Happy Friday Eve to you all! I’m so happy Friday is tomorrow….I love weekends so much. Yay.
I had a really good workout at the gym yesterday. Wednesday is my “Miscellaneous Day” for exercise. I usually just create my own workout at home or the gym depending on what I think I need each week.
So, yesterday I worked my upper body for about an hour and then I ran for 20 minutes on the treadmill. Here’s the workout I did….
I did 3 sets of 8-10 reps for each exercise (I rested for about 1 minute between each set.) Note: I tried to lift heavy enough so I could barely do 8 reps, but on some of the exercises I was able to get 10 in.
When trying to build muscle, it’s very important to lift “until failure”….make sure to challenge your muscles! Lifting too light is a waste of time, IMO.
FYI, I hyperlinked each exercise to different sites showing good examples of each exercise.
Using Machines
- Wide-Grip Lat Pull Downs
- Assisted Pullups
- Assisted Tricep Dips
- Side Lateral Raises
- Chest Presses
- Seated Cable Bicep Curls
- Seated Cable Rows
- Cable Crossovers
Using Free Weights
- Hammer Curls
- Side Bicep Curls
- Upright Rows
- Bent-over Rows
- Military Presses
- Side Lateral Raises
- Seated Tricep Presses
That’s it! It was a great all-over upper body workout. I made sure to hit everything: shoulders, chest, back, triceps and biceps. Usually I do some abs as well, but I ran out of time. 🙁
Oh, and here’s a blurry “after workout” pic I took…
Gold’s gym has different tips and tricks that they show on the TVs throughout the gym. While I was on the treadmill, I read a tip that said something like, “The hour after a workout is considered to be the ‘Golden Hour’ because the body is able to process carbs and sugars very efficiently and sends them straight to the muscles.”
I’ve heard similar things before, but after reading this tip I decided to make myself a Mint Chocolate Chip Protein Shake when I got home. After all, my muscles needed the extra sugar, lol!
This time I skipped the cottage cheese and added a little bit of xanthan gum (just a pinch!) and more ice (about 18 cubes total) to make it extra thick and creamy! This shake was so good that I might just permanently change this recipe on my website. Loved it!
I also threw in a few extra chocolate chips on top….to make it pretty. 😉
This shake was dang yummy. Oh, and I discovered that a glass quart jar is the PERFECT container to put a protein shake in. It fits perfectly and helps to keep it cold. Love it.
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I also made a super easy, healthy and yummy meal for dinner last night I thought I would share…
I just made a version of vegetable stirfry, but I used pot stickers (from Costco) instead of chicken (or other meat.)
Btw, these pot stickers are so tasty and are actually pretty healthy. All of the ingredients are real, but they are a little high in the calorie department (260 calories for 5 of them). My kids LOVE them though and they are super easy to make….so I love them.
I used carrots, celery, red peppers, onion and frozen broccoli for the veggies. I also made some yummy rice (also from Costco!) to go along with it.
It’s a mixture of brown rice, red rice and wild rice and it is so good!
To make the stirfry stuff, I just melted 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil (you could also use olive oil) in my big electric frying pan. When it melted, I added all my veggies (the broccoli was still frozen)…
I put the lid on and cooked the vegetables (stirring occasionally) for about 10 minutes.
Then I added the frozen pot stickers to the veggies. Yes, my little pan was very crowded…but it worked!
I added a cup of water, some seasoned salt and a little soy sauce, covered the pan and cooked them for an additional 20 minutes or so (I felt like my pan cooked them a little slow, btw.)
All done…
Super yummy! I only ate two pot stickers, but I pulled some leftover chicken out of the freezer and added it to my plate. It was yummy!
Loved it. AND I have leftovers, so I might just have the same thing again tonight!
Well, I’m getting ready to head to one of my favorite classes at the gym in a sec, so I gotta jam! I hope y’all have a wonderful night!
Great meal ideas! I can’t wait to try! It’s always nice to mix up the usual routine!
Thanks so much. I hope you enjoy them!
The mint chocolate chip protein shake looks so good and I don’t even like chocolate. I am always looking for healthy recipes and ideas to add to our lives. Glad I found your blog. I am currently on my weight loss journey and so I love reading health and fitness blogs.
I really love this mint chocolate chip shake. You could easily leave out the chocolate chips and it would still be good….and less calories! I don’t know how in the world you don’t like chocolate though. Wow! I think I like it a little too much, lol. I wish you the best of luck on your weight loss journey!