Favorite Back Workouts

**Oddly enough this was a posted I typed up several weeks ago and never finished to post so glad I finally got around to it

As I have mentioned before, my workouts are primarily concentrated on weight training, because that's what I enjoy and it gives me the best results. Lately my favorite body part to work has been back. I think this is because there are so many great exercises that you don't have to repeat often. Also since it is such a large body part I feel like it is time well spent adding muscle mass in that area.

 

These are just a few of my favorites that I incorporate into my workouts on back day. Right now my split includes working both back and chest together so an example of a total workout would be:

 

• Chest Press X3
• Back Extensions X3
• Pectoral Flys X3
• Rear Flys X3
• Assisted Pull ups X4
• Chest Cables X3
• Rows X 3
• Push ups X 3

As you can see I typically do 3-4 exercises per body part with 3 sets of 8-12 reps, often in a pyramid starting with a low weight for 12 reps, then increasing the weight and decreasing the reps for each set. Another thing to note is I am still doing assisted pull ups since I cant do them unassisted yet but am thrilled with the progress I have made there, I started with my body weight in resistance and now am only using about 50 pounds in resistance slowly working my way to zero.  

 

I am loving seeing the muscle progression in this part of body and plan to keep it up.



My Favorite Fitness Apps

We live in a modern world where we use our phones for everything, I know I do. So overtime I have collected many great apps to keep my health and fitness here are a few of my favorites:

To Track you Workouts: FitList

This is a new find and I am already obsessed, I wanted to be able to journal and track my strength workouts but didn't want to carry a notebook around the gym. I then went on a hunt for a good app and this one had great reviews. I was not disappointed this was exactly what I was looking for. It allows me to record each exercise I did with rep and set counts, this way next time its easy for me to look back and see what weight I used and determine if it is time to increase weight.

To Track your Food: My Fitness Pal

 

I'm sure this is not a new one, it is a favorite for all. It is something I have used a lot over the years. However once I figured out how to set my custom macros and use it to track them this little app became my best friend. I now log all my food daily and watch my macros closely.

A couple other good apps for tracking food and macros are Calorie King and MyMacros

To Lead you Through a Killer Workout: Nike Training Club

 

If you are at a loss for what to do for a workout one day look no further than this app. They have some killer full body workouts. These workouts are great for a time crunch since most of them run between 20-45 minutes but they will have you sweating without a doubt. I love these workouts when you don't have access to a gym or are in a scarce hotel gym because for most of them you only need a set of dumbbells.

What apps do you use to help your healthy lifestyle?

IIFYM- Hiring a Professional

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, here the crazy weather continued with more ice and snow so we spent a lot of time inside and binge watching scandal on Netflix... but I loved every second of it. Sometimes a couple days like that is just what the doctor ordered.

A couple weeks back I wrote my first post of IIFYM, kinda a brief overview on the whole subject. However I mentioned I would continue with some additional posts on the topic, well with a change in my macro plan I figured now would be a good time for another post. You can catch up on the first post here if you missed it.

Throughout the course of this year I have some big events coming up including my wedding day and some personal goals I want to meet in terms of fitness and nutrition. For this reason I am taking my macros seriously knowing its the best way to help me meet my goals. A couple weeks ago I decided I once again wanted to hire a coach to help me with the process.

A little over a week ago I took the plunge and hired my new coach and I am so glad I did. From the second she sent over my plan I could tell this was the exact change I needed. She agreed that right now I am in a good position to continue "reversing or upping" my macros before it will be time to cut them to loose. However she is implementing a couple big changes into my plan:

• Different macro numbers for lift days vs. non lift days- these include more carbs and protein on lift days
• A weekly refeed day also commonly known as "high carb day" to help my muscles recover

I will check in with her every week before my refeed day and she will adjust my macros accordingly for the upcoming week. I am on my second set of macros numbers from her and I think so far things are going really well and I think the new plan is just what I needed. I cant wait to continue and see how things go.

Stay tuned!

This Week's Workout Recap

Several people have asked what my typical week of workouts look like so I thought why not just tell you guys what my workouts looked like this past week. While each week is different for me there are some constants every week. I try to weight lift at least 4-5 times a week hitting each of the following body parts at least one time: biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest, back, legs, glutes, abs. Here are the splits I used for this week:

Saturday: Back, Chest and Abs

Sunday: Biceps, Triceps, HIT sprints

Monday: Leg Plyos

Tuesday: Shoulders and Glutes

Wednesday: Upper Body Circuit

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Hot Yoga - I'm hoping anyway :)

A couple notes to keep in mind when looking at this, first being I wouldn't usually do glutes the day after leg plyos and I wish I hadn't it was not a wise idea I was just too sore. In addition I recently changed up my weight splits in order to make more time for other workouts like yoga and group classes I used to lift five days a week, and some weeks I still do. You just have to find what works for you.

I am excited that its Friday and a long weekend for this girl. We get Monday off as a holiday and I am very excited for a little extra time off. I am also ready to celebrate Valentines day tomorrow with my honey, we have plans to go out for a fancy indulgent meal and I cant wait. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Upper Body Circuit

Last night after the end of the work day I wanted to get in a workout but wasn't sure what I should do. Since Saturday I had actually already hit all the muscle groups and my legs had certainly had enough so I figured why not mix it up and doing an upper body circuit, targeting the entire upper body and keeping the heart rate up. For this workout I picked one exercise per muscle group in the upper body to hit and completed them in super-sets sandwiched in-between bursts of cardio and did high rep and low weight for any weighted exercises. Needless to say by the end I was out of breath and super sweaty so I would call it a success. 

The entire workout took me about 45 minutes to complete and I was more than ready to walk to a local juice bar next door for a post workout protein shake when I was done. This juice bar has some of the yummiest protein shakes/smoothies I have ever had and I am hoping I will be able to recreate something similar at home. I will let you know if I have any luck on that front.

Let me know what you think and stay tuned!

Tips for Better Eating Habits While Traveling for Work

My job requires me to travel quite a bit and while it can sometimes be fun and it is much preferred to sitting at a desk all day having to travel that much can sometimes take a toll on you. One of the main reasons I find it hard is it requires me to eat out for all of my meals. Well even if you are ordering the healthiest thing on the menu all restaurant food is much higher in fat then if you cooked something at home so when you eat out all three meals its still not that healthy.

Frustrated after my last business trip I simply decided with the proper prep work and packing I could avoid having to eat out for so many meals. Today I am leaving to go work in Austin for the week and here is how I am hoping to set myself up for success and less eating out on this trip.

1. Pack some healthy snacks

• The last thing you want is to be on a plane, in the car or stuck at the airport on delay and starving, because what is that likely to lead to? Stopping at the closest place for food, usually unhealthy. Snacks I like to always have on hand with me:
• Qwest bars- 20 grams of protein and only 20 carbs fill me up and keep me happy
• Almonds
• Protein powder- I either pack a shaker bottle or you can use any water bottle to whip up a quick shake
• Greek Yogurt- for this trip since I am driving I am able to bring along a couple yogurts no problem

2. Bring at least a couple healthy meals

• For this trip I went and picked up some Icon Meals and prepped a couple of my own. Icon meals are a Texas local business that hand makes healthy meals for on the go. Each meal has the macros listed on the package and is high in protein and low in fat. They also have an option for you to order custom meals as well.

3. Get in a workout

• I always feel better about work trips when I get in a good workout. For me I usually buy a guest pass to a local gym instead of using the hotel gym so I have a full set of equipment.

4. When eating out look at the menu before you get to the restaurant, I do this to help me pick the healthy options out and know what I'm ordering ahead of time. I also look at the nutrition information when it is available you will be surprised which dishes end up being the healthy options at restaurants, more times than not it is definitely not the salads.

5. Get back to your routine as soon as you get home

• Last but not least if you do get slightly on track on a trip, don't beat yourself up about it or allow it to derail you. Once you return home just get back to healthy eating and exercise and you will be just fine.

Plymoetric Leg Circuit

As I make the attempt to shift more of posts on the blog to health and fitness I found myself thinking about what I myself like to read on similar blogs and realized aside from recipes and lifestyle stories I love when fitness bloggers share their workouts so today that is what I am coming at you with.

Todays workout is a quick plyometric circuit that makes the legs burn. I like to throw this in once a week to compliment my weight training. I do this for a couple reasons, one being my legs are a trouble area so I want to work them aside from heavy weight training to help them lean out. Also a plyometric workout like this is a great cardiovascular workout as well because it keeps your heart rate up.

 

This workout is on the agenda for Evan and I tonight, this is often a go to for us for Monday evenings because we can complete it in our apartment gym avoiding the Monday gym rush as well as it only takes 30-40 minutes to complete, so a killer time saver workout after a crazy first day back at work.

 

I hope you all enjoy, all the moves should be easy to find videos of if you are unfamiliar but everything is simple to catch onto. Let me know what you think.

 

 

**Please note I am not a certified personal trainer this workout is just one that I like to do and have picked up the components from training videos and trainers I have worked with

What to get the Fit Girl for Valentines Day

Valentines Day is just 10 days away! For any guys out there wondering what to buy the fitgirl in your life, I have a few suggestions. Getting her something that compliments her fit lifestyle, no matter how small will make her so happy!

1. Lifting gloves- I personally have been eyeing the Versa Grips instead of a traditional glove. We may like to hit the gym and throw around some weights, but that doesn't mean we want to destroy our hands in the process, plus a cute color or pattern makes it even better.

2. Headbands- workout headbands are something every girl needs, in several colors. This a good low cost option

3. Water bottle- A cute water bottle is always fun to have, I like these by Pink because they usually have fun sayings, hold 32oz of water and have a handle. At

4. Lulu lemon- If you want to splurge and by a gift for her that is truly one for you as well pick up a pair of lulu crop workout pants like these.

5. Qwest Bars- If you want to give her something in place of candy (although chocolate always welcome) get her some assorted flavors of Qwest bars, my current favorite is their new S' mores flavor.

There are plenty of other great options out there as well, just something to show her you know and support her interests will make it all the more special.

Protein Banana Bread Cake

Happy Monday Everyone!

I did share this recipe on my instagram but wanted to make sure to share it on here as well since it was such a good one.

What you Need:

• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1 scoop vanilla protein
• 1/4 almond/coconut milk
• 2 TB Oat flour
• 1 TB sugarfree banana pudding mix
• 1 TB almond butter
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 TB mini chocolate chips

What to do:

• Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips in a blender
• Pour into microwave safe dish, top with chocolate chips
• Microwave for 1.5-2 minutes and enjoy

Macros for this dish as is: 10F/28C/30P

You could reduce the carbs and fats on this with some adjustments as well. Please let me know what you think :)

IIFYM Part 1- What is That?

Yesterday I announced wanted to take the blog in a new direction, well what better way to do that then to start immediately right? Today I want to talk a little bit about nutrition, the most important piece of a healthy and happy lifestyle. For me personally 100% cleaning just doesn't work I feel too deprived and like I am on a constant extreme diet, I have found something else that works for me and I think it will work for you too. Today's post is part one of utilizing iifym and counting macros.

Many of you may have heard the saying "If it fits your macros' or IIFYM floating around especially on social media however may have no idea what all these crazy people eating poptarts are talking about. Many people get the wrong idea about IIFYM because people only post the fun stuff on social media so I wanted to do a quick overview.

I have been counting my macros on and off for almost a year. Within the last few months I have gotten very serious about it and remained consistent. Calculating and counting your macros is a process but it is truly a great one for reaching your nutrition goals and finding balance in your life. Basically your body functions and responds best when it is getting the correct amount of nutrients from each of the three macro groups, listed below. For that reason it is much more effective in helping you reach your goals than counting calories.

What are Macros:

• Fats
• Protein
• Carbs 

Why is it better:

• Your macros are calculated based on your body type, activity level and current goal so they are specific to you
• Since they are specific to you they can and should be changed as your goals or lifestyle changes
• If only counting calories you could hit your daily calorie goal just fine but have filled up entirely on carbs and fats while leaving out all the healthy stuff

How do you figure out your Macro count:

• The easiest way is to plug your information into the IIFYM calculator

How do I count them

• Once you have your numbers now the tricky part starts, counting them and meeting them. The term "if it fits your macros" truly comes from being able to eat something because it helps you hit your final numbers
• To count my macros I personally use my fitness pal and plug in everything I eat for the day, on the detailed nutrition page it will show you how much of each macro you have consumed for the day

If you have any other questions about macros and iifym please leave them in the comments below. I will be doing additional posts on using iifym to shape your diet.

Moving in a New Direction

Once again I have taken an unintended break from writing on this little blog of mine. When I started this blog originally I was a college student addicted to reading blogs of others who thought it would be great to have one of her own. Perhaps what I didn't realize at the time was that you actually need meaningful topics to write about to make a blog worth reading and well, you need them all the time. For this reason the blog has had ups and downs of periods where I wrote all the time and then not as much.

Currently I haven't been posting much I know, things started to go downhill when I got a new job and my schedule was a whirlwind. I simply didn't have the time, then every time I thought about writing I felt like I had nothing worthwhile to share. That's why lately I have been thinking that this blog needs somewhat of a redirection. In the past it has been just an all over the board lifestyle blog with anything I felt like sharing at the time. I think in order for me to keep direction in writing the blog itself needs more direction.

Within the last year or so I think the focuses in my life have shifted, in the best possible way. I simply found certain things I enjoy and that make me happy, those things aside from my wonderful fiancé, puppy, friends and family are health and fitness. I think in the past you may have noticed that trend peeping through on my posts.

That's why I want to make the large focus of this blog health and fitness related. Will some other aspects of my life be touched on as well, of course. I am still hoping to share some wedding posts with you all and any DIY projects I may stumble upon. Those will hopefully just be scattered into my regular posts.

I hope this new chapter of the blog will start now and I will keep it up, please stay tuned!

Healthy Protein Packed Pizza

As promised (a little late I apologize) I am coming at you today with my recipe for a healthy pizza that is full of protein. This recipe is a macro gem and tastes great. Since trying the recipe for the first time we have made it at least five more times, definitely a new household favorite. Also its Finance approved which is how you know it doesn't taste as healthy as it really is :)

To start this recipe out you need a P28 flatbread. P28 makes great protein bread products, however the flatbread is by far my favorite. You can find this at some nutrition stores or online. In Dallas you can find it at Ultimate Sports Nutrition (aka my new favorite store, a fit girls dream they have everything you could ever want)

What You Need: 

• P28 Flatbread
• Low sugar pizza sauce
• Part skim mozzarella
• Turkey pepperoni
• Lean sweet Italian seasoned ground turkey  
• Red bell pepper
• Green chile
• Of course all toppings are optional and depend on your personal preference  

What to Do: 
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cook turkey in a small pan, I typically use a quarter of a package for two pizzas.
3. Top flatbread with sauce, cheese and desired toppings.
4. Cook for 20-25 minutes until flatbread crust is golden brown and crispy and cheese is melted.

Macros for 1/2 a flatbread pizza: 16F 18C 40P- please note that this is high for fats so if you want to make this for dinner you need to make sure to account for it the rest of the day and keep your fats low but it should be no problem and you get 40G protein out of the deal!

Try, enjoy and let me know what you think!

Fitness Victory

I know my posts have been less than consistent lately my schedule has just been all over the board for the last couple of months. In an attempt to get things back on track I am currently writing out several posts for this week that I have been meaning to get around to. So up first lets talk about a little fitness and health victory. 

 

As I'm sure you can tell from many of my posts I try to actively pursue a healthy lifestyle. I try to eat right as much as I can and exercise regularly. However sometimes I feel like I don't make any progress towards my goals. Accessing your own progress can be tricky for many reasons. The first being you look at yourself constantly so you may not notice small changes as they happen, also of course everyone is their own worst critic. That's why it is important to track your progress in other ways such as pictures, measurements and the scale. 

So last week feeling a little like all the work I was putting in wasn't showing I decided to retake my body measurements with a tape measure. The last time I measured was March of this year. I was pleasantly surprised to discover I had lost 5 total inches and 5 pounds. For me I thought this progress was huge and I was thrilled this was exactly the motivation I needed to keep going harder each day. In addition to this metric progress I notice increased muscle definition and strength.

Since March I have been hitting the gym 5-6 times a week spending 90% of my time in the weight room. I love weight lifting it is a challenge, it keeps me interested, and I don't dread it like I do with cardio. I have noticed bigger changes in my body through weight lifting in a shorter period of time then anything else I have ever done. I supplement my exercise routine with good nutrition. I base my diet around iifym most of the time. I wont lie and say I followed it for the whole time period because I did not, I fell off tracking many times but still applied the general principals I learned through iifym about portion size, macro makeup and getting in enough protein. I have recently started tracking again in hopes of reverse dieting to get my carb intake up. I have big fitness goals for next year and I am excited to see what I can accomplish.

Stay tuned because tomorrow and the next day I am coming at you with the recipe for my healthy protein packed pizza and over-stuffed sweet potatoes!

Returning with some Rocky Road Proyo

I feel like I have not been spending nearly enough time on this little space on the internet. I apologize my recent work schedule was crazy and limiting my free time quite a lot. I had five week long out of town trainings within the last couple months and now that I am finished I hope to restore some normal into my life. I finished up my last training on Friday in the Windy city and definitely enjoyed some time there.

With all the traveling I was forced to eat out basically all of my meals.... something I would never do under regular circumstances and I honestly didn't enjoy it one bit. I really have come to enjoy a much healthier lifestyle, getting in my workouts and eating healthy meals as often as possible. I felt uneasy about the situation since I really had to no choice but now that the trainings are over its time to jump back into healthy. I have vowed to myself to spend the month of November eating as healthy as possible.

I started last night by doing some major meal prepping. I made breakfast and lunches for the week. For breakfast I made a large batch of pumpkin protein pancakes, new recipe coming at you later this week (I swear I have about 100 recipes I want to share so I may just flood you with them) and for lunch chicken veggie stir fry.

I felt so good about getting that all ready last night to set myself up for success this week so at the end of the night I rewarded myself with some healthy but super yummy rocky road "ProYo" I posted this picture on instagram and got several texts and questions asking what it was and how to make it so it seemed pretty clear a post on it today was the way to go.

ProYo has been flooding my instagram feed from fitness accounts for some time. Most people make it with Greek yogurt but since I am somewhat lactose intolerant I take a slightly different approach when making mine. Its very simple and may I add Finance approved so you know it doesn't taste too healthy.

What you need:

• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1.5 TBS Sugar free chocolate pudding mix
• 1/4- 1/2 cup almond/coconut milk
• 1/2 banana
• Optional Rocky road toppings: mini chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, marshmallow bits, fat free cool whip  

What you do:

• Blend up protein powder, pudding mix, milk and banana until smooth
• Poor into bowl and freeze for 1.5- 2 hours
• Top with goodies and enjoy

Obviously this is very simple to make a good alternative to ice cream or dessert at night to keep you on track and get in some extra protein. Let me know what you think :)