booty blast circuit workout & weekly meals

{via}

If you're anything like me, you took the weekend off from working out. Oops. And now it is Monday and you need a good workout that will get you back on track. I have been searching for a really great butt workout, and I think I have found a winner. I did this twice last week and my booty was SORE. Beware of the "fire hydrants" - they hurt!

Here it is:

• 20 squats
• 20 plie squats
• 20 donkey kicks per side
• 20 fire hydrants per side
• 20 circling donkey kids per side
• 20 frog jumps
• 20 side lunges per side
• 30 alternating split jumps
• 30 skaters
• 30 hip lifts
• 20 lunge kicks per side

Do this circuit 3 times and your booty will be burning!

My husband and I are doing a "drop 5" [pounds] challenge this week. OK, 5 pounds might be a bit much but we lovingly name it drop 5 in order to keep healthy eating and exercise top of mind. In addition to our daily circuit workouts, we have to eat well as part of the challenge. Only trace amounts of dairy and refined sugar will make their way into my shopping cart this week.

Here's what I have in mind. I usually have leftovers for lunch, so that category is not included.

Breakfast:

• Coffee or chai tea with almond milk and a dash of cinnamon
• Green smoothie with spinach, banana, orange and protein powder
• Scrambled eggs with diced veggies
• Husband - cottage cheese with mandarin oranges (cottage cheese is not my thing)

Snacks:

• Trail mix with almonds, dried cranberries and pretzels
• Apple and pretzels
• Protein shake
• Guacamole
• Grapes

Dinner:

• Spinach salad with baked chicken, avocado, slivered almonds and dried cranberries
• Chicken stir-fry with bell peppers, onion, and broccoli
• Parmesan crusted chicken with sweet potato and broccoli (using this Weight Watchers chicken recipe)
• Salmon with avocado-mango salsa

inov-8

It's finally Friday! Is it 5:30 yet? A mojito sounds very tempting, but it's still too early and I need to workout tonight. Who decided that 5:30 is the widely accepted time to have  a cocktail without other people judging? I like Jimmy Buffett's idea that it's 5:00 somewhere...

Do you get extra motivated to workout when you have new gear? Like shoes. YES!!! I wonder if Carrie Bradshaw ever got excited about athletic shoes. Probably not, unless Manolo Blahnik made special edition trainers. Anyway, I have new shoes, called Inov-8, to try tonight during my circuit training W.O.D. (workout of the day for you non-Crossfitters). Several of my friends have Inov-8's and highly recommend them, so I thought I'd give them a try. I wore them while running errands today, and they felt amazing. Support in just the right places. I will let you know what I think after my workout.

I got mine from Zappos because I am a VIP member (yeah!!!!) and get free 1-day shipping. As with all athletic shoes, there are tons of different colors to choose from, but I am partial to the pink.

Have a great rest of the day!