May 6, 2013

More Life Updates–Busy, busy, busy!

I mentioned going to a journo awards ceremony last Wednesday, but I didn’t mention that I happened to win an award for my dance reviews! The award was called the Sam Singer Reviewing Award, after a critic who worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

My latest review was also published about a Philadelphia contemporary ballet company, BalletX.

In other news…

Yesterday’s yoga video, Yoga for Athletes, was really awesome. I’m off to a double whammy of yoga and ballet at my dance studio as long as I feel like my stomach can hold up to it (I didn’t sleep well last night because I wasn’t feeling great). I’m going to try to remember to take a picture of my splits (to use as a comparison for my starting point) when I get home tonight if I’m not exhausted.

I won tickets to the PA Ballet for Friday. YAY!

I have orientation for my new internship tomorrow–also awesome.

The boyfriend and I are running again in the Urban Scramble as part of Philadelphia Runner again this Thursday–it’s a scavenger hunt where you run over the city to collect raffle tickets.

I’ve also signed up for a Nutrition, Health, and Lifestyle: Issues and Insights class on Coursera so that I can learn more about eating healthy (something I really need to do in my life)–hopefully I’ll be able to fit in in with everything else crazy I’ve got going on this summer.

bh420

Lastly, I bought myself a new pair of ballet slippers (mine were getting pretty gross) and some Bunhead Hair Nets (finally after everyone kept recommending them) as an end-of-the-semester present to myself.

Mostly, I’m looking forward to getting lots and lots of sleep–something I’ve been lacking in the past couple of weeks.

I’ve only got one more final to go next week  and I’ve got lots of great posts planned for the upcoming week!

What exciting things do you have planned for this week?

 

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May 5, 2013

Weekly Recap: 4/29-5/4

It’s been a really long and difficult week. My legs are seemingly rebelling against me after I had two really great ballet classes last week. Sigh. Anyway, here’s what it looked like:

Monday:

It was rainy and yucky out so we went to the gym and I got one of my Couch to 5K workouts done as I  clung to the sides of the treadmill the entire time. But, I got it done. I spent the rest of the day going over my presentation for one of my English classes.

Tuesday:

Because of being tired and needing to get some last minute work done, I take today as a rest day from working out.

Wednesday:

I had another rough Couch to 5k day out on the track here on campus, but I get it done. I had planned on going to the new jazz class at my dance studio, but since my journalism awards ceremony took forever (and I stuffed my face with both with sushi and a quesadilla afterwards because I was STARVING from not having eaten) I decided to rest at home for the remainder of the day. But, I am pretty proud that I won an award for my dance reviews.

Thursday:

Ballet was kind of rough because the class was packed and I kept forgetting combinations, but it wasn’t horrible and my legs feel alright.

Friday:

My boyfriend and I head to the gym so I can test out the treadmill again–but this time it doesn’t go nearly as well and I can’t even finish my workout. I feel like I’m somehow just pushing myself harder than I should be on the treadmill given the speeds I set the treadmill to.

Saturday:

The first part of the ballet class is rough. I’d forgotten to take my allergy medicine so I’m stuffy with a headache. I just feel tired and my arches are killing me for some reason. My leg isn’t happy either, so I do pointe class, sadly, in flat shoes so I don’t kill my leg. I get through 20 minutes of the yoga for today when I take a break to head to the gym with the boyfriend and make up for the rest of today with a really slow and painful #C25k, but I get it done.  I know by the time I get home I’m way too tired to finish  yoga, and I call it a day.

I ended up sleeping for about 10 hours last night, so I feel a lot better than I did yesterday. So hopefully I’ll be able to fit a #C25k workout into today along with some yoga and a lot of paper writing.

How do you recover from a really challenging (and disappointing) week of workouts?

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May 3, 2013

Help me Pick a May Challenge!

Yoga Class at a Gym

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So I’ve used challenges recently to try to get me to get more motivated to actually do the exercises I need to be doing, but I’m kind of clueless about what I should be doing for May (yeah, I know, it’s already May 3rd, but I’ve been busy bee). So, while I’d like to keep it kind of related to ballet–a lot of things do, when it comes down to it–pretty much anything is fair game. I will create a post detailing the challenge as well so anyone who wants to join in can. No matter what I end up doing, I plan on updating at least once a week with how I’m doing.

Here are a few ideas I’ve come up with (I’m slightly leaning towards yoga or the ab challenge, but don’t let that influence you):

-Mile a Day (I’m still going to be doing #c25k, but this would push me to get a little extra mileage on my off days)

-Ab Challenge (I’ve done planks for about the past month, but this would mean doing more exercise ab-related exercises)

-Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred (it’s $8.99 on iTunes and could help me get in better all around shape, something I really need)

-Yoga Challenge (A different yoga video everyday to help improve my overall flexibility)

-Split Challenge (Yes, I’ve done it before, but if this wins I promise to give you photos on bi-weekly basis)

Vote in the poll below for one of these options, or leave your own suggestion in the comments.

If you suggest something new and exciting and I pick it, I’ll send you a pair of pink shoelaces from Sweat Pink as a reward!

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May 1, 2013

Am I meant to be #poweredbybits?

EnergyBits were provided by Bits of Health free of charge in exchange for a review. I was not paid for my review.  The opinions contained in this review are mine and based on my experience, and do not reflect the opinions of Energy Bits or anyone else.

eblogoI had heard a lot of buzz about energy bits around the twitterspere and was highly intrigued by them. Little green “bits” that are only a calorie per bit (adding up to roughly 30 calories per serving). So I decided to give them a shot when their brand manager, Jonathan Levitt, agreed to send me a sample.

They’re made of 100% Spirulina algae–their website says “Spirulina is nature’s equivalent to an energy drink – but its even better because it’s 100% natural, 100% green, is carbon neutral, has only ONE calorie per tab and contains no sugar, no caffeine, no chemicals, no gluten and no soy.” Sounds pretty good. I’ve had Spirulina before in Real Food Barres (which are pretty great) so I decided would be pretty great too.

I first tried them roughly 15 minutes before I headed out the door for ballet last Thursday (it seems all I do lately is run out the door to class at the last-minute–it’s that crazy time at the end of a college semester). Since I don’t really like swallowing pill (who does?) I decided to mix them into yogurt like is mentioned on their how to take page here–BAD idea. I ended up with a nasty mouth full of green, most of it sticking to my teeth–it was like it had become a paste in my mouth. I had to quick chew a piece of gum and scrub brush my teeth before I finally left the house.

BUT, I did have more energy than usual (and a pain-free ballet night).

Since I had enough for a second go around, I decided to take some this morning before my run as a replacement for my normal morning protein bar (which I’m out of currently since I haven’t been shopping in forever).

EnergyBits recommends that newbies swallow their bits so that’s what I tried this second time around. I ended up taking about 5 at a time and  even that seemed like to swallow at once for me. I’ve read in other reviews that people usually swallow about 15 at a time–that didn’t work for me.

I don’t think EnergyBits really suit me–I couldn’t find a way I liked eating them–but I do think they’d be a great energy source and replacement for protein drinks and bars if you can handle swallowing them.

EDIT: @Energybits on Twitter pointed out to me that there’s a Pinterest board with some more recipes to try out, I think I’m going to try the smoothie one with my remaining bits.

If you’ve tried them before, how do you like to eat them?

EnergyBits is offering 10% off to my readers using the code BLOG, or you can help out the ONE Fund for Boston Marathon victims using the code BOSTONSTRONG at the checkout and they’ll donate $26.20 of your purchase to the fund.

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EnergyBits were provided by Bits of Health free of charge in exchange for a review. I was not paid for my review.  The opinions contained in this review are mine and based on my experience, and do not reflect the opinions of Energy Bits or anyone else.

Filed Under: Blog, Etc., Reviews Tagged With: , , , , 1 Comment
April 29, 2013

Giveaway: One of My Favorite Things: KT Tape

One of my favorite things that has helped me recover from my shin splints has been KT Tape. I tried the original tape back in October when my left leg first started acting up and it was constant use of it that helped it finally start to feel better.

My favorite way to tape for my shin splints!

My favorite way to tape for my shin splints!

Then I discovered the PRO version of their tape, and it’s WONDERFUL. I still use it occasionally whenever my shin splints act up. I’ve had to try to pry it off my legs the day before graduation a couple of weeks ago. I love that they offer a variety of colors (I’m a big fan of the purple and the pink!) as well as a beige option if you don’t want it to be as noticeable.

PRO_carryingcase3

The empty cases make great storage containers too–I keep my pointe shoe accessories–toe pads and more!–in them

The one thing about KT Tape is that you have absolutely careful as to how you apply it. It’s taken awhile to master it, but once you do, it works REALLY well. You have to make sure you place it carefully and do not touch the sticky sides. Another key tip (one that I’ve struggled with) is to make sure you lay the ends down with NO stretch (they’re attached to the paper backing with a 10% stretch–so be careful).

Other tips that have worked for me including using a blow dryer to activate the adhesive (being careful not to burn yourself!) and sleeping with a sock over a foot application (usually a compression sock) to make sure it sticks down. I first gave this a shot after I put tights on over some slightly peeling tape–when I got home the tape was stuck back down!

For more tips, check out this post from KTTape.

The wonderful people at KT Tape have offered to give one free roll to one of my readers, so make sure you enter the giveaway here!

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I was not paid for my review.  The opinions contained in this review are mine and based on my experience, and do not reflect the opinions of KT Tape or anyone else.

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