Back To School Motivation – Staying Fit through Fall
Back To School Motivation – Staying Fit through Fall
Hey POPsters!
How are you all today?
If any of you had a problem with the blog yesterday, I think it should be fixed now! Let me know if there are any issues! I think it had something to do with how large the printables were this time around. I’ll try to downsize them next time.
Anyway…seems like it’s back to school season! Oh my. I’ve been out of school now for 3 years and let me tell you, I don’t miss it one bit! I mean, sure, dorming, 24/7 friends, and endless activities were fun but studying, homework, and exams were NOT!!!! I remember those Bio major days…labs and late night study sessions…all nighters. The forced academic work is long gone, but I still find myself running on college time. As you know, I am a super night owl and I think it’s because of my odd college sleep schedule – or lack thereof.
I wonder how many of you are going back to school? It means the ends of long summer days where you can do anything you want! And for a lot of you (I’ve read your tweets and YouTube comments) it means the end of free time for working out.
I know how important studying and getting good grades are. And sometimes you do have to sacrifice that one hour that was supposed to go to your run or POP Pilates to an extra hour of homework or much needed sleep. I hear ya. So what do you do?!! How do you “make time” for exercise when you don’t have any!!???
Here are some things you can focus on while in school to make exercise a part of your lifestyle:
- When you don’t have time to exercise, at least you could work on your diet.
- Eat as many veggies as possible to fill you up during meals. (Step away from the pizza and burgers please. I know they are tempting….)
- Drink a lot of water! Strive towards a gallon if you’re active. (Basically if you’re peeing several times a day and your urine is pale, you are good!)
- Snack on fresh, whole fruit, or fresh veggies. (Love carrots and hummus, yum!)
- Walk everywhere, wear comfy shoes (thank goodness Nike Free’s are fashionable), and take the stairs. (Even if you live on the top floor of a dorm on top of a hill. Umm, I once did okay!?)
- Sign up for a physical exercise class to get credit! Universities will offer Pilates, Dance, Martial Arts etc. as a class – so great time to get sweaty with classmates and for an easy grade!
- Join an club or a sports team! I was a part of a Ballroom Dance Group while I was at Whittier – practice was always so much fun! Below is a picture of me and my partner Eric back when I was a junior! (This reminds me…I need to put up that vid of how to stretch for the splits…)
- Join the gym at your school – or the local one. Yup. Easy. You pay for it, you go.
- Set up workout nights with your roommates or floormates! Gather ’round in the lobby and play a series of POP Pilates vids! Doesn’t get simpler than that! And great way to meet new people too.
- Ask your RA (resident advisor) to sponsor a workout night. He or she has a budget to spend and can buy you guys healthy food snacks. Trust me…RA’s like it when residents come up with their own activities. I was an RA and we had to put on programs every month. It was a requirement. The scariest thing about putting on these programs was wondering whether or not anyone would come!
- Make a vision board and stick it by your computer or on your desk. Fill it with motivational quotes and pictures! Look at it everyday and it will keep you on track!
- Get a food logger or fitness logger app like MyNetDiary or MyFitnessPal if you wanna track how many cals you’re eating and burning throughout the day! Be conscious of how you’re nourishing your body and how you’re spending your energy or else it will be too easy to gain weight. Mindless snacking and idle studying can get dangerous for your waistline…
- If you really don’t have time to work out, then do anything you can. Even 1 video. Or 10 burpees. Or just my workout commands. Anything. Just do something. Every rep counts.
Hope that helps!!!
For those of you not going back to school, this Labor Day Weekend marks the end of summer and the beginning of cozy sweaters, skinny jeans, and boots. (I just bought a new outfit recently! So cute! – Look!)
These are from MIA. They were $79.99 at Nordstrom Rack. I love them dearly and cannot wait to wear them! But umm, when I got home, I saw that I had like 5 other pairs of brown wedge boots. Oops. Well, in my defense, I don’t have a brown pair with fringe that hits mid-calf okay!?
I’ve also been sooooo on the fence with colored jeans. I did the whole colored jean shorts thing this summer but pants!? Well, I said what the heck and went for it!!! They look fab! I got some electric blue cords and now want to buy either purple ones or raspberry ones. Then I was gonna be cray cray and buy patterned ones but I stopped myself and said, “Cassey, will you look back one day and say DID I REALLY WEAR THAT!!???” So I didn’t get it. But I can pretty much assure you…that I will…just need to build up the courage…because deep deep in my heart I want them. Haha.
Well POPsters, just because Summer is ending doesn’t mean our fitness party has to!!! You have a new September Calendar coming up! Make sure you are subscribed to the newsletter to get the secret password mailed to ya! This calendar is gonna be a little different, so you’ll def want to take a look!!! You can sign up for the newsletter here.
Hope you’re all well and I totally love and miss you all so much! (The only reason why I say miss is because I haven’t posted a vloggy vid in a few days and when I don’t I feel like I’m not talking to you!)
Kay, love you’s and work hard!!!
<3 Cassey
PS…hope you had a chance to give me your input on the Blogilates Fitness app! Remember, I am picking a tank winner on Friday just for commenting!
73 thoughts on “Back To School Motivation – Staying Fit through Fall”
There are 73 comments posted by our users.
I would love to see a calendar on the app so I can keep up with my routines etc. and also motivating quotes all through out the app.
you should definitely add in a Calendar so you can track your workouts, as well as remind you to work out too.
It would be useful to have some quick exercises you can do when you don’t have enough time to workout. Also some vegetarian recipes for all the busy students. Another great thing would be exercising for beginners.
It would be great, if the app would be both for iphone and android and possibly free.
‘ Just do something. Every rep counts.’
This is really motivating. So when I don’t have time to working out a whole hour I’ll tell myself ‘It’s ok, go for 15 or 30 min, it’s better than nothing. Every rep couts!’
Thanks!!
Cassey, you are so great! I would love to have a sort of recipes section on the app, as well as daily fitness inspiration. I know you will totally post great workouts all the time, but any inspiring quotes/pictures/whatever you could post (maybe in it’s own section as well) would also be inspirational! Can’t wait to buy the app!
I was on my school’s ballroom team too. In fact, I have those shoes! Awesome split by the way =)
Definitely include sections for different body parts. Also a daily workout planner would be good too, like you can type out what you plan to do that day or something idk. I second the idea of an encyclopedia of workout things 🙂 awesome app, love you!
The encyclopaedia thing is a great idea!
You should have like a blogilates encyclopedia, where you explain every mve in like a ten second video. Sometimes when I’m on twitter and i see you work out commands popping up, you say like 20 cross lunge butt kicks and i’m like “what is that?” so a little encyclopedia would be really helpfull just to look up all the moves
Awesome!
For the app you could have a workout command section where it will select and exercise/reps at random. AND maybe do a spinner type thing where you select like: time, body part, goal and it picks a video workout(s) at random and builds a workout for you. Or something like that. (Clearly I like the random idea. lol).
Can’t wait for the app!!!! I wrote about how I keep fit during the term- I was inspired by this post. 🙂 http://realfitnessrealfood.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/staying-healthy-during-the-fall/
Hi Cassey!
Can’t wait for the app!
I have some suggestions:
– You can set fitness and weight goals
– It suits both Android and Apple
– Maybe like a game?
– A pointing system, which can make you motivated
– You can plan work0uts easily weekly
so excited for the app! I actually looked for “pop pilates” under the itunes store today since I finally got a decent phone lol-love the workout commands, your pilates roulette idea, printables and easy access to your videos/blog. Also a huge all inclusive list of all your pilates moves and how to do them-I’m pretty damn excited I actually pause your videos and write down what you call them to put in my master pilates list of moves. I renamed that crazy hardcore abs challenge the banana boat though lol. This is going to be awesome. Please also do the DVD. Can’t wait to try the new printable yayayaya
Hey cass.
Thanks for the tips for the back to school season. This summer I had soo much motivation to lose weight and get in shape. But it didn’t go as planned since ive been soo busy. I still have that motivation though and will definitely be getting back into this school year.
For the blogilaties fitness app (im soo excited) i would like to see most of your videos featured on it so you can workout on the go, and instead of having to go to youtube and looking all over the place for the video, maybe put the videos into catergories (abs, legs, cardio) so they are easier to find. 🙂
I also have a video request for you. We all know that you are suppose to stretch several times a day, especially before and after you workout so you dont get any injuries. Well i was wondering if you could do a video dedicated to stretching.
Thanks 🙂 .. P.s those are super cute boots. Who cares if you have other brown ones. I mean there is no such thing as having too many shoes !
Yay! I’m so excited that an app is in the works!
And a video on stretching for the splits would be great — it’s something I’ve always wanted to be able to do.
Can’t wait for September’s calendar – keep up the great work, Cassey! You’re an inspiration. =)
I am going in to year 9 this year (I am from the UK) and I am really motivated to lose weight right now! I was wondering if you can do more Series (like the Bikini Blaster) something like, the Winter Challenge to get ready for Christmas :P<3
This is my second year in University and I’m starting my double major this year(so basically I’m going to study 2 different, but closely related faculties on the same university). My university is like an hour away from home so last year I walked back and forth (which makes 2 hours a day spent walking, 5 days a week) + I did your PopPilates videos. This year I’m gonna strive to do the same thing. I’ll just study more at school so when I come back home I’ll have time for Pilates.
I’m not giving up on working out with you regularly. No way! 😀
Thanks for these great tips! They are really helpful! I was just wondering what I’ll do when the school starts and then there you are, giving me the answer, like you’re reading my mind! I’ve started working out with you about 2 months ago and I couldn’t do almost anything or I’d get soooo tired but it’s much better now. I can feel the progress! Thanks, Cassey!
And could you please please pleeeeeeeease make the app available for the less modern mobiles (in java format, or something)? Although, if you can’t, that would be a perfect excuse to buy a cool new mobile haha.
Love ya
bye
i think this will help me! this is my last year at primary school so it’s hard to find time. homeworks takes so much time! i want good grades from school so i need to work hard. i feel sometimes bad if i do homeworks instead workout… but at weekends i focus training 🙂
These are some great tips. My MA classes start at the end of September and I am definitely taking some of your advise with me 😉
if you dont have time to work out, you make time to work out.
It’s my first week of college, and I’m so glad I have Blogilates to keep off that Freshman 15!
This blog post comes just in time – your videos helped me lose that freshman 15 I somehow managed to gain last year despite all the cycling, walking, stair climbing, martial arts and dancing, and now I’m freaking out about going back sophomore year and accidentally gaining it all back again. No more stealing muffins from the dining hall!
stealing muffins…lol
Great tips! Thankfully going to college in NYC lends itself to some serious miles every day. And tons of stairs. I’ve gotten into the habit of skipping a step when I go upstairs to work out mah tush ;]
Love this. I graduated college a year ago, but really miss the lifestyle. Not so much the studying all the time/endless papers, but I do miss my lit classes and being with my friends allll the time. These are really great suggestions. I was always really bad at keeping up with a healthy lifestyle while in college, but now that I’ve graduated – it feels so much easier (even though the gym is farther away and I can’t walk everywhere like I could at school).
Anyway – so excited for fall clothes. Love the boots… Boots are probably my absolute favorite piece of clothing for the fall… and scarves. So I tend to have too many of them as well, haha.
ahh yes! i haven’t gotten a scarf yet, must do that next!
yay for coloured skinnies! and thank you for the reminders… so hard to stay motivated right now!
Thank you so much for this post- I feel like everything you do here is directed straight at me. I just started my semester last week, after having to move my whole life with acadian to a different State! All the moving and driving and preparing for class has got me skimping on the exercise 🙁 And after I was so good for a whole month-and-a-half too!
It’s hard to get back into it, coz there are always excuses, but you also always seem to be there to motivate me (and I’m sure, a lot of other people too!)- whether it’s through a new recipe, an inspirational story, gentle and fun nudging during your videos, or now this post!
I’m super excited for the app! For the convenience of it for sure, but also to have a little Cassie in my pocket to motivate me wherever I go! No excuses when things are literally in the palms of your hands, right?
You’re the only person that’s gotten me excited about exercising again in almost 8 years! Thank you just doesn’t seem to cut it!
Aww! Little Cassey. That’s cute. Enjoy your new semester!
Oh noes! I can’t believe autocorrect autocorrected your name incorrectly! Ah! I swear I had it spelt right when I typed it coz I hate when people misspell my name too! Nooooooo! Sorry Cassey! Gah…
when I was at college I always thought that I will have more time when I start to work… but the reality us totally opposite.
I would like to get back to school. It was the best days of my life.
I am also thinking about buying color jeans. I am thinking about coral color. But I am not so good looking as you . and that is not so nice to see on me as on you
Wow, thanks for the tips, Cassey! I aspire to become a creature actor (think aliens, vampires, creepy children, etcetera) and am always looking for smart ways to get a workout in, especially since I will be studying in college soon. I try to fit in a half hour of yoga whenever I awaken, and I’d I cannot perform hiit because my family is home I use an exercise bike before bed for a half hour. Honestly, I detest sitting down for Lon periods of time; I even type whilst standing, like Ernst Hemingway! I am still learning how to maintain tone and even gaIn it on a busy schedule when one cannot afford to spend hours at home or the gym. I admire athletes and figure competitors for this, and would love to learn more. Thanks for sharing!
I’m going back to my last year of uni and I know I’m a little worried about getting in the workout time, since I like to do over 1 hour day. My plan is that since I’m a music student, I’m going to do challenges like the new Lolo Lunges during breaks in my individual practice sessions.
Thanks so much for your tips. Fall is always stressful and its easy to forget yourself.
You should get the patterned pants. We’re all going to be looking back in 15-20 years and saying “Did I really wear that????” anyway, so why not go wild? 😀
I think you’re right!
I love all your videos and I am so excited for blogilates app. I just started to print out you workout calander and would love to be able to just click on a day and have the workout pop up. Thanks for all your hard work.
I’m totally into colored jeans, but I hate when girls wear the wrong color for their skin tone! EEEEEEEEEEP!
I’m a junior in college now and your youtube videos really help for the days that I don’t have enough time to get to the gym and have a solid workout. Thanks so much for everything you do! You’re such an inspiration and I’ve gotten so many of my sorority sisters hooked on your videos! We’re even having a night when we’re clearing out the tables in our dining room and playing your videos on our projection screen:)
Thanks for the tips Cassey! I just started my second year of grad school and work part time. I gained 15 lbs in my first year of grad school and it has to go! It is definitely going to be difficult to make time to work out but I’m going to be a bridesmaid in the spring and the fat just has to go! No excuses
Thanks for this post! I was wondering what I was going to do since I’m starting college in less than 3 weeks. Their gym there is part of the tuition so I don’t have to pay extra for it which is nice. I don’t think I’ll have trouble finding time to work out but we’ll see.
I sooo know what you mean about the patterned jeans, I am always looking at them, but then I chicken out on buying them! I really want these!!
http://shop.guess.com/Catalog/View/W22A90D0TK0
KYOOOTTEEEEE
OMG ! I was just wondering when I am able to do workout next week ( time to go back to school ) and after a quick jogg this new post is PERFECT !!
Thank you so much Cassey.
I’ll try to eat healthy, for a lot during the WE and during my free time.
Good luck for everyone else who go to school next week 🙂
This is great! Every rep counts! I tend to over burden myself during school with college activities and that leaves me no time to do a full on work out during the week, but I do watch what I eat and do ten minute exercises just really quick when I can in the morning, before I go to bed, then during the day (such as leg lifts while I’m sitting in class or calf raises while I’m waiting in line) Thanks, Cassey!
Woo! I am downloading the app now!
And I cant wait for Septembers new calendar! I turn 24 on the first and am so ready for a new lifestyle change full of exercise and clean eating!
Great tips! I’ve been out of school for 3 years as well and definitely find myself missing sometimes. Then I think of studying and writing papers and realize the Real World isn’t so bad. 😉
Hi Cassey!
I recive NO emails from the newsletter..Can you help me?
check your spam?
wowww if your spam filter really thinks of blogilates newsletters as junk mail then you sooo need a new one, lol 😉
It’s weird because I use gmail!
Done! But there were no emails 🙁
I never recive emails when you write a new post in this site ..
I’m so excited for the app!! I’d love if all the videos and printables were available on it so it was easy to take to the gym!
I’m so excited for the app!! I’d love if all the videos and printables were available on it so it was easy to take to the gym!
I watch my diet when I dont have time to exercise so its good to see this method on the blog post 🙂 Love veggies and fruits !!
Hi Cassey!
I’ve been your silent fan for a looong time now and I think it’s finally time for me to thank you. Before PopPilates I never even liked exercising and seriously I never did anything except dancing at parties or night clubs.
Now I train at least 4-6 times per week + your pilates and I love it.
The funny thing is that you hooked right? I can’t bear two days without doing anything and I’m satisfied only after a full training session 🙂 I have lost 8lb (I’ve always been normal sized but lazy) but more importantly my life style has changed completely.
But back into business.
About the Very Awesome Blogilates App 1.0, I very much think you (or He :D) should make it to be a connector between the community and our daily routines. I don’t know if you have ever used SportsTracker ,maybe a similar one, but it anyway tracks eg your running, biking whatsoever with your phone’s navigator and calculates the calories according to your weight, height and sex. The app has also a community that’s connected to facebook and you can see from a map where the other sporters are and what they are doing (meaning exercising) at the moment or the same day.
Also calorietracking part similar to MyFittnessPal would be helpfull. Not so many apps to deal with 😉
Sooo in conclusion;
-Part to track your calories eaten and burned
-Pop Pilates calorie burn calculator
-Community part with a twitter/facebook timeline
-Map of popsters
-Everyday a support message from our lovely trainer<3
Thanks for everything an good luck with the app! 🙂
thank u for breaking the silence 🙂
Thanks for this blog post! It was much needed! I’ll be starting my freshman year at Whittier College as well, in 4 days and was worried about keeping on track! Go Poets! 🙂
AHHHHHH!!!! Really!!???? So cool!!!! Which dorm are u staying in? Stauffer? Johnson? OMG!! Don’t get scared away by Della because “Della don’t play.” You’ll understand.
Unfortunately I won’t be dorming so I’ll be commuting to school since I live within a 20 min drive. But thanks in advance for the advice! BTW, thanks for replying–you’re such an inspiration for my fitness/health life & to all my fellow POPsters 🙂
I’m headed into my senior year of college… My advice for keeping up with working out during school is having cute workout clothes so you can be dressed for your workout all day and not have to make time for changing and all that. So much of the time it’s the preparation for working out that stops me from going!
I was wondering if you were ever going to upload that split stretching video, but we’re all forgetful. xD I really want to be able to do a split! But all the videos I find are boring or drag on too long. I bet if you uploaded one, I’d be a lot happier to do a split. ^^ (Btw, you look fantastic as always in that pic.)
School~ I’m starting school on Sept. 5th. Freshman in high school, bleh. I’m already trying to find out how to organize a schedule for exercise, homework, studying, and my other hobbies. ^___^
Cute fashion choices. xD It’s so easy to get carried away and buy all the stuff you want. ;D I bet you’d look wonderful in the patterns too. 😛
Have a wonderful day, Cassey! ^_____^
I’d love a split stretching video too! I’ve been working on them for a few weeks and I’m so close, so tips would be excellent.
I’m also leaving for university in 3 weeks, but I think I’ll actually have more time to work out than I do now – maybe I’m lucky!
I really liked August’s calendar. I hope September’s isn’t too different.
i love the fringe boots…. good morning cassey. either goodnight, or good morning depending if you slept yet! lol…
Ahh, super helpful, thank you! I so wish I could major in pop pilates, but poli sci with pilates on the side will have to suffice 🙁
I would love, love, love a split stretching video! It’s exactly what I need, so please, please, please think about the split stretch video if you have time.
Thank you!!!!
Kelly
AGREEE!! stretching for the splits workout sounds amazing!
You rock [hard abs] Cassey! Thanks for your videos!
-Catt
Cassey, this is just what I needed! Thanks sooooo much <3
Actually, this post hits home for me because this is exactly how I first stumbled onto your POP Pilates videos on YouTube – because I was getting fat and unhealthy just sitting around and working on my laptop, doing research, working on crazy assignments and my thesis this year (I'm enrolled in a crazy jam-packed one-year Honours program). One day I was just surfing home workouts, realizing I needed to do something about my body/health/eating habits, and I found you! I've never felt so motivated to exercise and eat clean before I met you! Yep sure I still stumble, I still get too busy with assignments to exercise, but then I'll just click play one of your fun song challenges and before I know it, I'll be sweating through my 3rd POP Pilates video 🙂
Hi Cassey!
Thanks for the great advice on staying healthy during school. I’ll be sure to do these! 😀 By the way, will the splits video be for only one type of split such as front (One leg in front and one behind)? Or will it include side splits (Both legs out to the side)? I’ve been trying to get my side splits since forever.
– Max
I can’t do the middle splits unfortunately!!