Harry Potter

So I've been on a real Harry Potter kick lately. My wonderful boyfriend has finally started to embrace my love for JKR's stories. He even suggested we have a movie marathon of all the movies. So far we're half way into the 3rd, Prisoner of Azkaban. My next goal is to get him to read all the books; I'm currently rereading them from the beginning.

I've found some really great HP fan sites/videos
I would really love to share them with you! So here they are:

Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls check out End of an Era
[linked ^ right there ], Open at the Close, Lupin's Tale, Oh Ginny, Necessity, The Boy Who Lived, Mischief Managed, Bridge to the Other Side, and many more!!! These songs make me so happy :D

Harry Potter Confessions New ones posted daily. Confessions of fans regarding the series, how its changed them, and how it's made them feel. Some of these have honestly made me cry.


























HPotter Facts Little-Known facts about the series, categorized by each book [SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, HBP, DH] and the set, after, etc. Really interesting stuff.

Also, if you're a fan of pinterest, there's been some great things posted on HP boards. I could spend hours looking up this stuff.
Here's my growing Of My Favorite Movies Pinboard I've found some pretty good videos. I've wanted to create a whole board solely dedicated to HP but I don't want to annoy anyone...

Also, I started a new drawing project. My goal is to eventually draw all the main characters of the series.

There's a ton of work left on this sketch. I now have it all lined and diagrammed and all that work has already took my 2 and a half hours.

If you have any ideas for what pictures of the other characters I should draw, post them below in comments!

Also if you have any other favorite fan sites I'd love to know those too!

Thanks for reading,
XOX

One of my favorite moments with the trio even though the setting is so sad...
















Some other posts you might like:

Workout Foods
OUCH
Workout #1
The Beginning of this Blog
Triathlon Training

Yogurt

My dad recently bought a whole bunch of yogurt varieties (our fridge is full from top to bottom with yogurt, not even joking) and I just tried Greek Yogurt for the first time.

What a game changer! Well, not really, but it is very different from the Yoplait Light that I've become so accustomed to [but seriously, who can resist the boston creme pie for 110 calories?!].

I was shocked with how filling one serving of the yogurt is, I packed a whole lunch to take to work with me and after starting the yogurt first I realized I was so full I didn't even need any other food! And the amount of protein in one serving really surprised me! As someone who can't really claim that they like eating meat very much [sometimes I really crave a steak or a cheeseburger though...] I've often struggled with getting a good dose of protein and iron in my diet. 

While I was training my solution were Luna Bars [surprisingly tasty] that I would eat to recharge after my workouts. Here's a sampling of their nutrition facts from their Peanut Honey Pretzel bar [which quickly became my favorite] from 

Lunabar.com

Now let's compare that to some sample nutrition facts for Greek Yogurt [let's guess who'll win...]



LUNA BARS VS. GREEK YOGURT


Well the yogurt has a bigger serving size, fewer calories, and more protein. 
But the Luna Bar has 30% DV for Iron [I, along with many other women, often have iron deficiencies that we don't even know about, especially if we aren't0 big fans of red meat]. That's actually one of my favorite things about Luna Bars:

•  They taste great
•  They satisfy my sweet tooth
•  And they help me get iron that's vital to my immune system. 

So choose Greek yogurt if you want a snack that's filling but light, packs a powerful punch of protein to help rebuild those muscles.
But Luna Bars are also a good choice if you want something easy to throw in your gym bag. They are also much sweeter than Greek yogurt (which has a reputation for tartness) and shouldn't make you feel that guilty. I mean, look at those vitamins and minerals they jam into those little [candy] bars! 


I would recommend, though, that if you're going with the Greek yogurt throw some fresh fruit or granola [or both] in there to sweeten it up. I like to use Kashi cereal in mine. Or get the kind with the fruit at the bottom, but STIR IT WELL!
You'll thank me later. 
Happy eating!
XOX 


Some other posts you might like:

OUCH
Harry Potter
Workout #1
The Beginning of this Blog
Triathlon Training

Ouch

Sore
Adj. suffering bodily pain from wounds, bruises, etc., as a person:
She is sore because of all that exercise.
-Dictionary.com

Who would've thought that spending 45 minutes at the gym would leave me feeling like each of my arms weigh 85 lbs. by the next day?

Muscles I didn't even know I had hurt today. But that's got to be a good sign,
Right?

To read all  about why I'm so sore, head on over to my last post:
My Return to the Gym

I always feel like my workout was successful if I feel a little soreness in my muscles by the next morning. So I guess...
I have been victorious!

Well, today I'm recharging by heading downtown to Milwaukee (oh how I have missed it!) to help the boyfriend move things into his new apartment! So exciting!

P.S. his apartment is on the third floor, so I'm going to think of my workout today as being my multiple trips up those stairs...
What can I say, my workouts are imperfect.

Happy Moving!
XOX



Some other posts you might like:

Workout Foods
Harry Potter
The Beginning of this Blog
Triathlon Training

Workout #1

Welcome back to the gym! It's like I never left.
I remember it being slightly less air conditioned...
Well to ease back into the swing of things I took it a little bit slow by doing a tiny cardio routine and lots of basic strength training:
-ran a mile to warm up
-stretched
-30 second plank
-25 sit-ups
-20 side leg-lifts (on each side)
-30 second side planks
-20 vertical leg climbs
-10 pushups
-10 'diamond' pushups
-20 'fall-down' pushups (these are so hard!!)
-20 strong arm hold torso lifts
-2 sets of 10 bicep curls
-20 overhead arm extensions (for that nasty arm flab!)
-and a few more sets of various lift techniques and leg workouts

Whew! My limbs sure felt like jelly when I walked out of the gym, but I'm proud of myself for making a triumphant return!

Also, as a reward for myself I spent about 2 hours painting this intricate pattern on my nails. Worth it? Yes!
Everybody deserves a little me- time once in a while.

[I found this nail-art tutorial over at The Beauty Department
Such a cute website!]

Think happy thoughts!
XOX

Some other posts you might like:

Workout Foods
Ouch
Harry Potter
The Beginning of this Blog
Triathlon Training

A Sampling of My Triathlon Training

Hi all,

I thought maybe I could show you guys a little bit of my training schedule that I was maintaining from February-June of 2012 prior to my triathlon. It was a gradual program with each month broken into 3 building weeks and one 'rest' week. The building weeks increased the prior week's regimen by 10% and then the 'rest' weeks decreased the final building week by 25%.

Here's a few of my weeks broken down, (these are from my workout notes from the end of June so they would have been the last weeks of my training)

Tuesday- 38 minutes run
Wednesday- 44 minutes bike (~10.75 miles)
Thursday- 32 minutes run
Friday- 10 minutes swim
Saturday- 70 minutes bike (~13.2 miles)
Sunday- 9 minutes swim

Friday- 28 minutes run + ab toning
Monday- 45 minutes bike + ab toning
Tuesday- 23 minutes run
Wednesday- 13.5 minutes swim (~0.25 miles)+ arm toning
Friday- 14.5 minutes swim + 43 minutes bike + 11 minutes run + arm toning

[And here's my last week]
Monday- 14 minutes swim + 40 minutes bike
Thursday- 46 minutes bike + 19 minutes run
Friday- 19 minutes run

So that was pretty hectic and nerve-wracking, it was also a pretty strict routine.
But it definitely got me in the best shape I'd ever been in in my life

In December of 2011 (my freshman year of college) I weighed about 99 lbs. I have always been small for my age and have had problems gaining weight since I was a child. I was still healthy and I ate regular meals, though I didn't exercise. I had lost a lot of the muscle weight I'd had throughout high school when I was constantly playing sports. My highest weight has been 112 lbs, and considering I'm 5'3" that's healthy enough, but that was when I was captain of my tennis team and more muscular than ever.

That December my friend approached me with the idea of running our first triathlon together; I thought she was crazy. But eventually she managed to convince me to train with her.

As I trained over the months, I gradually picked up weight and I began to notice the new strength I could feel in my core (swimming constant laps, who knew?!), my legs, and my arms. I also went from 99 lbs to a more muscular 107. I was pretty happy with myself.

Now, with a two-week break haunting me everyday I'm up to 110 and I can feel a little flab over my stomach where I used to have a (relatively) flat stomach. I also feel slightly depressed and I know that it's stemming from my complete lack of exercise.

I'm about to change that tonight! I'm heading over to the gym, it's slightly rainy, and my ipod is fully charged.
Plus, I've been looking at my pinterest 'exercise motivation' board all day!

Time to make a change,
XOX


Some other posts you might like:
Workout Foods
Beginning of this Blog
OUCH
Workout #1

Harry Potter

The Beginning

Hi there and welcome to Imperfect Workout, the blog all about my struggle to stay fit, and how I do it all rather imperfectly. But hey, nobody's perfect, and I'm okay with that.

Here's my Stats (as of 7/24/12)-
Name: Kate
Age: 19
Weight: 107 lbs.
Height: 5'3"
Measurements-
Bust: 32"
Waist: 25"
Hips: 32"
Biceps: 9.5"
Thighs: 19"
Calves: 12"

A little bit about me:

Me at the finish line. 

I'm an undergraduate studying a combination of business (with a focus on finance/accounting) and Spanish. I attend school in Milwaukee, Wi (the state I have lived my whole life). I have two gym memberships (so that I can torture myself year-round) and I work two different jobs. I'm very happy with my life and I wouldn't change anything even if I could.

In July of 2012 I completed the biggest challenge of my workout-career so far; I finished my first Sprint Triathlon (0.25 mi swim, 16 mi bike, 5K run) in 2 hours and 10 minutes. I've never been prouder of myself in my life.

But now my biggest problem is I haven't worked out in exactly two weeks. Going from consistent training 6 days a week to nothing but casually lifting myself off the couch to eat more junk food was a surprisingly easy transition. Too damn easy.

Now, I want to get myself back into a casual weekly workout routine to keep my body in the shape I was at the peak of my training. My biggest problem is that I don't know how to go about doing that.
Well, here we go...
Thanks for listening,
XOX