Sunday Funday!

I went for a quick weekend trip to Vegas, and just had a 6 hour drive back to LA!  Traffic was horrible getting out of there.  Ugh.  I should never drive back on Sunday afternoon from there again.  It's pathetic because the reason I left so late was because I went to Bucchanal buffet and sat there for like 4 hours... LOL!  If you haven't heard already, it is the new #1 rated buffet in Vegas, at Caesar's Palace.  It was constructed for 17 million, opened about a year ago, and boosts 500 different dishes daily.  I gotta say, it was pretty amazing.  It's very beautiful, first of all.  The food was great, and they let you pay $15 extra to skip the long line!  I don't know about you, but it's totally worth it in my books to pay extra and not have to wait an hour to eat.  The weekend brunch price is like $42, so $57 if you pay to skip line, and it includes bottomless mimosas.  That's not too bad at all, considering most other buffets charge you extra to include mimosas.  I seriously binged!!!  I tried to go for the high price items to make it worth it too, so I had lots of crab legs, sushi, etc.  I was so full at the end that my stomach was hurting.  Hahahaha... trainer must not know about this!  One of my friends who was there also trains with the same trainer and we both stuffed our faces!  It was so fun though and totally worth it!  I mean, after all how often do I do that anyways... I go to Vegas only twice a year at the most and each time I only go to buffet once!  It was also my only meal of the day.  :)

Because of my weekend trip and I knew I wasn't going to get any workouts in while I was in Vegas, I planned ahead and had all my 5 workout sessions Mon - Fri without a rest day.  That is so tough I think.  Both physically and mentally.  I also got my new workouts from my trainer on Tuesday/Wednesday, so I did some new leg workouts on Thursday and it made me sore until about now!  I still feel it a little, and that's unusual for me.  I think it was my hack squat and leg press combo back to back.  Maybe I over-extended myself by using 140 lbs for my leg press...

Monday 9/23

What I did:  Lower body circuit.  Followed by 30 minutes of my cardio intervals.  

What I wore:  Lululemon Cross My Heart tank in pig pink with Lululemon Lab Perennial tight in coal and Nike Free Bionics.  I love these shoes for my lower body weights because they are much more stable than my running shoes!

Tuesday 9/24

What I did:  Upper body weights - shoulder and tri.  Then 30 minutes of cardio!

What I wore:  My new Under Armour Achieve tank with Victoria's Secret supermodel cami bra in sweetest orange, and Beyond Yoga Gathered Legging in mojave with Nike Frees in crimson/gray.

Wednesday 9/25

What I did:  I started my new workouts with back/bi, which was so tough because he added unassisted chin-ups, followed by negative pull-ups!!  I didn't even think I could do any chin-ups unassisted, because I could never before when I tried.  But... surprise!!!  I did about 12!  That is huge for me!  I couldn't believe it.  I guess I've gained tons of strength from all my weight training!  I also did my 3rd 30-minute cardio session of the week.

What I wore:  Lorna Jane Kayla tank, with Lululemon Centered Energy bra in flash under, and Splits59 Ginger tights with New Balance Minimus Road shoes.  

I don't really like this tank and bra combo, both style and color wise.  But I packed them the night before and went to the gym right after work so I didn't have any other choices.  I think the colors are too similar yet not similar enough to be worn together.  And I don't like how the bra looks with the tank from the back.   So it's not one of my proudest moments.  Oh well.

My work outfit from the same day - My buttery soft Splendid adjustable tab sleeve shirt with Express high-waist studio stretch pieced pencil skirt.  Sam Edelman Mallory slingbacks.  This skirt is getting a little too loose on my now, especially around the hips.  Sad face!

Thursday 9/26

What I did:  Well, it was supposed to be my rest day!  And I kinda felt like I needed it since my back was rather sore from previous day's chin-ups.  But I figured I'd push through anyway since it was supposed to be leg day and it should not interfere with my upper body recovery.  I then also did my last 30 minute cardio session of the week!

What I wore:  Lululemon cool racerback in raspberry (old old color) with Victoria's Secret Angel sports bra under, and Lululemon Power Vinyasa crops.  Nike Free Bionics again.

I wore my Lululemon Swiftly 1/2 Zip in ultra violet as to and from:

Friday 9/27

What I did:  My last weight session!  Upper body supersets!  No more cardio!  Good lord.  I packed and headed to Vegas pretty much right afterwards.  Didn't get there till like 1:30 am lol.

What I wore:  Lululemon Practice Freely tank in heathered paris pink, with Lululemon Ebb & Flow crop in deep indigo and Brooks Pure Drift shoes.

I am beat, going to head to bed now!  I hope you all had a great weekend!

Lululemon Cool Racerback Slalom Stripe Angel Wing/Hyper Stripe Angel Wing

I ordered the new Lululemon cool racerback in slalom stripe angel wing/hyper stripe angel wing on Monday night and it arrived yesterday.  I really liked the look of this cool racerback because of the edging around the neck and shoulder straps.  It looks a little different from other cool racerbacks, and yet it is still a neutral color that would go with everything.

I ordered it in my regular size 4, but I've got to say, something feels off about it!  It fits tighter and the armpit cut is higher than the other cool racerbacks that I have.  It actually gives me some dreaded armpit fat!  I can pull it down a bit more and then it kind of goes away, but.... no likie!!!

Look how it cuts into the armpit, and is somewhat sheer as you can see my mostly-black-with-some-colors sports bra under:

I'm also not crazy about the bottom hem... why can't they make it straight??  It may not be that big of a deal because I never pull my cool racerbacks all the way down.  I usually just let it kind of bunch up a little at the bottom.  But still!

So I laid this cool racerback on top of an old one that I have (raspberry) in the same size, and as you can see, it is cut smaller by about a quarter of an inch on each side.  That translates to about an inch all the way around, and I think that's quite a big difference!  You can also see that the armpits are cut higher than the old one, though not by as much as I would think judging by the way it feels when I have it on.  Maybe the combination of being cut higher and tighter makes a bigger difference...

Here's a closer up of the tag... it is made mostly of poly.  It is not too soft, but it is not as rough as some of the older polyester cool racerbacks had been.

So I'm kind of disappointed in this one!  I love the way it looks, and the angel wing color is a beautiful cream color.  But maybe I need to try a size 6 and see if it would fit better.  I've never bought a cool racerback that wasn't a size 4 before!  I sure hope this is not the new direction Lululemon is going with their cool racerbacks.  If so, I will be hard pressed to buy another. 

Under Armour Achieve Tank

I was at Sports Authority a couple months ago and saw this cute Under Armour white burnout tank there, but they did not have any left in my size.  I kind of forgot about it for a while, but the other day saw it again at Nordstrom and again they were sold out of my size.  So I searched for it online and found it at Dick's Sporting Goods, and went ahead and bought it!  It's the Under Armour Achieve Tank, it comes in tons of colors, and I thought it would be a nice and easy tank to throw on with just about anything.  I got the white one, because I just can't resist white burnout!

I bought it in size XS.  I was afraid that it would be too small, but I had bought one Under Armour tank before - the Twisty tank, which is a similar cut, in XS and it was still very loose fitting.  So I thought I'd take a chance on the size XS Achieve tank as well.  Well, it arrived the other day and it definitely isn't tight at all!  The length is still nice and long so I would not go up a size.

Animal print burnout!

I like that it's a simple tank with only a little knot in the back.  It would show off both the color and style of whatever cute sports bra you wear under it.  When I took the photos, I was wearing the Lululemon Centered Energy bra in flash.  I think it looks cute under the tank, but that damn color still bleeds till this day after many washes.  So I don't dare wear it under a white tank during an actual workout - so lame!!!

But anyway, while I like the style and fit of this tank, I think the price tag of $29 is a little steep for something like this.  This tank, as well as my Twisty tank, are both rather thin and not particularly soft.  But they both fit loosely, so there's no rubbing or any discomfort during workouts.  I'm definitely going to keep this one since it is a neutral color that could also work as street wear, but I'd be happier and possibly would think about owning another color in it if it was half the price.

Lululemon Nice Asana Jacket in Plum!

I went to Lululemon yesterday to see what new goodies they got that I could exchange my black Ebb to Street tank for.  I decided that the tank just didn't look special enough to be 60 something bucks after tax.  I also didn't really find anything at the store that I liked, but I tried on the Nice Asana jacket again and took it home with me!  The first time I tried it on was when it first came out and I tried the plum/pow stripe raspberry glo light combo.  I liked the fit of the jacket a lot, but was unsure about the stripes on it.  When the solid plum one uploaded online a couple weeks later, I just didn't feel like buying it anymore because it ain't that cheap after all, at $118 + tax.  I don't wear jackets that often, so it's a little hard for me to justify that price.  But when I put it on at the store yesterday, I fell in love with it!  At least I can keep it around for a couple weeks before finally deciding!  I did feel the urge to cut off the tag immediately though.

So the fit of this jacket is very similar to the Contempo jacket that came out just before it, which I also tried on and liked a lot.  But I could not get over that weird ugly zipper on it.  I also wasn't too crazy about any colors it came in.  Plum, however, I love.

Here's the monstrosity again, in case you forgot:

Anyway, the Nice Asana jacket is pretty long.  It covers half of my butt!  I'm 5'5.  I got it in my regular size, which is 4.  It's pretty fitted but I think it's a rather flattering cut.  The luon it's made of is nice and thick, and the sleeves are quite long.  The zipper pockets are pretty decently sized as well.  I think the plum color will go with a lot of things, and the style of this jacket also could work as street wear as well as workout wear.

Anyway, I am pretty sure this one is a keeper!  I'm only debating because of the price.  But I think if I end up wearing it a lot then it's worth it.  

Sunday Funday!

I kind of struggled with my mental power of "not eating crap" this week lol.  Why did I have to go to Trader Joe's and buy a bag of salt & pepper chips and goat cheese + crackers???  I blame it on the dreaded time of the month, but I actually bought them a couple days before that.  Thursday was a coworker's birthday happy hour, and I had a glass of wine, a couple slices of pizza, a slider, some fries and tuna tartare on these crispy chip things.  They were great, don't get me wrong.  But they are hardly a part of my training plan!  Then, I decided it was a good idea to participate in this US/Canada candy exchange on one of the Lululemon facebook groups that I joined recently!  So I got paired up with a Canadian candy buddy, and we will be sending each other candies and other goodies that are only available in our respective countries.  This is totally not trainer approved!!!  Lol!!!  What's wrong with me?  I'm hoping that maybe I'll get my mental power back next week... then I'll be good for a couple weeks before binging on my Canadian goodies that I'll be receiving!  :D

I did follow my training plan to a T though, so there is that.  Too bad diet is way more important than training.

Monday 9/16
What I did:  Weights!  Lower body circuit.  I hate this workout lol.  Then 30 minutes of my cardio interval session which is walking at different paces on the treadmill at 15% incline.

What I wore:  My new Lululemon Ebb to Street tank in heathered plum, and Ebb & Flow crops in deep indigo with New Balance Minimus Road shoes.  I liked my seamless outfit lol.  The tank did ride up at different points during the weight session of the workout though.  But otherwise it's comfy and stayed put during cardio.  I was surprised that it wasn't as hot as I thought it would be for cardio.  It also didn't show sweat much.

Tuesday 9/17

What I did:  Weights, shoulder & tri.  Then 30 minutes of cardio interval session again.

What I wore:  Lululemon cool racerback in currant, with Lorna Jane duo bra under it, and black Splits59 Nova capri crops.  Matching red Adidas adizero adios 2 shoes!

Here's my work outfit from Tuesday, Armani Exchange vest over Express shirred v-neck long sleeve shirt and Express wide waistband editor pants in neutral, with green Gucci wedges.

I really like this Armani Exchange vest, when you look at it in person, it has a slight sheen to it.

Wednesday 9/18

What I did:  Weights again, back and bi.  This was such a long workout that I decided to not do cardio after.  For my weight sessions, I usually do 8-10 different exercises.  I'm doing 4 sets of each right now, with 60-90 second rest in between.  This could take quite long to complete if I'm not doing supersets.

What I wore:  Lorna Jane outfit!  Inspire excel tank with Mosaic tight.  I wore my Victoria's Secret VSX Sport supermodel cami bra in sweetest orange under the tank because it is the perfect color combo.  My Nike Free shoes in violet also matches pretty well.  I was so matchy-matchy since the tights have orange under the mosaic pattern too!  Check it out...

Thursday 9/19 - Rest day, happy hour lol.

Friday 9/20

What I did:  Second lower body weight session, then 30 minutes of cardio intervals.

What I wore:  Lululemon swiftly SS shirt in fruitie tootie - my very first swiftly top of any kind!!  The Brentwood store gave it to me to test out way back in the day, and I've bought so many swiftly items since then!  I wore the currant Energy bra under, Mod Moves crop in groovy stripe nimbus, and New Balance shoes.

Saturday 9/21

What I did:  My 5th weight session of the week - upper body supersets, followed by my 4th 30 minute cardio session of the week.  Gotta say, doing weights 5 times a week and cardio 4 times a week ain't a walk in the park.

What I wore:  Splits59 outfit!  Ashby tank in yucca, which I love because it is soooo soft.  But it is very form fitting and pretty sheer so I can only wear it if I'm feeling not too bloaty... such as Saturday morning!  I wore Lululemon free to be bra in very green under it.  Nova capri tights in a newer design than the ones I wore on Tuesday - the mesh across the front of this design just looks super cool.  I wore my new Nike Free Bionic shoes!  They are like the most perfect match with the tights since they also have mesh and white!

Check out how nicely the tights and shoes go together!

It finally cooled down a little bit here.  So I wore my beloved Lululemon Beach Runner jacket as to and from.  I love this jacket because it's brushed on the inside and so comfy!  I also think the fit is very flattering.  The fresh teal color of the jacket is almost exactly the same as the yucca in the Ashby tank!  Of course my very green free to be bra and the very green in the jacket are exactly the same too.  :)

Sunday 9/22

What I did:  Rest day from weights, but I went to pilates class.  It was tough too.  But I love it!

What I wore:  Lululemon cool racerback in static very violet/very violet with Lorna Jane Clover bra under it.  I took out these awesome and comfy Lululemon pique wunder under crops to wear around the house and couldn't stop wearing them so I just wore them to workout too lol.  I am still unsure of the color.  It's either light gray pique or silver spoon pique.  They look identical to me when I google them.  Oh yeah, of course my Zigi Kickin wedge sneakers accompanied me to pilates once again!

As to and from, I wore my new Splits59 ribbed hoodie in pretty much exactly the same color as my very violet cool racerback.  I figured the gray hood of the hoodie also goes well with the crops!

See how the hoodie and tank are pretty much identical in color!

I'm so glad I bought these pique wunder under crops.  Now that the weather is slightly cooling down, I'm already craving for warm and comfy clothes and these are so cozy!

I'm actually taking tomorrow off work to hang out with a friend.  So glad I don't have to go to work!  Working is so overrated... and lame.  lol.  Goodnight everyone!

Nike Free Bionic Training Shoe - Black/Silver

After eying the Nike Free Bionic training shoes online for quite a while, I finally decided to get them!  What pushed me over the edge was that I noticed Nordstrom started carrying them, and I love giving Nordstrom my business (I also had a $50 gift card!) because of their awesome customer service.  I wanted to order my regular size which is 6.5 but they were sold out online.  So I chatted with their customer service and they informed me that one of the Nor Cal stores had it.  All I had to do was call that store, and they were able to ship them to me right away!  But... after they arrived yesterday, I went to google them to see what other people thought of them, and found that they are 50% off at finishline.com!  I paid full price for them which was $95 plus tax.  But they are now only $49 at finishline.  So I called the Nordstrom store back and they price matched it for me!  So now these cost me only $53 after tax, and with my $50 gift card, I only spent $3 on them.  Lol.  I love Nordstrom.

I really love these shoes too!  They are so pretty.  I gotta say, Nike makes the prettiest shoes/colors.  I decided to get all black so that I could wear them with whatever outfit I want.  But I love that they are mostly black mesh over white so they don't look as dark as full on black shoes.  I do think these run a little bigger than other Nike Frees though.  I got the same size as others, which is 6.5, but I think I could probably go down to size 6 in them.  But I don't want to deal with having to track them down in another size so I'm keeping them.  The width fits fine, I just have a little extra toe room which might be better anyway to allow room for swelling.

The Bionics are the first Nike Frees that they've made with cross training in mind.  All my shoes are running shoes, and I don't really run anymore now that I'm spending most of my time lifting weights.  I've been meaning to get some training specific shoes, and when I first saw these I just knew I wanted to try them out.  

These are ultra lightweight and give you the barefoot feel but they offer way more stability than my Nike Free running shoes.  They top is flexible and the mesh offers ventilation.  The heel of this shoe is like a thick padding, it's soft and doesn't dig into the back of your heels.  These shoes are definitely better than Nike Free running shoes for squats and lunges type of exercises.  I didn't (and wouldn't) try running in them, but I did do my 30 minute walk on the treadmill and they were just fine for that. 

Here are some more detailed pictures of them:

It's cool that the laces are also black and white!

Here are some descriptions from the Nike website:

ULTIMATE FLEXIBILITY TO TRAIN STRONG

Designed for high-intensity training, the Nike Free Bionic Women's Training Shoe is our closest-to-barefoot style to date. It features a super-flexible, low-profile fit and a lightweight upper with Flywire technology for excellent stability, support and comfort during cross training, intervals, boot camp and kickboxing.

DYNAMIC STABILITY

The low-profile outsole delivers excellent stability and full range of motion for explosive moves like box jumps, burpees and mountain climbers. Strategically placed overlays at the toe and arch offer added stability during lateral moves and the unique traction pattern under the big toe lets your foot grip the floor for even more stability.

TARGETED SUPPORT

Ultralight, wrap-around Flywire threads cradle your foot for exceptional support. The threads are adjustable through the laces and wrap the midfoot and arch, helping to reduce internal slippage during movement.

VENTILATION

The mesh and foam upper helps keep your foot cool and comfortable while providing just the right amount of support where you need it most.

FLEXIBILITY

Outsole flex grooves give you increased flexibility for natural range of motion in any direction.

MORE BENEFITS

• Comfort collar and heel conforms to your foot for lightweight comfort and support
• Cushlon pod under the heel for lightweight cushioning and comfort
• Molded sockliner conforms to your foot for an anatomical fit, comfort and support
• Rubber outsole with herringbone pattern for durability and multidirectional traction

Overall I think they are exactly the kind of shoes I've been looking for and made for the type of workouts I do, so I am very excited to have them.  At the $49 price, I might even buy another pair!