Work It Out

Exciting news...my sister moved back to the country!! Selfishly I'm really happy because now I have a workout buddy and someone to try out new workout ideas with. She doesn't have a gym membership yet, so she gets to use my ghetto gym in the basement.

Yesterday was my first chance to try out a new workout idea with her. I have been reading about this Tabata training, where you do 20 second intervals with a 10 second rest for 4 minutes, alternating between 2 exercises (you can do 4 sets of one, then 4 of another; or 2 sets/swtich/2 sets/etc.). Then you rest and do it again with different exercises. The idea is that you try to max out on every interval, increasing your VO2 max. It was first designed with cardio exercises, but you can adapt it to involve weights instead.

After a 5 minute warm up, my sis and I did the following routine:

**Some of the exercise names may be wrong. That is because I made up the names instead of searching for their actual technical names. It helps me remember them more easily.

This was a toughie for sure. I highly recommend buying an interval timer or downloading a free app that has a Tabata clock on it. You will lose track of which interval you are on.

It was quick, super challenging, and got my heart rate up, so overall this will definitely become a staple. Now here's hoping my first customer comes back :)

On The Menu

Well this weekend was an interesting one. I definitely learned a lot that's for sure. I am currently studying to take a fitness theory exam (I took the classes a few weeks ago) but that wasn't all I learned. Here are a few little lessons I learned:

• Don't go too fast with a mandolin. You may slice your thumb...
• Don't pick up a knife from the non-handle side. You may slice your your finger....
• I'm slightly allergic to medical tape.

Fun times. I was sure glad Bill was given free Band-Aids as a give away at the Corporate Challenge events this weekend. 

Weekly Meals

The end of the weekend also means that we figure out our meals for the week. We then put them on the  chalkboard so we don't forget (I am such a project management dork). Trust me, this planning totally helps after a long day of work. Here's what is on the menu for the week:

The key is to plan 4 meals because there is likely one day of leftovers/going out to eat. Tonight I made the Tuna Melts because they were super quick and I didn't feel like cooking much (and I didn't want to risk cutting myself again)

Ingredients:

3 Whole-wheat Dinner Rolls/Portobello Mushroom Caps

1 Tin of Skipjack Tuna, drained

1 tsp light Mayonnaise

1 tsp Red Chili Sauce

1/4 cup grated Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat Broiler

2. Mix Tuna, Mayo and Chili sauce in a small bowl

3. Slice dinner rolls in half

4. Spread tuna mix over each half of the rolls

5. Top with grated Cheese

6. Broil for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted

Serves: 2 

Easy-peasy. No knifes were involved (well barely).