As it’s now the end of June, believe it or not! Wasn’t Christmas last week?! I wanted to summarise how this month has gone for me. Mostly because my memory is ridiculous and I find it difficult to remember what stages I’m at or what I’ve achieved this month.
And also because it’s good to keep a written note of particular achievements to keep motivation and downfalls to make sure they don’t happen again.
June was a great month for me. The sun came out for all of about 5 days in total, but it meant I could get my tan on and sit outside with my wonderful family basking in those fabulous rays. I also picked up my guitar again after a few years of neglect and despite my horrendous memory I’ve managed to remember much more than I thought I would!
Music, Netflix & Books
My favourite tunes of the month are:
- Of Mice and Men – Unbreakable.
- Holding Absence – Dream of Me.
- Our Hollow, Our Home – Hartsick.
I’ve featured all three of these artists on my workout playlist, so head over and give them a listen. I also found out this month that tickets have been released for Of Mice and Men supporting Five Finger Death Punch (another favourite, but more all-time than just June) in December so I’m SUPER excited for that!
Pretty Little Liars has been my favourite series on Netflix since I started watching it earlier in the year. I’m heartbroken to say that it came to an end last night and most people had probably given up on finding out who A.D. is. As usual, I found the season finale to be a complete anti-climax. I won’t spoil for anyone who hasn’t yet seen it. If you haven’t seen it, watch it. Despite the very end (as with most TV series) the series as a whole is really good.
I’ve also been loving Brooklyn Nine Nine this month. I’ve started the series from the beginning in the run up to season 4 (yes, it’s already out, but I like to re-cap before I start the next series. Memory like a goldfish over here) It’s really easy watching and Captain Holt is the ideal boss right?
My favourite book this month has been the Lean in 15 shape plan by Joe Wicks. It’s got some great recipes that are simple and easy to cook, as well as handy workout tips and exercises too. He has 3 books in this range; The Shape Plan, The Sustain Plan and The Shift Plan. Whatever your workout or weight goal, be sure to grab one of these books!
Workouts
May was a difficult month for me when it came to workouts. Due to personal circumstances I was well out of my routine and was struggling to get back into it so I made a big focus on really getting back to it this month.
I’m pleased to say that I’m fully back into my routine and there have been big improvements in not only my workouts but also my form. The first few workouts this month were a struggle and I was finding it difficult to complete a full leg workout. However, last week I managed to do the entire workout at what I was doing 2 months ago and I won’t lie – it felt amazing! I’m now building up the sets of each exercise that I do before I increase weights.
My favourite workout from this month has been my arm workout. I think I’ve made more progress with my arms this month – workout and definition wise – because I’ve enjoyed it much more than usual.
Foooooooood!
This month I ordered the June mix from The Protein Pick and Mix and added a couple of extras to my basket too (sorry not sorry!) For the products that you get this is really good value for money. This month’s included some BCAA’s and pre-workout from Grenade and a sachet from My Muscle Mug which I’ve been dying to try.
I also bought some red velvet cake bites from Optimum Nutrition. I’ve previously had the birthday cake ones and I love red velvet cake so these are a win-win for me!
I’m going to be doing a review on my entire purchase from The Protein Pick and Mix in a separate post very soon so keep your peepers peeled for that!
Snacks aside, I visited the Toucan Wholefoods Shop & Cafe in Minehead and it was incredible. All of the food they serve is made from the organic food sold in the shop below. The quesadillas are 100% a favourite for this month and somewhere I’d recommend for everyone to visit.
Muscle Definition & Body Shape
My muscle definition has increased hugely this month compared to last month. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is in my arms, shoulders and my abs.
Adding a 5 minute ab workout to the end of each session is definitely making a difference. When I train arms I’m doing a 70-30 split between triceps and biceps, with the bigger focus on triceps and I’ve made more progress doing that than before when I was doing a 50-50 split.
Goals for July & August
So for July I’m going to be throwing more recipes together to share with you lovely lot! And because I love food, I’ll probably be buying from the Protein Pick and Mix again. I’m really indecisive when it comes to food because I will quite literally eat almost anything. And I love eating almost anything. So the mix of the month they put together is great for me. They do all of the hard work and I just have to eat it!
Exercise wise, I will be working on improving my form even more. My goal is to increase my sets in each workout. I want to increase my sets by at least 1 more perfect set before I increase the weights.
As well as this, I’m going to be working on improving my recovery times, particularly with my ab workouts.
As I said at the beginning I picked up my guitar this month and I won’t lie, I’m finding it a bit difficult to put back down again for longer than a day. So my goal for July is to really focus and get playing like Jimi Hendrix by the end of the month. HA. Maybe the end of July 2032. But in all seriousness, I’m in love with playing again and I can’t wait to see how much I’ve improved in a month’s time.
I’d love to hear how the month of June went for all of you, your favourite things of the month and what your plans are for July, let me know!
All the best fabulous people.
A.x
Amy Louise 