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Flashback Friday – One Year as a University Grad
Archie fun fact of the day: he crosses his paws like a lady.
He looks so pathetic in this picture. He’s just playing it up for the camera ;)
Those protein cookies I had last night were fabbity fab.
Mixed up 2 tbsp chocolate whey powder, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, packet stevia, vanilla extract and a touch of water. I stuck them in the freezer for about 10 minutes and was left with chocolate-y gooey cookies. Ohmy.
Went to the campus gym again today! The cardio machines suck and the weight area is old school. Big metal dumbbells that clink and rickety old cables. I don’t know why, but I love that. Makes weight lifting feel more hardcore ;)
Today really was an upper body day because my legs hate me lately. Started off with 20 minutes sprint intervals on the elliptical (which by the way, made a high pitched scraping noise with each turn).
| Exercise | Weight | Reps | Sets | Muscle |
| Straight sets: | ||||
| Assisted pull-up | 74 lbs | 8-12 | 3 | Back |
| Alternating sets: | ||||
| Romanian deadlift to row | 50 lbs | 8-12 | 3 | Back, Hamstrings |
| Arnold press | 15 lbs (ea) | 8-12 | 3 | Shoulders |
| Straight set: | ||||
| Lunge | 15 lbs (ea) | 50 | 1 | Quads, Glutes |
| Alternating sets: | ||||
| Dumbbell fly | 15 lbs (ea) | 8-12 | 3 | Chest, Front deltoid |
| Incline dumbbell shoulder press | 20 lbs (ea) | 8-12 | 3 | Shoulder |
| Straight set: | ||||
| Lunge | 15 lbs (ea) | 50 | 1 | Quads, Glutes |
| Alternating sets: | ||||
| Incline curl | 10 lbs (ea) | 8-12 | 3 | Biceps |
| Tricep extension | 20 lbs | 8-12 | 3 | Triceps |
Then hopped on the rowing machine for 5 minutes, finishing off with an ab circuit:
x3!!
Working out with students in the weight area is SO funny. At my usual gym, the weight area is filled with people of all ages, shapes and sizes. Most people don’t look twice at you if you do something funny. Dudes at the university gym though are so scared of girls in the weight area. All I got were looks of apprehension. I also watched two guys do nothing but bicep curls for 45 minutes, and have very inappropriate conversations for a public setting!!
Work was kinda slow today – I only have one week left! Crazy. I’m going to be sad to go :(
Lunch was leftovers from my tofu faux alfredo. May-jah yums!
After next week, I’m going to dedicate my time to getting rid of everything, and taking some things to my mom’s place. Hoping to spend the majority of May living at my mom’s before I take off to the big city. We should be adequately sick of each other by the time I leave :P
I hadn’t had bread all day, so I remedied it at suppertime.
Mixed up a can of mustard sardines with onions and pickles, and put it on a toasted bun with hummus and a tomato.
With a thinly sliced red delicious on the side. Sardines are your friend! I’ve worked really hard on getting rid of that animal/food separation in my head. And that means mashing up little fish and devouring them for dinner ;)
Flashback Friday – One Year As a University Grad
Almost exactly one year ago today, on April 24, 2009, I handed in my last assignment, marking the end of my undergraduate experience.
My school story is a little different. I graduated high school in 2004 (after attending three high schools, but that is for another post). I moved to my current city to live with my then boyfriend. He was in the army, and I had no plans for my life. I was working at Starbucks at the time, and got transferred to the location here.
I quickly fell into the manager position, and at the age of 18 found myself in a job much too mature for myself. I quickly became unhappy, and after briefly contemplating life as a flight attendant (no joke), I instead applied to university.
I chose the Liberal Arts university because it felt like a good fit. Small, cozy, with lots of English and Political Science classes (my favourites). I enrolled in three classes that January after finishing high school, and immediately fell in love.
Come September, it was clear that I needed to start up full-time and do a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree. One of those first courses I took was “Law in the Media.” I’d taken journalism in high school, but this class really ignited my interest. I had an enthusiastic professor who saw something in me, and I set my sights on journalism and writing.
By this time, my high school boyfriend and I had parted ways. I had a solid group of friends I met through Starbucks, and I settled into life here. I narrowed my focus on being the best goddamn journalist I could be, and didn’t take a step back until I’d graduated, 4.5 years later.
One week after graduating university, I started working full-time in a permanent position as a radio reporter. I barely had time to catch my breath, I just kept speeding forward on that path I decided on so many years ago.
I’d had inklings, or rather, a gut feeling, that this wasn’t the life for me. But I continued on because that’s what “sane” people do. Well, I’m not sane. And settling into a life that was not for me drove me even more insane. I wanted to stick it out in that first job for a year, but after six months I realized that for the sake of my mental health, I needed to call it quits.
Most of you know the story from here. I reverted back to my old job at Starbucks, was seen working there and got offered my current job, decided to turn my real passion of fitness, writing and helping others into a job, and leave the city that was never really my home.
If you had told me one year ago, after handing in that last assignment, where I am today, I wouldn’t have believed it. My post-grad journey as been more of a detour. But it was a learning process I wouldn’t trade in for the world. I’ve always been the type of person who is just a smidge unsatisfied. But words can’t describe how excited I am about what the future holds. My life is pretty messy, but I have peace of mind now knowing that I’m finally doing something that feels right.
So all you soon-to-be graduates out there: now is your time to pursue your dreams and make mistakes. DO IT. And don’t regret a thing along the way :)
Question of the Day: Did you have any detours to bring you where you are today? To be honest, I don’t think my detours are over. I’m definitely taking the scenic route ;)
L-I-V-I-N
Preamble:
Hi y’all!! (I’m a Canadian, can I get away with saying “y’all?”)
I’m a busy bee studying tonight so instead of rambling about the giant bowl of oatbran I ate for breakfast, I’m re-posting a guest post I did for Kristin’s awesome blog a little while back.
I feel kind of weird, guest posting on my own blog…
Anyways! Back to the books. My personal training test is tomorrow. Eep!! :\
————————————————————————————————————–
Hiya! My name is Susan and I come from a land called The Great Balancing Act. When Kristin asked me to do a guest post, she left the post topic pretty open. Actually, to quote, she said “your lifestyle, a favorite exercise, recipe… whatever you want.” Dangerous words Kristin, I could ramble about anything! :P But I figured I would instead do something that falls more into the “lifestyle” category, as that’s what I try to focus mostly on my blog.
There are a lot of lifestyle choices I make on a daily basis. I work out every morning before work. I pack a healthy lunch every day. I sometimes have a cookie, I order my salad dressing on the side. I even take the stairs at work.
However, my most recent lifestyle choice has been a little more difficult. Yes. More difficult than getting my heart rate up at 6am. At the beginning of 2010, I vowed to LIVE life. I woke up one day, six months after graduating university, only to realize I’d let the last four years pass me by. I was simply “surviving” each day that passed, rather than being an active participant in my own life.
I am a creature driven by fear. And laziness. I do not like to step out of my comfort zone. I do not like to work harder than I have to. I don’t like to put myself in situations that could at any point turn into something horrifyingly embarrassing.
So I took a giant leap and quit my job. The job I went to school four years to get. The job most people in my situation would have killed for. I don’t think so many butterflies have infiltrated my stomach as when I sent in my letter of resignation. I was taking a ginormous leap into a pool of absolute unknown. I had no career plans, no financial stability, no idea where I wanted to live. But it got the ball rolling. My life has been a series of unexpected twists and turns ever since.
What kind of twists and turns you ask? I’m taking a 180 in career direction and getting certified as a personal training specialist. I live and breathe fitness, and thrive off helping others. Now I’ll get paid for it too!
I stumbled into an awesome job at my alma matter, where I get to brag about my university on a daily basis.
I’m leaving my small province and moving to the big city. Jumping from 60,000 people to 2 million. Holy crap – that’s 33 times the size!!
I am travelling! I’m going home to visit my parents more, travelling to see friends, and even flying cross-country to gallivant through the mountains with fellow bloggers!
If you’re wondering if all of this is scary – you betcha! But I find myself soaking up every single day now. I live every moment the best I can. I’m not just going through the motions any more, but looking for ways to enrich my time on this earth. Learning, listening, experimenting, failing and succeeding. I may be a health and fitness nut, but THIS lifestyle change is the biggest and best I’ve ever made.
Thanks for the ear! Err, eye. I had a blast filling in for Kristin while she’s off living life to the fullest too!
Question of the Day: What’s one fear you’ve recently overcome?
Back to School
Greetings from Saint John!! A little bit of background about the city – it’s a dank hole. Sorry to any Saint John-ers out there, but let’s be honest with ourselves ;) It’s a smelly port city with a giant oil refinery. It’s my province’s largest city, but also my least favourite.
Since my grandparents don’t have the internet, I am currently blogging from Starbucks.
They told me the first two hours of wifi was free – that better be right!!
So. My personal training class! For those of you with bad short term memories: I’m here for personal training specialist classes with Can-Fit-Pro (Canadian Fitness Professionals). The course is available entirely though distance, but it’s strongly suggested that you take the classes. They’re being offered here in Saint John for the next two weekends – so here I am!
These pictures are all taken from the Nubodys website, as there are understandably no cameras allowed in the club.
Nubodys is a chain of Atlantic Canadian gyms that falls under the Goodlife Fitness umbrella (ie my gym!). I of course think my gym in Fredericton is the best, but this one’s pretty nice too ;)
Our class is in a small studio with tables and chairs, etc.
I broke down yesterday and splurged on a bunch of store-bought bars. I didn’t want to bring a cooler to my Grammie and Grampie’s, I’m trying to stress them out as little as possible. My Grammie was downright flabbergasted that I brought my own oatmeal for breakfast!
As per usual, I entered the day armed with snacks. I usually get strange looks for this, but what didn’t occur to me was that everyone in the class would be the same way! At 10am and 3pm we were all digging into our snack bags. One guy was even mixing up protein shakes and had a container of cottage cheese :P
We only had 30 minutes left for lunch, so I was also able to make use of my backup snacks instead of rushing out for Subway for something.
A couple small cans of tuna, a few pieces of rye crackers and an orange. I actually ate an apple with my morning snack, so the orange got pushed over till lunch :)
So! I bet you’re what you’re wondering what the hell we’re doing in that classroom! :P Well, there are about 15 of us, an even split of guys and girls ages 18-35. We have an instructor, or “PRO Trainer” who is essentially going into detail about all the course materials with us.
This weekend will be all about the textbook. So today we went through the training principles, respiratory system, bioenergetics, and muscular and skeletal concepts. Basically all the headache-inducing stuff and it cleared up so much of it for me! Our instructor is super knowledgeable and really keen for us to all have a good understanding of how and why the body works. For example, I learned that the lower back shouldn’t twist or bend backward (ahem! back extension machine!) and I learned sun salutations are pretty much the best way to stretch ever, by combining static and dynamic stretches and hitting all the muscles. Fun!
Next weekend we’ll move on to the practical stuff – including a fitness assessment and determining our VO2 max. Eep.
For the record, I did just have to pay for internet. Stupid Starbucks.
But at least they gave me a grande instead of a tall by accident ;)
A vanilla rooibos tea latte made with skim milk and sugar-free vanilla syrup.
Despite all my snacks today (which included the half a Builder Bar, apple, Simply Bar and beef jerky), I’m starving!!! It is a rest day after all. I’ve been munching on some nuts & fruit.
I have dinner plans with an old friend in about 30 minutes. She lived on my couch for a few months in university. I’m excited to see her again! After that, it’s back to my grandparent’s place so all of us can make our 9pm bedtime ;) It’s really nice seeing my grandparents, but I’m not entirely comfortable staying with them. I feel like I’m causing them TONS of extra work and stress. Contemplating just commuting the hour drive next weekend… we’ll see!
Hope y’all are having a great weekend and that the weather is gorgeous where you are too :) xoxo
Question of the Day: Have you done any sort of further education? I have an undergraduate degree in Journalism & Communications, and now I’m doing the PTS certification with plans on doing the Nutrition & Wellness certification asap. I lovelovelove learning and was my very happiest as a university student. I think if I won the lottery, I’d spend all my money on taking courses!!
