Friday Find: Core Exercises for Rowers and Non-rowers

There is, I think, a fairly common misconception that rowing is all about arms. When I started rowing I got a lot of comments about how jacked my arms would be. And while my arms for sure are getting stronger, everything else is too. As one of the coaches said recently, rowing is both aerobic and anaerobic: it's a full body workout, requires a lot of leg and core strength, gets your heart pumping and all your muscles sore. And if you're not sitting up tall, you're going to have problems. So while rowing is definitely helping my core, I also need to work on it outside the boat. 

Listen to me now and hear me later, girlie men.

I asked said same coach for a list of any core exercises that would help, and she sent me this article from Real Simple with six core moves. It's got some nice variations on standard planks and crunches. 

In particular, I like how this rope climb approximates the angle we lean back at when in the boat. I always really feel it starting in my lower abs, and it forces me to think about my posture, as does this move. 

Do you have any favorite core strengthening moves? I'm always in the market to switch it up!

Things I'm Enjoying Lately

OPI's Cajun Shrimp

The perfect color for warmer weather. It's on the coral side of watermelon: in some lights it looks orange, in some it looks pink, and in others it looks red. Because of that, no pictures I've seen can really do it justice, but this one from Amazon might sell you on how pretty it is.

Photo from amazon.com.

Nordstrom's Zella Brand 'Live In' Leggings

I have a bunch of these, including two pairs of the crops (these and these), which I wear and wash at least once a week each. I used to do yoga in them regularly, and now I row in them regularly. I'm climbing in and out of a boat, which means more chance for catching and tearing and salt and sand and grime. I sweat in them, trudge through salt water in them, and despite all that (and being over a year old) they are, quite literally, no worse for the wear. Every time I pull them out of the dryer (are they supposed to go in the dryer?) I'm amazed that they look exactly the same. I am tough on clothes I don't work out in, so I'm impressed that these have held up so well.

Don't tell anyone, but I've also worn the black leggings under dresses. They act like super comfortable Spanx, and no one is the wiser.

Photo from Nordstrom.com.

Speaking of Nordstrom (and ModCloth), I'm in a vintage-slash-Anthropologie-style wedding in a few months, and we're wearing hairpieces of various sorts. I've bought three and I can't decide. If you need a sweet retro headband, giant hair flower, or fascinator (the one I bought is no longer available, but imagine something similar in cream) look no further. (Help me come up with an argument for keeping all three.)

Photo from Nordstrom.com.

Photo from Modcloth.com.

We're wearing different shades of green and gold. This is my dress. Isn't it darling?

Photo from ModCloth.com.

This Eat Smart Sweet Kale Salad kit from Costco. I went through two all by myself last week. It comes with a tasty poppyseed dressing that I understand is very similar to Brianna's. I am not generally a fan of creamy dressings, but this does go well with the kit and it's a nice change for me. However, I thin it out by dumping it in a mason jar and adding apple cider vinegar at a ratio of almost 50/50. Then I add more poppy seeds, a bunch of pepper, and a pinch of salt and give it a hearty shaking. This suits my preference and cuts the calories and sugar as well. Doing the dressing from just one kit this way gets me through almost two bags of the salad. 

For staying power I need a bit more fat and protein (with the thinned out dressing on this, the calories are pretty low for a meal), and I've added all kinds of stuff to that end: bacon, avocado, Aidells chicken & apple sausage,  salmon burgers. It's excellent with any of the above, plus the addition of a chopped Honeycrisp apple.

Photo from EatSmart.net.

Speaking of those salmon burgers, I can't recommend them enough. My friend Sarah recommended them a while back, and as I think I've said before, I will always take her food advice. They are so convenient to have on hand to throw on a lunch salad, or to help make a quick dinner. They aren't simply straight salmon, but they're super convenient and the ingredients aren't many or terrible, so I'm calling it a win.

Photo from Costco.com. The packaging may look a bit different from this, so just keep your eyes peeled. Costco's website says they aren't available any longer, but I'm guessing that's just online as I saw them in my store last week.

Aussie bites. Another Costco find. A sort of hybrid of granola-cookie-breakfast biscuit with wholesome, simple ingredients that you can pronounce, and lots of staying power. On mornings when I row, I need something in my stomach, but due to the early hour and hard workouts it needs to be small, healthy, energy-sustaining, quick, and easy. Sort of a tall order. I was having a granola bar, with mixed results, until I discovered these. I eat two with my one cup of coffee at 4am, and they hold me so much better than granola bars! I no longer suddenly feel in the middle of practice like my stomach is going to collapse on itself. There's no crash. When I come home, I'm hungry but not hangry. I can get a shower and a second cup of coffee before I start to feel in dire need of my second breakfast of oatmeal. My husband Zach has had the same experience when he eats two before running. 

One note, I don't really like the taste of honey, and I cannot taste any honey in these.

Terrible Food Photography by yours truly.

What are you eating, wearing, liking lately?

Friday Find: About the Friday Find

A while back some friends and I (hi Andrea & Michelle!) started sending each other funny clips, interesting articles, and gif-laden emails on Fridays. Other days too, but there was something extra fun about that little extra fun on Fridays. So when I started up over here I decided I could turn this little habit into a feature, for no reason other than to share fun, interesting, and/or thought-provoking things. A clip, an article, something of interest or entertainment that I'd come across during the week. 

An unintended consequence of that is that I started to fear it appeared clickbait-y to share posts that generally contain very little of my work, and possibly a call to click through to another article - particularly when it's something that might be making the rounds on Facebook and thus be something you've already seen. Clickbait certainly wasn't the intention. So I felt like I should jazz these posts up with some actual writing, which is fine. Except then it became something totally different and for the most part I stopped posting Friday Finds because it felt like I needed to post something much bigger, which sort of defeated the point of the whole thing. And that's a bit silly. So! You know what? On Fridays I'm just going to keep posting funny and interesting links, stories, clips, articles, and whatever else catches my eye during the week, and you can come check them out if you'd like. If you've already seen it or read it, then hey, sorry. It might be something I saw on Facebook too. 

This week's find comes from my (beautiful and supremely talented) friend Natalie, who did indeed post it on Facebook. If you're someone who, like me, loves to read, then I hope this tickles you as much as it did me. There's a bit of salty language and while it's not supremely vulgar it's probably also NSFW, but hey, a lot of literature isn't something you'd read aloud in the office either. 

Things I’ve Learned About Heterosexual Female Desire From Decades Of Reading
 

An excerpt: "It’s really good when a man could hurt you and maybe spends a lot of time hurting other people but makes an exception in his hurting-people schedule for at least one woman he doesn’t hurt, but he could if he wanted to, only he doesn’t, so it would be great if he murdered everybody except for you and didn’t murder you even a little bit."

"Someone understood him once but then she died."