Refreshing my routine

I thought I’d do a short and snappy post on my new workout routine.

A few months back I used to do lots of longer runs every week (5 miles – which is quite long for me!) but then decided it would be better to vary things a bit more by doing shorter runs and more strength training (check this post out for a recap). I’ve been really enjoying this because it means I don’t get as bored. I do love running but I was finding that my runs were becoming very prescriptive and wearing. Same miles, same route, snorrrre.

Now I run no more than 3 miles and ensure I’m doing bursts of speeds and then recoveries throughout the run. This has been increasing my pace amazingly! I can now run 3 miles in under 23 mins.

IMG_2722

I’m so chuffed! And running mainly at lunch-time rather than stupid o’clock in the morning is making me enjoy the runs more and push myself harder. I no longer think “I can’t run faster, I only woke up 10 minutes ago”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to get my run done in the morning as it’s done and dusted, but I much prefer running in actual day-light (granted, it’s grey, drizzly and cold daylight, but I’ll take what I can in Britain!)

I still do my strength training in the morning but I get to do this in the pleasure of my warm home, usually in my pyjamas. Alfie looks at me like I’ve gone mad when I do my routines in the living room. But as I said in a previous post, this means I get 30 minutes more sleep and can still do the workouts I want. It’s a win-win situation!

Previously my strength routines have been vary random. I would find a routine on YouTube, or whatever I could remember from various sources (years ago Pump classes, Internet, other blogs). Not very structured. Now I’m getting serious.

I devised three workout routines: core, upper body and lower body. They each pretty much take 30mins to complete. In about 6 weeks I’ll change the moves to continue challenging my body. Both Jemma and Laura do this and I thought I’d follow suit as it seems like a very good idea. Also it requires less brain power in a morning to work out what I’m doing – very important!

CORE ROUTINE:

Core Workout
Plank 2.30-3mins
Side plank 1  min
Sit-ups 60-70
Bicycle sit-ups 60-70
Reverse crunches (instruction) 30-40
Vertical leg-crunch (instruction) 30-40
Seated Russian twist (instruction) 45
Wiper Plank (instruction) 46

UPPER BODY ROUTINE:

Upper Body Workout Routine (instructions)
Three sets of 12-14:
Press ups Chest
Flat chest flies Chest
Triceps push Triceps
French presses Triceps
Lateral raises Shoulders
Upright rows Shoulders
Hammer curls Biceps
Single arm row Back

LOWER BODY ROUTINE:

Lower Body Workout Routine
Three sets of 12-14:
Dumbbell squats Legs
Dumbbell sumo squat Legs
Lunges Legs
Side leg raise (instruction) Thighs
Hip-lift progression (instruction) Butt
Toe-Taps (1-2 minutes) (Instruction) Butt
Single-Leg, Single-Arm Reach (instruction) Butt & core

[For the lower body squats and upper body moves I use dumbbells.]

So far these have been great. The upper body one absolutely kicked my butt. Well, it kicked my arms, shoulders, chest and back! Just opening doors was painful put it that way. As the weeks progress I’ll be upping my weights and/or repetitions to keep pushing myself.

So with running three times a week, these three routines every week and Pilates on Saturday I think I’m all set. Maybe this sounds a lot but I’m really enjoying it. I can’t not run, I know that much is true. But running alone didn’t give me a balanced workout. I’m a perfectionist, what can I say?

Soon this will all change though and I will be sticking to a training plan for the Reading Half Marathon. But this won’t be until after Christmas. Enough time for me to get bored of this routine! Winking smile

And HERE’S a great site for lots of “booty-focused” exercises too. Glute strength is something that tends to get forgotten about with runners and cyclists alike so it’s quite a handy list.

How do you keep in shape?

Three weeks

Oh wow I cannot believe that three weeks today I’ll be getting married! Or in fact, married!! I’m so excited. I really cannot wait. Everything is pretty much coming together. We bought our rings last week, and my engagement ring has been sent off to be cleaned and perked up. I feel naked without it! The order of services are off to be printed. The only last troubling worry is our flower girl’s dress (my little niece, Ellie). But I have a shopping trip planned for next weekend to get that sorted. Whew.

My workouts this week have been good. Though I was totally dreading my long run this morning. Because I’ve changed my runs to be short and fast the thought of having a long run just really wasn’t appealing. But I got up and did it. All 6 miles. And honestly, it was tough. Mentally difficult to run for so long. I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m glad I did it but it didn’t rock my world.

1.09 run

I set myself a challenge to run 6 miles in under 50 mins. And I ran 6.14 miles in just under 50 mins so I’m chuffed. Do you know what kept me going? The thought of breakfast. These tasty bad boys:

1.09 pancakes

I’d promised myself pancakes on finishing my run. Honestly these hit the spot! Basically I used the same recipe as before but I added a tsp of wheatgrass (as you know I can’t get enough of that stuff – can you see the slight green tinge to my pancakes?).

1.09 p

And I served it up with some PB2 on the side:

1.09 PB2 I made the sauce thinker than last time so it was more ‘’dollapable’ on the side of the dish. Perfect Saturday morning treat!

So my workouts have been quite good this week:

Monday – 3 mile run and 20mins ab work (2.15 min plank, 1min side planks, 60 regular sit-ups, 30 reverse crunches, 60 bicycle crunches)

27.08

Tuesday – rest

Wednesday – 2 mile run and arm/shoulder work out (3 sets of: 12 hammer curls, 12 triceps kickbacks, 12 reverse fly, 12 bicep curls, and 80 dumbbell cross jabs)

29.08 run

Thursday – strength training (45 seconds of following: reverse fly push-ups, overhead press, dumbbell pull over, bicep curls, overhead triceps extension, standing pike crunch, sit-ups, torso rotations, high knee chop and waist pinchers – whew!!)

Friday – 2 mile run and 20 mins strength training (100 squats, 3 sets of 10 push ups, 3 sets of following: 8 bent over rows, 8 overhead press and deadlifts).

31.08

Saturday – 6 mile run.

And tomorrow? Definitely a rest day! We’re off to church in the morning. And then speaking with our organist to talk about our hymns and the possibility of my friend singing while we sign the registry. But other than that, nothing else has been planned for this weekend! Maybe a long walk with Alfie and regular chores. Oh and I’m totally addicted to watching Cutting It at the moment (British hairdressing drama from quite a few years ago – I love it. It’s on BT Vision…not the coolest thing to watch but I’m hooked). Anyone else…? No…?

Enjoy your weekends! Hope the weather holds up!!

WIAW #5

I haven’t posted in a while as I’ve just been rushed off my feet like crazy!

 

Anyway, as it’s What I ate Wednesday, I will stop harping on…Check out Jenn’s blog (Peas & Crayons to find out more):

My breakfast from Tuesday (prepare yourselves!) was overnight oats!! I’m so chuffed I finally managed to get on and do it. I feel a little bit more part of the healthy living blogging community. That’s a tick in that box! Did I enjoy it? Well…I did, but I did miss my lovely gooey hot green (wheatgrass) oats…But it was a nice change.

So Monday night I put about 40g of old-fashioned oats, 100g of Alpro soya yogurt, a splash of coconut milk, a tsp chia seeds and a handful of berries into a bowl (not that cool to have a jar yet…not quite that cool yet) and popped it into the fridge:

21.08 prep breakfast

Then in the morning I grabbed it out of the fridge. It looked a little suspicious to me…

21.08 prep breakfast 2

…but I gave it a stir and it was lovely a thick:

21.08 breakfast

It was yummy. A nice change for once in a while I think! I did make things a lot quicker getting ready in the morning though.

My lunch was my standard salad that I take to work. This time I jazzed it up with some Brussels sprouts (which I’m loving right now) and avocado (along with my usual tuna, salad leaves, beets and tomatoes). With this I had two Babel Bells (anyone else get excited about Babel Bells because you get to peel them…? Just me?)

17.08 salad (avocado)

And dinner. Well I got a bit creative and made some hummus! And let me tell you, it rocked my world:

Hummus

I used a tin of chickpeas, a tablespoon (ish) of tahini paste, lots of garlic, lemon juice and cumin. Then just whizzed it all up. Served over salad and chicken fried in a tagine paste:

Hummus salad

It was so good (if I do say so myself). And so filling. A definite winner. I do have lots of snacks through the day but they’re fairly standard and boring (apples – obviously, a banana, and a pack of Snack a Jacks Cheese and Chive flavour – the best flavour in the world, honestly I could eat these all day long).

Maybe over kill on the salads but it is a summer staples theme of WIAW! And they’re so easy to whip up. And I do love my veggies…

Onto fitness. I’m continuing on with my new line of exercise routines. On Monday I ran only two miles (it’s still so hard to not to feel funny about not running for longer, you know? It feels like I’m copping out of exercising). But it was tough! And I was totally out of breath and dying by the end:

20.08 run

Only 17 mins worth of running and I was pooped! I’m keeping up the intervals and it’s tough. it really makes you focus on the run. Then I did 30 minutes of ab work. The first exercise video I found on YouTube almost killed me. So I quickly switched (yes yes I’m a wuss). It still hurt but I was actually able to complete the routine!

I’m so pleased with how things are going. I definitely feel like I’m getting stronger (possibly psychological?) But, regardless of anything else, I am enjoying it! And that, people, is the most important part of exercise I think. If you don’t enjoy it, find something else you do enjoy!

Right, this was a bit of a whirlwind post. I hope to write a longer one delving into my hen party activities… But for now, happy WIAW!!

A change

How good does Friday feel? I love that great feeling of counting down the hours until freedom I can go home and enjoy the weekend, knowing that tomorrow is Saturday (=no work). Not that I don’t like my job – I love my job. But nothing beats that Saturday morning opening-your-eyes-after-a-long-sleep feeling and having the rest of the day to amble along. Ahh bliss

Last post I mentioned that I was in quandary regarding exercise and running. Once I start thinking about something I can’t stop. It’s annoying, especially when I want to sleep. In the end I had to do something to switch things up. I wrote that post Tuesday night…so Wednesday morning when I got up run my usual 5 miles I changed my mind. I still got up and still went out to run but I only ran 2 miles. Two miles??! Not worth getting out of bed for maybe? Well, after researching a bit before I found that if I put some hard-core (for me) intervals in the run it would work me harder than just running for 45 minutes. OK, so intervals aren’t a new thing. I’m behind, I know. But still, I thought, 2 miles is not even half of my usual run – how could it possibly do anything?

Two miles later and I’m pooped. Absolutely shattered. I was sweating like a beast (sorry, not a pleasant image I know).

15.08 run

I hit 2 miles around 15 minutes. I was VERY chuffed with this pace. OK, I was very chuffed about 10 minutes later after I stopped dying. I had still gotten up super early so still had some time left to workout (like 25mins). So I did 10 minutes on the rower.

15.08 rowing

Check out my amazing little rower that Ben persuaded us to get. [Pssst! Can just see our washing hanger – don’t we have the coolest mini-gym in the world??] It didn’t rock my world, I’m not gonna lie. It’s not the best rower in the world to be honest and I wasn’t feeling it. But anyway, I then did about 100 squats with dumbbells. I was dead after this!

15.08 weights

Check out that hottie…. Confused smile I was a sweaty mess. More so than if I had just done 5 miles. And the next day my legs were in some serious pain (and still today!) And you know what, I really enjoyed it. It has really showed me how samey things had become and how my usual running had just stopped taxing me. I mean, yes my runs are hard and I do get puffed out, but not in the way that I was on Wednesday. I felt invigorated. Even though I hadn’t run as far, I felt like I had worked a lot harder.

Then yesterday I did my usual strength training. But I decided to push myself a bit more. Usually I waste a lot of time deciding what move to do next. Instead I searched and found a strength training video on YouTube (by a lovely trainer called Sarah. OK you might already be familiar with her, I’m such a newb!) I did a whole segment just on my arms, following what she was doing. So I managed:

image

OK, it might not seem a lot but it was tough for me. I generally just due a range of random weight movements without really focusing on anything. All on my arms/shoulders was tough!!

So I’ve decided to change my weekly workout. I’m going to focus much more on strength training and a lot less on cardio. Even typing that sentence worries me. I’m a cardio girl. That’s what I do, you know. This is quite a big thing to suddenly drop my miles in running. There’s always that insecurity with stopping cardio and gaining weight…a stupid insecurity based on no rational thought…But it’s definitely an insecurity I have (and unhealthy one I’ll admit).

But I know it’s probably a good thing. I can focus on building up my muscles (not massively! I’m not inspiring to be a body builder!) just to look stronger, feel stronger and be more happy with myself. If I’m honest, I feel a bit cheated with running. Don’t get me wrong, I love it and this is really tough to reduce it, but it isn’t giving me what I want. I don’t feel toned, I don’t feel like I’m building any muscle. And for the effort I put in and the miles I run, it’s not fair!

This is what I plan for a typical week:

image

I really feel positive about this. I no longer dread my workouts and feel bored by them. It will really help me focus on what I want to achieve because it’s not longer just mindless running.

Whew! Sorry. I am so glad to get that out of my system.

What are your views on cardio and strength training?

Any tips from anyone?? Particularly over nutrition…

WIAW #4 – and the beginning of a change?

Happy WIAW! Wow these things come around so quickly, don’t they?

This week I’m feeling really good. Really positive and happy. Things with the wedding are ticking along nicely. I’ve not woken up in a cold sweat worrying or struggled to get to sleep for ages. Everything seems to be in hand. Hurrah! I’ve got my hen do to look forward to [dread?] and then the weekends aren’t as jam-packed as they previously were. Whew.

It’s my fourth WIAW (my little blog is getting a bit older!).

I love being involved in this, it feels like one massive community. During my lunch breaks at work (and maybe a few times through the day sneakily if I feel my concentration waning) I love perusing other blogs that I don’t usually read or just checking out people’s food. It always makes me think I eat such boring food and I’m always inspired to change things up a bit or try a new recipe. So thank you Jenn!

Sooo…breakfast:

15.08 breakfast

My porridge made with oats and hazelnut milk and a tsp of wheatgrass. It looks like sludge, I know. It’s the mix of wheatgrass and the brown hazelnut milk. Still tasted good though (I promise!).

Lunchtime (at the weekend) was a bit samey I’m sorry, but I’m really enjoying my salads right now (*desperately clings on to the last dregs of our British summer*):

8.08 dinner

Chicken fried in a Moroccan spice blend, mozzarella, cashew nuts sliced pear, beets, tomatoes, cucumber and leaves. Whew! Quite a variety I guess. I love meals like that though where you just bung everything in them. It’s great that every forkful is slightly different. [Although Ben, the strange guy that he is, leaves all his mozzarella to the end – apparently he likes to get through the ‘boring’ healthy stuff and leave the good stuff until the end *sighs*]

And dinner last night was my favourite meal of the week.

9.08 dinner

In comparison to lunch, this is obviously a lot less varied. However, I love love this meal right now. Crunchy no-added sugar peanut butter, sweet potato, Brussels sprouts and broad beans. Usually I have carrots alongside this but I forgot. I was a little bit devastated when I sat down and realised my mistake. I almost ran back to the kitchen in a deranged panic. But then calmed myself down and convinced myself it was fine without. But carrots and sweet potato are a match made in heaven… Sad smile

Snack-wise I have been loving my smoothies (still).

Smoothie at desk

I take my green monster smoothie to work with me and drink it surreptitiously, hoping no one will see. Though sometimes when I make the smoothie too thick it’s really hard to sneakily drink it. It has the consistency of sludge, meaning I have to tilt back my head so far to drink the damn thing…It’s cool, no one’s noticed. All is fine. *Looks round furtively*

And in the evening I’ve been experimenting with different chocolatey-style smoothies:

Smoothie 13.08

This one contained a handful of frozen berries, 100g (1/2 cup) of Alpro Soya yogurt, 1tbs P2B and 1 tsp carob powder and a little splash of hazelnut milk.

Smoothie2 13.08

I ate it straight out of my blender container to save washing up (yep, presentation score of 10/10). Yum! I always need a snack in the evening. Even if I’m not hungry (a cardinal sin, I know). I just have to have something. I can’t bare to think that dinner is my last meal before breakfast (that’s hours away!! I’ll die of starvation in my sleep!)

And for fitness side of things. My usual running.

13.08 run

I love running (you might have guessed) but I’ve started to have a think. Nothing dramatic as of yet, but I’ve been reading quite a few blogs and the benefits of doing more strength training. I enjoy using weights as you really feel the burn the next day. The thought of reducing my running down makes me nervous (I’ve always done something cardio-based) and I couldn’t not run. I love the feeling, the effort of pushing yourself (OK maybe I enjoy that afterwards) and the feeling of accomplishment at the end of a long run. But something keeps niggling me at the back of my mind that running isn’t everything. Reading Meg’s blog and Sara’s blog and hearing them reap the benefits just makes me think. I’m a fairly healthy person, I’m a fairly fit person, but I (like all girls) I know there are some improvements I could make (call me a perfectionist, I know). A bit more toning maybe. And running just doesn’t seem to help. My thoughts are all over the place at the moment, but I’m starting to wonder if I should give it a one week trial of doing less running and more weight training…

Oh I’m in such a quandary! Any advice would be much appreciated!!

P.S. I just had to upload this photo of Alfie:

Alfie TV

He just loves Smallville!