upperbody — Blog — Fit Foodie Le

i had a hot date with Sonny last night. *whistles* Chiso came too though. and it was only hot cause we were sweating at the gym.

i have a few of my leg workouts already posted, but it's high time for some upper body. symmetry is a great thing!

what happens when we gym together? instant camera man, whoop, whoop.

so because i work at different gyms, i come across all sorts of different equipment, which is a great perk. this particular gym uses Hoist machines- have you used them?? i LOOOOOVE them! especially this bicep machine. i really feel the burn where i'm supposed to because the rocking motion mimics the natural movement of a standing bicep curl without involving my lower back. sweet.

that 'dynamically rocking technology' (the rocking motion that occurs during use):

aligns and maintains joint position throughout the motion
reduces shear-stress forces within joints by creating multiple segment movement
provides small, yet appropriate proprioceptive challenges to the lumbopelvic hip complex (in layman's terms, that big hip joint)
improves stability and provides greater muscle pre-stretch or loading to overload muscles

uh huh, yeah. all that.

biceps, triceps, & shoulder circuit:

Hoist machine bicep curls 12 R, 12 L, 12 together - 4 x 12

tricep dips with 25 lb lap plate - 4 x 12

dumbbell hammer curls 3 x 12

EZ bar skull crushers 3 x 12

dumbbell curls out to side 3 x 12

machine shoulder raises 4 x 12

shoulder shrugs 4 x 12

forward dumbbell raises 3 x 12

T (make a T with your arms/body, palms facing you) 3 x 12

Stability ball overhead presses 2 X 25

aaaaaaand collapse!! right there. on the floor :lol:

use a challenging weight. 'heavy' is a relative term! what is heavy for YOU? once you really start to struggle and feel the burn around rep 8-10, that equates to heavy to me.

build those upper bodies...racerback season is upon us.

we tried out the Sara Lee 45 calories & delightful whole wheat w/ honey bread last night for our post workout snacks. that's egg whites, red bell pepper, and honey mustard up in my sammie. great stats, and great bread.

45 cals, 0.5g fat, 9 carbs, and 3g protein per slice. nice.

before i hit legs this morning, i made some dark chocolate chip banana pancakes to go with our eggs. i used the base of my banana recipe but added a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 packet of stevia granules, and even a few drops of chocolate stevia. all drowned in WF pancake syrup....the only way to eat these babies.

Q: what's your favorite sammich bread?

crazy good 5:30 am workout this fine tuesday morning! got through 1 hour of Total Conditioning, a Lifetime Athletic signature formatted class. almost 700 cals burned! i set aside some time every monday to sit down and write out exercises for my class. i have always sucked at making up stuff on the spot- that never goes great for me. like i could never be given a mic and asked to 'say a few words' at an event... omg. i'd totally pee on myself. however if i'm to speak about health, fitness, or FOOD, i'd be straight!!

i'm no longer unbeweavable. i know sew-ins are supposed to last way longer than one month lol, but that's all i could take. i definitely sweat out my perm this morning and i'll be smelling it for the next few days. aaaaand so will anybody on the elliptical to the left and right of me :lol:

after my class, i did a quick upper body circuit cause i didn't get to finish my workout from last night. i did:

bench press 4 x 10

machine curls 4 x 12

machine tricep extensions 4 x 12

machine pull ups 4 x 10

pushups 4 x 10

cable flyes 3 x 12

with moderate - heavy weight. didn't do abs cause i do them at the end of my class.

breakfast was my banana-cinnamon oats and spinach egg white omelette as usual. dinner last night though.....

i was imagining making and eating this while on the elliptical, not even kidding. could not get home fast enough.

grilled chicken BBQ pizza.

i used mc. cormick BBQ seasoned grilled chicken, Trader Joe's organic pizza sauce, roma tomatoes, shredded rice cheese, and fresh cilantro on an oatmeal/egg white pizza crust. i made two out of one serving and killed them both immediately.

are you stocked up on canned pumpkin through the winter? lol. i have way too many cans of it in my pantry right now. i bought so many at once though cause there was a shortage last year. i use canned pumpkin all year round though, and pumpkin pie is my fave next to key lime. pure pumpkin is low-fat, low sugar, low carb, and has plenty of fiber. great for sweet and savory dishes, just like sweet potatoes.

i cannot wait until Chiso can participate more with me in the kitchen! i have so many fun cooking projects planned. for now, he's my studio audience and listens to all my cooking demos. yeah right, he only sticks around if i give him snacks.

my little hamburglar munching on strawberry magic pop, his fave. this week.

Sonny requested brownies, so i made some with canned pumpkin. who the heck knows who created this recipe first, but i got it from Hungry Girl a couple years back. it's just 1 can pure pumpkin mixed with 1 box of brownie mix. no oil, eggs, or butter. i added a few thangs though.

dark chocolate pumpkin spice fudge brownies

the stuff:

1 box fudge brownies (your fave brand)
1 can Libby's pure pumpkin
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

i cut 15 servings outta my loaves.

do this:

set oven to 350 and mix everything together in a big bowl until smooth. no lumps or dry spots. cooking times vary..but since the batter is thicker than normal, take it out after baking it for the required time according to the kind of pan you use and do the toothpick test.

hey, the stats are still waaaay lower than the normal box recipe.

made two loaves instead of using a rectangle or square pan- one with chocolate chips, and one without. which was stupid cause all our visitors ate the one with chips.

and that's why! i microwaved a piece for a few seconds until the chocolate melted a little, then topped it with some vegan whipped topping (found at HEB in the vegan/produce department).