Hills, inversions, resistance bands, handstand press-up… Today for #TheFitChallenge with Perfect Fitness and Fit Approach, we’re talking fitness goals and adding in resistance to our workouts! I’m normally pretty excited to get going in a fresh week, but I’m not exactly feeling very “rah rah, Monday” right now. Maybe once the cold brew in my overnight chocolate chia oats kicks in… But what is getting me amped this morning is the thought about these goals!
Last week was a VERY active week for this girl! I’m always an active person, but last week was unusual, even for me! All the activities and the awesome people I was sweating with reminded me about some fitness goals that have brewing and gave me some great incentive to keep going when I wanted to stop.
Sunday
We hit up Harry’s Ridge, a beautiful hike in the Mt St Helen’s / Cascades region. The week before, our Flex & Flow run club trail ran there, and the pictures looked phenomenal. I couldn’t attend the run, so two girlfriends and I headed out for the day to hike. Unfortunately / fortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate as much with us. It was rainy, foggy, and cold all morning. We had the trail to ourselves for 2/3 of the hike, and the fog made it super mystical and ethereal. Finally, St Helen’s herself peeked out as we were hiking down! A beautiful morning tromping through the wildflowers getting rained on; a day in the life of a Pacific Northwesterner.
We also ended up walking 2 miles from dinner, to the Blues Festival by the river and then back home.
Monday
For the 4th of July, Caitlin and I ran 3 miles down by the river (my favorite run!). I tossed in some PT and bootcamp bursts too (yay, box jumps!). We hung out in the park near our house for a while playing yoga. And then it was back downtown, walking to the Blues Festival, dancing up a storm, walking to dinner, walking to get a drink, walking to see the fireworks, walking home. A foot massage would have been SO amazing that night!
Tuesday
This day was pretty standard. I taught 7:30am power vinyasa at Flex & Flow, walked a mile from the riverfront to Yoga Pearl to teach 5pm power vinyasa, ran back down to the river for bootcamp. Sprints, burpees, box jumps, oh my! At least there were puppy snuggles involved in that last one!
Wednesday
This was supposed to be my off day. Which turned into a yoga date with Jamie, which turned into a yoga-bootcamp date. And when I showed up at the studio for class, planning on driving to the river for bootcamp, and saw the girls with their running gear, I knew it was going to turn into a yoga-run-bootcamp date. 3 miles, not so much of a big deal. 3 miles at 7:30/mi pace with Jamie? I haven’t been pushed like that in a long time! And then Tasha had to bust out shuttle sprint circuits at bootcamp. Yup, chugged a coconut water in the grocery store after that. Renewed running goals! Run faster and run more with Jamie!
Thursday
Now a bit of an off day. I taught 7:30am power vinyasa, had a 5-hour shift on my feet at the store, and taught 5pm power vinyasa.
Friday
Another day on my feet with an 8-hour shift at the store.
Saturday
Oh boy this day took it out of me, but it was SO fun! It started with Flex & Flow run club at 6:30am. We headed over to the Salzman Road trailhead and Maple Trail for some woodland miles.
And then it was off to the Mississippi Street Fair, where we rocked out for almost 12 hours at our Flex & Flow booth! All the squatting, cheering, and dirty dolphin-ing all day! I don’t think I even want to try to count how many squats we did all day. By the end, Jamie and I couldn’t even stand back up in a partner wall sit. We just collapsed in a puddle of sweat, tired muscles, and laughter.
Sunday
This morning was all about heart opening and the psoas in class. Pinnacle poses? Forearmstand / handstand hallowback and scorpion, overhead bind in low lunge, straight-leg wheel, and forearm wheel. Aaahhh…
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Yup, all the activities this week. Some of them on the normal side, some of them on the “holy s***” side. It was all getting me toward my goals: running faster and longer, getting stronger (hello #questforthepress in handstand! I’m comin’ for ya!), deepening my backbends, opening my hips and hamstrings. Definitely all worthy goals.
And while we’re talking resistance, I, of course, have to make a plug for backcountry skiing! All the cold weather layer, all the extra AT gear, all the snow (snow makes for great resistance training, y’all!)… Plus you’re going uphill! Yup, best training there is.
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Join in on the #TheFitChallenge fun! Check out the daily prompts on Instagram, interpret, post, and tag the tags! #sweatpink #TheFitChallenge #PerfectFitness @FitApproach @Perfect_Fitness_
[SPOILER ALERT!] For you planners out there, here are the #PerfectFitness prompts for the rest of the week. Bonus points for those attending BlogFest who bust a move at the Perfect Fitness booth (#741) on the IDEA World expo floor! And come by the Sweat Pink booth (#215), and we’ll definitely #stopdropandyoga and/or selfie it up with you!
Tuesday, July 12:
- You can fit in a workout no matter where you are – show us how and where you’re fitting in a workout today! Bonus points if you’re working in a workout while traveling or commuting #traveltuesday
- It wouldn’t be #thefitchallenge without talking about #progress! For #transformationtuesday, share how far you’ve come in your #workout. Opening your hamstrings for those splits, rocking out longer distances in running, adding weight to your gym workouts. Any and all progression, what is it?!
Wednesday, July 13:
- Time to #workitwednesday – we want to see your favorite way to add cardio to your workouts. Bonus points if you get after some mountain climbers + push-ups with your @Perfect_Fitness_ #perfectpushup.
- Time to #workitwednesday! What’s your go to fitness move? Push-ups? Squats? Lunges? Pull-ups? What’s the one fitness move you can’t live without?
Thursday, July 14:
- Let’s change it up, do something different and challenge ourselves in new ways! Your challenge is to find a friend, co-worker family member and have them tell you what to do – and then drop down, give us 10, 15, 20 – and tag them, tell us about the move and how it made you feel. Of course, always a bonus, if you can find a friend @IDEAfit #blogfest with #sweatpink and CHALLENGE and tag each other!
- We’re throwing it back today, show us how you’re taking it back – incorporate your original favorite workout routine OR tell us your favorite throwback song you like to work out to #tbt. Bonus points if you’re @ideafit #blogfest with #sweatpink and takin’ that workout wayyyy back with a friend!
Friday, July 15:
- For #FitnessFriday we want to see how you CARVE your abs – what’s your go to ab workout? Bonus points if you’re at the @Perfect_Fitness_booth (booth #741) and / or feature an #abcarverpro in your photo. #flexfriday
- For this #FiveThingsFriday we want to know what five things help keep you motivated and on top of your workouts. Show us the five things that help keep you motivated and bonus points if you feature a @Perfect_Fitness_ product and or stop by the booth #741 @IDEAfit #blogfest with #sweatpink
Saturday, July 16:
- Happy #sweatysaturday! We want to see you drop down and give us 20! Show us YOUR perfect push-up. Bonus points if you’re at the @Perfect_Fitness_ booth #741 @IDEAfit #blogfest with #sweatpink.
- Workouts can take us places we never imagined possible. Show us where your workout took you today? Bonus points if you’re @Ideafit #blogfest with #sweatpink and can show us what made your #sweatysaturday so special today!
Sunday, July 17:
- What’s your idea of a perfect Sunday morning? Is it a sweat sesh? Coffee and a good book? Yoga? Running?
- What’s your perfect place for a workout? The gym? Your house? Studio? Trails? Park? Show us and don’t forget to tag all the tags: @Perfect_Fitness_ @FitApproach #SweatPink #thefitchallenge #perfectfitness #blogfest
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Perfect Fitness. All opinions are my own. I truly appreciate all of the brands that support the Sweat Pink community.