Day 3: Hills, hills and more hills

Day 3 of cardio-palooza was a win. A painful win, a breathtaking win (literally), but a win all the same.  Today I challenged myself on the treadmill with some hill work.

When I was in college, I had a gym in my apartment that was open 24 hours. That is definitely when my love for the treadmill began. I would go to bed every night, dressed in my workout clothes for the next morning, and instead of read, I would write a killer treadmill workout. Then my alarm would go off, before I could actually wake up and realize what I was about to do to myself, I would be pressing the "start" button, and the belt would be moving. 45 minutes later I would be sweaty, cardio-ified, and actually awake. Then I would be ready to push the start button on my day...ah to be 19 again.

Since I don't have a treadmill of my own just yet, I went to the gym. They have a "cardio theater" aka a dark room full of cardio equipment and a wall that they project a movie on every day. It's pretty awesome, minus the 15 minute drive. I get so nervous about the workouts I write, I need the time between writing and running to be as little as possible!

When we finally move into the new house, I will be buying myself a treadmill.

Anyways, here was my workout for the day!

Good luck and let me know what you think! Now I'm off to the kitchen for some experimenting :).

Cardio-palooza Day 2: boxing!

So after day 1 being mostly leg work, I got up this morning determined to do a more arm focused cardio workout. And so I did! What better to test your arms AND ensure lots of cardio than boxing? If you figure out the answer, let me know, because I couldn't think of anything better than boxing.

Anyways, here was the workout for this morning!

Day 2:

Set your interval timer for 50 seconds for work and 10 seconds for rest. Everything in this workout will follow the 50 seconds on/10 seconds on routine...don't stop the timer until you are done with the workout!

I had 2lb weights in each hand, but feel free to use none or go heavier depending on how much you want to sweat/how strong your arms are!

Warm up with the following 5 exercise, and repeat this circuit 2 times total:

Round 1: 

- Squat under an imaginary rope (aka bob and weave) 
- Hook (alternate arms)
- Jumping Jacks
- Front Jabs (alternating arms)
- Upper Cut (alternating arms)

I only repeated the next 2 rounds 1 time through each, but if I would have had more time before I needed to be at work, I think I would have gone through them both once more. It was just so fun!

Round 2:
- Right Leg Kick Forward
- Left Arm Jab
- Left Arm Cross Hook
- Right Leg Side Kick
- Left Leg Front Kick
- Right Arm Jab
- Right Arm Cross Hook
- Left Leg Side Kick

Round 3: 
- Left Leg Roundhouse Kick
- Right Leg Roundhouse Kick
- Left Combo - Jab, Upper Cut, Front Kick
- Right Combo - Jab Upper Cut, Front Kick
- Left Leg Side Kick
- Right Leg Side Kick
- Left Arm Upper Cut
- Right Arm Upper Cut

Since I have no pictures from the workout this morning, I will show you some pictures from one of my favorite workouts - climbing the stairs in Corniglia, Italia. There is no better workout than a travel workout. A workout that happens by chance and by necessity, and the only reason you know it's a workout, is because you're sweating at the end of it.


My travel partner, Nikki, and I were touring Europe almost 2 years ago, and the 5 cities that make up the Cinque Terra were definitely on that list. The third city, Corniglia, is the city with amazing views, but only if you are willing to work for them.

That's Nikki! Well, the back of her anyways. We had 52 minutes before the next train (or else we had to wait 4 or 5 hours - detrimental to our plans of hitting 12 countries in 25 days), 33 flights, and 382 steps to climb. Challenge accepted.

Steps in Italy are not the same as in the US! Look how big those are! They say 382 steps, but there were so many more actual footsteps...sneaky workout for sure.

Just in case you needed more of a visual, I'm well into the stair climbing at this point.

Almost there! 

The last steps to the top were beautiful! It was like we were truly being welcomed to Italy. Fresh flowers and grapes for wine lining the walkway, 360 degrees of breathtaking views, sighhhhh.

Oh, and a nice little welcome sign! Why thank you Italy, I needed your kind words after carrying my 50lb backpack up your torturous steps.

The view back to the prior city, so peaceful and serene.

And here's the view I would have if I lived there. The elusive Mediterranean beckoning me to it's chilly waters, clementine trees dotting the terrain, and spurts of vines, heavy with grapes just waiting to be turned to wine. I could handle that I think.

Cardio-palooza, 7 day challenge

Sometimes I just need some cardio to cleanse my body. And "sometimes" just might happen to fall on the day after Halloween. You do the math - I ate candy. Just because they are the mini candy bars doesn't mean they don't count as calories!

Enter, cardio-palooza. This challenge will be 7 days of what I like to call "wake up and cardio". AKA cardio before I do or eat anything...except drink coffee. The first thing I do after waking will always be drink coffee. It is simply in the best interest of the world.

I have read many articles on the benefits of doing cardio in the morning on an empty stomach vs. eating before. Why? Cause I love this reading about this stuff. Some say cardio on an empty stomach is better for fat burning because you are in a "fasted state". Some say you can't go as long because you are tired or weak. I say do what feels right for you.

I love getting up and sweating before I eat. After my first cup of coffee, I find I have plenty of energy. So do what will ensure completion of the workout. If that mean eating 5 donuts, then so be it. Although I don't recommend that, simply because you may puke from all the jumping around that this workout is requiring.

I am making these workouts up, so if you don't like it, then we may not be future workout buddies. Can't win them all! Modify how you want, and good luck if you are following along!

My favorite workout tool is the Gymboss interval timer, Amazon has some great deals on it. You can set a "work" and "rest" time for whatever you want, and it will beep when that said interval is up. Perfect for this workout!

If you don't have one and need some help finding one, here is a website that essentially does the same thing: online interval timer. Good luck!

Day 1:

It was just what I needed, 45 min of work and sweat!

No workout would be complete without a protein shake after it!! PS - wondering how I carry around all of my mason jars? Like this. 

 Now on to the protein shake. 1 cup of milk of your choice. It's always almond milk for me!

1 scoop of protein powder of your choice. I love egg white protein powder, specifically Jay Robb's.

Some banana (frozen for a thicker smoothie), and 1T of cocoa powder, to up the chocolatey flavor. I always want to up the chocolatey flavor, no matter what it is.

And some ice! Oh, and a vitamin would be ideal, but any blender will do I suppose :).

Then blend and dump! Just don't do what I did and try to dump too fast. This is what happens. When this happened, you would think someone just died. Darwin even came running to see what I was yelling about, and he isn't one to move off the couch unless he is getting to go play outside.

Not to worry though! After the spill happened, this happened. And all was right in the world again! Good thing I had just washed the cutting board...this would have been a questionable move if I hadn't. My dad is reading this thinking it was a questionable move either way, but hey, protein powder is expensive!

For some extra nutrition, I like to add 1/2 T of whole flaxseed and 1/2 T of whole chia seed. Gotta get my healthy fats in.

And last but not least, 1/3 cup of old fashioned oats. That way it is a complete meal of protein and carbs, right in one jar.