I love summer, because I get to hike! Hiking is probably one of the hardest workouts and most enjoyable for me! This summer, however, I am pregnant and that just doesn't bode well with hiking. I went out twice...once with my brother Shawn and friend Melanie and I felt like I'd never exercised a day in my life. It was tough! I hiked again on Labor Day. We hiked Red Pine (lake at the top). It was beautiful! I went with my husband, 4 kiddo's and Dad. We had a lot of fun and took this 7 mile hike very slow. We all made it and it was still hard on me! Below is a great workout to keep your hiking skills in check! Any kind of stair climbing will be a great thing for your lower body!
About a week ago, a few friends from the gym decided to meet at a local high school and do some "track training" or whatever you would want to call it. This small group usually meets a couple of times a week to do legs/light arms and plenty of cardio. When we first began getting together, I was within a week of finding out I was expecting baby #5, so I could still push myself and get a great workout, but felt pretty nauseous afterward. Since then, I still try to do the best I can do, and this was one of those times! This great idea was from on of the friends I work out with (not an idea I can claim, but a great one! ;)...and if you are up for a hard workout, give this a try!
We began by sprinting the long straight portion of the track and walking or jogging the round corners until we reached the stadium benches. We then did 50 reps of crunches (when pregnant, do side crunches). We then ran up and down each set of stairs (do not take two at a time, it's harder taking them one at a time). There are about 6 sets of stairs. We then came down to the grass or cement and did 50 girl pushups. We would then head back to the track walking or jogging the round part of the track and sprinting the long portion, jogging the round part of the track and repeating with crunches, stairs and pushups. My little group of friends must have done this 6-8 times. I lasted only 4 and then just jogged and walked another mile (4 times around the track). I hope this makes sense and if you have access to a track...give this a try, you will be SORE!
