ZWOW!

Zuzana is back. I used to do her workouts when she was on Bodyrock but they got a new girl (who is not as classy as Zuzka).

She has been back for a few weeks but I only just got around to doing one of her workouts tonight. This workout was:

  • Split squat jumps (in lunge position, jump up and down X times on one leg; then switch to other side)
  • Single leg lunges with back foot on a chair (X times on one leg; then switch to the other side)
  • Superman pushups (do a pushup, but come down to the floor and do a superman, then another pushup, floor, superman, etc…)
  • Skaters

It was a pyramid scheme where you go through the rounds and do 5 reps, then 10, then 15, then 10, and finally 5 again. I just did it along with Zuzana and if I finished ahead of her I did jumping jacks. This workout took me about 18.5 minutes.

Here is me afterwards, sweaty face and all:

I definitely would like to build up some more tone, but I have stayed in shape from all the yoga. I can do pushups better than ever before.

And here is how I fueled up afterwards:

Roasted (no oil) kabocha and butternut squash. I stuck them in the oven at 475F right before I started the workout and they were ready 25 minutes later. I snapped the pic using this awesome app I just found called The Eatery. You take a picture of your food and other people judge whether it’s healthy or not.

So far for the week my other workouts have been…

  • Monday – off (as planned)
  • Tuesday – 3.75 miles running/incline walking (on treadmill)
  • Wednesday – 1.5 miles walking (on my lunch hour) + some additional walking after work (1 mile or so) = 2.5 miles total
  • Thursday (today) – 1ish mile walk at lunch, and the ZWOW I just finished.

What are your workouts of the week? Have you done a ZWOW yet?

Work It Out Wednesday! Yoga + BodyRock + Walk

Work It Out Wednesday

Last week I shared my workouts with you and now I’m doing it again. This week looks a wee bit different than last week though! The first couple days I BodyRocked but the next were more yoga and walking-centric. I am in a yoga groove again.

Wednesday, 7/6

  • Walk home from dinner (@ Candle79) – 1 mile
  • Abs workout from BodyRock – 11:20 time challenge, and then my reps for the interval training were: High Knees – 74, 58, 67, 70; Pendulums: 40, 38, 41, 42

Thursday, 7/6

  • BodyRock Cardio Legs & Core (~15 minutes if I remember correctly)
  • Jumping jacks (just regular): 30, 32, 34, 34, 34, 34, 35, 35, 35 = 303 total
  • Dead lift (right): 10, 9, 8, 9, 9, 12, 10, 9, 9 = 85 total
  • Dead lift (left): 10, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, 9, 9 = 85 total
  • Jump lunge: 24, 23, 24, 23, 21, 21, 19, 18, 16 = 189 total

Notes: Used a backpack with weights and books in it as the sandbag. Maybe 10-15 pounds.

Friday, 7/8

  • BR’s Sexy Summer Body Workout… (This was really good – took <22 minutes)
  1. Prisoner Squat and Front Kick – 22
  2. One Leg Elevated Push Up – Switching legs – 16
  3. Bicycle – 36
  4. One Leg Dead Lift (right) – 16
  5. One Leg Dead Lift (left) – 16
  6. Tricep dip (assisted) – 16
  7. Side Lunge Jump (right) – 22
  8. Side Lunge Jump (left) – 22
  9. Pull Up (assisted) – 7
  10. Get Up – 11
  11. Side Crunch (left) – 21
  12. Side Crunch (right) – 20
  13. Dive Bombers (on knees) – 10
  14. Jump Lunges – 26
  15. Knee Tucks – 58
  16. Pike Press – 14
  17. Knee Raises – 17
  18. Reverse Push Up – 12
  19. Side Knee Raises on Dip Station – 24
  20. Santana Push Up – 10

Saturday, 7/9

  • Yoga for Weight Loss #2 (45 minutes) from YogaDownload
  • Decent amount of walking (at least 2-3 miles)

Sunday, 7/10

  •  2 mile walk + sailing (I didn’t do much at sailing! Bobby steered most of the time. I lazed around reading.)

Monday, 7/11

  • Yoga for Weight Loss #2 (first 30 minutes of the 60 minute routine) from YogaDownload
  • 30 block walk

Tuesday, 7/12

  • Yoga for Weight Loss #2 (second 30 minutes of the 60 minute routine) from YogaDownload
  • 2.2 mile walk (to and from dinner @ Good Health)

Today (Wednesday, 7/13)

  • Detox Yoga #2 (30 minutes) from YogaDownload
  • Tonight – hopefully a walk!

***

The last week has been really hot here in NYC so maybe that is why I’m going with more relaxing exercise like yoga flows over the hardcore BodyRock stuff. I will admit though, the Weight Loss Yoga is a pretty killer workout. Lots of flow + lots of stretch = lots of my favorite kind of yoga.

***

What have you done this week?

A Week of Moving – Rocking and Walking

I thought I would share my workouts from the last week with you all today.

Tuesday, 6/28

  • BodyRock (BR) 360 Rep Badass Workout

Wednesday, 6/29

  • BR Wow Booty Workout…
  • 4 minutes of high knees
  • Time challenge: 8:20 (sandbag full body exercise)
  • 4 minutes of high knees

Thursday, 6/30

  • BR The Sexy Beast Workout…
  • Dynamic squats: 14, 14, 12, 12, 12, 11
  • Reverse pushup: 11, 11, 8, 7, 6, 8
  • Dive bombers: 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 (on my knees)
  • Prisoner getup: 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Plus a walk to Trader Joe’s after work. ~1 mile.

Friday, 7/1

  • BR Booty Shaping Workout…
  • Pushups: 9,10,10,9,8,7
  • Squat-kick: 11,12,12,11,11,11
  • Knee-tuck: 12,12,14,15,15,15

Walk home from dinner – 2 miles.

Saturday, 7/2

  • BR Fierce Friday Workout…
  • My time: 14:48

Plus some walking (2 miles or so?).

Sunday, 7/3

  • (Active) rest day! So just walking. Maybe 2 miles (guess).

Monday, 7/4

Notes:

  • Most pushups on knees
  • A few squats (2nd round) with 35-pound weight (holy cow)
  • All pullups assisted
  • 2nd round of 2-minute plank took a few down-dog stretches

Plus a long walk (~2 miles).

Today (Tuesday, 7/5)

  • BR Transform Your Booty Workout…
  • High knees: 75, 72, 74, 74, 72, 72, 72, 72, 74 = 657 total
  • Squats (6 pounds): 12, 15, 14, 15, 14, 13, 13, 13, 14 = 123 total
  • Warmup: crossing arm swings, attitude leg swings (each leg), grok squat (30 seconds)
  • Cooldown: grok squat, pacing

Later – will probably do some walking.

How have you been moving this last week?

Weekend Link Love – 06.25.2011

In the spirit of spring summer cleaning, I am cleaning out my “starred” list on Google Reader. Here are my favorites – lots of love for these links!

Recipes & Food

  • Quintessence. This is a funky raw (vegan) restaurant that I want to try out downtown (NYC). Have you been?
  • Humble Stew via Burp and Slurp. This looks simple and filling. And Bobby-friendly. Definitely a must to try.
  • Mexican Fiesta Salad. I am actually making a very similar dish for a potluck I’m going to tomorrow. Natalie always has great recipes!
  • Avo-Tofu Salad. Another from Natalie! Cannot wait to make this one.
  • Chilled Summer Soups from Mark’s Daily Apple. You know, I don’t eat much soup – but I think I should start. I especially want to try making the Chilled Beet Soup Spiked with Dill and Vinegar.
  • 3 Indian Recipes – these all look amazing; thanks for the ideas, Mimi! Each has 6 ingredients or less (sort of).
  • Family Style Frittatas by Everyday Paleo.
  • Chili Lime Tuna Burgers by Heather Eats Almond Butter.

My Workout Updates

This week I did a lot of BodyRock. Here is what I did:

  • Monday: 30 day shred (not BodyRock but very Zuzana-esque). Used 3 pound weights.
  • Tuesday: Poker Face Workout. I definitely did not have a poker face. My reps here.
  • Wednesday: BodyRock (BR) Burpee challenge. I did 46.
  • Thursday: BR Wild & Free Challenge = insanity. My time was 26:13, using 6 pounds of weights instead of a sandbag, and no jumprope for the high knees. Could. Not. Speak. This is the day that Bobby officially realized I am nuts.
  • Friday: BR Major Muscle Apocolypse. My reps: Lunge (left): 8, 8, 8, 7, 8, 8, 7, 8, 8, 9. Lunge (right): 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9. Burpee: 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4. Pull up (reverse push up with chairs and broomstick): 8, 9, 8, 9, 9, 9, 8, 8, 8, 10.
  • Saturday (this morning): BR Pound Melting Workout. Only 12 minutes. My reps: Reptile Toe Touch Push Up – 13, 14. Sandbag Side Lunge Knee Up (right leg) – 19, 20. Sandbag Side Lunge Knee Up (left leg) – 20, 20. Crab Fighter (right leg) – 10, 10. Crab Fighter (left leg) – 10, 10. Sandbag Squat – 17, 16.

***

Happy Weekend!

108 Sun Salutations, Burpees, and Pain au Chocolat… Manger Bouger?

Last night Bobby and I went to NJ for my sister’s high school graduation. It was great! I’m so proud of her. Afterwards we went out to Uno’s where I wolfed down a Cobb Salad. My dad came back with us to the city because he has a super-fun pension conference here today.

This morning’s workout:

  • 46 BodyRock Take Me Burpees
  • 15 sun salutations

Some yogis like to do 108 sun salutations at each change of the season (spring to summer, summer to fall, etc…). There are many answers to the question, “Why 108?” and one of them is that there are supposedly 108 names for Buddha. HuffPo has some more.

I’ll share another French moment. This IS a food blog after all. (I got the best comment ever yesterday.)

  • Coca-cola. (Bobby’s. Real sugar coke! I still don’t like it.)
  • Pain au chocolat. (To share.)
  • From La Mie Câline in Saumur.

Since I am generally a healthy eater I have no qualms about indulging in buttery, chocolatey, French baked goods when I’m on vacation. They’re not as sweet as they are in here in the states, and they are tiny. The “gargantuan” croissants were the size of our regular ones. Even the bottles of Coke are smaller.

In France, most food ads come with this message (or a similar memo) at the bottom:

Pour votre santé, évitez de manger trop gras, trop sucré, trop salé.  www.mangerbouger.fr

It means, “For your health, avoid eating food that is too fatty, too sweet, too salty.” Manger-bouger means, “eat, move.” I certainly didn’t see many overweight people in France – though I am not sure it’s because of this campaign. I did see a lot of smokers and wine and coffee drinkers. So while they may have a good thing going in terms of food and portion control, I think they are a little bit behind the times when it comes to other areas of health. (No, coffee and wine are not bad, in moderation. There is never an excuse for smoking.)

Do you think we should have mandatory messages on food ads and packaging? What would the messages say?