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Long Weekend Roundup

So, this is a breakdown of my weekend - In bullet points:

Friday

Went to lunch for a colleagues farewell

Ate some Turkish that my body clearly isn’t used to eating

Felt sick when I got home, so I took a rest day

Saturday

Up early

Still felt sick from Friday’s rich lunch

Went for another solo run

Ran for distance this time, no hills

PR’d both distance and time running/sprinting

Dyed my hair

Went to go shopping in Oxford Street

Bailed because it was bucketing down with rain

Had a lovely evening with Ryan, Robbie, Pook & the boys

Sunday

Errands up the road

Felt sick from Saturday’s dinner

Drinks with Michelle

Games with Michelle

We basically entertained ourselves in our flat for 12 hours

Michelle cooked an amazing tofu dinner

Oh and we watched Beethoven. STOKED!

Monday

Pretty much a write off

Had a Thai Foot massage and some reflexology

Had another epic dinner

Tuesday

Early morning cardio on the treadmill

Sprints and a massive sweat fest

I love how quickly you turn over the distance when you are sprinting. It makes me feel like a cheetah!

Well, that’s breakfast burnt off!

At lunch time I completed a bit of an upper body circuit. According to the HRM I burnt roughly 200Kcal.

I leave lovely notes for my friends in their work notepads. Stephanie just happened to find this one today. I only wrote it roughly, 2months ago? Awww…

So tonight, ASDA is coming with my groceries! YAY! Vegan challenge kinda started on the weekend. Going well so far! My aim is just to educate myself and experiment more with foods. It has definitely made me more mindful and curious as to what I am actually eating and drinking.

(Source: lotusandpie.blogspot.co.uk)

Posted August 28, 2012 at 8:54pm in exercise gym running treadmill healthy lifestyle healthy living

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Wednesday Legs day & a run

Wednesday WOD

5mins cross trainer, warm up

BB step ups with 22.5kg

Plie squats with 14kg DB

Dead lifts starting with 30kg

Leg extensions with 56kg

Leg press starting at 79kg

Seated calf raises at 152kg

After work I knew I wanted to do something additional. My legs were not really too sore after today so I went for a run.

Before I went for a run, I cut the sleeves off this old Superman T shirt. See how much more bad ass I am? Well, even if you don’t see it, I felt it !

I completed 2 loops of my usual park run. I ran faster than I usually do. I did my bench jumps on the second loop faster than I usually do. I kicked ass and still felt strong at the end.

I mentioned on my Tumblr page earlier that I went for a run, completely solo.

No phone. No music. No Nike +. No HRM. No watch. No nothing.

You know what? I kinda liked it. I wasn’t feeling pressured to keep my heart rate at a certain level. I wasn’t worried that I wouldn’t reach my usual check points in a faster or slower time. To speak freely….

I didn’t give a shit about anything except for my running.

And that… ladies and gentlemen, makes me a happy little Vegemite.

Now, off to chow into something tasty for dinner… I am starving!

(Source: lotusandpie.blogspot.co.uk)

Posted August 22, 2012 at 8:23pm in running healthy living healthy lifestyle fitblr fitness health lifting legs day exercise gym outdoors advice tips | 2 notes

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Monday started with a bang….

Ahh what a glorious weekend! How good was the weather in London? Insert massive smiley face here…

So yesterday, I pretty much did nothing. I did no actual exercise over the weekend…. but I did walk around all day on Saturday with a mate who was visiting from Australia. It was epic. The day even ended in a surprise road trip to Brighton - score!

Monday WOD

Before work - treadmill running & sprints

My future husband will have to appreciate the fact that I love getting a sweat on. They don’t have to love it, but they HAVE to appreciate it. I mean, I don’t wanna go hugging everyone when I am sweaty - just don’t think its gross. Is that too much to ask?

After work - small weights circuit

Shoulder presses

Push ups

Sit ups

Upright rows

Lateral and side raises

A bit more treadmill work

More sit ups

Not bad for a bit of a mash up!

Lunch today was a baked potato with tuna and some cheese.

Dinner was ravioli and some Ben & Jerry’s frozen yogurt. Thank goodness I was sharing with Michelle or I could quite possibly have downed the whole tub. This has been known to happen before.

So, as you can tell….. I am kinda not really in the mood for writing much today. Someone tell me something interesting?? What have you guys been up to?

(Source: lotusandpie.blogspot.co.uk)

Posted August 20, 2012 at 9:34pm in running healthy lifestyle healthy living gym exercise lifting | 1 note

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Nom nom nom. I made some of these amazing Turkey Muffins this afternoon. If you haven’t seen the recipe, click the picture or THIS link to check it out!

Original recipe of from BodyBuilding.com

Give it a go! They remind me of rissoles back home in Oz :)

Posted August 12, 2012 at 3:52pm in my food jamie eason healthy living healthy eating clean eating clean recipe recipe good food turkey rissoles | 9 notes

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Weekend Workout Roundup

Here is a bit of a weekend round up!

Saturday WOD

5km run with bench jumps. Hilly with sprints

Over 500Kcal burnt for this workout. It was amazing and I can’t wait to let my legs recover and get out there again.

Sunday WOD

Today I did the BodyRock Fitness Test that I did earlier in the year. THIS is the post I wrote about it back then, when I wasn’t working out as much and my overall health and fitness was only just satisfactory (to my standards). Somehow I managed to fumble my way through the test, modifying push ups etc.

This time I did everything with proper form and no modifications.

Squat jump - 33 (32 last time)

Push ups - 25 (22 modified last time)

Burpees - 13 (13 last time, barely jumped at the end)

High knees - 164 (136 last time)

Switch lunges - 27 (22 modified last time)

Tuck jumps - 24 (18 modified last time)

Straight abs - 39 (31 last time)

I was pretty stoked with the results. I know it doesn’t look much on paper, but I really felt the difference and noticed how much stronger I am since the first time I took the test. It’s all about beating your own personal best right?

I also trawled the Internet this morning looking for a secondary workout once the test was done, but there was nothing that tickled my fancy. And who am I kidding? I have a sandbag!!! Derrr

Jenn’s Sandbag Interval workout

Set your timer for 12 rounds of 10/50

Clean and jerk - 14

High knees - 157

Bear hug squats - 22

Ab exercises - 22

Side to side shoulder press - 20

Mountain climbers - 66

Single leg dead lift right - 17

In out abs - 24

Single leg dead lift left - 19

Ab twisters - 68

Power clean and jerk - 13

Plank - 50 seconds

Goodness. This was actually pretty hardcore! The mountain climbers after those shoulder presses were really difficult.

So now I am off to cook some awesome food which I will post pictures of later!! Hope you guys had a good weekend :)

Posted August 12, 2012 at 3:26pm in running fitness healthy lifestyle healthy living sandbag home workout bodyrock | 3 notes

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Jamie Eason’s LiveFit trainer Phase 2 - Day 30, 31 & 32

Oh hi there! This week has been crazy busy. Work is mental right now and I am under loads of pressure to get things done, and get them done correctly. The time that I spend in the gym each day has become, once again, a god send! I am so lucky to have that time and facility at work.

Following on from my awesome start to the week on Monday, Janine and I decided to go into work early to get some cardio done and out of the way before work started.

Tuesday WOD

30mins cardio elliptical trainer before work

Lunch time lifting

5mins treadmill warm up, incline

Wide grip BB bench press

Push ups (congrats to Janine for completing her first push ups on her toes! Go girl!)

Cable cross over

Side to side push ups

Ab work and planks

I was also lucky enough to be given this awesome pair of shoes from work last week. I have been rocking them all week. They just make every outfit suddenly look cool. Even when you are just wearing leggings and a baggy T shirt. And really, we all know how much I hate putting in effort with clothes :) Winning!

Wednesday WOD

5mins rower warm up

Leg extensions

Wide leg BB squat

Leg press

One legged lunges, raised leg

BB step ups

Plie DB squat

Seated calf raises

Roughly 10mins additional cardio/HIIT at the end with lots of leg stretches

(for some reason at the end of this workout I was super hyperactive and needed some more! Hence, the quick HIIT after. Burpees, mountain climbers etc. It felt awesome!)

Now this is what I call relaxation. I treated myself to a bath when I got home. Ahhhhh…. I have never had as many baths before, than in the flat that we are in now. Something about the bath just makes me want to use it all the time. What a luxury!

Thursday WOD

7mins treadmill warm up

BB curl

Cable bicep curl

Alternate hammer curl

Tricep dips

Seated tricep press

Tricep push down

Ab work

I feel so comfortable at the gym these days. Even when taking sneaky pics in the weights room like a girl haha.

After work Zwow #6

Funny, I managed to get this done today even though I washed my hair last night. I tend to wash my hair once per week, because I am lazy and I just have always hated washing my hair. So usually, when I wash and style my hair, I try to avoid doing heavy cardio for at least a few days afterwards. I don’t want to ruin my hair with sweat right away…. BUT today was different and I didn’t mind the sweat too much. Wow. Am I changing? Perhaps I am just SUPER MOTIVATED RIGHT NOW!

I completed 5 rounds and 6 pulse plyo jumps.

I am not sure how I managed to complete this so fast as my legs were burning sooo much from legs day! Even the jumps in the burpees almost made me cry.

Dinner was a massive and epic smoothie with frozen banana, soy milk, diet whey powder, peanut butter, cocoa powder and some agave nectar :) This has to be my favourite smoothie. What is yours?

Posted June 23, 2012 at 5:11pm in lifting gym exercise healthy lifestyle healthy living fitblr jamie eason livefit

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Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer - Phase 1 Day 16/17 & Zwow #2

This week has gone so slowly. Which is weird because it is now Thursday night and it doesn’t feel right. (Did I just bust out a rhyme?).

I am looking forward to next week of the LiveFit trainer. I have one more week of Phase 1 and then I can get started on Phase 2. I did love Phase 2, however I promise I will complete this phase and not get stuck in it like last time….ha! Sorry, but it IS just awesome fun lifting heavy and eating a bit more. No wonder I found it hard to get out of it last time… Here are some catch up WOD’s that I have completed.

Wednesday WOD

5mins warm up treadmill

3 sets of 10 reps of the below exercises:

Wide push ups

Incline DB press

Flat bench flys

Bench dips

Overhead tricep

Cable tricep pull downs

Thursday WOD

5mins elliptical trainer

3 sets of 10 reps of the below exercises

Leg extensions

Wide stance BB squat

Walking BB lunge (OMG my butt hurt after these!)

Single leg dead lift

Lying leg curls

Seated calf raise

I had a meeting to go to right after this workout so I wasn’t able to enjoy my lunch until around 3pm. Devastated. My tummy was going mental and it was really hard to concentrate on what was happening…. Next time, I will just take my lunch to the meeting!

I knew that when I got home I wanted to do another Zwow, since I wont be going to the gym tomorrow at lunch time. This one was a killer because my arms are still feeling smashed from Tuesday and Wednesday. I remember the day when I couldn’t do proper form push ups….. sigh… :)

Zwow #2

My time for this was 12.08 min. I don’t have dumbbells at home, so I improvised by using my sandbag to complete some presses etc. I am sure if you don’t have weights at home either you can use your body weight or even some bottles of water. Obviously, don’t use them to do push ups on, but you can use them for everything else.

Well, I am off to bed now. Tomorrow is historically a pretty sad day for me so I will be up early to head out for a run, clear my head and start the day on a happy note.

Maybe if I am lucky enough I will get to have a midnight chat with a certain someone tonight.. Fingers crossed :)

(Source: lotusandpie.blogspot.co.uk)

Posted May 17, 2012 at 10:30pm in lifting exercise healthy living jamie eason livefit

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Jamie Eason’s LifeFit Trainer - Phase 1 Day 16

Wow. London needs to get a grip on its weather! It has rained, pretty much 95% of the time since I got back from Cape Town. I don’t know how much more of this I can take! Not only is it messing with my outfit choices, but its messing with my hair and my desire to move somewhere the sun shines.

This is part of what my walk to work looked like yesterday. Honestly, as soon as I went to step outside my front door, the heavens opened and I got saturated. Yes, I was carrying an umbrella however it doesn’t seem to matter when the rain is coming at you sideways and from below. Aghhhh… Rant over about the weather. It is just so annoying!

Today was back and biceps. I usually love this day however my right bicep was really sore after doing the Zwow yesterday. I must have tweaked it somehow because it felt like it was MASSIVE all day while I was sitting at my desk haha.

Tuesday WOD

10mins elliptical trainer, warm up

3 sets of 10 of the below exercises:

Pull ups

Wide grip lat pull down

Seated cable row

Bent over BB row

Back extensions

BB curl

Alternate hammer curl

*I missed the incline DB curl as the benches were not free and my bicep was killing me…. in a good way :)

After work I decided to walk home, even though it was full on raining again. I just can’t justify myself to spend a few pounds on the bus ride home when it is only a few stops. Thankfully the rain eased off a little towards the end and I was motivated to pop out for a quick run.

I had originally planned on doing a Zwow but decided against for my arms sake.

By the time I got to the park I needed windscreen wipers on my glasses. It was coming down pretty hard but I love that feeling of running in the rain. It is quite liberating.

Needless to say, when I got home I collapsed into a heap of wet sweaty mess. My legs felt super strong as per usual on my run, but my fitness it still taking some time to come back to me. I am trying to be patient with myself while I improve but I can’t help setting little mini goals for me every time I go out.

Dinner tonight was supposed to be another smoothie. Then I was supposed to have egg whites and veggies. Then I couldn’t be bothered doing that either so I threw a veggie nut cutlet in the oven and cooked up some egg whites on the stove with a small amount of cheese…. and chutney. I know I know. For once there are no greens on my plate. I couldn’t help it. I was lazy…. Sorry Mum!!

After dinner I did a load of foam rolling. Man, that spot there feels so good! My legs are still a bit tender from legs day on Monday so this was much needed. Even after my run. If you haven’t bought one of these already, please do. You can find one similar to the one I have here.

Posted May 16, 2012 at 7:07am in exercise running livefit jamie eason fitblr healthy living | 2 notes

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Sunday Nights Sweet Chili/Soy Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry

Ahh Sunday, bloody Sunday! They never used to really get me down at all but lately Michelle and I have been having some epic weekends, which means I really do not look forward to work on Monday morning. Mondays to Fridays are a mere speed bump in my road to chilling out and having fun with mates on Saturday/Sunday.

We stayed in on Saturday night and I am pretty sure I was in bed around 1am or so. Not too bad for a quiet one, right? I woke up pretty early again on Sunday morning and tried to force myself to stay in bed to at least 9am or so. Once I was up, I pottered around the house and then decided to go to Sainsburys to sort out my lunches for the week.

It was great to get out of the house for a while. I was starting to get cabin fever as we had been in the house since around 5:30pm or so on Saturday. When I came home, I made up all my lunches, then sat down to catch up on some blog stuff….. and….. decided to go for a run!

Yep, it’s the return of the fluffy purple tail. Aww yeah!! It must look pretty funny as I am jogging down the road.

HRM details:

40.36mins

542 Kcal

Avg 176 / Max 194

I decided after running around the hills in the park yesterday, that I should go for a bit of an easier jog along the mostly flat road up further north. It felt good and although my fitness let me down a little bit, my legs felt strong and I relied on them heavily to get me home.

YES! This IS the best stretch ever and I love the Sailor Jerry posters we are acquiring on our walls at home. Michelle finally bought a third one for our wall - our house is becoming a home!

Sunday Nights Sweet Chili/Soy Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry

Now, since I spent most of the weekend in the kitchen, why would I want to get out now? Pfft… Yes, more cooking on Sunday! Michelle and I really wanted to try and make a dinner with tofu so we decided to get inspired by a cookbook we bought yesterday.

Here was our Sainsburys shopping list. We already had limes, sweet chili sauce and light soy sauce in the cupboard (I think most of you might have this as well) - so again, the meal will be cheaper. Even so, less than a fiver for a healthy dinner? Sounds like a good plan to me.

We prepared the tofu right from the carton. I rinsed it under the tap before toweling it dry. Random I know, but someone told me once I had to do that. I listened! I made up a really simple almost batter type thing for the tofu with cornflour, paprika and garlic (which again, we already had in the cupboard). We fried the tofu in some vegetable oil in our pan. Once it was “golden brown” or slightly burnt as per the picture above, we took it out and placed it on the side.

In the pan we tossed all our prepackaged veggies (yes we are broke AND lazy) and cut up some mushrooms. I love how colorful this looks and how HUNGRY it made me feel. If there is one thing I love, that is stir fry :)

Once the veggies had cooked for a while we added the sauce we made from lime juice, sweet chili sauce and light soy sauce. It was a bit of a mish mash really, a spoon of this, a spoon of that, squeeze of this, dip the finger in and add whatever you want to add more of - go for it!

We tossed everything around the pan for a few minutes to make sure it was cooked through and hot.

This is the end result! I wish the photograph did it justice, but to be honest, it was so tasty I really don’t care how attractive it looks ;)

We will be making this recipe again for sure. I think it needs a few tweaks to the tofu cooking part, but not bad for a first attempt.

I encourage you to try and cook with tofu. It was pretty fun and if you experiment, it just makes things even more interesting. I love playing around with food more and more these days and am slowly getting some confidence with regard to cooking in front of other people.

Have you cooked with tofu before? Do you have any tips for first timers like myself?

Posted May 14, 2012 at 8:28pm in my food running exercise tofu healthy eating healthy living healthy lifestyle | 1 note

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Downhill Run to the Weekend

And before we know it, it is Friday again! For someone who was losing their motivation at the last weekend, it is well and truly back this week.

To kick things off, I ordered some more protein powder from a great website called Muscle Finesse on Monday and the order was delivered on Tuesday. Since I moved out of my old flat in early December, spending £50 on decent protein powder hasn’t exactly been at the top of my priority list. I have however, really missed drinking it as a shake and including it in my meals (breakfast oats, smoothies, pancakes etc).

I decided to start using a protein powder to help with muscle recovery. I am not as young as I once was and I used to feel really sore after working out, when I first re-started my healthy lifestyle. I believe it is a great addition to my diet, however I do recommend doing some research on what is best for you before incoprorating it into your own diet/supplementation.

I decided to order 1kg of chocolate orange and 1kg of vanilla cream (mostly for cooking). Not only has it really helped with my motivation to work harder at the gym but it has also helped me with my food cravings as I can have a shake in the morning and in the afternoon. I definitely feel satisfied for a few hours after each one and only really snack on fruit or other small things if needed.

Yes, I felt like a boy at the gym today. Bruised legs, stanky lifting gloves (which I realised I haven’t washed once), lifting diary and a whole lotta sweat!

Wednesday WOD

15mins cross trainer, random, level 14, mostly a warm up but more intense towards the end.

*It told me I burned 234 calories….I don’t believe it but yay.

Laying leg curls + 30 mountain climbers

Seated calf raise + leg press

Leg extensions + mountain climbers

Barbell walking lunges + 100 skips

Dinner tonight was a wonderful chicken casserole type thing with steamed greens on the side. You bet I went back for seconds. Thanks Robbie!

Thursday WOD

10mins cross trainer, level 14, random, warm up

Wide grip assisted pull ups

Seated row + weighted sit ups

DB bench press + 100 skips

Lat pull down + under hand pull down + mountain climbers

Hammer curls

Tonight we were treated to a lovely dinner through work. It was a great opportunity for us to spend some time together with some contacts we have in Asia.

The pub we went to was pretty swanky, yet still quite English. This usually means loads of gravy, potatoes, mayonnaise, fatty bits and pieces and a feeling that you are completely stuffed afterwards.

Not for me though :)

I opted for the chicken salad with avocado, lettuce, feta, watermelon, chili, pomegranate and the aoli dressing on the side. Good thing I asked for the dressing on the side - there was probably around 12 table spoons of dressing that ended up on someone else’s salad! Eeeeeekk!!

I also shared some roasted root veggies with Janine as a little bit of something warm along side the salad. They did not look super attractive but they were very tasty.

Janine and I also split a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream at the end of the night. We both felt like something sweet, but didn’t want to order a whole plate to ourselves.

You bet we ate it before I had a chance to take a photo.

So, while everyone else was moaning about how full they were - I was content. I love that feeling and always feel like I have done well with my food choices when that happens. I was bought up not to waste food. Ever. So I try to be mindful with what I can actually fit in (realistically) and what I will feel like I don’t want to waste.

My mother always bought me up being mindful that that there are other people in the world, less fortunate, that didn’t have an option as to whether or not they wanted to eat their sprouts. We were also not allowed to eat dessert or leave the table until we had finished the good food that was on our plates.

I am glad my mother tried to instill certain “good practises” into my life and some I still use today.

What are some things your mother always used to tell you to do?

Did you whinge as a child about having to do certain chores etc, but are now happy that you were raised to have those values?

Posted February 24, 2012 at 12:07pm in exercise fitblr healthy living healthy eating lifting gym

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Moving and Monday

Well what a weekend that turned out to be! Moving is never enjoyable no matter how easy you try and make it with pre-planning and help. But…we are all moved into the new place now and can get our routines kick started etc. The only bad thing is that we don’t have internet installed just yet. This could be a few weeks away :(

So…. as an experiment I am trying to post from my iPhone. Wish me luck :)

These little guys (Oscar and Riley) were a bit confused with the move. They still are not sure why we are in a new house, but all the familiar furniture and things are around them!

A lovely quiet peaceful view!

Monday WOD

5mins cross trainer, random level 14, warm up

Wide grip lateral pull down & underhand pull down

One arm DB row & dips

Seated row & weighted sit ups

Alternating bicep curls & air bike

Tricep pull down & mountain climbers

Overhead tricep

After work: Ran roughly 5.5 km on treadmill. Incline never below 2. Speeds between 9 and 13.

It felt great to be in the gym again after 4 days off. Thursday (which I booked off as annual leave from work) I was able to get some cardio in on a cross trainer as well as some machine weights, but that just doesn’t cut it for me anymore. I need something more!!

After the gym I started the trek home back to Earlsfield. I haven’t had to go through Waterloo train station in my commute for a while and I must say it was a nice change. Some people in London hate the commute to work and get all stuffy when going through crowded places. My thoughts are, we are all trying to get to the same end result. Just get on with it, relax and maybe the trip won’t seem so bad :)

I got home around 8pm and Robbie Has dinner already prepared. Talk about timing! It was a lovely home made chicken dish with a homemade sauce. Everything low fat, reduced salt etc. and boy was it tasty!!

Well after a late night on Sunday night (always the way before the work week starts isn’t it?!) I am off to wash my hair, blow dry my hair and get into bed!

(Source: lotusandpie.blogspot.com)

Posted February 14, 2012 at 8:33am in exercise lifting gym fitblr healthy living healthy lifestyle | 3 notes

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Last days of January

So how was everyone’s weekend? Mine was fantastic. Thanks for asking :)

Friday night I met Michelle at Euston and we caught the train up to her house in Hemel, which if you remember, is where I spent Christmas 2011. We went to a friends gig on the Friday night, which was awesome. Good music and company with loads of dancing around at the end of the night.

Michelle and Sarah - looking beautiful as always.

Sarah and I with my creepy hand. We had the giggles all night and we especially loved singing and dancing along to “close but no cigar”. Memories of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater II anyone?

The rest of the weekend was great and I didnt want to go home on Sunday. Well, I was supposed to come home on Saturday, but I put it off until Sunday. Boo!

Monday morning I was raring to go at the gym. I didn’t exercise at all over the weekend so I was more than keen to get sweaty.

Monday WOD

5mins rower, Level 10, warm up

Bent over row & mountain climbers

Alternating DB bicep & dips

Bent over BB row & weighted situps

Tricep overhead & air bike

Wide grip lat pulldown & underhand pulldown

Tricep pulldwn & mountain climbers

After work: 5km, 30mins, incline never below level 4

How random is my sweat patch this evening? It is almost a perfectly round circle. Strange. Must have looked pretty funny while I was treading away.

Dinner was a random mix up of everything. Celery, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, peanut butter and some of Michelle’s amazing chutney. Home made of course!

Unfortunately this was the end of my first jar of chutney, so it was a sad night. I am going to have to ask Michelle to make some more up soon so I never have to go without.

I think I am obsessed with scrambled eggs right now. Is that a bad thing? Oh and peanut butter…. still.

Tuesday WOD
5mins Rower, Level 10, warm up

Incline DB press & military press
Cable cross over & weighted situps
Weighted squats & air bike
Side lateral raise & standing upright row & burpees

After work: 22min walking incline with Janine and then a few weights afterwards. Plus a nice long stretch.

When I wear this t shirt at the gym when I am a) feeling frumpy and b) need some motivation. It worked. My shouders are burning from those incline presses.

Diner was similar to Monday’s with the addition of a banana and some greek yogurt for desert.

Now I am watching some TV with Ryan and putting my feet up…..

How did you start the week? Off with a bang or are you easing yourself into it?

Posted February 1, 2012 at 6:12am in exercise healthy lifestyle healthy living my food lifting fitblr | 2 notes

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Last run of 2011

I wont lie. It was a struggle to get out of bed and go for a run today! However, there was that motivation in knowing it was going to be the last run of 2011 and that I should probably do something good to make up for a little bit of the bad that was going to happen that night.

Since the weather was so warm, I decided to rock my Super Man T Shirt. Well, it’s technically not my T shirt, but it doesn’t stop me from wearing. It makes me feel really fast when I am running (I love mind games with myself).

A little bit slower today, but still felt like a decent run. I am really getting to know the route I usually take and I think it may be time to find a new one.

On this run, I decided to conduct a little experiment. I saw on twitter the other day that people were talking about other runners in London and who nods and smiles at other runners when they go past. I will always give a little nod or a smile to another runner for a few reasons.

I am stoked to be out running in the first place. I am so thankful that no matter how fast or slow I am, I still got myself out the door and I am running.

I feel that other people might need some encouragement. I mean, how hard is it to smile at someone? It could make their day.

The nod? Well, for me that’s just a simple notion of the fact that, yes, I understand. We are both out here, busting our asses on our own for whatever reason. And I respect that.

When I got home I was starving. Afternoon tea/snack was baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, lean grilled chicken, red peppers, carrots, cucumber and a little bit of light mayonnaise. Just about hit the spot! Well, for an hour anyway. Then I had to snack on some celery and peanut butter ;)

Although the day was nice and warm, the sun wasn’t exactly shining from above. Pretty darn gloomy isn’t it? It was very hard to see pics on FB from all my mates back home, enjoying bringing in the new year in the scorching heat of Sydney.

For dinner we decided to hit up Ben’s Canteen. It was a lovely atmosphere and the drinks were flowing long before diner was served. Recipe for disaster? I think so!

I hope you all had a great night and you bought the new year in with loved ones and close friends.

Let’s all have an amazing 2012. Stay healthy and safe!

(Source: lotusandpie.blogspot.com)

Posted January 2, 2012 at 8:06pm in Running exercise healthy eating healthy living NYE | 3 notes

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My new running shoes ;)

After the last couple of runs this week, I have felt some pain in my shins and hips. This is not something that I have experienced since I began running earlier this year (in a 6 year old pair of inappropriate cross trainers).

Also, according to my Nike +, I have completed over 250km (that’s not including my treadmill and misc runs without Nike +) so I was probably, technically due for a new pair anyways.

Don’t you love how I am justifying my ~~wants~~ needs to you?

Even though I am broke after massively over spending at Christmas (bring on January pay day!) - I decided to take advantage of the sales and buy a new pair of shoes.

I was completely in love with the last pair of Brooks Vapor stability shoes I bought so I wanted to get the same again; if not an upgrade. I purchased my first official pair of running shoes from Runners Need in Kings Cross, where they could test my gait etc.

I phoned the Victoria store and they told me that they didn’t have the Vapor in stock, but they did have the Adrenaline, which was the next level up. They were also on sale! Win ;)

Straight away I hopped on a bus and within 1hour I was on my way home again with my new shoes. Aren’t they pretty?

*Also, the sales girl put me on the treadmill and refit the shoes for me to make sure I was asking for the right shoe. Turns out they support me perfectly and they would have recommended that shoe to me anyways.

As someone who doesn’t usually get off on “sportswear” apparel; I actually do like the look of these shoes.

I set out when it was slightly misty with rain outside. The first few KM felt pretty rough with slight pain in my shins, however I got into the swing of things and was flying by the time I was on the home stretch.

There was also a really gnarly head wind, which I hate running in. It makes me feel like I am in a nightmare. You know the ones where you are trying to run, but you can’t because something is holding you back? Agghh.. awful. I try to power through it but sometimes, its just too much.

Just another glorious photo of my new shoes and Nike thermal running tights.

So cute! For those of you who are wondering, I am a size 4 fashion shoe, size 5 running shoe and I am 5ft 7inches tall. Go figure. Yes, I do trip over a lot. My feet are so not in proportion to my height.

This is the best stretch ever. I could lay like this with my legs in the air for hours. Oh and guess what? No gross socks after this run!

How often do you change your running shoes? Do you have a brand that you feel you want to be loyal to or do you just go with whatever fits you best? Does price come into your decision?

Posted December 31, 2011 at 10:34am in exercise running healthy lifestyle healthy living | 14 notes

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Photo Post

This is the AWESOME Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Pie. Click on the picture to see the my attempt at recreating the magic and links to Chocolate Covered Katie’s original recipe :)

Posted December 30, 2011 at 7:50pm in chocolate tofu fudge pie ultimate fudge pie healthy eating healthy living chocolate my food | 1 note

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