Tabata and TV Shows to Avoid

Oh boy, do I have a killer workout for you today--and it's Tabata! Get excited!

After a great day at work (I am trying out some new group work ideas in my classes and loving the results so far), I stopped at Trader Joe's for our weekly staples (and, I admit it, some Truffle Brownie Mix) and threw in an hour of studying.

That darn cat...

After Terry got home from work we jogged to a nearby park to complete a Tabata workout. Tabata training is an option for plyometric exercises in short bouts of time. The idea is to complete 8 rounds of one exercise with 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest. Then you repeat with 3 other exercises. It's a 16 minute workout, but we took some nice breaks after each 8-round set.

I'm fairly certain that I won't be able to move tomorrow, but it was great to challenge myself. Setting the HIIT Timer app on my phone helped, because I can program it to signal the start and end of each interval. And since I wasn't controlling the timer, I felt compelled to keep going and not take breaks. MAN, we were exhausted by round 5 each time but kept on pushing! Let me know if you try it out!

For dinner tonight, I made my usual macaroni and cheese but used a combination of Havarti and asiago cheeses and added roasted broccoli to the mix. The end result tasted similar to Fettuccine Alfredo, minus the chicken. (In fact, Terry admitted afterward that he thought it would need chicken, but said after tasting it that it definitely didn't!)

Now let's move on to the really important stuff: television. It's no secret here on BLWB that I love my TV. Right now, I'm resisting the urge to flip on HIMYM in favor of writing this post. And later I'll get my grading done and resist watching Partners, a hilarious new show (that is written by at least two Bruin writers we know!). The episodes we've seen have been really great so far. Check it out!

Okay, the TV thing. I always talk about the shows I love, but tonight I'm feeling a little spunky. And normally I am all about being positive, but it's fun to mix things up. How about what I don't love so much? Of course, I certainly don't intend to offend anyone, but some of these shows drive me nuts:

• Singing competitions. Enough already. There are only so many ways to discover new talent.
  
• Big Bang Theory. I can't explain it. I just don't like it.
  
• Anything with the Kardashians. When your biggest problems are getting rid of your shoes in favor of new shoes and being jealous about your sister's new line of makeup, I can't feel bad for you. (I'm sure you're nice people, though...?)
  
• Cable news channels. I'll just watch Jon Stewart and get a much funnier idea of what you're saying.
  
• Grown men yelling at each other about sports. Why are you so angry?
  
• Grown men on a sound stage reenacting football plays. It was better when you were angry.
  
• Housewives in any city. And changing the city apparently doesn't change the problems, the quality of writing, or the exorbitant amount of money you have.
  
• Honey Boo Boo. I don't even want to talk about it.

As you can guess, daytime television doesn't do much for me. Here's what we are actually excited to watch this fall:

• How I Met Your Mother
• Partners
• New Girl
• The Mindy Project (testing it out)
• Happy Endings
• Modern Family
• Up All Night
• The Office
• 30 Rock
• Community

My work load this year will definitely be a challenge, and I'm sure there will be weeks when our DVR piles up all our shows without so much as a glance, but those shows keep me sane each week! And now, I'm off to grade a bit before dessert, HIMYM, and bed. That's what Mondays are all about, folks.

What shows do you avoid at all costs?