Happy Monday, everyone. Is it me or is it starting to get lighter in the mornings? I can’t wait until I’m woken by sunlight in the morning again…such a gentle way to wake up.
During my time off of running [apart from boring the socks off of everyone about how much I wish I was running] I have been going to the gym and trying to strengthen my body so that when it decides it is happy to run again, it will run strong.
I’ve been seeing a person trainer pretty much once a week (apart from Christmas) and he’s been guiding me through lots of exercises that I would never have done on my own. And lifting weights I would never have dreamed I could have done. Now I am by no means comparable to lots of other far stronger people out there, but for me I’m amazed.
My session last week he instructed me to deadlift a dumbbell bar weighing a total of 50kg. This is pretty much my weight! I realise this might seem so easy to some people but I couldn’t do it. I was terrified: it was too heavy, I was convinced I’d break my back or knees.
He took the weights off and started with just 20kg. He tutored my form and then added more weights, I deadlifted, then rested. He added more weights, I deadlifted, then rested. We continued with this until we were back at 50kg. And I did it – all 8 reps of it!!
It’s not running, no where near. But I was so proud of myself.
I also follow workouts that my running coach devised (all those weeks ago) which is mainly focused on lower body:
This took me 40mins to complete. And I looked like a right berk doing the unbalanced squats.
I’m hoping that I’ve been using my ‘non-running’ time well. And when I get back into running I will continue with my strength workouts, hopefully, twice a week. That is the plan anyway!
On an entirely different note, I was sent some pastry cases made by Pidy to try out. Pidy products are made with their award winning pastry recipe that the Pidy family initially created in their little patisserie shop in Ypres, Belgium back in 1952. They have a huge range of different pastries ready for fillings to be added.
I’m not a huge fan of pastry I must say but these sounded very cute and dinky. I was sent three types: mini square puff pastry squares, award winning pastry ‘sponnettes’ and veggie cups. The puff pastry squares were 130 calories per square and the spoonettes and veggie cups under 20 calories. There are no artificial colours of E-numbers and they’re a great source of fibre too.
Because we were feeling lazy on Sunday night Ben and me decided to have a sort of snack plate so we could try out the pastries.
I filled the different pastries with tuna pate, hummus and Brussels pate. We could have been more adventurous I’m sure and made them more exciting but these little things were perfectly delicious just like this and very filling! My favourite was definitely the veggie cups which were with 30% beetroot juice (hence the colour) and they were very crunchy which I loved. Other veggie cup flavours are carrot, spinach and celeriac.
I’m sure they’d be perfect versatile snacks that you could really go to town on the fillings and offer to guests when hosting an evening (ooh er, how posh!). And they don’t just have to be savoury, you could easily fill these badboys with sweet fillings – like fruit and yogurt, or chocolatey yumminess.
Thanks to food PR agency CLIP Creative and PR for the samples!
**I was sent the samples to review, but these are all my own opinions of the product**
Right, let’s get this week started!
Are you good with balancing strength workouts with cardio?
Do you like finger food and canapés? I love canapés. I especially love weddings with posh canapés 😉
What would you fill these pastries with? I was a bit boring with mine but they were very tasty regardless.
Girl – check you out!! Your arm’s are looking quite sculpted these days. It’s obvious weight lifting has done you well since your little break from running. Keep it up girl!! 🙂
Haha thanks Jessie.
I’ve been thinking that it’s getting lighter out too!! Woohooo! Those pastries look delicious!! And great job with your strength training…I can’t believe you could lift that much!! Way to go!!
I know! I’m amazed at my puny body!
I absolutely love strength training, and I miss it so much since I have left the gym. I really miss squats, deadlifts and all the compound moves. I found when I started doing more strength training it had a huge impact on my running.
I’m really hoping it will help. I can’t see how it won’t to be honest.
At the moment I’m trying to lose what I’ve gained over Christmas so my workouts are more on the cardio side but once I’m back to a healthier place I think I’m going to get some PT sessions where I can lift some heavy stuff. Well done on your deadlift!
PT sessions are brilliant. Having someone there to not only push you but watch you do the moves to make sure you’re doing them right is so good.
One of my friends just went to a personal trainer and she said it was awesome!! Looks like you are doing some great exercises which will make you a fabulous runner once you return!! 🙂
Thanks, Lora. I really hope so!
I am not good at doing the strength things, just body pump for me so not that heavy!
I am sure it will help your running loads though.
Those beetroot cups sound good, and look very pretty too, although like you I am not really a pastry fan.
I did pump for a bit but I found I needed something a bit more specific to me as I felt like the pump classes were a bit generic if that makes sense? I wanted something (and someone!) to really target on what I needed to work out.
You had me at pastries. Seriously, I need those. They sound so unique to me!
It was a very unique dinner for definite!
Your arms are looking great in that picture! Hard work paying off!
Definitely a great decision to go with a personal trainer. It looks like he’s giving you so much more confidence to try new things.
I love snack plate dinners. It’s all about lots of variety. 🙂
Aww thanks, Mary.
Yes I totally agree about variety!!
Well done on the lifting Anna, amazing job! Those pastries look so good 🙂
Thanks, Claire!
I do virtually no strength workouts, which is pretty bad! I know that some core strength would really help my cycling, but never seem to get around to fitting them in – I’m nowhere near as motivated/disciplined as you when it comes to workouts! Well done on that big deadlift, you’re like superwoman! 🙂
I know, I don’t know how I’m going to fit these things in when I’m back running 4 times a week. Well I just know I need to. It’ll be tough but it’s for the best.
All over break I kept my window curtains shut in my room so that it would trap in all of the warm air (not that it still wasn’t cold…), so I never really noticed it getting lighter in the mornings until I returned to school. But you are definitely right I think!
Unabalanced squats.. Yeesh. I hate squats by themselves. Unabalanced ones must be killer. Great job on the 50 kg! You’re a beast now 😉
Those pastries sound so neat that you can fill them with your own things. I would probably have never considered doing a savory filling to be honest, but those sound equally good. Whipped cream or even a vanilla pudding (as in American pudding) sounds fantastic to me!
Oh no! Don’t keep your curtains closed! I love the sunlight coming through my bedroom window. Though I totally understand that it’s probably very cold otherwise…
Your fitness schedule is great, I will follow you.
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I confess that I’ve been neglecting strength workouts, and I’m aware of the negative impact it can have on my cycling performance. Core strength is particularly important, but I struggle to prioritize these exercises amidst my busy schedule. Your commitment and dedication to your workouts inspire me, and I truly admire your achievements, like that impressive deadlift! You’re a true powerhouse!