Workouts, Cooking Shit + Dr. Dre

Terrible consistency this week with the gym - just Monday and Thursday workouts under my belt so far. I meant to go on Wednesday but I've been trying to be better about cooking dinners (instead of making Dave do most of them) and an epic meal I began preparing on Wednesday afternoon proved to be more epic than I thought, derailing my plan to go to the gym that afternoon. The good news is that the meal turned out well, which you should keep reading to hear more about.

First, here's what I did at the gym so far this week:

11/12

22 mins elliptical

on exercise ball, 15 lbs each hand:

   - 12 chest press

   - 12 close grip chest press

80 weighted v-sit twists, holding 15 lbs

.  brazilian crunches  .
.  screenshot from diethealth  .

12 overhead press, 15 lbs each hand

50 reverse crunch w/ leg lifts

15 deltoid raises, 7.5 lbs each hand

60 Brazilian crunches

chest on exercise ball, kneeling on floor:

   - 12 M, 10 lbs each hand (wide double bent over row)

   - 12 Y, 7.5 lbs each hand (wide deltoid raises)

30 weighted crunches on exercise ball, holding 15 lbs

12 bicep curls, 12.5 lbs each hand

60 double leg lifts, legs at 90 degrees

12 tricep extensions on exercise ball, 10 lbs each hand

40 dynamic side planks, 20 each side

12 bent over row each arm, holding 10 lbs

1:00 plank

20 plank glute kick backs, 10 each leg

11/15 

10 mins elliptical

Did the following circuit workout 2x, with as little rest as possible:
50 alternating lunges, 10 lbs each hand

60 Brazilian crunches

- 30 bridges

- 20 bridges w/ leg adduction, 10 each leg

- 20 alternating core kicks from bridge position

50 reverse crunch w/ leg lifts

20 squats, 15 lbs each hand

30 weighted crunches on exercise ball, holding 15 lbs

Last night while I was cranking through the 2 rounds of that circuit I put together, I decided to listen to Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album on my iPod instead of just letting the music shuffle through my huge workout playlist. MBDTF (yeah I just did that) is one of those albums that I find is best listened to straight through, rather than skipping around. There are definitely one-off songs I like to throw on as well though - some of my very favorites including See Me Now and Lost in the World. Do you own the album? You should!

As I mentioned, I've been trying to be a bit better about cooking dinners lately. On Monday I made tacos, on Tuesday I made those delicious grilled cheeses I keep mentioning, and on Wednesday I went for a Parmesan-breaded chicken with roasted veggies. Last night we went out to dinner at what has become our favorite neighborhood restaurant - a Japanese eatery called Kibune. I don't know why I haven't blogged about Kibune yet because I think we've gone there about five times now, in the 7 or so weeks we've been here. I'm sure I'll get around to writing a full blog about the place sometime - the food is spectacular and it's never busy. It must be a hidden gem!

Anyway, here's what I made on Wednesday night - the meal that took me so long I had to forgo the gym just to make sure we weren't eating dinner at bedtime.

Baked Parmesan-Crusted Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

Chicken:
Mix shredded Parm, chopped fresh thyme, fresh bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a bowl. Melt butter in a frying pan, add chopped fresh garlic, heat till butter is bubbling then remove from heat and let cool slightly. Coat chicken breast in the butter/garlic, then coat thoroughly in breading mixture. Place chicken in a baking dish or sheet. Pack top of chicken breasts with what remains of breading mixture, drizzle what's left of butter/garlic in pan on top of chicken. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes. SO EFFING GOOD. Drizzling the butter on top before you put it in the oven makes it extra crispy, which is probably not news to you because you probably know much more about cooking than I do.

Roasted veggies:
Cut up an onion, 1 sweet potato, 2 small red potatoes, 2 small white potatoes, 1 broccoli crown, 3 carrots - toss in olive oil and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake that shit for about 35-40 mins at 450-475, making sure to give them a turn every once in awhile.

This meal took a long freaking time, but it wasn't difficult to do. Now I know that it's a meal to make on a day I don't plan on going to the gym.

In other news, it was brought to my attention that today is the 13th anniversary of the release of Dr. Dre's INCREDIBLE and #DAREISAY timeless Chronic 2001 album. That's right Y'ALL it's been thirteen long, excruciating, hydraulics-less, Nothin' But NO G THANGS WHATSOEVER years since that gem came out on November 16, 1999 (or "95 plus 4 pennies... add that shit up" as your boy Snoop said). Well it's been 95 plus 17 pennies at this point and zee people are getting restless for a follow up. UGH, Dre. Just ugh.

Here are a few things to reflect upon, in closing:





I said good day.