Purposeful Hiking

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with delicious food and loving family! I know that's a cliche thing to wish for all of you, but those are probably my two favorite things about the holidays: food & family.

I went to Tennessee with my family for Thanksgiving. We go every year, and it is one of my favorite places to visit. Hands down. There's hiking, beautiful views, changing leaves. What's not to love?

We got really into this game called "Say Anything". The object of the game is to, literally, say anything that comes to your mind. One person reads these sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes hilarious & sometimes absurd questions, and everyone else has to write down their answer on a mini white board. The person reading the question chooses their favorite answer.

For example, I read the question, "What Guinness World Record would your mother LEAST like you to have?"

My sister, unashamed, writes down, "The world's biggest boob job".

Let that soak in for second...

My sister is known for saying ridiculous things, so it's not exactly out of character, but we DIED laughing. It probably made it even funnier that she was referring to our mom, so imagining her reaction to us getting a world record for having the biggest boobs made it unbearable.

This is probably why I love spending time with my family so much, especially at the holidays, because one person never fails to make another person pee themselves due to laughter. My dad always had a knack for that. You will never be bored at a Vos family gathering, I'll tell you that much.

In addition to playing one of the funniest family games (next to "Cards Against Humanity" - but I wouldn't call that a family game. If you've played it, you know why.), we also hiked in the Smoky Mountains every day, we did some target shooting at my aunt's farm, and we ate a lot of delicious food (can you tell we're big eaters?).

The hikes we went on were beautiful. Hiking was the only form of exercise I got the past few days! I call this type of a workout "purposeful hiking". In order to get the most out of your steps when you're hiking, you have to be conscious about getting the most out of your time spent in motion.

Yes, by all means, stop and soak in the view. If you speed past it, you can't cherish it. You don't see peaks like that every day!

(Unless you're in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest boob job...)

But, in order to get more bang for your buck during hiking, this is what you do...

Flat Hikes:

This does not mean "flat" in Midwest terms. When I say "flat", I mean not walking at a sharp incline every foot of the hike. In order to get the most out of these types of hikes, jog when you can. I was lucky to have my energetic, teenage brother with me. So I got some company while I ran! Plus, he pushed me to race him to the end of the trails... that helped.

This was taken after the first hike. Zach (my bf) and I were exploring in the woods.

Rocky, Elevated Hikes:

The second hike we did was at Roan Mountain. It was gorgeous. It was more of a marathon than it was a sprint. A lot of uphills and downhills on rocks. I'm not trying to wipe out on this hike... INJURIES. The only time I jogged during this hike was a little bit when we were descending on the grassy parts of the hill. However, when we were going uphill, we made it into a game of some sort. We tried to jump from boulder to boulder and didn't lose our pace. This is KEY if you're trying to torch major calories in addition to taking in a beautiful view. Don't lose your pace when you go uphill.

Me trying to balance on the edge of a cliff while doing lunges. You can see AJ (my brother) climbing up next to me.

Uphill Hikes:

This hike was probably my favorite. It wasn't extremely long, so it was probably more of a sprint. It was challenging, but not to the point where you're too busy watching your feet so you don't biff and miss the view. It was a LOT of uphill. (GLUTES, GLUTES, GLUTES.) We were moving quick. We were probably moving so briskly due to the freezing weather, and because Zach and I would race sometimes and we are both very competitive. Because we would move so quickly, once we reached the top of a hill, we could catch our breath while taking in the view.

Me and Zach! Try taking a picture on the edge of a mountain staring into direct sunlight. It gives new meaning to the phrase "photo op".

Although I am ready to get back to my normal workout routine, it was nice to have some unconventional exercise weaved into my daily activities for once! (Instead of just sitting at a desk all day).

It was especially nice to be outside and get some fresh air after a 10 hour drive down. (10 hours... yikes).

For my first day back, I woke up before work and did this routine. It's super easy to do at home (which is what I did!) and requires minimal equipment. Let me know what you think! :)

Workout:

What you'll need: cell phone or stop watch, hand weights, water.

1 minute per exercise (time it on your phone):

High knees

Butt kicks

Jumping jacks

Mountain climbers

Burpees

Squat jacks

Tuck jumps

Walking burpees (keep hands on ground. Walk left foot up towards hands, then left, and walk back down to plank position. Switch leading foot each time.)

Kettlebell swings (If you don't have a kettle bell, take one of your hand weights)

Jump rope (Use imaginary jump rope)

Repeat.

15 bicep curls at a 45 degree angle, (elbows in)

15 skull crushers

20 plank rows with weights

30 bicycles

30 leg raises

Repeat.

20 hammer curls (15 each side)

15 tricep overhead dips

15 push ups

30 straight leg crunches

30 donkey kicks

Repeat.

Stretch, cool down, drink water & enjoy your day!

#workout #fitness #Thanksgiving #HIIT