Shred Day 13 & 14: Facing Fears and a Zoo Loop

Every time I lace up my Mizunos for a sprint interval workout I am scared. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was not able to run my sprints and did them all on the elliptical because my knee is cranky as hell. I never now how my knee is going to feel during or after the workout and or even if it will want to work!

Yesterday my knee felt good, so I went to the park near my mom's house to do my workout. First, I walked a 10 minute warmup on the walking path. I love paths like this because you don't have to worry about traffic.

I switched up my 30 day Shred days so that I would be able to eat ALL THE PIZZA at the pizza party my aunt was hosting later and then I switched up the workout from interval run to sprint intervals for my knee. The goal: 25 sprints using 20 run/20 walk intervals.

To make it even easier on my knee, I ran the sprints back and forth on the mulch section of the walking path. It was a perfect match for my knee. I felt good, my heart rate was up and I was definitely sweaty!

For my cool down, I walked another 15 minutes on the path back to my car. I used my Nike running app for the first time in months. It felt so good, but it feels even better to SEE my resulting route (I accidentally stopped it after my sprints).

On our way to my aunt's, my mom and I hit up Athleta and had ourselves a little shopping spree. I'm a bad influence on her...she bought four pair of pants! I walked away with this, this, this, and this.

When you get the girls in my family in one room, it's all about sharing stories. My cousins, aunts, mom and sister (would you believe she's the blond next me?? She is!) are a riot and I'm really lucky that they indulge in at least one LaRosa's pizza party when I'm home for a visit.

Today I was fasting so I skipped breakfast and ran some errands with my mom. She's planning to buy a new front door, so we stopped at Home Depot to check out the options. Then we picked up a birthday printer for her at Best Buy. I hope she likes it :)

Then we spent the day walking the loop at the Cincinnati Zoo. It was warm and sunny today, so we broke up the walk with some indoor exploration as well as shady spots with the big cats.

What I Ate the last two days ---> not the best choices, but I'm back on track tomorrow!

Do you have any fears when you workout?
Do you like to run on hard or soft surfaces?
When was the last time you were at the zoo? ----> my last year of teaching in Ohio, so over 9 years ago!

Shred Day 11 and 12: Friday Faves

I'm on the move again! Yesterday I flew from Orlando to Cincinnati to visit my Ohio family and friends. All this running around seemed like the perfect time to do a Friday Faves post.

Before leaving Florida, I used my dad's home gym system again. (affiliate link) I'm seriously loving this thing and all the exercises you can do with it. I did a 20 minute upper body workout and the bands were super easy to adjust for shoulders, biceps, and triceps.

Spending time with my dad and stepmom in Florida. A week in their new house was seriously relaxing!

This roller table. While my mom got an adjustment at the chiropractor, I spent 10 amazing minutes getting my spine decompressed and stabilized. Wow, it was relaxing.

Lunch at Lachey's with my mom. And by Lachey I mean Nick and Drew, former boy band members from Cincinnati. They opened this neighborhood sports bar in the Over The Rhine over a year ago.

Even though it was a hot, hot day in Cincy, we had fun doing our version of the mural walking tour. The murals have been going up all over the city since 2007 and total more than 100 now.

My eats on Regular calorie and Low calorie days:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with ham, pb&j rice cakes

Lunch: spicy grilled chicken and rice

Dinner: at the airport ---.> chicken sandwich (forgot picture)

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and bacon

Lunch: at Lachey's ---> grilled Mahi Mahi and tater tots

Dinner: veggie burgers and salad

Happy Friday friends!

Shred Day 10: Fasting and Pool Workouts

When I wake up on Fast Day.

Then the goal is to make it to 24 hours before breaking my fast. Today was a perfect day to get some pool time, so I asked my dad to drive me (which sounds really strange given I'm 45 years old!) and he happily did...in his golf cart.

The pool was crowded with pool walkers when I arrived and it was awesome. If I lived here I would totally join the pool walking group. Pool walking is a great low intensity cardio workout. When I wasn't lounging in the chair, I jumped in and joined the locals. I overheard some of the ladies talking about how they walk for 1-2 hours everyday. It's a great way to get in some walking miles without melting in the Florida heat. 

Inspired by all the pool walkers, I made up a pool workout on the spot. Every time I got in the water, I walked across the pool and back (which was probably 60 yards) multiple times. I'm guessing I walked about 2 miles in the pool today, plus a bunch of weightless leg exercises. Here's the workout:

Another bonus to pool time was stretching out my sore muscles in the water. They're telling me today that I hit my go hard workout goal.

My dad and stepmom hosted some friends for dinner at a Peruvian restaurant called Off The Hook. It's fun to see them with their friends and having a good time.

What I Ate:

Coffee, coffee, coffee. Obviously.

Breaking Fast: at about 20 hours, salad, watermelon, 1/2 diet dew

Dinner: popped corn (had a flavor between popcorn and peanuts), seafood chaufa (shrimp and fried rice) ---> it was very good! I ate all the shrimp and some of the rice.

Do you do pool workouts?
Ever tried Peruvian food?

Shred Day 9: It's All About Lifting

It was gym day around here today.

My stepmom dropped me off at the fitness center for my feast day workout. After my 10 minute warm up on the treadmill, it was all about the lifting.

I had one goal in mind...GO HARD. My 30 Day Shred coach told us "FEAST day is most effective when you go HARD for the workout."

Today's weights workout was broken into sections: shoulders, chest, quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Since I was all about embracing the weights, I challenged myself to grab the next higher weighted dumbbell than I'm used to.

10 pounds for military press

My dad helped me prepare for the workout, so I knew how to do all of the exercises. The upper body workout looked like this:

• ●  SHOULDERS
  
  • ○  Arm circles for warm up (small, medium, large for 60 seconds each)
    
  • ○  Military Press: 3 sets of 12­-15 reps 
    
  • ○  10 to 1s with 5,8, or 10 lb weights
    
  • ○  Dumbbell front raise or weight plate front raise: 2 sets of 8­-10 reps to failure
    
  • ○  Bent over lateral raise: 2 sets of 8-­10 reps to failure
    
  • ○  Face pulls with cable cross: 2 sets of 8­-10 reps to failure
    
• ●  CHEST:
  
  • ○  Dumbbell press: 12­-15 reps with lighter weight for warm up, then two working sets (higher weight) with 8­-10 reps to failure
    
  • ○  Dumbbell Flies: 12­-15 reps with lighter weight for warm up, then two working sets (higher weight) with 8­-10 reps to failure 
    

I felt pretty confident doing the upper body portion. My weights ranged from 8-15 pounds and I went for the maximum reps. I loved that although the fitness center is small (considering the size of the community), it does offer a wide range of dumbbells and hand weights.

12 pounds for chest press

My experience on leg machines goes back one whole week (if you don't count ACL rehab 25+ years ago!). Again I did my homework and received a helping hand on the equipment from a couple gentlemen doing their own workouts.

• ●  QUADS
  
  • ○  Leg extensions with low weight: 2 sets of 12­-15 reps
    
  • ○  Squats with Smith Machine or Regular Barbell Squats: 2 sets of 10 reps
    
  • ○  Goblet Squats with dummbell or kettlebell: 2 sets of 8­-10 reps to failure
    
  • ○  Leg extensions: 2 sets of 8­-10 reps to failure
    
• ●  HAMSTRINGS:
  
• ○  Leg curl with low weight: 2 sets of 12­-15 reps
  
• ○  Dumbbell Romainian Deadlift (bend slightly at the knee, keep back straight, bend
  through the hips, feel it pull through the hamstrings. 2 sets of 12­-15 reps
  
• ○  Plie Squats with dumbbell or kettlebell: 2 sets of 12­-15 reps
  ○  Leg curl: 2 sets of 8­-10 reps to failure
• ● GLUTES:
  

  • ○  Leg press: 2 sets of 8­-10 reps
    
  • ○  Use the machine for calf raises in between sets. Straighten your legs and push up with your toes to stimulate your calves. At least 2 sets of 10. 

After two gym workouts, I'm growing to like some of the machines: leg extension, leg curl, and standing calf machine. I still don't know how to use the Smith Machine though (and it looks scary).

My cool down was to walk back to the house. Even though it was all sun and I forgot my shades, it felt good to move my legs after all the lifting.

What I Ate on Feast Day:

Breakfast: polenta with honey, scrambled eggs with ham, coffee

Snack: grapes ---> I'm so loving these red grapes and could eat a whole bag (but that would be rude!)

Lunch: leftover eggs and polenta

Dinner: gluten free pizza

Dessert: gluten free brownie

Do you prep for your workouts?

DO you have a favorite grape? I used to love white, but lately I'm loving the red.

Shred day 8: 5 Reasons to Embrace Your Elliptical

I'm happy to report that my knee felt fine after yesterday's run. Nowadays, you just never know so I took my cautious-self to the fitness center for my low carb day low impact sprints.

The fitness center is less than a mile away from my dad and stepmom's house, so I walked there and counted it as my warm up. I enjoyed every step.

I was thinking that being out of China for such a long time would mean having to reacclimatize to the tropical weather. A few days in Florida and it's not such a big deal anymore. The humidity here will keep me ready for the humidity there.

At the fitness center (which is kind of small), I quickly jumped on an elliptical. The workout ---> 25 sprints using 20:20 sprint/recovery interval. I worried about my Gymboss timer beeping and annoying all the retirees there working out the whole time. I couldn't wait to be finished and not because my legs were burning.

I read a comment recently that said (paraphrased), I had to do my run on the elliptical today and I never feel like I get a good workout. This made me sad mostly because I used to feel the same way. The elliptical is a great piece of equipment, so today I'm sharing why I have embraced it.

1. Low impact workout. Obviously this is a must for me and anyone else dealing with an injury, but even healthy athletes need to give their joints a break once in a while. The elliptical is a great cross-training option.

2. Great for indoor sprints. Ever try to do timed sprints on a treadmill? It's challenging and hard to get the full interval. Sprinting on an elliptical is nearly the same as sprinting outside: you decide the start and stop. (Reasons to sprint ---> click here)

3. Have a killer workout. If you want to glide aimlessly you can, but if you are hoping to feel the burn, all you have to do is increase the resistance and increase your speed. Trust me, your legs will feel it.

4. Twofer workout. Get two workouts simultaneously. I don't use the handles, but grab them for a great upper body workout while working your lower body at the same time.

5. Excellent aerobic workout. Ellipticals offer the same cardio workout as the treadmill. You can burn roughly the same amount of calories, but with considerably less perceived effort.

I followed up my sprint workout with a 30 minute cool down walk. I walked the trail again before walking back to the house. For fun I made a hyper-lapse video of part of the trail because it is really pretty.

We ran some errands today. I stocked up on some of my favorites at Ulta and even came away with some free stuff and then grabbed some goodies at the grocery.

What I Ate today:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, pb&j rice cake, coffee

Lunch: salad, veggie burger, celery, hummus, diet dew

Snack: turkey breast

Dinner: leftover grilled chicken breast, broccoli, diet dew

Dessert: This ice cream (if I had some, haha). Low calorie, low carb, low sugar, and high protein, 

Elliptical fan or foe?

Have you tried Halo Top Ice Cream yet? What did you think?