Total Body Workout + Another Lazy Dinner

At work yesterday I taught a Total Body Toning class.  It’s a 45-minute class focusing on strength training.  I love teaching this format because I don’t have to worry about choreography like in my other classes (Turbo Kick and Step) and I can get creative with new moves.  Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching choreography and it’s a ton of fun.  But sometimes it’s nice to give my brain a rest from 32-count phrases and focus on pumpin’ some iron!

Yesterday’s Total Body Workout looked like this (click to view):

*Notes:

• We took about a 30-second rest in between sets
• The weights I personally used ranged from 5lb dumbbells (for exercises like shoulder raises) and 12lb dumbbells (for rows, chest presses, overhead shoulder presses, and biceps).  I used a 15lb body bar for the clean and press.
• The squat with a front raise and leg lift looks like this.  It’s tough!
• The side lunge and reach with an overhead raise looked like this except I used a dumbbell.

After teaching it was time for my lunch break so I decided to keep my workout momentum going and completed  30 minutes of cardio.  My workout looked like this:

Felt good to get in some heart pumpin’ cardio while listening to Lady’s Gaga’s newest CD (which is amazing!!)

Dinner

Dinner was another lazy creation.  I picked up some orange chicken at Trader Joes over the weekend and decided it would be a good night to make it since Andy was out for the evening.

First I sauteed up some sweet peppers and mushrooms in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper:

As the veggies were cooking I heated the chicken in a canola oil blend over medium heat on the stove:

Along side the chicken and veggies I decided to make some Near East Roasted Pecan and Garlic rice.  This flavor is so, so good!

While waiting for everything to cook I sipped on one of my favorite drinks:

I love Skinny Girl Margaritas! I really enjoy the taste.  It’s not sweet at all like a typical margarita.  It’s more of a tart flavor and it’s refreshing.  I love em’!

Cheers! 🙂

Once the chicken was cooked (and I was slightly buzzed!), I added the delicious orange sauce (which I microwaved for 2 minutes) and sauteed veggies:

Dinner was ready!

As far as frozen meals go, this chicken is pretty tasty and I’d definitely buy it again to make one of my lazy dinners.

Play Time

When Andy got home around 8pm we relaxed outside on our patio.

We spent some time watching (and laughing) as Boo and Sophia went crazy running around:

Who you callin' crazy? You're the one dancing in the living room every morning... alone!

Watch me HOP!

Dog or monster?

Gimme!

For a moment they were calm:

But this one is never truly calm:

Love my pups! 🙂

Vacation

Tomorrow morning I leave on my flight to North Carolina for a whole week to see my family! Andy isn’t going (booo!) because he already has used most of his vacation days.  I am going to miss him and the pups so much! But I am definitely looking forward to a week of relaxing, eating, sitting on the beach, running by the ocean, and just having fun with everyone.  See ya in Emerald Isle, NC!

Questions:

Do you like to fly? I’m actually a bit scared of flying and I always feel nervous and can’t relax one bit while in the air (Andy on the other hand falls right to sleep!) But I  suck it up and do it because I want to go places and see friends and family that live far away.

Are you taking any vacations this summer?

Clean Plate Club

Yesterday’s workout was a tough one.  I did the Pick 6 Challenge again at work.  Right now we’re doing a 12-week Health Challenge and there are different teams competing.  I am the captain of my team, Progress not Perfection. Every couple of weeks we have different challenges for the teams to do.

For the Pick 6 Challenge You pick 6 events (out of 10 total).  You must do 3 carido and 3 strength events.  You have 2 minutes in between each exercise, so it goes pretty quickly.  I felt as though I was in a dead sprint for the entire duration of the workout!

For my Pick 6 I did the following (and in this order):

• 1 mile run: 8:27
• 1 minute curl ups: 77
• 2 mile bike: 6:58
• Bench Press (as many as I could do at 37% of my body weight on the smith machine): 25 reps
• 10 minutes on the AMT: I went 1.1 miles and kept the resistance between 8 and 10 and kept my stride long.
• Leg Extensions (as many as I could do at 40% of my body weight): 70 reps

Phew, this was a tough workout! I felt as though I gave 100% of my effort.  I also taught 2 classes earlier that day, so my strength was a bit fatigued.  But overall, I did my best and had fun doing so.  I’m glad it’s over though 😉

This workout could be implemented easily into anyone’s routine for a nice challenge.  Give it a try! Here are the rules and exercise guidelines.

Clean Plate Club

After work yesterday, I was exhausted.  I knew that an easy dinner was a must! I threw a couple of chicken breasts in the the crock pot, covered em’ with low sodium chicken broth, a few dashes of hot sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, and pepper to make shredded chicken for Taco Night.

Taco Chicken

I cooked the chicken on high for about 2 hours and before I knew it, dinner was ready! I got out some essential taco toppings to make a taco buffet for Andy and I:

Taco Essentials

Andy and I piled some toppings onto soft tortillas and chowed down while watching “How I met your Mother”:

Andy

I filled my taco with chicken, salsa, sour cream, cheese, and chopped onions.  On the side I had some Guiltless Gourmet chips:

My Plate

Taco night was a success! I love how simple yet delicious this meal can be.

Taco Thursday

Sophia was on crumb control just in case I happened to drop anything:

On Duty for Crumb Control

Sophia is definitely a member of the Clean Plate Club.  Even after she licks her bowl clean, she makes sure that Boo’s bowl is just as clean.  And to be honest, I’m the same way! When Andy and I get ice cream I always inspect his cup to eat any left over fudge and chocolate.  Clean Plate Club for life! 🙂

Thanks Boo, for always letting me lick your bowl clean!

Always room for Sundaes

After dinner I went to the book store to get the third installment of the the Hunger Games, along with a couple of other purchases:

Books

I purchased Learning from the Light and The Quiet Room along with Mockingjay.   I can’t decide which one to start with! They’re all completely different, but are all super interesting.

After the book store, I hit up Dairy Queen to pick Andy and I up some hot fudge sundaes.  I think I say this every day, but in my life there is always room for sundaes! I think I could live on soft serve ice cream.

Dairy Queen Sundae

This sundae was extra delicious tonight.  And I did lick Andy’s cup clean when he was done.  For some reason he always leaves a lot of fudge.  I make sure to not let it go to waste!

Happy with my Sundae!

After eating our Sundaes I was ready for bed.  But first we had to find Sophia…oh wait, there she is:

I'm hiding

The little monkey was laying under the bed! I think she was on the same page as me: ready for bed!

Dad and Soph

 Weekend Plans:

This weekend we have Andy’s little niece’s Baptism.  Little Claire is so cute, I can’t wait to spend some time with her and Andy’s family.  Other than the baptism we have no other big plans except for the usual errands, cleaning and relaxing.  Pizza Friday will be taking place tonight (of course)! Happy Friday!

Question:

Are you a member of the Clean Plate Club?  I don’t always clean my plate with my meals but desserts are usually licked clean!