NIRSA 2013 Las Vegas

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

Not really when you’re a part of NIRSA, an organization that prides itself on networking, connection making, and taking what you’ve learned at national conferences back to your institution in some way, shape, or form.

This past week, myself and 8 other OU campus recreation professionals traveled to Las Vegas, NV for the 2013 NIRSA National Conference! The conference didn’t start until Monday afternoon, so we had all day Sunday to tour the city.

Chef Gordon Ramsey’s shrine

The Belagio

Paris

Heaven! Or it would have been if their sales tax wasn’t 8.1%

Vegas really is larger than life; so beautifully designed and spaced out. I truly took in all the scenery when I went running on Monday morning; (little did I know that I’d have to fork over $10/day to use one of the hotels dinky gyms) jogging the streets is the best and cheapest way to sight see! And me and a handful of other runners may have been the only one’s out to take in the scenery at 7:00am..partay animals.

The conference began with the opening session; a renowned MSNBC television host, political science professor, author, academic, and keynote speaker, Melissa Harris-Perry tied in the theme of the conference, Inspiring Communities of Wellbeing, and set the stage for the rest of the week. Afterwards, it was the Katie show!

I had the opportunity (again!) to teach a variation to the Total Body High Intensity Intervals class I led in Tampa, only this time it was Round 2 duh-duh-duh. The deets:

• EMOM= 7 burpees, 5 push-ups
• alternating lunges, speed skaters, dive bomber push-ups, plank (3X)
• plie squats, mountain climbers, side planks, ins & outs (3X)
• plank jacks, triceps dips, shoulder presses, knee tucks

Nervous/anxious at first, considering the “gym” the class was held in was a ballroom with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, on carpet flooring, with tables and chairs behind us filled with spectators to watch, not participate..Luckily, I had ~50 people come and sweat with me! It turned out awesome and I was super pumped afterwards! It was a great way to start the conference off on the a healthyright foot :). Thanks to everyone who came!

Most of the sessions I went to focused on fitness, student/professional leadership, student development, health and wellness, assessment, learning outcomes, and implementing programs. I learned something in each session that I can take back to Oakland and implement it in a way that works for us. I also had the opportunity to participate in Take a Student to Lunch, where I met a professional from a different university wanting pick my brain about how I started this blog.

The conference came to an ending at the Honors Award Banquet, where I finally got to see and be with my Oakland family!

All-in-all, the conference was a success! I can’t wait to put what I learned at NIRSA into reality at Oakland U! I’m already excited for the 2014 NIRSA National Conference in Nashville, TN next year!

You Want Me To Do HOW Many Burpees?!

True statement from a BLAST participant!

The BLAST program picked right back up last Monday and I finally got around to doing the workout. I’m a BIG believer in never putting a client/participant/friend through a workout that I’ve never done before, but the other trainer designed the workout so I knew it was doable.

We incorporated AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) last session and the participants actually liked it (gasp)! It was challenging enough for their respective fitness levels; they didn’t have to worry about staying on beat or keeping up with the others. And trust me, when they say they like something, we do our best to incorporate it differently ever session!

But..this session..they (AND ME) have to do 30 burpees! 30 BURPEES? HAVE YOU EVER DONE 30 BURPEES? Consecutively. Not 5 here, another exercise, 5 more, another exercise, and so-on.

One after the other after the other after the other..until you hit 30. That’s tough. Hard. But believe it or not, doable! Now I’m not saying no one can rest (quickly) then get right back to it, but it’s such a huge accomplishment when you reach 30!

So I challenge you..

30 burpees. Consecutively. In under 2 minutes.

Ready? Go!

Byebye 2012

Cannot believe 2012 is almost over! So many amazing things happened this year:

• presenting TBHII and A Fitness Guide to Using Social Media at the Southeast Collegiate Fitness Expo at Virginia Tech
• traveling to Tampa and interviewing for graduate assistantships
• GRADUATING! NC State University Class of 2012!
• completing an 8-week internship at SAS in Cary, NC
• accepting stress, balance, and rest days.
• moving to Rochester MI and starting all over again
• sweating in the community with my lululemons!
• finishing the fall semester with good grades!
• meeting tons of new people

I know I left out lots of other experiences, but those are the ones that stand out the most. I’m so blessed to be where I am in my life right now! My family is the SO supportive of my decisions, my friends are always there to listen and talk to, my boyfriend is my rock, and I’m involving myself in so many different things-kind of crazy! I’m unsure of where I’m going, but I know that I’ll enjoy every.single.minute.of the journey to get to my happy place.

This next year has ample amounts of opportunity:

• excelling in my GA position and incorporating programs into group fitness
• building my blog with Oakland University
• hosting an IFTA event
• presenting at Student Lead-on in Chicago and TBHII2 in Las Vegas!
• growing with lululemon into a social media/people potential/community/digital guru position
• creating a blog for the Somerset store
• sweating in the community and building relationships
• traveling Michigan
• spending time with family, friends, and owning MY life.

I cannot wait for 2013!

What are your goals for the New Year?

Let’s Play a Game

Happy weekend!

After teaching 2 group fitness classes back to back..

A girl’s gotta have a little fun with it! I purposely used all blue equipment; BOSU, the resistance tube that’s equivalent of using 7 pounds of force, and an  (un-pictured) pair of 7lb. dumbbells that were obvi blue. Up first-Abs, Glutes, and Thighs..and the LAST one of the semester! We went through a circuit for the first half of the class:

• BOSU lateral hopovers
• dumbbell wood choppers
• resistance tube lateral walks
• BOSU glute bridges (double and single legs)
• BOSU decline planks

After, we played what I call a “game”*. I had each participant flip a coin; whether it landed on heads or tails, it corresponded to an exercise. We only got through 1 round of it, but it was a change-up from my norm group fitness class of me doing all of the work! I always try to do something “fun“* on the last class and involve the participants when deciding what workouts/exercises to do. It gives the participants a chance to run the class (so to speak) and show-off what they learned throughout the semester. MY group fitness classes aren’t just about getting a workout in, but taking what we do in the class and using it in your OWN workouts, with amazing form and variations so no workout is the same.

*I put these choice words in quotations because apparently what I think is a game and fun, the participants think otherwise! (cough-Stephanie-cough) ;).

Next up-cycle! I was subbing for another instructor because usually, I do not do back to back classes. It’s too much! I give those who do it regularly lots of credit. For me, I must have balance when it comes to teaching; too much burns me out and I start to dread it. ALL fitness is a PASSION of mine, not an everyday thing..moderation :).

Three people plus me for an hour-long class. I’m used to teaching my lunchtime  40-minute class; an extra 20 minutes allowed me to add in more climbs, sprints, and jumps! FYI-Kelly Clarkson’s new song, Catch My Breath, is the perfect song for jumps!

To finish..my blue crops.

Oh yes I did.

Strength Circuits

A couple of Thursday’s ago, another instructor and I switched classes; I got to teach both her Core & More and Strength Circuits, while she taught my Abs, Glutes, and Thighs class later in the afternoon. That’s one of the perks about being able to teach it all; having the opportunity to teach another format to new participants! They say variety is the spice of life..no? 🙂

Because it’s a 40 minute class, I wanted to give them the biggest bang for their buck…SUPERSETS! The idea behind supersets is to move from exercise to exercise, with little to NO rest in between. It allows one muscle group to rest while another muscle group works, thus constantly working throughout the entire set.

Supersets are a great way to push through a plateau; our bodies are smart machines, they recognize when we’re doing the same workout(s) over and over again. This not only stops producing results, but also takes a toll on our motivation.

This way of working out can work with cardio exercises too; performing back to back bursts of cardio exercises takes little to no room, equipment, and can be done in under 10-15-20 minutes; perfect for travelers!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

I got the BEST news today..

Presenting at NIRSA Student Lead-on in Chicago in January!! Cannot wait!

Post-Thanksgiving Fat Blaster

Workout Wednesday Thursday!

Remember me?! It’s been a whirlwind of a week; actually, a whirlwind of the past weekS! Work, homework, projects, work #2, Thanksgiving, traveling-tis the time of the year! It’s okay though; everything turned out fine. Homework done, projects turned in, classes are completed, and both works are running juuuuust fine.

I’ve completed my first 2 classes of graduate school! Hooray. Only 6 more to go..

I’ve taken over product notifications for work. I send out weekly emails to all of our guests of all the new product(s) we have in the store! So much fun once I got the hang of it! If you’re interested; go to lululemon.com, find your store, and sign up for weekly PN emails! It’s a great way to know what your store has in for the holiday season :).

Aaaaand on the workout front..

Post-Thanksgiving fat blaster! Indulging is the definition of the holiday season-as it should be! The holiday’s aren’t about “I can’t eat that” or “I’m going to have to work extra hard tomorrow”; it’s about the loved ones around us, friends, and giving back. Let’s not forget that :).

I completed this workout after teaching BLAST; 3 times through takes about 15 minutes. Such a quick workout for days when we can’t fit in an entire sweat-sesh. High intensity, toning and cardio, and core work all included.

*Angled burpees– instead of jumping or walking your feet back into plank, jump/walk feet out to the right for one rep, then the left for the next rep. This works your obliques more than a regular plank.

Oakland Students/Employees/Members- subscribe to both this blog AND our Campus Recreation blog! Lot’s of good things to come.

Cheers 😀

40-Minute Elliptical Sesh

Happy hump day! And Workout Wednesday!

BLAST this morning was awesome! The workout is pretty tough this time around but all of the participants rocked it out and finished strong :). They all seem to like the AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) sections of the workout. I put 2 in; one with burpees and speed skaters in 6 minutes and one with strength exercises (bent-over rows, biceps curls, single-arm shoulder presses, triceps kickbacks) in 8 minutes. Every week, they try to beat their score from the previous week-a great motivator!

This weeks workout is all about the elliptical; I prefer ellipticals with a crossramp, moving handlebars, and tons of programs (a built-in fan helps too). Also, one that gives you the freedom of pedaling both forwards and backwards is preferred too. There are so many workouts you can do with the elliptical!

I’m heading home for an early Thanksgiving break this weekend! Cannot WAIT to spend some quality time with my fam; it’s been way too long :/. Oh, the joys of growing up..

My mother and I will be cooking up a storm all day Saturday; turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes (orange candy basically), veggies, wine, and-of course- dessert! I’m not sure what’s been going on lately but I’ve been craving carrot cake..like mad cravings.

If I make it look like this..it cancels out the bad stuff..right?

Halloween Core and Cycle Class

First things first, everyone please be safe!

Secondly..

It’s Halloween week!

This is like a fitness instructors’ dream come true..do you realize how many exercises can be morphed into a Halloween-name?! Amaze.

I taught Core & More and named all of the exercises after Halloween; descriptions of the actual exercises are below: 

1. Supine Frankenstein leg drops
2. Eerie Plank (up, up, down, down)
3. Creeping Spider (plank w/ knees to the side)
4. Scared Cat (Down down to plank)
5. About to Pounce (Down dog to plank)
6. Dead Cat (Spine Bridge lifts)
7. Witches Brew (butt on knees, lift and torso twist right and left)
8. Hexes (star crunch)

Right after was Cycle! Of course I had to include songs like Thriller, Ghostbusters, and Werewolves of London-only appropriate ;-).

Are you going Trick or Treating tomorrow night? If so, here are the healthiest candies to nosh on:

• 3 musketeers mini-24 calories
• fun-sized lemonheads- 50 calories for 10 pieces
• full-sized york peppermint pattie (fave!)- 140 calories
• peeps pumpkins- <100 calories for 6 peeps
• Tootsie caramel apple pop- 60 calories

Notice how the first 3 candies are bold? It’s all about portion size! Obviously the mini versions of our favorite candies are going to have fewer calories than the full-sized versions, but we tend to overlook those intricate details and only read “3 musketeers” and “24 calories”. Pay attention to portions and I have no doubt that you can celebrate Halloween like it’s supposed to be celebrated:

with family/friends, tons of spooky fun, and candy!

Return of Body Pump

TGIF! I’m writing from Pittsburgh..my real home :). People always ask me “where do you actually live?” because I did my undergrad in Raleigh at NCSU, then went straight to grad school in Rochester Hills at Oakland, all while traveling to and from Pittsburgh. Can you see the disconnect?

After teaching Abs, Glutes, and Thighs (which was an amazing class BTW! Participants are always full of energy and up for ANYTHING, even when the classes continue to get more challenging), I hit the rush-hour traffic road and arrived in Pitt a little after 9:30. Salmon, grilled veggies, and a humongous piece of cake my family were awaiting me on the table (not my family); it makes the looooong drive so much more worth it when a home-cooked meal greets you! Right to sleep afterwards; sleeping in a queen-sized bed beats an extra-long twin sized bed’s bootay.

There’s really no point to this trip since I leave tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 5am to head straight to lululemon, but a girl needs some winter clothes! Why I didn’t bring any jackets, pants, UGGs, or winter scarves with me is over my head but it gave me an excuse to see my family :-D.

A relaxing morning

 (hi Kathy!)

and a long-but-not-forgotten body pump class

was what I had planned since my family has this silly thing called work. You guys remember how I was taking a break from heavier-lifting? I haven’t participated in a full hour-long lifting session until today and it felt great to get back to it! Sure some of my strength has dwindled but my endurance has improved and I was able to finish the entire workout- not missing one rep :).

What I used to lift in a Body Pump class:

• squats= 40-50lbs
• chest press= 15lbs
• back track= 20lbs
• triceps & biceps= 10-12lbs
• lunges= 15-20lbs
• shoulder track= 10-12lbs

What I lifted today:

• squats= 17.5lbs
• chest press= 10lbs
• back track= 12lbs
• triceps & biceps= 7.5lbs
• lunges= 7.5lbs (added plyometrics to this track)
• shoulder track= 7.5lbs and 8lb handweights

I felt I could have lifted heavier than I did but the above weight was perfect for my goals. I’m still not looking to get “bigger”, but rather continue toning, sculpting, lifting, and improving muscular endurance.

The rest of the day I plan on spending time with my family, drinking wine, eating a steak-ish dinner, and enjoying a real piece of cake!

What else made this trip worth it?

Add 1 Mile To That

TGIF!

I’m not sure where your whereabouts are, but it’s a gorgey day in Rochester MI! Fall is right around the corner and you can tell by the crisper mornings and cooler nights. I’m no vampire or emo but I love the dark, both later in the mornings and earlier in the evenings :).

Last night was my first Abs, Glutes, & Thighs class at OU! With that kind of name, it attracts a lot of the girls (who woulda thunk) and I had a smallish group of 11 lovely ladies who glistened, burned, and had an hour filled of fun! As much as I love a huge group of participants, like the Spring Break a Sweat class I taught at NC State, a smaller group offers just as much satisfaction because:

1. you can connect with the participants on a more personal level. getting to know their names and having a conversation instead of just teaching at them.
2. it’s not as intimidating to suggest an exercise they want to do or region they want to work when they’re surrounded by the same people every week.
3. as an instructor, you can really see their progress; not only in fitness but in their body awareness, appreciation, self efficacy and esteem as well. on the fitness aspect, maybe when the class started they performed push-ups on their knees and by the end of the semester, they’re doing them on their toes! in their body awareness, their form has improved tremendously to where they can actually feel when they’re doing it correctly/incorrectly; focusing on what their body can do rather than what it struggles with (notice I didn’t say can’t!); self efficacy is strengthened by realizing they’re capable of reaching their goals and not giving up; and their self-esteem sky-rockets simply because when we exercise, we feel good about ourselves.

This morning started with another run around campus! I’m telling you, OU has some serious hills! I ran the same route as before (minus the intervals) but did it twice around. I then wanted another hill (say whaaaaaat) so instead of stopping at the Rec center:

• continue on Pioneer Drive. you’ll stay straight (or veer right) on the road and NOT turn onto Ravine Drive (a parking lot and the soccer fields will be on your left)
• enjoy running down the hill.
• make a U-ey and trek back up the hill. try not to lean too far forward; it restricts your breathing and actually makes it harder because your weight is forward rather than upright.
• now turn onto Ravine Drive
• turn right onto Meadow Brook Road and continue until you reach the stop sign.
• make another U-ey back towards the Rec center.

When you’re finished, you’ve added ~1ish more miles! Make sure you properly cool down and stretch those muscles!