Saturday 26 March 2016

My weekly gym schedule

Hello lovelies,
this week I thought I would write about my gym schedule!
I often get asked on my Instagram (@debbieariella) how many times a week I workout, what exercises I do for my legs or arms etc so I thought I would try to summarise everything in this blog post.

I workout between 4 to 6 days a week, but I have 5 different gym days that I try to incorporate into my week. So I thought I would tell you about each of these days, and what kinds of exercises I do for each. My two top tips for the gym are SUPERSETS and MIXING THINGS UP!
This means I don't do exactly the same exercises each week, because it keeps it interesting for my mind and it challenges my body. So I do NOT do all of the exercises I mention below for each day, but I probably do between 5 and 8 different exercises on each day, depending on the muscle group.

At the beginning of each session I will do 10-15min cardio warm up on which ever cardio machine I am feeling that day.

Day 1: LEGDAY 
- Squats
- Walking lunges
- Step ups onto a box
- Adductors and abductors
- Hip thrusts
- Kick backs
- Leg curl
- Leg extension
- Bulgarian split squats (BEST)
- Swiss ball hamstring curl (youtube it)


Day 2: Chest & Triceps
- Bench press (fave)
- Tricep dips
- Dumbbell press
- Dumbbell flies
- Cable flies
- Tricep cable pull downs
- Skull crushes
- Push ups

Day 3: Back & Biceps
- Deadlifts
- Barbell rows
- Pull ups
- Lat pull downs
- Cable rows
- One arm dumbbell row
- Cable reverse fly
- Dumbbell bicep curls


Day 4: Shoulders & Abs
- Shoulder press
- Front raises
- Cable pull ups
- Barbell press
- Dumbbell side raises
- Crunches
- Leg raises
- Weighted sit ups
- Plank
- Side touches
- Weighted Russian twists

Day 5: Cardio (fun.)
- 45min of whatever cardio machine I can bear!
(I usually switch between 2 or 3 within the 45min)


And that's what a week at the gym looks like for me! Again I mentioned that I love adding supersets to my workouts, which means I am alternating between two different exercises without a break. This makes my heart rate stays higher and its just over all more time efficient. An example would be doing 1 set of squats directly followed by 1 set of walking lunges, then a little break and then back to the squats and lunges again. If you've never done supersets before, it's my top tips!

Are there any of your favourite exercises that I am missing?!
Let me know down below!

PS. Want to see what I eat as well?



Love,

Saturday 12 March 2016

FLUFFIEST Vegan Pancakes

Hello lovelies,
welcome back to my blog!

Hope you have all had a fantastic week, I started my week off with my BIRTHDAAYYY.
And have ended it with a cold :(

Today I thought I would share a vegan pancake recipe with you that I tried last weekend and I LOVED it, so simple & so so fluffy.
So let's get right into it

All you will need:

1/2 cup flour of your choice
1/2 cup of milk of your choice (Almond/coconut is my fave)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp of veg oil (sunflower/coconut could work too)
1 tbsp of sweetener

Mix all of the ingredients together really well and let the mixture rest of 5 minutes or so, just about as long as it takes for you to clean away all your ingredients, get a pan out and make a cup of tea.

On a medium heat, melt some cooking oil - I usually use a coconut oil spray. And then start making your pancakes this recipe will make roughly 4 - 6 pancakes depending on how big you make them. Plus remember to be patient & wait until you see bubbles before flipping those little babies.


I thought it would be hard to make good pancakes without egg, but it actually turned out to be really easy & delicious. This recipe is probably up there with the best pancake recipe I have ever tried which is why I thought I should share it with you guys.


Give these pancakes a try and let me know what you think.
Until next week ;)

Love,

Saturday 5 March 2016

ZOATS - Zucchini Oatmeal #LittleKitchen

Hello lovelies,
It's recipeee time!

I was asked by Wren Kitchen to be part of their #LittleKitchen campaign that aims to inspire both young and old to get creative in the Kitchen and eat more fruit and veggies. This recipe is so simple even a kid could do it ;)

This is a super simple, healthy breakfast recipe that will help you eat some of your greens at breakfast time already.

It's Zucchini Oatmeal - I know what you're thinking - really?!

But trust me, you don't even taste the zucchini and it has multiple benefits!
Firstly, you are eating veggies without evening noticing. CHECK
Secondly, it makes your portion seem even BIGGER - which is always a good thing. CHECK

So let's get right into this yummy breakfast.

All you will need is:
1/2 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup of milk of your choice (I love almond)
1/2 a medium zucchini
some spices like cinnamon & all spice
sweetener of your choice
grater
saucepan

Grate the zucchini on the finest part of the grater to make sure you won't taste it at all once it's mixed in with all the sweet breakfast goodness.
Then add the grated zucchini, oats, milk & spices to the saucepan and let it cook for a few minutes on a medium setting.
Add some sweetener to your liking and you're nearly done.
Let the oatmeal cook until it's just the way you like it.

Then serve with some fresh fruit and maybe some extra milk on top too.
This is where you can get creative.

Add whatever your heart desires maybe even a cheeky spoon of nut butter or Nutella!
Now there's nothing standing between you and a super healthy breakfast.
Give this recipe a try & let me know what you think.

What's your favourite oatmeal topping?

Love,