In the spirit of Easter, I’m not Catholic

I mean this in the most respectful way. Yeah, I’m not Catholic but I like the whole concept of giving something unhealthy up and Lent gives me an excuse. In the past I’ve given up soda, chocolate, and swearing. This year I decided I’d do something to change the thing I dislike most about myself: I’m late. Every week I’m late to about 3.5 out of 5 classes, I cut it super close with work, and I make my friends wait for me way too often. So I gave up being late. Obviously I would end up failing this, which is why I set a consequence: every time I arrived late, I would add a half-mile run to my next workout. I ended up running a lot more often than usual and I've actually enjoyed holding myself accountable in this way. Now that Lent has passed, I plan to continue this and hopefully I’ll be able to run for a longer duration by the time summer hits :)

Workout of the Week 

I don't know about you, but watching TV makes me feel a bit guilty, and I kind of watch quite a lot of it. Thats why I love this week's workout so much!

Something I learned this week

Before I tried this week's workout, I read over the "Do" list and saw an unfamiliar exercise: The Russian Twist. I ended up searching it on Youtube and I've had a lot of fun watching movie trailers since then. 

Embarrassing moment

This is possibly my first embarrassing moment that ended up being a good thing: Last week, I sat down on one of the weight room’s stationary bikes for a ten minute cool down after running a mile. When I plugged my earphones into the TV jack I heard a familiar voice saying “ALLLLrighty then!” Awesome! Ace Ventura with Jim Carrey, one of my favorite movies, was playing in the rec center. By the time I was cracking up over a James Bond reenactment, I realized I had gathered an audience. Two girls stretching on the mats were giggling in my direction as they had been watching me literally “lol” while riding the bike. Bad news: my ego is dead, Good news: my “cool down” turned into forty-five minutes of biking.

Until next week! Keep calm and stay motivated!

Kyser Blakely on Blasting Biceps, Bellies, and Butts

Okay I think I’m all done with the self-loathing, I don’t suck that much. Today’s blog spotlights one of Sonoma State’s finest. He has guided fourteen young men through the initiation process of one of SSU's philanthropic Fraternities, he teaches five fitness classes weekly, he has received the True Gentleman award from Sigma Alpha Epsilon (CA-AA) for two consecutive semesters, he has donated over ten inches of hair to locks-of-love®, he even holds the title of “Xi Man” (zee man), and with a name like “Kyser Blakely” this is one unstoppable Seawolf.

Kyser, who now sports a shorter “do,” teaches two different classes that could make an Olympian cry: Body Blast and Core Blast. I’ve attended both and found myself woozy at some point in every session; this guy knows his fitness. I caught up with him a few weeks back and learned a lot in the short interview that follows:

Me: How did you get involved/interested in fitness?

Kyser: As a child instead of playing video games with friends, I would hang out with my mom and sister while we did Jane Fonda workout videos together. Since then I have always had a passion for health and fitness.

Me: What things do you enjoy about teaching Body Blast and Core Blast?

Kyser: At the age of twenty, I have already achieved my life goal, getting paid to workout!! I have the best job in the world. I love teaching Body and Core Blast. If I’m having a bad day, I just show up to work and a smile magically appears on my face. Maybe it's because of all the ladies that like to take my class ;)

I'm gonna do this one a little differently. Answer first, question follows:

Kyser: I’m usually in my bedroom blasting music, I move from the floor to my chair trying out different things. I’ve learned a lot from research and also by creeping on people at the gym. The best way is to watch what other people are doing.

Me: Where do you come up with the exercises done in class?
:) Gotcha

Me: Many people have trouble finding motivation to stick to a fitness plan. How do you stay motivated to exercise?

Kyser: This might sound a bit conceited, but I get motivated by looking at myself in the mirror. It’s quite popular nowadays for individuals to take supplements in order to get "pumped" or get the physique they want. I simply take my shirt off and analyze myself for about two minutes. "Yeah I look good, but I can always look better!"

Something I learned this week~Diet Tips from Kyser:

Don't drink calories. Juices, smoothies, soda, and alcohol should all be replaced by water. I'm not saying to stop drinking them altogether, but if you’re eating healthy and still not seeing results, look at what you’re drinking. Also never go on a diet, instead, CHANGE your diet. The main reason why diets fail is because people never change their habits. Change habits, change lifestyle.

Embarrassing Moment of the Week Kyser’s way:

Once you become an experienced athlete you will start to see certain people in the gym doing the most ridiculous exercises and you just sit there and laugh. Don't be one of those people I laugh at. I will make fun of you during my class.

That's all for now, for this week's workout I really encourage you to go check out Kyser's classes, you won't regret it!: Motivate me!

Body Blast –Tu Thu from 6:15-7:00 p.m. and Sat from 11-11:45 p.m.

Core Blast – Tu Thu from 7:15-7:45 p.m.

I Really Suck - Part Two

And we're back! I'm really excited for today's post because I'm writing the first InMotion class spotlight on Kyser Blakely's Body Blast class. I realize I have a lot to write, so unfortunately I'm extending the "I Really Suck" posts to three instead of two. This post will include the WOW, my embarrassing moment, and fact that I learned. Next post has two interviews!!

Workout of the Week

I love this workout!! Definitely breaks a sweat.

Most embarrassing moment of my weak (pun intended) in fitness

I seriously encourage you to go take Kyser's class. I have never worked out so intensively in my life as I do in that forty-five minutes. That being said, his class makes me feel like a weakling. I sweat, huffed, and puffed my way through the workout quite successfully until I had to stop suddenly. My head was pounding, my chest had tightened, and my vision was so bright that I had to squint in order to see clearly. It only took me a second to realize I was about to faint, luckily I sat down in time to avoid too much humiliation. Even as his most puny student, Kyser reacted like a rockstar to my embarrassing incident and had me join back in as soon as I felt better.

Something I learned this week:

Although a lot of people who do Yoga have AMAZING bodies, yoga alone is not a sufficient workout. It's a great warm-up or cool-down and a fantastic way to stretch, but you gotta do some cardio to get the heart rate up.


See you soon!!
-Kc

I Really Suck - Part One

I've got a lot to say, and today it's not entirely fitness related, so this is going to be a two-part segment continued in my next post. I'm just gonna start by saying: I suck. I really suck at posting consistently, I suck at doing the right kind of exercise, I also suck at making it to the InMotion class I said I'd attend. But hey, I guess that's the goal here right? To improve my fitness motivation and consistency through trial and error and by sticking to a schedule. The problem is that I've never been good at schedules. Sometimes I'll get organized and write out a plan for my week, or even my day, but somehow I never do things in the right order and I often find myself breaking my own rules. So screw my rules. As long as my focus remains the same, I say rules shmools. If I want to take a different InMotion class I'll do it. Which is exactly what I did on Saturday.

You see, college students quickly learn the importance of prioritizing, here's a positive example of a student prioritizing: 

It's "Thirsty Thursday", it's also the day before Bob's bio chemistry midterm. Even though Bob would love to go out and get his drank on, he decides to stay home and study. Bob aces his test.Yay!

For most students, that scenario might play out something more like this:

Listens to thirty minute podcast of bio chem lecture while getting ready and feels good about it. Proceeds to go out and party until forgets own name, wakes up the next morning on a couch. Gets to class, forgot scantron, misses thirty minutes of test time and fails midterm.

When it comes to prioritizing, sometimes the "right choice" isn't so clear. Last week I had to choose between writing an essay and going to the Rec for yoga and a workout. Writing a paper is stressful and yoga would definitely help me focus, however, the paper has a definite due date while I can do yoga anytime. I chose the paper, which I later realized made me break my word to my readers. So instead, I went to Saturday morning "Body Blast" taught by my friend Kyser Blakely. I have two words to sum up this class: ass kicking. In the spirit of my non-existant Yoga class, here's a great video I used as a substitute:

Workout of the Week

Click here :)

Side-note: In my post last week I closed with the clue "What does a dyslexic cow say?" about the class I planned to attend. Well that didn't work out so well but here's the answer anyway:

The embarrassing moment and something I learned segment will be in Part 2 of this post. Since I don't have anymore restrictive rules to force me into motivation, I'm kicking off my new screw the rules mentality with a section called motivate me. Every time you see the word "motivate" as a link, click for a motivational picture or phrase. That's all for now,  Body Blast is Tuesday night at 6:15, maybe I'll see you there!!

-KC

Good to see you again, I hope you're enjoying this amazing weather!

Workout of the Week
I found this WOW on Pinterest and decided to try it out at home. This workout is designed to get the heart rate up, burn 100 calories, and build stamina. I found it looked a bit too silly to try at the rec, but it definitely had me breaking a sweat. I had to clarify how to do long jumps here. Give it a try!

~March in place for one minute

~Jog in place for one minute

~Jumping jacks for one minute

~Long jumps for one minute

~Jog lightly for one minute

~Jumping jacks for one minute

~Squat and kick alternating legs for one minute

~Jog lightly for one minute

~Long jumps for one minute

On Monday I decided to try running a couple laps on the outdoor track...which brings me to my:

Most embarrassing moment of my week in fitness:

Running on the track for my first time should not have been a feat I tackled alone. I took off at a jog, and actually passed the first jogger in less than a minute, then came the second and the third. By the time I had passed everyone twice, the lightbulb in my head brightened revealing why I had been receiving irritated looks every time I flew past a fellow runner. I was running in the wrong direction. Suddenly the arrow markers pointing toward me as I approached them seemed extremely accusative of my stupidity. I guess I had ignored the whole "Start/Finish line" and just took off going clockwise. Needless to say, as soon as I turned and ran in the other direction, I was passed by every other runner on the track.

Something I learned this week:

Although there is no "best time of the day" to exercise, many choose morning to keep them motivated. As the day progresses, excuses tend to come up and exercise can be skipped altogether. The best time of the day to workout is a whatever time you'll actually do it.

I'm very excited for next week's post because I'll be writing my first review on an SSU InMotion class. Here's a hint to which one I'm attending first: 

What does a dyslexic cow say?

Tahoe, New Shoes, and Push-up Blues

Hello!


Welcome back! Now that we've become acquainted, let's get started. Last weekend, I was lucky enough to get a few days off to make an escape to South Lake Tahoe. It's not often that my snowboard leaves it's dusty corner in the garage, and I'm ecstatic when it does. After a long day on the mountain I was pretty tired; feeling a bit guilty about not having the energy to workout I decided to stretch. Soon I found out just how sore the day had made me. Wondering how I could be sore, I researched the exercise benefits of boarding and was pleasantly surprised. 


Three hours of snowboarding vigorously can burn up to 1500 calories! As much as that amazed (and relieved) me, what I found even more awesome was the site that led me to this information. MyPlate by Livestrong is a diet, and fitness log that offers some really phenomenal tools for people who - like me - don't have a freakin' clue about that little thing called health. If you're like me, and find that you lack any motivation whatsoever to exercise and/or eat right, then I really encourage you to check out the site and take advantage of this great resource! It's like finding the perfect workout playlist or getting a new pair of running shoes, it actually makes me excited to be active.


Over the course of this semester, I'll be trying out a lot of five to ten minute workout routines for those busy days when I don't have time (or energy) to make a trip to the gym. This first one was designed by master trainer Keli Roberts to target every major muscle group. Minutes one through three seem pretty easy, but the routine definitely hikes up intensity and difficulty for the last two minutes. Try it out, you'll see what I mean!

1. Clean and Press

Minute: 0:00-1:00

Targets shoulders, back, butt, legs

a. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and place a 5-pound dumbbell on the floor near each foot. Squat, bringing the dumbbells to the outside of your knees, palms down.

b. Stand, bringing the dumbbells to your hips, then raise the weights through your shoulders and overhead. Lower and repeat for 60 seconds.

2. Side Lunge and Row

Minute: 1:00-2:00

Targets back, butt, legs

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a pair of 5-pound dumbbells at your sides. Take a big step out to the right with your right foot, bending right knee 90 degrees while keeping left leg straight. Draw your left elbow straight up, keeping arm close to side and butt tight. Return to start and repeat for 30 seconds; switch sides.

3. Plié Squat and Biceps Curl

Minute: 2:00-3:00

Targets biceps, butt, inner thighs

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointed out, holding a 5-pound dumbbell in each hand with arms extended, palms up. Bend knees 90 degrees, squatting as you curl weights toward your shoulders. Return to start and repeat for 60 seconds.

4. Push-Up Plus

Minute: 3:00-4:00

Targets shoulders, chest, triceps, abs, back

Begin in full push-up position, palms on floor undershoulders and legs extended. Do one push-up, then carefully lift your left hand off the floor, extending your arm out to side. Holding here, lift your right foot off the floor. Lower hand and foot to floor. Do another push-up and repeat with opposite hand and foot. Continue, alternating sides.

5. Single-Leg Deadlift with Kick-Back

Minute: 4:00-5:00

Targets triceps, back, legs

Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding 5-pound dumbbells with elbows bent 90 degrees, hands close to your rib cage. Lift your left foot behind you and bend forward slowly from the hips as you straighten your arms, bringing them next to your hips. Return to starting position. Repeat for 30 seconds; switch sides and repeat.

Originally published in FITNESS magazine, December 2006.

Something I learned this week: 
No bouncing! When stretching, I'm usually tempted to bounce in order to get a deeper stretch, however, it's actually really damaging to the muscles. When I bounce while stretching, I'm actually making small tears in the muscle which can result in scar tissue and lessen that muscle's flexibility. 


Most embarrassing moment of my week in fitness: 
Realizing that I can't do more than five pushups.... :( 


See you next post!


-KC

First Post Ramblings

Hi!


This is your lucky day! You've stumbled upon a fitness blog like none other; of course the topic of interest here is personal fitness, however, I think you'll find that the information and tips on this site are more comical than those of your average fitness junkie. "Why," you ask? Oh nothing really, just that I have absolutely no prior knowledge about anything health or fitness related, and no clue what I'm doing.


Which brings me to the reason I decided to start this blog. I was involved in multiple sports and teams before coming to college, always juggling at least three different activities at once. When I graduated high school and moved away, I started fresh. As an 18 year old college Freshman, having never ONCE entered a gym, I suddenly had access to the brand new recreation center at SSU. Admittedly, I was terrified of it. I never once ventured inside alone, and the only times I found myself there were for weekly intramural volleyball games. I was a bit more brave during my Sophomore year, but still never went more than a few times a month. When I did go, I spent about fifteen minutes on some scary machine and about thirty minutes stretching.


As a Junior,  I am now on the second leg of my college career and starting to realize how much my campus has to offer, and how soon it will no longer be available to me. Side-note, did you know Sonoma State offers wine tasting in our library? Well I guess that's part of the reason I decided to learn my way around a gym.


A little bit about me:
I'm a 20 year old college female studying Communications and Business at Sonoma State University in Northern California. If I could, I would spend all my free time snowboarding. I'm very outgoing and I love trying new things, and here's what I know about working out... oh yeah, I don't know anything about it. My goal this year is to educate myself on all things fitness, and in the process, maybe this butt-less brunette will get herself into shape.


This blog is a weekly account of things I learn, my experiences, and embarrassing moments inside the Sonoma State Rec center; a "Fitness for Dummies" of sorts. I'll post a "workout of the week" for those busy people who don't have time to hit the gym, and I'll be visiting InMotion classes along with getting tips and pointers from the instructors. Though this blog is geared toward students on the SSU campus, I think you'll find that many of my posts will be basic tidbits and are applicable to almost anyone.




Leave comments for feedback, or message me at: http://www.facebook.com/k.casa22


Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next week!
 -KC