Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day today! I am excited to be able to spend the day with my loved ones and celebrate my loves birthday as well! 

Can't wait to eat some good food and enjoy some holiday traditions. 

Merry Christmas everyone :) 

Shelby 

Discovering New Things

I love trying new things whether it is a new store at the mall, a new restaurant, or even a new gym. So before I begin this post I want to introduce you all to the LOVE OF MY LIFE :)

(Christmas last year). We met a little over a year ago and fell quickly in love for one another. Dating I have learned many cultural differences that we share and that is why I am writing this blog post. I've learned that their is so much more in the world to discover than what is right in front of us. 

This past weekend I enjoyed a day out with my boyfriend and his family. We started our morning off with breakfast at Steak'N'Shake. After breakfast we went to look at a house his family was interested in. We all came to the conclusion that pictures are not what they are made out to be. The house was way smaller than it looked and there was no lake in the backyard like it was portrayed. It was a very easy decision for them to say that the house was not for them, and that they would keep looking for the perfect house. 

After checking out the house we made our way to a local Sam's Club to get groceries. It is always fun for us to browse around and see what items we can find. I loved seeing the giant teddy bears out on display, that were three times of a human being, and watching people struggle to hold them. They also had a ton of festive candies and gift items out to browse as well. Once we finished up there we got a bite to eat at Outback Steakhouse. Jesus and I are not really huge fans of Outback, because we haven't had great dining experiences when we go, but we sucked it up and enjoyed spending time with his family. After we had some food we made our way to the Mexican Bakery. The first time I went in with them I was hesitant to get any bread, because I did not know what I would like, but this time I grabbed a tray and some tongs and was on a mission to find some yummy bread. This is one piece I found and I realized I have been missing out! I ate this piece of bread for breakfast on Sunday while I also enjoyed some delicious coffee. 

Once we finished up at the bakery we made our way over to the Mexican store. I loved the atmosphere and discovering all the unique ingredients they use in their foods. It definitely makes me more excited to learn about my loves culture, and to start discovering things about the Hispanic culture that make it so different from America. I am one who has a curious mind, so this has been fun and really different than any other relationship I have been in. Dating him has shown me to not take the "little things" for granted and to be grateful for what we have. I am very grateful to have him in my life, because he has shown me the real feeling of what being in love feels like. 

That was pretty much all we did last weekend. We did some shopping for last minute Christmas gifts as well on Sunday, but other than that it was a nice and relaxing weekend. We took all weekend off from the gym and had a 3 day rest weekend :) It was nice to give our bodies a break in that area as well. 

Thank you all for reading! Hope you all have a Happy Holiday! 

xoxo,

Shelby

Working on that BOOTY!

Welcome back to the blog! Today I have for you a FREE workout I did today in the gym. It focused mainly on hamstrings and glutes with a little bit of quad action. You will definitely feel the burn during this workout. And at the end of the workout I followed it with 30 minutes of cardio. Talk about a hot mess.

Here is what the workout looked like today...

Lying Hamstring Curls 4 sets of 15 each leg (isolation) followed by negative reps with both legs for 10 reps. 

For me I started out with lighter weight for the isolation and increased my weight by 20 pounds when I moved to negative reps. You will definitely feel these working after the first set! 

Donkey Kickbacks on Cable Machine 4 sets of 15 each side superset with pushdowns on pull-up assisted machine. 

Make sure to squeeze at the top to activate your glutes. On the pull-up machine step on with one foot and center your heal in the middle of the step. Chose a weight with enough resistance and push down the step and squeeze your booty. You will see a little "booty pump" after doing these. :)

Quadricep Extension 4 sets of 10 each leg (isolation) followed by both legs for another 10 reps.

Seated calf raises 4 sets of 15, regular followed by toes in then followed by toes pointed out. This counts as 1 set. 

Your calfs will be burning from this combination, but it's a great way to mix it up. 

Hip Thrusts with smith machine 4 sets of 15.

These are a little different. First get a mat and place it on the floor. Pick a comfortable weight then kneel down on your knees. Place the bar behind your head like you would for squats. Sit back pushing your butt towards your feet. Using your glutes push yourself back up and squeeze at the top. Be careful to not put stress on your lower back as well! 

THIS COMPLETES YOUR BOOTY WORKOUT!!! NOW TIME FOR CARDIO!!! 

Your cardio is 30 minutes of 15% incline on the treadmill at a pace of 3.5-4.0 depending on your preference. When you hit 25 minutes take your incline down to 7% and your speed to 3.0. Then finally when you have 2 minutes left take your incline all the way down to 0% and walk it out! 

Give me some feedback on how you liked this routine. Let me know if you'd like to see more of these posts as well :) Comment below if you completed this routine! 

xoxo,

Shelby

Benefits of Green Tea

I love green tea! I love to buy it in the K-cups to throw it in my Keurig and have me a hot glass. It's perfect for those cold winter months! I have drank green tea for a while now, but I always wondered why do health nuts rave over it. Well I did a little research to find out some of the benefits that are in green tea and why we should include it in our daily routines.

Green tea is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients. These help with improved brain function, fat loss, and lower your risk of cancers. They are all powerful effects for our bodies and there are many more benefits to green tea as well. 

Here are a few more of the benefits I found most frequently listed in no particular order.

Weight loss. Green tea increases the metabolism. The polyphenol found in green tea works to intensify levels of fat oxidation and the rate at which your body turns food into calories. 

"All things being equal, if you substitute 1-2 cups of green tea for one can of soda, over the next year you'd save over 50,000 calories," Ochner says. That's more than 15 pounds. Just don't overdue it with honey or sugar!

Skincare. Green tea can apparently also help with wrinkles and the signs of aging. This is because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.

Diabetes. Green tea helps regulate glucose levels slowing the rise of blood sugar after eating. This can prevent high insulin spikes and resulting fat storage. 

Cholesterol. Green tea reduces the bad cholesterol in the blood and improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol. 

Tooth Decay. Studies suggests that the chemical antioxidant "catechin" in tea can destroy bacteria and viruses that cause throat infections, dental caries and other dental conditions.

Relaxing Ritual. Sipping tea helps you slow down and relax. A natural chemical called theanine found in green tea can provide a calming effect. 

This is one of my favorites that I found, because this is true for myself! I find when I drink tea I become calm and I actually enjoy writing my blog posts while sipping on some tea. 

These are just a few I found and of course, no one food will protect you from disease. Green tea alone will not give you all of these benefits. Your health is wrapped up in your lifestyle and your genes. As crazy as that sounds, but we must also take care of ourselves in other ways, like not smoking, living a healthy lifestyle by eating whole foods and, being active.

Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment below and tell us your favorite brands of green tea to drink! 

xoxo,

Shelby