Run + Gym

I decided to go for a run today. I was really in the mood to go running as I hadn’t gone for a run in a while. I went in the late afternoon so it wasn’t too hot outside. I ran for 6 km around the lakeshore. It felt nice to clear my head and enjoy the scenery. My cardio felt really good even though I hadn’t gone for a run in a while. 

I ate after my run and then decided to go to the gym. I had it in my head that I wanted to go to the gym today but after my run I didn’t really want to. I still went and decided to do some cardio. It wasn’t the best idea as I felt really tired and I didn’t have much energy. I still managed to do some rowing, spinning and a short circuit. I pushed through and worked out for an hour. I felt a lot better post shower and steam room. I felt refreshed and ready to take on the rest of my day! 

Parc Safari

I spent the day at Parc Safari with my boyfriend and his family. The last time I was there was probably over 10 years ago. It brought back so many memories, especially driving around while the animals walk by your car. It was cool to see them up close. The park also has a small amusement park, a water park and a section with more animals. There were tigers, lions, monkeys, and hyenas. Overall, I had a wonderful day and I really felt like a kid again. I packed all my meals for the day so I stayed on track with my diet. 

Since I don’t have much time off, I like to plan activities to make the most out of my summer. I got to create new memories and enjoy the beautiful weather. Sometimes its not all about the gym, you have to take the opportunity to enjoy life as well! 

Chest & Back Circuit

I had a great session with my trainer today! He organized a chest and back circuit for me. He changed it up by creating 2 circuits for me to do. The first exercise was chest press on an exercise ball. The second exercise was alternating rows and face pulls using the TRX. I had to hold each movement for 3 seconds. Lastly, I did plank ups on the Power Plate which is an explosive plank to push up position. The last exercise was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I really had to use a lot of power to push myself off and onto my hands. It was tricky at first but I managed to get the hang of it. I repeated the circuit 3 times. After each round, I had to do a short bout of cardio to get my heart rate up. I had to do 2 minutes on a spin bike, 2 minutes on the stair master and a challenge on the VMX rope. I gave it my all in each of those intense 2 minutes. 

The second circuit involved incline bench press, rows using a resistance band in a squat position and 2 ab exercises. The first ab exercise was the windshield washer. I had to lie flat on my back and slowly lower my feet (together) from side to side. The second exercise was 30 seconds of bicycle kicks. Again, I had to do some cardio after each round. I did a 2 minute sprint on the row machine, 2 minutes of skipping and a 2 minute jog on the treadmill at a 12% incline. 

The session ended with alternating push ups on a step. These were tough because I was drained from my work out. I did 10 on each side and ended with 10 close grip push-ups! My upper body is definitely going to feel it tomorrow!

I decided to do a bit of cardio on my own after our session. I did a small circuit involving the elliptical, treadmill, bike, and stair master. I only did 5 minutes on each so it went by really quickly. Plus I was watching The Fighter in the Cinema Cardio room so I was really distracted! Overall it was a great day and I can’t wait to do it all over again tomorrow! 

Cooking Up A Storm

I finally took the time to prepare all my meals for the week today. My mom went to Costco over the weekend and bought me everything I need for my meal plan. The sizes are so big at Costco that I had 8 chicken breasts, 4 packs of ground turkey and 4 fish filets to cook. I cooked it all and divided everything into small tupperware containers to make my meals for the week. Along with all my protein, I cooked some broccoli and green beans as my dark green veggie source. I also cooked some brown rice and sweet potato to make up my complex carb portions. It didn’t take too long as I was preparing a lot of things at once.

I feel like a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders. I’ve been meaning to do it the last couple of days but I didn’t have time. I finally made time and it feels good. Making all my meals ahead of time makes packing my lunch and supper so much easier. I just have to pick and choose what I want to eat for the day and I’m all set. Planning ahead makes everything a lot easier!

TRX

I may have gone a little crazy today as I decided to do an hour TRX class right before my one hour session with my trainer. I got to the gym early as I finished all my errands ahead of time. I was going to do a bit of cardio but somehow ended up doing the TRX class. Some of my friends were doing it and Shane, the instructor, has been bugging me to do the class for a while. I could never do it because my schedule wouldn’t work with the class time so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity today. 

It was a great class! Lots of circuits and cardio is involved. I definitely saw a huge improvement since the last time I did the class. In the past, I would get tired more easily and not do all the reps. Today, I could do all the exercises and even do progressions for some of the harder ones. It was a great full body work out. I was very happy I got the chance to do it!

Afterwards, I trained shoulders and arms with my trainer. I finally got to practice my pull ups again! It was a lot easier to do them on the assisted pull up machine. I’m slowly getting closer to my goal of doing a full pull up! We also did some shoulder press exercises on the Smith Machine. I did some face pulls, dips, rear delt flys during my work out today. I ended the session with barbell bicep curls and single arm tricep extensions. 

I was tired after the full 2 hours but it was worth it. I had a lot of fun and I proved to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to. It’s also great seeing how much stronger I am getting! 

Starting The Week Off Strong

Today was leg day! I think it’s my favourite day. I don’t know why but I love training legs. I started with box squats today. I had to slowly sit onto a bench and explode upwards. I found it more challenging than a regular squat because I really had to force yourself to stand back up. I hit a new record today! I squatted 145 lbs for 6 reps! I beat my one plate record from last week. I’m slowly getting stronger each week! 

I moved onto deadlifts afterwards. We really upped my weight this week so it was a lot more challenging. Afterwards, I superset a Bulgarian split squats with single leg hamstring curl using an exercise ball. I really had to take my time with these exercises and hold the contraction for 3 seconds. My muscles get tired a lot faster when I have to hold a contraction. I ended the session with leg extensions and leg curls on the machine. Again, I had to control the movement and hold the contraction for 3 seconds. My legs felt like jello when I stood up! At least I knew I had a good work out today. I felt really tired by the end of it but I ate right after and felt a lot better. 

I weighed myself for the first time in a week today. Sadly, I didn’t lose any weight. I was a little disappointed because I felt I worked really hard last week. I worked out a lot but I also ate out on Friday. I’ll keep at it and hopefully I’ll see better results at the end of the week. It’s important to remember that the scale doesn’t reveal anything. I am most likely putting on muscle mass while losing fat. I need to take measurements if I really want to see the progress I have made. I’m not giving up. It’s just more motivation for me to work hard to lose more weight!

Kickin' Around The Soccer Ball

I worked all day today so it was easy for me to stick to my meal plan as I had everything prepared ahead of time. I stayed to work out for half an hour after work. I did 15 minutes on the stair master and 15 minutes on the elliptical. I was tired but I still managed to get a small work out in today.

After the gym, I met up with my boyfriend. Since it was a nice night out, we decided to go play soccer at the park. It was a lot of fun and it brought back a lot of great memories. I started playing soccer when I was 7. This summer is the first time I’m not playing soccer. It was tough to give up but I knew I already had too much going on. It would take up too much of my time. I miss playing and I really miss my team mates. At least I can still play for fun when I have some free time.

I also took the time to foam roll today. I could feel my legs were starting to get tight. I feel a lot better now and they’re all ready for leg day tomorrow!