My First Hike

                 

 

so i dont really come from an outdoorsy family, but one of my friends and i joined an outing club at school, and while she’s experienced with hiking, yesterday i had my first hike on greylock mountain in massachusetts. while the five hours we were on the trails were challenging and tested my endurance, the scenery and how i felt after was totally worth the burn.

being the only one in the group that had never hiked before, i went at a somewhat slower pace, but im glad to say i stayed in the middle of the pack and didn’t fall behind. yes, at times i thought i was going to need an inhaler i was breathing so hard, but once i got to the summit, i felt amazing.

i would definitely reccommend hiking to anyone who loves being outside, it is an amazing workout..just dont go when its wet..the rocks were extremely slippery and i saw my life flash before my eyes a few times hahaha.

the hike up was pretty steading, but getting back down was a whole nother story. the group leader decided to take a different path home, and let me tell you..it was 10x more challenging than the one going up. trying to go down the mountain i found myself climbing up a lot..including a basically vertical climb which i was not prepared for but worked through it..and it made me think how sometimes to go down, you have to go up. me gaining weight and going up in the scale has made me realize that yes, ive gone up, but thats just on my trail to go down. its a mere hill on the mountain im climbing down, and while things may be slippery and hard to hold onto, the feeling you get when you reach the bottom again is priceless.

trying to lose weight is going to be like my hike..there are going to be times when i want to head in one direction, but i end up doing the complete opposite. what’s important to remember is that its just a little hill, and as long as you dont give up going around that hill, your success will continue.

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NEW TOY: heart rate watch

 

 

a couple days ago i made an order on amazon for a watch that keeps track of your heart rate and the calories you burn during your workouts and it came in!! for only $25 i think it was a good investment. my sister has one like it, but she has to strap a heart rate monitor around her in order for it to work, and mine [they were both the same price] only requires you to hold the silver ring for a couple seconds to record your heart rate.

the screen where the time is is a touch screen where you can switch between the time, your user info [male/female, hight, weight, age, etc. to make sure its readings are accurate], as well as memory from previous workouts! i cant wait to take it to the gym later and test it out.

for those of you that are curious, it is a Gaiam Oregon Scientific watch called the G2 Fitness Trainer and you can find it on amazon as well as the Oregon Scientific website.

ill be sure to let everyone know how it works!

Today’s workout 5/3/13

i know i have finals coming up and wont have a lot of time to hit the gym, so when i can go, im going to make the best of my time and do as much as possible

treadmill intervals: (30 min)

•  2 min @ 5.5
• 1 min @ 8
• 2 min @ 5.5
• 1 min @ 8
• 2 min @ 5.5
• 1 min @ 7.5
• 2 min @ 5.5
• 1 min @ 7.5
• 2 min @ 5.5
• 1 min @ 8
• walk 2 min @ 3.5
• raise incline to 15
• walk 2 min @ 4
• walk 1 min @4.5
• walk 2 min @ 4
• 1 min @ 4.5
• 2 min @ 4
• 1 min @ 4.5
• 2 min @ 4
• cool down [incline off]; 2 min @ 3.5

i put two different types of intervals into one workout to see how i would like it and i felt good plus it burned a lot of calories which is always a plus.

next up i did stationary bicycle intervals:

• warm up: 5 min @ 6 resistance
• 1 min @ 13
• 2 min @ 15
• 1 min @ 17
• repeat for 15 minutes
• cool down: 2 min @ 6

normally i dont put the resistance so high on the bike, but i wanted to feel the burn rather than speed peddling, and let me tell you..I FELT IT

to finish it off, i used a cardio machine called the wave which is supposed to work your thighs, ham strings, and butt muscles. i switched between resistances 15  20 and 25 for 15 minutes

to end my workout i did a few leg machines and some ab exercises:

• 30 crunches
• 20 bicycle crunches
• 30 toe touches
• 20 reverse crunches
• 15 side dips (right side)
• 30 crunches
• 15 side dips (left side)
• leg raise (30 seconds)

working out feels great so im going to try and continue this pattern of fitness!! and remember:

“Fitness – If it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body.” ~Cher

Week 1 exercise

I am an avid user of pinterest and find it very helpful when looking for healthy recipes and exercises. One of the exercise pins i really liked is the one i will be doing for my first week and can be found at this website:

http://www.prevention.com/fitness/strength-training/10-minute-ab-workout

it states that it will help you lose up to 4 pounds and 3 inches in 7 days (obviously eating healthy as well); however, i dont usually believe programs that say you will get such great results in such little time, but the exercises do look effective, so i dont mind doing the work out.

Basically, my work out week will be:

• monday: cardio and abs
• tuesday: cardio
• wednesday: rest
• thursday: cardio and abs
• friday: rest
• saturday: cardio and abs
• sunday: cardio

the cardio entails 30-40 minutes of cardio of your choice and the ab exercises are as follows (pictures on website)

• 3 sets of 25 hipless crunches
• 3 sets of 21 no hands reverse crunches
• 3 sets of 11 V crunches
• 3 sets of 20 second side planks [on each side]