Saturday

I braved the 103 degree heat (around 4pm) today to go for a 5 mile cross country run in the mowed fields across from my house. I did 2 rounds of 2.5 miles with 100 sit ups and 15 pushups. Felt awesome but DANG – all I could think about for the last 20 mins was an ice cold glass of water!

Week Wrap Up

Thursday- 3 rounds of 50 squats, 15 push ups (on PU bars), 100 sit ups

Friday - Rode my bike to work and back ~12 miles. Played 1 hr of tennis. Played 1.5 hrs of basketball. LOVE FRIDAYS!

Catch up with me...

Friday, July 15th- ran 1 mile intervals X 5 with sit ups, push ups, box jumps, pull ups and chin ups interspersed.

Sunday July 16th - evening tennis for 1.5 hours with my roommates

Saturday - rode 4 miles to tennis courts on bike, played 1.5 hours of tennis, rode back home. Went swimming for an hour in a swimming hole with a rope swing!!

Monday - Played 2 hours of tennis plus 20 push ups, 10 pull ups and 10 chin ups then plenty of climbing on the jungle gym.

Tuesday - Woke up at 6:30am and went for a 1.5 hour walk/run in some fields a couple miles from my house. Later in the afternoon, I ran ran 5 x 1 mile intervals with sit ups, push ups, box jumps, pull ups and chin ups interspersed.

Wednesday - Rode my bike to work and back (~12 miles) then later went for an hour long run in the fields across from my house. Brought back so many memories of my old cross country glory days!!

Pedal, Pedal, Pedal

Just completed my third consecutive week of riding to work Mon-Fri, totaling in about 65 miles each week. Feels great to have such a solid baseline for working out each week.

Today my brother and I went for a 36 mile ride and it felt like nothin! :D

5 days a week

My total cycling mileage for the week: 85

My two goals for the week:

1. ride to work every day
2. beat my roommate in a set of tennis

check and check!

I have so much zest for life right now!

Rides, Garden Work and Barefoot Running

This week my goal is to ride to work every day– that'd be a total of 60 miles logged just commuting. I rode my bike to work on Monday then worked hard in an amazing medicinal herb garden (weeding, spreading compost/topsoil, then mulching) for close to 5 hours, and got a bit sunburned– I mean bronzed.

I was beat by the time I got home, but I still went out to play tennis with a friend around dinner time. It felt good and I had plenty of energy when I woke up the next morning. Tuesday morning, I rode in to work to labor away in the garden again. We did considerably less work than the previous day, but more walking around with tours of our facility than anything. I rode home and enjoyed it a lot. I celebrated the summer solstice by processing 20 lbs of beets to can 4 quarts of sweet pickled beets for 4 hours. I was so ready to be off my feet at the end of all this that I basically collapsed into bed at eleven.

Today (Wednesday), I rode my bike to work in a huge hurry and rode 6 miles in 20 minutes, my PR thus far. I rode back pretty leisurely in late afternoon, pickled some more beets (beets all day err'y day) then went for a great workout at the local fitness trail. I ran about 3+ miles and did 35 pull ups, 20 1 legged step ups, 32 push ups, 5 sets of various crunches/sit ups/bicycles/ab ladders, and stretched while enjoying the sunset. Great evening workout!

City Ride

Today I did a long, morning ride with my dad and older brother for Father's Day. We rode about 25 miles on a hilly, urban route. It felt like I was riding a roller coaster at times– so fun! Since the day hadn't heated up yet the ride was nice and cool and I felt nice and relaxed the rest of the day :)

Friday!

On Friday I rode my bike to work, vigorously weeded the garden for 30-45 mins and rode back home in the afternoon. Total of 12 mi ridden today.

Gum Springs Ride

I rode 6 miles to work early this morning, stomped around a farm for soil samples for an hour, then in mid afternoon when it came time to leave work, I took the long way home (approx 13 miles). It was a stunningly gorgeous if hilly journey!

Ticks and Trails

Went on a 30 minute walk with my lovely coworker in the woods today and came out with 15 ticks on me...fun. Moments that followed included the most thorough tick check in my personal history (read: North Carolina foreplay) and a super sudsy shower to try to get any poison ivy oils off me, just in case. The trail was overgrown for the most part, but the last .5 mile was stunningly beautiful and conveniently enough, mowed. I'll return to that section for sure.

Later I went to the Active Trail (the paved one with pull up bars and monkey bars and step-up ladders etc on the side of the trail) and ran 3+ miles and did lots of the trailside exercises. I meditated on top of the hill afterward and watched a storm front move across the wide open sky. I love that place because I can actually see the curvature of the horizon and sky since it's so wide open.

GREAT SCOTT!

SO MUCH energy today! I've been eating mostly raw, vegan meals in attempt to do a 2 week seasonal raw foods cleanse. I have so much fresh, organic produce from my CSA, and I can't express how good it makes me feel. I feel like I'm smiling all the time and have boundless energy. forreal. And its only the 2nd day.

Today I bikes 4 miles to the park,

did 4 rounds of:

10 pull ups/chin ups

100 sit ups/crunches/bicycle crunches, ab ladder to 50 counts

15 push ups

400 m run/sprint

then biked 4 miles back. I was charging up hills in top gear when I normally shift down on them. When I got back after the 1.5 hour workout, I felt like I could've done it all again.

This was a great all around crossfit workout. I'll be repeating this one for sure!

Monday

I played 3 hours of tennis with my friends and my roommate, Greg!

repeat

same routine as yesterday- slightly cooler and with some blueberry bush pruning.

FUN

Fun day! HOT DAY. Rode to and from work for a total of about 12 miles. So good for maintaining fitness. Dang, I love cycling to work.

Focusing

This morning I ran 1 mile of hills, did a full ab ladder with 50 count intervals, 20 push-ups, 100 bicycle crunches at varying speeds, 20 more pushups, then ran another round of hills. SO SWEATY! Great core workout too.

SO ACTIVE

I rode my bike to and from work today, logging 11.4 miles total. I also played 1 hour of tennis and 1 hour of basketball. Gonna be sore tomorrow from all that defending :D

Sunday

In the early evening, I played 2 hours of tennis with Greg, Gabe and Sebastian, some new friends.

To the Farmer's Market

I rode my bike 4.4 miles to the farmer's market and back today (8.8 miles total). I really attacked the hills on the way back. I'm feeling stronger after spending all last week riding my bike around town.

Fitness Trail

Today I ran around a paved fitness trail ~3 miles and did various strength exercises throughout. There were different exercise stations on the trail every now and then like pull up bars and push up bars and step-up platforms, etc. It was a great, classic crossfit workout.

BIKE TO WORK!

Rode my bike to work today! This was the first time I've ever really commuted to work aside from the .5 mile commuting around my college campus. I rode 5.7 miles to my office in the morning, which took 24 minutes, and then rode the 5.7 back this afternoon in 26 minutes (more uphills). Splendid route! I took the necessary precautions like wearing a helmet, plenty of experience riding in traffic, using the road shoulder when necessary, and having a visible backpack/outfit and a seizure-inducing flashing taillight. I'll be biking to work on the reg :D and you should try it too!

Swimming hole!

Today I rode 3.6 miles to my friend's house to do work for the day. I went swimming in their swimming hole for 30 mins too. Such a great way to cool off. Then I rode back later in the day. The way back was pretty much one long uphill climb. Great day!

HEY HEY NEW HOME

O' dear crossfit blog, how I have neglected you. Since last we spoke I've graduated college, packed all my belongings, moved to a new town, unpacked my belongings in my new home and started a brand new chapter in my life story. It's a good story, I'm telling you. I couldn't be more thrilled about my new job or where I'm living. There are parks and rural roads and even a nearby crossfit gym!!

Yesterday I played tennis with one of my new roommates for 2 hours.

Today I rode 3.6 miles to a park, ran 2 miles, did 10 pull ups and rode the 3.6 miles back. Several beast hills. Feels good to be getting into a rhythm with the outdoors with summer on the horizon.

Fartleks in the forest

As my final day with undergraduate status, I decided to do something completely new to aid in my transition anxieties. I went for a run on the cross country course but treated it as a fartlek run, sprinting to several tree trunks, bushes, fence posts with no premeditated number of sprints internally agreed upon. I estimate that I did about ten sprint intervals or so. I tended to sprint up long hills and decrease the tempo on downhills. My run was about 4 miles in distance, but on my way back I stopped at the gym to do some core and upper body work.

2 rounds:

30 sit ups on incline

10 pull ups

+

ab ladder, 50 counts per "rung" (OW!)

equilibrium

So, working out has not been my top priority this week. At all. I have been leaving my schedule to the mercy of all my best friends who have been continually planning to make this last week pack with fun and good times. It is my last week with many of them, after all. Today though, I had about an hour free and didn't feel like packing, so I went for a 40 minute workout at the track.

6 rounds of:

300m run

100m sprint

30 walking lunges

50 crunches/sit ups/bicycles

16 to-the-ground push ups

Felt really great. I really want to get back into my workout routine after this weekend. Graduation weekend, that is. WOOOO!!

planting/suckering

today I went to a nearby organic vegetable farm and volunteered with some friends for the afternoon. We planted 3 rows of basil plants, suckered 3 LONG rows of tomato plants, and harvested 2 LONG rows of spinach. hard work and a farmer's tan, y'all.

shallow ford, haw river

I went trail running with my good friend, Hunter, at a small park 10 minutes north of campus. We ran ~4 miles on this humid, overcast yet beautiful afternoon. It felt wonderful running fast trails again, and we both reminisced about our old cross country glory days. Today was my last day of undergrad, by the way. No better way to celebrate than with woodsy adventures!

Last Day of CLASSES!!

ran 4 miles on the cross country course then

did 10x100m sprints too (on my old stompin' grounds, the rugby pitch!)

Hooray!

midday

I got out of ceramics class early so I had time to workout before work today! I jogged to the gym and did a nice hard one.

3 rounds of:

10 thrusters, 65#

10 burpees

+

20 kangaroo kicks

Sunny summer day!

Well, almost summer. It may as well be, with the glorious-feeling weather outside today. No humidity, gentle breeze, bout 76 degrees. Ah, bliss.

10x100 m sprints, jog 50m in between

+

3 rounds of:

30 sit ups

10 pull ups (no assistance)

Backwards

buncha plyometrics

+

Run 800m

Run 400m backwards

Run 800m

Run 400m backwards

+

100 crunches

10 pushups

FIVE

5 rounds:

5 burpee pull ups

30 sit ups

6 front squats (55#-65-75-85-95)

20 kangaroo kicks

toxins OUT

Yesterday I had some sort of terrible stomach bug, but today I felt strong, healthy, energetic and ready to SWEAT THEM TOXINS OUT.

6 rounds of:

400 m run/sprint

any 2 of the following:

20 to-the-floor push ups

100 crunches, bicycles or ab exercises of some kind

51 walking lunges

20 pull ups (upside down push ups, more like (feet touching ground))

16 HSPU

Pounding

Today I partied all day with big cats. There is a nearby conservation center for lions, tigers, lemurs, leopards, binturongs, servals, and more. One of my friends works there and invited a bunch of us to come volunteer for a day in lieu of a birthday party for her. (She's cool like that.)

We spent 9:30am-3pm digging, cutting pipe, and pounding metal fence poles into the ground. I was primary "pounder," a role which included standing atop a ladder and repeatedly forcing all my weight downward onto a pole-driver in quick succession to sink a fence poles into the ground, pole after pole. My core was super engaged and my legs and arms did most of the work. I was likened to a "machine" by one of the staff.

After all the hours of physical work in the hot sun and the close contact with roaring lions and the sight and smell of whole dead chickens being tossed into cages, I began to feel like an animal too. I loved the animals and I loved working hard and digging ditches with friends. There's no doubt I'll be back to mingle with the jungle cats again soon.

I got home and my feet ached, my hands had many callouses, my fingers and arms were throbbing and my body yearned for rest and hydration. Today was supposed to be a rest day!

Throw back

This was an old school workout. By that I mean I used to do these dreaded things in high school. What is that you ask? Well, I am speaking about a workout none other than HILL REPEATS. ::gasp:: Yeah, you heard me right. Hill. Repeats. Today's high was 75 but it felt pretty toasty in the late afternoon sunshine.

I did 6 sprint hill repeats, jogging down the hill between each climb. The work out took 30 minutes total, including the warm-up run to the hill as well as the cool down jog back home.

Some fellow college kids were drinking on the front porch of one of the houses located on the hill. When they realized I kept returning for more punishment, they cheered for me a couple times. :D

Happy weekend y'all!

steamy

Today was a humid one...yet quite windy! My GOSH my shoulders are sore. The past 24 hours of existence have been pitiful. All day I've had minimal arm/shoulder flexibility and so much soreness. For this reason, I did a workout that was primarily lower body and core.

2 rounds of:

5 x 200 m sprints with 100 m jog in between each

100 bicycle crunches

This was hard but it was perfect for me today :)

Afterward I went to the farmer's market to get a quart of fresh, organic strawberries!! I LOVE STRAWBERRY SEASON.

Hey girl heyyyy

I was sitting in the library today and I had so much energy, I literally couldn't keep from squirming in my chair. Too much energy to get fizzled out whilst studying, I say!

In 7 minutes I did:

3 thrusters, 65#

3 pull ups

6 thrusters, 65#

6 pull ups

9 thrusters, 65#

9 pull ups

12 thrusters, 65#

then, after that quick workout was finished...I did:

60 sit ups

3 rounds of 20 shoulder shrugs, 65#

2000 m row (easy pace. finishing time of 9mins40)

20 standing-oblique-crunch things, 35# kettle bell

20 kangaroo kicks

and some extensive stretching.

That felt so great, you guys.

big step

25 box jumps

20 burpee pull ups

25 box jumps

20 dips

20 knees to elbows

30 kettlebell swings, 35#

50 sit ups

25 back extentions

30 wall ball shots, 20#

whoa did my arms hurt after all those dips. DANG.

High Heat

Today I went for a 5.5 mile run in early afternoon.

I stopped 3x during the run to do:

40 walking lunges

100 sit ups/crunches

15 to-the-ground push ups

Felt great, but that sure was hot!

track

6 rounds:

400m run

100 sit ups

20 push ups

kept it simple.

standards of sweat

I think I've exceeded them. Today I was immensely sweaty. Like hair dripping on all sorts of equipment and my tshirt was drenched when I got home. Werq y'all. WERQ.

Today I was kind of sore from my workouts the past few days, which felt really nice since otherwise I've been sitting ON MY BUM doing mountains for culminating work for college. I felt like I was due to do some thrusters, so I planned my circuit workout around that ingredient.

3 rounds of:

500 m row (~2:12)

10 thrusters, 65#

20 kangaroo kicks on recline

10 pull ups (unassisted)

and now, BACK TO THE LIBRARY! *academic fervor*

Lickety Splits

Need. Energy. To. Do. ALL MY HOMEWORK. ughhh. so much work.

400m warm up

Sprint 100m

50 pushups

Sprint 100m

50 sit ups

Sprint 100m

50 squats

Sprint 100m

50 pull ups (assisted; more like upside down push ups using railing)

400m cool down

creeper haiku

Today I was super stressed about school work and projects and research papers (oh my.) and decided to go on a run to diffuse some frutration, stress and pent up aggression. It worked.

I went for a 6 mile run and stopped to do 50 lunges, 20 push ups and 100 crunches twice throughout.

Shortly after returning from my run, one of my friends posted this on my Facebook wall:

"Creeper haiku from me 2 u:

Saw you on a run
Almost holla'ed but didn't
Damn you look good girl"

It gave me a nice case of the jollies.

So hard.

3 rounds of:

15 overhead squats, 65#

15 burpees

15 roman chair, pike position straight leg lifts

then

2 rounds of:

15 backsquats, 105#

15 box jumps (could stand any more burpees)

15 roman chair, pike position straight leg lifts

over head squats are so doggone difficult and awkward.

Wednesday

6 Rounds of:

300 m run

100 m sprint (no rest inbetween running & sprint)

50 walking lunges

+

100 sit ups

Jumped several hurdles that were left on the track too! :)

Camaraderie

Today's workout was an intense one:

5 rounds of:

20 box jumps

20 wall ball shots, 20# medicine ball

10 burpee pull ups/chin ups

20 kangaroo kicks on recline

+

quality stretching for 15 mins

During about the 3rd round, a guy in a green shirt and an orange sweatband walked up to me and pointed at his new vibram 5-fingers and said, "Look! You inspired me!" I laughed, smiled at him, and said, "Awesome job buddy!" Then I offered him a fist pound, to which he replied enthusiastically.

About ten minutes later, when I was finishing some kangaroo kicks, he walked by and stuck out his foot toward mine and said "toe five!!!!" And then we toe-fived. Hahaha. Hilarious dude.

As I left the fitness center I saw him playing ping-pong, so as I walked by his table I yelled, "On your toes! On your toes!"

These things always help me make friends, y'all.

Vibrams. Bringing happy, sweaty people together since 2009.

EIGHTY-SIX

DEGREES! Oh my goodness was it HAWT today. I loved it! I ran down to the track and did my fave ladder interval workout. You know what I'm talkin' bout.

Run 1600 meters (4 laps)

20 push ups

100 sit ups

Run 1200 meters (3 laps)

20 HSPU

100 sit ups

Run 800 meters (2 laps)

40 walking lunges

20 push ups

100 bicycle crunches

Run 400 meters (1 lap)

20 push ups

1 min plank on each side of body (4 sides)

50 sit ups

SO SWEATEHHH :D

Sunday

I rode my bike to the grocery store and back to get kale, apples, coconut milk and peanut butter. STAPLES, I tell you. Beautiful ride.

cyclinginginging

Today I went for a ride in this cool, gorgeous weather! I left at 11am for a 26+ mile ride. It was splendid. It wasn't a particularly fast ride at all since this was my first ride over 15 miles since the fall, but it sure was fun. It took me 1 hour and 40 mins and my average speed was 15.5 mph. Max speed was 29 mph and I was hooting and hollering down the hill– what a blast!

pretty rad day

Today I wore my graduation robe (or academic regalia if you wanna sound pretentious) for convocation. Felt WEIRD, you guys, but also like I was some important sorcerer. Either way, I left convocation feeling inspired (you did a great job panelists!) and wanted a nice workout on this high 70s day. So I went down to the track and did 10x200m sprints.

It went something like this:

2 rounds of:

5x200m (100m jog in between)

75 sit ups/crunches/ab exercise of some kind

20 push ups

Twas a great workout, and I ran 3 miles in total including my cool down, which I needed after such a hot day :)

destroyer

I usually just title each post with the first word that comes to mind. SO yeah: destroyer? destroyer.

As many rounds as possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes:

15 kettlebell swings, 35#

10 dips (20# assistance)

5 back squats, 135#

7 rounds! RAWR.

YER A JERK

3 rounds of:

1000 m row

75# clean and jerk, 10 reps

20 kangaroo kicks

+

20 sit ups

30 back extensions

10 burpee pull ups

I had so much energy today. I also felt very strong!

Sunnyday

I went for a 5.4 mile run this morning. It felt so pleasant out and I felt great too!

2 Rounds of:

2.7 mile run (quick pace, with hills)

42 walking lunges (21 down hill, 21 uphill)

75 sit ups

16 HSPU

FASTFastfast

I jogged to the track then ran 10 x 100m sprints, jogging 100m in between each one.

After I was finished doing those, which took about 12 minutes, I did 100 bicycle crunches and 15 pull ups. Then jogged home, running a total of about 2 miles in intervals, took a shower and headed to work. So glad I had time to squeeze in a nice 30 minute workout during lunch! I sound like my brother (hey dave!).

Exercise Baller

Today was a super chilly, foggy and rainy Wednesday and I was super sore from the past three days of workouts, so I felt like laying low. BUT! I decided to overcome that urge to be lazy and made up a pretty fun workout to do in my apartment. Exercise balls are for more than sitting on. This circuit workout focused on shoulders, core and hamstrings (oh GOD the hamstrings).

3 Rounds of:

10 burpees

20 heels-on-ball-and-butt-off-ground-then-extend-legs-and-bring-them-back

20 ankles-on-ball-and-bring-knees-into-chest-then-extend

20 pass-exercise-ball-between-feet-and-arms

5 push-ups-with-ankles-on-ball

Then I danced to LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" for 10 mins to werq on my dance movz. So sweaty y'all.

Liftin'

5 rounds of:

15 medicine ball cleans, 30#

15 wall ball shots, 20#

10 pull ups

10 dips

+

50 sit ups on incline

10 minutes on spinning bike

20 kangaroo kicks on recline

It snowed this morning

Today I was feeling really funky, in a bad way, so after work I went for a 5.4 mile run interspersed with some other exercises to keep it interesting; I had a lot of energy after all. It went something like this:

2 Rounds of:

2.7 mile run (quick pace, with hills)

42 walking lunges (21 down hill, 21 uphill)

75 sit ups

15 HSPU

Although the day began with a shocking dusting of snow, by afternoon it was sunny and about 50 degrees. The run felt wonderful and I feel much more centered now. Dang, I love running :)

Chilly Sunday

On Friday and Saturday I helped my parents move so lots of lifting and walking with heavy things for hours on end each day. I even hulked a reclining chair over my head and carried it at one point. YEH GUNS. But seriously, moving must be a contact sport because my arms and legs are so bruised they look as if I played a rough rugby match.

Today I did a 20 minute exercise ball workout to get warmed up and brave enough to head outside in the gloomy 39 degree weather. I just looked up a 15 minute exercise ball workout on youtube and found a whole body workout, then I did another second one that was only 5 mins but focused on only abs. Fun stuff, working out with my desk chair ;)

After I broke a sweat doing those, I jogged to the track to do:

8 x 400m with 8 x 100m sprints throughout

(ran 2 miles total)

They're calling for a wintery mix early this week, NOOoooo!!

Stormy sunset

I just got back from spring break vacation to the mountains. My friends and I did lots of walking and hiking and the weather was gorgeous. Today I got back into my workout routine by going for an interval run on the cross country course in the midst of a very windy rain shower. The skies were very dark and dramatic against the sunset making the run all the more exciting.

4 Rounds of:

run 1 mile

40 sit ups

20 push ups

night jogging

3.5 mile run

Brief vacation from working out

Now I'm back, well-rested, and ready to focus on being active.

Yesterday, Friday, I did the following:

Ran 1.5 miles

40 walking lunges

100 sit ups

15 push ups

4 rounds of:

run 400 m

40 walking lunges

ab ladder/bicycles

15 push ups

+

2 min plank/side planks

Oh, and it was 83 degrees out! Felt like summer, smelled like summer, and I'm was happy as a college kid on spring break!

Saturday

6 rounds of:

400 m run

any 2 of the following:

16 to-the-floor push ups

50 crunches or bicycles

40 walking lunges

16 pull ups (upside down push ups, more like (feet touching ground))

15 HSPU

That felt amazing!

Thursday

500 m row in 2:10 min

20 mins of spinning intervals

500 m row in 2:10 min

+ ab ladder

+ 30 sit ups

Wednesday

5 Rounds of:

75# thrusters, 8

155# back squat, 10

Pull ups or chin ups, 10

+

2 rounds:

30 sit ups on incline

20 kangaroo kicks on recline

+

500 m row (~2:20)

SprintSprintSprinting

10 X 100m sprints!

Rest 90 seconds between each.

Time in seconds for each 100m:

16, 18, 17, 16, 17, 17, 17, 16, 17, 16

Monday

4 rounds of:

7 muscle ups

20 box jumps

165# dead lift, 15 reps

30 walking lunges with 35# kettle bell held at full extension

+ 50 sit ups on incline

Saturday

50 push ups

50 long-arm sit ups

3 miles

Friday

5 rounds of:

500m row (~2:15)

145# back squats, 15 reps

10 dips (unassisted)

30 sit ups on recline with 35# plate on chest

20 kangaroo kicks on incline

WoooOOooOooohoo!

Wednesdayayayayay

5 mile run in 34 mins. Sunshine and sweat blind.

Tuesdaze

1 hour of gardening (digging a trench for a critter fence!)

then jogged to the gym to do a crossfit workout as follows:

500 m row

then

21-15-9

65# sumo dead lift high-pull

65# overhead squat

burpee pull-ups

+

ab ladder

PR.

Today I decided it felt like a great day to try to run PRs at the track.

1 mile: 6.13.75 min (!!!)

100m: 15.53 seconds

YEAH.

SHRUG.

I didn't feel like doing much today. I had to force myself into running shorts and nudge myself all the way to the gym just to do this. I'm really happy I got there and completed a nice, simple workout though. It's been a rainy day with some bad news sprinkled in, so this turned out to be the best part of my day.

3 Rounds of:

20 box jumps

20 medicine ball cleans, 30# (I really love these. I hate them, but like, I really love them, too)

18 HSPU

6 pull ups (unassisted)

+

60 sit ups with 25# plate on chest

+

10 minutes of very thorough, yogic, muscle-tingling stretches

I normally stretch after each and every workout (thank you years and years of cross country and track practice in middle and high school) but today was much more focused and deeper than average. Good!

SHOULDERS.

Today's workout kicked. my. bum. Well, I felt it in my shoulders actually.

4 rounds of:

21 burpees

25 walking lunges with 25# plate held at full arm extension over head

2 rounds of:

30 sit ups on recline

20 kangaroo kicks on incline

However. Tonight was an epic night in my personal vegan culinary history.

I finally achieved TOFU TEXTURE PERFECTION.

I made the best vegetable and tofu curry of my life– I had the perfect variety of vegetables on hand and finally got the tofu to get infused with curry sauce and PERFECTLY CRISPY.

Forget homework. I'm spent.

PECS.

It's like I can predict the future or something.

I AM SO SORE TODAY. My shoulders, pecs, traps, and biceps all feel like they've been enthusiastically hammered with a meat tenderizer. Y'know? That demonic-looking spiky, square hammer-thing that looks like it could be found in the Chokey (via Ms. Trunchbull from Matilda)

Today I wanted to focus mainly on AVOIDING USING MY UPPER BODY so...

3 Rounds of:

1000 m row (~4:30 mins)

10 dead lifts, 155#

20 one-legged squats on each leg, left then right

Took me about 28 minutes and felt great. Looking forward to an AMAZING vegan potluck that my roomates and I are hosting this evening. Look out gnocchi and sauteed yellow squash in white wine-lemon butter sauce, here I come!

Brought it.

Today was the most pleasant day ever; and it was a Monday at that! I got 9 hours of rest last night, awoke to over an hour of leisurely morning time before my ceramics class, then had work in the afternoon. My day was interspersed with pleasant encounters with friends, delicious homemade meals (oh HAY adzuki beans and kale!), and sunny bike riding, all while wearing my favorite outfit in the entire universe, ever: my dark blue, worn in Cottman transmission tshirt, some cut off jean shorts (jorts), and my navy, velcro Gola track inspired sneakers. Today I really felt it: a deep, blissful existence.

As many rounds as you can in 20 minutes:

15 squats

10 pushups

5 pull ups

I did 10 rounds and 15 squats.

Even though my arms got fairly noodle-feeling during the last few rounds of push ups, the most challenging part was the pull ups. I loved doing unassisted, real pull ups the entire time though. My arms will be sore for days, I'm sure. Hellooo cycling and running around the track for the rest of the week.

Gardening

Today I gardened for 2 hours, then later I rode my bike around campus for a bit before doing a couple hours of work in the ceramics studio. Then I rode my bike to a friend's house. It was a busy, active day, but no serious workouts. Tomorrow, though, I have planned a devastating one :)

SUNNY Saturday

Today was a great day to be "out and about." I was going place to place to place on my bike all day, wearing a tank top, shorts and getting a nice sun-kissed look on my shoulders. It felt like a summer day with how much I was outside.

I went to a couple rugby games to support friends and hangout with other tipsy friends on the sidelines. I helped a friend bring her bike to a local shop to get it tuned up, then rode to the grocery store for some fresh produce. The handlebars were wobbly on the way back cause I had my kale and cauliflower in one bag on the left side, so the ride back was fun and exciting (trying not to veer into traffic, yippee!).

I quickly placed all my veggies and frooots in the fridge and rode over to see a great gospel concert with some friends. It was at the music hall on campus and about "negro spiritual music" from 1865-present. It featured gospel choirs from 4 schools, so there were some amazing singers and dancers, and then it ended with some fun hip hop songs that got everyone on their feet.

After that I was in the mood to do my workout, so:

5 rounds of:

400m run

12 box jumps

15 push ups

15 pull ups

ab crunch set

I feel so great. so alive. and I love my body.

cycling season has begun!

fun 20 mile ride with cycling club today.

Thursday

5 Rounds of:

500 m row

17 kettlebell swings, 35#

10 pull ups/chin ups - no assistance! :))))

40 sit ups, 25# plate

Sunday

As you've probably noticed, I've been putting less energy into these entries. I don't like neglecting to share the fun, often trivial details of my workouts and workout-related sentiments, but I've had a lot on my plate lately. Today was no exception, but I still managed to get in a work out at least! A nice long track interval workout too!

Run 1600 meters (4 laps)

40 walking lunges

12 push ups

50 sit ups

Run 1200 meters (3 laps)

40 walking lunges

12 push ups

50 sit ups

Run 800 meters (2 laps)

40 walking lunges

12 push ups

50 bicycle crunches

Run 400 meters (1 lap)

40 walking lunges

12 push ups

50 sit ups

I'm looking forward to a solid week of workouts and having fun getting projects out of the way! ;)

Saturday

Today was a very crazy day. I was running around all day helping friends and avoiding disaster. I spent my day doing things like, oh, taking a friend to the ER, carrying said injured friend piggy-back style on and off all day, jogging from place to place, seeing an awesome 2.5 hour performance and stuff. It was an oddly hectic yet memorable day, one of the most intense in recent memory. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, people. No time to do a seriously focused workout today, but I was sore from the past couple ones anyway, so a rest day was due.

Friday

6 Rounds:

500m row (~2:20)

10 HSPU (nice range of motion, yay)

10 dips (20# assistance)

15 medicine ball cleans, 20# ball

Thursday

5 Rounds:

15 kettle bell swings, 35#

15 back squats, 155#

20 box jumps

+

2 rounds:

15 roman's chair leg lifts

20 sits ups

SO EXHAUSTED. :-D

Wednesday

Today I ran 5 miles in the late afternoon. I felt so fast and strong, each short stride of my bare legs cutting through the cold air. Of course I wore my favorite yellow running shorts too.

Towards the end of my run I did an ab ladder that hurt so good. Just how I like it!

Tuesday

4 rounds:

20 kettle bell swings, 35#

30 sit ups, 25# plate

10 burpee pull ups/chin ups

20 kangaroo kicks

+

ran 1 mile

bike + groceries

Not a terribly active day. Quite a pleasantly lazy one, in fact. I rode my bike to the grocery store and back though, so I got a bit of exercise up some hills to get dat bluhd pumpin'. you know.

Leetle Workout

Today I only had time for a 20 min workout before heading out of town to meet someone for coffee, so it was a short but sweet one.

3 rounds:

20 box jumps

15 push ups

30 sit ups with 25# plate

: )

Runner's HIGHHHHH

WoOOOooooo-wheeeeee!! Yes, it was that good.

THAT. GOOD.

Warm up jog and 500m row

3 rounds:

6 muscle ups (2 dips + 1 pull up with 20# assistance)

15 HSPU

30 wall ball shots, 20#

75# power cleans, 13 reps

+

2000m row (~9:40 mins)

+

2 rounds of:

30 sit ups on recline

30 kangaroo kicks on incline

*****************************************

PWRS du jour!!

Chocolate Peanut butter shake

4 Tbs Tempt high-protein hemp protein

1 Tbs Amazing Grass green powder

1 Tbs organic, creamy peanut butter

2 Tbs raw cocoa powder

1 banana

1 Tbs agave nectar

1 Tbs chia

1 tsp maca powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup filtered water

handful of ice cubes

OMG. HOLY DINNER AND DESSERT DELICIOUSNESS ALL IN ONE.

Also, great website: unbiased, down-to-earth, intelligent info on being a veg, high-performance athlete: No Meat Athlete

A nice yog

Today was pretty packed with classes, meetings, and more meetings, but I still managed to run around campus in the nice weather for 35 min. It was about 62 degrees, partly cloudy and windy, but I was totally comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt. Bliss.

It felt good to shake out any soreness that may have plagued me tomorrow via DOMS. We'll see I guess!

FEELIN' INTENSE.

Something I love about crossfit is that, even when there are about 100 people OVER capacity in the gym and it is literally BUSTLING, not a single one of the stations I was using in the gym was being used. LITERALLY every other machine was being used or had a line for it. I am such a lucky chick to be comfortable using the pull up bars, the barbells, the reclined sit up thing and the rowing machine.

Anyway. The place was teeming with bros and girls in spandex and oversized greek letter tshirts, but I managed to get in one of the most hardcore workouts I've had in the past few weeks.

4 rounds:

10 burpee pull ups or chin ups (alternated)

135# back squats, 14 reps

20 box jumps

135# dead lifts, 14 reps

20 kangaroo kicks

+

2000m row (~9:28min)

+

ab ladder

I literally felt nauseous during the fourth round!!

I had the most delicious PWRS though.

Strawberry-Banana Vegan Protein Shake

3 Tbs brown rice protein

1 Tbs Amazing Grass green powder

1 banana

4 strawberries

1 Tbs chia

1 tsp maca powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbs raw agave nectar

dash of cinnamon

1 cup of filtered water

Blend and pour.

Then: internally scream, "OMG LIFE IS AMAZING," thanks to both the endorphins and the extreme level of tastiness of this drink in hand. La la la laaaa.

40 degrees. ew.

Today's weather was CONSIDERABLY disappointing, seeing as it was over 23 degrees cooler than yesterday, windy and totally overcast. EVERYTHING LOOKED DEAD. ugh.

Still, I had to jog to and from the gym in it, per usual.

3 rounds of:

500m row (~2:10 min)

10 thrusters, 65#

I didn't have much time to workout before going on a field trip to check out a community garden at another university about an hour away, so this was a nice 30 min quickie. The field trip included lots of walking in the miserable weather. Bleh.

However! I felt really strong on the rowing machine today! I was pulling a 2:06-2:10 pace almost the entire 500m of all three rounds!

63 degrees.

SIXTY-THREE DEGREES, PEOPLE. Needless to say I spent 89% of my day outside walking, running, sitting in the grass doing homework, etc.

I had a big night last night, but luckily I felt great today. I chugged a coconut water and some H2O before I went to bed, so that probably had something to do with it. Today I went for a 3-mile jog to enjoy the GORGEOUS day as well as to try to sweat out summa the toxins from last night.

I WANT SPRING.

Filthy Fiftyish

Indeed.

50 box jumps

10 chin ups

50 kettle bell swings, 35#

10 pull ups

50 sit ups

50 hang power cleans, 45# barbell

500 m row

50 back extensions (WOW. HELLOOO hamstrings and lower back.)

Dayum!

On Friday..

After 2 days of rest and relaxation...

3 rounds of:

600m run (last 100m sprint)

40 walking lunges

100 bicycle crunches/ab ladder

16 to-the-floor push ups

Yay!

Much needed change of focus

Thank GAWSH! It's about time for a little less leg-intensive work and a little more upper body. Phew.

I felt extremely energized for this workout. I literally couldn't wait to go to the gym. My warmup of 500m rowing illustrated this perfectly; I rowed one of my fastest times to date– 2:04 mins (!)

3 rounds of:

10 burpee pull-ups

10 dips (30# assistance)

50 sit ups on recline

10 chin ups

20 kangaroo kicks on incline

10 jerks, 45#

Also, new blisters after this one. :D

Premier PWRS Post!!

In preparation for yesterday's bike-run-bike adventure, I made a Post Workout Recovery Smoothie (PWRS) beforehand so I could grab it out of the fridge as soon as I got back; I knew I'd really want/need it quickly.

It was more a pudding (that's what chia does, haha), but here's a good example of one of my regular, vegan PWRS.

3 Tbs high-protein hemp powder (Living Harvest brand)

1 tsp super green powder (Amazing Grass brand)

2 Tbs chia

1 tsp vanilla extract or fresh vanilla seeds

1 tsp maca powder

1 banana (frozen)

3 medjool dates (take pits out)

2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

12 oz room-temp green tea or filtered water

Pour all ingredients inside a blender or Vitamix and blend on hi for 20 seconds.

Enjoy it as you feel your muscles slurp up all that 4:1 carb-to-protein deliciousness, preparing your body and mind for another day of glorious athletic intensity.

Just another interval track workout

Today's workout was nothin' fancy. I dressed up quite warm for the sub 32 degree weather and felt great after I got my heart rate up.

3 rounds of:

800 m run

15 to-the-floor pushups (much harder than normal push ups)

I did however feel like I was without any "after-burners" in my legs due to yesterday's 3 hour sweat-fest. That's a pretty good sign! :)

Adventures! And more!

This afternoon, I was inspired (by excessive amounts of hyper energy and free time) to go off into the wilderness for a long, Sunday workout in order to cap off my week.

I've been really into running and interval workouts at the track this winter, so I had not ridden my road bike longer than 7 miles since Halloween, so I thought it about damn time to go on a nice, Sunday ride.

It felt great filling waterbottles, slipping on cycling tights and pumping up my tires- I was about to go out and destroy my legs and I was so excited. I know what you're thinking (Oh my gawshhh, she's such a fitness FREAK!), and yes, I definitely am :) And it feels amazing.

I rode 9 miles on my road bike to a park, ran for an hour on the muddy trails there, then rode back. It was an awesome day, my legs indeed feel absolutely wasted, and I am le tired.

good stuff

I felt great today– full of energy, ambition and well, days like these are the best days.

3 Rounds of:

32 box jumps

30 sit ups w/ 25# weight

10 thrusters, 75#

30 kangaroo kicks (ab work)

12 dead lifts, 130#

Also, I went to go see a hilarious matinee with some of my best friends today; it's that new Natalie Portman one called No Strings Attached. It was hilarious and fulfilling in every way imaginable. Really, you should see it...but especially if you're obsessed with Natalie Portman :)

Holy quadriceps, Batman!

Today's workout came at the perfect time... I needed an ass-whooping, and that's exactly what I got.

Row 500 m (~2:20 mins)

21 pull-ups (#40 assistance)

21 one-legged squats, R then L

Row 500 m (~2:20 mins)

18 pull-ups (#40 assistance)

20 one-legged squats, R then L

Row 500 m (~2:20 mins)

14 pull-ups (#40 assistance)

20 one-legged squats, R then L

Row 500 m (~2:20 mins)

10 pull-ups (#40 assistance)

21 one-legged squats, R then L

Row 500 m (~2:20 mins)

7 pull-ups (#40 assistance)

20 one-legged squats, R then L

+

75# thrusters, 10 reps

+

various ab exercises and crunches and ab ladders and things and whatnot.

:D

I FEEL SO AMAZING AFTER THIS WORKOUTTTTT. LA LA LAAA. LA.

a little bit

Today I was helping a friend obtain a fixer-upper bike, and after said bike was obtained, I rode it back to her place about 2 miles away. It was a cold sprint workout, uphill the whole way (lies).

Later I felt very tired and just wanted to sleep, but I did a home workout instead, 'cause I just didn't feel like hauling myself to the gym. It consisted of:

2 rounds of:

12 burpees

15 HSPU

1 min plank on each side

It was a light day for working out, but tomorrow (Friday), I'll get to the gym with fury.

Whiny Belly

January in North Carolina is proving to be pleasant as hell. It felt awesome outside this morning, and since I decided to never workout in the gym on nice days, I jogged over to the track around 10:30 to enjoy the weather and get my dose of vitamin D while it's available.

At the time, I had just completed a track workout about 15 hours earlier, but I did a different type of workout all together since today's was mostly upper body and cardio interval work.

5 rounds of:

run 400m (80% effort)

15 HSPU

10 burpees

20 pull-ups

The workout felt good but hurt quite a bit. I finished my workout last night around 7pm then woke up for another track workout this morning...but the primary issue was that I was still digesting breakfast, so my body did not like having to do some hard work in these conditions. Oh well, I kicked its butt anyway ;)

I have a very hectic afternoon/evening, so I'm really happy I got this out of the way so I can relax tonight.

Standard night time track workout

Did what I do best– made up my own interval workout!

Run 2000 meters (5 laps)

40 walking lunges

20 push-ups

Run 1200 meters (3 laps)

40 walking lunges

50 bicycle crunches

30 regular crunches

Run 800 meters (2 laps)

20 push ups

Ab ladder (30 for each "rung" of crunches)

Run 400 meters (1 lap)

12 pull-ups

800 meter cool down and stretch.

I sprinted last 100m of each running interval. This workout took about 50 minutes.

"Elizabeth"

The gym had very few people in attendance today, so I ran the weights section with these cleans. I felt really strong by the third set of cleans– my form was better, my focus was perfect, and I just mowed through them. I should start at 85# next time. :D

The first part of the workout was done by alternating between sets of cleans and dips.

WOD:

12-9-6 reps of:

cleans (75#-80#-85#)

21-15-9 reps of:

dips with 30# assistance

+

3 rounds of:

30 abs on incline

30 kangaroo kick-the-skys on recline

Super PWRS!

That acronym stands for Post Workout Recovery Smoothie, and from now on I will be including information about what I eat/drink directly after a workout. PWRS replenish muscles and energy stores so that I can get back on the track or in the gym the next day (and still have enough energy to blog about it)!

For a while I've been flirting with the idea of including in my blog some delicious high-protein, plant-based recipes (read: performance enhancing) that really get me raving. I think I'll tackle that concept by posting my favorite PWRS (looks like an abbreviation for "powers"...I like that!) in order to share some knowledge and personal experience with my fellow vegan athletes.

In return, you'll learn why PWRS are important, when they are effective, and what the most delicious recipes and ingredients are necessary for proper refueling.

First PWRS post coming soon!

Best Friday EVARR

Today was literally one of the most rewarding days of recent memory. I got my dream job, I passed a big certification test for being a ServSafe Manager, and I had an awesome workout followed by the best FREE dinner ever (vegan pizza from Brixx).

My workout was fueled by pure bliss.

5 rounds of:

500 m row (under 2:20 min)

30 back extenstions

6 burpee pull ups

125# back squats, 12 reps

+

ab workout

HELLOOO WEEKEND!!

Running, running, running

Early this morning I woke up to awful muscles soreness in my shoulders and triceps. I felt so clumsy as I suffered to get out of bed (then back in again, with a book!). It was pathetic.

I quickly decided to go running today instead of the Rx crossfit WOD– I didn't want to even TOUCH a barbell. My upper body internally cringed just at the thought of doing a push-jerk. So. Obviously I chose to go on a long distance interval run instead!

I geared up and went out for 4 miles of running on roads away from campus and then made my way to the track to do 4 laps of 400m track intervals. I'd say I easily completed 6+ sprint intervals over all (on roads and at the track), and I got down and did 4 min sets of ab ladders and bicycle crunches twice during the workout as well as some painful walking lunges and pull ups near the end.

In the inner lanes of the track, I stretched then laid down on my back, closed my eyes and let the warm sun in the gorgeous, clear blue sky shine down on my face and eyelids. It felt incredible. Runner's high, much?

With the quickness

I was fortunate that today's crossfit workout was only 15 mins long, cause thats exactly how much free time I had to work with. Of course, I changed it slightly so I didn't have spend time jogging to the gym and whatnot. This was a home workout– those are rare.

Do as many rounds as you can in 15 minutes:

1 min of squats

16 pushups

I did 7 rounds with some Girltalk as my high-energy soundtrack. works every time.

I'm incredibly sore from yesterday's upper body destroying insanity. Yup, feel's good.

It's a mad house in there!

That's what the fitness center attendant said to me as she swiped my card to get into the gym. She was right– that place was jam packed! I was bumping elbows with dudes the whole time in the weights section. BUT! I still managed to exhaust m'self almost to nausea with this workout.

3 rounds of:

6 muscle ups (2 full dips + 1 pull up to substitute since my gym has no rings, also 20# assistance)

12 Handstand push ups (HSPU)

30 wall ball shots, 20# medicine ball

75# power clean, 12 reps

then, after I was finished with that mess,

3 rounds of:

30 abs on incline (targets upper abdominals)

30 leg lifts on recline (basically kangaroo kick the sky) (targets lower abs)

stretched for about 10 minutes.

Ahhhh I'm so glad that's over! My arms feel like jellyfish tentacles!

Slip 'n Sliding...in a blizzard

I was sitting at work all day hoping that the snow storm would come faster. I must have checked the updated doppler images seven or eight times over the course of the day. When I got off work around 5pm I rode my bike straight home, put on running tights and other cold running gear and HIT THE SLOPES!

I couldn't wait to go out running in the middle of the snow storm. I ran to the track and had a blast running intervals.

6 rounds of:

300m run

100m sprint (ALL OUT 100% GO GO GO! PACE)

I ran a couple cool down laps and ran home for an approximate mileage of 2.5 miles. I was sweaty and wanted to die at times....it was glorious though. A couple boys came soon after I got there and started jogging slowly around the track– I blew past them over and over. Twas serious winter wonderland fun and kind of felt like Mario Kart on a snowland level or whatever.

Quick n' dirty

Today was a lazy, very cold day. It snowed on and off all day and I stayed inside with my puppy dog and watched movies (such as The Terminal and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World). In the early evening I finally got off my bum and felt inspired to work out before I had to take a shower and go out to a party.

So, I went to the fitness center and improvised a pretty nasty workout.

2 rounds of:

10 burpees

1 mile at 7:08 min/mile pace

12 dips

40 leg presses, 135#

+

200 sit ups/crunches of various styles

Now, to attack my Saturday night with a vengeance!!

Soreness. So much soreness.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

155# deadlifts, 6 reps

7 burpee pull-ups

10 kettlebell swings, 30#

300m run @ 9 mph

Completed 4.5 rounds.

Soggy Toes

This afternoon I ran intervals around the football practice field. There are some hills around the perimeter, not to mention some puddles and patches of soggy grass. Chilly, soggy toes would be more accurate--for the first 10 minutes at least. My toes actually never get cold while running in vibram five fingers because my feet are working so hard to balance me as the muscles flex and contract with each stride; this foot work doesn't happen when wearing sneakers--and thats another thing I love about barefoot running, especially in the wintertime.

5 rounds of:

400m run

200m sprint

40 walking lunges

20 push ups

100 crunches/bicycle crunches/leg lifts

My quads were super sore today from the run and the thrusters from the past few days, the the lunges burned SO good. The sprints felt great, the sky was clear and the shorts I was wearing were just perfect for the weather. Please January, do keep treating us North Carolinians to a pleasant, mild winter. k thanks.

Building it back up

This morning I jogged to the gym and, to my surprise, it was fairly mild out.

21-15-9

65# thrusters

20# assisted pull-ups

+

20 abs on incline

20 leg ups on recline

This was a tough and pretty low energy workout. I just wasn't feeling it and couldn't wait to finish...must've been the 2 whisky gingers I had last night...

I am also somewhat sore from yesterday's interval track workout which means I lost some muscle mass while on holiday, which is disheartening. However, now I get to build it back up this winter term while I have plenty of time to hang out at the track and in the gym. Yay for me ;)

Shorts in January

Today was my first day back working out after a break of about 8 days. It felt SO amazing.

1.5 miles

sit ups

push ups

3/4 mile

sit ups

pull ups

800 meters