Tag Archives: motivation

Fitness Friday: What not to do over break

By Blake Dykes

Fall break. Alas, I know I am in desperate need for some time off, which I’m sure you all are as well. Although you’re going to be free from school during your break, you do still have to workout. Sorry if that ruins your fantasy of laying in bed all day and then staying up all night eating ice cream from the carton.

Remember all the thing we have talked about in the past, I’m sure most of you will be spending every living second with friends, but remember not to fall into the hypnosis of splitting a “Little Caeser” with them every night. Instead, try to encourage your friends to workout with you. If your friends happen to be as lazy as some of mine (love them anyway), you may need to rethink how you word your proposal. Maybe say, “Hey, want to get toned lean legs?  Great, come do this workout with me and you will!” Opposed to saying, “Hey come run five miles with me until you throw up.” It’s all about the wording. It’s ok to make it sound better than it is, afterall, it is for a good cause, right?

Another thing that you have to be conscious of, if you take one day off (which is okay every once in awhile) it makes it hard to want to workout the next day, so you take just one more day off, then two turns in to three, and three into four. It’s a vicious cycle. Sometimes our best workouts happen when we don’t feel like doing them. To avoid letting yourself slip into becoming a couch potato, make a list of things you will get done everyday before hanging out with friends or your evening plans. You are more likely to actually follow through with these plans if you do them in the morning. Get up before anyone else, that way you don’t have to miss out on anything. You don’t get a six pack by sleeping until one every day.

I’m sure you all will do great over the break though, but sadly, this is my last “Fitness Friday” and Monday was my last “Motivational Monday.” There are only so many articles I can write about nutrition and how to be fit.  If you ever have requests on an article you would like to see written or have any questions on health you can leave a comment or email The Bagpiper and I will give you feedback.

But don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you completely empty handed. I find a lot of my motivation and some great workouts on various fitness accounts on Instagram and Twitter.

Twitter accounts: @BeFitMOTIVATION, @HealthTips, @TheGymClown, @sugar_nation

Instagram accounts: WORKOUTS_DAILY, GETFITFORYOU, MOTIVATIONWALL, GETFIT_, HEALTHYRECIPES, HEALTHYANDCLEAN

With all that being said, I’ll leave you with this quote.

“Loser’s quit when they’re tired. Winner’s quit when they’ve won.” -Unknown

Motivational Monday: Workout playlist and almond butter muffin recipe

By Blake Dykes

Well, one more weekend has come and went. Hopefully you were able to successfully complete your weekend challenge. As you improve your health it should be easier for you to turn down the foods that we know are bad for us, and your workouts become increasingly easier.

First thing I want to talk about is having a workout playlist. If you workout without music you are doing it wrong. Running or lifting to a good song will increase your productivity. Not to mention when you are running that last mile, a pump-up song will drive you to the finish line that much easier and faster. But it’s all about having the right type of music. As much as I love country music, running to “Boy’s Round Here” isn’t very motivational. Here’s a sample of some of my favorite songs to workout to:

  1. “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

  2. “‘Till I Collapse” by Eminem

  3. “Berzerk” by Eminem

  4. “Lose Yourself” by Eminen

  5. “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” by Daft Punk

Those are just a few of my favorites, I will try and post some other good recommendations soon. But as you can tell Eminem is one of my favorite artists, if you don’t listen to at least one of his songs while you’re working out you’re doing it wrong.

Now time for a little recipe. This weekend I was really craving some muffins, so I made up this creation.

Pumpkin Almond Butter Muffins

– one cup whole wheat flour

– ½ cup white flour

– one tsp baking powder

– ¼ tsp baking soda

– ½ tsp salt

-one tbsp cinnamon

– ¼ tbsp nutmeg

-¼ tbsp

– one cup pumpkin puree

– ⅓ cup almond butter

– two eggs

– 1/3 to 1/2 cup honey

Bake for 20 minutes on 350 degrees. This batch made about 14.

Your workout assignment of the day: Take 10 pieces of scrap paper and write down a different cardio/ strength training exercise on each sheet. Fold it and put it in a jar. Randomly draw the paper and do you exercise for one minute, then draw again. Do this until you have been through each exercise three times for an intense 30- minute cardio workout.

Examples may include burpees, jumping jacks, plank, mountain climbers, frog jumps, high knees, wall sit, push ups, sit ups, russian twists.