Blog Archives
Kerri’s Cardio and Core Workout
Working out is instantly more enjoyable with the addition of a.) an iPod, b.) a friend, or c.) a team of hot Australian guys to watch from the treadmill. My iPod hasn’t been charged in two weeks and the Australians are probably in Australia, but LUCKILY I had my friend Kerri to workout with last week! We love doing extra strength routines in the gym before or after our cross country practice. She created her own circuit workout for us to complete, and played “personal trainer” for our last gym session. Some of the exercises were even new to me – score!
Let’s dive right into the workout! We started with a super set of the following:
- 4-Step Squats (see picture below) 15 each leg
- 4 Mountain Climbers; 4 Burpees; 4 Mountain Climbers; 4 Burpees (Holy Heart Rate!)
- Jump Up! Touch your right toes. Jump Up! Touch your left Toes. Repeat 15 times on each leg
- Monkey Push-Ups (see picture below) set of 10
REPEAT THE ABOVE CIRCUIT 3 TIMES BEFORE MOVING ON.
The squats are essentially just bringing one leg straight up into a knee raise in between each squat.
The Monkey Push-ups. WARNING: You will look silly/ridiculous/quirky. Your butt is in the air, heels off the floor, and you continue to do a push-up, lowering your body until just before your head touches the floor. This works more tricep than chest.
Next we ditched the Circuit Format to do straight sets of some new and funky exercises:
Time for some Tricep Situps…these things take some serious core stabilizing. I’d never done them before, and the first time with a new exercise is always challenging. I guarantee you will feel the effects the next day ;)
Instead of regular sit-ups on a swiss ball, add a 5-8lb weight, and extend it over your head when rolling back. Use your whole core to bring the weight and your body back to seated position. Complete 20 reps.
These next ones are not new. They are the shake-inducing, body-aching Leg Raises! I’m used to the style where you plant your elbows into the arm pads by your rib cage and I have to say that hanging is definitely harder. Start with Knee Crunches, graduate to Leg Extentions or alternature between the 2. Complete 3 sets of 10! *Make sure you’re not swinging your legs; no momentum!
The rest of the exercises really don’t need picture demonstrations:
- Body Weight Tricep Dips
- Leg Raises (Lying Down)
- Toe Touches (Lying Down)
- Shoulder Press and Bicep Curls with Weights
The next day, I was S.O.R.E. That’s the great thing about new/different exercises – your muscles haven’t adapted to the movement over time, and are being utilized more than during your daily crunches. After repeating the same exercise many times, your body becomes more efficient. You don’t need to work as hard, you burn less calories, and you may not feel the next-day soreness anymore. That’s why it’s always good to mix things up. Thanks for the killer workout, Kerri!
Friends who get fit together, stay together!
( ….Cheeeeeeesy. :D )
Find a friend, do the workout, and pin it here! 
Social Sweets and Snacks
I had one of those weekends. Those weekends where your healthy diet is sacrificed for social activities that leave you praying the scale will be nice to you Monday morning. The kind of weekend that was FILLED with friends and fun, and lots of extra indulgences. Sometimes, (okay most of the time) “social” activities include going out to eat or cooking/baking and inevitably eating. This weekend’s social agenda included lots of “extras”. Needless to say, I’m craving my fruits and veggies this morning!
Friday Night: Dinner out at a sports bar. Loved catching up with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while; what the heck, I never eat this kind of food, I can splurge. After dinner I met up with my friend Kerri. She had a sore throat…..better get some ice cream!
Saturday morning: post-run brunch with fellow runner and recent birthday girl Alyssa at a Frozen Yogurt & Waffle joint:
Yes it was every bit as delicious as it looked. And Yes this was the first time I ever had FROZEN YOGURT for breakfast :D
Sunday Funday started out healthy with a weight-lifting session with my roommate and a beautiful run. Then the BAKING began with our friends across the hall. We wanted to make some thanksgiving-esque Turkey Rice Krispie Treats:
But apparently stores quit selling candy corn after Halloween. How are we supposed to make the feathers? We did some quick thinking and came up with another festive treat:
Not sure if more chocolate chips made their way onto the actual pretzels or in our mouths.
White chocolate Candy Cane Pretzels (majority ruled these the favorites.)
& Dark Chocolate Mint-Drizzled Mini Marshmallow Pretzels (cute concept; strange looking.)
Unpictured: Reese’s PB Cup Pretzels (utterly unappetizing looking. still delicious)
It was a fun afternoon decorating and listening to Christmas tunes. Plenty to share!
No doubt I enjoyed every last bite of this weekend’s treats but the fact that it is so FAR from my normal, regimented diet leaves me ready to get on a health streak. Particularly because Thanksgiving is this week and I don’t want any extra guilt when I go for that potato casserole!
SO. What to do after a weekend of indulgences?
- Drink plenty of water. Make sure your body is still hydrated!
- Get back to routine. (Healthy and simple breakfast; sliced fruit for snacks; balanced plates)
- Limit sodium, excess sugar, and refined carbs (which will reduce bloating)
- Add in 10 extra minutes of cardio each day (burning around 500 extra calories between Monday & Friday will help off-set the weekend damage)
- Move on. Don’t dwell on the extra calories; they are already there. Keep up your workouts and you will get back on track.
In other news – 2 more days til I am reunited with my parents, my home, and my Missy!!!
Sunday Night “Family Dinner”
Happy Labor Day, everyone! I hope you are doing something fun and productive with your day off! The weather is gorgeous here and I can’t wait to go on a long leisure walk after breakfast.
Last night was such a fun night in the dorms. A group of us girls in the same hall decided to make a Sunday Night Potluck dinner! The six of us split into pairs and divided the courses: Salad, Main Dish, Dessert. My suitemate Fernanda and I were in charge of the salad. Kerri and Amber cooked an amazing pasta dish with pesto and chicken, while two more girls provided enough chocolate to undo all the healthiness of the first course. It was such a good way to have an inexpensive but delicious dinner with a group of friends instead of going out to a restaurant. Each of us spent roughly around $6 and look at the meal that awaited us!
Giving Olive Garden a run for their money!
We have some pretty decent chefs in the residence hall! The salad was a combination of healthy ingredients that we could find at target and that were cheap (first rule of college cooking). The base of the salad was a bag of mixed greens, to which we added diced tomato, sliced cucumber, chopped bell pepper, sliced carrots, diced apple, dried cranberries, almonds, crushed cashews and a lite raspberry vinaigrette. Not too shabby at all! And splitting the cost with another friend made our contribution to the dinner pretty reasonable. There was enough for the six of us girls plus leftovers (for lunch today, yay!).
It’s so much fun to cook and have dinner outside of the dining halls, even more so with company like these girls! If you can get a group together, cooking is half the fun, dinner is a well-needed break from cafeteria food, and meeting new people becomes easier than ever. Great way to spend a Sunday night. Dinner was followed by a chick flick and I think we’ve all agreed that this needs to happen more often! :)
