A Perfect Thanksgiving Weekend ♥

well hello everyone! i hope you all had a nice thansgiving weekend full of family, friends, and good food :) (i know i did!) - sorry i know this post is a week late - but at least im posting! haha

my weekend started last tuesday afternoon when i came home after 5 straight weeks of being in logan. it was SO GOOD to be home! i came home to a nice clean house and my mom making my favorite cookies (pumpkin chocolate chip). yes, i had to give a can for eating those! (turkey day challenge). i was able to go and pick up my little sister lara from high school and i got a running jump hug from my cute little brother jason. then i spent the afternoon hanging out with the cute neighbor boy, andrew :)

wednesday morning i couldn't have been more excited to wake up at 4am and go to work at GPP. I LOVE IT THERE! it was so good to be back and see all the people that i have grown to love over the past few years. the workout for wednesday was "Hoofin Bi" - a killer biceps workout with a little running to break it up.

the slow biceps curls were killer and i was super excited to have run every round! i haven't been able to run farther than 400m the last couple of months because of my IT band so it was really refreshing!

wednesday afternoon i tested my skills with a shotgun. andrew and i, along with another couple went up the mountain to spend a little time shooting.  i haven't shot too many guns in my time so it was a fun adventure. i even hit a clay pigeon - whoot whoot! :)

andrew let me use his jacket so that i wouldn't get a bruise from the kick back. i look super top heavy with little chicken legs! haha - so much fun though!

then comes thanskgiving - one of my favorite holidays! :)
i started my day off right - at GPP for our annual Turkey Day Mashup! this year the workout was called "Pie Burn" and we had a little over 120 people storming the workout with us! it was awesome! 

PIE BURN

10 burpees EMOM (every min on the min) for 5 min 

3 min Rough Boy Squats

3 min continuous plate switches

1 min rest 

10 burpees EMOM for 5 min 

Class does reps in unison on trainers count:

Shoulder Medley - 2 rounds

20 front raises 15/20

20 upright row 15/20

20 OH press 15/20

Triceps Medley - 2 rounds

10 narrow push-ups BW

20 skull crushers 15/20 

20 OH French press 15/20

Ab Medley - 2 rounds

20 situps 

20 R side ups

20 L side ups 

20 Superman back ext's

Legs Medley -2 rounds

20 BTB squats 

20 alternating lunge switches

20 single leg DL 15/20 

10 burpees EMOM for 5 min

On trainer's count perform 3 rounds of the following:

20 v-ups

20 T2T side ups R

20 T2T side ups L

20 T2T superman back ext

20 T2T tap down crunches

20 sec ab bridges

10 burpees EMOM

it was a long workout but we stormed it with our amazing community which made it so. much. fun!

the whole crew!

GPP was PACKED!

skull crushers!

i got to have my bff ali storm the workout with me!

realized that this is the first and only picture that the four of us have together. these are the amazing trainers that taught me everything i know, and have given me so many opportunities. i love them with all my heart!

left to right: megan wallace, neil anderson, lizz bennett, and myself!

after the fun workout it was time to stuff myself with amazing food and spend some quality time with my amazing family :) we hosted my grandparents at our house for thanksgiving and enjoyed a nice mellow day together. my mom is an incredible cook and made everything look as good as it tasted. 

this is me and my beautiful little sister lara :) i have missed her!

and of course my adorable baby brother jason :) 

the fancy table my mom put together :)

all the delicious food! (see the bottom left - orange rolls from Dick's bakery. they are my all time favorite and i only eat them on thanksgiving. yum!)

thanksgiving was a relaxing day that ended in lots of thanks and a fully tummy. im already looking forward to next year! ;)

friday started out with GPP! the workout was "thrust-o-rama". this one is a SORE MAKER - like hardcore. but, it is the most complete movement that we, at GPP can give a person.

only one movement, 20 min, 200 thrusters

this is me doing the thruster movement. you first clean it to your rack, squat it down (toes out knees out - back straight - head up) and then you press it overhead (head through your shoulders - over your center of balance). then, instead of dropping it in between reps after you press it overhead you go right back down into the squat then press again.

i took it easy throughout the workout because on saturday i had to perform at both a football and a basketball game, so i couldn't be too crazy sore. on saturday the Aggies won Idaho 45-9 at the football game and took the WAC Championship! it was awesome and now the aggies are headed to the "Famous Potato Bowl" on december 15th! its going to be a blast and i cant wait to cheer on my aggies at the bowl game. aggies also pulled out a win at the basketball game against weber state. i even got tackled by one of the players during the first quarter which was pretty exciting. haha it was actually really epic and i wish i had a picture or a slow motion video recording of it to post here on the blog. oh well, you will just have to imagine a 250+ pound basketball player lurching at me full force and us landing in the band. super funny, and i had about 100 people ask me over the next couple of days if i was okay - which of course i was just fine!

anyways that is my thanksgiving weekend in a nut shell! again, i apologize that it is up a bit late but i hope you still enjoy it! have a fabulous week!

xoxo,
lil kate ♥

One workout away from a GOOD MOOD

happy thursday! 
it is now officially one week away from thanksgiving and i couldn't be more excited! its not about the delicious food for me, but its about being with my family and taking a day to reflect on everything i have to be grateful for :) its definitely one of my favorite holidays! also, GPP is hosting a "Turkey Day Mashup" workout on thanksgiving for anyone who wants to come. i hope to see you all there! it is going to be a blast - 8:00am SHARP.

today started out with 2 hours of practice - (tonight is one of the biggest basketball games of the season! ah!) starting my day with 2 hours of dancing is seriously the best start to my day. i might not always like getting up early and going to practice in the freezing cold, but i really wouldn't have it any other way. :) next came my gymnastics class. gymnastics is a great workout! you literally use every muscle in your body, and utilize all of the 10 aspects of fitness in an hour of gymnastics. i have been working on my front aerial and it is coming
along nicely :) i usually have a class after gymnastics but, today it was cancelled! yayee :) so, i immediately went to the gym. today's workout was "Ride the Lightning". i have only done this one a couple of times, and i don't remember liking it very much but i really enjoyed it today! i am also very proud to say that this is the FIRST time that i have completed that many kipping pullups without destroying my hands. it is a small victory, but one that made me super happy :)

today, i subbed out the deadlifts with 20 weighted lunges per minute. my boss Neil Anderson has been training dancers for about 5 years now, and he has discovered that deadlifts arent the best movement for dancers to do because of our hamstring and back flexibility. so, thats my reason for the sub :)

its not GPP, but it'll do... 

lately it has been kind of hard for me to get to the gym. i make up excuses or just allow myself to get buried in homework. but, once i get there and do a workout i am so much HAPPIER! i feel better, i look better, and i'm in a better mood. it never ceases to amaze me how i am ALWAYS in a better mood after a good workout. exercise releases "happy endorphin's", thus putting us in a better mood. i saw a quote on pinterest that said, "You are only ONE workout away from a GOOD mood." i couldn't agree more. we all need to realize that once we get off our "excuse couch" and get to the gym we will be happier -- not to mention healthier. so, get to the gym and JUST DO IT. its worth it :)

""wow, i really regret that workout." - said no one ever." 

you wont regret it :) i PROMISE!

have a great day everyone!

xoxo,

lil kate ♥

A New Gym Friend

happy tuesday everyone!
i hope everyone had a great weekend and have decided that this week is going to be good! 

i should have posted this yesterday but i didn't quite get to it! so, here it is today :)

my workout of the day yesterday :) . (found here)
this is a workout that i absolutely DREAD. plate cleans, and double pump burpees all in one workout?! death. but, the next day i am always sore in all the right places! so, the pain pays off!

five rounds for time. like i said ROUGH.

ANYWAYS, back to the story. i was at the field house minding my own business doing my GPP workout. (note- i often get stopped throughout my workout at the field house with inquires as to what i am doing or better yet, the big meat head guy telling me i am doing something wrong. now like i have said a hundred times before, GPP is different that ANYTHING anyone has seen before. that's why people are so curious, or so sure that i am doing a movement wrong ;)) well yesterday i was stopped during round 2 of my workout. not by a guy trying to correct me, but by a nice guy asking me what i was doing. i explained to him that i was doing a "double pump burpee" and he asked me to show him how do it. immediately "Trainer Kate" came out (LOVED IT!). i carefully explained the movement to him and watched him do a couple. then, to my surprise he asked, "whats next?" - he wanted to keep doing my workout with me! i explained the rest of the workout to him and rattled on about what GPP is all about. he did 2 rounds with me before he had to leave for class. it was awesome :)  i probably wont ever see that guy again, but i loved that he wanted to learn. it is people like him that i LOVE training!  just thought i would share! if any of my logan peeps ever see me at the field house please come join me! i love a workout buddy, and always love helping anyone with workouts!

also, turkey day challenge ends in 9 days! i re -started (i was struggling big time with motivation) and i have been perfect! 9 days - thats nothing! i can do it, and i will be motivated!  motivation is a choice, a skill. it takes practice and hard work to acquire a skill. you have to work at it everyday. lets keep working!

thanks for reading!

have a fabulous tuesday! 

xoxo,

lil kate

"trainer kate" ♥ 

Do Something You've Never Done

happy hump day! i hope that you are all surviving this week and enjoying every bit of it! :)

today i just want to touch on the subject of doing things we have never done before. we all want something. whether it be more money, better health, or to be happier. but, the problem is that most of the time we just want it handed to us.  we want it the "easy" way. but, if you want something you have to do something you have never done.  if you are overweight, then you are going to have to diet and workout to get that weight off and become the best version of you. yes, i know it is hard. and yes, i know its not fun. BUT, it is worth it. you are going to have to work harder than you have ever worked before. we can help each other and be each other's support system. you don't have to be alone in this! here's to the quote of the week thanks to the amazing trainer and two time ironman Lizz Bennett - "YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS."

we got this :) have a fabulous night!

xoxo,
lil kate ♥