So a while ago the lovely Lucy sent me some chia seeds with the giveaway goodies that I won. I have quite liked them as a post body pump snack in some pudding, so I made some up today. I have to say it was the best yet. I mashed a small banana in a bowl with some cocoa powder and a tsp pb, then added in some Kara coconut milk (have not had this for ages, mmm) and whisked it up with a fork. Then I added some chia seeds (maybe a tbsp) and then some xanthan gum to help it thicken. I left it in the fridge for a few hours while I was out and when I returned I had this lovely (not so photo friendly) delight to enjoy!
The picture does not show how thick is was, and it was delicious. I did wonder if I would need some sweetener, but the mashed banana makes it so sweet anyway. Delish.
Body pump was fab- I decided to go with a heavier hand weight for the triceps as the last bit is only short, but it was so much harder (this is using a 3kg weight instead of 2kg)- I did not think that it would be that much harder! anyway the instructor said I would soon get used to it. Man that lunges track is hard- squats, lunges, squats, lunges, squats, lunges etc! No rest! I forgot to take a towel, but I did make a conscious effort to keep my shoulders relaxed during squats and that did help. But then getting the bar off after is so hard- how do people do that??
Yesterday I had a run after work- after Monday’s run getting cut short I was actually a bit worried about it. I did my Audiofuel run and it was fine. Well, it was really hard work- it makes other muscles in my legs ache. What is weird is that overall it does not make me any faster, but I suppose that makes sense as if I am running faster for short times, I need the recovery periods to be slower.
Also I finished trying those coconut water flavours and did a little review here. 🙂
Getting the bar ON my back/over my head is far more difficult for me than removing it, because with the latter I can bend my knees and use the power/thrust from my legs to get the bar into the air. But clean/pressing a lot over my head is just impossible for me: my wrists give out! Otherwise I’d have a chance with the 30kg club but as it stands sometimes I even struggle with the 25 (and yes, I’ve embarrassed myself several times by not being able to get it over my head and having to take weight off. Being that I stand at the front of the class so I can pretend there is no-one behind me, that is no joke!)
I’ll leave the running science up to Rob, as I’m clueless in that respect!
And yum to your chia pudding: I’ve never been able to get xanthan gum to work without a jug blender: even with an immersion/hand blender it just ends up congealing in chunks! How do you do it?
xxx
I just whisk it in with a fork- I sprinkle it over the top all over, instead of spooning it on. Maybe I use less as I only use maybe a teaspoon.
As for the weights- I would never be laughing at anyone struggling to get weights up or down- in body pump we are all in the same boat after all. How interesting that you find the hard part the opposite to me though! 🙂
mmm the pudding looks pretty thick in the picture! It looks lovely and chocolatey. That leg track sounds brutal. I did body weight squats and lunges on Tuesday and I’m still sore today, I dread to think what I’d be walking like after that!
Lovely looking pud! I think I would be able to use a much bigger weight for the squats if I only had the strength to get the bar on my back in the first place! I’m missing two weeks of body pump due to work and holidays, missing it!
Laura yes I always miss it when I don’t get to go for any reason (work meetings or holidays!)- then it is even harder on the first week back too!
Leigh you do get used to it, but that track is not my fave at all!