Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Current Workout Plan {Fall 2015}

I"m going to be honest with you all - when it comes to lifting weights I generally have no idea what I'm doing. Even being a varsity collegiate athlete for four years, I don't feel like I retained anything that I learned! One of the perks of dating a Strength & Conditioning Coach, though, is that they can write work outs for you and make you feel like less of an idiot in the weight room, which is exactly what Brett is doing! Hooray! I thought I'd share my workouts that I've been doing the last couple of weeks so you all can take a crack at it if you'd like!

When Brett writes my workouts, he keeps my running in mind (I'm trying to improve my speed) and my desire to one day have arms as nice as Michelle Obama's, so there's a lot of hamstring, arm, and back strengthening going on in these workouts. I also try to integrate some cardio in before I start lifting in order to warm up my muscles. I did workout 1 for 4 weeks and I plan on doing the same for workout 2 (I'm about halfway through!). I may interchange these for a while (I mean it's really up to Coach Angel!) but if I get some new routines I'll share them later on in a winter update post! :)

Workout 1



Day 1

3x10 - Squats
3x10 - Trunk Twists

3x10 - Hamstring Curls
3x10 - Flutter Kicks

3x10 - Lunge Pulls
3x10 - Bent Rows

3x10 - Sumo Squats
3x10 - Dumbbell Curls

Day 2

3x10 - Dumbbell Bench
3x15 - Calf Raises

3x10 - Tri Kickbacks
3x40 seconds or more - Planks

3x10 - Dumbbell Press
3x25 seconds or more - Side Planks

3x10 - Dumbbell Side Raises
3x8 - Dumbbell Swings

Workout 2



Day 1

3x10 - Goblet Squats
3x10 - Band Press

3x8-10 - Lunge Pulse
3x8 - Hang Cleans

3x10 - Ab Rollouts
3x5 - One-leg Hamstring Curls

3x8 - Lateral Squats
3x8 - Inverted Rows

Day 2

3x10 - Dumbbell Incline Bench
3x8 - Reverse Lunges

3x10 - Tri Push-Ups
3x10 - Reverse Curls

3x8 - One-leg Hip Extensions
3x10 - Dumbbell Plank Rows

3x10 - Dumbbell Front Raises
3x10 - Dumbbell Lateral Pull-Overs

If you have any questions about how to do any of these exercises please let me know in the comments! Perhaps Brett & I can do an exercise video for you all to show you how to do some of these things safely and effectively. At any rate, I hope you all enjoy these workouts! Happy lifting! 💪

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Day in the Life: Wednesday, February 18, 2015

I've seen these posts occasionally and I think they're so interesting! I love reading how people go about their typical day and to see how similar or different their days are from my own. I know I vlog and show you guys the things I get up to in video form, but there's something about going over each detail of a day, hour by hour, to really get to know someone, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Right now, no two days of my life are the same. I work at different places each day, have different classes, meet with different students, and I usually have to adjust my personal life accordingly. This post will chronicle what a typical Wednesday looks like for me this semester!

7:30 AM: My alarm goes off, but I don't really need to be up for a while. I usually set my alarm thirty minutes to an hour earlier than when I actually need to get out of bed because I have a SERIOUS snooze button addiction. Depending on how tired I am I can literally hit the snooze button over and over again for an hour. It's a problem.


8:10 AM: The time I actually got out of bed this past Wednesday. (I forgot to shut off my alarm, as you can see in the above photo.) I'll get up, brush my teeth, and do morning routine type things. I'm usually really dehydrated when I wake up so I tend to drink a lot of water to start the day off. I always, always, ALWAYS need water by my bed in case I feel parched in the middle of the night.



I had a few things to finish up on this particular Wednesday morning, so as I was waking up I sat in bed and accomplished those tasks. This Wednesday included finishing up and publishing a blog post! I was behind on writing blog posts this week (it's been SO BUSY) so this week's Tuesday post went out on Wednesday. (Super exciting, I know.) I also made sure I say good morning to Brett before letting the day get too far away from me! (Try not to vomit at how "cute couple"-y we are in our texts.)

Brett's currently in Florida on a recruiting trip for his job, as New England slowly enters an ice age.

9:00 AM: Time to really get moving for the day. 9 times out of 10, I make my bed before leaving my apartment. I just really love coming home to a made bed, and it makes your whole room look 10 times cleaner and organized than it may actually be. It only takes about 2 minutes, so why not put in the extra effort? It looks like I slept pretty gently the night before this particular day so it was pretty easy to get everything back to where it needs to go, but some nights I kick my blankets all over the place. Who knows.



INSTA-CLEAN.

I don't have to be in to work until 12PM on Wednesdays, so I try to take advantage of the free time I have off in the morning. I usually won't get home until 11PM or so on Wednesday nights and usually all I want to do is shut my brain off, so mornings are prime time for me to GSD! This Wednesday I kicked off my day with some yoga.



9:50 AM: Headed over to the gym! As you've read in basically every post for the last month, Massachusetts is a wintery hell wonderland right now. This is what my walk across campus to the gym currently looks like:


I usually use the gym for its cardio machines, specifically the treadmill. (Sometimes I'll lift if I have time... I know, I know, I need to be better about this.) Running outside in the winter can be really nerve-wracking, especially in the area I live in (fairly traffic-y with snow banks lining the roads taller than me - not the best combination for not getting hit by a car), so I've been running inside since Juno hit in January. Sad, but a lot easier to deal with. I like to pass the time by watching trashy shows. The latest episode of Real World was the show I watched on this day! #noshame


10:30 AM: Usually my workout cut-off time so I can get back to my apartment, shower, change, and get ready to leave for work. 


I've been rocking black pants, a comfy sweater and scarf, my winter boots and fuzzy socks pretty much every day to work. It's basically my winter uniform. When there's snow on the ground I don't tend to get too adventurous with my wardrobe... getting outside is enough effort as it is!



I usually like to be on the road by 11:15 to give myself plenty of time to arrive right at noon. I was a bit behind on Wednesday but I'm usually quick about making up for lost time! (i.e. Having Tupperware full of fruits and vegetables ready to go in my fridge to throw in my bag if I'm in a rush so I have something healthy to snack on at work. I promise the gummy bears are the only junk food item in there, and are usually used as comfort food during class!)

11:20 AM: On the road to BSU. It's been a nightmare driving everywhere lately. The snowbanks take up a solid portion of the roads and when you're trying to turn into traffic you cannot see around them. I was even hitting traffic on this day for snow clean up crews to get snow off the roads and free up some lanes. Crazy.


This is what a two-lane, two-way street looks like right now.


Can't see a thing around snow banks. You basically just have to drive into the road and hope no one blindsides you.

The clean up crew I was sitting in traffic for.

For whatever reason when I'm as busy as I am during the semester, I often go long periods of time without eating. Not because I don't want to, but because I'm literally so busy doing other things that I forget to eat. I did that this Wednesday, so I made sure to stop at my local Dunk's for a quick road bagel for brunch. Then it was highway time!



On the way into work I'll usually listen to sports talk radio (the Sports Hub, for my fellow Boston sports fans). I don't find myself really sitting down to watch games during the semester with all I have to do, but I enjoy getting updates through the morning & midday shows. They're usually pretty entertaining and make the drive go by faster!

12:10 PM: Again, a bit behind schedule but I made it to work. This Wednesday I had back-to-back meetings scheduled all afternoon, but pretty much all of them cancelled on me which gave me the opportunity to get some administrative tasks done. Much needed! As you know, I rely very heavily on my planner to help me navigate my crazy schedule and list of to-do's. (The page on the left was what I was working off of for this day!)


1:45 PM: Much needed mid-afternoon coffee time! There's actually a Dunk's in the same building I work in, which is pretty dangerous for all of us coffee addicts that work in the office. My co-advisor for PC and I have been making it a bit of a post-meeting routine the past few weeks! (Hence why I often don't drink coffee in the morning - I know I'll likely get one in the afternoon!)


4:00 PM: Due to the Monday holiday, all Monday classes were shifted to Wednesday, making it so I had a lovely 6 hours of class scheduled for this night. (4 PM to 9:40ish PM, depending how class goes.) Each of the classes in our program meet once a week for about 3 hours, and on Mondays I usually have two classes - Student Affairs Administration and Helping Skills for Student Affairs Professionals. I also have two Wednesday classes which meet on a bit of an irregular schedule (one is bi-weekly and one meets 5 or 6 times during the semester), so it may not have made a difference either way on this night!


9:50 PM: After my brain is sufficiently fried from class, I finally make it back to my car. I usually listen to Podcasts on my way back home (I don't really like the afternoon or evening shows on the Sports Hub), but on this night the Bruins were playing so I listened to the game on the way home. (P.S. This season is heartbreaking... D:)


It randomly started dumping snow while I was driving and it accumulated on the road pretty quickly. I say it every year, but this year I am truly desperate for the winter to end. My car has been a trooper but I don't know how much longer poor Dory can hold up!



10:40 PM: Finally get back to my apartment. I am trying to eat more plant based foods just to feel better and be healthier, so I snacked on fruits, veggies, and a granola bar throughout the day and evening (I didn't end up eating the gummy bears! #willpower). It really isn't filling at all, so I'm generally starving when I walk through the door but I'm usually waaaay to exhausted to cook anything extravagant. This night I made myself some brinner consisting of a blueberry bagel with butter and some scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese. Easy and delicious!


11:30 PM: After I shove food in my face, I'll crawl into bed to say goodnight to Brett over FaceTime and watch Netflix until I pass out, which is usually around 12 or 1 AM. If I have more energy I'll read or write, but after 6 hours of class, all you want to do is not think anymore!

It's a long day but it really has just become part of my life. I do recognize that I'm extremely busy and that my schedule is insane, but I'm 100% used to it at this point and don't really mind it at all. Do I wish I had more time to myself? Absolutely. But I know once grad school leaves the picture I definitely will. Only a few more months! :)

I'd love to see your Day in the Life posts! 
Leave the link in the comments if you do one or have one and I'll check it out. :)

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! <3

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Personal Life Black Hole

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've actually told you what's been going on in my personal life, but that's because my personal life and school/work life have essentially been the same thing over the past month or so. Basically, my personal life has become a black hole where all of the fun has turned into work. (#yikes) Not that I don't love my jobs (because I absolutely do!), it's just that personal time has just been non-existent the past month or so and it's be stressful. Yes, April/May is probably the most hectic time in college land, and being both a student and a staff member, it's been especially so for me this year (and probably will be again next year). I figured it was about time I gave y'all a life update, though, so I'm going to sift through my calendar and tell ya what I've been up to.


Nick, Louie, Mom, Dad, and I at the Dean Dash 5K - literally in my backyard!

1. Running more regularly. Post-marathon, I let grad school and work kind of take over my life and the stress and exhaustion they caused and the time they consumed it became excuses to not exercise. Somehow in the month of April I found the time to clock in 22.17 miles - which would be low for me at any other time in my life, but it incredible for me right now. This puts me at just under 40 miles to reach my 100-miles-for-the-year-by-the-end-of-May goal! Once the semester ends I will absolutely have more time to train as I am going to be signing up for the New Hampshire Marathon soon, as well as (hopefully) another half for the summer. Can't wait to get back at it!


The amazing crew that made Springfest possible!

2. Springfest! This was one loooooong week of events at BSU, sponsored by the lovely club that I advise! They put on a carnival, movie night (The Lego Movie is amazing, btw), a comedy show, and several novelties - all of which were a huge success! Even though I didn't get home until about 11:30pm every night during that week, seeing this event come to life and go off without a hitch made me so proud of my students. All of that lost sleep was worth it - they're truly amazing!

3. Taking up occasional yoga. Runner's World has a few different yoga videos specifically for runners and I've been trying a few of them out lately. It's really helped with all my sore muscles (go figure) and has really made some of the stress melt away - even if just for a moment. It's good to have a coach type person to put me through a stretching regimen, because I'm not disciplined enough to stretch myself!


My amazing CA's tearing up as they give me a gift at the ResLife banquet :') <3

4. Banquet & Awards Season. With the end of the year comes banquets and award ceremonies for every office that you may be involved in. In the past week, I've attended a banquet for the club I advise, an award ceremony for student leaders at BSU, the Dean ResLife banquet, and another banquet for highly involved member of the club I advise as well as alumni who were involved in the club! It's always great to recognize the amazing students that we work with every day, but it's also extremely bittersweet to say goodbye to everyone - especially if they're graduating or leaving for whatever other reason - so things can get pretty emotional (if you can't tell from the photo above)!

Presenting to Student Leaders at Lasell!

5. Presentations on presentations on presentations. Over the past few weeks, I've been speaking publicly for various reasons. I presented two awards at one of the many ceremonies I've attended over the past couple days, I went back to Lasell to give a presentation to some awesome student leaders, and I gave an in-class presentation for one of my courses. Public speaking, for whatever reason, makes me really nervous. I don't know what it is, because the idea of it isn't really all that terrifying to me, but once I get up there I can just feel my face getting red and my hands shaking. I don't know if it's the adrenaline or what, but it's really annoying and I wish I would just get over it! That's why taking opportunities like this makes it a bit easier like this every time. Maybe one day I'll be able to present without the nerves attached to it (I used to be able to!) but for now I just gotta push through each and every presentation and it will get easier over time.

6. Finishing up course work (of course [ha]). The past few weeks all of my assignments have been due. It's been pretty absurd. But I'm now at the point where I am one paragraph to edit and two classes away from being DONE with the semester. I can't. Freaking. Wait.

We close at Dean on Saturday which frees me up to celebrate by 24th birthday! (What?!) 
This weekend is SOOOOO needed and I can't wait for the next few days to be over with so I can enjoy the weekend with a bunch of awesome people! :)

What have you been up to?