Sunday morning abs & butt!

Today's workout started out with a nice run, didn't even use my garmin watch, while encountered running into (literally) a bunny! How many people can say they ran along side a bunny for a split second?

Once I got back from my nice, Sunday morning run, I did the following:

 

I was sick of jump ropes after this! But my butt is definitely feeling it and since it is bikini/bathing suit season, I figured you all would benefit from a nice ab & butt workout :)

Saturday wake up workout!

Looking for a great way to get a start to your weekend? Here is a good Saturday Circuit workout!

I started out with a 30 minute elliptical then grabbed some dumbbells, a mat and an exercise ball and got started on the workout:

 

 

Unfortunately, I have pulled something in my left arm so I did all the arm exercises with just my right arm and had to be pretty careful with my left :(

 

After the gym, I ran some errands around Crozet then stopped by the Crozet Gators Swim Team car wash, always gotta support my fellow swim team :)

hot 2 mile run and Crossfit (100 mountain climbers?!)

I went for a run after class today and it turned out to be A LOT warmer out than I thought (darn humidity!) so I only ran for 2 miles before coming back into the gym to do a Crossfit workout that Hannah posted about a few weeks ago.

I haven't run in what seems like forever so it did feel good to get the legs going, especially since I start my half training next week! Good thing my long runs will be on the weekends so I can do them in the morning before it gets super warm out!


My body temperature was boiling and my heart was pounding after my run so I was only able to do 1 round of this Crossfit (the fact that Liberty's  upper level gym doesn't have any fans doesn't help with cooling off). I do hope to be able to complete 3 rounds of this soon...just not after a run in super hot temperatures ;)

Monday Body {and mind} Burnout!

I am back at Liberty University this week for another intensive. It's easy to say that after 4 hours of driving yesterday in an no AC car, staying up late to finish work then waking up early to get to campus for stuff then sitting in an 8 hour class (Theories and Philosophies of Education, in case you were wondering) followed by an hour meeting with my debate group, I was burnt out!

I just planned on going to the gym and seeing what I could do because I was moving at the speed of a slug.

I had planned on doing a workout that I have found called Full Body Burnout for today which was fitting to how I was feeling!

I ran a quick 1 mile on the treadmill which helped get me focused and awake a bit. Then did the following circuit 3 times through.

Legs:

25 squats

50 lunges

10 jump squats

25 calf raises

 

Arms:

10 pushups

20 tricep dips

50 arm circles in one direction, then reverse

 

Abs:

30 second plank on hands

30 second lank on forearms

50 bicycles

25 crunches

 

Cardio:

10 burpees

30 second jog in place

30 second alternating punches (*yes, you may get looks while doing this haha)

1 minute jumping jacks.

Fitness Survey and Functional Workout #2

Happy Saturday everyone!

Ben and I are currently relaxing and watching Pirates of the Caribbean (hello Orlando Bloom!) so I decided to whip  open my laptop and write today's blog. On Peanut Butter Fingers blog, I saw that she had answered a fitness survey and I thought it'd be fun to do it! 

1. What did you eat for breakfast?

bowl of cheerios with a glass of OJ :) 

2. How much water do you drink a day?

I'm not sure. About 3-5 glasses, including when I'm not the gym.

3. What is your current favorite workout?

Cross-fit workouts I'm finding online! 

4. How many calories do you eat a day?

I have no idea.

5. What are your favorite healthy snacks?

I am a big snacker! I love pita & hummus, apples & peanut butter, trailmix, peanuts

6. What do you usually eat for lunch?

Usually a sandwich or wrap with some fruit and triskets or whit thins. Or leftovers :) gotta love leftovers. 

7. What is your favorite body part to strength train?

abs!

8. What is your least favorite body part to strength train?

arms

9. What are your “bad” food cravings?

I don't think I have any "bad" food cravings but I do have a sweet tooth that makes a hardcore appearance  every now and then

10. Do you take vitamins or supplements?

Just a daily vitamin for women. 

11. How often do you eat out?

Not often. Only if I'm meeting up for lunch or dinner with friends and when Ben & I get together, we usually go out at least once. 

12. Do you eat fast food?

If this is referring to McDonalds, Burger King, etc. then no (but I do love mcdonald smoothies!).  Some people may refer to Subway as fast food, which I eat, and since Ben and I started dating, my stomach as learned to love Chipotle's soft tacos (again, some people may or may not refer to that as "fast food").

13. Who is your biggest supporter?

Ben, my family, and close friends. 

14. Do you have a gym membership?

Oh yes!!

15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

7-8 hours, since I wake up at 6:30am, I try and go to bed no later than 10:30 but sometimes that doesn't happen ;) 

16. Do you have a “cheat” day?

I don’t plan cheat days. I just try to make conscious decisions about my food choices for the most part, but I eat crap from time to time, too. 

17. Do you drink alcohol?

Yep.

I’m not a big drinker, but I enjoy drinking socially with friends and having a glass or two of wine in the evenings.

Oh and margaritas.  

18. Do you have a workout buddy?

Nope, I'm a lone ranger on this! When Ben and I do go to the gym together, we don't workout together. I actually like working out by myself because I can just focus on myself. I have enjoyed doing races with friends because even if we aren't together for the actual run, it's nice to have someone to be with before and after.

19. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a healthy lifestyle?

How I have become a role model to some people. I don't mean for that to sound cocky whatsoever but it's nice to hear compliments and people asking you for advice. 

Also just feeling good about myself. :)

20. What was the last healthy thing you did?

Gym this morning.....which leads me to talk about today's workout!

After doing 30 minutes on the elliptical (switching back and forth between going forwards and backwards), I did the following workout, resting only 30 seconds between the rounds, which I did 3 of. 

I

I just repinned a bunch of new workouts on Pinterest that I will be eager to try this week! Stay tuned! 

Remember the 1000 Rep Workout?

Is it the weekend yet? This week for me has been the most stressful I've experienced for quite some time with getting stuff done for work, working on hw for next week's intensive that ended up being alot more difficult than expected as well as doing a project for my online class....ahhh!!

Thank goodness for the gym that gets me calm.

 

Today's workout has been mentioned before but it's always nice to retouch on such a good workout! I am currently really feeling it in my legs!

 



Awesome Arms

Thanks to the wonderful wake up call I got this morning from a Charlies Horse (ouch!!), I decided to focus on upper body today and not do anything with my legs.

 

I found this workout online that really had my arms screaming at the end!

24 bicep curls

15 shoulder presses

15 lateral raises

15 tricep kickbacks

15 hammer curls

15 reverse flys

15 side/shoulder rotations

15 upright rows

24 bicep curls.

Repeat 2-3x!

 



I then spent the rest of the time doing some abs and back exercises (lat pull downs, supermans, etc). Hoping my calf isn't still tight tomorrow because I am dying to go for a run!!

Full Body Meltdown

Did this after 30 minutes on the stairmaster, good way to work up a sweat! Thanks to my friend Hannah for posting it on her facebook, in which she did it after a run!

 

 

600 Butt!

We have the 600 Ab workout, I decided to add in a new 600 member...the booty!

With daisy dukes and beach season in session, we all want to have a nice behind.

  

 It consists of the following:

        100 squats

        100 pile squats with weight

        100 bridges

        100 one legged bridges

        100 fire hydrants 

        100    Leg lifts on ball (* lay on your stomach and lift your legs using your butt up and down)

These were done in 4 sets of 25.

2,000 views!!

I am now over 2,000 views! Thank you to all who are viewing my blog and please keep on sharing! :)

Today's workout was a mix of things, working pretty much everything! Some of them, you have seen on here before but in honor of my 2,000 views, figured I would post some of my favorites!

 

First up, was Crosfit. I haven't run at all since being at Liberty so it felt good to get in the running motion.

Second, was the following ab workout:

 

20 scissors

:10 plank

30 bicycles

:10 plank

20 crunches

:15 side plank per side

5 sit ups

:15 plank

40 Russian twists with medicine ball

:30 plank

 

I wasn't done yet, I was feeling in a really good zone and wanted to keep going!

Next up was arms and butt!

 

 

As Alicia Keys sings, "This girl is on fire" ;)

2 rounds of Functional Training- woo!

Hello readers!

Wednesday is just about over, we're almost halfway through the week!

 

After class got out today, I was in some serious need of some energy because boy was I dragging! 8 hour class can do that to you I guess ;)

 

I decided to do 20 minutes on the stairmaster to regain my focus and get my heart going and that definitely helped!

 

I then did 2 rounds of the following and boy was I sweating!! I do think it was a mix of the workout and the gym not having fans where I was. Either way, I left the gym feeling re-energized for sure!

 

 

Legs&Cardio travel workout

Today's workout consists of a quick Leg&Cardio workout that can be done in a hotel room, which is what I just did!

After a good day 2 of class followed by a great dinner & catch up session with my good friend, Rayna, I came back to my hotel room to get some homework done. Around 10, I was filling a bit blah and wanted to get some sort of workout in since I'll be sitting in class all day tomorrow before going to the gym.

I threw on some workou clothes and did the following right in my room! A good way to get your heart racing for sure! I went from one workout to the next, only resting 30 seconds between each round.

 

Disney Princess Half round 2!

 



Today I signed up to run in the 2014 Disney Princess Half Marathon! The race was a BLAST last year and I am excited to return to the most magical place on Earth!

 

Here are some pictures from last year:

 

Dinner at Be Our Guest the night before...as a Beauty & The Beast fan, you can imagine how excited I was to get this picture!

Waiting at our hotel for the race shuttle...at 3:30am!!!

Coming up on the finish!

Race shirts and medals, well -deserved! As was the glass of champagne we had! ;)



1st day at Liberty

I am going to be at Liberty University (where I am doing online graduate classes) this week for an intensive course, but luckily I'll get to use full access to Liberty's gym so I don't have to depend on the hotel's tiny gym. After getting out of class at 4:30, I sprinted out of class to get to the card services to get my LU Flame card before it closed at 5 to discover the DOWNPOUR outside! Thank god I packed my umbrella with me...except for I still got soaked running to my car.

I got to the card service place just in time then by the time I got done with that (and had my soaking, hot mess picture taken), the sun was out! When I walked into the gym, I felt very round up and just wanted to get going!

Liberty's gym is 5 basketball courts with a cardio room leading to the weight room on one side, a loft workout area (where I went) with more cardio machines and free weights, etc. The swimming pool was then on the other side next to an indoor soccer center. Overall, I was very impressed with it and wished Radford had had a similar gym! (*Take note Radford!!*)

I ended up doing 20 minutes on the ellipitical, then my 600 ab workout followed by squats and pile squats using the kettleball. Short and sweet ;)

 

3 rounds of body circuit, 2x through

I am always looking up new workouts to do and had this one saved for a while and decided this morning to give it a try!

After doing a 20 minute warm up on the stairmaster, I got my dumbbells, found a good spot and got started!

** I didn't do the snatch in round 3**

 

This ends up taking about 20 minutes.

 

Now I will be spending the rest of my afternoon getting a presentation ready for my intensive next week (be prepared for some travel workouts coming your way again!) while enjoying some apples and peanut butter and the UVa game :)

Rainy Day?! Psh! plus new ab workout announcement!

Happy rainy Thursday everyone, makes you want to stay in your pajamas all day into weekend, doesn't it?!

Today's workout was one of my favorites, Crossfit, which I have posted here before. Today, I was feeling an extra spring in my step (getting off work a little early? Knowing its almost the weekend?) so I put my speed at 2 things higher than I usually do...plus I was ready for the additional challenge.

 

When I finished this set today and was wiping down the treadmill, an older gentleman, who is usually at the gym at the same time I am, came up to me and wanted to give me a new ab suggestion because he sees me doing them all the time. I am always up for new workouts to try! I will do my best to explain it!

 

1)Lay on your back (*he did point out to not do this if you have a bad back)

2)elevate your feet a little off the ground and cross your legs.

3) Putting your hands by your ears, slightly lift upper body to one side for 20 reps.

3)recross your legs and then lift to other side.

4)uncross your legs and have them straight (still elevated) and do another 20.

 

I was definitely feeling it after giving it a try! Let me know what you all think!

 



 



National Running Day/Feel the Burn Circuit

Happy National Running Day to all my runners out there! Hope you got a chance to tie up your shoes and go for a run today!

I celebrated early by going for a run yesterday! Still counts right? ;)

Today's workout is brought to you by a workout I found on Peanut Butter Finger's pinterest board (she is my inspiration!)

You will need a bosu  ball and barbell

Do each exercise for 40 seconds, rest for 20 seconds.

Do 2-3x.

 

squat jumps

pile squats with barbell

Burpees

push ups on bosu ball

bicycle crunches

wall sit

alternating lunges with side shoulder raise

plank

tricep dips

tricep extensions

 

 



Half of "Be Explosive"

After enjoying my Nike Training Club workout Saturday, I wanted to explore other workouts from it for today.

I chose one called Be Explosive.....and my steam only lasted half of the time because I got bored with it :-/ It ended up being alot of 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, etc. etc. and I felt like I spent more time jumping to the next workout than actually doing the workout.

Here is what the half I did do looked like:

1 minute of straight leg kicks

1 minute light jog

1 minute back pedal

1 minute recover

:30 seconds push up to plank row

:15 seconds toe touches

:30 second deadlift

:15 seconds toe touches

:30 seconds push ups

:15 seconds toe touches

:30 second plank

:15 second toe touch

:30 second burpee to shoulder press

:15 second toe touch

:15 second squat

:15 second squat jumps

:15 second toe touch

1 minute recover

:30 second push up to plank row

:15 second toe touches

:30 second plank row to rotation

:15 second toe touches

:30 second burpee to shoulder press

 

Bored and just not feeling the workout, I ended up just doing some random ab sets and the elliptical before calling it a day. Case of the Mondays!!

 



Post run workout/ "The Edge"

Yesterday's workout consisted of a 3 mile run in my new running shoes (yes I get really excited when they arrived, hello hot pink!!)

 The run turned out to be much hotter weather than what I expected when I started out. When I got back into the gym afterwards, I felt like I was on fire, my whole body was hot (and I ran at 10am) I got myself cooled down before doing some ab and butt workouts. Abs were my 600 workout then butts were 100 squats and 100 donkey kicks. I wasn't really feeling it since I sorta felt sick to my stomach from the heat :-/

Question: What post run workouts do you do, if any?

After a fun evening of celebrating Caroline's graduation last night (yay Bubs), I enjoyed sleeping in, finally, and catching up with some family this morning before Ben and I headed to the gym.

I did a 30 minute elliptical (alternating forwards and backwards every 7 1/2 minutes) before doing a Nike Training Club workout: The Edge.

8 to 15 pd dumbells needed.

1 minute light jog

1 min slide and glide

2 min side plank

1 min burpee to shoulder press

2 min single leg deadlift (1 min each leg)

1 min single arm plank rows

:30 sec squat jumps

:30 sec froggers

1 min squart arm curls

2 mins single leg deadlift row

1 min v ups

1 min walk out

2 min side lunge with arm curl

2 min deadlift with alternating rows

:30 sec 2 feet forward/backwards hop

:30 sec mountain climbers

2 min single leg clock squats

1 min suitcases

1 min burpees * (I changed this to jumping jacks since I have dislike for burpees haha)

1 min plank row to shoulder press

2 min alternating step back lunge row

1 min plank with leg lift

 

 

I recommend if you are looking for a 30 minute (I left out the 3 minute stretch portion) full body workout!