Leg Massage Please?!

Apparently ACPS likes to cancel school because no school again today...for an inch that is now gone. It was beautiful to wake up to but the sun is now shining and there isn't a cloud in the sky! I'm a bit done with snow days (never thought I'd say that!) but I'm still down for a few delay openings, who isn't a fan of sleeping in?! ;)

I had planned to go to Body Pump today at 4:30 but since I was up, I decided to take advantage of the class I went to with my mom on her birthday this morning, Strength Challenge!

My thighs were screaming from my leg workout yesterday and they are extra screaming today after that class! I'm just glad I stretched before class or I'd still be stuck in the squat position. The class uses weighted equipment with non-stop interval blasts of strengths and core specific exercises.....and GREAT music! I want the instructor's playlist. Mmmbop was even on it (for all my 90s peeps!)

After the class, I did 30 minutes of lap swimming. I didn't come up with a workout prior, just did freestyle and some kicks. My body was super sore so it felt good to stretch out in the water though my shoulders screaming (notice a theme?) after the class and now swimming. OUCH!

Sitting in the hot tub was heaven afterwards.  I could've fallen asleep in it.

While waiting for my mom in the lobby afterwards, I enjoyed a Mixed Berry smoothie with soy protein powder, reading Shape magazine, and warming myself by the fire. Again, could've fallen asleep there too. 

Leg massage please?!

Pre-Chocolate Cupcake workout

Another Tuesday which means limited gym time before running off to the pool for coaching. I decided to do a leg & ab workout, gotta save my arms for Body Pump tomorrow!

I started out with a 1 mile run on the treadmill (to discover that my new headphones aren't playing out of 1 ear. grr). Next was about 15 minutes of legs:

3 sets of 15 leg press

2 sets of 25 walking lunges with weights

3 sets of 25 calf raises

2 sets of 25 leg raises with resistance band

50 squats

Next was abs:

25 crunches with 15 V-ups with dumbbell. x4

100 bicycles

50 cris-cross crunches

Vertical leg lifts - 2 sets of 25 

Leg lifts with box on feet - 2 sets of 15

Side plank (:30 each side)

1 minute plank

:15 cobra stretch.

Then I get to swim practice and had a chocolate cupcake for a kid's birthday :-l Eh, whatever! 

Cuddle up and stay warm tonight!

Make it a double!

Today was the first day I've used my alarm clock in 10 days! I felt like a zombie at 6am and very out of it....clearly almost a week off from school made me forget basic things I do for work....like wear a watch. 

Minus a very cold 2 mile run Saturday at Ben's (which was more like an African dance avoiding ice), I haven't worked out since Thursday. 

I started out with 20 minutes on a high resistance on the elliptical (while enjoying the Boy Meets World episode of Cory and Topanga planning their wedding).

I then did an ab set and decided to double the amount for each, looking like this:

20 Jacknife sit ups

50 Russian Twists with dumbbells

20 sit ups

60 crunches

40 weighted oblique crunches

1 minute plank

40 hip twists in plank

50 Russian twists with dumbbells

60 vertical leg crunches

Finishing with an Upper Body Workout (I plan on going to a Body Pump class Wednesday where I know my arms will be killed) and repeated each group twice. 

Spirit of the Marathon & Treadmill workout

After being snowed in the past 2 days, it felt so nice to get out of the house! I watched Spirit of the Marathon last night (highly recommend to all my runner friends! On Netflix!), I wanted to run today! 

 

I wasn't ready to run outside just yet (12 degrees, no thank you!) but decided to do my favorite...and only....treadmill workout:

          After this, you end up running 3 miles, doing 60 push ups, 120 squats, and 180 sit ups!

I spent the rest of the time my mom & I were there doing other exercises and I left feeling much more energetic and sore! Always a good feeling when you haven't gotten a full body workout in a few days!

Now to wait and hear about school tomorrow...

A day in the life of....

9am - wake up after a good night sleep minus feeling like I got hit by a snot truck. ugh.

10am - Breakfast of pillsbury grand biscuits. With butter and cinnamon. Yum.

11am - Bundled up for a run, hoping that I don't suffocate from mucus.

11:45am - Return from run feeling wonderful and being able to breathe! Guess the cure to clearing my sinuses is going for a run!

12:30pm - Get text from college roommate Kellie about a Beauty & Beast shirt at Target. Cue me getting ready quickly to head over!

1:00pm - Get shirt from Target, last one in size S! Success!

1:15pm - Pick up some Starbucks for me and Ben.
1:16pm- Spill my drink on my pants getting in car. Now have Chai Tea Latte smelling leggings.

Rest of Sunday is spent watching football ( My picks are Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks!) and enjoying getting to spend 1 more day up with Ben :)

The Ab Workout of all Ab Workouts!

Holy moly, today's ab workout was definitely the most intense I've done in a long time, if not, ever! I've wanted to dedicate a day to just do this and decided today would be the day. Took me a total of about 30 minutes (that included some necessary water breaks) after 20 minutes on the stairmaster. My abs were screaming by the end!

Enjoy! ;)

Weekend Recap

A new race has been added to the calendar! On Feburary 22nd, my best friend Tori and I will be competing in a mud run!! The obstacles include tire pit, balance beam, scale the wall, hay bale climb, log challenge, swamp challenge, tunnel crawl, a mystery obstacle and of course mud!! I'm glad I'll be doing this with a friend for sure!

Yesterday, Ben and I enjoyed a a beast breakfast by Caroline...pancakes and blueberry cinnamon brown sugar muffins?! Oh my! After stuffing our bellies, he and I spent the afternoon roaming around Barnes & Noble. Such a great thing to do on a rainy day :) He and I walked away with books! After a late lunch at Chipotle, we can home, watched football and read. I finished one of my books I got, Sarah's Key! I highly reccomend! But have your tissues available!

Today after Ben left and saying goodbye to Caroline as she heads back to UMW, I put on some running gear to go for a run. It was so nice to see the sun after the past few gross days! I planned on going on a 3-4 mile run, but was not prepared for the wind! Ahh! I almost turned back around mile 1 because the wind was brutual, but I pushed through it and ended up running 3. Talk about resistance! After that,  I went to the gym for a quick 15 minute visit to do abs.

For whatever reason, the workout isn't uploading so here is the link!
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/277815870737293310/

                                                    Now to enjoy a night of the Golden Globes!

Icky Friday workout!

Happy Friday! yay!

My Friday started out with a surprise by getting a 2 hour delay! Course the call came right when I was putting makeup on, but that didn't stop me from heading back to bed to catch some extra Zzzss. The weather though today, Gross with a capital G!

I am waiting for Ben to arrive before we head to dinner so here's a quick recap of today's workout!

20 minutes on the stairmaster (I bumped up the level by 2 and I could feel the difference!) then the following full body workout.

30 minute workout

Today's schedule left me with only 30 minutes to get a workout in but I didn't let that stop me! Even if you have 15 minutes, you can always squeeze something in!

I split up today's workout into 15 minutes of glutes, 15 minutes of abs.

The glutes was a workout I found online:

 

The abs were a rotation of crunches, Russian twists, leg lifts, bicycles, and planks.

 

And now, as I'm curled up in my sweater and jacket trying to get warm and eat breakfast (and enjoy my new show obsession 90210), I'm trying not to think about how my sister is currently out doing a track workout! Brr!!!  

Back to the Work Grind

When my alarm went off this morning at 6am, I actually thought someone was calling me instead of it being my alarm! For all my fellow teacher friends, I hope you all had a good 1st day back!

After getting off work though, I got a surprised call that my county will be on a 2 hour delay tomorrow because of this massive cold front that is coming in!

 

The Workout

I started out with 20 minutes on the stairmaster before doing the following circuit workout.

 



My hamstrings were pretty sore after the stairmaster and those deadlifts!

 

Now to relax (week off of school work, I am taking advantage) the rest of the evening and watch the BCS Championship!

Children at the gym

As is typical this time of year, I am always prepared for the gym to be packed with New Years resolution goers. What I was not prepared for was the number of children/adolescents! My gym does have a kid zone, but it's for the itty bitty ones. I'm all for children and fitness (I did sports since I was 5), but a gym is different. It's not a playground and unfortunately, parents feel that way. My little express gym is limited on the number of machines and I found it inconsiderate for a parent to allow their 10 year old (I guesstimated their age) to watch cartoons while standing on the treadmill. Another boy, of similar age, was just walking around, attempting to use machines but clearly had no clue what he was doing. Can you say dangerous?! Most gyms require an age, such as 13, to use equipment. I would hate for a parent who wants to get into working out, to not be able to because of their children, but they need to be considerate of others at the gym. Don't get me started on 2 teenagers who were throwing weights across the aerobics room while I was in there once....that's another story.

Ok, off of my soapbox and onto today's workout!

30 minutes on the elliptical (alternating going forwards and backwards every 7 1/2 mins) to start out. Next up was a great full body workout, especially with incorporating the run! 

 

1st workout of 2014!

Happy New Year!

 

 

The Liberty gym was finally opened back up today and I was so excited to get in and start sweating!

 

After 20 minutes on the elliptical, I did the following circuit workout:

Some changes:

*Mountain climbers was done without a swiss ball

*Boat side crunches without a medicine ball

 

 

I finished out today's workout with a good butt workout...tis the season of legging wearing (for those who know me, I rarely wear jeans) !

 

 

 

It was a nice way to end my 4th day of the intensive and my lesson plan presentation today. I'm looking up new workouts for this new year :)