PiYo

I may have just found a new favorite workout, but we'll get to that in a minute. Let's pick up where we left off, and that was in the middle of work yesterday. I was very productive in the way of getting some personal things done, before Jessica came in and gave me no less than 500 move-in day brochures to fold. I just turned on my music and got in my groove, but I did take an absolutely delicious lunch break. Steak sandwiches were on the menu, but Chris, head of the kitchen staff, knows that I have a dairy intolerance, so he brought me up a veggie sandwich made especially for me. I swapped the white bun for a FlatOut MultiGrain Flatbread smeared with red roasted pepper hummus, but I transferred over all of the veggies, which included mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, diced zucchini squash, green bell peppers, and slices of avocado. Paired with a side of pineapple and strawberries, and I had the perfect lunch. Seriously, I was still talking about it even an hour and a half later.

And the best part is, I can easily recreate this wrap myself. This discovery came at the perfect time, as I have a whole year of preparing on-the-go lunches for myself. The life of a soon-to-be student teacher!

After work, I stopped by Dylan's house for about .5 seconds before he made his way to Friendswood, biked over to Gregory for a late-afternoon swim, and then drove over to Town Lake for a very hot three-mile walk. After a quick errand and a refreshing shower, I was in my pajamas cooking dinner and reading by 7:00pm. Because sometimes you just need that kind of a night.

I finished the book I was reading - Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver - and started up a new one - Lessons in French by Hilary Reyl - before calling it a night. I didn't set an alarm this morning, thinking I would just let myself sleep in as late as my body wanted, but I was up and ready to greet the day at 7:15am. I didn't get up right away, and I just laid in bed reading until my stomach started grumbling for breakfast.

I made an old favorite, and when I say old favorite, I mean my favorite breakfast approximately a month ago, but it has been a while since I've whipped up scrambled egg whites and spinach topped with lemon pepper and salsa. I was still a little bit hungry, so I also put together a delicious little fruit bowl, and it was the perfect pre-workout breakfast.

After breakfast, I quickly got changed and headed to 24 Hour Fitness for a 10:00am spin class followed by a 12:00 PiYo Strength class. The spin class left me nice and sweaty, as usual, but it wasn't the hardest class I've ever taken. We did quite a bit of sprint work, but it wasn't as difficult as it has been in the past. Maybe my sprint work is improving!

After a very short arm and ab workout, I headed back upstairs to read until a noon PiYo class. I was very intrigued by the name, especially because Amira told me about a Yogalates class she takes and loves when she is in Baton Rouge. It is a combination of Pilates and yoga, and it is a total-body workout. If you have been reading my blog regularly for the past year or so, you have probably learned that I am not a huge yoga fan. I am not the most flexible person around, and the only experience I have with a Pilates class is when a less-than-polite instructor told me that I really need to work on my flexibility. Needless to say, I was pretty intimidated, and therefore, I never returned.

However, I absolutely loved this PiYo class, because it was more of a strength class than anything, and the only real yoga moves we did were child's pose, downward dog, and warrior pose. The rest of the class was a combination of squats, lunges, pushups, and ab work. One sequence is particular was called "The Rocking Chair," and we stepped into a lunge with one foot, 

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lifted the other leg off the ground behind us,

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came back down into the lunge,

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and finished by lifting the leg that was in the lunge straight up in front of us.

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I included pictures in case my description was a little bit confusing. Since this is all new to me, I have not yet picked up the actual terms, but I figure the pictures will do the trick. This class really challenged me in a new way, as I am not used to working these muscles, but I have a feeling that I am going to make this a regular part of my Saturday routine.

After a quick shower, I headed over a little early to SRD for the 2:00pm shift, so that I would have just enough time to make myself a delicious grilled chicken salad. I ate it alongside a plate of carrots and hummus, and it was the perfect late lunch.

Now I plan on finishing off the rest of my shift by reading either Lessons in French or Pride and Prejudice. Either one is a win! Enjoy your Squirrel Saturday, and more on that coming soon!