November Fitness Plans

So I'm sure you've noticed the lack of running updates on the blog recently... like I told you two weeks ago Dave and I were sick for almost two weeks, he's actually still rocking a cough.  And then the hurricane hit!  We were extremely fortunate during the storm.  We only lost power for a few hours, but my work didn't have power until Friday, so I spent the entire week in vacation mode hanging out with my neighbors watching movies in my pajamas with a cocktail in my hand.  Dave and I were starting to panic since the race was only days away and we hadn't run in weeks, so on Wednesday we forced ourselves to get out of the house and do something productive.

Yes we got our $2 burritos!  And please check out the creeper in the background.  We also went for a 4 mile run!  It involved quite a bit of walking, it didn't feel great, but we got out there and got it done.  A few days later we found out our race was postponed to Sunday, December 2nd due to the effects of the storm, so now we have an additional month to train!  I'm so glad we have extra time and a few of our friends who are signed up for the race had run into a scheduling conflict with the original date, so it actually worked out.  Now if I can just will myself to get out there and run in the winter conditions we're experiencing!  This weekend is supposed to be gorgeous so I need to force myself to take advantage.

In the meantime, Dave and I started the 100 push up challenge!  We even sucked our neighbor into joining us.  After doing the first day of the program, I was so sore, especially in my abs (which surprised me)!  It's getting easier already though, I'll keep you posted on my progress.  We're all using a free app on our phones which is awesome for tracking everything.  Thinking about adding some type of burpee challenge for my push up off days... maybe some burpees in tabata intervals?!  If you didn't know, tabata training is 20 seconds full out then 10 seconds rest for 4 minutes total.  Talk about a quick killer!

We are approaching an extremely indulgent part of the year and I don't know about you, but I want to look good at my holiday parties!  Time to recommit to fitness and make it a habit.  Let's do it!

What are you doing to avoid a holiday season fitness slump?

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?

Please enjoy my random rambling...

Oh Monday, I hate you.

I vowed to go to the gym twice last week and I only got there once.  Fail!  On Tuesday night Dave and I were getting into the car to head to the gym (which would've been my second trip for the week) when a can of bright blue spray paint exploded as he grabbed it out of his jeep.  Worst.  Ever.  It was all over our clothes, his jeep, my purse, we looked like smurfs!  Needless to say, we didn't end up going to the gym.  I was also trying to go on Saturday, but we took the dog for an hour long hike up the mountain since it was so nice out.  Oh well, need to do better this week.

But, I have been keeping up with my push-ups!  I've been trying to do them every other day, but I took Friday as a rest day and did some on Saturday instead.  I can't remember the exact amount I did on Wednesday, but on Saturday I did 21, 12, two sets of 10 on my knees, and then finished with 15 real.  I'm getting there.  They are still feeling pretty hard though, my arms feel like jello when I finish.

My cheerleaders had their last competition this weekend.  They did great but I feel like we were kinda screwed over by some politics within the organization.  It makes me sad that that's even a part of a youth organization that is staffed by volunteers, but some people really just get drunk with power.  And that's what I get for falling in love with a sport that is subjective and based on the judges opinions.

That being said, my schedule just opened up!  Hopefully I can translate at least 2 of the 3 nights that I had cheer practice on to gym nights.  And I can write in my blog more than once a week!  And try new recipes, yay.  But, I did receive an informal job offer at a local cheer gym where I would actually get paid for coaching (I have been a volunteer coach for the past 11 years!), so I need to contemplate how much time I'd like to dedicate to that.  We'll see.

Can anyone else believe Thanksgiving is next week?  And Christmas is lurking too.  I really need to start Christmas shopping!  Holy crap.

 

Ok well, not my most exciting post, but better than nothing :)

Are you ready for the holidays?  Did you start Christmas shopping yet?

Thai Date, Dental Fate

Friday night was a dinner double date with Heather and Ben!

None of us really knew much about Thai food, but we decided to be adventurous and headed to Thai Place in Phoenixville.  My sister told me she loves green curry so much that she can never bring herself to order anything else, so I decided to try it out.  I was hesitant because it was marked with 2 peppers as "medium hot" but I decided to go for it.

Oh. My. God.  It was SO spicy!  It was very tasty but I'm a bit of a wuss and I think I'll be ordering something on the 1 pepper scale next time.

We spent the rest of the evening chilling at Dave's.  Puddin' was being her usual slutty self.

My Saturday kicked off with a huge burrito for breakfast!  Doesn't everyone like Chipotle in the morning????

Yesterday morning I had dental implant surgery.  Once upon a time, Amber was born without the two adult teeth that are just outside of your two front teeth on the top.  Years ago, I was supposed to get both implants at one time but while the dentist was putting in the metal screw that was supposed to be permanently in my mouth for the first implant, it broke.  So a failed surgery that resulted in a bone graft, a successful implant on the other side, and an additional bone graft on the original site later... it was finally time to finish the job.  (I would never wish my dental woes on anybody!)  The surgery was a success!  I was in a little bit of pain yesterday, but nothing some standard painkillers couldn't handle.  I'm not allowed to bite into anything for the next 6 weeks (at least), hence the burrito breakfast!

I literally slept all day, it was glorious.  I love being busy, but I'm really enjoying this weekend of relaxation and recovery.  I have absolutely no plans for today and it feels good.

On a different note, before my Chipotle bfast feast, I managed to sneak in some push-ups!  I started the challenge on Thursday and it made me SO sore!  Yesterday morning I was still feeling some soreness so I tried to get in as many as I could without killing myself.  I've been doing 5 sets, the first 2 as 10 real push ups, the next 2 on my knees doing 7 or 8, and then finishing with a real set of at least 10.  Anybody doing any push-ups with me?

Do you like spicy food?  What's your fave spicy dish?

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?