[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Charlotte tried to stop biting her nails. This month, Tiffany is going to attempt to conquer Outward Bound. Can she do it!? Could you?]

So I’m actually here. I’m actually in the mountains trying to survive in the wilderness. The first week has been such a challenge for me. It’s one thing to imagine being in the wilderness but I don’t think that the reality of the situation really hit me until I had 60 pounds of gear strapped to my back and 2 miles to trek on my first night. Surprisingly, I’ve had little trouble adjusting to actual camping itself. In fact, I’ve come to like sleeping on the ground and find ferns quite comfortable.

However, I do still find my self waking up in the middle of the night to flick spiders away (I don’t even want to think about how many spiders I haven’t seen on myself…shudder). But just when I thought I was getting the hang of it, my instructors decided to shake up my world by having my crew complete a bush push. Now, what is a bush push you may ask? A bush push (not to be called a  bush whack) is where hikers go off trail and push through the plant life to reach their desired location. Bush pushing takes a lot of precise navigation, which can be hard to accurately do when everything looks the same. The other key to bush pushing is that you aren’t supposed to follow others so that a trail is not created. Read More »

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month Charlotte tried to stop biting her nails. This month, Tiffany is going to attempt to conquer Outward Bound. Can she do it!? Could you?]

As I write this I am questioning my sanity. And after you read this you will probably be questioning my mental state, too. Why is that you ask? Well, tomorrow I will embark on a 28 day wilderness program called Outward Bound. On this month long trek, I’ll be hiking, camping, canoeing and rock climbing, all of which sounds fun on paper. And when I say fun I mean to the physically fit, low-maintenance thrill seeker—I am not any of those things. I am a girl who has never camped, can barely swim, and may have a fear of heights (see why my current mental sanity is arguable?). To top it all off, I have a terrible cold right now and it looks like it will rain for the first week of my trip—yay! And yet I’m still going (probably because I’ve already spent around $500 on hiking gear). Read More »

The sun is shining, the breeze is warm and Spring is in full swing. Who wants to waste such a beautiful day slaving away on a treadmill indoors? Research shows that sharing your sweat session with Mother Nature decreases your stress levels and ups your calorie burn due to the varied terrain and fluctuating temperatures. It’s time to lace up your Nikes and head to the nearest park.

-Your cardio doesn’t have to be boring when you’re hoofing it under the sun. After a quick warm-up, try jogging backwards. Experts say it burns a fifth more calories and improves your balance by engaging your core. Afraid of looking silly? Don’t be.  All anyone will think would be, “Hey! She knows something I don’t!”

-Now, let’s build our endurance. Find some stairs and sprint from the bottom to the top without stopping or skipping steps. Walk back down and finish up with 4 more sets. Just like having a Stairmaster outdoors, this exercise will increase your heart and lung capacity while building killer legs for those adorable minis.

-How about you pull your forgotten roller blades out of the back of your closet and lace them up? While also a great cardio workout, rollerblading tones your inner and outer thighs along with your beautiful booty. To torch about 450 calories in 30 minutes, alternate one minute of tucked, speed skating with one minute of upright, relaxed skating. Be sure to wear your knee and elbow pads! I hear scrapes and bruises are out this season. Read More »

Just when I had you convinced I’m a lazy cow, I took some action. The weather’s gorgeous, I have many a short little dress waiting to come out, and frankly, the time has come for me to take your advice, which has been much appreciated. I’ve started walking to and from work rather than hopping on the subway, and so long as it’s sunny and nice, I’ve decided that my new habit is going to be a post-work run, and that the thirty-block walk home can be a nice little warm-up.

I started slow, running about three quarters of a mile outside without falling over dead, and walking briskly after for another twenty or thirty minutes. May not seem like a lot, but in the city, speedwalking is essentially a slow jog. I have to say, it felt pretty damn good to take in the scenery of New York while bobbing and weaving through crowds on the sidewalks.

Fortunately I live fairly close to a park on the East River (one of those waterways that’s pretty from a high-rise, but should never ever be touched for fear of hepatitis or happening upon a dead body), and was able to set my route accordingly. I’m actually looking forward to going out again tonight, with my goal of extending by a few blocks and hopefully getting that extra quarter mile into my routine by the time next week starts. Read More »