Exercise ball,resistance bands, and hugs!

Today, me and a friend met to workout and we started off our workout with a stability/exercise ball and resistance band workout. First, we did some bicep curls and tricep extensions with the resistance bands. Here is my friend, Stephanie, making a lovely face while doing her tricep extensions.

Then, we tried to mix things up with the band and try to do some "flys", if that is what you want to call them. We experimented, but stuck with what we knew!

Now, on to the stability/exercise ball! We started off with some basic crunches on the ball, then did some ab work with it by placing it between our feet and lifting and lowering it with our legs...but not letting it touch the floor. Another exercise we did is the Ball Jacknife. With this one, you place your ankles on top of the exercise ball, legs extended, chest facing the floor and extend your arms to lift you from the floor. Keeping your back and arms extended, roll on top of the ball until your upper arms are pressed against it and pull yourself back up after a short pause. The next thing we did was pushups...which killed my arms since I had done the rock wall the other day for the first time, so my arms were SO sore! But I managed to get a full set in despite the soreness!

After a few times through, we took a little break before going to the weight room to do our cardio on the ellipticals, and here is the result of that break.....

She just really LOVES working out with the stability ball! =)

Climbing...climbing...climbing....

So it has been a few days, but with registration officially done I can breath! And today may have been cold and icky, but for my weight training class today, we climbed the rock wall! And it was so much fun!

Just ignore the fact that my eyes look kind of squinty. Not sure why, but oh well. So this is me in my harness. Climbing can be incorporated with weight training in the since that you are using your arms and/or legs to pull all of yourself up. And you are sometimes moving side to side. But the main thing is using your body weight to move around. I will admit, I got half way up, saw where there were not many places to grab, and I sort of freaked myself out a little. So i went back down. But I will definitely be going back to accomplish my goal of making it all the way to the top. It was a lot of fun, despite my mini freak out. But that only gave me a new goal to improve, get better, and not to freak out when I don't see as many places to grab onto. I feel it in my arms already...but it was worth it!

Fall flavors and Christmas cheer

Ok, so I haven't posted in a few days, been kind of busy. But today was a great day for a run, so me and a good friend took a jog through this cute little neighborhood right by campus. It was the perfect temperature for a run too! Afterward, another friend and I hit up Whole foods, and I got a few great things! Here is a random picture of me and what I wore today. I was definitely feeling the whole cardigan, skinny jeans, and scarf look. I love scarves.

I am also in love with Whole Foods, and if I had enough money I would buy up the whole store! The samples get me too. I loved sampling the yummy oranges and blueberry scones! I ended walking away with an organic version of eggnog. I usually do not purchase organic products, but they had this out for sampling, and after I tried it, I couldn't resist!

I also came across some different kinds of granola that you scoop out into bags, and when I saw their Pumpkin granola, I had to get some. I have been snacking on it tonight, and it is fabulous. It is also great with a cup of coffee! Nothing better than the flavors of fall and Christmas! =)

Fall colors and a wonderful run

I am obsessed with fall. Literally, everything about fall I am in love with: temperatures, smells, even the changing colors of the trees. Unfortunately for Nashville, it took until now for almost every tree to be beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow. So today in my jog/run class we went on a 2.5 mile run and I got to see the most beautiful trees ever! Now, the picture above is not one I took. I didn't have time to get a pic of some of the trees on the route we went, but this tree is an example of the many trees I saw. These are the best runs because it's the perfect temps and you get to enjoy the beautiful colors of fall! For dinner, I decided to get a small Mediterranean Chicken salad from Quiznos. I am a sucker for these salads...they are delicious! This has small chunks of baked chicken, banana peppers, little bit of Parmesan cheese, and Garbanzo beans on it. I eliminated the black olives and cucumbers...I am not a fan of those. But here is a picture of what I had.

yum-o! I promise there is lettuce in there too! They always put a good amount of lettuce in their small salads! I enjoyed this quite a bit, but I enjoyed the day much more in all of its fall beauty!

20minutes, thrifting, and the north pole

So somehow, I managed to get no classes on Fridays this semester, and let me say, it has been WONDERFUL! I love having 3 day weekends every weekend. I can relax, get things done, and enjoy myself without having to worry about going to classes. Today, my friend and I wanted to hit up a few thrift stores, and since I had to do laundry and meet with some classmates for a project, I had little time this morning to get a workout in. But never fear, Jillian Michaels is always there for me no matter my time schedule. In case you do not know who she is, Jillian is a well known personal trainer who motivates, encourages, and gets people in shape. She spent a good chunk of time on the Biggest Loser, but is now on to bigger and better things. She has quite a few workout dvds out there, and I happen to own 3...all of which kick my butt, but are amazing. One of the ones I did this morning was her 30 Day Shred, which consists of 3 different workouts (levels 1,2 & 3), and have 3 circuits of strength, cardio, and abs. It only lasts 20 minutes, but boy does she work you! I was sweating by the end of the 20 minutes, but I felt great!

After working out, doing laundry, and meeting with my group, my friend and I did some thrifting, in which case I found some super cute Christmas decorations for real cheap! I also found a Christmas mug...not that I need another mug, because I kind of have an obsession with not just coffee, but coffee mugs! i already have 4 in my dorm, knowing I would never need that many. So...I have now added another one. But looking at this mug...how could you NOT want it? Also, it was college day, so everything was half off. Needless to say...it has been a great day!

PB & B smoothie

So, today has been a cold, wet, yucky day. And not too much has gone on today except classes, in which one was technically canceled. I walked it, got a take home test, and left. Success! Today, I would like to share the delicious Peanut Butter and Banana(PB & B) smoothie I made last night after my dinner. Living in a dorm again this year, I am very limited as to the things I can make, but I make do. This smoothie is very simple and all you need are these ingredients:

• 1 banana 
• 1 cup milk
• 2-3 tbsp peanut butter (you can eyeball this according to how much you want)
• handful of oats (I used the walmart brand of quick oats--just as good)
• blender

Just combine all the ingredients into the blender. I have one of those personal blenders where you can drink out of the thing you blended your beverage in. And presto. Instant banana & peanut butter smoothie! It is not only packed with protein, potassium, calcium, and oats, but it tastes delicious too! The picture may not look too appetizing to come, but trust me, the taste is great! Enjoy! =)

Christmas is in the air!

It is finally back!! Starbucks Christmas flavors are already for sale this season! And I could not have been more excited when I saw this today! I HAD to get one. I enjoyed my first nonfat peppermint white mocha of the season and it was delicious! People have been mentioning how they are starting to listen to Christmas music today, but for me, it never stops. I listen to it pretty much year 'round, and I love it! Speaking of Christmas music, my roommate gave me and early early birthday present last night.....the She & Him Christmas vinyl record!!! squeaalll!!! I LOVE it and I am a huge Zooey Deschanel fan! On top of the music sounding amazing, the record is RED! And also kinda see through. So, needless to say, it has been a great day.

Unfortunately, it has been a very busy day, although really good. So I did not have time to do a good workout like I wanted, but I always fit something in. So, since my health & fitness class got canceled tonight, I did this core focused workout. It wasn't too long, but any exercise is better than NO exercise, even if it is just a good 15 minutes. Here is what I did:

• 100 regular crunches
• 100 bicycle crunches
• 50 side V crunches
• planks (3 planks at 1 minute each)
• 30 push-ups (alternating 10 push-ups with a plank)
• 50 body weight squats

I have a cruise coming up in almost 5 weeks, so I am focusing on some exercises to keep me bathing suit ready, but in the mean time, I will continue to celebrate Christmas already! Never too early I say. =)