Showing posts with label pets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pets. Show all posts

Monday, July 16, 2012

101 Things You Can Do To Get a Workout in OUTSIDE of the Gym!

Hello All! Feeling a lot better today than yesterday, thank goodness :) I got myself into the gym tonight, not sure if that will backfire on me or not, but I need to stay on track with my training, so I did a light workout tonight and it felt great :)

Because it's summer time, a lot of people are going on vacations and spending their time with friends and family, and are not so concerned about getting to the gym. Because of everyone's busy schedules, I wanted to write a post about 101 things you can do to stay fit, OUTSIDE of the gym! A lot of people have a hard time thinking up ideas of what they can do to stay fit without getting into the gym, but sometimes the obvious ideas aren't so obvious, so Fitness Felicia to the rescue with some great ideas for you all !!!
Lots of these ideas are things you can do with friends/family as well, so they can be more fun than getting that gym workout in. With the weather outside being so nice, it's a great idea to take advantage of the outdoors while we still can :)

101 Outside-The-Gym Stay-Fit Activities 

1. Take the dog/s for a walk

2. Grab you girls/guys and head towards the wilderness for a hike 
(visit localhikes.com to find a hiking area near you)

3. Lace your sneakers up and head out for a jog - great for clearing your mind 

4. Going swimming? Make sure you get a couple laps back and forth in! - have a race with the kids, see who can complete 10 laps the fastest with the best form 

5. Head outside for a late-night walk and look at the stars

6. Set up the sprinkler and release your inner child! - Run through it with the kids or friends

7. Raining outside? Get your cleaning gloves on and do some summer cleaning! - things like scrubbing, moping, sweeping all work that upper body! 
Fem tip: vacuuming/sweeping in heels gives your calves a great workout :) 

8. Green Thumb? Get outside and do some gardening! 

9. Take the kids to the playground, get on that swing set and swing! See how long you can work those quads and hammys! Who can go the highest?! You or your little one?! 

10. Have a family/friend field day outdoors. Set up different games: moon bounce, sack races, football, three-legged race - some friendly competition never hurt anyone! It's also a great, fun way to burn off calories without even realizing it! (just make sure if you have food to serve healthy treats!!!) 

11. Love your ride? Been awhile since you washed it? Get outside and wash your car the good ol' fashioned way! Scrubbing and getting down in those nooks in crannies will work your upper AND lower body!! 

12. Heading to the beach for a little vay-cay? Bring a shovel and dig a hole as deep as you can (then bury the kids in it, of course)! Awesome upper and lower body workout! 

13. Take a run on the boardwalk and watch the sun rise or set - it'll be cooler outside and the sights will take your mind off your running :) 

14. Take your family/friends out and rent bicycles to ride while vacationing. Check out the great sights from a different POV 

15. Rainy day? Download a yoga video from youtube and do some calming yoga indoors. 

16. Not a fan of yoga? Youtube also has some awesome kickboxing videos you can do at home!

17. Okay okay! Hate kickboxing AND yoga?! Check out some great pilates videos on youtube as well!! 

18. Have little ones? Get out on the driveway or sidewalk, grab some chalk, and draw up a good old fashioned hop scotch board! Jumping from tile to tile really burns those legs!! 

19. Teach someone/learn how to hula hoop! Already know how? Hula Hoop for fun! It gives your obliques a great burn if you can go for awhile! 

20. Have a frisbee catch outside. I don't know about you guys, but I'm usually chasing after the frisbee, that gives me a great workout in itself.

21. Set up some horseshoes and play a friendly game of horseshoes outside! 

22. Play a not-so-friendly game of horseshoes outside - I know we all like to get competitive ;) (ha ha)

23. White Water Rafting - loads of fun but also a great workout for your upper body

24. Too hot or humid out? Go indoor rock climbing! Fun for inexperienced and experienced rock climbers and for the kids as well! 

25. Take it back to the schoolyard days and teach your kids how to double-dutch. Guarantee you it won't be so easy to keep jumping now that you're a few years older!! 

26. Head to a lake and rent kayaks or row boats. Great upper body workout

27. I know this sounds funny, but make yourself float while you're in a swimming pool, or even harder, the ocean. It gives your entire core an awesome burn! 

28. Click back a few posts and do my outdoors workout! I have videos for examples and everything :) 

29. Before you go to bed and when you wake up in the morning, do 100 jumping jacks for an all-over burn.

30. Also before you go to bed and when you wake up, do 100 sit-ups or crunches for a quick core workout. 

31. Head to a nearby high school or college track and time yourself running a mile.

32. Don't want to run a mile? Head to the track and practice your HIIT training instead! 

(I'll be stopping here for today guys! Early morning for me tomorrow - but no worries, I will be sure to finish this up tomorrow !! :) What do you think so far?!! ) 

xxxoo Fitness Felicia 



Monday, June 25, 2012

New Addition... & Go Vegan...?

Hello Fellow Gym Rats and Health Nuts!! 
How was everyone's weekend? Mine was great! 

I'm writing this post while the newest addition to my family lays beside me, sleeping soundly. Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Pickle, my new puppy :) Pickle is a "Boggle" - a Beagle mixed with a Boston Terrior, and I absolutely adore her, as does everyone else who has met her. She is the sweetest puppy (she can also be quite the terror at times) - so lovable and personable. Her and Jackson are already great friends. He's been doing a great job keeping her in line and out of trouble (for the most part).


(Dad, if you're reading this, I was going to surprise you, but cat's out of the bag I guess!) 

The rest of my weekend consisted of relaxation, friends, and good food. Saturday Reading had a "Garden Party" (which, I eventually realized was some sort of gay pride event) where you walk around the city to different historical homes and in their yards they had beautiful gardens and were catered by the best restaurants/bars in reading with yummy food, beer and wine.


Derek and I met this nice, very outgoing, gay couple who invited us on their (beautiful) porch to listen to live music and talk and laugh. The couple were very interesting, and served us some undrinkable  drinks as we talked. They had the ugliest dog (lol). The couple later invited us back to a party they were holding in their garden later that night. We did not attend, but what I got out of the whole experience was that gay people are the friendliest people!

Right now I have a new chicken concoction cooking in the oven for dinner. The recipe:

"Skinny" Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast (Organic)
Marinated in:
Lemon Juice (duh)
Fresh Salsa 
Topped with "Skinny" Parmesan Cheese Crumbles 
Bake at 375 until cooked through 

I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm serving the chicken with yellow squash (YUM-O!) and salad.

I've recently been thinking about possibly going vegan. I've been eating a lot of organic foods lately - and it is a bit more expensive, but I just can't wrap my mind around all the toxins we put into our body through processed foods and drinks every single day of our lives. We would be so much healthier if we cut all of those processed goods out of our diets. 

I was a vegetarian for about 7 months in high school due to a PETA video, but missed meat too much and went back to my carnivore diet. I'm not sure how I will do without any meat or dairy products again, or how it would affect my workouts...but it's something I've really been considering trying.

I also think being a vegan as well as a college student supporting herself would be hard on the wallet, so I'm not sure if I should just keep eating organic for now? But that's expensive too...

I guess what I need to do is just sit down and really do my research about veganism. If I do try it, I want to last more than a week! The thing I'm most concerned about is my workouts and if they would suffer or not. That's really what I need to look into. 



Are any of my readers vegans? How do you like it? Do you work out as well? How are your energy levels?  Any information would be great! 



Remember, everyone, there's a contest going on right now! Check it out two posts prior to this one!! 
There's still a lot of time!! 

xxxxxo
Fitness Felicia