Which way to the gun show?

Men's Health Big Book of Exercises
Focus on arms:

• stand tall
• chest up 
• core braced
• shoulders back and down
• pelvis tucked under
• knees slightly bent if necessary
• make sure not to rock back and forth when lifting or lowering weights (puts focus on shoulders then instead of intended arm muscle)

The next time you're doing a standard bicep curl, switch it up by curling one at a time or raising one arm while the other slowly lowers.

According to a George Washington University study, lifters gained 2.5 times more strength when lifting a weight fast and lowering it slowly as opposed to lifting and lowering it slowly.


According to the Journal of Applied Physiology, you'll have a 19%  increase in arm strength if you do cardio after lifting weights instead of before.

Your tricep muscle makes up close to 60% of your upper arm. So giving your triceps as much attention as your biceps will help you increase your arm size faster than focusing only on the muscles in front.

When doing the tricep pressdown exercise, if you use too much weight, you'll start involving your shoulders AND back instead of the muscle you're intended to target so when performing this exercise, always remember to keep shoulders back and down and focus on keeping the upper arm and body stable.

Back to FOOD!

T made dinner last night before I headed off to a salsa party. It was delicious and very simple. He made a lovely tomato sauce with saffron and a bit of sugar (don't ask me how sugar fits into the recipe but it does!). The pasta was whole wheat and it also included sauteed mushrooms, onions, and fresh prawns. Yummy!!

It had a spicy kick with some crushed red peppas

I had two helpings!! Salsa was a lot of fun since I hadn't been out dancing in a month but my poor feet this morning!! :(

had the usual scrambled eggs, hummus, and toast for breakfast. I bought the premade reduced fat hummus from Waitrose and it's pretty tasty!

http://www.thecadoganarmschelsea.com/

We went back to our old hood (Chelsea represent what what!!) and stopped by the Cadogen Arms for lunch. This used to be a favorite place of ours to eat when we lived around there. The pub is really cool with a an outdoorsy decor (animal heads on the walls) and a spacious drinking, eating, and pool table area upstairs.

I would DEFINITELY recommend getting their Pint o Prawns. They have the most incredible seafood taste to them and its so fresh! Plus, you can dip it in mayo.. YUM! On the down side, they got rid of their saffron dipping butter and I'm not sure why because it was delicious. The mayo worked just fine though.

huge slice of delicious bread

I peeled these suckers with no hesitation! I still surprise myself sometimes since I used to hate touching them with their heads and eyes sill on. I felt like they were looking at me!! lol.. I guess I got over my fear.

I couldn't decide which main to get so I ordered two starters. The first was a spinach and caramelised onion tart with a pouched egg and hollandaise sauce on top. It was sweet and savory=delish!

the scallops were HUGE and perfectly cooked- very buttery and perfectly complemented by the sweet corn puree

bacon chip!!

T had the Guinness steak pie with mash and gravy.

After lunch, I was supposed to go to a Beer Festival at Earls Court w. T but I just wasn't in the mood to drink beer or socialize. It was just one of those days I wanted to get other stuff done.

Agenda: R&R=Read and Relax!

Speculoos cookies

 

My dinner creation was delicious last night! I made a plate of salad with Waitrose ready made cous cous s with roasted veggies on top

Then I added some sauteed bok choy (evoo, salt, pepper light soy sauce, siracha)

and finally placed an oven baked seabass filet on top. It was healthy, filling, and SO GOOD!

http://www.biscoff.com/

Speculoos cookies from Belgium for dessert!! We were pleasantly surprised to find that these cookies taste exactly like the ones they give you on Delta flights called Biscoff. I later found out that they come from the same maker, hehe..

someone's trying to steal my cookies!

I had four and called it a night on the couch with some episodes of Audrina. Yes, I've already admitted I watch trash television!!

As a hopeful student this fall, T surprised me with some books so I can get a head start on some studies.. It's been a while since I've actually studied either of these subjects and I wasn't the best science student (understatement of my life!!) but I'm hoping as an adult learner, I'll find it easier.

T also surprised me with another useful book! Yippee!! It must be my birthday or something! :-)

My breakfast attempt at an 2 egg/egg white frittata with broccoli, red onions, and mushrooms

Gym time: Focus today was on arms. There were lots of curls, dips, rows, and overhead extensions involved!

leftovers for lunch-- I added in some sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, and spinach.. I have a feeling I've completed my 5 a day already.

afternoon snack of carrot batons and hummus! I almost reached for a bag of chips but stopped myself. Go me!

Agenda: Interview, teach Zumba, salsa !!

Sweatin it out..

I was craving some Korean food when we got back in from Belgium last night so we ordered delivery from Ginnan. I don't know of any other place that delivers Korean to our house- The food is good but not great.

I needed my weekly fix of kimchi..

Bibimbap

sushi platter

eel over rice

bbq pork

Back on the grind this morning! Let me tell you how hard it is to get back into working out if you haven't done it in a while. I typically like to workout when I travel but I just decided not partake this time around ;) I think I got in one workout out of the 5 days we were there, hehe.. I guess its nice to also take a break and let my body recover some. I've also noticed that my bum foot isn't hurting anymore so I'm very grateful for that!

Gym time: A lovely treadmill run for about 30 minutes before the sweat got the best of me!

after the gym I stopped by Pret to get another salad

I sliced in some beets from our fridge for a nice sour addition.. Delish!

Agenda: Zumba practice, mail my transcripts, send in my personal statement, teach Zumba, relax!

Eat, Drink, and be Bloated!

Our tour through Belgium, we consumed lots of beer, food and chocolates. It was worth every pound I gained :-D. Aside from the food, Antwerp, Bruge, and Brussels are lovely, beautiful cities.

On our first lunch in Antwerp, we were recommended towards a Bistro right in the city center. Note to self= Never eat at a crowded restaurant in the city center because it ain't gonna be that good! I mean it wasn't bad per se but we felt we could have had a better first meal in Antwerp.

The menu had a bazillion choices on it so I just chose something spur of the moment... The shrimps were drenched in olivey garlic sauce.

the chocolate waffle was amazing!

We stopped to have a beer before heading to dinner at Grill 77.

http://grillhouse77.be/

We started with some fried cheesy croquettes.

I don't quite remember what soup this was.. guess it wasn't too memorable

I had a lot of meat on this trip. This filet was delicious!

mushroom gravy for my filet

mas beer and people watching

although Mcdonalds sounded pretty good after a late night, I managed to grab a cous cous salad for lunch

hearty bread on the side..yum!

Who knew there was a pickles flavored chip! On our way to Bruge...

We watched In Bruge after sightseeing the first night and can I tell you I LOVED it! It made staying in Bruge all the more fun :)

Bruge was such a quaint and pretty town with lots of stores,restaurants, and chocolate shops

sort of broke the cardinal rule of eating right before dinner but I was really craving a pot-o-mussels!

http://www.parkrestaurant.be/

T took me to Park restaurant in Bruge for dinner.

We started w. a lovely complimentary smoked salmon dish

We each ordered the set menu and started with the scallop served gratin style on the shell. All I can remember is that it was full of lots of cheesy goodness!

shrimp bisque- it was a very thin broth but it had a lovely seafood flavor

I ordered the beef filet with potaters and roasted veggies

T had the dover sole

my dessert was really good- chilled nougat with pistachios on a bed of fruit. Yum!!

grand marnier ice souffle

Our last meal in Bruge was at Den Amand

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g188671-d741849-Reviews-Den_Amand-Bruges_West_Flanders.html

We started with some crackers and some type of pesto dip.. maybe aubergine?

Parmesan crackers

I don't know what inspired me to get an Asian dish at this restaurant but something about homemade spring rolls with veggies inside sparked my interest. The portion was HUGE and really tasty

T had the pasta with prawns

chocolate waffle for dessert! Off to the Brewery tour..

http://www.halvemaan.be/

We each had a beer before heading on the Half Moon Brewery tour.

I bought some hazelnut Belgium chocolates before heading out of Bruge and onto Brussels!

On our first night in Brussels I made sure to have the famous "Mussels from Brussels!"

T ordered his gratin style with snail butter and cheese. Snail butter?!? Yes please!

I had a whole pot to myself and boy did I enjoy it :)

Have you seen a happier face?

lord help me! I'm not gonna be able to fit in my jeans..

Our lunch was also recommended to us by our hotel concierge.

They brought out three different sauces- Bearnaise, Peppercorn, and a gravy type sauce.

This restaurant serves you a full plate of food and also walk around and offer you seconds.. more steak? more frites? more veggies? You got it! Needless to say I only had what was on my plate.

Sadly, even though the food was delicious, I felt like such crap afterwards.. Such a heavy meal for lunch!

Towards the end of our trip, I needed some green and fresh so T and I decided to stop by a sushi restaurant for a quick snack. Seaweed salad never tasted so delicious in my life!!

we washed the sushi down w. an 11 euro ice cream treat

I was pleased but my partner wasn't..apparently a 15 dollar dessert is deemed too expensive ;-)

http://www.marcolini.be/

couldn't resist stopping by Pierre Marcolini for their macaroons.

Dinner was an Italian restaurant near the city square. I forgot the name!

pesce carpaccio to start

Pasta alla vongole for ME

trio of pastas for HIM

Well.. it seemed like a good idea at the time..

http://www.deliriumcafe.be/

We stopped at the Delirium cafe to try their some 2000 Belgium beers on offer....I'm sure they don't have all 2000 in stock but seriously?! 2000 beers? Who knew!

Our last meal in Brussels was at this quaint Italian restaurant right by our hotel. Who knew there was good eats right where we stayed!

He had the quatro pastas

Trio of pastas for me!

So happy to be back in London. Call me crazy but I'm even welcoming the rain.

Time to detox!