For my nephews 12th birthday I took him to a trampoline park around my area.  What a great place for both children AND adults. This place will turn any adult into a child! I don’t know about you, but growing up, I always dreamed of having a trampoline - but I never got one.  Now they have parks for this funtastic activity! Oy Vey! THE BEST PLACE EVER!

There is a foam pit, where you can jump into (do flips, turns, dives, and other crazy tricks you can think of.), there is a basketball area, with three different size nets (you don’t have to be 6’ tall to dunk here!); there is a dodge-ball area for kids; and not to mention the big trampoline field (here is where they have hundreds of small and wide trampolines together to make one big jumping arena.  Not to mention trampolines on the walls so you can literally bounce off the walls.)

This is definitely a family fun park that everyone can enjoy, and you can get LOADS of physical activity in for the day.  Sky zone had advertisement around the whole area about their aerobic trampoline classes, which seems like a unique way to exercise.  I think I may try it out with some friends for a girls night.  

This is a total body work out.  Jumping around is a fun cardio activity that will really get your heart pumping. It is definitely an activity that will increase your cardiorespiratory endurance.

The main muscles being worked here are in your lower extremity and your core. Your arms are also being worked with the jumping movement (especially if you know any fancy gymnastic tricks.) However, they are not the targeted muscles.

The targeted muscles are going to be your gastrocnemius in your calf muscles - because jumping is an explosive movement. Your hamstrings, quads, and gluteus maximus.  And your Abdominal muscles and back muscles.

I love to run, absolutely love it! The running trails I normally run on are already paved, streets, or flat fields and tracks.  My boyfriend took me to Wissahickon Park, which is a part a Fairmont Park in Philadelphia.  This park has so many different trails to run, bike, hike, and even ride horses on.  

The trails we chose were the unpaved rocky, dirt terrain up a large hill.  Now I know this sounds quite intimidating to some, but I thought that this was the greatest run.  It was different from what I was used to, a new atmosphere to run in, and kept me alert the entire time I was running (You have to know where you are stepping if you run on this terrain, otherwise you can seriously hurt yourself.)

It was very scenic, we ran through the woods right along the Wissahickon creek.   It was pretty cold out, it had flurried a little bit before we decided to head out, so we were both bundled up greatly, with layers on top of layers, gloves, and ear warmers - we were warm and we were ready to run.

I think I may try and get more into this type of running.  It’s different from what I’m used to, and will be good when a change is needed
 

Run Keeper is a great running app that I like to use that tells you the distance you ran, your run time, your average pace, calories burned, and more.  When using it today it told me that we ran 4.67 miles in an hour, averaging bout 12:56 minutes per mile. Not bad for a trail run, huh?

If you are not a runner, Wissahickon is a great place to go for a walk, hike, mountain bike ride, and horse ride.  If you are interested in finding a new place to go for these activities in the Philadelphia area, this is a good spot to try. 

I recently came back from a road trip with my boyfriend. We traveled from Philadelphia, PA to High Point, NC; Charlotte, NC; Hilton Head, SC; and Charleston, SC and finally back to Philadelphia in 5 days. The trip was wonderful and we were lucky to have great weather during our stay, which allowed us to do outdoor activities.

Throughout the trip I realized how easy it could be to veer away from your normal diet and exercise routine. So here are a few tips for traveling that I think are very important.


1. Drink lots of water. Because you are in a new place and on the move traveling, it can be easy to forget about water until you are already dehydrated. Keep a water bottle with you at all times. Fruits and vegetables also put water into your body, so eating these will also help with hydration.

2. Prepare healthy travel snacks. Because you are constantly traveling, it may be tempting to grab the greasy chips. If you are traveling by car, the majority of food options will be fast foods. Preparing your own snacks for the trip will keep you satisfied until you are ready to grab a good meal at the airport or off the highway. You can prepare fruits like, grapes, apples, oranges, bananas, etc. Think of some vegetables that you may like, such as, carrots, celery, tomatoes, etc. Pack yourself pretzels, or multi-grain crackers.  Prepare foods that you enjoy and that will help you maintain your diet.

3. Do some sort of physical activity. I know some trips might not be for relaxation and "me-time" but if you can find at least 10 minutes throughout your day to do something it will be better than nothing.  Find out what's around your destination area, outdoor or indoor activities. If where you are staying has a gym, there is no excuse to skip exercising for at least 10 minutes. 

     During our stay at Hilton Head, we found that throughout the island there were bike trails. We rented bikes for three days to go all over the island. This was a great way to see Hilton Head. We took a walk on the beach, and ran 6 miles one morning. While inside the hotel we did some body weight exercises (squats, push-ups, and sit-ups) and while watching T.V. we took our time to stretch our upper and lower extremities as well as our core.

4. When eating out try to avoid sabotaging your diet. I know it's vacation, I know you may not want to cook, I know that you will want to try signature dishes, but this does not mean to forget the way you eat when you are home. I'm not telling you not to dine out, I'm just telling you to dine smart. Don't order a plethora of food that you know you won't be able to finish. If you can't finish your plate, don't force it, take it back to your hotel for leftovers if there is a refrigerator. Eat small bites, and chew slowly so that you have time for your body to tell you it's full. Order water and not a calorie filled drink; try to avoid beers wines and liquor if possible, otherwise try not to have more than one glass. Try to order a dish that has a variety of different foods, like a dish with vegetables, a grain and a meat.

5. Have fun! Make sure you do something you enjoy. If you are on a business trip you want to make sure that you do something for you during your stay. You are in a new environment, and a different place, you should take advantage of this time to enjoy life.

    

This past weekend my boyfriend took me ice skating.  We went to an indoor skating rink around Cherry Hill, NJ and had a great time.  There were so many people out that day, and you could tell that everyone was having fun.  As we were skating around the rink, there were a few figure skaters taking lessons in the middle of everyone.

Watching these individuals, I realized how amazing this sport is.  I can only do the basics when it comes to skating (Skating forward, with no fancy tricks.)  Watching these athletes skate backwards, spin, do leaps, and skate on one leg, had me in awe.  The amount of time it took for them to practice their moves, the amount of core and leg strength they have, and their flexibility is impressive.  There were young kids, I would say around the age of 7, showing us up as well while we skated in circles around the rink. I wasn't mad though, just astonished by the talent these people had.

Ice Skating is a really fun activity to do with close friends.  It’s something different, and a great winter activity to get you off the couch and moving.  If you’ve never been before, I would suggest trying it out.  You don’t need to be a figure skater to go out and enjoy time on the ice. 

If you are like me and are not a figure skater, don't worry, we are still putting our bodies through work while we skate around in circles. The main muscles that are working during ice skating are the core and lower extremity muscles.

With the core muscles, we have our abs and back muscles being strengthened as we keep ourselves up and balance.

With the lower extremity muscles, we are working our quads and thighs the same way as we would when walking (these muscles are used during knee flexion and extension.)  Our calf muscles (specifically the gastrocnemius) is working as we push through the glide for an explosive movement forward.

[If you are standing properly on your skates (avoiding ankle inversion and/or eversion) you are also strengthening the muscles around the ankle joint whiling maintaining balance.]