Gatsby Motivation

I would be lying if I told you that my excitement for going to the gym was so that I could read The Great Gatsby while on the cardio machines. As I am sure you know, the movie is coming out May 10th (I already signed up for a ticket purchase email alert so I can be sure to go to the midnight premiere), and though I have read the book once before, I want to read it again before the movie is released. It's not a long book, but I have had to limit myself to only reading a chapter or two at a time so that I can actually be productive in other areas of my life. However, since last night, I have managed to read five chapters. It's just so good, and I am THRILLED for the movie - I have a final exam at 9:00am the morning after the midnight premiere, but you only live once, right?

Breakfast

Because I stayed up late reading, I let myself sleep in a bit, and I woke up around 7:30 and scrambled up some egg whites, sauteed some spinach, sprinkled it with pepper, and mixed it all together with salsa for the perfect Friday breakfast. Because eggs aren't going to hold me for very long, I also had a few of my banana-oatmeal-almond butter muffins. I know you're surprised about that one.

Workout

I let my breakfast digest while attempting to start writing yet another research paper, before hitting the gym for a workout. Like I said, Gatsby was my motivation to get there, so I started out with 20 minutes on the stairmaster. I haven't done the stairmaster in quite some time, so it was tough, but in a good way.

Before leaving for the gym, I perused Pinterest for a good upper body workout. I found one that incorporated lots of different exercises, so I decided to do it twice through.

(Source)

I switched back and forth between 10 and 12.5 pound dumbbells, and substituted alternating bicep curls for the one-arm rows, because I didn't know what those were and didn't want to waste time looking them up on my phone. I rounded out the workout with a couple extra sets of standing shoulder presses and alternating front raises before hitting the treadmill. I originally planned to walk (and read) for 20 minutes, but I haven't run in a while, so I ran a quick 8:30 mile before transitioning into a walk until the time hit 20 minutes. A good workout that will hopefully keep me focused for the rest of the day. Lots to get done this weekend!