Wednesday Workout: Quick Total Body Training

Quick total body workout with dumbbells:

Sometimes we just don't have enough time to focus on each muscle group individually.  This happens frequently while traveling. During the course of a normal week, if a client was short on time for strength training I'd usually suggest that they pick a muscle group(s) and work those out and then get another muscle group the next day.  If you know you have a busy week coming up and cant make it work that way (or you are traveling and have limited access to equipment), here's a great quick total body workout you can do.

Warm up with jumping jacks, running, jump rope, etc for about 5-10 min
2-3 sets of 10-12 reps

Walking lunges with medicine ball rotation
Squat with overhead press (a front raise is an alternative to overhead press)
Step ups with bicep curl
Deadlift with Row
Plank and Tricep Kickback
Push Up & Alternating Side Plank

If you have a bit more time and want to add in some cardio intervals in between sets, that would be great! Battle rope, Jump rope, Line hops, Squat Jumps, Jumping Lunges, Elevated mountain climbers, etc would be awesome add-ins for 30-60 seconds between sets!

Enjoy!

Travel Tuesday! Honeymoon Recap #3

 Just down the beach from our resort was a gorgeous, long, wide stretch of white sand beach. We had heard about a great restaurant called Lola's. We set off with a couple of towels to hang out on the beach until we got hungry.  The water was so warm and perfect and there were some surfers out to watch. We were totally wishing we had some surf boards too!!!

We were rewarded from our long walk with yummy margaritas and great food at Lola's!  It definitely fueled us up for the walk back!! :) 

Sunday Funday: Make it count!

Honeymoon recap: Hiking in Manuel Antonio National Park

After our great time in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica we drove down to the tiny town of Herradurra, which is near Jaco. That hotel was not as nice as our first. Our last full day in Costa Rica we drove the 1.5 hours down to Manuel Antonio National Park, which we had heard from lots of people was a must see.  We didnt pay for a guide, and we were still able to see lots of animal.  No sloths though :( 

After hiking for about 2 hours we found a beach that was secluded and hung out there. I took pictures while Dean swam and relaxed on the sand. It was gorgeous and a great way to spend our last full day in CR. 

Tuesday Tip: Getting the most of your workplace

Stand up!!

Standing up burns more calories than sitting does and can be better for posture. Instead of emailing an officemate, walk to their desk.  Stand up while you are on the phone, your counterpart won't know the difference. 

Taking it a step further, if you are in a managerial role, try having walking meetings. If you can (i.e. the meeting doesn't involve taking lots of notes), walk around the building either within the halls or outside if its good weather. 

I'll admit that at the end of long days where Ive been teaching classes and standing up training there are moments where all I want to do is sit.down.for.one.second.

But I would go crazy if I had to sit all day. I have way too much energy for that. I would definitely have to invest in one of these awesome treadmill desks! I think they are so awesome!! 

Sunday Funday at First Colony Winery

Disclaimer: this post has nothing to do with being a vegetarian or running.  Sorry. =)

One of my friends just got a 7 month old puppy who is soooo cute.  She asked if I wanted to go to one of the many many wineries around Cville with our pups so I drove out to meet her at First Colony Winery. It was a gorgeous fall day, perfect weather to share a glass of wine and relax. 

On my drive out, "10,000 Reasons" came on the radio and has been stuck in my head ever since. I love this song so Im sharing it here! Its one of the songs I wanted our violinist to play at our wedding last month.  Although it was such a blur Im not sure if it happened or not!! :) 

Fall Weekend Fun!

For some unknown reason I've had a really hard time with allergies this fall.  Ive had a cough (that I had checked out with my doc who confirmed it was allergies) for a number of weeks.  So frustrating to a person who loves to be outside, particularly in gorgeous weather! Theres been so many days where it would be perfect temps for long runs but I cant breathe very well right now! Anyway, the fall colors are just amazing so I wanted to go for a hike on Saturday with our little family.  We went up to Mint Springs and hiked up some of the trails.  The view from the top is so pretty and its not too far away so we were able to squeeze it in between football and a surprise birthday party we went to later on. I think hiking is such a perfect activity. Theres no where that I feel more grounded and re-centered than walking through the woods.  I get that from my Dad for sure!! We walked along and Georgia ran along sniffing stuff and having a great time.  It was so nice to talk about future plans and dreams while enjoying the weather, the scenery, and each other.  

Honeymoon Recap: Traveling gym workouts

While we were pretty active on our trip with ziplining, horseback riding, hiking, etc, we made sure we went to the gym on the resort to stay with our routine. I cant tell you the number of times my clients will say they had a hard time getting back into their workouts at home because they didn't stick with the routine while away.

For me, wanting to stay in a routine goes a step further because I teach so many classes each week. Yes, I need to give my body a break, but I also need to stay in shape so when I come back to work, I can still deliver a quality class. Because I tend to be really tough on my body with the number of workouts and classes I do during the week, I did take a break from strength training.  For D, its very  much the same in that he plays ice hockey and to take two weeks off from working out would take a toll on his performance. So he worked out a little more intensely than I did with weights.  I went to the gym three times while I was there (shocking to have done so little!!) and did cardio and some Abdominal work and stretching.
When I got back to teaching upon my return I was pretty sore from Kettlebell class but my body felt really good having had a break from weights.  I was very glad I had continued to workout, however!!!
For breakfast I tried to eat as healthy as possible.  Luckily at the first resort in Guanacaste it wasn't too hard. They had some great healthy options on the menu, from the gluten free pancakes I already talked about to an egg white omelet.  We went to the grocery store in the town of Tamarindo and purchased protein packed snacks to keep us going while there too.

Pumpkin Waffles!

Waffles (Makes six)

2 1/3

cups Original Bisquick™ mix

1 1/2

cups milk

2/3      cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

a little less than 1/4

 cup vegetable oil

2

tablespoons packed brown sugar

1

teaspoon cinnamon 

2

eggs

Powdered sugar, if desired

I used my waffle maker that my mother in law and sister in law gave me for Christmas almost two years ago. I love it!!  These were SO freaking good.  

Honeymoon Recap: Ziplining!

 Ziplining is something I've always wanted to do and I was so excited to find somewhere while we were in Costa Rica to go.  The concierge at our resort connected us with a great company to go with. There were only three other people on our trip, so it was great to have a small group and wonderful guides to interact with.

 So excited to go flying through the jungle!!

 Ziplining was so much fun. I cant wait to do it again. One of the couples on the excursion with us said they have gone in the US a lot, and though they said this is obviously the best one, they recommended a few in the states to try.

 We went on about 12 zip lines, the weather was perfect until about the 9th one when it starting pouring down rain. That made us go really fast and made it a lot harder to break at the end, but it was really fun!!

 Relaxing at the beach on our resort

I had delicious gluten free pancakes with some of the best fruit I've ever eaten! 

 The coastline on the resort property had lots of rocks but also some entry points for swimming. The water was so warm and really clear, though a bit darker teal than in the Caribbean.