Happy First Day of Summer! With all the boating, grilling, traveling I do, I’ve felt like it’s been summer for months, and the insanely hot weather hasn’t helped. Regardless of my personal feelings, it’s finally official.
I plan to squeeze in all the summer fun I can. As you know, Kevin and I drove to my family reunion last weekend, and we’ll travel to see his family this weekend. We also have more boating, some camping, and a beach trip planned. The next couple of months will be exhausting, but I think I’m up for the challenge – so long as I chill out with a cold one (or two) every once in a while.
Tiki Bar = Oasis of Fun
I’m still keeping up with my June workout, and my runs have been stellar this month. I’m a gym rat, not a runner, so I’m happy with the modest progress I’ve made. Yesterday I spent some time on the elliptical. The kitties and I snuggled in bed too long, so I got to the gym a little later than anticipated. I think that’s a pretty good excuse though, right?
After a warm-up and a strength-training session, I did 35 minutes of cardio. I used an elliptical with the moving arms because that kind burns more calories. This machine happened to have a cross ramp, but if yours doesn’t have one, don’t worry about it. The cross ramp’s not all that and a bag of chips. (Is it rude to mention chips during a post about sweating off calories?) Here’s the workout:
| Time | Resistance | Cross Ramp | RPE |
| 0-3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| 3-5 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
| 5-7 |
7 |
3 |
6 |
| 7-8 |
9 |
3 |
7 |
| 8-10 |
7 |
3 |
6 |
| 10-11 |
10 |
3 |
7 |
| 11-13 |
7 |
3 |
6 |
| 13-14 |
10 |
3 |
7 |
| 14-16 |
7 |
3 |
6 |
| 16-17 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
| 17-18 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
| 18-19 |
8 |
5 |
7 |
| 19-20 |
9 |
5 |
7 |
| 20-22 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
| 22-23 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
| 23-24 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
| 24-25 |
8 |
5 |
7 |
| 25-26 |
9 |
5 |
7 |
| 26-27 |
10 |
5 |
8 |
| 27-30 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
| 30-33 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
| 33-35 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
I’d like to also note that I kept my RPMs between 155-165 (except during the cool-down part) and went with this scale for the Rate of Perceived Exertion. The RPE of 7 could easily be bumped up to an 8 if you want a more challenging sweat session. This isn’t a hardcore workout, but it moves your body and increases your heart rate. Mission accomplished.
By the way, dinner last night could not have been more perfect, despite its simplicity. I ate half a huge chicken breast, half a can of green beans, a little potato, and about half a TBS of Smart Balance Light Omega 3s buttery spread. I don’t think this spread is the “smartest” on the market, but I always seem to have a coupon for it!
So Simple - So Yummy!
What summer activities excite you the most?
I am the most excited about eating ice cream and catching some rays.
