What an exciting week ahead...

It is THANKSGIVING (my favorite holiday of the year) and my 10 year high school reunion?!?!?!

On one hand it feels like an eternity since I graduated from Providence High and on the other hand, it feels like it was just yesterday that all of my Nerdy theatre friends joined me at my house to celebrate our futures! It's comical... I basically have not changed... I still look 17.

Top: Last Day of High School (June 2006)  Bottom: October 2016 — Top: Last Day of High School (June 2006) Bottom: October 2016

Aside from a few scars, wrinkles and hair dye, I may look the same, but boy have I lived a lot of life for a 28 year old. The past ten years have not been easy, but i wouldn't change a thing. I have been afforded amazing opportunities in my career, leadership roles in my community, I married the love of my life and we have been blessed with a little boy that surprises me with his intelligence, daily. i have developed incredible friendships with men and women from all over the country that have supported me in my journey. It is exciting, though, to get to go back and see the boys i used to chase on the playground, performers that anchored the morning news with me and the buddies that helped me cram for art history exams. My first friends. I am so excited to hear about their adventures.

So much of our lives we spend time thinking about what we are reaching for, what we are lacking, what frustrates us, what obligations are on our plate... Thanksgiving encourages conversation around our gifts/talents, our many blessings, our achievements, and the people that have supported us and lifted us up to find greatness.

Gratitude should not be reserved just for Thanksgiving, but should be evident in our language, actions and deeds all year long. Each and every day we ought to celebrate our aliveness, our gifts and our talents and we should give graciously to others through kind words, time or deeds (to name a few). Our health is directly correlated with our stress level and it is proven that an attitude of gratitude greatly decreases stress and anxiety and can add time back tor your life.

During this season of heavy "consumption" I encourage you to practice awareness and gratitude for the body that you have and to realize that you are alive because of how you fuel your body through both the food that you consume and the ideas that allow to enter into your mind. Move when and how you are able with the people that you love. Encourage activity before your Thanksgiving meal to get your heart beating and your blood flowing. Remember that you are not measured by what you eat, but, at the same time, hold yourself accountable. Even if you are travelling, you can still find ways to be active... Find stairs to run up and down, use a resistance band around a tree, push ups can be done anywhere ... or simply go for a jog. See post on September 2 for travel exercise tips.

Because I tend to indulge around the holidays ... I will be very active this week combining cardio for calorie burn and weight training to tone up to help give me confidence in my outfit for my reunion on Friday night!

MY WORKOUT PLAN FOR THIS WEEK:

MONDAY: RUN (4+ MILES - Sprint Intervals) + SQUATS/LUNGES (LEG DAY) + ABS

TUESDAY: RUN (5+ MILES) + SHOULDERS + ABS

WEDNESDAY: PELOTON + WEIGHTS HIIT INTERVALS (TOTAL BODY)

THURSDAY: THANKSGIVING RUN + SISTER HIIT WORKOUT

FRIDAY: PELOTON (45 MINUTES) + 80 PUSH UPS/PULL UPS/ABS

SATURDAY: RUN (4 MILES) + CORE/UPPER BODY (CHEST/BACK)

SUNDAY: PELOTON (30 MINUTES) + LEGS

Let's go for a blue ribbon this year, Doberman Pinscher!

-IV