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By hampton, March 8, 2010 3:30 pm

so, after a week of not being able to get up to go to the gym, i got up “early” on saturday (9am) to take a 10am cardio strike class. Well, after shoving a banana with some peanut butter and a sugar free redbull down my throat, i was off. when i got to the gym, the cardio strike class had been replaced with “interval training,” due to the cs instructor having a family emergency. i was a little leery of this, but i went for it. Interval training, was not at intervals. this class was GO GO GO. so much go go go that my asthma started kicking in. also that “you’ve worked too hard, i’m going to puke” kicked in. there were 12 stations around the room set up. you had to spend 2 minutes at each station. the stations had things like hula hooping, squat thrusts, boxing a stability ball, wall sit, bosu push ups, squats, dead lifts, jump rope, plank, etc. and only 30 seconds of rest between each station.

OW. even though i think i overdid it, it was a good class. though, i have a small issue with going up and down stairs today. next week, i will return for cardio strike!

yesterday, we painted the bedrooms in J&C’s new house. we had a great time, and finished up pretty quickly. however, my roommate now needs to buy the huey lewis and the news cd collection. (yes, we were rockin’ the 80′s)

when i got home, i went grocery shopping for the week, and needed to pick up items for making french onion soup. i was using the les halles recipe. i used beef broth instead of chicken, and did not use bacon. i love bacon, but i felt it would make the soup way too rich. so, i donned swimming goggles to cut the onions up, browned the butter, caramelized the onions, added the wet works, and let it simmer for an hour. holy good god, it was delicious. it wasn’t just good. it was amazing. i couldn’t believe how much flavor was packed in there. bourdain is doing something right. i mean, i love les halles, and i love bourdain, but you never expect a recipe to come out this good, the first time. next time, i will use less butter, however. the soup was VERY rich, and between the butter and the beef broth, it was a touch too oily. but the taste, oh the taste. and one serving comes in at 6 WW points. not great, but if you bring in some french baguette, and parmesan cheese (just a touch) it will come in under 10. i don’t think that’s too bad for a dinner every once in a while.

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By hampton, March 3, 2010 11:52 am

so i’ve not posted in a while. i’ve got a few drafts of posts, but none of them ever finished. i may finish this one.

a few weeks ago, i bought a groupon for he@lthworks fitness centers. it gives me 24 visits for $24. it’s an incredibly great deal, considering their membership rate is probably astronomical. i’ve always wanted to try out their classes as i’ve heard they are fantastic. however, after doing some research on yelp, i was a little scared. here are some first impressions:

+1: futuristic elliptical machines (with touch screens!)
+1: very very clean
-1: cardio machines have 30 minute limit
-1: you have to sign up to use all cardio machines
+1: i’ve yet to wait for a cardio machine, or get kicked off
+1: body jam class. i got my dance on.
0: i’ve realized how uncoordinated i’ve become in my old age.
+1: kiwi mango shampoo.
-1: no towel service
+1: uber clean showers
-1: people in the whirlpool without swimsuits
-1: ladies with their girly bits hanging out for an excessive amount of time in the locker room
+1: boobs! (that’s for my roommate.)
+1: diversity. young ladies, old ladies, fit ladies, fat ladies, etc.

the “wet area” (no pun intended) reminds me of the men’s gym from the show queer as folk. it’s hot, steamy, and there are naked people. the shower walls are of frosted glass. they are steamed up, but you can see outlines of people.

i’ve heard he@lthworks is a meet market, but i didn’t get that impression. nor did i feel like i was being stared at, checked out, or looked down upon for my not so perfect figure.

so, we’ll see how it goes!