Two less bites of your favorite decadent food.

Three more reps to go! Don’t stop now. Just finish it.

Four excuses you kill and don’t allow to hinder you anymore.

Five consecutive days of consistency with your fitness.

Six minutes to plan tomorrow’s workout and healthy food choices.

Seven reasons you’re going to make it happen for real this time.

Eight ways you end the self-neglect and finally make yourself a priority.

Nine extra gulps of water throughout the day.

Ten less minutes of bullshitting, procrastination and staying stuck in your situation.

These ten little things will have major impact on your fitness, but they’re not so hard to do. Get your booty in gear and make it happen. Don’t just read this and then go off somewhere and do nothing…

XOXO,

Josie

Welp, I didn’t achieve a picture with the entire Greedy Family. This is the best I could do: Me, Greedy Baby, and Greedy Kid #3, chillin’ outside in the afternoon. But let me back up and start the day from the beginning….

My first order of Mother’s Day business was to banish all family members away from my presence so I could accomplish the entire 50-minutes of Totally Ripped Core in sweaty solitude. DONE!

Then I moved on to my morning fro down. I passed on the pancake breakfast to indulge in Tropical Shakeology instead. This was my first time using “frozen strawberries & pineapple chunks” instead of “frozen strawberries and a banana”.

Best ingredient swap I ever did do! And yes, I used the fancy glass. It came out tasting like a virgin margarita. Now I intend to add tequila to this puppy in the nearest future. Leave it up to yours truly to turn a top-of-the-line healthy shake into an alcoholic beverage for my consuming splendor. hee hee haw haw 

So yeah, Greedy Baby washed the family car…

And then she washed her own vehicle…

And to top off our outdoor activities, it was by the front yard tree that Greedy Kid #2 got in trouble for doing a half-ass job on his yard work. Half-ass is not acceptable in our house. I made him re-do part of the lawn. Look at his face: it’s an action photo of him being all pissed off about it ‘n stuff…

Side note: This is the same kid that accused me of running naked through the backyard the other day.

And my gifts? On top scoring construction paper handmade gifts from my littlest Greedies (don’t all moms love those?) and a sexy Nike bikini top, I also got Harbinger Weightlifting Gloves (I needed a pair really bad!) and the Iron Gym Extreme chin up & pull up door bar.

I was inspired by Workout Nirvana’s blog post to challenge myself on the bar. I suck at it right now in tremendous suck-wind fashion. As of today I can’t even do one full rep of a pull-up or a chin-up. But that’s all subject to change, and so it will. I’m going for it, so stay tuned for updates on my progress.

Then we rented Haywire on Amazon Instant Video. I love secret agent movies! There’s some seriously awesome fight scenes in this one where the woman-spy is kicking dude’s asses. Girl power!! That could’ve been me in real life. I should’ve gone to spy school when they offered me that scholarship.

Famous quote of the day:

“I know it’s Mother’s Day, but can you please rub my feet?” ~ Greedy Kid #1

I hope you new moms, veteran moms and all you pregnant chicks out there had a stellar mommy’s day!

XO,

Josie

do you like my chicken scratch?

I pretty much always Tweet and Facebook my workout totals. What you see in the pic is how I log my workouts in real time as they happen. Everything gets tracked.

I pull out my interval timer and my agenda book. And in that book is a record of every workout I do. Even if it’s a rest day, I write it down “rest day” in the book. A lot of it comes out looking like chicken scratch (scribbling down numbers in the few seconds in-between intervals), but it’s my own form of fitness hieroglyphics to help me stay accountable.

What do all those cryptic numbers and letters mean?

SR = Speed Rope

BPU = Burpee Push-ups

On this day I did 4 rounds of speed rope for a total of 14 minutes. I set my interval timer for 40/20, meaning 40 seconds of speed rope, plus 20 seconds of high knee jogs in each round. And if you add up all those BPU numbers, it equates to a total of 105 Burpee Push-Ups. Yeah. I did that many. Almost quit on that 75th push up. Had to keep it mentally strong to the end.

You don’t get in life what you deserve. You get in life what you make of it. ~ Shark Tank

Get yourself a cheap agenda book and start logging your workouts. You’ll be able to see what you’ve done, track your consistency (or lack thereof), gauge your progress, and determine when it’s time to take things up a few notches. The workout log does not lie. It’s documented proof of what your making of yourself. Fitness does not come to those who deserve it. It comes to those who make it happen.

These women prefer topless due to Stank Sports Bra Syndrome.

Alas! You no longer have to waste cash on special detergents or inflict voodoo exorcisms upon your sports bra to get the fitness funk out. The issue originates with a brand spankin’ new sports bra. But over time? My bras were getting stankier and stankier, no matter how many times I washed them. You, too?

While wearing a supposedly fresh ‘n clean sports bra, by 10-minutes into my workout, the stanky ghost of 15 workouts past would release itself from the fibers of my bra, causing many odorous offenses that made my nostrils quiver.

So I played it off. I declared that stank a reward for all my hard efforts, but this problem was also very costly. I found myself donating perfectly good sports bra to the trash man (he might still have them), because I couldn’t get da funk out. I was re-buying my favorite sports bras to achieve a stank-free workout environment.

THE ZERO-COST SOLUTION

I’ve been testing this method for several months now. Didn’t want to report my findings any sooner to be sure this zero-cost solution is truly effective long term.

Here’s what you do:

After your workout, strip that bra from your bawwdy and rinse it with plain water right away. Rinse it in the sink or carry it into your post-workout shower and rinse it in there. Then wring it out, hang it on a hanger and let air dry. By the time the bra is dry, if rinsed thoroughly, you shouldn’t smell even a hint that the bra was worked-out-in.

An immediate rinse prevents the sweat from setting into the bra’s fibers. This is critical to extending the life of your bra and saving you money on unnecessary specialty products to get da funk out. If you’re too lazy to rinse as described, at least keep your sports bras out of the dryer, because that bakes the funk in.

But beware! This method is only effective on newer bras that aren’t already ruined with permanent stank. If the bra is funk-infused with the smell of 1,000 beastly armpits, that stank ain’t coming out. Go buy some new sports bras and use the rinsing method from here on out.

No sweat. No stank. No extra cost. There ya have it.

New feature, everybody! The more fit I get, the more awesome and confident I feel on the inside & out. Don’t you feel the same? This new-found freedom makes me wanna get all swaggerrific ‘n stuff. Here’s the first of many-to-come Style Sets for your viewing pleasure. The theme is “Do What You Love”.

Nike 6.0 Legacy Bikini Swim Top: I’ve been shopping for swim tops recently. I have 2 so far, but this one right here is the sexiest I’ve seen yet. I put in a demand to get it as one of my mother’s day gifts. Oh yeah! I’m gonna have it! 

K-Swiss Women’s Tubes Run 100: These were on my feet and felt delicious. I was *this close* to owning them, but they didn’t have my perfect size. Maybe you’ll have better luck? There’s different colors to suit your style. Go try a pair.

Gymboss Interval Timer: It’s an important part of my every workout and has been pivotal in my weight loss. It challenges me, keeps me from slacking, and pushes me to not quit until the interval sets are done. Life without my Gymboss would be like life without large slices of chocolate cake. I require both, of course.

Danskin Now Women’s Mesh Shorts: Stylish booty shorts for less than $10. ‘Nuff said.

Hemp Rope & Leather Bracelet: This style of bracelet has flexible material, and you can easily adjust for looseness while you’re doing those burpees and squat jacks. Right? Say it with me one time: “Burpeeees and Squat Jaaaacks”  

Here’s one of my favorite high energy tunes to pair with my workouts. It’s called, “I Gotta Get Through This”, which is major inspiration when I’m going hard on those speed rope intervals. Take a listen to the clip:

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Now get on out there and Do What You Love!! xo

This is like Filet-O-Fish for peoples with swag and style and good taste. (that’s you and me)

You only need a few ingredients:

• 1.5 pounds of thick cod (serves 6)
• 2-3 eggs
• Panko Seasoned Italian Bread Crumbs
• Sammich buns
• The topping of your choice, like ketchup or tartar sauce (optional)
• Cheap-ass paper plate to promote dish washing laziness.

And the spices go like this:

• Lightly on the cod: salt, lemon-pepper seasoning, garlic, Mrs. Dash and Old Bay. Very lightly!
• Mix into the Panko crumbs: dashes of parsley, paprika and black pepper.

Add spices to the cod and Panko crumbs before Step #2.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes (20 minutes for thinner pieces). Cod is done when it flakes easily with a fork and is opaque white in color (no longer translucent). Place cod on a sammich bun and add your favorite topping(s).

How ya like me now!! Which one of you has my dessert?

But this is what my insubordinate, non-chores-doing kid told the rest of the greedy family: “Mom was outside nekid, hanging up clothes. And then she started running across the yard all crazy for no reason.”

Huh?

See how stuff gets twisted. Did I achieve a running speed so epic that my clothes peeled off from sonic-boom mileage per hour? I am here to clear my name. You believe my side of the story, don’t you?

He didn’t do the dang trash and then tries to deflect the issues off himself by accusing me of nekid. Place your bets right now on if this kid gets grounded or not.

“If you want it, then get your ass on the floor right now, do the work, and change your body forever.”

Do not lollygag. No pussyfooting (meow). And refrain from wishy-washy. Bob’s Totally Ripped Core DVD will get you what you came for. You ready to get in on this?

Totally Ripped Core Features Two Workouts.

Fitness Level: Intermediate to Advanced.

Equipment needed: Exercise mat or carpeting; 5 to 8 pound dumbbells.

Workout #1  ~ Totally Ripped Core: You will squat, bend, twist, deadlift, plank, balance & stabilize, side-burpee and more. You’ll be on the floor, off the floor, on one leg, and on your side. Whew! All planes of motion will be challenged with 50 minutes of fat shredding work that also strengthens and defines your core. And hell yes, you will sweat, and your heartrate will stay elevated for pretty much the entire workout. There are a few jumping/squatting segments, but it’s pretty minimal, so you guys with knee problems don’t need to avoid this DVD. The jumping/squatting moves can be modified.

Workout #2 ~ Ripped Core Quick Bonus: Don’t tell me you don’t have 10-minutes to work your core and get ‘ta accomplishing lean. Workout #2 is the quick ‘n dirty version of the full workout above.

Any Cons to this DVD? Yes. There should be better instruction for those who don’t know how to perform a deadlift (keep your knees slightly bent, stick that booty out, and don’t round your back), and I’m all for a longer warm-up session, so you may want to start your warm-up before you pop in the DVD. That’s it for the cons.

Watch the 60-second Ripped Core trailer:

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And here’s an important point: While doing the workout, it challenged my ENTIRE body. That’s how I got sweaty. It was seriously a full body effort. But in the 2 days that followed the workout, I felt the effects most in my abs, and secondarily in my back muscles. It was pretty awesome to experience a workout designed in a way to elevate your heartrate with full body work, yet still be so uniquely designed to target the core. Bob Harper is a genius. This one is a keeper for my fitness library.

You can’t go with with Bob Harper. Oh my gawd, you just can’t. In addition to Totally Ripped Core, try Bob’s Pure Burn Super Strength DVD. But don’t even go there and waste your time looking into these DVD’s if you’re not (yet) serious about your fitness. ‘Nuff said.

If there’s any time of day that could potentially turn into my eating downfall, it’s dinnertime. Why? Because sometimes I get too lazy to get my shopping done on time (gahhhh). Or I don’t feel like cooking because a long day at work made me feel like a squashed noodle particle under somebody’s stanky, crusty foot.

But healthy food planning is imperative! It just HAS to be done. The better you and I plan, the more fitness-success we shall see.

Here’s a preview of my dinner menu choices for this week. Care to get inspired?

• Panko-encrusted bake cod sammiches. (Greedy Recipe details coming this week!)
• Ground turkey soft tacos.
• Steamed shrimp & veggies over whole grain noodles in a light & creamy garlic sauce. It’s a take on this recipe.
• Curry chicken with onions and peppers over brown rice.
• Homemade pita pizzas on Joseph’s Flax & Oat Bran Pita Bread

And for dessert? I’m whipping up a batch of Shakeology Cookies that’ll last me all week. Low cal, healthy desserting is solved.

…and now in other news. Can somebody tell me what THE HELL is going on in this picture?

You’re the one running the show, so get ready for an epic week of fitness and healthy food choices. Make EPIC happen. It starts right NOW!

Warning: This workout contains fat melting powers that will increase your fitness-funk ratio and make you need a shower in a hurry. Are you with me?

LEAN GIRLS CIRCUIT  (after a thorough warm up)

• 4 minutes high knee jog intervals using interval timer (40 secs high knees + 20 secs low jog = 1 minute). Get those knees up, maintain good posture and engage your core.
• 10 jump squats. Aim for good height and reach up high on the jump.
• 3 push-ups
• 10 jump squats
• 3 push-ups
• 10 jump squats
• 3 push-ups
• 10 reps lying leg raises (on floor or on a bench)

Complete this circuit 3 times with as few rest breaks as possible. Modify where needed.

Once you’ve completed this workout, you will have accomplished a total of: 

• 12 minutes of high knee jog intervals
• 90 jump squats
• 27 push-ups
• 30 lying leg raises.

Whoa. I’m impressed with you already. Now get ‘ta moving that ass and be the strong, lean, swaggerific girl I know you are. BOOM!