Strengh Challenge {Happy Birthday Mommy!}

Happy Thanksgiving eve!

 

This morning, Caroline, my mom and I went to a Strengh Challenge class that my mom raves about! It's my mom's birthday so she decided to get festive with wearing a crown!

*Before class with the awesome instructor, Chris!*

 

This class involved lots of free weights and bars. How Chris does his class is that he is always working more than 1 muscle...so we could do a squat and bicep curls at the same time. He also plays AWESOME music!! He had some recent hits mixed with Michael Jackson and other 80s hits. There was not one song I didn't like!

 

After halfway through some shoulder/upper body workouts is when my arms & shoulders were SCREAMING! It was a good burn, but still a burn. Phew! Afterwards, I was super sore when showering and lifting my arms.

 

Another plus from this class was the new workouts I'll be able to do on my own. One I'll definitely do is a plié squat with weights but also a shoulder workout. You do a plié squat, tap the weight to the ground then lift weights up while standing up. Another one I liked, though I was pretty tired at this point, was down on all fours but doing butt kickbacks and tricep kickbacks at the same time. Woo!!

 

After class, we had a cup of chocolate milk courtesy of the Birthday Queen! :) Also a good snack for post workout ;)

 

 

 

I Be Up At The Gym, Workin On My Fitness

I found this off of my friend's Facebook page and decided to give it a go today since my mom and I were going to be at the gym longer (Caroline's bus was getting in right across the street from the gym) and it was great to have a good routine going!

Some changes I made:

I did 20 minutes on the bike and 10 minutes on the treadmill

N0 5 minute headstand!! I would not finding balancing on my head relaxing! Nor would I be able to do that.

 

I am really stretching tonight because tomorrow, Caroline and I are going with my mom to a favorite class of her's since A) it is her birthday and B) she says it's a FANTASTIC class! The instructor really works you (weights on the back while doing push ups?!) and I want my body ready for this! Post will be happening on this!

 

 

Lower Ab Attack

Greetings from my first day of break due to a wintery mix.....that I am currently still waiting upon. Although I am a fan of missing school (who isn't?!), I do feel like it is a waste when nothing comes :/ But we shall see!

Yesterday's workout really focused on the lower ab section. The lower ab is always a hard spot for girls to tone, but this one is a good way to get it screaming.

A tip for holding a plank longer than you usually can: Get on your phone and check Facebook/Twitter/whatever. You don't see a timer or anything and time goes by faster than you think!

 

Another great thing about this workout is that you can do it at home....like when you are snowed in ;)

 

My little sister comes home today from college, I can't wait! :)  

Girls on the Run 5k

"Girls on the Run is so much fun, Girls on the Run is #1!"

 

Yesterday was the Girls on the Run 5k at Sweet Brier College in Lynchburg. After an early wake up call (5:50 alarm on a Saturday is brutal), we met up with each other at the elementary school and hit the road! We were bundled up because with that wind, it was freezing!

 

Before the race, the girls could get their hair done ...which my girls loved...with hair spray and glitter, get info on Anti Bullying (get one finger painted blue) and other fun festivities for them!

I got my hair sprayed too but couldn't get a picture of it :(

While we were waiting at the start line, they were playing pump up music and they played Katy Perry's Roar and our girls went crazy! We were singing and dancing, a great way to start a run (and keep ourselves warm!).

 

I was going to be a buddy for one of our girls and stuck with her the whole way. I do have to say I was a bit surprised by the difficulty of the course, hilly and gravel. My favorite part of the course, as was my little buddy, was running by the barn and stables where the horses were out!

 

I was extremely proud of my buddy to get pushing herself and loved seeing her happiness when she crossed the finish line and they announced her name (all the girls had their names on their bibs) and got her medal, her smile was pure joy. :) :) Same goes to all the other girls!

The coaches at the race!

 

I'm sad that the season is over and won't be getting to see these energetic, hilarious girls 2x a week anymore! :( Until next year!

 

 

Whatever Friday

TGIF!

 

 

Tomorrow is the Girls On The Run 5k which I am so excited for to see the girls celebrate all that they have been working for this season. Waking up at 6am on a Saturday though....I'm not too excited for.

 

ROAR! (*I'll explain what that means tomorrow ;) )

 

 

Today's workout was a random one that ended up being one of the "beast" workouts I've had in awhile.

Because of the warm temps we had to today, I decided to go for a run and ran about 3 miles. I came back into the gym to do 115 reps of my Plie Squats Challenge....

.............then decided to do the Better Booty workout. My glutes are gonna be feeling it after today and the run tomorrow (which I've heard is hilly!).

Next up? Abs!

40 crunches

5 weighted sit ups

30 scissors

30 oblique crunches

:25 plank

:20 side plank each

30 Russian Twists (with dumbbell)

20 Vertical Leg Crunches

15 Jacknife Sit Ups

:40 plank

 

Biceps for a Song: Pretty self explanatory. Put on a good upbeat song for about 3-4 minutes and do bicep curls. I closed my eyes to this one and just got lost in the song. Nice way to knock out some biceps.

 

I ended with an easy 20 minutes on the elliptical.

 

 

 

 

 



Core Crunch

Woo, Tuesdays are going to be exhausting with coaching now on the schedule, I could pass out right now! I actually might after I get this one homework assignment done with, but wanted to post about  the awesome ab workout I did today!

I had a short time for a workout today between work and coaching so decided to open up my Nike Training Club app up to see what they had for quick workouts. I picked a 15 minute Core Crunch one that looked like this:

1 minute V Ups

1 minute Full Extensions

1 minute suitcases

1 minute side plank crunches (I changed to side plank dips)

1 minute frogger with swivel

1 minute V Ups

1 minute Full Extensions

 minute Suitcases

1 minute side plank *plank dips*

1 minute Frogger with Swivel

1 minute plank

2 minutes side planks

1 minute opposite arm/leg supermans

1 minute kickdowns

 

 

I completed another day of the Plie Squat Challenge - 110! 90 more to go. 

Abs crossfit = 800 jump ropes.

Before another busy week comes upon us, I want to let you all know of an new ab workout I did yesterday!

 

I've started to get bored with some of my usual ab routines and while looking through Pinterest, I found this workout that I had pinned months ago but never had given it a try. 800 jump ropes? Bring it on!

 

Results - sweaty, burning abs, and sick of jump robes for awhile ;)

 

Burning Body

After my run yesterday and the workout today, my lower body is screaming for sure!

 

I was on a time limit on my workout today and wanted something written out for me so I didn't have to waste any time having to think about what to do next.

 

Con to this workout--although it says Burning Body, it was more of a leg burner! Hello!!

 

Pro to this though: Can be done outside of a gym. I know I have had people mention they are looking for workouts that they can do at home, and this is for you!

 

Keep Calm...it's almost FRIDAY! :D

Chilly running

Happy chilly Wednesday!

 

I hope everyone stayed bundled up today, it was a cold one!

Today was a run & arms day.

 

I was excited to try out a new top I got last week. Old Navy Popover Collar Running Top. I saw it on another fitness blog I follow and it looked liked a top that I could run in but also wear for comfort! After finding it during Old Navy's 30% sale, I couldn't wait to go for a run!

All bundled up and ready to go! Gloves were worn of course ;)

 

Shirt = fitted but not tight where you feel like you can't breath. Love the collar and how it has thumb holes in the sleeves :) Below is the link if you're interested!

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?vid=1&pid=919503012

 

After a 4 mile run, I came in and switched out to a short sleeves shirt to do a quick round of biceps and triceps.

 

 

 

Stretching

Good morning!

Yesterday's workout was sort of a "going through the motions" type of workout but what I really got out of it was my stretching I did at the end!

 

I have really taken to doing foam roller stretching and they can do wonders to your legs! I didn't realize how tight I was in some areas until I started using one.

 

http://www.prevention.com/fitness/strength-training/fitness-foam-roller-workout-stretch-and-strengthen-muscles

 

Tonight starts my first night of coaching, which I am excited for! Gonna make for a long day but I'll get used to it!

Recap of the week

Hello!

Sorry for being MIA the past few days, I have been busy getting re-organized after a relaxing 4 day weekend! Only a 3 day work week but I am exhausted!

Here's a recap on some exciting news this week!

 

Tuesday

I registered for the Nike Women's Half Marathon DC in April 2014! I first heard of this race via Pinterest when it was just located in San Francisco (DC and San Fran are the only locations for this race) and what really caught my eye was that instead of finisher medals, runners get a race themed Tiffany necklace!

Since I have had bad luck with my past 2 DC area races, mainly getting there due to traffic, I am hoping 3rd times the charm for this race, especially since it is in the city!

(pictures from last year's race)

 

Wednesday

Yesterday I agreed to be a swim coach for a local year round swim program, CYAC. I will be coaching 2x a week starting next week! I loved coaching summer league a few summers ago and am excited to get back into it.

What will be nice too is that I will have an hour & half between getting off of work before practices so I will have time to get a workout in prior :)

 

Today!

Today at Girls On The Run was the girls practice 5k! The 5k race is in 22 days and the girls ran AMAZING today! It was great to see how happy and excited they were for themselves when they finished and I know they will be the same on race day!

I especially loved seeing the parents and other teachers come out and cheer on the girls, even the school's afterschool program made signs and came out!!

My mom came too and ran with a few of the girls, she said it was great :)

Before running, we got all pumped up by singing and dancing to Katy Perry's "Roar".

 

Today's workout!

I am not sure if it is the time change or what, but I was feeling pretty sluggish when I got to the gym after GOTR and almost turned around and went home. It could've also been my mind was going in a 100 different directions with all what I needed to do tonight but I knew if I didn't work out today, I'd regret later!

I did 25 minutes on the elliptical before doing 80 squats for the Plié Squat Challenge. I did it with a 25 pound bar over my shoulders.

After that I did a Sculpting Abs workout I found on Workouts Daily instagram:

45 crunches

30 Russian twists (with barbell)

25 bicycles

15 leg lifts

20 single leg lifts

30 V-crunches

25 bicycles

1 minute side plank (per side)

50 high knees

10 scissors

 

Now I am crawling into bed, TGIF tomorrow then on my way to Ben's! Wish I could teleport that drive though!

 

 

 

Butt Blaster & Ab Burner

Happy Chilly Monday!

 

I don't know about anyone else but today really felt like fall! I am glad that I didn't have work today because it was in the lower 30s the time I'd be heading to school! At least it won't be dark out when I leave!

 

Workout

Today's work was Cardio, butt, and abs.

Cardio: 20 minutes on the stairmaster

Butt: a 5 min butt blaster:

Abs: The 15 minute Ab Burner workout on the Nike Fitness Club app. If you haven't downloaded this app, I recommend you do so!

 

Plie Squat Challenge update: 75 squats!