Whenever I go to the gym, it is highly likely that someone (Mom or Husband) will ask if I had a good workout.  Why, yes I did thanks!  But truthfully was it really a good one?

There are some gauges that I use to determine if a workout was actually sufficient.   I know that I’ve had a good workout when the following occurs:

1.) I Sweat!  As a child I hardly ever sweat.  Once at softball practice when I was 10 years old my coach actually yelled at me because he said I wasn’t sweating enough.  I guess my metabolism was slow, but after a couple of months of getting active and working out I began to sweat more and more.  A few months ago I noticed I was not sweating as much, so I took that as a sign that my body was getting to accustomed to my cardio and weight routine.  So I started incorporating the stair master into my workouts and now I am back to sweatin’.

2.) I Breathe Heavier Than Normal!  To me, that means my body is in workout mode and I need to get more oxygen pumping throughout, so it is a “good” sign.

3.) My Muscles Burn!  Now if it is so much pain, I can’t bear it I certainly wouldn’t continue doing it.  The burn I’m talking about is a “good” burn; that burning sensation let’s me know that muscles are being toned. 

4.) My Heart Rate Is In My Optimal Zone!  I normally just use the machine grips where I have entered my age and weight whenever possible because I do not have a heart rate monitor.  Generally, my zone stays between 130 and 175, sometimes a little more or less.  To calculate your optimal zone click here for an on-line calculator. 

I can check yes to all of the above for today’s workout; it was a good one.  I began with 6 minutes on the stair master.  Next up was total body weight training on 12 different machines with three sets of 10-20 reps on each dependent on muscle group.  I ended the session with 16 minutes on the stair master and some stretching.

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Onto my good eats:

Breakfast~blueberry oatmeal with chai

In the mix:

~1/2 c oats, water, milk

~cinnamon, salt, vanilla, stevia, vanilla

~handful frozen blueberries toward end

~topped with pb

Lunch~Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Soup + Satsuma

[I thought I blogged about this soup a few weeks ago when I made it and froze it, but apparently I did not.  I also erased the pictures and did not snap a pic this a.m. since it was frozen.  Anyway it was made with celery, carrots, turnip, chicken stock, whole wheat egg noodles, and rotisserie chicken along with dried seasonings.]

Dinner~Tuna Melt on Everything Bagel Thin + Roasted Turnip Fries

The tuna was made with a big can of drained light tuna in water, 1/2 an onion, dill pickles, 3 boiled eggs, 3 tablespoons of light miracle whip, 2 tablespoons of fat free greek yogurt, and salt and pepper. I topped the tuna salad with light mexican cheese blend and more onion and pickles.

To roast the turnip I peeled and sliced it first.  Next a pan was lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.  The turnip slices were tossed in cooking spray, salt and pepper.  They were roasted in the oven at 400* for 22 minutes.

Did you have a good workout today?  How do you gauge if you’ve had a good workout?