Thursday motivation

Hi you.

Hope you're having the best Thursday.

I've just spent a lovely morning at the gym, breaking my own records, just as yesterday. I feel a lot stronger when I'm working out with men, why do you think that is? :D

Anyway, I just wanted to share my favourite motivational pics of the week. Hope you like them. :)


/Ulrika

Body & mind.

My favourite yogini, Katja. Pics by me.

I do a lot of hard workouts. As a matter of fact, around 80 % of my own workouts are really intense. Now, you don't have to be a fitness guru to know there's something wrong with that. 

In my defence: I instruct a lot of group fitness classes with a variety of intensities. That means that I really don't need any light jogging or dancing on my free time, I get plenty of that at work. But just to balance things, I should do some yoga, stretching or any other type of light exercise to recover better. Something to improve flexibility and give me peace of mind.

Why can't I do it?

I've discussed this a lot with my friends and coworkers. I need to achieve stuff, feel that I'm really good at something and beat myself every time I do something. I set realistic (and sometimes unrealistic) goals for myself and work my butt off to get there. It feels really difficult for me to do something just because it's fun. Ridiculous, isn't it?

We're all driven by different things. I'm the type of person to be driven by extrinsic motivation. That means that I really like numbers and setting goals - I get really motivated when I see a change in myself, whether that's a change in physique or attitude. I'll learn to like the actual workouts eventually. Doing something just because I like it feels like a waste of time, when I could be doing something really productive. 

I stress easily and lose sleep over silly things, because I feel like I can't let go...

What should I do about it?

Now, I know that I like yoga. I actually reach the yoga state of mind - serenity - quite easily. I should just convince myself that I really need yoga. It would improve my stress levels and therefore help me reach my goals more easily. It would most definitely help me fall asleep at night (and in case I wake up, I could fall asleep again with a relaxation exercise). Yoga would also improve my flexibility and core strength, and by increasing the flexibility in my hips I'd get better results at the gym.

How do I get started?

I should definitely make yoga a part of my weekly workout schedule. If you've been reading carefully, you've seen that I've already done that. I do everything I promise and more. Sometimes I exceed my weekly workouts by a few quick jogs. Maybe I would feel better if I exchanged those jogs into yoga sessions or pole dancing classes with my trainer? Oh, yes.

I'll start right now. Ommmmmmmm...

Have you ever encountered a similar problem? It doesn't have to be about yoga, or any exercising for a matter of fact.

Hope you're having the best Wednesday,

Love,

Ulrika

Have you had motivational problems? How did you get through it?

Delicious coconut chocolate treats.

Healthy treats: chocolate coconut balls and fresh strawberries.

Most of my friends (and a few co-workers) comment on my diet a lot. Some of them think that eating clean means no treats at all, but they're wrong!

These balls are healthy and packed with antioxidants. They're not addictive, so you don't have to be afraid to eat the whole lot in just one sitting. They contain zero sugar and they're rich in unsaturated fats and proteins that fill you up pleasantly. So no desperate cravings afterwards.

They're really fast to make, it took like five minutes for me to throw the ingredients together. Easy enough for you? ;)

My healthy chocolate coconut balls
150 g organic peanut butter (my favourite is Urtekram)
250 g crushed organic nuts. I used mostly almonds.
1- 1½ dl organic raw cacao powder
1 dl organic rice protein powder
½- 1 dl organic cacao nibs
½ dl organic chia seeds
2- 2½ dl shredded organic coconut
150 g organic coconut butter (oil)
2-3 teaspoons organic raw lucuma
1-2 tbsp organic raw maca powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Some additional shredded coconut to top these beautiful tiny balls


Blend the above in a bowl, using a metal spoon to push the coconut oil and peanut butter through the dry ingredients. Don't be precise - throw in what feels right (that's why my recipe isn't that precise either). The dough will turn "wet" because the coconut butter will turn into oil, so just chuck in some more dry stuff (e.g. chia seeds) to adjust the consistency.
Grab little handfuls and form into balls. Dip the balls in some shredded coconut to get the lovely "topping". Put the balls on wax paper or a large plate. Stick in the fridge for an hour (or if you're impatient, in the freezer for 20 minutes). I was patient enough to wait for 12 hours for these babies to set - and they're gorgeous! I enjoy my coconutty delights with fresh fruits or berries.

You can tweak the recipe to your own taste - add some licorice root or maybe a little peppermint oil.. You choose :)

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Kisses,
/U

Week 24: workouts

Picture by me.

Hi.

In my last post, I said that I was getting a flu.. Well, the flu turned into pneumonia and I was forced to rest for a week. That certainly sucked.

I'm OK now, although I still cough a lot when I get really winded. Workouts last week were terrible. I went to the gym to do my lower body workout, but the weights seemed at least twice as heavy.. Didn't beat any records.

Workouts this week:

Monday
Rowing at the summer house for ~60 mins. Sweating like crazy. I was really angry too, so I guess my heart rate was around 180 BPM the whole time :D

Tuesday
A quick jog around the neighbourhood in the morning. My "light jog" means running like someone's trying to kill me :D 30 mins and I was almost dead. I really need to learn how to jog slowly.
Core blasting strength workout (30 min) in the evening with a relaxing yoga (60-90 min).

Wednesday
Gym time! Lower body knock-out-workout. I have a new routine, and I bet I'll need a wheelchair on Thursday and Friday. Love it.

Thursday
TRX-training for upper body strength. I have a new routine there too, and I'll show it to you on Thursday!

Friday
Gym time, baby! My glutes will scream in agony by the time I'm done, which means that I'll do another round of my lower body workout on Friday too.

Saturday
Rest / Yoga to improve flexibility

Sunday
Running for 45-60 mins with an additional core workout and some serious stretching.


What's your workout routine for this week? Anything new?

Hope you're having the best, sunniest Tuesday.

Kisses,
/U