motivation monday

What a hectic week it was. With school full time and then deciding to take up 40 hours at work I barely found time to get homework done, eat dinner, and sleep. I was only able to make it to the gym 3 days last week which drove me nuts and my eating habits last week....well let's just say I hopped off the "healthy eater" wagon. Oh the perks to being a college student. 

::Here's to more gym & kitchen time this week::

Happy Motivation Monday! ((:

playlist

SONGS THAT PUSH ME A LITTLE HARDER DURING MY WORKOUTS:

• The downfall of us all - A Day to Remember
• Cudi Zone- Kid Cudi
• Strip- Chris Brown
• Next to you- Chris Brown
• You're so last summer- Taking back sunday
• Girl on fire- Alicia Keys ft. Nicki Minaj 
• Cut it out- Kitten 
• Cockiness- Rihanna 
• Aberdeen- Cage the Elephants 

Just a few of the songs that I jam to during my workouts. I don't know why, these are the songs that get me pumped and keep me going. 

What's on your ipod when you work out?

ranting

Spring Break has already come and gone which means that in a couple months the warm weather, sunshine, and water will be my only concern! There's no need to wait until may to start hitting the gym when you can start now and love your body in a bikini. We all have trouble spots on our body that we don't particularly like and mine would be my thighs. I'm a petite girl, but I have more of the "muscular" thighs than "skinny" thighs. Nothing is wrong with muscular legs, but it's something I've always been self conscious of. Because i'm so small, I felt that my legs were not proportioned to the rest of me. I took an aerobics class a few months ago and the instructor taught us to love the body you're given and make it the best you can; not wish to look like someone else because lets face it; you never will.. She also said take a good look at your mother because you are bound to have a very similar figure. 

I've realized now that it's not about having victoria secret legs (even though we all wish we had them), but instead to embrace what your momma gave you. I will never have model thighs and that's okay with me. All i'm focused on now is making them as toned and sexy as possible. And my boyfriend has always told me; "It's more attractive to see a girl with really toned legs rather than stick thin."

Anywho. 

Here are a few moves I do on leg days: 

Squat! Squat! Squat! ...If you want a nice ass that is. 

Leg Press! lots of leg presses. 

Lunges. 

I wish there was actual free weights at my gym(one of the many reasons i'm looking into a different one). 

Calf Raises. 

I just do these on the leg press machine. These are killer.

I do these standing up and add resistance with one of the machines (I don't know what they're actually called). 

Here's just some of the things I do for my legs and I've seen a big difference in them! I have so much more tone than I ever have. I also run every other day for 30-45 minutes and cut down on the pizza intake..I cannot lie though, this week I have indulged in a giant chocolate bar, frozen yogurt (with extra gummy bears & cookie dough bites), tacos, and way too many pieces of cinnamon bread. I felt guilty every bite, but sometimes a girls just gotta give in..((:

Gotta get my mind back on track with my meals; Starting NOW!

mind.over.matter.

on the mountain

This weekend I finally found the time to hit the mountain. I'm so glad that I did too because it was gorgeous out! I had three pretty hard falls that took the wind out of me, but I eventually got the hang of it again.  It was really good to spend some time with my second family too. It was also the first time in months that I was asleep by 9:30. I was going to attempt to go to the gym once we got back, but snowboarding was a workout in itself. All this gym time and my legs were still struggling by the end of the day. 

I couldn't have asked for a better day!



On another note: I couldn't be more proud of my man getting second place in the contest he entered on dpmag. He entered a picture he took almost a year ago and not even thinking he'd be a finalist. His work continues to grow and get better each time that cameras in his hand. I admire how talented he really is.

Check it out and all the other finalists: http://www.dpmag.com/photo-contests/6th-annual-your-best-shot.html

lately

Since springs slowly approaching I have been itching for some change. I finally received my purchase from Urban Outfitters and I'm loving what I got. I'm so glad a sale was going on last week because I am obsessed with that store.. Seemed like the perfect time to get some things.

I'm also doing some DIY projects for decorating my walls. I should hurry up though my walls are pretty bare and it's depressing. 

I made a pineapple-mango smoothie the other night for the boy and I which was so yummy! The best smoothie I have made so far and will be making very often.

From last night; Leg Day

 I was having a bogus work out and couldn't get focused. Sometimes when there is too much on my mind I just can't get in the right mind set.. Whiiiiich resulted in bad form.   This was from doing squats half-assed.  Sometimes I don't know if it's better to just stick it out when I'm in one of those moods or to just call it quits and make tomorrow even better.

..Either way I should probably not rest the bar directly on my neck while doing squats next time..

NOTE TO SELF: don't be lazy on form. 

just keep running

Todays Agenda: Cardio!

On two nights throughout the week my boyfriend comes to the gym with me to do legs, backs, and arms. On the opposite days i'll do cardio and abs because that's stuff I can do on my own. So, today I'll run for 30-45 minutes, then do some abs to finish off the work out. I don't spend too much time on my stomach. Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym. 

I'm also looking for a different gym to switch to. If anyone has suggestions on a good gym that is decent on prices then let me know! ((:

I'm also going to make this blog more about myself and what's going on in my life. Working out and being healthy is just a portion of my life. I figure it will be more interesting to make this blog more than just that. And I hope who ever reads my blog enjoys it. 

smoothie fix

After a long work weekend I didn't really have time to make this smoothie I've been dying to try. Well, today I finally had some time and surprisingly, I really liked it! You couldn't even taste the Kale and that, I DO like.  I wasn't feeling well all day so after a 4 hour nap this was amazing. 

INGREDIENTS:

Over a cup of Kale

1 Banana 

1 Scoop of Vanilla Soy Protein 

3/4 cup of Pineapple 

3/4 cup of Mango

2 Cups of Soy Milk

and a bunch of ice cubes because the fruit wasn't frozen. 

It made 3 big servings so I'll be enjoying this drink for a few days. ((:

rise and shine

I just enjoyed some pb & banana with grapes and lemon water(soooo yummy). Making eggs or oatmeal didn't sound really appealing to me this morning. 

Lemon water is an awesome alternative to drinking coffee. I'm an avid coffee lover as it is, but I sure as hell don't drink my coffee black. Most of the time it's half milk half coffee with sometimes 3-4 scoops of sugar.. I've tried to only put in a couple scoops in, but just doesn't do it justice! Most mornings now i'll cut a large lemon in half and squeeze the lemon juice into water(warm or cold). I'm in love with it.  Lemon water gives you a boost of energy, detoxes your body, freshens breathe, and also aids in clearing skin! 

I follow tonedtannedandfit on instagram and really like this idea. Since my whole goal is to start eating healthier, might as well try this challenge. Last month was a no added sugar challenge, but I didn't try it.    This is going to be really hard for me seeing how I'm like a 5 year old and would rather pick at vegetables than suck it up and eat them.  

.CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. 

post gym grocery trip

Usually after the gym I'll head right home, but I was on Pinterest looking up smoothies and decided to stop at Hannaford and grab some things. I've been wanting to try a green smoothie with some spinach in it. Seeing how i'm basically scared to try spinach, I chose Kale instead thinking it'd taste better?.. I've had neither so i'm sure my taste buds are in for a treat. Maybe tomorrow i'll whip up a "green machine" smoothie and crossing fingers I enjoy it. Thats a big bag of Kale that's gotta get eaten! I also decided to get Soy milk which is also a newbie for me. I'm going to switch 2% milk with the soy for my post gym protein shake. Lets hope I can like that as well...

The flax seed is something I picked up because i've been reading about it and all the health benefits it has.  It has Omega-3 and a really good source of fiber. It's something i'll probably throw in my smoothies. Why not, right? ((:

intro.

Let me first start off by saying I don't know everything about being fit and healthy. Honestly I didn't know the first thing about working out/eating right basically my whole life. I never ate those green veggies(any colored veggies at that) and the only time I was actually "in shape," was in high school when I did do sports. Around last fall I realized that all I ever wanted to do was sleep. When I wasn't asleep, I was moody all the time and had no ambition to do a thing! I went to the gym one night and after I left I noticed how good of a mood I was in. It led me to go the next night and then almost every day since then. I started researching a lot online about fitness and health and it has been a huge eye opener.  How you treat your body determines so much about your life.
I work out 5-6 days a week(if i'm working on the weekends I don't go to the gym) and my eating habits are getting much better. It's embarrassing for me to say, but I use to eat fast food pretttttyyyy much every other day... I'm talkin' Wendy's, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, KFC, Five Guys..the list goes on. Now I try to only have one (okay, or maybe two) "cheat days," a week.. and a piece of candy here and there, but for the most part I'm trying to eat better meals that will help my muscles after working them all week. Having a good diet is the key factor to getting the body you want and without a good diet, you're only hurting your muscles at the gym.

So, this is where I will blog my progress or just talk gibberish about things that are on my mind.
I'm just like everyone else trying to achieve being fit and healthy! If you have tips or pointers please send them my way because I love feedback and I love learning new ways to do a workout or a new meal to attempt!  ((: