Avoiding Muscle Soreness: Three Common Supplements

With all the strength training I've been doing and using heavier weights, I expected to have more muscle soreness than I have been (not that I'm complaining). Don't get the wrong idea, my muscles definitely FEEL like they've been through a workout. It's just that in the past, my soreness would be seriously intense. Like hard to walk and move intense.

Do I stretch after every workout? For the most part, yes. Do I foam roll? Not as often as I should. I have a lot of faith in my recovery sandals, but since I just received a new pair from Amazon I don't think they can take all the credit.

So what's going on?

My answer...supplements. I have started using a couple of new supplements that have super powers.

BCAAs

I started taking BCAAs after getting the flu in February as an energy aid. BCAAs (branched chain amino acids) also play a major role in muscle recovery. Basically, by taking one serving before my workout I get an energy boost to my muscles that helps me get through the workout. That same serving helps me bounce back quicker with less delayed onset muscle soreness occurring.

Magnesium

Every night before I go to bed I take a magnesium pill. Magnesium is calming and helps muscles relax which can help with sleep issues (which I have sometimes), but it also aids in the muscle recovery process. Magnesium is an anti-inflammatory which can help with post-workout inflammation and it relieves tight muscles which are a common result of lactic acid build up.

Natural Eggshell Membrane (NEM)

Natural Eggshell Membrane was recommended to me by my chiropractor because it is known to help repair cartilage and because Glucosamine makes me nauseous ---> which I learned before having my meniscectomy. NEM contains naturally occurring glucosamine (so no side effects) which in some research is said to also help repair damaged tissue and reduce inflammation aiding muscle recovery.

While I started taking these supplements for other reasons, I will happily enjoy the extra benefit of less muscle soreness.

What I use (affiliate links):

BPI Sports Best BCAA Powder - arctic ice flavor

Life Extension Magnesium - 160mg

Healthy Origins Natural Eggshell Membrane


Do your supplements have super powers?

Today I'm doing the link-up with Patty, Erika, and Marcia for Tuesdays on the Run! 

Bump Up Sprints and Boulder's Hometown Mountain (Mount Sanitas)

Yesterday started with a good elliptical workout with mrC joining me on the treadmill. He did walk/run intervals and I did sprints. It was bump up day for me, so after a 10 minute warm-up, I did 15 sprints @ 20:40 work/rest. It felt good and I did not want to die, ha!

After our workout, we grabbed a low carb breakfast from the hotel buffet. You never know what you are going to get, but usually the options are satisfactory to me. Basic, but good. The only way I can eat ham slices is with honey.

We had time to kill before meeting up with middleC after his finals, so we decided to go for a hike. Before we left, I got caught up on my PPB challenge. I did the over-due 40 burpees (15, 10, 10, 5) and a 2 minute plank (60, 30, 30).

Last year we hiked Royal Arch Trail and Woods Quarry in the Flatirons, so we wanted to hike something new. Mount Sanitas is considered Boulder's hometown mountain and is rated as a moderate plus hike.

The hike was a 3+ mile loop of three connecting trails that took about 2.5 hours with an elevation gain of over 1300 feet. It was the perfect hike for us ---> a little bit moderate and a little bit challenging.

We started the hike on the Mount Sanitas Trail which is recommended if you are looking for a workout. This trail definitely put our legs to the test, but there were plenty of places to stop and rest and take in the views.

This hike is probably faster if you don't climb off trail to get to the best seats to take your water break, but we couldn't resist taking in every part.

After passing over Mount Sanitas summit, we joined the East Ridge Trail and began our descent. This part of the trail was very technical and took a lot of concentration working our feet on the rock. It was definitely harder because I did not have my hiking shoes with me.

Although this trail was almost as challenging as the climb up, we did have fun following it through some interesting twists and openings. The last section did finally smooth out just before the next trail connection. And I have to share that my Miir Slate water bottle from Oiselle kept my water nice and cool. I've had it for years but because it's heavier I avoided using it. I'm so glad that I did! It was warm hiking in the sun.

The Sanitas Valley Trail was the final part of the loop. As it's namesake suggests, we were literally in the valley below Mount Sanitas. It was so peaceful and beautiful.

Although you can't tell from my photos, these trails were busy yesterday. We saw lots of other hikers, with and without their dogs, and lots of runners. I don't know how they can run on such technical trails, but they were doing it.

Throughout the hike, we enjoyed the beauty and fragrance of Boulder's flowers in Spring bloom. Of course we had to stop and smell them.

Speaking of flowers, we met up with middleC again for dinner and strolled along Pearl Street afterwards. It felt like we were attending a flower show. Planters of different colored tulips dotted the pedestrian street from end to end.

Do you prefer flat trails or technical trails for hiking/running?
Do you stop and smell the flowers?

My New Running Plan | Weekly Wrap

Yesterday started on a very high note ---> 3.68 miles!

It was my first outdoor run in about 7 weeks. I knew I would want to get in a couple of runs while we are in Delaware because the Wellness Trail nearby is pretty flat which makes my knee happy. I just needed the weather to cooperate.

Yesterday started out super foggy and chilly. Since I don't know the area that well, I didn't think it would be a good idea to be wandering around in this. I delayed my run and crossed my fingers that the sun would come out.

I'm so glad I did because it turned out to be a beautiful day for a run. I walked about 5 minutes from the hotel for a warm-up and then followed my 4:1 minute intervals for 8 sets.

This was one of those runs where everything felt right. The weather, the shoes, the music (Grrl Power 2 from Rock My Run) and the route. Maybe that's why it turned out to be my longest run in months.

My Wave Horizon are a year old now, but only have about 100+ miles on them. I wrote about why I like them (here) and I still do. They are a good fit for me and my knee problems.

During my post-run walk and stretching, I got to thinking about my running plan ---> or lack of running plan. I don't have any events lined up until October when I'll be visiting my family in Cincinnati.  I'll be running the Queen Bee 4 Miler along with my mom and BFF who will be walking, maybe running.

So my new running plan is to run at least twice a week (depending on how my knee is feeling). One run will be during the week around 2 miles and a "long" run on weekend. I'll start my long runs at 3 miles and build up to about 4.5 miles.

It's not the same kind of running plan as I used to have when I trained for half marathons (pre-meniscectomy). I would love to run more, but the lack of cartilage limits me now. So, I'm making the most of what I can do and I'm happy to have a plan.

Long sleeves and shorts - one of my favorite combos!

In case you missed my posts from the week:

Running and Vacation: You Can Do Both

Detours when Exercising on the Road and Friday Faves

Last weeks workouts:

Monday - 40 minute swim. It felt good to be back in the pool, even though it was the typical tiny hotel pool. Thank goodness I had the place to myself. A couple of checks of the time showed me that I could do 4 laps in under two minutes. So for my workout, I did what I'm calling 2 minute sprints with 20 seconds rest. I have no idea how many laps or the distance I swam (my watch doesn't do that), but it felt like a good workout.

Tuesday - treadmill run. After a not-so-good night of sleep, I did a short treadmill run. Using my interval timer again, I ran 4:1 minute intervals for a total of 2.17 miles. My right calf felt tight out of the blue and a little sore, so I spent some extra time stretching afterwards.

Wednesday - rest day yoga. We drove about 5 hours in mostly rainy conditions to Delaware for mrC's work. After picking up some groceries for the week and checking into our room, we refreshed our bodies with Yoga Rinse.

Thursday - 30 minute swim, walk 3.21 miles. Second swim of the week in my second hotel pool.

Friday - 30 minute elliptical + planks. Kept my workout simple: 10 minute WU, 10 minutes sprint session (20 seconds sprint:40 seconds recover), 10 minute CD. 35 minute afternoon yoga flow.

Saturday - RUN! My second run of the week for 3.68 miles.

Sunday - rest day. 1 mile walk on the treadmill while using the hotel laundry facilities and a yoga video.

Total distance:

Run - 5.85 miles
Swim - 900-1000 meters (guessing)

How old are your running shoes?
Are you following a running plan right now?

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap!

Detours when Exercising on the Road and Friday Faves

My first full day in Delaware started with a morning swim.

The Marriott hotel that we are staying in while mrC attends his recurrent training has an indoor pool that looks like it's the same size as any other hotel indoor pool, which according to my quick online research averages around 17 feet. Using that number in my workout (40 laps), I probably swam 400 meters in 30 minutes. It felt good to be in the pool, but I'm really missing the 25 meter length of the lap lanes at our fitness center.

I realized yesterday that there are a lot of variables that can affect a workout when traveling. Just going to swim I had to 1) adjust to the length of the pool, 2) deal with the fact that there was no changing room or toilets at the pool ---> hello changing under a towel!, and 3) time my workout so that I didn't miss the breakfast service window.

Traveling presents other obstacles I've talked about on Instagram and in previous blog posts, but what it boils down to is that you have to figure out a way to make it work. Whether you go outside or inside or stay in your hotel room, there are plenty of ways to workout when you are on the road. It might not be exactly what you planned, but you can't wait for everything to be perfect. You might be waiting forever!

It was such a pretty day that I decided to take a walk after my free breakfast of scrambled eggs and chicken sausage. There's a Wellness Walking Trail that I found when we were here last year not far from the hotel. From the hotel, the entire loop was 3.21 miles and took me about an hour.

Most of the trail loops around the hospital campus maze of parking lots and buildings, but one section passes by this small lake. It was still a bit chilly for me at 60 degrees but a great follow up to my morning cardio workout.

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I have some Friday favorites for today:

1) These athleisure shoes are so comfortable and make me feel like I'm not wearing sneakers because they are so stylish.

2) This book: Feast: True Love in and out of the Kitchen because so many of us struggle with food issues ---> what to eat, how much to eat, what to avoid eating, when to eat, our feelings about what we're eating/not eating...

3) Being reunited with Jane's Krazy Mixed up Salt because it just makes everything taste better, especially my eggs.

4) I'm so happy that we upgraded our GoPro because it takes amazing water photos (see above) and I don't have to mess with a waterproof case.

5) Spring. It was so nice to see signs of Spring. I know many of my US friends have been waiting a long time to see this and I forgot how much I like daffodils.

Have any Friday favorites?

Has Spring arrived where you live?

I'm linking up with Lacey and Meranda and Rachel for the Friday Five 2.0!

Fitting in Fitness | Weekly Wrap

I barely unpacked the suitcase from my awesome Hawaii trip before it was time to pack again. Every spring and fall mrC has work in the US. I tag along and then we add some vacay days to see family.

In the spring, we always go to New England. We fly to Hartford (and stay there when we have extra time, like this trip) and visit with mrC's family in Springfield. Then we head to Delaware for his work.

This time, mrC had a trip that put him in the US way ahead of schedule. So instead of flying back to Hong Kong only to turn around and fly back to the US with me, he stayed and I flew to the US on my own (yes, solo and my first time doing it alone). It was worth it, because we gained an extra week of family time including a weekend with the girls in New Hampshire and it doesn't count toward his vacation days!

Somehow, between all the family time and traveling, I managed to fit in fitness.

Monday - Yoga - I stayed up sooo late (in Hong Kong) watching the Boston Marathon (how about that finish???) I only slept about 5 hours, but had to pack and get organized for my trip. I did some yoga inspired by the outdoor yoga session I went to on Saturday. My goal is to run through the poses to loosen up my tight hips and legs at least three times a week.

Tuesday - Yoga - found a travel yoga video and used it as a pre-flight relaxation session. This helped me tons on my first 15 hour flight, but my body was toast after a delay on my connecting flight caused me to get to Hartford after midnight (22 hours after leaving Hong Kong).

Early morning yoga with Adriene while mrC sleeps using my AirPods 

Wednesday - Hotel room yoga to work out the kinks from a looonngg day of travel and worked through those hip opener poses. Felt pretty good, so I thought I'd do some cardio. The hotel pool is closed for "maintenance" and 2/2 treadmills are broken ---> like missing the buttons to change the speed broken (which made me realize that "maintenance" at this hotel was a euphemism for neglect. I ended up doing an elliptical workout: 10 minute WU, 10 20:40 interval sprints, and 10 minute CD. Plus 2 minutes planking and lots of stretching.

Thursday - Prepared to stride out on the elliptical again, I was totally surprised to find one of the treadmills actually working. This unexpected run put a pretty big smile on my face! Intervals have been working for me

Friday - Rest day. Spent the day traveling to NH, renewing my expired driver's license and meeting up with the girls for some quality catch-up time.

Saturday - Bootcamp. I love working out with the girls and was thrilled that Dev was able to join me as a drop-in at Granite State Fitness ---> a new studio that my SurfSet friends merged with last year. We basically got our butts kicked, but we love that ;)

This 50 minute bootcamp was a lot different from other classes I've taken.

First we warmed up with a fun game of "catch the PVC pipe." We all stood in a circle with one hand behind our backs and the other holding the pipe. When directed we let go of the pipe and moved right or left to catch the pipe of the person next to us. After some practice rounds, it became a friendly competition. If you dropped the pipe, you went to the "loser's" corner to do three burpees and then continue playing the game as others joined you. Dev was in the final three and they all dropped the pipes at the same time! I say she was a winner.

Next we worked on mobility with lacrosse/softballs. Our instructor showed us how to roll our glutes, TFLs and lats. I was impressed by this part of the class, but also wondering when does the workout actually start?

I got my answer in the final portion of the class. It was circuit time and here's how it went down. Partners work together to bike 180 calories or 21 minutes (whichever comes first). While one rides the upright bike with arms, the other sprints to stations to complete 4 kettlebell swings, 4 wall tosses with medicine ball and 4 sumo squats with kettlebell. Then you switch.

We just made it over 100 calories when the timer ended.

That 21 minute circuit is where we almost died, haha ---> and our workout had been modified because we were drop-ins. The others were doing clean & presses, using heavier wall balls and front squats. I was super impressed that we were not asked to use barbells because the instructor wasn't sure we knew the proper technique. I suppose we could have made a case that we know from Bodypump, but I still think it was a smart move on the part of the gym.

The only thing that surprised me was that we did not cool-down/stretch as a group. Considering how much was put into the beginning of the class I thought for sure we would do this. Plus, every class I've ever taken has included at least 5 minutes of cool-down/stretching.

Sunday - Rest day. Another day of travel back to MA. I guess I could claim a workout from moving a bunch of stuff around in our storage unit, but mrC did most of that. (#ootd details below)

What's the worst hotel fitness room you've ever seen?
Does your fitness class include mobility and/or cool-down stretching?

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap!

My Hawaiian Vacation

Aloha!

My weekly wrap is a little late because I just got back from a surprise trip to O'ahu with mrC. I'd been dropping hints all over the place about how fun it would be to getaway and apparently he was listening ---> he's a great husband!

Since mrC is retired military, he was able to get us into the beach cottages on the Marine Corps base. Even when it was cloudy, our own little paradise was pretty amazing. (we got some great shots and video on this trip with our GoPro)

Hanging out on the SUP at Secret Beach - steps from our cottage!

The highlights:

Hiking Diamond Head

This was an easy hike with a series of switch backs most of the way up to the 761 foot summit. The path was a little slippery from the passing morning showers, but with good shoes it was no problem for us. The "hard" part was near the top - 99 steps, a spiral staircase and a few more steps to reach the summit. It was pretty crowded and some clouds rolled in right as we reached the top, but it was still amazing to cross this off our Hawaii bucket list.

Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay

mrC introduced me to snorkeling when we were on Kaua'i almost 10 years ago and knows how much I love it (even though I don't really like deep water), so he took me to one of the most popular snorkel spots on O'ahu. We swam around spotting fish and avoiding coral (it was low tide) and even got to see a monk seal that was sunning on the beach that day.

View of Hanauma Bay from above

I made this little video of our snorkeling

SUP at Secret Beach

We rented a SUP board from the MWR office and used it while we were staying in the cottage. The water was shallow and full of coral, but so flat. Perfect for SUP (my new bikini top was perfect for all my water activities!).

Swimming at Pyramid Rock Beach

A great spot for swimming and sunbathing was right down the road from the cottage. Named for the pyramid shaped rock on the coast, Pyramid Rock Beach had powder white sand and was surrounded by tropical plants. It was a lot harder to swim there than the pool at the fitness center, but way more fun!

Visiting Pearl Harbor

When we arrived on Tuesday, we stopped at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. We lucked out and got the last two free tickets to take the 75 minute USS Arizona Memorial Tour. We watched a short documentary about the attack on Pearl Harbor took a shuttle boat to the USS Arizona Memorial. To see this place in person is quite powerful and moving. I found myself fighting back tears many times.

mrC's friend gave us a private tour around Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. He drove us past the submarines, aircraft (no photography allowed for obvious reasons) and even the beach cottages where the movie Aloha was partially filmed. We stopped at The Lanai on the Mamala Bay side of the base for some Hawaiian fish and chips...and some daiquiris. We had a great view of the main beach on base which is literally right next to the runways. I would have loved to SUP in this bay!

Sailing at Mamala Bay

mrC's friend took us out on the bay in his sailboat so that we could see Oahu from another perspective and so mrC could get some sailing in. Surprise, I got to take the helm, too! Oahu is such a beautiful place. I loved seeing Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach from the water.

Sightseeing

Taking the advice printed on my GAP tee, whenever we felt like stopping to see something, we did. It was fun to strike a pose on lava rock, enjoy the views from various lookouts (never got tired of this) and see mrC's old stomping grounds. We even stopped to watch the various planes and helicopters at work on base and around the island.

Nu'uana Pali Lookout and Marine Corps Base Hawaii in the far background

Kaupo Bay and Rabbit Island in the background 

Amelia Earhart's Marker - first person to fly from Hawaii to Mainland.

Halona Blowhole Lookout (at low tide :( so no spray)

Kanehoe Bay Lookout on our way to dinner 

mrC's old neighborhood - Kailua

mrC's helicopter

We had to cross this runway on base to get to the cottages

Waikiki Beach

We spent our last day at the Marine Corps hotel, Hale Koa, downtown and on Waikiki Beach. This place was amazing! The grounds were so beautiful. We were steps away from the pool, restaurants, shopping and the beach. We spent some time on the beach and then explored along DeRussy Boardwalk. 

View from our balcony

Friends

We got to spend time with mrC's friend who he hasn't seen in many many years and we met a family from California staying in the cottage next to ours who were very nice, but these "cottage cats" were the cutest friends we made in Oahu! 

Food

It's always good to be back in the USA and enjoy our favorite things, but it was fun to experience new places too. mrC's friend took us to Haleiwa Joe's for an awesome seafood dinner and then The Lanai for a delicious lunch. Our Cali friends recommended Goofy's Cafe where we had the BEST acai bowl. We stopped at the highly recommended Happy's Snack Bar on the beach for a little happy hour.

If you are still reading (THANK YOU) and here are my workouts for the week:

Monday - Yoga and swam (new personal best!)

Tuesday - Travel and walk around Pearl Harbor

Wednesday - Morning yoga on the deck and SUP

Thursday - Hike Diamond Head, SUP and swim in the ocean

Friday - snorkel

Saturday - rest day...on a boat ;)

Sunday - Walk the beach

And that's a wrap! This unexpected vacay was the perfect mix of fitness and pleasure. 

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap!

Have you ever been to Hawaii? Which island?

What workouts do you do when on vacation?

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