I have hit a funk.
Sometimes, the stress in life just gets a little bit overwhelming. Between stress at work (where I teach special education), stress at home (an ongoing issue with a family member), and some new health stress (not me, but my father), I find myself drowning. For whatever reason, I am just too exhausted to work out. It's like every bit of energy in my body is going towards worrying about things, and by the time I go to lace up my running shoes, I have absolutely zero left.
I know that if I just got out there and made it through the first mile, it'd probably feel so much better, but I just can't make myself go. Instead, I lay on the couch and take a nap. Falling asleep every day after work this week makes me think my body needs the rest and that I am doing the right thing, but it makes me feel guilty!
I am realizing, too, that stress and eating go hand-in-hand to screw you over. It's just the way it is. When I am stressed, all I want to do is eat something delicious, something bad for me, something peanut buttery and chocolatey. But I know that if I allow myself to stress eat, my jeans will regret it. However, NOT letting myself stress eat makes those stressful times feel so much more. I know it's all psychological, and I keep fighting it. I've done fairly well today -- all my "bad" choices have been small in nature. But it takes so much willpower to avoid the bad!
It helped that my jeans were tight. It was a strong reminder of why it is I was avoiding the stress-eating!
Food Today:
Breakfast -- oatmeal with blueberries, Horizon half & half
AM Snack - Yoplait Greek Yogurt
Lunch: Fiber One cereal with fat free milk, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, light ranch dressing, 3 of the baby fun-sized Baby Ruth bars
PM Snack - apple
Dinner - Subway sandwich (turkey on wheat, with lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, banana peppers, mustard, and vinegar) and a bag of apple crisps, 2 snack size York peppermint patties
My goal for tomorrow? Not to avoid all chocolate, because I'm smart enough to know that it's going to happen. But instead of THREE candy bars, as small as they may have been, I will force myself to stop at ONE. Same with the peppermint patties.
Although, to be honest, I just ate the last of the peppermint patties and I'm not going back to the store, so that one should be pretty easy to ensure! :)
**
How do YOU handle stress?
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Cherry Blossom 10K -- A Definite Victory!
Headed down to spend the Cherry Blossom Festival weekend with my extended family. Saturday morning was the 10K race. I woke up nervous - at what point do the nerves go away?!?
I did great. I was super proud of myself. I ran all 6.2 miles at a much faster pace than normal. My last few long runs have been at roughly 13:30 minutes per mile. But I finished the race in 1:11:29, which was an 11:32 mile! My last 6-miler that I ran took 1:21, so it was a full 10 minutes faster. A definite win for me!
The guy who won the race did so in 39 minutes. I am amazed.
What really made the event interesting was the race results:
Name From Bib # Age Place Finish Finish time
Amanda **** Athens GA 515 19 1 F 15-19 1:11:29.0
Um.... I am not from Athens. I am definitely NOT 19. And I'm willing to bet I was not the first person in that so-called age bracket to cross the finish line after an hour and eleven minutes! I went back to double check my registration information, and all the information was correct on the form, so who knows what happened.
Also, I wound up running beside a girl for 5.75 miles of the race. We ran at about the same pace and it was so nice to have someone to talk to while running. I crossed the finish line maybe 20 seconds before she did.
But in the race results, the person to finish before me crossed the finish line 2 minutes, 17 seconds before I did. And the next person to finish after me crossed the line 3 minutes and 21 seconds. No record at all of someone finishing directly behind me.
I may have called my mom and said, "You saw someone there, right? She's not a ghost?!?"
I have no idea, but someone jacked up those results.
In other news, I am going to go back to posting what I eat. I got off that for a week or so, and it was far too easy to pretend I never ate ALL THOSE Reese's peanut butter eggs. Starting tomorrow, I am back on track (again!). Le sigh. Such is the life of a girl who is NOT a natural skinny girl! :)
**
How was everyone's weekend? Anything interesting happen?!?
I did great. I was super proud of myself. I ran all 6.2 miles at a much faster pace than normal. My last few long runs have been at roughly 13:30 minutes per mile. But I finished the race in 1:11:29, which was an 11:32 mile! My last 6-miler that I ran took 1:21, so it was a full 10 minutes faster. A definite win for me!
The guy who won the race did so in 39 minutes. I am amazed.
What really made the event interesting was the race results:
Name From Bib # Age Place Finish Finish time
Amanda **** Athens GA 515 19 1 F 15-19 1:11:29.0
Um.... I am not from Athens. I am definitely NOT 19. And I'm willing to bet I was not the first person in that so-called age bracket to cross the finish line after an hour and eleven minutes! I went back to double check my registration information, and all the information was correct on the form, so who knows what happened.
Also, I wound up running beside a girl for 5.75 miles of the race. We ran at about the same pace and it was so nice to have someone to talk to while running. I crossed the finish line maybe 20 seconds before she did.
But in the race results, the person to finish before me crossed the finish line 2 minutes, 17 seconds before I did. And the next person to finish after me crossed the line 3 minutes and 21 seconds. No record at all of someone finishing directly behind me.
I may have called my mom and said, "You saw someone there, right? She's not a ghost?!?"
I have no idea, but someone jacked up those results.
In other news, I am going to go back to posting what I eat. I got off that for a week or so, and it was far too easy to pretend I never ate ALL THOSE Reese's peanut butter eggs. Starting tomorrow, I am back on track (again!). Le sigh. Such is the life of a girl who is NOT a natural skinny girl! :)
**
How was everyone's weekend? Anything interesting happen?!?
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Mama Said There'd Be (Weeks) Like This...
Man oh man, it's been an insane week. It's been a week of leaving for work at 6:30 and getting home around 9 at night. Needless to say, I fall into bed, sound asleep!
Not to say I haven't been getting the workouts in. Monday afternoon, I discovered I was officially a REAL runner. Or maybe just stupid. Or maybe a really stupid runner! It was 85 degrees, high humidity, and the pollen count was 9,350. Yes, that's right. Nine THOUSAND. Everyone else I knew backed out of running that day. Not me, I tied on my sneakers and hit the road for 4 miles. I had my heart rate monitor on, and it was amazing to watch. My max heart rate was higher than normal through the whole run, and even the end, which was all downhill, my heart rate remained close to what it is normally during an uphill climb. But I survived and did not die afterwards, so yay!
And yesterday, I had a great workout. I set my interval timer for 24 rounds, with 30 seconds max interval and 10 second rest interval.
Round 1:
Burpees and Pushups
Squat and Press with weighted ball
L Leg Pushups (a regular pushup, but one knee is bent up to form an L in the air, leaving you to balance one one leg)
Knee Lift on the Dip Station
Round 2:
Burpees and Pushups
Squat and Press with weighted ball
Military Pushups
Shoulder/Knee sit-ups with weighted ball
Round 3:
Burpees and Pushups
Squat and Press with weighted ball
Monkey Push-ups (stand with legs straight, bent at the waist with palms flat on the floor (like an inverted V). Then bend your elbows, bringing the top of your head close to the floor, then straighten your elbows again).
Oblique Side V Abs
I say it a lot, but it's so true -- 12 minutes and I was sweating!
Today, no run because my yard was completely atrocious. So I had to come home and do some yard work. BO-RING. But it's okay. It was a good workout. Plus, I've got a 10K race on Saturday. Maybe it's just a baby taper. :)
Hope all is well with everyone else -- happy Wednesday!
Not to say I haven't been getting the workouts in. Monday afternoon, I discovered I was officially a REAL runner. Or maybe just stupid. Or maybe a really stupid runner! It was 85 degrees, high humidity, and the pollen count was 9,350. Yes, that's right. Nine THOUSAND. Everyone else I knew backed out of running that day. Not me, I tied on my sneakers and hit the road for 4 miles. I had my heart rate monitor on, and it was amazing to watch. My max heart rate was higher than normal through the whole run, and even the end, which was all downhill, my heart rate remained close to what it is normally during an uphill climb. But I survived and did not die afterwards, so yay!
And yesterday, I had a great workout. I set my interval timer for 24 rounds, with 30 seconds max interval and 10 second rest interval.
Round 1:
Burpees and Pushups
Squat and Press with weighted ball
L Leg Pushups (a regular pushup, but one knee is bent up to form an L in the air, leaving you to balance one one leg)
Knee Lift on the Dip Station
Round 2:
Burpees and Pushups
Squat and Press with weighted ball
Military Pushups
Shoulder/Knee sit-ups with weighted ball
Round 3:
Burpees and Pushups
Squat and Press with weighted ball
Monkey Push-ups (stand with legs straight, bent at the waist with palms flat on the floor (like an inverted V). Then bend your elbows, bringing the top of your head close to the floor, then straighten your elbows again).
Oblique Side V Abs
I say it a lot, but it's so true -- 12 minutes and I was sweating!
Today, no run because my yard was completely atrocious. So I had to come home and do some yard work. BO-RING. But it's okay. It was a good workout. Plus, I've got a 10K race on Saturday. Maybe it's just a baby taper. :)
Hope all is well with everyone else -- happy Wednesday!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Beautiful Day, But SO NOT a Beautiful Runner!
The last week has just been amazing here in Georgia. Highs in the upper seventies, sunny and just plain gorgeous. So today, I donned capris and a tank top to run in, for the first time in months. I was so excited. Spring fever has hit BIG TIME. I did a 6-mile run, and it was super hard. Surprisingly hard, even. I did the same path I almost always run on and I would find myself struggling at places I KNOW I didn't struggle the last few runs. I don't know if it was just a rough run or if yesterday had something to do with it.
I woke yesterday with a headache. No biggie, happens sometimes. But by 8:20 when my students were coming in, I was perpetually wincing. The overhead lights were way too bright, the students gabbing as they came down the hall were way too loud. I felt way too overstimulated and almost nauseous from the pain. So I got a sub there and headed on home. Made it home and fell face-first on the couch, where I slept for four hours in my jeans and sneakers. Woke up around 2:00, ate some cereal, and slept until 5:00. By the time I woke up the second time, the headache was down to a dull roar, much more like a normal headache. I still managed to stagger to bed, exhausted, at 9:00 last night and slept until 6 this morning. When I opened my eyes this morning, I did so with great trepidation, but fortunately, the headache was completely gone. I'd never had a migraine before, and I hope I never do again. I have no idea if it would have an impact on me today, but for whatever reason, it was a rough run.
But hey, we appreciate the good runs all the better for those bad ones, right?!?!
My splits for today's runs weren't great (again), but I've come to accept that anytime I run this particular course, I just need to be happy about making it up a monster hill!
My inner diva is doing a little dance, complete with cartwheels, because I ran up that bad boy without stopping, even if it was slow!
After the run, I got back in my car and looked at myself in the rearview mirror. OUCH. Bright red face, these weird little spiral curls soaked with sweat that had plastered themselves to my forehead and cheeks, and this weird white circle around my mouth. No wonder I got strange looks while running. I'm sooooo not a pretty runner. I can't even figure out what the white ring around my mouth means. But whatever it may mean, it's rather unattractive.
Next time, I'll take a picture for you guys. I have to have proof of just how bad it looks when I'm done running, especially in warmer weather! It reminded me of this picture:
Weighed in today, and I was somehow half a pound less than I was two weeks ago. Maybe my days of detox worked! Whatever it was, I am very relieved.
Today is a lazy afternoon. I'm making a running mix for a friend of mine who has just begun running, and generally relaxing before tonight. It's Girls' Night, and we are celebrating St. Patrick's Day at an Italian restaurant tonight. :) But the best part will be AFTER the dinner. We are going to a place called The Chocolate Bar. That's right, it's a bar. That serves chocolate. Wine and chocolate. I may never leave.
***
I need new running music. Any ideas, anyone?
I woke yesterday with a headache. No biggie, happens sometimes. But by 8:20 when my students were coming in, I was perpetually wincing. The overhead lights were way too bright, the students gabbing as they came down the hall were way too loud. I felt way too overstimulated and almost nauseous from the pain. So I got a sub there and headed on home. Made it home and fell face-first on the couch, where I slept for four hours in my jeans and sneakers. Woke up around 2:00, ate some cereal, and slept until 5:00. By the time I woke up the second time, the headache was down to a dull roar, much more like a normal headache. I still managed to stagger to bed, exhausted, at 9:00 last night and slept until 6 this morning. When I opened my eyes this morning, I did so with great trepidation, but fortunately, the headache was completely gone. I'd never had a migraine before, and I hope I never do again. I have no idea if it would have an impact on me today, but for whatever reason, it was a rough run.
But hey, we appreciate the good runs all the better for those bad ones, right?!?!
My splits for today's runs weren't great (again), but I've come to accept that anytime I run this particular course, I just need to be happy about making it up a monster hill!
After the run, I got back in my car and looked at myself in the rearview mirror. OUCH. Bright red face, these weird little spiral curls soaked with sweat that had plastered themselves to my forehead and cheeks, and this weird white circle around my mouth. No wonder I got strange looks while running. I'm sooooo not a pretty runner. I can't even figure out what the white ring around my mouth means. But whatever it may mean, it's rather unattractive.
Next time, I'll take a picture for you guys. I have to have proof of just how bad it looks when I'm done running, especially in warmer weather! It reminded me of this picture:
Weighed in today, and I was somehow half a pound less than I was two weeks ago. Maybe my days of detox worked! Whatever it was, I am very relieved.
Today is a lazy afternoon. I'm making a running mix for a friend of mine who has just begun running, and generally relaxing before tonight. It's Girls' Night, and we are celebrating St. Patrick's Day at an Italian restaurant tonight. :) But the best part will be AFTER the dinner. We are going to a place called The Chocolate Bar. That's right, it's a bar. That serves chocolate. Wine and chocolate. I may never leave.
***
I need new running music. Any ideas, anyone?
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
March Detox Day # 1 = Success!
I'm not sure which switch in my head flipped on (or off) last night, but somehow, avoiding the things I shouldn't today seemed easier. I had a Tervis tumbler of water with me all day, along with a packet of gum in my pocket. Whenever I had the urge to grab chocolate, I took a huge swallow of water and popped a piece of gum. It worked - for today, at least!
Today's tempo run at the gym was kind of awesome, as well. I watched the end of Lost Season 1, episode 2, and then about 20 minutes of the third episode. I forgot how much I love this series. It made running in place much more bearable. I don't know what I'm going to do when my mom remembers that I have her iPad and demands it back!
One more day of workouts this week - strength training tomorrow. I already know it's going to be murder on my butt and thighs. Is it weird that I am looking forward to that? Also, today was GORGEOUS. Sunny and blue skies, with a high of close to 80. I wore shorts and a tank top to run in, and it felt amazing to have the sun on my skin. Know what gorgeous days are meant for? Driving around in the car, windows down, sunroof open, and 311 blaring loudly on the radio. Hello, 1996!
Food today was good. I'm pretty proud of myself. Only splurge was a handful of BIG Cheezits after work today. But that wasn't splurge. It was curiosity. I can't help it if I'm an inquisitive person and I've never before eaten them! (They were amazing, by the way, in case you were wondering).
Food Log:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with protein powder and pear
AM Snack: apple, 12 almonds
Lunch: Chicken of the Sea single serve tuna, piece of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, 1 tbsp Ken's Light Ranch
PM Snack: peanut butter granola bar and 2 prunes
Dinner: Chick-Fil-A grilled nuggets (standard Wednesday dinner), baked sweet potato, asparagus
Go me! :)
Today's tempo run at the gym was kind of awesome, as well. I watched the end of Lost Season 1, episode 2, and then about 20 minutes of the third episode. I forgot how much I love this series. It made running in place much more bearable. I don't know what I'm going to do when my mom remembers that I have her iPad and demands it back!
One more day of workouts this week - strength training tomorrow. I already know it's going to be murder on my butt and thighs. Is it weird that I am looking forward to that? Also, today was GORGEOUS. Sunny and blue skies, with a high of close to 80. I wore shorts and a tank top to run in, and it felt amazing to have the sun on my skin. Know what gorgeous days are meant for? Driving around in the car, windows down, sunroof open, and 311 blaring loudly on the radio. Hello, 1996!
Food today was good. I'm pretty proud of myself. Only splurge was a handful of BIG Cheezits after work today. But that wasn't splurge. It was curiosity. I can't help it if I'm an inquisitive person and I've never before eaten them! (They were amazing, by the way, in case you were wondering).
Food Log:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with protein powder and pear
AM Snack: apple, 12 almonds
Lunch: Chicken of the Sea single serve tuna, piece of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, 1 tbsp Ken's Light Ranch
PM Snack: peanut butter granola bar and 2 prunes
Dinner: Chick-Fil-A grilled nuggets (standard Wednesday dinner), baked sweet potato, asparagus
Go me! :)
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Frustration
Why is it so hard to get back on track with food???
I've been on Weight Watchers for ten months. I did great with consistently watching what I ate. Saturday was always my splurge day, so any mad cravings I had usually waited until then. And it worked.
I gave myself last week off for my birthday. BIG mistake. While I didn't go crazy with food every day, I definitely ate differently than I normally do. Every meal didn't include some form of lean protein, a fruit or a veggie. I had more carbs than normal (including cereal for dinner a couple times), and definitely more sweets (I'd swing by the candy basket at work a couple times a day and I did so gleefully).
But now, I am trying to get back on track and it is SO HARD. I feel like I am way more hungry than normal. I guess I just need to get myself back into a schedule with my eating? And also, ALL I WANT is carbs. I had to fight with myself not to make a biscuit to have with my lean beef and green beans for dinner tonight. And I had a York peppermint patty, but that wasn't enough. So I ripped open a bag of the tiny size Reese's cups and ate half before pouring the rest out into the trash.
I guess I just have to go cold turkey. Back to my normal diet, with absolutely zero slip-ups for a couple days to get the taste of peanut butter and chocolate out of my mind, huh?
Why does it have to be so hard?
So here's the deal. I'm going to make myself tell you guys EVERYTHING I eat from now until Friday night. Hopefully, three days of detoxing will help me. I also think I need to weigh in on Saturday. I was debating it, because I know I'll be up, but I think I might need the jolt of SEEING the number on the scale higher than it has been.
So (gulp), here we go:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup Fiber One cereal, 1/2 cup skim milk, blueberries
AM Snack: 12 almonds, pear
Lunch: Gorton's tilapia, sweet potato pinwheels, cucumbers, tomatoes, 1/2 boiled egg, and 2 tbs Ken's Light Ranch dressing. After that came some random stress eating, where I popped two Baby Ruth bars and three Butterfinger bars, but not the normal sized ones. The teeny tiniest ones. But STILL!
PM Snack: Apple, protein drink
Dinner: Lean beef, green beans, grape tomatoes, York peppermint patty, 1/2 snack bag of Reese's peanut butter cup minis.
See? A lot of what I eat is decent. I just have to somehow avoid the chocolate. Any ideas to help?
***
What do you find so hard to refrain from eating in your daily life?
I've been on Weight Watchers for ten months. I did great with consistently watching what I ate. Saturday was always my splurge day, so any mad cravings I had usually waited until then. And it worked.
I gave myself last week off for my birthday. BIG mistake. While I didn't go crazy with food every day, I definitely ate differently than I normally do. Every meal didn't include some form of lean protein, a fruit or a veggie. I had more carbs than normal (including cereal for dinner a couple times), and definitely more sweets (I'd swing by the candy basket at work a couple times a day and I did so gleefully).
But now, I am trying to get back on track and it is SO HARD. I feel like I am way more hungry than normal. I guess I just need to get myself back into a schedule with my eating? And also, ALL I WANT is carbs. I had to fight with myself not to make a biscuit to have with my lean beef and green beans for dinner tonight. And I had a York peppermint patty, but that wasn't enough. So I ripped open a bag of the tiny size Reese's cups and ate half before pouring the rest out into the trash.
I guess I just have to go cold turkey. Back to my normal diet, with absolutely zero slip-ups for a couple days to get the taste of peanut butter and chocolate out of my mind, huh?
Why does it have to be so hard?
So here's the deal. I'm going to make myself tell you guys EVERYTHING I eat from now until Friday night. Hopefully, three days of detoxing will help me. I also think I need to weigh in on Saturday. I was debating it, because I know I'll be up, but I think I might need the jolt of SEEING the number on the scale higher than it has been.
So (gulp), here we go:
Breakfast: 1/2 cup Fiber One cereal, 1/2 cup skim milk, blueberries
AM Snack: 12 almonds, pear
Lunch: Gorton's tilapia, sweet potato pinwheels, cucumbers, tomatoes, 1/2 boiled egg, and 2 tbs Ken's Light Ranch dressing. After that came some random stress eating, where I popped two Baby Ruth bars and three Butterfinger bars, but not the normal sized ones. The teeny tiniest ones. But STILL!
PM Snack: Apple, protein drink
Dinner: Lean beef, green beans, grape tomatoes, York peppermint patty, 1/2 snack bag of Reese's peanut butter cup minis.
See? A lot of what I eat is decent. I just have to somehow avoid the chocolate. Any ideas to help?
***
What do you find so hard to refrain from eating in your daily life?
Monday, March 12, 2012
Confessions of a (Lazy) Runner
Okay, I have to confess something.
My name is Amanda... and I'm a lazy runner.
I can run through a lot. I will run when I'm mentally tired, and I will run when I have a headache. I will run through 90+ degree heat, and I will run in 30 degree cold. I will run if I don't want to, and I will run when I'm feeling sick. However, I will NOT run if my sleep has been compromised! I posted a few weeks ago about a night of tornado warnings, and how a lack of sleep kept me from running that next day. Well, thankfully, last night was much less scary and dramatic, but I didn't sleep very much. Therefore, no run this morning. :)
Some friends of mine and I got together last night for pizza, beer, and birthday cake. I mean, does it get any better than that?!? Also, I love stretching out birthday fun for a week! We ate until we were stuffed, sat around and laughed, played games... Just an all around good girls night.
I have a total love affair with Publix marble cake with buttercream frosting. YUM!
Even though I got home at 12:30ish last night, the REAL reason I didn't sleep so much is this:
Everybody, meet my little brother, Casper. I'm puppysitting while my parents are on a two week cruise to the Caribbean (rough life they lead, huh?). Casper has stayed with me before, but it never fails. The first night he stays with me, he yelps and whines and barks his way through the night. He would be much more silent if I let him sleep upstairs with me, but I have my own little one that wouldn't much like that:
This is Fitzy. He's a 17-year-old half Himalayan, half Ragdoll cat. And he's my baby. He's been an only child for 17 years, so to get used to having a dog in the house, is not working out so well. So in my two story house, Casper gets the downstairs when he visits, and Fitzy stays upstairs. No mixing of the two!
Aside from pet drama, it's been a pretty relaxing weekend. Hit up the grocery store, and I realized that my purchases over the last 6 months are so different from before. Before I really began thinking a lot about what I ate, I bought all sorts of "diet" food - reduced fat Cheezits, Diet Coke, Snackwell cookies, Weight Watchers pizzas, etc. It was like I hadn't yet resigned myself to the fact that I had to eat well, so I made myself feel better with diet versions of foods I love (chips, sodas, cookies, pizzas). Now, however, it's a little more nutritious, and a little more boring, not gonna lie. :)
This is an average haul for me: blueberries, grilled tilapia, tuna fish, organic milk, chicken cutlets, asparagus, sweet potatoes, part skim mozzarella, pears, apples, zucchini, and yes, even a bag of prunes! I worried I might have to prove that I'm a elderly lady just to be able to buy the prunes, but luckily, the cashier took the streaks of grey in my hair (come on, I teach elementary special education, of COURSE I have grey hair!) as proof enough.
That was about the only productive thing I did yesterday and today. Today, I am super sore from a workout yesterday morning. It took me about 20 minutes and I am feeling it today! (Click HERE to go the BodyRock site and check out some workouts for yourself!)
Yesterday's workout had 3 parts to it. Parts 1 & 2 were 12 intervals of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, with two exercises that I went back and forth for:
Part 1:
1) Jump Mat Pushups -- Get in a push-up position. Keeping upper body still, jump with your feet together to the right until the balls of your feet land near your right elbow off the side of your mat. Then back to center, then to the left, then back to center. Do a pushup and repeat the jumpings.
2) Pushup Toe Touch - Get into position and complete a push-up. Then bring your left leg underneath your body (still planking!) and touch with your right hand and return to start. Do another pushup, then touch your right toe with your left hand.
(Great workouts for upper body strength, but also for core stability)
Part 2:
1) Squat Jump Clean & Press: Squat down and jump up. As you land, reach down and pick up kettlebells. As you move to a standing position, lift the kettlebells up and over your head. Squat back down to put the kettlebells back on the floor, immediately do a squat jump and start back over.
2) Switch Lunge Kick - Get into a lunge position, but bend over and put your hands flat on the floor. Do a small jump lunge and switch the legs, but keep your hands on the floor. Rise up and kick up the back leg and meet with the opposite hand. (There are better explanations and pictures and video on the BodyRock site!)
Part 3 -- All ab work. I set my timer for 50 seconds work and 10 seconds rest, for 8 rounds.
1) Plank Toe Touch on Ball - Get into a plank position, with your feet resting on an exercise ball. Using your core muscles to keep you balances, slowly lower one leg off the side of the ball so your toes touch the ground. Return to the ball and lower the other leg. Do as many as you can in 50 seconds.
2) Reverse Curl & Stand - Lying on your back, do a reverse curl (lift your legs in the air and use your ab muscles to lift your butt off the ground an inch or so). As you come back down, use your core muscles to help your legs drive you to a standing position without using your hands. Sit back down without hands and rock back into a reverse curl. Continue for 50 seconds. (Think about Turkish get-ups when you do these!)
3) Plank - Hold a plank position for 50 seconds
4) Ball leg Lift - Use a stability ball to balance yourself. Lift your arms over your head and grasp a doorjamb to help maintain balance. Lift and lower your extended legs, using your core muscles to maintain balance. I promise you, 50 seconds is not a lot of time, but you will think it is during this exercise!
The rest of the day involves napping with Casper, cuddling the kitty to reassure him that he's still my favorite, and watching a lot of TV. No work for this teacher today - gotta love furlough days. Woot woot for unpaid days off!
***
What, if anything, keeps YOU from a scheduled run? Weather? Illness? Moods? Come on, you can tell me!
My name is Amanda... and I'm a lazy runner.
I can run through a lot. I will run when I'm mentally tired, and I will run when I have a headache. I will run through 90+ degree heat, and I will run in 30 degree cold. I will run if I don't want to, and I will run when I'm feeling sick. However, I will NOT run if my sleep has been compromised! I posted a few weeks ago about a night of tornado warnings, and how a lack of sleep kept me from running that next day. Well, thankfully, last night was much less scary and dramatic, but I didn't sleep very much. Therefore, no run this morning. :)
Some friends of mine and I got together last night for pizza, beer, and birthday cake. I mean, does it get any better than that?!? Also, I love stretching out birthday fun for a week! We ate until we were stuffed, sat around and laughed, played games... Just an all around good girls night.
Even though I got home at 12:30ish last night, the REAL reason I didn't sleep so much is this:
Aside from pet drama, it's been a pretty relaxing weekend. Hit up the grocery store, and I realized that my purchases over the last 6 months are so different from before. Before I really began thinking a lot about what I ate, I bought all sorts of "diet" food - reduced fat Cheezits, Diet Coke, Snackwell cookies, Weight Watchers pizzas, etc. It was like I hadn't yet resigned myself to the fact that I had to eat well, so I made myself feel better with diet versions of foods I love (chips, sodas, cookies, pizzas). Now, however, it's a little more nutritious, and a little more boring, not gonna lie. :)
That was about the only productive thing I did yesterday and today. Today, I am super sore from a workout yesterday morning. It took me about 20 minutes and I am feeling it today! (Click HERE to go the BodyRock site and check out some workouts for yourself!)
Yesterday's workout had 3 parts to it. Parts 1 & 2 were 12 intervals of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, with two exercises that I went back and forth for:
Part 1:
1) Jump Mat Pushups -- Get in a push-up position. Keeping upper body still, jump with your feet together to the right until the balls of your feet land near your right elbow off the side of your mat. Then back to center, then to the left, then back to center. Do a pushup and repeat the jumpings.
2) Pushup Toe Touch - Get into position and complete a push-up. Then bring your left leg underneath your body (still planking!) and touch with your right hand and return to start. Do another pushup, then touch your right toe with your left hand.
(Great workouts for upper body strength, but also for core stability)
Part 2:
1) Squat Jump Clean & Press: Squat down and jump up. As you land, reach down and pick up kettlebells. As you move to a standing position, lift the kettlebells up and over your head. Squat back down to put the kettlebells back on the floor, immediately do a squat jump and start back over.
2) Switch Lunge Kick - Get into a lunge position, but bend over and put your hands flat on the floor. Do a small jump lunge and switch the legs, but keep your hands on the floor. Rise up and kick up the back leg and meet with the opposite hand. (There are better explanations and pictures and video on the BodyRock site!)
Part 3 -- All ab work. I set my timer for 50 seconds work and 10 seconds rest, for 8 rounds.
1) Plank Toe Touch on Ball - Get into a plank position, with your feet resting on an exercise ball. Using your core muscles to keep you balances, slowly lower one leg off the side of the ball so your toes touch the ground. Return to the ball and lower the other leg. Do as many as you can in 50 seconds.
2) Reverse Curl & Stand - Lying on your back, do a reverse curl (lift your legs in the air and use your ab muscles to lift your butt off the ground an inch or so). As you come back down, use your core muscles to help your legs drive you to a standing position without using your hands. Sit back down without hands and rock back into a reverse curl. Continue for 50 seconds. (Think about Turkish get-ups when you do these!)
3) Plank - Hold a plank position for 50 seconds
4) Ball leg Lift - Use a stability ball to balance yourself. Lift your arms over your head and grasp a doorjamb to help maintain balance. Lift and lower your extended legs, using your core muscles to maintain balance. I promise you, 50 seconds is not a lot of time, but you will think it is during this exercise!
The rest of the day involves napping with Casper, cuddling the kitty to reassure him that he's still my favorite, and watching a lot of TV. No work for this teacher today - gotta love furlough days. Woot woot for unpaid days off!
***
What, if anything, keeps YOU from a scheduled run? Weather? Illness? Moods? Come on, you can tell me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
