Squat and Sprint

It was a glorious, sunny day here in Seattle so working out indoors took a bit more effort than usual today. I was pressed for time between engagements but knew the day would seen less stressful once I had gotten my sweat on! This workout barely took me 40 minutes but I can still totally feel it!

I did the squats at about 75% of my max weight and really felt it on my last set! Good luck trying out this new workout, everyone!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Winter Treats

My mother taught me from a very young age that you should always feed the people you care about. My friends who live out of town have even called to see if they could come over for one of my mother's home cooked meals on more than one occasion. And what is dinner without a little dessert? Baking is a biweekly event in my house, sometimes even more often than that! During the summers we've been known to bake almost every night, especially when my brother and all his friends have taken over the house. So when the mixer gave up the ghost a couple weeks back it was pretty devastating. Granted, the mixer was about thirty years old so none of us were all that surprised. Over the weekend our new mixer arrived and I was thrilled! I got right to work on one of my all time favorite treats: Almond Cake Bars!

This particular dessert is not what anyone would consider healthy in any way whatsoever so Mom rarely ever made them but they've always held a special place in my heart so when she finally gave me the recipe a couple years back I started making them all the time.

They're essentially just sugar, flour, almond extract, and eggs. Possibly why they're so wonderfully scrumptious! I top the cake with sliced almonds and a little more sugar before popping it into the oven for the longest twenty minutes ever.

Few things smell better than almond cake fresh out of the oven!

I love how  they turned out! Can't wait to see what else I can do with my new mixer!


Mixer: KitchenAid (in Ice)

BOSU Butt Kicker

Friday's workout was one that I can't wait to do over and over again. I grabbed a BOSU Ball, a couple of weights and got to work. If any of you haven't tried working out with a BOSU I highly recommend it! They're great for introducing instability to your current workout which helps engage your core and makes your muscles work a bit harder to achieve the same result that would normally be easier.

In your squats hold your weights the way you normally would and make sure to stand on the black surface with the circular half facing downwards.

For the horizontal chops you should feel like you're practicing your golf swing! I used a 15lb dumbbell and stood on the black top of the BOSU the same way I did with my squats. Keep your knees slightly bent and the right horizontal chops should feel like your back swing (stopping half-way through), while the left chops should feel like your follow through after you connect with the ball. Assuming you're a righty that is! If you're left handed, then all you need to do is reverse the two; left chops being your back swing and right chops the follow through.

Keep the BOSU in the same position for the push ups, putting your hands on the black top.

Flip the BOSU over for the straddle hops. Start with one foot on either side and squeeze them together when you jump, landing with feet together in the center of the BOSU before bouncing back off to the starting position. That's one.

Keep the squishy side up for the plank to pushes. Start in a plank with your forearms resting parallel on the BOSU. Extend and lift your left arm, placing your hand on the BOSU where your forearm used to be. Do the same with your right arm. Now return, one side at a time, to your original position with your forearms balancing you on the BOSU. That's one.

Flip the BOSU over once more and lay down next to it propping your feet on the black surface with your knees bent. Proceed to lift your booty up and lower it back down like a normal glute bridge.

For your wall sits, treat them like normal but stand on the flat surface of the BOSU as you do it.

Hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did!

Seasons Change

With the glorious end to the current football season (love my Seahawks!!) it is time now to turn to my favorite spring sport, golf.

I began playing as a little girl and went on to play for my high school's varsity team. Last summer was the first time I had picked up my clubs since I was 16 but it wasn't long before I fell back in love with the world's most frustrating sport. It's 90% mental and 10% luck but I keep trying. Because the more I practice the luckier I get.

Long gone are the days when I play four hours a day, six days a week, but I do like to get a head start on the season and hit the driving range early on before I head out to the links.

And that's exactly how I started off this week.

Despite temperatures in the low 30s I bundled up and hit a couple buckets at the driving range. Unfortunately I didn't get there early enough to snag one of the stalls with a space heater so I pulled out my extra pair of gloves and grit my teeth against the cold. Dreaming of warmer weather (it's snowing as I write this) I worked my way through my clubs, testing and tweaking my game as I went.

I started out a little surprised at how short my hits were taking the ball, considering the upper body strength training I had been doing since the last time I had picked up my clubs. Until, I noticed the fine print under the yardage sign...

Adding 20% made a huge difference to some of my shots! And knowing I could be hitting that much better when I finally hit the course sure put a smile on my frozen face!


Shoes: ECCO (old, similar here)