the millennial who's good at nothing: work out

LIFESTYLE: HOLIDAY HIIT

December 21, 2013

'Tis the season for sweating. For myself and other athletes who's seasons are in the fall, the winter and spring are the only true seasons where you have freedom to do any exercise you wish. I love doing Pilates and Zumba, however lately I've been getting into interval training. This is not excluding the non-athletes out there, though! Intervals are one of the most efficient way to burn fat and build muscle because of how dynamic the work out is. Do this workout before christmas so you can thoroughly enjoy your Christmas meal, or after to burn it off. Or both!

My professional and fitness hero and goddess Cassey Ho of blogilates always constructs "Pop HIIT" workouts containing eight exercises that are meant to be done in an interval. HIIT stands for "high intensity interval training" and that's what it is. My favorite thing about intervals or "Pop HIITs" is that they mix between cardio exercises and muscle exercises. It's the fastest and most fun way to burn fat and build muscle at the same time!

I made this circuit festive by making it holiday themed! Do this 3 times through. 30 sec rest in between each exercise and 1 min between each set. You can do it!

1. Reindeer flying split lunges - 1 min

We're starting by working your quads, glutes, calves and hamstrings. Working these muscle groups will get your heart rate up right off the bat! This is a mix of jumping split lunges and wide-legged squats. do three jumps of the split lunges and then do a middle squat. Repeat for one minute.

Split lunges:

coreexercisestudio.com

2. Tree Topper Toe Touches - 1min

Top the tree by laying on your back and reaching for your toes. This way you get some decorating done and work your abs at the same time!

3. Ice Skaters - 1 min

This one's for your glutes, calves, and heart. For this move you'll be doing the well-known cardio moves the skater, where you carefully hop from one leg to the next. Hold dumbbells in both hands for added resistance.

coreexercisestudio.com

4. Santa delivers around the world lunge - 10 each leg
For this move you'll just be doing an around the world lunge. It may look confusing, but you just keep one leg stationary while the other one goes back, side, then front. It's great for your glutes, calves, and quads.

5. Busy elf bicycle crunches - 45 seconds
Here's an ab blast - 45 seconds of bicycle crunches. Don't do them too fast or you won't see any results!

manualsport.net

6. Candy Cane kettle bell swings - 12
I loove me some kettle bell swings. They really target your leg and arm muscles. Do twelve of these.

kettlebellfitnessdk.wordpress.com

7. Fighting shopper double cross jab - 1 min
Fight off those pesky holiday shoppers who want the same item as you! For this, you hook your jab diagonally across your body for two beats, so it's a double cross.

8. Milk and cookies oblique reach - 45 seconds
Burn off those milk and cookies with this oblique reach. Lay down on your back with your legs bent a little. Reach from the inside and touch your shoelaces or the top of your foot. Do this for 45 seconds

There it is! I hope you guys worked your tushies off. Tell me if you did, and send me a picture of how great and sweaty picture by tweeting it to @n_vergak with the hashtag #sweatyissexy. Only if you want, but this is something i'd so do. Even if you don't complete the whole circuit maybe you can pick up a few moves from here. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Happy sweating!

Want to know the best HIIT Workout according to BUFFEDD? Check it out here.

athletic

LIFESTYLE: HIT THE GYM WITHOUT LEAVING YOUR ROOM!

March 07, 2013

When most people think about getting active, they think it requires an expensive gym membership and equipment, or going out and playing a sport. However, all you really need is 10-20 minutes a day and your own body. Medicine balls, yoga mats, and weights are a nice plus, however to quote the one true principle of pilates, your body is your most important weight! If you’re in the mood to work out but don’t feel like facing the public, don’t sweat it! (Well, you will be sweating eventually.)

My room not only functions as my sleeping chambers and homework den, but a home gym as well! All you need is a TV/Computer (preferably a laptop) and your most important piece of equipment - your body! Here’s two ways to gym it up the Boo Radley way:

1. Blogilates: Youtube is a never ending beautiful black hole of helpful DIYs and tutorials. It’s almost made it possible to not have to actually buy anything or have professional training for anything. Like the amount of stars in our universe, I don’t think we will ever realize what an immense amount of DIY is available. My favorite star in that universe is Cassie Ho of Youtube.com/blogilates. She is a ceritified pilates instructor. Her channel is regularly updated with 10-15 minutes workouts of either Pilates, “HIIT” (cardio), HIITilates (A mixture of both), or specialized lower body, abs, or even prom body workouts, and even diet tips! The most you’ll need is a yoga mat and two hand weights, but that’s workout specific. I am obsessed with her and her workouts, she makes it easy to look great without a gym subscription - just a subscription to her channel. As she always says, “I’m gonna kill you, and you’re gonna love it!”

2. XFINITY On Demand: In the same respect, the Sports & Fitness Section’s “Fitness Workouts” of XFINITY On Demand is a black hole of DIY Workouts. However, the selection is much larger. You can choose from headings such as “10 minute Workouts”, “Abs”, “Cardio”, “Total Body,” and more. The workouts range from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time you have. No matter what, there’s always time for a workout!

3. Simple workouts that you can do in your room or anywhere: Whether you’re traveling or in the mood to try something out, you can simply google easy at home workouts and many come up.

Here’s one from fitsugar.com:

That definitely sounds like I need to try it!

Weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise, so don’t forget about what you’re eating! Major diet changes aren’t necessary, but little changes can make a big difference. For example, switching your snacks from chips or candy to delicious greek yogurt or a pack of nuts will give you your protein for the day. Easy substitutions can be worked in to your daily diet without devastating you. Also, drinking a lot of water rids your body of toxins, keeps you hydrated and promotes overall health and weight loss.

health

LIFESTYLE: Food For Thought for Your New Years Resolutions!

December 30, 2012

It's that time of year where everyone is nervously contemplating their New Years resolution. Whether it's a new mindset or a weight loss goal - there's a negative stigma that comes up with a goal for self-improvement. Is it the fear of failure? Why is it that New Years resolutions are fun to make but so hard to keep?

I thought I'd write this little blurb up to provide some inspiration in making your Resolutions. Since this is a half lifestyle blog - it'll mostly be geared to weight loss however you can apply these rules to any goal you wish to achieve.

1. Make your goal realistic. Know what you're capable of. I'm not suggesting to aim low, obviously, but don't say you're going to lose a crazy mount of weight unless you know you physically can. Weight loss is NOT firstly about looking good, it's about FEELING good - being healthy.
2. Have your endgame in mind, however make your initial goal a benchmark. For example, if you want to lose 40 pounds, don't be obsessed with that number. Think, "I'd love to lose 5 pounds in the next two weeks." So, while you're working hard in the gym, think of that closer, more realistic goal and you'll feel so much better when you accomplish it. Even better, it will feel great when you achieve your final goal; you'll be thinking of all the hard work it took to get there. Every lap in a mile is its own battle. To sound cliche, Rome wasn't built in a day!
3. Keep this in mind: It takes two weeks of hard work to notice a change in your own body, 4-6weeks for friends and people close to you to notice, and 8 weeks for strangers to notice! All that hard work WILL pay off!
4. To be honest, when I dropped 30 or so pounds this year that was NOT my resolution. I don't know where my inspiration came from, I just wanted a change I could be proud of. Resolutions are nice guidelines, but they don't have to be the end all be all.

That's why my resolution is so vague. I keep my goals close to my heart, and my visions on my sleeve. My resolution is in the versgram (follow my instagram, n_vergak), above. It's "Don't let anyone get in the way of your happiness. Strive for more, achieve more." I feel like 2012 was one of the best years because I stopped living for other people's happiness and cultivated my own. With any goal you want to achieve this year, keep in mind that you're doing it for YOUR own happiness. If you're not, stop and work on your own happiness! Here's some inspirational images I pulled off of tumblr for your own inspiration. HAPPY NEW YEAR!