Gym Dilemma

Before I joined the Y, I was looking at a lot of gym options.  We used to belong to a small 24 hour good enough for the average joe gym and I was considering rejoining based on the fairly cheap cost of $40/month, guests always allowed.  I was also doing a lot of research on CrossFit.  I’ve been reading a couple of different Paleo blogs and CrossFit seems to be a favorite in that community.  What I’ve read online is that people compare it to an adult team sport, where you have a coach and everyone cheers you on and calls you if you miss “practice.”  It’s a quick but super intense workout and people get obsessed with it.  It’s right up my alley.

Oh and it only costs $119/month for 2 workouts a week!  Eek.  I don’t know about you, but that’s a bit much for me.  My beloved Planet Fitness, only a 1-2 minute ride from my parents’ house, cost me 10 whopping dollars per month!  It spoiled me.  We ended up settling on the YMCA at $89/month for Dave and I with access to an awesome weight room, multiple pools, free classes, and more.  And I love it.  I’ve been going a few times a week, which makes me feel like I’m getting a jump on making it a habit before the new year.  I’ve run some laps and sprints around the indoor track, taken advantage of the variety of cardio machines, and started to navigate the weight room.

And then the LivingSocial deal I’ve been hoping would come along pops up: a deal for CrossFit Valley Forge offering the Four-Class On-Ramp Course (required for you to learn all the fundamental movements) for $49 (a $160 value), only a few weeks late!  I love LivingSocial and Groupon and I get a ton of awesome deals, this would’ve been a no brainer before I signed up for the Y, but I debated for a few days.  I feel like I have so much already going on: an upcoming yoga groupon, the membership at the Y, a cheer practice once a week starting in February, and volleyball.  Oh my that’s a lot typing it all out…

But then I went for it!  I just couldn’t pass this up!  And I bought Dave one too, he’s not super excited about it (yet?) but he agreed to go along.  What a good boyfriend.  I figure that we’ll take the classes and we’ll either say “wow this is awesome, I need to be a part of this!” or “that’s not for me, but now I can do all the moves they taught me at the Y.”  I think it’s a win win.

I don’t know, I’ve been thinking about really committing to the Paleo lifestyle, but I’ve been sort of lurking online just taking it all in.  We’ve definitely been eating closer and closer to the guidelines of it (meats, veggies, oils, fruits, and nuts, no grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and all processed foods), but the holidays were indulgent and now I feel bloated and I can feel the difference in my energy.  Giving CrossFit a try along with the motivation of the new year may be the push I need to take the next step in my food journey!  But that’s a whole other post.

Tomorrow is Friday, yay!

Do you think I’m crazy for buying the deal?  Do you like to try out different gyms and classes?

Gym Time!

I am officially a member of my local YMCA!

(source) 

It's no secret I've been losing my running mojo for a while now and after the 10K, I decided I was pretty much over it.  Don't get me wrong, training for my half marathon was great.  I really enjoyed running at the time and I'm so proud of myself.  But now I'm ready for the next chapter!

I've totally been craving the gym.  Although I can do plenty of workouts at home in my living room, the gym setting really motivates me.  If I'm at home, I can do 5 minutes and then get distracted and quit.  When I'm at the gym, I feel compelled to get something done.  If I made it there, I might as well make the most out of my time.  I also enjoy the people watching aspect (need to get better at not getting caught though, commence awkward eye contact!) and watching other people get their sweat on makes me want to do more.

Plus there's such a variety offered to me in a gym setting.  The YMCA offers a weight room, two indoor tracks, two indoor pools, and a variety of classes.  I need to decide which class(es) I want to sign up for for the new year!  They offer a ton, some of which are free and some of which aren't.  We'll see but I do have my eye on a kickboxing class.

Last night I got to do somethings I haven't done in a while including bench press and some
assisted pull ups. One day I will do multiple assisted pull ups, one day! Today I'm sore and it
feels great!

Do you enjoy going to the gym?

Half Marathon Training: Week 6

Week 6:

- Monday, 7 mi on the bike in 40 min, 30 push-ups, 100 mountain climbers, lots of stretching
- Tuesday, 2 mi around my neighborhood, 23 min

- Saturday, 30 minute dog walk, 10 minute treadmill walk, mixed interval workouts
- Total Mileage = 2 mi

What a bummer!  As I mentioned, I am currently taking some time to let my hip rest and hopefully avoid a serious injury.  I will be so disappointed if this hip thing stops me from running the half, but I'm hoping it won't come to that and I'm going to think positive!  It's still so far away so I can't worry yet.

Yesterday Dave and I had a full to-do list, so we decided to fit in a better than nothing workout.  I did a bunch of different things, alternating between two moves for some interval sets.

Alternating Interval Workout

Push-ups 3 sets of 10
Mountain climbers 3 sets of 30

Assisted dips 3 sets of 10
Calf raises 3 sets of 30

Alternating sides bicep curls 3 sets of 20 (10 on each side)
High knees 3 sets of 30

Straight arm raises alternating between in front and out to the sides 3 sets of 20 (10 each way)
Planks 3 sets of 30 seconds

My calves are so sore today!  And guess what I found at Dave's gym... a foam roller!  I did some rolling on my hips, legs, and lower back and it was awesome.  The roller was a lot harder than I expected it to be, which makes sense, because if it was soft I guess it wouldn't be very effective!

My goals for this week are to not be a lazy bum and still workout at least three times this week.  I also want to buy a foam roller, learn more about rolling, and put that baby into action on my body.  My last goal is to stretch at least four times and do some type of yoga.

Do you like interval workouts?  What are your favorite things to do in intervals?

Retail Therapy, Healthy Habits, & Something Shocking

Hello!  Happy gloomsday Tuesday!  It was a cold and rainy one here, but nothing a little retail therapy couldn't fix!  I stopped at Old Navy on my way home because I knew they were having a sale on all of their activewear.  I never really understood the importance of special running clothes, but now that I'm running three times a week I've really started to notice how much my shorts are riding up my crotch while I'm on the treadmill (tmi?)... like running itself wasn't enough to endure!

So I picked up 3 pairs of compression tights one pair was $15, the other two were each $19.50.  One of the pairs was originally sold for 45 bucks!  I win.

I also got a pair of capri yoga pants for $12.50 and a super comfy sweatshirt for $6.64.  Six dollars people!

And this shirt was $3.84, I couldn't resist!

And after my shopping trip, I headed to good old Globo Gym (aka Planet Fitness) to get in my run.

Today's workout:
1.5 mi on the treadmill, 14:15 min
5.40 mi on the bike, 15 min

I felt so great during my run!  I really pushed the pace because the run was short and I definitely had to be my own cheerleader in my head to keep up, but I realized that my legs felt good and I didn't get a side stitch or anything, so it was really just a mental game with myself.  I've read blogs saying long distance running is definitely mental, so hopefully I can keep the positive vibes going in my head!

This week has been a pretty healthy one.  I played some volleyball last night at Dave's church, yay for cross training.  I also made enough Green Monster to have some as a post volleyball treat and for bfast today and tomorrow.  This one contained some fresh strawberries, a banana, some orange/strawberry/banana juice, some ice, and some spinach of course.

I know, I know... it looks gross, but yum!

I even had a salad for dinner after the gym!  And guess what I did...

I tried tofu and LIKED IT.  I ordered a veggie saute at an Asian restaurant not realizing it included tofu.  So when the dish came and the little chunks of tofu were staring back at me, I decided I would at least try it.  I was shocked!  I never thought I'd like tofu, I thought it was something only those crazy vegetarians ate, I thought it would be gross.  But it was good, it was creamy and took on the taste of the sauce, and I liked it.  Who am I?????

What's something you thought "wasn't for you" until you tried it?

Well, hello there 50th post, I thought we'd never meet.

I had plans to write an epic post for my 50th and then I was super busy all week and just never got around to posting at all.  It's definitely a busy time of year.

This week involved some Christmas shopping on Monday, Tuesday was a dentist appointment in Northeast Philly and some lounging for the rest of the night.  Wednesday Heather and I met up for a gym date!  You can read the recap on her blog.  It was so much easier to get motivated with a gym buddy.  We decided to do Melt It Mondays and meet up every Monday night, hopefully we can get in the groove and then add more days after the holidays, but I'm excited about our planned dates.

Thursday night Dave and I headed down to AC for a fun night out!  Yay for comped rooms!  We didn't want to spend money on an overpriced late night dinner when we got there, we just wanted to start drinking and enjoying our night, so we stopped and grabbed some Chipotle on the way down.  When we got there we checked into our room, enjoyed some cocktails, and watched the end of the Flyer's game on the huge flat screen in our room.  The rest of our night consisted of realizing how much I hate slots, getting rocked in black jack, and doing pretty well in my new favorite game, pai gow.  Oh and lots of free cocktails.

We stayed up till 4 am, which is pretty remarkable for us these days.  But that didn't stop us from getting up for the breakfast buffet and when we woke up we realized what a great view we had.

After the breakfast buffet we had one more thing to do before we left AC.

The pool and my poolside strawberry daiquiri with whipped cream were the best way to end our little trip.  Overall we didn't spend a fortune and we had a great time!

The weekend continued with a Friday night happy hour that was a reunion with my old coworkers.  A lot of people came out and it was great to see everyone.  Needless to say, bedtime came early on Friday.  Saturday was a ladies day since Dave went to the Flyers game.  We did some crafting, gossiping, and watched some Say Yes to the Dress.  Saturday night was a neighbor's holiday party with the most amazing spread of delicious food.  Sunday was a bridesmaid planning brunch for all of us in Heather's bridal party.  The brunch was hosted by my friend Leah and involved homemade granola and a delicious veggie fritatta.  I need to get the granola recipe from Leah because you need it in your life.  The day was filled out with lots of football upsets and an early Christmas celebration with Dave's dad's side of the family.  So many delicious feasts, and many more to come!  Planet Fitness, see you tomorrow!  I still have a lot to do before Christmas but yay for a short week!

Are you ready for Christmas?  How do you keep your holiday feasting under control?

It's beginning to look a lot like...

I'm getting so pumped for Christmas!  It's even making me channel my inner Martha Stuart.  Check out my Jo-Ann Fabrics + Dollar Store creation!

This is my kind of craft... something cheap that takes no skill whatsoever, win.  I think they came out great.  Simple and festive.

We'll see how crafty I feel after I attempt to make the wreath that I have all the supplies for.  Also, I really need to improve my photography skills.  Perhaps a goal for the new year... speaking of goals, I went to the gym tonight!

Today's Workout:

- 25 minutes on the arc trainer, 1:1 interval program

- Lat pull downs

- One arm row

- Tricep kickbacks
- Tricep extensions

- Seated calf extensions
It wasn't the longest workout ever, but I was sweating my butt off and I was definitely feeling it.  Tomorrow = push-ups, maybe even some abs!  Depends how much time I can get on the floor without someone all up in my business....

Is it Friday yet?  I'm always living for the weekend.

Are you crafty?  What's your favorite holiday craft?

Strong Start

Failing to meet my underachieving goal of going to the gym twice a week, on the first week I tried, was awful.  I know I can do better than that.  So this week started strong.

Monday:
Keeping up with the push-up challenge!  On Monday I did them all on my feet, no modified.  I did 25, 10, 12, 12, 15.  So halfway through the month and I'm halfway to my goal!  I think I could've probably done 30 if I was really trying to max out.  I feel like I'm starting to notice a difference in how my arms look too.  I also threw around some of my cheerleaders at their end of the year fun practice.

Tuesday:
Gym date with the boyfriend!
- 10 minutes walking on the treadmill
- Adductor and abductor machines (3 sets of 12 each)
- Squat machine (2 sets of 20), point toes at top to work calfs
- Hanging leg raises for abs, alternating bent knees with pike position (3 sets of 15)
- Some jumping switch lunges (2 sets of 15)
- 20 minutes on the treadmill, 2 miles.  I originally wanted to run a 5K but I was really bored and decided I was just going to do 2 miles.  Since I was planning on running 3 miles I was running at speeds between 5.6 and 6.0, but when I decided to cut my run short I really wanted to finish in 20 minutes.  So I hauled it and kept ramping up my speeds over the last 4 minutes.  I ran the last 2 minutes at 8... which was intense!

I felt great when I finished.

How's your week going?  Did you fit in any workouts?

I fell off the wagon.

...way off.  I haven’t been working out, at all.  I haven’t been eating many veggies or fruit either.  It always starts like this… it’s the weekend I want to eat something that feels like a treat, hello giant burrito with extra sour cream and cheese.  And then I’m going to a bunch of parties… why would I eat from the veggie tray when I could pick from the boneless wings in three different flavors?  And I definitely can’t work out, I’m too busy or I’d rather lay in my bed and relax or it’s snowing.  Worst!

So many B.S. excuses and as always, once I get out of a healthy mindset, it’s so hard to get back into it.  But admitting my problem is the first step, right?  Right.  So it’s a new month and I need to get my butt in gear (especially before the holidays)!  So how am I going to do it?

Exercise

I’m totally paying for a gym membership at Globo Gym (aka Planet Fitness).  I need to get there and get my money’s worth!  I’m making a vow to go twice a week (at least), which doesn’t really sound like much, but it’s way more than I’m going now.

I’m also inspired by Caitlin over at Healthy Tipping Point, she’s doing a November push-up challenge!  When I read about it, I was like yes, this is perfect.  I’m going to aim to do 50 consecutive pushups by the end of the month.  Right now I believe I can do between 15 and 20.   I’m going to follow the plan on http://hundredpushups.com/ and see what I can do.  I think my goal is realistic, but I will definitely have to push myself.  I’m looking forward to some nice guns :)  I’ll keep you guys posted on my progress, anybody want to join me?

Eating

I need to plan ahead!  Bad food choices come from ordering and eating out all the time.  Italian hoagies, giant cheeseburgers, lots of pizza… these things should be special treats, not in the regular line up.  I am vowing to pack my lunch before I go to bed, so I can put together well thought out lunches, as opposed to grabbing whatever is convenient.

I’m also going to take some time to skim through and reread some parts of In Defense of Food.  When I read it for the first time, I felt so inspired to eat more plants and whole foods and less processed junk.  I think revisiting the messages in the book will help.

Tomorrow is Friday.  Thank goodness!  Have a fabulous weekend.

Do you go back and forth with your healthy habits?  How do you make them stick?

Some venting & some yoga.

Things I Hate:

1.  Struggling on a cardio machine at a high resistance while watching the person next to me zoom away at no resistance.  I know I'm getting a better workout, but still annoying.

2.  Hurricane Irene rolling in to ruin my bday weekend at the beach.

3.  Putting away laundry.

4.  Packing & unpacking.

5.  How quickly my phone battery dies.

6.  Applying for jobs.

7.  Randomly heading into a crabby mood.

On the flip side, I got myself back to the gym today for some abs, lunges, and some time on the arc trainer.  I'd been on a slight hiatus and it felt great to go back.  My goal for tomorrow is to head to the gym in the a.m., spend some time on the treadmill and do arms.  I need to stay on track, I hate falling off the wagon!  I also did some living room yoga today after cheer practice.  I love stretching but never really got into yoga, so I googled the 26 Bikram poses and shabam.  It was a good starting point, although I was definitely missing the meditation/relaxation portion since I was doing it in my living room in front of the tv, but a girl's gotta start somewhere!  I definitely want to expand my yoga knowledge and experience.  I need to enlist my sis, she definitely knows a thing or two.

Do you like to do yoga?  Have you ever gone to an organized class?

Womp womp!

Well, I got laid off on Monday, womp womp.  It was definitely unexpected, but at the same time it makes sense.  I had been extremely low on work for the past week or so.  The unexpected part comes from the fact that they were talking about restoring some of our salary that had been cut a few months ago.  Who knows.  Twelve people got cut and five principals are voluntarily leaving.  It was pretty devastating but my mom keeps reminding me everytime this happened to my dad, it always ended up as a positive thing with him liking his new job better or getting a better salary.  My boss told me that it wasn't performance based, that I was such a nice girl, and he'd gladly give me a recommendation.  One door closes, another door opens, right?  At least it's summer...

Puddin' loves adventurin' and stomping around in creeks.

So now that my schedule is wide open I've been hitting the gym every day.  Running really makes me feel better.  Not waking up to an alarm is also a beautiful thing.  And so is having enough time to make my first green monster smoothie.  And yes, they look gross, but they are oh so tasty.

My creation contained a mango Chobani, a handful of strawberries, a banana, spinach, some milk, and ice.  Again, I don't really measure things, I don't think exact measurements are really that important in this recipe anyway.

It was a little less sweet than I cared for so I added a few Stevia in the Raw packets to up the dessert for breakfast factor.  Yum yum yum!  I definitely recommend making this.  You don't taste the spinach and it's such a good way to start the day.

I made a second one with a raspberry Chobani, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, coconut milk, ice, and some more Stevia in the Raw.  It was equally as delicious and equally as gross looking.  Maybe more actually.

I'm sorry for the hiatus I've taken from the blog, really I've been avoiding all computers.  An epic fail on a new recipe didn't help.  I will do better.

Have you ever had something bad turn out to be for the best?

Midweek Happenings

I went to the gym last night, that's right people, twice in one week!  It's a record (well not really but definitely more than I've been going lately).  I hit the treadmill for 32 minutes, doing somewhere between 2 and 2.5 miles, I can't remember.  I did a lot of walking breaks last night, I felt great but my groin muscle (ew?) was feeling really tight with some pain so I wanted to take it easy.

Then Michelle (my sis), Alex (her bf), Nicole (one of my besties), and I went for a Chipotle feast.  I went vegetarian again, this time I got a burrito instead of the bowl though.  Soooooo delicious.  There are so many awesome ingredients that the burrito really isn't any less amazing without the meat.  And again, you can't argue with the free guac that comes with the veggie burrito!

Then we all headed over to Border's and I picked up Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food.  I plan on reading it this weekend at the beach.  And guess what, my mom already stole it from me and is in the process of reading it now.  I'm excited that she's open to hearing more about all of this.

Last night concluded with hanging out with a big group of friends (which also included teaching Heather the proper way to do a squad haha), cleaning my room, prepacking for the weekend, and some random push ups and tricep dips in my bedroom.

Today's eats:

Breakfast - Some strawberry banana Chobani with some fresh strawberries and some chocolate delight granola.  So yummy.  I love the crunch that the granola gives it.

Lunch - Still going with the quinoa salad but added some feta, some more balsamic, and some fresh broccoli from my friends' garden.  I was definitely getting kind of bored with this, but changing it up a little gave me a new appreciation.  I loved the broccoli in it and I also love that it was grown by people I love.  (I thought I took a picture of this but apparently technology failed me.)  I can't wait for more fresh produce from them and some tomatoes and cucumbers from my dad's garden.  I think having a garden would be awesome, but I'm just too lazy busy!  I really need to go on an adventure to the local farmers market!

Tomorrow is Friday, yay!!!!!

Do you grow anything?  Where do you get your produce from?



Healthy Shopping & Some Quinoa

Last night I actually made use of the gym membership I'm paying for (thank goodness I'm only paying Planet Fitness $10 a month btw) and I even convinced my mom to go!  I did a combo of running and walking and did 2.7 miles in 35 minutes.  I took it nice and easy because I'm still trying to let my foot heal.  It has felt pretty good since I gave it a good rest and wore sneakers to work all last week but I'm still avoiding heels and trying to be aware of how it feels.  I also did a few random arm exercises, gotta tone the guns.

After the gym, I went to the grocery store.  It was the first time I ever walked down the organic aisles!  Here's what I got:

Um who am I????  My cart has never looked quite like this!  I went home and sliced up some carrots and cucumber to eat with the veggie dip as a snack and I also made a cold quinoa salad including chopped carrots, squash, zucchini, and cucumber, all covered in some balsamic vinaigrette.  Hello healthy lunch for the week!  I'd never had quinoa before, honestly it doesn't really have much of a taste (what grain does?).  I totally meant to put some feta in it this morning, but I forgot.  Womp womp!

Tonight the bf is taking me out to the Victory Brewery for dinner and some brewskis.  Yay for date nights :)

What's your favorite grain?  Is it tasty by itself?  Do you like quinoa?