Tag Archive for bouldering

Weekly Fitness Plan + Whirlwind Weekend

Posted on by

Whew! I apologize for not posting the last two days, but I had a crazy little weekend followed by a crazy start to my work-week! I’m short on sleep, but hoping to make up for that at least sometime this coming weekend!

This past weekend was my Grandpa’s Memorial. It was a really beautiful celebration of his life. Instead of being a sad, mournful occasion (I mean, of course we were all sad he wasn’t there to celebrate with us!),  the service was filled with highlights of all of his many talents and accomplishments through his 92 years of life. Can you believe that at the age of 91 when his health started to deteriorate, instead of just stopping his daily routine, he cut down his gym time from 5 days a week to 3 days a week?! At 91 freakin’ years old he still didn’t give up!!! I’m sorry, I just can’t get over how awesome he was. 😀

What 6:30am looks like from the sky

What 6:30am looks like from the sky

After 3 hours of sleep, we were up at 4am on Monday morning to catch a flight back to LA. Monday then turned into an 11 hour work day for me and I somehow managed to also fit in a heavy lifting session, 20 minutes of cardio, and a bouldering session. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a good idea considering how exhausted I was, but somehow I pulled off a REALLY great lifting session. I PR’d on hip thrusts with 211lbs x 6 reps too. Woohoo for strength! I love lifting heavy!!

Getting ready to thrust away!

Getting ready to thrust away!

 

Weekly Fitness Plan

Although work has been crazy and I ended up taking Tuesday off from exercise, here is what my week tentatively looks like. I am hoping to get back to doing 3 bouldering sessions per week. It’s just so much fun and so great for an overall body workout.

Monday: Heavy Lift + 20 minutes Incline Walking + Bouldering

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 30 minute run + Crossfit + Bouldering

Thursday: Heavy Lift

Friday: 30 minute run + Bouldering

Saturday: Full Body Conditioning

Sunday: Hike?

A lot of this will all depend on how my body feels. If I’m super sore from Crossfit, my heavy lift will likely get moved to Friday and I’ll do something a little lighter on the body Thursday. Just have to see how things go!

Ab Progress: They’re coming…slowly but surely they’re coming….

Ab Progress January 14, 2014

Ab Progress January 14, 2014

I leave you with a picture of the cutest freaking boy in the world. I love my nephew, Matthew, so much!!

My heart.

My heart.

Posted in fitness plans, random tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Crossfit + Bouldering = Blister City

Posted on by

Hey guys! Hope you’re getting a good start to your weekend! I’m finishing up some work and then I have a quick little weekend trip for my Grandpa’s Memorial.

Tonight, my boyfriend is playing a gig at local bar, so we’re heading to that and somehow going to get up in the morning to make a 9am flight. Did I mention I haven’t packed yet? Oops.

Workout

Last night’s bouldering sesh was fuuuuunnnn! My girl Ally and I always have a blast when we climb together. We are both total goofballs and at the same time want to be the baddest climbers in the world, so we make a good motivating team.

Look Ma, no hands!

Look Ma, no hands!

photo 1Since I took a little break over the holidays from climbing, my hands are still getting used to it. My hand/grip strength has stayed pretty well, but my callouses are much weaker! By about an hour into the session, it starts to feel like the wall is covered in razor blades. Fun fun.

Moving on to today. I had to take my boss’s car into the shop, which just so happened to by right near the Crossfit gym I go to in Burbank. I somehow tricked my boyfriend into picking me up and taking the 12:30pm class with me. I made the mistake of looking at the WOD before class the other day and may have chickened out, so I made sure not to make that mistake again today. I’m glad I didn’t because I probably would have chickened out again!

We did a pretty good long warm-up and then went onto the workout:

WOD

7 minute AMRAP

Reps: 3,6,9,12…….

Barbell Thrusters (I used 53 lbs)

Pull-Ups

For pull-ups, i can do some one my own, but I haven’t mastered the whole “kipping pull-up” thing yet. This means I do them strict, so I can usually only get about 2-3 in a row. I used a purple resistance band to help me for the reps I couldn’t do on my own. I ended up with 9+21 reps for the workout. It was tough! I think the hardest part was actually the fact that my hands were KILLING ME. More razor blades. Hopefully in another week or so, my callouses will have become strong enough that I don’t run into this as much.

Note to self: Bouldering the night before crossfit MIGHT not be the most genius idea I’ve ever had.

I’m very new to crossfit, but I do enjoy it a lot! I’ve done a lot of crossfit-style workouts, but as for doing them in an actual box with a group, this is only my 3rd class. I’m very competitive and athletic, so this sport is right up my alley.

Do i think it is for everybody? No. Some people do not like this style of working out. And that is TOTALLY okay. You should do something you LOVE so that you will actually do it and enjoy it!

Do I think beginners should jump into it without proper mastering of technique? No. Form is everything. If you don’t know how to use your body properly, the margin for error and injury becomes huge.

Do I think it’s worth a shot for anyone? Absolutely! I think if you’re new to working out and are interested, you should take a few beginner classes so that you can become familiar with the moves. Many people who think they wouldn’t enjoy crossfit, end up as die hards.

So what about you? Have you tried cross fit? Do you love it? Hate it? Tell me your thoughts!!!

Posted in fitness plans, Workout tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Run, Climb, Recipe!!!

Posted on by

It’s a beautiful Tuesday here in L.A. I know most people are having less-than-stellar weather this week, so I’m definitely soaking this up and feeling thankful. I’ve been feeling really productive this week and I’m hoping to carry that on through the rest of the week and even month. I’ve got a lot of things to do, so the more motivated I am, the easier it will be to get done!

Fitness

Last night, I got done working around 6:30pm and headed straight to the rock climbing gym. Even though it was later than I’d planned, I wanted to get a run in and wasn’t going to let anything stop me. Since my mud run and 5k races, I’ve basically taken a long hiatus from running. While most of my fitness activities stay pretty constant year-round, running is the exception. I’ll run several times per week for months and then one day I’ll just stop and I won’t run for just as long. I am always curious to see how my stamina stays up when I don’t run for long periods of time. The conditioning and lifting that I do should technically keep my running shape decent, but you never know. 

I arrived at the gym around 7pm and decided to just run outside in the neighborhood around it. I used a new running app (RunKeeper) and have to say I like it much better than MapMyRun. I was noticing towards the end of my last running streak that the timing and distance seemed to be a bit off (i.e. I was running sluggishly and still hitting a good pace). RunTracker seems to be much more accurate, so we’ll see how it goes!

I’m happy to report that I felt REALLY good during my run. While I was just trying to take it easy since it had been so long, my body felt like it could have gone much faster and harder. I don’t feel like I’ve lost much stamina and that makes me a happy chica! Yay for running!(kinda.. ;-)) I ended up with just over 3 miles. 

photo 1

Last night’s run

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, I headed into the rock climbing gym for a bouldering session. So much fun and such a great overall body workout. Can’t wait to do it again Thursday!

When I got home, my boyfriend and I made our signature dinner. By signature, I mean we make it like 3-4 times per week. We are a bit obsessed. I promise I will take photos of the process sometime, but here is a recipe for you!

Better Than Chipotle, Chipotle

Ingredients:

2 Organic Chicken Breasts

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Green Bell Pepper

1/2 White Onion

Brown Rice (as much as you’d like)

Black Beans (as much as you’d like)

Spices: Pepper, Cayenne Pepper (optional), Paprika, Garlic Powder 

Hot Sauce (your preference, we use La Victoria)

Directions: Timing is EVERYTHING

-Preheat Oven to 325 degrees

-Place Chicken on a Cookie Sheet and add desired spices. Then bake for about 15 minutes – 20 minutes (until it’s done of course!)

-While chicken is baking, chop up bell peppers and onion.

-When the chicken has about 10 minutes left, boil water (2:1 ratio) and add brown rice. Cook until the water has evaporated and rice is soft.

-When the chicken has about 5 minutes left, spray a frying pan with the oil of your choice and add veggies and spices to the mix. Cook until they start to slightly brown. (Note: if you cook too long they get soggy, so make sure you watch them!)

-While veggies are cooking, heat up black beans (in microwave or pan)

-Finally: ASSEMBLE. Do this however you want, but we like to do: Brown rice, Black beans, Veggies, Chicken, Cheese, and Hot Sauce!!

This picture is not exactly appetizing, but I promise the meal is delicious!!! (This is also my boyfriend’s serving. It’s enough for at least two people, but he eats it all.) 🙂

Charlie's Ginormo Plate of Food

Charlie’s Ginormo Plate of Food

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me know if you try it!

Do you run? Do you like running?  

Posted in nutrition, recipes, Workout tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Weekly Fitness Plan & Bouldering

Posted on by

It’s Mondayyyyyyyyy! Are you excited? I am actually. I like a fresh start to the week!

This weekend was busy, but a lot of fun! Between the enlistment day for The World’s Best Bootcamp-Burbank, a girl’s night, recording session, and a fun workout, I slept like a baby last night!

 

console

Recording Console at Ultimate Rhythm Studios in Los Angeles

My Weekly Fitness Plan:

(This is tentative, but I like laying it out for the week so I have some type of plan in mind.)

Monday: Bouldering (see below) & Run

Tuesday: Heavy Lift

Wednesday: Crossfit + 20 minutes of cardio

Thursday: Bouldering & Run

Friday: Heavy Lift

Saturday: Rest Day (Travelling)

Sunday: Possibly Hike

So that’s what I’m planning! This is actually a lot more cardio than I’ve done in a while, but it’s just so nice outside that I feel like I should take advantage of it and run!!!

What is Bouldering?

So I’ve gotten a few questions on bouldering. Mostly along the lines of ” What is bouldering?!”. Bouldering is similar to rock climbing, but you are not attached to a rope or harness. The walls only go about 8-10 feet high, so if you fall, it’s not a big deal usually. There is a great deal of technique involved in this sport.

Benefits of Bouldering: 

-First of all, it is like doing a puzzle on a wall. There are techniques to bouldering and figuring out how you are going to take the path to the top can be tricky and take some trial and error. While many people think it is all about strength, it is all about efficiency. Technique is what makes being super-efficient on the wall possible.

-Overall body strength: You literally use your entire body. Your core, arms, back, legs, etc. are ALL working. Bouldering has increased my strength in a HUGE way. For example, when I started bouldering a few months ago, I could do 0 pull-ups. I can now do 3 in a row. 

-Mental Zen: There is something about bouldering that has a yoga-like effect. I think part of it is the fact that you are working your body and mind at the same time. For me, I know it is a HUGE stress reliever.

-FUN: Because what about climbing and hanging on walls ISN’T fun?!

It may not be for everyone, but I can tell you that I absolutely love it. If there is a rock climbing gym in your area, I highly suggest trying it out! There are always veterans there that are happy to give advice and help you with your technique. The bouldering community is  very friendly!

bouldering

Me just “hangin’ out!”

So that’s that. I’m working my day away and then heading home for a run and bouldering session. Hope everyone is having a great start to their week!

Have you ever tried bouldering or rock climbing? Are you afraid of heights?

Posted in fitness plans, Workout tagged with , , , , , , ,
Recent Entries »