Daily Blog: Circuit Training & Making Gnocchi!

Good Morning!

Having a big plate of pancakes to get me started for the day. Coconut yogurt is so good on top! Got another big gym session today, so I'm going to need the energy.

Today's gym outfit: Nike shorts that give me such a great confidence boost, Jockey printed crop top, and a black tank from Cotton on Body. Super comfortable, yet stylish which is my aim everyday. 

How many drink bottles and shakers does one girl need?!

Back to the gym and I'm finally going to get back to doing some arm work after injuring myself last week. My warm up was ten minutes of cardio on the cross trainer then I did a few bench presses with 5kg to test out my shoulders. Thankfully they held up well, so I went on to my rope circuit that I do. The Batman tape is back by the way!

one minute on, one minute rest:
Ropes (small, fast waves)
Reverse lunges with 5kg bicep curls
Ropes (big loops)
Cable pull-down 18kg
Ropes (big waves)
Squats with 5kg dumbbell

I did this twice then jumped on the wattbike for five minutes, keeping at 90rpm. I'm trying to get into the habit of throwing in extra bursts of cardio between sets. The bike always gets me sweating!

Then I moved onto my next circuit, which was a tough one. I collapsed on the floor after I finished each time. I did this three times:

Pull-ups (as many as I could manage)
Push-ups (using the handles, bringing knee to elbow in between)
15kg plate drags (1 lap)

Next circuit was:

Pull-ups
10kg ball throws (over my head, squat down to pick up) x 15, 12, 10
Ab crunches with the TRX x 20


I spent the next 20 minutes working on my new core program that I got from my trainer. I think I'm going to get an update from him in a couple weeks, because it's not burning my abs like I want it to.

I'm a lot happier with how today's workout went, compared to yesterday. Thank goodness, because I did not want to be stuck in a rut all week!

Home to cuddle this fluffy dude. My anxiety have been playing up a bit since Friday, so I need all the cuddles I can get! It's making me impatient for my boxing session on Thursday. I need the therapy from punching things as hard as I can.

Thought I would show you my awesome shoe choice for today. They're Keds by Taylor Swift and have given me more blisters than I can count, but at least they look good.

Catching up on today's Ben Brown vlog while I eat my lunch. Really enjoying his LA vlogs at the moment. Can't believe that I'm going to be there soon. Only 9 weeks to go!

Work time!

Thought I would have a change of scenery and do some writing on my bed. I wanted to watch a movie and the only one I felt like watching was The Mummy. An oldie but a goodie! I'm also having one of my healthy date scones with some coconut yogurt and honey on top.

I really felt like having a shower to wash my hair. I love using natural products like the Sukin brand. I'm a massive fan of the Lush shampoo bars as well. I need to go re-stock on those soon. A comfy t-shirt seemed appropriate too.

I wanted something different for a porridge topping, so I'm going to stew up some apples and pears with lots of spices and coconut oil. It's going to be so good! Also has the added bonus of making your house smell like apple pie.

Look what's playing on the movie channel, Mighty Ducks 3! These kids are legends, me and my brother idolized them as kids. Still my life goal to be as cool as them.

Time to make dinner and I'm going make sweet potato gnocchi with kale pesto. It's a recipe from My Kitchen Rules TV show and we wanted to make it as soon as we saw it. Here's the full recipe, but I will show you the basics.
Measure out 200grams of buckwheat flour and add to a large bowl. Add 1 tsp of nutmeg and a pinch of salt.

In another bowl add 400grams of mashed sweet potato
Mix in 100 grams of ricotta and 1 egg yolk (which we didn't have, so I added more ricotta) with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Making a well in the flour mix and add the sweet potato. Using a fork, blend in the flour then use your hands for the rest. Divide into 4 portions.

Throw some semolina on your bench top and roll each portion until they are an inch or so thick and cut into bite sized bits.

Now I need to make the kale pesto that's going to be the sauce for the gnocchi. Just blend the following in a food processor:

3 stalks of kale
1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic (we didn't have any, so I put in granules)
1/2 cup cashew nuts
150ml olive oil

I haven't had the best track record with pesto, but this tastes amazing!

Cook your gnocchi in a pot of boiling water in batches and take them out as soon as they float to the top. Then add straight to a saucepan with your pesto and leave it on a low heat while the rest of the gnocchi cooks. I also added some sun-dried tomatoes and roasted pumpkin. Top with more parmesan and serve!

This was amazing!! Definitely need to make this recipe again soon.

I'm so full from that gnocchi (worth every bite!) but I'm craving a bit of chocolate. There's great antioxidants in dark chocolate anyway!


I'm really enjoying circuit training at the moment, it's such a great test of endurance. I think I'm going to stick with it for a while and see how I go. Today was a good day!


Did you guys love the Mighty Ducks when you were growing up to?
Steph x.