We all need a little dose of outside motivation every once in while...here is another shot of Gina that makes me want to have an awesome cardio session this afternoon!
Also gets me in the mood again for competing!
Over the weekend I made the 'TURKEY CUTLETS DIJONNAISE' recipe out of this months Aus OXYGEN MAG. Yummo!
I served it with a yummy pasta dish of UNCOOKED TOMATO SAUCE w/ ASPARAGUS....
simply boil the pasta of your choice (spiral or shells work best) and steam a bundle of chopped asparagus.
In a separate bowl, add 1-2 chopped tomato, 1/4C chopped kalamata olives, 1/4C chopped capers, 1/4C of chopped fresh basil, and about 1T olive oil, 2-3T balsamic vinegar, and 1tsp minced garlic.
Mix pasta, asparagus and tomato/olive mixture together in a nice bowl...and serve! It's a great accompaniment to just about any dish...meat, poultry, fish....or just throw in some tofu if you're in a vegetarian mood!
In other news!
We picked up our gym gear yesterday and hubby has put together our new gym room...YAY! It's not ready for paying customers yet (gotta get the shed built in order to remove the "garage" stuff...and of course a few other touch ups....but, at least for now-we have a fabulous new gym for ourselves! No more driving to the crap local gym (or dealing with gym owners like up in Innisfail!) We can work out whenever we want....no worry about holidays or closing up for a few hours in the afternoon-and no worry about killing ourselves on crappy equipment! Not to mention...when it's all done, we will finally have the business that we've talked about for the last 4 or 5 years-which is helping other people to get fit!
I gotta say...we really lucked out with the gear...we got a fabulous squat rack, with a variety of quality barbells, and other bars and accessories, plus a flat bench, a regular bench, a high low pulley for lat and seated pulleys, a dumbbell rack, a plate tree, w/ heaps of dumbbells and plates, a preacher curl....not to mention a few rugs for a fabulous price! We still need a few extra items-but for now-this will be awesome!
My first workout is this afternoon-BACK, BIS & TRIS BABY!
Well, just over a week ago, I did my first attempt at
PICKLED CUCUMBERS
....the verdict...
Hmmmmm....it just seems to be missing something. Not bad-but-missing something....
Here is the basic recipe I used:
750g Lebanese cucumbers
2/3 cup fresh dill
2 tsp lack peppercorns
750ml (3Cups) water
125ml (1/2Cup) white wine vinegar
1.5 tsp salt
Wash and dry cucs....slice (I cut into segments).
Layer in a dry 3L (12 C) jar alternately w/ dill and peppercorns.
Combine water, vinegar & salt in saucepan. Boil then pour over cucs in the jar. Seal immediately.
Now, I did not have fresh dill-so I used dry.....(next time I’ll use fresh!) and I didn’t have a 3L jar....so had to scale everything down-total guess work. I added garlic too....but I’m thinking I needed more vinegar, more garlic and maybe something else....any guesses?
In other news....I am quite sore today....my chest & bis (yes Kek-I too have sore bis! Yay!), but also my lower back is not happy...I’m thinking of a nice warm bubble bath later-ahhhhh-yep, I’m sure that is what the doctor would order!
Hope you all are having a pleasant weekend!
Cheers!
Anyone who has read my blog in the past six months (or even the past week!), knows that I truly desire and am working on building up my biceps.
So far, over the last couple of months, I have increased my bicep workout to twice a week....Mondays and Fridays. After doing a bit of research, I’m thinking that I’m not doing enough sets. Generally I had been sticking to 3 to 4 sets of everything. This has changed over the last couple of weeks to doing 4 to 5 sets....except for my biceps. Well, now that is going to change. I’m now working at 5 to 6 sets of 2 different exercises targeting the biceps......as well as 5 sets of the other targeted muscles. IE.
Monday: back, bis & tris...... 5 sets of each back & tri exercise.(2 to 3 each)..and 5-6 of 2 bicep exercises.
Friday: chest, shoulder & bis....again 5 sets of each chest & tri exercise with 5-6 sets of 2 bicep exercises.
Now, this will always open to change as I like to throw in a good super set here and there (especially for shoulders!)....but I’m really working on building healthy mass right now. I just think that’s what is needed to truly build up my biceps (and shoulders).
The other aspect is of course nutrition....so-with the increased sets, I will increase my protein intake as well.
So....right now I’m sitting on 28.5cm....11.25inches.....
Let the games begin!
Friday’s workout will be Chest, Shoulders & Bis....
I’ll let you know how I go!
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
—Helen Keller (1880-1968); author, lecturer, activist
Had a killer leg workout yesterday....
After a warm up with leg extensions, I did 5 sets of leg press...12 to 15 reps each.
Then went on to dumbbell-deads super-set with dumbbell squats (with plate under heels for a super deep squat).
Next up was laying leg curls....it's not a great bench for it so went easy (my lower back is still achy today though!), and the finale' was side squats on a step (with dumbbells).
My inner thighs are quite sore today, I'd give those side squats on the step 2 thumbs up!
If I ever do compete again....would love to have the legs come out looking like Valerie's....who wouldn't, right?!
Dinner last night was a power packed dish of dill salmon with baked sweet potato fries and some sliced avocado & tomato. Let me know if you want the recipe and I'll feature it for next weeks TASTY TUESDAY.
Also, yesterday we went to view a workout setup that was for sale-and we bought it! Yahoo! Just need to arrange to pick it up and by the end of next week we we'll be out of that cruddy gym and working out at home....and of course as soon as we can get the shed up and get everything else out of the garage-we will be renovating the garage into the studio and open up for business!
So, it's all coming together I'd say!
Hope the rest of your week is positive!
Cheers!
Go Lindy! I love the way Aus. Oxygen is going now that Lindy Olsen has taken over. There is still heaps of healthy eating and fitness tips, but now, with lots of focus on figure. Hope it doesn’t turn off non-figure peeps because the information is still valuable. I love it!
Last night's meal was grilled/broiled turkey steaks, steamed green beans, boiled polka dot corn on the cob and salad with fresh bean sprouts.
After pounding the turkey steaks, I marinated in a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, heaps of oregano, minced garlic and a sprinkle of salt and pepper for about 1/2 an hour. I cooked on the oven griller for 10 minutes each side...probably should have only done 5 minutes after turning over; they were tasty but a teensy bit dry. I served the steamed beans with balsamic vinegar, and since I'm not currently training for a comp-drizzled a bit of my fave ranch dressing on the salad...YUM!
Another thing I'd like to share today is one of my fave inspirational pics.......Melita Jagic:
I know many figure and bodybuilder folks have already seen this pic and know of Melita Jagic..she is just such an inspiration! And, I love her biceps (not to mention her abs & thighs!) That is my goal this year....whether I decide to compete next year or not-I’ve been working very hard at improving my bis. They are definitely a weak point for me....not just in looks but in strength as well.
Todays workout....
BACK:
Pull-ups (which I have not done in months due to a bum pec/shoulder thing-so these were super shabby!) I managed a max of 4-OMG...and that was really pushing it....that was the second set-I only could eak out 2 on the lst and 3rd set.....Just goes to show if you don't use it, you lose it- but I’m back on the program to get back up to 7 or 8. Consistency is the key!
Seated lat pull downs-I did 5 sets of 12 on these.
Seated pulleys- 4 sets of 12
Close grip pull downs -4 sets of 10
BIS:
Preacher curls with dumbbells...3 sets of 8
Curl bar curls-3 sets of 5 at what felt fairly heavy-but I know I’ve gone heavier in the past-it was only 15kilos!....I’m working on them!
TRIS:
Bench dips (12) superset with dumbbell skull crushers 4 sets
Rope tricep pull downs 4 sets.
I must have done something right-because my back, bis and tris are all just the right amount of sore today....gotta love that!
Have a great day!
Well, I think the comp bug as finally struck again! I didn't think it would happen...but damn-It did! With all the blogs about this years comps, and with us working at getting our PT business started-I'm getting quite amped and seriously contemplating a comp for next year. Right now I'm thinking INBA All Females since it is such a huge and increasingly popular show-and looks like a hell of a lot fun!
I have quite a bit of time to think about it as this years event just happened last week; but it's in the old brain now....will see if it stays!
Hope everyone is having a fab weekend...I know I am! We got our new treadmill yesterday-our first piece of equipment for the studio, and today is going to be working on the herb garden as well as working on some online training programs for some gals back in the states.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Cheers all!
Our good friends that have a wonderful garden gave us a big bag of cucumbers the other day...they just had so many they needed to get rid of them! (lucky buggers with real green thumbs!)...so, since we can only fit so many cucumbers into a day, I decided to try and make some dill pickles-I just did this jar up today (it's the only jar I had so doesn't really make much)....they have to set for a week; I'll let you in on the recipe if they turn out-it's sooooooo easy, I'm afraid they might not turn out-LOL! The only problem was that I didn't have any FRESH dill...I just had to throw in dry...but I put in lots of garlic-so, we'll see!
Other pics today include last night's salad-which of course has fresh cucumber in it as well as freshly sprouted bean sprouts from my own counter top. These are so easy and super healthy as the seed produces heaps of vitamins in order to sprout. And so easy- I just soak the seeds overnight, then put them in my little sprouter...rinse once a day...and within 2 or 3 days....I got me some super healthy salad toppings! Also pictured is the avocado oil & vinegar dressing I made...I got the recipe out of the June US Oxygen magazine.
1/4 C avocado oil
1 TBS rice vinegar
1 TBS honey
juice of one lemon
pinch or 2 of sea salt.
Personally, I will leave the honey out next time....too sweet for me! 
Last pic is one of the many friar birds that visit us every morning and feed off of our Grevillia tree. It's the greatest pic, but there you go...
I'm on chest, shoulders & bis tomorrow....As many gals out there...I LOVE SHOULDERS!!!
Have a good one!
Before the wall came tumbling down:
After:
Hubby hard at work (he didn't even realise I was shooting this picture!).....
Before clearing.....
After clearing....
Front yard today....mid winter and 25 degrees C...or 77 F for you imperialists!:
It's all coming along nicely....will keep you posted as we progress! Shed should be underway shortly..which means everything from the garage will be put into the shed AAAAAAND we can start converting the garage into the studio! YAAAAY!
“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.”
—Golda Meir (1898-1978); 4th Prime Minister of Israel
It's time again to dish out Tasty Tuesday. It's been a while, but since I havent' really cooked for over a month-I'm keen to try out lots of new, healthy dishes and am more than happy to share what I find!
This is out of Tosca Reno’s EAT CLEAN DIET COOKBOOK….
so, I won’t be providing the recipe—but just suggesting that you try it out if you have this book. This was super yummy and super easy…..Black bean and rice salad on page 99. 5g Protein, 4g Fat, 193 calories
YUM! I served this with turkey steaks that I marinated in cumin with a drizzle of olive oil…plus some sliced avocado.
I brought a few cans of black beans back from the US because I cannot find black beans here is Aus. Does anyone know where I can find black beans here in Australia?! Either canned or dried…I’m all ears people! If you cannot find black beans either…you can substitute the black with kidney beans.
Yesterday was my first day back at the little gym close by….just reinforced our desire to get our own equipment. I did manage a decent work out, though, as there is a punching bag in the gym-so I super setted punching with another back exercise-I love the punching bag! It is so much fun! That is definitely on the list for our PT studio!
Today I did a regular 30 minute jog followed by a stretch/meditation session. I’ll be working on the property today….picking up palm fronds, trimming herbs and maybe some trees-just digging in to get this place in shape. It’ll take a while-but at least I won’t be able to say I’m bored and have nothing to do-LOL!
Enjoy your day....I know I will!
Thomas family after the girls' dance recital:
My baby brothers:
Multnomah Falls with Jeannine:
Lake Simtustus Oregon:
The Folks:
Marcy's Dirty Thirty Pin Up Party:
Hey all!
Well, I'm back in Aus. Had a wonderful visit with friends and family in the states, but it was wonderful to be back in my own bed last night. I'm a bit jet lagged, of course-so woke up between 3:30 & 4am this morning. But slept really well.
I strayed from my clean eating a bit during my visit (and it was fun!)...but still managed to get some good workouts and jogs in; I'm now looking forward to getting back to my normal routine.
Hubby has been working on the house and property since I've been gone; torn down a-wall we hated between the living and kitchen area, slashed the front acreage, ripped out a few trees, and prepped for a shed! There is still heaps of work to be done though and I am ready to dig in! Besides cleaning house.....(men just don't quite do it right) and ridding the shelves of all the dust (from tearing down that wall), there is still lots of clean up outside, plus getting a veggie patch going, we still need to buy some things for the house...and of course-converting the garage into a personal training studio.
Lots of work ahead!
I will post some pics of my trip over the weekend after I've had a chance to download them from my camera. Many have already been posted on my facebook page for those of you hooked up there...we had a few wild times-LOL!
Need to catch up on a few blogs!
Cheers and have a great weekend!
