Working out is FUN

Today was technically my "day off." I ran a couple errands and got some chores done around the house (mopped the kitchen floor, vacuumed, did laundry...you know the drill). At about 2:00, I was itching to go to the coffee shop. About 3 miles from my house is an adorable little place with seating on a patio which overlooks a pond. It's so quaint and adorable! I just love it! I quickly realized I have a fabulous backyard now with a pool, jacuzzi, covered porch, and my very own adorable table with umbrella. So I packed up a few items (including my laptop) and headed outside. It was absolutely gorgeous! I was out there for THREE HOURS! I chatted with a friend via Skype and on the phone...played around online... etc. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon!

At about 5:00, I came inside to workout. Not every workout is fun but tonight's certainly was! As you know, we usually have our friends Heather & Mike come over to workout with us. Tonight, only Mike could make it and we all worked out together. Sometimes one person will go and do the whole workout, then the next person.

But tonight, we all did our squats and shoulder presses together- alternating rounds while resting. We all did 3 sets of 5 reps of each exercise. I stuck with 120# for the back squats since I'm still trying to rebuild the strength I lost and I only did 45# for the shoulder press. I honestly can't remember the last time I did a shoulder press!

After that we rested for a good 5-10 minutes before doing the rest of the WOD from CrossFit football. This has become one of our favorite sites for programming ideas and WOD's. They're just so much fun! Tonight it was:

10 rounds:

5 lateral hops

20 yard sprint

Rest 60 seconds

Each of us stood a 45# plate on it's edge. It wasn't quite 20" but it was as close as we could get while using something narrow.

After doing 100 thrusters and a bunch of sprints, tonight's workout was tough. My legs definitely felt heavier than normal and I was having trouble pivoting on the sprints. But I loved it and did pretty well considering.

Now we're off to get in the jacuzzi and relax a little before dinner.

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Got a walker I can borrow?

I did a workout tonight that LOOKS so simple on paper. I naively thought beforehand, "This workout looks fun."

haha...fun, yes, but also REALLY FRICKEN HARD!

Here's the workout:

10 rounds-

10 thrusters (holding 2 10# dumbbells)

a 15-yard sprint down and back

Actually, it wasn't supposed to be "down and back", I made that part up when I thought the workout would be easy. Boy was that dumb.

By round 3, I was breathing pretty hard. By round 5, I couldn't do all the thrusters together. I had to do 5, rest, then the other 5. And I swear, I was trying so hard to sprint but I just couldn't move fast at all. My legs were total jello.

When I came inside the house, I felt so uneasy on my feet! I felt like I was going to topple over my legs were so fatigued.

Wow! It was fun though ; ) Loved it!

My time was 10 minutes flat.

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More of a shower gal myself really...

I worked out! Again! Bomb-diggity!

I totally stole the workout from a website but unfortunately, I cannot find that website anywhere. I pinned it (if you don't use Pinterest, you're missing out on life... yes, Lexi & Amy, I just said that...) but sometimes the links break or don't go through for some reason. Or for some reason, when you click on the picture, it just keeps opening up another Pinterest link and not the source website. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Doesn't happen often, just once in a while.

Okay, so anyway, I stole this workout and I'd love to give you credit if it was your idea:

5 Maneaters

20 Low burpee hops

10 Twist push-ups

25 Sit-ups

...I did 2 rounds of the above. Another reason I wish I had the link was because she posted videos of each of the above exercises. I'll try to explain them:

1. Man-eaters- Holding 2 dumbbells, do a shoulder press, then jump down and go into a push-up position while still holding onto the two dumbbells. Do 1 "tricep pull" with each arm then stand back up.

2. Low Burpee Hops- Similar to a burpee but without a push-up at the bottom and instead of jumping straight up, you just over something that's to your right or to your left.

3. Twist push-up- Yeah, I can't even begin to know how to explain this. Sorry. :)

4. Sit-ups- You know what this is already!

It was a great workout- definitely more challenging than I expected. I purposely did it in the sun. You should see how white my legs are! Seriously, they're blinding!

I ended the WOD by doing some sun salutations. I've been trying to do these every day. Yoga is not normally my thing- I don't focus on my breathing & I rarely slow down enough to appreciate this sport. I'm trying to work on that.

After I worked out, I received my shipment of DIY cosmetic materials. I am so excited! Wahoo! Since I was nasty from working out, I decided to first make a bath oil. Normally, I don't like baths. This must have something to do with my inability to "slow down" mentioned earlier and also why I don't appreciate yoga. I usually don't like just sitting there. I'd much rather take a shower.

But, I made a bath oil using the following:

-Olive oil

-Grapeseed oil

-Rosemary essential oil

-Willow bark extract

*try at your own risk*

I lit a eucalyptus candle, turned off the light, and hopped in. I must say, I absolutely loved it! My skin feels INCREDIBLE! I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. The mixture smells amazing and is great for your skin (as long as you're not allergic).

Willow Bark extract- "Has soothing and pain relieving properties on irritated skin and works as an astringent, mild cleanser, and toner. It also moisturizes the skin."

Rosemary- "A natural extract with anti-bacterial properties ideal for being used in facial toners, cleaners, but also skin lotions, hair care products, and foot care.

Also with my order, I purchased some pigment blends to make more foundation, some aloe vera gel to use as an anti-aging, anti-inflammatory agent, and some mineral base for eye shadows and blushes. I have tons of blush & eye shadows left that I'm not willing to just throw away so it will be a while before I make either of those.

Instead of buying a bunch of fancy schmancy bath oils, try to use simple olive oil or grape seed oil with some essential oils. You might be surprised how easy (and inexpensive) it is!

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Another workout

I had another great workout tonight. It was the first time I did this one-

Every minute on the minute for 15 minutes:

2 back squats @ 70% 1RM

1 Max height box jump

It was a lot of fun. I was really torn on what weight to do. My old 1RM was 160 but I know I've lost quite a bit of strength. Based on my latest squat workout, I calculated my 1RM to be 140#. So tonight I opted to my squats at 95#.

Again, I had no idea how high to jump. I ended up doing 24 inches and sticking with it.

This is one of those workouts where it's almost easy the first few rounds but quickly takes a turn. I feel good about the weight and height that I chose since it's been so long since I worked out. Next time, though, I'll add maybe 10# to the bar and maybe a bit of height to the boxes as well.

My legs were jello-y afterwards so I still think it was great. I loved it.

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A workout from my past

A long time ago...when I was a young lassie... I took acrobatics. It was a dance class but with tumbling- back flips, hand springs, cartwheels, etc. It was essentiality the floor routine portion of gymnastics. I took class 2 days each week for a number of years. I don't even remember how long I was in acrobatics anymore, but it was a long time.

Every class, we did the same warm-up. For some reason, yesterday I started thinking about that warm-up and my mind pieced it all together. Although back then it was my warm-up, I decided today I would do that as my workout.

I won't give every little detail, but it starts with pointing your toes in all different directions, then doing a bunch of plies (first and second positions), then doing a gazillion kicks. And the kicks aren't like kickboxing style kicks; they're more dance-like with your toes pointed, legs straight right as it leaves the ground, etc.

I ended up doing 50 front kicks with each leg, 50 back kicks with each leg, and 50 side kicks with each leg. I used my squat bar as a ballet bar! My husband will be so disappointed! :P

I must say that it did wonders for my hips! Wow! I could hear them popping and feel them stretching (in a good way). I absolutely loved how open my hips felt afterwards. And it was a great workout to do just after doing my back squats because my legs feel much looser now.

I found a bunch of videos on youtube of dance classes warming up and boy did it bring back memories! Some of the rooms in the videos look so similar to my old dance room. I hope to add to the number of kicks I do and continue stretching my hips and legs this way as well as strength training. My goal is to find balance and enjoy my workouts and today was certainly fun!

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