Where has the week gone?

Woohoo Friday already!  I feel great because I have been to the gym every morning this week J Even though the last few nights I haven’t gotten as much sleep as usual, I still managed to drag myself out of bed and just get it done.  With my first summer festival just weeks away, it is definitely time to ramp up the exercise.  I want to feel comfortable walking around wearing short shorts and a tank top, if the weather permits.  I feel fine doing that anyways, but anything extra I can do to boost my confidence, would be an added bonus.

In saying that, I was so knackered last night that I came home, hopped in the bath with a beer, listened to music, relaxed, put a pizza in the oven – and then proceeded to eat the whole thing.  Thankfully it was only one of the Dr. Oetker pizzas and the whole thing was about 700calories.  Lol.  Once I started it was so hard to stop, and to be honest, I no care!  At the time.

I did however have loads of additional motivation to work off that pizza this morning.  It is a pretty fair trade off to be honest, in my head.

Friday WOD

Deadlifts

40kg – 3 x 8 reps

45kg – 3 x 6 reps

Front squats bar only – 7 reps

Back squats bar only – 3 x 10 reps

Calf raises on leg press machine

125kg – 4 x 15 reps

Half press on leg press machine

125kg – 4 x 15 reps

Single leg press on leg press machine

45kg – 2 x 10 reps

Weighted crunches 5kg – 3 x 12 reps

Russian twists 5kg – 3 x 20 reps

Oblique crunches – 3 x 15 per side

Pull up practice – 4 x 3 lots of getting myself up, and letting myself down with no assistance.

This workout burned 358Kcal.

This weekend I hope to go for a nice long run tomorrow, do some strength training in the lounge room and then head off to a fancy dress party.  There will be loads of pics so I will make sure I save the good ones for the blog.

Happy Friday everyone!

P.s Does anyone else have this problem? Tight around the booty and loose around the waist? Summer shorts are the bain of my existence.

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Oopsy - 3 days worth of workouts

I haven’t blogged in a few days.  To be honest, I don’t really know why I didn't.  I just kinda couldn't be bothered…. Is that bad?  It’s bad.  Well, I haven’t really had anything that exciting to report to be honest.  And no photos that were interesting…  I am trying hard not to think about leaving my work friends in a months’ time – but I am also really really overly excited about starting my new job. 

All aboard the emotional roller coaster!

Tuesday WOD

20mins cardio on treadmill

Walking at 6.5, 1min

Jogging at 9, 11, 13, 14, 1min

20 reps of each of the below exercise

Stiff legged dead lift, 20kg

Full deadlift, 20kg

Bent over back row, 10kg

Bicep curl, 10kg

Upright row, 10kg

Tricep press, 7.5kg

Front squat, 10kg

Back squat, 20kg

Repeat the above circuit one more time.  Approx 500Kcal burnt during this workout.

Loving the definition in my arms right now!  It is all starting to come together nicely right now.  Just a few more weeks and then I should be in a great place, physique wise!

Wednesday WOD

 BB shoulder press

10kg – 3 x 10 reps

15kg – 3 x 12 reps

BB upright row

15kg – 3 x 12 reps

Side lateral raises

6kg – 4 x 10 reps

Front plate raise

10kg – 10, 12, 15 reps

DB Single arm row

12kg – 3 x 8 reps

DB alternate hammer curl

10kg – 3 x 8 reps

Weighted crunches and Russian twists

291Kcal burnt during this workout

I wore my amazing Lacoste wedges today.  I stand roughly 6ft tall when I wear these around the office.  They are so comfy and make my legs look amazing, if I do say so myself.  I do however have to take it easy when navigating around corners... I am a bit wobbly!

I also wore this awesome necklace from Topshop and my new watch that Michelle helped me purchase from WatchWarehouse.  Thanks bestie! I love my new summer Casio :)

 Thursday WOD

Cardio treadmill

Jogging, hills, sprints, fast jogging

45mins

550Kcal burnt during this workout.

Last night I didn't get to sleep until around midnight, which is unusual for me.  You know, I did just turn 30 and I do like to get to sleep before 11pm.  So I was surprised that I managed to get out of bed and head to the gym for a treadmill session - and have the energy to run my heart out for 45mins.

Was good fun though and had a great stretch afterwards.  I am wondering what time I will start to fade today though haha.  Hopefully work will continue to be busy and I will make it to lunch without thinking about it ;)

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Sooo... Today went by pretty quickly.

Well that Monday actually went by pretty quickly, right? Or was it just me?  Maybe, just maybe, it might have been because I resigned today.

OMG I RESIGNED TODAY!

Phew - I had been waiting all weekend to get that over and done with.  Unfortunately my boss is away in Paris right now, so I had to do the deed over the telephone.  Ewwww.  It massively sucked and of course, my boss was not expecting it.  But, it is done now and I can start the countdown to my next adventure.  Stay tuned for more info ;)  It's a good one!

I really didn't have much of an idea of what I wanted to do today when I hit the gym.  Well, I knew I didn't feel like getting majorly sweaty because I washed my hair on the weekend and I just wanted to go at least one day at work without sweaty hair. So I decided to do an upper body workout with no cardio.

I promise tomorrow I will push myself super hard tomorrow - I just pushed myself in a different way today.  I have a feeling feeding myself tomorrow might be an issue.

Monday WOD

Bench Press
20kg - 3 x 12 reps
25kg - 3 x 5 reps
27.5 - 4 reps

DB flys at 7kg - 3 x 10 reps

Tricep overhead with 10kg DB - 3 x 10 reps

Tricep pushdown with rope at 13.75 - 3 x 10 reps

Concentration bicep curl with 10kg db - 3 x 6 reps

Pull up practice

Roughly 350Kcal burnt in this workout.

Lunch today was a pearl barley salad.  I was pretty devastated that my local Waitrose was out of Farro and I had to use the barley instead.  It doesn't taste the same, but I have to say it is not a bad substitute.

 

I also added some beetroot to the mix this time around.

 

Also, I mentioned a few posts ago that my little brother had made it back to Australia to visit my mum and family back there.  He sent me this little gem over text earlier today.  Nawww... I AM SO GINGER! HOLY WOWSERS.

Hope you guys have a good evening! I am going to have a light dinner and head to bed to research workout videos on YouTube then Skype my sister in South Africa.  This is what happens when you get old folks ;)

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Summer is gone again :(

Morning!  I am currently in Spotify never never.  Listening to old Aussie bands like Regurgitator, The Superjesus, You Am I, Jebediah etc.  I love it! I never want to leave.  I am having awesome flashbacks about my life growing up and it is making me happy.

 

On a side note, here is a gym selfie while I was absolutely DYING after Friday's circuit workout.  I really want to trim down a bit more for summer festivals (you know, wearing cute shorts and crop tops and all), and the only way to get there is to work hard for it.  Next week will be full of intense workouts and I have plans of incorporating more plyometrics just for giggles.

 

Saturday WOD

6km run with hills - wore my HRM and burnt around 400Kcal in 31mins. Not bad eh?

Too bad I just stuffed my face with a million crackers and organic hummus for lunch.  Well, maybe not 1million, but something close to that.  Whatever is in a packet these days...

So tonight I am having an awesome wine and cheese night with Michelle.  I bought back a super nice bottle of wine from Provence when I was there in March and we have not had time to enjoy it yet.  Very exciting stuff.  We might also just be celebrating some exciting news as well.... Will keep you posted!

Hope you guys enjoy your weekend :)

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TGIF

Thank.  Goodness.  Its.  FRIDAY!

Man, do I have that Friday feeling or what?!  WHAT?!!  I don't even have plans tonight.  I am just really excited about going home.  Not drinking.  Watching some catch up TV.  Passing out early.  Man, I am getting old aren't I?  I think it is because of the four day week after the Bank Holiday long weekend.  It always feels like it drags.

Don't judge me too much.  Tuesday night Michelle and I went to go and see Bring Me The Horizon at Koko.  It was awesome and we had such a good night, singing along and dancing as per usual.


Just a small crowd really.


This is the shirt I was wearing.  I bought it from General Pants in Australia when I was there earlier this year. Pretty cool huh? Surf's up!


I look like I have beaver teeth in this photo, but I love it anyway!

So I wasn't really in the mood to get up and go for a workout on Wednesday morning.  I was feeling a bit dusty and knew that I would make it up to myself on Thursday.

Thursday WOD

5mins cross trainer warm up

Back squats

Bar only (20kg) – 3 x 12 reps

Deadlifts

30kg – 3 x 12 reps

40kg – 3 x 8 reps

50kg – 3 x 5 reps

55kg – 3 reps

*Then the bar started slipping out of my hands and I gave up.

Calf press on the leg press machine

125kg – 3 x 15 reps

On legged press on leg press machine

35kg – 3 x 10 reps

Wide leg press

55kg – 10 reps

65kg – 5 reps

Pull up practise

Quite a few goes at lifting myself up with assistance, then letting myself down without assistance

Quite a few goes at pull ups with someone holding my feet for assistance

428Kcal burnt for this workout.  Those deadlifts really got my heart rate so high! But, I can feel myself getting stronger - which makes me super happy.

So, a tangent - my little brother was living in Canada the last few years, but at the moment he is in Tasmania with my Mum, before starting a snow season at Falls Creek in Victoria.  Mum and Spike are teasing me by sending through beautiful photos of the sunset view from mum's place.

I love a sun burnt country...

I love MY sun burnt country.  This was the same night, I believe.  You could take 100 photos and they would all be different.  I remember nights at home, sitting on the deck drinking beer and eating great food, talking sh*t and watching the sunsets.

Am I homesick?  YES.  I 100% am right now.

Friday WOD

10mins cardio on treadmill

1min walking 6.5

1min running 9, 11, 13, 14

10 burpees

15 of each of the below exercises

DB bench press 10kgs

Alt. hammer curl 8kg

Dips

BB push press 15kgs

Repeat the above circuit.  Try not to rest in between.

Treadmill sprints x 5

10 bench jumps

Repeat the above circuit once more.

550Kcal burnt during this workout.

And that concludes my work week!  Sorry for the ultra long post. I just wanted to update as to what has been going on this week.  You know, this blog IS kinda like my diary ;)

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Welcome back!

Good morning everyone!  I am in the BEST mood today, mostly because of the wonderful weather we had over the weekend.  Janine and I went to sit in the park and enjoy the sun yesterday and it was ahhhmazing.  We both caught the sun more on our right side though, but meh, I no care! Any sun is good sun and I feel absolutely refreshed and happy. 

When I got home yesterday, I decided to make the Vegan Farro Salad again for lunches.  It is so quick and easy to make - it only took about 15mins.  Also, it made 5 portions and I managed to scrape a small bowl out of it as well for an early light dinner.

Having a salad for dinner reminds me of being back in Aus.  Especially with the perfect warm sunny weather.  I also enjoyed a "detox" juice along side the salad, while catching up on a few episodes of The Office.

When I hopped into bed, I thought it would be a great idea to paint my nails a bit more of a summery colour.  Man, I am such a girl sometimes.  I realised also, when I was at the gym today, I had black shorts on, a pink top, pink notebook, pink finger nails, pink toe nails, pink HRM and pink lippie on.  Wowsers.  It's like Barbie came and took a massive pink **** all over me.  I love it though and it really is not often it works out that way. Ha!

Today's workout was shoulders day.  I really love working my shoulders and today I decided to go a little heavier on the weights to try and build some more definition for summer.

Tuesday WOD

8mins cross trainer warm up

BB Shoulder Press

15kg - 3 x 12reps

17.5kg - 3 x 8reps

20kg - 3 x 5reps

Upright BB row

20kg - 2 x 8 + 1 x 10

Side lateral raise

6kg - 3 x 10reps

Front raise with plate

10kg - 3 x 10reps

Single arm row

14kg - 2 x 10reps + 1 x 12reps

Bent over rear delt fly

7kg - 2 x 8reps + 1 x 10reps

Alternating bicep curl

10kg - 3 x 8reps

394Kcal burnt during this working today.

Tomorrow I am supposed to be working out with Gemma at 7.15am.  I hope that goes ok as I am also going to see Bring Me The Horizon tonight in Camden.  Very stoked to see them as I have been absolutely flogging their new album since it came out.  YAYYYYYY!!!

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Bank Holiday Monday!

This weekend has been so relaxing.  Sunday I woke up, did some cleaning, got a pedicure, had a lovely lunch at home, had a nap and just overall lazed around, doing things at a leisurely pace.  It was amazing!

I also couldn't resist stopping into the sweet shop on the high road for some cheap M&Ms on the way home.  Peanut Butter are my favorite and since the store is closing down, buy one get one half price worked well for me!

Lunch was another one of those Higgidy Pies that I was talking about on Saturday.  So tasty, and yes, that is more hot sauce :)

The weather has been warm, but by no means hot.  I still wore a beanie yesterday and felt only just warm enough with my shorts, t shirt and hoodie.  Come on Summer, you know you want to arrive already.

Beanie & crop top from And Clothing
iPhone case from Drop Dead

Monday WOD
Fasted jog around the park and back again.  This route is around 5.5km with a few really nice hills in there. According to the time on the clock when I got back, the run took me about 30mins.  Which is strange because that's how long it usually takes me when I have had breakfast.  I did feel like I was lacking a little energy, but overall, it wasn't too hard.

 

When am I going to have the guts to run outside wearing just my sports bra?  I mean, come onnnnnn.  Maybe when it gets a little bit warmer..... or My tummy tones up a bit more... I need to stop making excuses and just do it right?  I know no one will be looking at my tummy.  Especially when I am running past them.  I guess, its just.... I don't know.  I WILL DO IT THOUGH!  It has been a goal of mine for years now and I know that once I start, it will be ok.

Anyways, I am off to make a banana protein smoothie (with peanut butter of course! I didn't have breakfast you know!) and catch up with Janine to go and sit in the sun.  I am super excited!

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High Waisted Jeans - Summer outfit

 

This is how happy I am when I find a pair of jeans in a style I like, that fit both my waist and my booty.  YES!

Wedges:  Lacoste Kellam Wedges

Jeans:  Urban Outfitters BDG Denim black high waist

Crop top:  Topshop

Massive smile:  My own... YAY!

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Lounge Room Sandbag Circuit

Morning everyone!  I was good last night and went to the pub with work folks for a few farewell drinks.  As promised - to myself and everyone else - I had a few drinks and then I walked home.


Apparently I can behave myself!  Also, once I got home I passed out at around 9pm.  I then slept all the way through until just before 7am.  I am still super tired so I am glad I didn't over do it before the weekend had even started.

Saturday WOD
Interval workout, 10seconds rest/50 seconds on

For this workout I used my sandbag, but if you do not have one of these, you could use dumbbells, a backpack with heavy books inside, one really heavy book etc.  Get creative!  I used to workout like this all the time without any equipment.  It is amazing what you can do if you are really keen ;)

Clean & press - 13
Split jump + burpee - 7
Weighted crunches - 16
Mountain climbers - 70
"James Bond" style lunges + twist - 12
Weighted squats - 17
Elevated sumo push ups - 10
High knees - 130
One arm row right - 20
One arm row left - 23
Plank
Weighted crunches - 16

Man, I was knackered after this.  I always try and plan my circuits so I use one upper body, then lower body etc.  but I kinda failed with this one! Those split jump + burpees were a killer and I actually had to rest for a few seconds as my legs got so fatigued.  I kinda liked it though..

 

My original plan was to go for a nice long run, but the weather was being completely bipolar and I didn't feel like making my sniffle any worse by getting rained on.  Soz - I am too busy trying to get better!

Also, today I got my hair trimmed.  I have been trying to keep it as healthy as possible and regular trims are basically the only way I can see it ever getting longer.  This trim (and subsequent wash/blow dry) have nothing to do with the fact that I needed to wash my hair anyways.  I swear.

Have a good weekend guy!  Do you have any ideas/recommendations for those people working out at home with no equipment?

 

p.s Dinner tonight was this amazing Higgidy pie. Sweet potato and feta with pumpkin seeds.  Sooo tasty and you bet I put Cholula hot sauce allll over that puppy!

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Tie Dye

I swear tie dye was fashionable when I was at school. Everything comes around again, right?  I know my mum always told me that was the reason why she hung onto some things in her wardrobe each year.  Well, this proves her theory!

I love this outfit for summer.  I never thought I would embrace crop tops - but this season I am all about them.
Keep fit and healthy, eat right and feel confident wearing things you never thought you could pull off.

 

Crop:  Topshop available HERE online

Skirt:  ASOS tie dye available HERE online

Sneaker wedges:  Lacoste Bernelle similar to these ones online.

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