We made it back to Russia. I am exhausted, but it feels good to be home, however I am missing Texas already. We had a lovely time and I am looking forward to getting back into my routine soon. I am shooting for Monday as my start date which will give me a change to recover and get unpacked! 

 

Going home to the US!

I am on my way! We are going back home to Houston and to the great city of Austin, Texas! While in the states we are also going on the much awaited cruise to the Bahamas for a dear friends 40th birthday celebration!! 

I will do my best to check in every chance I can and as usual I will be watching my calories, especially on the cruise and I will stay active! No Texas barbeque for me.......ok maybe a good steak!! I do deserve one treat! 

I will be back the 23rd of October. Until then keep working hard everyone and live for the moment! 

Make this month count!! Only 84 days left this year! 

Blessings to all - TEXAS here I come!! 

Yummy Oatmeal protein shake!

I found this wonderful shake recipe from Bodybuilding.com - Enjoy!! 

Ingredients:

1 cup dry measure oatmeal, cooked in water and cooled

2 scoops vanilla protein

3 dashes cinnamon1/8 c sugar free maple syrup or equivalent amount brown sugar replacement

1 tbsp chopped almonds (or flaxseed oil or natural peanut butter)

12 oz. water or low-fat milk

Directions:

Add all ingredients to blender, blend, and pour into cup. If your short on time, just use dry oatmeal or oat flour.

Nutritional Information for added ingredients (excludes milk & protein powder):

Per Serving: 
Calories - 215 
Carbs - 33g 
Protein - 7g 
Fat - 7g 
Fiber - 5g

We are leaving tomorrow to go back to the states! My workout today was short, sweet, fast and wonderful!! I did not run as my knee was feeling better today and I have learned from experience NOT to ruin a good thing! I am confidant that through smart training and rest that it should feel better soon.  

Shoulders, Triceps and Core - 

Standing Shoulder press - 3 sets of 10 reps with 17 lb DBs 

Standing Arnold press - 3 sets of 10 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Front flys - 3 sets of 15 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Lateral flys - 3 sets of 15 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Upright rows - 3 sets of 15 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Functional rotations with double front raise - 32 reps non-stop with 6.6 lb DBs 

Two arm tricep pulldowns with 40lb P90X band - 3 sets of 15 reps 

Two arm tricep overhead extension with 40 lb P90X band - 3 sets of 15 reps 

One arm tricep extensions - 3 sets of 15 reps each arm with one 17 lb DB

Bench dips - 3 sets of 20 reps 

T plank push up - 10 reps 

Walking push up - 10 reps 

Close grip push up - 10 reps 

Inchworm push up - 10 reps 

Crunches combo - upper, mid and oblique - 200 reps 

Totals for the day - 

Time -  31 mins

Calories burned - 287 

AHR - 141/73%  MHR - 179/93%

Push ups - 40 reps 

Crunches - 200 reps 

Totals for the week -  MT

Time -  101 mins 

Calories burned - 1,027 

Push ups - 140 reps 

Crunches - 400 reps 

Daily Intake - 

Meal 1 - 1 cup of oat mixture, 1/2 apple cooked with 1/2 scoop of protein powder, 3 cups of black tea and 32 oz of water

Meal 2 - 1/2 can of tuna, pineapple and onions with chili sauce grilled with 1/4 cup of Soba noodles and 32 oz of water.

Meal 3 - 6 egg whites scrambled with mushrooms with protein shake - 1 scoop of protein powder with 1 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of pineapple. 

Meal 4- 3.5 oz of grilled Chicken breast, 1/2 cup of steamed okra and 32 oz of water 

Meal 5 - 1 cup of oat mixture cooked with 1/2 scoop of protein powder and 1/2 apple. 

Today was another great day. My workout was sluggish at first, during my warm up walk, my knee started to bother me again. I think I have to face the fact that I am going to have to visit the doctor and see what is the problem. So my cardio today was mostly walking with a short slow jog mixed in.  The intensity of my weight lifting more than made up for my lack of running today. I lifted all low weights today with very high reps, much like I did on Friday, moving quickly from one set to another. 

Back, Biceps and Core work with 30 mins of Cardio intervals - 

Warm up -  20 mins on treadmill - 6 min at 4.0 mph warm up walk, then 4 min at 4.3 mph and 5% incline, then 10 min slow jog at 5.0 mph 

Push ups combo - all military reps - total 100 

Standard - 30 reps 

Low bench incline - 30 reps 

Feet on balance ball - 20 reps 

T plank push - 10 reps 

Standard push with one arm DB row - 10 reps with 11 lb DBs 

DB flys on balance ball - 50 reps with 11 lb DBs 

DB Chest press - 50 reps with 17 lb DBs 

Two arm bicep curls - 100 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Two arm hammer curls - 100 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Treadmill interval - 10 mins - 6 min walk at 4.0 mph, then 4 mins at 4.3 mph at 5% incline 

Lat pulldowns alternating wide/close grip - 100 reps with P90X 40 lb resistance band

Rear delt flys on balance ball - 50 reps with 6.6 lb DBs 

Bent-over one arm rows - 50 reps on each arm with 25lb DBs 

Diagonal cross body chops with resistance band - 50 reps on each side 

Core work - crunch combo - mid, upper and oblique  - 200 reps total 

Totals for the day - 

Time - 70.24 mins 

Calories burned - 740

AHR - 152/79% MHR - 199/104%

Push ups - 100 

Crunches - 200 

Daily Intake - 

Meal 1 - 1 egg, 3 egg whites scrambles with mushrooms.  Protein pancake - 1/2 cup of oat mixture, 3 egg whites topped with 1 tbsp of honey. 3 cups of black tea. 

Meal 2 - 1 scoop of protein powder mixed with 1 cup of water. 3.5 oz of chicken breast grilled. 

Meal 3 - 1/2 cup of oat mixture cooked with 1/2 apple and 1/2 scoop of protein powder. 32 oz of water  

Meal 4 - Off for dinner with friends......will report back!! 

Yummy Citrus dressing!

Here is a great recipe from Dr. Andrew Weil. It is simple, nutritious and super low in calories!

This tart, sweet salad dressing is wonderful on dark, leafy salad greens like romaine or leaf lettuce tossed with orange segments, black olives and red onion slivers.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup fresh orange juice 
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
1 tablespoon quality extra-virgin olive oil 
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions:
Whisk all the ingredients together or combine in a small jar and shake well. Keeps in the refrigerator for 2 days.

Nutritional Information:Per serving:
43 calories
3 g total fat (0 g sat)
0 mg cholesterol
3 g carbohydrate
0 g protein
0 g fiber

Since I was pressed for time today, I tried out a new program that I came up with.  It was simply to do 50 reps of various ST exercises within 30 mins. It was VERY effective!! The key is that you CAN NOT stop! If you need a short break, take 5 or 10 breaths then start again with your reps, but do not stop! It really got my HR up big time and it was all lifting NO cardio and yet my AHR was 77%.  I will definitely be doing this one again when I am short on time! 

Friday Oct. 3rd workout results - 30 min ST - 

Push up combo - all military reps - 

Low bench incline - 50 reps 

Standard - 50 reps 

Two arm tricep pulldowns with 40 lb resistance band - 50 reps 

Two arm laying down tricep extensions - 50 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Bench Dips - 50 reps 

Standing shoulder press - 50 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Two arm front shoulder flys - 50 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Two arm lateral shoulder flys - 50 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Bent-over one arm rows - 50 reps on each arm with 25 lb DBs 

Lat pulldowns alternating close and wide grip with 40 lb resistance band - 50 reps 

Diagonal cross body chops with resistance band - 50 reps on each side 

Two arm bicep curls - 50 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Two arm hammer curls - 50 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Totals for the day - 

Time - 30.05 mins 

Calories burned - 301 

AHR -  148/77% MHR - 182/95%

Push ups - 100 reps 

Totals for the week - MTWTHF

Time - 419 mins 

Calories burned -  3,895

Pushups - 340

Crunches -  300

Daily Intake - 10/3 

Meal 1 - 1/2 cup of oat mixture cooked with 1/2 scoop of Optimum Nutrition protein powder

Meal 2 - 1/2 cup of brown rice grilled with 1 small onion, 1 can of tuna fish, 1/4 cup of pineapple and chili sauce with dried Thai chilis. 2 cups of black tea and 32 oz of water 

Meal 3 - 3.5 oz of Pork grilled with 32 oz of water

Meal 5 - 3.5 oz of Chicken breast grilled with 1 cup of Soba noodles and red curry paste. 

Meal 6 - 1/2 cup of oat mixture cooked with 1/2 scoop of protein powder. 1 apple with 2 tsp of almond butter. 

New Month, New Goals, New Opportunities...

My friend sent this to me and I thought is was the perfect message to start off a new month! 

Here are seven Self-Motivator reminders for you to review on a regular basis.

#1 - Get Serious. Make a decision to go all the way to the top. Up to now you've thought about it. Up to now, it's passed your mind. Many of you made the decision, and you've made up your mind to go all the way to the top, and your lives have taken off. It's the most extraordinary thing. Your life is one, like in the shadow going up the dark side of the hill until the moment you decide that "By gum, I'm gong to be the best at what I do. I'm going to be in the top 10 percent." And suddenly you rose into the sunshine, and your life is forever after different - wonderful. Get serious. Don't fool around anymore.

#2 - Identify Your Limiting Step to Sales Success. What's your limiting step? What's the one skill area that's holding you back? What's the skill? What's the quality? What's the action? Ask other people. Find out what you need to become good at. Sometimes it may be only one skill. If you became really, really good on the telephone, you could maybe double your prospecting effectiveness and double your sales. If you became very, very good at getting the order at the end from qualified prospects, you could double your sales. If you became very, very good at managing your time to really, really manage your time well, you may be able to double your face time and double your income. Find out what's holding you back. What is the critical limiting step that's determining your success today?

#3 - Get Around the Right People. Who are the right people? The right people are the people in this room. Get around winners. Get around positive people. Get around people with goals and plans, people who are going somewhere with their lives and have high aspirations. Get around eagles. As Zig says, "You can't scratch with the turkeys if you want to fly with the eagles." And get away from negative people. Get away from toxic people that complain and whine and moan all the time. Who needs them? Life is too short.

#4 - Take Excellent Care of Your Health. Take excellent care of your physical health. That means good diet, good exercise. Everybody knows they should eat better foods, get regular exercise and especially lots of rest. That's very important. If you're going to work hard 5 days a week, go to bed early 5 days a week. Get a good night's sleep. Be fully rested, and tonight get really rested. You don't have to watch the Letterman Show...

#5 - Positive Visualization. See yourself as the very best in your field. Remember, all improvement in your life begins with an improvement in your mental pictures. Visualize yourself, see yourself as the best continually. You are the best. Isn't that right? So therefore, see yourself as the best.

#6 - Positive Self-Talk. Talk to yourself positively all the time. Control your inner dialogue. And what do you say to yourself? Say, "I'm the best." Say it. Say I'm the best. I like myself. I can do it. I love my work. Yes, that's how you talk to yourself. And the more you say it to yourself...someone may say, "Well, what if you say those things to yourself and you don't believe them. Isn't that lying to yourself?" No, that's not lying to yourself. It's telling the truth in advance. Because it doesn't matter where you're coming from - all that matters is where you're going. Talk to yourself the way you want to be, not the way you just happen to be at this moment. Remember, you may have gotten where you are today largely by accident. But where you're going in the future is purely by design.

#7 - Positive Action. Get going. Move fast. Develop a sense of urgency. A sense of urgency is the one thing that you can develop that will separate you from everyone else in your field. Develop a bias for action. When you get a good idea, do it now. Only 2% of people in our society have a bias for action. And if you're already in the top 10%, you can move yourself in the top 2% by resolving that whenever you have an idea or something, do it now. And the faster you move, the better you get. And the better you get, the more you like yourself. And the more you like yourself, the higher your self-esteem is. And the higher your self-esteem is, the greater your self-discipline. And the more you persist, then you ultimately become unstoppable.

Remember, You're the Best!

Brian Tracy

Light day of core and glut work. I did not burn hardly any calories but I am sure feeling the effects of this workout!! My abs are burning!!! 

Thursday 10/2 - Workout results - Cathe Butts and Guts DVD - Core and Glut work - 

Pilates/ Core /Yoga warm up -11 mins 

Balance ball and core work - 15 reps of each - 

Planks

Forearm roll outs on ball

Balance ball side to side rotations 

V glut balance ball presses - 3 sets of 15 reps 

Low pulse lunges - 3 sets of 15 reps with each leg 

Fire-hydrant full extension - 3 set of 20 reps with each leg 

Fire-hydrant pulse reps - 3 sets of 20 reps with each leg 

Rear glut raise - 3 sets of 40 reps with each leg 

Crunches - combination of upper, mid, oblique - 300 reps 

Totals for the day - 

Time -  45.36

Calories burned -  177

AHR - 99/52%  MHR - 135/70%

Totals for the week - MTWTH

Time -  389 mins 

Calories burned -  3,594

Pushups - 240 

Crunches - 300

Daily Intake - 

Meal 1 - 1/2 cup pineapple, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1 cup of milk with 1 scoop of Optimum Nutrition protein powder. 2 cups of black tea

Meal 2 - 3.5 oz of Chicken breast grilled with 1 small eggplant. 2 cups of cooked butternut squash.

(Mid day snack - popcorn and 2 large crackers during a visit at my dear friends house)

Meal 3 -1/2 apple, 1/2 cup of oat mixture cooked with 1/2 scoop of Optimum Nutrition protein powder. 

Meal 4 - 4 oz of Chicken breast grilled with onions in a Redang curry sauce. 1/2 cup of couscous and 32 oz of water. 

As usual I decided to switch it up today and instead of running after my ST, I would do intervals in between. I have done this before several times and I am always surprised at the level of intensity it brings.  I did not do any HIIT or sprints this time. Instead I kept my running slow and steady but after lifting each interval it still provided quite a challenge!!

Wednesday 10/1 - Workout results - Full body ST with 60 mins of treadmill intervals.

Push ups combo - all military reps - 

Low bench incline - 30 reps 

Close grip - 30 reps 

Standard - 30 reps 

Diamond - 30 reps 

Chest flys on balance ball - 3 sets of 30 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Key presses - 3 sets of 10 reps with 25 lb DBs 

Treadmill intervals - 2 min warm up walk at 4.0 mph, then an 8 min run at 5.5 mph 

Alternating bicep curls - 3 sets of 30 reps with 17 lb DBs 

Alternating hammer curls - 3 sets of 30 reps with 17 lb DBs 

Treadmill intervals - 2 min warm up walk at 4.0 mph, then an 8 min run at 5.5 mph 

Diagonal cross body chops with resistance bands - 3 sets of 15 reps on each side 

Bent-over one arm rows - 3 sets of 15 reps each arm with 25 lb DB

Seated rows with 40 lb resistance band - 3 sets of 15 reps 

Alternating wide grip and close grip pulldowns with 40 lb resistance band - 3 sets of 30 reps 

Treadmill intervals - 2 min warm up walk at 4.0 mph, then an 8 min run at 5.5 mph 

Two arm laying down tricep extensions - 3 sets of 30 reps with 11 lb DBs

Two arm tricep pulldowns with 40 lb resistance band - 3 sets of 15 reps 

Two arm tricep overhead extensions with 40 lb resistance band - 3 set of 15 reps 

Bench Dips - 5 sets of 10 reps 

Treadmill intervals - 2 min warm up walk at 4.0 mph, then an 8 min run at 5.5 mph 

Rear delt raises - 3 sets of 15 reps each arm with 6.6 lb DBs 

Rear delt flys on balance ball - 5 sets of 10 reps with 6.6 lb DBs 

Standing shoulder presses - 3 sets of 15 reps with 11 lb DBs 

Functional rotations with double front raise - 4 sets of 20 reps with 6.6 lb DBs 

Treadmill intervals - 5 min warm up walk at 4.0 mph, then an 15 min run at 5.5 mph and followed by an 5 min cool down and stretch.

Totals for the day - 

Time -  146.23 mins 

Calories burned - 1,515

Push ups -120 

AHR - 150/78%  MHR - 194/101%

Totals for the week - MTW

Time - 344 mins 

Calories burned - 3,417 

Push ups - 240 

Daily Intake - 

Meal 1 - 1 egg, 6 egg whites scrambled with 1/2 cup of brown rice. 2 cups of black tea and 32 oz of water

Meal 2 - pre workout - 1/2 cup of oat mixture, 1/2 cup apple cooked with 1/2 scoop Optimum Nutrition protein powder

Meal 3 - post workout - 1 1/2 scoop of Ultimate Nutrition prostar protein powder with water. 

Meal 4 - 1 cup of White bean chicken chili, 2 medium tomatoes and 1 cup of raw zucchini with 1 tbsp of Newman's own light balsamic dressing and 32 oz of water. 1/2 cup of brown rice with a few raisins and 1/2 cup of milk.

Meal 5 - 1 scoop of Optimum Nutrition protein powder, 1 cup of milk, 1/2 of pineapple and 1/2 of strawberries. 1/2 apple with 1 tsp of almond butter. 

Meal 6 - 3.5 oz of chicken breast  grilled with eggplant, mushrooms and red curry paste with 1 cup of Soba noodles and 32 oz of water