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    Monday’s usually turn into the day of recommitment- the weekends are fun but lack a bit of structure- so I really like to get back into the workout and clean eating grove. 

   I had plans with my friend Becky to hit up the pool for some lap swim, so in leu of the gym I did a little workout at home. As seen on Bess Be Fit

                                          

      I’ve been very into short, intense workouts over the 2 hours at the gym- sure I love lifting, but I also love functional, powerful and explosive workouts. Plus there is progress going on, slight maybe, but progress none the less. 

     Just 30 minutes and I was heading off to the pool. Your probably sick of hearing about my adoration for chlorine scented skin and complete body exhaustion that comes with diving into the water.. but I’m like an addict and it is all I can think about. I used this workout with a couple changes- For each 100 easy I subbed out 100 of breaststroke, back stroke, butterfly and IM respectively. I had Becky do exactly half of the workout and she did great! 

    We got dressed and headed out in search of a new bathing suit. Becky had seen an ad for suits on sale. We got the suits for $18 a piece! Awesome deals make me happy!  

    By the time I got home I was STARVED and whipped up some Kale salad

   

        It was time to take the Mutt for his first swim since his surgery.. we kept it short because I worry too much and didn’t wait him to overdo it. 

    It’s completely adorable how much he loves to swim, just like his Mama :) 

  Speaking of swimming, Dara Torres is amazing! I’m so completely inspired by her dedication and determination- and also so completely bummed out that she’s not going to the Olympics this year. She fought one hell of a fight for sure! I just finished reading

 
   Throughout the book I was not only inspired by her attitude.. her commitment for just going for whatever it is you want is something to mimic. I even sought out masters swim meets in my area.. because competing is what I really love and miss.. There is a good possibility that I will be signing up for one before the end of the year!

 
Who inspires your fitness goals?

What it’s worth + Workouts + Factoid Friday

   For what it’s worth- the appearance of my obliques makes me pretty excited, 6 AM workouts 6 days a week… worth it

   I am constantly amazed by the bodies ability. Right now I’m studying the way that the body uses energy when we exercise- the 3 different ways which are directly related to the length and intensity of your workout- Pretty interesting stuff if you ask me..
    For what it’s worth, I think that Dara Torres is one of the most amazing athletes- There are so many, but I love her- probably because she swims my event.. A whole hell of a lot faster than I did, hah. Go to ChocolateMilkRefuel to watch the four part series they did featuring Dara..  If you don’t think that 2 hours in pool, 1 1/2 hours in gym and 2 hours of resistance stretching a day is impressive- you can at least get jealous of her ABS

   Or maybe use it as motivation.. Speaking of- lets talk workouts:
Thursday- Hamstrings and Glutes

• DB lunges 4x12
• SuperSet: Sumo Squat (12,10,8,12) +Barbell Deadlift 4x15
• Seated Leg Curl 4x12
• SuperSet: Single Leg lift- Roman chair 4 x 20 + Calf Press 4x20
• SuperSet: Glute Kickbacks 3x12 each leg + Leg lifts 3x20
• SuperSet: Side-to-side Heel reachers 3x 30 + Side crunch 3x10 each side

Today- Cardio Circuit + Sprint Interval 

• Mountain Climbers
• Push ups
• Russian twists on bench w/25 lbs
• Jump Squats
• Skaters
• Jump Lunges

 We did 2 rounds with 20 reps for each exercise + 3 rounds with 10 reps for each exercise. Then we headed to the treadmill for some sprints. 5 mins warmup + 15 mins 30 on/30 off @ 9.0 (Paula did 5.5) + 10 minutes of easy jog @ 5.0 + 5 mins cool down.

 Factoid Friday

1. The only kind of shopping I don’t feel guilty about is grocery shopping. I don’t care if my tubs of greek yogurt goes up to $20 each.. I’ll still support my 2 tub a week habit. 
2. This past week I threw out my favorite Nalgene water bottle..  It was totally covered with awesome stickers and I’m sad that its gone- BOO! Never mind the fact that I have other water bottles- I miss that one, WAAAAAA!
3. Last summer when I drove across the country from RI to CA and back again in 21 days- my co-pilot and I did handstands at EVERY.single.stop.. on the way out to CA and almost every one on the way back (by that time we were trying not to kill each other and were pretty cranky, lol)  I even have video footage- but I’ll spare you.. Instead here we are in Chicago :

(I’m in the red)

       Turns out people aren’t used to seeing a bunch of barefooted people doing handstands in the middle of everything.. The security guards (who took this picture) followed us around asking tons of questions and even made us move to this side of the “Bean” so that we could get the Chicago city line in the reflection.. Thanks for the suggestion guys! (And for standing there for at least 15 minutes taking pictures so that we got some good ones!) We did attempt to keep track of the number of handstands we did all trip but I think we stopped when we hit somewhere over 200.. It was pretty awesome :)

What are you weekend plans?

  I have the ENTIRE weekend off because of my shoulder- woohoo! Tonight we are having dinner at our house with some friends- grilling!  Plans are a bit vague for tomorrow- but hopefully will include canoeing and Sunday we are doing a walk to benefit MS!

What are you workout plans for this weekend? Any long ones out there?

  Paula and I might do the circuit we did two weeks ago- or maybe some other intense circuit with some cardio.. I’ll take suggestions! 

Hope yours is a great one!