One Week Down, Seven to Go!

Well, day 9 of the challenge and I'm feeling great!  We were kind of all over the place with our meal plan (I bought some bone-in chicken because I couldn't pass up the deal, had to throw out a ton of beef due to freezer burn, etc.) but we made due and ate compliant all week.  I did do some cheating on Saturday with some cheese in a shared restaurant meal and a comfort food feast at a friend's house and I may or may not have had some mimosas since champagne is pretty much mandatory at all my bridal party events ;)  But I got back on track Sunday and did a ton of meal prep to start the week strong!

Eating Paleo was easy compared to the three grueling CrossFit workouts that kicked off the challenge!  Monday's workout was wall balls (throw a medicine ball up a wall, catch it and squat), deadlifts, and box jumps/step ups.  We did 21 of each, then 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3.  We had 18 minutes to complete the workout.  I did this workout at Level III, which is the highest level(!) so for women it was a 14 lbs medicine ball, a 75 lbs deadlift, and a 20 inch box.  Lurong (100 burpees & 100 kettlebell swings) used to be my most hated CrossFit workout...  but now this workout earned the title!  I am proud to say I finished in 17:08 (many people didn't finish) and then I promptly tossed my cookies, which is a first!  I completely lost my technique on the deadlifts as the workout went on and I paid for it!  My back was in a world of pain.  Thankfully a trip to the chiropractor combined with lots of foam rolling and stretching made it feel better, but I was hurting for an entire week.

Wednesday's workout was fine.

• 10 hang power cleans, 20 meter sprint
• 8 hang power cleans, 40 meter sprint
• 6 hang power cleans, 60 meter sprint
• 4 hang power cleans, 80 meter sprint
• 2 hang power cleans, 100 meter sprint

It had a 5 minute cut off, I finished in 4:18.  I did Level II, which had me cleaning 65 lbs.  It was a sprint, it left me winded, but nothing like Monday!

Friday was Lurong and I was dreading it.  Last time I completed the workout in 15:18, so I didn't expect to finish within the 12 minute cutoff time.  I was swinging a 26 lbs kettlebell (Level II).  I ended up completing 183 reps, so close!  I felt beat afterwards, but nothing like last time.  Yay for getting stronger!

We will do these three workouts again at the end of the challenge to see if we improved.  I am NOT looking forward to doing that first workout again!  I guess if I don't hurl afterwards, I'll know that I've improved.

This week kicked off with some snatching. 

I'd recommend turning your volume down for the video.

It was only my second time snatching and we were trying to max out.  I lifted 65 lbs, skipped 70 since I ran out of time, and went for 75 twice without success.  I was so close but I just couldn't get it up!  So frustrating.  The WOD was 7 rounds of 5 snatch, 10 sit ups, 200 meter run.  I snatched 45 lbs and it was pretty tough, but I focused on my form and finished in 19:15.  My shins are super bruised, but I guess that means I kept the bar close to my body, like I'm supposed to!

I did make a meal plan for the week... perhaps I'll get a chance to post it before the week is over.

What's the most intense workout you've ever done?

Making It Happen

Before the race I was going to bed early, scheduling my workouts and making them happen, and just in more of a routine in general.  Without the race and a training schedule, I am missing that drive of accomplishing a set goal and thus not taking care of myself in some of the ways that I need to be.  Time to reboot!

Running

I love running, but not so much when it's 90 degrees outside.  I miss those perfect spring days in 50s and 60s.  Heck, I'd even take the 40s over the heat!  So what's a girl to do?

Hit the trail early!  The temps are cooler.  Doing my workout first thing in the morning would get it out of the way.  I'd have an incentive to go to bed early.  Isn't working out in the a.m. supposed to give you more energy too?

Check the forecast.  I could stalk the weather and look for cooler days.  I could try and schedule runs during rainstorms, my Garmin is waterproof after all!

Suck it up.  I could just go do it.  I see people running in the park when it's 95 degrees out and think, why?!  I should switch up my mentality and say, that girl is a boss, weather doesn't define her workout.  I just need to add some extra hydration, walk breaks as needed, and a "I don't care what I look like running in this sports bra, it's too hot for a shirt" attitude and I'll be all set.

Other Workouts

Remember that Groupon?  Well it's now or never, so looks like it's now!  I'm looking forward to trying hot yoga and zumba both for the first time.  I'm a little nervous about doing yoga in an organized setting (as opposed to my living room where I do whatever stretches I feel like when I get bored with what they're doing on the video), but I'm sure I'll be fine.  I'm super pumped for zumba because I think it's going to be right up my alley since I love to dance and I like learning choreography.

Let's raid my parents' garage!  There's a bike that's been chilling in the garage for years, I've been eyed it up and my neighbor conveniently works at a bike shop.  I'm going to see if the bike is still worth fixing and if not, maybe I'll craigslist it up.  Despite my last bike ride involving me feeling like I was going to get run over and jumping off into someone's yard, I would love to get some bike rides in my life.  On a trail, no roads with cars...

Goals

I'm obviously more focused with a big long term goal.  But I don't have one right now!  I was supposed to run a 5K this Saturday and I was supposed to do some speed training so I could kill it and maybe even PR.  Alas, I have not been running for the past 2 weeks and while I could run the race, I feel like it'd sort of just be a waste of money since I didn't prepare like I wanted to.  Races are expensive!  I am definitely running a 5K on Wednesday July 11th, so for the next 2 weeks I'll be training!  I miss my weekly workout goals.

7/1 - 7/7
- Run 3 times, any distance, 1 speed workout
- Arms & abs twice

Another goal I have is to carve out some time for writing blog posts!  I love this blog and I hate that I haven't had time to post regularly!  I have some awesome pictures that I still need to share and posting my workouts here definitely keeps me accountable!

Well, tomorrow is Friday, Dave's bday is Saturday, and I have one fun filled weekend ahead of me!

Does the summer scramble your schedule?  How do you beat the heat?

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?

Better Than Nothing Workout

I hope Santa treated you well this Christmas.  I'm feeling very blessed.

After eating myself silly for the past week or so, I really wanted to get myself moving today.  So Dave and I took Puddin' for a nice afternoon walk in the park.  I was feeling inspired on our walk, but shortly after I found myself cuddling a certain pooch on the couch and not wanting to move.  Cue internet inspiration.  I signed on to pinterest and saw this:

(source)

Have you ever heard of bodyrock tv?  It has a ton of workouts, including ones you can do in your living room with no equipment.  I modified this workout to my liking.

8 Minute Interval Workout

20 sec - Mountain Climbers
10 sec - Rest
20 sec - Jump switch lunges
10 sec - Rest
Repeat for 4 times, 4 minutes total.

Rest for 1 minute. 

20 sec - Push-ups
10 sec - Rest
20 sec - Planks
10 sec - Rest
Repeat for 4 times, 4 minutes total.

8 minutes later, you will be sweaty and feeling it!  This may be my new favorite way to workout.  It's very easy to keep going when you know you'll be done so soon.  I used an online timer to keep track of my intervals.  I had trouble making it through some of the intervals, but I pushed myself and I have room for measurable improvement.

What is your favorite living room exercise?

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?

Better Than Nothing

I believe something is better than nothing.  A better than nothing workout.  A better than nothing dog walk.  A better than nothing house cleaning.  Sometimes things get pushed off because they seem like such large tasks, but I believe putting a few minutes into something is better than nothing!

Wednesday's Workout:

Better than nothing arms lifting sesh in my room with my 10 pounders - 15 minutes

- Bicep curls
- Shoulder press
- Lateral raises
- One arm row
- Tricep kickbacks
- Tricep extension
- Upright row
Check out this website if you ever need any idea of what to do with your dumbbells!  I love the little animations when you roll over each exercise.  I don't know how many reps of each, usually somewhere between 8 and 15.  It depends on the exercise because some are easy with that weight, some are really hard.  I usually just try to push myself until I'm tired and then I'll do 2 or 3 sets.  I also did some push ups, tricep dips, and a little step work between to get my heart pumping.  It sounds like a lot now that I typed it all out, but I just busted it out quick and was glad that I did something!

Tonight's Workout:
2.5 mi run - 25 minutes
I didn't walk at all!  There's no shame in doing a walk/run mix, and I actually prefer that on the treadmill, gotta love those intervals.  But, I haven't done a run without walk breaks in a while, and it was pretty quick.  I was flying in the beginning, slowed way down when I had to run up a hill in the middle, and then I really pushed myself at the end.  I did sorta feel like I was going to vom my Chipotle in the seconds after I finished (tmi?), but the feeling quickly passed and I was just so proud of actually pushing myself!

This weekend my cheerleaders have their first competition.  Tonight, their last practice before comp, they looked the best they have yet... and one of our flyers broke her ankle.  It was on such a routine stunt, she just rolled her ankle and bam.  I always heard about this stuff happening to other squads, and now in my 11th year of coaching, here we are.  It is what it is, the girls will perform everything as is, with her group just marking through their stunts (what else can we do?  I'm not changing their routine in the parking lot before they go on!) but it is such a major bummer.

Anyway, tomorrow is FRIDAY.  Thank goodness!  My weekend will involve a hair curling party for my girls, their competition, a ladies night with some dinner and vino, and a relaxing Sunday.  Oh and I can't forget to spend my 30 bucks of Kohl's cash that expires this weekend!  Win.

Happy Almost Friday :)

Do you do any tasks with a better than nothing mentality?

Feeling Inspired!

I always try to eat pretty healthy, but I really tried to clean things up when I was sick.  I loaded up on veggies and fruit, chugged OJ like it was my job, and even took a multivitamin.  And had one of these bad boys:

This green monster was composed of two frozen bananas, a little bit of berry smoothie mix, a nice handful of spinach, some OJ, ice, and amazing grass.  My sister had the grass and I thought, hey if I can't ever taste the spinach then why not just throw some of this in there.  It didn't ruin the smoothie or anything but it was definitely not as sneaky as the spinach!  And PS the pattern of the glass makes this one look extra gross, oops.

I really believe my diet was the reason I didn't feel bad while I had my cold.  I definitely had all the symptoms of a cold, but I never got that super sluggish body ache.  Since then I've been inspired.  I went to the grocery store after work yesterday and left with some produce, some Chobani, and some healthy snacks to bring to work.  Before bed I cooked up some of the veggies for today's epic lunch.  I made a sandwich with peppers, onions, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, avocado, a little cheddar, and some red hot.  It was amazing!  And I made enough veggies to eat it again later in the week.

And my clean eating quest continued today when I took my first trip to the one and only...

I was excited to check it out because I had wanted to go there for a while but it just never happened.  My excitement was confirmed when I saw this outside...

Trader Joe's was hopping.  I did some laps around the smallish store while checking everything out and trying to find everything I was looking for.  Two different employees stopped to help me out without me even asking and I got a free reusable grocery bag when I told the cashier it was my first time here.  Tonight's dinner was Trader Joe's heat and eat falafel's.

We stuffed ours in some wheat pitas with some feta, hummus, tzatziki sauce, cucumber, tomato, and lettuce.  I thought it was super delicious but Dave wasn't quite as excited about it.  I think he would've preferred some gyro meat, but I'm glad he's always down to try new things, and I don't think he completely hated it.  On a side note, I ate meatless today, yay.

My motivation continued with a trip to the gym last night after coaching.  My friend Tami just got a membership to good old Planet Fitness and wanted me to show her the machines in the circuit.

Monday's Workout:

1.75 mi walk/run on the treadmill - 22 minutes

Machines in the circuit plus step work in between - 35 minutes

Abductor and adductor machines - 5 minutes

Stretch - 5 minutes

I felt so great leaving the gym, I will definitely be going back tomorrow or Thursday night.  Or maybe even both!  Yeah we'll see about that one haha.  Tonight is movie night, watching Easy A with the boyfriend.  Goodnight!

Do you share my love for Trader Joe's?

Work, Weekend, Workout

Well, week one of my new job is in the books!  It went really well.  I like my coworkers, I love that I have my own cubical (maybe I'll hate that later?), and it's just so nice to be back to work.  I did not enjoy getting up so early and feeling majorly exhausted, but I'll definitely be feeling better once I'm used to it!  Working also makes me appreciate the weekend a lot more.

Friday night Dave and I started with happy hour at the Firehouse and then we went out for sushi!  We checked out a restaurant in Berwyn called the Lotus Inn.  When we drove up to it, I wasn't sure what to expect because it was in a strip mall and had a hideous flashing neon open sign.  The inside was a complete surprise when we walking into a beautifully decorated, candlelit restaurant.

We ordered 4 rolls to split, 2 simple and 2 of the fancy rolls.  We got a spicy tuna roll and an eel roll to make up the simple portion of the meal.  And the specialty rolls were a spiderman roll (yes spiderman hehe) and a tiger roll.  Honestly I really couldn't tell you what was in those two rolls if my life depended on it, they were both pretty tasty, but the crunchy fish eggs on top didn't really float my boat.

Afterwards we met up with some friends to  grab a drink at the Iron Hill Brewery in Phoenixville.  I tried out their chocolate weiss, which was a little intense but tasty.

My Saturday was spent doing a little shopping, coaching my girls at their football game, and watching the Phils clinch the division!  Today has been an overall lazy day, except I made it to the gym for the first time this week.  Once I'm used to my schedule, I'll definitely be making more gym appearances, but I was glad I got a workout in today.

Today's workout:
Intervals on the arc trainer - 40 minutes
Strength training legs - 20 minutes
2.5 mi walk & talk with my friend Tami

The arc trainer kicked my butt.  I picked some program called intervals 1:1 and chose level 5.  This turned into alternating between resistance 40 and 65.  I would usually use this machine at resistance between 20 and 30, so this workout kicked my butt!  I felt completely winded after every interval at 65!  It felt good to push myself.  I only selected 20 minutes for that portion, but then I didn't want to get off the machine so I switched over to manual and did another 20 minutes between 20 and 25 but with a super high incline so it was like doing high knees the entire time.  After the gym I realized how much I wanted to be outside since it was so gorgeous out so I called Tami and we got to catch up while enjoying the weather.  Yay for walking dates with a friend.

Fall certainly has arrived!  This week was significantly colder and I love these temps... and football.  Well off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday, my mom, my sister and I are doing a girls night at Red Lobster.  Endless shrimp, here I come!

When do you find time to workout with your job?  Do you get up early and go before or try to keep your motivation going after you're done work?

Exercise, Shoes, and Day 1

For the record... I did go on the run I said I would on Thursday.

Thursday's workout:
2 mi walk/run on the treadmill - 23 mins

Friday's workout:
Walk the pooch - 20 min

I got some more exercise Friday by walking the mall!  Since I've been jobless, I've been trying to live extra frugal so I haven't really been shopping.  But now I know there's a paycheck in my future so I went out and spent some moolah on myself.  My loot included a pair of jeans and a plain brown T - trying to stock up on some basics.And then there was DSW...

If you've never been there, please remedy this ASAP!  It is an amazing place.  Friday I skipped browsing the rest of the store and headed straight back to the clearance.  I left with a pair of brown tweed flats (hello office chic) and a pair of Adidas sneaks.  I didn't even know DSW sold sneakers but here these were in the clearance section for less than $50!



They are Adidas Oscillation sneaks, and definitely the closest I've come to a minimalist shoes... they feel completely different from my old ultra padded Nikes.  They are so lightweight and let my feet breathe.  I love them so far.

Anyway the rest of the weekend I was a lump exercise wise aside from walking Dave's parents' saint bernard!  I guess I was just trying enjoy the calm before the storm.  I started my new job today and it went really well but I am soooo overdone and exhausted.  I need to get back into a real schedule and get to bed way earlier.  On that note, I'm off to bed... more on my new job later!

Do you stay true to one sneaker brand or do you bounce around?

Workouts & Big News

So one the original reasons I started this blog was to hold myself accountable for my workouts and healthy eating.  I've been slacking on that... just a little bit...

Today's Workout:
Walked Puddin' - 15 mins
Strength Training (Arms) - 20 mins
Abs and Back - 20 mins
Elliptical - 10 mins

I probably burned some more calories helping various groups at cheer practice, but we'll just count that as a bonus.  Tomorrow I'm planning a morning run.  Now it's in writing, I gotta do it!

I have BIG news!  I received a verbal job offer today!  I should be getting an email with the formal offer tomorrow.  Yay!  I'm so excited.  And I'll be making a significant amount more than my last job, so I guess everything does happen for a reason.  I may be starting as early as Monday!  I'm definitely excited to get back to work and back into more of a schedule, but I'm really not looking forward to getting up early.  I think I'll survive.

Do you have any waking up tips?  How do you keep your health habits in check?