So it's officially 2016 now. Everyone's resolutions are in full-swing...hopefully. I had a protein pancake for breakfast, played with my pup a bit, and should probably get ready for the gym soon. Today I plan on focusing on my lower-body aka my favorite day at the gym. I heart leg days. A typical leg day for me focuses on body weight exercises for the warm-up along with some of the heavy-weight exercises listed below.

Warm-Up:

• Dynamic Stretching
• Squat pulses
• Squat holds
• Squats with side leg raises
• Lunges
• Donkey Kicks
• Squat Jumps

Work-Out:

• Squats (Back, Front, Sumo with Kettlebell, Split, etc.)
• Deadlifts (Straight-leg, Bent-leg, One-leg, etc.)
• Curtsy lunges with dumbbells
• Cable donkey kicks
• Cable side leg raises
• Quad extensions
• Hamstring curls
• Calf raises

And then I walk it out on the treadmill at an incline or the step mill for about 30 minutes.

Adho mukha svanasana aka downward facing dog. It's been less than two months since I started taking yoga classes at a studio. Before then, it'd be at my gym back in Carroll County where the sound of your breathing was accompanied by the thumping of Nicki Minaj's "Starships" and the occasional clang of a free weight. Relaxing? Hell no. While resting in Child's Pose, I wished I was out there doing something more active.

Taking classes at a studio has changed that. It's an amazing experience to participate in a 90-minute Vinyasa class where the lights are dim, the music is right, and the sweat is dripping from your face onto your mat. Vinyasa is challenging, especially since I'm far from being an experienced yogi. I learn more and more each time I practice. Not only about yoga, but about myself. I don't mean to get all soul-searching, philosophical on you, but I surprise myself. I've become so flexible that I wish I could go back to P.E. and take the v-sit and reach test (that thing was the bane of my existence in elementary school) because I'd definitely pass now.