Two-a-Days and the Results

June 7, 2012 / foodsweatandbeers / 4 Comments

The past two days, I’ve doubled up on my workouts.

Zumba + yoga on Tuesday had me feeling like this:

So Zen, so happy.

Zumba + Pilates yesterday had me feeling the burn in my thighs. But, at the time of the class, I was feeling long and lean and lovely. Like this:

Am I the only one that thinks all this equipment looks like some sort of crazy Fifty Shades kinda sex room?

However, this morning, I’m pretty sure my legs feel like this:

So heavy. Not Zen.

In case you’re not as interested in piping as I am, those are lead pipes.

Oh walking, you’re gonna be tough today.

Do you ever double up on workouts?

I was feeling like a champ…. until I got outta bed this morning. Oy VAY!

Pilates: A Play by Play Breakdown

August 8, 2011August 8, 2011 / foodsweatandbeers / 16 Comments

Hey all, and happiest of Mondays!

I’m not a huge fan of Mondays, especially after an excellent weekend (Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ on Friday, so much fun and celebrations on Saturday and Sunday). If it has to be Monday, though, at least it can be a Monday featuring a delicious Fajita Salad!

Leftovers: A delicacy

I took the leftovers of my On the Border fajita meal and made a salad with all these goodies:

Spinach base
cheese
salsa
reheated Fajita fixins (onions, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and chicken)
Tomato

It was fantastic. I chased it with a chocolate Vita Top with a bit of marshmallow fluff (trying to recreate a s’more flavor… decent).

But honestly…. that’s not the point of this post. This post is about Pilates. Before, I did a Play by Play of a Body Pump class. And I continue to do Body Pump because honestly, it’s a good time and I like it lots. I figure it’d be nice to give a play-by-play of a class that I truly and absolutely have no interest in taking again.

Pilates: A Play by Play Breakdown

I was super-pumped to try Pilates with some of my coworkers this past Saturday. I think, even more than the class, I was pumped to wear some of the clothes that look like what I saw all the Pilates kids doing at my gym. I did the best I could to model my outfit after all those Pi-ladies.

Long tank top, bright sports bra, form fitting leggings

I was rocking the Under Armour ‘Shatter’ Capris that I got at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, and they were SO comfortable. The picture doesn’t do them justice, I think, as it was placed on my table and self-timed…. but they rock.

Anyway, I got to the studio and it looked…. exactly like what I thought it would look like.

Soothing colors, random balls, carpet... the whole nine yards.

Before I knew it, the class was getting started. I chose a funky little tye-dye yoga mat, and was ready for whatever the instructor was bringing to the table.

LET'S DO IT!

I knew that it was going to be tough, though, when she mentioned that the free class was because she was trying out her first time teaching an advanced class.

Uh oh.

First, she talked about breathing. And then, demonstrated it. It truly sounds a lot like the breathing you’d hear in a Lamaze class (you know… hee hee hee, hoo hoo hoo, in and out). I tried my hardest to focus on this all class. You’ll see how that got me into trouble soon enough.

I’d done a few pilates-esque exercise classes in the past with AbSculpt, but this was different.

THIS was an "easy" move

I've seen swans in my life.... this is not what they look like.

We also did this one.... a bunch of times.

Lest we forget this little jewel.

Throughout it all, we were supposed to be thinking about our breathing, thinking about our abs, and considering other thoughts like where the sun was and pulling our bellybutton to our spine.

It was just too much for me to think about trying to get a workout. And honestly, I really don’t think I even got one.

My FR60 actually stopped working due to lack of sweat and too much moving around.

A few times, I felt light-headed because I was so busy focusing on my abs, I forgot my breathing, or vice versa.

Clearly, what this class proved was:

a) Pilates is not for me and

b) Be ready to multitask when taking this class!!

I am not bashing pilates by any means, and I think that some folks are totally meant for it…. Those long, lean, flexible folks get my respect. And maybe even a bit of my envy.

Go on with your bad self, Gwyneth!

In the meantime, though, I’ll keep my workouts fast paced with blaring music and the possibility of being kicked in the face or dropping a weight on my toe (Danger is my middle name.)

Except when it comes to these Pilates Torture Devices.... Then my middle name is "No Thank You."

NOTE: To check out the sweet source of my pilates pose images, or sexy Gwyneth, just click on the image… it’ll take you there!

Have you ever done pilates?

How about a workout that you thought you’d like and ended up not being fond of?

Learn Something New Every Day

July 20, 2011 / foodsweatandbeers / 8 Comments

Good evening friends!

I loved reading about your opinions regarding the Bridal Party BYOB decision, I think that the final decision will be a fun six pack of beers, with a cheapy bottle of champagne for the fun of the trolley ride. It’ll be good for pacing myself and even better for deliciousness and options. I also plan on bringing some water bottles and a tasty snack or two.

So the day went swimmingly well, though not exactly as planned. Sometimes that’s how the best days work, right?

Around 3pm, I had my work buddy drop me back off at Jiffy Lube. I know it’s less than a quarter of a mile from my office but honestly, in this nasty heat, even that would’ve left my outfit so drenched in sweat it would not have been work appropriate. They changed my oil, rotated my tires, and I had a coupon for $10 off. I got back into the ol’ cav and it drives like a dream!!

Maybe not as good as it drove in 2006...But I definitely don't have many pictures of my car.

I have had my Chevrolet Cavalier for a while now (pushing on 9 years), and it’s gotten me everywhere I’ve needed to go, and back again. However, it’s also dealt with its fair share of nicks and bumps and rear ends in the time, so it’s always nice when I can give it a little TLC. I think it’s a girl car, so it wears one of my tiaras on the back. And this princess is ready for her long journey to Pittsburgh and back. 960 miles on the agenda. Luckily, though, that’s round trip. And honestly, having done the 700+ mile trip to Ole Miss and back, I’m not too worried (except for the part where I have to wake the beau up before 6am… that won’t be pretty.) Oh well, I started packing tonight and hopefully we’ll have everything ready by tomorrow so we can just wake up and go. That’s the plan.

The plan for working out was AbSculpt followed by BodyPump. Alas, AbSculpt turned out to be a totally different experience, as the substitute instructor was (GASP) a pilates princess. Real talk, this woman was flipping her legs around and doing core workouts that my puny ab/back muscles struggled to handle.

Really, what person thought "Hey, this probably works out some muscles." then just did it? (Source)

The craziest part? The woman instructing the class was just casually chatting the entire time, like she wasn’t even doing more than standing in line at a coffee shop. Meanwhile, I was gasping for breath as I tried to “inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth.” Read: choke an occasional exhale out and sound like a pregnant woman in Lamaze class as you inhale… Cute, right?

What did I learn from the class? I learned that Pilates is HARDCORE. Much more than I ever thought. I definitely gained a new respect for Pilates…. as well as the desire to take BodyFlow, because I sense a challenge to my muscles (and my drive to have a stronger core… something I could really use.) I learned that my abs…. they need a lotta work.

Since I got more of a muscle/core workout and less of a cardio blast in, I skipped Pump and hit the elliptical instead. A hard fought 33 minutes later, and I was drenched and exhausted enough to head home.

610 calories, and I forgot to turn my HRM on until halfway through ab-class

I thought I would have some sort of protein shake or something like that when I got home, but all my Almond Milk was at the office… Next option?

Kiki the Kiwi. Wait, you don't name your food before you eat it?

Here’s another thing I learned. I don’t really like kiwi. I don’t mind it as a topping in my FroYo, or in a giant fruit salad…. but alone, it just doesn’t do it for me. Oh well, so glad I only bought one. Save those tasty oranges for the long trip to Pittsburgh.

Now I’m off to watch The A-Team… maybe I’ll learn what boys see in this kind of flick? Luckily, I don’t need to learn what I see in it… I’ll give you a hint.