Thursday, March 10, 2011

Reasons to wake before the sun

Although I was in bed by 9:30 last night it was still pretty hard to get up when my alarm went off at 5:20 am. Somehow I pulled myself out of the bed, splashed water on my face, drank a glass and threw a couple of slices of toast under the broiler.



By 6 am I was out of the door and walking to the gym! Although my eyes were still heavy, mentally I was in the zone and ready for a hard, sweaty workout. A couple of things made it somewhat easier to get out of the door this morning:

1. It's suppose to downpour later in the day, and I knew that I would not feel like trekking through puddles to make it to the gym.

2. I have early dinner plans (like 5:30 pm early) and thus no time to workout before dinner.

3. Graduate school activities from 8:30 pm on, so no time after dinner.

4. It would feel great to check off working out from my to do list first thing in the morning!

Things I forgot about hitting the gym before the sun rises:

1. There is less traffic which shaves off about 2-3 minutes from my commute (plus as a walker it's so much safer, I live in an area that's pretty congested and I'm always scared that I will one day get hit by a car).

2. The gym is empty and I'm able to use my favorite elliptical.

3. Men will still hit on you though you clearly look like you just rolled out of bed and are dead to the world!

Anyhow, 2 days of AM workouts and I'm hoping I can keep it up!! Today I not only made it for the 6:45 am urban rebounding class but had enough time for 25 minutes on the elliptical before the class, wahoo!

I had never attended this rebounding class and thought there would be more resistance training incorporated compared to the Saturday class I usually attend, today's class was called Bar Hoppin', but I think trampoline boot camp would have been a better description. Once the instructor explained the setup of the class to us newbies, I kinda freaked out, worrying that my knee might not be able to handle all of the squats and lunges. In the end I kept up through the entire 45 minutes and only switched to a lower intensity version of an exercise during one of the last leg circuits. The instructor had awesome music that helped me to power through, he was also cute, that never hurts!

After class my stomach was growling despite eating prior, so I scrambled 2 egg whites and 1 egg to have with my coffee.



Rewinding to yesterday, for lunch I tried this souffle I found on sale at the local grocery store. It was delicious, wish I had picked up more.



I also tried the Dannon greek yogurt since it was also on sale. I think I might like it better than Chobani!



Dinner was completely random. While I love making formal meals, one of the benefits of cooking for yourself is that you can eat whatever without having to impress.

I started with quinoa, added bell peppers, and decided on chickpeas for added protein. I was going to go with indian spices, but as I was looking through my fridge I remembered that I had jalapeno hummus and decided to add a dollop to my quinoa mix for a kick. The finished product was better than I could have imagined. I wish I had made more for lunch today.


Wow, that was a long post...time to sign off!

Ciao,
Nicole


5 comments:

  1. I did a 6am workout this morning too! I love working out that early the gym is so quiet

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dannon Greek vanilla yogurt is hands down the best Greek yogurt out there. Obsessed. I totally feel you on the am workouts. I go at 530 am most days of the week. I am too tired by the time clinic is done. Have a wonderful day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow that quinoa looks really good! I never think of using hummus as a topping, but I might have to do that tonight!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nicole, agree agree agree with everything you said about early morning workouts. Me and Maggs usually go early atleast 2 or 3 times a week for those same reasons. Dannon Greek yogurt is the best ... the vanilla almost tastes like frosting :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. My fridge is full of Chobani and I love the new lemon! When I run out I will have to try Dannon Greek! Have an awesome weekend!

    ReplyDelete