Since I’m in my last full-time semester at school, my life has been hectic. This weekend has been time for relaxation since me and the boyfriend adventured to St. Paul to attend a conference for my major. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) runs the conference and they set guidelines on physical activity for adults. I was required to go, but I’m really glad I did. Throughout the day I continually learned new information about health & wellness.

The conference took place at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. It was an absolutely gorgeous campus with beautiful brick buildings. I loved how small the campus was! Winona is a smaller campus too and I love that every building is within walking distance. We arrived at around 7:30 or so and just explored the building before the first speaker was supposed to appear.

In exploring the student union/Coeur de Catherine building, I found a Lucy Statue. The Peanuts hold a special place in my heart because the writer Charles Schultz is born and raised in Minnesota. There are various Peanut character statues scattered around St. Paul so if you’re in the area, try and find them all!

After finding our seats at the conference, we listened to the first two speakers talk about Interval Training. Research has concluded that Interval Training is as beneficial as endurance training. running or biking for an hour. So if running is exhausting and boring, try doing an Insanity class because you burn more calories and have plenty of health benefits.

The third speaker emphasized the dietary guidelines and how bacon may not be as bad for us as we were led to believe. There is so much we have learned about nutrition over the years. We used to think cholesterol was evil, but we are finding more research about how eating a lot of cholesterol doesn’t lead to heart disease. There is so much more research that needs to be done about nutrition.

It was a long day but it was cool to go to these speakers and comprehend all of the scientific information. Attending this conference proves to me that I’m in the right major and shows my passion for continually learning about physical activity and nutrition.

I’m so happy to announce my first OOTD blog post! I want to give a shoutout to my amazing and talented photographer roommate. She takes gorgeous photos. I have linked her Facebook page and her Instagram page down below so check it out! Even if you aren’t from the Minnesota area, she takes great photos to peruse. 

Anyway, this inspiration comes from the fact that Batman Vs. Superman opened this weekend. I have seen the movie and I don’t think it’s as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I hope to post my review eventually. I love these Batman leggings that I found. They are so comfy and they aren’t made out of spandex. Spandex leggings aren’t typically my favorite since they cling to my body. These leggings are mostly made of polyester and so they are more appropriate for lounging. 

My second favorite part of this outfit is my combat boots. When I consider my style identity, it doesn’t include heels. I work out often so it’s more beneficial to me to be in sneakers versus heels or sandals.

I absolutely love these pictures and don’t forget to check out my friend’s page.

Chloe Jane Photography Instagram: @ChloeJanePhotography

Yellow Tank Top: American Eagle

Batman Leggings: H&M

Black Cardigan: Target (boyfriend cardigan)

Combat Boots: Zappos.com Madden Girl Combat Boots.

I wanted to write something a little more personal on my blog today. I have hinted that I’m a college student and if you didn’t know already I study Exercise Science. It’s a little self-explanatory, but it mainly discusses how the body responds to exercise and the benefits of physical activity. It’s something I’m absolutely passionate about because physical activity has so many health benefits. I haven’t always been physically active, but I changed my ways and started including exercise into my routine about four years ago, so here’s my story behind how exercise really changed my life.

Growing up, I was a figure skater. I didn’t participate in any sports as I didn’t find something that I was passionate about. In middle school, I remember being embarrassed about having to run the mile. Running is an activity in that I have a love/hate relationship as a result. As I moved into high school, I didn’t pay much attention to what I ate. My friends would ask me to go to the gym and I declined. More than likely it was due to intimidation as I can definitely say at that age, my friends were more physically active than I was.

As I was coming to college, I did not want to gain the freshman 15. This is extremely vain and just typing this out makes me cringe. I was dedicated to exercise and I even used some of my graduation money to buy workout clothes.

I started by going to some of the fitness classes my college had to offer. They were fun! I would be sore for three days and it would be hard to walk. It probably wasn’t the best way to get started, but it worked. I started going to classes and my favorite was Turbo Kick. Kickboxing is such a fun workout and I recommend trying it. It was so fun that even though I was tired, I still enjoyed it. At first, I couldn’t get through the entire class. I had to stop and take breaks and wait for my heart rate to come down. Eventually, I was able to go through the entire class and I felt really proud of myself.

I pretty much did only cardio for about two years. In 2014, I decided to lift weights. I wanted to get stronger and once I got more into my major, I learned different techniques. This was slow and steady progress, but I can say that I definitely have gotten stronger not only in my arms but my back and chest. I have also been able to use the bench press something I would not have dreamed of when I entered school.

Exercise changed my life. Ever since adding exercise, I have felt more secure with my own body. I feel sexy, strong, and powerful. Besides that, my stress has been lower. It’s easier to walk up a flight of stairs or even to be on my feet running errands all day. I can carry groceries up to my apartment without my arms burning.

Anyway, to wrap up this post, I just want to say that it’s never too late to start becoming physically active. Physical activity really has a lot of health benefits and it doesn’t have to be done at the gym! It can be a simple walk/bike ride or doing an activity in the comfort of your own home. I really am not trying to over exaggerate but Exercise was life-changing for me.