Daily Archives: April 20, 2010
Favourite Food Pairings
Well, we are at the hump. A little more frightening than usual, because I only have 8 days of work left! Jeez louise. I’m trying really hard to finish up all my ongoing projects so I don’t leave a bunch of half-finished stuff for the girl coming back to the position (I was filling in for her as a communications officer for 4 months). So much to do! I’m also kinda bummed I won’t get to be involved in some of the fun future projects. There’s never a shortage of things to do at the university!
So as I alluded to in my last post, I decided to try out a different gym this morning. I’m quite lucky here as my gym membership allows me access to four different locations in town, and on top of that, I can use the facilities at the university I work at.
I am very attached to my campus gym. It was inside those walls that I fell in love with exercise during my undergrad. It’s a little bare-bones, but full of memories nonetheless. I got there right when they opened at 6:30am, and immediately noticed some of the same regulars from when I was a student!!
Went in planning on doing an upper-body workout, but felt like doing some squats (what??) once I got there. Here’s how it went down:
Warm-up on treadmill:
Minutes | Speed – MPH | Incline |
0-3 | 3.5 | 0 |
3-4 | 5.5 | 0 |
4-5 | 6.0 | 0 |
5-6 | 6.5 | 0 |
6-7 | 7.0 | 0 |
7-8 | 5.5 | 1 |
8-9 | 6.0 | 1 |
9-10 | 6.5 | 1 |
10-11 | 7.0 | 1 |
11-12 | 5.5 | 2 |
12-13 | 6.0 | 2 |
13-14 | 6.5 | 2 |
14-15 | 7.0 | 2 |
15-16 | 5.5 | 3 |
16-17 | 6.0 | 3 |
17-18 | 6.5 | 3 |
18-19 | 7.0 | 3 |
19-20 | 3.5 | 0 |
I pretty much made up the weightlifting as I went along. I started with a compound move that works my whole body, opting for a lighter weight to warm-up my muscles a little more. Then I did alternating sets between lower-body and upper-body moves. The justification behind this was to get my heart rate up working my legs, because it goes down during the arm moves. Here we go!
Exercise | Weight | Reps | Sets | Area |
One arm dumbbell snatch | 20 lbs | 10 | 3 | Legs, Shoulders |
Alternating Sets: | ||||
Step-up | 40 lbs | 10 | 3 | Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings, Calves |
Barbell bench press | 45 lbs | 10 | 3 | Chest |
Alternating Sets: | ||||
Stiff leg deadlift | 50 lbs | 10 | 3 | Hamstrings, Glutes, Lower back |
Wide-grip lat pulldown | 50 lbs | 10 | 3 | Back |
Alternating Sets: | ||||
Sumo squat | 55 lbs | 10 | 3 | Quads, Glutes |
Dumbbell shoulder press | 15 lbs (ea) | 10 | 3 | Shoulders |
Alternating Sets: | ||||
Cable bicep curl | 25 lbs | 10 | 3 | Biceps |
Cable pushdown | 25 lbs | 10 | 3 | Triceps |
I finished of with one set each of plank, roll-up, side knee drops, bicycle crunches.
Awesome, awesome workout! When I was thinking about going to the gym to lift weights last night, I was feeling really uninspired (and lazy) about it. But then I had the idea to go to a different gym. The thought of something new immediately energized me and I was looking forward to this. Sometimes a change of scenery is all it takes!
I don’t have a picture of breakfast, but it made me realize kiwi needs to be added to my banned foods list along with pineapple. I had some with yogurt this morning, and abdominal distress immediately followed. Something that happens often with kiwis. While my reaction isn’t as bad as pineapple, I don’t believe kiwi is tasty enough to endure a couple hours pain. Also, it makes my mouth feel kinda itchy??
Moving on! Here’s a picture:
Leftovers. Salmon and quinoa to be exact.
Paired with one of the best pairings there is.
Carrots + salsa. Better than carrots and hummus, or carrots and almond butter.
Afternoon snack was another killer combo!
Orange + almond butter. Spread a little AB on each slice. Y-u-m.
Dinner!
Stuffed with turkey, hummus, feta, olives, spinach, tomatoes, among other things. Hummus + eggs = another winning combo!
After dinner, I finally took my antsy poodle for a walk. The skies cleared up and it was even warm!
Archie is actually really good at walking right beside me. Sometimes he gets hold of a “scent” so I humour him while I pees for the 105th time.
“Scent” in quotation marks, because I don’t think he has much of a sense of smell. Of course, this coming from a girl who grew up with a basset hound.
Heyyy, what’s up.
I think it’s time the trees start growing leaves already…
Getting impatient for summer to arrive!
We were out for about an hour, and both crashed when we came home (after a few downward dogs, of course). My legs are beat after these past few days of exercise.
Now I’m just nibbling on some more no-bake protein cookies.
Made with an extra tbsp of protein powder tonight, but otherwise the same. I sense a new snack obsession!!
I’ve also got a new batch of homemade protein bars setting in the fridge – chocolate banana peanut butter! Will share tomorrow :)
Question of the Day: What are your favourite food pairings? I really want to know! This is something I think about a lot. Some of my faves are:
- dates + cashew butter
- butternut squash + peanut butter
- salmon + maple
- chickpeas + cumin
- tofu + eggs
- turkey + hummus
Oh, and you’re not allowed to say banana and peanut butter, chocolate and peanut butter or PB&J! Haha.
See ya tomorrow for Waffle Wednesday! xoxo