My legs are so incredibly sore from yesterday's Total Body Trisets Lower Body Premix!! Bending down to tie my shoes is a real challenge, as is bending down to pick anything up. And I could have kicked myself yesterday when I walked downstairs only to realize I forgot to bring something down with me. That meant an EXTRA trip up the stairs. OWEEEEE! Though, that's the sign of a fantastic workout!
Today I thought about going easy and doing some gentle yoga to stretch things out but then decided to stick with my plan and go for it and I'm so glad that I did! On deck for today: Low Impact Challenge (from Cathe's new Low Impact Series), which is a step workout. I felt really creaky in the warm-up, as in ouch! this hurts to move any part of my lower body, but then once the blood got flowing through my muscles I was feeling a bit better (not great, just better). This 50 minute workout consists:
warm-up
step combo #1
step combo #2
step combo #3
step combo #4
all combos together
cardio blast
coodown/stretch
In addition to a bunch of premixes (including 4 express ones), this workout also contains a 22-minute step circuit bonus that uses gliding discs and dumbells, which I will have to try some other time since today was strictly a cardio day.
This was a FUN step workout and has all the complex choreography that Cathe fans love! I was never able to get all the moves down for step combo #4. There were times where I just knew I couldn't get the footwork down and would be staring at Cathe saying, "Really?!" and other times where I would think that I had it and I'd look up and see that Cathe was on the other side of her step. LOL! So I'll need to do that one a few times before I am in sync with Cathe and her crew. There are some moves for the core and also some burpees with pushups built right into the combinations. Pretty clever, Cathe, pretty clever! There were also some lunges and squats in the combos. I was wincing and grimacing through all of those!
I started off the day with a pumpkin pie smoothie. It was my first time and I have to say it was interesting. I drank the whole thing down and it was quite easy going down. There were no greens in the mix but I still think it needs some work.
Here's what I did threw in the mix:
a frozen banana
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
whatever was left in my jar of ground cinnamon
about 10 swipes of nutmeg on the grater
probably 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened almond milk (I think I used too much and will try to measure better next time, mine was thinner than I like my smoothies)
2 tablespoons of leftover my oatmeal/quinoa mix (that I defrosted from the freezer yesterday. This mix is usually what I have for breakfast topped with fruit and almond butter but I haven't felt like having it for a the last two weeks, favoring challah and cream cheese), and a tiny pour of some molasses.
I think vanilla paste or extract would be good here as would some almond or cashew butter. I'll have to try that next time. I also added some brown rice protein powder since I wanted something higher in protein as my muscles have been pretty sore from the new workouts.
After the kids were off at school I tackled another new workout from the Low Impact Series. Today was Total Body TriSets - Lower Body. I'm not sure why my legs still feel like they are trembling as I sit and type this. I mean, I've done much longer lower body workouts than this before. I've done the 90-day Shock Training System workout two times through already, in which the last mesocycle has a bunch of plyometric training. I've done HiiT training. This workout was only 39 minutes and I can't believe how gingerly I'm walking and how much I'm dreading the stairs in my house right now.
Here's what the workout consisted of:
Warm up
Lower Body TriSet #1 (you repeat this set of exercises twice)
Stability Ball Wall Squats w/Dumbells
Dixie Cup Front Lunges
Dixie Cup Side Lunges
Lower Body TriSet #2 (you repeat this set of exercises twice)
Step Ups on High Step + Step Lunges w/Dumbells
Elevated Lunges
Dumbell Squats
Lower Body TriSet #3 (you repeat this set of exercises twice)
Deadlifts w/Dumbells
One-Legged Crossover Dip Squats w/Dumbells
Roll-ins on Ball
Cooldown/Stretch
On *almost* all of the exercises you do 16 reps(some have 12) rather quickly with little rest in between sets and your heart rate really gets high and I often paused so my heart rate would come down a bit (and, yeah yeah, to catch my breath). So again, this is a muscular endurance workout, as opposed to a strictly muscular strength or hypertrophy workout where you'd use heavier weights, go slower, and have more recovery between sets. Though I have endurance in terms of being able to go bike riding for 3 hours without much problem, muscular endurance weight training is always challenging for me. STS Mesocycle #1 in the STS series always kicks my butt because it is of a similar style. And did I mention that challenge is good?!
The deadlifts in the third TriSet felt like a great rest compared to all the other stuff but don't let that fool you. I think the last two exercises in the 3rd TriSet are the reasons I'm still so wobbly. That One-Legged Crossover Dip Squat is HARD! What a great balance challenge as designed but I needed to put my back foot down to help balance me or I would have fallen over.
Between the One-Legged Crossover Dip Squat and the Elevated Lunges in TriSet #2, I found a slight muscular imbalance when I have my left leg back and the right leg is the leg working (either squatting or lunging, depending on the exercise). I feel a bit of fatigue in my lower back that probably is triggered by an imbalance in my obliques that I suspect has something to do with the foot surgery on my right foot. The good news is that when you find something like this... when you KNOW IT EXISTS you can work to strengthen and balance things out. I will definitely be doing these until I don't feel any different in my lower back on that side.
Oh and then the ROLL-INS. I hate these. No, I love these because I know they are good for me. No, I love to hate these. Oh, I can't decide! Why do these make my legs so sore?! LOL! These make my hamstrings feel SO on fire. The first time through I only did 10 out of the 12 but the second time through I was able to eek out the full 12 (though, admittedly, my hips weren't in the air quite as high as Cathe's).
This is another great workout that I look forward to adding to my rotation!
The plan for the rest of the week:
Thursday - Low Impact Challenge
Friday - CycleMax
Saturday - rest (aka shuttle kids to their sport/activites) :D
To read about Total Body TriSets Upper Body Premix or Slide and Glide from Cathe's new Low Impact Series, check out yesterday's post.
Off to run some errands, which hopefully includes finding some jeans that fit!
I pre-ordered Cathe's new Low Impact Series as soon as I found out because her exercise workouts always ROCK! And when I say rock, I mean exhaust, and work you, and push you to your edge! The DVDs have just shipped this past weekend and although I haven't received mine yet, I've already been able to get moving with these new workouts because I also ordred the workout downloads this time around and was able to get all the new workouts on Saturday. Since Saturday was my rest day for the week I was ready for a whole new set of workouts on Sunday.
Although I had Core Cardio Circuit planned for Sunday I am reworking my previously planned exercise schedule to make room for these new ones this week. How can I resist?! The new Slide and Glide workout was the first one I tried. It uses a mat, glider discs, and a firewalker band (though any exercise band will work, you'll just have to knot it). After the warmup I was prepared for an easy workout and didn't think that it was going to be high intensity. Why, oh why do I ever doubt Cathe? I was pleasantly surprised that I was huffing and puffing with those gliding disc jacks. Jessica was laying comfortably on the LoveSac next to me while I was doing it and kept pointing out how easy Cathe makes it look and how I don't make it look so easy. Sheesh! I have a peanut gallery of one... not so cool while I'm sweating away and she's relaxing so nicely in cushion-y indulgence. If she wasn't home from Hebrew School with a really bad headache I would have made her get up and do it along with me. That always silences her. And how about those walking plank/staggered push-ups?! Hello! Those are going to work my core, arms, and chest quite nicely.
This workout is defintely coming with me when we head to FL soon. There's no jumping so it's great to do in a hotel room (or apartment) and not have to worry about disturbing the people below you with (not like those HiiT workouts that will likely get you evicted). Since I'm not bringing a mat with me I'm going to bring my travel yoga paws and see if that will work and I'll use a towel when I need to sit on the floor for stretches.
Today's workout originally called for Slow & Heavy: Legs and Shoulders but my inner thighs were sore from all of that sliding and gliding and I wanted to try something new so I opted for the new Total Body TriSets (Upper Body Premix - 56 minutes).
Total Body TriSets Upper Body Split Breakdown: 56 mins (warm up 4:13, lower body 48:00, stretch 4:05).
The upper body split workout is broken up into three different trisets for your chest, shoulders, and triceps and then three different trisets for your bck, biceps, and core. In each triset you hit the muscles worked with one exercise for each (so three total) and then repeat the three exercises again. Then you get a rest (!!!!). This is a muscular endurance workout so the weight selection is 60%-80% of your 1-rep max and you work on the high end of the repetitions. For example one of the trisets (the first one for chest/shoulders/triceps) looked like this:
Chest - Soldier Plank Pushups - no wt - 16 reps
Shoulders - Incline Press on the Ball - Cathe used 15s - 16 reps
Triceps - Lying Extensions on the Ball - Cathe used 10s - 16 reps
Then you repeat these three exercises, get a rest, and go onto the next triset
I won't even tell you how long it REALLY took me to do this workout because it took WAAAAY longer than you'd think. I was writing down all the exercise names, the weights Cathe uses as a benchmark to work towards, the weight amounts that I used, number of reps, and notes about how I did the exercises (so that I can note that I only did 7 of the Leg Crossback Pushups and then went to my knees for the next 11! Yeah, good little nuggets like that.). And then I'm going to type it all up to make a workout log of this as I do with all of my workout svideos so I can see progress (or lack thereof) or patterns (indicating illness, when it's time to increase weights, etc.).
My favorite exercise here was probably the One-Arm Row with Opposite Leg Raise with the other hand steading itself (or not) on the stability ball. GOOD STUFF - there's back, there core, there's balance - a lot going on. The one I need work on the most is probably the Divebombers for triceps. I was able to do the first set with no problem but I was getting so fatigued that I switched to the modification for the second set and did the See Saw Pushup on the Ball). My Plank Kickbacks (for triceps, obliques, and overall core) were ugly too... so add that to the list of ones that I need improvement on. But I love being challenged which is why I always stick with Cathe! She's the absolute BEST!
Today I cooked off a couple of loaves of Sweet Potato and Spelt bread from some dough I mixed up a week or so ago (from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day aka HBI5MAD). I needed to add a lot of flour to this when I went to shape it as the dough was very wet. I just kept adding flour until the dough was easier to handle and would shape a nice boule and it all worked out well in the end... another testament to how flexible this dough and method is. It puts me at ease knowing that I haven't really had any bad loaves come out of the book yet and I find myself craving more whole grain breads with their toothsome chew and heartier composition. I can't say that Mike would prefer this hearty, dense loaf all the time but he's is more whole- grain-bread-friendly lately... and all of us ARE enjoying the frequency of home-baked bread and the aromas that fill the air. I'm enjoy all of this too AND the fact that baking near the oven keeps me a bit warmer now that the temperatures have begun dipping down into the areas on the thermometer that I'd really rather they not go. I'm a warm weather girl all the way.
Doesn't this look a bit on the wet side?
But with a little flour (okay, more than a little) it turned out to be manageable and even quite cute. Yes, I think bread boules are really cute. I'm smitten with baking bread. Clearly.
Those little orange flecks you see are the shredded sweet potato (with skin on for added nutrients), though Ryan first though it was cheddar cheese.
I had a big slice of this with some leftover soup (Cream of Split and Fresh Peas... photo coming soon) that I packed up in a Thermos for lunch on the pool deck today before I began my second shadowing session on my way to becoming a certified Stroke & Turn Judge official for J's swim team.
I know my lunch of homemade soup and fresh-baked bread beat the cold pizza they were serving on deck by miles!
I'm completely loving cooking through this book and am really eager to get their newest release, Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, that I have on pre-order and that's set to be released on Tuesday. I may have to take a break from HBI5MAD to cook from the new one. Hope my family doesn't mind having various pizzas and flatbreads for dinner every night next week!
Somewhat off-topic, and yet still connected in a behind-the-scenes way... I need to figure out what to do about the poor lighting situation I have on my hands now. It's getting dark around dinner time and that's when I take most of the food photos that I post here so I'll be needing to research additional photography equipment to get me through these dark months when natural light with be at a minimum.
I love photos of hands. I have done a few from when the kids were younger (mine and the kids together) but when I had my mom in for a visit I couldn't resist taking one of our hands.
Project Life is a versatile album kit that comes with everything you need to for a fun life-documentation project in which the whole family can get involved. For more information about using and customizing Project Life visit Becky Higgin's website. You can purchase it from Amazon.com.
Project Life is a versatile album kit that comes with everything you need to for a fun life-documentation project in which the whole family can get involved. For more information about using and customizing Project Life visit Becky Higgin's website. You can purchase it from Amazon.com.
October 06, 2011
Heirloom tomatoes... I miss you already. I will be thinking of you often until we meet again next summer!
I've had some photos that I wanted to post so here are a few that I had been hanging onto. They are random and not at all connected, except that they are a part of documenting the everyday stuff of life.
I slow-roasted a bunch of San Marzano tomatoes from the garden with olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper and after they cooled I froze them so that I have to add to pizzas, soups, and bruschetta when the cold weather comes.
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Our rose bush was a constant source of awe.
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Triple chocolate chunk cookies were a fun dessert and one that we ended up having on Rosh Hashanah too. Once we had to cancell our plans of hosting friends over at our place for dinner because I was sick, I knew I was abandoning plans of making an apple or honey cake (as is traditional for this holiday) because my family would much prefer chocolate cookies (or brownies)! LOL! I happened to have some frozen triple chocolate chunk cookie dough in the freezer for a time just like this when I had no time and only felt like laying in bed!
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A delicious use of some leftovers. Tacos are my favorite for that. Here is Tlayuda (black bean paste made with black beans, onions, garlic, cumin), guacamole, grilled corn, and sauteed green beans (the latter two from a previous summer dinner).
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Daily bread. Still trying to come up with a healthy recipe that isn't challah but so far no luck. The family much prefers the ~75% whole wheat challah that I make. But you know me... I'll keep trying!!
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One of the true wonders of my summer is that for the first time I grew beans. Not green fillet, purple string, or yellow wax beans but bean beans. The kind that you buy in the store as dried beans. Those little European Soldier beans to the left of the cookbook are my bean babies!! I haven't cooked them up yet as I just want to look at them a bit longer.
I haven't cooked from this cookbook much but it's a delightful read with lovely notes on gardening as well as ideas on using the garden harvest and a good amount of photos.
Project Life is a versatile album kit that comes with everything you need to for a fun life-documentation project in which the whole family can get involved. For more information about using and customizing Project Life visit Becky Higgin's website. You can purchase it from Amazon.com.
Hello October. I'm not sure I'm quite ready to welcome fall as I'm still hanging onto summer a bit (that would explain the spicy mango pineapple palettas I made on Friday). You know how hard it is for me to accept that cold weather will be coming along soon but I'm doing my best.
This mushroom tart was a nice vegetarian main dish (for myself) that I made as part of our Rosh Hashanah dinner that also included matzoh ball soup, heirloom tomato salad, brisket, and rosemary-roasted potatoes. Oh and that challah that I posted on Friday. While it was just the four of us and I came to the table in my pajamas with my hair looking like a birdsnest (after spending the majority of the day in bed with some unknown virus that kicked my butt around a bit) I'm glad that I took the time to make this tart.
I loved the flavors of the herbs mixed with the glaze on the mushrooms from sauteeing them in the strained porcini soaking liquid and wine (with a dollop of tomato paste). I used more thyme than the recipe called for and I think it worked perfectly and would do the same next time. Mushrooms and thyme work so well together.
I did make some changes:
I used red wine because I already had a bottle opened from making the brisket, though the recipe called for white or dry sherry.
I added two minced cloves of garlic in the last minute or two of the mushroom saute because I just couldn't help myself. I love garlic and mushrooms together!
In the custard part I ended up using some vegetable broth (that I made for the matzoh ball soup) mixed with the egg (instead of half-and-half, mushroom broth, etc.) and it came out wonderfully.
I think a few roasted cherry tomatoes would look nice on top of this to add a burst of color and break up the browns and greens but I kept it as is and it was still great.
I ate only one small slice of the tart since there was so many other things to eat at our seder so I have a lot of leftovers. I plan on freezing these and having a slice for lunch every once in a while over the next few weeks with a soup or a salad. I'll report back on how this works out!
Happy 1/2 birthday to me! This calls for a celebration, right? I think black-and-white cookies would be fun! And I have STS Total Body planned for today's workout. Good stuff for 36 1/2.
