The walk that wasn’t
Bella doesn’t even know what she missed out on.
Whenever I ask her if she wants to go for a walk, she goes ccrrraazzzyy. She runs around, and as soon as she sees the harness, I have to catch her to actually put it on. She’s fine with the leash (and will even sit pretty for me to attach it), but with the harness, she knows we’re going on a *real* walk and goes bananas. Tonight, I couldn’t catch her. My belly is officially too big to bend down all the way and she wouldn’t come sit for me, so after about 5 minutes of calling her and pathetically chasing, I called it quits.
Welcome to the failboat, Miss Bell.
At least dinner isn’t going to be a fail 😉
The Pilot stopped to get some groceries on his way home, and since he thought Bell I would be walking, he planned out a dinner he could grill while we’d be gone.
Stuffed mushrooms
[wilted arugula with lemon juice, sea salt, cayenne, balsamic and garlic]
sweet potatoes
asparagus and
steak for him.
[I’ve had chicken and fish already this week and was craving a veggie meal]
Feast time. <3
See ya in the morning!
xoxo
Gina
Today’s tip: Booty lifting! Of course, it’s not possible to spot train or focus on burning fat in certain areas. We burn fat all over, and it’s up to genetics to decide where it comes from first. [For me, I’ll notice fat loss or gain in my face and arms first] That’s not to say that there aren’t certain exercises to encourage a specific type of tone or results you’re looking for. Here are some of my favorite exercises for lifted, toned glutes:
-Squats and lunges. Obvious, but people can tend to avoid these for fear of bulking up, or just because they’re boring. They will not bulk you up, I promise. Don’t be afraid to add weights, or change up the usual movements to prevent boredom by doing variations (like lunge and lift, squat pulses, plie squats with a side leg lift, clock lunges, etc) to keep your body guessing. Using a playground ball in between your knees is an excellent way to take the focus of a squat from your quads straight to your glutes.
-Stairmaster and step-ups. The Stairmaster looks nice, but totally isn’t. That thing will make your legs beg for mercy, even without moving at a fast pace. By the motion of climbing up actual stairs, you’re contracting many muscles in your lower body (glutes, quads, calves). For an extra kick: try the interval program.
-Yoga. Those warrior poses work magic for a lifted booty, along with many traditional yoga poses, like chair pose, bridge and eagle. Bonus? Many muscles are used at once in yoga in order to stabilize or hold poses (more bang for your buck), increased flexibility which helps prevent injury, and mental benefits (increased awareness, focus, better sleep).
–Physique 57. By using tiny, isometric movements, you’ll fatigue your muscles extremely fast, and the style of the workout is extremely effective. If I could take classes every week, I would, and I love the DVDs.
Any favorite unique booty exercises??
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I love lunges with you back leg lifted…gets the booty burning ohh sooo good!
Enjoy your evening!
I shall try physique 57. I have done everything else. What do you think about either A: Barre Method or B: padded undies?
Love love love grilled mushrooms! And I have the same problem with my pup! She runs around out of excitement but then I can’t get her (and I am not even pregnant!!) so we end up not going 🙁
Mmm those mushrooms look heavenly!
Dinner looks great! I also notice weight gain in my face and arms. I think my easiest area to workout is my legs. I get pretty frustrated with my upper body. I find I have to work double to get the results that I do with my legs.
I love the bar method move the pretzel!!!! You should you tube it, it’s a good bootay lifter! I’m pretty sure Physique 57 & Bar Method are pretty similar to each other. I’d like to get the physique 57 DVDs to compare the two.
oh that silly Bella! i love how she LOVES walks though, i think she really likes the good quality time with you. 🙂
The Stuffed mushrooms and asparagus and sweet tater look perfect. Yum.
And I remember the big belly days…my memories aren’t so much of dog-catching but of toenail clipping fails! And shoelace tying struggles.
You are SO Close to the end already…wow! Time flies (from the sidelines…ha!) 🙂
Pregnancy left me with this extra bit of fat below my buttcheek. It is the strangest thing. Is the bottom of your tush below ‘cheeks your hamstrings? I have lost all the baby week but it won’t go away.
yep! that’s the hammies 🙂
whenever i had clients with a similar issue, good cardio (interval training and hills) + heavy squats helped shrink it back up, combined with clean eats
Physique 57 was completely transformative in my life and I recommend it to everyone. I have been so curious about the Brazil Butt Lift, so when I saw it on sale the other day I went for it. I am so excited to try it out and compare it to Physique 57. I am worried it won’t be quite the amazing full-body workout Physique is, but I’ll know when I start the program on Monday. Has anyone ever done it before? Any advice?
Everytime I try to put the harness on my dog it pretty much turns into a WWE (is that even wrestling?) match in our kitchen! He loves his walks, but fighting me has become a game for him!
Mushrooms look great! I’ll have to make those one of these days. I made “Snobby joe’s” tonight. I learned about them from your blog and I make them almost once a week. Everyone will eat them!
In one of your posts it would be great if you could give tips for how to manage holiday treat season. Maybe you have an old post I missed? I used to manage better before I became a mom, but now that I am doing more baking it’s so hard. I let myself have treats and I also try to make healthy versions of treats, but something about the holiday season makes me think I should be diving into a plate of cookies. I have lost over 20 pounds since last holiday season and I don’t want to “fall off the wagon” again. You seem to have much more restraint than I do around amazing desserts in that you can take small samples of whatever you want and not want to take 10 more platefuls of pie or cake or what have you. How do you do it?
i love that idea! i’ll definitely do a post about it- i’ve been wanting to do one about moderation
Andy (my puppy) is the same way. He gets SO excited for his walk but then will not come to get leashed up. We always have to chase him. Hopefully Bella’s a better listener tomorrow!
My favorite for booty lifting is definitely heavy kettlebell swings!
Those mushrooms look fantastic! I’ve been meaning to make stuffed portabellos lately. But I don’t have a grill… do you think there’s a way to do them in the oven or on the stove top?
you could totally bake them- i’d do 350 for about 20 minutes or so
Silly Bella! My dog also gets really excited for walks and forgets how to listen when I call her. 🙂
I’m currently recovering from a knee injury (meniscus pain that my doctor said was from over-use, likely from too much weight/slightly off form during bodypump squats/lunges). I have a few more weeks left before I can ease back into those types of exercises. Any suggestions for booty lifting moves that won’t be too hard on my knees? Right now, I’m pretty much sticking to spin class a few times a week.
there’s a great one called v-glutes: http://fitnessista.com/the-fitnessista-workout/
I had a trainer tell me once that if he could give his female clients who wanted to lose weight one move to do everyday, it would be walking lunges. I try to keep that in mind when I’m programming! 🙂
I love how excited my dog gets when I ask her if she wants to go for a walk. Now she gets excited when I put on my tennis shoes and put my hair up – I feel terrible when I have to go straight to the gym and disappoint her!
Dinner looked great – and Bell – poor puppy 🙁 Our Jessie walks towards the door and I say “Come get your clothes on!” She comes back slowly, and reluctantly has her collar put on…it’s kinda sad and funny at the same time…sounds like you have a squirmy worm over there!
ps – So happy your hubby is with you for TG this year…and how much did you love your sandwich!? (why aren’t you saying whole paycheck any more? 🙁
she is a squirmy worm!
because a few people let me know that they didn’t like me saying that :/
Yummy looking mushrooms!
I’m so on the fence with “booty lifting.” My butt gets perkier but also noticeably bigger with lots of squats and lunges. I know muscle is good, but it’s the only place where doing strength stuff gives me an unwanted result. Any tips?
you may just need to work on fat burning in addition to the strength training- usually people will be afraid when they strength train and areas get bigger first, because they are building muscle faster than they are burning fat. usually after a little while it evens out and things will shrink, as muscle is more dense than fat. just be patient 🙂
Awww. Dogs are so funny when they get excited about a walk! While I can’t feel your pain with the whole baby in the oven, I know the exact behavior you are talking about with the pup 🙂
You’ve totally got me craving stuffed mushrooms for breakfast with a side of eggs! I need to recreate this dinner.
When we visit with my MIL, I’m always down to take ‘the boys’ (her two Coton de Tulear’s – google if you want to die of cuteness) on a long walk. I love getting them all hyped up and crazy. I don’t even have to say the whole ‘do you want to take a waaaaaalk’? They start going crazy if I just say ‘Do youuuuu’? It’s so dang cute. Then when I get their leashes out, I prepare to be mauled by the two cutest little white dogs ever. Miss my doggie walking!!
I recently had a couple procedures that left me super inflexible, so I hear you on not being able to bend over all the way. I was so freakin happy when I could finally tie my own shoes again. It’s the little things 🙂
I totally agree that yoga is AMAZING for your booty, it’s one of the many many many things I adore about it…yoga is the bomb.com 🙂 And you know what else is the bomb.com? That dinner you made….it looks DIVINE!! (Sorry for the caps, I’m enthusiastic, lol!) That must have been so delicious. The photo of your complete plate, and the gorgeous sweet potato with butter, is making me hungry! <3 xyx
That dinner looks scrumptious! I am craving a veggie-fied meal myself 🙂 It’s my Dear’s bday on Sunday and I am betting 100% that he’s gonna ask me to make steak, maybe I’ll recreate a similar meal!
Hey Gina, as someone who has done both – what do you think of adding Physique 57 dvds to the Insanity program? Do you think they would complement each other or should I just work a few standard strength training sessions a week into Insanity?
Thanks! 🙂
The best exercise I have found for getting my dream booty is the power sled! It’s not the most common piece of gym equipment, but it’s one of my favorites! You attach a harness low on your waist, and pull the sled around (I go back and forth on the not-so-busy street in front of my gym). You can add weight to it, or carry dumbbells/kettlebells while you walk. After six weeks of doing the power sled once or twice a week (I gradually increased weight/amount of time spent walking) in addition to my normal routine, I was getting compliments on my backside from my fellow gymgoers!
It’s also a great way to get your heart rate up quickly, and I’ve noticed an improvement in my elliptical workouts, too. If you get a chance, definitely try out the powersled – it really works wonders!
That meal looks fantastic! My kind of veggie dinner 🙂
Thanks for including us in your list of favorite exercises to achieve lifted, toned glutes! Our Physique 57 Thigh & Seat Booster 30 Minute Workout targets those areas well!
So funny…our little Pippa does that as well before a walk! She’s fine with the leash but when the harness comes out, she goes nuts. I’ve been confused this whole time because I know she loves walks, but when she sees the harness she almost runs away/around so much that you could never tell. I think you’re right—it’s excitement!
On another pup-related side note, how do you always keep Bella so groomed? With the change in weather I’m really battling matting in the girls’ coats. Any tips/miracle products? 🙂