DIY Workout Top

Are you like me and have a ton of tee-shirts just laying around? Whether they are from races, tournaments, schools, teams, or freebies, they are multiplying! They most likely don't fit you or just wish they were different. You want to wear them because they have special meaning to you but you just can't get yourself to wear it other than to sleep or around the house. I took a free college tee that I have but is to big for me and turned it into a workout top that fits me just right! Its very simple and doesn't require any sewing (just a few hand stitches). Follow the steps below! HAPPY DIYing!

Step 1:

Gather Your Supplies! I chose my gray Centenary College t-shirt (I didn't attend but I love college tees), Fabric Scissors, Fabric Cutter (optional), gray thread (to match the shirt), a needle, and pins. 

Step 2:

Cut off both sleeves on an angle. Cut close to the collar of the shirt and down to wear the bottom of the sleeve was.  To make sure both sides are cut evenly fold the shirt in half and use the one cut side as a template for the other. I used the fabric cutter to do so but fabric scissors would work just as well.

Step 3:

Take the fabric scissors and cut along the bottom of the back collar to detach it from the back of the shirt.
Step 4:

Make two cuts on the back of the shirt, creating three vertical columns. These cuts start at the top of the shirt and go to about a half an inch above the bottom of the sleeve. 

Step 5:

Now take each of the three columns and turn them into three strips each. Pictured is the right column turned into three of its on columns.

Step 6:

Take the first three strips of fabric and braid them. Take a bin through the end of the braid to keep it from unraveling and pin it to the back collar. Repeat two more times. Hand sew each braid into the back collar. (final product pictured below)

All About Color Me Rad!

 Color Me RAD!!! I have participated in a handful of 5ks but never like this! This is a complete Fun Run from start to finish! This event brought together about 2,000 people with the common goal of giving back, getting colorful, and having some fun! There wasn't one person that wasn't grinning from ear to ear at this event! Teams, were instructed to wear all or mostly white, and pick up your race swag prior to the race. OR if you are me and totally forget to pick up the packet you can wait on line and pick it up at the registration tent! Inside our swag bag is your (1) Race Bib (2) Official Color Me Rad t-shirt (3) Awesome Color Me Rad Sunglasses!

Once you put on your race bib, you make your way to the starting line at the appropriate time. Due to the high number of participants you are assigned a time when you are allowed to Run/Walk/Skip the race. My Mom and I were in the 9:10 am race wave. As you can see all the people in front of us are waiting for their race wave to begin. When its time, there is a count down, and the man standing above everyone blows a cloud of color on the participants! Of course, when I got to the front the leaf blower that the man was using to make the cloud of color got jammed and we began without the epic cloud of pink. Just my luck!

As we ran around the PNC Arts Center complex we ran through these color check points! They were spaced out throughout the course and they had these color check points in so many different colors! It was awesome because you can see them as you went through the course and it was motivation to keep going because you wanted to be color bombed! Inside these checkpoints were Color Me Rad volunteers ready to bomb you with color as you went through! The last leg of the race there are volunteers that hand you color bomb packs that you get to use to bomb other people! I made sure to color bomb my mom as we crossed the finish line!

You might have noticed my RADiculous Jersey Strong cowboy hat! WOW and the Jersey Strong Foundation had a tent setup and were giving away some rad swag. With every registration to Color Me Rad a donation was made to the Jersey Strong Foundation. This public charity has a mission to connect us to people and communities throughout New Jersey. The Jersey Strong Foundation provides funding and resources to people, families, and communities in New Jersey who are healing from hardship, and were hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Here is my Before & After of Color Me Rad! Oh, and my Color Me Rad tip for future RADiculicous Participants is to use the clear zip lock that the Color Me Rad sunglasses come in to cover your iPhone while you race! I was able to take all the photos above with my iPhone 5c while in the zip lock!

And last but not least, Enjoy the after Party!

                                        

Color Me Rad

Saturday, June 7th I was lucky enough to get RADdiculous with my mom at Color Me Rad! This super colorful and awesome 5k fun run was an amazing way to start off my weekend! This event marked the first of many 5ks with my mom! On top of having color bombs flying and upbeat music playing as we went throughout the course we knew that our participation was helping the Jersey Strong Foundation! I love exercising but I love it even more when it helps out a great cause! Check back soon for a full wrap up of Color Me Rad!

June Core Challenge!

Do you want tighter abs?

Join Me! and 2.6 million others for the June Abs Challenge! (I know I'm a day late but the first two day workouts can be combined!)You may have seen your Facebook friends joining an event for a 30 Day Ab Challenge. This Facebook event was created by Robyn Gardner, a mom of eight, who needs motivation from others to follow through with work-out challenges. She started this challenge once before on her own but didn't see it through. Many women, including myself are more motivated to complete a goal, especially a fitness goal when I have the support of friends and/or family. My Mom and I are doing this challenge and we want you to join us! This challenge has 4 simple exercises: sit-ups, crunches, leg raises, and planks.You can join the FB event made my Robyn Gardner to be a part of the millions of people strengthening their core. The June Core Challenge is shown below, as well as, videos of how to do each exercise properly. I don't wait anyone getting hurt!

How To Do A Sit Up 

How To Do Crunches 

How To Do Leg Raises 

What Keeps You Motivated!?

Charity Miles

I asked myself "What is something that I do regularly that I can alter to make an impact on others?" I realized that even in the last two days I have been outside and exercising. I'm not talking heavy workouts but I am going on walks and bike rides and have really put some miles on my running shoes. 

So after a little research i found an app called Charity Miles. Essentially what this app does is it donates money to a charity of your choice (from the list provided) for every mile you walk, run, or bike. Bikers earn 10 cents per mile, walkers and runners earn 25 cents per mile. Corporate sponsors pledge that they will donate up to a certain amount of money to the charity if app users exercise.  I love this concept and believe it to be a Win Win. We as users are helping ourselves by getting fit and staying healthy while helping charities earn money at the same time!

I downloaded the Charity Miles free app and couldn't wait to get started! When I went for a bike ride down East Ave today I started by opening up the app, selecting Habitat for Humanity, and then selecting biking. As I rode my bike, the app tracked how far I biked and how long I was biking. When I returned home, I 'finished' the workout and was able to view my results. The app also keeps a log of all the workouts you complete. 

This app allows you to create a profile, share your workouts on your social media accounts, and even create teams! Anyone can join a team by entering in the unique hashtag. I created a team called #EastAveFitness. 

If you enjoy exercising and want to make a difference while working out I urge you to download this app and get started! If you despise exercising but want to give back, download this app and use this as your motivation to get fit! Join my team#EastAveFitness and together we can earn a lot of money for many different charities! 

Will you get fit for charity?