Lindsay's Ramblings

Here are my workouts from last week: MONDAY UPPER BODY Well, bench felt really crappy this week. I am definitely going to scale the weight back next week and slowly work back up. Pullups were good, at least. I kept the reps low and worked up to a 40lb dumbbell for an easy three reps. After that I decided to do some landmine presses, which I haven't done in forever. I really like them! Supersetted those with cable rows. Then I decided to do battle ropes for the finisher this week, with some band walks between sets. 1)DB hang snatch: 35x5/40x5/45x5 2a)Pullups: 20x5/25x3/30x3/35x3/40x3 2b)Bench press: 115x3x3/ 105x7/6 3a)1 arm DB press: 40x5/Landmine press: x10/8/8/8 3b)Cable row: 4x10 4)Ball pike: 3x12 Finisher: Battle ropes 5x25ish seconds + Band walks 3x12/ Band hip thrusts: 2x30 WEDNESDAY LOWER BODY Squats felt okay this week, not my strongest but not horrible. Worked up to 185 for a couple sets of 3, a set of 5 with 175, and then a few sets of pause squats after...

1)We got our pool up and running last weekend and had our first pool day! Woohoo! Bring on the heat and sunshine! 2)I'm loving my new way of cooking potatoes in bulk using the crockpot. I used to roast them in the oven, but this is a lot easier-no having to cut them up. And I actually like the way they taste better leftover. All I do is put them in the crockpot with a little water, then sprinkle with garlic, onion, and oregano and cook for a few hours. I usually just check them occasionally and take them out when they are firmness that I want-not too mushy, but not too hard. I haven't actuallykept track of how long it takes, but I'd say 1-2 hours on high or 2-3 hours on low. 3)I made this crockpot balsamic chicken over the weekend for our Sunday dinner and loved it! I used chicken thighs instead of breasts, and it was really good.  I've also seeen on Pinterest where people add veggies or a can of fire roasted tomatoes, which I may try...

Nothing new here! I pretty much still eat the same as I have been for a while.... 8:00 Meal 1(pre workout): 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 banana, 1 spoonful of peanut butter, 1 scoop MuscleTech platinum whey protein, coffee with half &half 11:30 Meal 2(post workout) Platinum Iso-whey protein with almond milk and pineapple angel food cake with whipped cream 1:30 Meal 3 2 eggs, 2 egg whites scrambled with mushrooms and sprinkled with mozzarella cheese, 5-ish oz crockpot red potatoes 4:30 Meal 4 3 oz chicken on a small salad of  romaine lettuce with lite Italian dressing, small Fuji apple 7:30 Meal 5 1 cup rice mixed with 4 oz ground turkey(mix of 93/99%) and 2 spoonfuls of salsa 10:30 Meal 6 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 2 spoonfuls peanut butter, one rice cake Most workouts days are pretty similar to this, I just change up my post workout meals, or maybe have a pumpkin muffin instead of an apple for my afternoon snack.  O...

Many people equate eating healthy to bland food and being miserable. But guess what? Healthy food doesn't have to be bland and boring. I'm NOT a great cook whatsoever, but since eating healthier and eating more fresh, non-processed foods, I've at least learned the basics and have found some easy ways to add flavor to my food without the excessive calories. Here are a few simple ways you can spice up your foods, especially meats: *Herbs and spices (my favorites are sea salt, garlic, onion powder, pepper, and oregano) *Pre-made seasonings(Mrsh. Dash, taco packets, etc.) *Marinades (using vinegar, oil, lime juice, etc.) *Low sugar/calorie condiments:   -low sugar ketchup   -mustard   -siracha sauce   -hot sauce   -sugar free bbq sauce My personal favorites: For burgers- Weber's Blazin' burger. We use this every week for Friday night burger night. Just  use about a teaspoon for a pound of beef and mix it in. For chicken- My favorite way t...

MONDAY UPPER BODY After skipping a week of benching, it felt really heavy this week. Probably should've just kept the weight light, buut that's not easy for me to do! Only managed 115 for 4,  and then decided to drop the weight back down. For pullups I decided to do cluster sets-4 sets of 2 reps with about 15 second rest, for 3 total cluster sets. I added weight for the last 2 sets since the first set was a little too easy. Next time I'll decrease the rest to 10 seconds and do an extra cluster set. My one arm presses felt strong this week-I'm really enjoying those right now! Then I did a few sets of dumbbell "cleans" with a half press, which give me a killer shoulder burn! I forgot all about them, so I definitely want to add those back into my workouts. I finished with overhead carries, L-sits, and some extra glute work. 1)Bench press: 95x6/105x6/115x4/105x6/95x10 2)Pullup clusters(wide grip) 4x2 w/15 second rest, x3 sets (used 12.5 lbs for last 2 sets) ...

I'm too lazy to write descriptions for the workouts this week, so I'll just post the workouts I did. We got in three workouts on vacation, and I just decided to stick with upper/lower every other day. Here was what I did at the hotel gym, using dumbbells, machines, and bodyweight: THURSDAY (UPPER) 1a)Lat pulldown 4x8-10 1b)DB shoulder press 4x8-10 2a)1 arm cable row: 3x12 2b)Dips: 3x12 3a)Lateral raises: 3x15 3b)Bicep curls: 3x12-15 4)Reverse flies: 2x20 5)Stir the pot plank 3x30 seconds +mobility stuff SATURDAY( LOWER) 1)Bulgarian split squats: 4x8-10 2)Rdls: 3x12 3a)Leg curls:3x10 3b)Band walks: 3x12 4a)Single leg hip thrusts: 3x12 4b)Goblet squats: 3x15 5)Hanging leg raises: 3x10 MONDAY( UPPER) 1a)Pullups: x8/8/7/7 1b)Handstand pushups: 8/8/7/6 2a)DB incline chest press: 3x8-10 2b)1 arm DB row: 4x10 3a)Single leg glute bridge 3x12-15 3b)Abductions 2x30/clams 1x20 each leg 4a)Ball pike: 3x12 4b)Bicep curls: 2x12 And then it was back to my regul...

I'm back!  We had an amazing time in Mexico, and I am a little sad to be back home. :(  This was my life for 7 days, and I enjoyed every second of it.  We stayed at Secrets Maroma, which is just south of Cancun. The resort was amazing. Even though there was a LOT of seaweed on the beach, the water was still beautiful, and we didn't let that stop us from enjoying the ocean. Every morning I got up and had my coffee on the balcony.  I will definitely miss this! Then we would have a  protein shake and workout(only three of the seven days), eat breakfast at the buffet, and head out to the beach.   After that, for most of the day we lounged by the pool, then went in for the lunch buffet or ate at the poolside grill, and then went back to the pool. We also played mini golf, ping pong, corn hole, and redneck golf at the resort. Then in the evening we went back to our room t...