Today is the dayyyyy—

the day I kick my butt into gear and actually start doing real work, because it’s the first day of school! That sounds like I’m in kindergarten… It’s the first day of my second semester of college!

My last day off (yesterday) started with a frozen banana with peanut butter and some morning moves! A jog to the gym, foam rolling, and then a leg workout that left me feeling like Jell-O.

• 3 sets of 10 curtsy lunges each leg (50#) // 20 jump lunges
• 4 sets of 20 goblet squats (30#) // 15-17 squat jumps
• 3 sets of 10 angled leg press (90, 110, 120#) // 10 plank jack burpees
• 4 sets of 8 hamstring curls (80#) // 20 side jump lunges

Afterwards, I ate a quick brunch of scrambled eggs, a whole wheat apple pancake, and a pear (I didn’t eat the cottage cheese because it was warm, and I saved the banana for later).

My friend Rachel came back to college yesterday, so we ate lunch together after Albert and I picked her up from the airport. We ate our veggies and protein first…

salad with baked crusted fish

…and then Rachel convinced me to have peach cobbler a la mode in the dining hall despite the fact that I ate apple crisp a la mode the night before.

Apple crisp and peach cobbler a la mode are my two favorite desserts ever, so I just…*sigh*… It was 100% worth it.

I procrastinated my shower and homework with blog-reading and blogging (hi), but I got myself together eventually and banged out some tour guide studying and reading for school. (Confession: I typed that before I accomplished those tasks, meaning I would have to do them to ensure I’m not lying to you. 😀 )

Dinner was another bro-sis event at new-to-us place called Crispy Crepes Cafe. It’s obviously a crepe place, but they also have Middle Eastern cuisine. They have a special where you can buy two dinner plates and get one free Nutella banana crepe. No hesitation— we were in!

I got the chicken schwarma with couscous, and it was incredible. The portions were huge for such a great price. I loved that it came with a huge mound of hummus and so many vegetables. Ben shared some of his kafta (Lebanese meat kebab) with me, which was also delicious.

My leftovers made another meal for Ben to take home 🙂

The crepe was delightful! When is Nutella and banana not delightful though? I had a few bites, but let Ben conquer the rest. I got my sugar fix with that peach cobbler a la mode 😀

And now for a video!

I always somewhat regret filming a video because I get self-conscious, but this one is for burpees!

It’s no question that I like burpees, and a big reason is because there are so many ways you can do them. You can’t get bored! Thus, I decided to show you ten of my favorite variations. (I filmed this when I was back at home in New York.)

Disclaimer: I am not a personal trainer or fitness professional. I am simply showing some of the exercises I like to incorporate into my workouts. Check with your doctor/fitness pros before adding anything to your fitness regime, and do these at your own risk.

I also want to offer this video about how to do a pushup correctly, since I believe a proper pushup is essential if you want to include them in your burpees. There are also CrossFit burpees, which have “belly flops” in them. I do those too!

(link to video in case you can’t see it here!)

Have fun burpee-ing! Not burping. But that could be a good thing too.

So tell me:

What is a “weakness” dessert of yours?

Have you tried burpee variations before?

What is an exercise that you LOVE?