Dare to Conquer the Chair

I did this workout last night and it's a killer! You can break it up and just do the strength or add the 10 min AMRAPs to get in a full hour of high intensity challenge. See video below for exercise demo.

Here's the break down of the workout.

Equipment: Chair, timer, Dumbbell and a mat is optional


1st Part is strength:   Set your timer for 9 rounds. One minute of work and 20 seconds rest.

1. Round Kick Reverse Lunge Right Leg
2. Round Kick Reverse Lunge Left Leg

3. Single leg Chair dips alternating legs
4. Elevated Pushup with knee drives  focus on keeping your core tight

5. Single Right Leg Squat - come down slow and controlled with barely any weight in the chair
6. Single Left Leg Squat

7. Right arm Row with Left leg raise  squeeze shoulder blade into spine, squeeze your glute when you lift      your leg
8. Left arm Row with Right leg raise

9. Elevated leg sit up



2nd Part AMRAP Cardio:  Set your timer for 10 minutes. Do as many rounds as possible of the following:

10 reps:  Burpee with pushup
               Floor touch jumping jacks
               Mt Climbers
              Tuck Jumps
              plank Jumps
              Squat Jumps


Repeat the Strength and AMRAP once again, for an hour workout!   If you want to shorten the workout and focus more on strength, do two rounds of the strength part. The AMRAP can be done solo as well if you are looking for a quick, intense burst of cardio.

Portland Rock N' Roll Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran in the first ever Portland Rock n' Roll half Marathon. I can honestly tell you that the overall training experience, race and recovery has been night and day compared to training for a full marathon. I think that training worked well with my busy schedule, didn't completely take over my weekends, and I was still able to enjoy other physical activities because I wasn't tired from long training runs. I'd highly recommend training for a half marathon for anyone interested in endurance events. The distance is challenging, it doesn't set you back a week to recover from, and the last two miles you aren't asking yourself why you are doing this!
I ran the 1/2 just under 2 hours, which was my goal. I didn't do as much speed work as I would of liked too... but with all of my fitness classes and other outdoor interests, I managed to fit in a short run during the week, and a long run on the weekends. The weather was perfect, cool with a slight mist. The race was well organized, and there were plenty of aid stations.

This was the training program I followed loosely. I wasn't training to race.... and I only fit in two runs a week....

I averaged 8:55 per mile...  I ran at a comfortable pace, and I probably could of pushed it a little harder, but my main goal was to finish strong, and have fun! 1:57 was my finishing time, which honestly isn't very fast, but at least there's room for improvement! 

The course was really fun, it was mostly on the east side of Portland, it started on the waterfront and then headed towards Mt. Tabor. The last half of the race was a slight down hill which I was pretty happy about. I learned my lesson from the last race I was in, and started off slow... and each mile I got faster and faster. I love negative splits! I enjoy running in these big events, it is so inspiring to see people of all ages, shapes, fitness levels, working so hard to accomplish a goal! It's also so humbling when 50 year olds are passing me... gives me hope for the future! 

So would I run another half marathon? Hell yeah! Another Marathon? No Way!   Until next time! Happy training!

Half Way through-  I'm still smiling cause I only have 6.5 miles to go! 

My boyfriend was taking photos of me while he was on his skateboard, he skated with me for a few minutes at the half way point! ( A great place to have your cheer squad is at the half way point!) 

Boxes and Bars Workout

I've been feeling the minimal equipment workouts lately! Easy to set up, and get right to business! Here's a new workout that will only require a bench or box, a 15-30 lb bar and timer. It should take you 20-30 minutes to complete, depending on how many rounds you decide to do. See video below for exercise breakdown. Good luck!

Equipment: Timer, Box/Bench, and 15-30lb bar

Set your timer for 8 rounds
One minute of work, 20 seconds rest

Warm up 5-10 minutes

1.Burpee Box Jumps  - Do a burpee and jump up on box landing in a squat with soft knees- jump or step back down

2. Overhead Squat  - Beginners should rest bar on shoulders instead of holding bar up over head until you are confident in a traditional squat. Push bar up into the ceiling, keep hips back and drive through your heels.

3. Overhand Grip Row and Right Leg lift - squeeze shoulder blades into spine, squeeze your right booty cheek, keep abs on, hips square to floor.

4. Underhand Grip Row and Left Leg lift- squeeze shoulder blades into spine, squeeze your left booty cheek, keep abs on, hips square to floor.

5. Bench Bar Pushup with Swivel.   Perform your pushup- keep abs on- opposite knee to shoulder on both sides

6. Lateral Box Jumps- drive off foot that's on the bench.

7. Triceps Bench Dips

8. Bench Taps



Repeat 2-3 times

Stretch and cool down

Balls to the Walls 30 Minute Workout

This workout can be done almost anywhere. All you need is a wall, ball and timer. I'm using an 8 lb medicine ball in my workout today, obviously the lighter the ball the easier, so pick a weight that's challenging. Good luck and let me know how it went! 

Equipment: Open Wall Space, Medicine Ball and Timer

Set your timer for 6 rounds. 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds rest

Complete 3 rounds.

Warm up  5-10 minutes

1. Wall Ball Shots   Squat and toss medicine ball, catch it on your way down

2. Wall Knee Tucks  Abs tight- alternate drawing knee to chest

3. Wall Sit   Squeezing medicine ball between your knees

4. Hand Stand use wall for balance  or Wall Walk ups

5. Wall Glute Press - keep hips lifted and glutes tight

6. Medicine Ball Burpee Pushup Toss

Cool Down and Stretch after your 3rd round

See Video Below for Exercises