Cool, Crisp Air

I went for a run tonight, after a loooong time. I used to be quite a runner but since I’d started focusing on interval strength/cardio circuits, I’d cut down my running time to Nil. Zilch. Nada.

As I laced up my Nikes to hit the road pavement, I wondered if I would still be able to complete the distance I used to do. I had not done a workout in days (nursing an injury) and I was eager to get back on the horse. Running was just the start. And what a cool and crisp start it was… Me thinks I’ll be lacing up tomorrow night as well.

Coco Chicken

I simply had to blog about today’s lunch. I modified this recipe..

I marinated chicken breast with lemon juice and cracked black pepper for about 20 minutes, then grilled it. Meanwhile, I heated some light coconut milk and seasoned it with some sea salt and Szechuan seasoning (didn’t have cayenne pepper, it was the next best thing). I added some lemon juice to my concoction and just a sprinkle of lemon zest.

I poured the coconut cocktail over the grilled chicken, and enjoyed it with some steamed broccoli, cauliflower and a piece of poppy seed toast smeared with hummus. (hummus goes with literally everything in my book)

I have been eating out of the drain (i.e. total crap) the past few days, and I felt the real need to clean up my diet. I traded chocolate squares for a kiwi fruit, and munched on pistachios instead of crisps, but alas, I could not resist the sweet call of a Magnum biscuit. I’ll start the clean-up mañana…

Tabata, Timer and Treats

After an exciting weekend filled with food, fun, friends and my new camera *heart*, monday is here. Another week has begun.

I woke up to a surprise in the kitchen. It seemed that my darling man had made snacks in preparation for the world cup final, leaving me nothing but crumbs and a sinkfull of dishes. Pleasant. (bless him, he barely slept all night, worried that he might miss the finals!)

Speaking of snacks, since I had a weekend filled with banana pancakes, maple syrup, icing sugar, meatball subs, Anshuman’s Dhaba food, burgers, chocolate HobNobs, Doritos, Iced Milos, fried rice….. (oshkosh b’gosh!) – I decided that I had to hit hard with some Tabata training. I had taken a break from my workouts due to a minor elbow injury, and despite feeling much better today, I decided I shouldn’t do any upper body exercises yet.

My Timer taken with my new Canon Powershot SX210 IS

Tabata training is an intense style of training developed by a Japanese guy names Izumi Tabata. You have to push yourself to near-maximum capacity for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. This combo is performed 8 times, making the total time per set 4 minutes. To create a tabata workout is really simple, all you need to do is pick a couple of whole body exercises, or exercises that use the major muscle groups, and set your interval timer as shown in the picture on the left.

My workout: 1) jump squats & jump tucks, 2) jump lunges, 3) high knees, drop down and get up, 4) forward and backward jumps, 5)step ups, which made my workout time a total of 20 minutes. It was killer, and I was sweating and panting throughout.

Time to clear up my messy casa; its later than I thought, so I’ll have to make this task pretty damn intensive too.

Stepping Up

Project !

I am officially learning web design. Previously, I’d just dabbled, enjoyed my trials and errors, but now I’m ready to take it to the next level.

My resource

I borrowed this book (right) from the city library, and have completed the first three introductory chapters, finally! I’m now ready for the reeeel stuff – (X)HTML, CSS, ETC, LOTR, Whizzy wiggy (?) The last one sounds like something from Harry Potter…

Good luck to me, I am totally psyched ! Not before a good night’s sleep, though… *yawn and snuggles into my woolly bed*

Jeans, booties and movies

Article of the day:

I will first state for the record that I love, love, love Cameron Diaz.

She talks about her love for jeans, her tiny but nevertheless juicy bottom and; this part I can really relate to …

“Exercise for me is like eating, sleeping, and breathing,” she explains. “I’m consistent, and when I’m not consistent, it shows up on my body. I get really skinny, and I know it might sound like, ‘Well, good for you.’ But the body that people talk about is not me trying to stay slim, it’s the one where I work hard to keep weight on me.”

Again, I love this woman. Right from My Best Friend’s Wedding, to Charlie’s Angels and am waiting (impatiently) for Knight and Day to premiere in Australia. Diaz and Cruise. Its like a dream come true.

Gymboss and Gimp

I recently bought a wool underlay for my bed, making it extra warm. Extra warm = extra effort to get out of bed. *sighs sleepily*

In this freezing weather, I have had to really force myself to stick to my workout routine. So far I haven’t slacked off (yet), but I have realized that I am not pushing myself as hard. *sighs again* Fortunately, for every problem there is a solution. Mine came by registered post.

My pink gymboss timer.

(I edited this photo at my new playground, a.k.a Gimp)

This little pink beeping device has really been kickin’ my butt! I think the biggest challenge it has posed to me is timed rest intervals. I usually set 10 seconds as my rest interval, and then I’m back to work (-ing out). The good thing is that I know the exact duration of my self-inflicted torture, and its easier to push yourself when you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Interval training. It boasts increased fat loss and fitness levels, with less time investment. In other words, its easier to find the time to do it, and it totally works! Its important to be consistent to see results, and I find that seeing results motivates one to keep going.

As for me, during my daily twenty minutes of blood, sweat and tears, my timer is boss (gym-boss, hmm cute). It shouts and I keep my nose to the grindstone. Its 15 second prolonged beeping marking the end of my torture is like a school bell. I just collapse in a heap on the floor, with a victorious smile on my face

Concrete Jungle and Big Lights

When the “classic gold” radio station plays music from your teens, you know that you’re from a different generation than the current one. I’m growing up… kinda – I still don’t have my wisdom teeth !

Thank god I finally found this song, its been in my head for, like, forever !