Strength Moves I’m Loving Lately

Lately, I have really been loving the workouts the Spartan Race series sends it’s participants every morning.  They are always a combination of strength and cardio and a lot of the moves are ones that I would never have incorporated into my regular routine.  These same moves have also been introduced to me through my work’s kFit wellness program.  Our trainer, Sam, gives us personal attention to make sure we are performing at our best and to make sure our technique is correct.  The great news for people like you who might not get daily emails or daily training is that a lot of the moves they use can be found online! (slash, you should totally sign up for a spartan sprint.  It will challenge you in a new way and your body will thank you for it).

Here are some workout moves I have been LOVING lately:

Split Squat ISO Holds

This is a great move for beginners in strength training… don’t be timid if you find yourself having a hard time balancing at first.  Start on the ground and elevate yourself a couple inches until you can get to the full position.  This move workouts your glutes, hamstrings, quads and engages your core.  A full body win.

Hindu Squats

Another great squat variation that helps build lower back strength, endurance and speed.

Hindu Push-Ups

These push ups are so much more than a shoulder workout.  They increase mobility and work on your arms, back, chest and legs.

Bird Dog

This stability exercise engages your glutes and entire core.

Burpees

I love to hate them, but notice a major difference in my body when I incorporate these daily.  I feel stronger on my runs and actually feel like I could go for longer.

You can use these workouts to build your own circuit at the gym, outside or in your home!

Yesterday morning I was up bright and early to catch the bus and make it downtown to our 6AM kFit Bootcamp class.  It’s been a little stormy here lately, but we were fortunate enough to be able to attend the class outside!

I always initially come to this class tired and crabby.  It takes everything in my power to get me out of bed at 4:45 a.m. and I have never been a ‘natural’ morning person.  Within 10 minutes of our workout, I was feeling great and in the zone.  Funny how that happens, right?  Yesterday’s circuit focused a lot on Push-Ups – killer – and Squat Cleans with medicine balls.  By the end of the workout we had done close to 100 pushups and 80 squat cleans and I was feeeellinng it.  In a good way!  After the class, my coworker and I DIVVY over to our local gym a couple blocks away so we can shower and get ready for work.  I could barely lift my arms to shampoo my hair I was so tired, haha.

Work went by quickly which was great and even more great because I knew my workout for the day was over and I could do WHATEVER I wanted when I got home.  My extra time was spent taking Bailey on a nice long walk around the neighborhood and stopping to smell the flowers.

True story: she ate a flower just before I took this picture.  Silly.

Our dinners have been spot on lately.  Fully embracing the summer produce.  My favorite thus far has been the local pan seared trout:

We picked up these beauties from Whole Foods on Monday and boy were they delicious.

Nothing better.

Ta Ta for now!

 

WOD & Whitefish

I finally did something I was always a little apprehensive to do… I signed up for a Spartan race!

Thanks to Brian, I am now a participant in the 2014 Spartan Sprint at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI.  Yes!  This is the same venue Brian ran last year in which I watched him climb high ropes, lift heavy weights, do countless box jumps and climb tall walls.  I remember as a spectator thinking, “I don’t know if I could ever do that”, but as I watched all the participants go by I noticed that they were from all different fitness levels.  And if they could do it I could too.

My biggest challenge will be to improve my upper body strength.  While the obstacles are the not the same every year, I know that this is one of my weakness that could definitely make the course more challenging if I don’t train properly.

With that being said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that the Spartan Series sends you WOD’s as a part of your registration fee.

With 11 weeks to go until the race, I wasted no time and started my training yesterday.

Since it was supposed to rain last night, I decided to take my workout indoors and complete this series at the gym:

 

(Note: don’t repeat the 3 miles 3x, only the strength circuit)

It was an adapted version of what they sent us because I am also training for a 10k and need to make sure I get enough distance running in.  I felt really great after completing this workout and knew that I was going to be sore the next day which is always a good thing 🙂

After my workout, I headed over to Whole Foods to stock up on some groceries for the week.  I saw in the seafood section that they had a local Whitefish on sale and decided to give it a try.  I seriously love seafood… I’m fairly certain I could eat it every single day.

I seasoned the Whitefish with some herb & lime seasoning salt I have from Frontera Grill, a Rick Bayless restaurant.  That and a little black pepper was all the seasoning it needed.

Depending on the thickness of the fish, Whitefish does tend to cook a lot faster than Salmon does.  I seared these babies on medium high heat in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until done and flaky – about 3 minutes per side.

We squeezed a little fresh lemon juice on top and whipped up a side salad and that was that!

A delicious, fresh and light dinner.

Bon Appetit!

 

Hilton Head Recap: Food

It’s no secret that I have a weird obsession with all things food related – I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that most bloggers do.  However, this past week at Hilton Head was awesome in part because I didn’t have to worry about cooking for myself for seven whole days.  Plus, my mom and dad made most of the reservations which meant I was in a total state of RELAXATION. Here is the recap of the week and my recommendations for some dinner/lunch hot spots.

Saturday: Uhhhh we got in at midnight sooooo I had a few bites of mom’s leftover sushi and then hit the hay.

Sunday: Skull Creek Boathouse

Skull Creek Boathouse is a great family-friendly restaurant on the island that is perfect for al fresco dining and an amazing view of the sunset.  This restaurant is one of the more popular ones on the island and there is always SUCH a long wait.  I’m not sure how it happened, but we were lucky enough to snag a tall-boy table by the bar outside without having to put our name on the waiting list.  Noteworthy – don’t wait for resos – grab a seat at the bar – it is always a good time.

For the table we ended up splitting an order of the hushpuppies which were so delicious.  For my main course, I opted for the peel n’ eat local shrimp – for obvious reasons.  It’s funny, on the menu they had peel n’ eat shrimp and then shrimp that were already peeled for like $5 more… are people that afraid of peeling shrimp.  C’mon.

Monday: Low Country Boil – The only meal I cooked all week!

This is an awesome recipe I will have to share with you later, but it was super simple.  I basically threw some fresh jumbo shrimp, corn, turkey kielbasa (for us heart healthy folk) and red potatoes in a pot of boiling water with old bay and lemons.

It was super yum and you best believe we ate the whole damn thing.

Tuesday: The Black Marlin

Another really popular restaurant on the island, however, we did not go out until 8:00 p.m. so we beat all of the family rush 😉  The Black Marlin has a really awesome patio that overlooks the bay.  My mom and I weren’t super hungry, so we just ended up ordering a bunch of appetizers: Sushi Nachos (oh, yes), Crab Cakes and my favorite… fresh oysters.

To die for.  Right from the Skull Creek Bay.

Wednesday: Sunset Grill

This restaurant is not as well known so… shhhhhh.  Don’t ruin it! 😉  It’s tucked away behind a trailer park on top of a laundry store.  Despite it’s appearances, it is THE BEST restaurant i’ve been to on the island.  The atmosphere is small and intimate with just enough glamour to make it feel like a special occasion.  PLUS, it has the best view of a sunset on the island (hence the name).

As an appetizer, Brian and I split the wild mushroom pizzette.

So fresh and delicious.

My main course, however, stole the show.

Seared Scallops with a vegetable rice succotash.  Ohhhhh Myyyyyyy Loooorrrddd.  The best meal of the week.

To top it off as my “dessert” I ordered a 1664 Blanc which is a beer that I drank all the time when I studied abroad in Paris, France.

Thursday: Dinner made by Dad.

Fresh peel n’ eat shrimp as an appetizer.

Local trout, salad and wild rice as the main course.

I’ve been raised by excellent cooks in the family, it’s not wonder my obsession with food has gotten so out of hand 😉

Friday: The last supper – Harold’s Diner  – plus copious amounts of mimosas!

For lunch, Brian and I biked to our favorite local diner that has the BEST grouper sandwich – with a side of attitude!

We order grouper sandwiches from this diner every time we are on the island and they never disappoint.  They also have phenomenal looking burgers, cheesesteaks and breakfast food galore.  Seriously, THIS is what diner food is all about.  Fresh, local and unforgettable.

As you can see, the daily activity was much needed in order to ‘balance’ out my daily eats.  The food on the island is so fresh and delicious, if you don’t like seafood… we probably can’t be friends.  KIDDING… or am I?

Welp, that’s it folks.  My Hilton Head Recap is complete which means vacation is officially over. 😦  Until we meet again.

Vacation Home

Good Morning!

So, I’m thinking Mother Nature better get it together because I’m currently in jeans and a rain jacket… At the end of July.  I’ll be especially pissed at her if its rainy and cool on Saturday for Lollapalooza 😦

Anyways, yesterday I did I really great workout at home that wasn’t anything special, but definitely worked up a sweat!

What I love about these quick circuits is that they don’t take too long, you can do them anywhere and they are so effective! Plus, they are great to pull out on a rainy day such as today.

After work, I headed back home – home home as in my parents house.  My cars break light turned on and I LITERALLY just had them replaced.  I like taking my car to the dealership back home because they know my car well and my mother always negotiates the best deals 🙂

The drive out to the burbs was awful. I don’t understand why more people don’t take mass transit, although the worst part of my trip is getting from my apartment (right next to the lake), to the interstate (way west of me).  It’s especially bad when there is a cubs game.  Correction: it’s extremely unbearable when there is a cubs game double header.  Groan.  (Do you notice how crabby I am when the weather is bad?)

I made it home just in time for dinner which was a delicious seafood feast prepped by my mother.

Fresh shrimp and cocktail sauce.

A cup of clam chowder, crab cakes, salad and sweet summertime corn.

Accompanied by a glass of white wine, of course 😉

This meal hit the spot.  Apparently there is a new hot spot by my parents house called ‘Boston Fish Market’ where you can buy all kinds of fresh fish and shellfish.  They even have a dining area where they will cook the fish for you! We have a little place like that in Lakeview called ‘New England Seafood Company’, but I have not yet been.  It’s on the list!

The rest of the evening was spent indoors due to the rain.  My parents backyard was so peaceful.  I call their house my “vacation home”, because I feel so far removed from the city even though its only a 35 – 40 minute drive away.

I could actually hear the night time bugs last night from my window… it was almost scary quite.

Happy Hump Day!