Perfect Match: Sprints and Low Carbs

Somethings just go together perfectly. Monica and Chandler, cheese and crackers, manis and pedis, me and mrC (😍), sprints and low carbs.

All the years I was running, I never really embraced speed work. Oh, occasionally I would join running friends for Track Party Tuesday, but not often enough to have any impact on my running or my body. Now that I am learning a new fitness lifestyle, I am becoming a believer is sprint workouts on low carb days.

Pairing sprints with low carb days sets the body up to tap into the fat storage for energy. Sprinting depletes glycogen stores quickly. By eating a diet low in carbs the rest of day, the body must find energy somewhere else. Fat.

Based on how my clothes are fitting right now, it works.

Todays sprint workout was KILLER: 20 seconds on, 20 seconds recover, 20 TIMES! I bring my Gymboss to my sprints so I can close my eyes until I hear the magic BEEP.

I never ran a 5K faster than 26+ minutes, but sprints on the elliptical make me feel seriously speedy! This includes the 5 minute warm-up too.

Everyday planking and now mrC wants in on the fun. I did my daily challenge (did you see it on Instagram?) and then 3 sets of 20 second holds in basic forearm plank for him.

It was supposed to be a rainy afternoon, so we spent some time pool side before heading home for brunch. 

What I ate on low carb day

Brunch: 3 scrambled eggs with ham, pb&j rice cake, and one sausage patty.

Snacks: celery and hummus, a little popcorn

Dinner: baked flounder (seasoned with coconut oil, garlic, paprika, and cajun seasoning), green beans and salad

Macros: Under 50 net carbs for the day, so my body should have been tapping into the fat stores (preferably right around my hips). 

What do you like to pair together?

Much To Do Monday and Regular Calorie Eats

Mondays.

In my old life, aka when I was teaching, Mondays were not my favorite day of the week. I (mostly) loved my job, but I hated to see my weekend come to an end. Here in Shenzhen, I LOVE Mondays because it's when I meet up with the hiking group to climb Nanshan. 

This week my Monday was busier than normal. Here's what my schedule looked like today.

7:00 planking on the balcony. 

I love when the weather is cool and comfy so I can step outside and do this.

8:30-10:00 hike (see above)

10:15-11:30 pool time

My favorite way to cool off after hiking the mountain. Often I'm the only one there.

1:00-3:00 Essential Oils Happy in Your Skin Workshop

I'm new to the whole essential oils world. Today I learned how to make dry shampoo, facial wipes, and a facial scrub. The main ingredient we used was tea tree (melaleuca) which is commonly used for acne, cuts, infections, sunburn and a whole lot of other things. It was interesting and fun. 

Speaking of essential oils...an update: After slacking a bit, I've been doing my peppermint oil and icing routine on my achiles and it does feel better.

4:00-5:00 full body workout

Afternoon workouts always feel harder and today was no exception. 

7:00-7:30 after dinner walk with mrC

What I ate: Regular Calorie Day

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and pb&j apple rice cakes

Lunch: leftover quinoa pizza bake, grapes, celery and humus 

Post workout snack: Acai Mulberry Coconut Santo Pop

I found this grassroots company on Instagram. The owner makes these using local in season fruits and a tiny bit of cane sugar. And she delivers! Look her up on WeChat (santopop) if you're in Shekou. 

Dinner: salmon patty and green beans

Macros: as I mentioned yesterday, today was a new day. A better day. My carbs were kind of low, but my calories were nearly perfect.

What's your favorite day of the week?

Do you use essential oils?

Mobility Exercise, Plank Stretching and Chocolate Almond Banana Protein Shake

My plan to sleep late on fast day did not work. I'd rather sleep through as many hours of fasting as I can, but my body has a mind of its own.

Since I was up, I had some time to read back issues of Women's Running magazine. There's a great article in the June edition about issues with mobility and stability that can lead to injuries. Even though I'm not running right now, I think I still have issues affecting my stride even when I'm just walking.

I took the four part test and failed the outer hips portion. Honestly this didn't surprise me since Dr. Steve has been adjusting my hips and knees once a week for the past month. The mobility exercise is to get into the glute muscle with a ball. Just one of my favorite past times lately.

After working on the ball and foam roller, I did my planking challenge of the day: a nice easy yoga plank stretch variation. Walk out to upward facing dog 8 times. Nice and easy for fast day. I liked that.

Sundays can be kind of quiet around here, so I made plans for mrC and I to visit OCT-LOFT (Overseas China Town; LOFT is an area of galleries, shops, and restaurants converted from old factories) on our way to church to pass some clicks of the clock. We went to see some photographs of old Shenzhen during the reform era that were on display at a little art gallery. The photos were of migrant workers/ farmers life from 1960-1980s. Shenzhen has changed so much in a short amount of time.

Before breaking fast, the only thing I had all day was water and coffee.

We stopped into a little health store near church and finally found some chocolate protein powder. And score for us, is was BOGO day.

Dinner: Chocolate Almond Banana Protein Shake and pb&j mini rice cakes

I've been dying to make a protein shake to break my fast. So many carb cycling group members seem to have great success with it. 

Recipe:

1 medium banana

2 tbsp Greek yogurt

1 tbsp almond butter

1/2 cup almond milk

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

Ice

It was delicious but much higher in calories than I expected. I can probably eliminate the yogurt (which would also make it dairy free) and add more ice to keep it a little on the thicker side the way I like. 

Snacks: some cheetos, cheese and crackers, and strawberries 

I don't know what happened tonight, but I suspect that I didn't drink enough water today. Plus, when I know there are strawberries in the fridge...

Macros: 

I can't beat myself up for over-eating. It's a setback, not a failure.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Sweaty Saturday Workout and New Feast Day Treats

The gym is a good place to be on a rainy day. I started my workout by catching up on my #ultimateplankchallenge. The full plank heel lifts are tough.

My main workout can be broken into three parts: arms with body weight only, arms with weights, and legs with cardio.

The first part, arms with body weight only, is actually the hardest for me. There are three exercises to do 10 sets of 10: push-ups, forearm plank push-ups, and tricep dips. I've been doing these one at a time to completion, but today I did a circuit hoping it would make it go faster and be easier. Nope. Still hard.

What I ate on Feast day

Breakfast: fruit, French toast, and hash browns 

As a treat, we decided to have the breakfast buffet at the Hilton after our workout. With our membership, we get a 10% discount and well, I was too tired to think about cooking when we got back to the apartment.

Snack: GF "cheetos"

A new gluten free snack created by Luke, who has Celiac's disease, that I found in Hong Kong yesterday. 

Lunch: smoothie bowl and turkey slices

This will always be a treat!

Snack: crackers and cheese

More treats from my Hong Kong shopping spree. Mary's Gone Crackers are gluten free (so happy to have found them) and the port wine cheese is a favorite from time spent with my grandparents. 

Dinner: quinoa pizza bake and green beans

Sadly that was the last of my favorite pasta sauce brough here from Cincinnati.

Dessert: strawberries 

Macros: today was a good day. A couple hundred calories short, but I did very well on my carbs. 

This carb cycling plan encourages participants to do a gluten free and dairy free diet for six weeks. I admit that I think I'm seeing positive effects from staying away from dairy, but I'm weak. I love my cheese! 

Do you prefer circuits or completing each exercise one at a time?

What is your food weakness?

My Very Low Key Fast Day

Between the feast day workout and my island exploring, my leg muscles were a little sore this morning.

My hip flexors needed a little extra attention. I think it was all from the mountain climber sprints I did. 

Exercise on fasting days is very low key. Definitely don't want to do anything that will make me hungrier than I already am.

My only "workout" of the day was some planks. 3 sets of 10 knee to elbows. 

My chiropractor is heading to the US for two weeks, so I stopped in for a final adjustment. He has been doing wonders for my knee. Today he showed mrC how to work on my calf muscle. We think the tightness is causing my achiles pain.

Since mrC did not have to work, we rode our bikes to the pool to distract ourselves from fasting. That's right. mrC has been eating the same way as me for the past 4 weeks. It's definitely easier this way. I don't have to watch him eat when I can't! This view certainly helped too!

Breaking fast: chips & salsa, chicken quesadilla, strawberries 

We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant (probably not the best idea).

Full disclosure: I'm pretty sure I'm eating too much after fasting. My goal is to get my hands on a protein shake mixture. It seems to be working for a lot of the members of my group. 

What is your favorite protein shake brand and flavor?

Sprinting Works and I Don't Need No Stinkin' Carbs

Sometimes I still do get all fancy pants.

Today I attended the SWIC (Shenzhen Women's International Club) Farewell Lunch. This was the first big event I attended a year ago when we had just arrived in China. Since then I've made some really good friends from this group. Today we said farewell to many members, enjoyed a terrific lunch, listened to an amazing performance by Akia Knowles, and received beautiful parting gifts. I also received a very thoughtful thank you gift for helping organize the run group.

The lunch pushed my workout to the afternoon. So I took my 15 sprints to the fitness center and ate them up. I honestly think they're getting easier...or am I getting stronger? Either way, they are working on my body. I feel AMAZING and my clothes are feeling more comfy again.

Oh, and the plank challenge move of the day: sliding knee tucks. Looking for a new variation that you can REALLY feel? Do this. My abs, my quads. Oh my.

Today's eats for LOW CARB DAY

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with ham, coffee

Lunch: baked salmon and steamed veggies, water

Dinner: leftover bbq chicken, green beans, salad, and Coke Zero 

Macros: I don't need no stinkin' carbs! 25 net carbs today and I feel more fulfilled than I did yesterday. There's seriously something to this carb cycling program.

When was the last time you got dressed up (not for work)?

What was the last thing that made you feel STRONG?