Sounds weird right? I’ve mentioned before that I hate running. My legs hurt, I can’t breathe, and one mile seems to last forever. This is the exact reason why I’ve decided to start incorporating running into my workout routine more regularly.
This is my go to workout that can easily be modified depending on your skill level. The short intervals help mix it up and make it much more bearable – all the while torching calories.
Give it a try! Trust me, if I can do it then so can you. 🙂
xo,
Jaclyn
Hi all!
I haven’t written in about a month but am glad to say that I am back at it now. 🙂 I’ve gotten completely swept up in working full time and still trying to enjoy every second of my summer. I can’t believe it’s time to get back to school in just two weeks! Time really does fly.
Update
Over the past month I have done a number of wonderful things! I spent a significant amount of time with my family, which I don’t get to do much while I am at school, and enjoyed every moment of it. Here are a few of my favorite moments that you missed…
1. Toby Keith Concert!
For my mom’s birthday the whole family went to see Toby Keith. I have always loved his music but had never seen him in concert, and I love him even more now! My mom has seen him six time and is a quite the die-hard fan, which I understand now. We spent the morning picking up snacks, packing the car, and coordinating schedules with everyone. We arrived at the stadium around 4pm and had a few fulfilled hours of tailgating!
One of the best parts was that my cousin, Kelsey, was home from Colorado visiting for the week and came with us. Kelsey and I grew up together, more like sisters than cousins, and I’ve really been missing her since she left in February. She recently enlisted in the Marines and in less than one month she will be shipping off to bootcamp. I won’t see her until around Christmas time again so it was really great to catch up!
2. Jason Aldean Concert!
My awesome boyfriend surprised me a few months ago with tickets to Jason Aldean for last weekend. We had a blast! His brother and friend came along, and we met up with a few of my friends from school there. It was a great night and we all had a blast.
3. Cape Cod Vacation
We spent most of last week vacationing in the Cape. I absolutely love it there and my family did too (it was their first time :)). It’s so relaxing and embodies everything that I imagine about summertime. The salty ocean air, ice cream shops everywhere, seafood at every meal, s’mores around a bonfire and sunsets on the beach. We all came back on Sunday extremely relaxed and excited to visit Cape Cod again someday soon.
We visited P-Town one day and spent the rest of our time on the beach. 🙂
I highly recommend Cape Cod for a summer vacation if you are looking to unwind and have never been! 
Check back tomorrow for a “Non-Runner’s” Treadmill workout!
xo,
Jaclyn
TGIF! This has been a long week and I couldn’t be happier that the weekend is here. Conor and I have a lot of fun things planned for tomorrow and Sunday. 🙂
After being inspired by one of my favorite bloggers (PB Fingers), I have decided to start doing “Friday’s Fabulous Five.” Every Friday I will do a post of 5 things that I have loved over the past week. I encourage you to post and share things that you’re loving in the comments – I would really love to hear them!
This Week
1. Lately I have been in the shopping mood. It has been great for my closet, but unfortunately not so great for my bank account. Earlier in the week I was browsing the Nordstrom Rack website, one of my favorites, and came across these super cute Isola Mary-Jane Pumps.
I immediately fell in love with them and had to have them. The best part was that they were on sale! Red shoes can add a nice pop of color to any outfit and these are perfect. I can’t wait to wear them!
2. All summer I have been craving fruity and sparkly drinks. I recently began putting fresh fruit in flavored seltzer water and it makes a huge different. It is so refreshing, not to mention delicious.
3. Last night I FINALLY got a haircut. It was long overdue and I feel so much better now. My hair is so thick and heavy that it is hard to deal with in the summer heat. I got it cut to shoulder length with some angles around the face. I will post a picture of it later on. 🙂
4. The 31 Gift Bags that I ordered a few weeks ago finally arrived! I’m obsessed with 31 Products and plan on doing a few overview within the next week. Between my mom and I, we have about ten bags/products that we absolutely love! Keep an eye out for this post!
5. Last Saturday, I had a wonderful night in Providence with my family. We had a beautiful and delicious dinner at an outdoor restaurant on Federal Hill.
The food was phenomenal. My favorite was an appetizer that we ordered – zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese and proscuitto.
The whole night was perfect. I don’t remember the last time that I laughed so much or felt so at ease. After dinner, we headed over to Waterfire to watch the display as my mom, brother, and stepdad had never seen it before. Conor and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time!
Have a great weekend!
xo,
Jaclyn
Q. What was your favorite part of this past week?
It’s almost Friday and I have a great workout to share with you today. If you know me at all, you know that I hate running. I have tried time and time again to get into it, but for some reason I just can’t.
However, I do like the way I feel after I finish a long run (which is rare). In this workout, I incorporated it in intervals. It is much more bearable for me to run for a few minutes at a time and give it my all, than try to trudge through 30 minutes straight.
This is one of my favorite workouts that I have done in awhile, just because it is so different from what I am used to. The focus is on abs!
Let me know what you think!
xo,
Jaclyn
Q. What’s your favorite ab challenge?
Happy Monday everyone!
I made it through my first day of work after ten days off… and it was definitely a challenge. Luckily, all that is in store for me for the rest of the night is sushi, Netflix, and a nice big glass of green tea. 🙂
I’m extremely proud of myself today. As of yesterday, it has been four weeks since I implemented a “lifestyle change” – if you care to call it that – which includes working out regularly, eating healthier, and living a more stress free life.
During these past weeks, I have focused mostly exercising and creating a regimen that works for me. I have always worked out and kept in relatively good shape, but never like this. I made a commitment to myself and so far I feel great!
I’ve heard over and over that it takes 4 weeks for something to become a habit, which is why I am so happy with myself for reaching this milestone!
You may be wondering why all of a sudden I decided to make this change..
This past year of college was very difficult for me. I was extremely stressed out, anxious, and generally unhappy. My schedule was filled to the brim with activities and other commitments, the schoolwork was very difficult and time consuming, and I was living in a tiny apartment with a roommate who I did not get along with.
I was captain of my college dance team, held a position in my sorority, worked 10+ hours per week, and was pursuing classes towards both my bachelor degree and my masters. To say the least – I was in way over my head.
I didn’t make any time for myself or the things that I genuinely cared about. I wasn’t getting enough sleep and I wasn’t taking care of myself. Because of my busy schedule I rarely had time to go grocery shopping, never mind taking an hour to go to the gym.
I didn’t know how to handle it. I was frequently in a bad mood and lashing out at the people who cared about me. I knew I was doing it and felt awful about it, but for some reason I couldn’t control it.
When I moved home for the summer in May, I took some time to re-evaluate decided that something needed to change. I realized that no matter how busy my schedule gets, I need to make time for myself! I decided then and there that I was going to dedicate this summer to self improvement.
I first decided to focus on my health! I made a commitment to workout at home 5 days per week and to start drinking more water. So far so good. I have found myself with more energy and much less stress in my life.
My next task is improving my outlook and attitude about obstacles that come my way, while keeping with my workout regimen. I started this by keeping a Gratitude journal, as I mentioned last week.
Sorry for the long post, but hopefully it gives you a better idea of where I am coming from!
xo,
Jaclyn
Q. What do you do to handle stressful situations in your life?
