Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

Zumba is definitely the most fun workout I've ever done.  I mean, really, who doesn't like to dance? 

Besides sweating like crazy, the continuous hip circles and hip movement in steps such as the merengue and salsa are incredible at working the core.  But the muscle I find that gets the most workout in each class is my calf muscle.  We spend a lot of time on the ball of the foot, pivoting and stepping quickly and this muscle gets pretty tight after a good hour of dancing.  

This morning I woke up and my calves were extremely tight!  Ouch! I definitely should have stretched after class.  But after practicing a few songs this morning, I gave them a good stretch and they felt so much better.  Is anyone else feeling tight muscles too?  If so, please let me know! I'm thinking of incorporating a slower cool down song into the class where we can get some good stretches in before we head out of the gym after class.

I used these stretches to help relieve the tightness in my calves and wanted to share them with you.  I found them very effective.  If anyone needs pictures, just let me know.  :)  
All you need is a set of stairs (preferably with a railing so you don't have to focus on your balance as well as trying to feel the stretch!)

1. Stairway Calf Stretch #1:  Stretched Knee

Place your right foot on the lowest step, and your left foot on the next step up.  Move your right heel so that it’s hanging off the step, and drop it until you feel a deep stretch in the “belly” of your large (the one that’s visible) calf muscle.  Hold for at least 30 seconds, breathing smoothly, and concentrating on feeling the muscle relax and elongate.  Repeat on the left side.

Stairway Calf Stretch #2:  Bent Knee This is identical to the first stretch described above, only once you drop your right heel, gently bend your right knee, sinking down as though “putting your weight” on your right heel (in quotes because your right heel is in the air).  You may have to maneuver yourself forward and back a few times in order to feel the intended stretch, which will be closer to your Achilles tendon area (i.e. ankle region).  Repeat on the left side.

Stairway Hamstring Stretch Any of my clients will concur that this one is a killer!  But it’s amazingly effective in unlocking tight muscles behind the leg.  It looks so innocent, too.  Stand at the base of stairs, preferably where you have a railing to hold onto.  Place your right foot on the step that allows you to straighten your leg completely, without having to round your back or “tuck” your pelvis forward.  For most men, this will be the first or second step.  For women, this is usually the third or fourth step.  Place your right foot all the way forward, so that it’s up against the next step and therefore forced into a flex.  Make sure your left foot is pointing forward, and place both hands on the railings.  Look up at the top of your stairs, and slide your hands UP.  Do not look down or try to go forward or down towards your leg; keep your focus on going UP, and make sure your tailbone is pulling backward (i.e. to keep your back as straight as possible).  You’ll know when you’re there, trust me!  You’ll feel it all the way up and down the back of the leg.  Hold for at least 30-40 seconds, and don’t forget to breathe; try first to relax your shoulders, then work on relaxing your leg.  Repeat on the left.  You may have to do this one twice before you feel your muscles loosen up. Hope that helps!!!

   

Back At It!!!

So after having given myself a month and a half to get settled back at home with my daycare (which I am absolutely loving, by the way!) it's time to get back at working towards achieving my fitness goals.

Now, I haven't exactly been doing nothing these past 6 weeks.  I'm teaching Zumba five times a week and still getting in some karate, as well as chasing lots of little kids around all day, but even all of this is not quite getting me to where I'd like to be.

For one, I still have two more races coming up this year (yes, courtesy of my amazing sister Melissa) so I definitely need to get back to running.  The first one is called the Santa Shuffle and it takes place in Kingston on December 1st, it's a 5K.  The second one is a little scarier...it's in Ottawa on December 31st at 6:45pm.  Also a 5K...it's called the Resolution Run.  Being a pretty new runner, I've definitely never ran in the winter so I'm hoping I don't mind that too much and that I learn quickly how to dress for the yucky temperatures.

So...that brings me to this week.  I'm going to try to drag myself out of bed again at 5am to attempt a run.  I was in such a habit of doing this before, it got so easy to do.  Starting up again is really, really hard.  :(  I'm not sure how far I'll make it on the first one...I think I'll play it by ear.  I will definitely set my clothes out tonight, as well as charge my MP3 player and hopefully I'll be out the door, singing along to my favourite tunes before I even know what I'm doing. 

Please wish me luck. I'm really going to need it.  :)

Results from the Summer of 2012

Looking back over this past summer, I realized that despite the many changes, hard decisions and constant battles, it was a pretty good time, fitness-wise.

In a moment of weakness, I let my sister sign us both up for the 5K Army Run which I then actually had to start running to prepare for.  Two months of trying to reach 5K was a daunting experience, but it happened and I sometimes even enjoyed it.  Race day was tons of fun and I am really glad now that I did it.  My first race...who would have thought I would have added that accomplishment to my list?  Not too shabby. :D

I also attempted Crossfit, sorry Functional Fitness, for the first time.   It was definitely the hardest workout I'd ever done but I loved it.  It might also have had to do with the incredible women who shared my Thursday night group (Sara, Jess, Suzanne and Jo-Ann!!!) and our awesome instructor (Kelly!!!), we worked our butts off, struggled to the point of almost getting sick but we smiled and laughed a lot too!  

Our biggest Black Belt Grading happened on August 29th and I also got to help a couple people prepare for it.  Working with Sensei Gail, I mostly got to just punch in and be taken down but working with Sensei Cam got me to the gym at 8am usually three mornings a week.  Together we worked on every kata in our karate syllabus and managed to get a pretty good workout in at the same time. :)

So did I reach my fitness goals this summer? Hardly! I'm blaming  it on a combination of personal problems, scheduling conflicts and the fact that stores started putting out their Halloween candy in August! Lol!  

So...possibly another 5K run coming up on December 31st but other than that, my workout routine has somewhat slacked off.  Well, as long as you forget that I'm now teaching four Zumba classes a week and taking/teaching karate as well.   But where does that leave me?  At home, with my daycare kids again and struggling to find time to continue running and workout out.  

Therefore, the Fitness Warrior has a new goal!   Where in this new, extremely busy schedule of mine, will I find a time to work out???  And how will I continue my healthy eating habits when the stores still have shelves filled with all of that delicious candy???  Hmmm...I guess I need a new plan!  And I love coming up with a great plan! :D

When in Doubt...Run!

The Fitness Warrior is still at it....despite the lack of blogs these days.  As problems grew greater in number and solutions seemed impossible, I have to admit that it was just too hard to write about staying motivated and inspired.  As problems mounted in every aspect of my life and not one part of my future seemed certain anymore, it would have been easy to stay in bed, bury my head and hope that the past couple of months were nothing but a dream.
But I chose instead to run.
And the more I ran, the more I enjoyed it.
(I know all of you running fanatics are nodding your heads because you might have started out just like me, hating running, and you all probably knew I'd be here one day, but it is still a huge shock to me).
Week 5 of my Couch to 5K program upped my running to 8 min runs with a 5 min walk in between.  But I was still only making it to 4K every morning and I was desperate to know that I would be able to get through 5K without dying.  So I made an executive decision to change the run to this:

Walk 5 min to warm up
Jog 8 min
Walk 5 min
Jog 8 min
Walk 5 min
Jog 8 min
Walk home from wherever I end up (hopefully close to home!)

I was sure that this would put me past the 5K mark and then I'd know I could handle the upcoming races.
But the train that made its way through Perth at 5:25am on Monday morning of last week had different ideas.  Stuck at 7 min, waiting for the stupid train to pass, with no side streets to turn onto, I texted my sister.

>Changing the plan: doing 7 min jogs with 3 min walks now<

The train passed, I picked up into a jog again and the rest of the run went incredibly well.    It took me 37 minutes and I went 5.06 km! And I survived! Yay!
And the next time it only took me 33 min to go 5.11 km!  
I was thrilled to know that I would survive running 5K and that it wouldn't take me all day to do it.  And the happiness I felt from achieving this goal made me feel pretty good.

Life might feel like it spins out of our control sometimes, but I know there's always something I can control.  Like setting my alarm for 5am, getting into my workout clothes and putting one foot in front of the other for 30 min as I jog through the quiet streets of Perth.  And some days that's enough.

Awesome Running App

Both business and personal problems have kept me from sharing my fitness journey over the last week but I'm hoping things are back on track enough that I can once again offer encouragement and motivation as well as helpful tips and exercise programs to those who are interested.

Since I enjoy running outside so much when I'm with my sister, I decided to give it a try on my own this week.  So, donning my incredible running shoes, a new running shirt and my mp3 player, I set out yesterday morning at 5:15am to once again do Week 3 of my Couch to 5K program.  The weather was beautiful, the streets were empty and I had the most enjoyable run ever!  So, this morning I was brave enough to tackle Week 4.

Here it is:

Walk 5 minutes (to warm up)
Jog 3 minutes 
Walk 90 seconds
Jog 5 minutes 
Walk 2 1/2 minutes
Jog 3 minutes
Walk 90 seconds
Jog 5 minutes
Walk 2 1/2 minutes

And I did it!  And I even loved it!!! 

For anyone looking for a great Running App for their phone, I'm using Runtastic.  It's FREE (as long as you're not using the Pro version, which I'm not) and it keeps track of everything for you.  You simply hit the start button when you leave and the stop button when you get back.  It tracked my route, my distance, my average speed, my fastest speed, my distance, and it even has a spot for me to record how I was feeling after the run.  It has a calorie counter included in it which I'm assuming is pretty accurate seeing as how it knows how fast I'm going.  It logs all of your runs into its history so you can see how you're improving (what great motivation!).  It has options for other types of activities as well, but I didn't look into that very much, I just select running and go for it!  

Still Unwell...

This hasn't been the best week for me.  Since last weekend, I haven't been feeling very well.  Today is probably the worst so far...and it's the day I've been trying to get better for!  It's Functional Fitness Day!


Since I'm not sure if it's the food I'm eating that's causing my feelings of unwell or if I've picked up a bug, I haven't pushed the workouts too much.  If it is a bug, then my body might need some extra rest.


I ran Monday morning and Tuesday night, doing Week Three of the Couch to 5K program.  I also did a workout Tuesday and Wednesday morning...starting with Zumba to warm up and then I did the following:
15 Dumbbell Bent Over Row
15 Dumbbell Flys
15 Stability Ball Crunches
30 Squats
15 Deadlifts
(3 sets)
then I did a combination of two exercises...

Start by doing a plank with your arms straight and your shins on a stability ball.  Do a pushup.  As soon as you straighten your arms, roll the ball in towards you until your knees are bent and only your feet are on the ball (this is an exercise that works the lower abs).  Roll the ball back out and repeat with another pushup.

 I did this one 15 times followed by
15 Crunches with a Twist (foot up on opposite knee)
(2 sets of these)


Hopefully things will improve and I'll get back to my normal routine.  
Until then...I'm resting up (a little).  :)

Not My Week

When working towards any goal,  setbacks should be occasionally expected and adjustments will be necessary.  Maybe just understanding that they are a part of the journey will make them easier to bear.  Easier....not easy. :S

This past week has been one of many ups and downs for me.  For those who believe that I am a never ending supplier of motivation and happy thoughts, please understand that I suffer the same as anyone.   Setbacks hurt...they make me wonder why I'm getting up at 5am to workout when I'd rather get up at 5am with a coffee and a good book.  Sometimes while I'm running on my treadmill, I'm going over the reasons I work out in my head the whole time.  It doesn't seem to make the miles go by any faster, however.

I did something that one day I hope to feel better about.  I took a picture of myself (in a bikini, ugh!) when I first started working out and then took another picture a couple of days ago.  I figured after a month and a half that it was time to see if the camera would pick up the same differences in my stomach that the mirror does.   In comparing the two pictures, I was not pleasantly surprised as I'd hoped to be.  The pictures look almost identical and if anything, I think I look a little thicker through the waist in the second one...damn abdominal workouts.   I needed a second opinion.  I went looking for someone who I knew could be honest...there was a large number of people to choose from.  However, the list of people who I would be willing to show the pictures to narrowed the list down to only a couple.  
I chose my sister, of course. 
She agreed with me.  
"I don't see any difference," she said, flipping back and forth between the two pictures on my phone, "you might even be a little heavier in the new one."
"That's what I thought!" I exclaimed, rolling my eyes.
"You make me sick, by the way," she said, handing the phone back to me.
Ah...kind of a compliment.  After today, I'll take anything I can get. :)

So, this is Week Three for me on my Couch to 5K program.  In looking it over last night, I was a little anxious about starting my run this morning.  
This is what this week looks like:
Week Three (do this 3 times this week)
5 minute brisk walk
90 second jog
90 second walk
3 min jog
3 min walk
90 second jog
90 second walk
3 min jog
3 min walk


I hadn't had to run three minutes straight yet, so I was a little anxious about that.  Melissa is trying to follow the same program as me, so that when we run together each week (usually only once) we are on the same page.  I hesitantly texted her.
Me
<Week three is pretty crazy...I'm not going to lie to you... but at least it's not as scary as Week 4!  It's a five minute walk followed by 2 reps of this: 90 sec jog, 90 sec walk, 3 min jog, 3 min walk. EEK!>
Melissa
<Okay,  and I'm not going to lie to you: the only time I run is when I'm with you! LOL!>

So...I'm getting up at 5am to run 3 times a week, by myself, to prepare for the Army Run that she signed us up for, and she's running once a week.  And keeping up with me easily.  And moving from one week to the week with me.  This just might not be my week. :/