I am at that stage in my training where I am getting frustrated that certain parts of my body are not changing "fast enough," in my estimation. My arms and shoulders are looking damn good and it felt like they started to take shape quickly, however my abs, butt and legs are just slow to follow and that is getting my panties in a bodybuilding bunch. On a side note, I am also the single most impatient person on the planet and I also have cheated here and there on my diet.

Loved that we had shirts on with saying. My lovely trainer-Angela Marquez

So after discussing my progress with my trainer, we came up with a few things that I need to tweak.

1. When I get back from Costa Rica I need to be a bit more strict with the diet.
2. I need to incorporate abs into just about every workout...make 'em burn
3. I need to add a little more cardio and unfortunately this does not involve going out and running 8 miles, it involves more time on an elliptical or treadmill, fighting high resistance. Hell I will take any cardio I can get.

I did have a few training highlights that I am sure that you will find amusing and uplifting.

1. Have you ever noticed that every single personal trainer has a stutter? Or if its not a stutter then they are just really crappy at counting. They tend to repeat numbers like 5, 4, 3,3,3,3,2, 1 when they are counting down your reps. It is always at that point in your workout when your muscles are burning so bad you want to cry and they just sit there stuttering with a mischievous look on their face.  And they wonder why we hate them?

My Tuesday torture buddy!

2. I was having a rough week...emotionally and physically...and so I needed to mix up my workouts a little bit. I attended two boot camp or booty camp classes this week. One was indoors and my co-worker had a field day with my phone.

Yes, this is payback!!

However, I walked away from that class after so many hip taps that I seriously looked in the mirror to see if my ribs were bruised from hitting the floor so many times. They were not bruised on the exterior, but I am pretty sure I had internal bleeding (yes, I am being a drama queen).


The other class was this morning on the boardwalk and it was awesome to look out at the beautiful ocean, the serene boats and feel like you are being tortured....such a contradiction. But how can you not be motivated by 7 strong women doing booty tapping squats. Love the girl power!!


3. My trainer makes animal names for a lot of her moves. They are these hardcore bodybuilding moves and then she gives them light and fluffy names to make them sound more gentle. For example, arm flys are called bear hugs because you want your arms and shouldered positioned wide like you are hugging a bear. She also calls traveling squats "froggy jumps." Sounds pleasant right? It is the farthest thing from pleasant...as soon as she busts out an animal name I know I am screwed in a big way. But in her defense it does help me remember the moves and the correct form.

4. Now of course a week can't go by without some clumsy mayhem on my part and so this week was no different, I nearly tripped over a step while doing toe taps and almost went head first into a mirror. My trainer, however did pay me the biggest compliment by calling me,"...a hyper clumsy bodybuilding monster." I am pretty sure we are in love!! Haha



5. I also have a new fitness goal. I want a bodybuilders walk. Have you ever noticed that they walk with their ass in the air and their legs are a little farther apart and their thighs definitely do not touch...it is awesome! It just screams I am a bad ass! My trainer has a walk like that and right now I am crazy jealous.

Now as I mentioned above I do cheat here and there on my diet so on Friday night I had appetizers and a glass of wine with a dear friend. I made a Strawberry Balsamic Goat Cheese Bruschetta and it was too die for!! Here is the recipe and some pics...hell this is still a food blog, right? Btw, I also made a really healthy chicken spinach salad...that was disgusting...I spared you all from that pain and suffering. Bleck!!

Original recipe makes 12 slices

 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
 12 slices Italian bread
 1 tablespoon olive oil
 1 pound strawberries, washed and diced
 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, plus more for serving
 1 cup goat cheese, room temperature
 salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions
Heat vinegar in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Simmer until reduced by about half, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Prepare a grill for high heat. Place bread slices on a foil-lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
Combine strawberries and thyme in a small bowl and set aside.
Grill bread on the preheated grill until browned, about 3 minutes per side.
Spread goat cheese on toasted bread. Add black pepper, salt, and reduced vinegar to the strawberry mixture. Spoon over the goat cheese topped bruschetta. Garnish with additional thyme.


** As a side note I used blackberry balsamic vinegar and it was awesome **