Last Week’s Exercise Recap and a Fit Family

Hey guys! It’s Monday again! I know, I know…But hey – it is a new beginning, isn’t it? Say, if you didn’t exercise as much last week (like this girl) or made not so good of food choices (like this girl, too), you should be happy for this chance to start over, right?

Yeah, me too 🙂

So, let me tell you what I did to exercise last week and a little about my fit family members. 🙂

{MONDAY}

Was supposed to spin, but got held up at work until late and then I had a Skype call with mom scheduled for that night, so I didn’t work out. Rest day #1.

{TUESDAY}

I don’t remember what the excuse was, but that was a Rest day #2! Keep reading 🙂 I am going to get to the exercise part eventually.

{WEDNESDAY}

I finally sucked it up and decided to try something new. The Wednesday Y schedule had Zumba on it, so I decided to go for it.

I had very little clue of what I was doing, but I had a blast!!! I really liked the atmosphere of the class – it felt more like a party than a workout. Thank you so much, Terre, for a great class!

Totally killed my knees though. I did my research in advance and chose the shoes that had little tread, but it still wasn’t enough for my knees.

So I am a recovering zumbanaut 🙂 Still.

Check out what a great burn it was, though! More than in some of the spinning classes I take.

Yeah, baby!

Yeah, baby!

{THURSDAY}

Guess what? Aha, that was the rest day #3. Right after work we headed to Simon’s swim meet. Oh, that was so much fun! I am so proud of him! Scored a smile, too (can’t take that for granted when it comes to TA boys:) )

SONY DSC

He swam like he had a motor!

SONY DSC

They also had a small party for seniors there that night. So sweet!

SONY DSC

Simon got a bag of candy and a balloon with his name on it.

SONY DSC

Of course the kitty had to have the balloon when we got home 🙂

What do you mean it's not for me? Who is it for then?

What do you mean it’s not for me? Who is it for then?

{FRIDAY}

Had to suck it up again and go lift – I am a fitness blogger after all, right? Not gonna keep my readers interested if I post about kitties all the time 🙂

Anyway, on Friday I decided to go for an evening workout!

I walked on a treadmill for a bit to warm up:

IMG_3816

And then lifted some heavy stuff!

IMG_3821

I mostly worked on my arms, shoulders and abs as my legs were still sore from Zumba and I was saving them for Saturday morning 🙂

The gym was almost empty. So were the locker rooms, so I had some fun after the workout 🙂

IMG_3825-1

{SATURDAY}

On Saturday I took an early spinning class with Tara so I could later go to Carmen’s basketball game. The class was a blast! I could feel my heart in my throat the whole time – that’s a sign of a good workout 🙂 A cold refreshing smoothie after that workout never tasted better 🙂

IMG_3835

Shortly after I got home and showered, we headed out to Carmen’s basketball season play offs. Her team won both games they played that day and are officially the #1 team in their league as of last Saturday. The last two games will be held next Saturday and I am sure these girls will be the Champions!

IMG_3847

{SUNDAY}

Was a busy day – all the prep. work for the Super Bowl (grocery shopping, cooking, setting the table, etc.) and….such a disappointment… Don’t even want to talk about the SB…

Let’s just end this with Sunday being Rest Day #4!

So. Let’s see… I didn’t exercise as much as I usually do last week, but I had a fun, busy week full of fun events and pride for my step-children.

I’ll count that as an AWESOME week!

Now, tell me: did you have a good week?

Stay fit and awesome, my friends!

Lena

Motivation or…Monday?

Hey guys! How was your weekend? Mine was busy! Between the Saturday morning workout, Carmen’s basketball game and a killer workout aka house cleaning on Sunday, it feels like there was no weekend at all!

Anywho. Did you have a good week last week?

Mine was terrible.

I felt demotivated, lazy, blobby and overall so-so sorry for my poor self!

Result – only two workouts last week:

Monday night spin class with MJ

Monday night spin class with MJ

Saturday spin with Johnny D.

Saturday spin with Johnny D.

Between Monday and Saturday, for 4 days that is, I did sweet nothing.

I don’t know what came over me these past couple weeks…I am just generally not feeling good. Not at all.

Everything seems useless, pointless and done in vain.

What do you do when you feel that way? I try find positive things around me and count my blessings.

So, I’m gonna try!

{1} I have a wonderful family!

Carmen's science project got 2nd place at the fair!

Carmen’s science project got 2nd place at the fair!

{2} I got my CPR certification – one step closer to becoming a spinning instructor

IMG_3744

{3} I am in good health and so is everyone I love.

{4} I make kick $ss salads and everybody knows that 🙂

yep, like this one

yep, like this one

Ok, so that’s 4 blessings – one for each day last week that I felt crappy and didn’t workout.

Now I need to suck it up and go spinning tonight  even if I have to drag my butt to the gym. Because guess what? I am NO QUITTER!

How do you motivate yourself on days you feel like crap and don’t want to workout?

Five on Friday

Hey guys! Happy Friday!!!

Here I am again with five things that I am loving lately.

{{ONE}} Conscious box

Oh. My. God. I saw the ads pop up a lot on the internet, and finally decided to try it. The idea behind it is – you subscribe for certain number of months (can be as little as one), and every month you get a box of goodies – all healthy and organic stuff. When I ordered mine, they had a promotion running where you had to pay shipping only and get the first box for free.

Check out some things I got in my box:

Mighty Leaf Tea

Mighty Leaf Tea

Beauty Bursts!

Beauty Bursts!

Wholesome sweeteners

Wholesome sweeteners

and lots of other wonderful things that made me a one happy camper!

and lots of other wonderful things that made me a one happy camper!

Would you like to get a conscious box? Then you need to head over here.

{{TWO}} Lemon Bars

So last weekend I was browsing through Facebook and stumbled upon a great recipe for Lemon Bars.

I have never made those before, I don’t think I ever had one either, but they looked so good and easy to make that I decided to go for it and make a batch.

Aren't the gorgeous?

Aren’t the gorgeous?

You can find the recipe for these wonderful things on Lauren Kelly’s blog.

{{THREE}} Oranges Infused Water

Well, you guys already know from my previous Five on Friday post that I have been addicted to oranges lately. It got worse – now I infuse water with oranges 🙂

IMG_3560

{{FOUR}} “Women, Food and God” by Geneen Roth

What a wonderful book!

women-food-and-god-book
Buy Women Food and God on Amazon

Initially, I heard about this book from the list of recommended reading for the “Yoga Fit Yoga Lean” certification course with Beth Shaw.

What a wonderful reading it has been! Very refreshing and useful book to read for those who what to look deeper into their relationships with food 🙂

{{FIVE}} My New Food Scale

Long time ago I got myself a food scale. Loved it! So easy when you need to control your portion size or keep track of the recipe ingredients.

Time went by and one day my kitty dumped a pot of dirt onto the scale (didn’t you see it coming?) 🙂 Well, I was “smart” enough to wash it off with water. My scale stopped working…

So I was on the market for a new one. It amazes me how ridiculously expensive these things are! So I went searching on Amazon for two reasons – the prices for these at the store just did not seem reasonable, and reason #2 -me being a lazy busy person. Here’s what I found.

IMG_3620

And that concludes my Five on Friday! Have a wonderful weekend, guys, and…

Your turn! Tell me about your Five on Friday!

 

Weekly Exercise Recap

Hi guys! How are you this fine Monday morning?

I feel like I didn’t sleep at all last night…still not awake! I blame the weather…

Anyway, I wanted to share my weekly exercise recap with you – with ups and downs of the last week. Here we go!

{{MONDAY}} Spinning

As always on Mondays, I took a spin class with Jim last week – 12.5 sweaty miles and pure joy of great music and company.

IMG_3508

{{TUESDAY}} Weights and Strength Training

Usual weekly meeting with Jim at the gym 🙂 Awesome as always! I am starting to feel more confident in the weights room on my own. I think I can have the sessions with Jim once in 2 weeks now instead of weekly, and keep going by the usual schedule (twice a week) on my own.

IMG_3518

{{WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY}} – Unplanned Rest Days

I don’t know what happened. I had a crazy week at work and a couple of commitments in the evenings, but generally – I was just not feeling it. I could not motivate myself to workout. I was sleepy all the time, very sluggish and lazy – all those 3 days. Felt terribly guilty for not working out, but still could not bring myself off the couch in the evenings.

{{SATURDAY}} Walk and Weights

On Saturday morning I finally started feeling guilty enough and feeling like I owe myself a workout 🙂 So I got up bright and early and headed over to the YMCA.

Normally I do my Saturday double – spinning+yoga, but this time I felt like changing things around and bringing some variety to my workouts.

So I walked a mile on a treadmill:

Saturday Walk

And then did some weights!

IMG_3597

All that made me feel just GREAT, which immediately resulted in this happy “selfie” in the car 🙂

IMG_3600

After the awesome workout and all the “selfies” were done, I headed home and made myself a super energizing power smoothie.

1/2 cup (firmly packed) kale, 1 frozen banana, 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 tbsp. Vega protein powder, 6-8 whole roasted almonds

1/2 cup (firmly packed) kale, 1 frozen banana, 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 tbsp. Vega protein powder, 6-8 whole roasted almonds

{{SUNDAY}} Yoga Practice and Home

A while ago I got a free gift from Yoga Journal – a DVD (first in a series) with home yoga practice. I didn’t subscribe for the rest of the series since I rarely get a chance to workout at home, but got to keep the first DVD they had sent me. Yesterday, while hubby was taking a nap, I decided to give it a try! I have to say – I regretted not subscribing to the series! It was a great flow with just enough challenges for my home practice.

Sunday Yoga

I absolutely loved practicing yoga at home – I dimmed the lights, turned on my candle warmer, fought off the kitty who was extremely interested in my yoga matt, and just spent an hour doing something for myself. Who doesn’t love that? I should definitely do it more often!

And that concludes my weekly exercise recap!

What was your favorite workout last week?

Lena

Motivation Monday – Last Week’s Exercise Recap

Hey-hey, my fitness gang! How are you this wonderful Monday? Ready to face the week?

I feel ready and excited! Why? Because it is a new start. New beginning of everything – it is your chance to start the week off right by eating healthier, exercising more and being happier 🙂

So, let’s look at my last week from the exercise standpoint. Here’s what I did:

Monday: Spin Class – 12.5 sweaty miles!

IMG_3416

It was freezing cold outside that night and I left the sensor for my heart rate monitor in the car. I realized that after I got changed for my class and decided to ride “naked” rather than go back to the car in my capris and cycling shoes. So, “naked” ride it was! I have to say, it felt a little weird not to be able to see your heart rate, but it was definitely liberating not seeing the calories burnt. I think subconsciously as I approach my goal number of calories burnt during the class I stop working as hard as I should. So, I definitely enjoyed my “low-tech” ride on Monday!

Tuesday: Weight Lifting and Strength Training with Jim at the Gym

IMG_3427

I feel like I am still burning calories from that one. It even hurts to type, leave alone steer…

I have noticed that I got a little too comfortable with my routine with the weights… Those personal trainers, they can read minds, you know? Just as I thought that I wouldn’t mind increasing the weight/number of reps, he did just that!

Oh. My. God.

That step forward is always killing me the first time I take it. I just hope that next time will be better and I will enjoy it a little more, and maybe suffer a little less afterwards… 🙂

Wednesday: Always Yoga Day, I mean ALWAYS.

After my killer workout on Tuesday it was a very much welcome practice. Looooove that stretching.

IMG_3440

Thursday: a day of relaxation and not knowing what to do with myself

Rest Day

Is it just me or is there anyone else who feels like he/she is getting fatter by the minute on a rest day? 🙂

I do!

Anyway, it was nice to spend the evening “couch-potating” with hubby and catch up on the new Big Bang Theory.

Friday: Rest Day

Was originally supposed to be a yoga day, but I just wasn’t feeling it. So I listened to my lazy mind body and made it a rest day. 🙂

Saturday: Spinning+Yoga

Totally paid for my two rest days by making it a “Saturday Double”:

Another 12.4 sweaty miles!

Another 12.4 sweaty miles!

 

Followed by a relaxing yoga class

Followed by a relaxing yoga class

Sunday: Yoga

Was initially supposed to be a “pump day”, but I got caught up in the 49-ers game and only made it to yoga. Hey, it was totally worth it!

IMG_3499

And that is what I did last week!

Tell me: what was your best workout of the past week?

Resolutions Anyone?

Hey you, guys! And Happy New Year!

I hope you had a great time off with your loved ones, enjoyed the holidays and all back in the groove now.

New year is the time for resolutions, decisions, new goals and re-evaluation. It is to the point where it is borderline pure pressure and stress, isn’t it? Everyone is asking about your resolutions, sharing theirs, and looking for “resolution buddies”. Uuuurgh! Pressure. I hate pressure. Pressure has the reverse effect on me – the more I am pressured, the less I want to do it. For me, what does the trick is ME actually WANTING to do something. So. Let’s get the pressure off of you and have you relax for a couple minutes while you read this. This post is about me and my goals for 2014 as well as looking back at 2013. No pressure on you, navigate away if you like 🙂 Or…Keep reading 🙂Continue Reading

Motivation Monday – Last Week’s Exercise Recap

Hey, guys! Happy Monday to you!

Hope you had a great weekend.

I haven’t done a Motivation Monday post with weekly exercise recap in a while – simply because I haven’t been exercising nearly as much lately due to my bad cold and later – bronchitis.

All better now and pretty much back in the game! So here’s what has been happening on the fitness front in the past week.

Monday and Tuesday – rest days (good start to the week, right? 🙂 ) as I was still recovering from my cold/bronchitis.

Wednesday – had a wonderful yoga class with Jim at the Y. One of my co-workers joined me for the class and we had a great time!

IMG_2966

Thursday and Friday – rest days (told you I was taking it easy).

Saturday – did my usual double. Oh did that feel good!

11 sweaty miles!

11 sweaty miles!

Followed by a great yoga class!

IMG_2991

Sunday – in addition to running errands (lots of walking), cleaning the house (lots of walking), and meal prepping (lots of walking), hubby and I went to the gym to lift weights! I love working out with him!

IMG_3020

I think it was a pretty good week for the condition I was in, and that I managed to stick to the rules:

Credit: indulgy.com

Credit: indulgy.com

It was a little hard to get back in the game after the 2 week break, though. The first week I didn’t know what to do with the free time I suddenly got on my hands due to not working out! But the second week (when I got a taste of doing nothing and having extra time), I felt like I am slipping back into my natural laziness! Couldn’t let that happen.

Credit: www.motivationblog.org

Credit: www.motivationblog.org

Credit: www.losgatosfitness.com

Credit: www.losgatosfitness.com

Because once you take that exit, you realize there is no turning back!

What did you do for your exercise this past week?

Junk Food: 2, Lena: 1

Hey guys!

I finally got to my blog – second time in this busy week, which sucked for the most part 🙂

Let’s see….It’s Friday (YAY!), I am back to PT for an uncertain period of time (boooo), and heading to NYC this weekend to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary!!!

The past week healthy eating was challenged by:

lunch out with my husband on Monday

lunch out with my husband on Monday

 

Birthday celebration cupcakes at work

Birthday celebration cupcakes at work

Photo source – Catherine’s Cupcakery

movie night at home with my family

movie night at home with my family

Junk/Processed/Not-so-good-for-you food – 2, Lena – 1.

There were some good/not-so-bad food choices and decisions this week, as well.

Fruit and yogurt for breakfast last Thursday

Fruit and yogurt for breakfast last Thursday

 

Home made crock pot chili

Home made crock pot chili

IMG_2649

Mashed potatoes and chili on top

Home made crock pot split pea soup

Home made crock pot split pea soup

Whole grain orzo salad

Whole grain orzo salad

All in all, it wasn’t the best week food-wise.

On top of that, I pulled my left calf on Wednesday night,  went to my scheduled physical therapy session on Thursday and was immediately treated for the new disaster. And that’s right when I was going to start making my way out of PT some time after next week. No such luck. The pulled calf hurt like hell last night, but seems to be a little better today.

What I am most upset about is the rest days I have to take that I was not planning on. This injury once again messes up my entire exercise routine and I can’t ignore it because it hurts to move.

Erm…remind me – isn’t exercise supposed to make you fell better? 🙂

Anywho, before my fitness life was interrupted by the pulled muscle, I managed to fit some fine exercise in last week:

12 ml ride in Monday's spin class

12 ml ride in Monday’s spin class

Weights and strength training with Jim on Wednesday

Weights and strength training with Jim on Wednesday

 

Yoga class with Jim on Wednesday

Yoga class with Jim on Wednesday

Blogging news:

Did you guys noticed the new banner? What do you think?

Also, the former “Healthy Recipe” page of the blog is now called “Recipes” (the sole reason for the name change is that what’s healthy for me can be unhealthy for somebody else, so let’s go with the neutral name) and is powered by ReciPage!

I am still in the process of transferring the recipes from one to the other, but very happy with the way the new page looks! I think it is a lot easier to brows recipes now. You can also search by key ingredients, cooking methods and alphabetically.

I hope you like it and I would appreciate any feedback!

I will see you guys next week with the NYC trip recap!

Have a great weekend and stay fit!

Last Week’s Exercise Recap as part of the Motivation Monday

Hey hey, my fitness friends 🙂

Happy (?) Monday to you! Are you ready for another week of work and fun? I feel pretty good today – I think it is going to be a very-very fun week…and – this weekend is our second wedding anniversary. It’s been very happy two years – with ups and downs like in any family in general and a step-family in particular.

But not for once did I ever regret that “I do” I said to the most wonderful guy in this world!

So we are keeping the tradition of going to NYC for our anniversary! I am so excited about another opportunity to discover more of this great city!!!

Anywho, back to our Monday. I am back here with my exercise recap of the past week.Continue Reading

Foodie Pen Pals – Reveal Day

 

Hey, my fitness friends!

Guess what? I did it again! I participated in Foodie Pen Pals program and today is the Reveal Day!

Curious what I got?

Continue Reading

Motivation Monday – Weekly Exercise Recap, WW Weigh In Results

Hey my dears! Happy Motivation Monday to you!

Let’s see what I did in the past week exercise-wise, shall we? 🙂

Continue Reading

Belated “What’s on my Plate Wednesday” and Weekly Exercise Recap

Hey hey, my fitness friends!

I bet you didn’t expect a “What’s on my Plate” Wednesday post from me on Thursday! Well, guess what? It is happening. And since I missed the exercise recap post this week, I am combining the two!

Here we go, eating highlights and exercise recap of the past week or so!Continue Reading

Beets Salad Recipe and Motivation Monday

Hey, my fitfam!

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I know… Last week was crazy busy – between work, physical therapy and exercise I hardly had any time at all to sit down and breathe.

All better now, seems like, so let’s go into the new week starting with Motivation Monday!Continue Reading

Belated Motivation Monday – Last Week’s Exercise Recap

Hey, my fitness gang!

Happy Motivation Thursday-Monday to you! Time to share my previous week’s workout and motivation quotes/pics with you. Are you ready?

Well then, keep scrolling down 🙂 Slowly! 🙂Continue Reading

Motivation Monday: Last Week’s Exercise Round-Up

Hey there my fitness friends!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are rested enough for this Monday!

I had a very good week and feel ready for the new one.

Today’s post is one of the “Motivation Monday” series with my previous week’s exercise recap. I hope it helps you motivate yourself to get out there and exercise!Continue Reading