Fitness Friday

TGIF!!

As I approach a whole weekend with no obligations and just time with J, I can't help reflect on the week I have had. And that week has been filled with running and I can't be happier about it! I think I am officially a runner and I never thought I would speak (or type) those words.

I ran Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after work this week, which in hind sight wasn't the best decision. My right knee now hurts, but I'm hoping it will clear up before my next run on Sunday. We had beautiful weather here this week, so it was hard to NOT want to get outside and work up a sweat! All in all I did 9+ miles over 3 days, so I'm feeling #likeaboss right now. Here are some fun stats for you, since I loved comparing my days and seeing how I am getting stronger and faster!

Monday started out a bit rough because of my dog. I really wanted to run in the nature preserve by our house, but he kept on getting those prickly spores stuck to his paws. So we had to deal with that, but ended up finishing strong. Tuesday I went solo to the nature preserve at it was extremely peaceful! I only saw one other person, but was constantly watching my back to make sure no one was going to abduct me. It's the kind of place that someone could pull that off.... but it's still beautiful!! I managed to take some pictures during my cool down, so enjoy:

See what I mean about someone being able to snatch me and no one would know? There were a few times I considered stopping for a quick walk break, but the extra motivation of not being attacked by a creeper or an alligator for that matter kept me going. :)

Wednesday night I ran with a group from work. My workplace is pretty much awesome and I'm so glad the wellness committee arranged these runs for the next month. I found another gal with a pace a little faster than mine and I kept up for the 3 miles! We are also fortunate to work in The World Golf Village and have another scenic backdrop for running. Here's an idea for ya - 

All in all, I was proud of my week and stayed within my calorie range (but of course got to eat a little more since I was burning more calories). I may eventually want to run longer distances, but I'm really happy with 3 miles. I honestly don't have time in the mornings to do more than 2 miles and not be late for work. I think my biggest goal with running is to work on my speed. If I could comfortably run 3 miles at a 10 minute per mile pace, I would be happy! And I feel like every run that I do gets me closer to that goal.

Another option I have been toying with is more interval running. I think I am past the walk/run scenario unless I had to do more miles, but I want to start trying running at my normal pace and then interjecting sprints to get my heart rate up. I'll report back to you!

Have a great weekend everyone! Have any running tips to share?

[MyFitnessPal]

I decided at the beginning of June that I was ready to start my health journey and I knew I could not do it alone! I had done Weight Watchers in the past and knew that tracking what I ate was a great way to keep me on track and accountable. But I knew WW wasn't right for me at this time and my best friend kept on raving about MyFitnessPal. I decided to give it a try and have been using it now for over 4 months and love it!

MFP also links with other fitness and tracking apps, so I have it linked to my FitBit. It automatically uploads my steps in my daily diary and if I have more movement than MFP accounted for in my calorie goal, it adds more calories.

I took a bunch of screenshots of what I use and view on a daily basis and added my notes to each. I hope this is helpful!

Do you use MFP? What is your favorite feature? Do you use any other apps? Share your knowledge!

Staying Healthy While Traveling

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I will be traveling this week for work to the great state of Ohio. Unfortunately not to Cleveland or Cincinnati where I have my people, but Columbus is a pretty good city too! My best friend is able to come down and spend Saturday afternoon and evening with me, so I'm pretty pumped about that :)

I will be there for a golf coach training, so at least it will be an active week in that sense, but I know better than to think it will be easy to stay on track.

Luckily, my hotel does have a small fitness room and indoor pool. I'm not hopeful that I can do laps in the pool, but I'm bringing my swimsuit just in case. I have been enjoying running outside and the weather in Ohio is going to feel so cool compared to Florida. It should be magical! I have used MapMyRun to look at the neighborhood my hotel is in and found a good 2.5 mile loop.

It should be easy enough to maintain the body weight/circuit training I have been doing. I wrote about it in full here, but here is the visual for a quick reminder.

Hotel gyms usually have a small selection of hand weights and if not, I can still get in a decent work out without them.

I think I have a handle on the fitness, but the food part should be interesting... There is continental breakfast at the hotel and lunch is provided each day at the training. That's a lot of meals out of my control! My work is a bit strict on what they reimburse me for, but it might be worth buying my own breakfasts if they are going to help me start the day off right. I will do my best with what is provided for lunch and that will have to set the tone for what I can have for dinner.

I have made sure to pack my own supply of snacks, that can also serve as a breakfast if needed. I have my favorite KIND bars (dark chocolate cherry cashew, seriously they are like a candy bar), trail mix from whole foods, dried chili mango from Trader Joes and a couple GoPicnics. I won't have any excuse to eat a generic bagel for breakfast or a bag of chips with lunch!

I have been doing a lot of research on restaurants in Columbus and while I want to make sure to explore and try new things, it's important to stay on track. I have been looking at a lot of farm-to-table restaurants and making sure I at least have a couple of healthy options. It is the absolute worst when you get to a restaurant and realize you basically HAVE to order ONE dish, because everything else is fried! This has totally happened to me before, so I know I need options.

Here are a few places I have scoped out:

• Wolf's Ridge Brewing - They have a kale salad with grilled peaches and goat cheese that sounds like the perfect beginning to dinner. Then I plan to move on to their thai snapper with pineapple salsa and cilantro rice.
• North Star Cafe - Their shredded chicken citrus salad sounds good with a peanut dressing. They have a handful of other yummy things if I can watch what I eat the rest of the day too.
• The Sycamore - While there entrees sound amazing, I might have to try a few smaller things here. Grilled prawns, salmon ceviche, gazpacho and arugula salad with beet vinaigrette just to name a few.

As I mentioned, I'm excited to see my best friend on Saturday (she is one of my bridesmaids)! She is also doing the same DietBet as me and actually introduced me to it, so we will both have that incentive to stay on track. Our plan is to do a lot of walking/exploring/shopping and have a nice dinner.

Wish me luck on staying healthy this trip! Any suggestions?

Weekend Filled with Fitness & Food

I had a pretty great weekend and feel like J and I did exactly what we wanted to do, with no hassles. This was nice, considering I am going to be traveling the rest of this week!

We did a lot of cooking this weekend, and I neglected to take photos of half of it! Must get better at this whole blog thing...

We have been trying to get our house organized, because we just have so much stuff. I don't even know where it all comes from! As we have been cleaning and organizing, J brought me home flowers to make the space pretty. I really think it helps to brighten a room and it brings me joy, so that's good enough for me :)

Friday night we cooked Indian food for the first time and it turned out pretty good. Granted, I bought a bottle of tikka masla sauce and naan bread, so I only really "cooked" chicken and brown rice. But the spices were spot on and it was a nice comfort meal at the end of a long week.

Saturday, we attempted to catch the Georgia v South Carolina game out, but with delays we left early. While we were at the sports bar, we had lunch and a beer. I managed to stay within my calorie range that day, which was a nice feeling. A bar close to our house actually has a good menu with a handful of good options if you don't want fried food. I definitely appreciate this! We also grilled out on Saturday night and it all turned out amazing! BBQ wings from Whole Foods, corn on the cob and wedge salads with homemade ranch dressing I made from greek yogurt. It was all very fresh, with some of the produce even from a farmer's market. I wish we had the time to cook like this every night.

Before we fired up the grill, we decided to go for a bike ride since the heat had cooled off dramatically (for Florida). This was more of a leisurely ride, but still good to be active before we ate a big meal!

While we had the grill out, I seasoned and grilled chicken breasts for salads this week, as well as put on extra corn. Our salads this week for lunch consist of:

• Grilled chicken
• Grilled corn off the cob (farmer's market)
• Grape tomatoes (farmer's market)
• Cucumbers (farmer's market)
• Romaine lettuce
• Goat cheese
• Homemade hummus dressing

Sunday, we made a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs, turkey bacon and toast. Sometimes it is nice not to over-think breakfast! I also made pumpkin chai lattes at home with a new frothing tool I got at World Market. It was so easy to warm up the almond milk in a small pot and then get a nice foam on it with the little gadget. I need to work on making the chai strong enough next time. When you order chai at Starbucks, they use a chai concentrate, so I'm used to that stronger taste. But it was still delicious and guilt free at only 30 calories.

J and I were feeling really lazy, but knew we needed to get a high-intensity work out in. I had every intention of following this Killer Kardio routine I mentioned last week, but it was a little TOO intense for us once we started, so I modified it to the below workout. It was still heart-pumping and made me realize that I have a long way to go with my fitness! My body has definitely gotten used to running, so I thought I could handle this cardio, but my body told me otherwise. 2 days later and my calf muscles are still SO sore - limping is a good look, right?

Sunday night we made baked tilapia with Caribbean jerk spices and paired that with goat cheese mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Simple and satisfying... a good way to end the weekend.

How was your weekend? What have you been cooking lately?

Fitness Friday

Happy Friday! This week has dragged by for me, so I'm looking forward to a nice weekend.

I plan to do a 3 mile run on Sunday to continue my success from last weekend. The same trail running group is meeting again, but it's farther away from my place. I just don't know if it's worth getting up at 6 am on a Sunday to drive 20-25 minutes to run, when I can just get up at 8 am and run in my neighborhood?! <internal debate>

I am working my second part-time job tomorrow morning, but am done by 1 pm, so I have no excuse not to fit a work out in before we do something fun on Saturday night. Since my weight loss has slowed a bit, I want to try adding something new to my fitness routine. I found the following workout via pinterest and it's from the blog Fantasmo. I think this would be great to combine my running with more body weight and heart-pumping exercises.

I'm debating whether we should do this at the gym in a controlled environment OR outside since none of this really requires equipment. We will just have to think ahead about the jump roping and tricep dips, but I think we can make it work outside! I think we can mimic the jump roping movement without actually having a rope and we can always modify push-ups to target the triceps.

According to MyFitnessPal, this workout would burn about 450 calories, so that's not too shabby!

What are your weekend workout plans? Let me know if you try this one!

SUP Yoga

SUP Yoga or Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga is my new obsession!

A friend and I took a class on Saturday morning and I was pretty nervous going into it, because I didn't know what to expect. I was also a little nervous, because there is a real chance you can fall into the water, so you shouldn't be wearing a lot of clothing. I'm not a fan of showing everyone my work-in-progress body! But it was such a good experience, I'm glad I pushed myself.

You can burn 500-700 calories per hour with SUP Yoga depending on the intensity and the movements. Our practice was 90 minutes (paddleboarding for the first 5-10 minutes to warm up), so I know I got a good workout in!

downward dog eka pada 

I already like yoga and find it such a good time to reflect and focus inward. I was lucky that this class was taught by my favorite yoga instructor from the Y here. Kate has a great style of teaching and does focus on the true meaning of yoga and not just the fitness aspect of it. I don't always take time to listen to my body and give thanks to it, so yoga is a good opportunity for that. You are so focused on the movements and your breathe, that you can't stress about your job, etc.

The paddleboard part of this class just made you focus on your balance and core that much more. I was on an inflatable paddleboard, so it was softer on my knees, but responded to movement much more. I did fall in on a warrior pose, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! Kate explained that it is good to fall in, because you are truly focusing on the move and fully committing to it without fear of falling. So that made me feel better!

My favorite part of yoga is shavasana at the end. If you've never taken yoga, you are missing out! Most instructors will give you a few minutes of shavasana at the end of your practice. Shavasana is total relaxation, a moment to find inner peace, sometimes referred to as the death pose :/ You lay on your back with your hands out to the side relaxed and let go of all the tension in your body. I have found that deep exhales while focusing on letting go of tension in specific parts of my body really works. After a minute or so I am totally relaxed and can just focus on the awesomeness of my body and what I just accomplished in the yoga practice. An added bonus of SUP Yoga, you are gently floating while doing this! It was just truly amazing...

My friend and I are going to commit to doing this once a month and I'm already looking forward to the next class!

Have you tried SUP Yoga? Plan to try it? Do you feel the benefits from traditional yoga? I would love to hear!

Fitness Friday

It was nice to get back to a normal schedule after the holiday weekend. I did well with my eating and did fit in a very hilly run, which left me sore for a few days. But there is nothing like being in your home and having your normal routine to make things easier.

Part of my weekly goals this week is to run 3 times and I've already checked 2 runs off that list! I crave getting out for a run now and I never thought I would ever type that phrase! I just feel so centered and calm when my heart is pumping and I'm a little outside of my comfort zone.

This past week, I finally increased my total time running and have started to increase my speed too. I believe I will finally hit the 5K distance with my run this weekend! That is one of my big health goals that I have posted on my bathroom mirror. I have never liked running and so the fact that I want to get out there and run now is amazing. I think I can officially call myself a "runner", right?!

I have always been a big sweater --- and I don't mean the kind you wear. I sweat profusely! Honestly, there is no better feeling than coming home sweaty from a run (well I can think of other more pleasant things, but this works too). Here is some photographic evidence of my sweat. You can also see how nice my hair looks after working out - enjoy!

I have also been completing a 14-Day Sexy Arm Challenge through Marionberry Fitness. It consists of push-ups, dips and planks. Each day increases the number of reps and man, it is a doozy! I have never been good at push-ups, but I'm forcing myself to do them (with my knees bent of course) and I can feel myself getting stronger! That's also one of those great feelings right there next to sweating!

Marion has now posted the following two plank variations. The first one is a variation you can do with a normal set up reps. You get the shoulder, arm and core work you normally would, but it takes it to a whole other level! I will try not to fall over when I do this... I'll report back.

This 5 Minute Plank Workout is a great option to continue to stay toned after I complete the 2 week challenge. I think my body will be completely shaking, but I can't wait to try it out next week!

J is going to be traveling for work this weekend, so I know I have NO excuse not to workout. My goal is to complete the following:

• 5K Trail Run with a local running group
• Paddle Board Yoga with a friend (super excited about this one!)
• Toned Arm Challenge moves
• More strength training

What workouts have you been doing lately?

Fitness Friday

I am a firm believer that you don't need a gym to get a good workout. I am fortunate enough to have a gym in our neighborhood that is actually pretty decent and a membership to the YMCA. But I honestly don't use them that much! I feel like I can better fit a workout into my day when I'm doing it at home. I would say 90% of my workouts are either running outside or at home. I love working out at home, because we can blast whatever music we want on Pandora and our dog is always entertained by us working out in the living room.

Pinterest is a great way to get workout ideas and that's where I find most of my moves. Feel free to follow my Fitness Board on Pinterest and please don't judge me for the amount of pins I have :)

Lately, I have been running 3x week and focusing on toning. I have been reading a lot about how building lean muscle helps boost your metabolism and I'm all for that! The moves below (in no particular order) are pretty much what I have been doing for the last month or so. I think it's a good mix of core, arms and legs. Once I get my arms exhausted with bicep curls for examples, I switch to lunges and work an entirely different muscle group. 

I try to throw in the jumping jacks whenever I feel like I need to get my heart pumping! I forgot all about jumping jacks until I saw a friend post about them on Instagram. They really get the blood pumping! I also like this series because it incorporates standing abs. I have never been a fan of lying down and doing tons of crunches. It's just too boring for me and I never feel like I have the right form.

Here are a few modifications that I sometimes do:

• Push-ups standing up with your hands on the wall. This is great for me, because I have trouble going all the way down in traditional (or knee-down) push-ups. This really helps me get the whole range of motion, which I think is great for my shoulders.
• You can always add weights to your lunges (I have small hand-held 5 lb. weights and smaller wrist weights)
• There are a million variations of squats, but I really like the ballet squat, where you turn your feet out and take a larger stance. This really works different glute muscles.

Sometimes I break this up and only do the standing ab moves or only the lower body workout, depending on what other fitness I am doing that day. But if you do this whole series through with only 1 rep of 15 each, it should take you 20-30 minutes, depending on your pace. When I have more time, it's nice to add additional reps, but I'll take what I can get!

Since I am participating in the 14-Day Sexy Arm Challenge, I've been trying to take it easy on my arms, so they aren't jello by the end of the day! The challenge mostly consists of push-ups, dips and planks. I am the worst at push-ups, so this challenge is helping!

Let me know if your try this out for yourself! I would love to hear your feedback. Any other body weight exercises that you can't live without?

Goals [toned arms]

As you may have noticed in yesterday's post, one of my September goals is to focus on toning my arms/shoulders. I thought I would expand upon that goal here, because I know you were dying to hear more!

When I was regularly hitting the gym in my early twenties, my arms weren't too shabby. In fact, I tried Match.com for a while and the guy I ended up dating for 6 months that I met on there, said my picture caught his eye, because of my arms. Woot woot! Looking at my pictures below from the last 6 months, my arms just look enormous to me. I guess it's all about perspective, but I feel gross looking at them! The picture in the top right corner was taken on Easter weekend and I thought I looked great that day. It was such a buzz-kill to see this photo later that day.

So I am recommitting myself to toning my arms. Boom, it's out there now! For me, I notice someone's arms long before I notice their abs (unless they're in a bikini), so I want to put my best foot forward to the world.

I have been following Marionberry Style for a while now, it's a great fashion blog. She has been branching out to the fitness world and has a great fitness-themed Facebook page that I check every day. Definitely check it out! She also does challenge groups each month that focus on certain areas. I am currently doing her 14-Day Sexy Arm Challenge and on Day 3. I won't divulge too many details of the challenge, but if you are interested in it, click here to request to join the group. It is all body weight exercises, so no equipment or gym needed!

I'm really excited to stick with this challenge and 2 weeks seems so reasonable. To keep myself motivated, I took some before arm photos yesterday. I can't wait to see the difference this challenge makes!

And just in case I wasn't motivated enough, I've made an inspiration board of some nice toned ladies you might recognize!

Do you have any secret moves for toned arms?