Home Again

this made me laugh.

Finally back home after a six day pet-sitting stint. I love staying at my friends' nice houses and taking care of cute puppies and kitties, but there really is no place like home. I miss my routine when I'm not home, especially my morning protein shake:

10 oz water
1 scoop vanilla isolate
1/2 frozen banana
1/4c frozen berries
2 tbs hemp protein
2 tbs ground flaxseed
2 tbs chia seeds
1 tbs Udo's oil
handful of spinach

...best breaskfast ever!

I ordered a new kind of protein to try and it arrived today. This kind is hormone-free. I need to make a better effort to avoid toxins and hormones. It it a lot more expensive than the stuff I've been buying ($31 compared to $17....) but can you put a price on health??

Ok, lazy blog post done. :)

Faux Frosty

That there is my post-workout protein shake, made extra thick due to almond milk and extra ice cubes. It's a scant scoop of chocolate protein isolate, and a scant scoop of chocolate casein protein. Tastes just like a Wendy's Frosty. I feel like I'm cheating by eating it...

Today was back and biceps day, and I am happy to report that my tweaked back felt fine today. Tomorrow is double cardio, followed by chest and triceps on Thursday.

Nothing insightful or deep today....just my drank.

Fresh Steps

I got new shoes today! There's nothing like new shoes to get you amped up to run around. Thank you, Amazon for your speedy delivery and reasonable pricing. The shoes I have currently, are the same exact model that my sweet sister Debbie gave me for Christmas. Deb owns a chain of specialty running shoes stores in Salt Lake City, so my current shoes are top-knotch in style and support, so I stuck with the same exact kind except those were magenta accented and these have a lively green punch to them.

Some people say you should get a new pair of shoes every 300 miles. I have no idea how many running miles or elliptical miles or squats I've done in my magenta shoes but I just felt like they were getting a little worn out.  I think it will be nice to look down and see a little green flash as I run this fall and winter. Can't wait to take my new shoes out for a spin tomorrow during a lunchtime jog.

My upper back and neck area still feels pinched. I kinda tweaked it on Thursday doing triceps, but I totally sealed the deal Saturday during shoulders - overhead presses. It feels like there are hot knots all along my  right shoulder blade and up to my neck. This tends to be a problem area for me and it gets pinched once or twice a year, probably because 1.) I'm using a computer mouse with that arm all day, and likely not in an ergonomic fashion. or, 2.) I think I also carry stress tension there? Damn traps!

I got it rubbed out a bit and I think that helped, but we will see what it is like tomorrow. Tuesday is Back & Biceps day. I don't want to tweak it more doing lat pull-downs or rows so I need to use cation. Truthfully I think I was trying to lift too heavy for 15 reps. It is hard for me to choose lighter weight. I think its a mental thing. I'm going to have a casein shake and take my vitamins and get to bed early and hope it is even more healed tomorrow. Send your good vibes my way!

Bulk Cooking for the Week and Body By Design

Yesterday I went to Costco to get groceries for the next few weeks. Costco has the best prices for organic chicken, ground turkey, frozen fish, organic produce, quinoa and eggs. As I've preached before, preparedness is the key to staying on track with a fitness plan, and so for me, buying in bulk and then making meals in advance is the difference between failing or thriving.

Today I staying in and did chores around the house. Listened to music and cooked up food for the next few days. Here's what I made today:

• Baked sweet potato cubes (EVOO, crushed red pepper, salt, cinnamon)
• Quinoa Bakes - an awesome recipe I found here. Great 10:00 AM snack.
• Turkey Meatballs (adapted from this) 
• Roasted asparagus

Quinoa Bakes with a ration of three berries each.

Turkey meat, spices, egg, oats, veggies, pre-mixing. Hand mixing grosses me out but it is a task which must be done. 

Turkey Meatballs, served with spinach, and a bit of sweet potato and leftover quinoa salad. BOOM!

I'm on day six of Chris Gethin's Body By Design program. This is a 12 week program and the same program I attempted earlier this year. I made it to week seven at that time, before things in my personal life got hectic (relationship break-up and subsequent move into my own place) and I soothed myself with socializing and libations rather than sticking to the plan.

The Body by Design plan mixes twice-a-day cardio sessions with three different phases of lifting. These first four weeks are really pretty basic, except that he has you do 15 reps which is fairly high for most lifting programs. It is difficult to select the correct weight for fifteen reps, I tend to pick to high. I can't wait until Phase 2, (weeks 6-8) because that is when you get to do squats and deadlifts. love Love LOVE!  By the third phase, (weeks 9-12) I'll be doing super sets. I never made it that far last time, so we shall see how that goes. 

I should finish my 12th week of the program Thanksgiving week, which is perfect. I am trying to decide what to do for December. I think I will just make up my own thing for those few weeks. I'll be in Utah for a week over Christmas, and besides that, it will be good to start another 12 week plan the first week in January so it will end on my 29th Birthday at the end of March.

It is September 9th, and fall is definitely on the way. The night have become much cooler, and the air is starting to get that fall smell. I love running in the autumn time. Which reminds me, I have to be up at 6:30 in the morning to jog before work. Then I come home a jog after, woohoo!