Thankful For Workouts

Sorry to disappear on you like that, it's been a busy week.  I'm sure most of you can relate!  We had a really great Thanksgiving at my cousin's house in Denver. My parents came down and we had a lot of fun.  Lyric did really well.  She slept the whole way there and back which was fantastic.  It was her longest road trip so far and I'm really thankful that she likes her car seat.  We have a 6 hour drive coming up in January and my fingers are crossed it goes well.

- FOOD - 
Before I started the Home Workout Challenge and my version of their nutrition plan I was eating sandwiches like this almost daily -

Rotisserie chicken, cheddar cheese, avocado, hummus, spinach and a sprinkle of Spike seasoning.  Delicious!  My parents brought a chicken with them when they visited a couple weeks ago and we cooked it on our grill.  It lasted us through a meal for four, several sandwiches and a large batch of chicken noodle soup.

My mom also cans a ton of different foods, one being her Cowboy Candy - jalapenos canned in a bread & butter pickle recipe.  Sweet and spicy all in one.  They are amazing.  Especially with some cream cheese and some salmon on a Triscuit.

We have another quarter of a cow coming from Nebraska in January so I've been trying to use all of our beef from the last one.  For any new readers, my in-laws have a friend who raises hormone-free cattle, pigs and chickens. Every year we order a cow and split it between several of our friends. This year we actually got half a pig (100 pounds of meat) as well as a 1/4 cow (200 pounds of meat).  Makes me feel better about my meat consumption knowing that I'm supporting a small-town farmer who raises happy animals in a good environment, not some factory farmer who is employed by Tyson.  That and it's super cheap, less than $2 a pound - you're not going to find a good steak or quality ribs anywhere for that!

Anyway that was just a long winded way of saying I've been eating a LOT of beef.  Sloppy joes, chicken fried steak, meatloaf and taco salads.

The steak above was my dinner on Monday night, I apologize for the horrid flash photography.  Blame daylight savings.

For Thanksgiving I was to bring dessert so I made two options - Cranberry Walnut Bread and Peanut Butter Cup Blondies.

Oh man, the blondies were AMAZING.  Instead of adding chopped peanut butter cups and 1/2 cup dark choc. chips I used 1/2 cup peanut butter chips and 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips.  They were incredible - gooey with the taste and texture of cookie dough.  Definitely making these again for Christmas!

So, the whole giving up sugar thing?  It's been hard.  Really hard.  I knew I had a sweet tooth but it's funny how often I think about dessert.  It's like my night isn't complete until I have something sweet to cap off dinner.  I'm happy this 30 day program allows a weekly free day but even with that it's difficult.  I know it's just a learned behavior and I can get rid of it over time but right now I just want some damn pie!

- WORKOUTS -
These are going really well. Yesterday was a rest day and good thing, because my legs were SORE.  My abs are getting a good workout too, but I've had to ease into it since they have been through so much this year already.  Here are the workouts from this week:


Warm Up - (same each day)

Two rounds

• 10 big arm rotations forward and backward
• 10 bend and reach
• hip flexor stretch (15 seconds per side)
• 10 squats
• 10 push-ups
• 10 sit-ups

Day 1 - FIT TEST

1 round

• 1 min. squats
• 1 min. rest
• 1 min. sit-ups
• 1 min. rest
• 1 min. push-ups
• 1 min rest
• 1 min burpees

Day 2 - Push-ups, Sit-ups and Squats

10 rounds:

• 5 push-ups
• 10 sit-ups
• 15 squats

Day 3 - Five Rounds of Sprints, Kicks and Burpees

5 rounds:

• 30 floor sprints
• 20 jump kicks
• 10 burpees

Day 4 - 50 All

• 50 squats
• 50 jumping jacks
• 50 high knees
• 50 butt kicks
• 50 squats legs wide 

Day 5 - Rest & Stretch

Day 6 - Burpees, Push-ups, Sit-ups and Burpees

 10 burpees

• 10/1 push-ups, sit-ups
• 1/10

10 burpees

The workout starts and ends with 10 burpees. In between you will do 10 rounds of push-ups and sit-ups so that the first round consists of 10 push-ups and 1 sit-up, the second round of 9 push-ups and 2 sit-ups and so on until in the final round you will do 1 push-up and 10 sit-ups.

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Crazy how they are so simple, yet so effective.  The biggest issues for me have been with the burpees.  I just can't do them!  It feels abnormal to jump back like that and I can't lower myself to the ground without just collapsing on the floor.  I usually just do a modified version of them but I feel bad for half-assing it.

Anyway, it's been another long day and Lyric has been asleep for about an hour - I'm going to head off to bed so I can get some sleep too!