Knee Strengthening Sunday

Although my clothes shopping trip ended up being pointless, I did get the ankle weights I needed.

Per doctor’s orders I’m suppose to start at 1-2 pounds and add 1 pound a week until I’m up to 10 pounds. I bought the 1-5 adjustable weights because they were cheaper and I figured that when I work my way up to more than 5 pounds I can just strap both weights on one leg.

The exercises (2 sets of 20 of each exercise on each leg)

• Straight leg raises (Quad Strengthening): Lie on your back with one leg straight and one knee
  bent. Tighten abdominal muscles to stabilize low back. Slowly lift leg straight up about 6 to 12 inches and hold 1 to 5 seconds. Lower leg slowly.
• Side lifts (abductors/ outer thigh Strengthening) :Lie on floor on your right side, shoulder and hips aligned.
  Bend right leg (leg on floor) to 90 degrees.
  Slowly raise you left leg about 18 inches, hold for a second, then slowly lower leg.
• Side lefts (adductors/inner thigh Strengthening):Lie on floor on your right side, shoulder and hips aligned. Use your right hand to prop up your head. Place the left hand on floor in front of you to help balance yourself. Bend left leg and bring it to the floor in front of you. Slowly raise your right leg about 10 inches off the floor then, hold for a second, then slowly lower leg to ground

I started with 3 pounds and started feeling the burn after about 10 especially during the abductor side lifts. It’s odd to me how heavy 3 pounds can feel- I always thought my legs were extremely strong, but turns out they’re not as strong as they could be. These are great exercises if you are a runner or if you experience knee pain because strengthening the muscles that support the knee with knee exercises is most important in protecting your knees from injury and knee pain. (PS These exercises were recommended to me by my doctor, but I’m not a physical therapist or doc, so if you are experiencing knee pain please see your doctor.)

For dinner last night I stopped by a local market to grab something I had been craving for a few days now- SPRING ROLLS. I know it’s fall and all but I was really craving this summer staple.

I have to admit I wasn’t impressed with these rolls. They weren’t all that fresh- as evidenced by the browning avocado. I guess I’m just spoiled with the rolls I get at Ginger Thai and the ones I make myself at home, both of which are way better that the ones I had last night. These didn’t satisfy my craving so I guess I’ll just have to make my own sometime this week. That shouldn’t be a problem

I also had some Chobani Greek Yogurt. The new Pomegranate flavor is so good. It isn’t tart like plain Greek yogurt but rather really sweet. It was probably a bit sweeter than I normally prefer, but besides that I really enjoyed it. The best part is that it even has actual pomegranate seeds mixed in.

This morning I had a hempilicious bowl of oats upon waking.

• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 of a browning banana (sliced)

Once the oats were cooked via the stovetop, I stirred in 1 tablespoon of Nutiva Hemp seeds and sprinkled a few on top with a shake of cinnamon. And, of course I had a spoonful of Better n PB on the side.

Twas a lazy Sunday morning and I didn’t really do all that much. Just lounged, read blogs, etc. I got hungry for lunch and broke out a new product- Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins. They looked intriguing plus they were on sale for $1.50 a box. I can’t resist a good sale.

I had about one serving with garlic hummus.

These little crackers reminded me a lot of Japanese style rice crackers, but I didn’t really taste the almonds. What I like about them is that they are gluten free, light, and crispy- perfect for dipping into hummus. I’d be interested in trying the other Nut Thins as they also make pecan, hazelnut, smokehouse, country ranch, and cheddar cheese flavors.

The main entree for lunch ended up being an oven “fried” tofu wrap. I seriously love this tofu, it’s so flavorful and easy and I had left over breading from the last time I made it so it was super simple to whip up this morning.

I put a little hummus on a whole wheat tortilla and filled it with avocado, orange bell pepper, yellow tomatoes, red onion, the fu’ and arugula. With a side of grapes!

My friend and I went shopping a cute vintage store looking for some unique clothes since I couldn’t seem to find anything in the mall yesterday. After yet another disappointing shopping trip we hit up a Core Flow yoga class, which did not disappoint! It was quite challenging and I ended up being one sweaty lady by the end of class. Maybe low impact workouts for a few weeks won’t be so bad after all!

Question for ya: What’s your favorite place to shop for clothes? I’m having a tough time finding stuff for the “20 something female” that fits well, is high quality, and affordable- any suggestions?

Tagged as: Chobani Greek Yogurt, Core Flow Yoga, grapes, hemp seeds, knee strenthening exercises, oven "fried" tofu, spring rolls, wrap