Get Sweaty in 45 Minutes!

Hey everyone!

Today’s been a pretty good day.

First of all, I stumbled upon this hysterical someecard:

I mean, I clearly am one for kick ass workouts, but you know what?  I hate burpees.  They are SO GOOD FOR YOU, but I hate them.  Is there anyone out there that actually LIKES doing them WHILE doing them?  Feeling good afterwards doesn’t count.  Jen, you’re the only one I can think of that might say yes to this.

Today’s Eats
(So far)

• Same breakfast as yesterday (oatmeal with raisins and fruit), plus some scrambled eggs.
• Morning snacks:  A mini box of Kashi and an apple
• Lunch:  Massive salad from the salad bar at Jason’s Deli.  Loaded up my greens with red onion, tomatoes, cukes, peas, hard boiled egg, toasted almonds, and mushrooms.  I was craving a salad soooo bad for lunch today, so this really hit the spot.

I only had to be on site today for a half day – score!  Isn’t it funny that I feel like I have more free time while I’m on the road for work than I do when I’m at home?

Anyways, I got my workout done with right away.  Sue and I went back to Gold’s for another sweat sesh.  I always make sure to ask my co-workers how long they are planning to be at the gym for, so I can give myself enough time to fit in everything that I want to work.

I’ve gotten a lot of reader questions lately on how I manage to feel like I can get a good workout in while on the road, when you don’t necessarily have a lot of time.  I recommend planning ahead, being adamant to your coworkers that you can’t go to dinner until you workout (stick to your guns!), and thinking creatively.  Definitely try to get the most bang for your buck, in terms of time!

Today I worked up an awesome sweat in just 45 minutes and I was able to do ALL of the following:

First, a 15 minute cardio blast on the elliptical…

I guarantee you will feel sweatier doing this 15 minute cardio workout than you would doing steady state for a longer amount of time.  Intervals are your friend when you don’t have much time for a workout!!  They rev up that metabolism, bigtime.

My 15 minutes on the elliptical was followed by a bunch of random strength moves & cardio interval stuff that I made up as I went along because well, I just didn’t feel like planning it out ahead of time.  I set myself up a little station with a mat, a set of 12.5 pound weights, a step with 3 risers on each side, and a stability ball.  Then got down to business.

Some strength stuff that I banged out in 20 minutes…

Seriously, just go go go without stopping between moves!  Less rest time = higher intensity.  (Of course, if your body is telling you to slow down — honor it.  This is just what works for me).

A little lower body + cardio interval…

• Leg work with the right foot on the step:  8 slow lunges, 8 fast lunges, 8 pulses.  Then turn to face the left so your right foot is still on the step, and do 8 slow squats, 8 fast squats, and 8 pulses.  Then turn to face the back, so your right foot is still on the step but behind you now, and do 8 slow lunges, 8 fast lunges, and 8 pulses.
• 1 minute of run ups on the step, right foot lead
• Same leg work but with the left foot on the step
• 1 minute of run ups on the step, left food lead

A little chest + another cardio interval + glutes…

• 10 stacked feet decline pushups (feet on step)
• Glute work:  Kneeling glute press with extended leg – 20 slow / 20 fast, kneeling glute press with bent knee – 10 slow / 10 fast, kneeling glute press with extended leg to side – 20 slow / 20 fast, swing leg around to side of body and hold 10 seconds. 
• 30 seconds of run ups, right foot lead, this time straddling the step
• 10 stacked feet decline pushups (feet on step, other foot on top this time)
• Repeat glute work with opposite leg. 
• 30 seconds of run ups, left foot lead, straddling step

And then this ab set for 10…

Finished up with 5 minutes of stretching.

Seems like a ton for just 45 minutes of exercise, right?!

What are your favorite ways to work your body in a short amount of time?

Off to dinner!  Last night in Oklahoma, and I have a super-duper early flight home tomorrow morning.  So it won’t feel so super-duper then, or when I’m doing homework on the way home instead of reading The Hunger Games, but it sure will feel nice when I land in Boston at 1 in the afternoon.

Enjoy the rest of your night!

Oke, Oke, Oklahoma

That was supposed to sound like me saying “Flip, Flip, Flipadelphia.”

I think it would work better if I added an extra syllable.  Oke, Oke, Oklahomia.

No?

Ok then, let’s talk about yesterday.

Yesterday the Oklahoma weather certainly wasn’t as nice as it was on Monday!  I woke up to a massive thunder clap exactly one minute before my alarm was set to go off.  It was rainy and dreary and this girl didn’t pack an umbrella or any kind of rain gear because the weather report said otherwise.  Oh well.  Had to brave Mother Nature in my suit:

You guys don’t really get to see too many pics of professional Athena now do ya?  I even had my librarian glasses on.  What do you think?

I still think I rock the spandex better.

Getting back to the bad weather, of course there is a tornado watch in Oklahoma City right now.  Of course there is!  Did you guys know other states have tornado bells/sirens that go off as warning?  Who knew?

Yesterday’s Morning / Afternoon Eats

Oatmeal with raisins, and a side of fruit.

My stomach was clearly growling by 10am during our morning meeting on site, so my KIND bar from Monday’s snack pile held me over until lunch.  Lunch was ordered from a local deli, so not much individual choice there, but I was actually pleased with my options for once.  Ended up having avocado, tomato, sprouts, and mozzarella on pumpernickel bread and the most delicious spinach salad with strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, and almond bits.  I skipped the pasta salad.  And it took all my might not to grab 3 giant cookies.  I had an extra half sandwich instead.  Not too shabby for a hospital provided deli lunch!  Afternoon snack was a banana from the Starbucks run our sales rep went on after lunch( everyone else said “coffee, “a latte”, when asked what they wanted from Starbucks.  I said “A banana please!”), but I regret not buying more snacks at the airport.  I was freaking STARVING by the time we got back to the hotel.  I opted for another fruit cup because well, that’s pretty much all I had to choose from.

Yesterday’s Workout

Normally when I travel, I’m a morning workout person because the usual folks I travel with also are.  We also usually stay at a hotel closer to the hospital we’re working at, so with a shorter commute it’s easier to squeeze in an AM workout sesh.  However, this trip we’re staying at a hotel closer to the airport (and also the downtown) but is further from the hospital, so I would have had to wake up in the 4 o’clock hour to get a morning workout in yesterday.  No thank you.  I am fine with waking up at 5 anything, but I’m sorry, 4 anything is still the middle of the night to me.  Plus, a few folks were planning on finding the local Gold’s Gym after we wrapped up on site, so I figured I’d much rather workout at Gold’s than the hotel gym facilities (although ours isn’t too shabby!)

Looks better than the suit, huh?

My workout needed to be squeezed into the 45 minutes that my coworkers were at the gym for, so I did a 10 minute fast warmup on the elliptical, this upper body Tabata strength and cardio workout, tacked on an extra abs tabata of bosu plank jacks + Russian twists, and called it a day (after stretching of course).  My heart rate was way up and I was sweaty so, mission accomplished.

Random gym side note:  This gym had a room called The Cardio Cinema.  They had a bunch of cardio machines lined up in a room, and at the front desk they have a weekly movie schedule where they tell you what movie will be playing and when.  I thought that was really cool.

Yesterday’s Evening Eats

I was craving protein in a BAD way.  We went to a steakhouse where I tried lamb fries and then found out they were lamb TESTICLE!  Yes, yesterday I consumed lamb balls and didn’t even know it.  Dare I say they were actually pretty good?  Aside from sampling the lamb sack, I got a salad to start, steak and grilled shrimp for my entree, and mushrooms/seasonal veggies on the side.  Yum!  Drank red wine too.  It’s good for you, you know.

Did I mention that this was our ride to and from dinner?

Ballin’!

How funny slash ridiculous all at the same time.

What’s up at home this week?  Am I missing anything?  Anyone else ever tried lamb testicle before?  What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?  Ever taken a ridiculous limo to dinner?  Seen a cardio cinema theatre at the gym before?  Anything else you feel like sharing!?

Off to work!