Salmon and muscles ... alive alive o!!!

Oh yes it is!!!  That's the best way to view it.

As has been said before, anybody who leaves a workout still looking cute has not been working out!!

I wear my sweat like a badge of pride whenever I walk out of the gym, it shows I have given it my all and am blasting that fat!!

Tuesday ........ GYM DAY!!!! :)

~BREAKFAST~

Woke up very tired this morning after a restless nights sleep, again owing to the heat.  My muscles felt heavy, so I needed something to give them a big boost today.

Opted for 3 extra lean bacon rashers, some mushrooms and a couple of eggs on Nimble wholemeal toast, along with my protein shake .... hit the spot and got me going!  (Although never been great at doing eggs, as you can see!!!)

~MID-MORNING SNACK~

For a change this morning, and as my breakfast pretty much saw me straight through, I just had a small handful of natural almonds this morning with a couple of dried apricots thrown in, lovely.

~LUNCH~

Lunch today was the left over quorn bolognese from 

last night's dinner, packed into my little lunch box with a sprinkle of low fat grated cheddar over the top.  I always make too much for this very purpose and just reheat it in the microwave at work.

This is perfect pre-gym food with a mix of low-fat protein (quorn) and complex carbohydrates (wholewheat pasta), it certainly fuelled my burners!

~AFTERNOON SNACK~

I had to go shopping straight after the gym today, and Matt was working late so wouldn't be eating until about 8 tonight, so wanted something filling and yummy to see me through.

So I bought myself a small seeded wholemeal roll and a little tub of crab meat.  These are gorgeous, I get them in Waitrose, this one is fifty/fifty, brown and white meat, they also do ones just white meat or just brown.

I love crab!!  It's very low fat, high in protein and rich in essential nutrients.

~DINNER~

Are you watching the new series of Celebrity Masterchef?  I love it, but then I love all cookery shows!!

One of the contestants did a dish last week of a white fish with a honey and star anise sauce.  Sauce sounded lovely, but even I knew it wouldn't go with a delicate white fish!!  But I did think it would go with a heavier oily fish, such as salmon.  So I came up with this version.

In a bowl combine a couple of tbsp of clear honey with some rice wine vinegar, dark soy sauce, chinese five spice powder, some chilli flakes, the zest of an orange  and a couple of star anise.  (I love star anise, one of my favourite ingredients, I put it in stews and loads of stuff).  Mix it all together and then add your salmon, flesh side down, and leave to marinate for a couple of hours. About 10 minutes before cooking add the juice of half an orange.
(Yes there are 3 in the dish ... one will be transformed for my lunch tomorrow!).

You can then either cook it on a griddle pan, or I just put on a small roasting tin in the oven at about 180oc, cover with foil and  cook for about 20 minutes or so, till cooked how you like it. 

I then just stir fried some vegetables to go with  it along with some wholewheat udon noodles.  Add the remaining marinade to the stir fried veg near the end to warm it through.

Absolutely stonkingly gorgeous!!!

~EXERCISE~

Some of you have asked what it is I actually do in the gym, well, this is what I did today, was in there for about 1hr 45 mins.

Cardio

15 Minutes on the recumbent bike, set on level 5

Corded Weight Machines

Seated Leg Press - 5 x 20 reps @ 61kg

Leg extension - 3 x 15 reps @ 21kg

                          1 x 15 reps @ 28kg

Standing Calf - 5 x 20 reps @ 25kg

Lower Back Extension - 5 x 20 reps @ 63kg

Abdominal - 4 x 15 reps @ 30kg

Hip Abductor - 5 x 15 reps @  45kg

Hip Adductor - 2 x 20 reps @ 45kg

                         2 x 20 reps @ 50kg

                         1 x 20 reps @ 55kg

Pectoral Fly (type1) - 3 x 20 reps @ 28kg

Rear Deltoid - 3 x 20 reps @ 28kg

Lateral Pulldown - 1 x 10 reps @ 49kg

                               3 x 15 reps @ 35kg

Pectoral Fly (Type 2) - 1 x 20 reps @ 21kg

                                      3 x 15 reps @ 28kg

Incline Chest Press - 4 x 15 reps @ 21kg

Chest Press - 3 X 15 reps @ 21kg

Shoulder Press - 3 x 10 reps @ 20kg

Seated Row - 3 x 15 reps @ 28kg

Arm Extension - 3 x 15 reps @ £20kg

Arm Curl - 3 x 15 reps @ 20kg

Various stretches

That's all!!!   I try and leave and about 30-60 seconds between each set of reps.  Got so carried away today I suddenly realised I was singing out loud to the music on my IPod ... ooops!!!  At least it showed I was enjoying myself :)

The seated leg press is one of my favourites.  Extending your knees against the resistance offered by the leg press works the quadriceps, glute muscles, hamstrings and gastrocnemius (calf muscle).  The leg press is an effective lower body exercise and provides a viable alternate for squats and lunges.    When leg pressing you should ensure that your lower back never rounds out and that you avoid bending your knees so as to place them at an overly acute angle.  Press evenly with both legs.

 

I have very strong leg muscles ... underneath all the fat, so can push quite a high weight!


And now I reckon I am going to put these tired legs in an epsom salt bath!!!

Thanks again for reading

Jo

xx