Where's the Beach?

This is me on the way to the airport Friday morning. Obviously the ativan had not yet kicked in. Finally got to meet Jessica and Jolene! Sweaty messes after the first step class. Should 3 people be so happy to be so sweaty and tired? The I heart Cathe girls. It's been an absolute whirlwind. Friday night's step class was awesome - the energy through the roof. Saturday's schedule ended up being more packed with an added spin class. So today went a bit like this: Breakfast Step aerobics 50 mins/abs 10 Break Bootcamp 40 mins no break Spin 40 mins no break Yoga 45-ish mins Lunch Cardio Core Circuit 30 mins/upper body 30 mins Awwww well-deserved break before dinner Dinner Zumba Bed More pics and actual content to come....

Jersey Bound Well as you know, I'm on my way to the Cathe Road Trip . I am not sure if I'll be able to blog tomorrow or not. It all depends on how if Jessica, Jolene, and myself can stop chatting long enough to log onto our laptops ;-) If I can't get a post out, I will definitely return on Sunday with at least a quick/condensed recap, maybe a post in pictures. Not sure how you guys feel about those. Speaking of pictures, I'll be sure to take plenty (though I'll only have my point and shoot unfortunately). The full recap will probably be done in a series - I am thinking it'll be lengthy. As promised - here is the schedule for the Road Trip and a link where the webcam will be posted (I think): Webcam: Cathe.com or maybe on the Road Trip home page . I don't know all the details on the webcam, but if you get a chance, check it out. You may get to see me in action (aka getting my booty kicked). Friday 3:45 PM - "The Cathe Buses" depart from h...

Thinking Positively Well, today is my official rest day - properly preparing myself for the Cathe Road Trip . However, I am such a bundle of nerves (both good and bad) that I feel like I need to do something just to shake out some of the energy. While some of the nerves are from my anxiety over flying, a huge part of the nerve is really pure excitement. I am almost at a loss for words to be honest. I'm not sure there is really any way that I can totally express how excited I am to not only meet Cathe, but to also finally meet Jessica and Jolene. As I commented to Jessica, there may actually be squealing when we meet! Seriously that giddy, not going to lie. Never in a million years would I have thought that I could honestly call 2 people true friends when I have never even met them face-to-face. But, I do indeed consider them to be friends. I know that this will not be the last time we meet up. I fully expect that they will come visit me and I'll gladly brave another flight...

Thank You! I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words regarding my anxiety about flying. It's nice to feel like I have so much support! You guys are so wonderful. I plan on posting the schedule on Friday along with a link to a webcam. Not sure what the schedule will be for the webcam, but if you're bored, you might be able to get online and see what I'm up to - literally! Last Chance Workout I thought today might be my rest day after doing legs yesterday. But Jason got up to go to his master's swim class at 5 am and I was wide awake. So I decided to get it done - my last chance workout. Today was chest and back (supposed to do abs too). Because I didn't have a spotter, I had to go lighter with weights for chest. To make up for that, I increased the reps and supersetted with flyes. SS#1 3x10 Flat bench chest flyes Flat bench dumbbell press SS#2 3x10 Flat back, double-arm rows Single-arm horizontal rows SS#3 3x10 Incline chest flyes Incline dumbbe...

Two on Tuesday This morning my eyes opened wide at 4:55 am. I tried to go back to sleep, but quickly realized I was only fooling myself. So I got up and got my workouts done. Today was leg day with quad focus. Wide-stance squats - 3x8 Rear leg elevated lunges - 3x10 Firewalkers - 8 total Narrow-stance squats - 3x10 Static lunges - 3x10 Squats with low-end pulse - 3x8 Wall squats with ball - 6 reps of squat with 10 sec hold Outer thigh raises with ankle weights on ball - 2x24 We had storms roll through last night, so the temperatures dropped finally. It was 74 this morning, so I decided to take advantage of that and get in a short 20-minute run. When I first started out, I seriously didn't think I was going to get very far. My legs were already yelling at me. But, about half a mile into the run, they loosened up and it felt good. What's the Deal With the Road Trip? I am really glad I got the workouts done early. I feel like I still have so much to do to get ready ...

Working it Out I must say that I feel so incredibly wiped out today after such a busy weekend. I didn't even feel like attempting weights at lunch, so we hit Target instead to get some more last-minute travel items for my Cathe Road Trip extravaganza this weekend. I did manage to pull it together for biceps, triceps, and MMA boxing after work. I knew deep down that it'd give me the energy boost I desperately needed. Plus, I needed to get it done. I did supersets again for weights of 3 sets of 8 reps: SS#1 Biceps dumbbell curls Triceps overhead extensions SS# 2 Hammer curls Double-arm kickbacks SS#3 Incline biceps curls Lying triceps extension (on stability ball) Biceps curls - 21's Weighted triceps dips - to failure I followed the weights with Cathe Friedrich's MMA Boxing and abs from Muscle Max (which I haven't done in ages). Where's the Food? We are fairly low on groceries, but with the upcoming travels, we don't want to go to the...

Saturday Night with Friends Thank you all for your kind comments from yesterday's post. Lake days with the family truly are special days for us. The only way to end such a great day was a great dinner with fantastic friends. We headed over to Diane and Antonio's around 6:30 and didn't get home until 12:30 am!!!! Holy smokes right? I can't remember the last time we were out that late. We had a great visit though, so no complaints. When we got there, Diane had set out a platter of some different cheeses, crackers, olives, and Spanish almonds (hello yum). We chatted and snacked while Antonio worked on dinner. For the meat-eaters, he was making pork meatballs to go with a tomato sauce over pasta. For me, I was having the tomato sauce (he pulled some out for me before putting the meatballs in it) with pasta. We also had a super simple, but delicious romaine salad with a Dijon vinaigrette. The tomato sauce was also simple, but good: diced tomatoes, lots of garlic and onion...

Side Stitch This morning we got up early and headed to the lake to spend the day with the family. Jason and I ran a little over 3 miles. It was a really crappy run for me. I enjoyed the scenery and the company, but I kept getting major side stitch, which hasn't happened to me in so long I can't even remember. I think it may have been a combination of the heat and not being hydrated enough. But, I did get it done! Lake Fun After the run, we spent the rest of the day pretty much watching Jason "Monster Tube" with my niece. She'll be 6 in October and has really come out of her shell this summer in terms of trying new things. But, she will only monster tube with her Uncle Jason. He's such a trooper I must say. Oh, there were some cannotball (that's what my niece calls cannonballs) to be done too. We all had to jump first of course, then she deemed it safe. She wanted to jump with my sister and me. Then my dad pretended to get in on the action - I say p...

Back, Chest, Abs...Oh My Jason was getting up early to head to his master's swim class then for a bike ride, so I knew I'd be getting up early one way or the other. Today I had planned on back and chest, but since I didn't have a spotter, that meant I'd have to go lighter with my chest work. So I decided to superset chest exercises to up the intensity to make up for the lower weights. Well, it worked. Essentially I was doing 16 reps for chest for 3 sets. Burn baby burn!  I did 3 sets of 8 reps of everything except as noted. SS#1 Flat bench chest flyes Flat bench DB chest press SS#2 Flat back double-arm rows Underhand band pulls (band in door in lieu of pull ups, not sure what this is really called - did 10 reps) SS#3 Incline chest flyes Incline DB chest press SS#4 Pullovers Underhand DB rows Pushups on stability ball - 24 Lat band pull downs - 16 with blue band I did some basic ab work with and without weights while waiting for it to get light enou...

Lifting, Boxing, Running This morning I got up and got my workouts out of the way. It was a great way to start the day I must say. I did biceps and triceps as supersets - 3 sets of 8 reps except as noted. SS#1 Alternating curls Overhead triceps extension SS#2 Hammer curls Kickbacks SS#3 Concentration curls Lying dumbbell extensions Dumbbell biceps curls - 1 set of 21's Triceps dips with weight - to failure (16 reps) After the weights, I did about 15-ish minutes of Cathe Friedrich's MMA Boxing while waiting for it to get light enough to safely run. I didn't have time for the usual 3-mile route. I ran a little off route so I don't know exactly how far I went, but it was probably a bit over 2 miles. I know that the first lap put me around 1.75 miles at an 8:18 pace. I must say that I am pretty happy with that pace and how good I felt, but I know that I couldn't have maintained it for a longer run. I did keep going another few blocks trying to round...

Rest Day Wednesday I wanted to really thank everyone for the workout clothing suggestions. I learned of some brands I'd never heard of before and now would feel more comfortable shelling out the money for Lululemon too. I did find it interesting that a few of you are very loyal to a specific brand or two and some don't care as long as it was a great deal. And, apparently I'm one of the only people around who doesn't care for running shorts. Well, today ended up being a rest day. My legs are worn out and needed a break after the front/back split workouts. Even boxing didn't sound appealing today. That meant standing ;-) So I fitfully dozed after Jason left for swim at 5 am. Actually, I had a pretty crappy night's sleep. I was up 5 different times. I just couldn't seem to get comfy and stay asleep. I think I am starting to get a bit nervous about the Cathe Road Trip next week. I'm going over lists in my head and worrying about all the things we have y...

Step & Shoulders This morning I was determined to get in my workout to beat the heat. My legs are most definitely talking to me after the Part 1 and Part 2 leg workouts. Yikes. Oh, speaking of Part 2, I forgot to include a set of narrow-stance squats (3x10). Anyway, it's been at least three weeks since I've done a step workout. So this morning I decided to go for Cathe Friedrich's Cardio Fusion . Jason was getting up and getting ready at the same time to go for a bike ride with a friend, so I ended up getting started later than I had hoped. That meant I was only about to do about 45 minutes and didn't get my ab work in. I will readily admit that step aerobics with sore legs is probably not the smartest idea. But, I thought I could crank that out over a run in the humidity. It was a toss up really. Never fear though, I got it done after work along with shoulders. I was really wanting to lift today. I had planned on splitting out upper body into biceps/triceps/...

Legs Part 2 This morning I opted to sleep in rather than try to get out and run. My hamstrings and booty were more sore today after Saturday's workout then painting yesterday, which involved a lot of standing and squatting. I did get my second leg workout done during lunch. Today I focused on the quads. I think I might try this front/back split again next week as well. Here's what I did today: Squats (warm up set) 10 Wide-stance squats 3x10 Static lunges 3x10 Squat jumps 3x10 (only difference was that when I jumped up, I brought my knees up so I was still in squat position) Single leg squat/sit and stands 3x8 Wall squats with ball & weights 2x6 then static holds 4x10 seconds Firewalkers 8 (4 steps right, 4 steps left equals 1) Outer thigh raises on ball with ankle weights 2x16 After work, I ended up going for Cathe Friedrich's MMA Boxing . I wanted a cardio workout, but I definitely didn't need anything that was leg intensive at all. Stir Fry Mond...

Saturday Follow Up I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words about yesterday's pictures. I certainly hope you don't think I'm fishing for comments by the way!!! You all are far too sweet. Last night we ended up making veggie burgers (some I had pre-made and frozen in the freezer) and sweet potato "fries." I used the Vegan Spinach & Sundried Tomato dip on the buns and topped with the usual roasted red bell peppers, spinach, and Soy Kaas "cheese." Hot Run This morning I was itching to get in a run. My legs weren't as sore as I thought they might be from the backside workout, so I thought a run might be good. It was HOT, but I sucked it up and got it done. I told myself I'd at least do 1.5 miles then see how I felt. I ended up doing a speedy 3.5 miles at an 8:05 average pace. Guess I was ready to get it done huh?! I really had no idea I was going that fast. I thought my heart rate was up because it was so freaking hot. When I went...

Friday Follow Up I loved reading your 5 (or sometimes 4) facts! Love getting to know you guys and love that you take the time to play along. I really look forward to your comments. Last night we enjoyed our Pizza Friday night then decided to go chill out in the pool. It's so peaceful at night - just floating on the mats, listening to music, not a care in the world. The only thing that would have made it better is if the stars had actually been out. It was a bit cloudy. We definitely need to take advantage of nighttime pool time more often. Do you like swimming at night? I had wanted to run this morning, but I didn't get up early enough and by the time breakfast had settled enough to safely run it was already 83 degrees with heat index of 89 (at 9 am), so that was a no go (it just really didn't sound like a fun way to spend my Saturday). So today is Plan B day. Plan B(ackside) Workout I decided to break up my leg workout into backside and front side (very official so...

Failure? Nope. This morning I got up at 5:22 to get my workout done. It was at least a bearable 74 degrees upstairs that early as opposed to 85 in the afternoon. I did drop sets again for back and chest doing 4 sets of 8 reps. I did increase the weights from last week as well. Back Pullovers Single-arm rows (all right side then all left side) Single-arm horizontal rows (all right side then all left side) Chest Incline chest flyes Incline dumbbell chest press Flat bench dumbbell chest press (failed at 7 on the 2nd set, failed at 6 on the 3rd set) Sometimes I experience major weakness in my left elbow. It doesn't hurt, it just wants to buckle and give out. Thankfully, Jason got out of bed to spot me this morning (bleary-eyed of course). I wanted to talk briefly about hitting failure. It's probably not the best term to use. I used to get so angry at myself when I couldn't complete the number of reps intended. I thought of myself literally as a failure, I sucked,...

Rest for the Weary  Today I have some DOMS going on from yesterday's biceps/triceps/shoulder workout. I only briefly thought about getting up for an early run, but our lows were going to be 79/80 degrees, and the humidity is extreme - makes the heat so much worse. So I didn't even bother with a run or pretending to think about a run. I had really wanted to do back and chest today, but my arms are too sore and the workout would have suffered as a result. Believe it or not, I do know my limits. So today was a rest day. I really wish that I could have mustered the energy for a cardio only day though because this means I'll have to force my rear out of bed tomorrow morning in order to get the workout done. The dogs are getting groomed (very much overdue) in the morning so Jason will take them in, but I will have to pick them up after work. Sometimes I think morning workouts are worse when I know they are a must. Hmmm, need to refocus how I think about them. Tomorrow I wil...