Daily Blog: Arm Workout, Comfort Food & Getting Organized!

Happy Monday Everyone!

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but I actually love Mondays now. It's probably been since I started working from home and all. But I do love the promise of a new week. But first, coffee.

I didn't sleep very well last night because our dogs would not settle (they're old and a bit senile) so I slept in til about 7.20am. One thing that always wakes me up is watching Snapchat stories. Anna Saccone is my go-to every single time, I love her! 

Just my usual porridge for breakfast this morning. I make it with oats, almond milk, cinnamon, and chia seeds. I also added some protein powder in as well to get in some extra strength before the gym. The weather is freezing this morning, so I need my favorite porridge to keep me warm.

My morning has been pretty productive so far; just doing a bit of writing and getting my usual house chores done. By the way, this doggy makes it particularly difficult to change my sheets every week. He loves sleeping on my bed in the mornings, so I never want to disturb him but I had to today. Sorry Buddy!

9 am means it's time to get ready for the gym! I'm gonna be showering there today because that always saves me so much time. It's also nice when people see you in normal clothes for a change and not being a sweaty mess. Also forever raiding my Mum's wardrobe because she has really great taste in clothes!

I'm usually really disorganized and spend twenty minutes just decided what outfit I want to take with me. I always get paranoid that I will forget something important, but as long as I have a towel and music, I'm good. (BTW I forgot my laundry bag for dirty clothes, oops!)

By the way, this is how glam I am in the mornings: Ugg boots and a One Direction tee. I'm all about that comfort. And Harry Styles.

I wanted to wear-in my new Reebok shoes today, but they're still a bit muddy from yesterday's run that I'm too anxious I will just get dirt all through the gym. And no one wants to be that person, right? Might just stick to my usual Under Armors instead.

Gym OOTD: Keeping it basic today with my Puma leggings, Nike DryFIT tank and Jockey crop top. Super comfy for a bit of cardio I am going to force myself to do in my workout.

So I've been trying this new pre-workout and it's been really good so far. I still love that extra burst of energy I get when it kicks in. Best way to get the most out of your workout. It's also green apple flavor : )

Making my post-workout reward A.K.A my favorite protein smoothie! It's frozen banana, calcium milk, vanilla whey protein, and Mother Earth chia seed peanut butter. Yum!

Finally gym time! I'm all about the arms today, which means I have to force myself into doing more cardio than I usually like to. I started with 10 minutes on the cross-trainer, which got me nice and sweaty. Then back to these horridly good ropes which kill me with every set, but in the best way possible. I feel like I'm improving already.

In between the ropes, I did reverse lunges with dumbbells, some cable work, and used the balanced trainer to squat with 5kgs and bring it back up again. It's still a new program, so I'm really loving the challenge of it all at the moment.

My next set was pull-ups on the squat rack (with a band to help) and some push-ups using these handles. These really get your abs burning! Highly recommend using these for an extra challenge.

I really apologize for how bad these photos are! They're just from my phone and the gym's lighting is terrible #fitnessbloggerproblems. Anyway, my last set was some bicep curls since they always make me feel a bit bad-ass. And just some cable over-head pulls to get those underarms tightened.

Feeling pretty tired now! Practically clinging to my protein to give me some life back.

Bless my gym for having GHD straighteners in the women's changing rooms! It's a life-saver when you need to get ready quickly. I need to invest in one for myself. Maybe a birthday present this year :)

And I'm human again! Just keeping it casual today with my outfit. It's absolutely freezing outside, so I just wanted some layers.

Time to organize myself and my blog for the next few weeks. I do this every Monday after the gym to help me visualize how my blog will look. I find it so helpful to have a board behind my laptop to help me stay focused on my goals as I work.

My Mum came home and brought me some Tamarillos! They're my all-time favorite fruit that you can only get in autumn-winter. They're super sour and sweet, and taste beyond amazing with vanilla ice-cream. I'm so happy right now!

After a massive tidy of my room, I'm finally sitting down to have my lunch. It's the yummy meal prep I did yesterday and it's super spicy as always with me. I'm quite hungry after going hard at the gym, so I've gotten through it pretty quickly. Also getting my daily fix of the latest Mr Ben Brown vlog and catching up on the new video from the Blossom Twins : )

Third coffee of the day. This stuff is productivity gold, am I right? Lots of blog work to be done.

I have been looking forward to this snack all day! Just like yesterday, I'm having a flat-bread with home-made hummus and it's hitting the spot nicely. I always crave carrot sticks in the afternoons as well, so I had some of those too. Also been playing old Sacconejoly vlogs in the background while I work. Anyone else love YouTube to listen to?

Off to my other job now. Let's hope it's a good night! 

Work was actually pretty good tonight, although we did get rained on as we walked back to the car. But it made for the perfect excuse to put on my favorite comfy hoodie that I got from the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC. It always reminds me of Captain America, so I love it.

Dinner time! I know it looks like a lot, but it's 80% vegetables. We made quinoa and zucchini fitters with roast vegetables, raw beetroot salad, and cottage cheese with lemon. Of course we sat to watch My Kitchen Rules while we ate it. These girls were making profiteroles and they looked so flipping good!

I always like to have dessert, since it's like my reward for eating healthy all day (80/20 rule!) I had some of the GF carrot cake my Mum made yesterday with Greek yogurt and a tamarillo. I feel like it's been a day of comfort foods and I love it so much. Autumn training really calls for it I think.


So that was my Monday, and a pretty good one too. I hope you guys have a great week!

Let me know what your goals are for it in the comments : )

Steph x.