SUP Summer

With this beautiful weather continuing to grace our presence, I have been able to get outside and go for some runs and longer bike rides (which, by the way, rule). This past weekend officially marked 'Summer' at the Jersey shore, even if the calendar says otherwise. My Memorial Day consisted of laying on the beach and later on grabbing some food and drinks on the water with my closest friends....the absolute best way to spend a beautiful day, in my opinion.

With this nice weather, I always want to find different, fun activities that I can do outside. Luckily I live in an area where there are tons of things to do! Stand up paddle boarding or SUPing is rapidly becoming popular and I have started to see them everywhere in New Jersey. I have always grown up on the water here, but in 2012 I lived in San Diego, California for a year and a half, and that was the first place I saw SUP as often as you see a boogie board. Anyone and everyone was using them. Whether they owned the board or they were renting it, they were everywhere. I think shops around here are just catching on to renting out paddle boards, but trust me, in a few years shops that rent out bikes, chairs, etc. will soon be renting out boards. Ok, sorry for the ramble. Moral of the story to living in California was that I first tried SUP there in Mission bay and rented boards about 3 times. Every time just as fun as the previous! When I moved back home, my friend had purchased a SUP and we had gone out on the ocean [first time SUPing on the ocean--very, very different--and a lot harder--but still just as fun!]

Fast forward to now, my close family friend mentioned that a company in Belmar was starting to offer SUP yoga classes and on a whim, we signed up and attended a class last Tuesday! One of THE coolest fitness experiences to date. Anyone who likes yoga, fitness, SUP, or just likes to try new things, HAS to try this.

We did this class in a lake, but most take place in Shark River. Each board has an anchor attached on a rope so you stay in one place. The paddle floats, so you just wrap an elastic band around the handle on the same rope and drop it in the water. It's a 90 minute class, and you initially go over how to paddle board for those who have never been on one before. The instructor paddles around the whole class, talking to you about what moves to go into, just like a normal yoga class! For moves like crow and headstand, she shows you the different ways you can get into the position and if you don't have those moves perfected on land yet, no worries! It's a class for all levels, so don't be discouraged - and trust me, I have yet to do a headstand on dry land yet.

The company is called The Endless SUP Company and they are located in Belmar, New Jersey. They are currently setting up classes for a total body workout as well, which I will most definitely be trying out.  If you are in the area, or come here for vacation, I highly recommend checking them out for a class or even to rent a board!  

Oh, and GO RANGERS! [ had to throw that in there somewhere ;) ]

Stretching Out a Back Injury

It feels like spring is finally here in NJ and I am beyond excited!

I was unfortunately out of commission last week due to a back injury. I wasn't able to workout last Saturday or Sunday (3/29 & 3/30) just because I was busy with different engagements. I was showering before work Monday morning when I was suddenly overcome with intense pain in my lower back! I felt nauseous, couldn't breathe well, and had a constant sharp pain in my lower right back. I went to see my chiropractor twice over the week and went to my internal doctor just to make sure it was nothing with my kidneys, appendix, or anything like that. I was diagnosed with a lumbago sprain, which can last up to 6 weeks! Fortunately I started feeling a whole lot better Friday afternoon and was even able to go for a jog and attend some gym classes this week.

I have always known that I neglect stretching, especially when it comes to my back. After this injury, I will definitely be making stretching post workout a priority. Stretching your back and legs are crucial, even when you aren't active, and many injuries are caused due to lack of stretching or stretching improperly. Here are some stretches that are great for your back and legs and will help prevent injury:

Back Stretches

https://www.athletico.com/2012/03/28/stretches-to-minimize-back-pain/

[Prone Press-Up, almost like cobra, is my favorite for a lower back stretch. If you have lower back pain or you have a chronic tight lower back, use this exercise daily] 

Leg Stretches

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1565&page=3

[When you have a back injury, your hamstrings are also directly affected and become tight. Make sure you pay more attention to stretching your hammy's during and after sustaining any back pain] 

* Neglecting your body only makes your fitness journey more difficult! *

Onto The Next One

Five weeks later and I have completed the Alpha side of Focus T25!! [I'm doing a happy dance right now]

My results have been continually improving and I am excited to see what Beta brings to the table! Like I said in the last post, I have finally started to see results rather than just feel them! I took another progress picture to record the 5 week mark: 

A bit more in-depth information about my results thus far: 

• I weighed myself last Tuesday, and my weight has not changed 
• Chest muscles and shoulder are a lot stronger 
• Abs are noticeably more defined
• Triceps are more defined 
• Glutes are bigger and stronger

And a little bit more about how I have improved over the 5 weeks: 

• Increased number of pushups by vast amount and can do them all on my toes (Total Body Circuit has a ton of pushups)
• Stamina has increased 
• Able to do more reps of the higher intensity moves 
• Arches and calves don't tighten up like they originally were 

I took a 'before' picture when I first started but unfortunately I only took one of the front of me not even thinking my back, hammys, and butt would change significantly. When I am completely done with T25 I will post my 'before' picture along with my final 'after' picture. I will also dig through and try to find a decent photo of the back of me to show those results as well. 

I'll be starting the Beta portion of the program today! 

T25 Calendar

Week 2 of Focus T25 has come and gone.

I have been busy moving to a new house, and still wanted to get to the gym for my power class, so I got a bit behind with the workouts this week. I challenged myself by doing 2 days of double workouts rather than the 1 that is on the calendar to make up for those missed days! Cardio is still a killer. I have to remind myself to stretch and massage out my arches before doing the cardio workout...you're on your toes almost the entire time, which makes my arches cramp up like crazyy, but as long as I stretch them out properly beforehand they are fine.

The calendar has honestly been SO helpful. Since I have never done a Beachbody workout before, I didn't realize that they provide you with something so detailed. There are 2 sides, Alpha and Beta. You start off with Alpha, and then after the first month (5 weeks) you are ready for Beta. It goes into a lot more detail about Beta workouts on their site, but I assume Beta gets more intense: http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/focus-t25-workout.do They set the calendar up having a sprecific workout for you to do Monday-Friday. Friday is your suggested double workout day.  Saturday is your STATurday, where you reflect on your week and review how you are doing, statistic wise. Sunday is your stretch day! (Which always feels sooo nice)

I was a bit excited the first time I opened the calendar..

Each day is labeled with a workout that you are meant to do and has a mini check box that either says 'Nailed It' or 'Barely Made It' (Friday has 2 workouts listed and has check boxes under each workout). This way you can track your progress. If you 'barely made' one workout but 3 weeks later you 'nailed it' that shows you're making progress and gives you a little something to be extra excited about! I've been trying to make myself feel like I 'nail' every workout. Some are definitely more tough than others, but so far I've been able to make my goal!

Ready for week 3!

Exercises for snowboarding/skiing

                Hello everyone with the coming of winter, mountains are getting ready and some are even opening.  This all means that snowboarding season is upon us.  I absolutely love boarding and am extremely excited for this upcoming season and feel it is time to prepare.  There is nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of a boarding day and your legs begin to fatigue and give up on you.  This post will is going to focusing on exercises to help you prepare yourself for a season of hitting the mountains.

 (Sis and I boarding Cayons in Utah))

                Training your legs is vitally important for preparing for the season but I also like to add balancing exercises to help increase your body’s ability to balance itself.  That is why I love this first exercise, the one leg toe touch with a hop.  If you are a vet of Insanity then you will know what I am talking about.  You start off by standing with your feet together and lift one leg so you knee is at a 90˚ angle.  Then bend forward keeping bent leg even with body and touch your toes or the floor with both hands.  Begin coming back up and when body is in the start position jump.  Start with 10 per side and as you feel comfortable and your leg strength and balance builds feel free to increase the amount of reps.

                The next exercise I like to do for snowboarding are squats.  This includes regular weighted squats as well as pulsing squats.  These squats you start with your feet shoulder width apart going halfway through the squat so you are in the sit position and instead of coming back up hold it and start small pulses.  Do 5 pulses and on the next one explode jump so your arms and legs are fully extended where you would resemble a starfish.

                Now it's time that we directly attack out abdominals.  For this I love doing Russian twists.  Start off by sitting on the floor feet flat with knees bent.  Fully extend your arms lean back slightly while lifting your feet and twist side to side.  I also like doing crunches with 4 twists on a declined bench.  Do 10reps per set and increase amount of sets or amount of reps per set.  These are great exercises and you stomach will soon be on fire.

                Another exercise that are good for preparing you are walking lunges.  I enjoy these much more than regular lunges.  Walking lunges not only increase your leg strength but also helps you increase your balance.  Start by grabbing dumbbells or any weighted item that you are comfortable holding for some time.  The amount of room you have can determine how many lunges you can do.  Starting with 6-10 reps (keep it even so both legs are strengthened evenly) and if you want to challenge yourself do 10 lunges in one direction turn around and do 10 more ending where you began.

                It is important that you remember to exercise your upper body as it helps you with rotating your body.  A good upper body work out are bench tricep dips with balance ball.  Start by grabbing a bench, a balance ball, and extra weight if you want more of a challenge.  Sit on edge of the bench and place heels on top of the exercise ball.  Dip down and come back up keeping heels on top of the ball.  These help increase your upper body strength and also helps increase you body’s ability to balance itself.

                These are some of my favorite exercises to help prepare for the upcoming season.  Remember that these are only a few and there are many more that you can add to your repertoire.  Remember stay hydrated and to stretch, who knows maybe I’ll see you out on the mountain.

Till next time

Bogo Out