Back on Track

Hello Fit Clubbers!!!
* --
Well I'm back from my hiatus.... sorry about that. Shortly after the Bahamas my son and I came down with a stomach bug that lasted for a week and then a week after that my son got a fever that wouldn't stay away so I've been busy getting him and myself back on track. It took a while but we're finally here, yay!

After a week with a stomach bug and hardly eating I made the mistake of having a couple of Oreo cookies and since then I've been barely able to control what I eat. Thankfully I'm maintaining my weight (5 lbs down from beginning of January, 2lbs since the Bahamas!!!). But it's like once I finally caved to a craving I can't stop eating (I haven't eliminated treats either, but a week of little solid food will force you to eliminate temporarily, which is why I don't follow the no treats except once a week because it's hard to control your eating after abstaining for so long).

So I had started a Get Toned beginner program through Nike Training Club but only got a few days into before my schedule fell apart. The beginner was a lot easier than the intermediate Get Lean program, but a lot of the difference is due to the increased cardio elements of the Get Lean program versus more muscle conditioning components in the Get Toned program. Because I have missed so many days (and I cannot adjust the schedule in the app) I have cancelled that program and started the intermediate Get Toned program. It includes running (I believe personally that a cardio component just helps you get a more complete workout and boosts the effectiveness of any training program focused on fat loss).

I made sure to specifically say fat loss in the previous paragraph, because a muscle building program would only benefit from a lot of cardio if you wanted more definition (i.e. lower body fat percentage), or if you wanted a conditioned cardiovascular system. You would keep cardio to a minimum in a muscle building program, though, and change your diet to exclude all carbs (except vegetables) and all sugars (including no juice).

This past week to get on track I have attended three classes and been doing some running 1-2 times per week. Doing something is better than nothing and it helped ease me back in to a more intense workout schedule. At the local gym I did a 30 minute Tabata class (was supposed to be a Jillian Michaels BodyShred class) on Wednesday, BodyCombat followed by CRX Worx (high intensity cardio using punches and kicks followed by core strengthening), and Saturday I did a BodyFlow class (Tai Chi, Yoga & Pilates mix class). I could hardly move yesterday, and normally I would be feeling worse today except that I think the BodyFlow class helped bring oxygenated blood to my muscles which speeds up the healing process. I still hurt in my core and shoulders, but it's pretty manageable.

I am debating whether to take today off or take advantage of my husband being home and doing a quick workout at the gym (Nike Training workout). Some of it depends on our tax return (fingers crossed). If we get some back we might go shopping. If not I think I will go to the gym (too cold to run outside today, but the forecast looks good for the rest of the week).

So with this in mind, I'll let you know what the final decision is and keep you updated this week on what I'm doing and how I'm feeling!

Happy Spring everyone! The warm weather is coming, I promise!

In The Meantime

Hey Fitness Buddies!

So I did my first run after our vacation to the Bahamas on Monday and guess what? I can still run for over 30 minutes without feeling winded or my lungs burning! What does this mean? That while your cardiovascular conditioning does revert really fast when you stop exercising (i.e. you quickly lose your cardio endurance) it takes longer than a week or two- this is great news.

It's really great because this is helping me to keep going this week. I plan to start another training program next week (one that is more manageable for a mom) but I wanted to easy my way back into normal living this week. So while I'm getting back into the swing of work and household chores, I'm still doing exercise on my own schedule. I went to the gym on Monday and today I'm planning to workout on my neighbour's treadmill while she watches my son (knowing your neighbours and having awesome ones is one of life's greatest gifts). The trade off is taking her with me to Walmart for groceries (which we both need anyway).

My throat is not liking this cold, dry weather at all (at least I hope this is what's bothering it). I was fine in the Bahamas, and my throat isn't getting worse, just not getting much better either. It's like having a mild sore throat that seems to get dry easily. I'm sure I'm just not drinking enough water (got up to almost 6 cups yesterday). My goal is 2 litres on exercise days by next week (minimum of 1 litre on non-exercise days). It's tough sometimes.

Anyway, just wanted to share quickly before my son and I have our morning nap (he decided to get up at 6:00 am). Then I will run, then shower and off to Walmart (a quick lunch somewhere in there).

To anyone who has taken time off (work, exercising, whatever). Please try to get back into things as quickly as you can. If you feel like working out, DO IT. Take it from me, when you let yourself be lazy for too long you will lose the feeling of wanting to workout and then you have to force yourself back into it (much, much harder to do).

Good luck and be healthy!

Post Vacation

Just got back from the Bahamas and I have to say I'm not feeling the home routine yet. It's hard because it's still winter and I decided to sleep in this morning instead of getting up. I had thought to go for a run on my neighbour's treadmill but instead surfed the Internet while my son and husband napped. Now I'm feeling sleepy again. I'm going to really try to run tomorrow. 

I'm happy to report no major weight gain while I vacation even though I was a little constipated (might be too much info I realize). No snacking either but I did have a daiquiri everyday and wine and beer so I assumed there would be some weight gain. Didn't eat a ton while travelling to the Bahamas though so maybe that had something to do with it. 

My left calf ended up feeling cramped the last day which was weird. I am wondering if it was dehydration (was not consuming as much water as usual) but I'm not sure. When I was training for a half marathon in 2010 I kept cramping in my side and finally realized after 2-3 weeks that it was due to dehydration (felt fine otherwise but when I started drinking water after work the cramping went away). 

The last couple of days I've been feeling hungrier and I have no idea why that is. Maybe I've been having too many carbs and while filling at the time maybe it just isn't long lasting. 

The vacation was excellent. Usually I feel sleepy when we are on vacation but this time I was actually energized. Maybe it was all the sunshine and the warmth without humidity. I have to say it was great and I wish we could have stayed longer. 

So now I'm back to reality and will be hopefully starting another exercise program this week. I'll let you know and start letting you know how it's going when I do!

Find the sun and re-energize if you can!

Plans vs Reality

So even the best of plans get derailed. I was doing really well following the Nike Training Club 4 week program. I had missed a couple of workouts, mostly running workouts that I was planning to make up for at the end. 

Aside from a couple of missed workouts the last week and a half was mostly (not entirely) missed because my sister came to visit and was watching my son while I was at work. Now my sister visiting wasn't a big deal (except it had been 6 months since I'd seen her). Turns out I wasn't used to leaving my son for so long during her visit and I was feeling guilty about leaving him. 

Guilt is a strong (de)motivator. This is when strict nutrition is important as it has helped keep me on track in losing weight. I'm also still nursing my son so my weight loss has to be slow and careful so that I don't stop producing breast milk suddenly. I want the weaning to be a more or less mutual decision not a forced outcome. 

At this point I won't have a chance to do another workout before we leave for the Bahamas but I have maintained my weight loss so far and we are planning to eat at local restaurants so there will be quite a but of walking I'm sure so I think I'll be OK and may even continue to lose weight while on vacation. Who knows?

I'll be MIA for the next week (vacation time!). Be good to yourself and don't let your good habits go for too long if you fall off track. 

Happy life balancing!

Fire Drill

So today's workout was a lot of legs. The focus was mostly muscle conditioning with a lot of cardio mixed in. There were quite a few exdrcises where I had to take breaks. There 180 flip jump squats, froggers, mountain climbers, and burpees- most of which I am not a fan of. It also had a lot of lunges and squats, very little abdonmial and arm work. It occurs to mecthat maybe fire drillcwas referring to the burning sensation in your legs that occurs somewhere close to the middlecand never really leaves.

The upside of this is that your legs and butt have the biggest muscles which will burn the most calories. I'm sure I will fee this workout all weekend. I missed doing the advanced yoga yesterday so I'm going to try to do it tomorrow and hopefully it won't be focused as much on the lower body.

Work those legs ladies! (And men). Have fun walking up and dow the stairs!

The shorter run

So I talked last time about how the long run wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, which was a huge relief. Well today the challenge was time, not distance, and it was harder than it should have been. I'm wondering if it's because it was so much shorter that I wanted it to be done that much sooner or if it was because I did it after the circuit workout and so the entire workout was long. I'm not sure.

I made myself do the whole 25 minutes. I'm glad because my son had a doctor's appointment and I had to go get my sister at the airport and was really tired after and never would have made it back out. I also had fastfood. Shame on me. 

Advice, try to do everything in the program so that if you need to eat fast food you won't hate yourself quite so much. 

Long Run

So yesterday I did what I have been dreading since I missed doing it last week... Running. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy running outside. Once you figure out your pace and your body gets use to this kind of endurance activity it's actually quite enjoyable, outside, where the scenery changes.

Three and a half years ago I trained for and ran in a half marathon to raise awareness and money for a charity I worked for. I started six months prior to the race (in the winter) and trained three to four times a week. I put a lot of miles on the treadmill which was O.K. at the time because I had a goal that I was determined to get to. I've got some tips for the next time or for anyone interested in training for a long distance run themselves. I'll save them for another time.

Anyway, I said that to say this; 85-90% of my training happened on a treadmill where the scenery never changed, listening to my mp3 player. Once I finished the race I actually mostly stopped running altogether and hated the thought of running on a treadmill. Physically the treadmill is much easier to run on than the road outside, but mentally all you start to think about it how much time has (or hasn't) passed and how much longer/further you have to go. That's tough. It used to take me about half an hour to run three miles, these days a little longer and I knew that five miles would take close to an hour. An hour of running and going nowhere (it is winter yet again and way too icy to run outside) is hard to face and go through with.

Yesterday I finally did it and.... surprise, surprise it wasn't quite as horrible as I was imagining. The great thing about my brain is when I'm mentally prepared for something, it's easier to get all the way through. Knowing that I had to plan for an hour meant that my half way point was going to be thirty minutes so if I could get that far I knew I'd be half done. It's actually easier in the long run to complete a long run than it is to always do short runs. During my half marathon training I was actually getting lazy with my short runs and cutting them short compared to my long runs about four months into my training. I'm not sure if I was just getting tired (I took a week off of running completely that July) or if the short distance didn't matter as much to me as the long distance (heck maybe I was actually trying to run too fast, I'm not sure).

Anyway, the point is that it's best to know what you're in for when you're getting into something challenging like an hour of running. I know that twenty to thirty minutes is pretty standard for me and I know how far I can run in that time (in miles and kilometres). I wouldn't say it's something you need to know to run once a week really far (this programs has two runs a week in it) but you should think about what will help you get through it mentally. A friend of mine will revert to 10:1 running (run ten minutes: walk one minute) when she hasn't run in a long time (sometimes she'll do 6:1 if it's been a really long time). Whatever works for you I don't believe it's essential to run the entire distance, so long as you try to run (or jog like me). It takes less time to run (bonus for me) and will probably make you feel more accomplished if you aim to run more than you walk (most treadmills will only do one hour at a time anyway, then you have to re-set it to continue- PAIN IN THE BUTT!!).

So I hope this insight helps you in your endeavour to find your life-health-work balance. If you have any questions please leave a comment, I would be more than happy to give you suggestions and more insights.

Keep running after your dreams!

Playing Catch-Up

This week I have been playing catch-up in a couple of ways ;). The first is on Sunday I did two workouts back-to-back so as not to fall any further behind (I'm still one five mile run behind). I was initially worried about trying to do two workouts in a row because they are always so intense. I was pleasantly surprised, though, that I didn't feel like fainting or throwing up during workout one or two. One of the best features of this Nike Training Club Program is the variety of workouts involved. On Sunday the first workout was more of a cardio circuit style workout and the second was more muscle conditioning and weight focused. It also didn't take as long because you only have to warm up once (not twice) and stretch once (so that's about ten minutes saved).

The program seems to have two workouts that stay relatively the same and the others change every week. This week I peeked ahead and found out that the yoga will be changing this week but it is still yoga so same type of low impact workout, but longer and probably a little harder.

I also realized that the longer runs (five miles or longer) happen every Monday (I started the program on a Wednesday). While I hate running for long periods of time on a treadmill, I recognize that cardio is an important part of any successful weight loss fitness workout. It's also good for your cardiovascular health.

The second for of catch-up is that I will be blogging twice today, this blog and another one about the long run since it happened yesterday.

I don't recommend procrastinating regularly as it leads to trying to catch up which can be tough on the body if done too often. Playing catch up is also daunting mentally and can be a short-cut to more missed workouts and quitting.

All that being said I recommend doing your best to stick to the schedule (make it flexible if it helps you follow it), but don't be afraid to double up if you need to catch up and get back on track!

Yoga strikes again!

So last night I did the 15 minute yoga again and I know that I'm already stronger. I'm able to do some of the poses I couldn't last time (tree plank) and I'm holding all the poses longer than last time.

I have some more encouraging news, according to the scale this morning I am down two pounds. While this is very encouraging I'll check my weight again on Monday and see if I am able to maintain the weight loss. If on Monday I'm still two pounds down then I will consider it as a true weight loss and set my sights on another 1-2 pounds for next week. 

I've been trying to eat a lot better and cut cookies and pop out completely except for my cheat day but it's really hard. I'm not sure if it's better to cut it out like this or allow myself to have a little bit of it during the day.... the first week was good but I just had 3/4 of a cookie today and two glasses of pop yesterday. I have kept my calories down (only going over by less than 100) but the past couple of days have been really stressful and for this kind of stress I'm finding that I turn to things like pop and cookies for comfort. This week I think I'm going to allow some cheating during the day but keep it to one cookie or one can of pop. I don't want to cause myself to binge and this way I can hopefully stick to my new way od eating more successfully.  It's all about finding balance. I'm a firm believer that when something isn't working anymore that changing is ok.

Day Five: Wipeout Round Two

Today was a success!!! I didn't think I was going to make it today (what a disaster of a day!). I wavered most of the day because I didn't get the chance to do part of the workout (little guy fighting to take his medication all morning). 

I'm really glad I made it in the afternoon though. Because this is a repeated workout it allowed me to see if I've made progress. During the workout I felt like all the exercises were a little easier and I took fewer breaks- woohoo!!! This is a great example of how a little progress ca be a big motivator. I haven't lost any weight yet (not really) but I know in starting to get into shape because this workout was easier. 

Remember- it's not all about the number on the scale. 

Day Four: Circuit Challenge

IToday's workout actually happened a couple of days ago but I have been so busy with my son and family that I haven't been able to write about it until now. Yes, I do know how difficult juggling is!

It was a mix of cardio and muscle conditioning. I wasn't feeling well yesterday or today but was hoping a good workout would help my body get rid of whatever bug was bugging me. I am having trouble with the split jumps, they kill knees with I-T Band Syndrome (fyi). This time I replaced the exercise with stationary lunges which killed my legs.

Today the burn was definitely in the legs. I am still taking extra little breaks in between exercises but I think I'm starting to become more fit/less winded. Nike Training Club seems to also be a fan of the lying down quad stretch which I hate. It doesn't feel good on the knees and I don't recommend stretching your quads this way. What I do is I stand near a wall and hang on to my foot behind me and try to pull back using my knee more than pulling on my foot. This supports the knee better without the twisting that lying down forces and you can get a deeper stretch too.

I'm going to remind everyone that I'm NOT an expert but I have experience in the area of exercise and fitness. With that said I will make another recommendation that you save all stretching till the very of your workout (including your cardio). I say this because when you stretch a muscle it causes micro tears in the muscle that weaken it (allowing it to stretch). A weakened muscle is dangerous to exercise vigorously and strenuously and so the stretching should always be the last thing done. 

Happy Exercising!

Day Two: Take Pity on the Out of Shape

I say take pity in the title because I thought today I was going to have to run 5 miles (hahaha!!!) but the Get Lean Intermediate program actually says it's a 15 minute Dynamic Yoga (this is can get down with). It's suppose to re-energize so we'll see what happens.

That was about 12 hours before I actually did the workout. Phew! Not the yoga I thought it was going to be, this was very targeted towards arms and very effective. Lets just say that after 15 minutes I was on the floor panting.

Again there were some advanced poses that I had to substitute easier/simpler poses for (like tree side planks- say what!?). This workout requires only a mat and a wall to put your feet on if you do L on Wall pose. I liked it for its simplicity and effectiveness (and anyone can find 15 minutes to do it). My only mistake was doing it so late in the evening. I was awake until well after 2 am which sucked.

If anyone wants to know the pose sequence just let me know!

Balancing Life

Because I'm hoping to comnect with mothers/parents who are trying to balance work, life, and health I guess I better include Mommy Adventures in this blog. So my son has a cold and this on-going ear infection (I think we're getting rid of it this time). This means that he's cranky and that can make everything a lot more difficult. He didn't want to get dressed to go outside, he didn't want to becin his car seat, etc, etc.

So I get him ready, my neighbour tags along to go to the gym and grocery store with me (which is great because she loves my son and is really helpful when we go shopping). Come to find out that the gym location I chose doesn't have child care hours. So I pack up baby, who then starts screaming in the car, and we decide that it's just not happening and go home. Thankfully it was the 15 minute yoga that I did in the basement. 

This program is quite location flexible and as long as you are creative most of the equipment can be found in the home. I suggest trying to do the workouts when you can and when life gets in the way to not punish yourself if you have to postpone. Just do yourself a favour and don't postpone for too long. 

Day Three: workout with chronic pain.

Last night I did he 45 minute Mean Machine circuits. This one is basically two circuits done twice each. While not as hard cardiovascularly, it is challenging on the legs and shoulders. Again I made some modifications to a few of the exercises (substituted jump split squats for regular squats and/or stationary lunges). For anyone with knee issues jump split squats may aggravate your knees as I find you have less support when one leg is in front and one stretched out back.

Having said that I guess now is a good time to mention that I suffer from both lower back pain and knee pain, both chronic. My back wasn't too bad unless I shovelled snow for too long, or lifted too many things (I had weak muscles that I now know to keep strong and so my back pain is very manageable now). My knee was first diagnosed as Patella-Femoral Syndrome in 2008 but I didn't have the time or money to do anything so I let it go and continued to run and wear high heels (silly girl!). After having my son 6 years later I got it looked at again and the doctor determined it was bursitis (different doctor each time and I had X-rays done botj times. I had an ultrasound done the second time). The pain wouldn't go away (I had temporary relief) so I went to see a specialist who determined that is was in fact I-T Band Syndrome that I suffered from and that no cortisol injections would be needed and no surgery. Just stretching, ice (or heat if that works better for some people) and trying to find more flat places to run. The trouble with the roads are the grading for water drainage that makes running uneven on each side.

These days I find that strstching and icing my knee tend to dochd trick and this year I'm going to try to see a physiotherapist for more specific exercises and stretches.

Introducing Day One

I decided about a week ago to re-commit to my fitness goals. The reasons are both superficial but also intrinsic. My husband recently dared me to run another half marathon this year and now that I'm a mom I want to teach my kids to be healthy by living a healthier lifestyle. To keep me on track and motivated I decided to chronicle the experience.

So here we are.

I am a certified personal trainer taking a break from training to raise my son. I also work part time (in a gym too no less), in a position that allows me to bring my son to work and make some extra money to help out with living expenses. So the BIG challenge, as I know EVERY mom out there knows, is balancing work, child

The other day I was trying to figure out the best way to get motivated without putting a lot of effort into making a whole plan. Then I remembered I had this Nike Training Club app that has a bunch of timed circuit workouts and could even give me a plan based on my short term weight loss goals. PERFECT! I have decided to try the 4 week get lean intermediate program to see how realistic it is. It combines cardio and muscular conditioning, recommends running, and yoga. I think it should be pretty balanced and hopefully help me get closer to fitting into my old jeans (I miss you hip huggers!). I will also try to eat better in an effort to kick my junk food cravings.

I have decided to chronicle my efforts and share my experiences with you. This will hopefully keep me focused and motivated to finish the program. I'm not claiming to be an expert and I think getting a real life opinion will be helpful and motivating to anyone else looking to be healthier.

So today's workout was "wipeout" and I almost did just that. It's 30 minutes including a warm-up and stretching. I will admit that I took more than the designated two rest breaks, but the others were all under 10 seconds I promise. The run afterwards was no fun either but I extended the time to 20 minutes plus a 5 minute cool down so I madeva good effort. Took lots of walking breaks too. All in all it was a good workout that had me breathing hard and sweating and looking forward to tomorrow's workout. I don't think there's any running tomorrow so it should be s little shorter. I'll let you know how it goes.