Fit With Forester: Summertime Specials

With all this warm weather, it's been next to impossible to get anything done. Even as I'm writing this I have little inspiration and an incredible lack of motivation to finish. After all these months of being in class after class only to go home to a mountain of homework and/or work, I am more than ready to kick back. There is an incredible longing for bon fires and sitting on the porch with friends, for tubing down the river, and lying out on the beach, for cook outs and wiffle ball and kick ball games without worrying about class in the morning. To know that these are all a short three weeks away is torturous so for the next few weeks my mantra will be counting down the weeks and days until the un-interrupted summer festivities can commence.

Exercise of the Week:

Frog Jumps

Did you hear all the spring peepers this week? Embrace the beginning of the frog season with this exercise that tones muscles and ups your cardio.

Squat all the way down and place your hands flat on the ground in front of you shoulder width apart. Your weight is going to primarily be balanced on your arms so make sure you're stable. Jump your legs back as if you are jumping to push up position but your legs and feet are wide apart forming a "V." Keeping your legs wide, jump your legs back towards your hands standing in a demi squat so your feet are either in line with your hands or just in front of them depending on your balance and flexibility. Repeat this jump as fast as you can for :30 seconds to a minute, rest and repeat for three reps.

Recipe of the Week:

Chickpea and Avocado Salad Sandwich

Admittedly this may be a little out there for some of you but it is a healthy alternative to tuna or egg salad. You get the same protein from the chickpeas and the avocado, a healthy fat, acts as the mayonnaise to make it creamy.

Ingredients:

1 large ripe avocado

1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

Juice from 1 lime

Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mash together with a fork or potato masher. Voila, chickpea and avocado salad! You can add whatever veggies you want to your sandwich or even nix the bread entirely and eat in lettuce roll-ups.

Activity of the Week:

Bon fire

It may be too cold to float down the river but you can still enjoy a fire with friends here on campus. (Double check with your RA's before building your fire.) The nights are just cool enough that a fire is a welcome thing, but warm enough that you don't have to bundle yourself in a million layers to keep warm outside. Get some friends together, get some tunes, soda, munchies and sit around the fire. Enjoy the company or just veg out. Either way get outside as much as you can.