Weekend and ActivTrax Review

Friday workout: Weight training
Saturday workout: Smiling for an hour for photos
Sunday workout: 5 mile run outside

Well, it was another busy yet productive weekend for us!

Friday night, Hubs To Be and I had a date at the gym. We did our tests and had our orientation for ActivTrax. I LOVE this! It makes it so easy to do a weight workout. I enjoy doing weights, but I often just can't decide what to do next or just don't know what to do next, so now I don't even have to think about it! 

The above sheet prints out at the gym (or at home). You record the actual weight you lifted (if different from the suggested) and the actual reps (it gives you a range). After you are finished you log in and enter your workout. It keeps track of everything for you and will increase your weights when appropriate.

Easy peasy.

Saturday we had our engagement photos taken. We were unsure about doing any, but went ahead and went for it. We know the photographer and that definitely made it less awkward. We lucked out with weather in the 60s and no rain!

Sunday was spent cleaning, running errands, grocery shopping and working out.

I woke up at 5 a.m. but refused to get out of bed until 7:30. I think I had 4 loads of laundry done by noon not to mention several other random household chores. It felt good to be productive so early, but I was ready for a nap by 12:30.

 

Instead of napping, I went for a run! It was warm but rainy. I ran the first 2 miles with HTB then went on for another 3 alone. It was the first we ran together since December 16th! It was nice to run together and I felt really good on the 3 I did alone too. I almost kept going.

I made a homemade air freshener to simmer on the stove while cleaning Sunday too. What better way to use the peels of the clementines we've been snacking on? I just added the peels, water and little vanilla. Smelled delish!

My friend got me hooked on these vitamin C chewables. They taste great and with this flu craziness they can't hurt, right? They were BOGO at Kroger and all they had left were these ginormous bottles. So, if you  need any vitamin C, you know where to go!

Friday, Finally!

Friday a.m. workout: 3.25 miles of intervals

Well, I convinced myself sleeping one extra hour wasn't worth it, and got my bootay to the gym this morning!  Three fairly easy interval miles on the treadmill. Boom.

Via

Our exciting Friday night date is at the Y for our orientation for ActivTrax.

ActivTrax customizes workouts for you. You do a baseline strength test, input your goals, preferences and experience and it creates workouts for you each time you go to the gym. It also keeps track of the progress you've made.

I know I won't use it each time I go to the gym, but it will come in handy on my weight lifting days. Sometimes I just don't want to have to think when I am at the gym, so I will let ActivTrax think for me!

After our initial orientation, we will just have to swipe our membership cards at the kiosk and voila! A workout will be created!

I am excited to see how this goes tonight!

There is a lot going on this weekend!

Birthdays, engagement photos, parties...I'm tired just thinking about it!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Warm Front

****Just realized this didn't post yesterday! Oooops!****

Wednesday p.m. workout: 3 mile run outside
Thursday a.m. workout: Insanity Plyometric Circuit

Via

Is Friday ever going to arrive?

This has seriously felt like such a looooong week.

I had a great run Wednesday evening. Nice and short and good company!

And can you believe it was 53 degrees? Hello capris and ghost-white legs in January!

Mid 60s!!!???

Of course it has to come with rain, but I'll still take it!
	I'm trying to decide if sleeping in (til 6!) or working out tomorrow morning is a better idea. Right now sleeping is winning.

Happy Hump Day!

Tuesday a.m. workout: Insanity Cardio Power and Resistance
Tuesday p.m. workout: weight lifting
Wednesday a.m. workout: Insanity Pure Cardio

Getting back into the morning workout routine has proven quite rough this week! I feel like it should be Friday by now!

Yesterday morning I was definitely not feeling the work out. I wouldn't say I completely half-a$$ed it, but probably three-quarter a$$ed it. Some days are just rougher than others. But we still did it, and it was better than nothing! 

After work I had a hair appointment - hello blonde hair! I tried to go darker back in October and I just couldn't take it anymore. Hopefully i will get a picture up soon.

(remember that goal of trying to take more photos, yeah, not going so well yet!)

Not our actual meal (we had rice and veggies with ours). Pork chops + cream of chicken soup + ranch dressing packet = yummy and easy!

After a delicious dinner (thank you, Pinterest and crock pot!) and some time to digest, we headed off to the gym for a weight workout. It was hard to leave the house at 8 to go to the gym, but I'm very happy we did it! We've been doing a fairly light weight routine just to get ourselves back in to it. I can still feel it though!

I am hoping to get a run in today before meeting a friend for dinner. I need to be logging some miles! New goal (that shouldn't be very hard): 100 miles by Valentine's Day.

Oh, what a weekend!

Saturday's workout: 5.5 mile run outside

Sunday's workout: weight lifting at the Y 

Monday a.m. workout: Insanity Plyometrics

Wow, another weekend bites the dust!

Friday night was a great night with great friends! Sarah and her hubby had us over for some delicious apps and wine. We had such a great time and of course the food was ah-mazing! She is such a great cook/hostess!

Saturday morning I went to running club. I decided not to push myself too much on distance since I have only run a couple of times since being sick. It was great to catch up with my running friends I hadn't seen since the holidays (and getting engaged!).

Saturday afternoon we met up with friends to watch the Bengals in the playoffs. Unfortunately, they lost, but we had a great time and the game was so close! Being a Cincinnati sports fan sure can be frustrating!

After the Bengals game I met up with my sister and my Running Girls for an early birthday celebration for my sister! We had dinner and drinks at Stone Creek Dining. Delicious food and even better company!

Sunday was a typical Sunday - lots of errands and cleaning, watching sports (while cleaning, etc. of course), and working out. I was very proud of us for hitting the gym for a weight workout on Sunday afternoon. It would have been so easy to skip.

I think I need to add "take more photos" to my list of goals for 2013. Apparently I am majorly slacking in this area. I seriously took zero pics this weekend, pathetic!

Since I can't do a post without pictures...

Chocolate Aussiedor

Who doesn't love pictures of cute puppies? I am IN LOVE with this little guy.

Try It Thursday

Thursday p.m. workout: Muscle Mix class @ the Y

I've been inspired by the girls at Tone It Up to mix up my routine a little. They have some great workouts and a lot of suggestions. Thursday was Try It Thursday - try a new class, dvd, etc. 

So I did - Muscle Mix!

We recently joined the YMCA and last night was our first trip to the gym together! I haven't lifted weights in AGES. Insanity uses a lot of your own body weight for movements, but using dumbbells is something entirely different.

The very basic description of Muscle Mix from the Y website is:
"High intensity consists of warm up, stretch, 30-40 minute muscle conditioning and cool-down. Non-choreographed." We used dumbbells, a mat and our body weight.

It was a great full body workout. I definitely work harder in a class than I would lifting weights on my own.

Surprisingly, I am not nearly as sore as I thought I would be today! The class was definitely challenging, but I think it was just what I needed. I am looking forward to going regularly and hoping my future hubby tags along some more!

Bonus: My soon to be Brothers-in-law, sister-in-law and mother-in-law all belong to the same Y!

I didn't want to be the new crazy girl taking pics at the gym, so no evidence exists; however, I do have these adorable pics of Mr. Pugalicious. These were taken on the same day. What a rough life he has.

Yes, those are bed pillow he is curled up on.

I have no words for this one.

Have a great weekend!

New Year New Goals

Thursday a.m. workout: 2 mile run on treadmill. Meant to do more, but being awake in the middle of the night for a couple of hours changed my plan.

Happy New Year!

Our NYE wine

We stayed in, cooked dinner together, watched a movie then tuned in just time to see the ball drop on NYE. Perfect low key evening!

I planned on running on New Year's Day, but pulled something in my leg on my last run, so I gave it another day of rest. I really enjoy runs on Jan 1st, but this seemed to be the smart move since it was still pretty painful. 

Pre Sharon Woods run

Goals for 2013 consist of 2 separate lists - mine and ours!

Our Goals:  

• Waste less food (we are not always good at finishing leftovers)
• Volunteer together
• Install garage door opener
• Cook at home together more often (we definitely go through spurts of being really good at this then really bad)
• Clean out the garage
• Redo the kitchen cabinets
• Put in a new floor
• Join the YMCA
• Get married!!!
  

My Goals: 

• Run a race longer than a marathon (the "ultra" word scares me!)
• Stretch, stretch, stretch!
• Run every day for 1 month (at least one mile)
• Meal plan 
• Strength train consistently

I know this is going to be quite a busy year, so I don't want to overwhelm myself with personal goals; however, I would like to point out that one of Our Goals is already crossed off the list - go us!

What are your goals for the year?