day ;)

To all the mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day!

As usual I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap!

Hiking: Realization Point (Ute & Range View Trails)

For our last hike in Boulder (are we really leaving tomorrow??), we drove up to Realization Point on Flagstaff Mountain. We've been keeping ourselves (and our bodies) pretty busy the last couple of days, so we decided to do an easy hike. But, we weren't going to skimp on the views.

At Realization Point there are several short trail options and a nice picnic area. We thought the Ute-Range View loop was the right combo for us because it was billed as easy/moderate and just what our bodies needed.

Ute Trail is only .60 miles and runs along the east side of Flagstaff Summit. There is a bit of climbing at the start, but then the trail levels out. I was actually commenting that it would be a nice place to run when I runner came toward us.

Along the trail there are paths to small outcroppings and viewpoint openings. We like to stop at these, to see what we can see. We were headed toward a spot on the east side when I spotted a deer having a snack. We watched for a few minutes and then continued along the trail without bothering it.

We decided to follow the Ute Trail all the way to the Flagstaff Summit area and check out the view from there. From this vantage point we could see the east side of the front range.

I also found a place to lean back and soak up a little sunshine.

We backtracked to the trail junction and continued on to the Range View Trail (notice that the Ute Trail is considered a wheelchair accessible hike. Isn't that awesome?!).

Range View is similar in length and runs along the west side of Flagstaff Summit back towards Realization Point. The trail was rockier and more narrow, but it's best feature was the views of the Indian Peaks to the north.

There were several places to stop and take in the views and we enjoyed each one of them. We were not in a rush for this hike to end since it was our last one. Both of us were enjoying the clean air and (mostly) blue sky too much. It is just so relaxing to be outside and spring in Boulder was cooperating just perfectly.

I had some push-ups and burpees to do for the PPB challenge, so for fun I did them at different spots on the trail. When you break 50 into 5 sets of 10, it isn't so bad, haha.

After our hike, we picked up middleC for lunch at Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill (pretty good) before sending him off to take his last exam.

Then we did a walk-in adjustment at Chiro Now! This franchised office is located just a walk away from our hotel, the doctor is a graduate of Palmer and the adjustment is only $25! Dr. Josh fixed up my neck and back from when I slept wrong last week.

For dinner I had a Whole Foods fresh salad and another juice. My use of cold pressed juices is to make up the missing servings of veggies from my every day diet (I'm a pretty picky eater). I tried a juice cleanse once and that wasn't for me, but sneaking in nutrients this way works.

I was worried about that cucumber (not a fan), but this blend of ingredients tasted pretty good. Either the pineapple and pear overpowered the cucumber, or cucumber is growing on me.

Today is graduation day and I'll be taking rest day (except for my PPB challenge).

Do you do exercises (push-ups, yoga) in not-so-common places?
Would you visit a walk-in chiropractor?
What kind of eater are you? (love everything or picky like me)