October 4, 2014

Spa Days are the Best

I cherish the weekends that don’t have much planned. The weekends when your schedule is wide open and you can spend your time how you see fit. Go to a movie, read, lounge on the couch, exercise, run errands, or hang with friends and family. The possibilities are endless.

It has been awhile since Ray and I have had a free weekend, but luckily this weekend is one of those times. The only thing we have planned is a beach day and BBQ on Sunday to celebrate our friend, Laura’s, 30th birthday.

Last weekend Laura and I took a girls trip to Indian Wells (which is close to Palm Springs) for a pre birthday celebration. Laura found an awesome Travelzoo deal for a deep tissue massage, feet/ hand exfoliation, lunch, and use of the spa and resort facilities at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells. We decided to make a weekend out of it and headed to Indian Wells the night before our spa day. The Hyatt’s rooms were a little pricey, so we decided to stay across the street at the Miramonte Resport & Spa. The hotel ended up being a great find for the price ($150 thanks to Orbitz). The grounds were well maintained, the pool area had lots of comfortable lounge chairs and plenty of shade, our room was big, and the beds were comfortable.

As soon as we got to the hotel, we jumped in our swim suits and headed to the pool. On the way to the hotel we stopped by a local grocery store and grabbed a bottle of wine, hummus, and a bag of pita chips to snack on before our dinner reservation. We poured our wine into paper coffee cups from the room so we could enjoy it by the pool. So classy!

For dinner we went to Cork & Fork, which I picked solely based on the clever name. The menu offered an extensive wine list and lots of small plates of food to share. There were so many tasty options to choose from that we had a hard time deciding what we wanted to share for dinner. We ended up splitting the farmers market salad and sliders. The salad was light and full of fresh vegetables and the sliders were cheesy and delicious. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and crawled into our beds and watched the movie, Begin Again. The plot is simple, but it is a great story about friendship and starting over. I highly recommend it.

The next morning Laura and I headed to the Hyatt for our spa day at Agua Serena Spa. The spa facilities were fabulous and the staff was friendly and super helpful. The spa had an outdoor area with a jacuzzi, a sauna, a steam, showers (including a few private outdoor stalls), lockers, and plenty of room to get ready and lounge.

This may sound dorky, but one of the things I love about spas is enjoying the water they have out for their guests to enjoy. Spas always have water infused with the best combinations of fruits and this spa didn’t disappoint. Their combination was grapefruit and orange.

We both enjoyed our treatments and took full advantage of the spa facilities. I felt like a new woman after a day of pampering. Sometimes you just need to do something nice for yourself!

After we enjoyed our lunch, we decided to check out the rest of the resort. The hotel has a large main pool and a smaller adult pool. The adult pool had a live reggae band playing, so we decided to hang out there.

We spent the rest of the afternoon sipping cocktails and enjoying the sun before we headed back to San Diego.

Hope you have a great rest of the weekend! Anything exciting planned?

September 29, 2014

Shake Up Your Cardio Workout

Happy Monday! Not sure about you, but Cooper and I had a tough time getting out of bed this morning.

He wasn’t very happy when I started to stir. Those eyes were begging for 10 more minutes of sleep!

I would have loved to stay in bed this morning and cuddle with the covers for 10 more minutes, but I had a busy day of work ahead of me so I needed to get up. Since I was struggling to get going today, I decided to treat myself to one of my favorite breakfasts, an acai bowl and ice coffee from Brick & Bell.

Brick & Bell has the best acai bowl and it is my favorite place to get one in San Diego. The picture doesn’t do it justice.

I won’t be working out today because Ray and I have a special date night planned to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary!

However, I did the below cardio workout from Tone It Up last Monday and loved it. The workout was fun, challenging, and went by really fast. My legs felt like jello by the end of it.

I still can’t believe that Ray and I have been married for 2 years.

It felt like just yesterday that we were exchanging vows in front of our families and friends.

As a wedding gift, Ray gave me a framed photograph that shows the view from the beach where he proposed. I love the photo and every time I walk by it I can’t help but smile.

Since the traditional first anniversary gift is paper, Ray and I bought some of our favorite photos from our wedding and had them framed last year.

It is a good thing that the traditional second anniversary gift is cotton because from the looks of things Ray is in need of some new socks.

Cooper strikes again!

September 26, 2014

The Great Disappearing Act

I am sorry I have been absent for the last few months. I pulled quite the disappearing act, so I thought it would be a good idea to fill you in on what I have been doing with my life lately.

In April, I ran the La Jolla Half Marathon. I ran the race at the end of April with Ray and my brother-in-law, Matt. I am happy to report that I achieved all of the goals I set for myself. I ran the entire race without stopping and finished it in 2 hours and 9 minutes (just under a 10 minute mile).

The three us before the race started.

I have been a beach bum.

Did you happen to notice the huge chunk of my towel missing. I have Cooper to thank for that. He is still quite the chewer.

I traveled a ton. Cooper wasn’t too thrilled that we went on so many trips over the past few months. Now whenever he sees the suitcase he gets completely depressed.

Our travel has ranged from backpacking trips with friends, to hanging out in Cape Cod, to a road trip up the California coast.

In May, Ray and I went on backpacking trip to Havasupai Falls in Arizona along with 4 of our friends. Simply put, Havasupai Falls is magical. You hike 10 miles in the middle of the desert, through a canyon, past the Indian village of Suapi, and then out of nowhere there is lush greenery, waterfalls, and pools of crystal clear, blue water. We spent three wonderful days exploring waterfalls, hiking, playing cards, and just overall enjoying the simpler joys backpacking has to offer.

In June, Ray and I along with our friends, Brian and Laura, hiked to the top of Mt. Whitney. Mt. Whitney is the highest summit in the 48 states on the North America continent and has an elevation of 14, 505 ft. The hike to the summit of Mt. Whitney starts at Whitney Portal and from there it is an 11 mile climb to the summit with an elevation gain of 6, 100 ft. Round trip the hike is 22 miles long and took us two days to complete.

The hike to the summit of Mt. Whitney was grueling and was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It was worth every step to see the view from the top and being able to take a celebratory photo at the summit.

In July, I turned 30! My birthday celebrations included beach days and fun dinners with friends and family in San Diego as well as a weekend away in Los Gaviotas.

Jen, Kristie, and I having a cocktail before dinner at George’s Ocean Terrance. Of course, I had to have a lemon drop martini!

The weekend before my birthday Ray and I headed to Los Gaviotas with a group of friends to celebrate my birthday, his birthday and our friend, Martyn’s birthday. Since all three of our birthdays are within a week of each other, we figured what better way to celebrate than a weekend in Mexico. Los Gaviotas is gated community in Baja that is just south of Rosarito.

The gated community includes a private beach, which has a beach volleyball court and a great surf break. I didn’t surf but I did play my share of beach volleyball.

Picture of the whole group at dinner in Puerto Nuevo.

Mexico 3

In August, we went to Cape Cod to visit my friend Farah and her family. When Ray and I lived in Boston it was our tradition to spend a weekend on the Cape with my friend Farah at her house in Eastham. Even though Ray and I live in San Diego now, we still make it back to Boston at least once a year for our annual Cape trip. I have only missed one year since we moved, but that was because I was planning my wedding and was a bridesmaid in two other weddings. The Cape weekend is always full of great company, tasty food and wine, plenty of time lounging in the sun, and runs along the Cape Cod Bike Path. Even though Ray and I went last month, I am already looking forward to my trip next summer.

Farah and I in Chatham before dinner.

In September, we took a road trip from San Diego to Berkeley. Our first stop was Santa Barbara. We explored the Santa Barbara Harbor and had the best fish sandwich and tacos from On the Alley. The fish sandwich and tacos were so good that we made a special trip to Santa Barbara on the way back to San Diego just to eat there again! Of course, a meal full of fried fish wouldn’t be complete without ice cream.

Our second stop was San Jose to see my Dad and Mom. We celebrated Labor Day by going on a hike with my Mom and eating Chinese food and watching a movie with my Dad. The Chinese food was good, but the movie, Neighbors, wasn’t our cup of tea. I swear every time the three of us see a movie together it always ends up being horrible. Maybe we will have better movie luck over the holidays.

Our third stop was Samuel P Taylor for a two night camping trip. This was the first time Ray and I went camping with Cooper on our own. We (and by we I mean Ray) cooked great food, had s’mores for dessert every night, and went on a really fun hike.

Our last stop was Berkeley to see Ray’s parents who rented an apartment for the summer in order to avoid the Arizona heat. One of the days the four of us ventured into San Francisco and we went to the Ferry building for lunch (I might have sneaked in a little shopping), we trekked to the top of Coit Tower, and we stopped by Pier 39 to see the seals.

View of Alcatraz from Pier 39.

Three of my good friends, Kirby, Kristie, and Jen, live in San Francisco and I was happy that Ray and I were able to squeeze in some time to see them. Jen and her boyfriend cooked us an amazing dinner of salad, steak, and pasta. It is always so much fun catching up with them, especially over good food and wine. Even though I don’t see them all the time we are always able to pick up exactly where we left off.

When we haven’t been traveling our home has been a revolving door of family and friends visiting us in San Diego. Things have been busy, but I truly have enjoyed every minute of it. I only have one more trip planned – a girls night in Palm Springs this weekend. After that Cooper can rest assured that my suitcase will be safely stored in the closet (well at least for a little while) .

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting about my trips and adventures in more detail as well as my experience running the La Jolla Half Marathon. I promise not to disappear again.

April 11, 2014

Listen to Your Body

Hello! Things have been pretty quiet in the Moellering household this week.

After I completed jury duty on Monday, I worked from home for the rest of the day. It was nice to be able to relax on the couch while I answered emails and finished up a few projects. While I was working, Cooper spent his time grilling me from the other couch. Sometimes when he really wants to go for a walk he just sits and stares at you with this pathetic look on his face. I guess he didn’t understand what we were doing inside when the weather was so nice outside.

After awhile he started grumbling and barking at his leash, so I gave in and took him for a walk. Cooper and I had a fantastic time walking along the ocean and checking out the beach scene, which was pretty packed for a Monday afternoon. It felt good to be walking outside and getting some fresh air and sun, especially since I had spent the majority of the day sitting in the jury lounge and courtroom.

Ever since my 9.5 mile run on Saturday my left hip has been bothering me a little bit. During my run I felt fine, but I noticed afterwards that my left leg/hip was pretty tight and felt a little sore.

In order to give me legs a break this week, I did a strength training workout that focused on upper body on Monday and I didn’t exercise at all on Tuesday. I was feeling pretty good on Wednesday and I had little to no pain in my left leg/hip area, so I decided to go for a short run.

As soon as I started running my left leg/hip immediately started to bother me. I should have stopped running, but I was an idiot and didn’t. I figured that if I slowed my pace down and stopped at the halfway point to stretch that I would be okay. I was wrong. My run was a complete disaster. My iPod shuffle ran out of batteries, my body never loosened up, and I was super hot because I was wearing too many layers. Like I said it was a complete disaster.

I should have listened to my body and stopped running. However, I am a fairly competitive person and I hate when I have to bail out of a run or workout. I always think I can push through the discomfort and pain, but sometimes I shouldn’t and by moving forward with the workout I end up doing more harm than good.

I think the hills combined with the increased mileage has finally started to catch up with me a little bit. In fact, I think the training for the half marathon is starting to get to all of us. Both Ray and Matt have been having some knee pain and Ray has also been dealing with plantar fasciitis.

I love this photo. Notice that Ray is icing his foot, playing with Cooper, and trying to find something to watch on TV all at the same time.

I am pretty sure that the culprit behind my leg/hip pain is a strained IT band, so yesterday I went to the gym to do some stretching and foam rolling. I am hoping that if I take it easy through this weekend and I continue to stretch, ice my leg/hip, and take Advil that my legs will be as good as new and I will be back to running next week.

April 8, 2014

You are not a dog

Some Mondays I dread more than others. It is always hard to get back into the work week after a fun weekend, but I was particularly not looking forward to today because I had been summoned for jury duty. Until today I have never had to report for jury duty, but from what I gathered by talking to those who had, it didn’t sound like a fun experience. I was at the Hall of Justice bright and early this morning armed with two books and my computer to help keep me busy and entertained while I waited to see if I would be selected for a jury.

While I was serving my jury duty, I spent some time searching for a quote to use for this weeks Monday Motivation and during my search I stumbled upon this quote:

I started laughing as soon as I saw it because I do this all of the time.

Run 6 miles and enjoy a huge plate of french toast from Cody’s La Jolla (which, by the way is the best french toast I have ever had).

Go for a hike and enjoy a large ice coffee with vanilla powder from The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Complete a strength training workout and enjoy a bagel and cream cheese with bacon (this also happens to be my cure for hangovers).

And I can go on and on. To be honest, sometimes when I have a reward in mind it helps motivate me to push through a challenging workout or is my incentive to do something active on the weekends instead of sitting on the couch. Although I think the quote is funny, it is something that I obviously don’t follow in my own life. I don’t think there is anything wrong with rewarding yourself with food as long as you are thoughtful about it. The key is to find a balance and strategy that works for you.

The first time I trained for a half marathon I used food as my rewards for completing runs a little too often, which I think was the culprit for why I gained a few pounds while I trained. This time around I am still using food as rewards during my training for the La Jolla Half Marathon, but only for completing long runs and I am incorporating other types of rewards in as well.

Like getting a pedicure.

Or treating myself to a Stitch Fix…check out my cute leggings from a recent fix.

Sometimes my reward for working out hard or challenging myself is just knowing that I pushed myself and I made it through. Last Saturday Ray and I ran 9.5 miles and I completed it in one hour and thirty minutes, which is an awesome pace for me. We ran the middle part of the La Jolla Half Marathon course, which included the Torrey Pines Monster Hill (~1 mile at a constant 10% grade – and this is just one of the hills featured in the La Jolla Half Marathon).

This is a picture of the start of the Monster.

When I finished I couldn’t help but think about how far we had actually run and how far I have come since we first started training. Just the idea of running up the Torrey Pines Monster Hill made me nervous and was enough of a reason for me not to do the race. With a little time and work I have started to tame the Monster and I am feeling confident that I will be able to run the entire half marathon at my desired pace.

Previous Monday Motivation Quotes:

March 27, 2014

Girls Weekend in Phoenix

This past weekend I traveled to Phoenix, Arizona for a girls weekend with my college friends. Amanda, Carlie, Meredith and I met at the University of Arizona during our freshman year and we became fast friends. The four of us had a ton of fun together and I am lucky that even though we all don’t live in the same area we are all still friends. Meredith and Carlie live in the Phoenix area and Amanda lives in Huntington Beach.

Last November Meredith had a baby, Caroline, and neither Amanda or I have had the chance to meet her, which gave us the perfect excuse for a girls weekend.

Amanda and I arrived in Phoenix last Friday and right after we checked into our hotel room we headed over to Meredith’s house to finally meet Caroline and enjoy some appetizers and drinks. She is the sweetest baby and has the biggest smile.

Amanda and I with sweet Caroline!

Last Saturday morning the four of us headed to Camelback Inn Resort & Spa for massages and some pool time. My legs were sore from running earlier in the week and my shoulders had a few knots in them from traveling, so my massage felt extra good. I haven’t had a massage in a long time and I forgot how amazing they feel. I think I might have to book one for the day after I run the La Jolla Half Marathon!

The spa facilities at Camelback Inn are top-notch, but the best part is that if you have a spa treatment you can hang out by the pool (which is for spa guests only) for the day. After our massages, the four of us snagged some lounge chairs and a few umbrellas and spent the rest of the morning talking and soaking up the sun. It was such a relaxing day.

On Saturday evening, Carlie had everyone over at her house for a BBQ. Berkeley, Carlie’s daughter, is so funny and I loved hanging out with her. We took photos everyone at the BBQ with my iPhone, played in her sandbox, and pretended we were characters from the movie Frozen. The last time I saw Berkeley she was a newborn and I couldn’t get over how big she had gotten and talkative she was. Carlie is pregnant with her second child and is having a baby boy in June. I can’t wait to meet him!

A fun picture of all the ladies!

I had so much fun in Phoenix and loved being able to spend some quality time with my college friends. It is always sad to say goodbye, but I am looking forward to our next girls weekend.

My schedule lately has been packed full of travel, which can make it more challenging to squeeze in some exercise. Below are my three go-to workouts when I am traveling because they don’t require a ton of time, but still give you a great full body workout.

10 Minute HIIT Workout from Carrots ‘N’ Cake

10 exercises in 10 minutes that you can do anywhere. I love this workout because it is short but brutal. Sometimes I switch out some of the exercises and choose different ones depending on my mood. I always keep the timing format the same (perform each exercise for 45 seconds with a 15 second break in between).

Hill Run on the Treadmill

Every quarter-mile you run or walk increase the incline on the treadmill until you have completed 2.5 miles. I usually run the first quarter-mile with no incline so I can warm up and work up to my pace. This workout is great if you are traveling and have access to a treadmill because it allows you to work up a great sweat while giving your cardiovascular and legs an awesome workout.

On the Go Workout

Set 1 (perform set 3 times)

Push ups – 16 reps

Plank Jumping Jacks – 20 reps

Tricep Dips – 16 reps

Cardio Set (perform once)

Jumping Jacks – 30 seconds

Mountain Climbers – 30 seconds

Set 2 (perform set 3 times)

Lunges – 10 reps on each leg

Superman – 16 reps

Punches (without dumbbells) – 30 seconds

Cardio Set (perform once)

Jumping Jacks – 30 seconds

Mountain Climbers – 30 seconds

Set 3 (perform once)

Wall Squat – 45 seconds

Squats – 20 reps

Squat Jumps – 30 seconds

I provided links below of some of the exercises that are less commonly known for your reference.

Plank Jumping Jacks/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdx8r3FIvvU / To modify the exercise, instead of jumping just step one foot out to the side at a time.

Tricep Dips/http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/tone-up-your-arms-with-the-tricep-dip.html/ To make this exercise more challenging try performing it with one leg straight up in the air (perform 8 with right leg up and then 8 with left leg up). You can also perform this move using a bench.

Mountain Climbers/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J4hRICVjRo /

Superman/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc6UVRS7PW4 /

Punches/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78lvCPd3fsk/ Link shows exercise with weights, but you can perform it without them if you don’t have access to dumbbells. Make sure your hands don’t go above shoulder level.

Wall Squat/ http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/exercises.asp?exercise=66/ The lower you sit the harder it is!

Squat Jumps/ http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/fitness_programs_exercise_library_details.aspx?exerciseid=116/

March 24, 2014

Monday Motivation

This weekend I was in Phoenix for a girls weekend with my good college friends. I am still catching up from being gone and have to go LA this week for work. Tomorrow I will post some fun photos of my trip to Phoenix and a few of my favorite workout routines to do while I am traveling.

Here is this week’s Monday Motivation.

Previous Monday Motivation Quotes:

March 17, 2014

Monday Motivation & 2014 Fitness Goals

I hope everyone had a great weekend. My weekend was pretty low-key, which I was very excited about since Ray and I have been out-of-town a lot lately. Yesterday, the weather felt more like summer than early spring in San Diego. Ray and I took a spin class in the morning, spent the afternoon at the beach, and ended the day at friend’s house for a BBQ. It was the perfect Sunday.

All of the nice weather and sunshine made it especially hard to switch my brain into work mode today. Luckily, I was still able to finish up my work on time and make it home in time to take Cooper for a walk with Ray and watch the sunset.

For the next few weeks my workout routine is going to be a little different from what I am used to and is going to be focused on running. Last year at Christmas time Ray, Matt (Ray’s brother), and I talked about running a half marathon together in the spring. The three of us spent some time looking at different options that would work with our schedules, would be easy to travel to, and that would have a pretty running route.

One of the only races that worked with all of our schedules and that would give us enough time to train was the La Jolla Half Marathon on April 27, 2014. I was pretty hesitant to sign up for the race because the course is pretty challenging.

Check out the course’s elevation map!

The three of us signed up in early February before we could talk ourselves out of it.

Up until now my fitness routine has not changed that much. Ray and I have incorporated a few shorter runs ( 3 to 4 miles) in during the week and have been running longer runs (5 to 6.5 miles) over the weekend. The race is not that far away and I really need to start focusing on training for the half marathon. My goal is to complete the race in under 2 hours and 15 minutes.

I think it is important to have fitness goals to work towards, especially goals that push you outside of your comfort zone. Having and working toward a fitness goal was one of the tools I used to keep me motivated while I was trying to get back into shape and has been instrumental in maintaining my current weight and fitness level.

Last year, my fitness goal was to become strong enough to do one unassisted pull up (or chin up). Sadly, I have not achieved this fitness goal yet, but I am not giving up!

My fitness goals in 2014 are to tackle the hills of the La Jolla Half Marathon course and complete one unassisted pull up (or chin up).

What are some fitness goals that you are working towards this year?

Previous Monday Motivation Quotes:

March 16, 2014

Camping Adventure in Malibu

Last weekend Ray, Cooper and I headed to Malibu with some friends for a camping adventure at Leo Carrillo State Park. Leo Carrillo State Park is a really cool place to go camping because the campground is nice, the bathrooms are pretty clean (even have showers), it is dog friendly, and has lots to do (hiking trials and is across the street from an awesome beach).

Ray, two of our friends, Cooper and I drove up to Malibu early last Saturday morning to join four of our other friends who were already camping at Leo Carrillo . Given how much stuff you need to go camping our car was packed to the brim, which didn’t leave much room for Cooper. Luckily, Cooper found a good place to cuddle up for the car ride on my lap. About 20 minutes away from Leo Carrillo State Park there is a nice shopping center with a grocery store, which we stopped at to pick up our groceries and firewood for the weekend. Since the car was already packed full the only places that we could fit the grocery bags were on our laps and at our feet. Thank goodness it wasn’t a long drive from the store to the campground because the car was a little claustrophobic.

The first time Ray and I ever went camping we planned the trip with our friends at the last-minute and we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare or any of the gear we needed. Ray and I ended up running to Walmart at 10:00pm the night before we were supposed to leave in order to buy everything we needed for our camping trip. There was limited options for tents and we ended up buying one that came in the smallest bag. The package of the tent said it was for two people and that it was over 6ft long. The package totally lied. Ray and I could barely sit next to each other inside the tent let alone lay down in it. It was so small. Luckily, some of our friends had an extra tent that we borrowed for the trip.

small tent

Since our first camping adventure, Ray and I have slowly purchased new camping gear that actually fits us. Last year we bought the Kelty Salida two person tent from REI, which we love. The tent doesn’t weigh much (which is a bonus for backpacking trips), is easy to put together/take down, and is roomy. The tent comfortably fits Ray, Cooper and I.

After we got to the campground, we ate lunch and then headed right over to the beach to hang out in the sun and to do a little surfing. I didn’t surf on this trip because the waves were a little big for me and I didn’t have a wet suit. We couldn’t have asked for better beach weather. It was in the 80s and clear skies.

One of the other great things about Leo Carrillo State Park is that there is a large section of the beach that allows dogs on it as long as they are on a leash. Cooper was happy to be able to hang out on the beach with us and spent most of the afternoon napping under the umbrella in the shade and digging in the sand.

After we got our fill of sun, our group headed back to our camp spot to unpack the car and setup camp. We reserved two spots for 9 people and we had lots of room to spread out.

Ray snapped a cute picture of my friend, Laura, and I. Laura and I both have a love of playing cards and spent a lot of our time playing Gin Rummy and we even recruited our friend, Astrid, to play Rummy 500.

We setup a little area for Cooper to hang out by the group. Ray and I didn’t trust him off leash because I am pretty sure he would have run around visiting other campers to see what food he could steal.

We spent the rest of the night hanging out by the campfire. We had quite the feast – hot dogs, chicken, sausages, vegetables, corn, and baked potatoes. For dessert we had s’mores, no camping trip is complete without them!

The camping trip was a blast. It is always nice to disconnect from cell phones and technology and spend time outside with your friends. Cooper was pretty tuckered out from our camping adventure and when we got home on Sunday afternoon he spent the rest of the day recovering on the couch.

Ray and I weren’t quite as tuckered out as Cooper and decided to head to Tourmaline beach so that Ray could surf with a buddy and I could go for a run along the PB boardwalk. When I got done with my run I found Ray with his foot taped up. While he was surfing he had to bail off a wave in order to avoid running into someone and during the process the fin on his board cut his foot. Not a great ending to our weekend! I guess we should have stayed home with Cooper and been lazy on the couch.

March 15, 2014

Only Have 30 Minutes Full Body Workout

Last Thursday I got held up at work and wasn’t able to leave in time to make the strength training class, Pure Muscle, I usually take on Thursdays at my gym, La Jolla Sports Club. Ray and I needed to run to the grocery store, cook dinner, take Cooper for a walk, and plan out some upcoming trips, which didn’t leave me much time for a workout.

I find the key to working out when you don’t have a lot of time is to perform moves that use multiple muscle groups and that you can do on both sides at the same time. I also do my best to keep moving during the whole workout and limit the amount of breaks I take, which helps keep my heart rate up.

Only Have 30 mins Full Body Workout (Length apx 30 minutes / Equipment: dumbbells, mat, & bosu ball)

3 Minute Cardio Warm up: ride the bike, walk or jog on the treadmill, or do the elliptical machine

Set 1 (complete 3 rounds)

Plank Dumbbell Row with Push up – 16 reps (perform row on right arm, perform push up, and then perform row on left arm)
Sit Squat- 20 reps
Shoulder Front & Lateral Raise – 16 reps

Cardio (complete 1 round)

Squat Jumps – 30 seconds
Mountain Climbers – 30 seconds

Set 2 (complete 3 rounds)

Bicep Curl – 16 reps
Walking Lunge with Arms Overhead – 10 lunges on each leg
Tricep Dips – 16 reps

Cardio (complete 1 round)

Jumping Lunge -30 seconds
Mountain Climbers – 30 seconds

Stretch

I used 10 pound dumbbells for the plank dumbbell row, 5 pound dumbbells for the shoulder front and lateral raise, and 8 pound dumbbells for the other exercises.

Provided below are links that illustrate how to perform each move as well as tips and modifications for your reference. A few easy ways to modify any workout to fit your fitness level are to decrease the number of reps you perform (or for how long you perform the exercise) or by using lighter weights or body weight only.

Plank Dumbbell Row with Push up/ http://www.muscleandfitnesshers.com/training/plank-dumbbell-row/ To modify this exercise, do not perform the push up in between each row.

Sit Squat/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC6lRs8J1NY / I performed this move using a bosu ball, but you can also use a bench or step bench. When performing this move make sure that your chest is up and that your knees do not go past your toes.

Shoulder Front & Lateral Raise/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQhZ1MOgT9g / Make sure that your hands do not go past your shoulder level.

Squat Jumps/ http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/fitness_programs_exercise_library_details.aspx?exerciseid=116/

Mountain Climbers/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J4hRICVjRo /

Bicep Curl /http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiTkXELBWwQ / To make this exercise more challenging, perform this exercise while standing on the blue side of the bosu ball.

Walking Lunge with Arms Overhead /https://www.fitstudio.com/exercises/overhead-walking-lunges/

Jumping Lunges/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Iug7eC0dk /

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

FitnLife

Enjoying life while still trying to fit into my jeans

Spa Days are the Best

Shake Up Your Cardio Workout

The Great Disappearing Act

Listen to Your Body

You are not a dog

Girls Weekend in Phoenix

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation & 2014 Fitness Goals

Camping Adventure in Malibu

Only Have 30 Minutes Full Body Workout