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The Ab Lab
As you might have noticed, I have a tendency to use “cutesy” titles. Rhyming, Alliterations…I just can’t help myself when I come up with something clever like the “Ab Lab.” When you convert your dorm room (or bedroom) into a personal fitness studio for today’s workout you will have created an Ab Lab ;)
Sometimes workouts need to be quick and convenient. The best go-to exercie for me: CORE! You don’t need any equipment and very little space to work the major muscle group. Core exercises for the Abdominals, Obliques and low back are some of my favorites (the torso twist machine at the gym? So fun.) If you decide to make this a dorm-room workout, you should invite your roommate to join you. Buddy System!
Crank up the music, lay down a towel (sweaty carpet = bad roommate) and get ready for an oh-so-challenging 5 minute Plank Workout:
1. Basic Plank – 30 seconds
2. Right Side Plank – 30 seconds
3. Left Side Plank – 30 seconds
*30 Second Break*
4. Alternating leg raise (as demonstrated below): 10 reps each side
You’re not done yet! 30 second break…
5. Right Side Plank with Hip Raises – 20 reps
6. Left Side Plank with Hip Raises – 20 reps
7. Alternating Leg Raise Plank – 10 reps each side
8. Crank Out 1 Last Basic Plank – 30 seconds
It’s quick, it ain’t easy, but it’s totally building a beautiful core :)
Now that we’ve got that covered, can I show you my “kitchen”? I’ve already told you about the food aspect of preparing for dorm life, but I also came loaded with kitchen supplies to make sure I can cook all the meals I want.
Of course I’ve got the coffee bar. My room would be incomplete without. Space is everything in a micro-sized living situation so organizing everything was so important. After my roommate and I brought out all of our kitchen gear, we assembled into what I call the Kitchen:
The easiest way to ensure you’ll make healthy choices when living on your own is to stock yourself with all the options you’ll need! If you’re starving and grumpy and all that’s left in your fridge is a carton of eggs and some mustard, you’re more likely to run down to the vending machine for some quick food. I always have apples and bananas on hand, plus other snacks and goodies to make sure I’m never in a need-food-now situation that will leave me feeling guilty afterwards.
Can you tell I like organization..?
If you do the PLANK workout, tell me how it went!
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Wake Up Work Out
5:45am – alarm goes off.
5:57am – Out the door for leisure bike ride
My body has come a long way from just 3 weeks ago when my “physical activity” amounted to 5 minute walks around our hotel courtyard. While I am in no running shape, I have built up my walks to around 2 miles each morning and each evening. Occasionally I’ll go on an easy bike ride next to my mom while she jogs or do some light stretching and balance exercises. So this morning I decided to do them all back-to-back for a true workout! You gotta work with what you’ve got. Because my mom jogs before work, we started at 6am. Once you lace up your shoes and get outside, it really gets easier to be awake at the crack of dawn (during summer vacation I might add!).
Well….not according to my “walking partner” Missy…..
She would not be accompanying me on my early morning route.
My mom jogged two miles this morning (Sadly, this is more than I have run in a month. I’m going through withdrawals of endorphins). It was beautiful out, even though it’s supposed to be ugly and in the 100’s by this afternoon. And I got to wake my legs up with a cruise on my bike.
Next I ditched my bike (and my mom), turned on my Garmin GPS watch and headed out to the neighborhoods. At just 6:30am, it was silent. I finished my two miles in under 40 minutes (not impressive, I know. Right now, walking is more to get my body moving than to get some serious cardio exercise. It’s a slow process.) Meanwhile, Missy snoozed away!
Leg 3 of Wake Up Work Out was in the comfort of my own living room with some mellow morning music playing. I stretched my entire body, starting with my neck and ending with my calves. Next, a series of balance exercises like Tree Pose, Dancer’s Pose, and other things I made up as I went along. 85 minutes total, and while I wasn’t sweating or breathing heavily I felt like I had worked my whole body and EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS! All of this should help when I start my training again in just 2 weeks. “Real” workouts are coming!
My music selection, odd as it may be, was a ‘blast from the past’ type of thing. All CD’s that I had and forgot about. It’s funny how years later I can still remember the lyrics, yet I couldn’t tell you what I wrote my English 205 persuasive essay on last semester.
Missy was not forgotten! She went on a mini-walk with me after she fully woke up. Rough life…
Time for breakfast: Oatmeal with Cinnamon and Craisons!
