I have never counted down from 4 so many times in my life. I think I was counting as I fell asleep last night!

This weekend was super busy and exhausting, but I’m pleased to say that I’ve finished my Fitness Instructor Specialist (FIS) course (well, the course part anyway, now I just have to do the written and practical exams!!) Some of the material was very very similar to the previous certifications I’ve taken, but I did learn quite a lot too. Specifically, there are A LOT more ways to move when you’re not confined to a bike (and even more ways to mess up!!) The course focused mostly on components of a group ex class, cueing, and matching movements to the 32-count beat of the music. It wasn’t as physically demanding as I had anticipated, but I think my mental endurance was wearing a little thin by the end! After I finish the certification, my plan is to decide exactly what types of classes I want to teach in addition to spin… I’m thinking along the lines of cardio kickboxing, but I haven’t entirely decided yet.

In addition to lots of counting and step-touching, there were also lots of good eats packed this weekend. Here they are, in no particular order:

Lunch on Friday: Scrambled egg and vegetables in a pita with monster salad

Some portable protein: Hard-boiled eggs

Saturday’s Cooler: Veggies with Compliments Balance Roasted Red Pepper dip, spinach salad with cucumber, strawberries, walnuts and Walden Farms Raspberry Vinaigrette, honeydew melon, cherries, a homemade granola protein bar, pomegranate yogurt, and a grilled chicken sandwich (in the container are the toppings, which were chicken, lettuce, cucumber and roasted red pepper. I like to pack the bread separately so it doesn’t get soggy!)

Some smoothies for the road, which I thoroughly enjoyed at 7am.

Strawberry banana with vanilla protein

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Green Monster

Excited much?

I also learned this weekend that xanthan gum is a fab ingredient for making smoothies more portable. They don’t slosh about in the cup as much, which means that your chances of spilling are not as high (a common problem for moi).

Sunday’s Cooler: Monster salad with grilled chicken breast and sliced hard boiled egg, veggies and roasted red pepper dip, watermelon, cherries, and…

…a mixture of dry Kashi Go Lean and vanilla protein powder, which I mixed the yogurt into. This made a lovely little high-protein crunchy-creamy snack yesterday afternoon when I was feeling particularly exhausted and in need of a nap.

On Saturday night I was feeling particularly lazy after having been in the car for an hour driving home, so I drizzled a salmon fillet and some veggies (sweet potato and bell peppers) with light Italian salad dressing and a little white wine vinegar, then sprinkled everything with herbs and black pepper.

Are you tired of looking at food yet?

In other news, I had a session this morning with Mr Trainer to make up for the one we missed yesterday. It was a lower body and shoulders workout with lotsandlotsandlots of lunges and squats. I’m sure my butt will be thanking me tomorrow. Unfortunately I didn’t set a new personal record in The Plank Challenge this weekend, (probably because the only time I had to fit it in was immediately after a run) but I will be making my next attempt to beat my 16 mins tomorrow. Think I can do it!?

Today I will be studying like it’s my job… I have an International Policy midterm tomorrow morning and, having been away all weekend, I’m feeling a little less than prepared!

Goals for this week:

• Make it through my midterm!
• Set a new PR in the Plank Challenge
• Clean my house before the boss (my mum) comes to visit on Wednesday
• Finish my Marketing Communications individual project (won’t go into details, but it’s a beast!)

Alrighty bloggies, I better get a move on. I hope you had a lovely weekend and got plenty of rest – and some for me too! I’ll leave you with a few questions for today:

• Are there any group fitness classes that you haven’t tried yet but would like to attend? Any that you wish were offered more often?
• Do you have any suggestions for new things I should try tomorrow for Try Something New Tuesday #7?

Talk to ya later!