Quick Summary

I didn't have to go to work either yesterday or today. I feel like I finally got a real taste of what my summer holiday is going to be like. All I'll be doing is working out, eating, resting, and alternating between studying for my personal trainer certification & working on my research. Definitely can't complain! Oh, and travel of course. Yes, there will be lots of travel!

I didn't get around to blogging yesterday. I was so wiped out by the end of the day that I barely made it off the couch and into bed!

So here's a brief summary of what I've been up to:

Here's what I did:

Workouts
Morning
- cardio warm-up (just a 1 km jog)
- weights almost 1 1/2 hours -- focus was 4 sets of 10 reps. I increased my weights with each set (except for the step-ups) and was pleased with my performance
- sat poolside for an hour though I didn't swim

Afternoon
- Kajukenbo practice for almost 1 1/2 hours

Evening 
- Jiujitsu practice for 1 hour

See what I mean about being exhausted? It was fine. I didn't overdo it. I just think that not getting a good night's sleep the day before had me start the day a bit tired, and I never really recovered from that.


Burpees: Tuesday 30 & Wednesday 30
Squats: Days 10 & 11: 105 & 110 respectively (ouch!)

Today: 

Morning
- Body Balance (1 hour)

Afternoon
- CrossFit (1 hour): strength focus: Deadlifts (lifting 120 kg feels good now (264 lbs); WOD: 4 rounds (30, 25, 20, 15 reps each) mountain climbers, hand-release push-ups, jump squats; followed by 100 crunches & 3x1 min planks.

I left the CrossFit box drenched. in. sweat!

Food

Yesterday: 
Breakfast and lunch (see what I ate on Monday) (my usual banana date mix plus chick peas -- not the chicken wrap)

The only things different were an apple that I had as a snack & my dinner - steak with vegetables.

Today was quite different! I don't know if I changed things up because I was bored of the food or tired of posting the same photos!!

Breakfast: Scrambled egg 

(1 whole + 1/2 cup egg white) + mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers

Lunch: Chicken with broccoli and 1/2 sweet potato

Dinner: Shrimp with vegetables

Snack: 2 oz of this dark chocolate

Other stuff: The main thing I accomplished today was that I signed up for my CPR and First Aid certification through the Kuwait Medical Association/American Heart Association. I'll be doing the course at the end of this month.

Simple Saturday

I found it really annoying that I was up at 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Seriously? Who wakes up that early on the weekend, especially when I had wanted to sleep in for a bit? Anyway. I got up and got started with my day. First things first, the menu for the week and the shopping list.

Then off to the grocery store. Today's shop was pretty simple; that's definitely one of the advantages of cooking/eating simple. Having a list and a plan helps -- all you have to do is stick to it and not get distracted by all the other stuff in the supermarket!

I was home before 10 am so I thought it would be the perfect time to beat the crowd and head to the mall to buy a much needed new bathing suit. The suit I bought was 6 sizes smaller than the one I wore last summer - can you believe it? I couldn't! That was definitely a good feeling.

I normally have 2 exercise classes on Saturdays - Yoga on the Beach and CrossFit, but both were cancelled. To be honest, I was kinda relieved. I just wanted to chill today. That doesn't mean I didn't exercise -- D & I did an hour of Jiujitsu practice; I did 100 burpees plus 80 squats as part of the 30 Day Squats Challenge.

I was invited to go see a Kajukenbo purple belt to blue belt test in the evening so I went. Wow. It was really, really, really intense. Talk about street fighting meets self-defense. It was really impressive, and it gave me a much better idea of what's involved in this martial art (basically what I might be getting myself into!)

My meals for the day:

Breakfast - the usual. 

I really didn't feel like eating yet the same thing today. However I didn't have anything else planned so I had to stick to this. I need to find a way to change things up a little for my weekend breakfasts. 

Lunch - chick peas. (recipe here)

This was really, really, really yummy - but the main drawback is that chick peas make me bloat and that gets really uncomfortable! 

Dinner - Arabic food

Grilled chicken, tabbuleh salad, 1 tablespoon of hummus, muttabel, and muhammara each

Today:
- Workouts:

• BJJ practice at home (1 hour)
• Burpees: 100 {total: 3,720/20,130}
• Squats Day 7: 80
• Stretching: 15 minutes

- Food:

• Breakfast: date/peanut butter/banana/green tea (not photographed)
• Lunch: chick peas
• Dinner: shish tawook, tabbouleh, hummus, muttabel, and muhammara

- Other: Booked NYC hotel :)

Squats + Step-Ups = Soreness!

Yesterday's squat total: 340
Today's squat total: 195 (45 with 40-50 kg on my back; 90 with 10 kg dumbbells in each hand)

Plus I did step-ups today - 45 for each leg with weights in my hand (8 kg/hand)

Doin' my step-ups this morning & trying out my new Nike Free shoes - not bad! 

Today's Result: holy soreness!!

As I approached the stairs heading up to my classroom, I took the first one and thought - hmmm this is going to be painful. I definitely felt my muscles with each and every step, and as the day progressed, the feeling intensified, but I absolutely love that feeling. I'm hoping the results of all these squats will show (i.e. that I'll have a really nicely shaped ass) ;)

So, today was my last teaching day of the semester!! We've still got 10 days of the semester left (exams, admin stuff, etc.) but today was my last day in the classroom. On our first day of the semester I had my students write a letter to their future selves 10 years from now. I had them write about their hopes, fears, dreams, and so on. They did a really good job. Today, as a surprise, I put the letters (along with a letter from me) in envelopes and sealed them with instructions to not open the envelope until Jan. 26, 2013. It was just a small gesture, but it was really well received. Of course they wanted to open them right away. I do hope they'll save them and look back on their time in university with fond memories (plus I hope they don't lose them)! :)

I had a busy day overall. Luckily most of my food was just leftovers from yesterday so I didn't have to spend any time cooking - just reheating.

My breakfasts (pre/post-workout) and my lunch were exactly the same as yesterday. I'm not uploading the pictures here, but if you want a look, you can check out this link to yesterday's blog post.

I got hungry in the afternoon and had a snack of 5 tortilla chips with a dollop of salsa on each. I know that I only had these coz' they were in the house. I'm sure I could have made a healthier snack - but this is what I ate.

Snack: 5 tortilla chips w/a dollop of salsa on each

I wasn't particularly hungry when dinner time rolled around, so I just heated up a bowl of some of the vegetables that we had with dinner yesterday. It was good enough for me.

Dinner: Vegetables from last night (sweet potato, bell peppers, and cauliflower)

Today:
- Workouts:

• Cardio at the gym (treadmill & cross-trainer) (30 minutes)
• Weights at the gym (1 hour)
• Deep stretching + yoga at the gym (missed it in the morning) (20 minutes)
• Squats Day 3: 60

- Food: 

• Breakfast: pre-workout - banana, 1 date, 1 T natural peanut butter; post-workout - 3 omelet muffins & 1/2 avocado
• Lunch: 1.5 cups of fish soup
• Dinner: Mix of vegetables
• Snack: tortilla chips with salsa

- Other: I checked out a potential MMA training place ... I may be starting on Thursday. Stay tuned :)