Gym, Gym, Gym

I'm branching out from workout videos for a bit. I took a workshop to learn the basics of Aerial Yoga a couple of weeks ago. Yep, suspended from the ceiling at the yoga studio. It was amazingly fun. Like circus and Cirque de Soleil kind of fun. Like being a kid again kind of fun. I was invited by a friend and I love to experience new things life.

In the past few weeks I've been travelling quite a bit and have been dropping in at local gyms. I've been to three different cities and I'm loving going back to the gym since we don't have a gym in our small town. I love the feeling of gym-one it up. Reminds me of my high school days and it's like I never left. Ahhhh. I still feel right at home in the gym and do my own thing with my headphones in. Gym monkeys beware of this momma.

I've been focusing on using machines, since I don't have that option in my normal workouts. I typically dislike machines because they tend to work muscles in an unnatural way. For example the guys who use the ab machines constantly but couldn't do a sit up on the floor if their life depended on it. So I'm picky as to which machines I use.

I like the tricep and lat pull downs, and also the leg presses and hamstring curls. Then I run sprints for 5-10 minutes on the treadmill. In between that I basically do whatever peaks my interest that day. Perhaps one of these days I'll drop in on a cross fit class to learn some of their techniques. I've been curious about them for awhile now.

I'm headed out again this weekend and hopefully can fit in another gym session Saturday evening. Yes! Feels so great. I wish I could do this everyday.

Yummy Berry Chocolate Protein Shake

I've had a lot of protein shakes in my day and the majority have tasted like chalk. I'd choke them back trying to make it as painless as possible. No more!

I've finally found a good tasting recipe! And I'm excited to share it.



Yummy Berry Chocolate Protein Shake

2 - 100g single serve Vanilla Greek Okios Yogurt (or 200g measured)



2 scoops Whey ISO in chocolate flavour



1 cup frozen mixed berries (or frozen fruit of your choice - frozen banana works great too)



1/4 cup of water



Add all ingredients in this order into your blender and mix well. The frozen fruit with the yogurt will make it nice and creamy. Enjoy!

430 calories & 55g of protein.


I enjoyed every sip and was sad when it was gone!


I realize that this has sugars from the fruit and the yogurt so it's not going to be as healthy as some people would like. But it tastes amazing and you're welcome!

Insanity Max 30 Complete!

I finished the 9 weeks of Insanity Max 30! I finished strong, doing all of the moves, in Friday Fight Round 2, unmodified!!

So very empowering to see my progress since day 1, when I had to do basically all of the moves modified. I'd set a 60-day challenge for myself just to keep motivated and I'm proud to say that even with three small kids, I never missed one day!

I did my workouts in my basement and if my kids weren't napping, then they were playing with their toys behind me, or they'd come and join in. It was really cute to see them attempting to do the moves and dancing along to the music on the videos.

I really liked that the Insanity Max 30 workouts were only five days per week (M-F weekdays). So I had my weekends free to spend with my family without guilt. I also liked that it ramps you up to being able to do the moves or that you can watch the modified video and not do all of the plyometrics (read: lots of jumping). I progressed from modified, to a semi-modified version (that I made up based on my personal training experience and years of working out since I was a teen), to doing the moves unmodified. Who knew I could do walking push-ups, push-up jacks, planks to squats (this one feels pretty cool to do), or hit the floor tuck jumps (this one is amazingly cool), or one handed burpees?

Granted I was still really tired and of course I maxed out every single day and some days, a bunch of times over the 30 minutes, but I did it. All.

In some way I'm actually sad that it's over, and maybe I'll do this series again in the coming months. I'll be posting my "before & after" photos as soon as I take my "afters". For now here's me, right after finishing the final workout.