Where's the Beach?

Oops. She did it again! Would you believe me if I said I had 5 or 6 draft blog posts just sitting there waiting for me to finish and publish? True story. But am I publishing one of those? Of course not. But, I think this is one you might like. I recently shared a Full-Body Blast workout (with video) and talked about some tips for getting in a weight workout when you are crunched for time. Because I know time is something precious to us all, I thought I would share some more circuit workouts you can do quickly, but that are also effective. It's not always about how long you work out, it's about your efficiency and the quality. I like to split out my muscle groups so that I can really focus on a couple of muscle groups at one time, plus it makes for a shorter workout, perfect for me to get done during a lunch break. That being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with full-body workouts either. It'a all about what works for you and sometimes just switching things u...

Interval Running & Weights Well rather than just moan and complain about today (it's been "that" kind of day from the start), I'll just get right down to my workout. I had wanted to run outside. It was supposed to be partly sunny and close to 60 degrees. Instead, it was insanely foggy (like heavy mist) and in the mid-40's. Gotta love an accurate forecast right? Thankfully, I'm a planner. I was prepared with clothes for the gym. I guess I should clarify what that means. I had my capri running pants and top for outside running, but for the gym, I need minimal clothing. I can't stand to be over-heated and my gym is hot as hell. So, I made sure I also had shorts and a tank also packed. I tried to get myself psyched up for intervals on the treadmill. I mean, it was "just" 4 miles. No biggy right? Ugh. Tough 4 miles. My mind was just absolutely not in the game today. Very little sleep, tough morning, depressing weather, not really wanting to t...

Intervals & Weights  All I want to know is what has happened to our weather. Our averages are in the 50's this time of year. This morning the windchill was 29 degrees. If I wanted it to be 29 degrees, I'd move farther north thankyouverymuch. Not only was it frigid, it was gray. I know that there will come a point when I'll get out and run in this weather out of necessity (and for sanity reasons), but not ready to go there just yet. So, I took my run indoors along with biceps and back. I started with a warm up of 1 mile at a 9:13 min mile pace then moved into intervals* (my only saving grace for treadmill runs). 4 x 2 minute intervals: 8:34 and 9:31 min miles 4 x 1 minute intervals: 8:34 and 9:31 min miles I finished out the remainder  of the run (about .8 mile) starting at 9:13 and gradually increasing pace every couple of minutes to finish the last 1 minute at 8:34. Total miles: 4.5 * Just to clarify - 2 mins at half marathon goal pace followed up 2 minu...

Weight Day Apparently we skipped fall and jumped straight into winter, well, for a day or so anyway. Today was low 30's and gusting winds walking into the office. You can bet I pulled out my warm scarf and gloves for the trek in. The highs were barely 40 degrees, maybe not even 40 thanks to the fun wind chill. This meant no desire to run today. I would have hit spin, but I had a webinar from 12:30-2. I decided to hit the gym early and get in the weights I had intended on doing yesterday. I got there at 10 and it was lovely...in other words, I had the weights all to myself. Near the end of my workout one other man showed up then two girls. But as is typical, the females headed directly to the cardio equipment. I find it kind of sad to pretty much always be the only female in the weights area. Is this typical at your gym as well? Just curious. Anyway, I started with 15 minutes on the elliptical as a warm up. Then I went with back, chest (done as supersets of 3x8), and some abs...

Airport & Airplanes Monday Monday was a long one for us, spent mostly on airplanes or in airports. I was so sad for our Seattle vacation to come to an end. It was raining and chilly when we left. I suppose that made it a tad bit easier to leave that rather than another sunny, spectacular day. The first half of the trip home was just long and boring. The second half was the bumpiest plane ride I've ever been on. When I say butts were out of the seat because of some of the sudden drops, I am not exaggerating. I have never been more happy to have my feet on the ground. It was rainy and 46 degrees when we landed at home. Even better, the bridge was broken so we had to walk out on the tarmac. Still, I could have kissed the ground. I will say, however, that the pilot and the stewardess were like a comedy act. I've never heard a pilot come on and give the laughable speech he gave, even making fun of the plane's tiny size. We both crashed pretty hard, but the morning came ...

Monday Gym Day Today I decided to go with my typical (or what has become my typical) Monday routine of hitting up the gym for elliptical and weights. I started with about 15 minutes of the elliptical today, then hit the weights for back and biceps. I went with trisets of 3x8. TS#1 Underhand barbell rows Pullovers Single-arm rows TS#2 Dumbbell curls Hammer curls Cross-body curls Assisted pullups - 8 Concentration curls - 5 (went pretty heavy with idea of just going to failure) I finished out with another 15 minutes on the elliptical. Overall, a really strong workout. It was definitely what I needed today as a stress reliever. Mustard Sauce for Monday I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do for dinner tonight. Last night I actually had cereal (gaps). We had some asparagus that needed to be used up quickly, so I went with that and built the meal around roasted asparagus. I did roasted sweet potatoes (rosemary, salt, pepper, parsley), roasted asparagus (salt and...

Legs, My Aching Legs I must say that last night after sitting down to eat dinner, I wasn't sure my legs were ever going to function normally again after this sequence of workouts: 12-mile run (Sat), legs (Sun), 8-mile with intervals (Mon). Let's just say we need a new thing of tiger balm now. Of course, the reason I did the run on Monday rather than today was because I was supposed to have jury duty. I didn't have a clue what the day would bring so I was prepared to make it a rest day if needed. I called the number last night as directed and listened to the names being rattled off, not once, but twice through because my name was never called. At the end of the message it just said that if they didn't say your name, you didn't have to report until further notice. Seriously???? Oh well, at least I got the run done right?  This morning, oddly enough, my legs weren't nearly as bad off as I had expected. I can walk normally and even hover over the toilet at work...

No Cereal After All Well, after much debate over dinner, we did not eat cereal after all. Jason ended up putting together some Toasted Tempeh and Bean Burritos by browning tempeh, along with red beans, red and green bell peppers, onions, some salsa, and typical Tex-Mex spices with a splash of lime juice. We sprinkled some whole-wheat wraps with Daiya, filled them with the mix, rolled and toasted up. I have a feeling we'll make these again. They were tasty, filling, and fairly simple.  Monday Gym Day It's another absolutely gorgeous day here. Too bad I didn't have a run scheduled or that's what I would have done during lunch. Trying to follow the plan (for the most part), I didn't run but rather hit the gym for back and biceps and a short elliptical stint. It's pretty much the same routine as last Tuesday. I started with 10 minutes on the elliptical then hit the weights going with 3 sets of 8 reps: Assisted pullups - 8 SS#1 Alternating biceps curls Un...

Weights at Lunch While I'm loving the warm temps in the afternoon, it's really chilly in the mornings. We're getting 30 degree warmups so you start off with a coat then end up with short sleeves by the end of the day. But I won't complain because it was gorgeous out - ok, I'll complain because I wasn't out there. I did go home and get in my weights and abs at lunch. I did biceps and back and abs from Cathe's Slow and Heavy series.  SS#1 3x8 Alternating curls Pullovers SS#2 - 3x10 Hammer curls Double-arm rows SS#3 Cross-body curls Underhand rows Lat band pulldowns 2x16 1 set of 21's I cannot even begin to tell you how hard it was making myself get back to work after being home. I just wanted to sit outside and soak up the day. Sad News  When I got back to work, however, I got some terribly sad news. I don't know if you recall my post asking for you all to support Team Tommy and help raise money for pancreatic cancer research. ...

Perks of Fall - Running at Lunch The temperatures really dropped last night. It was 51 degrees when I headed into work this morning. I am so not happy to have to wear sleeved shirts I must add. I will try to find the positives out of cooler weather though. One is being able to run at lunch again without dying of a heat stroke. So, that leads me to my first workout of the day - a lunchtime run with Jason. We managed to squeeze in 3.8 miles in 31 minutes. Not too shabby. It was gorgeous out, but the breeze was strong at times. It felt good, but not when we were running into it of course. I will say that I am sad about the fall foliage this year. Because the summer was so hot and so dry, the leaves are mostly just dying and falling to the ground. We sometimes have just spectacular colors, but not this year. After work, I hit the weights. I was itching to get biceps and abs done. I love working biceps. I decided to go with straight sets of 3x8 trying to increase the weight if possib...

Working it Out at Lunch So I will refrain from stating how insane work is again. I swear I don't even have a clue what day it is any longer, especially since I'm thrown off my regular schedule. But, I think you all get that. I know several of you are having insane weeks too. Hopefully we all can recover just a bit this weekend! I took a slightly longer lunch today to get in all of my workouts done. I didn't think I would have time after work before the welcome reception for our conference. I did back and biceps today, opting for the pyramid method. It was pretty much the same workout as last week. For the pyramid I did reps of 12, 10, 8, 10, 12 increasing then decreasing the weights. Pyramid SS#1 Pullovers into Double-arm rows Pyramid SS#2 Biceps curls into Hammer curls SS#3 Underhand rows Alternating biceps curls Lat band pull downs - 2x16 I followed this up with all of the first and second combos/intervals then the boxing only from the third for Cathe...

Back & Chest (no cardio) Today has been beyond hectic for me at work. I have a mandated deadline for a site to be updated and live Friday morning. Tons of last minute changes and corrections. I didn't get a break until 1 pm (got to work at 7 am). I went home and hit the weights to sort of decompress. I did back and biceps today using the pyramid method for a super set of of back and super set of biceps then a super set of 3x8 for back and biceps. For the pyramids you start with your lightest weight at 12 reps, increase weight and decrease reps to 10, increase weight, decrease reps to 8, then move back up by decreasing weight and increasing reps to 10, decrease weight and increase reps to 12. Pyramid SS#1 Pullovers into Double-arm rows Pyramid SS#2 Biceps curls into Hammer curls SS#3 Underhand rows Alternating biceps curls SS#4 2x16 Lat band pull downs Lower back extensions on stability ball Happy For Fast Dinner I had thought we would be going to spin class ...