It is once again Friday (did this week fly by or what?) and I have another Fit Friday post! I have really been loving doing these because I’ve been super motivated with fitness for the past couple of years. I always swam and danced as a kid, so when I got to college I really wanted to make sure that I stayed fit. This meant I would have to learn how to use the gym – I never had to use it before because I always had my sports to keep me in shape. It can be hard to get up every single morning to go and work out, but it’s definitely worth it when you feel energized and happy afterwards.
Because it can be hard to stay on track, I love to use my Fitbit Surge to keep me motivated! I am the kind of person who is really self-motivated and goal-oriented, so I love beating my own personal records from my Fitbit. Since my Fitbit keeps track of my daily steps, my first goal is to get to 10,000, and then I like to try and beat my previous day’s steps. This keeps me constantly in motion, and really helps to keep my day on track!
I workout everyday but Friday (it’s important to have a rest day!) and I use my Fitbit to keep track of my exercise. I run about three miles, and then do workouts for my abs, legs, upper body, etc., depending on what day it is. It’s really cool to see how I am progressing with how fast my miles are, if I run a little bit farther, and how many calories I burn. The calories part I tend to focus less on because it isn’t the reason why I work out; I like to stay in shape because I like how I feel mentally and physically when my body is at its best. Staying in shape allows me to stay motivated in all aspects of my life, gives me energy, and makes me a whole lot more happy!
There are also a ton of settings that Fitbit’s have, so I can choose which activity I’m doing in order for my Fitbit to better track my heart rate, and other stats. This is so helpful for when I’m running, doing general workouts, biking, or doing yoga! I have been doing a lot of different kinds of exercise so it’s awesome to have all of the different settings to choose from so I can best track my workouts. It’s cool to compare all of my workouts, too, and compare how I feel physically to all of the stats.
During my workouts, my Fitbit tracks my heart rate, which is really important. I can make sure my heart rate isn’t too high, and that I’m not pushing myself too hard. It’s also great to look back on and compare all of my workouts of the week, and see where I can improve upon. It’s also important to know what your maximum heart rate is for your age so you don’t exert your heart too much. My Fitbit helps me with this, since it tells you what your peak heart rate during a workout is, and displays your heart rate in charts and graphs, so you can easily track your progress throughout a workout.
One feature I really love is the “Free Run” selection, because it tracks my location through GPS, and tells me how far I’ve ran and all that. It also does this on the treadmill, and lets me know my mile splits. All of the sub-sections under “Run” are really great and useful to use, and are designed really well! Under “Exercise” there are a lot of sub-sections as well, and the “Hiking” selection tracks your location through GPS like the running one, so it let’s you know how far you’ve hiked! I really love that feature since I go hiking a lot with my friends.
Fitbits also track your heart rate, calories burned, steps taken, and miles walked throughout the day, so it’s fun to see your stats at the end of the day. You can swipe through all of the stats right on the Fitbit screen, so you can track them during the whole day. I track my steps more than I care to admit, because I really like hitting that 10,000 step marker. Your Fitbit vibrates like a mini-celebration once you’ve hit 10,000 steps, so it makes you feel very accomplished haha.
The regular clock display is also really cool, because it’s a visual representation of your heart rate throughout the hour. As you can see in the photo above, my heart was really going at the beginning of the hour because I was walking back from class, and then it slowed down to my resting rate once I got back to my dorm. That feature is really cool to me, because I love seeing how my heart rate has differed throughout the hour without opening the Fitbit app on my phone.
All in all, I am pretty much addicted to my Fitbit, which I’m perfectly fine with. It keeps me motivated, which helps me stay on top of my workouts, and by extension, my fitness and wellbeing. Being in shape is important to me because I feel more energized, and I am able to do so much. Taking care of your body is a great way to love yourself, which you guys know I am all about. With my immune system being so terrible as well, staying in shape helps it out a little bit so it can fight off pesky colds more quickly.
Have you ever used a fitness tracker?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Ahhh, let us all have a collective sigh of relief that it is finally Friday, and that we all have some much needed R&R time. It seems like the weeks get busier and busier as I get farther into college, so weekends are definitely a small blessing in the endless sea of work, tests, and papers. For today’s post, I thought it would be a great idea to talk about de-stressing, and how I do that through yoga. I have been doing yoga a lot lately, and I always feel so fantastic afterwards!
College can be super stressful, and it’s difficult to find time to actually unwind and relax. Whenever I do find time to do nothing, I always feel guilty and like I could be doing something productive. It is a never-ending vicious cycle, and one that makes de-stressing very hard!
There’s a club at my university that is $5 for the whole quarter of yoga, so it’s basically unlimited yoga classes! It’s pretty amazing, and the classes are great because they have fantastic yoga instructors. I have done yoga here and there in the past, but never consistently, and ohmygosh does it do wonders for your body and mind! During the classes, I can feel myself relax into a place where I don’t think of anything else but what I am doing in the current moment. It’s calming as well, which is fantastic for my anxiety.
It can be really hard to be present in the current situation at hand; we are always so worried about the future, and how we handled the past, that we forget to live in the now. This is so important to do, however, because your whole life will pass you by without you even knowing it. Living in the moment is one of my goals this year, because I want to make sure I am making the most out of everyday. I am so guilty of worrying about the future to the point where I’m not even paying attention to the present. Yoga has really put that into perspective for me, because it makes you focus on the here and now.
Okay, I just had to quickly show you guys my new Nike’s as well! I got them for Christmas, and I have been loving them so much. They are so bright and cheery, but also super comfortable!
Look at those pastels, oh my gosh.
If we are talking about the logistics of yoga, I usually wear short or long yoga pants (okay, duh Kendra), with either a flowy long sleeve shirt, or a tank top of some sort.
Shirt: This was a Christmas present, so I don’t actually know where I got it. I think JCPenny’s!
Pants: Lulu Lemon
Shoes: Nike
I am so in love with these pants! The marble print is so cool, and they are really comfortable for yoga.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to make time to relax, and forget about the stress you are feeling. These last couple of weeks have been so difficult and stressful for me. I have been applying to my major, applying for study abroad programs, and I have had a multitude of tests and papers. Basically, it’s just been what every normal college student goes through by their sophomore year! As you get further into college, the stress gets more and more overwhelming, and I am trying to adjust to that. Going to yoga, though, has helped me have at least an hour a day to find time to relax and forget about all of my worries.
Even if it isn’t yoga, find something that de-stresses you, and allows you to have some relaxation time! It is invaluable to have an activity to alleviate stress, so go out and find one, and feel better. Your mental health will thank you.
How do you manage stress?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂
I always hated running while growing up; I was a swimmer and a dancer, so running was never an activity that I had to do outside of P.E. during school. I dreaded the mile runs that we would have to do throughout the year, and I knew I would end up having an asthma attack at the end. That was part of the reason why I never ran, because I had asthma pretty badly while growing up. As I’ve gotten older, my asthma has gotten a lot better, and I only have to use my inhaler when I’m sick, or run outside.
When I got to college, I decided I would start running, because I no longer had my swim team to keep me in shape. To preface this, I also had this irrational fear of treadmills, because I was convinced I would end up falling off tragically. I haven’t yet (knock on wood!), so all is well with that. I ended up starting to love running, and I was shocked. Running used to be the absolute bane of my existence, but now I look forward to my morning runs. I know there are a lot of people out there who hate running as well, but I really wanted to write this post on how I started to love it! So, here is my guide to how to enjoy running.
Start out slow
I think one of the biggest reasons why I hated running when I was younger was trying too much in too little time. I would throw myself into it full force, and not give myself a break. I like to really push myself when it comes to physical activity and working out, and it frustrated me so much when I couldn’t run for miles on end, or very quickly at all. When I started to run last year, I did a lot of HIIT workouts (High Intensity Interval Training) for beginning runners. Those helped a lot, because I was able to push myself for a couple of minutes, and then take a much needed rest. This really helped to build up my endurance, and I was still able to get a good workout in. I still do HIIT’s on the treadmill to this day!
Don’t go into it with a negative mindset
This goes for everything in life, but if you are already dreading a run, you are going to be miserable the whole time. You will be counting down the minutes to being done, and you will hate every second of it. It really helps to keep an open mind about it, so you will actually enjoy the run. Running can be very therapeutic, and it provides you with a lot of time to think about anything in your life. It also releases endorphin’s, so you will be happy afterwards! If you are absolutely unable to not dread the run, just think of how good you will feel afterwards! Which leads me into my next point…
Think of how great you will feel
I always feel so great after workouts, so the initial getting out of bed part is a little bit easier when I realize I will feel better afterwards. Running, and exercise in general, is a huge stress reliever. This is so important in college, because stress and worrying can quickly consume your life. For me, I feel so de-stressed after a workout, and I am ready to take on anything. That’s why I like working out in the morning; I start out the day happy from the workout, and with so much more fresh energy to tackle classes, work, tests, papers, homework…the list goes on and on.
Take it day by day
When trying to get better at something, it can be very easy to get frustrated for not improving over night. I am guilty of this, because I like to improve quickly, and it drives me insane when I can’t get something down. Gaining endurance for running takes time, and actually enjoying it does as well, especially if you don’t particularly like it. You can’t just give up after a week and you still don’t feel like it comes easily, or that you still hate it. Trust me, it’s going to take you a while to love running, but it’s really worth it!
Make sure you have good running shoes
Being physically comfortable while running is very important. If you don’t have good running shoes, your feet will definitely tell you the next day. It’s super important to make sure that your feet are well-supported, because it can cause a lot of issues later down the road. I have a couple pairs of Nike Free’s for running, and I really love them. Some people don’t like Nike’s, and that’s totally fine because there are a ton of different brands out there! Some of my friends swear by Brooks running shoes, so I would just look around and find your favorite pair! Try and get your foot fitted by the store, since sizes vary a lot.
Go on runs with friends
If you have friends who are trying to get into running as well, go on a run with them! This can be intimidating at first because you might be scared you can’t keep up with them, but just explain to them that you are a beginner and may need to go slow or stop often. I’m sure they will be totally fine with that, and it can be really fun to exercise with friends. This will help you enjoy running more, because you will be able to be social while doing it, and you can grab breakfast/lunch/dinner together afterwards!
Put together a great soundtrack
I love blasting fun, upbeat music while I’m running, because it really helps to pump me up! There are tons of workout playlists out there, so you can listen to one of those, or make your own! I like to just listen to my iTunes library, because I have a lot of upbeat songs on there, and my personal favorite bands to listen to while running are Bastille, Imagine Dragons, or basically any popular pop songs.
Alternatively, if you are running on the treadmill, you could watch Netflix or Hulu
I love to do this, because I don’t have a lot of time to stay caught up on my favorite TV shows, being a busy college student. This way, I can watch TV and run at the same time, so it’s really a win-win situation.
Do you like running?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Hey guys!
So recently I started doing the Insanity Workout, and I thought it would be fun to start a “Fit Friday” series and share my progress! It’s a 60 (63 to be exact) day fitness program that is true to it’s name – it is, in fact, insane!! Today marked the last day of the first week, and oh my gosh did it kick my butt. I thought I was in shape since I do swim and have only recently stopped since the school season is over, but in these workouts you use completely different muscles, so I’ve been pretty sore haha. And I’m not used to working out on the land, as crazy as that sounds! Honestly it’s so much different working out in the water rather than land – I don’t know what it is.
But since the school season of swim is over I wanted to do something physical to stay in shape and get more toned, so I thought the Insanity program would be perfect. Although it’s extremely hard, I feel so great after the workouts! I love the feeling after a really good workout, and these are definitely great. Even though my body is super sore, I am so happy! I actually love being sore because it means your body is working hard and changing for the better!
The first day was a Fit Test, so I (naively) was feeling pretty good about the fact that I wasn’t covered in sweat and could still walk afterwards. However, the second day was a different story! My heart was really beating, and I was sweating and breathing like crazy during the workout! Afterwards, I could barely walk up the stairs haha my legs felt like jell-o! The workouts haven’t gotten easier per se, just more manageable, if that makes sense. During the day, though, I’ve had a lot of energy despite the fact that I’m super sore! I’m so excited to see how great I’ll feel after the full 63 days. Tomorrow is my rest day so I’m definitely looking forward to that!
The program is six days of workouts and one day of rest, so it may seem like a lot, but going through it day by day is easier than it sounds. You fall into a routine with the workouts, for example I do them when I get home from school in the afternoons, take a shower, and do my homework. The workouts fit in perfectly!
I’m so excited to continue with this program, and I’ll keep you guys updated! Haha hopefully this isn’t too boring to read, but I thought it would be fun to share with you all since it’s become a pretty big part of my life!
Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day! (:
Hey guys!
So recently I started doing the Insanity Workout, and I thought it would be fun to start a “Fit Friday” series and share my progress! It’s a 60 (63 to be exact) day fitness program that is true to it’s name – it is, in fact, insane!! Today marked the last day of the first week, and oh my gosh did it kick my butt. I thought I was in shape since I do swim and have only recently stopped since the school season is over, but in these workouts you use completely different muscles, so I’ve been pretty sore haha. And I’m not used to working out on the land, as crazy as that sounds! Honestly it’s so much different working out in the water rather than land – I don’t know what it is.
But since the school season of swim is over I wanted to do something physical to stay in shape and get more toned, so I thought the Insanity program would be perfect. Although it’s extremely hard, I feel so great after the workouts! I love the feeling after a really good workout, and these are definitely great. Even though my body is super sore, I am so happy! I actually love being sore because it means your body is working hard and changing for the better!
The first day was a Fit Test, so I (naively) was feeling pretty good about the fact that I wasn’t covered in sweat and could still walk afterwards. However, the second day was a different story! My heart was really beating, and I was sweating and breathing like crazy during the workout! Afterwards, I could barely walk up the stairs haha my legs felt like jell-o! The workouts haven’t gotten easier per se, just more manageable, if that makes sense. During the day, though, I’ve had a lot of energy despite the fact that I’m super sore! I’m so excited to see how great I’ll feel after the full 63 days. Tomorrow is my rest day so I’m definitely looking forward to that!
The program is six days of workouts and one day of rest, so it may seem like a lot, but going through it day by day is easier than it sounds. You fall into a routine with the workouts, for example I do them when I get home from school in the afternoons, take a shower, and do my homework. The workouts fit in perfectly!
I’m so excited to continue with this program, and I’ll keep you guys updated! Haha hopefully this isn’t too boring to read, but I thought it would be fun to share with you all since it’s become a pretty big part of my life!
Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day! (:
Hey guys!
So recently I started doing the Insanity Workout, and I thought it would be fun to start a “Fit Friday” series and share my progress! It’s a 60 (63 to be exact) day fitness program that is true to it’s name – it is, in fact, insane!! Today marked the last day of the first week, and oh my gosh did it kick my butt. I thought I was in shape since I do swim and have only recently stopped since the school season is over, but in these workouts you use completely different muscles, so I’ve been pretty sore haha. And I’m not used to working out on the land, as crazy as that sounds! Honestly it’s so much different working out in the water rather than land – I don’t know what it is.
But since the school season of swim is over I wanted to do something physical to stay in shape and get more toned, so I thought the Insanity program would be perfect. Although it’s extremely hard, I feel so great after the workouts! I love the feeling after a really good workout, and these are definitely great. Even though my body is super sore, I am so happy! I actually love being sore because it means your body is working hard and changing for the better!
The first day was a Fit Test, so I (naively) was feeling pretty good about the fact that I wasn’t covered in sweat and could still walk afterwards. However, the second day was a different story! My heart was really beating, and I was sweating and breathing like crazy during the workout! Afterwards, I could barely walk up the stairs haha my legs felt like jell-o! The workouts haven’t gotten easier per se, just more manageable, if that makes sense. During the day, though, I’ve had a lot of energy despite the fact that I’m super sore! I’m so excited to see how great I’ll feel after the full 63 days. Tomorrow is my rest day so I’m definitely looking forward to that!
The program is six days of workouts and one day of rest, so it may seem like a lot, but going through it day by day is easier than it sounds. You fall into a routine with the workouts, for example I do them when I get home from school in the afternoons, take a shower, and do my homework. The workouts fit in perfectly!
I’m so excited to continue with this program, and I’ll keep you guys updated! Haha hopefully this isn’t too boring to read, but I thought it would be fun to share with you all since it’s become a pretty big part of my life!
Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day! (: