Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all had a great two weeks. Is everyone loving this warm weather as much as I am? Hopefully it sticks around!!
I have lots of updates and great info for you this week so keep reading!
Favorite Health/Fitness Articles
Exercise Proves Key In Preventing Breast Cancer Recurrence by Janet Lee
What’s Your Nutritional Level? (video) via Precision Nutrition
The Greastest Gift A Single Woman Can Give Herself by Jessi Kneeland
The Humble Goblet Squat by Shane McLean
Good Stress, Bad Stress by Krista Scott-Dixon and Brian St. Pierre
Eat More Often to Lose More Weight by Ryan Wood
The Unexpected Mentor by Nancy Newell
7 Low-Back Friendly Glute Exercises by Dr. Laura Miranda
Why The “Pause Button Mentality” is Ruining Your Health & Fitness by Dr. John Berardi
7 Best Core Exercises for Runners by Elsbeth Vaino
Stop Selling Diet Detoxes and Cleanses (video) via Jordan Syatt
Three Health and Fitness Fads to Avoid: Part 2 by Chrissy Giorgetti (me!)
Favorite Exercise
When I started writing my own programming 3 months ago, I wanted to add in exercises that I rarely do and that I knew would be beneficial in the long run. Enter box jumps. Box jumps sometimes get a bad rap thanks to crossfit, but they are actually a great tool for power development. I’m super slow out of the bottom of my squat, so I wanted to work on being more explosive. I do 3 sets of 6 at the end of my squat workout each week and I’ve definitely noticed a difference! My squats are faster and smoother and I’m not getting stuck halfway up like I used to. These will be sticking around in my program, but only for power development and never for cardio!!!
Favorite Recipe
You guessed it-another spiralizer recipe! I pulled that bad boy out for Valentine’s Day dinner with Tim. I wanted to make one of his favorite meals a little healthier-chicken parm. I used gluten-free bread crumbs for the chicken and zucchini for the noodles. I also bought fresh mozzarella (that exploded all over me while walking home from the grocery store….) to give it that authentic Italian taste. He loved it! And so did I. Definitely another winning recipe!
Also, these are the valentines that Tim and I got for each other….think we’ve got puppy fever?
Currently Reading
My latest Boston Public Library rental is Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. I finished it last night and I loved it! Mindy is so cute and funny. Just continuing reading all the celeb memoirs I’ve always wanted to read thanks to my BPL e-card! (Seriously, if you have a kindle/ipad and don’t take advantage of this FREE program, you are MISSING OUT!)
Currently Watching
I have one episode left of Westworld!! Tim watched without me (rude) so I’m playing catch-up. I’m also still working through Parenthood, which I usually just throw on as background noise while I’m cleaning or folding laundry. I also still haven’t finished The OA, but that is next on my list after I’m done with Westworld! And of course, The Challenge started again, we’re still plowing through an incredibly boring and stupid season of The Bachelor, and Scandal is crazier than ever!
Favorite Activities
In my last update, I mentioned I was going to see Iliza Schlesinger that night. She was AMAZING!!!! I have never laughed so hard in my life. I’ve seen a couple comedians and she was by far the funniest. If you’ve never heard of her or seen her stand-up, do yourself a favor and search her on Netflix. She has 3 specials on there! (Confirmed Kills is my favorite, I think. That’s the tour we saw.)
Two weeks ago, we celebrated Tim’s birthday with bowling and a night out. Tim loves to bowl, we go every year for his birthday. We also hit up Game On for some Ping-Pong at Blazing Paddles, before ending the night dancing at Cask n’ Flagon! He had a great time with a bunch of his friends.
Last weekend was also chock-full of activities. Before Christmas, I won 4 free skating passes to Boston Winter. We went on Saturday, with our friends Matt and Lauren. The first time Tim and I went skating, I never let go of the side railing-I was so scared! But this time I was much better. I didn’t hold on as much, and I even skated on my own without holding onto Tim! We had a great time, and it was a beautiful day for it! (Check out the butt crack shot…awesome capture by Lauren).
Last week, I also won tickets to Boston Wine Expo, and went on Sunday with my cousin, Lisa. I should probably mention that even though both days last weekend I used something that I won, I rarely win things! My friends and I enter probably 25 contests a week on instagram and never win. I was completely shocked when I found out I won the expo tickets! (and a really pretty necklace from Lola Pendants, who was a sponsor of the expo). I brought my cousin Lisa. Our tickets were for the Vinter’s Lounge and Grand Tasting on Sunday. We had so much fun! And drank so much wine!! Let’s just say I will not be having any wine for a very long time ha ha ha
This upcoming week is my birthday week!!! Be on the lookout for my “Reflections On My 26th Year” post coming next week, and I’m sure I’ll have a bunch of fun, new updates in two weeks! See you then!
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