Teacher Tuesday

I hope all of you are enjoying the great weather outside. My shoulders are a bit browned from sitting out after class and I've had so much water today I almost wet my pants in my class. But that means I'm not dehydrated, right? :)

So I want to update you on a few things about my life.

Mainly that I went to yoga to day and started to use my bike to commute to work. It's one of the most awesome feelings when I get out at 11 after a looooong night of putting up with customers. I just get on my bike and zone out (I still watch traffic, Dad, don't worry) on the way home. It's a beautiful thing! COMMUTE. DO IT.

Also something that I want to tell you about? My new love and affection for Train. I've always loved their songs, but this is the first time I've become obsessive about it. It's been on my iPod all day and I just know that  my neighbors are in love with their music too.

This one I find particularly feisty and exciting. :)

My mind is buzzing about with ideas for choreography for the fall. So maybe I'll get a reign on that and give all those dancers out there some insight into my mind. If you're into that sort of thing.

I have to go grocery shopping and I'm excited for my eating this week. This is quite a nice pattern I'm getting into. I worked out this morning (She Sells Sea Shells thanks to Tone It Up) and this afternoon (the aforementioned yoga) too, so I'm kicking the week off right. YES. It feels good.

Now! During class today I was thinking about how I'm learning all of this information, maybe somebody would be interested in it too. So I'm calling today Teacher Tuesday. :)

Teacher Tuesday Hooray!

So today in Motor Behavior, we were talking about the different body systems. And we got to the Adipose System, which is comprised of the body's tissues. Specifically, we were talking about those cells that fat resides in. People always wonder why it's so easy to put fat back on after hard work and write it off as this, that, or the other thing. Oh ho ho! There's a physiological explanation!

First off, females tend to gain 26 pounds between age 20 and 50. Males, however, only gain about 18. (These are averages, ladies and gentlemen, not the law!) I don't know about you, but I'm a female at the beginning of that age group, and I'm not a huge fan of having that already against me. Granted, it makes sense. We need more fat to work as insulation and cushioning for those babies we're going to be brewing. Gross.

Did you know that we can "empty out" those cells that store fat, but those cells themselves are always going to be there? Unless you want to suck them out with a vacuum, you're always going to have the option of filling them with fat again. Picture a balloon. Even if you empty it of air, that balloon will still be there. AND it's going to be easier to inflate (i.e. fill with fat) the second time! That, my friends, is why it's so easy to gain weight back even if you lose it. Those cells are already stretched and ready!

[pinterest]

The lesson from here, as per usual, is that you need to exercise and eat right!! Especially as you grow older. But also when you're younger. So you should just do it all the time and every age. :)

 Did you learn anything exciting today?

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everybody's having a wonderful day. And goodness knows, Rita's is open, so feel free to stop by because I'm one of the lucky ducks working there. Woohoo.

So before I head over there, I'm thinking about something. Last week I did the 5 Day Slim Down from the Tone It Up nutrition plan. I didn't take my measurements or weigh myself (I am vastly unprepared), but by the end of the five days I felt pretty fantastic.

BUT.

I spent so much time focusing on food, I kind of forgot about my exercising. Sure, I still did it. But it was a little lackluster. And that's really what I care about.

So I'm confused.

I want the best of both worlds but I don't even know how to balance such a thing. So I'm just throwing that out there. My goal this week is to balance better.

So enjoy the rest of your day. :)

Leaving you with thoughts of cool. :)

Oh No, My Cookies!

Today is my first day of doing the Tone It Up program. I'm super excited about it, and I went to bed last night and couldn't stop thinking about it. Because I'm a nerd, but we already knew that. My first day of summer class was today, so I thought it would be perfect timing!

I woke up and my body did not so much agree with me. I was trying to do the Bikini Blaster #1 from Blogilates (I can't do all Tone It Up or I'd get antsy) and I started feeling not so hot. I was sweating in a weird way that wasn't actually producing sweat. So I assumed I was dehydrated. So I drank some water, as well as my Bombshell Spell and kept going. Only to run to the bathroom a few minutes later and moan and try desperately not to throw up.

Cookies are too wonderful to toss. [pinterest]

I choked down a Banana Split (which is DELICIOUS, by the way) and got myself together for class. During class I had a chocolate ZICO coconut water with some Perfect Fit protein mixed in. I grabbed an apple after class and I'm making lunch as soon as I finish typing this.

So hopefully the throw up scare was just a fluke. I don't know if it's psychological, but I feel pretty great today besides. My class wasn't bad at all and my building was wonderful. Temple is remodeling a lot of buildings and Pearson (where most Kines classes are) now has a light up ceiling. My classroom looks into it so there was a nice red/blue/green glow as he was going through the powerpoint. So while learning Motor Behavior, at least I'll have a nice light show!

Definitely better than nothing. :)

How's your Monday?

All or Nothing

I've been doing some thinking. I've been feeling guilty for not starting Tone It Up as soon as I bought it. And I'm also feeling bad for not posting some incredible insane workouts that I'm doing. Especially because I know FitFluential is watching me. ;)

Stressing over this is not good in my life! I promise you!

I've been really struggling with the All or Nothing principle here. In my brain, the situation has to be absolutely perfect, or I will fail and need to start over again. Is that completely ridiculous? Yes. But it's the fear of that failure that holds me back sometimes.

And I know it holds all of you back every once in a while too!

I've been doing some reading at work, as per suggestion of Clare from Fitting it All In.

I'm not overly religious, even though I went to Catholic school for a huge chunk of my life. I was very hesitant about the title and didn't want to be preached to. And it isn't doing that at all. And I'm also gaining stuff from it on a completely other level. I've learned a lot about myself!

And you'll get a post on all of that later. :)

The point is: I feel like I need to be the absolute shining star of perfection when it comes to fitness. Being a personal trainer sort of begs that of you. Same goes for nutrition. I want to instill excellent ideals in everybody all around me and I can't do that when I'm scarfing down wings.

But I am 21 years old. I am TRYING. I can't expect to be perfect right off the bat. And so while I may not be blowing anybody away with new information here, I'm working on the fundamentals of change. You know. Baby steps.

I have my meals planned out for today, for instance. I've got my internship in an hour and then I head straight to Rita's for a closing shift. I need to have organization or I might fall back on some unhealthy choices. Whole Foods is on the way to work! And while I might not have oodles of nutrition falling out of my fridge (because it's quite empty, to tell you the truth), that doesn't mean I have to fall back on fast food.

I'm also not going to struggle through today in heels because I'm walking to work and if I walk a little swifter, all the better for my heart rate. There's deodorant in my bag, so there's no need to worry.

I finally bought a bike lock and a helmet. Next week begins my commuting to school, internship, and work. It's going to be a lot of time on that bike. And I'm scared! I am terrified to ride in Philadelphia traffic. But it's better for me in the long run (assuming I don't get hit), so I'm going to make that healthy choice!

You see? Choices like those that aren't groundbreaking. But they aren't any small task either. And dangit, I am proud. I will get to that uber-knowledgeable state. But I've gotta start with the foundation, or nothing's going to stick.

I guess third grade lessons are important.

Something else that's important?

This was about third grade. Maybe later. But it's been stuck in my head ever since I titled this post. So listen to it and have a great day. :)

What small steps are your foundation?

The Talk

So this weekend I had The Talk with Paul. Not about where babies come from (although, I was informed by a four year old that God puts them there) or bodily changes or anything that usually inspires the two capital T's. No.

No. We aren't getting married.

I wish I could run on a beach.

For some reason, I was really antsy about bringing up the idea of joining Tone It Up to Paul. We really enjoy going out to dinner and dessert is included more often than not. But after feeling constantly tired and hungry, I decided there needed to be a change.

So I have officially purchased the Tone It Up nutrition plan. And I know a lot of people don't understand why or think I'm crazy. But Paul doesn't, and he's the only one who has to live with me. So as far as I'm concerned, I'm good to go. :)

Although making him pick up my sister is probably crazy.

I am really excited about this, but actually very very nervous and overwhelmed. It's not like they don't spell it out or anything like that, I just always get that way. So if anybody wants to send me words of support, I will be listening!

YAY TONE IT UP!!!!!

Are you on this program? Do you love it? I am so excited. :)

I Thought Rainbows Were Nice?

My summer life has been pretty wonderful so far. Days full of errands and working out and nights full of sticky water ice. This is the life, yeah?

Well. There could be some beach involved, if I had anything to say about it.

They look so painless! [pinterest]

I guess the closest I can come to the beach right now is my Tone It Up! Beach Babe DVD. Today I did Bikini Arms, Booty and Abs. And let me tell you, I thought rainbows were supposed to be nice. But doing the abs work out last, I was struggling!

That being said, it really was an "Awesome Workout" as Karena likes to remind us. :)

On one of my errand runs this week, I got myself a library card! I sound like such a nerd it's absolutely ridiculous. But I did. I had never been into the Philadelphia Public Library, so I was overwhelmed. It's so lovely! I also tried to exit without showing the nice security guard my check-out receipt so I set off the alarms.

Whoops. Always need some sort of attention.

But when I was there, I picked up the book Still Missing by Chevy Stevens that Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers suggested for her online book club for May! I lovelovelove her blog but I've never participated in these because I didn't want to buy the books, but with my newfangled library card I have no excuse! ;)

So far, I LOVE it. I will post a review after I'm done and I'll link to Julie's page when she posts on the first of June!

Are you reading anything good lately?

Happy Hour

Just a quick check-in today for my Tone It Up Happy Hour challenge. They asked for ten things we're grateful for and I gave. :)

1. Waking up before Paul and pestering him until he decides to wake up.
2. Wearing purple all day. With a pink sports bra.
3. My dance team. Forever and always.
4. When people donate.
5. Finally coming home after a long day.
6. When people ask to take your shift so you don't have to go into work.
7. My friends.
8. The fact that I get to run tomorrow and keep thinking about it.
9. Making plans for summer and getting ready to kick butt.
10. Getting mail! I have a package that I think is my Beach Babe DVD and I'm pumped. :)

What made YOU happy today? :)

Junior Year?

WHERE DID YOU GO!? I feel like my life is speeding by so fast right now. I'm loving every second of it! Okay. Maybe not the few million seconds that I spend at Rita's, but that's okay. I try really hard anyway.

So with school winding down (eventually), I have a lot of plans fitness-wise on my plate. So if you want to know what's going on in my life, this is the post for you.

InMotion's Show and Auditions: I love my dance group so much. And our end of the year show is on April 22nd. THAT IS NEXT WEEK. It is going to be here before I know it, and I don't know if I can handle the excitement. But I get to pick some great new girls for the team next year when auditions come around. So that will be fun!

My heart literally swells when I think of these girls. :)

Broad Street Run: You know, that little race I've been training for. I'm really nervous about it, I'm not going to lie. I go through waves of being really confident and really terrified. It's an interesting experience. Today I ran five miles instead of four and it was ROUGH. But I did them anyway and pushed through them. The fact that I can do that keeps me looking up. Also, the fact that I bought new running clothes yesterday helps me too. :)

My new love and obsession. Thank you for being so amazing.

Dedication to Stretching: I know I've talked about Bess Be Fit on here before, but my admiration has risen to a whole new level! She and Lauren from Peanut Butter Powered are issuing a challenge! The task is to dedicate at least twenty minutes a day to stretching. It can be of any kind! You just have to streeeetch. Stretching makes me feel free, loose, and happy so I think this is an awesome challenge and I'm really excited to start. They have GREAT blogs, so I really suggest you check them out if you want some fitness role models. :)

I am way too excited for this.

Becoming a Beach Babe: I have heard so much about Tone It Up. SO MUCH. I'm not sure if their diet plan will work for me, mostly because I don't want to drop over $100. However, I'm super inspired by their workouts and so I'm joining their second annual Bikini Series! I'm really excited to see how this works out (get the pun?) and see how it makes me feel! Also, if anybody has anything they want to share about their plan, please don't hesitate to tell me. I want to know all that I can! I also might invest in the new DVD. So if you want to share anything about that too, that works!

Our first challenge was to share the challenge. COMPLETED!

COLOR! I am officially signed up for Color Me Rad in Philadelphia and could not be more excited. Thanks to Groupon it was half price! I promptly used the money saved to invest in a white tutu to wear. I don't know if Paul will acknowledge me during this race because of it, but I am SO EXCITED. JOIN ME! :)

I almost peed my pants when I got my registration e-mail.

Staying Immersed in Dance: This summer, I am lucky enough to have an internship with BalletX! They are a more modern ballet company associated with the Wilma Theater on Broad Street. I am so unbelievably pumped to be a part of their team. I'm also crazy excited to stay surrounded by dance lovers during the summer. So I'm counting it as fitness. So there.

So there's that! There's also my job, some more schooling, some Philles games, some beach runs, maybe ziplining, etc. It's going to be an awesome summer! I'm going to miss camp dearly, but I can't commute that far for a job with a camp paycheck. But I'm sure I'll go visit sometimes. Hopefully, if they let me. Casey, are you reading this? :)

Anything exciting for you to share with me? Signed up for either of the races that I'm running? Do you love tutus? Let me know!
*All pictures were taken from the websites of the people/companies/races I talked about. I'm not trying to pass them off as my own. Except for InMotion's. That one is awesome.

Brand New Year

So January first is the start of many resolutions and lots of commitment from all sorts of people. The way I see it, moving into my apartment was really the start of a new year for me. I've got classes that start in a mere seven days for a major that I am hoping to fall completely in love with. I need to find a job to pay for millions of things. And I get to see all my school friends as they begin to trickle back into the city.

And, as every New Year's resolutioner (I know that's not a word. It's a concept maybe...) does, I've started my work out habits back up and it was lovely.

Today, I started the Bodyrock Thirty Day challenge with the fit test. Eight days late, but I wanted to be able to stay on schedule. There are two rest days involved in the challenge that are on the weekends. Because I'm difficult, I have my long runs on Saturdays. So my days off will either be Sunday and Monday or Friday and Sunday. We'll see how things go as I progress into school and stuff like that.

These HIIT workouts are short but super tough! I was very, very nervous about seeing my scores and being utterly disappointed in myself, but I don't know. They're there and they'll get better!

• Squat Jumps-->34
• Push Ups-->19 (Ugh. Freaking knees. My arms are pathetic.)
• Burpees-->14
• High Knees--> 43 (I counted the sets. If you're supposed to count each leg then double that.)
• Switch Lunges-->33
• Tuck Jumps-->26
• Straight Abs-->14 (I took these nice and slowly, as you can tell.)

I was most definitely shaking by the end of it. Also, I don't remember doing the tuck jumps AT ALL. But there's a number, and I know I couldn't have just made it up like that. Maybe I blocked it out? Who knows. The challenge scares me because I can tell it is going to be INTENSE. But it's a nice way to get back into stuff, that's for sure.

After that I did some resistance band ab work from FITNESS magazine. It's called Flat Abs Fast! so we'll see how they feel tomorrow. Kicking my butt abs back into shape, hopefully.

As far as the cool down and stretch session went, I was too hyped up to sit and focus, so I made myself follow along with a short video to chill myself out.

The ocean sounds at the end of it were great, not going to lie. I love the whole idea of Tone It Up but I'm broke, so I just pick and choose which videos I feel like doing. I'm super curious about their eating plan but for now I'm going to live in mystery. Definitely check them out, though! :)

So that's that! Now I'm going to hop in the shower and then meet up with a friend for lunch. Maybe for dinner we'll have something exciting. We'll see!