Open Fitness Journal: January 4

Weekends are for warriors and that is just what you are.

Keep being strong, wonderful, humans.

xo-

Warm Up

1 mile airdyne

5 x :30 sec hand stand hold with :15 sec rest between sets

dynamic stretching

2 minute weighted squat hold (35#)

Back Squat Cycle

15 minutes building to max reps at 145#

followed by

5 x 1 at 145#

Bench Press

1 RM test day

10# PR (what’s up Christmas gains?)

Skill Work

Pull Ups (Butterfly & Chest to Bar)

Max height box jump

Weighted GHD sit ups (10 x 10 @ 15#)

Hand Stand Walks

Rest Day: December 21/Mindful Monday

This Sunday was the winter solstice for all of you beauties that didn’t know. It’s the shortest day of the year and on the bright side (pun intended) the light will start returning to our days little by little until the middle of June.

On this wonderful day of celebration I took the day for my body to rest and attended a two hour candlelit yoga class at IndyYoga (for those of you in the area check out her site and like her on Facebook!)

The class payed reverence to the past year through twelve sun salutations facing the back wall of the yoga studio after which we were lead in a guided mediation through which each of us had the opportunity to reflect upon what we had learned in the past year.  I carefully went through each month of 2014 and chose two moments that I had learned from, one that I could classify as good and one that I could classify as bad (simply based on how they made me feel.)  Upon appreciating both I was reminded by Walt Whitman that Every moment of light and dark is a miracle. I no longer saw these moments as good and bad but simply as moments in time.  I thanked each of them for the guidance they had brought me and for the place that I am in now stepping into this new year of light.

The second half of the class brought us through 12 more sun salutations-this time facing forward to welcome the coming year with an open heart.  In our final guided meditation we were asked…

How do you want to be perceived in this world?

I focused, beauty in strength.

How do you want to be perceived in this world?

I focused, be kind to all things.  (Including myself.)

Upon finishing class I was moved by the silence that followed the final bow and namaste.  There was a kindness about the room and each of us was full.

Not that there is anything wrong with gift giving during the holidays and truly, it is nice, but the gift of this energy was much more important to me than that new pair of Lulu’s on my christmas list.  Remember to nourish your body and mind on rest days, they are just as important as the hard days.

Find your light,

be the light.

be true, be you, be strong.

xo-

mimi

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Open Fitness Journal: October 11 & 12

#ACTIVERESTDAYS

Can anyone relate?

As athletes, we slam our muscles day in and day out.

On a good week- I can accumulate up to 20 hours in the gym and even more when you count the recovery runs I take in the mornings to get my blood flowing.  Weather these box hours be lifting weights, pushing myself through heart-pounding WOD’s, or working on my mobility all of these things add up.

When Saturday and Sunday come along I never want to acknowledge it but in order for me to get stronger, I need to rest.  YOU NEED TO REST.  Our muscles need this rest time to rebuild themselves so that next week we can get back at it and continue PR’ing the crap out of our lifts.

Yesterday- I took a four hour walk through the North and Southeast parts of Portland.  I have been living in the Northeast division so I took roads that I don’t usually walk on and found myself appreciating the fall scenery in the Laurelhurst Suburbs.

I saw everything from flowers with last night’s rain drops still hanging around to stoner street art (I’m always impressed.) to cute young families loving the sunshine to huge ice cream cones… that I might have eaten…

………..

………….

………………

okay…

A huge ice cream cone that I did eat. #TreatDay

Cinnamon Snickerdoodle (Cinnamon ice cream with chunks of snickerdoodle cookies) & Coconut with Salted Caramel Bars (Made with a coconut milk base this one was vegan!)

Let me clarify: Just because you are taking a rest day does not mean stay in bed all day and binge watch Netflix.

Get up and do something that is going to enrich your soul!

Need some ideas?

-Take your puppy for a walk in the woods and soak up the fall colors.

-Take a trip to your nearest weekend farmer’s market on Saturday and stock up on apples for the fresh Paleo Apple Pie (recipe coming soon!) that you’re going to bake on Sunday.

-Plan a pumpkin patch date with your man and spend the afternoon carving spooky faces (and baking delicious pumpkin seeds!)

-Take a walk to a new part of your city that you’ve never explored before (& eat a huge ice cream cone;)

One last thing!  Don’t forget to take pictures and Tweet Me! or Tag me on Instagram and add #ActiveRestDay so I can see what awesome things you’re doing this fall outside of the gym.