It was 80 degrees here in Philadelphia yesterday. 80 DEGREES!!!! Last year when I visited at the beginning of March it was snowing and about 20, yuck. It felt SO good to walk outside with a short sleeve shirt - especially after a weekend spent in the perfect Florida weather! Before I headed to work around 12:30, I wanted to spend some time outside. I initially went out for a run and attempted a little trail running. After I ate dirt and almost sprained my ankle tripping on a rock, I thought it would be best that I head back out to the road. #WorldsNumberOneClutz I ran for about a mile to a little park with tennis courts near my apartment. I decided to get my heart rate up with a quick Tabata workout. Just a quick 20 minutes of sunshine and fresh air can make such a big difference in your day. If you're a nine to fiver, check out my 5 reasons you should get outside during the work day!

1. Burpees - remember that you always have the option to walk your feet out or add a push-up! 
2. Squat Jacks - When you jump your feet out into the squat, try to reach your opposite hand to your opposite foot to get in some extra torso rotation. 
3. 4-Way Shuffle - I love this drill! It's great for agility. Pick four points and shuffle sideways, forward and backward as fast as you can in the 20 seconds. 
4. Mountain Climbers - always make sure to keep your shoulders right over your wrists and core tight! 

Here's a little demo of the exercises: 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRPbMz87D7E[/embed]

CHEERS to it almost being the weekend! Have a great Thursday :) Also here's what I'm jamming out to lately if you're needing some new music...

XO - Rach

Do you enjoy working out outside?

Any fun weekend plans?

Love or hate the hot weather?

Happy Hump Day! How's everyone's week going? We're halfway there! I wanted to share an Upper Body & Core Workout with you that I did one night last week after work and it left my muscles feeling tired!

Last week after my long run I really screwed up my foot. I think I strained my Peroneal Tendon. This is a new fun running injury. I just can't win! Basically the outside of my right foot was just killing me and it hurt a lot to even walk. For the past week and the rest of this week I am NOT running, but focusing on upper body strength and cross training! 

Here's an upper body and core workout I put together - injured foot or not, this workout is sure to make you sweat.

My intention for this workout was to hit all the major muscle groups in the upper body. Twelve reps is a good rep range to really tire out those muscles. Try to use a challenging weight! By the tenth rep, you should be ready to put the weight down. If your form starts to get compromised, lower the weight and finish the reps. I chose to program some extra HIIT on the rower at the end because 1.) I'm a cripple and can't run. 2.) The rower is very low impact. 3.) It also works your upper body! 

Exercises:

Single Arm Kettlebell Clean and Press

Pike Push-ups (move at :24)

Elevated Plank Rows (move at :30)

Plank Walk-ups

Stability Ball Hip Bridges

Enjoy!! 

- Rach

Who's ready for the weekend?!! The pope will be here this weekend so I'm either escaping town or camping out in my apartment - Philly is expecting 1,000,000 people!