Boston, Exercise Info
Boating, Food, Protein, Glutes :)
Hey guysss! How was your weekend? Mine was FABULOUS. It was picturesque weather the whole weekend and I just love to see everyone out and about all of the time! It makes me so happy!
I spent most of yesterday Downtown Boston, around the esplanade, Charles River and then
Out on the water! Beautiful Sunday, summer time, boat in the middle of Boston Harbor. I could not have asked for a better day!
Gorgeous views of Boston, no?
It was the most perfect relaxing day after doin a little bit of shakin’ the night before with some fabulous ladies!!
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On the food front, I have still been buying lots of groceries, keeping my fridge stocked with the same ole’ goodies–lots of fresh fruits and vegetables! Some of my favorites lately:
- Plums
- Nectarines
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Green onions (for salads!)
- Portobello Mushrooms–> grilled!
- Green beans (raw for the crunch!)
- Summer Squash
- Asparagus
- Persian cucumbers
- Sweet red peppers
- Heirloom Tomatoes
Salads packed and ready to go for work almost everyday! I do this to save money and also because I would so much rather have my own food! I usually make a big salad with some sort of fat, protein and carb. This salad was packed with asparagus, red pepper, romaine, mushrooms, capers, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, lean ground turkey and I had some quinoa on the bottom of the salad as well. The entire salad is covered in spicy mustard for some extra flavor
If you remember, a while back I recieved some About Time Protein to try. I got a sample pack of many different flavors including birthday cake, cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, mocha mint and peaches and cream! Today was my first go with the peaches and cream flavor. My favorite so far is the Birthday Cake! I love this protein because it is all natural with no artificial colors or sweetners.
I have never tried peach flavored protein powder, and I was so intrigued, I couldn’t wait to try it!
In the blender went:
- About Time Peaches and Cream Protein
- 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
- 5 ice cubes
- ~1 C water
- Pinch Stevia
- Pinch xanthan and guar gums
I wanted to keep it simple to really taste the protein powder flavor and see if it was osmething I would enjoy in the future mixed with fruit! I would picture this as the perfect summer post workout shake!
While the shake was blending away, I knew I wanted to add some carbs in with it (since it was a post workout shake, and carbs + protein is super important shortly after an intense workout!)
Quick oats!
That I got for $1.00 at Christmas Tree Shops!!! Have I mentioned I love this store? I went to it when I was in Cape Cod because they are everywhere on the cape. I also got some great steals on some spices, kitchen utensils and fun summer things like plastic cups/bowls
I am LOVING raw oats in my protein shakes. I throw in the oats, usually shake it up and then throw it in the freezer just for about 10 minutes so it gets super cold and the oats begin to absorb the shake goodness
Mmmmmm….okay I have to be honest….it tasted nothing like peaches. (Janetha…don’t get too excited!) It was good but in a “I’m drinking a vanilla protein shake” kind of way. Not a “oh this is peachy and delicious” sort of way. Nonetheless, I really enjoy this brand of protein powder, so I still really enjoyed the shake!
But there is NOTHING like fresh peaches
By far one of my favorite summer time fruits!
After a quick shower and some organizing, I got to crackin’ on dinner with some new goodies I picked up at Trader joes and some KALE!
I found this precut and washed bag of Kale and couldn’t resist. I love that more markets are jumping on the kale train and making it so much easier to buy by having it already pre cut and washed!
A new favorite! Trader Joes Spicy Black Bean Dip! It is delicious, quite spicy and has a lime kick to it that I really enjoy! The day I got this dip, I tweeted about it and I got a response that Mama Pea made a killer black bean homemade dip as well which I cannot WAIT to make!
New Trader Joes Spice! South African Smoke. It is SO good! It has an extremely smoky flavor with some paprika, salt and pepper mixed it. I used it when I cooked up my lean ground turkey and it was suprisingly so different than what I usually use and loveeed it!
And then the kale chips!
Kale Chips! I got an email asking how I make these…and it is so so easy!!! You can see here my step by step…but I will share quickly again because like I said, it is SUPER simple!
- Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil spray
- Tear the kale into small pieces, avoiding using the ribs of teh greens (if you buy the kale that is not pre-prepared in the bag)
- Spray the kale again once on the cookie sheet (COVER the kale in olive oil spray. You can also use real olive oil and massage the kale with your hands until each piece is well coated
- Put on any seasonings you like! I use sea salt, nutritional yeast, TJs 21 salute seasoning and sesame seeds. Its fun to get creative and try new spices too!
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Workouts have been awesome lately. I am still lifting 4 days a week and just toning it down on the cardio a bit more since I am not show prepping just yet. I have been experimenting with my lifting and moving a bit quicker in the gym with supersets and playing around with different body parts that I am pairing.
A major change that I made is that I began to split my lower body training into Glute/Ham and then Quads/calves (mostly quads) I have seen such noticible differences in my lower body, the lines, development and leanness so I think I will be sticking to this split for a while
Some of my favorite Glute/hamstring exercises include
- Sumo Squats
- Lying Hamstring Curls
- Standing 1 legged hamstring curls
- Reverse Barbell lunges
- Glute Bridges on bench
- Step ups
- Donkey Kicks (no weight and do this after a heavy exercise to really fatigue the glutes)
- Deadlifts
Obviously I don’t perform all of these exercises in the same day but these are some of my favorites for glute/ham day, so I pick and choose and perform supersets moving quick of course!
Looking for a bootylicious or lower body workout? Try either of those that I highlighted…they are AWESOME! And don’t forget the sprints!!
Its hot, I’m off to go jump in this. Ok, I lied…but how fun does that look?! They have a few of these public fountains downtown Boston. The water is on a timer and just goes up and down and the kids love it!! One of these days, I am going to run through the fountains!!
Questions:
If you want to act like a ‘kid’ again what is the first thing you would do?
What are some new workouts/exercises/cardio that you have been enjoying?! Share in the comments section with links too! I will be sure to share them all!
