Workout Wednesday

Wanna run a 5K and have a great time with the girls?  You do!  Then, I have got the race for you!  Check out the Pretty Muddy 5K.  It is a fun filled, obstacle (optional) course filled run, with NO MEN allowed!

There are so many awesome obstacles on this course.  They are completely optional…the muddy ones are optional too, but with an obstacle called “Better Than a Dirty Martini” (see above video) why wouldn’t you want to do it!?!  I know I will be, and I would love for you to join me in this totally fun 5K.

Here are the Pretty Muddy dates and locations so far, and they are still adding on more locations!

June 1 – Dallas, TX
June 29 – Sacramento, CA
September 7 – Chicago, IL
September 14 – Columbus, OH
September 28 – Richmond, VA
October 12 – Atlanta, GA
November 30 – Tampa, FL
December 7 – Miami, FL

Here is a great discount code for a one time $20 discount coupon code GIRLTIME that expires on January 31st, so sign up now for a race near you! Here is a step-by-step guide for using your discount code:

First click on the event you want to register for using the links. You should see this:

Click on the pink link that says “Enter promotional code” – It brings up a box you can type in.

Type GIRLTIME and hit apply.  Then, enter the quantity and hit register.

It is Workout Wednesday, so it is time to get our workout on!  This is based off of an old CrossFit workout of the day that I have done in the past.  Well, the running part is.  The original workout was to run for 1/2 mile, 75 sit-ups, 50 kettlebells, and 50 squats.  I’ve added a link to an example of the lunges with shoulder press.  Remember to stretch when you are done!

• Lateral Lunges with Alternating Shoulder Press

Busy Monday and a CrossFit Workout

My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary last week.  There are no real words that can truly describe what everyone must be going through.

There are also several virtual races starting up for Sandy Hook Elementary. Here is one that I found that I thought y’all might be interested it. Sandy Hook Elementary Memorial Half Marathon and 5K. The funds from this race will go to the families affected by the tragedy on 12-14-12.

It is another one of those insanely busy weeks for us!  Somehow we have more than one place to be each day.  Thankfully we are the types that like to be busy and have fun with it, so let this fun week begin!!

Tonight is our local book club meeting.  I love our holiday meeting, because we get to have a book swap!  It is one of those swaps where you have a number, and you can steal the other person’s gift.  Last year we spent the whole entire time laughing, and we hadn’t even had a drink yet!  I cannot wait to have another great evening with the ladies!

Speaking of books…I finally got a chance to finish Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio.  It was such a good book.  I actually stayed up till 3 am to finish it…Yup it was that good!  I have truly enjoyed all of Jio’s novels, but this one is her best one yet!  Blackberry Winter was such a heartbreaking, enticing, suspenseful, and touching story.  Jio did such a wonderful job connecting the past to the present in this moving novel.  I found myself falling in love with the 2 main characters and found myself cheering for them throughout the novel.  If you have not read this novel yet, I recommend you pick it up (or as a gift from Santa ).  If I write anymore I will end up totally spoiling the novel for you, so I’ve posted the book description below:

Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and departs to work the night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has vanished. Outside, she finds his beloved teddy bear lying face-down on an icy street, the snow covering up any trace of his tracks, or the perpetrator’s.
Seattle, 2010. Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge, assigned to cover the May 1 “blackberry winter” storm and its twin, learns of the unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth. In the process, she finds that she and Vera may be linked in unexpected ways.

Before I forget…I have signed up for another virtual race!  I’m going to have my 13 in 13 all done before September at the rate I’m going.  The Clearwater Halfathon and Marathon virtual runs runs from January 12-27.  You can complete the run all at once, or you can break it up into as many separate runs as you need to.  My goal is to break up the half into 3 separate runs.  Net proceeds (after costs of bib, medal, shipping, administration) will be donated to several small local non-profits to be determined, including running clubs and the Partners For Life Foundation, created by Lorraine Yaslowitz to memorialize her husband Jeff, a K9 police officer in St. Petersburg, FL lost in the line of duty on January 24, 2011. The foundation’s mission is to lend support to families who lose loved ones to senseless acts of violence.

Well, it is time for me to go workout, so I can get the rest of the cooking/baking, laundry, and cleaning done for today. Not to mention I have to come up with a dish to make for our book club meeting tonight. Any suggestions, because I have no clue what to make for once?

This mornings workout that I will be doing is an old CrossFit workout-of-the-day.  As you will notice, this workout is only 15 minutes long, but boy does it pack a punch.  With this workout you will complete the 3 five-minute rounds, performing each exercise for one minute.  Then, rest for 60 seconds between each round.  Write down how many reps of each exercise you complete.  This way, when you go back and do this workout again you can see what improvements you have made and try to beat your previous score.  As always…remember to stretch afterwards!

Time to Feel the Burn!

Last week at the gym a student in my class was asking me if I’ve ever heard of CrossFit and if so if I’d ever done any of the workouts.  A small giggle escaped from my lips after I was asked this question.  The first thought that came to my mind was my butt getting handed to me the first time I tried a CrossFit workout at a gym back in Florida.

The goal of a CrossFit workout is to do rounds of exercises with multiple reps and with only  a few exercises while trying not to slow down.  It is a short workout with amazing results!  I have come to love the CrossFit workouts, and they give you great results.  Not to mention you make improvements with each workout.

I went into my first CrossFit session in great shape, and was ready for the CrossFit challenge.  Shortly into our workout I discovered that I was going to get my butt handed to me on a silver platter.  Thankfully, I was doing this circuit style workout with some amazing people who were giving me advice and motivating me through the whole thing.  Without them I would have thrown in the towel.  I should mention that I was an idiot and did not start out with a beginner CrossFit class.  Instead, I jumped right into an upper level class.  Genius huh!?!  Coming out of that class I felt like I earned some kind of medal.  I have done several CrossFit sessions (starting at a beginner level) since and have loved the challenges and improvements I’ve made in each workout session.

The CrossFit workout we did that day was the workout the actors from the movie “300” did for their initial assessment.  The 300 workout was developed by the trainer to the actors, Mark Twight.  The training regimen these actors went through was intense.  According to the studio’s press release and Mark’s subsequent articles on the subject he was training the actors, “To support fight preparation the training emphasized athleticism by combining compound movements, lifting and throwing. Primitive tools–medicine balls, kettlebells, and rings–were used instead of machines.”

Mark’s focus on training these athlete-actors was on full-body movements with heavy resistance, such as that offered by his organization for modern warriors. Mark says that the “300 Workout” was not the actual physical training conducted, but more of a fitness assessment and morale builder. (Livestrong)

‘300’ is a one-time test, an invitation-only challenge undertaken by those deemed ready for it.” Mark says.  The test consisted of the following exercises performed back-to-back:

Ya, see what I mean about intense?  Can you say feel the burn?

If you don’t feel that you are up to the “300 Workout”, here is a “lighter” versions of 300 workouts I do at home!  I’ll have another 300 workout posted tomorrow!  Remember to stretch when you finish!