Awake Again

Hey Gang!

I’m awake, yay! I wasn’t kidding when I said I passed out Thursday night. Face hit pillow and BAM, out!

I spent my Friday doing typical Minnie things. I am a creature of habit and on my days off I do things I love. Here’s my idea of a perfect Friday:

Wake up to coffee, blogging, music, playing with Phoebs, and breakfast.

Get dressed in an outfit I call “homeless chic”

And go to Wegmans for veggie shopping!

I bought this big Daikon. Phoebe said “hey mama what is this big thing?”

“Well Phoebs, it’s a white Asian radish and has a mild flavor”

I roasted it in the oven with a little olive oil spray and some flax seed seasoning.

I also found these adorable spatulas. I can never have too many of these! After a while they start to bend, so I always try to pick up cute ones on sale when I spot them.

After Wegmans I continued my perfect Friday with a leg day gym session. I try not to do the same leg exercises each time. You have to keep the body guessing.

Check out this one:

• Deep walking lunges with 40 lb bar, 12 reps across then 12 squats at the end, back for 12 lunges, end with 12 more squats. REPEAT 3 TIMES!
• Stiff leg dead lifts, 40 lb bar, 10 reps, then mountain climbers (20 seconds) on a small box. REPEAT 4 TIMES!
• Up and down fast feet on a small box (20 seconds), then 10 pushups. REPEAT 4 TIMES!
• Alternating Curtsy Lunges holding a 25 lb kettle bell, 12 reps, then 10 plie squats. REPEAT 5 TIMES!
• Prone hamstring curl, 37.5-55 lbs, 8-12 reps x 4 sets
• Quad extensions using this hip machine (I make my own rules!)

Turn to the side, push the weight forward, extending your leg. Make your quad do all the work. Do not put the weight on your knee, go above it! I did 50-75 lbs, 4 sets each side .

• Bulgarian Split Squats holding 15 lb weights (REALLY works the quad- try this one!) 10 reps x 3 sets each leg

Source

• Straight leg glute extension, leaning on a bench- 12 reps x 3 sets each leg.

Cardio:

1. 10 minute warm up on arc trainer. When it’s super cold out I have to warm my body up by doing something light! I cannot go from freezing temperatures to lifting, doesn’t work!
2. 20 minutes on the spin bike 
3. 10 minutes on the step mill 

This was all mostly steady state cardio. I prefer HIIT on the days I don’t do something really heavy, balances things out better with energy levels.

In the spin room I love putting on the black light because my outfits look really fun. Look how I glowed in my fire pants! Move over Katniss (girl on fire) 😉

And my triceps are incredibly sore this morning from Thursday’s workout! Ouch…

When I finished, I went to pick up my pup at G-Mama’s. I stayed longer than anticipated because I ended up talking to my mom a long time. These are the moments I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Sometimes you just need “mommy talk”. I’m VERY lucky because I am able to talk to my mom about absolutely anything. Not everyone has that type of a relationship with their parents. If you do, try to squeeze it in more often because it makes me feel good after I leave. A girl always needs her mom 🙂

Speaking of always needing her mom…

Yep, Phoebe never leaves my side. Two peas in a pod 🙂

XOXO With a Cherry On Top,

-Minnie