Upper Body/Abs

Another long Tuesday that makes me just want to crawl into bed. My legs are super sore from yesterday and with work and then standing on pool concrete for 3.5 hours, they will probably be sore tomorrow.

Today's focus was on upper body and abs.  I was limited for time so only did 10 minutes on the elliptical then went to the weight section to do this Biceps + Triceps workout. 

**20 lbs is heavy for me to bicep curl but I liked the challenge and also the relief of being able to go down to 15 then 10**

 

I decided to do the Ab Burner workout on my Nike Training Club because it was 15 minutes and that is exactly the amount of time I had left before I had to leave for the pool.

Unfotunately...for some odd reason...when I had 6 minutes left, the program kicked me out and my phone screen went blank. When I opened back up Nike Training Club, it brought me back to the main screen :( booo.

But I can give a brief summary of what the workout looked like:

1 minute of toe touches

1 minute of Russian Twists

:30 second plank

1 minute side plank (:30 each side)

1 minute Crazy Ivans (something I have never heard of!)

:30 second Recover

x3.

Legs/Butt/Lower Abs

2 days after the Mud Run and I have little pain in the strangest areas....like my left ankle bone..and a random spot in my arm. Guess this race brought out inner weakness/strength I didn't know I had!

Today's Workout

I decided to spend time on the lower half of the body today. I did 20 minutes on the stairmaster before doing various leg/butt workouts -- leg press, smith machine squats, lunges, resistance band leg lifts, kickbacks with dumbbells in leg and calf raises.

For the lower ab workout, I split up a workout between resistance bands, an exercise ball and "captain's chair". With the resistance bands, it looked like this:

3 sets of 12 reps 

Next, with the exercise ball:

Again, 3 sets of 12 reps. 

I had to put a mat under my hands because this hurt my wrists doing.

Ending with leg lifts on this...seriously, what is this called? This exercise is called "Captain's Chair" (or maybe it's the name of the machine? I should probably find that out!)

 

Mud Run Recap

Now that I am all showered and mud free, I am sitting down to do a recap of this morning!

Mad Anthony Mud Run 

With the race not starting till 9:30, I didn't wake up till 8. Major fan of this and not having to wake up at 7 or earlier to run at 7:30/8 like most races! I left my house around 8:30 to get to the bus pick up by 9. Buses were shuttling everyone over to the course. Once at the course, Tori and I took a before picture and headed to the start. Got some good laughs with some peoples costumes (bananas! Power rangers!) and by some comments being made around us.

We were in the 2nd wave so had to wait 5 minutes after the first wave went. 5 minutes later and the horn blares, and we're off!! 

Obstacle #1 --Tires. Unfortunately, this was a bottle neck area so instead of hoping through the tires like we were meant to do, we just shuffled through with the crowd walking through them. 

Running to Obstacle #2, my right shoe falls off in the mud. I slide it back on with a good chunk of mud now in my shoe. 

Obstacle #2 -- Balance Beam over mud pit. Walk over with ease though was prepared for Tori to do something to the beam to make me fall over ;)

Obstacle #3 - Hay Bales. Lots of waiting for this one. Thank god for Tori this obstacle, she lifted me over them. Though got major hay burn on my leg. 

Obstacle #4- Wall Climb. 

Obstacle #5 - Up and Over Logs. 

This is where we see Tori's husband, Nick and he tells us the muddiest part is about to come up. 

And enter mud land we did (obstacle #6). It was a mud swamp! But honestly, I was glad to cause it was a mud run so I wanted to get muddy and dirty!

Obstacle #7-- A fence we climbed up and over.

Obstacle #8 -- Probably the one that Tori and I talked about the most-- The Water Tunnel! We ran through a tunnel that was under interstate 64 that water goes through. IT WAS FREEZING! I have done 2 Polar Plunges and this water was the coldest by far. Our feet felt like huge ice cubes when we came out of it.

More running through mud and sticks. 

Back through the Water Tunnel but this time, Tori and I hopped up on a pipe and walked on that, save our frozen feet. 

More running through mud and sticks. and hills.

Ah, water station at mile 3! I drank some of my water before pouring some on my hands to get rid of the dried mud. Then we had to answer trivia questions that had been posted in the first part of the race...in which Tori and I had paid no attention to. Oops! Because we got our questions wrong, we had to carry cement blocks up and down a hill before continuing on. Quick little arm workout! 

More running through mud sticks and down hills, one of whom was straight down of mud.

Obstacle #9: Crawl through big pipes up a hill.  We had to curl through 2 pipes and then climb over 2. I banged my hip into one trying to get over. There'll be a bruise there tomorrow. 

More running/mud sliding. We hear the finish! One more obstacle to go!

Obstacle #10 - A taller wall climb. I kinda cheat by climbing up but going around the side rather than over. Sh!

We run the rest of the way and then Tori, with the finish in sight, says "Race to the finish" and we take off sprinting! I beat her only by a margin and also she also slid out in mud haha.

I could not have asked for a more perfect day to run! Upper 40s and sunny was perfect for this race. I couldn't have imagined what that water would've felt like if it was any colder! Running with my best friend made even more enjoyable. I had no complaints for this race except for the bottle necking that happened for the first 3 obstacles. The shuttle service, later start, well-marked course, and helpful hands were much appreciated! 

As was my shower when I got home. 

Preparing for the Mud Run!

Thanks to the rain--downpour--we got this morning, it should make the Mud Run tomorrow extra muddy!I stopped by our local thrift store to get a pair of shoes to get dirty and not care about and got a pair of Asics ironically for $3! Which was paid for in quarters :-I I also got a plain white shirt from the Dollar Store that will also get thrown out. Not what to do about bottoms.....

After the gym, I met up with Tori to go pick up our bibs!

I'm a major fan of this race not starting till 9:30! Recap will come tomorrow! I'm ready to get down and dirty!

Workout 

I did a Cardio & Ab Workout after 30 minutes on the elliptical.I took yesterday off because my body was just exhausted and my upper back was really sore (guess shoveling finally caught up to me?).

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Go For a Run/Massage in a Bottle

For whatever reason, I like doing these "the day in the life of" or a weekend recap..I hope you all (whoever you all are!) don't mind reading what probably sounds like an old Xanga site (remember those?!)

*Wake up at 6...but don't get out of bed till 6:10. I've been waking up in the 6 oclock hour for almost 2 years and it is still a struggle! Though staying up till 11:15 following the UVa game on my phone probably didn't help either..(at least they won!)

*Put together a 60 degree weather day outfit...wasn't it just last week we were preparing for snow?!

*Put on makeup and check up on blogs (I follow Peanut Butter Fingers, Meals And Miles, and Hungry Runner Girl)...I would just like to do a mini shout out to some new makeup that I recently got and love how fresh my face feels and looks.

Foundation - Maybelline Fit Me Shine Free Stick.

Eye shadow - Almay Intense I-Color. Different shades to mix together that are based off of your eye color. I chose brown even though I have one hazel eye because the hazel eye shadow included purple and I wanted more natural looking eye shadow (though in the words of Ben, why wear natural makeup when you don't even need it...thanks babe)

Concealer - CoverGirl CG Smoothers

 

*Enjoyed my new Netflix show, One Tree Hill, over breakfast.

*Go to work...and was so happy to see the temperature when I left work! It just screamed "Go for a run!!"

*And so run I did! It was a lot winder out than I expected, my legs were getting whipped by sticks and leaves. My first mile and a half was slower than I wanted (I'm working on getting faster for when I start training for my next half) but I was going against the wind...I finished my last mile at where I would like to be (8:45). I would like to get under 25 minutes for a 5k!

 

I have run a total of 9 miles within the past 3 days ( I ran for 2 days straight on the treadmill...who am I?!) and it feels so good to get back into it after a long delay from it.

 

I came back into the gym to do some jump ropes and ab workout before heading home where I put the best lotion ever on my feet and legs. It is like a massage in a bottle!

I highly recommend it for any of my runner friends or friends who have to be on their feet a lot for work.

 

Next up on my agenda....Mud Run this Saturday!! That post is going to be entertaining!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Split Running Workout

Happy President's Day!

Aka another day of no school.

 

 

Who else spent their Monday morning shoveling snow/ice for 2 1/2 hours to get their car out of the garage? Raise hand. There were 3 times that I thought I could get my car out, but each time, discovered a new snow bump that I had clear out. My car is really starting to hate this weather.

 

After getting my car out, I headed to the gym and thought of a workout on the drive over. Run, arms, run, abs, run. I am not a treadmill fan (yes, I know, for the 100th time) but running a mile 3x throughout the workout doesn't make it too bad.

 

Run mile 1

Arms:

bicep curls (3x12)

tricep kick backs (3x12)

side arm raises (3x10)

push ups (3x10)

shoulder raises (3x12)

 

Having not wearing gloves (hands got too warm) while shoveling, my palms were killing me when I was holding the barbells. Of course, the one time I don't bring my hand gloves! So I created my own cushion.

Wrap a towel around the weight!

 

Run Mile 2

Abs

:35 second plank

10 side plank dips

25 crunches

15 vertical leg crunches

:15 cobra stretch

:40 plank

40 Russian Twists

10 Jackknife sit-ups

30 bicycles

:15 side plank each side

 

Run mile 3

 

 

Leaving the gym and had to capture this view. My house is somewhere on those mountains!

 

Thanks Old Navy-- new top (30% off too!)



50 rep Workout!

I hope all of you were up to see that exciting USA-Russia ice hockey game!! Definitely worth waking up at 7:30 on a Saturday for!

After that game, Ben and I headed to the gym, all pumped up! I ironically packed my USA shorts to wear today ;)

I started off with 30 minutes on the elliptical before going to do this 50 Rep Workout. 

When we were leaving, we saw this funky treadmill! It's curved!!

           Happy Saturday ya'll!

Let it snow, let it snow

As the snow starts to come down, I sit by the fire (which I made all by myself!), sip on some wine and talk about today's workout!

Knowing that I won't get to the gym for a few days, I wanted to have a good hardcore one today. I started out with 20 minutes on the stairmaster before doing this Beat the Cold Workout (appropriate for anticipating snow!)

 

To add some challenge to this workout, do your squats on the Bosu ball (and your clean & presses if you are that skilled!) and add some extra height to your box jumps!

So for all of you who are getting hit by this snow storm, stay safe and warm! :)

Arm Workout

This post is going to be quick because I am exhausted after a long day. Today's focus was on arms!

3 x 12 of Chest Press Machine

3 x 15 of Shoulder Press

3x12 of Upper Back Machine

3x15 Lat Pull Down

3x15 of bicep curls (weirdly, my left arm felt stronger than my right....)

3x15 Tricep pull downs

20 regular pushups

20 tricep push ups

I'll talk more about my gym's Olympic Challenge tomorrow! 

Butts and Abs!

Hello!!

There is nothing better than going to bed and feeling productive. I got a lot done after work today (which is a good thing cause apparently we've got another snow coming our way Thursday) and one of them was a workout that really worked my butt (gotta make sure the booty looks good in leggings ladies!) and abs!

I started out with 20 minutes on the stairmaster (bumped up my level by 2 and could tell the difference with the pace) before doing the following butt workout:

I've wanted to try some new ab workout that had me feeling some muscles working. I have no issue with my go to ab workouts but needed something new to keep me alert! The windmills portion of this definitely did! 

I had no idea what Mason twists were...just another way of saying Russian twists! 

Now to finish cheering on the Hoos against Maryland! Good night ya'll! 

Weekend Recap/USA shorts

Friday

Yay for weekend! 2 mile run in my new UMW Eagles carpis (thanks bubs! I need to get Radford running gear now!) 

then doing an arm & ab workout! The only con I have about this workout is that I feel it is majority arms and doesn't equal out arms & abs.

Friday night was spent watching the Olympics, eating thai and being with Ben :)

Saturday 

No workout day! Ben and I spent it having lunch at Devils Backbone Brewing Company before I was tortured into seeing The Lego Movie. :-l. 

Sunday

After Ben left, I headed to the gym and did a Full Body Workout. I am starting to gain a little appreciation for burpees...and I mean a little. I still feel dizzy when I do them but maybe that is just me?

And showed my American pride with my flag shorts and gold sweatband...USA!

What has been everyone's favorite sport so far in the Olympics?!

Hectic Day Workout

What do you after you get in a little incident, work, post work meeting, car shop and then only have less than an hour to work out, shower and get to babysitting?

You go fast.

Ready, set, go!

This workout was took up about 15 minutes before I did 10 minutes of fast moving on the elipitical.

Goal met :) 

Just a reminder that even if you have a little time, you can still workout ;)

Sexy Arms Workout

Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday = swim coaching day = time crunch on workout.

I started out with a 1 mile run on the treadmill to start out then went to the weight area to do the Sexy Arm Workout. I thought my shoulders were strong but they were killing me after the shoulder section, especially with the front and side raises!

I still had a little time left before I had to change for the pool so I did another mile on the treadmill. I will be so happy with this icky weather is gone so I can get some outside runs in! 

NTC Core Crunch

Raise your hand if you want to turn off the alarm and keep on sleeping this morning? Seriously Monday, why did you rain after I had a weekend at Radford and then the Super Bowl (or really Super Domination)?! That was just cruel.

At least work went pretty good. Thank god. 

Today's workout: After 30 minutes on the elliptical, I did Nike Training Club's 15 minute Core Crunch. My core was sore only halfway through! Here is what it looked like:

1 minute of each:

V-Ups

Full Extensions

Suitcases

Side Plank Crunches

Frogger with Swivel

Repeat 2x.

Then 1 minute of plank, opposite arm/leg supermans, and kick downs and 2 minutes of side plank (1 minute each side).

***************************

Back to the Super Bowl....my cousins were at the game (one of them works for the Seahawks) and got this sweet picture after the game!