Back to the grind after a long weekend!

I hope everyone had a great long weekend, mine seemed to fly by!

Here's a quick recap before I get to today's workout:

                   Saturday ,after my travel workout post, was my cousin's beautiful wedding! :)

 

Followed by an evening of dancing!!

 

The next day, we went to Blowing Rock NC to visit my dad's best friend for the remainder of the weekend. The view from his house was FANTASTIC!

 

Monday morning we all went hiking (a nice mini leg workout) to see some great falls and then went over to Grandfather Mountain, that also had some amazing views. I felt like I was on top of the world!

 

Today

6:30 came way too early this morning so I was glad I made my Peanut Butter overnight oats last night so my breakfast was already made.

When I got to the gym after work (and finally got it in my mind that it was Tuesday, and not Monday),  I was eager to get back into the swing of things!

 

After 20 minutes on the stairmaster, I did a leg & butt combo workout, finishing with an ab set.

 

Legs&Butts (repeat 3x)

Squats - 25

Single leg deadlift - 10 each leg

Pile squat - 25

Calf raises - 20

Side lunges - 20

Walking lunges - 20

 

 

Abs

30 Russian twists with weight

10 sit ups

:30 plank

20 vertical leg crunches

:20 plank

40 bicycles

:20 side plank (each side)

30 crunches

:40 plank

 

Travel workout

This weekend I am out of town for my cousin Katie's wedding so my workouts are going to be on the fly!

Yesterday (Friday) before we hit the road for NC, I woke up earlier than expected and decided to get a run in. I always lie to do some sort of workout before getting in a car for a trip, makes me a bit more relaxed!

Last night was the rehearsal dinner which was so much fun! BBQ, corn hole (though doing it in heels and a dress in the wind made it a bit more difficult) and just getting excited for the wedding today! :)

For today, I am getting my hair down in a few hours and didn't want to get too sweaty (especially since my hair works best for an updo with its no freshly clean so no washing the hair today!) but wanted to do something to get my body awake and active so decided to do 2 rounds of the the following Cardio & Abs in the hotel room:

I plan on dancing tonight at the wedding too which is always a fun workout!

 

Have a great Memorial Weekend!!

1,000 reps & Paleo diet blog

Workout

I researched some more workouts today on my lunch break and thought this one would be a nice body sweating one!

* instead of a bosu ball, I used an exercise ball.
*Disregard the weight suggestion and do the weight you are most comfortable with...I don't want anyone injuring themselves!

I did 20 minutes on the stairmaster then did the 1000 Rep Workout! Thanks +Peanut Butter Fingers !!!

 

I definitely had the feeling at the end of a nice, all over workout!

 

Rayna's Paleo diet blog!

One of my closest friends and sorority sister, Rayna Wheeler, has been on the paleo diet for a few months and is loving it! She started up a blog yesterday to talk about her experience and share recipes and I wanted to post it on here for anyone who may be interested in it or looking for recipes! Enjoy!

http://southernpaleoliving.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-blog.html

 

Burning Legs & Abs Circuit

Happy Monday everyone!

 

After doing 30 minutes on the ellipitcal, I did the following workout called 'Burnin Leg& Abs Circuit Workout'

Those noted with a * are to be completed while holding a weight.

 

10 push ups

50 sumo squats *

10 push ups

50 squats*

50 side lunges with knee lift (25 each side)

10 push ups

50 side plank hip lifts (25 each side)

50 side crunches (25 each side)

10 push ups

50 squat jumps

50 crunches on exercise ball

50 jumping jacks

50 bicycles

10 push ups

50 seconds jump rope

50 seconds plank

10 push ups

Pros & Cons of Historic 10k

 Picking up my stuff Friday evening

This morning I ran the 1st ever Historic 10k in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Below is a list of the pros and cons of the race and everything with it:

Pros: low 60s so perfect running temps (minus a quick drizzle), wonderful hospitality at the end with the amount of water and food supply, a surprise finisher medal, seeing the amount of love and support the military men and women (who were volunteering the whole event) were receiving from everyone, conquering the "dreaded" Hospital Hill (living where I live comes in handy for running on hills).

Cons: disorganization on the 10k behalf, the amount of traffic getting to the event all on one exit, being told various directions or none at all, being late to my shuttle due to the traffic problem therefore missing my start THEN being told that it doesn't matter because my chip wouldn't start till I crossed the start BUT then seeing my results and that not being true (*angry face as I type this...and this part is still under investigation), Ben and I unsure on where to park, not PRing.

Haha so as you can see, there were much more cons than pros. The results issue is a huge problem to me right now because that to me is a big part of the race...I finished in 56:04 but results show I finished in 1:13...something seems off right? I plan on nipping this in the bud. But overall, I was disappointed with the event but happy on how good I felt during the run.

Being up at 5 on a weekend though? Ugh, runners problems ;) Good night!

New breakfast experiment!

This morning I decided to experiment a new breakfast idea and it turned out delicious!

Oatmeal

Blueberries

Oats

Almonds 

A pinch of brown sugar 

It was a nice way to start a Friday for sure!

Get Your Heart Rate Up Circuit

After a 20 minute elliptical warm up (10 minutes forward, 10 minutes back) I did the following workout:

It definitely makes you work up a good sweat!

 

10k Sunday! Weather temps for race is low 60s, great running weather! Wish me luck on the 2 mile hill!

Cycle Class!

Today I tried out a cycle class at one of my gym's other locations and I LOVED it! The instructor was great, music was great to bike to, and it provided a whole new workout, mainly in the legs department.


I got there about 20 minutes before the class began so decided to whip out some ab workouts while waiting.

I made sure to let the instructor know I was new and had never done a cycle class before and she was very helpful in making sure my bike was positioned right. (*If you're going to a class you've never gone to before/your first ever class, make sure to let the instructor know! Don't be embarrassed, its better to have someone helping rather be hurt later ;) )

The next hour was spent doing sprints, "hills", intervals, stand up-sit downs, etc. If you've never done one before, I highly recommend!

                                      (^-- clearly not my class but the layout was the same)

post run abs & arms

After my 3 mile run today, I came inside to do some lower abs and arms.

 

I did the following ab work 2x through. I also added in 30 Russian twists and 30 hip twists. For the lying leg raises and roll ups, i did 10-15.

Arms

 

I am hoping to make it to a cycling class tomorrow at another one of my gym's locations, I've always watned to do one! 



Cardio & Abs

I wanted to give my legs (& glutes) a rest today after yesterday's run so today I just mainly focused on abs. The week before a big race, I like to not work my legs as much so I don't get them tired.

After doing a 20 minute cardio on the elliptical, I met with Caroline, who started today on her field hockey conditioning packet for UMW!, to do some abs together. The abs today looked like this:

100 crunches

100 V-ups with barbell

100 Russian twists with barbell

100 bicycles

100 jack knifes

20 toe touches, then 15 crunches with one leg up, one leg being held off the ground. 2x.

30 second plank, 30 side plank (both side), 30 second plank.

 

 

Wake up with determination. Go to bed with satisfaction. 

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone spoiled their mommies today! Happy Mother's Day to all those mothers out there!

Mother's Day here started out with the traditional breakfast in the bed. Caroline was the master mind behind the breakfast this year--> yogurt, egg heart in toast, cinnamon bun heart, and muffins. Glad we had plenty left over for the rest of us to enjoy ;)

 

 

I got my mom the Garmin Forerunner 10 watch (the one I use) but in green! She is currently injured but I know she is very excited to use it once she gets back into running!

 

The Workout

 Since my 10k is a week away, I decided to run 6 miles today. I mainly wanted to do this to see what time I could do it in. I am hoping to PR this race from my 10k in the fall.  I ended up running today in 52:36, a pure 2 minutes and 16 seconds faster! yes! I hope this is the same for next Sunday!

 

Healthy/workout tip of the day: Make sure you say hydrated during a run, even if it isn't really warm out!

 

Everything!

Today's workout covered EVERYTHING!

 

I started out with a 20 minute cardio stairmaster (which some people consider more of a workout rather than a cardio warm up)

 

Next, I did the Total Body ciruit twice.

 

Followed with

 

Then finished out with some squats, sumo squats, fire hydrants, and donkey kicks to the side.

I left the gym feeling energized, upbeat and ready to enjoy the rest of the day! Best feeling ever! I'm getting together with Tori tonight for Mexican and much needed margaritas!

 

New ab set!

Happy Thursday everyone! Today's post will be brief because I am getting everything organized for tomorrow because Caroline and I are going to see The Great Gatsby tonight!!!

After a quick run (finally! The sun!) I came inside to do this ab set I found last night and wanted to try!

*I couldn't figure out the windmill set, I was not feeling it in my abs but elsewhere and even after asking people at my gym, they couldn't get it right soooo I changed it to holding weights in my hand while bending down my side and coming back up....if you have success with the windmill, please tell me!*

Healthy/workout tip of the day: STRETCH!!! Even if you don't feel tight or sore, you will the next day.

Arms, shoulders, and back!

After 30 minutes on the ellipitcal, I spent the next 30 minutes focusing only on arms, shoulders, and back!

I did 3 sets of 15 for each of the following, weight varying:

Chest Press

Shoulder Pess

Vertical traction machine

Upper Back machine

Lat pull down

 

I did 3 sets of 25 for each of the following, weight varying:

Bicep curls

Tricep kickbacks

 

I then did 3 sets of 10 jumping jacks with 5 pound weights

 

To finish, I did Supermans for a hold of 30 seconds 3 times....then laying on my stomach on an exercise ball, lifted my back up and down for 3 sets of 15.

 

Hope you all leave your workouts feeling like a beast!

 

Healthy/workout tip of the day: Try to not wear your running shoes (if you are or plan are running alot) to the gym. The use of machines can wear down your shoes twice as much compared to just running in them. I always use my previous running shoes as my gym shoes :)

 

 



Treadmill workout and Squat Challenge complete!

Happy rainy Tuesday everyone!

 

I had hoped that the rain would move on by the time I got off work so I could go running but instead, I got thunderstorms. Wanting to keep up with my running schedule, I found a treadmill workout online that I would use.

 

*I am not a fan of running on treadmills (except for short intervals, such as Crossfit), I find I go slower and don't like controlling the speed of sidewalk...but everyone has different opinions :)

 

The treadmill workout looked like this:

It ended up going by pretty quickly (Thanks to Friends being on TV) but instead of having the speed be 4.0 for the last 2 minutes, I just maintained the same speed at 6.4

 

Next up was a 1 minute Ab workout I got off of Peanut Butter Fingers:

The Plank Jacks had me working the hardest! I could definitely feel my abs and thighs in them!

 

And for the finale, I finished out the Squat Challenge! 250!! It ended up not being so bad, though I didn't see much change for but could definitely feel some results!  I may continue doing the squats, especially since I feel like after this challenge, I can't go back down!

 

Healthy/Exercise quote of the day: A lot of small changes can make a big difference so start now

 



Feelin' Good Monday!

After an unexpected break from the gym the past few days, I was ready to get back to my playground! Ben and I ended up going to the Washington Capitals game Saturday (my new favorite sport---and what I am watching right now as I type this!) so we didn't make it to the gym but I did wake up early and get a 3 mile run in which felt wonderful! My legs felt like the horses at the start of the Kentucky Derby when they run from the gates, ready to go!

Onto today's workout!

First up was a 20 minute elliptical warmup. I did 5 minutes going forwards, 5 minutes going backwards, etc.

Second, was the Crossfit workout I've mentioned before with a minor change...I switched the squats and situps.  I had a pretty nice sweat going after this (and some interesting looks from folks when they'd see me jump off the treadmill and starting doing pushups etc then get back on)

 

Third, Day 28 of the Squat Challenge -230! (This was suppose to be yesterday's challenge but didn't get done due to my traveling). Since I did 180 squats from the Crossfit, I only had 50 more squats to do after.

And last, my 600 ab set!

 

I downloaded some new music to my ipod last night and I can say that Next to Me by Emeli Sande and Heart Attack by Demi Lovato are my new workout songs obsessions!

 

 



 

 

New music

Just downloaded some new, and much needed, music and this princess is ready to rock out at the gym tomorrow!! These past 4 days off (minus a run yesterday) is making me feel ugh and I'm ready to get back into the routine tomorrow ;)

Something is better than nothing!

Yesterday and today were spent enjoying the beautiful spring weather with good company and tasty beverages :) That being said, I was unable to make it to the gym which lead to me doing a home workout this evening just to get my body doing something! Needless to say, I'm a bit excited to go to Ben's gym Saturday when I'm up there (plus, gotta have something to show for all you readers!)

This home workout was done in my room with no equipment, just my yoga mat.

First--I doubled the amount for this.

Second (double the amount).....

 

Then I did the brazillian workout twice through :) It felt nice to do something....something is better than no workout! ;)