Friday, May 30, 2014

Seven people you see at the gym

If you go to the gym on a regular basis, you'll know exactly who I'm talking about; you might even be able to picture them.*

 1.  The bodybuilder: this guy has it all figured out.  He spends hours of every day at the gym and it shows: he's huge. His forearms are bigger than your head and he could probably pick you up with his pinkies if he wanted to. Do not get in his way, or he might decide to use you as the weight for his next exercise.

2.  The "cardio bunny": although typically a girl, a guy could fit this description as well. She (or he) will always be on either the treadmill, elliptical, StairMaster, or bike. This person stays far away from free weights and anything that might make them look "bulky" or "manly" and probably has on their cutest gym outfit.

3.  The "cute" couple: they're either attached at the hip and are working out side-by-side or are meeting up every five minutes to sneak in a little smooch. They don't care if anyone's watching; in fact, they hope you are just so you notice how cute they are that they can workout together.

4.  The walker: this is the person that drives at least 5-10 minutes away from home just to walk on the treadmill, and not just on an off-day. They're there, walking, every day. But hey, at least they're getting some exercise in, right?

5.  The admirable: this is the average Joe (or Jane) who just wants to get their life together and maybe lose a couple pounds (or their Freshman 15). They want to stay out of everyone's way, just do their own thing and get out.

6.  The totally in-shape person you hate: you know the type; super athletic, great bod, naturally skinny but not too skinny, with pure muscle definition. This is the person you want to just yell at to get the *bleep* out because they're making us all look bad. They're skipping from bench to bench, machine to machine, flying through their workout and you know they're just loving it.

7.  The one who's totally out of place: this is the person that has very clearly never been to a gym before. The people who show up on Awkward Gym Moments on Facebook or on iFunny. While there's nothing to make fun of, it's also kind of funny to watch them struggle...as long as they're not hurting themselves!

*I know this list is poking fun at people, but it's pure fun! I admire anyone who gets their butt to the gym, whether it's their first time or their 1000th. 

Who do you think I am? Who are you at the gym? Anyone to contribute?
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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Organizing: my life, wallet, AND blog

Okay, I know I've said that before, but just stick with me here. Obviously, I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I'm not quite creative enough, I don't have the time, blogging isn't for me, or a myriad of other reasons why I've been so inconsistent with my blog posts. However, I don't really think any of this is true. Yeah, I'm not the most creative person in the world, but that hasn't stopped me in other aspects of my life. Okay, I'm a busy person. But if I were really that busy, I wouldn't have started the blog to begin with. I honestly think my issue lies in my organizational techniques. I can be organized when I want to, I know I can. I make lists and calendars and all of those things. My problem is sticking to the lists and calendars. So, I'm making a serious effort to change that, starting right now.

My life:
I've had this calendar all school year, and it usually helps...when I remember to look at it.
(To prove my point, I had to go all the way back to the second week of classes in September when I actually was "consistently using" the planner).
I'm going to start using this to keep track of appointments, summer class due dates, days that Toby has off, etc.

My wallet:
I bought this cute little journal a few months ago from Target to keep track of my spending.
I was actually doing really well with it...for about three weeks. I've discussed how appalled I was at my spending habits (especially when it comes to eating out), but up until now I've not really done much to change it. Hopefully, once I get into the habit, knowing that I have to write the expenses down in a journal will help me refrain from actually doing the spending; that's the goal, at least!

The blog:
I have this leather-bound book (can you tell I have a thing for little journals/planners?) that I usually use to write my grocery list on.
However, I think I'm going to use it for planning out blog posts; at least until I can get myself another little planner (seriously, I'm in love obsessed with planners)!

Ohmygosh. YOU GUYS. That was an organized post. Who knew I was capable?! Yay for self-progress!

How do you keep your lives organized? Seriously, I'd love to know!!
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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Summer school and the sickies

Okay, I know "sickies" isn't really a word, but it doesn't have the little red squiggly line underneath it, so it counts...right?  I'm going to assume you all just nodded in agreement with me.  Anyway, moving on.
I started summer classes last week, which is why I've been a bit lazy lately (okay, that's not the only reason; I'm still getting used to the whole blogging thing, okay? Cut me some slack!).  I'm currently taking Spanish 403, which is about Mexican literature.  It's a three week course, so not bad right? Wrong.  It's 9-12 every single day.  That's 15 hours a week (and 45 hours total) in the classroom, reading and speaking in Spanish. I keep telling myself it's okay, though, because A, I'm halfway done (yay!) and B, after next Saturday (yeah, we're making up for Memorial Day by having class on Saturday), I will officially have completed my minor in Spanish! But the thing is, I should have been done with my minor after the Fall 2013 semester; however, because I didn't take Rio (the community college in Phoenix through which you can take "dual enrollment" classes in high school to gain college credit) for Spanish 5-6, or Spanish 3, I was missing 6 credits towards my minor. They made me take two extra classes, when I entered college in Spanish 325, which is technically 6th semester Spanish. You might be thinking, oh well, at least you're fluent in the language since you're in your 10th semester! Oh contraire, dear friend. After 9 years taking Spanish classes, I am NOT fluent. Not even close. You know how there's always that one person in your foreign language class who just absolutely sucks? Yeah, that's me. I am the worst at speaking Spanish. At least I can write, though...I got the highest grade on our first essay, woo! Anyway, I'm almost done then I will never take a Spanish class ever again...unless I somehow get the opportunity to study abroad, in which case why not major...?

Ah, the sickies. On Wednesday night, Toby and I made the boring drive to Phoenix to watch my little brother graduate high school *tear* on Thursday evening.
That's not actually my brother...I haven't gotten all of the pictures yet. But that's his best friend (and future roommate!) and my sister :)
I was feelin' good, even on the way back to Tucson late Thursday night. But Friday morning, I woke up feeling super achey and just all-around sick. I went with it, tried to drink lots of water, etc. Then Saturday, it was even worse. I didn't even want to get out of bed to pee (which I have to do quite frequently, curse my bladder). Saturday was even worse because my stomach hurt, too. Not quite nausea, but not really cramps, either. It was weird. This went on for about four days, but I'm finally feeling better, woohoo!

Phew, that was a long post about pretty much nothing...but thanks for bearing with me! Maybe I'll actually figure out how to organize a good post eventually...

What have you been up to this week?
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Sunday, May 25, 2014

New Job!!

You guys, I'm so excited because I finally got a job! Woo, go me! No but really, I've been trying to get a job at our Campus Recreation Center (the gym on campus) literally all year long, and I finally got it and started today! (Actually I'm currently working my first shift, but I'm allowed to be on the computer during this shift because it's so dead).  I work in the weight room. You all know I love to workout, so this job is 100% my favorite job ever already...Honestly, I'm not really sure why I'm even writing this post, but I was just so excited about starting (and having money again!!) that I just had to share with all [10] of you.  Thanks for putting up with my random thoughts :)


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This week's workouts: 5/26-5/31


Here's the workouts for the week; enjoy!
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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

I eat out WAY too much

Oh my goodness, you guys.  Last night, while waiting for my TA to email us our homework assignment, I decided it was a good idea to calculate how much money I've spent on food (outside of groceries) in the last 365 days.  I'm here to tell you that that is NEVER a good idea.  Literally, don't ever do it unless you want to be more ashamed than you ever have in your life.  The calculation took me about half an hour to do, scrolling through my online bank statements and trying to figure out why I got a calculator error...THREE TIMES.
$2053. In the last year.  I can't even begin to tell you guys how disgusted with this that I am...especially given the fact that I came into this school year in August with about $2,500.  That means that 80% of my money has gone to food.  And probably 98% of it is fast food, which is even worse.

So, with you guys as my witness, I am pledging to eat out WAY less in the next year.  Honestly, I think I can cut that number in half over the next 365 days.  What do you think?  Anyone want to join me?
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Sunday, May 18, 2014

This week's workouts: 5/19-5/24

Yikes, I know I'm a week late posting any kind of workout...finals are really kicking my butt this semester! But...yay for the fourth week of the blog! (and it's OFFICIALLY summer!)

Here's the week's routine! I really want everyone to focus on the weight that they're using.  Don't worry too much about how many reps you're doing (unless it's less than 6.  If you're doing less than 6 reps, you should probably definitely use slightly less weight). Go heavy this week. Now let's go kick some butt!

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Friday, May 16, 2014

I met my boyfriend on Tinder

Yep, you read that right.  I met this handsome man on Tinder.
Of all the freakin' places to meet someone in our generation, we met on the dating site designed for random hook-ups and one-night stands. But I swear it's not as creepy as it seems!

Here's the story:
I was in my apartment with two of my roommates, Bailey and Katie, who both have Tinder accounts (they're not actually serious either). We were hanging out in the living room on Friday night and they were both scrolling through their Tinders absentmindedly and exchanging stories about their ridiculous conversations on the app.  I thought, why not make one, if only to mess with the people on there? So I did. X number of matches later, I was talking to some guy from my Spanish class a year ago, as well as some baseball player from ASU. We talked about working out and I corrected their grammar.  That's about as far as it went with anyone, until I woke up on Saturday morning to a new message from some firefighter at 7:00 in the morning. We talked a little bit on the app on and off throughout the day until Brianna finally convinced me to ask for his number.  After that, we texted any time that we got the chance for the next two weeks (he works 24's, so every other day it'd be on and off whenever he wasn't doing work for the station or going out on calls). We played the "question game" (a necessary game for getting to know someone over text) for probably five days, learning all sorts of things about each other. We had planned to meet on his K-day (basically his weekend, but it's every other week, in the middle of the week), but he got called in for some drill/training day so it didn't work out. The next weekend, I went to Phoenix to run the Spartan race (which I highly recommend!), and when I got back to Tucson, he came over and we went to In-N-Out for our first "date" (I wouldn't have it any other way).  Don't worry though, my roommates all met him! It was the least awkward thing that I could have ever imagined. We clicked right away and had so much fun.  He came back to the apartment after dinner and we played Taboo and Clue with my roommates, then went home.  Since that Sunday, we've seen each other every single day that he has off, other than when I go back to Phoenix for longer than a day (he's come home with me twice already, and is coming for my brother's high school graduation next week).

I know it seems crazy, but this boy has become a huge part of my life; I wouldn't change it for the world, regardless of how it happened. He makes me insanely happy every single day, and I can't wait to see what's in store for us!
First picture we took together...a tad awkward, but I love it!
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Thursday, May 15, 2014

Slacking

I know, I haven't posted workouts this week...It's been a busy week for me! I had three finals within a 24 hour period, so naturally, I had to cram for each one in the 6 hours before the test, leaving no real time to write workouts.  BUT I have been working out and recording what I do, so this week's routines will be posted for next week, next week's will be posted for the following week, and so on and so forth. Hopefully this will be better for everyone because I can be positive that the workouts will leave you feeling accomplished; for myself at least, the last few posted ones have felt really good, but they haven't left any lasting muscle soreness or even overall feelings of success.  So, you'll definitely see workouts posted for next week by this coming Sunday; fingers crossed that this method works a little better!

Thanks for bearing with me...I swear I'll get my stuff together eventually!
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Friday, May 9, 2014

The Last Supper: Roommate Breakfast edition


Okay, I'm crying because yesterday was our last breakfast with everyone living under the same roof.

Okay, it's a bad picture but it's the only one we took. Also, Brianna was grabbing my ass so there's that.
It's so weird to think about the fact that the year is already over...it seriously flew by.  I feel like we moved in just yesterday!
If you read Brianna's blog, then you know that she and I are basically dating.  We talk to each other every single day (hello, we live under the same roof), text when we're not together, buy each other Starbucks and In-N-Out on a whim, and are really bad influences for one another when it comes to food choices (read: eating In-N-Out and Hot Cheetos at least three times a week).  Well, she just left about 20 minutes ago for her mom's house, where she'll stay for a week, then she flies out to Montana to spend the summer (3 WHOLE MONTHS) with her boyfriend.  AKA, I'm basically never going to see her again, because when she comes back, I will be all moved out of the apartment and living in a house with my other besties.  Not to mention the fact that she's graduating in December (a year and a half early...such a genius), then moving to Montana with her boyfriend until he gets out of the Military.  It's insane to think that someone I've only known for nine months has become one of my best friends so quickly.  We literally almost cried when she left, and I'm almost in tears writing this...  This is not a drill.
Obviously, I'm sad about leaving my other two roommates as well!  First semester, Bailey and I were super close and went out together almost every time either one of us went out.  Like Halloween, for example...
She was a raccoon and I was...a biker or something. It changed with every person who asked what I was
Katie and I haven't really gotten to our "close friends" stage yet, but we're both living here over the summer, so I'm sure it'll happen soon!

Can't believe the year's already over and everyone's leaving!

Side note: I got French Toast for breakfast and Toby (he tagged along because it was his "weekend"!) got a fresh fruit, granola and yogurt dish...
 Oops...guess we know who the fat one is.  Don't judge me, it's my weakness!!

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Monday, May 5, 2014

I'm obsessed with cats

Okay, so I've said it twice, once on my about me page and once in my first post, but you've all yet to see how obsessed I actually am. 
Pardon my ugly foot/leg/ankle
This is my cat tattoo. I got it with two of my really good friends from high school, one actually drew it for the three of us.  And nope, we were not drunk when we got them. 100% sober. 100% planned out for about 5 months.  Do you get it yet?

I actually don't have a cat here in Tucson with me (my roommate is allergic and she won't even suck it up for me ugh whatever *insert hair flip emoji here*), but my parents have two at their house.  The funny thing is, though, my dad was SO against getting a cat.  So naturally, last summer, my sister and I left the house while he was at work and came home with a brand new 10 week old kitten from the Arizona Humane Society.  My favorite movie of all time is The Lion King, so obviously we named her Nala.  Then, just three weeks ago, my brother calls me saying that he and his friend had found a litter of four 3-week old kittens, asking if I wanted one.  I was so sad to say no, especially because he said if they didn't find homes for them within the week, they were bringing them to the shelter.  Well, three days later my mom texts me and says they adopted one.  Um..what? I've wanted a cat all my life, then once I'm gone they adopt two? NOT FAIR.
AH she was literally the cutest. This was my background for at least 8 months, not kidding
aaaand my current background: Xavi (on the left..that's his sister (or brother, we don't really know) on the right!)
Anyway, not really sure why I just spilled all of that, but the plus side is, Toby loves cats [almost] as much as I do, so he wants to adopt one as soon as he can move off base (we're crossing our fingers that it's soon, seeing as he deploys in January)! Also, we plan on raising a bobcat eventually so basically he's perfect.

Welp, now ya know just how obsessed with cats I am...Can't believe I wrote an entire post on it, but #sorrynotsorry
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Sunday, May 4, 2014

New organization tactics

Hello there, beautiful people of Blogland!  I decided that, even though I love the whole "fitness" center of the blog, I'd like to post other things about my life...and more than one post a day is a little bit too excessive for me.  So, a week after starting the blog, I'm going to revamp the way we do things around here.

From now on, I'll be posting the week's workouts (and eventually meal plans) on Sundays, so you'll be able to view all of them ahead of time instead of waiting until the morning of.  This will hopefully help some people in their planning for the week, as well as free up time for me to post about other things going on in my life.  It's a win-win for everyone! (Unless you don't care about my life, in which case I suggest you just visit us on Sundays!)

So, without further adieu, you can view (and save!) this week's workouts here :)
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Saturday, May 3, 2014

This is the life


I don't know if you know it, but I'm a little bit obsessed with my Diamondbacks...
Yes, I deliberately chose this picture, because I am very aware of the way that our season has been going (pretty much the trash can, if you haven't been paying attention); I just had to remind myself, as well as everyone else, that we can be a good team...even if it was 13 years ago.  I'm sorry, what? That seems like forever ago...

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you all the fact that I was struggling with writing all of this week's workouts (it's pretty stressful!), until I turned the game on.  Literally, I'm in seventh heaven now that I'm sitting here in my empty apartment (even though it's hot as can be), deciding just how sore we're going to be this week, and watching my boys play ball.  This really is the life.  And I have faith that we can turn this season around!

Ooops, I posted twice in one day...sorry 'bout it.

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May 3, 2014-Legs

Hello, beautiful people!  So sorry that I didn't have this morning's workout posted...well this morning... (Not that anyone is even following these but myself). I was feeling unmotivated until I realized: I have worked out every single day this week, why stop now? So, here is the last workout of the week: leg day.

Legs:
Squat presses (with machine)- 3 sets of 10
Calf raises (on same machine)- 3 sets of 10
Squats (assisted or non)- 3 sets of 16: 8 (2 seconds down, 2 seconds up), 4 (4 seconds down, 1 second up), 4 (1 second down, 4 seconds up)
                 Superset: lunge-jumps: 8 reps on each side, one set after each squat set
Lunges (assisted or non-assisted squat rack)- 3 sets of 16 each leg (same routine as squats)
                 Superst: squat jumps: 8 reps, one set after each lunge set
Adductor Machine- 3 sets of 15: 10 normal pace, 5 negatives (use your hands to help the positive motion, remove hands, hold at the top for a second, and go back to the start slowly)
Abductor Machine- 3 sets of 15: 10 normal pace, 5 negatives (same as above)
Wall sit- 1 minute, make sure thighs are parallel to ground
Exercise ball hamstring pull-ins-3 sets of 20: 10 with both legs, 5 each leg

Abs:
Exercise ball v-ups-10 reps (from ankles to hands and back to ankles=1 rep)
Sit-ups on medicine ball- 15 reps each direction (front, right side, left side)
Side heel-touches-20 reps each way (40 total)

Leg lifts-10 reps




My legs are ALREADY feeling it, and I've only been home for 30 minutes!  What are your favorite leg exercises?
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Friday, May 2, 2014

May 2, 2014-Chest

WOO only two more days left of this week's workouts!  I know you're probably pretty sore from Wednesday's workout (I know I am...), but suck it up, buttercup 'cause we're doing chest!

Keepin' it simple-three sets of ten for each exercise.  Because we're doing less reps, go a little bit heavier and push yourself!

Chest:
Bench Press-keep your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.





Cable Crossover-using the cable machine, stand between the two pulleys and set them at shoulder-height.  Pull them down, keeping your arms straight and squeezing your pectorals at contraction.

Incline Chest Fly-on an incline bench, start with arms up and slowly lower them to the sides, controlling them the entire way down, and bring them back up.

Push-ups-(I know, I hate them too!) wide grip, close grip, Hershey's kiss (another gymnastics term...I think think normal people call these "triangle push-ups"), whatever your little heart desires.

Cable chest press-standing with your back to the cable machine, push cables from your chest out (it's like a standing bench press)
                                                   
This one's short and sweet, but don't let it fool you; you'll probably be crying when you try to get out of bed tomorrow...
Let me know what you think!
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Thursday, May 1, 2014

May 1, 2014-Treadmill workout!

WOOO, CARDIO!! Just kidding, I really don't like cardio on the treadmill, but what can ya do when it's already 90 degrees at 8:00 in the morning?
Okay, running on a machine really isn't that bad when you're focused on small segments at a time, which is what we'll be doing today-interval workouts, yay!

Time (minutes):                                    Speed:
0-5:00                       Warmup               6.0
5-7:00                                                    7.0
7-8:00                                                    6.0
8-10:00                                                  7.5
10-11:00                                                6.0
11-13:00                                                7.5
13-14:00                                                6.0
14-16:00                                                7.5
17-19:00                                                6.0
19-20:30                                                8.0
20:30-22                                                6.0
22-23:30                                                8.0
23:30-25                                                6.0
25-26:30                                                7.5
26:30-28                                                6.0
28-30:00                                                7.0
30-35:00                  Cooldown              6.0

And if you're still with me...

Abs:
Grab a plate (I'm going to use 25lbs). Standing with the plate in one hand, lean over to the side with the weight, and come back up.  Do this 25 times on each side.

With a 10lb plate, do Russian Twists/Cherry Pickers (like on Tuesday), making sure to touch the weight to the ground with every twist.  Do this 20 times each side.

Bicycles-from a laying position with hands behind your head, bring one knee up to meet the other side's elbow.  By doing this, you're creating another twisting motion with your torso, really working the lower abs as well as the obliques.  Do this 25 times each side.

Toe-touches-lay down with your legs extended directly above your hips, making a 90 degree angle with your body.  Reach your hands up to touch your toes, performing a crunch-like motion.  Do this 25 times.

Hold a 1 minute plank.

Whew, this is going to be a tough workout! Always remember, you can modify any one of my workouts to meet your own needs and levels.

Let me know how this one goes for you!

**EDIT**
Okay, so I tried this today.  Let me just say, I'm NOT in as good of shape as I need to be...clearly.  I also need to start doing the workout BEFORE I write it and expect everyone else to perform it.  I ended up cutting off about 5 minutes, and changing up the time intervals.  The changes are all inserted already.  Sorry, guys!
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