It doesn’t look like much on paper, but if you go heavy enough on the kettlebell and high enough with the box jumps, it gets spicy.
If you’re not sure what EMOM entails… Set a timer for 10 minutes (+ a few seconds of countdown to get ready). At 10:00, start the “even” exercise, completing it as fast as possible with good form. Once you’ve completed the assigned reps, you get to rest for the remainder of the minute. At 9:00, start the “odd” exercise and do the same thing. Etc…
These are all pretty high intensity moves, so that remaining time in the minute should be much needed! If not, first check form, then increase weight/height of box, then increase reps if still too easy.
“Chopped” salad. One of the many weird things I do is make chopped salads by hacking at all the ingredients together in a large container (e.g., last night I used my rice cooker pot because it’s the largest vessel I have right now) with kitchen scissors.
If you’ve ever been to a bougie chopped salad bar, they’ll often pour out all the ingredients onto a giant cutting board and use a curved axe-saw type of thing to chop-chop the salad so that you have perfectly proportioned bites vs. large, stemmy leaves that are unflattering to eat.
Well I don’t have those tools, but I still want the chopped salad experience sometimes. I do have a large container, and I do have kitchen scissors. So last night’s super easy salad at 9pm was spinach, avocado, deli ham, homemade maple mustard vinaigrette ➔ dump into clean rice cooker pot ➔ hack at all of it with kitchen shears while occasionally tossing.
I’ll post a video example on my instagram story today if you’re interested. And yes, I ate my salad straight out of the rice cooker pot.
p.s. I definitely ate more food after my salad, so don’t go thinking I eat 300 calories for dinner.
a blurry throwback photo of a “chopped” salad a la scissor hacking
Avocado smoothie. Speaking of avocados, I went out to lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant with my friends on Sunday, and John ordered an avocado smoothie for us to share. It is literally just ice, avocado, and some condensed milk. I loved it. It was like a light, refreshing guacamole milkshake that had a subtle but sure taste of the beloved creamy fruit. I recommend it the next time you’re out eating pho!
So tell me:
Do you like to make “chopped” salads at home? If so, how? Have you/would you ever try the kitchen scissors+bowl method?
Have you ever done an EMOM workout? Do you like them?
Have you ever tried an avocado smoothie? Do you like to put avocados IN your smoothies?
Whoopsie, I didn’t mean to duck out of here for so long. No excuses to share!
To get back into the swing of things, I think it’s fine time for another “day in the life” post, given that I am over halfway through my third of four clinicals here in physical therapy school. February is also over halfway over, which is somethin’ to chew on. Lent is coming!!
I am currently working four 10-hour days (Mon-Thurs), and each day looks a little different after I leave work, but here is a typical Monday.
a super close up selfie of me on my very first day of clinical (6 weeks ago)
5:40am — Wake up. Kick a leg off the bed, then the other, then (sometimes literally) hit the floor to say a morning offering prayer. Go to the bathroom.
6:00am — Make bed, get changed, and put on a small bit of makeup. Get my lunch box packed.
6:15am — Leave apartment and walk to a farther train station than necessary to get the blood pumping. I like to breathe in the fresh morning air and say a rosary.
6:40am — Arrive at the train station and get on the train.
7:00am — Take a shuttle from the train station to work building.
7:15am — Arrive at work. Change my upper garments because I always sweat walking to the train station.
7:30am — Start pre-charting while eating breakfast. On Mondays, we technically start work at 8:00am, but I like to get there slightly earlier to have more time to chart review and plan for the day.
8:15am — The first slot for seeing a patient. Some days it’s filled, others it’s not.
Occasionally, I’ll scarf down a nut bar if we have a free moment and if I’m really hungry between breakfast and lunch.
12:00pm — Lunch break! Depending on how many notes I need to write, I’ll either stay in my cubicle documenting while eating lunch or take some time to go down to the cafeteria where there is 10x more light and warmth than in the office.
1:00pm — Back to work. Technically, our lunch break is 30 minutes, so half is for actual eating and relaxing. The other half is for documenting.
4:00-5:00 pm — Sometime in here I’ll likely have a snack for the final push of the work day.
5:30pm — No more patients seen after this time, but time to finish up notes and prepare for the next day!
6:30pm — Leave work (if all goes as planned). I’ve been walking from work to the train station instead of waiting for the shuttle, unless it’s already there. It’s another nice way to unwind from work and just enjoy the fresh air (if it’s not raining, that is).
7:00pm — Take the train to the gym. Usually I just sit and stare to let my mind rest. Often will say some prayers. Occasionally I’ll listen to a podcast. John suggested I read a book when I’m commuting, which seems obvious, but I have not done it yet!
7:30pm — Arrive at the gym, change, and do a quick workout. Usually, since it’s quite late already, I do a warmup + 20 minute HIIT workout.
It’s a victory in and of itself for me to get my butt to the gym after a long day, and that’s coming from someone who likes to work out. Holla at everyone who struggles getting to the gym after a long day of work. The gym does not open early enough for me to go before work… but I doubt I’d go at 5am anyway, even if it was open at that time.
The worst part about the gym at this time of day is that many college students are like me and don’t go to the gym before classes; they go AFTER classes are done for the day. So it’s a mad house. Utter mad house. The beauty of a HIIT workout though is that I need limited space, so I usually gather myself in a corner and get to work.
8:30pm — Arrive home and eat dinner! Try to not occupy my mind too much, but maybe FaceTime a friend, maybe text some people.
9:15pm — Shower.
9:30pm — Pack food for the next day.
10:00pm — Soooo…. what I should be doing at this time is winding down, praying, reading, etc. But I often will be texting people or busying myself with pointless things that are unproductive at this hour of the night. But the goal is to be in bed around this time and getting my snooze on.
Recently I’ve been getting to sleep closer to 10:30-10:40pm, for whatever reason. I need to work on cleaning up that nighttime routine, let me tell ya.
That’s about it though! Some variations include bible study on Tuesday nights instead of the gym. Mondays and Wednesdays I start at 8am, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30am. Some nights I get off earlier from work. Wednesdays I’m often tired and don’t make it to the gym. Thursdays I usually try to push through to work out since I have Fridays off. It’s all just a general routine with lots of flexibility, for which I am grateful.
I hope all those who have today off (President’s Day in America) have lots of fun and relaxation! For those like me who are working today, I hope it’s still lots of fun 🙂
So tell me:
What does your daily schedule look like generally?
Moves: Rock climbing! I’m taking it as a class at BU’s gym, and it has been just splendid. I love rock climbing and had always wished I could do it more often (also to actually use the rock wall at the gym #tuitiondollars), so the extra wiggle room to add this into my schedule this semester was very welcomed.
“Weenie”: One of my friends jokingly used this word on Wednesday to describe herself because she likes to learn (alternative word: “nerd”?). Yesterday while I was rock climbing, my forearms were getting smoked and the skin on my fingers was burning, so that word popped into my head and I said, “I’m such a weenie todayyyy; my fingers hurtttt.”
Then I felt the need to search the actual definition of “weenie.” Merriam Webster says, “(informal): a frankfurter or similar sausage.” On the other hand, Urban Dictionary defines it as, “A scared person who is afraid to take chances or step out of their comfort zone. Usually, this word is used to describe a person who is afraid to go after the boy or girl that they like.” Also, a small male…extremity.
I have been a weenie in the sense of 4/5 of these definitions — all except the last. (My mom used to call me “sausage” when I was a baby.)
World Food Day: This was honestly the first day I had heard of World Food Day (I’ve been living under a rock perhaps), but I dig it. World Food Day was on Wednesday, and it is a day sanctioned by the UN to, “promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure healthy diets for all.” Pope Francis had a nice message about it — I appreciate that he not only the excess in food consumption but also the deficiency in food consumption that contributes to an overall broken relationship with food, which is only one (albeit one very good and necessary) physical form of nourishment, charity, and comfort.
Swimming: I’ve committed to going swimming this morning with my friend Abby. I have not ever worn a swim cap in my life but I guess today is the day. Pics to come perhaps. I also have never swam more than 2 laps at a time. #ForTheFemur!
Thank you to everyone who has expressed so much love and support for the plethora of blog posts this week! I am grateful. I think I will take the weekends off, but boy, has it felt great to hop back onto this platform.
Happy weekend!
So tell me:
Have you ever used the word “weenie”? In what context?
Do you like rock climbing or swimming?
Had you heard of World Food Day before this year? It’s okay if you make me feel bad about not knowing about it until yesterday.
3×8-10 lat pull downs (increasing weight each set), 3×12 decline pushups
3×20 cable oblique twists each side, 3×20 alternating bear crawl rows with DBs
3×10 Arnold presses, 3×4-6 dips
I think I take longer breaks than I’m supposed to according to what a “superset” should be, but I’m soft these days.
Super sleepy. As I’ve gotten older, waking up has been easier, no matter how little sleep I seem to get. But yesterday morning and all day I felt like a pubescent teen going through a growth spurt who needs 12 hours of sleep to function normally.
Would you ever get a(nother) tattoo? Tattoos have been catching my attention more than usual lately, whether it’s a friend who is considering getting one or seeing one posted on Instagram or seeing one on someone at the gym that I think is cool. I don’t have any and I don’t plan on getting one any time soon, but I always like to imagine what I would get if I did ever decide to get one…
Initial thought: Bible verse or saint quote of sorts.
Next thought: a rose for St. Therese of Lisieux but how cliche is a ROSE, ya know? Not that that’s bad if it has special meaning to me.
Next thought: an image of the heart (like, the actual organ)… but I already have a heart inside me and can be reminded of it as long as I’m alive.
I’d like more creative juices to flow. P.S. If you’re Catholic and are ever on the fence about whether or not a tattoo is a good idea, this video is a good guide for making that decision. I currently have no real reason to ink myself, but a girl can dream…
Speaking of dreams. Janice asked me at dinner yesterday if I had a dream (*enter MLK coming down from the heavens*). I told her I don’t really have one that I’m committed to in any way, but I think it’s a good thing to hope and dream, with the prudence of knowing that my plans are not my own in the end.
My dream? I would love to bring the practice of evidence-based physical therapy to people in other countries. Sort of like medical missions except for physical therapy. I also have this dream to establish (with my intelligent, talented, and faithful friends) some sort of holistic spiritual, mental, physical health institute that encompasses evidence-based practice and faith-based values in its services. Ask me another time how exactly that might work.
Cheers to Thursday!
So tell me:
Would you ever get a(nother) tattoo? What would it be?
Daily Moves and Grooves 