First paddleboard of the season!

So I'd like to share a little tidbit about myself. I love working out. Exercising, moving, burning calories, getting stronger, building muscle...however you want to look at it works for me. If I'm sweating, I'm happy. Activity dates are, and always will be, the best. Well, that and food dates, but that's a whole other side of me.

Anyways, I recently committed to a goal that I am super excited about, and it is as follows - this summer, I will do all of my workouts outdoors, with the exception of yoga classes. The sun gets my going every morning, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than taking advantage of the summer weather.

Darwin plans on sleeping in this summer, what a bum.

Activities outside make me feel like the world is my gym and that I'm training for life. Doing stairs outside = winning the races I always play at the airport against other strangers taking the escalators. Trail running = the ability to chase down your dog when he takes off after a rabbit (oh Darwin, such a trouble maker). Jumping rope/plyometric workouts = never having to step away from a dance party because your calves are burning in your 4 inch heels . All frequent occurrences in my life, so I plan on being as ready as possible for them.

So this brings me to my first day after setting this goal. It started off rainy and gloomy at 6 am this morning, and I was afraid my workout date was going to skip out on me. We had planned to meet at 7 am on the beach for a little pre-breakfast sweat, but I almost rerouted home when I felt water droplets during my warm-up jog to the beach. The universe was working in our favor though, because as I headed down the hill, I saw my neighbor Denise coming down the stairs.

These are the stairs, oh man what a good workout they are.

After some jumping jacks, too many different kinds of push ups, some ab work, and some more push ups, the clouds parted and the sun beamed through.

And that is when I decided it was time to debut the paddle boards.

Off to visit the lighthouse!

The cool thing about the harbor is that it can be calm one minute, and ridiculously choppy the next. We sat down when it got too rough, mainly because falling in the 50 degree water wasn't part of the plan. As it gets warmer here, the water will follow suit...soon wetsuits won't be necessary and swimming can be part of the workout!

I like to face backwards and take pictures while trying to not drop my Ipod touch in the water...thank god I do yoga, hello balance!

Relaxing and enjoying the view as we cruised in.

Paddleboarding is an amazing core and arm workout, and I will take that over being stuck in a gym any day! Day one of working out outside was most definitely a success! 

What's your favorite outdoor activity?