The Freakin' Weekend + Workouts of the Week

Not to brag or anything, but I've kinda been kicking this weekend's ass. I had a to-do list a mile long and have been crossing things off of it like whoa. Dave was away from Friday morning until Saturday evening, and I was so busy that I PRACTICALLY DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE HE WAS GONE. Sawry, Dave.

My weekend kicked off with a Friday evening workout at a practically empty gym (whoohoo!), where I learned a new skill after recruiting a gym employee to show me a thing or two about the row machine. On the way home from the gym, I fit in a quick but surprisingly successful trip to the 4th Ave Salvation Army, where I found an awesome pair of AE corduroy pants, a cute sweater top, and a graphic t-shirt.

The rest of my Friday night consisted of leftover pizza for dinner (that part wasn't that exciting), an ice cream sundae from a new ice cream place on 4th Ave that I've been meaning to check out, and watching Justin Timberlake on the Jimmy Fallon Tonight Show. I fell asleep that night while watching The Rescuers Down Under on Netflix in bed.

My Saturday began bright and early - and with the pleasant realization that it was snowing lightly outside. It hasn't snowed much in Vancouver the whole time I've been living here, so it's always sort of a treat. I honestly don't miss the snowy, cold winters of Massachusetts, but it is nice to have some snow falling every once in awhile.

I won't bore you with all the details, but my successful Saturday of to-doing included:

• depositing a check at the bank first thing in the morning (the teller commended me for "coming out in this snow," so I told her that I'm from Massachusetts and that "this isn't snow.")
• putting money onto my laundry card
• enjoying a solo breakfast at Abigail's Party
• stopping at the market for bananas and milk
• doing 4 loads of laundry
• an exciting afternoon activity of making a breakfasty quinoa with bananas, vanilla extract, cinnamon, brown sugar, and milk. It was exciting because I somehow managed to let the quinoa boil over 3 freaking times. (Sidebar: this quinoa recipe was pretty good, but I have big plans for making it taste way better the next time I make it! Then I'll share the recipe!)
• scrubbing my entire bathroom, top to bottom
• cleaning a ton of dishes
• renting and watching Runner Runner
• getting my tax stuff ready to send to my accountant (who is also my uncle)
• eating a dinner with David of delicious chicken tacos from LOCAL (I raved about these in my 2013 Favorites blog)

On top of all of that, I also managed to take and edit a ton of pictures AND EVEN WRITE THIS BLOG THAT YOU'RE READING RIGHT NOW.

Today I've got a few more odds and ends on the to-do list but most of the big things were crossed off yesterday. I love making a to-do list every weekend - it helps me feel super productive! Do you make to-do lists too?

I got in 4 decent workouts this past week, and there may even be another exercise sesh in my day today. We'll see how the day progresses! Here's what I did at the gym last week:

2/17 (lower body)

5 mins elliptical

15 squats, holding 25 lbs

1:00 plank

60 alternating lunges

1:00 plank

60 weighted calf raises, 12.5 lbs each hand

1:00 plank

60 bridges

20 deadlifts, 12.5 lbs each hand

1:00 plank

40 side lunges + plyometric pushoff (each side)

1:30 plank

2/19 (upper body)

2x:

   12 chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

   12 bent over rows each arm, holding 12.5 lbs

   12 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

   12 Arnold press, 10 lbs each hand

   12 deltoid flys, 5 lbs each hand (+ 10 more mini flys with left arm)

   12 deltoid raises, 5 lbs each hand (+ 10 more mini raises with left arm)

 15 squats, holding 25 lbs

2/21 (lower body and core)

10 mins rowing machine

2x:

   15 squats holding 25 lbs

   30 Russian get ups, holding 5 lbs     

   40 calf raises, 15 lbs each hand

   60 Brazilian crunches

   15 deadlifts, 15 lbs each hand

   20 lying overhead raise + double crunch, holding 5 lbs

   40 alternating lunges

   30 cobras

60 bridges

40 bridges squeezing knees together

2/22 (upper body and core)

5 mins elliptical

12 chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

30 weighted v-sit twists w/ 12.5 lbs

12 bent over rows each arm, holding 12.5 lbs

30 weighted crunches on exercise ball, holding 12.5 lbs

12 close grip chest press on exercise ball, 12.5 lbs each hand

30 Russian get ups, holding 8 lbs

12 Arnold press, 10 lbs each hand

1:00 plank

12 deltoid flys, 7.5 lbs each hand

30 reverse crunch + leg raise

12 deltoid raises, 7.5 lbs each hand

30 cobras

15 squats, holding 25 lbs

If I do go to the gym today it will most likely just be for cardio. I'm going to try to mix-up my cardio a little more to keep things interesting. The row machine came into the mix on Friday, and I think the Stair Master is calling my name next.

Speaking of throwing things into the mix (not a great segue, but shut up), I love enjoying a glass of chocolate milk after the gym as part of my post-workout routine. I have heard that chocolate milk is a great recovery drink because of the combination of carbs and protein. Admittedly, I didn't do much research on this because when someone tells me I ought to have chocolate as part of my workout recovery, I will take their word for it, #AMIRIGHTLADIES?!

What do you do to get in your post-workout protein? Do you drink protein shakes? Have a favorite protein bar? Let me know!

I hope you're having a good weekend! Have you been checking things off of your list?

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