Workout Wednesday: Mixing Things Up & Low Carb Day

It is good to mix things up every once in awhile.

It gives you a new perspective 

Prevents boredom

Keeps you on your toes

These were all of things I was trying to convince myself as we headed to the fitness center for low carb day #2 workout: sprints again...but in a different form from yesterday. Coach wanted us to mix it up. Why? It's good to change up your fitness routine for several reasons:

1) to continue to challenge your body

2) improve strength and conditioning

3) to keep exercises effective

Since I always do my sprints on the elliptical and I'm not running, that left me with the bike. Then I had to decide which bike: recumbent or upright? I chose the upright because it imitates an outdoor bike and I thought would provide a harder workout.

I definitely got a good cardio workout doing 20 sets of 20:20 sprints, but my legs did not "feel the burn" the same way they do on the elliptical. It was my first time, so I probably need to play around with the incline choices more (I ended up on level 8) and figure out the whole standing up thing.

Side note: after doing some reading for this blog post, it seems as if both types of bikes can produce a good caloric burn (although some argue that you work harder on the upright so you burn more calories than the same workout on the recumbent), but the recumbent provides more protection for the lower back during the workout. Both bikes require quads, hamstrings, and glutes to do the work.

I posted a video to my Instagram, but here are some of the faces I make when doing bike sprints. Pretty funny!

After a 30 minute cool down walk on the treadmill, it was plank time. For my plank challenge I really tried to keep my body stationary while doing the full plank with arm reach. It's a lot harder than when you let yourself rock back and forth.

Since we were already there, we hit the pool again for a little post workout chill time.

We thought we'd mix things up at dinner a little too and ate out on our balcony. It was still near 90 degrees, but in the shade and with the breeze, it was very nice.

What I ate on low card day (repeat)

Brunch: scrambled eggs with ham, pb&j rice cakes and gf sausage patty 

Snack: celery and humus 

Dinner: crockpot chicken, greens beans, salad

I still crave something cold after dinner on low carb days (usually I would have fruit or yogurt), so I've been using pb&j rice cakes as a substitute. It's not the same. At all.

Macros: another good low carb day, but I'm ready to eat all the fruit!

How do you mix things up lately?

Which bike do you prefer?

What is your favorite dessert?

6 Mile Hike and Regular Calorie Day

It was SWIC hiking day. Today we traveled about an hour by metro and bus to the Botanical Gardens where we walked a lot!

We covered nearly 7 miles checking out the main features in the park.

Fairy Lake

Hongfa Buddist Temple

Petrified Forest

We climbed to the top of this Pagoda.

Lots of pretty things to see.

Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and pb&pjs rice cake

Made a point to eat well knowing it was going to be a long morning.

Hiking snack: Fuji apple

Lunch: leftover quinoa and tuna, and (not pictured) pb banana bar, pb & j rice cake

Late lunch (about 3pm) and once I started I almost couldn't stop. Ugh.

Dinner: chicken salad and green beans
Better meal than my lunch and I didn't eat all of the chicken salad. Seriously spicy!

I'm disappointed that I overate at lunch. Everything just sounded good! I need to have a plan for those times when I am hungry like that. Ironically, I was still below my calorie goal for day.

Tomorrow is another day...

What do you do to prevent over-eating?

3 Awesome Yoga Poses and Breaking Fast

Morning yoga. My muscles love an easy stretch session the day after a good workout.

There are lots of traditional (common) poses that feel good: downward facing dog, lunge pose, pigeon pose, even child's pose. 

Here are 3 poses that feel REALLY good to me in the morning, especially after a full body workout the day before:

Supine spinal twist: this feels so good after a leg and arm workout. It really opens up the chest muscles and stretches the glutes.

Revolved fan: another pose that feels good all over plus stretches another large leg muscle group. Those hamstrings.

One legged arcing dog: This pose can feel awkward, but I love the stretch I get in my quads and hip flexors. 

As a distraction, I walked to the chiropractor. In addition to getting an adjustment (including on my knee), I also picked up a new foam roller. My old one was deformed which is the number one sign it needs replaced.

More distractions = a stop at a flower market on the way back to the apartment.

What I ate on fast day

Breakfast: water, coffee

Lunch: water and herbal tea

Breaking Fast (aka dinner): leftover quinoa and tuna, Fuji apple, and pb banana protein bar

I'm so excited that I completed my fast this time and I wasn't miserable. It did help that a friend stopped by and stayed longer than expected right before time to eat. 

Macros: I think I did a good job selecting my break fast meal. Just over 300 calories and very filling!

What's your favorite non-traditional yoga pose?

If you fast, what is your favorite meal to eat when you break it?

A Hiking Goal and My Chinese IKEA Kitchen

This morning I had a date with mrC to climb the mountain, but first there was coffee. Being an ultimate multi-tacker, while waiting for my coffee to brew, I stepped out to enjoy the morning view of the harbor and do some squats.

We've decided to try to hike the mountain a couple times a week because it's a really good workout. 

Check out these stats: 

4.34 miles covered

54 flights climbed

405 calories burned

97 minutes 

Plus we just feel super awesome when we make it to the top.

The post-hike breakfast was courtesy of mrC and he whipped up my favorite cheesy scrambled eggs and ham.

After breakfast, mrC went to work and I began the waiting game for our grocery order to be delivered. We take advantage of the free service offered by one of the international stores when we need to buy our bulky products: paper towels, toilet paper, laundry soap, napkins. While I waited I foam rolled my calves and used a tennis ball to try to hit the trigger point. My heel was still feeling pesky today when I stretched.

When I was making an afternoon smoothie, I started thinking about how much we have adapted to this "smaller" life we're living here. The people in China are much smaller in stature which makes it challenging to find clothes and shoes that fit us. We used to live on a 2 acre lot in a 3 bedroom two bath house and now we're in an apartment that measures 96 sq. meters. 

This randomness started because I was thinking about the size of my smoothie maker. The small cup makes it hard to get everything I want into my smoothies, but it works.

Kind of like the way my tiny Chinese kitchen works. There's actually a good amount of space to prep as long as you don't store things on the counters, which is true in any sized kitchen, right?

Dishwashers are not common, but sanitizers are. We didn't even use the one in our old apartment, but the layout here makes it easier to wash and load. We usually run it when we go to bed (just like the dishwasher at home). It sanitizes and dries. 

It's also common to have your washing machine in the kitchen (or on the balcony like our last place). This was weird at first, but it's not so bad.

It's also typical for the kitchens in rentals to be stocked with IKEA cabinets.

Does your home have any quirks?

Yoga & Heels

I made a friend on my way to yoga class today.

Post- yoga brunch: a plate full of cheesy scrambled eggs with ham and a smoothie.

I've been feeling a little under the weather, so Emergency-C is my new snack.

A couple of days ago, I noticed a hot, tingly sensation in the side of my heel when doing downward dog. I've been spending some extra time on my calf muscles when I foam roll hoping it's just a kinky nerve or myofascial issue. I'm going to make it my mission to study the illustrations in this article that show which muscles are affected by different stretches.

Spotted this cartoonish looking cloud floating over Shekou during my afternoon walk.

Ever have heel pain only when you're stretching?
Favorite cold remedy?

Lessons from Flow

This morning Facebook warned me that the clouds were moving out, so I could enjoy the sunshine in Shenzhen. 

It was already getting toasty on my walk to yoga.

I learned a few things at Flow today:

1) 70 minutes of yoga is not long when you have a good teacher.

2) Yoga is a universal language, so it doesn't matter that the class is in Mandarin. 

3) 10 second assisted hand stands are scary when you're 45!

4) Keep trying! One day you will be able to do that pose you've been chasing. Today I surprised myself by being able to do bound revolved side angle pose on both sides.

Yoga was just as I expected after my warm walk there...a sweat-fest. My favorite facial wipe is perfect for a quick clean up before heading back out in public. I love that it doesn't leave my face feeling dry.

I never eat before yoga class, so I usually have post-yoga brunch. Today's smoothie: frozen blueberries and raspberries, fresh blueberries and strawberries, almond milk, protein powder, chia seeds and yogurt.

Afternoon walk in search of anti-skid material to put under our rug that slides all over the place now that we have wood floors. It's nice of Shekou to place these umbrellas at street corners for pedestrians to stand in the shade while waiting for the light to change. 

Four more days until we leave!

Transformation Tuesday and Other Random Fit-bits

It feels good to get back into the swing of things after missing my regular fitness classes to last week's crazy schedule.

I got the day started with some laundry and an arm workout.

21-Day Arm Sculpting challenge

Day 20: rest

Day 21: 15 reps 3x

I made (with a couple extended breaks) it!! I probably should have taken some measurements or at least better pics for the big before and after, but I think my arms look toned.

I recently saved three new challenges from Popsugar (two are 30 day challenges and one is two weeks) and found a 14 day yoga challenge, but I'm not sure when to start since we are headed home on Sunday for almost 3 weeks. I think I will save the 30 day challenges for May and maybe start the 14 day challenges when I get to Ohio. Decisions, decisions.

Pilates at Vitality

I only missed once, but today felt sooooo hard. I used to get frustrated when I had a tough run. My running friends would tell me that the next one would be better. I'm learning that all forms of exercise is this way.

Lunch: protein smoothie and left over quinoa & tuna. About an hour after lunch, I snacked on some sweet potato chips. My smoothie maker isn't very big, so I'm thinking I might need to make two from now on to prevent snacking. 

The rainy weather yesterday delivered a pretty spring day today, so we took advantage of a breezy afternoon walk along the waterfront. I tried to catch a butterfly who was probably trying to escape the construction on the other side of the fence. 

Exercise equipment is just too tempting to not give a try. I love that these little areas are tucked in all throughout the apartments courtyard.

Dinner: Taco Tuesday! Blogger fail :( I did not take a picture before chomping on my tacos. They're so good, mrC had one even the he doesn't really like hard shells.

People ask me all the time if I like (real) Chinese food and what I eat in China. I do like Chinese food, but it is intimidating to try to order without help from a Chinese friend. For example, the menu will not tell you if the meat is boneless or not (and most often it's not). Here in Shenzhen, there are lots of options for foreigners. Like tonight, we had Mexican, but keep walking and you will see Italian, German, Indian, Irish and Thai. 

Have a great Tuesday!!