High School Reunion

This weekend was action packed!

My boyfriend came into town for my 10 year high-school reunion. When I say we had fun honey! We had fun.

Friday night was the kickoff event and we went to a place in Pearland called the Fox Den. They have a nice bar, good music and a bull. It was good to see everyone and let me say we all were dancing and as we like to call it. Turning up!

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Whew that was some fun. The next day I went to see the new movie Baggage Claim with my guy (It was very funny!)  and we got ready for the actual reunion look at us.

They had an open bar and I took advantage and got…. A little happy lol.

We had so much fun. The next day I struggled a little, but I was encouraged to get up and workout. I did my shoulders exercise and that consisted of :

20 minute cardio on the eliptical

Smith Machine Overhead Shoulder Press

Machine Shoulder (Military Press)

Side Lateral Raises

Side Lateral Raise starting behind back.

Dumbbell Shrug

Reverse Machine Flys

10 Minute Cardio

Good little workout. I need to work on my Side Lateral Raises. A 10 lb weight gave me absolute hell! Overall it was a good weekend and I am ready for this week. It will be a busy one. Seriously, I do not know when I will not ever be busy. My schedule/plate is so full. This week I am in the process of moving. So this Monday, I woke up at 7ish to load my car with two large boxes of clothes and one medium box of stuff.  I need to do that everyday this week in order to have the majority of my boxes out of my house. I will have some movers come and take my furniture down my stairs and help me get it to my storage. I also need to clean as much as I can, so that I won’t get charged an arm and a leg! I can do it in between working out, caking , writing a paper, and doing homework and reading assignments for school right?

Monday’s  Calves and Abs workout consisted of:

10 min cardio

Standing Calf Raises

2 warm up sets of 10 reps

4 sets of 12 reps

Donkey calf raises

4 sets to failure 18 reps

Hanging Leg Raises

3 sets to failure in 20 reps

10 min cardio

I did this on my lunch break. I found time! I did it. Calve workouts are tough! Donkey calf raises hurrrrt! I did surprisingly well on my hanging leg raises. Here is my video!

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Tomorrow is  Back and Biceps day and I don’t know where or how I will fit in the cardio. I am guessing I can take my box moving and trade that in as 20 minutes of cardio? LOL I will find time somewhere. I just wish there were more hours in the day!

Weekends in Lousiana

*This is a day late due to WordPress Mobile Technical Difficulties*

 

I spent my weekend in Louisiana.

It was a good one. I got to spend some quality time with my new boyfriend (Yes, ya’ll finally). I decided to take vacation on Friday so I would have time to get my hair done (2-week ritual), and drive up early. I learned that from my last visit that a turn around vacation isn’t ideal.It rained so hard the entire time I was on the road. I got there and we went to the gym, Friday was my rest day so I just did 30 minutes of slow cardio on the elliptical, and we spent the rest of our time inside thanks to the rain and watched movies and caught up.

Saturday was better,

We continued to watch movies, relax and went to the gym and rocked out our shoulders and abs. Reverse crunches, 150 twists on a gym ball, and 40 mins of cardio will have you spent! I think I took a nap and spent some QT with my dog and my guy.

Sunday was beautiful! I woke up early to finish some of my homework and other things that were due for school for about a good hour and a half and after that we took Gizmo for a walk. I spotted the pool, and we went back in the house to watch football, and then we went to the pool. Let’s just say I acted up! Cartwheels, jumps, dancing and funny poses you name it. It was fun. We then went back to the house so I could pack up and head home :-(. Long distance sucks but it can be done! We are working on it 😉

Today’s back and biceps workout will include:

• 20 mins cardio (will do at home) 
• Reverse Grip Pull downs
• Bent Over Barbell Rows
• Hypertensions
• Straight Arm Pull Downs
• Concentration Curls
• Dumbbell Alternate Curls
• Cable Curls
• 20 min cardio(will do at home) 
• 150 twists

 

My triceps are sore from 3 days ago, but I will be okay. I got this work out from Bodybuilding.com Kris Gethins 12 week program. I am 5 days in and I feel great.

How to Break Up With Your Trainer

 

Sometimes you have to do it,

The time has come for me and my trainer to part ways. We have a good 2 and a half months of sessions. Sometimes, you have to do what is best for your body. My trainer was excellent at working your core and cardio. He was awesome. He had some knowledge on weight training. I take my fitness and my well being seriously. At times he would be on his phone during sessions and I wouldn’t have his undivided attention. To the point to where I would stop working out and look at him. There were times where he tried to give me weight training instructions and they were correct for form, but the amount of weight he would put on the bar would cause me to overexert myself. I would question it, having some knowledge, and he would not like that and ask me if I had a problem. I am not going to bash him however, he did not inform me that he was not certified and when I asked him why we never worked obliques he strapped a weighted vest on me and had me do high-knees on a hill.

So sometimes you have to ask yourself, do you want to have muscle soreness or joint soreness? Do you want someone who knows the specific muscles and what exercises work each of them? Knowing the proper push up position and what the push up is designed to do. I had to take a step back assess, and I found out that I could actually do the rest of my training myself. He got be very far in my workout progress, and now it’s time for a new program.  I now have a new program thanks to Bodybuilding.com  and it shows me the proper form, the things to look out for extensive information on exercises and programs to modify your body like body builders do. The people are accredited and Mr. Olympian champions. So for now I will do my own thing. My trainer and I were amicable about our break up. Thank goodness. No hard feelings.

Today was leg day, my 1st day and it consisted of

20 min cardio (I did early this morning)

Leg Press:

4-5 warm up sets of 85 x 12 reps

3 sets to failure in 100 x 12-20 reps

Hamstring curl:

2 warm up sets of 85 x 15 reps

3 sets to failure in 100 x 12-15 reps

Leg Extensions:

2 warm up sets of 85 x 15-20 reps

2 sets to failure in 100 x 15-20 reps

Hack Squat on Smith Machine:

2 warm up sets of 95 x 15-20 reps

3 sets to failure in 105 x 20-30 reps

Cardio(Will do tonight I ran out of time!)

 

It was a good workout and I really felt the burn on thoes hack squats tomorrow is Chest and triceps. OWWW!

 

 

Photo credit: blogs.phillymag.com

 

 

 

Action Packed Weekend

This weekend was a busy one!

Saturday I woke up early and did the UNCF Walk for Education with my company. It was fun, I got to dance, eat and bond with my co-workers from across other departments.

I ended up walking the 5k instead of doing a run, because I didn’t want to be sore for my 23 mile bike ride the next day. After that I ended up running a plethora of errands and also found out I had a nail in my tire! I ended up getting a plug in it for now, I have wheel locks on my tires and there was no key for them. So I have to call the dealership who sold me the car to get the wheel keys. Wish me luck!

Sunday, I woke up bright and early to make the trek to Prairie View A&M University to do the Tour de Pink.

It was a bike ride to raise funds for Breast Cancer awareness and it was my 1st official bike tour! We had official gear to. My sis, who was the team captain, named the group the Slow Spoke Society! I didn’t join the group until later, but I will get one of these awesome biker shirts!

 

That was just a few of the group members. They raised over $500.00 for the cause and riding a bike uphill made me realized my Hybrid bike, might be too heavy for these kind of tours. I may need to invest in the future, in a lighter bike. those start at 300- and can cost upwards in the 10k range! Crazy. I will not be investing in a 10k bike but a few hundred bucks may have to be thrown down, if I bike ride some more. They had pit stops every 7-10 miles and plenty of treats to keep our energy up and it was fun to interact with other bikers. Some were extreme and rude (like some drivers), some were pleasant and very friendly!

 

I burned some serious calories, and everything I ate after that felt light! I even ate a 6oz steak and felt like I consumed nothing!  I relaxed the rest of the day and did some Grad school work and caught some TV shows. Ray Donanvin is a great show! It’s so thuggish rugguish!

How was your weekend? Anything action packed or fabulous things happened?

Full Body Dumbbell Workout

 

Hey there! It’s been a while! But Tribesports never fails me! They came up with an AWESOME workout that will work every part of your body! Just follow the steps below with a 5,10, or 20 lb weight, depending on your fitness level and you will be set. Work your way up to the 20lb dumbbells if you can. Check it out!

 

 

Pretty cool huh? Tribesports.com has also added some more cool features to their site such as the new training features. You can now log. your daily exercise, and even saving different sessions as “Workouts” to re-do them at a later date. Almost everything imaginable is covered from back squats and individual weights exercises to yoga and even fitness classes and sports, and we are constantly adding new exercises and sports to improve the system.Use it after a day at the gym, a run, a biking activity or whatever. Use it! Check out all the functionality of the new and improved site here

 

This weekend came together nicely. I am walking with my Company in the annual UNCF walk for education on Saturday and that should be fun, then I am participating in a biking event with my sis in Prairie View called the Tour de pink. It’s an annual biking event that raises money for Breast Cancer research. Really exciting stuff!

How is your weekend coming along? Anything cool going on?

Weekends and such

Good afternoon!

How was everyone’s Weekend?! Mine was fantabulous! (Yes that’s a made up word) I first would like to point out that She’s Losing It nominated me for a WordPress Family Award! Yay! Thanks Girl! I am honored.

This award was created for bloggers who are part of the WordPress “family” and take the time to be supportive of other bloggers by giving positive feedback, answer questions and do so in a non-competitive way.

Rules:

1. Display the award logo on your blog.(done)
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.(done)
3. Nominate 10 others you see as having an impact on your WordPress experience and family.(doing)
4. Let your 10 Family members know you have awarded them.(done)

My nominations for the award are(drumroll!):

1. The Dancing Runner

2. The Better Man Project

3. Fit Foodie Le

4. Our Personal Journey

5. Life Is a Damn Circus

6. Life N Thymes of food

7. Project Life to Light

8. Everyday Power Blog

9. Cherie Runs This

10. Fit is the New Black

Now, to my weekend. I went to visit my new boo, (I have a boyfriend now!) at his Military Base in Louisiana. I made the three hour trek with my pooch, and it went without a hitch.  I got there and we hung out, watched football, went to eat with his friends, and watch a movie. The next day, we went to the gym and GOT. IT. IN. Did I mention he and his friend are training for a fitness competition? I had an amazing workout with his guidance and his friend and wife. It was almost like a double gym date of sorts lol. We did barbell exercises, leg lift machine exercises, dumbbell exercises, and resistance bands. Then we went and did 30 minutes of cardio. I was HUNGRY! I tore into one of my pre prepped meals when I got back into the house. After that, he gave me a mini tour of the post, and took a test for class. we spent the rest of the time watching some football (I love Football!). I had such a great time I didn’t want to leave. 😦

Here are some vids and pics:

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Also, I have lost about 4lbs already being on my 6 small meals, low carb, meal plan as of lately! I am so excited! I hope I can see an ab soon! Anywho, that was my weekend! Stay tuned for Transformation Tuesdays!

Thursday workouts

This Thursday I rocked it out!

My workout with #garagefit consisted of:

• Warm up: 15 minute run 
• 15 hills
• 20 Front Raises with 10lb dumbbells for warm up
• 3 rounds of  20 lateral raises with 10lb dumbbells
• 3 rounds of 20 lateral raises with 5lb plates 
• 3 rounds of standing  lateral raises, front raises, lateral raises with 5lb plates
• 3 rounds of rope thrusts locking elbows for 1:30seconds
• 3 rounds of standing lateral raises into front raises
• 3 rounds of 20 curved barbell bicep curls with 5lb weights
• 3 rounds of 20 curved barbell bicep curls with 10 lb weights with a slowed paces on coming down
• 3 rounds of 20 sitting Arnold shoulder press
• 

Ya girl went in! I wish the Bicep Emoji could be inserted here. That’s how I felt. Also, I am on this new meal plan and so far so good. I haven’t felt hungry since 6am. I meal prepped for 3 days since I will be going out of town for the weekend and I am sure I can maintain my little plan when the weekend hits. I just have to pack the non-perishables and possibly purchase some perishables. Here goes one of my meals I believe this is meal 3.

 

Tomorrow I will get some cardio in and probably do some light work on Saturday whenever I get to my destination. Happy Friday Eve everybody!

 

September Goals

A girls got to have goals!

 

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I have a few of them  for this month:

• To modify my eating habits even more than I have. I bought myself a scale and have a meal plan, so all I need to do is get to it. I start tomorrow. I have an up and coming trip to Vegas, so managing my eating will be a challenge but, I am sure with Myfitnesspal and some restraint, I will be able to do good when it comes to food. I would like to see where I am at in 5 weeks.
• To do 2 unassisted pull ups. Usually I need someone to help me get up there, but I am sure if I try my best I can get er done and feel like A BOSS!
• To have better form when squatting with the bar. As I progress with my workouts, I am starting to do more, and I want to have the perfect form. I posted a video on IG of me squatting, and it was great, but I want to do better!

Sidenote: I would like to report, that I am on the verge of buying new clothes. My pants for work and leisure are all getting to be too big, and it shows. I wore some Skinny Jeans that were so tight at this time last year and now, they are baggy in the front and butt area. They also sag a little bit. This is not only exciting, but It lets me know, even if I do not feel the physical change, nor see it, it’s certainly happening. I hope that little side note motivates someone to keep going! Don’t stop! Results come if you put in the work and dedication!

 

 

Do you have monthly, or annual goals? What steps are you taking to achieve them? 

Labor Day Weekend Recap and Monday Workouts

This 3-day holiday weekend could not have been better 🙂

 

Yes, I am all smiles. On Friday, I got to participate in Critical Mass and it was so much fun. We rode 20 miles! TWENTY! Here are some pictures:

This guy had ALLLLLL the jams!

 

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How we roll!

That was some of the awesomeness that happened. People had their speaker systems, and had amazing music playing. There was even a point where about 100 bikers broke out into song singing Bohemian Rhapsody. Awesomeness.

I ended my night by crashing and falling asleep. The next day, I picked up my brother and my niece and we were going to head out to the country for my step-mom’s annual Labor Day Family Reunion. I stopped to have a date 1st *smiles* (I left my bro and niece back at my Dads house close by before I went on my date LOL), then we were on the road. I had a great time. I got to see some of my Step-Mom’s fam spent time with my Step-Bro and Step-Sis (which are practically like my blood brother and sister) and then I left to come back to Houston. I dropped my brother and niece off and went out dancing. It was a great time :-). After that I went home and was invited to go to Church, but I ended up oversleeping O_O. So I missed service, and ended up catching a movie and seeing the Butler. It was great. I bought some new workout shoes!

 

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They were like 49 bucks thanks to a special someone having a military discount :-), and then went back and kicked it in Humble with a special somebody :-). After that, I went back home to rest, and play with Gizmo, and submitted some homework that was due. I was supposed to go a pool party but ended up chillin at my pool, which was cool. I ended the night watching Red Tails.

Monday, I ended up relaxing and went back to Humble to chill for a bit, and then headed back to my side of town, and relaxed. I was so relaxed, I fell asleep! Like an old person! My sister came by with her LS, and her LS’s BF and his nephew stopped by which was cool.

Tuesday I worked out with my trainer, he wants to put me on a meal plan. Thats cool because I have new goals, and I need to reach them by eating correctly. The workout consisted of:

Warm up: 15 min run

3 rounds of 6 inches for 45seconds

2 rounds of  6 inches then knees to your chest (25 times, never putting your feet on the ground)

50 jumping jacks with ropes

Lunges to the street stop sign and all the way back to the house

75 jumping jacks with ropes

Lunges to the street stop sign and all the way back to the house

3 sets of 20 squats with 45lb barbell

 

Slight work! here’s a video:

 

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You have to work for what you want! Well hope everyone is having a fantastic Tuesday I am!