Memorial Day Monday

I don’t really remember what I did last Memorial Day (oh wait, yes I do), but I’d have to say this year’s was probably way lazier than ever.  I slept in, did some chores, cooked a little, sat out in the sun reading a book… it was definitely relaxing. 

I did go get a workout in during the afternoon, but it certainly wasn’t my most intense fitness session ever.  I guess it’s hard to get fired up after a morning of lounging around in relaxation mode!

I went over to my friend’s house, and he had big plans for a CrossFit Hero workout, but halfway through I just wasn’t feeling it.  I went a little rogue and ended up doing a mish-mash of that workout and another one I had planned, switching back to the Hero WOD when I suddenly got a little burst of energy.  In the end though, I still felt like I got work done, and that’s what matters. 

Well, that and the fact that there are tons of servicemen and women out there much physically and mentally stronger than I am who dedicate their lives for us to just be able to do the things we want on days like yesterday.  Now they’re the ones who really count!

But here’s what the workout ended up looking like:

1. Warm-up: Swinging around on the rings/pull-up bar
2. Back squats:
1. 15 @ 45#
2. 12 @ 95#
3. 10 @ 135#
4. {7 @ 55#, 5 @ 55#} x3
5. 10 @ 135#
6. Practice form (see below)
3. WOD:
1. 25 Assisted pull-ups (I am terrible at pull-ups and it makes me so frustrated!)
2. 50 Sit-ups
3. Run .5 mile
4. 21 Deadlifts @ 95#
5. 21 Box jumps
6. 21 Assisted pull-ups
7. Run .5 mile
8. 30 Front rack lunges @ 65#

One of the things that I literally never work on is mobility and stretching.  I always find some excuse to skip it – not enough time usually being the main one.  It’s probably the worst part of a workout to skip, and I know that, but still, I find it so hard to get myself to do it. 

Well, yesterday I was reminded just one of the many reasons why it’s so important.  I tend to drop my chest forward when I squat down low, and since going low is the goal, that’s definitely something I need to work on.  It takes a lot of back strength (which I lack, hence the reasons I also stink at pull-ups), but I’m going to make a conscious effort to work on it.  I started yesterday by practicing squatting against the wall; it forces you to keep your chest up, making me realize just how much it really does involve your back.  You would think squatting is all about the legs – but that is so not the case. 

Once I was done with the workout, I came home and got to work on some meal prep.  This is already a short week, and I’ll be spending next weekend at my mom’s house, so I did want to go overboard, but I did want to get a good chunk of it out of the way because it’s going to be really nice outside this week and I know I won’t want to be in the kitchen after work. 

First, I made a huge pot of chicken + veggie soup using the rotisserie chicken I picked up the other day.  I scraped all the meat off the carcass, put it in a pot, and added just enough water to cover it.  Once it came to a boil, I let it simmer for about an hour to really let all the flavor soak into the broth. 

While that was going, I put veggies into the food processor to get them good and chopped.  I used zucchini, red, orange, and green peppers, green beans, and wax beans.  I need to give my dad a shout out though because I have used the food processor he gave me at least three or four times this weekend alone, and it seriously makes me life so. much. easier.  It would’ve taken me a lot longer to chop all those veggies (and I never would’ve been able to get them that small), but using the FP took all of five minutes or less.  So thanks again, Dad!

After I strained all of the bones out of the broth, I dumped in the veggies and a little bit of leftover chicken and let the pot simmer for a while while I got to work on the rest of the prep. 

I used the FP again to make some more cauliflower rice, and I cooked tomatoes, green peppers, and red peppers in a pan on the stove.  As everything finished up cooking, I layered it all into plastic containers, with the cauliflower on the bottom, then spinach, then tomatoes, and finally peppers. 

During this time, I also baked some broccoli and wax beans in the oven with olive oil and Italian seasonings, plus an entire tray full of chicken breasts. 

When the chicken was done cooking, I chopped it all up and put some of it with the cauliflower and peppers, and some of it with the broccoli and beans.  I used different spices for each one to keep it interesting – garlic + basil, sundried tomato + rosemary, and Italian seasonings on the cauliflower ones, and crushed red pepper + Italian seasonings on the broccoli and beans.  It’s definitely going to be a good week of eats!

For dinner, I had a bowl of the soup, to which I added a little bit of salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings for flavor, and a toasted g-free Udi’s plain bagel with butter.  And I don’t know if I was just super hungry or what, but that bagel is definitely in the running for the best bagel I’ve ever had.  Go figure!

I put the rest of the biscotti in the freezer the other night so that I wouldn’t be tempted to finish off the entire batch in one day, but I pulled out a piece for dessert last night.  The new Bachelorette premiered, and it was a holiday, after all!

I hope you all had a fabulous holiday, whether you spent it with your family, at parties with friends, or relaxing at home.  And wherever you were, I hope you took at least a couple of minutes to remember what the holiday’s really about.

Have a great week!