#HolidaySweat Week 6 Final Update

When I joined this challenge I had plans to be fast and furious. Then I had knee surgery during week 3. It slowed me down for a couple of weeks, but I finished better than I started in ways that I wasn't expecting.

My knee rehab took what felt like a giant leap last week. I was so excited to add bridges to my at-home workout, but then Dr. Bri added some lunges and balance work. The first day of lunges were tough and I was only doing 2 sets of (almost) 10. By the end of the week those 2 sets were much easier to do. I can't wait to see what week 3 of rehab will bring.

Although it's not exactly part of my rehab, I did get the ok to do my favorite ninja abs workout. After nearly 4 weeks of limited exercises, this made me feel one step closer to my old self.

In addition to my PT exercises, I continued to walk 1 mile everyday. I think mrC is enjoying the walks as much as the dog.

A surprising outcome has been my awareness and increased consumption of fruit and water. During the first weeks of the challenge, I realized that I eat a lot of veggies, but my fruit and water intake was below acceptable. Using the Plant Nanny app for water reminders has been a huge motivator and my garden is growing.

This challenge reminded me that being healthy is about more than just moving. I'm looking forward to maintaining the positive effects of participating and continuing my adventures in fitness.

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#HolidaySweat Week 5 Update

It's hard to believe that I am already three weeks and a couple of days post-menisectomy. With two more PT sessions under my belt, I have been able to increase my exercises and do more at home with increased confidence.

The bonus point challenge for the week was to walk/run a 5K. My PT did not give me permission to run (haha) or even walk the 5K, but he did give the ok to walking one mile per day (yay). {Friday} my oldest stepdaughter walked with me and the dog {Saturday} I recruited mrC, two kids, and my brother-in-law to take a walk after lunch at my in-laws and {Sunday} after driving 2+ hours back to NH, mrC and I took Booney for a walk to stretch our legs.

Having a smoothie everyday helped me meet the fruit and veggie goal, but the added protein and amino from GNC helped my muscles recover from PT and all the walking I was able to do this week.

My water in-take for the week was another success and I added another plant to my "garden." The only downside to drinking so much water is the number of trips I take to the bathroom. Jeez!

It's time to get started on the final week of the challenge!

What will you be doing this week?

#HolidaySweat Challenge Week 4 Update

Week 4 was a week of progress.

On Monday I had my first post-op appointment and the stitches came out of my knee. I also got the go-ahead to start PT and had my first session on Wednesday. I was surprised by how much I got to do and didn't even mind the 15 minutes of NMES (neuromuscular reeducation electrical stimulation). Apparently my quad muscle has atrophied quite a bit in the two weeks post-surgery. Most of the exercises I can do at home every other day.

I was surprised that I was doing wall squats, even with support, on my first day of PT. The foam roller makes moving up and down much easier as I'm not pushing against the wall. The hardest part for me is making sure my right leg isn't doing all of the work.

Heel press seems like no big deal, but my knee had a little pain after each 8 second hold. Dr. Bri said it was a normal pain, so I will keep doing them. This one is all about the hamstrings and mine felt the work.

Throughout the week I also had fun mixing in some of the PUREDGE product I was sent to review (post here) from GNC to boost my fruit and veggie smoothies. It also inspired me to try some new recipes. My favorite so far has been a Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie.

With the help of the Plant Nanny app that I mentioned in my last update, I met my daily water goal EVERY DAY!! My first plant, befittingly named Water Baby, grew so much that I was able to move it to the "garden" and start a new plant named Dandy Baby.

Week 4 of the challenge also offered bonus points for doing yoga. Now, I'm all about using yoga to stretch, so I did what I could with my knee and it felt so good!

Overall, it was a good week for me.

How was your week?

#HolidaySweat Challenge Week 3 Update

I don't know why it's taken me this long to do a Holiday Sweat Challenge post, but here we go!

Week 3 started as I was 4 days post-op from my meniscus surgery. I stayed home from school an extra day to give my knee one more day of rest in the hopes of reducing the still significant swelling.

I tried to ice my knee and get some work done, but after a wellness call from Dr. O's office I spent three hours getting an ultra sound and waiting for the results. The good news was I had no clots, the bad news was I had to limit my weight bearing by using one crutch until the end of the week.

My week of workouts suffered as a result of my recovery. On one hand I couldn't do much because of my knee and on the other I was exhausted. Maybe my body was working overtime for the healing process and maybe maneuvering myself around with one crutch is just tiresome.

In addition to tracking workouts during the challenge, we also track our servings of fruit, vegetables, and water. This part of the challenge has been eye-opening.

Monday - Arm strength workout (you can check it out here) and leg exercises. Water and 3 freggie servings.

Tuesday - Another arm workout, water, and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 8:15 PM

Wednesday - Water and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 8 PM

Thursday - Leg exercises, water, and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 7:30 PM!!

Friday - Leg exercises, water, and 3 freggie servings. Bed at 8 PM

Saturday - Spent 2 hours walking around the mall Christmas shopping. Normally this would not feel like a workout, but it was the most walking I've done (crutch-free) in over a week! 2 serving freggies and tons of water.

Sunday - Arm strength workout and leg exercises. 4 freggie servings and tons of water.

This challenge has shown me how much I am lacking in my water intake. Add to that some medicine that can cause constipation, and well…not so good for my tummy. At the end of the week I saw an article on Facebook about a woman who drank 3 liters of water a day and changed her life (read it here). I knew I had to make some changes myself.

I started using the Plant Nanny app after my friend Dani told me about it. It's an easy way to keep track of how much water I'm drinking and reach my daily goal. The app also gives me my own "plant" and every time I drink water, I water the plant and watch it grow. I named my plant Water Baby.

What do you track?
Do you use an app?

Flock Workout

With the arrival of winter at Thanksgiving, I've had to take my workouts inside.

The Oiselle Pros are doing the same and recently shared some of their favorite workouts. I don't have all the fitness equipment that they do, so I made some modifications to create my own no-equipment needed Flock Workout.

This workout combines exercises that focus on the abs and legs, but it doesn't leave out the cardio.

Tadas: Otherwise known as "plank with twist" or "plank and rotate." Dynamic planks are reported to be more effective and mimic the natural movements of our core during running.

Jumps: Squeezed in between the core work, the three jump exercises seriously get the heart rate up. By the time I got to the jump overs, I was very winded.

Spiderman Planks: Planking while being out of breath is much harder, but I like that challenge.

My warmup and cool down was a brisk 5 minute walk on the treadmill. In the near future (hopefully), I will run.

This workout is good for anytime of year, but it's especially good to use during the #HolidaySweat challenge!

It's time for another #FitnFashionable share! One thing I love about fitness gear is when it is easy to transition from exercise to everyday function. For this workout I chose Oiselle flyte shorts and a stripey scoop neck with the flyte shimmel racerback underneath. After a workout I can throw on a pair of jeans or casual pants and I'm ready to relax or run errands with some #flystyle.

Do you wear your fitness gear outside of your workouts?

 This post is also part of the #FitnessFriday link up hosted by Jill.

Powerless Thanksgiving - Shake It Off

mrC had a trip on Wednesday and when I heard the forecast for heavy snow, I should've known that the power was going to go out. It rarely happens when he is home. As pretty as it is to see the snow stuck to all the trees, it's a serious bummer when the trees fall or break on the power lines.

Original pic from Allie

I normally tough it out in the house with our small generator and as many small appliances as I can plug in, but not this time. This time I grabbed the dog and the credit card and checked into a local Holiday Inn. 

So instead of being surrounded by family on Thanksgiving, I found myself surrounded by fitness machines. 

When the power went out, I was not a happy camper. After walking by the fitness center a few times, I decided that I needed to shake it off. It was the perfect place to earn a little #holidaysweat workout challenge points.

I started my workout with a 20 minute ride on the stationary bike. I do not use fitness machines often (ever) besides our own treadmill, so I really had no idea what I was doing. I choose a calorie burn workout with a max level of 7. OMgoodness. It was HARD and I was seriously sweaty.

Next I jumped on the elliptical. On this one I selected a 20 minute cardio workout. Loved it. I felt like I was running. The best part was my mom FaceTimed me during the workout. She thought I was an awesome heavy breather, haha.

At the end of the 40 minutes, the smile was back and I was feeling better. Can you blame me? Look at the calories I shook off.

After my workout, I leashed up the dog for his workout. We walked for about a mile.

How was your Thanksgiving?

Did you get in a workout?

Workout Wednesday: SurfnTurf through a Snow Storm

The day before Thanksgiving means early dismissal from school for this English teacher. Translate: I could go to SurfnTurf class!

As soon as my last class was over, I changed into my workout clothes and headed to TI Fitness. It was just starting to snow and I loved the idea of making some #surfsweat while there was a snow storm going on.

View from the 4th floor studio

The first part of the class was on the boards with a fast paced mix of cardio. One thing that keeps me coming back to these classes is the challenge of the pace. As soon as I think I'm going to keel over, the instructor slows things down just a bit to let me catch my breath. 

After a brief break, the fill class was divided into three groups to move through stations that combined strength and cardio. We ran the stations for 4 minutes each repeating the exercises until time was up. 

Station #1 was with the hand weights: 15 cross punches, 15 squat press, 15 plank rows. 

Station #2 moved to the cones: 5 high knees, medicine ball jump, repeated 4x, suicides, and jump rope 10x. The instructor modified the suicide for me to jump rope 30x.

Station #3 was with medicine balls: 15 full sit-ups, 15 squat toss, 

Station #4 was at another set of cones: shuffle cone to cone with squat jump at each, up & down the stairs 2x (hand weights optional).

Station #5 was at the kettle bells: 15 swings, 15 figure 8s, and 15 jacks.

Station #6 was at the ladder: plank walk, side jumps back to start, 10 sit-ups.

We finished up with a round of abs…ugh. I'm going to feel that tomorrow.

As usual it was a great workout. I'll be going back for some Turkey Burn on Friday.

Are you burning some calories today?

**Note: I was in the process of writing this post after getting home from the class when the power went out. The snow storm is dropping tree limbs and drivers are knocking down poles. I am now comfortably checked into a hotel where I will wait for the power to come back on! **

Trail Tuesday: Top to Bottom Circuit

Even though I'm not currently running, I still spend Tuesdays and Thursdays on the trail…watching the high school Run Club runners.

We meet after school in the parking lot and then they head out. I walk to the trail and wait for them to pass by about a mile into their run. It works.

Today I decided to be more active while waiting for the runners and the trail seemed like a good place to do my first #holidaysweat challenge workout.

I received the workout in the Holiday Sweat Challenge Monday email. It was designed to be done on the TRX (which I don't have), but the email included modifications (love that). I completely changed the atomic push-ups to spiderman planks aiming for the same over-all effect.

It took a while, but I did find a relatively soft spot on the trail to do the workout (not where the photo was taken, that's just for the blog (; ).

My arms are going to be sore tomorrow. I can feel it.

Did you workout today? Tell me about it.

Fit Friday: Holiday Sweat Challenge + #FFTriumph

One thing I have learned over the last couple of weeks is that I need to work on my overall strength, especially if I want to run injury-free. To do that I need to stay focused whether I am running or not.

So, in a couple of weeks I will be starting my first Holiday Sweat Challenge with Amanda from Run to the Finish. You might recognize the name since I have been a fan and sharing Amanda's workouts on the blog now and then.

Disclosure: I received the SweatPink Ambassador discount

I joined this challenge for three reasons:

It's a six week challenge. Six weeks of getting motivated and staying focused…right through the holidays when it can be the hardest time to stay focused. 

It has two things that seriously motivate me: a friendly and supportive COMPETITION and there are PRIZES up for grabs!  

I'll get personalized workouts to match my fitness level.

I can't wait to get started!

#FFTriumph

On another note, my TFL test run yesterday before my PT appointment was not as perfect as I would have liked. I was hoping to have a big write up about how fabulous my two mile run with Run Club was a fitness triumph, but sadly, the post-run TFL pain returned by the time I made it to Dr. Bri's office.  

And that's how I ended up on the no-running list again.

Despite the injury plagued year I've been having, I am determined to get better and get back to running asap. Let life outside my running comfort zone begin.

It's frustrating being injured and only able to run 2 miles, but I'll never stop! It just feels too good. #fftriumph #FitFluential #TeamWR #WRWhyIRun

A photo posted by AmyC (@runningescapades) on Nov 11, 2014 at 1:27pm PST

What are your holiday sweat plans?

What was your latest fitness triumph? Have you entered the FitFluential November challenge?