July Workouts So Far

It seems that somehow I managed to not do any workout recap last week.  So now I'm two weeks into July with no workouts logged ...  Well, not to worry.  I was still working out.  And in fact logging it.  Just never turning those logs into a post.  So here's two weeks of workouts jammed into one long post ...
 
Monday - 2 mile walk to library

Tuesday - off

Wednesday - 2 mile walk to library; 7 pull-ups with blue band

Thursday - off; 4 pull-ups with blue band

Friday - 4 mile jog/walk along Sligo Creek; 10 pull-ups with blue band

Saturday - 2 mile walk; 30 minutes on the elliptical at manual level 5; 3 sets of 10 with two 10-lb weights: bicep curls, shoulder press, bent rows; and 70 pull-ups with green band - I was a real winner that day

Sunday - 30 minutes on the exercise bike at manual level 7

Monday - 45 minutes on the exercise bike at manual level 6; 10 pull-ups with the blue band

 

Tuesday - 40 minutes on the exercise bike at manual level 6

 

Wednesday - 2 mi walk to library

 

Thursday - 40 minutes on the exercise bike at manual level 7 (Noticing a theme here?  The theme is that I wanted to finish that book, which was quite good.)

Friday - 30 minutes on the elliptical at manual level 6; 15 pull-ups with the blue band

 

Saturday - 5 mile hike at Sugarloaf Mountain.  Along the way I snacked on some homemade trail mix - sliced almonds, craisins, and chocolate chunks - yum!

 

Sunday  - 2 mile walk to library - I needed a new book!



Quick Workout Recap

I'm afraid last week's workouts left a little something to be desired (and, full disclosure, this week's recap will look quite similar).  I haven't been feeling the workouts lately, so I've been taking a lot of days off (or basically off - see Wednesday).  Maybe it's the incredibly hot and humid weather, or maybe it's my own laziness.  Probably some combination of both.  Still, I had a few tough workouts last week, which isn't too shabby.  Certainly better than some people.  But still not up to my usual standards.  I'll just have to work harder to get my groove back soon ...

Monday - 2 mile walk to the library, 20 minutes on the exercise bike at manual 6, plus 3 sets of 10 with 2 10-lbs: bicep curls, shoulder press, bent over row; 2 sets of 10 with 50 lbs: dead lifts

Tuesday - 30 minute interval workout on the treadmill

Wednesday - 10 pull-ups with the blue band

Thursday - off

Friday - off

Saturday - 50 minute hike in Rock Creek Park

Sunday - 3 mile run along Sligo Creek

Last Week's Workouts

Last week's workouts were pretty ho-hum.  I wasn't really feeling it most days, so I just tried to get something in each day ...  Which I still managed to do, so I guess that's not too shabby. 

 

Monday - 60 pull-ups with the green band

 

Tuesday - 20 pull-ups with the green band plus 2 mile walk to library and early voting! Yay for participation, right? :)

 

Wednesday - 30 minutes on the exercise bike on manual level 7

Thursday - 30 minutes on the exercise bike on manual level 7 plus 30 pull-ups with the green band

 

Friday - 23 pull-ups green band plus 30 minutes on the exercise bike on manual level 7

 

Saturday - 2 mile run outside - gotta enjoy the weather when you get the chance!

 

Sunday - back outside for a 1 hour and 45 minute hike in Rock Creek Park.  I took a different route than usual and quickly learned that change is bad.  I bushwhacked a lot of the way on overgrown, buggy paths that didn't even offer much elevation change to challenge me.  Oh well, back to my usual circuit next time I guess!

Reading, Reading, Reading ... On the Exercise Bike!

I found myself pretty sore at the beginning of last week from Fran the previous Friday.  I know ... three and four days later and I was still sore?!?!?  Normally I don't feel the real pain from a hard workout until two days later, but usually not three or four ...  I guess it was a good workout! 

 

But I was so sore I definitely wanted to listen to my body, so I spent the first three days of the week taking it easy on the exercise bike and getting some reading done. 

 

Monday - 30 minutes on the exercise bike at manual 5

Tuesday - 30 minutes on the exercise bike at manual 6

Wednesday - 30 minutes on the exercise bike manual 6

Thursday - off

Despite my pain from Fran at the beginning of the week, I decided to go right back there again on Friday.  Aaannnnnddd ... I improved my time by 30 seconds with the same weight!  Next time to try 40 pound squat thrusts ... (Ugh!)  Fortunately, I was no where near as sore after Fran round 2.  I must be getting stronger! 

 

Friday - 30 minutes on the elliptical at manual 6 plus 7:21 minute Fran with 30 lbs squat thrusts and 55 lbs pull-downs

 

Saturday - 1 hour and 40 minute hike in Rock Creek Park

 

Sunday - 30 pull-ups with green band plus 30 minutes on the exercise bike at manual 6

R2D2 and the Return of Fran

Last week's workouts were really something.  Though I started slow hitting the gym and doing basic cardio every day, late in the week there were a lot of very involved workouts and I really ran all over the gamut of workout possibilities. 

 

Monday - 35 minutes on the elliptical at speed 6, manual setting

 

Tuesday - 35 minutes on the elliptical at speed 5, manual setting

 

Wednesday - 30 minutes on the stationary bike at speed 7, manual setting

 

Thursday - 4 mile jog/walk (2 mile jog, 1 mile walk, 1 mile jog) in Sligo Creek where I may have been seen in all my sweatiness by lots of people, but at least I got to enjoy the R2D2-looking trash cans along the way :) 

 

Friday - 5 minute warm up on the stationary bike at manual 5, Fran at-home WOD (7:51 time, using 30 lbs for squat thrusts and 55 lbs for pull downs - 70 lbs for first 4, then down to 55 lbs for the rest), 10 more minutes on the bike at manual 5, 3 sets each - 10 bicep curls with 2 10-lb dumbbells, 10 bent over rows with 2 10-lb dumbbells, 12 lunges, then finally 10 more minutes on the bike at manual 5.

 

Saturday - 1 hour and 40 minute hike in Rock Creek Park 

Sunday - I did a little treadmill experimentation with the goal of increasing my jogging time.  While I'm comfortable at about a 5.0 speed on the treadmill for a half hour, I realize this is pretty slow by most people's standards and wanted to see if I could increase it.  While I can easily go to 5.2 without much issue, something like 6.0 is quite uncomfortable ... which made it my new goal.  The treadmill routine looked something like intervals, just very long ones.  Basically my goal was to go as long as possible at 6.0 (original goal set for 10 minutes - exceeded, yay!), then recover walking, and go again. 

 

Treadmill Speed Increase Routine

Walk 1 min at 3.0 speed

Run 11 min at 6.0 speed

Walk 3 min at 3.2 speed

Run 6 min at 6.0 speed

Walk 4 min at 3.2 speed

Run 5 min at 6.0 speed

2 minute cool down at 3.2 speed

Don't Watch Me Sweat!

After eating several servings of vegan Camembert per day for several days, I decided it was probably time to take my calorie-burning exercise up a notch.  Plus it was beautiful weather Thursday evening, everything just came together to make it perfect for a jog along Sligo Creek.  

 

I'm not a great runner.  I get out of breath easily, I always cop out of running up long hills, and my knees aren't so great so I can never go more than a few miles anyway.  But I still recognize that it's one of the best calorie burners around, so I'm always forcing myself to get out and just do it, regardless of how miserable it makes me.  The only thing that makes it bearable is getting to enjoy some nice scenery along the way. 

 

Unfortunately, quite a lot of other people feel the same way about the Sligo Creek Trail.  Hundreds of people use it for walking, jogging, biking, picnicing, lounging, and everything in between.  Which means you're passing someone every few seconds.  While I was jogging Thursday I'm pretty sure I even saw someone I know, but my recognition processors didn't kick in until the person had already gone, so I couldn't do a double take.  But that's all the better, because I certainly don't feel like running into anyone I know when I'm working out. 

Let's face it: I look crappy when I exercise.  I get all lobster-faced and I swear I sweat way more than the average person.  I would much rather not see anyone at all when I'm sweating, let alone someone I know.  Part of my attraction to the gym is the comfort of knowing that everyone there is staring at a TV or magazine rather than looking at me.  How vain is that?  I know, I know.  But I'm always secretly a bit irritated if I walk into the gym in my building and there's even a single other person there.  Sweating and huffing and puffing is really something that no one else needs to see (get your minds out of the gutter!).  Unfortunately, I'm not (and don't expect to ever be) rich enough to have my own home gym.  So left with the choice between my embarassment of being seen at not my loveliest and not exercising at all, I'll still choose the exercise.  I guess that's just another form of vanity, isn't it? 

Last Week's Workouts

Last week I was all about hiking in Rock Creek Park.  It's got a lot going for it ... close to my house, good elevation mix (not straight up hill for long periods), and not too crowded - but just crowded enough that you feel safe.  There's one looped trail in particular that I like to hike.  I generally prefer loops so you don't have to backtrack over what you've already done, and a short-ish loop like this one makes it easy to extend your hike by just going around the loop again.  It gives you a nice stop by your car if you want to grab water or a snack, but doesn't force you to bring everything with you.  Unfortunately, I don't know exactly how long my trail is, only that it consistently takes me 50 minutes to go once around the loop - so maybe 2.5 miles? 

 

Last week's workouts:

 

Monday - 1 hour and 40 minute hike in Rock Creek Park (two times around the loop)

 

Tuesday  - off

 

Wednesday - 45 minutes on the exercise bike at level 6 manual

 

Thursday  - off

 

Friday - 30 minutes on the elliptical at level 5 manual plus 30 minutes on the exercise bike at level 6 manual

 

Saturday - 50 minute hike at Rock Creek Park (once around the loop) plus 2 mile walk to library

 

Sunday - 50 min hike at Rock Creek Park (once around the loop)

 

I love hiking as opposed to hitting the gym for a lot of reasons.  For one, I get a little sunshine (hello, vitamin D!).  I also genuinely love experiencing a bit of nature - smelling flowers, watching birds and squirrels run around (some days I even spot a chipmunk or a deer), and feeling like I'm breathing fresh air (even if that's just an illusion and I'm still breathing smoggy DC air).  A lot of times I hike by myself and don't listen to music or a book and just take it all in.  But if I do listen to anything, I prefer to listen to audiobooks rather than music.  Hiking alone with basically no one around and few distractions, you can really get into an audiobook and sort of melt into that world.  Last week I took "Frankenstein" on all of my hikes, which was a particularly good book to lose oneself in while out in nature.  It might be too creepy to take on a night hike, but for broad daylight it was just perfect. 

 

Do you ever listen to audiobooks?  What book would you recommend listening to on a hike?

How Far Would You Walk for a Burrito?

Last week's workouts really revolved around the elliptical machine.  On weekdays it's hard to exercise outside because I don't have enough time after work before it gets dark.  But trying out a lot of elliptical routines in a row and noting my calorie burn each time really helped me figure out how to get the most of a 30-minute workout.  Though I realize the calorie numbers on the machine aren't necessarily the most accurate, I can at least assume all the figures are equally inaccurate, so I can still use them to determine relative intensity. 

 

Recap from last week:

 

Monday - off

 

Tuesday - 30 minutes on elliptical set to manual at level 6

 

Wednesday  - 30 minutes on elliptical set to manual at level 5

 

Thursday  - off

 

Friday - 30 minutes on elliptical set to random hill starting at level 5 but increasing to level 7.  This was far worse than manual for calorie burn (I wouldn't have thought so!)

 

Saturday - 6.8 mile walk (round trip) to California Tortilla.  I often like setting a destination for a walk (like heading to the library), especially one that's far away.  It forces you to keep going when you want to stop, plus it makes you feel like you accomplished something other than just your exercise for the day.  And California Tortilla makes a pretty good burrito - though I'm not sure I'd walk much further for one.  My feet were pretty sore by the time I got home!

 

Sunday - 30 minutes on elliptical - back to manual setting at level 5

The Hike From Hell

I'm so proud of myself - I was so good about fitting in a workout every single day last week!  Last week was also a great example about how you can always do something even if you really don't feel like working out.  A couple days I read on the exercise bike in my building's gym and one day I just walked on an errand.  But making sure you get up and move every day is so important for not just your physical health but your mental health too.  This time of year it's great to get some fresh air, see a little sunshine (I have no windows in my office at work), and just stretch those muscles - even if you're not pushing them to their limit. 

 

Monday  - 45 minutes on the elliptical

Tuesday - 40 minutes on the exercise bike
 

Wednesday - short walk to library (about 2 miles).  You may have noticed I walk to the library quite a lot.  I have a long commute to work, during which I like to listen to audiobooks - usually CD books - plus I like to listen to playaway books when I workout and I also sometimes like to sit down with an old fashioned paper book and lose myself for a bit.  All this means I find myself going to the library pretty often.  And since it's relatively close to my house, it's a great excuse to combine an errand with a bit of exercise. 

Thursday - 30 minutes on the exercise bike plus 10 minutes of free weight exercise

 

Friday - 3 mile run from my place to Takoma Park (soooo uphill on the way home that I walked several times) plus a 4 minute plank tabata (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off - 8 rounds)

 

Saturday - 3 mile run along Sligo Creek

 

Sunday - 7 mile hike at Sugarloaf Mountain.  This time I hit the yellow trail, also known as the Saddleback Horse Trail.  Unfortunately, figuring out the hike was a bit tricky because this trail doesn't actually follow a precise loop, and it doesn't start or finish at any of the parking areas - not helpful!  I went backward-to-forward on the trail, connecting to it from the white trail, then hitting marker Y14 to start and looping around towards Y1.  Then I had to follow along the road to get back to my parking spot, which was pretty scary with no sidewalk and with cars flying around blind curves. 

 

I put together my own trail mix to bring for a snack, which turned out to be pretty critical along the way.  The seven miles ended up taking me almost three hours and I was starving only a little more than half way through.  I mixed together sliced almonds, walnuts, craisins, and mini chocolate chips for a satisfying snack. 

So, seven miles on a pleasant day with a tasty trail mix snack ... what's not to love, right?  The reason the hike ended up taking me so long was that I spent literally almost the entire time trudging through mud, water running like a river down the trail, or trying to figure out how to get around huge ponds that had formed in the path.  It may not be obvious from the picture at left, but that's the path.  And those little brown dots?  Hundreds of tadpoles. 

At one point I came up on a river with no obvious means to cross.  The water looked pretty clear, so figured I would just suck it up and bound across, letting my shoes dry over the next few miles.  Unfortunately, though the water was clear enough, the bottom was still a squishy mess.  I ended up with mud streaked all over my legs.  Needless to say, by the end of my hike, my shoes and socks were completely soaked and caked in mud.  At least I didn't slip and fall on my butt in the middle of the muck.  That would have been a fun drive home ...

Post-California Workouts

After getting back from California last week, I found that I was pretty blitzed from all the travel and not in much of a mood to work out.  But even though some days I couldn't push myself to do a full-on, heart pumping routing, I still managed to do a little something every day for the rest of the week.  Something is always better than nothing at all, right?  Even if it's just a quick routine in the living room in front of the TV ...

 

(I got home from California very late Tuesday evening, which is why my workout recap starts on Wednesday of last week.) 

 

Wednesday - tabata core workout using my tabata timer app - planks, crunches, scissor kicks. The tabata timer gives you an alternating 20 second / 10 second count for eight rounds - total of 4 minutes.  The idea is you do 20 seconds "on" of your activity and 10 seconds "off".  It might not sound like 4 minutes of activity is that tough but, trust me, whatever you're working will be burning by the end.  I did three tabata rounds, one each of plank, crunches, and scissor kicks, for a total of 12 minutes.  Not only did my abs kill the next day, but my legs did too!  (I'm thinking that was the scissor kicks!) 

 

Thursday - pushup workout (another living room workout!).  I alternated sets of 10-rep rounds between standard pushups (on my knees - I've lost my groove from last year's pushup challenge) and bench dips.  I ended up doing a total of 50 standard pushups and 40 bench dips. 

 

Friday - after a couple half-hearted workout days in a row I decided to really step it up Friday by doing a 30-minute interval workout on the treadmill followed by 2 rounds of ten reps: wide squat, narrow squat, turned out squat, and calf raise, all on leg press at 70 lbs.  Plus 2 rounds of ten reps: bicep curls, bent over row, and shoulder press - all with two 10 lb barbells. 

 

Saturday - 2 mile walk to library plus 30 minutes on the gym stationary bike.

 

Sunday - 2 mile run outside then into the gym for 90 squats on leg press - narrow, wide, turned out (80 lbs). 

Very Belated Workout Recap

So another casualty of my failure to blog before I left for my trip last week is that I never got a chance to post my workout recap from the week before I went to California.  And what a week it was!  I managed to do something almost every day of the week, only caving into my laziness on Wednesday. 

 

Monday - 3 mile hike in Rock Creek Park

 

Tuesday - 30 min interval workout on the treadmill

 

Wednesday - off (it's good to rest sometimes, right?)

Thursday - living room arm workout:

5-lb weights

Bicep curls

Shoulder press

Wide bicep curl

Tricep extension

Deltoid fly

3 sets of 20 for each

Friday - 30 minutes on the elliptical machine

Saturday - short walk to library (about two miles)

 

Sunday - 5 mile hike at Sugarloaf Mountain.  I followed the Northern Peaks Trail, shown on this trail map.  Don't you just love it when there's a trail map online?! - In fact, this trail map was available for free at the trail head too!   Hiking Sugarloaf was a friend's suggestion, and it turned out to be a great one! It was pretty easy to get there (not too far from Silver Spring), but it still felt remote and natural. 

I even saw real, genuine wildlife!  See my deer pic?  If you didn't take a picture, you didn't see it ... :)  It was pretty crowded, but the park is big so I didn't see too many people along the way.  The trails were blazed clearly and the elevation change on my particular trail was enough to make it a hike and not just a walk, but not so difficult that I felt like I wouldn't make it all the way around.  I'll definitely be heading back to Sugarloaf a lot more now that I've been reminded of it!

One-on-One Training With Jackie DVD

Last week's workouts were mostly centered around the Workout One-on-One Training with Jackie DVD I borrowed from Netflix.  I watched a few episodes of "Workout" back when it was on Bravo years ago, and had put this DVD on the queue probably several years ago but never got around to bumping it to the top of the list.  I don't normally get workout DVDs, but I decided it might be a nice way to shake up my workout routine a bit, and I just might learn some new fitness tricks too.  And then I realized getting the DVD by mail was really the only way to get them - Netflix won't stream workout videos (probably because that would be excellent for the consumer but then no one would ever buy the DVDs). 

 

The One-on-One DVD has three twenty-minute workouts: one focused on the upper body, one on the lower body, and one on abs.  I really liked that this DVD let you customize your workout by choosing which routine(s) you wanted to do before hitting play, so you could just sail through the routines you'd chosen without fiddling around with the menu in between.  (The top Amazon review, linked above, has a run down of all the exercises featured in each segment.)

 

I received the DVD on Monday and got right to work by trying out the lower body routine that day.  Unfortunately, the routine wasn't all that unique or difficult - mostly lots and lots of squats and lunges.  I did like that the weight-baring exercises were broken up with short bouts of cardio to keep your heart rate up and at least make you sweat just a little.  But I definitely wasn't the least bit sore the next day, and the meager workout didn't make me eager to try the other two routines.  In fact, it was Friday before I went back again. 

Tuesday - Bike 30 minutes
 

Wednesday  - Elliptical 30 minutes

Thursday - Off

Friday - I finally got back in front of the One-on-One DVD by doing both the upper body and abs routines.  Since I was in my living room without access to all the different weights of a gym I just used a set of 5-lb weights for the upper body exercises.  Maybe if I'd gone up in weight it would have felt tougher and my arms would have been sore the next day. 

 

The real winner of the DVD was the abs routine.  I actually had to stop a couple of times because I just couldn't keep doing reps and my abs were definitely feeling it the next day ... and the day after that.  It really showed me that I'm not working my abs like I should be and that I should be focusing on that area more in the future. 

 

Saturday - Short walk to library and grocery store (about two miles) plus 1 hour hike at Wheaton Regional Park.  Like so many of my other "hikes" recently, this was also more of a nature walk, with paved trails almost the whole way. 

Sunday - Hike at Rock Creek Park (about 4 miles).  This park is only about a mile from my house, but I've been avoiding going there because I thought I'd need to go further afield to find a real "nature" experience.  Fortunately for me I was wrong.  While I didn't exactly spot any deer, I also couldn't see any cars or too many houses.  And the trail was an actual trail!  I didn't have a trail map, and the trails didn't appear to be blazed anyway, but I managed to figure out a loop that was easy enough to follow (and you're never far from civilization anyway if you do manage to get lost) and did two laps of it in about an hour and a half.  This may just be my new go-to hiking destination. 

Stopping to Smell the Flowers

Last week wasn't exactly the most workout-filled week I've ever had.  But hey, something is always better than nothing, right?  Let's get right to it ...

Monday - Off

Tuesday - Long walk to library - about 4.5 miles.  The great thing about taking a walk on a beautiful day (even just around your neighborhood) is that it's a great stress reliever.  I like to take the opportunity to literally stop and smell the flowers :) 

 

Wednesday - 30 minutes on the elliptical

 

Thursday - 2 mile run.  Again - got to get outside, even if it's just a short trip.  I did this quick run while my lentil soup was simmering on the stove.

 

Friday - Off

 

Saturday - 1 hour hike at Black Hill Regional Park.  To find this place, I just pulled up a map of the area and looked for green space.  Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly my favorite hiking experience ... in fact, it was really just a nature walk because the "trail" I followed was paved the whole way.  And some of the time you were even fenced off from the actual nature ...

 

And most of the time the trail went right along behind a bunch of houses so it was like you were walking through peoples' back yards.  Not exactly like immersing yourself in the natural beauty of the world. 

 

But the trail wound its way around a good-sized lake and it was a beautiful, sunny day, so there were a ton of turtles to spot sunning themselves on rocks and logs.  I probably saw about thirty turtles in my hour-long walk - which I'd estimate came in at right around three miles.  Not the most physical exertion ever, but I got a late start to the day.  I intend to do much better with my hike this weekend! 

 

Sunday - Off (unless you count the incredibly short walk with Josh's parents' dogs - probably less than a mile going at an old dog's pace - which is sloooooooow)

Walk, Walk, Walking Through My Workout Recap

Last week was all about embracing walking for exercise.  I was pretty sluggish all week and couldn't really get on board with a major sweat session, so I decided leisurely strolls would have to get me by.  It always helps to have a destination in mind when I'm walking, so two days in a row I used the local library to get me out the door. 

 

Here's my recap for the week:

 

Monday - off

 

Tuesday - short walk to library (the direct route) - 2.6 miles total

 

Wednesday - long library walk - this route took me far past the library along Sligo Creek and then back - about 4.5 miles total

Thursday - (I finally found my way into the gym!) body pump 75 rep modification - increased weight but lower reps to 75 reps from 100

 

Friday - 30 min elliptical level 4 plus 2 min cool down 

 

Saturday off

 

Sunday - short hike at the Patuxent Research Refuge

You can follow my route from the map at the left - I took the large circle around the outer perimeter, which I think ended up only being about three miles (it took me just over an hour, but I was going at a very leisurely pace and enjoying the scenery). 

 

The terrain was completley flat, and a lot of the path was even paved.  The trail followed around the edge of a small lake before eventually cutting through the woods and back to the parking lot.  While this wasn't exactly a difficult hike, there was no entry fee (aside of course from tax dollars) and the visitors center had clean bathrooms plus nature exhibits (if you are so inclined) - including a giant taxidermied polar bear (odd).   

 

There were a fair number of other people at the Patuxent Research Refuge, but not nearly as many as I would see walking along Sligo Creek in Silver Spring and definitely not the annoyance of traffic sounds.  It's been such a long time since I've gotten out into "real" nature that it's made me itch for more.  I'll definitely be looking for a more intense and remote hike this weekend. 

Workout Recap

Once I decided I would start making a concerted effort to document my workouts, I really found that it gave me a ton of motivation to actually ... work ... out.  It's funny how much public accountability can influence your habits. 

 

Even on days when I really didn't feel like doing anything, I still got myself onto the exercise bike for a half hour so I'd at least done something.

 

Last week's workout recap:

 

Monday: at home body pump routine

 

Tuesday: 30 min bike (while reading) manual level 5

 

Wednesday: 30 min bike random hills level 5 plus1 1/2 min plank 

 

Thursday: off

 

Friday: treadmill intervals - 5 minute warm up on 5, then alternating 1 minute at 8.0 with 1 1/2 minutes at 3.2.  25 minutes total.

 

(Saturday and Sunday it rained all day so I didn't get a chance to get outside like I did the previous weekend.  So sad ...)

 

Saturday: back to the at-home body pump - such a good workout!  Though Saturday's routine didn't leave me as sore the next day as it did the first time around.  I guess my body's already getting used to it and I'll have to change things up soon ...

 

Sunday: 35 min elliptical - last 5 min in reverse, 19 dead lifts with 70 lbs. 

 

Why only 19 dead lifts, you ask?  That's because I totally through my back out on lift number 19 and just managed to hold it together to get the weights back to the rack and walk back to my apartment - in great pain.  Whomp whomp.

 

I was watching my form and I've done dead lifts with a lot more weight before (I did a 1RM in crossfit less than a year ago of 115 pounds), so I'm not really sure what happened.  But it took me out for a few days.  I really didn't want to do anything to injure myself any more. 

 

But now I'm back to my old self and ready to get back into the workout swing!  And next time I'm going to scale way down on the deadlift weight ...

At Home Body Pump

Today is Thursday.  But I'm still feeling sore from Monday's workout.  Seems like the sign of a good workout to me.  So how did I get to this sore but happy point? 

BODY PUMP

 

A long time back I took a body pump class thanks to a Groupon, but the class had some issues - bad instructor, poor pacing, etc.  So I didn't give it much thought and didn't seek to attend any more classes.  But after reading Tina's blog about how much she loved body pump (though she's now moved on to her new love, Crossfit), I thought I would give it a shot. 

 

But rather than pay for a class, I decided I could make up my own routine to go through in the comfort of my apartment's gym.  Someone with a set of light freeweights or even canned goods could even do this workout from their own home!  

 

My workout was also modified a bit because I didn't have a playlist all set out to follow for the duration of my routine.  Rather than set myself to four-minute exercise increments, I decided to just do 100 reps of each exercise - which actually seems better because you can't slack off!  If you take a rest, you still have to complete all the reps ... so laziness doesn't reduce what you do, it will just take you longer! 

 

My routine:

 

5 minute warmup on the elliptical

100 squats holding two 5 lb weights

100 chest presses holding two 4 lb weights

100 bent over rows holding two 4 lb weights

100 tricep extensions holding two 2 lb weights

100 bicep curls holding two 4 lb weights

100 lunges (no added weight)

100 shoulder presses holding two 4 lb weights

100 sit ups (no added weight)

1 minute plank

 

Yeah, I was incredibly sore Tuesday and even into Wednesday.  And there are still a few minutes that I am "noticing" today.  This routine is definitely a keeper.  And it's so easy to scale up the intensity by upping the weight or increasing reps.  I'm so excited to do this workout again soon!

Weekly Exercise Recap

So, I've been eating a ton of junk lately.  First there was delicious peanut butter pie ...  And then there was that amazing vegan cheesecake ...  And then I had the brilliant idea that I would make chocolate covered potato chips.  Yeah, it's a bit out of control.  And it's showing both on the scale and with how I feel. 

 

So I decided it's high time to ramp up the healthy eating and the workouts to get myself back on track.  And part of that endeavor is going to be keeping better track of my workouts so I know exactly what I'm doing (and what I'm not), and hopefully guilting myself into making exercise a much more regular part of my routine. 

 

So here's a quick recap of my workouts from last week:

 

Monday - 1 mile walk to work trudging through the snow (not much of a workout, but better than nothing!)

 

Tuesday - treadmill + 15 minutes of weights

 

Wednesday - treadmill

 

Thursday - off

 

Friday - off, but about 50 pullups with the green band

 

Saturday - 4 mile nature walk, plus walking to get groceries and go to the library

 

Sunday - off

This list doesn't show all the other random things I try to do, like calf raises while I brush my teeth or a one minute plank before bed, but those aren't the things that will make a big impact on my fitness anyway. 

 

And while I realize this isn't exactly a stellar week of workouts, but hopefully it will set me off on the right foot for this coming week.  Wish me luck!  (Actually, I don't need luck ... wish me will power!)

Interval Love and Coconut Cream Sauce Fail

Knowing how much I was likely to indulge before, during, and after Christmas I've upped my workout frequency over the past couple of weeks.  Not sure if made much of a difference, but who knows how bad things might have gotten if not, right?!  My favorite workout of the bunch (and one I've done four times now in the last two weeks) is a simple interval treadmill workout.

 

Total Time: 30 minutes

 

1. Start by jogging at an easy pace for a 5 minute warm up - I use somewhere between 5.0 and 5.2
2. Walk for 1minute (this is basically to make things come out to an even 30 minutes - around 3.0 to 3.5 pace
3. Start intervals of 2 minutes sprinting, 2 minutes walking, 2 minutes sprinting .... through the 24 minute mark (you should finish with a sprint) - a sprint for me is 7.0 to 7.2 pace
4. Walk one more minute to catch your breath
5. Finish with a 5 minute cool-down jog. 

This one always gets me nice and sweaty, and I often feel it in my legs the next day - or maybe that's the leg presses I tend to toss in for good measure?

 

On Christmas Eve Eve (Dec. 23) I decided to whip up something that would feel really fresh and flavorful - pasta primavera!  I'd never actually made this dish before, but I've enjoyed it at restaurants so much I decided it couldn't be that hard to recreate at home.  The best part was that it helped me use up a bunch of veggies that would otherwise have gone bad when we headed off to Josh's parents' house for a few days.  In my veggie mix: grape tomatoes, broccoli, peas, orange pepper, and Swiss chard. 

 

While my usual pasta go-to sauce is cashew cream, I decided to try using plain coconut coffee creamer as a base instead.  I thought it would be an easy substitute for days when I didn't plan ahead enough to soak cashews.  No such luck.  I managed to make the coconut cream work, but the sauce was way too thin and when I tried adding cornstarch to thicken it up it just ended up lumpy.  Luckily I had all those tasty vegetables in there to cover for the less-than-stellar sauce. 

 

I tried the coconut cream sauce again New Year's Eve without any more success.  I tried the coconut cream sauce with baby bella mushrooms and white wine.  It came out pretty bland and uninteresting.  Oh well, I guess it's back to the cashew cream next time ...

Microwave Fluffernutter and the Results of the Birthday Pushup Challenge!

I guess since my birthday was coming, I used it as a bit of an excuse to be pretty indulgent all week.  I've also been pretty busy with work and other things, so it's an extra excuse to slack on the food choices.  For example ... Monday night when Josh announced he was going to make himself a PB&J for "dessert", I thought I might as well join along by making myself a fluffernutter.  After all, I had the vegan marshmallows from s'mores making anyway ...

 

I microwaved two marshmallows on a slice of toast until they got fantastically giant and puffy in the microwave (marshmallow monsters!).  The gooey marshmallows spread just like the fluff from the jar - maybe even better. 

 

And once I added on the peanut butter, it was a truly indulgent mess.  And really, it was way more dessert than I needed.  For future reference: an entire sandwich for dessert is a bad idea.  Half-sandwich next time! 

 

But fortunately I counterbalanced all the goodies by continuing to work hard at pushups all week to be ready for today!  My goal was to do 30 "real" pushups on my 30th birthday (today!).  Technically, the goal was to do 30 in a row, which I didn't manage to accomplish, but instead I did 18 pushups, 1 minute break, and another 12 pushups. 

 

I won't claim they were the most perfect, nose-to-ground pushups ever ... but they were up off my knees and with at least a significant bend in my elbow.  And though I couldn't do 30 straight, 18 at once is still a huge improvement from where I started.  And doing another 12 without much of a break isn't half bad either.  Plus I've definitely seen an improvement in the muscle definition in my arms since I started.  Which means the challenge doesn't end today.  I plan to keep going, trying to do as many pushups as possible (maybe not every night, but on a regular basis).  And if I keep going, maybe I'll do 31 straight next year!