Pumpin and Puddin
Isaac and I woke up early (i.e. 8AM) this morning and went straight to the gym. It was actually Isaac’s idea to head directly there and I didn’t complain. I like to get my workouts in early on the weekends or else I get sucked into the computer or cleaning the day just seems to slip away.
So we made it there and I used the pumping iron plan combined with the WMM plan again.
Here’s what I did strength wise:
- Lunge and Lift: 3 sets of 10 on each side
- Stability Ball Hamstring Curl 3 sets of 12
- Stability Ball Calf Raises 3 sets of 12
- Step Ups 3 sets of 15 on each side
- Plank: Held for 90 seconds
- Side Plank: Held for 60 secs (each side)
- Plank ups: 10
- Boat Pose
- Side Plank with twists: 10 on each side
- Torso Twists: 2 sets of 10 on each side
I took it (kind of) easy on the cardio side of things- I warmed up by walking 5 minutes at 4 – 4.5 MPH on the treadmill, did the strength training plan above, and then hopped back on the treadmill. Isaac was itching to ditch the gym so I only had 10 minutes to get my heart rate up.
10 minute heart-pumping treadmill routine
- Minutes 1-4 Walk: 4 MPH with a 3% incline
- Minutes 5-9 Walk: 4 MPH – start with a 5% incline and increase it by 1% each minute until you reach 9% (the percentage of incline will correspond with the minute you are on.)
- Minute 10 Walk: 4 MPH – 3 MPH with 3%-0& incline to cool down
**You could totally turn this into a full on cardio routine by repeating it several times.
I was glad we left the gym when we did because by the time we got home I was starving for breakfast and I knew exactly what I was having!
I’ve mentioned before that I love chia seeds. There’s no reason not to- they are nutritional powerhouses, very versatile, and become gelatinous when combined with liquid (so fun!). Typically I use them in smoothies or to make chia seed oats, but I’ve been wanting to get a little more experimental by trying some Chia Pudding. I’ve been drooling over Kristen’s Holiday Chia Pudding and the Chia Pudding Gina makes for breakfast for quite some time now so it was about time I made some of my own.
Kristen’s recipe involves some ingredients that I don’t have on hand so I decided to have a lovely bowl of chia pudding inspired by Gina for breakfast this morning.
- 1/4 cup whole chia seeds
- 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/2 scoop vanilla brown rice protein powder
- 1 teaspoon maca powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 drops of Sweet Leaf liquid stevia
- 1/2 sliced banana
I simply put all the above ingredients (besides the banana into a bowl) and mixed them up. I had to stir quite a bit because the protein powder clumps and resists dissolving into the milk. Once everything was well combined I let the mixture sit on the counter for 8-10 minutes and stirred it a couple times during that time. If you google chia pudding you’ll find that there are many different recipes as well as methods for how long you should wait for the chia seeds to start gellin’. Really you could start eating it right away, but it nice to let the chia seeds gel up for consistency purposes. If you’re pressed for time in the morning, you could always make it the night before, store it in the fridge and have it for breakfast the next day, similar to Overnight Oats.
Just thought I’d highlight that one bowl has 13g of fiber and 14g of protein- now that’s great way to start the day!
I loved this pudding! The flavor was sweet and delicious plus it was super filling, much like oatmeal. And, the best part by far, was the crunchiness of the chia seeds – it made it seem like I was eating chia seed cereal.
Now that I think about it this post could have been titled Genius Gina as she was the lady behind both my morning activities. Most of my readers probably already know that she’s totally awesome and super inspiring but if you haven’t checked out her blog you most definitely should do that right now! 
- Brittany
I am just like you with wanting to get the workout out of the way first thing. It’s sooo hard to find the motivation on a weekend afternoon.
I have been meaning to make this pudding for quite some time. Think I shall get on this because yours looks and sounds wonderful and wonderful for you!
Have a great weekend hun!
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Ok, that’s it… I have to get me some chia seeds.
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Yep. It’s workout in the AM or bust. Nice strength workout. I need to strength train way more often.
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I always add chia seeds to my oats but the idea of the chia pudding sounds great… I think I need to get on trying this soon
It’s amazing that before the blog world I only associated the word “chia” with our fave lil’ household easy to grow plants – but since then have learned so much about their amazing health benefits that I would have never known existed!!
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Hey, Brittany! Thanks for dropping by my blog earlier. I’m flattered because I’ve actually been a reader of your blog for quite a while! The chia pudding looks cool — that’s one of the only food trends I haven’t gotten to yet.
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Like Stephanie, I added some chia seeds to my oats this morning but I haven’t actually made a chia “pudding” yet. I’ve heard it’s kind of like tapioca, which sounds delish.
Congrats on getting a great workout done first thing this morning. That takes determination on a Saturday, girl!
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Woo hoo! Way to kick some butt early in the morning! Gina is just like her blog name…a fitness guru!
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A new way of eating my chia seeds, I will have to try this pudding recipe.
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wow, thanks for all of the lovely shout outs, friend! <3
so glad you liked the chia pudding- it's one of my favorites! might need to have some today
have a happy sunday!
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I made raw tapioca pudding once but this looks better! Yum!
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Cool! I use SweetLeaf Stevia, too! It think it’s great that it has 0 calories, 0 carbs, and a 0 glycemic index!
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Eating Bird Food Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
I love SweetLeaf Stevia. I use the liquid.
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