fitness

The Death Deck

/ foodsweatandbeers / 10 Comments

Love decks of cards, but Egyptian Rat Screw not quite intense enough lately?  Have I got a workout for you!!

After a long day at work, the gums weren’t feeling 100% but definitely a little better than earlier, so I popped a few Advil (that claimed to be expired…  I like to live dangerously), threw back many glasses of water, and knew I was ready to hit the gym, and hit it hard.  Luckily, today I had a friend! Melissa, a new employee at my office, came off as a fit gal from first meeting, and when I mentioned how much I love my gym, O2 Fitness, and how there was a contest going on if you brought a friend in to win a year of free gas, she was totally down to come with today. We got changed at work and hit the gym hard.  After giving her a little tour of the facilities:

Here's where I spend like... 5 days of my week. It's getting pretty serious.

we steered clear of the group fitness room and went our separate ways for the first 20 minutes. I got my race on with the strangers next to me on the elliptical (and kicked everyone’s asses, duh) for 2 miles, and then hopped off to join her in something she called “The Wreck Deck.” I didn’t hear her fully when she first told me the name, so I thought it was called “The Death Deck”. Little did I know how right I was…

Death Deck Setup: Prepare for your doom...

Here’s the way it works:

  • Take a deck of cards, any deck will do. 52 and 2 jokers is all that’s required.
  • Each suit is a different exercise
  1. Clubs are legs. Squats or lunges is the exercise she had listed, with weights or not, whatever makes you comfortable.
  2. Diamonds are pushups. Chest, tricep, diamond, cat (for numbers 6 or less). On your toes, on your knees, or if you are as EXTREME as Melissa, put your toes on one medicine/bosu ball and each hand on another. Then you will impress everyone around you.
  3. Spades are abs. We did these things she modified from V-crunches where you sort of balance on one butt check (easy enough if your butt cheek is a cushiony pillow of joy like my own), then in the middle, then the other butt cheek. That’s one. (Here’s a video of a V-crunch, even though that’s not exactly what we did: V-Crunch!)
  4. Hearts, ironically enough, are Burpees. Or mountain climbers, when you are less extreme or feeling extremely tired. For every one burpee that I didn’t do, I tried to do 2 mountain climber sets. Hopefully it evened out.
  • For the numbered cards, do one rep for each number (aka a 8 of hearts means 8 burpees!)
  • For the Face cards, a jack = 11, a queen = 12, a king = 13, an ace = 15 though!
  • For the jokers, do five reps of each exercise
  • DO THE WHOLE DECK!!

Here’s Melissa drawing the last card (we were both super elated at this, and I’d only down half the deck!)

ONE.... MORE.... CARD!!

Of course, it was 5 burpees. we pushed it out, gave each other copious amounts of high fives, and felt more boss than ever!!

Death Deck: You and I will meet again.

I was proud as a peacock and, to end the day at the gym, Melissa did me a solid and signed up for a membership (translation: new workout buddy andddddd a free month!)

To sum it up, this was basically the coolest day at the gym that I’ve had since I discovered My So-Called Life streaming on Netflix. Admittedly, that wasn’t at the gym, but it felt equally as cool.

Have you tried any new workouts lately?

How do you choose to get swoll?

I’ll take my wine German and my cheese French…

/ foodsweatandbeers / 6 Comments

TGIF, bloggers and bloggettes! Hope everyone’s weekend started off with a BANG. Mine is currently starting off with more of a low rumbling as the thunder is finally catching up to the lightning that I’ve been seeing all night.

Even though I’m a MUCH bigger fan of beer than I am of wine, when opportunity rears its grape-squeezing head for a wine tasting of German wines with two German girls, who am I to not heed the call?  Knowing that I had to meet my resident fraulein friend at 5:45 and I got off work at 4:45, I decided that was plenty of time to squeeze in the second level of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred. I haven’t completed the program, as I won the DVD in a giveaway long ago, but it’s always there for me if I need an intense workout in 20 minutes.  Considering I hadn’t done the Level 2 circuit before, and I hadn’t done heavy working out recently, it only made sense to dive right into it. The result?

Oh, hey sweaty crazy face. missed you!

I also decided that I could wear the workout clothes that got me through my 16 minutes of exercise on Monday because “they couldn’t have gotten that sweaty/smelly in 16 minutes, right?” Wrong. I was very happy that there was no one else in my “gym” aka “the space in between my tv and my couch in my one bedroom apartment” to enjoy the refreshing beads of sweat I flung left and right.

After a speed shower and a drive-by makeup application, I deemed myself ready to face the world.  Veronika and her pal from Germany, Jessica, were off to A Southern Season (my second time in less than a week: a new record!) in Chapel Hill for their fridays uncorked, special wine tastings on Friday nights always based around a theme (a country of origin, a type of wine, etc). Tonight’s featured wine style was “Rieslings from the Mosel River area in Germany.”  Translation: Riesling, and five pours of it.  Riesling would have to be my favorite type of wine, courtesy of an all-too-long fall break 2008 during which we drank only Riesling all the time. Since then, I’ve been hooked.  For $12 a person, this night seemed like a perfect deal.

Bottoms up, ladies! (Veronika, Jessica, Me!)

We grabbed our classes at the front and were ready to go.

#1 Peter Lauer Ayler Kupp "Senior" 2009

Our first and second wines were the dry type of Riesling.  #1 was a nice way to start the night, with a bit of a bite to the wine. We were supposed to be aware of the aromas of apricot and honey with a taste of pear and peach. While I definitely got the pear, the peach eluded me. I’m definitely not a sommelier by any means.

 

#2 Spaeter-Veit Piersporter Domherr Kabinett Trocken 2009

#2 , another dry Riesling, was a little smoother than the first, though we were all aware of a sort of acidic hint in there. Again, apricot was supposed to be in there, but I’m just not familiar enough with apricot to even know what that tastes like. The one cool part about this wine was that it came from the Veits, one of the Mosel’s oldest wine growing families. Even though it was a 2009, I felt like a very legit wine drinker sipping on it.

Prefere de Nos Motagnes - HELLA GOOD CHEESE!

With these wines, we were also supposed to pair them with the softer, spreadable cheese. It didn’t have a strong taste, but it was smooth and delicious.  We may or may not have taken enough of these little cheese samples to harvest the napkins and start our own cocktail bar.  (I’m going with we may’ve…)

 

 

Next on the agenda were the sweet wines.

 

 

#5 St. Urbans-Hof Piesporter Goldtropfchen Auslese 2007

 

#3 Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett 2009

Numbers 3 and 5 were both definitely sweet, with 3 smelling a lot like apple and tasting sort of peachy. It was delicious, and I’d love to have a bottle with me right now.  5 I’ll admit was a little… gosh, I want to say salty because the pourer mentioned salt, but salty’s not the word.

Allow me to show my classlessness for a moment by saying what I really mean.  You know that feeling you get when you get a REALLY cheap box of wine. I’m talking Fran-zia, a juice box of wine, something like that. And even if it’s not touching the cardboard, you think to yourself “maybe this wine tastes a little like there’s some cardboard in it.” THAT is the feeling I got with number 5 (which, ironically enough, was the most expensive wine of the night, normally sold for nearly $50 a bottle.)

And then we have the crown jewel of the party.

#4 Meulenhof Erdener Treppchen Spatlese 2009

This wine was everything I could ask for in a Riesling. It was sweet, but not like… pouring honey down your throat. It totally had the taste of a baked apple in there, and was smooth and paired perfectly with the harsher cheese of the night, a Sharfe Maxx. If this bottle of wine was not 25 dollars but, instead, 3 for 25 dollars… I would’ve bought one (ok, yeah. I’m cheap. Such is life.)

It was glorious to live like a rich gal for a little evening, and I even picked up a tasty 4 pack of beers for future reviews.

BEER HEAVEN!!

We finished the night off at City Beverage with some tasty foods and beers and friends.  And now I’m in my cozy bed, getting ready to nuzzle off for the night.

Do you ever like to do anything that makes you feel wealthier than you are?  If so, what is it?!

 

Blog Roll Explained: Why I read who I read.

/ foodsweatandbeers / 14 Comments

Let’s be honest: I just started this blog, inspired by the folks that I read regularly, in hopes to become a more legitimate writer. But also, because my not so secret goal is to be HALF as cool as these women who seem to do it all. They’re beautiful, they prepare and eat foods regularly that I could maybe manage to make once a week (max), they have precious pups, and they’re leading lives that I admire.

That being said, I know it’s important not to fall into the Comparison Trap with other bloggers, and know that I’m doing my own thing, loving life, and kicking ass. HOWEVER, I thought it might be nice for others looking for some inspiration or fun reading to know WHY I read the blogs I read, and maybe a little bit more about them than just their name/a link!  Here goes nothing:

  • Peanut Butter Fingers – Julie at PBFingers was the first blogger I started to follow regularly. I like that her husband’s name is Ryan (my beau’s name is as well!) but I also like how she manages to balance her life, her exercise, and (one of my very favorite aspects of her blogs) her FAMILY! Unfortunately, I live 300+ miles from most of my family, so I don’t get to see them, but I love to read posts about her family gatherings, and it’s clear that family is MEGA important to her. She’s a lovely woman with a very upbeat tone to her blog, and her dog is pretty much the cutest thing around.  Also, she preps meals not just for herself but for her husband, so I love the guy-friendly recipes.
  • Running Off the Reese’s – Cely is the funniest blogger I read. Hands down. The way she writes about exercise is so similar to the way I think about exercise, and I feel like, even though I know her, sometimes I hear an exasperated voice  when she writes about things that frustrate her. Her dogs… also a key part of continued reading.
  • Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life – Courtney just seems like the kind of girl everyone would be lucky to have as a friend. The only “cat person” I read (well… unless I’m forgetting someone), she likes Body Pump as much as I do, plays sports in adult rec leagues, and gets overjoyed when she gets an extra donut hole at Dunkin Donuts, proving that we can, in fact, all get along (we being cat and dog people). She can absolutely laugh at herself, which I love to read about, and her salads always look bomb.com.
  • girl meets life – Gracie is like what I imagine Gossip Girl would be like if they weren’t all evil backstabbers who sleep with each others boyfriends and plot nefariously. She is so down to earth, yet throws down with the best of them. I also admire her spiritual side that she brings into her posts now and then, and she has these great tasty recipes that she throws on her blog now and then that I just hope I have time to make back when I’m living on my own again.
  • Daily Garnish – Recently moved to Seattle, Emily is also totally pregnant! Even though  I don’t plan to be a baby mama any time soon, whenever I am, I hope to be pregnant like Emily’s doing it. Her recipes are always delicious looking, and her photography is breathtaking.
  • Carrots n’ Cake – Tina is the blogger that, despite I feel my life is a polar opposite of hers, I instantly feel connected to anything she writes. She’s so talented, and her write-up of the Pug 5k from the perspective of her pup, Murphy, actually had me laugh out loud and share with my beau.
  • Bess Be Fit – Bess lives near me! I’ll admit, that was the first draw to her blog. After reading a little more, though, she always posts food that looks real/doable, her fashion sense will NOT QUIT, and her appreciation of pop culture gives me my fix without letting me spend more time on PerezHilton than is wise.
  • Food, Fitness, Fashion – Ali is a rockstar. And my favorite thing about her: She’s honest with herself and her readers. When she had a problem not too long ago with her running and finding the joy in it, she told us about it. Another Boston girl, I love her accent, I love that she does crossfit, and I loveeeeeee that she likes beer!  Another woman with great fashion sense, her voice in her writing always makes me smile.
  • fANNEtastic food – Anne is a local writer, getting a higher education at my alma-mater. Though I’ve only just recently started reading her blog, she continues to impress me with fantastic and healthy recipes. I’m sure that she’s going to rock at finishing the rest of her program and becoming a Registered Dietician!
  • The Fitnessista – Gina is another woman who I recently started reading, she’s a fitness instructor in Vegas! She seems to live all over the place, and she’s also recently pregnant, but has great recipes especially for people who need to cook for veggie eaters and carnivores alike.
  • Skinny Runner – Also great to get my occasional dose of pop culture updates, she writes about her life with a sense of humor that I think others take as serious (which can lead to some silly comments after her posts). I like how she doesn’t take HERSELF too seriously, and I like her style.
  • Julie goLean – I just started reading Julie’s blog, so I’m still getting the hang of Salad Beasts and drive by shakes, but I’m liking what I read so far.
  • Meals and Miles – Meghann is another writer who is super honest with her readers. She straddles the line between writing about her daily life and tackling some hard hitting issues, which makes for very good reading without every feeling like you’re getting too much of either.  She just moved in with her significant other, and I’ve been enjoying all that she writes about that and watching someone else go through the same experience I did last year!  It doesn’t hurt that her pup, Maddie, is easy on the eyes.
  • The Sunday Flog – The one blogger I actually know IRL!! Ali writes about her Sunday meals with her family, which always make me a) hungry and b) sad that I don’t live anywhere close to mine. Beautiful pictures, a great baker, and definitely a family girl.

I promise, I didn’t write this post as a brown-nosing tactic! merely a way to get my blog roll across as well as the cliff-notes summary of some of the favorite bloggers I read!

Ok, ok. Lunchtime’s over, back to work, and counting down the minutes until a Wine Tasting tonight at A Southern Season!

EDIT: If I didn’t include you here, it’s not because I’m not reading what you’re writing! These are just the most frequent blogs I read, and the one’s I’ve been reading for the longest! I’m picking up new ones every day!

Welcome to the Jungle

/ foodsweatandbeers / 5 Comments

Every day is the first day of the rest of your life, right?

Well today’s the first day of this, my newest internet endeavor.  After reading hours upon hours of the words of my peers, women and men who I admire immensely, that helped inspire my own journey into a healthier lifestyle, I felt moved to start a more official blog of my own.  In March 2010, I began tumbling, which has also been a key to tracking my food intake, exercise, and Weight Watching. Almost a year and a half later, I’ve lost 40 lbs, changed my entire outlook on day to day life, and added a hearty dose of health/fitness bloggers to my day-to-day readathon in the early hours of my morning. It’s my hope to add something to this blogging community, something I can be proud of come August 19th when I hit the streets of Philthy-delphia (aka my old stomping grounds) for the 3rd Annual Healthy Living Summit, an event I used to be satisfied with reading about.

That being said, I’m not a runner. I’m not a health nut, nor am I a nutritionist, and I’m not quite a foodie (though I think I’m getting there…) I’m a hungry young professional living in the Research Triangle of North Carolina with a general enthusiasm for fitness, adventure, and (the newest addition to my list of hobbies) craft beer.

I’d love to use this blog as an outlet to pick up my writing, a passion I used to have as a young’n, and track my health, fitness, food, and beers that have piqued my interest.

Feel free to give me a read, follow along, and maybe (if I’m lucky) I’ll help someone else find the chutzpah to change their lives for the MUCH better.