Backyard Haircut

Since BodyPump totally dominated my morning post, lemme catch you up! 

(Special thanks to Vee, who is in the process of becoming a certified BodyPump instructor, for requesting a BodyPump post!) 

Breakfast 

I kept breakfast light this morning since I was heading out to the gym within 30 minutes of waking, and didn’t want to feel like a two-ton whale. 

I’m not someone who can workout on a completely full belly. I do much better on light fuel because a full belly makes me cramp up or want to curl up and go to sleep, neither of which are conducive to a good workout! 

This morning’s breakfast was brownie batter hot cereal. 

Pre-Cooked

The mix included: 

• 1 serving Flax-Z-Snax chocolate cream hot cereal
• 1 scoop All the Whey chocolate peanut butter cup protein powder
• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• Water

Microwaved for 90 seconds, stirring regularly to prevent ooooverflow… 

"A Spoonful of Chocolate Helps the Medicine Go Doooown..."

Brownie Batter Hot Cereal

This combination is so rich and chocolatey. I think I could bathe in this stuff. 😉 

After the gym, I came home, grabbed a Balance Bar, and took Sadie on a walk around the lake near our apartment. 

"Walk Me!"

There was a festival with lots of different arts and crafts and food vendors surrounding the lake. 

Festival

"I Saw the Sign"

I loved the sign that read, “If we are what we eat, I’m fast, easy and cheap.” 😀 

I think my sign would say, “If we are what we eat, I’m cheesy, fruity and sweet!” 

While walking around, Sadie and I both enjoyed a free sample of kettle corn. That stuff is dang delicious! 

I stopped to say hi to some of the dogs up for adoption and fell in love with these two pups: 

Puppy Eyes

Brody Look-a-Like

The second one reminded me so much of my friend Minda’s dog, Brody. He was adorable! 

Here’s the name of the rescue in case any of you out there live in Florida and want to adopt one of these cuties: 

A New Beginning Pet Rescue

When we arrived home from our walk, I was huuuungry. 

I made myself a bowl of roasted Nasoya tofu, broccoli and zucchini, ricotta cheese and marinara meat sauce. 

Veggies + Tofu

Cheese + Sauce

Stirred Up

Wanna know something crazy? I didn’t know you could bake tofu until like a month ago. Well you can, and it’s delicious! 

Backyard Haircut 

After lunch, Ryan and I headed to the backyard to catch some rays. 

Taking Pictures in a Mirror is Hard...

Another Mirror Pic Fail... Practicing on Sadie...

We both got antsy after a while and Ryan asked me if I would give him a haircut. 

Trusting, no? 

Of course I agreed. Check out Barber Julie’s masterpiece: 

Sad Long-Haired Boy

Happy Short-Haired Boy

Ryan's Please Stop Taking My Picture Face

Ryan now owes me $25, but I may settle for some soft serve. 😉 

Today’s Plans 

The rest of our Saturday will be spent running errands to work out some kinks with our cable box (ugh), and tracking down people on craigslist to get a boxspring and a mattress for the bed in our guest room! 

Catch ya lataaa.

So What IS BodyPump?

If you’ve read this blog more than once you’ve likely caught on to my intense love of BodyPump. Proof: Pop on over to my Exercise Log, and you’ll see that I take a BodyPump class as often as three times a week.

I know some of you share my affinity for the ‘Pump, but I also know there are a few of you out there who feel in the dark whenever I mention BodyPump.

According to the BodyPump website, “BodyPump is the original barbell class that strengthens your entire body. This 60-minute workout challenges all your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises like squats, presses, lifts and curls. Great music, awesome instructors and your choice of weight inspire you to get the results you came for – and fast!”

I remember when a former coworker told me about BodyPump. She assured me that it was a challenging class that worked your entire body in under an hour. Though I love group exercise, I’ll be completely honest and say I often feel like the classes are not challenging enough. This is not the case with BodyPump! (However, if you’re new to strength training, don’t be intimidated!  You can control the amount of weight you use throughout the class and adjust according to your personal strength level, adding more weight as your strength increases.)

During a BodyPump class, the instructor leads the entire class through a total-body strength training routine, with a different muscle group serving as the focus during different songs. The order of the class is always the same:

• Warm up
• Squats
• Chest
• Back/Hamstrings
• Triceps
• Biceps
• Lunges
• Abs
• Cool down

To me, squats and lunges are always the most difficult!

During the class you have a bar to which you add and deduct weight, depending on which muscle group you’re working. For example, I have a lot more weight on my bar when I’m doing squats than when I’m doing triceps.

My BodyPump Set Up

You will work a certain muscle group for an entire song. No more three sets of 15 reps! During BodyPump, you will do a lot of reps of various exercises, which means your starting weight should be lighter than what you might normally do in the weight room on your own.

My BodyPump weight selection typically looks like this (including the 2.5 lb. bar):

• Warm up: 22.5 lbs.
• Squats: 47.5 lbs.
• Chest: 22.5 lbs.
• Back/Hamstrings: 42.5 lbs.
• Triceps: 22.5 lbs.
• Biceps: 22.5 lbs.
• Lunges: 22. 5 lbs.
• Abs
• Cool down

Hi Guys!

(Side note: I feel like the biggest tool taking the above picture this morning. The things I do for the blog! 😉 )

Some BodyPump releases are harder than others, but by the end of every BodyPump class, I’m pretty sweaty and I always feel like I got a decent workout. (In case you’re in the dark, a BodyPump release is created by BodyPump and then distributed to instructors all over the world who learn it before teaching it to a class, so the releases are the same at every gym.) 

BodyPump really works for me. I love the challenge and it forces me to do moves I hate (squats, lunges) in a fun, upbeat environment. Plus, I’m much more likely to skip working out areas like my chest or back when I’m on my own, and BodyPump doesn’t let me skirt around certain muscle groups that deserve attention.

Have you ever taken a BodyPump or other strength training class? Love it? Hate it? Share!