Not Hiking Cadillac

This past Friday I took a spontaneous trip to Acadia National Park with a few of my friends. With minimal camping experience and a severe distaste for the cold I was eager to say no but was persuaded by the promise of a hike up Cadillac Mountain. We arrived to the dark and cold campground around 8 in the evening and set up after 30 minutes worth of circling the campground in hopes of finding our campsite. I love hiking and now is the perfect time of the year to take advantage of our beautiful state. Hiking is great for a lot of reasons.
1. You don't have to be an athlete to hike. There are all sorts of trails of varying distances and difficulties. There is literally a trail for everyone.
2. It's great for the booty. The workout that hiking gives you is great for your lower body, it works your claves, thighs and most importantly, your butt.
3. Your heart and lungs will thank you. Hiking, or pretty much any cardiovascular routine is great for your heart and lungs.
Back to my story. Around 8 the next morning we took off from our campsite in search for coffee and Cadillac. When we arrived at Cadillac that perfectly sunny Saturday morning, we could not have been more disappointed. Standing outside of the blocked entrance stood a park ranger who informed us that Cadillac would be closed to vehicles until noon. Even though our trip did not go as planned, we still had a great time and at least had the intention of getting some good physical activity this past weekend.
Below are pictures of me not hiking Cadillac this past weekend.

Breakfast With Katie

"Breakfast With Katie" is the title of a blog I will have some day describing my favorite part of the day in all it's glory. From my nothing-but-fashion-forward outfits (usually a big t-shirt and slippers) to my wonderful dining partners (my dog, Brady) to the location (my kitchen and sometimes my bed) and of course my phenomenal meals (eggs, fruit and lots of coffee). For now, this future blog title will inspire tonight's blog post which is, believe or not, about eggs. Keeping with my theme of healthy living, eggs are a wonderful source of protein and vitamin D, a great choice for a healthy start to the day! Just the reason why I eat eggs for breakfast all the time. Egg white omelets, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, you name it. Most of us know that protein is egg-celent (sorry, I couldn't help myself) for the active body but not many of us know why. Protein is important because it provides the amino acids that our muscles need to rebuild themselves after using them when exercising.
Why Should I Eat Eggs?

• Eggs raise levels of HDL also known as the good cholesterol
• Eggs are rich in iron, phosphorus, selenium and numerous other vitamins
• One large egg contains roughly 77 calories and 6 grams of protein
• Eggs contain all 9 essential amino acids
• One egg contains 113 mg of an important nutrient for the brain, Choline

Say "Yes" to New Things

To my surprise, I recently discovered that Cardio-Kickboxing has nothing to do with running and kicking in unison. When my friend asked me to join her at the class that would take place this past Monday at our Recreation Center I was most definitely hesitant. Why do a class that I know nothing about when I could stick to my routine at the gym? Run the track, drink some water, hit my favorite machines and keep an eye out for any cute boys playing basketball. As you can imagine, I said "yes" and am quite happy that I did so. Cardio-Kickboxing is a high-impact cardiovascular workout that incorporates traditional aerobics, boxing and martial arts. Not only was there great music, an awesome instructor and a  phenomenal workout, the class was a lot of fun. For the calorie counters out there, Cardio-Kickboxing burns an average of 350 to 450 calories in an hour. While there is obviously no harm in saying "no" I strongly advise that you try new things and push yourself when it comes to physical activity. Any time you try something that you have never done before, you are pushing yourself. Just say "yes".

Click Here to Access UMaine's Group Fitness Schedule

There's Nothing Wrong With a Little Competition

I am a very competitive person. In fact, I am so competitive that more than once now I have tried to run faster than someone next to me on the treadmill at the gym by adjusting the speed setting. Figuring I could put this side of me to use, I signed up to compete in a 5 mile Spartan Race that took place about 3 weeks ago in Barre, Massachusetts. Somewhat similar to a Tough Mudder, the Spartan Race is series of  obstacles and races of varying distances and difficulty. The tire flip, traverse wall, spear throw, monkey bars, wall climb and the barbed wire crawl were among some of the twenty obstacles I took on that hot August day. While there are numerous highlights to participating in the race I think one of the best things about it was that it kept me motivated to continue exercising and physically challenging myself over the Summer. In between waitressing and some perfect beach days I regularly frequented my gym, forced myself to go on runs outside and tried new exercises like tire flipping and slanted wall climbs. While I am no where near qualified to consider myself an athlete, I competed in this and am so  glad I made the decision to sign up for it almost a year ago.