Friday Favorites: A time, a bottle and a powder
This time last week, I was getting ready to hop in the car with Dave and his sisters to head to Boonville for a wonderful wedding weekend.
Today, it’s more about work and less about play.
Because it’s Friday, it’s time for another installment of “Friday Favorites,” in which I have the opportunity to share a few things that make me happy. In case you missed the first few favorites, here they are:
- A snack, a purse and a ritual
- A delivery, a bra and a guy
- A sweet, a wine and a read
- A drink, a gadget and a plan
Today, I’m highlighting three favorites in the fitness category, which all support a healthy lifestyle.
My favorite time of the week
Friday 7 to 10 p.m.
When Dave and I first started dating, we would hang out every single Friday evening right after work. That has continued through our relationship as much as possible. Although we’d each have other activities, we usually kept our Friday nights to ourselves, going out to different restaurants and bars. It was during the 7 to 10 p.m. window on Friday that we dubbed the sweet spot. It usually meant the work-week was over, and there were no expectations of either of us but to chill and chat.
Fast forward to today, and the Friday 7 to 10 p.m. window is quite different. Many times Dave has to work at a basketball game (there have been a lot of Friday games this season), and every single Friday evening I teach a BODYPUMP class from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., which puts me home on foot just after 7:15 p.m., wearing sweaty workout clothes, a backpack and feeling exhausted.
But we still try to salvage the time. These days, it’s usually more of a low-key endeavor. Because in addition to getting home late, I also teach a group fitness class on Saturday morning. That means I need to fit in a good meal, lots of hydration and some rest before heading back out to the gym in a few hours.
Therefore, my favorite time of the week now usually features eating one of my favorite meals, in my favorite comfortable spot, with my favorite guy.
That’s brown-rice takeout sushi from Safeway. That’s some shrimp cocktail. That’s a little seaweed salad. Those are our Tervis Tumblers. And that’s all taking place on the coffee table in front of the TV. No, it’s not a fancy restaurant or a chic bar, like Friday evenings of the past, but it’s still my favorite time of the week to sit back and chill. It’s rest, and I need it.
My favorite new water bottle
Last week, I left my water bottle at the gym. I always carried the same water bottle with me, refilling it as much as possible. When I arrived home last Wednesday and realized it wasn’t in my bag, I was crushed. I couldn’t go back to the gym, because a sweaty cramped ride on public transportation and a one-mile walk was required both ways. No thanks.
I searched around a bit and stumbled on this awesome new water bottle from the kitchen department of Target, called the Aladdin Cafe To-Go. It sort of looks like a fancy Pellegrino bottle, but in fact, it’s plastic, it’s dishwasher safe and it has two different openings, in case you want to put ice in your beverage.
Here’s a look at this little beauty on her first test run during class this week.
I’m going to make sure to hold on tight to this one. It’s a real winner.
My favorite protein powder
I’ve gone back and forth trying nearly all of the protein powders available over-the-counter in major stores and have found that this one by EAS, the Vanilla Cream Lean 15 Protein Powder, is my favorite on what’s easy to come by. (Yes, you can order some fancy powders online, but I haven’t done that yet.) Two scoops of this mixed with some water is pretty tasty, and does the trick with 15 grams of protein, vitamins and minerals and only 100 calories.
I immediately follow up all of my resistance workouts and even my more intense cardio workouts with a serving of this, to fuel my body’s recovery quickly. Since it’s usually a while before I get to sit down and eat a proper meal after exercising.
As a group fitness instructor who teaches several classes a week, resting, refueling, relaxing and hydrating are important parts of my life to function properly. And all three of these favorites help me through.
And there you have it, another edition complete.
*Thank you Heather for hosting the link-up.
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Questions of the day
Do you have any big weekend plans?
Do you make it a habit of bringing a water bottle around with you to refill? If so, what’s your bottle of choice?
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