leaning out the legs.

happy groundhog day!

YOU GUYS! i am so dang busy~ i feel like i am running around like a chicken with its head cut off.  and while we are on the subject, it is pretty freaking gnarly that chickens will still run around after their heads have been cut off. fairly certain i was traumatized as a child when i witnessed this during recess when in elementary school.. some people who lived behind the school yard whacked some heads off their chickens for all to see through a chain link fence.. why anyone would expose a plethora of children to such horrific situations is beyond me.  and it is pretty crazy that cockroaches can live for up to a month without a head.

yes, these are the things that go through my head. which is still safely attached to my neck in case you were wondering.

quick post today! with lots of copying and pasting from a super sweet article. here we go.

meal 1: 1 cup egg whites + reduced sugar ketchup & a peach chobani & french press javaaaa @ 9:30 AM

i love it when i have time to make coffee at home. much, much better than coffee from the mister coffee maker at work.

fluffy whites.. microwaved on 70% power for 4 minutes..

creamy chobani.. no description needed. yum.

work work work work.. seven thousand impromptu meetings that i did not have planned. ahhhh!

meal 2: the last of the pulled chicken (sad face) on a salad with honey mustard @ 12:30 PM

mark my words, i am making a big pot of this chicken when i get back. IT. IS. SO. TASTY.

side note: i hate the new olive garden commercial. the one with the boy and his grandpa.. it is on now.. it is SO lame. just show us some steamy breadsticks and carby pasta and call it good. no sentimental jibber jabber required. oh and while we are on the subject, what the funk is up with the olive garden only putting ONE ollive in their “never-ending salad bowl”?! olive garden my eye.

you guys.. this is how i get when i am turbo busy.

snacktime was among piles of papers and lots of work. go figure.

meal 3: chocolate banana protein shake @ 3:30 PM

 

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 scoop chocolate EAS whey protein
• 1/2 banana
• ice

i don’t have xantham and guar gum at the office. UGH~ how did i live without them? i can never make a protein shake without them again. yes, they make it that much better. deb and heabs~ you were right. my life is changed.

this tasted good but it was so runny. sigh. i have become a smoothie snob, it’s official.

WORK IT!

since my triceps heybabies were killing me from sunday’s workout, i went with lower body workout today.

oh, wonder what “heybabies” are? i will let natalie dee tell you:

natalie dee, you make the world go round.

OH.. did you wonder about my title?! here we go.

soooooooo.. i have those soccer player/snowboarder/big, muscley legs. call it genetic, call it athletic, call it what you want.. i have big legs.  there is no denying that.

the more i work them, the bigger they get~ it seems.  well, the lovely and fantassstic lindsay sent me an article from muscle+fitness hers and it was all about leaning out the bulky, muscular legs! 

paraphrased from the article..

women who put on muscle very easily, such as athletes, tend to have bigger legs.  kalani (the girl in the article) started this workout routine and after two weeks she could see her legs were leaner and after four weeks, she had lost an inch from her thighs. her legs used to be 4-5 inches bigger than they are now!  the workout incorporates the moves shown below and sprints.

what pleased me the most about this article is that it had a combination of moves that i already do on a regular basis!  so~ i took the moves from the article and put it to use in my workout. first i will show you the moves it suggests for leaning the legs and then show you the format i used for my workout.

*note: all sources for photos credited to muscle + fitness hers

move #1: reverse lunge with pulse

position A:

position B:

move #2: lying butt bridge (that is what i call it. the mag called it “glute pulse”)

position A:

position B:

move #3: squat 

position A:

position B:

 

i held a 20# dumbbell in my hands during this move.

move #4: donkey kicks

position A:

position B:

move#5: step up with leg curl and knee lift

position A:

position B:

position C:

position D:

knee up. i added a knee lift after the leg curl. it was not in the article.

move #6: switches (not shown)

here is a description of what switches are:

here is my workout.

• warm up 10 minutes on the elliptical:

minute #	resistance
0-1	5
1-2	6
2-3	7
3-4	8
4-5	9
5-6	10
6-7	11
7-8	12
8-9	13
9-10	14

i averaged 7.5ish MPH the whole time and went about 1.25 miles.. i think. don’t quote me on that.

i did the following table three times through:

move	weight	reps
reverse lunge w/ pulse	body weight	30 (15 each leg, alternating)
switches	body weight	30 seconds intense
lying butt bridges	10# plate on hips	75
switches	body weight	30 seconds intense
squat	20# dumbbell	30
switches	body weight	30 seconds intense
donkey kicks	body weight	40 (20 each leg, consecutive)
switches	body weight	30 seconds intense
step up w/ leg curl +knee up	20# dumbbell	30 (15 each leg, alternating)
switches	body weight	30 seconds intense

i finished the workout with two sets (until fatigue) of hanging leg raises. fun fun.

total time: 60 minutes, calories burned: 340, max HR: 168, ave HR: 128

not bad for a strength training day, eh?

hopefully these techniques help lean out my muscley legs! i have learned to embrace my body type and don’t let those big legs get me down.. but if there is something i can do to help lean them out, i sure am going to try ;)

came home and had my muscle armor recovery protein shake which i usually mix with crushed ice and water in my shaker bottle. well.. today i got classy and blended it in the vitamix and added the gums.

meal 4: another life changing protein smoothie @ 6:45 PM

in the mix went 1 cup water, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 scoop EAS muscle armor, ice and some xantham & guar gums. the result? creamy limesicle goodness! YUM! the muscle armor is lime flavored and the vanilla protein along with the creamy-factor of the gums made it taste just like a lime ice cream shake. WINNER.

annnnd i just got done blogging. and it is 8:18 so i am going to go make myself something for a late dinner. i am thinking chicken and veggies!  i will let you know~ since you are probably not going to be able to sleep if you don’t find out what i decided to have for dinner. right? right.

well loves, that is all she wrote. i will be back tomorrow with some more ramblings. thanks for hanging out with me for a little part of your day~ hope you are doing well.. i wouldn’t know since i haven’t had time to actually READ blogs.. sorry :) love you still!

i have had almost 2 gallons of water today! WOW.

Qs~

1. what is your favorite body part and/or muscle on your body? i have learned to embrace my big legs. to the point that my hamstrings are officially my favorite part of my body. maybe that is why i love dead lifts so much.. yes, i am totally masochistic ;)

2. happy groundhog day! would you prefer 6 more weeks of winter or do you say bring on the heat?! winter for me, please!!

xo. janetha b.