Category Archives: strength training

Noodle arms and nagging

Eeek! Winter is back. It was so cold this morning. I think it was somewhere around 8 degrees. I had to scrape the car windshield to go to the gym today. I had half of my protein drink before the workout waiting for the car to warm up a little. This is 30 grams of whey isolate, 1 cup of almond milk and 1/4 cup of pumpkin.

Week 4 of the 28 day Shapeover. Today were giant sets. This is doing 3 exercises in a row before resting. Rest 60 seconds. Then repeat them. Since doing higher reps, this means lower weights. Giant sets are hard.

Exercise	Set/rep/weight	Muscle worked
Front Raise Lateral Raise Bent Over Raise	1 set of 15 with 5# DBs/2 sets of 15 with 3# DBs 1 set of 15 with 8# DBs/ 2 sets of 15 with 5# DBs 3 sets of 15 with 10# DBs	Shoulders
EZ curls Hammer Curls Preacher Curls	3 sets of 15 with 20# bar 3 sets of 15 with 5# DBs 3 sets of 15 with 5# DBs	Biceps
Triceps pull down Two-arm Overhead triceps press Lying Triceps extension	3 sets of 15 with 20# bar 3 sets of 15 with 10# DB 3 sets of 15 with 5# DBs	Triceps

Noodle arms! I had to drop the weight on some of the subsequent sets – so the take away for giant sets is to start much lighter. Can I say that I am glad this is the last arm workout? I have never liked doing so many isolation moves with my arms, but I wanted to follow the program. I cooled down on the treadmill and then chugged the rest of my protein drink on the way home.

I made a yummy breakfast today when I got home! This was my version of an Egg McMuffin. Homemade english muffin with an egg and a laughing cow cheese wedge.

Why is it that I see a giant mouth with scraggly teeth eating the egg?

My only problem with these muffins is the size, but that was a baker issue because my glass was small. I should have used a little bowl to cut these. Technique for these posted tomorrow!

My arms were tired for typing at work today. You know your arms are tired when just resting them on the keyboard is tiring 😯

I had made up some apple cranberry topping to have with lunch. I topped a container of 2% Fage with the apple topping.

It’s nice to see the sun, even though it is cold. This was so, so good. Way better than any fruit-on-the bottom yogurt!

Pretty much a straight forward day. Those days are kind of nice, really. I made up lattes today, which I had with some nuts.

The no nibbling this has really cut down on my nut consumption. I tend to nibble on nuts. I bought this can of nuts a week and a half ago and it is only about 3/4 gone. I weight out an ounce of nuts for my snack. John isn’t eating them, or at least I don’t think he is, and it is surprising how long the can has lasted. Truth be told – I would normally have this little bowl filled to the top with nuts, which is really about 3 servings. That adds up fast.

We watched dinner with the Paris-Nice bike race on. It’s on all week. I am so itching to get the bike on the road! I have my hopes up that we might get in an afternoon ride this weekend if the temps stay in the 50s with no rain. I have all fingers and toes crossed!

Dinner while watching said bike race:

I asked John if he wanted me to make him some of these beans for him to have as well. He said yes and you could have about knocked me over with a feather! I am not much of a nag (really, I’m not!), but I do bug John about doing 3 things – eating more fruits and veggies, putting hand cream on (he has really dry hands), and strength training. I don’t get much response on those requests, but sometimes I do – like today!

Now it’s off for date night with John, since I got him to eat his veggies 😈

Off to coffee!!

Signs of spring!

This weekend, I some how conned my mother into going to the gym with me. I had no car, so she came and got me. Saturday was chest/back/abs.

Exercise	Set/rep/weight	Muscle worked
Flat Chest Press	4 sets of 8 with 25# DBs Drop Set 1: 20# for 5 reps Drop set 2: 15# for 5 reps	Chest
Incline Chest Fly	3 sets of 8 at 15# Drop Set 1: 10# for 10 reps Drop set 2: 5# for 5	Chest
Incline Chest Press	3 sets of 8 with 15# DBs Drop Set 1: 10# for 6 reps Drop set 2: 5# for 6 reps	Chest
Assisted Chin Ups	3 sets of 8 at 100# Drop Set 1: 120# for 6 reps Drop set 2: 150# for 9 reps	Upper Body
Single-arm low cable row	3 sets of 8 at 35# Drop Set 1: 25# for 6 reps Drop set 2: 20# for 6 reps	Back
Cable Kneeling Pull Down	3 sets of 8 at 35# Drop Set 1: 30# for 6 reps Drop Set 2: 20# for 8 reps	Back
Crunches	2 sets of 10 Drop Set 1: 16	Core
Bicycle	2 sets of 10 Drop set 1: 24	Core

This was a tough workout! It’s hard to do drop sets with core work, so I just did the third set until I couldn’t do anymore. Then I walked for 25 minutes on the dreadmill.

Our reward was going out for lunch afterwards. We chose East End Eatery, where I had a side salad and a wheat pizza wrap with banana peppers!

This tasted so good after a hard workout! I really should make these at home.

Saturday was such a gorgeous day. A lot of the snow is melting and when I went out for a walk, I saw some tulips start to peek up from someone’s garden. Flower time soon!

Speaking of flowers, I was planting some seeds. I am trying the flowering tobacco again. A lot of my seedlings died last year, so I am trying yet again.

I also made some little seed pots from toilet paper tubes.

These are so clever I will post a little demo of them. No more buying the peat pellets!

Sunday was a nice relaxing day. My bagel buddy is back, so we were out for our Sunday breakfast at Coffee Planet.

Oat bran bagel!

Today has been going through recipes to figure out what to make. How do people do this without it taking forever? I like reading cookbooks, but it’s hard to plan out meals this way, I have to say. Too many choices.

I did wake my sourdough starter up, aka Breadipus Rex, so that I can make some sourdough english muffins this week. Or hopefully to make them!

On the nibbling front, did very well over the weekend. I find that I actually do better when I limit the chocolate. John bought me a little Tortuga rum cake to have, which I am saving (good thing rum is a preservative!). He also had a chocolate covered macaroon and I had him slice me a piece off – it’s huge! After eating that, I really wanted more and had another bite. I could feel myself really sitting on the edge of wanting to eat more and more and it took a fair amount of internal wrestling not to keep eating. Maybe it’s a little easier now 10 days out from no nibbling? It’s hard to say.

Now for a new week and the last week of the 28 Day Shapeover workouts!

Question: Do you plan any meals or menus?

Hello Drop Sets

Just a straight up workout post today. I didn’t feel like taking pictures.

Week 3 of the 28 Day Shapeover! The one thing I don’t like about doing programs that have a time length is that I realizes how fast time really goes by. It’s scary sometimes.

This week’s focus is drop sets. What this means is that after you finish the last set of an exercise, you then drop to a lower weight (25-30%) and then do reps until you can’t do anymore. Then you drop to another lower weight (25-30%) and do reps until you can’t do anymore. So if you start with 10# DBs, then after the last prescribed set you would do a set with 8 pound DBs, then do a set with 5# DBs.

This was for today:

Exercise	Set/rep/weight	Muscle worked
Dumbell Shoulder Press	4 sets of 8 with 10# DBs Drop Set 1: 8# for 7 reps Drop set 2: 5# for 7 reps	Shoulders
Single Arm Lateral Raise	3 sets of 8 with 8# DBs Drop Set 1: 5# for 6/8 reps Drop set 2: 3# for 8/6	Shoulders
Dumbbell Bent Over Lateral Raise	3 sets of 8 with 15# DBs Drop Set 1: 10# for 6 reps Drop set 2: 8# for 7 reps	Shoulders
Biceps Curls	3 sets of 8 at 10# Drop Set 1: 8# for 10 reps Drop set 2: 5# for 6 reps	Biceps
Cable Hammer Curl	3 sets of 8 at 20# Drop Set 1: 15# for 6 reps Drop set 2: 10# for 5 reps	Biceps
Dumbbell Preacher Curl	2 sets of 8 with 10# DBs Drop Set 1: 8# for 8 reps Drop set 2: 5# for 10 reps	Biceps
Lying Triceps Extension	3 sets of 10 with 10# DBs Drop Set 1: 8# for 8 reps Drop set 2: 5# for 9 reps	Triceps
Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Press	3 sets of 8 with 10# DBs Drop Set 1: 8# for 7 reps Drop set 2: 5# for 6 reps	Triceps
Dumbbell Kickbacks	2 sets of 8 with 15# DBs Drop Set 1: 10# for 8 reps Drop set 2: 8# for 6 reps	Triceps

There is a reason why drop sets are also called burn sets. The only thing that was funny was the single arm lat raise. I was able to do more drop set reps on the right arm because it had rest time from the last set on the left with its drop sets. That gave the right arm more time to rest.

I do wish this gym had 12# dumbbells. My old gym had those. There were some of the exercises that I really could have used the 12s to start with and not the 10s, but otherwise it was a good and very hard workout. I really don’t work muscles to failure very often as I don’t usually have a spotter.

My arms were so weak when I was done. I had brought along a protein drink with 30 grams of protein and a half cup of pumpkin. I drank half before the workout and half after. This shake was twice as much as I normally do, but I knew it would be a tough workout.

Snow forecast for tomorrow!

No snacking weekend!

I was up early on a Saturday morning to do my strength workout. I wasn’t intending on getting up early, but I just woke up, so I was at the gym at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. No life, I tell you…

Exercise	Set/rep/weight	Muscle worked
SupersetSeated Lat Row Incline Dumbbell Press	3 sets of 15 at 40# 3 sets of 15 with 10# DBs	BackChest
SupersetStraight Arm Cable Pulldown Lying Chest Press	3 sets of 15 at 40#3 sets of 15 with 15# DBs	BackChest
SupersetClose Grip Lat Pulldown Push Ups	3 sets of 15 at 30#3 sets of 12	BackChest
SupersetRope Crunch Reverse Crunch	3 sets of 153 sets of 15	Core

I was supposed to do the push ups and lat pulldowns first, but someone was on the cable machine, so I moved those to the last of the chest/back exercises. Big mistake! Doing the push ups at the end was almost impossible. I had to change the last 2 sets to incline push ups to get through them. I have to say, though, after 2 weeks with this program, I definitely am feeling stronger again.

John still owed me one last football meal (for superbowl weekend) and I just hadn’t claimed it. So, we went out for lunch on Saturday at Rockhill Bakehouse. There were fresh flowers at the table:

Plus a bonus of a guitar player.

That was fun!

I had one of my favorite sandwiches, which is the grown-up grilled cheese with pesto and smoked cheese.

So good. I ate every bite, too! My morning workout gave me a good lunch appetite.

I did really, really well on my goal of not snacking this weekend. As in no snacking! My hardest time was really on Sunday because that is grocery shopping day and I tend to nibble on things that we buy, but I managed not to do that, with the help of some ginger mints and cleaning the kitchen! We have a flylady cleaning list hanging up, but I don’t think either of us has looked at it in probably 6 months or more 😳

So, I just started to deep clean the kitchen. Funny how you miss all those crumbs, drips and spills when you aren’t really looking for them.

All sparkly clean!

So Shelley has the Sit and Knit diet, and I have the Scrub and No Chub diet going on 😀

My meals were good and balanced. I do eat more calories on the weekend because – well – it is the weekend, but, it made a big difference with not nibbling on stuff. I stuck to my planned snacks.

My goal this week is to keep going with no extra nibbling. If I can go for 21 days, maybe I can really break that habit.

I am also going to do some seed starting. I didn’t have a lot of luck with my seedlings last year, so hopefully I can have more success this year. I won’t plant these yet, but I have been looking for this flower for a while and finally found it!

These are dwarf sunflowers and only grow about 2-3 feet tall. Now to figure out exactly where I am going to put them!

Question: What fun did you get up to this weekend?

Eating discipline is hard

Another ~~spring~~ winter day. In the mid 40s today. After last winter, it is kind of nice not getting feet and feet of snow, but I do have to say this is weird, weird weather.

I didn’t even have to warm up the car to go to the gym this morning. Today was lower body day. Again with lower weights, increased reps and supersets.

Exercise	Set/rep/weight	Muscle worked
Superset Dumbbell Split Squats Barbell Good Mornings	3 sets of 15 with 15# DBs 3 sets of 15 with 45# bar	Quads Hamstrings/low back
Superset Leg Extension Hamstring Curls	3 sets of 15 at 25# 3 sets of 15 at 25#	Quads Hamstrings/Glutes
Superset Hip Adductor Hip Adbuctor	3 sets of 15 at 30# 3 sets of 15 at 30#	Hip Abductor/Adductors/Glutes
Superset Single leg dumbbell calf raise Seated calf raise	3 sets of 15 with 15# DBs 3 sets of 15 at 30#	Calves and balance

I really don’t like doing the seated abductor/adductor machine. It feels like a waste of time and I have read multiple times that it is fairly pointless. I should have subbed something else. This was a tough workout, though! I walked on the treadmill to cool down and my legs were rubbery. Good thing I didn’t bike to the gym!

Headed home to make an awesome breakfast. The one-minute muffin/waffle topped with apple cranberry topping.

This tasted every bit as good as it looks!

You know, I have to say that I really, really wish I could be as disciplined with my eating as I am with my exercise. If I was, I would easily be at my goal weight. I never have a problem with the exercise. It’s always done and I enjoy it.

I don’t really have a problem with portion control with my meals. Obviously you all see that on the blog. I eat what’s on my plate and hardly ever get seconds.

I just have a problem with nibbling and snacking and lately it has been at night. The last couple days have been terrible with that. I know it is PMS craving, but gosh it is super strong! And the worst part is that I cannot get full. Why is it when I crave like that I don’t get full? Any other day I eat that much and I definitely feel it. I also try to analyze when I overeat to see what the emotions might be about it and I just can’t find any at all. I don’t eat out of depression or anxiety. I am not trying to squash any type of feeling. Sometimes I eat out of boredom, but that is more controllable for me than a real craving to eat. It’s different than the eating that happens at get togethers because those are happy occasions and I do associate food with happiness and fun.

That is really the sticking point for me. I know I have talked about in the past that some of these cravings are brought on by wheat, but I really don’t necessarily want to lay it all at the foot of a grain. Part of that is I don’t always snack/overeat grains. It can just as easily be cashews or chocolate.

Anyway, I just thought I would lay that out there for those that think I don’t struggle.

Funny how today I am not having any craving issues. Go figure. I wanted an omelet for lunch as I haven’t had one in a while. Welcome back omelet!

This was made with 2 eggs and 2 egg whites. I just love cheese, too. Note to self – eat more cheese.

Pretty much a quiet work day around here. I keep thinking it’s Friday, though. I had no desire to snack at all this afternoon before latte time.

Mickey says “Way to go, Lori!”

We are almost done with the leftovers, thank goodness! Just that last bit of cooked chicken and my roasted veggies. I kind of stared at what was left to figure out what to do with it. I then remembered a bottle of this from my TJ’s road trip.

I sauteed up some shredded brussel sprouts, then I just decided to dump in the carrots, parsnips and the shredded chicken with the curry sauce.

It was actually pretty good, although the sauce is a wee bit salty. Has a nice bit of heat to it.

Done with leftovers just in time to make more this weekend

My snacks tonight are only fruit or protein drink. No other snacks! I am going to make John hold me to that 😳

Speaking of fruit, I read a very interesting article on sugar and if it in itself is responsible for obesity. It’s quite interesting (and quite long). I really enjoy Stephan’s blog. He is a PhD and focuses on the study of obesity. Check out his series on cholesterol as well. It will make you think.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Happy Mardi Gras! We don’t celebrate Ash Wednesday, so it really isn’t reason to go wild and crazy today. We just love Mardi Gras for Mardi Gras sake – and had our big dinner the other day. I got a good night’s sleep and was up bright-eyed to go to the gym.

Today’s workout: This was shoulders, biceps, and triceps. The goal this week is lighter weights and increased reps. Plus supersets and shorter rest times. 30 second rest in between sets.

Exercise	Set/rep/weight	Muscle worked
Arnold Press	3 sets of 15 with 8# DBs	Shoulders
Lateral Raise	3 sets of 15 with 5# DBs	Shoulders
Bent over Lateral raise	3 sets of 15 with 8# DBs	Shoulders
Superset Incline Biceps curl Two-handed overhead triceps press	3 sets of 15 with 8# DBs 3 sets of 15 with 10# DB	Biceps Triceps
Superset Prone incline Biceps Curl Bench Dips	3 sets of 15 with 8# DBs3 sets of 15 with body weight	Biceps Triceps
Superset Hammer CurlsLying Triceps extension	2 sets of 15 with 8# DBs 2 sets of 15 with 5# DB	BicepsTriceps

Goodness! The weights look very light, but the last set of each exercise was killer. 45 lateral raises and I was wishing I had toothpicks in my hands instead of dumbbells. Phew! For those that don’t know, a superset is to move from one exercise right to the other with no rest in between. You rest after the second exercise only. A giant set would be to do 3 exercises with no rest in between.

My arms were shaking on the way home. I made up some oats with peanut flour and egg whites mixed in for protein. Topped with coconut butter and marmalade.

This is the other of my new Japan bowls! FYI – calories in this bowl are about 450.

Spotty work day in the morning since yesterday was a holiday. One thing about my type of work – I may be ready to work certain hours, but if the doctors haven’t done their files or uploaded them, then I can’t do any work. That also means I don’t get paid since it is on production, which means if I *do* want to get paid, I have to flex my hours. One of the downsides of my industry, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons!

Lunch time! I heated up some chicken with taco seasoning and put it on some tortilla chips with sour cream.

This tastes really good, although I forgot the cheese.

After lunch, it was time for somebody to go to jail!

I really shouldn’t laugh at this picture, but I am.

Time for Pixie’s rabies shot and well check. So, I carted her to the vet. It is about 1/2 a mile from our house, so I walked there with her. Nothing like carrying a 10 pound dead weight for half a mile, especially after I worked out my arms this morning! D’oh! Pixie got a clean bill of health and a needle poke. She wasn’t too happy about it, but she was very good at the vets. I can’t believe we have had her for 5 years already.

Once I got home, it was time for lattes (plus some peanut nibbling).

Pixie did forgive me and got into my lap. Life is good again.

John cooked up some breaded scallops for dinner, which I paired with some of the roasted parsnip/carrot mixture.

There are the beads! I was surprised at how many people have not had parsnips! They are kind of a cross between a potato and a carrot. You should try them.

I had to catch up with said work after dinner. Now that is done and John and I are having some coffee (at home) and are going to watch Jeopardy! Both of us tried out for Jeopardy once, but we didn’t make it.

Snacks:

Have a great Mardi Gras!

Question: What is your favorite game show?

Lifting and Lemon Curd

Off to the gym this morning! It was surprisingly warm in the 40s. We have had warm weather the last few days, but some snow is soon to come.

Exercise	Set/rep/weight	Muscle worked
Lying Leg Press	3 sets of 10 at 100#	Lower Body
Straight Leg deadlift	3 sets of 10 with 70# bar	Low back and hammies
Seated Lat Row	3 sets of 10 at 50#	Back
Decline Situp	3 sets of 10	Core
Barbell Chest Press	3 sets of 10 with 55# bar	Chest
Arnold Press	3 sets of 10 with 10# DBs (20# total)	Shoulders
Kickbacks	3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs (30# total)	Triceps
Lower Back Extension	3 sets of 10 at 90#	Low back

This was a tough workout as I reduced my rest time between sets. Then I hopped on the treadmill and walked for 1.5 miles.

I was hungry!! when I got home. I made up protein pancakes instead of waffles for a change.

Note that I added more blueberries after this picture because my whole serving would not have made as pretty a picture 😀

So, here is the recipe for the lemon curd. Only a few ingredients and super easy!

Fashion up your own double boiler. I used a stainless steel bowl and a saucepan filled with a bit of water. You just need a bowl a little bigger than the pan.

Turn the heat on to bring the water to a simmer.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice (2 large lemons)
1/4 cup of butter, melted.

In the bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat with a whisk.

Set over the double boiler and then add the butter and lemon juice.

Whisk constantly over the simmering water until thickened. It took less than 10 minutes for this to happen.

How easy is that?? This is intensely flavored, so you don’t need much.

It filled up a 16 ounce jar:

This is approximately 50 calories per tablespoon. Just a bit more than jam.

Store in the fridge. I don’t know about the shelf life of this. Guess we will find out!

I had a very productive work day today and finished up early and got my practicing done. I am enjoying some tree time now:

Do you like the tippy top? We need to bend that back. The nice thing about an artificial tree is that Pixie doesn’t care about climbing it. She actually pretty much ignores it, although she likes to lay under it and throw her toys under there.

Once John is done with his things to do, he and I are off tonight to have a date/coffee night!

Non bagel day!

Rainy, rainy morning. No biking today. The people at the cafe also mentioned that fact that we didn’t bike there (might be that we are known for biking around these parts!) It still was supposed to be bagel day, though. Except there were no wheat bagels available. So what did I have instead? Pumpkin coffeecake!

This was good, but I was really full from it. It actually kept me full for hours! Not sure I liked the sugar feeling, though. I definitely don’t eat stuff like this for breakfast very often and not likely to change that.

Work was hard today. Very difficult dictator all day long and it hurts my brain. It always amazes me how being mentally exhausted also makes you physically tired.

I decided to boost my brain with a big protein hit for lunch with chicken salad. This was about 4 ounces of chicken!

Mixed with some mayo, curry powder, chopped apple and grapes. Good stuff.

We have cold weather now. High in the mid 40s, so Pixie was glommed onto me, which is fine.

Then she stretches out.

I had to move her at that point as I don’t type with 1 hand.

I took a break to make the lattes again today, but I skipped the liquor

Along with some nuts:

I finally slogged through work. My brain was totally fried. I couldn’t even think about dinner. I stood there snacking on pretzels. Don’t you love those times? Almost went to get a slice of pizza, but John decided to cook up a cube steak for us. I couldn’t even muster up the energy to cook up any veggie, so I just cut up a pear 😳

One way to get the energy back up up? Hit the gym! My mother and I now belong to the same gym, so we hit the gym tonight. Wednesday night is mother/daughter night and we get together for something. What better than being active?

I made mom go into the Iron Den LOL!

Exercise	Set/rep/weight	Muscle worked
Split Squats	3 sets of 10 with 65# bar	Lower body
Single Dumbbell Row	3 sets of 10 with 20# DBs (40# total)	Back
Flat Dumbbell Fly	3 sets of 10 with 20# DBs (40# total)	Chest
Horizontal Wood Chop	3 sets of 10 at 30#	Core
Calf Raise	3 sets of 10 at 80#	Calves
Triceps Pull Down	3 sets of 10 at 30#	Triceps
Upright Row	3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs (30# total)	Shoulders
Stiff Legged Deadlift	3 sets of 10 with 20# DBs (40# total)	Hamstrings and low back

Weird seeing this table at the end, isn’t it? I can’t even remember the last time I did a nighttime gym workout. I think at least a couple years!

It felt good to work out. You never, ever regret a workout.

Afterwards we stopped for a bit of decaf:

Today’s pink item? Soap colorant:

This was used for my big soap order this week.

Where to find lifting moves

I managed to get everything done on my list yesterday! That felt good, although I was tired when I finished up at 10:30, so I climbed into bed and watched football. My lame Ravens who I predicted to go to the Super Bowl (along with the Saints). Guess that pick is not panning out too well. 🙄

I decided on a banana bread breakfast pudding for brekkie today.

Topped with peanut flour and orange marmalade.

Got right busy with work. It’s so nice to be working with lots of work! Last year at this time I was working 2 part-time jobs and one was not giving me enough work to do. It makes the morning go by so fast.

I am into egg salad again for lunch – especially with the Nut Thins! These are smokehouse flavor.

Can I tell you that my quads are toast today? Yesterday, I did lunges for the first time in a long time (mostly because I don’t like lunges) and I feel them today. Like drop down into a chair saying “ow” feeling. Lisa asked about where I get my exercises from. YouTube can be a source for exercises, but there are a lot of videos out there with bad form. I use 2 different sites to get workout and move ideas. One is Train with Me Online (you have to sign up, but it is free) and the other is ExRx. I look up 1 different exercise for each body part I want to work. I do full body 2 to 3 times a week, but you could easily pick different exercises to work just upper or lower. I like to change up my workouts each time because I am just keeping up strength and don’t have any goals that I am working on currently.

I made the lattes today. Somehow this sneaked up to the cups:

It is Friday after all. Oh wait…. it’s Tuesday! Ooops! 😳

Pumpkin spice latte with a bit of dulce de leche on top (that John made).

I flew through the rest of the work day. It helps not going to the gym…

Tonight was an easy and yummy dinner. I have been inviting potatoes back more, especially when I went grain-free for a bit. Potatoes make a good starch to have. This potato has a laughing cow wedge and some BBQ chicken on it.

Plus probably a cup of broccoli. I weigh and measure most foods except fruits and veggies. When I cook broccoli, I just pour the florets in the pan until I feel like stopping. Tonight was a big serving 😀

The temps are going to drop and rain (and maybe snow!!!) is on the way, so I headed out for a twilight walk with Harry Connick, Jr. (25). Who else loves the song “Tangerine”?

I have all the busy stuff done for the week, which is a big relief, and now I only have the guitar left to practice tonight. But first, this post and a snack!

Strawberries with a little deflated whipped cream from last night. Still tasty.

And lastly, the pink item of the day. John’s laundry basket. Guess he is manly enough to own a pink laundry basket! (Mine is blue.)

Exercise	Set/rep/weight	Muscle worked
Barbell Squats	4 sets of 10 with 45# bar	Lower body
Single Front Leg raises (on machine)	3 sets of 8 at 30#	Quads
Side Lunges	3 sets of 10 with 20# DBs	Lower Body
Stiff-legged Deadlift	3 sets of 10 with 55# bar	Hamstrings/low back
Single leg hamstring curl (on machine)	3 sets of 8 at 25#	Hamstrings
Cable standing abductor Raise	2 sets of 10 at 15#	Hip Abductors
Standing Calf Raise	3 sets of 10 at 70#	Calves
Seated single leg calf raise	3 sets of 10 at 20#	Calves

Finding Radiance

Trying to live a fit life loving food, cycling, gardening and everything in between!