Week 4: SBBC and Fitness Challenge

This past week was a little goofy schedule wise.  Monday and Tuesday I had half days with students and then spent the afternoon in parent/teacher conferences.  Tuesday night I was stuck at school till 8 pm also holding conferences.  Needless to say, Tuesday was a yucky day for eating right and working out – a big fat ZERO!  Wednesday I also had a half day but was able to leave at 12:15 so I came home and spent the afternoon outdoors with my doggies!  Thursday and Friday I focused on getting in 2 hours or more of quality workouts which felt great.  This mini-spring break just gets me pumped and ready for summer.

As far as my goals for the week – I did better than I thought.  Let’s start with the good:  I did 3 days of abs/strength exercises, I definitely got 9 fruits and veggies on Saturday, and got 2 + hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  The bad:  I did not get in any WOW’s.    So that is my only goal I am going to set for this week.  To do WOW on at least 2 days. 

Here’s the recap of my week:

• Monday – 7 Freggies, 48 ounces of water.  30 mins of yoga, 15 min abs and 15 min walk. 
• Tuesday –  0 Freggies, 90 ounces of water.  0 mins of workouts. :(
• Wednesday – 5 Freggies, 112 ounces of water. 30 mins of yoga, 15 mins abs, 15 min run, 40 min walk. 
• Thursday – 9 Freggies, 96 ounces of water. 30 mins of yoga, 85 min hike, and 30 min walk. 
• Friday – 5 Freggies, 80 ounces of water. 60 mins of Muscle Mania class, 90 mins of Yoga, and 20 mins on elliptical. 
• Saturday – 9 Freggies, 100 ounces of water. 30 min walk, 60 min hike with beagles, 60 min hike with hounds. 
• Sunday – 7 Freggies, 80 ounces of water. 15 mins of yoga, 45 min walk.

 

 

I received my Vega One bars as one of the random drawing winners from SBBC on Monday.  This was my first time trying that brand of protein bars and I have to say that I really like them.  They taste good and are packed full of good nutrients!  I feel satisfied after I eat them and am not hungry for a couple of hours.  I think I am going to look into trying their protein powders and smoothie mixes.

Week 3 – SBBC & Fitness Challenges

Almost half way through the SBBC and Fitness Challenge.  I have really enjoyed the extra little push to increase my workout schedule!  In the Fitness Challenge at school my team is currently in 1st place by just a hundred points so we are all working extra hard to stay there.  One of my team members was frustrated this morning because out of 168 participants she is 15th and as she said the “slacker” of our team because we all have points above her.  Talk about motivating you – she is on fire now to kick our butts this week.  Which just makes me want to continue to up my game.  I am just a little competitive!

I was thrilled to win one of the random drawings this week in the Spring Booty Buster Challenge! I can’t wait to try the Vega One bars.  I haven’t been doing too well with the points for SBBC.  I definitely have to work on getting more fruits and veggies in, and trying out some of the WOW videos. 

I did accomplish my goals last week.  I got in one session of strength training, focused on some ab exercises and did manage to get some fruits and veggies in this weekend.  So this week I want to accomplish at least two days of completing a WOW, two days of ab/strength exercises, and reaching 9 servings of fruits and veggies on Saturday.  I also want to spend at least 2 hours working out on Thursday and Friday – my mini-spring break from school.  Here’s my breakdown for week 3:

• Monday – 8 freggies, 96 ounces of water.  28 min walk in the snow and 30 mins of yoga.
• Tuesday – 5 freggies, 64 ounces of water.  24 min walk.
• Wednesday – 7 freggies, 96 ounces of water.  26 min walk, 30 mins of yoga
• Thursday – 7 freggies, 90 ounces of water.  60 min walk, 15 mins of yoga, 15 mins of abs
• Friday – 6 freggies, 81 ounces of water.  22 min run, 16 min walk, 16 min yoga
• Saturday – 6 freggies, 90 ounces of water.  60 min Walk, 45 min Hike
• Sunday – 8 freggies, 96 ounces of water.  90 min Walk – with breaks for lunges, steps, jumping jacks, standing crunches, leg lefts, etc., 71 min Hike, 15 mins of yoga.

 

 

I was slacking on taking pictures this week.

Week 2: SBBC & Fitness Challenge

Week 2 is complete! I am really enjoying the challenges so far.  Three weeks ago I would have told you I don't have time to workout for a hour or more.  Somehow though - you put a challenge in front of me - I have found the time.  I have really put in the miles with walking and running this week which is great.  I feel like I have been building strength and getting the kinks worked out of my IT band and hip.  I have also kept up with the yoga.  However, my goals for next week include adding in more strength training and to actually eat fruits and veggies on the weekend since somehow I didn't manage to get hardly any this weekend.

Here's my weekly recap.  I logged this in a draft throughout the week, but am not loving the format.  So please bear with this version as I experiment and find a better way to document and share my workouts.

Monday:  80 mins - 9 freggies and 80 ounces of water

• 2.8 mile Run with Copper Dog for 28 minutes, 20  min walk with the other dogs and 30 minute relaxation yoga.

Tuesday: 37 mins - 7 freggies and 90 ounces of water

• 1 mile walk with the dogs for 22 mins and 15 min yoga.

Wednesday: 90 mins - 8 freggies and 80 ounces of water

• 4 mile run with Copper in 43 mins and 1 mile walk with the rest of the dogs
• 30 mins of yoga

Thursday:  90 mins - 8 freggies and 72 ounces of water

• 60 min walk with dogs and doggie related chores 
• 30 mins of yoga and meditation.

Friday:  90 mins - 9 freggies and 80 ounces of water

• 30 min, 3 mile Friday Family Fun Run to stretch out for Saturday's March Madness Race
• 30 min walk with dogs and doggie related chores once again
• 30 mins of yoga and meditation

Saturday: 98 minutes, 88 ounces of water

• 35 mins March Madness 5K plus Warm up and Cool down
• 33 mins Walk with Dogs
• 30 mins Yoga and meditation

Sunday: 147 minutes, 90 ounces of water

• 50 mins of walking and hiking
• 67 mins walking with the beagles while they looked for bunnies to chase
• 30 mins of yoga

Looking forward to Week 3!!

Week 1 - SBBC & Fitness Challenge

This year I am taking part in two fitness challenges.  I am really appreciating the extra push and motivation to get out and put more time into working out.  I have really been slacking quite a bit over the last few months and this is just what I needed to get back into gear. I am still building up my running base and struggling with hip issues so I have been doing more walking then running.  Here is a quick summary of my week along with a few photos from the week:

Monday 3/4 -  60 minutes Total

• Yoga (30 min), Walk with the Dogs (16 min), and Nike Trainer - Legs Sculptor(15 min) 

Tueday 3/5 - 56 minutes Total

• Walk with the Dogs (41 min) and Yoga (15 min):60 mins

Wednesday 3/6 - 75 minutes Total

• 3.19 Run with Copper (35 min) , Walk with Dogs (10 min) and Yoga (30 min)

Thursday 3/7 - 60 minutes Total

• Yoga (15 min), Walk with Dogs (35 min), Stretching (10 min)

Friday 3/8 - 65 minutes

• Yoga (15 min), 2.8 mile run (29 mins), Walk with Dogs (25 min)

Saturday 3/9 -30 minutes

• Walk with Dogs (30 min)

Sunday 3/10 - 130 minutes

• Walk & Stretching (60 mins), Yoga (30 min), 2 mile walk (40 min)

Accomplishing Goals

A few of my goals this year are to increase my fitness level, make yoga a habit, try meditation, plan weekly menus, make only one trip to the grocery store a week, and of course save money.  I have been doing pretty good with most of the goals so far.  I can't believe we are already 3 months into the year.

I have been practicing Yoga since the middle of January by using the YogaStudioApp for the iphone/ipad.  It is an amazing app with just what I was looking for in terms of yoga practice.  I have noticed a huge improvement in my patience, stress level and flexibility.  If I miss a day, I can't wait to get my yoga time the next day.  I don't like feeling that stress and frustration build up and yoga definitely helps that to disappear. 

http://yogastudioapp.com/

The other goals that have been so benefical are menu planning and one grocery trip a week.  I take time each Saturday or Sunday to plan out several meals for the week and then get to the grocery store to stock up.  I find we eat better, healthy and less processed/packaged meals.   I am excited to cook each night and put together our meals and have plenty of time to do so because I don't have to stop at the store.  Because I don't make several grocery store stops I am saving quite a bit of money.  I don't shop when I am hungry and I am not picking up whatever looks good.  I focus on getting just what is on my list. 

Source

I am proud of my accomplishments so far and can't wait to see what the next few months will bring.  I hope to try new recipes, take yoga classes in town and maybe even give cross-fit a try.

QOTD:  What 2013 goals are you accomplishing?

Spring Fitness Challenges

Well, it is that time of the year again where I attempt to get myself back into a workout routine and include more than just running.  This past year I have really decreased my mileage and am trying to get myself back up to a consistent running schedule.  However, right now I am struggling with some hip issues that I hope get resolved soon.

In order to get me motivated I have joined two fitness challenges for the spring.  The first challenge is through my workplace and the second is with the Spring Booty Buster Challenge with Amanda at Run to The Finish.  Hopefully between these two challenges I can indeed get my butt into gear. 

Today was the kick-off for both challenges and I had a pretty successful first day.  I started off with a great breakfast - strawberry/banana smoothie, multi-grain muffin, and yogurt.  I focused on eating several fruits and veggies, preparing a balanced dinner and making sure to get plenty of water. For my workouts I got in a 15 min walk with the doggies, 15 min strength exercise using Nike Trainer and 30 min Yoga - Balance class.  Hopefully tomorrow I can get home early enough to get a walk/run in.