Pink Lady

It is Wednesday (in case you didn't know), which means this week is flyin' by! Sheesh!

This morning I feel so excited, refreshed and truly joyful! The alarm went off at 5am and as soon as I dismissed that fabulous "Rocky" theme song alarm, I jumped out of bed and was dressed and ready to go in 60 seconds flat. I don't know what it was, but I was dreaming of competition prep last night and my dreams must have been super empowering because I awoke ready to "do the darn thing", yaknowwhatImean?

I headed down the hall for my morning caffeine fix and no, I did not partake in coffee goodness (GASP!) "Is everything alright?", you ask. "Are you feeling OK?", you wonder. "Why are you passing up coffee in the morning, when we all know you depend on it to get through your morning cardio?", you ponder. Have no fear, friends, there's a new energy sheriff in town. This bad boy now ensures me an excellent, hour-long cardio sesh before the rooster crows!

Starting Monday I began taking the supplement, OxyElite. GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe both recommended it as their top seller. Even though GNC tried to sell it to me a few weeks ago, I didn't buy it because GNC and I are more like acquaintances. When my true friend, The Vitamin Shoppe, introduced me to the product this past weekend, I said, "Ohhh, I'd like to try those. Thanks." (Call it my gut feeling, but I just seem to trust The Vitamin Shoppe more when it comes to my health. Not to mention they weren't trying to sell me the most expensive product and they actually gave me a discounted price since they matched their lower, online price! Score!)

Anyway, I have been thinking about trying out a thermogenic fat-burner to see if it may aid my workouts and "up" the intensity and let me tell you, folks, THEY UP THE INTENSITY!!! Holy geez! Remember yesterday I wrote about my intense workout? Well, I've never had so much energy in my life as I have the past two days. In fact, yesterday I vacuumed the entire house with as much gusto as Magda from the movie, There's Something About Mary. Crazy energy, I tell ya!

Now, for someone who doesn't take a single prescription drug *and hoping to always keep it that way* I have always been a bit leary of taking fat-burners and thermogenics. However, I thought I'd make an exception during competition prep because, frankly, "I ain't got much time!" The clock's a'tickin and I still need to drop 15-20 lbs of hard-to-reach bodyfat. I read some reviews of the product and so far haven't felt any negative side effects. I don't feel anxious or shaky and actually feel more alert and focused. My workouts have been AWESOME and I have that extra boost when lifting. I plan on finishing the bottle (90 capsules, which should last me 1.5 months taking two capsules daily) and then I'll give a formal review about it. If all is well, I may take one more bottle to last me through comp and then return to simple clean eating for ample fuel. But as for now, I'm really loving the extra energy "ummph" I'm getting throughout the day and doing two-a-day workouts, 5-6 days a week, I could use all the extra energy I can get!

Some other things I've started doing this week are stretching and using my new exercise ball!

source

I hate to admit it, but I never used to stretch before, not unless I felt really sore. Well, as you may recall, this past Saturday I worked my hamstrings so hard-core and they are still feeling a little tight and tender . I've been stretching every day and it has been doing wonders for the tightness and soreness in my hammies. Even this morning during my morning magazine/book reading steady-state cardio, I read a great article in Oxygen magazine about the benefits of stretching. One of them included the ability to lift heavier and I had no idea stretching was directly related to an increase in poundage. I'm sure most of you are thinking, "DUH, how did you not know that already?" but I never put too much emphasis on stretching and now see the err of my ways and will make stretching an important part of my training from here on out!

As for my giant blueberry here, I'm happy to have scored a really cheap good deal on an exercise ball! This was on sale at Target for $8.10. Score! You betta' believe I nabbed it! I've been wanting a new ball to use as a chair in our office and for abdominal work and will be enjoying different moves with this thing. While I spent nearly 25 minutes pumping air into this thing, my husband got an ab workout of his own laughing hysterically at me and my impatience/frustration with the darn thing. The stupid hose kept popping out and the ball would immediately start deflating and it was driving me nuts! Once I finally got the ball ready and the "stopper" in place, I just about wanted to throw the thing at my husband for laughing at me! (Nah, it actually was pretty funny trying to blow this up! HAHA!)

Oh, dear, look at the time! I need to get "so fresh and so clean, clean" as I have a busy afternoon ahead of me! My fabulous friend started her own business and I'll be helping her at an event today. Then I'm gettin' my nails did, followed by a Chest/Abs/light Calf workout. Ten hut!

Oh, before I forget, look how "pretty" my oatmeal was this morning! I put one tablespoon of SF Raspberry Davinci Gourmet syrups in my oatmeal, plus one teaspoon SF Cheesecake Jell-o pudding mix and bada-bing- a PINK bowl of goodness!!!. Yum yum, gimme' some!!! I think I'll call this bowl, "Pink Lady" because:

your the one that i want sound bite Grease sound bites

"Tell me about it, Stud"

Hope you all have a SPECTACULAR day!

Question:

1) How do you feel about thermogenic/fat burners? So far I like how it aids my intensity and focus during workouts and gives me more energy to be more productive around the house:)

2) What goes into your 'bowl of goodness'? Aside from the usual cinnamon and bee pollen, I'm really loving adding just a hint of "wow" with the SF Jello pudding mixes. I have lemon and butterscotch flavors to try next. I like to mix it up!