I’m In Love

I have to admit: I am totally in love with my new workouts.  Every morning my alarm goes off and I contemplate staying in bed, but after I complete my workouts, I feel powerful, accomplished, and energetic.  They are challenging, but I feel stronger every day, and I’m having so much fun doing them.  There are a few other people who do similar workouts in the morning too, and it’s cool to see everyone working so hard. 

Yesterday’s workout was more cardio-type stuff than it was heavy lifting, but with my back/shoulder still feeling a little funky, it actually came at the perfect time.  I am a lot less confident about my cardio abilities than I am with other things, but I can feel my endurance increasing too, and that’s a really awesome thing.  I used to think I was “in shape” because I went to the gym most days of the week, but now I see my body really transforming, both physically and physiologically, and I’m excited to see how far I can go with it. 

Yesterday’s workout looked like this:

1. Warm up: 10 minute walk on treadmill
2. Strength circuit (4x):
   1. 10 One arm dumbbell rows @ 20lbs (each arm)
   2. 12 Barbell shrugs @ 60lbs
   3. 12 Deadlifts @ 60lbs
3. Workout – (Sprint the last lap of each round; My track is 12 laps = 1 mile):
   1. Jump rope 55x; 10 Hand-release pushups; Run 5 laps
   2. Jump rope 45x; 10 Hand-release pushups; Run 4 laps
   3. Jump rope 35x; 10 Hand-release pushups; Run 3 laps
   4. Jump rope 45x; 10 Hand-release pushups; Run 2 laps
   5. Jump rope 55x; 10 Hand-release pushups; Run 1 lap
4. {12 Lateral side raises @ 10lbs + 12 Biceps X’s @ 10bs} x4
5. Core (4x):
   1. 20 Swiss ball crunches
   2. 15 Back extensions on Swiss ball
   3. 10 Overhead side bends with Swiss ball (each side)
   4. 5 Hanging knee lifts
6. Cool down: 10 minute walk around track

My first three meals of the day were all pretty boring and repetitive (albeit still tasty and nutritious), and you’ve seen them all before. 

Three-egg scramble with green peppers and spinach and a banana for breakfast:

Chicken with zucchini, tomatoes, basil, and crushed red pepper for lunch (eaten while studying):

Fuji apple with TJ’s almond butter for a snack:

But when it came to dinner, I brought back something we haven’t seen around here in a little while: chicken with crushed red pepper, honey, and green beans. 

I wasn’t all that hungry last night, and couldn’t decide what (if anything) I wanted at first, but I ultimately decided that I had to eat something.  I generally don’t eat before my workouts in the morning (who wants to eat at 4:30am?), so I fuel up at night before bed to make sure I’ll be strong enough in the morning. 

And once I decided that I did need to eat, this meal came together in a snap.  I threw it all on a cookie sheet, popped it under the broiler for twenty minutes or so, and voila.  When it came out, I drizzled the chicken with some honey and gobbled it up.  I may not have thought I was hungry at first (it’s always about 85*F in my apartment… not an exaggeration… so that probably didn’t help), but once I started eating I was reminded of how much I love this meal! 

With the time change, it’s staying lighter out a lot later in the evenings now, and it’s great being able to take advantage of the extra daylight.  Eating dinner in the natural light is somehow a lot better, and getting to take a post-dinner walk is always nice too.  I did about three miles or so, and even though it was a little chilly, it’s always great to be able to be outside! 

Have a great Thursday!