Triple Workout Tuesday

I'm sorry- did I say Triple Workout Tuesday?? Because what I meant was My Own Personal Version of Hell.

So I'm in that fitness group on Facebook, right? (yes, Amanda, everyone knows.) Yesterday, we had Triple Workout Tuesday. Jessica and Sara like to tell us its because they love us all and want their Fit Fam to... well I don't know actually. Stay committed? Prove to themselves that they can do WAY more?? Any number of things but they all sound super noble and mom-like. (Pssh. Moms.)

For my 3 workouts, I tried to keep them spaced out so I could, you know, stay alive.

Workout #1:

4 mile bike ride around State Center. Holy ouch on my buns. And my thighs. And my lungs. When I stopped by Casey's to get a bottle of water, the woman behind the counter actually asked me if I would just try not to die. I wanted to respond "Oh my goodness I'm not even close to done. Seriously just punch me in the face because it'll probably hurt less." Instead, I smiled and said "This is what you have to do to stay healthy. Thanks for the water and your concern! Have a great day!" I then wanted to cry the rest of the ride home- seriously my legs were on fire.

Workout #2:

Weights! I worked on my bis and tris (which I am SO feeling today) as well as my lats. (I have a thing for muscle-y backs. Why not have a lean one myself??) When I began working on these muscles, I only did 5-10 lbs. Yesterday, I wouldn't let myself do any less than 15 lbs. I alternated between 15 and 20 and could definitely feel my muscles working. I realize I sound like a total girl when I give the tiny little weights I used, but that's a huge step for me. That and I'm trying to tone, not be all super huge and gross. :)

Workout #3:

It was SUPPOSED to just be a 2 mile run. Well, my ankle hitched, I almost fell off the treadmill, I kept running and my ankle just kept feeling worse so I stopped after my first mile and worked on my abs instead. (Feeling that today too- more abs than ankle.)

Long story short- I got my 3 workouts in and I felt SO badass!!

Bascially how I feel.

Now today I get to do Double Workout Wednesday, and after yesterday this will be a breeze!

Until we sweat again!!

Parent for a Day

So I didn't work out this weekend- this is the exact opposite of a workout post. This post is intended to outline exactly why 1) I love and respect my parents; 2) I DIDN'T workout this weekend; and 3) I don't want to have children for quite awhile.

But I did those out of order.

First, let's start with why I'm okay just being childless for a bit. This weekend I made the 3 hour drive to Sioux City, after sleeping only that amount of time the night before. The plan was simple: watch the siblings while the parents are out of town. (Clearly they need a break- but we'll get to that.) 

This should be a good indication of what I was dealing with...

The weekend goes like this:

Lost of yelling. Lots of excuses for staying out late/leaving without telling anyone/waking the whole house up at 6 am/inviting random people over... Basic life of a teenager, right?

During this weekend, I cannot tell you how many times my actions were deemed "SOOO mean." After all, it was quite ridiculous of me to expect the children to abide by the normal house rules while our parents were out of town. I should have known that all rules go out the window and I become the welcome mat, to be used and walked all over while I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on things.

To make an INCREDIBLY LONG story short, I accepted the role as "Mean Big Sister Amanda" as it was given to me and showed them repeatedly that actually, I could be way more of a "jerk", and then did just that. 

Wanna call your sister retarded? You can apologize and say something nice. Nothing nice to say?? Well then I guess you'll be standing in a corner until you can think of something.

Want to slam the dishes into the cupboards because you're angry at me for having you do your chores? Here- let me take them out for you so you can learn how to set glasses down gently.

On the flip side, you sat still throughout mass  and participated in the responses and the readings? Lets go to the mall- and here's $10 for the arcade. Thank you for being so respectful.

You all helped clean and make breakfast? I appreciate how helpful you chose to be. Let's all relax. You can pick out the movie- I'll spring for popcorn and M&M's.

This all is basically why I didn't workout (well, that and the heat), but it turns out that teenagers are SO difficult sometimes. The crazy hormones that my parents insisted I had surging through my body when I was that age- making me behave like I was a mental patient?? Yeah. Those are real. Looks like they weren't just being condescending.

Which brings me to why I respect my parents oh so much now.

You never understand just how much worrying goes into parenting until you're forced to step into their shoes- even if its just for 48 hours and just with your siblings. You don't actually realize how wonderful it is to hear that you're doing something right- that you're not just the bad guy that everyone seems to hate. You don't ever think about how stressful it is to have to deal with all of those hormones and crazy emotions- as well as keep your own in check. Its still impossible for me to fully comprehend just how strong my parents are that they have raised 3 adults already, and still have 4 more kids in the house that they are constantly trying to keep pointed in the right direction; That they have heard more "you're so mean"s and "I can't wait to move out"s than I could stand to hear, just from my siblings, let alone my own children. And then to be the child that is having struggles and moving back home- and to understand how much crazier it will make life for them- and see them welcoming me home with open arms, so excited and filled with so much love, it really shows me how wonderful they are.

I know this post is super gushy, but I have a newfound respect for my parents and I can't imagine doing what they do every day. If you have a minute, let your parents know that you appreciate them because just after 48 hours of dealing with what they go through on a daily basis, hearing that was so rewarding.

Until next time!

No Doubt

Click HERE for pure audio gold.

First off- can I please get a Woot Woot!?????

That's right, kitteh!!

What am I "woot"ing about, you ask???Oh NBD. I just set a goal to run 2 miles in under 22 minutes and I TOTALLY DID IT!!!

One more time!!!

Thank you, Mr. President :)

Honestly I did it in 21 minutes and 55 seconds... but that is under 22 minutes so I don't even care :)

Now, what are we all thinking of the yummy audio track you're currently listening to? Blast from the past, huh? I know. I'm kind of awesome when it comes to my musical delights.

If you're not listening to the sweet croonings of Blackstreet right now, please take this moment to be ashamed of yourself for not knowing what the rest of the cool kids are referring to. Amateur.

So why am I listening to No Diggity in celebration of my running feat?? (Pun!!) Easy peasy! Because clearly now I no longer have any doubt in myself when it comes to setting goals whilst running! Obviously.

Although admittedly I owe all of my thanks to Rocky. I was dragging ass (pardon the swear word) on the treadmill and was about to say "I can't do it! My side aches and I feel like I'm dying!!" and Eye of the Tiger came on and I immediately saw Rocky running up those steps and thought "NO! Rocky would be so ASHAMED of me!!! Must. Push. HARDER!!!!"

......Basically I'm a huge nerd. I'm unashamed of this. I'm a nerd that gets my butt in gear when a kick butt song comes on my music listening device. What goal did YOU crush today?!?

Until we sweat again!!

Past Couple Weeks (Sweet Child O' Mine)

First, look at how big my muscle guys are getting!!

Basically, I'm a beast. Just sayin'.

I'm in kind of a weird mood so bear with me :)

So I have been a total dead beat parent to this blog. (I'm sorry, my child. I'm here now.) I have been working out like a fiend lately (see the picture above. You don't get guns like that on accident.) I just haven't even been thinking of the blog! (Again- I apologize, sweet child of mine.)

I told y'all (at least I think I told you) that I am part of a fitness group on Facebook where we have to log all of our workouts/healthy meals/motivational motivation-guys.... Which is obviously what I normally do on here. Well..... sometimes I just get tired of being so hilarious and feel like kicking back on my big comfy couch and being lazy after I sweat like crazy.

NO MORE!

I hereby promise to try to take better care of my love child, this blog.

Recently I've been running almost every day, lifting weights, and doing all sorts of squats and bunk to work on my legs. Can I get an "Aaawww yeeeaaaa" for being fit??

That's right. I just "aww yeeaa"ed myself.

I've been kind of all over the place food-wise. (Taco Bell anyone??) but I have been drinking a holy crap ton of water, so I think that's a bonus. Also, tailgating has come into season and lets not even go into the ridiculous amount of running I did in the midst of the drinking. I am a crazy lady... if you haven't figured that out yet there is no hope for you.

I have a triple workout day today (you can just go ahead and shoot me right now) so I will most likely be complaining about it later. Stay tuned, kids!!

Until we sweat again!!

My Inspirations

Song of the Blog!

So I just ran... and my RunKeeper has COMPLETELY crapped out on me. It claimed that in over 15 minutes, I ran 0.02 miles. (Which is entirely false by the way.) I then did a ton of stretches (my knee has been acting up the past couple of runs- not happy about it.), squats, push ups, a plank, and some side crunches to work on my love handles.

Still smiling... even while I'm drenched in sweat.

Recently, I have been trying to pull more and more inspiration from places because, well, its really difficult to motivate yourself sometimes. I won't write a lot this post, but here are some things that keep me motivated (and some are kind of super nerdy. Don't judge.)

I'm probably going to need new knees eventually. Better run before I need that to happen :)

Total nerd moment. But if he were to ever show up, I'd want to be ready to run with him.

Anything you say, you gloriously handsome man.

This one just makes me feel super bad ass :)

Every time I have a minor setback, I have to remind myself to just move past it.

I know today's blog was sort of "blah," but I more just want to know what's up with all of you!! What workouts have been working for you? What drives you to get up and workout every chance you get? What are your inspirations?

Let me know! I love hearing your success stories!!

Until we sweat again!

Holy *&$%, Batman!

Just finished my run for the day!!

Basically I make super cute faces.

I ran for 17 minutes (give or take a few seconds) and I am completely wiped out. Did you know that running in the middle of the day, with the sun in all its "I want to melt you" glory, is a horrible idea? That'll teach me to sleep in. (Who are we kidding? I'm still going to sleep in every single chance I get.)

I realized my route has become ROUTine (I'm so punny), so today I veered off course and back tracked a lot, but I felt like my normal route was too short. (Angels come down from heaven sustaining one long note "aaahhhhh!!!") <--- If you didn't get that reference we can no longer be friends.

My point of this never ending post is that I seriously hated running for forever, and while I'm not saying that I love it now, I am saying that I'm starting to want to be able to push myself farther and test my limits. I can feel my body wanting to fall into a rhythm; wanting to be able to be called a runner's body, complete with runner's legs and a cute little butt. And its crazy because I can feel myself getting closer and closer to that person!

After my run, I did some squats, push ups, dips, and a plank challenge. I'm feeling like I can conquer the world today... which is great because I have to serve alcohol to lots of drunk people tonight. ;)

Until we sweat again!

ROAR

First, please click on THIS LINK

Now, listen to Katy Perry sing and read all about my workouts the past couple of days :)

Yesterday, I went for a run. I made it a little over 2 miles in 14:08 and whew was that a rush. I felt incredible afterwards!

Today, I worked at the gym and had a LOT of down time, during which I did all of the following:

10 minutes jogging on the treadmill

2 miles on the bike

50 squats with a 25 lb. kettle bell

60 reps on the row machine

60 lat pulls

20 reverse flies

40 bicep curls

20 dumbbell cross jabs

AND 20 of those things where you bend at the waist and lift your weighted arm straight back.

I am in full on beast mode today. (Hence the song, Roar!)

I feel ultra jittery, and I won't lie- I'm dying to eat a Twinkie later on tonight. I feel like its not going to completely destroy my workout.

However, after all of that work, I feel like I deserve to treat myself- and not just with a sugary cake full of.... sugar. I plan on making the rest of the night a "pamper me" night. I have nail polish, a big ol' bottle of water, my comfiest PJs, a facial mask, and The Notebook. I am such a girl :)

Any ideas for an even better "me" night?? Share 'em!!

Until we sweat again!