Plyometric Push

Hi beauties!

Wednesday already!? Cool beans!

Let's get right to it. Yesterday I had a KILLER workout. I burned over 400 calories in 40 minutes. I used ZERO equipment and did it all in the comfort of my own home with my TV blastin' out some funky tunes! Afterward, I was a hot, sweaty mess and it felt SOOO good!

I don't know what happened, but I was draggin' all day yesterday. Hubbs and I slept in because we stayed up the night before and had some really great talks. I don't regret it one bit because in the long run, our conversation was worth way more than a few hundred cardio calories, Yaknowwhatimean?

When 2:30pm rolled around, I still had not made it to the gym and was vacillating between doing Shoulders/Tris as scheduled or doing a HIIT workout. I chose to do HIIT...however, it did not choose me.

I decided not to go to our main gym and instead went the 100 yards to our apartment complex gym. But, for some reason, my heart rate monitor was NOT picking up my pulse. (maybe I was that tired and my HRM thought I was dead). This aggravated me more than I can say because I really want to log my weekly calorie burn and after 10 minutes running on the treadmill, it still wasn't picking up my pulse and I threw in the towel. Lame, I know.

I went back to my apartment and said, "No, Talia! You are not going to skip your workout, regardless how tired you are. Dig deep. Let's do this!". So, I decided to make up a plyometric workout, similar to Jamie Eason's Plyometric Card workout. (You can watch the video at the bottom.)

I did not end up using cards and instead did either 15 reps of each exercise or 30-60 seconds intervals and kept repeating over and over. I rested only about 10-15 seconds before moving on the next move (if I needed to), otherwise no rest. Here's what I did for 40 minutes:

• Jumping Jacks
• Jump rope
• Sprints
  
• Butt Kicks
• High Knees
• Bicycle crunches
• Jump squats
  
• Push-ups
• Mountain Climbers
• Side Shuffles
• Alternating Jump lunges
• Plie squat with high knee
• Plank twists
• Tricep dips
• Flutter kicks
  
• Jump ups(on chair)
• Heismans
  
• Bear crawls
• Crab crawls
• Gate openers
  
• Monkey
  
• Flying eagles
  
• Burpees
• Showstoppers <--made it up HA!

Let me just tell you, I was famished afterward. This workout was anything but boring and the possibilities are endless! Like I said, this wasn't a completely structured workout, but I didn't stop for 40 minutes (aside from the 10-15 second rest to catch my breath.) With the music going, I was pumped up and felt amazing afterward. My downstairs neighbors are probably wondering what the heck was going on upstairs as I was doing sprints and side shuffles up and down my hallway, but hopefully I wasn't too loud HAHA! I plan on doing 1-2 plyometric workouts each week 1) to help blast fat and get me off this plateau since I've been at the same weight for 2.5 weeks:( and 2) so I can keep up at the next Cathy Savage class in two weeks!

This workout was GREAT because it was so nasty and cold outside and it's the perfect workout for me to do in my own home when my motivation is low. Plus, Mufasa was already growling and that means I got to eat sooner after my workout than drive from the gym. Here, kitty kitty kitty...

On to this morning. When my alarm went off at 6am, I was at a crucial crossroads. My head ached so badly and I felt like I was getting sick. I told Hubbs and he wanted to say in bed with me and cuddle ***Sidenote*** Cuddling with my "Hot Stone" is one of my most favorite things ever. Seriously, I call my Hubbs "Hot Stone" because 1) he IS hot and 2) he gives off the best bodyheat and I never get cold at night because his body is so warm. Must be his rockin' metabolism. Gee, that must explain why I'm always cold...)*.....where was I? Oh yes. So, I was thiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to not getting out of bed because if I was getting sick, I sure the heck didn't want to put more stress on my body. At the same time, I know if I did not go, my Hunk would stay in bed with me and cuddle (which we both wanted to do) but I thought I needed to push through and go so that we wouldn't skip out.

I am so glad I did push through the pain, because I ended up having the BEST morning cardio workout ever!!! Here's what I did:

• 10 minutes Stepmill
• 10 minutes upright bike
• 20 minutes treadmill
  (walking at incline, running at incline, walking/jogging backward and sideways, etc.)
• 10 minutes abs- decline crunches, oblique ab machines

50 minutes and another 400+ calories later, I can say I made the right decision by pushing through. Plus, my headache is gone! Musta been a fluke:)

Breakfast was great this morning, especially because I had a "special guest".

Look who I found hiding in another cabinet?! Mrs. Pumpkin Pie. (Tell me, why did I just give this SF syrup a gender? And, why did I decide it was a "she" and not a "he". Curious and curiouser...)

I added 1/4 cup almond milk plus 1.5 tablespoons of this SF syrup to my morning coffee and almost thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not gonna lie- adding heavy cream to my coffee is the only way I REALLY love to drink coffee!

Well, it's almost lunchtime and I can smell my chicken from the kitchen. First thing I did this morning was dump 7-8 frozen chicken breasts in my crock pot with 4 cups boiling water and 2 chicken boillon cubes. I don't normally like using the cubes because they have SO much sodium, but I was out of low-sodium organic chicken stock. It's yum-E for my tum-E!

Ya'll have a wonderful day!!!