Tag Archives: strength training

Friday eats.

Yay the weekend!  We also are getting some warmer temperatures as well. I think we will be in the low 40s on Saturday.  Heat wave!  🙄  I am noticing the days getting longer.  Lighter a little later and not so dark on my way to the gym this morning.

I got my butt up and went today since I didn’t yesterday. Not terribly crowded. I think I found the sweet spot time, which is 7 am.

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
Squats 3 sets of 12 with 45# bar Lower Body
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown 3 sets of 12 at 40# Back
Bench Press 3 sets of 10 with 50# bar Chest
Decline Sit Ups 3 sets of 10 Core
Good Mornings 3 sets of 12 with 50# bar Hammies and low back
Upright Row 3 sets of 12 with 10# DBs Shoulder
Kickbacks 3 sets of 12 at 10# DBs Triceps

I did these as supersets to work up more of a sweat since I have lightened up the weights.  I burned through my pre-workout protein quaff pretty quick.

I came home to make the 5-minute flax waffle with blueberries.

I tried to eat this slow, but breakfast is one of those things I tend to wolf down because I am hungry.  Even when I have something pre-workout.

I cheered on the Broncos with my mug:

I have a feeling it is going to be an ugly game this weekend…

I had a hard time getting started with work today.  Friday-itis big time. There was a lot to do, though, so that helped.  I had my lap girl with me.

This is how she crams herself onto my lap since I have the laptop on there as well.  You wouldn’t think that was comfortable, but she will stay there the entire time I am working until I move her.  At least she is warm  😀

John made up some clam chowder last night, so that was on the menu for lunch. He uses this recipe, but subbed milk for cream:

Of course, I added a few dashes of hot sauce!  Delicious. Thanks John!

So, this weekend will be my first real challenge.  Normally I am pretty relaxed eating wise on weekends.  Like a lot of us, I guess.  I have my 90/10 plan in place.  I get 3.5 meals/snacks to have fun with and I used one up on Wednesday.  I know I am having a pizza wrap tomorrow as my winning football dinner and then Sunday morning is the typical bagel day (the original Bagel Day).  That leaves 1 snack to think about, probably a cookie with a latte or something.  I know I can not nibble my way through the weekend if I put my mind to it.  Wish me luck.

John made up lattes as well.  I love a man who cooks and makes me coffee.  Yep, I am lucky!

We don’t always eat the same foods, but we always have a latte in the afternoon in the winter.

Dinner tonight?  An omelet with some sausage cooked in.  We found our grocery store carries some local meats and this sausage was made in Saratoga and is really, really good.  It’s actually surprisingly lean, too.

I spread it with a Laughing Cow wedge.  This was really good, too.  Might have to make some sausage gravy, which I haven’t had in eons!

We are going to have a relaxing night tonight.  I have these set out for a snack:

Funny, I did not use flash for this picture (I never do for food shots), but it sure looks like I did.  It’s the overhead light in the kitchen that did that.

Anyway, that will be paired with some decaf coffee tonight.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

On the straight and narrow

Lifting day! I was totally expecting the gym to be packed, but there were even less people there than usual. I think everyone went yesterday (which is why I didn’t go) or maybe because it was really cold out.  We only got to 17 degrees this afternoon.  Now it feels like January around here.  😯  Each winter is getting harder and harder to take.

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
Stationary Lunge 3 sets of 10 with 20# DBs Lower Body
Single dumbbell row 3 sets of 12 with 15# DB Back
Incline Push Up 3 sets of 10 Chest
Trunk twist 3 sets of 30 Core
Straight leg deadlift 3 sets of 12 with 50# bar Hammies and low back
Arnold Press 3 sets of 10 with 10# DBs Shoulder
Low Back Extension 3 sets of 10 at 80# Low back

I am working my way back with pushups.  I haven’t done them in a couple of months with my wrist problem I had (have).

Then I rocked out with Journey on the treadmill for a while before coming home to breakfast!  Protein waffles.

You know, the texture really is different putting the same batter in the waffle iron versus pancake style.  Just thought I would throw that out there.

Back to normal at work, finally!  I do feel pretty rested.  I had files from one of my favorite doctors when I logged in, which made me a happy camper indeed.  I worked right up to lunch very productively.

You know, I actually really hate mayo.  I cannot stand it on sandwiches or in other stuff, but I will eat it in egg salad and sometimes chicken salad. I am so weird that way.

I have really been conscious of my 90/10 rule since Sunday.  I have mentioned this before, but maintaining is usually having a couple regular or lower calorie days and then a day or two higher and alternate like that.  A squiggled line, so to speak.  Or, more like 80/20 eating or **ahem** 70/30.

Now that I am in active weight loss mode, I have to put more of the lower calorie days together in a row and I find day 3 to be the absolute hardest because that means I am no longer in maintenance mode.  I kind of get the pouty 5-year-old thing going on.  Today actually was not bad and I didn’t really struggle too much.  My food was filling, which helps.  I also have been inputting the next day’s menu into Livestrong the night before, so I just have to follow it and not think too much, which is usually what gets me in trouble.

I was ready for my latte.  Did I mention it was cold today?

Florida in 4 weeks.  That is my focus now!

I made up one of my favorite recipes for dinner tonight.  The chicken with balsamic tomatoes.  This is super easy and pretty quick.  About half an hour from start to finish.  John had his over pasta.  I had no pasta and just had more of the chicken.

So good!  I found that cutting back a bit on the balsamic is better.  The recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but I think it is too overpowering, so I used 1/4 cup.  I must revise my page on that.

While I would like to go out for coffee tonight, I cannot bear to go out in the cold.  We have an overnight low of -5 tonight.  Ick.  I do love my electric blanket!

I have my snack made up.

This is 1/4 cup of part-skim ricotta, 1/4 cup of pumpkin, a dash of cinnamon,  and a teaspoon of creamed honey on top.  I hope it is good.  Looks a little weird, but that’s okay. I made this up after dinner and it is in the fridge waiting for me.

Preplanning is a must for me to stay on track.  Otherwise I start not paying attention and nibbling on various items while thinking about what to eat.

Tomorrow is one of the 10% meals of the 90/10 plan.  Bagel day!

Time to Squat!

It was so dark this morning when I woke up and the flannel sheets were so comfy. It was really hard to get out of bed this morning! I contemplated either hitting the gym in the evening or going on Friday. Normally, I don’t do this. I just wake up and get up. So, I got up and had a protein drink, which meant I had to go lift!

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
Barbell Squat 1 set of 10 with 65# bar
1 set of 8 with 70# bar
1 set of 6 with 75# bar
1 set of 4 with 80# bar1 set of 4 with 85# bar		 Lower Body
Seated Lat Row 3 sets of 10 at 50# Back
Stiff-legged Dead Lifts 3 sets of 10 with 65# bar Hamstrings and back
Decline sit ups 3 sets of 10 Core
Dumbbell Chest Fly 3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs Chest
Triceps Push Down 3 sets of 10 at 30# Triceps
Low Back Extension 3 sets of 10 at 90# Low Back
Upright Row 3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs Shoulders

The squats are tough for me. They are harder than they used to be and I can’t squat as heavy as I once did because it causes pain in my thigh.  I can’t seem to go heavier than this, but the lighter bar has been easier the last couple of times.

I have a bunch of new readers now according to my stats. Probably because of the First for Women article and another mention.  Anyway, I thought I would post my squat video so other ladies won’t be afraid to get in the squat cage and do them. Once you are squatting with 20# dumbbells in each hand, you can certainly get in the rack with an empty bar.

Love the iron gals and it will love you back!

I came home wondering what to have for breakfast and John had made something with pumpkin, so that made up my mind.  Pumpkin oats topped with craisins and toasted pecans.

Yum! I got right to work today, although I was finding it hard to concentrate.  You know those kind of days, close to the weekend and all that.  Pixie was doing her job guarding the bird feeder:

Lunch time was more protein.  I mixed up some peanut flour, which I get from netrition.com and put it on a toasted coconut biscuit.

I really like the peanut flour.  I just mix it with cinnamon, a touch of honey and a tiny pinch of salt with the water.  16 grams of protein and 110 calories per serving of it, which comes out to around 4 tablespoons or more.  I actually ate some off a spoon before spreading it on there.

I could barely wait for latte time today with the now functioning steamer wand!

Lots and lots of foam today.

Happy latte lady today 😀

Well, John won the football picks, so he wanted his dinner out tonight.  He chose the Fish Fry Cafe.

It’s about a mile and a half from our house.  Very small and homey feeling.

Complete with a huge grandfather clock.   😀

They have a mix and match section of the menu that I browsed through. I had the seafood chowder:

Very, very good!  This was my side item to my scallops. Served on a plastic fish-shaped plate.

With a name like Fish Fry Cafe, you would probably think most of the menu was fried, and you would be right.  These scallops were quite good.   And so were the little hushpuppies on the side.  We keep wondering why we don’t come here more often as the prices are very reasonable and the food is good.  Probably because it’s fried.

The lucky winner:

That is supposed to be a victory sign, but I think he looks like he is about to poke me in the eyes!  😯

Now to relax tonight and read some Wheat Belly.  But first, a ride on the bike trainer to burn off a couple of those hush puppies!

Bye, bye espresso machine

Last night we finished the workshops for literacy tutor training! It ended up as a family affair. My mother and I went the full sessions, and then the last session last night,  John came for the math tutoring (he didn’t need all the reading stuff). He has to go for one more training class on GED preparation, but I decided to work with basic literacy and not GED. I will go next week and get matched with a learner and we should have our first meeting after Thanksgiving!  This is a long commitment.  It is meeting weekly for a year.

Anyway, I am glad all that training is done and that it is Fridaaaaaaay! Back to lifting! I have not gone in a week in order to really rest my foot and my wrist. I missed my lifting.

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
Barbell Split Squats 3 sets of 10 with 65# bar Lower Body
Dumbbell Pullover 3 sets of 10 with 25# DB Back
Dumbbell Chest Fly 3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs Chest
Good Mornings 3 sets of 10 with 60# bar (increased) Hammies, low back
 Captain Chair 3 sets of 10 Core
Triceps Kickbacks 3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs  (30# total) Triceps
Arnold Press 3 sets of 10 with 10# DBs (20# total) Shoulders
Lower Back Extension 3 sets of 10 at 80# Low back

Then I treadmill walked before heading home for brekkie.  I decided to toast up the last of the grain-free bread I made, and paired it with the apple cranberry topping for something different.

This was surprisingly filling because the bread has a higher fat content.

Then it was off to the races for work.  So busy right now.  I think some people have gone on vacation early, or are just slacking on Friday.

It was a cold day today, so soup was in order for lunch.  I ate up the last of my roasted red pepper tomato soup.  I added a bunch of chili powder, then added in some chopped cooked chicken breast and topped with 1/2 ounce of shredded cheddar and some light sour cream.

Tasty! Dessert was some of these:

Both John and I were quite busy in the afternoon.  I took a break to make lattes.  Latte time is actually a pretty specific time of day.  2:30 pretty much.  Today it was a little late because we were both caught up in work.

Alas, there is a sad moment here.  Our espresso machine died today.

Just as I finished up the lattes, the machine sort of blew up.  It blew out the seal and all this steam came out.  Then it smelled kind of funny. I imagine that could have been something really bad if it had happened when the most pressure was in there instead of the end.  Occasionally luck does go my way.  Let’s all have a moment of silence…

Here is its last latte:

We salute you Mr. Coffee with a little pumpkin liqueur.  Cause it is Friday, after all!

Now to shop for a new one.  We have been thinking about upgrading for a while, and probably will be getting one of those little hand press ones that are supposed to be for coffee snobs.  Not that I am a coffee snob…Or much of one… Okay, I’m a coffee snob.  But nothing wrong with that!

After a walk, it was time for dinner.  John decided he wanted pizza, but I was no grain today.  So he walked down the street and I made up some yummy dinner!

I sauteed up some broccoli, then added chopped cooked chicken thighs to heat up.  I remove that from the pan, then added a tablespoon of butter to the pan, 1 ounce of light cream cheese and a tablespoon of milk to the pan.  I heated that up until the cream cheese melted, added salt and pepper and then tossed with the chicken and  broccoli.

Served over top of a potato, which you can barely see.  I try to buy potatoes that are a proper portion size of 5 ounces and that actually is a pretty small potato.  This was a very good dinner!

I have a pan of grain free pumpkin pie bars in the oven right now.  I revamped a recipe to make it grain free and subbed out a few things and I really hope these turn out so I can share the recipe.

The batter looks good at any rate!

Looks like we might get in one last bike ride for the season this weekend.  I really hope so.  I know I am just reaaallllly glad it is the weekend.

Question:  Any fun weekend plans?