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June 18, 2013

Morning Workout

Since losing the gym almost three months ago (GASP), I’ve been getting better and better at incorporating at-home workouts several days a week to focus on strength training.  I focus on plyometrics and calisthenics and I’ve definitely been feeling the burn.  This morning, I watched almost 2 episodes of Law & Order SVU while completing the following: 

3 Rounds of: 

10 Left side plank lift

10 Right side plank lift

10 roll ups

20 modified V-ups - (I actually did 20 with my left leg, 20 with my right leg, and then 20 together) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNfe2b88Zgo)

3 Rounds of: 

10 lunge squats (each side)

10 hamstring dips 

3 Rounds of:

10 Vinyasa push ups

 

12 chair dips

3 Rounds of:

8 surfer jumps

8 side lunges with tuck (bring the leg up and tuck the knee, then stretch back out to the lunge)

Felt preetttty good!

Quote
June 17, 2013
1 note
"There was never any evolutionary selection pressure to make us like exercise. If you are a Neanderthal or Homo erectus or an early modern human, you didn’t think, “Gee, I’m going to go for a run so that I’m not going to get depressed.” They had to go long distances every day in order to survive. Not exercising was never an option, so there was never any selection pressure to make people like exercise. On the contrary, there was probably selection to help people avoid needless exercise when they could. Some hunter-gatherers had diets of about 2,200 calories a day. When your energy intake is that low, you can’t afford to go for a jog just for fun."

—

A good read on why we don’t necessarily love exercise, but why we are ALL NATURAL-BORN RUNNERS :) 

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/new_scientist/2013/06/daniel_lieberman_long_distance_running_we_evolved_endurance_and_dislike.html?wpisrc=flyouts

Video
June 12, 2013

So I just found this woman’s blog yesterday… and already I’m really excited about all of the stuff she’s got on there.  I think this fast workout is a great way to incorporate a little cardio with some strength!  And it can be done at home (or, if you live in an apartment like I do, in a park/field/etc.).  I have already completed my workout for today, so I won’t be doing this until tomorrow, but I’m looking forward to it!  Gotta get that bottom bikini-ready!!

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May 02, 2013
Iced. Coffee.  A delicious, delicious treat that I’ve loved basically since before I liked hot coffee.  In high school it was the super sugary DunkinDonuts iced coffees with the bright orange straws that were *so cool* to have as I strolled into my first period class.  In college and law school, it was more of a *I need this to get me through ___*.  But TODAY  I revolutionized the product.  It all started at about 6:19 am, as I laid in bed waiting for my snoozed alarm to start buzzing.  I felt SO tired and had basically promised a good friend that I’d go do sprints at a local college football field.  It’s not a particularly long workout (10 minutes there, 30 minutes of sprints, 10 minutes back home), but my bed just felt SO comfy.  I thought about how a protein shake would probably be the best breakfast after a very long run/walk last night and then this added cardio session.  I also, however, wanted a big glass/cup/mug? of iced coffee.  THEN IT HIT ME.  I have a Keurig (spelling? I’m too lazy to check) and I have ice and I have protein.  LET’S DO THIS!   So, after my workout and shower, I brewed my coffee, let it cool while I got ready, and dumped everything into my cup before screwing on the lid and heading out the door.  It was excellent.  I felt full, energized, and it totally hit the spot (MOCHA PROTEIN SHAKE? Please and thank you).   Anyway, this is basically just one huge bragging post, but I do definitely recommend it to any of you protein shake drinkers (and even those of you who aren’t!) xx

Iced. Coffee.  A delicious, delicious treat that I’ve loved basically since before I liked hot coffee.  In high school it was the super sugary DunkinDonuts iced coffees with the bright orange straws that were *so cool* to have as I strolled into my first period class.  In college and law school, it was more of a *I need this to get me through ___*.  But TODAY  I revolutionized the product.  It all started at about 6:19 am, as I laid in bed waiting for my snoozed alarm to start buzzing.  I felt SO tired and had basically promised a good friend that I’d go do sprints at a local college football field.  It’s not a particularly long workout (10 minutes there, 30 minutes of sprints, 10 minutes back home), but my bed just felt SO comfy.  I thought about how a protein shake would probably be the best breakfast after a very long run/walk last night and then this added cardio session.  I also, however, wanted a big glass/cup/mug? of iced coffee.  THEN IT HIT ME.  I have a Keurig (spelling? I’m too lazy to check) and I have ice and I have protein.  LET’S DO THIS!  

So, after my workout and shower, I brewed my coffee, let it cool while I got ready, and dumped everything into my cup before screwing on the lid and heading out the door. 

It was excellent.  I felt full, energized, and it totally hit the spot (MOCHA PROTEIN SHAKE? Please and thank you).  

Anyway, this is basically just one huge bragging post, but I do definitely recommend it to any of you protein shake drinkers (and even those of you who aren’t!)

xx

Link
April 25, 2013
Ask Well: Double the Workout, Double the Benefits?
Does working out twice as long result in twice the benefits? The Phys Ed columnist Gretchen Reynolds answers readers’ questions.

“Exercise beyond a certain level may even be counterproductive. When researchers tracked 52,000 adults for 15 years, those who ran 5 to 20 miles a week at a fairly pokey pace of about 9 to 10 minutes a mile received the optimal mortality benefits, the study authors write. The fastest runners and those who completed the most miles every week did not live significantly longer, on average, than people who didn’t run at all.”

 

HECK YES.  1. I’m a little offended that the 9-10 min/mile pace is considered “POKEY” by this author BUT 2. I’m decreasing my risk of premature death a HECKUVA lot more than those speedsters out on the National Mall.  SO THERE.  

Link
April 04, 2013
1 note
This woman completed 52 marathons in 52 weeks to raise hope, awareness, and money for pancreatic cancer research.

How inspiring.  The end.

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March 28, 2013

72.5

…the number of miles that I’ve run so far this month.  Laying low at home tonight so that I can pack and organize my life before my trip this weekend, but I feel truly confident that I can hit 90 miles by the end of March… 9 TIME more than February and nearly double what I did in January!  Will bring my 1st quarter average to 50 miles/month… I’ll take it!

I’ll be honest — I haven’t seen much, if any, change in my body despite my increased mileage and healthier (I think?) diet.  I know it takes time, so I’m waiting to see the pants fit a little better.  For now, there is a lot to be said for just feeling stronger and knowing that my endurance is improving.  I’m going to stick to a few circuits at home tonight (including some extra alowwww push-ups…) will post about that tomorrow… 

Until next time, my friends! : ) 

Tags: reachingmygoalsfeelssogood!

Link
March 28, 2013
1 note
"Your Phone vs. Your Heart"

Your heart’s capacity for friendship also obeys the biological law of “use it or lose it.” If you don’t regularly exercise your ability to connect face to face, you’ll eventually find yourself lacking some of the basic biological capacity to do so.

So relevant!!  I want to institute a new rule for myself whereby I don’t touch my phone during meals or other “friend/family/boyfriend” time.  Too often, I find myself scrolling through my newsfeed or someone’s instagram pictures when I should be enjoying someone’s company.  

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March 28, 2013
Day 3— Redux Breakfast: overnight oats with strawberry Fage yogurt, milk, and chia seeds Midmorning snack: banana with peanut butter  Lunch: you guessed it!  lentil soup again! Afternoon snack: Vega bar Dinner: pictured above 3 egg whites + 2 whole eggs + baby spinach and  a tomato, also a sweet potato sliced and roasted with salt and olive oil After workout treat: 1.5 glasses of red wine I told you I was not sticking to this thing 100%!!  I had an opportunity to meet up with one of my very best girlfriends, so I just had to indulge! Last night’s workout? 5.25 miles on the treadmill.  I didn’t get through the ab workout that I so diligently planned, so I’m of a mind to go at lunch today and quickly get it done.  We’ll see, though! Yay Thursday!

Day 3— Redux

Breakfast: overnight oats with strawberry Fage yogurt, milk, and chia seeds

Midmorning snack: banana with peanut butter 

Lunch: you guessed it!  lentil soup again!

Afternoon snack: Vega bar

Dinner: pictured above 3 egg whites + 2 whole eggs + baby spinach and  a tomato, also a sweet potato sliced and roasted with salt and olive oil

After workout treat: 1.5 glasses of red wine

I told you I was not sticking to this thing 100%!!  I had an opportunity to meet up with one of my very best girlfriends, so I just had to indulge!

Last night’s workout? 5.25 miles on the treadmill.  I didn’t get through the ab workout that I so diligently planned, so I’m of a mind to go at lunch today and quickly get it done.  We’ll see, though!

Yay Thursday!

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March 27, 2013
Look what I made at lunch!  I’m aiming to do this after work! : )  Plus 5 miles on the treadmill of course…

Look what I made at lunch!  I’m aiming to do this after work! : )  Plus 5 miles on the treadmill of course…

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March 27, 2013

Whole Food Challenge Redux — Day 2

Tuesday went well!

Breakfast: same old overnight oats, greek yogurt + milk + banana. 

Midmorning snack: huge Fiji apple with peanut butter 

Lunch: MORE LENTILS! Yum!

Afternoon snack: another fruit and nut bar (should probably just invest in a box so that I stop raiding the vending machine at work!  However, I’ve noticed that I no longer crave the candy bars that are also found in the machine, woo!)

Dinner: grapes, a banana, and a salad (composed of broccoli slaw, arugula + spinach mix, and half an avocado … OH! and my super awesome homemade dressing!)

Pre-workout: protein shake

Post workout: half of a Vega One bar — my free gift came in from SBBC! I’ll review them later as I only had a few bites last night because I just HAD to try it! 

All in all, I felt really good yesterday, and found that I didn’t really crave anything that I couldn’t have (I also don’t really have anything at home that is not allowed…).  Got AT LEAST 7 servings of fruit and vegetables… so that felt good, too! 

Yesterday’s workout?  6.5 miles on the treadmill at an easy pace.  Really enjoying the audiobook-while-I-run thing… hoping to maybe continue with Audible even after I finish this book.  We’ll have to see with finances though. 

Have I mentioned that I’m quitting my gym this week?  My budget is going to require a lot of trimming, so unfortunately, that’s one of the first things to go.  Guess I’ll be taking advantage of the at-home circuits a lot more.  Plus, running outside is way better and way easier (for me) in the summertime. 

Off to work… have a great one :)

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March 26, 2013

Day 1 — Redux

Trying the whole food approach again!  Week two!  

After a weekend of gluttony, I started out Monday morning with a batch of overnight oats.  Same as usual, except I subbed Fage yogurt (it was on sale!) and tried the honey variety!  It was delicious. 

Midmorning snacks included: grapes, a banana, and half an avocado (which I ate out of the husk? the skin? the peel?).

Lunch was a serving of lentil soup I prepared on Sunday, thanks to Jina’s wonderful recipe!  I’ll share it this week!

I nibbled on some cheese in the afternoon and had a nice cup of K-cup brewed coffee (sick day!). 

Dinner was 2 egg whites and 2 whole eggs with a tomato, spinach, and some cheese.  Delicious!

Not only did I do a good job sticking to the clean food, but I ALSO had a full seven servings of fruit/veggies!  Woo woo!

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March 22, 2013
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…and sometimes, there just aren’t enough rocks.  This is a phrase I use VERY often when it comes to anxiety and frustration about things that are just outside of my control.  This week has felt like an absolute tailspin, and as a result, has been even more difficult for the whole “whole 30” that I so diligently attempted.  Yesterday, Day 4, started out well enough.  I went to the gym for a 50 minute elliptical + circuit session and felt really great!   For breakfast, I had a veggie eggwhite omelet and a “light” muscle milk (aka protein shake).  That kept me really full until around 10, when I decided to have a spoonful of peanut butter.  ON TRACK!  Then, a coworker offered me a banana, so I ate it with a bit more pb (listen, folks, I needed protein after the strength workout in the morning!).  Then, I basically fell off the wagon.  After some particularly stressful events at work, a coworker and I headed straight to the nearest guilty-pleasure center: Shake Shack.  I’ve only been there once before, and then I’d only had a shake.  Let me tell you!  This place was am.aze.ing.  I ate a single burger with some bacon and cheese and a side of fries.  I even ordered a shake!  I ate until I was full (the whole burger, about 2/3rds of the fries, and half the shake).  (YES I saved the rest of the shake for today… or whenever.)  Thankfully, I stayed full until dinner time, which didn’t roll around until about 8pm.  The boyfriend promised me Indian food after this week’s crappy developments, and I indulged again!  Naan, rice, etc.   At dinner, though, I ate until I was full, and left the rest to him.  It felt good to be able to stop myself from overindulging after I’d been satiated (so there’s a tiny win, right??). I also (obviously) skipped my second gym session yesterday, but you know what?  I really didn’t care.  I curled up on the couch and fell asleep watching college hoops at around 9 and woke up this morning ready for a five mile run.   All in all, I have not, by any stretch of the imagination, stuck to the whole 30 completely.  But, I have made a lot more SMART choices, and tried to listen to my body.  With the weekend coming up, I’m sure that any semblance of super healthy eating will go out the window, but I do plan to try again next week… WITH A LOT MORE PREPARATION.  Off to work, now… until next time.

…and sometimes, there just aren’t enough rocks. 

This is a phrase I use VERY often when it comes to anxiety and frustration about things that are just outside of my control.  This week has felt like an absolute tailspin, and as a result, has been even more difficult for the whole “whole 30” that I so diligently attempted. 

Yesterday, Day 4, started out well enough.  I went to the gym for a 50 minute elliptical + circuit session and felt really great!  

For breakfast, I had a veggie eggwhite omelet and a “light” muscle milk (aka protein shake).  That kept me really full until around 10, when I decided to have a spoonful of peanut butter.  ON TRACK!  Then, a coworker offered me a banana, so I ate it with a bit more pb (listen, folks, I needed protein after the strength workout in the morning!).  Then, I basically fell off the wagon.  After some particularly stressful events at work, a coworker and I headed straight to the nearest guilty-pleasure center: Shake Shack.  I’ve only been there once before, and then I’d only had a shake.  Let me tell you!  This place was am.aze.ing.  I ate a single burger with some bacon and cheese and a side of fries.  I even ordered a shake!  I ate until I was full (the whole burger, about 2/3rds of the fries, and half the shake).  (YES I saved the rest of the shake for today… or whenever.) 

Thankfully, I stayed full until dinner time, which didn’t roll around until about 8pm.  The boyfriend promised me Indian food after this week’s crappy developments, and I indulged again!  Naan, rice, etc.  

At dinner, though, I ate until I was full, and left the rest to him.  It felt good to be able to stop myself from overindulging after I’d been satiated (so there’s a tiny win, right??).

I also (obviously) skipped my second gym session yesterday, but you know what?  I really didn’t care.  I curled up on the couch and fell asleep watching college hoops at around 9 and woke up this morning ready for a five mile run.  

All in all, I have not, by any stretch of the imagination, stuck to the whole 30 completely.  But, I have made a lot more SMART choices, and tried to listen to my body.  With the weekend coming up, I’m sure that any semblance of super healthy eating will go out the window, but I do plan to try again next week… WITH A LOT MORE PREPARATION. 

Off to work, now… until next time.

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March 21, 2013
This morning’s circuit!  I did each bubble 3 times before moving on to the next one!

This morning’s circuit!  I did each bubble 3 times before moving on to the next one!

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March 21, 2013

DAY 3

Wednesday was a particular hard day workwise, lifewise, etc.  As a result, I did not make it to the gym after work — I ended up doing some circuit work in my bedroom, just me and a yoga mat. As far as food went, I did my best to stick to the plan.  This is what the day’s meals looked like:

- overnight steel-cut oats with milk and peach Chobani

- the rest of the nuts I bought on Monday

- a fruit and nut bar similar to the one I bought Monday (65 cents in the vending machine, WOOT)

- a spinach salad with chickpeas, peas, feta cheese, bell peppers, sprouts, cucumbers, and blue cheese (Yes, there were 2 types of cheese in the salad) with a light champagne vinaigrette

- 1/2 a twix bar (WHOOPS!)

For dinner/lunch today, I prepared a pork loin (preseasoned from Trader Joes, I threw it in the oven at 350 for like 35 minutes).  I ate a few bites of it last night and packed the rest for today.  I supplemented it with a baked and sliced sweet potato. 

And yes, I finished night with a few bites of the same gelato.  I’m not perfect!

Last night’s circuit was just a bunch of random things, but I did 100 jumping jacks, 100 squats, 100 crunches.  Then I got a phone call.  After the call I did more squats (sumo and regular — totaling another 100), 100 more crunches, and a few sets of SUPER SLOW push ups.  I mixed in a bunch of other random stuff but basically worked out till I felt pretty tired, and then packed it in for the night.

I did an awesome circuit this morning, so I’ll post about that later!

Have a good day! 

Tags: stress busy noexcuses