New Circuit Aug. 21-Aug 28

Sorry I keep getting behind with these circuits! :)

Same format, at least 3 times through, no rest between exercises (only between circuits).

1) Body Squat x 15 reps with weights in hand


2) Push Ups x 15 reps BE SURE TO PUSH THROUGH THE CHEST
(can be done with hands on the wall, a chair/bench for incline, on the floor with knees down, or on the floor on hands and toes, or if you have a stability ball, knees on the ball hands on the floor)



3) Bent Over Reverse Fly - stand with feet hip width apart and weights in hands. Slightly bend your knees and tip forward from your hips keeping your back flat and weights directly below the shoulders. Keep your elbows soft and fly the arms out to the side and align the elbows with the shoulders. Hold for two counts and release slowly. Option is to sit in a chair or on a Stability Ball. Repeat 15 reps














4) Step Up with Overhead Shoulder Press x 10 reps with each leg leading


5) Static Lunge with Lateral Raises - Start in static lunge position with weights in hand. Perform the initial descend of the lunge and on the way up, your weights raise up to the side in a lateral raise. One fluid motion up and down. Repeat 10 times with each leg forward.



6) Bicycle Crunches - Lie on back with knees up and hands at the sides of your head. Bring right elbow up and left knee in to crunch while the right leg lengthens out. Repeat on the other side. Perform 20 reps alternating sides.



Do this circuit at least 3 times this weekend and bump up the duration on your cardio sessions. 35-45 mins total or add in speed intervals! I will have a fun cardio workout to come this next week that will be all fitness levels whether you like to walk, jog, run, bike, or elliptical :)

Happy Birthday Brody

This last weekend, Ryan and took a 4 hour journey off to Omaha to visit his brother and his family. Today is their youngest's birthday and he is "free" years old. To the rest of us that is three ;) We had a nice relaxing time playing with the kids and enjoying Melissa's delicious food!

At work on Friday, Aspen was closed for our annual cleaning day. Every employee that works at the club was in to clean every nook and cranny in the entire gym. It was supposed to take about 4 hours for everything to be done, but with the efforts of over 30 people it only took 2 hours and we got to play dodgeball the last few hours until our food came! It is kind of nice to enjoy quality time with co-workers in a less formal setting and to just have fun throwing balls around. Our GFM ordered about 30 pizzas from Cici's and salads, appetizer platters, cinnamon rolls, french silk pie from Perkins. After scrubbing equipment on my hands and knees all morning, this all tasted really great!

Saturday was a lazy day playing with the kids and watching movies. Both Emily and Brody were really excited for Brody's birthday celebration this year. Emily was more excited to open the gifts for Brody. Melissa's Mom and Brother also came up to celebrate. Melissa's mom make homemade ice cream to go along with the Cars themed cake. YUMMY :) Later that night we went out to a bar in Omaha called 94/95 after the Back 2 Back seasons that the University of Nebraska's football team won the national championships. The theme was really unique; they had all the college team's helmets that have won Back 2 Back football championships in glass cases and the years in which they won. One of the players from the 94/95 seasons actually was working and taking care of us VIPs which was really neat as well. Ryan had a nice time talking football with him. Friends of Daryl and Melissa were playing live music and we enjoyed dancing until bar close.

Every weekend from here until football season's end will pretty much be filled with traveling and visitng family members and friends. Between Iowa, Wartburg, and family, we will be plenty busy! I'll be taking plenty of pictures on the way :)

New Exercise Circuit August 10-16

Sorry I didn't get a new circuit out to you last week, with visitors and being gone this weekend I hadn't gotten a chance to write a new one! So here goes....

Same format, do this circuit 3-4 times this time we are going to add in some cardio movements! :)


1) Squat, Curl to Press - With weights in hand, perform the BODY SQUAT with weights hanging at sides. After you stand up from the squat, turn palms forward performing a bicep curl, rotate hands and press overhead for a shoulder press. We are putting three exercises in one repetition and performed back to back will create a cardio feel burning more calories and incorporating more muscle fibers. Perform 10-12 reps







2) Chest Fly - Begin by lying on the floor in the same position as you did with the CHEST PRESS. This time, with weights in hand above the chest, turn palms in so that they face each other. With a slightly bent elbow, begin to fly the arms open and down toward the floor until the upper arm is in line with the shoulders. Do not let the weights touch the floor and squeeze from your chest to lift the weights back to starting position. Perform 12-15 reps
You can also use a stability ball for this exercise in which you rest your shoulder blades on the ball and bridge your hips up to work lower body and abs as well.





3) Bent Over Low Row - Begin in set position, feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent and weights in hand. Begin to tip foward from the hips keeping your back flat and abs tight. Weights will hang out in front of the knees, palms up. Begin the row by pulling the elbows up and back, sweeping the ribcage and squeezing between the shoulder blades. Hold for 2 counts and control the weights back down to starting position. Perform 10-12 reps




4) Static Lunges - When done correctly, these will not hurt the knees :) Begin in a kneeling stance, right knee in front and left knee is down on floor. You should be creating two 90 degree angles, one with the front knee and one with the back knee. Stand up from this position to create your stride length for the lunge. Begin guiding yourself down into the lunge by bracing your abs, bending the left knee and lowering down slowly. DO NOT TOUCH THE KNEE TO THE FLOOR and once your back knee is in line with your ankle that is far enough. Lift yourself up through your right heel, squeezing your glutes and standing up in the same stride length and you started. Perform 10 reps with the right leg foward and then switch. You can do these with/without weights or holding on to a chair.



5) Upright Row - Holding weights in hand and palms facing in, align the shoulders by rolling them both up, back, and holding down. Upright Row starts by lifting the elbow straight up and keeping the weights in front of the body. Raise up until the weights reach the chest, hold for 2 counts and slowly control back down. DO NOT SHRUG YOUR SHOULDERS, this is working deltoid muscles of the sholders and not your neck/traps. Perform 10-12 times. To increase difficulty, stand on one foot or another unstable surface such as a pillow. This will help recruit
more abdominal muscles.



6) Single/Double Leg Raises - Start by lying on the floor, hands by the hips, legs straight up in the air. Be sure to keep your low back pressed to the floor and belly button down and in through the entire exercise. Begin lowering the right leg down slowly keeping the leg straight and the left leg stays up in the air. Lift the right leg back to the ceiling and switch to the left leg. Perform 20 times alternating legs. To increase dificulty, do both legs at the same time.



Again, keep up with the cardio and do your circuit 2-3 times this week :)

Visit from Kris & Aly

Aunt Kris and Cousin Aly stopped by to visit us today and took Ryan and I out for lunch! It was an awesome visit and I'm glad that they could take time out of their last few days of their vacation to grace us with their presence :) We went out to a nice local deli up by Ryan's work called Emil's Deli. Very delicious, and we were lucky to actually find it no thanks to bad directions from a co-worker.... Aly tried the grilled peanut-butter, jelly, and banana sandwich! It was very interesting and she loved it! Great food, Ryan and I will definitely be having more lunch dates here :) I also taught Aly a new cross-eyed trick. Since I was the one to teach her how to do this, I figured we take it to another level. Hence the famous cross-eyed picture of the two of us at Red Lobster in Florida. Which I no longer have on my computer anymore...must have been saved on my old one. Then, we came back and Aly went swimming in our pool while Kris and I got a chance to catch up, and as always, Aly entertained us!

This coming weekend, Ryan and I are going to Omaha to visit his brother Daryl and his family. It's their youngest's birthday and we are going to help them celebrate. We'll have some pictures to add again after this adventure.

I've been meaning to catch up with my parents too, to see how their trip to STURGIS went last weekend. I know they had a minor breakdown but had a great time and made it there and back safely! That was my main concern, but I knew Dad could pull it off. I hope they had fun and I hope to see some of those pictures too! (hint, hint) I hope you are all keeping up with the circuit program or at least trying it out. I will have a new one up by the end of the week! Keep up the great work :)