Happy Monday! Today is a new day, and a fresh start for anyone who may have fallen off the wagon over the weekend. Do yourself a favor and come up with a plan to start this week off with healthy habits. I enjoyed a few more drinks and desserts while out with friends this weekend than I typically do, so I've already started planning how I'll get back in the swing of things starting today! I'll be dropping into the grocery store later on to pick up tons of fresh produce, so I can be sure to flood my body with vitamins and nutrients this week. I also booked a free class at a nearby CrossFit gym, planned a workout with some friends, and set an evening to hike a mountain with Shawn.
This weekend was so great. Colorado is so freaking awesome that I never want to leave. I am pushing the idea of buying a place out here to rent out on AirBnB or something, just so we can have a place here to come back to.
Living a healthy lifestyle seems to be at the forefront of Denver's priority list. There are TONS of restaurants with menu options for gluten free, paleo, vegan, and almost any other dietary need. There also seems to be a strong focus in the restaurant industry here to provide high quality, fresh foods. I am here for it. Plus, over the weekend there was even a festival in Denver celebrating local farmers and offering talks on the importance of knowing where your food comes from. It's all so great.
I am also in love with how almost everyone here loves fitness. Shawn's boss and coworkers have offered up tons of suggestions on where to hike and what outdoor activities we should do. Shawn gets off work at 3:30 everyday, allowing us ample time to head out on a hike before the sun goes down. His company is also super flexible on Fridays. This past Friday, he took the morning off so we could to a 7 mile hike, then we attended an outdoor family picnic for the company as his workday. What. The. Heck. And I hear that most businesses in this area have similar work/life balance priorities. You want to go out and be active? By all means, leave now!
Personally, I believe that when a company allows its workers such flexibility to participate in activities outside of work, it increases their motivation to be more productive in the work place. Who wouldn't want to work hard when they get to be around that kind of beauty everyday? Why can't everywhere be like this?? I'm obsessed.
We had so much fun this weekend. Although the length of Friday's hike was pretty rough for me, since I didn't eat enough beforehand, I'm still glad we did it. Completing a hike makes me feel so accomplished, especially when you are rewarded with views like we have seen so far.
That evening, we grabbed burgers with friends at Park Burger. I got a buffalo burger with goat cheese over greens and a side of sweet potato fries. It was delicious. The friend we met is actually a friend from my high school, Alicia, that I haven't seen in 5+ years. We played soccer together for four years, and kept in touch during college. She contacted me through Instagram, and I was SO excited to meet up with her. It was seriously like we lost zero time, and I had a blast catching up with her and her girlfriend, Emily.
Saturday, we got up early to head out to Colorado Springs to hike the Manitou Incline. This thing is a monster. Honestly, the pictures don't do it justice. I consider myself pretty darn fit, but the Incline made me question that. Talk about getting the heart rate up, just put yourself on a flight of incredibly steep steps going a mile straight up the side of a mountain. Making it to the top is the best feeling. Then, you just have a small 3 mile hike down the side trails of the mountain...LOL.
After the hike, we headed back into town to a cute little breakfast joint called Urban Steam. We celebrated our accomplishment with mimosas and brunch. Originally, we had planned to explore the town, but we were both exhausted, so we called it a day and headed back to our hotel.
Saturday night we met up with another friend from college out here, Marissa, for drinks and dinner at Barcelona Wine Bar. This place is a chain, but their food is incredible. The restaurant serves Spanish tapas-style dishes, which makes it the perfect place for social outings. We ordered tons of the small plates to share at the table while we caught up on the past several years. I'm such a bad friend. I don't keep up with people. BUT, I love how all of my friends are so easy to reconnect with when we have the opportunity to get back in touch. It always feels like we never missed a beat, and we pick right back up where we left off.
Sunday was FINALLY a rest day. I think it was a much needed non-hiking day after hiking literally every day since I arrived. People have laughed at us, saying that we have probably hiked more places than most locals have. Hey, you gotta take full advantage of the time you're given! We enjoyed the day by going to see Lion King in 3D, and taking Tucker to get his exercise in at a local dog park.
This week, I plan to mix it up a bit more, since we have knocked out most of the nearby hikes. I have booked a couple CrossFit classes at different gyms, planned a lifting day with friends, and booked a rafting trip for Sunday. We also plan to do our first fourteener (hike above 14,000 feet of elevation) on Saturday with a couple friends. Should be interesting! I hope you guys have some fun fitness plans for the week! Check out my list for some ideas, and check back later this week for some upper body work.
This week's fitness plan:
Monday: Hotel gym workout
3 rounds:
21 DB deadlifts (35)
15 DB push press
9 burpees over DBs
-rest 3 minutes-
3 rounds:
400m run
20 burpees over bench
-rest 3 minutes-
15-12-9
DB devil's press (35)
Strict pull-up
Strict handstand push-up
Tuesday: Olympic lifting with friends
Wednesday: Drop in to BackCountry CrossFit
Thursday: Drop in to CrossFit LoDo
Friday: Hike Carpenter's Peak
Saturday: Hike Mt. Evan's and Hanging Lake
Sunday: White Water Rafting trip
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Happy fitness-ing this week!
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