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Friday, June 29, 2012

Circuit Training


The best kind of workout combines your strength and your cardio into one helluva burn. We used this one to train in our off season and it worked wonders. Be sure to hydrate well before! The whole thing is based on time, so try to push yourself and get as many reps as you can in the allotted interval. Do all three rounds to get the whole package--then add a finisher!


Round 1: Upper body
0:30--push ups
0:30--squat to press holding a 25 lb dumbbell or plate
repeat 3 times w/o rest
1:30--rest


Round 2: Lower body
0:30--squat jumps
0:30--squat hold
repeat 3 times w/o rest
1:30--rest


Round 3: Core
0:30--straight leg sit-ups
0:30--front plank
repeat 3 times w/o rest
1:30--rest

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Athletes do...yoga?



Since beginning our summer workout, I've been doing a lot of big olympic lifts...bench press, hang clean, push ups, chin ups...you name it--we do it. Anyway, in past experience this has caused me to put on a lot of muscle, and fast. The dramatic decrease in overall flexibility is, i'm sure, a contributor to a lot of the injuries our team builds up. So, i've decided to start doing yoga and i've found out it's actually not a bad idea for athletes to supplement their usual training with yoga. The deep stretching of yoga speeds up recovery in between those lifts by oxygenating muscles. The increase in flexibility also helps reduce tension on joints when you go back and try to use them in training. So far, i've found that it really works--i'm getting longer, leaner muscles out of my strength training, and I also find that my general body awareness has increased--I know better how to push myself and how to stay in touch with how I'm feeling. I've only been at it for a little over two weeks, but I'm going to try and stick it out at least for the rest of the summer!

Experimental Kitchen





I'm pretty good about eating lots of fruits and vegetables, but I'm trying to cook on my own and pump out some really balanced meals that mix in carbs and lean protein to keep me full (because snacks=$$). My first experiment was relatively basic, some penne pasta with mushroom tomato sauce, corn, and chicken breast. Tasty, but like i said, basic. So I decided to get a little more creative with my next try and go for something loaded with veggies and had that home-cooked lasagna taste I've always loved...eggplant casserole is born!


*Eggplant Casserole*
Ingredients: 
1 whole eggplant, unpeeled (because that's where the vitamins are!)
2 cups ricotta cheese (I used fat-free)
salt to taste
1 cup mushroom spaghetti sauce
1 cup instant brown rice


1. Cut the eggplant into slices that are about 1cm thick and roast them up in a skillet. Make sure to leave it uncovered so it can lose some of the water that will end up giving you a runny casserole. 
2. Cook the instant rice until its almost cooked, but still a little crunchy. Drain the excess water and stir in half the spaghetti sauce. Put all this mixture as the bottom layer in your 9x9 pan
3. Lay your roasted eggplant on top of the rice. 
4. Mix in some salt to your ricotta, then layer all that goodness down on top of the eggplant, and top with the remaining spaghetti sauce. 
5. Cook for 20 minutes in the oven at 300 degrees! voila!
Makes 3 servings, 314 calories each


What's great about this dish? EGGPLANT=BRAINFOOD
Eggplants contain a lot of the phytonutrient nasunin that is like antioxidants that help hunt down free radicals that damage cells in your noggin. Finals period must have? i think so

What's with the sweat?

A big part of my life revolves around being fit. As a Division 1 Field Hockey athlete, being in shape is a lifestyle choice for me. I have mandatory lifts. I do sprints. I wake up at 6 am. It sometimes sucks, but I've never regretted doing a workout. It also means getting creative sometimes when a balanced life seems to get a little boring...

Go Greek!




It figures that as soon as I leave dorm life I start going greek...greek food that is! This weekend a local Greek orthodox church in Central Square, MA was holding their Hellenic Food Festival. One of my best friends happens to be greek, and proud of it!, so we went together (twice in one weekend) to stock up on gyro, spanikopita, tyropita, baklava, loukoumades, and more gyro!! Absolutely incredible. The good thing about all this greek comfort food is that it was authentic and made right there by the people at the church. I will definitely be putting this one down in my calendar so I come back next year.

The Buffet Goes on...


So even though I've started living on a budget, cooking lots of my own meals, and going to the grocery store, a part of me really misses by 24 hr dining hall access, so--i'm scouring Boston for good places to eat, all the time, any type of food. Let the buffet commence. 

Self Indulgence


 
A staple event in dining hall life is "Sunday Sundaes," the ice cream sundae bar. I try to keep my dessert eating contained to special events, and as far as dining hall food goes, this qualifies. The result? I tend to get caught having seconds...and thirds of ice cream + toppings + hot chocolate sauce. guilt ensues. Having dealt with undereating and restrictive eating in my past, over-indulgence comes with a bit of history for me. Moderation is a little tough for me to handle at times, and that goes in both directions--eating too much or eating too little. My gut tells me that food shouldn't be quite so complicated, and that's what I'm trying to go with from here. 

I found this website: http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2008/08/26/7-helpful-tips-to-stop-binge-eating/ pretty helpful with tips to avoid overeating but not punishing yourself for thinking of sweets as a reward or something fun every once in a while. 

Building Pyramids


while looking for an explanation for why keeping an eye on healthy eating is so difficult in a dining hall, i came across this really interesting page from MayoClinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-diet/NU00190
It has interactive food guides with food pyramids from all over the world. For example, the Asian pyramid looks a little different from the Mediterranean one—but both offer a lot in terms of providing guidelines for a healthy diet. Maybe changing up your style of healthy eating every once in a while can be a way to break through a diet plateau? cut the boredom and get creative, and keep on eating healthy

Twenty-One with #1 Pimms



This last Saturday i finally did it...I turned twenty-one!! To celebrate, one of my good friends from London bought me a bottle of Pimm's, which i've heard is fantastic. I (probably for the better) have about 2/3 of a bottle left and am going to get experimenting. But, before that, i think i should go classic with the "Pimm's Cup"! Brits love it, and so i guess it must be worth a shot! (did you catch that pun...?). But, since i'm still in college and haven't perfected the art of moderation...


Pimm's PITCHER:
2 oranges, in half-moons
  • lemons, cut into half-moons
  • Persian cucumber or one 3-in.-long piece English cucumber, washed and sliced 
  • 2 cups Pimm's No. 1 
  • 4 cups Sprite or other lemon-lime soda 
  • to 8 large sprigs mint, crushed gently, plus a few loose leaves

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Cirque du Soleil-TOTEM

This past weekend I went out to the Marine Industrial Waterfront to find the Cirque du Soleil tent with my boyfriend. I'd never been before, but loved the idea of a more "grown up" circus than what I picture when I think of Barnum and Bailey...I was NOT disappointed. Totem (tot-EM) was full of heights, contortionists, and all-out visuals that really took you someplace else. The highlight for me was the unicycling bowl throwers who unicycled...balanced bowls on their heads...then threw the bowls on to each other's heads while unicycling with one foot. top that--i dare you!


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Summer Kick-off in Boston


Today marks the first day of me living on my own.
well, not entirely, but the closest I've come to it. For the summer, i'm living in an apartment in Cambridge, MA embarking on what I usually think of as "real-life" living. Compared to having a thousand roommates, cooked meals, housing, class...(insert other cliche aspect of undergraduate dorm life here), my schedule is quickly filling up with commutes, jobs, summer workouts, and planning to do all the things open to me in this fantastic New England city, on a budget to boot...

IN CONCLUSION, since i hate ramblers...
the blog is changing from my "fake" life to "real" life endeavors. Going out, eating out, letting it all hang out...you name it

Photo: Boston common, May 22, 2012