Pug Pout + Hip Strengthing Workout

Hi, guys! Happy Sunday!

So, look what my sneaky dog tried to do this morning:

The little bugger tried to take a bite of my breakfast!

I’m sure breakfast smelled delicious to Murphy, but after a talkin’ to, he put his infamous pug pout on his face. Look at that pathetic bottom lip!

Breakfast

Breakfast was an egg sandwich with Dubliner cheese on a toasted whole wheat English muffin. I also drank an iced coffee with soy milk and agave nectar. Egg-cellent Sunday breakfast!

I spent most of the morning setting up giveaways for the 12 Days of Giveaways celebration, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, December 1. I hope you guys are getting ready for it! There are a TON of giveaways on the agenda! It’s going to be madness!

Lunch

Lunch came a few hours later. I whipped up an “everything-but-the” salad with all sorts of goodies from the fridge.

In the mix:

Arugula
Grape tomatoes
Cucumbers
Mushrooms
Carrots
Wheatberries
Pomegranate arils
Strawberries
Balsamic vinegar

I finished off lunch with a couple of Christmas cookies. A third cookie may or may not have went undocumented.

After lunch, I hit the gym to pump some iron and break a sweat. I was really feelin’ it this afternoon!

Workout

I started with a 30-minute hip strengthening workout that Tom of Motivated Fitness created for me to help with my bursitis. A bunch of people requested that I post it on the blog, so here it is!

Strength: Hip Strengthening Workout

Single leg toe touches: 15 reps, 3 sets (body weight)
Leg press machine: 15 reps, 2 sets (110 lbs), 1 set (90 lbs)
Single leg press machine (left leg): 15 reps, 3 sets, 20 lbs
Single leg press machine (right leg): 15 reps, 2 sets (30 lbs), 1 set (20 lbs)
Step-ups with dumbbell chop: 15 reps, 3 sets (each leg), 8 lbs

Looking at the above exercises, you probably notice that I’m using different weigh for my left and right legs for the single leg press on the machine. My left hip has bursitis, so it’s much weaker than my right. I was so surprised when I could barely do 20 lbs. on my left leg, but that weight wasn’t a problem at all on my right. I guess I have a lot of work to do.

The key to Tom’s workout is to only rest for 20 seconds between exercises to make sure that you are working your muscles to fatigue. So, for example, on the leg press machine, I dropped to 90 lbs. on the last set because my quads and glutes were burning! Tom suggested doing this routine 2-3 times a week to see results.

Cardio: 40-Minute Treadmill Workout (walk + run)

Warm up: 5 minutes walking
Alternate 1/2 mile run with 5 minutes of walking
Repeat 4 times
Cool down: 5 minutes walking

After the gym, I ran some errands around my neighborhood (I LOVE living in Southie!) and then headed home for a shower and a snack.

I munched on a piece of multigrain toast with almond butter before heading out for a walk with Mal and Murph.

We just got back from a 45-minute walk around our neighborhood, so now I really need to buckle down and get some work done before our friends come over for dinner. We’re having tacos!