Heading Down to the South Land…

Two flights later, I’m finally in Savannah!

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I slept for four and a half hours on my flight from Las Vegas to Charlotte. It’s amazing how hard I can sleep on planes, trains, and automobiles.

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Upon landing, the first thing on my mind was lunch!

Luckily, the Charlotte airport delivered once again!

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I ordered a naked grilled chicken salad complete with salsa, a small scoop of guacamole, and plenty of vegetables. It was delicious and the perfect lunch!

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I spent the next few minutes before my flight grabbing an unsweetened iced green tea with a splash of lemonade. This is definitely my new favorite warm weather drink! I was a happy camper!

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My flight left on-time and landed 15 minutes early! Smooth, quick flights are definitely my favorite type.

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By 4pm, I was back in my parents home sweating it out in their new home gym. Over the past few months my parents have put together an amazing gym in my brother’s old room. It includes a 32 inch flat screen television, treadmill, elliptical, exercise mat, and weights!

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The views are also better than anything I can find in New York City!

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Evidently my legs appreciated the few days off from running as today’s run was amazing! I’m not sure whether it was the brand new treadmill, enjoying the excitement of the 2011 Masters, or the rest but the whole run felt great!

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Our plans for the rest of the evening are to enjoy a family dinner complete with my greek salad and my mom’s homemade chicken casserole. She has made this dish my entire life and it’s one of my favorite comfort foods.

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Question: What is your favorite food you enjoy when you’re home?

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My First Session With a Personal Trainer

Since joining Equinox a year and a half ago, I’ve considered enrolling the help of a trainer. Everyday, while at the gym, I see the trainers working with clients on a one on one basis and dream of the results this partnership delivers.

Finally, after much convincing from Bo and analyzing my training plan, I decided to invest in a single training session. What harm could one session do to my wallet or my overall fitness. I assumed I’d learn some helpful tips and tricks and them apply them to my weekly training plan.

Wednesday evening, after a long day of work, I met with Lauren for my first official training plan.

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It’s amazing how much these two little items can do in an hour! The stopwatch held me accountable and challenged me while the pen captured all my initial results.

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Lauren is a very functional trainer, focusing on full body movements versus isolating single body parts. Our time together was short and sweaty; each exercise pushing me beyond my comfort zone in the best way possible. I’m not going to lie when I say that I was worried about my training appointment all day. How would my body react to new challenges? What if I couldn’t complete an exercise?

The great thing about having a trainer is that all my fears were swept away as she was there to talk me through each exercise, ensure I didn’t injure myself through incorrect form, and motivate me through the third and final set.

Our first session consisted of 40 minutes strength, 5 minute abs, and 15 minutes of deep stretching due to my chronic tightness.

During the strength session we conquered some of the most intimidating but effective exercises:

  • Squats with 60 pounds of weight
  • Assisted pullups
  • Walking lunges with 5 pound weights in each hands
  • Shoulder presses with 12.5 dumbells
  • Combination standups with 10 pound medicine ball

By the end my legs and arms were quivering. There is clearly a difference between muscle endurance and muscle strength. It’s amazing that I can run a half marathon one day but doing 3 sets of walking lunges makes me want to cry.

The most exciting moment, was when I conquered my fears of the assisted pull up machine. I’ve seen this machine in the gym for years but never understood how the weight settings worked. As you’ll recall from my diagnostic session with Lauren, one of my goals is to complete one unassisted pull-up. Wednesday, I successfully started down my path by completing 3 sets of 12 assisted pull-ups on the machine, while focusing on proper form. Believe it or not, you’re supposed to lead with your chest not your chin.

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Since Lauren knows that I’m reviewing our sessions on my blog, she was more than willing to snap pictures of me during the final set. The form can use some improvement, but this picture is proof that I faced my fears!

By the end of my hour session, I was sold on the benefits of a trainer. As of now, I’m investing in one session per week and will capture each sessions experiences and learning on the blog for your benefit and reference. This being said, if you have any questions for my trainer, Lauren, please let me know.

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A Hot Date with Weights

I had a hot date this morning with some new friends!IMG_0801

After a 3 mile run that went by faster than normal, I decided to back out of Whipped with Sara in favor of some time in the weight corner. I’m still not feeling 100% so a tough class didn’t sound appealing. However, I was proud of myself for spending time in the weight section instead of cutting my workout short.
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Like many people, I find the weight section to be intimidating when I am not prepared with a plan of attack. There are many different types of weights, both free weights and machines, which can be confusing and dangerous if not used properly.

Since committing to cross training, weights has been part of the reason I’ve become faster. Most of my weight work has been through classes such as 30/60/90 or Corey Hill’s classes. However, this workout, which Sara shared with me, is also a perfect way to fit in weight training, especially when there isn’t a class on the gym schedule. Don’t worry, no will is looking at you while you’re lifting weights. There is no reason to be intimidated, scared, or shy of the weight section even though most females avoid it like the plague. Why should boys have all the fun anyway?

Print this post out with you so you can carry it to the gym. Also, I’ve linked each one to a website which shows how to do the exercise.

Strong, Shapely Arm Workout

Set 1:
Ez bar curl
Cabel Reverse grip single arm tricep
Hammer grip dumbell curl
Set 2:
Close grip barbell benchpress
Rope cable curls
Complete 12 reps of each exercise and complete the sets 3 times.IMG_0802

In addition to the arm work today, I spent a few minutes focusing on building my leg strength. I followed this simple workout, which I found online.

Quick Leg Workout for Weight Room Beginners

Walking lunges with 5 lb weight in each hand

Leg extensions

Incline leg press

Complete 12 reps of each, 3 times total.

This entire workout took me a total of 35 minutes, including stretching and foam rolling at the end. My muscles felt fatigued and I felt stronger overall, knowing I was focusing on an area that still needs a great deal of work and will help my running immensely.

If you’re looking for more weight room advice or running oriented weight workouts, check out these great links!

Question: What is your favorite single strength training move?

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