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Body Weight & Plyometrics Circuit
I’m a big fan of all the activity taking place in August so far. I’ve uncharacteristically avoided the gym in favor of outdoor exercise each morning and evening. After work, I take a walk/run around the neighborhoods and enjoy all the sunshine I can. My mom has joined me a couple times and it’s a welcome dose of nature after sitting in an office for 9 hours. Lemon water for days….
This morning I blasted out a “Body Weight & Plyometric Circuit” that I’ll share with you! It took 35 minutes in the backyard, all done before the sun woke up :)
Plyometrics are exercises that incorporate jumping and explosive movement, using intensity and power for a short duration. The shock landing forces muscle contractions and aids in strengthening ankle, knee and hip joints (not recommended for people prone to joint pain/injury.) It’s in-between a strength workout and a HIIT workout.
Body Weight & Plyometrics Circuit: 4 Rounds of 8 exercises
I set a HIIT timer (using the “Seconds” app) to complete 35 seconds of each exercise followed by 25 seconds rest.
*You will need a jumprope and mat. You can also add light weights for the lunges and squat jumps*
Lately, I prefer to incorporate body weight exercise over weight lifting. At this stage of the game, I am concerned with being toned, not “making gains.” I want to use the muscles I have without building any more if that makes sense.
After 32 minutes of the circuit, my mom and I walked a cooldown lap around the neighborhood as the sun just started to light things up. We both agreed that we LOVE being outside at dawn and at dusk. Something about the glowy lighting. Sunrise runs are UNBEATABLE, nevermind the 4:30 wake up call. I will miss my sunrise runs with my high school teammate and good friend Matt. We’ve been doing summer cross country training together for six years now!
Sweaty selfie!
Summer Reads:
Another August trend I’ve been loving is trading an evening epidsode of House Hunter’s for some new novels I just bought. A friend at work suggested some titles including Beautiful Disaster and I already can’t wait to read it’s sequel, Walking Disaster.
And the rest of August won’t be slowing down. Time for this morning’s balanced breakfast: oats with flaxseed, blueberries, and half a banana. You already know the coffee’s been loooong gone. ;)
Favorite summer workout and/or summer read…GO!
Hiatus Complete
I realize I have been MIA from SLMC for a while. (Over 2 months to be exact.) Let’s just not talk about it? Okay :)
“I’m Back!”
The last couple of months have been a struggle of overcoming a hip injury due to “overuse” (overtraining). Remember those weeks I was running 80 miles while working 40 hours? Yeah not recommended. If you’re training for a 5k then a 16-miler every Sunday is prooooobably a little extreme. I was just following my coach’s training program! I learned better & will be listening to my own body from now on ;)
This weekend I came home to sunny SoCal for the first time since August and I can’t even tell you what a recharge button it was. When I rang the doorbell at 10:30 Friday night my mom had no idea that I was even in the same state as her. Missy was equally as surprised.
Back to Basics:
I’ve totally learned from injuries and recovery what works and doesn’t work for me. Running 80 miles a week with not enough sleep doesn’t work for me. Keeping a food journal and a training log DOES work for me. Being a student-athlete for a Div. 1 school is cool and all, but really I just want to be happy & healthy.
Current Healthy Obsessions:
- I just adopted my mom’s first SLR Panasonic camera that I’m taking out on some Flagstaff trails. Covering ground, fresh air, nature, photography. All good things!
- Sprout’s coffee beans. I got my parent’s hooked on their flavored coffee beans this year too, currently sipping on Pinon Hazelnut but my favorite still goes to Vienna Cinnamon <3 Grinding your own beans smells heavenly.
- The blog Skinny Confidential. Lauren knows what’s up!
- Eli Young Band and their Pandora station
- Nexxus Heat Protector Spray. Smells delishhhhh.
The next phase of my healthy lifestyle is to begin training for MY FIRST MARATHON. (I made a Pinterest board and everything. I mean, obviously.) This will give me so much more to blog about & keep track of. But first I’ll do a quick catch-up of the last two months:
I spent a lot of time outside.
Spent even more time with my favorite redheads:
Although this is a little more typical…….
We like to grab coffee and hang out in a field…..
Escaped to Sedona for a day of hiking, which was all fun and games until the “Bear Sighting” signs popped up (and you knowww how I feel about wild animals):
And many mornings started out enjoying the little things. (Oh and the lovely sounds of construction out my window.)
Because of my injury, I spent a couple weeks just “resting” with no exercise, and about 6 weeks slowly progressing back to running. This blog post is sparked by my increasing inspiration to get back in shape! While it might not be obvious or noticeable, I can tell that my body has changed after more than 2 months of limited exercise and more than a few splurges on frozen yogurt, homemade pizzas, Sprout’s chocolate-covered blueberries/almonds/cashews (OBSESSED.) and of course peanut butter ;)
Tomorrow I will climb back up to a 12 mile run and I feel like myself again. Long runs are my thing. And I’m working on a lot of goals for myself:
- Build back up my long run (the difference this time? Proper rest and recovery. Duh.)
- Eat clean (95%…..girl’s gotta have her coffee creamer). I’m cutting out processed peanut butters (actually all nuts for a few weeks because they are so addicting that I can’t stick to a serving!), crackers/granola bars/cereals (because honestly they are sugar & flour clusters) and definitely avoiding the chocolate bulk section at Sprouts for a little bit. I’m a scale-avoider and I don’t like weighing myself so I will base my progress on how my clothing fits and how I feel about myself when I look in the mirror :)
- Two consecutive pull-ups (currently at 1.5!)
- Plank for 4 minutes
- Stay injury-free
- Stress less over things I cannot control
- Take a new fitness class every week
- Try a new recipe every week from my new Pinterest board “Domesticated” ;)
It’s good to be back.
Strong Like My Coffee 