Exercise Ball

In class on Thursday, we went through many core routines. The main focus was how we could use the exercise ball to improve our core strength. A challenge I faced throughout, was definitely balancing on the ball. However, I know that this shakiness was strengthening my core and improving my balance. We ended with the push-up countdown which was a great workout to end with.

UVA vs. UNC Football Game

Core Workout

Today in core training, we returned to our normal core routine from the earlier portion of the semester. We have finished having each student teach a lesson the class, so now Jenna is teaching again. Today was a good quality workout. Iy felt good, in part because of all the reps and I think also because it felt fresh - we have not done these same routines in quite a while.

Class Cancelled

Last Tuesday morning, our classes were cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. Since I was not able to get a workout in during the morning, I was eager to get a run in at cross country practice that afternoon. For practice we ran toward the downtown mall and up 5th street ultimately toward JPA. I ended up running for 26:08 minutes by the time I got back since I had to cut off the run a bit to make a meeting. Overall it was a good run at an uptempo pace.

Free Weights Lesson to the Class

In class, Jessica Glidewell and I had the opportunity to teach the rest of the class a workout routine. For our segment, we decided to go with free weights. Free weights are different from many of the core workout we do, because they are very much dependent on form and a slow pace. We began the workout with a playlist that I had put together. The songs were fun and helped get the class motivated, but they were slow enough that they worked with the pace of the exercises. Next we began our routine.


Side lunges (5 sets of 10)

Bicep reverse curls (2 sets of 20)

Crunches with one weight in hand and one weight in feet (50)

Standing overhead press (2 sets of 20)

Plie squats (5 sets of 10)

Ball bridge (2 sets of 30 seconds)

Toe raises (2 sets of 25)

Upright row (3 sets of 10)

The workout seemed like a success and through the repetitions - we were able to push the class into getting a good workout in.

Free Weights

In class today, we began with our normal jog and warm-up. Then for the rest of the class we worked with free weights for added resistance. One workout in particular I liked was when we stood in the push-up position over our weights and alternated lifting a weight to our sides.

Partner Workout

Today in class, we broke into pairs and did a number of partner core workouts. The workouts included, a medicine ball, resistance bands and a balance ball. First we dealt with the medicine ball and did a variation of squats, overhand throws, and cherry pickers. With the balance ball, one of us stood on the ball while the other stood on one foot. Each of us held an end of the resistance band and tried to stay balanced the longest - I found standing on one foot to be more difficult than standing on the balance ball. Another neat workout was the patty-cake planks. In this variation of the traditional plank, we positioned ourselves so we faced one another and alternated clapping our hands with each other. We ended the workout with a large circle medicine ball pass. We each did cherry pickers until the medicine ball was passed all the wat around the circle. Since we did four sets, I found this very difficult to complete.