Yoga + Running/Strength Workout

I can't believe it's already August. It feels like the summer has just flown by. The bus on the way into work was packed this morning - orientation is starting for the med students. One of the reasons I enjoy the summers in Charlottesville so much is that at least half of the population is gone. Without the undergrads and a good portion of the med students, traffic is reduced, it's less noisy, and the bus is never crowded. This morning was just a reminder that everyone will be back soon, and the summer will be wrapping up. While I don't have a "summer vacation," and summer really isn't that different work-wise from the rest of the year, I feel like everything is much more relaxed and flexible. I'll go out to the courtyard and read for a little while because the weather is gorgeous. Even when I'm stuck in lab all day, it's still light out when I get home, and I don't feel like I missed the entire day. I'm not looking forward to shorter days!

This just means that I'm going to take advantage of them while I can. On Monday, I did a "sunset" yoga class outside. I call it "sunset" because it was from 6:45-7:45 and the sun definitely hadn't set yet. It was a warm and beautiful day, and I really enjoyed it. The classrooms in the AFC are having their floors redone, which means that there are a lot of "pop-up" classes outside. Ann is holding her class at Nameless Field from 6-7pm on Monday August 11th and Monday August 18th, and I'm planning on attending! She's also doing a "sunrise" class from 7:30-8:30am Tuesday August 12th at the stadium, but I'm not sure if I'll make that one. 

The class on Monday was really nice - it's nice getting back into yoga, while not feeling like I forgot everything I learned last year. At the end of the class she decided she wanted a picture, and it turned out pretty well! I am seriously impressed that the three girls on the right held their down dog pose for that long. 

On Tuesday, I decided to walk over to the Chemistry building and donate blood at the mobile Virginia Blood Services location. It worked out well, since Joey didn't have practice that night, and could donate with me. I was really nervous, since I hadn't tried donating in almost 10 years! I tried a few times back in high school and the beginning of college, but either didn't have success in filling the bag, or felt incredibly weak and sick for days after. I eventually stopped trying, since I felt it wasn't worth it if it made me feel that sick. Part of the problem was with getting into my vein - it seemed like it always rolled, and they had to spend a lot of time poking around. In lab, we get blood from healthy donors pretty frequently, so I decided to give that a try as a first test. I've had my blood drawn probably half a dozen times now in lab, and nobody has ever had any problems. I think that being active has made my veins a little more prominent, and easier to get into. Tuesday went pretty well. I took a lot longer than Joey to fill up the bag (he took 5 minutes - no joke), but I did successfully fill it up. I felt a little drained and weak for a few hours after, but felt completely fine by the end of the night, besides my arm being a bit sore. 

I felt completely recovered by Wednesday. I planned on doing a workout that night, and Joey suggested that I try not to push it, since I was still replenishing my blood supply. This is the workout I did. I had planned on doing 1/2 mile between circuits and 1 mile at the end, but I just ran out of time and energy. I was also planning on doing each circuit 3x through, but that just didn't happen. As it was, the workout took a little over an hour, so it's probably a good thing that I cut it short. Planning the workout was fun. I made 5 categories of some fun exercises - Abs, Arms, Legs, Arms+Core, Whole Body (usually some combination of Arms, Legs and/or Core). Then I just chose three from each category and put them together for three circuits. Everything I picked was bodyweight or used dumbbells, so I didn't need very much equipment. I think you could use this format with any combination of exercises, so please try it out! I have links below with descriptions of each exercise. 

·      V Sits: 10 extensions http://www.fitsugar.com/How-Do-V-Sits-32661758

·      Single-Leg Scarecrow: 10 per side http://www.fitsugar.com/photo-gallery/33519061/Single-Leg-Scarecrows

·      Squat with Side Leg Lift: 10 per side http://www.fitsugar.com/Butt-Exercise-Tone-Lift-Glutes-5574014

·      High to Low Woodchop: 10 per side http://www.fitsugar.com/photo-gallery/34866576/High-Low-Woodchop

·      Sumo Squat with Biceps Curls: 10 reps http://www.fitsugar.com/photo-gallery/35178588/Sumo-Squat-Bicep-Curls

·      Butterfly Crunch: 15 reps http://www.fitsugar.com/photo-gallery/34658499/Circuit-Three-Butterfly-Crunch

·      Overhead Triceps Extensions: 10 reps http://www.fitsugar.com/photo-gallery/35180377/Overhead-Triceps-Extensions

·      Marching Bridge: 10 per side http://www.fitsugar.com/photo-gallery/34658500/Marching-Bridge

·      Down Dog Abs: 10 per side http://www.fitsugar.com/photo-gallery/34658498/Circuit-One-Down-Dog-Abs

·      Lunge with Twist: 10 per side http://www.fitsugar.com/photo-gallery/34868006/Reverse-Lunge-Twist (forward lunge instead of reverse)

·      Elbow Plank with Alternating Arm Reach: 10 per side http://www.fitsugar.com/photo-gallery/34732354/Circuit-Two-Elbow-Plank-Alternating-Arm-Reach

·      Bent-Over Row: 10 reps http://www.fitsugar.com/Bent-Over-Row-1016822

·      Reverse Lunge: 10 per side http://www.fitsugar.com/How-Do-Reverse-Lunge-160059

·      Side Elbow Plank with Twist: 10 per side http://www.fitsugar.com/Side-Elbow-Plank-Twist-2856451

·      Dumbbell Squat: 15 reps http://www.fitsugar.com/Back-Basics-Dumbbell-Squats-2507500