WORK IT! Tracy Anderson Hates You and Your Arms

If you haven't heard of her, Tracy Anderson is the trainer to the stars. Most specifically the recently

crowned most beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow. 

I started following Tracy on twitter and she just opened a gym out here in L.A., has a line of workout leggings, and soon a national food program. 

She's a busy lady.


Despite her busy schedule she still finds time to hate you. You've never met her, but she hates you AND your arms. I know because I felt it. 

I found this workout about a month ago and this little 7 minute-ish workout is no joke. Yeah, 7 minutes!

I watched it at first just to see the expectations. It seemed like just a bunch of silly arm moves that you would probably not want anyone else seeing you do. Truthfully. I felt like an idiot. The day after however, it was most definitely a burn I was feeling.


Survey says? 
I'm doing this workout at least once a day. It is relatively fast and just painful enough that I know it's working but I'm still able to do it. Also, I hate lifting weights. 


Give it a try and let me know what you think... hopefully the video works! 

Treat Yo Self!

If you don't watch Parks and Recreation you probably don't understand the amazingness of "Treat Yo Self" but you should! Treat yo self is a way of life and it's what I am about to hit you with...

Since it is the start of a new year I know you are all kicking off your resolutions. And this is an addendum to my previous post about resolutions that delves into the "health" aspect of my goals. Here we go...

I claim to be an expert on nothing except one thing: being chubby. :)

I have lofty health goals and at times the mountain seems pretty daunting despite how many times I sing Miley Cyrus' "The Climb." 

To combat the inevitable bad days, weeks, months... I try to set myself up for success by acting as though every little thing matters. It does matter. You can't lose 50 lbs until you lose the 1st lb. This means I am a firm believer in rewarding yourself every step of the way.

HOW CAN YOU DO THIS?

1) SET YOUR GOAL.
My personal goals are to lose 17.5% of my body weight by our anniversary (Which we will be celebrating in Vegas! Holla!) and to exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes a day. Those are two very manageable goals. They are also challenging. Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean it will be EASY. 

2) IDENTIFY WHAT MOTIVATES YOU
I am motivated by treats...clothes, shoes, certain activities... I'll delve more into that later. What motivates me about these things is that I don't always spend money on these things. I would suggest picking things that are actual rewards and not things you'd just go out and buy anyway.

3) GET IN IT TO WIN IT!
No seriously...

I keep my "rewards" list on my phone in a note. I delete things from it as I go along. I have two sets of rewards- a treat for every pound lost and a treat for every 10 days that I don't miss a workout. It looks something like this:

REWARDS FOR LOSING ONE LB EVERY TEN DAYS (Very very doable)
January 10- Pair of Shoes
January 20- New Book
February 1- Nail Polish/Lipstick
February 10- Movie Date
February 20- Dress
March 1- Manicure
March 10- Bowling
March 20- Spa Day

REWARDS FOR NOT MISSING A WORKOUT FOR PREVIOUS 10 DAYS

January 10- Donut

January 20- Cake

February 1- Frozen Yogurt

etc.

***Yes I know people say don't reward yourself with food BUT I don't believe in depriving myself. Believe me, if I knew the only way I could have a slice of cake from Cheesecake Factory was to workout every day...I'll be sweating forever! I would never reward myself for losing weight with food, but I will reward myself for working hard. Even if it is counterproductive. 

So yeah, some people might think it's a bit overkill to reward yourself for every measly pound. Maybe that's true. But consider this my blessing and encouragement that you would do the same thing with whatever your goal is. I know that if I only reward myself every 5 or 10 lbs I would certainly become discouraged. So set your goal, hang in there, and TREAT YO SELF!

The Start of SONG SWAP!

Here's a new kind of gymspiration and I'm really hoping this works because I need and love getting new music for my workouts. When I get some songs that work out well I'll share them here and hopefully you can share some in the comments! Maybe a little 3 songs for 3 songs deal? Let me know what songs you love and if these are in your rotation. 

SONG SWAP:  THE TRIED AND TRUE

These are three songs that I've used for a while that are always, ALWAYS in the rotation for my workouts.

1. Outkast - Bombs Over Baghdad
This is actually my pace when I run. Before I found other songs that were the right BPM I would listen to this on repeat during runs. If you don't like rap this isn't for you but it that beat does not let you let up!

2. Lee DeWyze - Sweet Serendipity

I know this might be cheesy but this song really motivates me and is perfect for a light jog preferably in beautiful weather. I heard this song the day before my wedding when I was running last minute errands and had to shazzam it. I've always thought it was such a good message and can help motivate you to work it out!

3. Kelly Rowland - Commander

I don't know why she doesn't get as much attention as she deserves but Kelly Rowland created this song for elliptical lovers like me. If I took aerobics I'd expect this on the playlist. It slows down and picks up just ride it out! 

Okay, so what are some songs that are always in your rotation?

5 Scary Workout Visuals

Halloween is ONE WEEK AWAY. It is one of my most favorite holidays. Why? Because dressing up is awesome y'all! Also, I met Husband on Halloween so it's like Valentines Day for us weirdos...

As previously discussed in another post, I have irrational fears when it comes to workout machinery.

I am, however, a big believer in workout visualizations. While I can be quite content to listen to music or watch tv while in the gym, what really gets me motivated is visualizing that I'm somewhere else. Visualizations for me are usually being a part of a competition or being chased. Plain and simple.

My all time favorite workout visualization is that I am competing in a Real World/Road Rules Battle/Duel/Do any of those people have jobs outside of these competitions?

So to help get you in the mood to run like the wind (even on a treadmill if you are so brave) are some of my favorite "Scary As Heck" visualizations to scare the elastic out of your norts:

Ohhh...I'm already freaked out!

1. Being chased by Zombies.

(via zombie junky)

I know there is "an app for that." I also know people are totally into the Walking Dead. But I'd like to put it to you that the scariest of all zombies are those featured in the movies 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. WHY THE HELL CAN THOSE ZOMBIES SPRINT!?!? Isn't it a rule that they move slowly and drag their legs like mummies? No? Can we make it a rule? Imagine "the infected" chasing you and I'm sure you're heart rate will get right where you need it.

2. Saw Challenges

(via tvtropes)

These movies are dumb. We all know it. They are kind of like the "Crocs" of the horror genre. No one really understands why they are so successful yet you know like 20 people who have seen them all. What are we on like Saw 37? Anyway, pick a move you hate (go ahead and say planks cause only the crazies love those). Imagine that weird like clown is going to saw you in half if you don't hold those planks longer! You'll hold it. Why? Cause clowns are scary as heck. Fact.

3. Swimming for your LIFE!

(via fanpop)

I do have a fear of water I can't see the bottom of, so the odds of me swimming in any ocean are very low. Pools are where I like to pretend I can swim. Pools are also where I like to pretend that killer sharks are out to get me. Jaws is the go to, but what about Deep Blue Sea y'all? Spoiler alert: the shark ate Samuel L. Jackson. Sharks clearly have zero respect and thus should be feared...

4. Scary Spins

(via google images)

Y'all know there is only one truly terrifying bike moment in cinema: The Shining. Hop on that stationary bike and pedal yourself away from those two scary little girls. Need I say more?

5. Halloween Hiding Spots

(via cinema strikes back)

My favorite scary movie collection has to be Halloween. I even like Halloween H20 (maybe I shouldn't admit that). Michael Myers is the best villain. He doesn't say anything. You don't REALLY know what he looks like and he doesn't care who you are...ya dead! I like to imagine that I'm poor Jamie Lee Curtis (in her young and fabulously 70s days) hiding out in the closet. Hold those wall sits as long as you can without screaming bloody murder.



Hopefully this inspires you in your workouts. I love a good workout visualization and if you have a good one I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear it! That and I'd love to know what you're going to be for Halloween... TELL ME!

XO,
Andrea

Workout Reboot: Ease into 5K

Last week and the subsequent weekend was amazing. One night in Vegas was just enough time to see my sister, bro-in-law, and friends. It was wonderful, exciting and glittery. We will definitely be going back.

Yet, as I return back to my efforts at a lifestyle change I can't help but feel...uninspired. And here comes a little dose of too much talk:

I need a workout REBOOT!

I don't know what will work. What I do know is that I'm not going to sit on this blog all day every day and pretend to the four of you that read this (hi mom!) that it's all sunshine and roses. I feel bored, like a little hamster on a treadmill. 

App Screen Shot (via Ease into 5k)

In the interest of honesty I think it's important to note that being surrounded in a city of health nuts doesn't a health nut make. 

SO...This morning I am restarting Ease into 5K, a workout I've attempted a few times and completed at least once. 

I wish I loved working out.

I wish I enjoyed changing my clothes into workout clothes.

I wish I enjoyed sweating.

I wish I personally understood what the hell Elle Woods was talking about in "Legally Blonde" about the euphoria of endorphins. 

But I don't. And maybe you don't either.

Just because you don't LOVE to workout doesn't mean you can't ever meet your personal fitness goals OR that you won't ever love working out. 

I stopped running because my 27 year old knees started to sound like they belonged to an old lady. 

But I can JOG into a 5K, can't I?

Of course. Who cares how fast I'm moving. All I care about is MOVING!

Easy Peasy Ease into 5K

I believe in Ease into 5K (the artist formerly known as Couch to 5K). I watched it turn many a friend into a LEGIT runner. Like signing up for 5Ks legit. 

If you don't know how it works then you've missed a big memo on interval training.

Ease into 5K is a program/app/way of life that takes people who have never run before and "eases" them into it with an 8 week program. You run 3x a week with a plan of run-walk-run-walk where each week the running time gets a little bit longer. 

It works. 

It doesn't matter what you think. 

If you are huffing and puffing one week while running for only 90 seconds you will still be able to make it a whole 8 minutes and then eventually 30.

So today I take the first step, again, out the door and down the road. Blasting Kanye, who I know writes all his songs in the gym, and hopefully beating the midday socal heat. Wish me luck. Reboot and restart is always, ALWAYS better than REGRETS.

Happy Monday!

Andrea

A Tale of Two Treadmills

This story could happen in any town. In fact, if you're a gym novice you've probably encountered this. I'm not going to label this as a horror story but my internal monologue was just that dramatic when it happened.

It all happened a couple days ago in our building's gym.

Husband and I showed up and after a little go on the elliptical machine I decided to hop on the treadmill. Here's something you need to know:

I am terrified of running on the treadmill.

I can get it up to 3.5 mph before I feel like I'm going to miss a step and fly into the stationary bikes behind me. My goal is to learn how to run on a treadmill which is apparently the easiest thing to do because everyone in our gym seems to be able to do it. 

Joyful treadmill runners. WTH? (allposters.com)

Treadmill running happens on the regular so it wasn't a big surprise. What DID happen was this...

I hop on the treadmill and see the machine next to me is covered in stuff. So much stuff that one might think the person using the machine is living there. This person had arm and leg weights, a water bottle, an iPod with headphones, towels, and etc small items I couldn't see. This individual was nowhere to be found.

I start going my usual 3.5 mph on a slight incline and I'm watching tv when all of the sudden, GYM BRUNETTE BARBIE comes strolling out of the sauna and gets on the machine next to me.

WHAT. THE. HECK. 

Not only did her outfit look perfect like she was dressed by the editors of Shape Magazine there was not a hair out of place. She just got out of the sauna barely sweating with perfect makeup. She looked like she was in her mid-to-late 40s but had definitely had work done on her face and maracas. I can't fault her for that because who in this town hasn't had work done? That's like pointing out she had arms. But more importantly, WHO IS THIS ALIEN?

I looked down at my ensemble.

I was wearing one of four pairs of yoga pants I own and one of Husband's oversized shirts. My hair had the just electrocuted and thrown in a rubber band look and no, I was not wearing any makeup and I was not "glistening."

To make matters worse, this older lady dressed to perfection puts on the arm and leg weights and starts RUNNING on the treadmill at a ridiculous incline.

If someone had taken a picture of that moment it would have been the most amazingly hilarious compare and contrast picture of all times.

The point of this whole post is that somewhere between the feelings I had of utter confusion and total embarrassment I realized something: 

This lady works hard.

Maybe she could run on the treadmill the day she started at the gym. Maybe she wears a wig and that's why her hair is so perfect. Maybe she is just naturally athletic and this is second nature to her. But she is working at it. I don't think I could ever be where that woman is, but I got up and walked down the hall to the gym after going through the effort of picking the perfect oversized t-shirt out of Husband's drawer. Truth be told, when she started sprinting uphill next to me I felt a little braver and I pushed the button and went up to 3.6 mph.

Maybe one day I will run on the treadmill. I mean I guess it should be on a goal list somewhere. 

That and "never sweating."  How did she do that?!!?!

Karate Kids! A karate themed rainbow cake

This is going to be a semi-long and moderately detailed post on how to make a less involved rainbow cake with a karate theme. Specific enough?

Last Sunday two of my nieces earned their black belts in karate. They worked so very hard, so we wanted to help with the celebration. Admittedly my knowledge of martial arts comes directly from the movie 3 Ninjas. I feel no shame about this. 

Since I knew this would be a big project, I enlisted their younger sister as my baker's assistant and we set out to make an over-the-top, black belt worthy cake. 

Originally I thought it would be a good idea to learn how to use fondant effectively, but then I changed my mind. It seemed really, really involved and the last thing I wanted was to be making an already complicated cake any more complicated. So I found an already complicated cake and made it easier. That's how I like to handle things.

Also just ignore all of the nutritional information for this cake. It's horrible. It's reaaaaaaaaly bad. What can I say, it's cake! But just so you know this was a TALL cake and it took a 3-4 days to eat by 10 people. I think that makes me feel better and you should feel better about that too. Ignorance is bliss and also apparently thousands of calories.

I'm not going to do like the other recipes because it's more of a "building project" than a recipe. 

But the materials I used were: 

Two boxes of white cake mix + eggs and oil

3.5 cans of vanilla frosting

Crisco

Random Sprinkles

Odense Marzipan almond candy dough

Food coloring

Icing pens for decoration

Black licorice

Wilton food coloring spray

Non-food Equiptment

Two 9 in. round baking pans

Karate shaped cookie cutters

Rolling pin

Mixer

A RIDICULOUS amount of mixing bowls

Parchment Paper

And then I will explain the "phases" of this "building project." Sorry I'm in love with quotation marks today.

PHASE ONE: Planning

PHASE TWO: Caaaaaake

PHASE THREE: Decorating

PHASE FOUR: What is phase four?

PHASE ONE: Planning
FIRST I knew I wanted to do a cake with all the belt colors inside. I found this cake online and read the instructions and watched a video of her on Martha Stewart. 

Then I thought, "that seems like a lot of work to make a cake and icing from scratch." It's really not that much more work but I didn't feel like doing it. So there. 

Then I picked up my niece who told me that I and the internet are both morons. There are EIGHT belt colors not six. Thankfully she takes karate too and was able to be the brains behind the operation.

We knew we were doing a rainbow cake and would use the ninjabread men cookie cutters I found over the summer at Target to put the girls on the top of the cake. We would make a black belt for the cake around the bottom made out of black licorice that we knew no one would ever want to eat. 

PHASE TWO: Caaaaaake

We mixed the ingredients for the first box of cake and then separated it evenly into four small mixing bowls. It doesn't seem like a lot because it's not. Don't be alarmed. 

The layers of cake ready to be fully frosted.

I only had two round pans so we did each layer 2 at a time. I put crisco on EVERY pan every time so the cakes popped right out. I highly suggest this.

We baked them at 350 and my oven took about 12 minutes but we checked every few minutes on the first batch to make sure they would come out okay.

When two cakes were done we moved them to a cooling area and let the pans cool down before we cleaned, re-greased and started another batch. While the cakes and pans cooled we cleaned out bowls and started mixing the second box of cake. Definitely a two lady job!

We started with the bottom colors so once they were cooled we could just start layering and frosting. 

Layers Baked Together

White (no color added) & Orange

Yellow & Green

Blue & Brown (One drop of red, yellow and blue until desired shade)

Red & Black (we used black food coloring)

We used about 2/3 a cup of frosting between each layer of cake but use as much as you need.

When we were done we put a thin layer of icing around the cake and put it in the refrigerator for about an hour while we ate lunch. When it was done cooling we put the final layer which was really complicated and looked a hot mess. But more on that later...

PHASE THREE: Decorating

While I iced the cakes, my niece decorated the karate girls for the top of the cake.

 

Niece #3 decorating her almond flavored mini-sisters!

We used almond flavored marzipan because I didn't want to play with fondant and we only need a little bit anyway. Also, it was on the same aisle at the store and was less money. Of course it was the winner. 

Basically you break off a piece, roll it with a rolling pin in between two pieces of parchment paper and then use cookie cutters for your desired design.

It was so easy I can't believe I've never heard of it before. I'll definitely be using it in the future.

We used white and black icing pens for the design and used some extra flower shaped sprinkles I had to put in their hair so you could tell it they had ponytails etc. Then we just wrote what we had room for with the same icing pens. Pretty easy!

Then came the hard part. As you'll see we couldn't get the icing consistency right to be smooth (I guess that's what I get for not making it from scratch. Whatever!) 

Since it looked ridiculous we went to my baking box to find a solution. Our solution was to use spray food coloring by Wilton to color the sides of the cake and hopefully camouflage the imperfections. Since gradient is sooooo cool I just lightly sprayed, just like spray paint, while I turned the cake. As I kept turning I moved downward until the bottom of the cake was really red and the top of the side was just a light pinky-red color. It worked like a charm.

Then we surrounded the cake with its very own black belt made of disgusting black licorice which no one ate. :)

The finished product!

We stored the cake overnight in the fridge because my cake cover wouldn't fit over it. It was too tall! 

PHASE FOUR: What is phase four?

Then final phase of this very long post is the celebration!

Was the cake perfect? no. 

I strongly believe that anyone else who attempts this will make it a MILLION times better and way more attractive and I hope you send me pictures. 

When we were layering I thought, "what dull colors." Even Husband thought that the colors looked bland. When we cut into it the colors were so vibrant I almost shed a tear of relief! It was BEAUTIFULLY colorful!

Karate Kids!

Did the girls love it? Absolutely. 

Especially because their little sister helped make them a tasty treat to celebrate a huge accomplishment. While eating this cake they were already brainstorming what they'll make for her black belt test next year. So sweet!

I'm not saying my nieces have inspired me to take up karate, but I could totally go for a kickboxing class. How's that for gymspiration? These are strong, athletic little girls and they are now officially the most dangerous people I am related too. You go girls!

XO, Andrea

My Real Housewives Fridays

Double posting today to get back in the swing of things!

One of the hardest parts of living here in Los Angeles is living so far away from one of my best friends, Lindsay. She's lived in D.C. for quite some time and even made a very good argument on why we should have moved there instead of California.

Delish!

We've started little weekend nights (seems to be Fridays since we are so exciting) where we have a glass of adult beverages and chit chat. 

My beverages of choice are usually a glass of wine OR a Bethenny Frankel Skinny Girl. I'm a huge fan of coconut so I of course love, love the pina colada. It's in no way as sweet or satisfying as a REAL pina colada, but in a glass of crushed ice I really could care less. 

I know people have strong feelings about housewives so let me just say, I don't care about any of those feelings. I barely watched RHONY when BF was on and I only know what happens on RHONJ because their fans hold the internet hostage and I only watch RHOBH and OC because I want to know where the cool kids are hanging out. I'm here for the beverage people. Plain and simple.


BUT this post really isn't about BF's low calorie, guilt free alcohols. This post is about BUTTS.

Seriously. You read that absolutely right. 

A few weeks ago I was trolling through iTunes for free workout videos. (As I previously mentioned when I reviewed Daily Workouts FREE, I don't like to pay for anything online. Truth be told, I'm too lazy to update my credit card information with Apple.) But I digress...

I found Body by Bethenny and saw that I had two options:
 1) $9.99 for her Yoga video
OR
 2) a FREE 5 minute-ish video about butts called "Booty Bonus"

Since I have neither the patience for yoga nor the credit card info logged, I went with the Booty Bonus.

Here's BF and her pal squatting away!

It's basically squats and leg raises. No big surprises.

What DID surprise me is that I needed a reminder that I can do those things pretty fast, any time and any place...well any place that I don't mind looking slightly unhinged.

I've been doing it before and after workouts. Right before I hop in the shower. When I'm bored on the phone... it's pretty easy. I even downloaded it to my phone, but haven't really needed to play it after the first time. Did I mention it was FREE?!?!?!

So here's to you Bethenny Frankel. You reminded me how to squat and provided me with delicious adult beverages. CHEERS! AND I only had to pay for one of them. DOUBLE CHEERS!



XO, Andrea

Work It! - Review of Daily Workouts FREE

Thursday nights are always an interesting night for me. I know that I'm going to be weighing in Friday morning and for this reason I'm always looking for a little bit extra of a workout on Thursday nights.

You can never have too many fitness apps!

I live about 100 yards from my gym (one of the few beauties of apartment living) but sometimes those 100 yards can seem like 100 miles. Thinking about being a human mouse on the treadmill doesn't always appeal to me and I certainly don't want to do it next to a woman in matching workout top and pants wearing more makeup than I wear in a week. Seriously, how does she not have skin problems? 

This is why I'm always looking for something I can do by myself in my apartment. Workout videos can be great but I have workout A.D.D. and if I've done it several times I already know the little quips the leader says to the followers in the background. 

Tonight I'm going to review an iPhone app. Boom!

The name of the app is Daily Workouts FREE. There are a lot of workouts that you can find for free in the app store. Actually, the developer of this workout even has apps for specific parts of the body. I downloaded their Yoga Free app prior to this and quickly realized I have no patience for finding my inner peace. Their apps are all free and for a small fee you can upgrade for more features. The one I'm reviewing has all the things you need without the upgrades. Also, I'm the kind of person who doesn't pay for 99 cent apps so let's talk about the FREE because I am still in Los Angeles and I still believe it is Spanish for "expensive." 

Once in the app you can select what kind of workout from abs, arm, butt, cardio, leg and full body. I always do the full body. Once you select an area you get to select time. This is the whole reason I'm reviewing this app. You can pick 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 minute long workouts. Who doesn't have 10 minutes? And the workout you get may repeat moves you've seen before, but it's not the same order and usually you get a new move every now and then. 

Screen shot the app

You get a little countdown and a video of a woman showing you how to do the pose. Not a stick figure or drawing...A REAL PERSON. Moving. So helpful. The workouts move quickly like circuit training so it keeps you on your toes and keeps you moving. I have never done this and NOT finished with sweat even when just doing 10 minutes. 

My complaints: The circuit time can feel like an eternity when doing some of the workouts that are less than pleasant. Who wants to plank? Not this girl. Who wants to do a froggy glute lift? I can't even do it. But this one complaint isn't enough to take away the freedom that comes with this free app. 

Additionally you really need a mat or a carpet in order to do this workout comfortably. It also helps to have hand weights since occasionally you get a move that requires weights. If you don't have any you can improvise.

Overall I'd say the Daily Workouts FREE app is worth the time it takes to download. You can't beat free!

XO, Andrea

Breakfast Gymspiration

Working on a little treat for y'all today.


I'll give you a hint this picture taken from my gym was my inspiration....

What kind of a MONSTER selects modern art pieces that resemble BACON to be displayed facing into a gym?


I can't get over the bacon art. Or that they decided to buy FOUR of them. I know it's wood but all this chub cub sees is bacon staring at me every day. Sigh...


Needless to say sweating and dreaming of bacon has lead to some interesting results. Which you can expect from this blog later on today!