Barefoot Park

In lieu of a run, we opted for an unusual workout yesterday - a hike in Barefoot Park! This is a special trail intended for people to walk, you guessed it, barefoot! We had done one several years ago in Germany and I still vividly remember how sore my legs were after that experience. So I knew it was a great lower body workout, using muscles you normally never use when wearing shoes.










We really enjoyed our morning (especially the coffee and cake at incredibly inexpensive prices - 1.50 for a coffee, 1.20 for a slice of any pie/cake - at the little snack bar afterwards) and after cleaning off our feet we decided to go to Maasmechelen Village, an outdoor outlet mall, which was not far off. We did some shopping, mostly for the boys plus a new suit for Stefaan - I did break down and got a pretty top (it was only 7.5 euros) for fall. Then it was our favorite Italian restaurant for dinner and then the long drive home (long in Belgium = 1 hour).

This morning it was Day 71 in Body for Life for me, and upper body weights. I was glad it was only upper body weights, for some reason that seems the least daunting. I got up later than I intended and headed off later than I like, but got it done and now this afternoon have to get some cleaning done as we are expecting guests at the end of the week.

BFL Day 66

Wow 66 days already. Today was an upper body workout, got to the gym and did 20 minutes on the elliptical first and then got started. I noticed a young woman who also looked very serious about lifting weights today, she even had those weight lifting gloves on.

I have been experimenting with some new recipes. For my post-workout recovery shake I made a blueberry-spinach protein smoothie with tahini, I was inspired by a recipe I saw on one of the Operation Fat Blaster blogs, but I can't remember whose it was (sorry!) - it was actually quite good, in spite of the icky color.

For lunch, to use up some of the zucchini I got from my neighbor, I made the Zucchini Hummus recipe from "Raw Food Revolution" by Cherie Soria, which I have been wanting to try for a long time. It was delicious! I used it as a dressing on a chopped veggie salad for lunch, along with some homemade green veggie soup (my own recipe) which included spinach, broccoli, and yes, some zucchini.

BFL Recap Days 62-65

We have been very busy and this will be another busy week so hopefully I can keep on top of blogging my workouts, at the very least! Of course, more important than blogging about them is to actually DO them...

On Sunday we got up and went to the lake to run - we were time constrained as we had to be at my dear in-laws' house at noon, so we ended up doing 7 km in 45 minutes at a nice easy pace. I do notice that my "nice easy" pace has picked up since doing HIIT workouts for the past two months! A few months back, 7 km would take more like 50 minutes. And it definitely wasn't 'cause I was so excited to get to my in-laws, either!

On Monday, I had to get my lower body weights done at home, as we had plans to go to Blueberry Fields to pick blueberries with two friends of mine, and we had to take two bikes in to the bike shop before leaving as well. But I did the same at home version (with killer lunges) I did a few weeks ago, so I felt confident it would be a decent substitute. It was!

Today, I had two buddies come to the gym with me - my two younger sons! They became very intrigued by my gym when they heard you could get free soft drinks there and watch TV while on an exercise machine! So I promised them they could come for my next HIIT workout, since that doesn't take so much time. They were great! I got them set up on exercise bikes right in front of my treadmill, they found a cartoon channel right away and started pedalling! It wasn't long before they needed to take a pit stop at the drink machine, though...three times!

Then when I was done with my run, and hot and sweaty, they wanted me to show them the machine that Grandma had been going on and on about me doing 100 kg on! So I took them over to the leg press machine and warmed up with 10 reps at 70 kg, 10 reps at 80 kg, 8 reps at 90 kg, and then ... (drumroll please) ... 100 kg!! I did 8 reps and then stopped, and asked them if we should go for 110 kg. They said yes, so I upped the weight and did 5 reps at 110 kg! I asked them if we should try 120, but they decided that was enough for today, we could try that next time. Actually, I think they were getting bored and wanted to try it themselves so I let them both take a turn at 10 kg. Gillis said it's harder than it looks.

At least they weren't like Bruce Willis' kid in the movie "Unbreakable" - does anyone remember the scene where Bruce is bench pressing in his basement and his son keeps adding more weight without telling him? We just saw this movie this weekend and the other thing I thought was hilarious is the scene when the boy is threatening to shoot his dad (because he thinks he is a super hero, and wants to prove his dad is invincible, NOT because he wants to hurt him) and Bruce Willis uses the famous parenting trick of the slow and threatening count to three: "Put that down! 1..... 2..... " and then just before he gets to three, the kid puts it down - it always amazes me how that always works, in our house too! Like, what is supposed to happen if you actually get to three??? Somehow, mysteriously, you never do...

BFL Day 61: Make That a Double

Today I had to do both a HIIT run and upper body weights, because yesterday I was stuck at home waiting for my new washing machine to be delivered (did I mention that it also pooped out on us?) and then we had to go collect the carpet and supplies for the installer who was to arrive early this morning to install it. And then since it was the hottest day of the year in Belgium, anyway, the boys and I met a friend and her son at the outdoor swimming pool to cool off.

But all this running around and working in the house has been worth it. May I introduce the "Tiffany Room" (the color Felix picked out is exactly the color of Tiffany jewelry bags and boxes - I don't know if you can tell in the picture but I checked it out with a real Tiffany bag I have and it is exactly the right shade):



And then, just installed this morning, our new carpeted stairs:

It looks and sounds fabulous - it was so loud with my boys running up and down the wooden staircase, I am so glad we have carpet again!

So after I got all the carpet bits vacuumed up and helped Felix move into his new room (and I was good and hot and sweaty), I finally left for the gym at 2:45 - which is very late for me. But I was determined to get both workouts done, because I don't want to miss anymore workouts the rest of the 12 weeks, and because I really didn't want to have to go to the gym on a Saturday morning.

So I perservered, did my HIIT run - it went well, although it was tough with the heat and humidity. And then I did my upper body weights, looking really gross and sweaty, I have to admit, so I was glad when I was finished and could head home again on my bike. My arms are wobbly and my neck and upper back is killing me, but I am a happy girl. Have a nice weekend everyone!

BFL Day 59: 100 KG!

Stefaan helped me get my bike into the car this morning so I could drop the car off at the garage and then continue onto the gym with by bike. At the garage I was glad I had built up a lot more upper body strength in the last 8 weeks because I was able to wrestle it back out again all by myself.

After handing over the keys to our friendly garage people, I headed off to the gym, stopping at my favorite natural foods store which was right on my way. I recently found a kamut bulghur there which is high in protein (17g per 100g) for a grain and really yummy.

Today was lower body. I was already warmed up from all the biking! So I got started on the leg press machine and for the first time today, I hit the 100 KG mark! It was tough but felt good to be able to do it.

I finished off the rest of the workout and headed home under the blazing sun. We are bracing ourselves for another Belgian "heatwave" the next couple days, but it does feel good to have some warm sunny weather.

The laminate floor was all installed and looked beautiful - all I had to do was vacuum up all the dust so we can move the furniture later today. And oh, yes, call the garage to hear what was up with the car... Turns out it was the air conditioner's compressor and it's going to be at least 500 euros for the part to fix it - AAAARG! This has been one heck of an expensive month.

BFL Day 58 - HIIT and miss

Beautiful sunny morning, off on my bike to the gym bright and early, but first to the post office to mail a birthday present to a friend - and the lines weren't too bad, cool! Then at the gym, I had my choice of all the treadmills, I picked the one in the most shade, and got going. As I turned my Ipod on, I noticed the little red light indicating the battery was low - oh no! I hoped it would hold out at least for half of my HIIT run, because how would I be able to hold onto those fast speeds without my music to keep my going? I was lucky, it lasted the first ten minutes before it died on me.

It was hard to keep going when all I could hear was the slapping of my feet and the purring of the treadmill, but I kept thinking, better on a short fast interval run than on a long, slow one. At least switching up the speed every minute keeps my brain busy. I did manage to finish, all hot and sweaty. Had a nice chat with one of the ladies from Bodyvive and then headed home.

Painter husband was painting, boys were busy with computer. Then it was my turn on the compter, I typed this whole blog and got ready to post, but nothing would happen, the internet service was blocked. Aargh! After trying to fix the problem I decided it wasn't worth getting all stressed about. So I got two of the boys to go to the Brico with me (the Belgian Home Depot) to get supplies to finish a job fixing my kitchen cabinet which had to be sawed open to fix a leaky pipe a few months ago. As we left, the car made a horrible noise and the air conditioning blew blow-dryer hot air and a bad smell. So we turned back to call the garage. Fortunately, they could squeeze us in tomorrow to have a look, and they thought it was probably not a big deal (keeping our fingers crossed tight on this one). Since they assured us it was okay to drive, just not without air conditioner running, we headed out again to get our supplies. We found everything we needed and more and I am happy to say I managed to fix up my under sink cupboard nice and neat, hiding the pit, and installing a brand new garbage can installation to boot!

We just pulled off all the tape from the freshly painted hall and stairs (looks gorgeous, nice and fresh) and I thought I would quickly attempt to blog again before emptying out the bedroom which will be re-floored early tomorrow morning! Hope it works! (It did, phew! I better go to bed while I'm ahead!)

BFL Day 57: four weeks to go!

Day 57 and the first day of my last four weeks. I really want to step it up and get the most out of these next four weeks after all the effort I have put in. Last week was tough, my husband was home and we were doing renovation work in the house and trying to squeeze in fun activities for the boys, which meant the two biggest and worst obstacles for me were fully present all week: being out of my routine and being disorganized!

As long as I can get into a groove and have the mental space and energy to keep myself organized, everything seems to go really well for me. It's the times that I can't, that really trip me up. I try my best to do damage control but it is hard when I feel like I am running around trying to do all these additional projects and activities when the usual household jobs still need to be done, as well. So the consequence of last week's disorganization and lack of routine was that I missed two BFL workouts (one HIIT run and one lower body weights) and you guessed it...I am up on the scale this morning. AAARGH! I do know that part of my scale weight has to do with us being invited to my husband's cousin's house for an all day Belgian lunch extravaganza yesterday, and all the salty and fatty "treats" she served not to mention the wine I drank. I felt so bloated when we got home last night, it was awful! Today I have been drinking a lot of water to flush everything out, and been hitting the bathroom like crazy - I had to go three times just while I was at the gym this morning which is not normal for me at all. I am reserving judgement til I hit the scale tomorrow after a day of clean eating!

And, instead of letting it get myself down, I have decided to put my best effort into the coming four weeks. It won't be easy, we have several invitations to more typically Belgian food blow-outs, we will be having company at the end of the month and my husband will be home for another two weeks during this time, but I just have to stop letting things get in the way of my goal.

So this morning I headed for the gym to do an upper body weight workout. It went really well, I pushed myself and upped the weights on several of the exercises. I didn't let anyone freak me out! Even though there was this girl doing vigorous punching exercises with dumbbells in her hands and she just had to stand right behind the bench I was lying on to do French presses - I just kept thinking, girl, please don't drop those weights! She was very vocal too - scary! But at the same time, I was impressed with the way she dared to be different. Which brings me to a great quote I got recently from Marianne Williamson's podcast:

What someone else thinks of me is none of my business.