What’s the W.O.P?

Scrolling through my music, which is a hard task in itself (God only knows what random stuff you’ll find), my friends come across my W.O.P playlist. “What’s The W.O.P?” They ask with such wonder. “The W.O.P,” I reply with glee, “is my Work Out Playlist.” I  found it too difficult to write out work out playlist if I’m on the move so I shortened it to The W.O. P.

As an athlete choosing what goes into a W.O.P is very tedious…Okay not really, but it definitely is important what gets chosen to get me through my hour plus workouts. Whether its a circuit workout with Courtney, physical therapy, or the long trek on a treadmill or track I need something with enough power and endurance to prep and push me through the hard parts. I first breakdown the playlist into four fabulous sections, The Warmup, The Starters, The Pick-Me-Ups, and The Power Finish.

The Warmup– Something smooth and upbeat to get you in the mood. You can’t just start a work out all willy nilly.

Shall We Dance– Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr  (Legs meet treadmill, arms meet bench press)

Holding onto YouHouse of Gold– twenty one pilots (mood determines which song plays)

The Starters– Here is where you start to pick up speed. Drop that Bass!

Acapella– Karmin

Work– Iggy Azalea

The Pickme Ups– You’re now in the thick of it. Sweat is dripping off your face, your legs are cramping, you may or may not be able to smell yourself by now (yummy). Here are the ones that keep you going.

Still Alive– BIGBANG (the title says it all)

Till I Collapse– Eminem

This is Gospel– Panic! At The Disco

The Power Finish– Only 5 more minutes left you gotta go big or go home. These are the final two jams to get you through your sprinting finish.

Clarity– Zedd

Trouble– Neon Jungle

You’ve gotten a sneak peak at my work out playlist. What would you put on your W.O.P?

To be continued…

30 Days of Bikram Yoga

“Reach down behind you and get a good grip on those heels. Touch your forehead below your knees letting it rest on your shins. Engage your quads, really ENGAGE them.”

I listen to my instructor trying to blink the sweat out of my eye and breath at the same time. Bent at the hips, my quads burning, and hands gripping the hell out of my heels while looking at the puddle of sweat on the floor I keep thinking, to myself “Breathe. Don’t forget to breathe.” And finally, when I hear that joyous clap to release my body from the pose I take a deep, calming breath.This is Bikram Yoga.

Bikram yoga, or hot yoga, is the new craze that is sweeping the nation. 26 poses set at a lovely 105 degrees with a 70% humidity for 90 minutes is said to be one of the most challenging and healthy yoga you can do. So in order to prep for Bryn Mawr Soccer Pre-season I decided to add some good hot yoga to help me limber up. Oh, was I in for a treat.

bikram-hot-yoga-postures

Basic example of the 26 poses. Looks easy right?

I was first introduced to this yoga when my sister dragged me to a class in Hawaii over the summer two years ago. “You’ll love it,” she said. Of course who wouldn’t love yoga with a view overlooking the beaches? She just forgot to mention the heat and the contortion. I stopped going with her after that class. However, after some time apart I decided I should give it another chance and help prevent some reoccurring pulled muscles and such. This time I truly have fallen in love.

After my intro week I have taken on the oh-so-popular 30 day Bikram Yoga Challenge; 30 days, 30 classes, and plenty of sweat. Let’s see what this yoga really has to offer!

To be continued…

TL;DR: Started the 30 Day Bikram Yoga Challenge. Wish me luck!

 

 

When Dance Moves Go Bad

I recently pulled my hamstring. Now this isn’t breaking news, I know, but bear with me.  As a Bryn Mawr athlete you have two options when you become injured 1) Tell Terry the athletic trainer or 2) wallow in pain until it goes away or gets worse. For the untrained eye the decision is simple, option one obviously. Which is true, unless there is a story behind the injury.

After this weekend I decided to take stock of how my list of pulled muscles have happened and trust me these weren’t my shining moments. Freshman year as we crashed the International Dance I decided to show off my moves and drop it like it was hot. Injury: Pulled Groin. Sophomore year during a dorm room dance party I wanted to wave my luscious locks and whip my hair back and forth. Injury: Whiplash. And last but not least this weekend Lil Jon and the Eastside boys told me to touch my toes so I obliged. Injury: Pulled Hamstring. Other stories of unforeseen tales of other athletes include losing a fight to a vending machine for pretzels-injured knee and kicking a girl in the calf resulting in a broken toe.

Trust me I definitely thought about changing my story, but I couldn’t think of anything…literally. So, with each injury I had trudge down to the training room look Terry in the eye and recount my tragic tales. And every time I received some of the many faces of Terry. First there was the “Seriously” face, which is easy to spot as he says “seriously” with a raised eyebrow. Then the “Again” face- the disapproving head shake with closed eyes. And, my personal favorite, the “I-Can’t-Even-Handle-You-Right-Now” face- hand pressed against the forehead and temples, other arm crossed over torso, and a sigh.

So as a public service announcement to those dancing fiends out there, stretch a little before hitting the dance floor.  It could be the one thing standing between you and many embarrassing “oh remember that time when…” moments.

To be continued

Soccer Progress!

This October Break has been full of momentous occasions for the B-E-A-utiful Bryn Mawr Soccer team. Besides enjoying hilarious bonding time we also played against Johns Hopkins today. I have to say I am so proud of these owls! Despite the score we have improved a lot since last year. Let’s finish this season strong and beat the Garnets!

Owl Love!

To be continued…

Owl Pride

       This season for the Bryn Mawr Owls Soccer team has been one for the books. Breaking boundaries seems to be the theme for our team. The team, however, is a different story. Rather than breaking boundaries this year’s team is starting to build upon the teams that have come before us. Evidence of that was present in this week’s games from a Win over McDaniel for the first time in BMC history and to our 0-0 tie in double overtime against Ursinus and Franklin and Marshall .
      Though our roster seems to be sprinkled with injuries, including myself,  and suffering other personal losses ,there is only one thing that matters most when playing soccer and that’s heart. In all the teams I have played with I have never seen such a hunger and fight within a single team. We play, not only for the win, but for each other.
       The conference should be prepared. The Owls are coming.
To be continued…