October 25- Teaching Day 3

Today was our third day of teaching days and it was really fun!

Alesha went first and I really liked her teaching because she was so energetic and funny! She made it fun to work out so early in the morning. I liked how exercises focused on one main goal of getting a lean stomach. She told us just how each exercise would help reach that goal. It was also good that she changed the music to go with each individual exercise. I think she was well prepared with her timer as well!

I also thought Allie and Anne's dynamic plank/pushups. It was a really creative workout to bring to the class. It was cool because it targeted abs arms and legs in really challenging ways. The girls did a good job of going through each part of the workout before actually going through the whole thing quickly. It was really challenging and definitely something I would try again.

Lastly Ava went and I really liked her workouts and stretches. Her workout seemed really well thought out and planned. My favorite part of her workout was the deadlifts and squats. They were pretty challenging and I felt my muscles really working! The stretches after felt really great after the whole day!

October 23- Teaching Day 2

Today was the second day that we did student teaching. First Leah and Katrina taught us some cardio pilates exercises. It was really creative because they incorporated paper plates into the workout. We used them to do sliding planks and push ups. It was challenging but really unique at the same time so I liked it a lot! We also did a lot of high jumps which really got our heart rates going.

The second group, Meredith and Paxton, taught us a barre method workout. It was really hard for me because I was using a 15 lb kettlebell and I'm just not that strong. I really liked the exercises they used though because they were a little harder so I definitely felt my leg muscles working in the squats and arm muscles when twisting and lifting the weight. I couldn't really do all the exercises at the pace with my weight but it would be cool to try them again with a weight more suitable to my strength level.

The last group, Angela and Pengyu, slowed it down and taught us some yoga. I think it was a great way to end class because it was so calming and I got a really good stretch from it. We did a lot of repetitions of each pose so I could personally really feel the stretch. I most enjoyed the tree pose because I liked focusing on balancing my center!

October 18- Teaching Day 1

Today started our first day of student teaching! The first group to go did an intense workout with lots of lunges and push ups. We did push ups where we had to jump our legs from side to side in between each push up. Right after that we did push ups where we did side crunches in between. They were both definitely endurance testers. We also did jumps in the air, down to push ups and mountain climbers. I liked the first group because they really tried to push us to do workouts that were challenging. 

The second group that went slowed the pace down a little. First we used free weights to do side lunges. It wasn't extremely hard so we did a lot of reps. We also did twisting bicep curls and crunches. I liked the second group because they seemed to have fun while they were teaching.

The last group to go did a variety of exercises in a fun way. We started with jumping jacks and squats. We then all got into a circle and held a plank position while each person said their favorite Halloween candy and costume. We finished by playing ninja. I really liked that they added creativity and a fun spark to their workout.

October 16

Today I didn't get to go to class. Instead I was in bed with a massive headache for most of the day, which definitely wasn't as much fun as class! :(

October 12- Free Weights

I really enjoyed our workout yesterday with the free weights! Today my legs are a little sore from the squats but I like that because then I know I was really working those muscles. Using the free weights we focused on arms, abs, and legs. We lifted weights with our arms straight out in front of us and with our arms by our side. We also did repetitions with our wrists facing upwards to work different muscles within our arms. Something new we added were push ups with the weights which added another level of difficulty. For abs we did Russian twists - which are always my favorite! We did a variety of crunches and did a lot of reps so I really felt it! For legs we of course did some squats which burned a lot! We did the exercise where we rotated our torso and legs to work our glutes as well.

October 4- MTV Pilates

Today was really great because we did Pilates and I absolutely LOVE Pilates! We used a DVD made my MTV and it was cool because it had three different people working at different levels so when there was something I had never done before I could follow the easier level until i felt comfortable enough to try the harder positions. The workout started with my personal favorite - the Pilates 100.  I like this workout because you immediately feel the blood circulating throughout your body and you're really warmed up. I also really liked the leg circles and lifts because I feel my legs working as well as my abs in order to keep my balance. Some of the workouts were pretty hard though, like when we had our legs up in the air and were doing curl ups. That definitely tested my balance and core strength. The ending was pretty difficult too because of the fast pace. We ended with the Pilates push up- where we had to do a push up then walk up to feet with our hands, roll up then back down to do more push ups. It was hard but I liked how I felt really stretched out afterwards and that's what I love about Pilates! It's a great workout but you don't feel completely exhausted after!

October 2

Today we broke up into pairs and did some work outs with the resistance bands, medicine balls, and BOSU balls. I really enjoyed it because it had a lot of variety and worked all different parts of our core. So first off, we used the resistance bands to work on our triceps by each holding and end of the resistance band and pulling backwards at the same time. We did different variations of this such as standing face to face and side by side or twisting our torso at the same time. Then using the medicine ball we sat back to back and passed it to each other which worked our abs. We also did sit ups passing the ball. The medicine ball was also used in squatting and catching the ball and shuffling and passing it. It definitely got my heart rate up. On the BOSU balls we did a lot of balancing while trying to catch the medicine ball. It was tricky and challenging! Class ended by all of us getting in a big circle and doing Russian twists and passing a medicine ball. We did four reps and by the end my abs were burning! But it was fun at the same time :)