Sunday, December 30, 2012

PiYo Playlist!

Hi, friends! Just wanted to share with you the PiYo playlist I just put together for Lesson 24.

I haven't tested this yet (launching it on Wednesday!), so I'll let you know if I do any tweaking! Here's what I have:

Warmup:
I Need Your Love-- Calvin Harris, feat. Ellie Goulding

Heat Building:
Right Lead: Locked Out of Heaven-- Bruno Mars
Left Lead: Rehab (Remix)-- Amy Winehouse, feat. Jay-Z

Lower Body:
Right Lead: Don't Stop the Party-- Pitbull, feat. TJR
Left Lead: Pound the Alarm-- Nicki Minaj

Full Body Fusion:
Beauty and a Beat Remix-- Justin Bieber, feat. Nicki Minaj

Flow:
Right Lead: She's Gold-- Josh Baze
Left Lead: Thrift Shop-- Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis, feat. Wanz

Plank Series:
Calabria 2007 (Club Mix)-- Enur, feat. Natasja

Strength:
Scream and Shout-- will.i.am, feat. Britney Spears

Power:
Bom Bom (Wookie Remix)-- Sam and the Womp

Cooldown:
The A-Team-- Ed Sheeran

So excited for this! Stay tuned for updates! :)

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, friends! I hope you are all relaxing, eating too much, and spending time with people you love! I also hope you pushed your workouts last week to prepare! :)

Here's my recap!

Monday was my last class at Evolve Fitness, TURBO! It was a bit sad, but I'm picking up a Monday Turbo class at Refinery, so it's all good in the end. :)  We did Round 53, plus the Modulator Finale, everyone's favorite! Lots of Turbos, lots of sweating, and LOTS of calories burned! It was an awesome workout.

I wore my Pow Pink No Limits Tank, and my new striped Run: Speed Shorts. I LOVE these shorts!

Tuesday I did not get up to run because my legs were so sore from Turbo! I did teach PiYo Tuesday evening at Refinery. It was our last time doing Lesson 23, so we really pushed hard! I had a guest instructor, Melanie, and she rocked it! She taught Power and Core. It was great!
Wednesday I got up early to run. I went 2 miles instead of the 3 I had planned, but hey, better than none! It was a really good run. Cleared my head and I had hot coffee waiting for me when I got home. :)

I wore my black Groove pants, and my Pig Pink Long Sleeve Swiftly. Perfect. :)

Wednesday night was PiYo! Last day of Lesson 23 for the Y. Class was pretty small compared to usual, but lots of people were out shopping and finishing holiday plans. :)  Still a fun, challenging class, and I actually was sore the next day!!

Thursday we had a blizzard, so I took advantage of being snowed in, and hung around in pj's with Rowan. It was a lovely, cozy night in. 

Friday I rested again, and wore yoga pants to work. ;)

Saturday was my last day of PiYo x2!

I wore my charcoal Groove Pants, and my black No Limits Tank. LOVE. THIS. OUTFIT.


Sunday I did TurboFire HIIT 30. This workout is SO. FREAKING. HARD. I still have to take a couple breaks! It's fun, though, so I don't mind the challenge. In fact, I kinda love it. ha! My bum was SOOOOO sore the next day!

I wore my Paris Pink/camo Speed Shorts and my black Scoop Neck tank. :)

Yesterday I went for a run to test out my new Brisk Run gloves and headband that I got for Christmas. They are awesome! I stayed warm and toasty, but didn't get clammy from sweating. Yay!  I ran 3 miles

I wore my black Groove Pants, Flash Power Y and Flash Long Sleeve Swiftly with my new head and hand gear. Awesome!

My plan for today is to take a walk with my mom, sis, and the pups. I am spending most of the week down at my mom's, so I brought TurboFire with me, so I can always throw that in as well. The gym options down here are super limited, so I'm not sure if I'll find any classes to attend. Workout plan is TBA!

I'm also not making an eating plan, since we are just kind of playing it by ear. Hoping to just keep myself under control. ;)

I'll post an update later in the week with more workout plans! :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, friends!!

xoxo,
Julie



Sunday, December 16, 2012

Home Stretch to Christmas!

Hello! Happy Sunday once again! This upcoming week cannot go by fast enough! I simply cannot wait for the holiday week! So much excitement coming up!

Last week was long, but my workouts were awesome! Here's my weekly recap!

Tuesday I got up at 5:15 and went for a run. It was cold, but sooo amazing. I love the quiet peace of a dark early morning run, and it's even quieter when it's cold. A few houses had their Christmas lights lit up, so that was fun, too! I went 2.5 miles, just under 30 minutes-- perfect!

 Tuesday night I had PiYo! I mixed up the sections in the Lesson, to keep our bodies from the dreaded plateau. OMG so effective! We did the Lunge track at the end, and WOW! tough. :) Loved it!

Wednesday I got up early (again! YAY!) and did TurboFire HIIT 25. The only downside to doing HIITs first thing in the morning, is that it takes a bit for my back to feel warm, so I can't push quite as hard as I could otherwise until I get warm. But, I like getting it done, and I like that my metabolism is revving for the whole day!

Wednesday night, was PiYo again! I was feeling sassy on Wednesday, and my class was super packed, so the energy was HIGH! I felt really "on," and I really really had fun with this class! Upped the advanced layers in the Core track, so that was UBER challenging too! :)
I wore my new black white and shell pink Speed Shorts (LOVE!), and my Pow Pink No Limits tank!
Another shot of the outfit. I really liked it, hee hee. :)

Thursday I went to BodyCombat again! I didn't think I liked BodyCombat but it's soooo different from what I am used to, and it challenges my body in new ways, so I gave it another try! I wasn't so uncoordinated this time, so I enjoyed it a little more, and will definitely be going back. :)

Friday I rested.  I had a Christmas party Saturday night, so I took a pic of that outfit, too.

I wore a bordeaux sweaterdress from Victoria's Secret, and my heathered black Wunder Unders. Flats from Express!
 
Saturday I just had one PiYo. I had a sub for my 8am class, simply because I knew I'd be out late on Friday. Our class was small, but we still had fun! 
I wore my new Speed Shorts (yes, again) and my black No Limits tank! :)
 
When I got home I did TurboFire HIIT 20! Perfect workout day. :)
Today I intended to run, but it was chilly, and I had a lot of errands to run (I know, excuses, excuses!) so I just rested instead. I promise I'll jump a lil higher in Turbo tomorrow to make up for it. :) 
To run errands I wore my new Don't Hurry Be Happy Pullover and black Wunder Unders with Uggs. So cozy!
 
I stayed on track with my nutrition and calorie budget most of the week! May have eaten too much at the party Friday night, and also may or may not have had way too much wine. :)
Here's the dinner menu for the coming week!

Monday: Pot pies and salad with homemade ranch
Tuesday: TACO TUESDAY! I use Quorn meatless grounds, only 90 cals per serving!
Wednesday: Roasted red pepper tomato soup (I like Pacific brand) and grilled cheese
Thursday: Spaghetti and garlic bread (I like Barilla plus whole-grain spaghetti!)
Friday: OUT!
Saturday/Sunday: TBA!
 
For lunches, I got some mix and match items: 
 
Turkey burgers
Amy's Enchiladas
Evol chicken and lime burrito
Tuna for a tuna salad sandwich
 
And, last but not least, here's my workout plan for next week!
 
Monday: TURBO! Our last class at Evolve. This will be bittersweet!
Tuesday: Early morning run and PiYo!
Wednesday: TurboFire HIIT 20 and PiYo!
Thursday: Cycling/BodyCombat/4-mile run/whatever I feel like!
Friday: rest
Saturday: PiYo x2! This will be my very last class at Evolve. Sad to see this chapter end, but excited for what's to come.
Sunday: RIPPED/4-mile run/TurboFire/whatever I feel like!
 
I can't wait for Christmas and family time!!!  Push hard this week, my dears, so you can eat those sugar cookies, guilt-free! 

Cheers!
xoxo
Julie


Monday, December 10, 2012

Weekly Recap and Plan!

Hellooooo, and happy Monday, friends! Did you survive? My weekend FLEW BY, and then it was SO cold this morning, I could hardly bear to leave the house! The wind was killer!

So how did you all do on your workouts last week? Did you get them in?! Here's my recap:

Monday was Turbo! I felt like I was coming down with a GERM, so I took it a little "easy" compared to the usual. It was hard to do b/c I get so excited during Turbo and I just want to PUSH!

I wore my Indigo Stripe Speed Shorts, and my Pow Pink No Limits Tank

Tuesday I still felt a germ trying to take me down, so I didn't do any cardio, but I did teach PiYo at Refinery, and my class was awesome! I love PiYo sooo much b/c it doesn't get easy, even when we have had the same Lesson for awhile!

Wednesday I felt better and thought I'd do some TurboFire before PiYo, but as the day wore on, I felt kinda iffy, so I just stuck with PiYo again! Ditto the awesome class thing again!

I wore my Clam Diggers and my Blush Quartz No Limits Tank
 
Thursday is MY workout day, so I had a long internal debate over what to do! My options were Cycling, TurboFire, or BodyCombat, and I ended up going with Combat. This workout is way out of my comfort zone, and WAY different from Turbo. It's super athletic, and super SERIOUS kickboxing! My coordination was a little... off (say what?! That never happens to me! But yeah. It did). I was flailing and off-beat a few times. Crazy! But it was a great workout, and I was glad I went!

Friday... I woke up sick. A whole week of taking echinacea like a maniac, and chugging water every hour, and it didn't hit me til Friday?! Seriously? I came home early from work and took a long nap. I was STARVING for carbs all day. I read an article that says, if you're craving something when you're sick, eat it, b/c your body is needing something! So, I ate a bunch of toast. :)

Saturday I woke up feeling a lot better. I guess all that echinacea did pay off! I taught my two PiYo classes, and tried to conserve a little energy for my PiYo practical exam at 4pm! I went for Gold, which just means "exceptional form" basically. I think it went well, but I don't have my results yet. :)
I wore my Groove pants, and my Flash Power Y!
 
Sunday, I was just lazy. I shop shop shop shopped, and it was exhausting. So I laid around the rest of the evening, and ate pizza. Woops. 
 
I did get a new makeup pallet by Too Faced and went back to my tried and true DiorShow Waterproof Blackout Mascara. I will not stray again! Love that stuff!!
 
Back on track today! It was Turbo day and a brand new Round! So. Much. Fun. I am sure going to miss my Evolve Turbo girls! (more about this later)
This is my Blush Quartz Swiftly and my black and pink mist Speed Shorts.
For class I ditched the Swiftly and wore my silver gray Power Y. 
 
All in all, I did pretty well on the nutrition front over the past week, other than a serious pig out at Ruby Tuesday on Saturday night, and of course the pizza last night. (But hey! It was veggie pizza! That counts for something! hehe!)
 
Here's the meal plan for this week's dinners:
 
Tonight: Pot Pies and steamed broccoli. Yummo. Had enough cals leftover for a glass of wine. 
Tuesday: Baked Quorn "chicken" nuggets, mashed potatoes, salad with homemade ranch. 
Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner.
Thursday: Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup and grilled cheese. 
Friday: DATE NIGHT!
Saturday/Sunday: TBA!

And FINALLY, the workout plan for this week!

Monday: Turbo (DONE!)
Tuesday: Run 2.5, PiYo
Wednesday: TurboFire HIIT, PiYo
Thursday: Run/BodyCombat/Cycling/Whatever I feel like! Some kind of cardio
Friday: Rest
Saturday: PiYo x2!
Sunday: Cardio TBA-- whatever I feel like again!

How about you, my fitness friends? Do you have a plan? Have you written it down? It's the only way to stay on track this holiday season, for me at least! Noooo weight gain for us!! Share your plan with me! Comment here, or post it on Facebook! 

Talk to you soon! 
xoxo
Julie

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Homemade Ranch Recipe!

Hi, friends! Wanted to write a quick note to share with you my recipe for homemade ranch dressing! This stuff tastes AH-MAZING-- move over, Hidden Valley! And, it only has 20-25 calories per Tbs. YES PLEASE!



here you go:



Homemade Ranch Dressing
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Serving Size: 16 2-Tbsp servings
  • 3/4 cup light mayo
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1-2 Tbs. dried chives
  • 1-2 Tbs. dried parsley
  • 1 clove garlic
  • salt to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk
Dump all ingredients into the blender using 1/4 cup of buttermilk. Mix for 10 seconds. Blend in more buttermilk to achieve desired consistency. Measurements don’t have to be exact. Just mix and add til it tastes how you like it! Store in an airtight container.

ENJOY!

xoxo,
Julie

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Enjoy Your Workouts + Weekly Recap

Happy Sunday, friends! Did you have a good week? Mine felt SUPER long, but otherwise was good! I think with Christmas vacation approaching, I'm just counting down the days! I got my workouts in, and did well on my calorie intake, too! Here's my recap!

Monday: see previous post. :)

Tuesday I did PiYo at the Refinery! We had a big class, and worked really hard! I mixed up the sections to keep our muscles guessing. I put a Power track in the middle of the Lesson, to really pump up the calorie burn. (Power track works the 'power' muscles, legs, butt, chest, etc. It also gets the heart rate up!) Lots of burpees, yes please! :)

I wore my black No Limits Tank and my heathered black Wunder Unders!
 
Wednesday morning I was planning to get up and do a TurboFire HIIT, but I didn't sleep well Tuesday night, so I didn't get up. I did get the HIIT workout in before PiYo at the Y, though! I did HIIT 20 and it felt great! Sipped some Results and Recovery Formula, which I finished after PiYo to help my poor sore muscles recover! Great workout day!
 
Thursday I ran with Jana during our lunch break at work. We ran 2.5 miles, and she pushed me a little faster than I normally would run. It felt great! 
 
Thursday evening we had a spontaneous extra date night. 
 
 I wore one of my fave cool-weather outfits! Sweaterdress, leggings (Wunder Unders!) and Ugg boots.

Friday I rested. :)

Saturday was double PiYo day! I did the same thing as Tuesday for both classes, and put a Power track in the middle of the Lesson. Power followed by Flow is cuh-razy hard! My legs were shaking, and my arms felt like noodles! 

I wore my new Pow Pink No Limits Tank, and my black Zella capris. :)
 
Saturday night Rowan and I had date night, since he was sick and didn't feel like going out on Friday. We went out for sushi and cupcakes. :)
We love sushi!
 
Today I am going to run 4 miles with my friend Katie! It's 62 degrees in December! Perfect for running! 
I'm wearing my indigo stripe run: speed shorts, my silver gray Power Y, and my blush quartz Swiftly Long Sleeve. This is my fave running outfit-- shorts and long sleeves. :)
 
I stuck to the meal plan I posted last week, except for Thursday. Thursday night we ended up going out, and I had planned to get a salad, but ended up eating a tuna melt and fries instead. Oops. Other than that, stayed under calorie budget, and had my Shakeology for added nutrition! 
 
Workout plan for next week:

Monday: Turbo
Tuesday: Run 2-3 miles (maybe), PiYo at Refinery
Wednesday: TurboFire HIIT 30, PiYo at the Y
Thursday: Run 3 miles or spin
Friday: rest
Saturday: PiYo x2!
Sunday: Run, RIPPED, or TurboFire!
Meal Plan:

  • Pot Pies with Salad and Homemade Ranch (only 20 cals per Tbs!!!)
  • Quorn "chicken" nuggets with mashed potatoes and broccoli
  • Breakfast for dinner (scrambled eggs, baked hashbrowns, toast)
  • Chili with cornbread (I make amazing meatless chili!)

For lunches I have some lunch meat, salad with salmon, and an evol burrito. I'll mix and match these for whatever I feel like each day. :)

All in all, I've been good about sticking to my calorie budget, and workout plans. I think the past couple weeks have proved my theory that you need to enjoy your workouts! We all have days where we "don't wanna," but you shouldn't be dreading every workout. I think last week, I looked forward to and enjoyed every single workout. If you're having fun, you don't mind working  hard! :)

 If you're still dreading, keep trying new things til you fall in love with your workout! If you need help finding your soulmate, let me know! I'm chock full of good ideas! :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, friends, and have a wonderful Monday!

Cheers!
xoxo
Julie

Monday, November 26, 2012

Thanksgiving Recap!

Happy Monday, friends! You survived the post-holiday Monday blues! I had them REALLY bad this morning, but felt much better as the day went by. How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was great, but I definitely ate too much. I did, however, workout HARD in preparation for this, so I am SO happy to say, I did not gain a single pound! WOO!

Here's my weekly recap!

Monday was Turbo, HIIT style, per usual. We had extra fun last week, and hopefully got a new girl hooked on Turbo! :)

Tuesday was just PiYo at Refinery. That extra cardio workout just didn't happen. PiYo was great, though! Since we have been doing the Lesson for several weeks now, I encouraged my regulars (and myself) to really start to push harder-- squat lower, do an extra pushup on our toes, lunge deeper, etc.-- and WOW! What a difference this made! I felt like it was the first time I had done it!

Wednesday morning I got up and did TurboFire HIIT 30 at 5:30. This is hard on my back that early in the morning, so I did the warmup twice through, and took it a little lower impact on the first drill. After that, I pushed!!! I sipped some R&R to help prevent soreness, and to help me get through, since I cannot eat breakfast before a morning workout that early! That stuff is a life saver!

Wednesday night was PiYo again, at the Y. Same thing as Tuesday-- encouraged those of us who have been doing it to really start to focus and push. Two nights in a row... I thought I might die. :)

I wore my Pretty Pink No Limits Tank, and my Zella Live In Capris. :)

Thursday-- THANKSGIVING! In preparation for pie and stuffing, I team taught a special Turbo Kick class at Refinery at 8am. We did a combination of Rounds, and the energy was off the CHAIN! I taught Recovery and Finale (MODULATOR!) and I am pretty sure we burned 234857203948572034 calories. HA! But seriously, crazy good workout, and so much fun! I loved it!

I wore my Indigo Quiet Stripe Speed Shorts, and my black Scoop tank. I was already sweaty in this pic, hehe.

Thursday afternoon, I headed to my mom's for some family time. We cooked, and ate, and ate, and ate some more. :) We had wine, and just chatted and relaxed. It was wonderful!

Friday I rested. More family time, and my BFF joined us for some girl time, some Mexican food, and more relaxing. I stayed up WAY too late (3am!) which hasn't happened for well, maybe years!

Meg and me at El Rancherito. <3 

Saturday morning, we all went to get manis/pedis! I was super sleepy from my ridiculous late night, but it was worth it! I got my nails done with shellac, which HOPEFULLY will cure me of this lifelong nail biting habit I have! 

Rew and me at the Green Door Spa. :)

My adorable nails! Love it!

Saturday afternoon, I had intended to go for a run. However, I napped for 2 hours instead, so I rested another day. 

Sunday I headed back home, feeling SO excited to have a full week off at Christmas, but also super glad to get back to my normal eating habits. I got back in time to head to the gym for R.I.P.P.E.D., which was tough, but not as bad as I had imagined. However, we did do 923485729034875 pushups, so I am SUPER sore today! (You KNOW I love it, though!)

Today was back at it, and my fave workout--TURBO! It was a rough workout tonight, though. I had trouble with my asthma, so I couldn't push as hard as I wanted to, but we still did 4 Turbo's, plus Finale, so I think I still did ok. :)

I wore my Blush Quartz sparkly Speed Shorts, and my black No Limits Tank (new!)

SO, like I said, feeling so glad to be back to normal eating habits! I stayed well below my calorie budget today, drank my Shakeology, and plan to stick with it all week! Here's what I got for this week's dinner plan:

Monday: Pot pies (found some with only 340 cals!), and side salads with homemade ranch.
Tuesday: Tacos with Quorn (TONS of protein, and low cal!)
Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner.
Thursday: Baked chicken with baked potatoes and broccoli.
Friday: date night-- OUT!
Saturday/Sunday: TBA!

WORKOUT PLAN:
Monday (done!): Turbo!
Tuesday: PiYo
Wednesday: TurboFire HIIT 25 in the morning, PiYo in the evening
Thursday:  either run 3 miles in the morning, or possibly spin class after work
Friday: rest
Saturday: PiYox2 (MISSED you guys last week!)
Sunday: Run, or R.I.P.P.E.D., or TurboFire, whatever I feel like!

How about you?? What's your get-back-on-track plan? Do you have one? You need to WRITE IT DOWN and stick with it! No holiday weight gain for us. :)

Cheers to a great week, friends!
xoxo,
Julie