Week's in Review

These past couple of weeks have gone by in a blur!

Here's my two weeks in review..

Cardio has been what it steady with my daily route ~

My lovely tiff was so fabulous on Saturday the 16th - what fun is the mind when it plays tricks on you and you can not recall for the life of you what your iphone password is  (sigh). So no Nike+ tracking - making the most of it I ended up working on a cycle machine instead. something is always bettering then nothing.





I even tried to have Siri unlock my phone -- she 'should' recognize my voice no?


eh no - cause of course I got frustrated and asked 'What are you good at?" She brought this up - seriously?!?


Finally at around the afternoon hours - the light bulb in my lovely noggin' finally went off and huzzah - an unlocked phone - and i quickly changed my password to something simpler...geeze.





So what else has kept my time at bay...

My boy has bridge from Cub Scout to a Boy Scout -

....hmmm maybe we should all be wary?


Completed my 4th Race in my #13in2013 path - on the treadmill - felt good; had to pause the app though a couple times with issues with the machine it self but i kept a very slow steady pace.

Finally I was able to partake in one Crossfit class; again adoozie!

Wanna try it? Tere is a sample of what we did.

 

 

Cross Fit Crazy?!?

CrossFit is a fitness program for everyone–regardless of age or ability–who is interested in improving fitness. CrossFit provides immediate, noticeable, and positive results.CrossFit treats every participant as an athlete, and seeks to challenge that athlete with a constantly changing program featuring a wide range of functional movements performed at high intensity through a variety of modalities.CrossFit develops and maintains one’s ability to engage in the activities that improve and extend the quality of life.

My running bestie started on this program a few weeks back, of course she got me interested in taking the plunge. I purchased a 10 session package and last Saturday I tested the winds....

So far I have completed two sessions and at this point I think once a week is all that can handle at this point - ha ha. MUST allow for my body to recover... (whoa).

As an example here's what we completed this Saturday...

We were partnered up and as my friend was completing the excersise of 20 sets; I was to hold a 25lb weight and then switch. Ended up jogging a combination of almost 2 miles with this workout; felt good to break it up.

This is exactly what I felt like when we were finished....









So now Monday morning I am still feeling sore; but oh yes crazy me I am looking forward to the next session...

Have you tried Crossfit yet and if so what did you think of it?

Busy Busy Bee again...

Busy Busy Bee again - that's me!!










The month of January I finished with
32 runs with an average distance of 2.3 Miles
75.19 Miles Total Distance

Yep - best month so far!!





I am also happy to say that I did beat my 4% weight loss in the month of January; and even ended up winning double my contribution!!

It is soo funny how all of a sudden I was at the wire and going oh NO i am going to lose $10 if i don't kick myself in gear this last week!! Thank you to my hubby for letting my hit the gym - twice in one day!

Hey and if you want to check out the next round; there will be a total of four! Click Here! I am personally taking a break to adjust my routine slightly; and may be hitting this one up on the third round!


So what else happened in my workout world this past week -



















Weight Training Routine consisted of -

Monday  - Arms

Tuesday - Legs (Quads/Hammies)

Wednesday - Core

Thursday - Shoulders

Friday - Tri's/Biceps

Saturday - Cross Fit & Pilates (two new aspects in one day!! Yikes!)


My PlankaDays for the week 

From a Tough Time... to.... Making it Work!

Prior to starting this blog I was having a tough time with my food control, and staying accountable to my actions - eating and fitness routines. I had gotten on a slump and figured oh I don't have to track my food anymore; I don't have to hit the elliptical or treadmill 'that' hard, I am maintaining and its OK!

Slowly but surely over those 6 months of not in full 'control' of myself I ended up gaining at the highest 20lbs! It was unbelievably stressful; what had I done how could I have let myself go so far? My actual goal weight was 16lbs below the top of the BMI chart so I was thankful that my Weight Watchers does allow you to change your 'goal' weight. They knew I was in a slump and I would be back on my two feet again soon enough.

So now lets fast forward January I am feeling more in control and stay on track of my weight...
Why?

• I joined Run Your A$$ Off game to get back on track
• Signed up for numerous 5K's - and still train-in-progress!
• Started tracking my WW Points Plus
• Started tracking my WW Activity Points, and using Nike+ with my running bestie!
• This Blog! Being accountable as best as I can.

What finally been working for me??

Workouts
5-6 Days a Week I am in the Gym --
20-30 minutes of weight training
30-45 minutes of cardio

Easy of Food selections for Breakfast and Lunch









Breakfast/Post Workout Smoothie - Based on Protein Powder 4-6 Points Plus
(My favorite!)











Lunch - easy, quick to prepare and filling!

• Veggie Burger with light Swiss Cheese
• Handful of grape tomatoes
• 1 Serving Popped Edamame Chips _ found them at Costco!

Points Plus for this meal - 8

Midday snack for me is Freshly made vegetable juice - 0 Points Plus!


This then allows me a crazy amount of - 17 Points Plus for dinner and possible light dessert. I can not tell you how this makes Family dinners less stressful and keeps me sane to decide 'what' can I or should I not have. I try to make sure to have 4 ounces of protein, vegetable and whole wheat carb, as a balanced meal.

Not everyone could handle eating the same Breakfast or Lunch but its what helps me greatly in my success in my past weight loss journey and again continues towards success so far in these last few weeks.

I am excited to say I am 10lbs away from my original goal weight and I feel awesome.

This week I have my final weigh in, now as of last Thursday I hit my 4% goal for the Run Your A$$ Off  challenge, I just need to maintain it OR beat it! :)


What challenges you or makes your challenges 'easier' to accomplish??

Quick post about this weeks workout...

Seriously I don't think I have had any moments to breathe and sit down to write on this blog so apologies to my followers for the lack of communications this week.

For this very moment I have time to share with you my week workout view, later this evening I plan on connecting with ya'll again :)

Monday I was in the gym  got in a leg work out, however ended up chatting with a friend a little longer then I should have so whoops I ran out of time to hit the treadmills
(oh well it happens to the best of us right; and I made up for it this weekend)

Plankaday I am soo excited to be hitting 1 minute durations!!

Alrighty I have to head off to weekly grocery shopping adventures, Costco and Vitamin Shoppe are in my very near future... once my day finally allows me to sit down and get all my thoughts out straight I hope to be posting again tonight some thing new as promised..

Week Workout Review; Crossfit?

So this week after my 5K, I took it a little easier on my treadmill and elliptical mileage...
 

I also have been working on toning for 20-30 minutes prior to my cardio work-

• Monday  - Arms
• Tuesday - Legs (Quads/Hammies)
• Wednesday - Core
• Thursday - Shoulders
• Friday - Tri's - Biceps
• Saturday - Extra Core day (sampling for you!)

....and then of course daily  Plankaday; I am working hard towards 1 minute planks.
(consistently, mind you)

 



Last but not least question of the day -

One of my friends is now taking Crossfit classes, she is 'hook', personally it sounds NUTs! (but intriguing as well, could I actually do something like that, push myself to such extremes? Would my body handled it or put me out of normal work out routine for weeks?)  

Have any of you done a Crossfit class? Whats your take if so....

Thinking about some Hills

So one of the 'issues' I had during my last 5K is a 'hill' in the middle of the race. This really hit me hard, even though I was able to run for 1.40 miles, that hill just killed me. I started looking yesterday at hill training, to help on my future runs.

Hill training can benefit:

• Promotes strength endurance.
• Helps develop power and muscle elasticity.
• Improves stride frequency and length.
• Develops co-ordination, encouraging the proper use of arm action during the driving phase and feet in the support phase.
• Develops control and stabilization as well as improved speed (downhill running).
• Develops maximum speed and strength (short hills).
• Improves lactate tolerance (mix of hills).

There are a couple of treadmill options at my gym a few of them will even allow to incline to from -3.0 to 30.0.

I plan on using this model two times a week to help improve my overall fitness and running speed. Maybe I'll do Tuesdays/Thursdays to keep it constant. I'm still looking for a set plan of attack in the gym.

Time/Distance	Pace	Incline
10 Minutes	Warm Up	6.0
1/2 Mile	Easy Pace	9.0
1/4 Mile	5K Pace	12.0
1/4 Mile	5K Pace	6.0
1/4 Mile	Easy Pace	6.0
1/4 Mile	5K Pace	9.0
1/4 Mile	5K Pace	6.0
1/4 Mile	Easy Pace	6.0
1/4 Mile	5K Pace	15.0
1/4 Mile	5K Pace	6.0
1/4 Mile	Easy Pace	6.0
1/4 Mile	5K Pace	12.0
1/10th Mile	Easy Pace	9.0
10 Minutes	Cool Down	6.0

What to join me but you need a beginners pace?

Beginner to hill training tips and tricks -

• Be cautious when hill training, look down and slow down; as you get comfortable your speed will increase eventually.
• When training, first start with normal walking and running, then slowly build up your endurance and strength before attempting a hill workout.
• Warm up before any workout session.

I created a beginner options feel free to use if you wish...

Time/Distance	Pace	Incline
10 Minutes	Warm Up	1.0
1/2 Mile	An Easy Pace	2.0
1/4 Mile	Your 5K Pace	3.0
1/4 Mile	Your 5K Pace	1.0
1/4 Mile	An Easy Pace	1.0
1/4 Mile	Your 5K Pace	3.0
1/4 Mile	Your 5K Pace	1.0
1/4 Mile	An Easy Pace	1.0
1/4 Mile	Your 5K Pace	6.0
1/4 Mile	Your 5K Pace	1.0
1/4 Mile	An Easy Pace	1.0
1/4 Mile	Your 5K Pace	3.0
1/10th Mile	An Easy Pace	2.0
10 Minutes	Cool Down	1.0

Ready to kill some hills!

 

Oh and side note the Official Hotcake Hustle photos are out - My kiddo's and I are included (of course they are eating donuts no less d'oh!) http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151353764869271.499671.36636484270&type=1