A Productive Weekend

It is late Sunday evening again.  As I sit down to enjoy a little relaxing time I can't help but wonder why does the the weekends always go by so quickly.  Wouldn't it be so nice to have an 8th day in the week to get all the things done that you didn't have a chance to do or get done.  I'm hoping as the year continues and I continue to work on and improve my time management I won't feel this way.

As Friday came to a close the item moved to the top of my to do list was to make a much needed trip to the grocery store to get some things so I could get back to planning my weekly schedule of meals.  This has by far been one of the important parts of the successes that I have had to date.  It was a quiet evening at home, trying to catch up on a little laundry, looking over the sales flyers, and making a grocery list.

Saturday morning began with a breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, some veggie sausage, and some whole wheat toast.  This is normally more than I would have before a morning workout at the gym but since I was doing a triple header of three classes I knew I needed some pretty good fuel or I wouldn't make it the entire three hours.  The morning began with Booty Barre.  I think back on the first time I stood outside the class while waiting for another one to start, that looks pretty easy (kinda girly), and I couldn't see where it could help me.  Fortunately I still decided to give it a try.  Boy, was I wrong.  It is an amazing mix of dance, pilates, and yoga.  From a great warmup, to getting in some serious strength training on the arms, to all the work at the bar.  From arms, to legs, to that booty, and your core, it is such an all over ass kicking challenging workout.  Then you add an instructor like Karen who pushes you to strive to improve with each class.  She truly cares, points out where you need guidance, and encourages you to strive for better things.

Saturday was release day for the Les Mills classes.  Every three months or so Les Mills comes out with a new release of their programs.  These two classes offered at my gym are Body Pump and Body Combat.

Body Pump was my first love.  After four months of spending time with the elliptical machine and treadmill I was convinced by an amazing woman to give her fitness class I try.  I was very scared to try this, it looked very hard and I thought there was no way I could do it.  Well, this was the old me that didn't have a lot of confidence in myself.  Luckily Amy didn't give up on me, and in January of last year I attended my first Body Pump class.  I have to admit I wasn't hooked at first.  I made it through that first class but I gotta be honest for a couple days afterward I found it very difficult to move around.  My first thought was I am not taking this again but then I thought this my chance to step out of comfort zone, try something new, and do some work with weights (which I was missing in my workouts).  Over the last year it has been such a constant in my fitness life.  I love the fact that in the course of an hour you are working every area of your body so that you leave feeling that you have been given a complete workout.  With each new release came new music, some new variations on moves, and some new challenges.  This new release Saturday was awesome.  Thanks Kendra and Molly for kicking it off.  Kendra, you are an amazing young lady with such strength.  I haven't yet decided what the most challenging section is yet, but I got a feeling my triceps are going to get some serious work in the next few months...WOW!

The day ended with Body Combat.  The word combat says it all.  Not only do I feel like I am getting a great workout but I am also preparing myself if ever I was to need to protect myself.  Great music tracks, an hour of heart pumping cardio, and all of the amazing styles of mixed martial arts.  A sweat producer for sure.  You really come out that class feeling empowered and like you are so strong.  This class would not be the same without the instructor Megan.  She is such a spitfire (not many people could get me out of bed at 5 AM for a class) and gives off amazing energy.  I look forward to taking it in the next few weeks to work on the new things and figure out what track I like most.

So, after three fabulous hours this is what the Polar heart rate monitor said:

Definitely a great day at the gym!!!!

Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning I made two separate trips to the grocery store, picked up some things, made some great choices.

The afternoon and evening was spent doing some prep work, and getting things ready to take to lunch for the week ahead and make some things ahead for dinner.

Made a fruit salad with pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon - watermelon kept separate until last minute so it doesn't get too watery.

Then for my salads during the week I prepped and cut up the veggies that will go with my romaine lettuce.  I love to put lots of different things in my salad (this weeks adds - cucumbers, tomatoes, shredded carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and radishes).  I also baked some chicken breasts that I already had in the freezer.

I didn't get a lot in the snack department this week because I figured I had plenty of fruit.  I have some whole grain crackers, natural peanut butter, and a few other things in the pantry.  I need to find another time to work on the snack thing.  Since is the first week getting back into planning I figured it was best to focus my attentions in other areas.

But a regular weekly snack for me are nuts.  Nuts I have found are an amazing snack but I have to be very careful.  It is very easy to get carried away and eat numerous servings without realizing it.  Although they may be a very nutritious choice, they are high in calories.  So what I try to do with these is bring them home and portion out servings (do one or two serving per package) and choose which one I bring each day depending on my workout for the day.  This weeks choice is one of my favorites.  Planters makes me Nut-trition mix of cashews, almonds, and macadamias.  YUM!

I then baked a couple of chicken breasts and cooked up some brown rice for a few dinners this week when I get home late from the gym and need to warm up something quick.  I also always keep bags of steam ready veggies in the freezer.  These are wonderful go to's when you need to eat quickly but still be healthy.

A very productive afternoon indeed.   Everything is done, packed up, and put away in the fridge.  Now each morning I just need to grab everything and put a few things together  and out the door I go for work. This may take time in the weekend in which I would rather be doing other things, but I know that this is what I need to do to arm myself with the right choices to have a successful week.

Time to call it a night, get some rest, and welcome a new week.   :)