Tag Archives: abs

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30 Min Ab Workout

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My workout tonight was a run in the neighborhood after work for 3 miles.  When I got home from my run, I put on the Polar and did some abs!

30minABS

 

I found two of these tracks online with videos, so they are below.  I forgot how hard “Alive” from CX 7 is when you have those elbow to hand planks!

 

 

The first track “We No Speak Americano” Ab track from BodyPump 77 can be found here. (I couldn’t get the video to embed!)

 

Remember to “LIKE ME” on my new Pink Runner Facebook Page!

I’m really liking posting my workouts on Facebook during the week!  Normally, I wouldn’t write an entire post just for a mid-week workout, but it is great posting it on Facebook!

 

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Flu Season

So… I thought I wouldn’t get sick so soon but I’m pretty sure I got slammed with the flu this week.  I started feeling pretty horrible Wednesday morning and I ended up with the fever, chills, aches, cough, etc. etc. I think the worst of it was Friday and that was when I asked Colby for my favorite “sick meal”.

sickmeal

 

I NEVER eat fast food… ever! But when I am sick, I really want that Sprite from a McD’s cup and french fries.  I haven’t been very hungry for the past few days, but my comfort food really hit the spot last night!

I did get this in the mail this week…

dvd-mockup--pink-stripe

 

Pop Pilates Total Body Workout DVD!

I was really excited when I ordered this because Cassey’s workouts are always great on her YouTube site.  I wasn’t feeling up to trying the entire 60 minute DVD, so I just picked the “abs” section to do and I lasted about 20 minutes before I needed to stop.  My abs were shaking, but I was also feeling pretty sick Thursday when I tried this so I had to stop! I’ll wait a few more days before I try it out again when I feel better.

Don’t worry, I’m catching up on tons of trashy tv this weekend and laying around in my sweatpants :)

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Snowed In Workout

I was extremely excited to not set my alarm this morning and I was able to sleep in until 10:00! I didn’t realize that Colby was up earlier shoveling our entire driveway and front sidewalk.  We got about 4-5 inches of snow overnight and I already planned to run my 6 miler tomorrow with Amy.  We knew there would probably be too much snow for us to comfortably run Saturday.  I spent lots of time working on my grad work today, because this was the first week of my class. This is my final class for my Master’s program!  :)

I did a mix of three internet exercises inside the house today…

I tried and enjoyed the new 20 minute HardCORE yoga class from YogaDownload.com

I tried most of the Tone It Up Ab circuit.  You were supposed to start with a walk and end with a mile run, which I didn’t do inside the house.  You are also supposed to do this ab circuit 6 times! I did it once and I was already sweating after the 20 minute yoga.  The Tone It Up girls are in crazy good shape so I should probably try their workouts more often!

I finished with the new BodyPump 80 ab track.  Our gym does the side planks a little differently by making you raise your top leg at the very end.  Love tough BodyPump ab tracks!

Did snow mess with your weekend long run?

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Comfort Food

Monday Workout: 1 mile walk and abs

After school Colby and I walked around for about a 18 minute easy walk (1 mile) to catch up on our day and compare crazy kid stories from our school day.  Later I did planks, the sprinter and some other crunches to get some ab work in since I won’t be able to go to BodyPump tomorrow night.  :( I have been eating very well lately and I continue to plan ahead for breakfast and lunch the night before.  I have been avoiding dairy at all costs to keep myself from having another stomach attack like I did last weekend.

 

This past Sunday I wasn’t feeling so great and I think it was from being so busy during the week.  I was in the mood for something comforting, easy on my stomach and warm and I remembered a recipe that I saw on this lady’s website…

 

Mama Pea knows what’s up and I have loved every recipe I’ve tried so far! I decided to try her Chickpeas and Dumplings recipe from her blog.  The only thing I would change next time is using the correct flour mix. Mama Pea uses half wheat / half white and I used all wheat. I also made my dumplings a little too big and they took longer to cook.  I was very happy with how this easy recipe turned out and thought it was delicious!

Warm and doughy. I tried to make it look pretty for you… I tried!

What is your idea of comfort food? What are your favorite meals?

 

 

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Planning Ahead

Tuesday Workout: Abs (planks and sprinter)

Wednesday Workout: 4 mile run on TM (38 min, 15 sec running time and 41:15 total)

Treadmill workout: Mile 1 (9:33) , walk 1 minute , Mile 2 (9:41), walk 1 minute, Mile 3 (9:38), walk 1 minute, Mile 4 (9:23)

 

I tried to get home as soon as possible to run before going to teach band from 6-9 last night.  It was hot and humid and I was tired and didn’t feel like running after a day at school. So, I compromised with myself and let myself take it easy on the treadmill and watched Oprah.  It went so quickly and I even played with the incline up to 4.0 and picked up the pace at the end. This afternoon is going to be 2 workouts for me. My running clothes are packed and I am going to the park after school to run 3 or 4 miles then going to BodyPump. I’m going to be tired!

Tuesday night I forced myself to do some ab workouts before I went to bed and did two of my favorites:

 

 

You must try this one. It is tough and seems to work upper and lower abs :)

Planks <3 I loveeee them! I missed BodyPump for over a week, so I thought I need to make sure I can still do my planks! My love for this ab workout started with my first BodyPump class.  There were about 2 minutes of planks at the very end of the ab track and I thought it was impossible! Go here to watch the video clip of this particular BodyPump ab track and see if you can do it!

I’ve been trying to pack my lunch for school at night so I can actually think about it and not run around like a crazy woman in the morning throwing together PB & J everyday.  After hearing the lovely Dawn Jackson Blatner speak at HLS, she reminded me about pita pockets!! How great are pita pockets!?! You can put tons of stuff in them and nothing falls out! I’ve been putting salad, chick peas and guac in mine lately and they are fantastic! It’s been tough to make me plan ahead for my lunches each night, but I am hoping to make this a permanent habit!

Making breakfast and lunch the night before!

Gotta make those overnight oats!! I split my So Delicious Coconut Yogurt (blueberry flavor!) in half and make two overnight oats at a time.  This with PB on top is amazing and I crave it every morning :)

Do you pack your lunches the night before? What do you take to eat at work?

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Tempeh and Abs!

Monday Workout: Cassey @ Blogilates – Inner Thigh Gap Workout and Abominable Abdominals

Tuesday Workout: 4 mile run from my half-marathon plan

This thing is insane. Seriously try it. Right now. Your abs will cry.

I did pilates all the time in high school and college and I am trying to bring it back into my workouts. I tried Cassey’s Inner Thigh Gap Workout first and I was familiar with most of the moves. This ab workout video was seriously crazy hard and introduced me to a bunch of new moves. It was awesome.

So I picked up a few new items to try last week after reading Mama Pea’s new cookbook.  I was eager to try tempeh after reading about it on so many blogs.  I really don’t like the taste/texture of meat very much, so I am always looking for something to give me more protein since I don’t eat yogurt/milk.

I prepared my tempeh like Gina @ The Fitnessista a few days ago and let it marinate for a few hours before I attempted to cook it in olive oil on the stove.  The result? Pretty good for my first try! I was out of maple syrup so I used honey instead and I’m sure there is a bunch of different ways to marinate it! I really liked that the texture reminded me of a black bean burger and it wasn’t smooth like tofu. It was SO filling too! I tried to eat 1/2 the pack because it was 1 serving, but it was a lot!

My first tempeh try… a vegan BLT! I LOVED it! I toasted my bread, cut up a fresh tomato, added spinach and Vegenaise and it was great. I really like Vegenaise and think it tastes better than real mayo. It has such a clean taste to it!

YUM!

My second meal with tempeh was an omelette. (not vegan- I used egg and a little cheese) I added left over tomato, mushrooms, tempeh, broccoli and kalamata olives. I left the unused 1/2 of tempeh in the bag marinating for a day before I used it in the omlette. I’m not sure how tempeh tastes after it has been cooked on the stove and then put back into the refrigerator?

Have you tried any new foods lately? Any new workouts? Did you try that Abominable Abdominals video?!

What do you think of my new header?? A friend of my family designed it for me and I love it!!! If you are on Google Reader, make sure to click and see what it looks like :)

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Guacamole Salad

Wednesday Workout: 20 minute yoga, abs
Yesterday I had meeting/stuff all day with the rest of my music department at school and I have another day of meeting-ish stuff today.  It is nice seeing the other teachers and being in the air conditioning!! It was almost 100 yesterday and is supposed to be 100 today and tomorrow! Crazy! After watching Barefoot Contessa on Food Network on Tuesday (she’s my favorite) I wanted to make her Guacamole Salad for dinner.  I went to the grocery store after school and braved the heat for a yellow pepper, red onion, avocado, black beans and grape tomatoes.

 

Ina’s Guacamole Salad

 

Ingredients

  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1/2-inch diced
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup small diced red onion
  • 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno peppers, seeded (2 peppers)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
  • 1/4 cup good olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled, and 1/2-inch diced

Directions

Place the tomatoes, yellow pepper, black beans, red onion, jalapeno peppers, and lime zest in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper and pour over the vegetables. Toss well.

Just before you’re ready to serve the salad, fold the avocados into the salad. Check the seasoning and serve at room temperature.

 

My salad! It was SO good and really easy. I will definitely make this again and maybe add corn and another kind of pepper to the next one! I also made Ina style shrimp by throwing them on a baking sheet and drizzling with olive oil, salt and pepper and in 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Seriously easy and always perfect.

After dinner and my Kombucha :) I did some abs and yoga in front of the TV (Yankees game!) to get a workout in because I did not feel like getting on the treadmill or going outside in 95 degree heat.

My yoga mat :) From Target and I love how cute it is!

I followed something very similar to this for my TV yoga session and added in some warrior poses. I love how they open up my hips and stretch me out. I’m a little sore from Pump Tuesday night because I only did it once the week before! I’m looking forward to going to the new release again this Saturday :)

Oh yeah, I’ve been eating my overnight oats for breakfast the past few days! They fill me up SO much and I bought  different type of organic quick oats yesterday to try out soon. The oats in this picture are 1/4 cup = 150 calories (which I think is great). The new ones are 1/2 cup = 150 calories! I can’t imagine eating 1/2 a cup of oats because I’m always stuffed!

Have a good day!!

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Sunny Seed Runner!

Workout: 3 mile run (2.5 outside in 24 min, .5 walk on TM) , BodyPump 77 Ab Track! (4 min.)

I let my Garmin die after my bike ride! It was at 0% this morning!! WHYYYY????

I HAVE to know my pace and stats so it was horrible going without it this morning. I know many people enjoy going without their Garmin every once in awhile, but not me. I probably ran way too hard in the beginning and was dying by the end. When I got to my house I knew I couldn’t add on anymore and stopped after 2.5 miles and ran inside to see the time. I had been out for 24 minutes, so I probably ran the first mile fairly fast for me because my overall pace was about 9:36 and I know I was much slower near the end. I hopped on the treadmill when I got in to cool down. I slept in this morning and didn’t start running until 10:00 when it was already 85 degrees. Not smart. I have a running date with my friend Amy tomorrow morning at 8, so I know it will be better because it will be shady and not as hot!


Playing around with my Instagram iPhone app!

Hey Apple people, did you see the new iOS 5 operating system (for iPhone, iPad, IPod Touch) is coming out this Fall? Looks like a very good update!

Make sure to check out my guest post on Lisa @ Sunny Seed Stories !

All my posing while running paid off :)

P.S. my first running skirt comes in the mail today!

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Audrina’s Abs

Saturday Workout: Probably an off day, but there’s still hope… I will at least do abs!

 

My day has consisted of making crab cakes out of the crazy amount of meat from Colby’s past crabbing trip.  I’m hoping they taste okay because I kinda winged a mix of two recipes.  One from my favorite, Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) and Paula Deen. I would have posted pictures of Colby and I making these, but I have glasses on, greasy hair that needs to be washed and a baggy Yankees tshirt on… and yes, I went out in public today.

I bought this magazine a week or two ago and thought it was a better choice than US Weekly…

 

Audrina’s Shape Magazine Ab Workout:

 

 

 

 

My new favorite ab exercise, planks! This is a variation where you lift your hips up and hold for two counts and then bring them back down to the original plank position.

 

 

I always think ab exercises where you lift your hips off the ground while you lay on the floor are difficult. They really work the lower abs!

 

Great for working upper and lower abs with one exercise!

 

Another tough one where you lift your hips off the ground.

Also, pleaseeee try this ab track from BodyPump! If you haven’t had the chance to try a BodyPump class, this is great!  It has been my favorite exercise from Pump so far, and I was glad to find the video so I can do it at home!

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As Seen On TV

Tuesday Workout: YogaDownload.com “Yoga Sculpt 1 – 20 min workout”

 

Today felt like the longest day ever! I taught music lessons from 9:00-3:30, then taught a marching band rehearsal from 6-8. By the time I got home it was almost 9:00! Yesterday, I was thinking I would run when I got home, but my legs are really sore from all the squats and lunges I did at BodyPump last night! I really challenged myself at the class by adding more weight and I can definitely feel it today. Decided to go with a Yoga workout instead and I will definitely run or spin tomorrow!

 

YogaDownload.com 20 minute workout: Yoga Sculpt #1 with weights!

There is almost always a “pose guide” you can download to look at for the yoga sessions. I like looking at them before the video starts so I know what to expect…


To tell the truth, I didn’t start this yet because I got sucked into another Tuesday night FitBlog Chat! I LOVE reading the different answers healthy living bloggers have to healthy living questions and as soon as it is over, I WILL do this workout! I need the stretching so I feel good for my run tomorrow, and it is already down as my Tuesday workout on my Exercise Log! I have fallen in love with posting my workouts for the week on my exercise log and I am so happy to see that I am doing more than just running!

 

 

As Seen On TV!

My new blogging BFF Cherie @Cherie Runs This got me thinking about TV workout products when she expressed her love for her Shake Weight!

(Picture is from Cherie’s blog)

I also have a piece of TV workout equipment I love and it is…

The Ab Slide!!!!!

I think I got the ab slide when I was in 10th grade and it has lasted me many years! I even took it to college and seriously love this thing. I feel like it stretches out your abs as you work upper and lower muscles.  I also love that you can go side to side to work the obliques :)

Do you have any “As Seen on TV” products that you love? Any workout DVDs or exercise equipment??