Searching and Discovering!

I have been placed in charge of social activities for my nursing class. I actually greatly enjoy this honor. I have been finding all my great articles to post on our class site in regards to healthy habits and stress. I decided to do more research for something fun and educational. I stumbled upon two links relating to workouts.


I enjoy this one on Yoga Ab workouts: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/yoga/yoga-pilates-fusion-ab-moves?cm_mmc=Yahoo_Blog-_-LivingWell-_-Make%20Stress%20Work%20For%20You-_-The%20Combo%20Flatter%20Yoga%20And%20Pilates%20RL

My favorite one that I want to include in my core workout is Number 2:

2. Double leg stretch- Strengthens and tones the abs
a) Lie on the floor, bend and hold onto your knees, and curl your shoulders up off the floor.

b) Keeping your hips down and your lower back pressed into your mat, extend your legs up and out at a 45 degree angle to the floor as you reach your arms straight up (biceps near ears) forming a wide "U" shape with your body.

c) Hold this position, pressing your ribs down toward the floor.

d) Use your abs to bring your legs and arms back to starting position with your knees bent. Repeat 5 to 10 times.


Number 3 is fun as well:

3. Side twists- Works all ab muscles, in particular the obliques
a) Lie on your back with arms extended out at your sides, knees bent, and feet flat on the floor. Lift your bent legs to form a right angle with your torso.

b) Keeping both legs together and both your shoulders pressing into the floor, twist and drop your legs to the left until they're halfway or nearly touching the floor.

c) Bring your knees back to center and twist and drop them to the right side without bringing them to the floor. Return to center. Repeat 3 to 5 times per side.

Try them out!


Circuit Train With Your Body Weight
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/circuit-train-with-your-body-weight-520256/;_ylt=AhE.HkRJa_Pq704D0FsPkl9qbqU5

Looks super intense! BUT I do recollect that circuit training in high school made me lose a lot of weight and toned me up.

Run, pull ups, stair jumps, squat or lunge, push-ups, crunches. Savage.

All I need is someone to do it with me.

PS. Planning to train with some of my buddies in my program to do a Cause Marathon (hoping Breast Cancer because I always do those ones) in honor of our school and program.

~*MaSy*~

Happy Hump Day!

Hope everyone is enjoying this "hump" day. Week is halfway over. Weekend is that much closer... :]

I am still sore from my workout on Monday. After standing for at least 45 minutes to observe a demonstration, my inner thighs were straining more and sore even more so! Unfortunately due to this I am unable to make it to the gym without looking, well, freakish.

No worries! I still had a workout today! Today's lab skills were transferring patients from beds to chairs to beds again. Practicing proper lifting technique, I had my fair share of squats and arm lifts. Yes, I had a workout. But the part that will make me feel it tomorrow: it was 4 hours of transferring. So no fear I have had my workout. No lie, I even got a little "misty" with this transferring. And I still need to practice this skill.

Thank you school! Today you have provided me with knowledge, skills, AND a workout! :]

~*MaSy*~

PS. it was a nice workout considering the stress that was thickening the air today. On top of all the stress, reality hit: our class dropped from 30 to 29 today after lunch. That is right: first person to drop. No pressure at all.


Love Chocolate? Check out this article! Some of these I cannot wait to try!
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/eat-chocolate-and-lose-weight-514604/

Reading Inspiration

More Links.

Ten Ways to Create a Personal Fitness Plan:
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/10-ways-to-create-a-personal-fitness-plan-518029/;_ylt=AsiSil60lDTynoC2bpMusVpqbqU5
I really enjoyed this article. It gives useful tips and I find it to be motivating. Hope it does the same for others!

6 Ways Exercise Can Cure Depression:
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/6-ways-exercise-can-cure-depression-516744/;_ylt=AguoJNPFU5TbMUR9NrkIHcZqbqU5
This article hits a soft spot in everyone's heart, I think. Everyone has a down point. I mean seriously, if you are not feeling down or even depressed in this current economy when all is not looking good, you are on some fantasmic happy pills! This article explains why and how exercise works with our bodies.

5 Tips To Make the School Year a Success:
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/5-tips-to-make-the-school-year-a-success-515151/
Great tips that actually apply to all people! The five tips can be stretched and used in everyday life. I like this because it is great advice for all ages. Maybe even teach this to our little students.

Read away and be inspired, motivated, and excited!

~*MaSy*~

Monday Workout

Okay I know this post is slightly delayed, but here it is nonetheless.

Monday Monday...

Part of my dedication and motivation comes from driving my sister to school on Monday mornings. So I got enough sleep Sunday night after a late night at work. Woke up at 930 to take the sister to school at 10. Then, since the gym is across the street, headed to the gym for the workout.

How did I do? Well I tried to go gradually because I wasn't sure how I was feeling that day.

I decreased my elliptical time so that I would have the energy to do weights. (Yes I know I am supposed to do weights first, then cardio so that I have the energy... but the elliptical was open!). Set the timer to 15 minutes (ends up being 20 because of the "cooldown" which I just keep pumping through), threw my notes on the machine, and hooked up the music. I just went for it.

I find the first 5-10 minutes of the cardio workout to be the hardest. Not sure why. When I hit the 15 minutes I am good and can go on for days... seriously.

After that I did some quick leg stretches to loosen the elliptical muscles and hit the hip abductor machine. I did that for one song. Then I hit the hip adductor machine for another song. Workkked it.

Off to the Workout Circuit. I focused more on the arms here: triceps, biceps, deltoids, forearms, ... youuu know. Hit the quad machine as well.

Off to the dance stretching. I did some intensive dance stretches (most focus is on legs and core). Did the splits and really felt good.

Yet today I could not feel my thighs. Between the hips and the stretches I possibly maybe definitely over stretched my upper inner thighs. And boy does it hurt. Hence my difficulty walking.

Unfortunately I was not able to make it to the gym today. My thighs are limiting my ability to move at the moment. No worries, I have been doing wall push ups to work my arms.

One thing I am thankful amidst all this working out and soreness: my jacuzzi. OH jacuzzi I love you so! :]

I felt good being in the gym. While trying to not over do it, I managed to over do it. In my mind, I am still the fit girl I was a couple years ago with very low body fat percentage. Now, with multiple pounds, I have the cardio but necessarily the flexibility to hold my leg up next to my head or sit in splits for 5 minutes plus.

Moral of this: keep going to the gym, go softer on myself.

It felt good studying on the machines. It felt good pushing it. It helped decrease some of the stress and tension I have accumulating in my body from life.

Here is to another week. May I decrease this soreness and get back in that sweatlodge. :]

~*MaSy*~

Mais Oui...

Maybe the French have an idea...

Not going to lie... I do some of these already. And it does make me feel more motivated. :]

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/autumninnewjeans/4-ways-french-women-stay-thin-without-the-gym-515174/

Sunday Sunday...

A day of sleeping in and relaxing.

Last night I was supposed to go out clubbing-- drinking and dancing. Instead, thanks to a little inspiration from my intestines, I stayed home and watched movies. I made a homemade dinner and had homemade desserts.

It is also a day to gather one's thoughts and prepare for the upcoming week.

Today I have found several articles that I desire to share. I am thinking of the times I am going to go to the gym this week. I am also planning the exercises I would like to do at the gym as well. In addition to that, I am thinking of all the homework and upcoming activities I have to do this week in school.

A day to appreciate what you have.

I look around me and am thankful that I have what I have. Sometimes I am frustrated that my job is on weekends and I miss out on the Friday night partying. But then I realize, I have a job. I have money. I am able to pay my bills, still be in school pursuing my dream career, and have some fun cash. So as I sit here thinking, "man, I have to get ready for work in a few hours" I remember that I am very thankful that I have this job. This job is my ideal job right now: I am in a health care setting, I have amazing support from my coworkers as I pursue nursing, I see how doctors all the time (just a bonus), and I can work the hours to my desires. I am very lucky.

A day to make things better and improve. A starting point.



~*MaSy*~



Check out these links:

Butt Blast Workout:



Healthy Habits Gone Wrong:

Sleeping Poorly?

Check out this site! It has some great snacks to eat before bedtime that will help one sleep better. They are sleep enhancing and even tasty! Surprising even! Who would think that milk is not good for sleeping better?

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/38272/8-perfect-sleep-better-foods/

~*MaSy*~