Overnight Oats

Morning! Today I decided to make some overnight oats. So good! Recipe:

• 3/4 cup rolled oats (I use gluten free)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 3 tbsp vanilla soy yogurt (I'm trying to be dairy free but feel free to use plain greek yogurt, especially for added protein)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• handful of blueberries
• optional: sweetener (I didn't put any)

1. Mix all the ingredients.
2. Place in the jar.
3. Stick it in the fridge the day before.

It's simple as that! I wanted something super quick this morning that would take no time to make. This is perfect! You can eat these cold (how I prefer) or heat it up. Don't forget the chia seeds! That's what gets the oatmeal to expand over time. And right before I ate it I added a scoop of protein powder for a boost of protein. Now I have to get my butt to work!

xoxo

Back Workout and My Watch

Happy hump day! The weekend is almost hereeee :) This morning I was feeling like a whale because I skipped out on the gym so today I went extra hard. I took a preworkout and worked my arse off. Today's workout:

• Warmup 3X
• Unassisted pull ups
• 1 min active rest - db press
• Superset 4X8-12
• Lat pull downs
• Close grip reverse pull downs
• 1 min active rest - kb swings
• Superset 4X10-12
• Bent over bb row
• Bent over one arm row
• 1 min active rest - step ups
• Deadlifts (heavy) 3X10
• 1 min active rest - speed skaters
• 50 squats
• Ab circuit
• 20 HIITs on elliptical
• 1 min plank every 5 mins
• Cool down

Now as far as my watch goes, I have a Polar FT4 which I loveeee. I put in my height, weight, and age and it measures my heart rate and how many calories I burned. It's really helpful for those trying to measure calorie intake and such. And it's very accurate. A lot of times people will rely on the cardio machine to tell them how many cals they burned which is not a good thing. It can't really measure you're heart rate so it approximates. The number on the machine is usually double what you actually burn. If the machine says you burned 600 cals, you probably only burned 300. I highly recommend the watch, it really comes in handy. There's also the Polar FT7 which is a fancier version. It tells you the percentage of body fat you burned in addition to the other stuff. You can find these watches on Amazon for $60-$80, depending on which model you get. You can also find them at sporting goods stores for a little bit more money. Enjoy your day!

xoxo

Chest Workout

Hiiiiii!! Today I worked out my chest ONLY, no triceps. I'm saving one day this week for just my arms. Gotta get them tight and toned! Post workout I had my protein shake and an hour after that I had an organic turkey burger (that I bought from the farmer's market) on gluten free bread with a little bit of ketchup and spinach. Mmmm so good. So please excuse the fluffy abs, they are post protein shake post lunch post half a gallon of water XD

For today's workout:

• Warmup 3X
• Pushups til failure
• 1 min active rest - jumping jacks
• Superset 4X10-12
• Flat bench db press
• Flat bench db flys
• 1 min active rest - step ups (use your bench!)
• Superset 4X10-12
• Incline db press
• Incline db flys
• 1 min active rest - kick backs
• Pec deck machine 4X10
• 30 sec active rest - mountain climbers
• Cable crossovers 4X10
• 1 min active rest - high knees
• 20 mins HIITs on elliptical

As you can see, it's very different from last week. I never do the same workout twice. Whenever I walk into the gym, it's always something new. It keeps my muscles guessing and keeps me from getting bored. 

xoxo

Getting Motivated

Good morning! Having a case of the Mondays? Feeling unmotivated? I know, I've felt like that too. There are just some days that you don't feel like working out. Here are some tips to keep you on track..

• Set realistic goals. It's important to set goals you are able to achieve. Not doing so will only leave you disappointed, discouraged, and right back where you started. Start off with small weekly goals, like "Drink a gallon of water a day" or "Do as many push ups I can." Stick to it and always create new ones.
• Plan ahead. Plan your workouts and meals before hand. Therefore, when you get into the gym you don't waste anytime and you always have healthy meals on hand. Fail to plan, plan to fail.
• Leave gym clothes in your car. I always do this. You never know when you can get an extra 30 mins to yourself. Don't make excuses, always be prepared.
• Update your playlist. This is my personal favorite. Sometimes all you need is new music to keep you focused.
• Bring a buddy. Having a workout buddy always makes going to the gym easier. It gives you a lot of motivation and they help push you further.
• Take a class. This has also worked for me. Sometimes you need to switch it up and do something totally different. Try a full body conditioning or kickboxing class. They're fun!
• Buy yourself something. Sometimes buying a new shirt or new sneakers helps you feel good. Retail therapy has always worked for me!
• Change it up. Change your workouts, change the time you're going, or change where you're going. If you have a friend that goes to a different gym, see if they offer day passes. A change of scenery can be nice. I love my gym, but I try to do this like twice a month.
• Swimsuit season. Um hellloooo its the end of April people! Summer is coming! I know you want to have a hot summer body! Get out there and do the damn thing! XD

I hope these help. Enjoy your workouts!

xoxo

I Love the Farmer's Market

Hi yall's! This is my food haul from the farmer's market. I know it's not much lol but what they had was limited (I'm guessing because most of the good stuff isn't in season yet). It's also a very small farmer's market with only like 7 tents. I got gluten free rugelach, organic turkey burgers, organic broccoli, and an organic apple. I really like farmer's markets because everything they sell is organic. I try to eat organic as much as I can. Unfortunately, the way I eat and the amount of food I eat each day does not allow me to eat all organic 100% of the time. It's just too expensive. So I try to buy my fruits and veggies organic most of the time. The farmer's markets guarantee fresh food. The meat they had was fed gluten free feed, hormone free, free range, etc. All for a decent price. They also have gluten free sweets which makes me a very happy girl! 

Now the thing with organic food is that they are the most naturally grown and harvested. Regular produce are sprayed with lots of pesticides that are no good for us to consume. A study was done with heads of lettuce and it showed that just one head of lettuce had traces of about 7 different pesticides. 7! Pesticides in combination can be 100x more toxic than consuming one compound. I bet you're thinking, "Yeah, but I always wash my produce before I eat it. Duh." Well, these pesticides are meant to withstand rain, so washing it does not remove it. Now you're thinking, "Yeah, but I cook it anyway. The heat should kill all of the harmful chemicals." Yes, you're right, but you are also killing all of the vitamins and minerals in the food as well. You're essentially removing all of it's nutritional value. So what's one to do? Eat organic!

1. Organic produce have far less pesticides. It's almost impossible to escape pesticides, unless grown in your own backyard. 

2. Organic produce is fresher. It just tastes better!

3. Organic meat are not fed hormones, antibiotics, or poor quality feed. Many of these things are linked to hormone related cancers, specifically breast cancer. (More on this at another time)

Eating organic food raw is your best bet. They contain natural enzymes that aid in digestion once chewed. Most of these enzymes (and then some) are destroyed when cooked.

So my advice is:

• Eat organic when you can
• Thoroughly wash produce before consumption, including peels
• Eat it raw
• Make sure half of your diet is fruits and veggies
• Check out your local farmer's market!

xoxo

Shoulder Workout

Hi! Okay so I missed yesterdays blog post workout. Yesterday I worked out shoulders! They look all swole up and I see some striation. And yest I felt like a pregnant lady so I had to make sure my abs were still there XD. Workout:

• Superset 4X10-12
• Cable upright row
• Standing barbell press (behind neck)
• 1 min active rest - jumping jacks
• Superset 4X10-12
• Seated db press
• Seated lateral db press
• 1 min active rest - mountain climbers
• Shoulder press machine 4X10-12
• 1 min active rest - running in place
• Smith machine shrugs 4X10
• 1 min active rest - jump squat

Skipped cardio yesterday. Today I worked out glutes and 15 mins HIITs on the stairmaster. I did a quick workout because I only had an hour, but got it done nonetheless and got a good burn. Happy Friday peeps!

Back and Bis Workout

Don't mind me adoring my biceps XD Today I did a back and bis routine. It went a little something like this:

• Superset 4X10-12
• Lat pull downs
• Bent over bb row
• 1 min active rest - jumping jacks
• Superset 4X10-12
• Seated cable row - going heavier each time
• Bent over dumbell row
• 1 min active rest - running in place
• Stiff leg deadlift (heavy) 4X8-10
• 1 min active rest - jump squats
• Superset 4X10-12
• Incline curls
• One arm db preacher curls
• 1 min active rest - mountain climbers
• Bb curl 4X8-10
• 1 min active rest - kb swings
• Chinups 2 sets until failure
• 30 sec rest
• Leg raises 3X20

Just a few notes on the workout. I do the cardio exercise before I start the exercise and then do them in between sets, so I am doing it 4X. I also lift as heavy as I can. Towards the end of the bicep workout, I was lifting as heavy as I can but was doing fewer reps because I was tired. Don't change the weight, unless you want to do dropsets. Also the supersets are 2 exercises done one right after the other. I recovered with my usual BCAAs and protein shake. No cardio today. I only do HIITs cardio 3X a week. I don't wanna lose that muscle!