New Year, New Workout – Upper and Cardio

December 28, 2015 By Laura

Who’s ready to start 2016 out right with a workout?

I know, I know… it’s cliche.

I’m going with a workout post not because I’m jumping on the resolution bandwagon, but because I workout almost every day. Why should that change in the new year?

What is different is that I’m doing more cardio ~~and drinking less beer~~. I made a promise to myself at the beginning of December that I’d lose a little of the newly wed fluff in the second year of marriage. That second year just happens to start January 2nd!

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Super Shoulder & Back Workout + WIAW

September 23, 2015 By Laura

The family workouts continue!

There’s something especially satisfying about making your loved ones hurt.

We’re wrapping up some loose ends this week in Atlanta. I’m still enjoying my time at home and loving mom’s new digs.

We had a fun workout yesterday in her gym. She said I worked her harder than any of the trainers she’s worked with. Mwhahahah! Here’s what we did:

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Post-Workout Grapefruit Sherbet [Recipe] + WIAW

August 26, 2015 By Laura

You know it’s hot when your shoulders sweat.

At least I wipe off my bench at the gym!

If I do cardio, I prefer to do it after I lift so I don’t get too tired. The problem is that it’s a 10 minute jog to the gym, so I feel like I should just add on another 20 and be done with it. Yesterday was one of those days. By the time I arrived at the gym I was burning up and covered in sweat.

Lifting after that was hard at first, but I got into the groove. I felt bad about being so sweaty in the weight section, but hey… it IS a gym. And I am a good citizen of the gym world – I always use the stray to clean off my sweat puddles. ~~Unlike some other people.~~

Shoulder sweat

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Anti-Chicken Leg Workout

August 24, 2015 By Laura

I have chicken legs.

I’d skip leg day every time if I could… but I don’t.

In my defense, my legs have made some huge improvements over the past few years. HUGE thanks to my Atlanta trainer for ~~torturing~~ helping me with a great leg workout nearly every Monday for 3 years.

But now I’m on my own in San Diego. I need motivational help… so I turned to clothes. Those Nike Pro shorts I picked up at DICK’s make my quads feel better. (Ok, not really… but I get excited to wear them to the gym.)

My birthday DICK’s Sporting Goods gift card has been well-used. Their layout makes it all-too-easy to find alllll the things. I even got a new sports bra, which is basically unheard of for me. (Side note: this Nike sports bra is the best sports bra I’ve purchased since I got boobs.)

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Arm Yourself For Summer – Workout & Protein Refuel

June 8, 2015 By Laura

It’s no secret that bicep day is my favorite.

My trainer says it because I’m a “dude.”

When I needed to drag myself back to the gym after 2 weeks in Greece, the most appealing workout to me was my favorite – biceps and triceps.

This workout was just what I needed – challenging and focused on the muscles I wasn’t able to work while I was away. I think most of these moves are self-explanatory. In case you aren’t familiar with it, this is what an EZ bar looks like:

There’s a similar looking crimped bar for use with the cables.

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Banana Walnut Protein Pancakes [Recipe] + WIAW

March 25, 2015 By Laura

WIAW is on the move again this week!

Because I haven’t had enough moving…

Here’s the deal. What I Ate Wednesday has been jumping around to give mamma Jenn a break. She’s entrusted me this week with hosting duties (which may be a sign she’s taken up a crack habit… is rehab where she’s disappeared to?!).

Since I’m sooooo known for sugar coating things, I’m going to come out and say that the link up got a bit out of control and Jenny from the block was suffering from exhaustion. WIAW was meant to just be a day of eats. Don’t be linking shit from 5 weeks ago, everything you ate for the past 3 weeks, or some unrelated giveaway you’re trying to get more traffic for. Follow the rules and don’t be greedy. In short, don’t be a dick.

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Stand Up Desk + WIAW

January 21, 2015 By Laura

Do you realize how much you sit?

It makes my hips hurt!

I’ve gone through a lot of “hacks” to have standing desks. At one job I stacked up Girl Scout cookie boxes to set my laptop on. When I’m at home working, I use the condo gym to build a treadmill desk. I can’t stand to sit still. Standing up while I’m working helps to improve my focus. ~~Hey! Something shiny!~~

When my boss suggested I look into a “real” standing desk, I was thrilled. After some research, VertDesk offered to hook me up with one of their adjustable height desks. Talk about not sitting still – I was bounce-off-the-walls elated. The VertDesk even has a push button control to make height adjustment easy. My co-workers can adjust it to their height and use it and, if I ever DO decide to sit, I can simply push a button to lower it.

We’ve all seen the articles about how sitting is killing us… but why exactly is a standing desk beneficial?

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Winter Workout: Shoulder Strengthener

January 5, 2015 By Laura

I’m learning not to make blanket statements.

Ever so slowly.

The whole “never dating again” thing. Refusing to waste money on a Christmas tree. Thinking seafood is gross. ~~The mornings I moaned I’m never drinking again!”~~ Thinking my shoulders are too big. I take it all back

These days I can’t grow my shoulders fast enough. It’s hard to believe that in high school I refused to wear tank tops because I thought I had “linebacker” shoulders.

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