Circuits

SO excited!!  K-Lo {super hero nickname for the oh so hot Army wife who is now my very own "personal" trainer} said that I could post our workouts on here to share with ya'll!! SO you BETTER use them!!!  If you aren't sure what something is, let me know and I'll fill you in.  This is our workout from Wednesday.  I'll get Friday's and post it soon too!  Grab a friend and do these together!!  It will help you push yourself harder Ü

reverse lunge with a kick (15 ea. leg)

push-ups (10)

mountain climbers (10)

recover  45 seconds

jumping squats (30)

bicycle(20)

recover 45 seconds

log jumps (20)

high knees (20)

pike push-ups (10)

recover 45 seconds

duck-under squats w/punch (20)

plank (1 min)

down hill skiing (3 sets)

squat jump foreword and than 10 squats

recover 45 seconds

sumo squats (20)

tri-dips (15)

wall sit (1 minute)

recover 1 minute

repeat all of the above one more time!

bonus! 50 (fast) squats & 20 burpees

Core

ab roller

ball between feet twist

plank

super girl plank

plank high 5's

crunch

butt lifts

we did each for 2 minutes with 20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds recovery.

My Schedule

I don't have much of a routine at the moment.  I'm not training for a race {such a strange concept to me}, I'm just working on overall health.  So my current goal is to work out 5 days a week.  This is what a week in the life of Leslie looks like:

Sunday:  Rest.  I never work out on Sunday.

Monday: Yoga.  Preference is 1 hour+ but sometimes I'm in a pinch and only get in 30 minutes.  I get my yoga routines from three places. #1: Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown.  Two 30 minute workouts.  I like to do them back to back.  #2. P90X Yoga X.  90 minutes of pure HELL yoga awesomeness!  #3. www.yogajournal.com.  Customizable. Variety.  Genious!

Tuesday: Run.  3 miles minimum.  30 minutes minimum.

Wednesday: Army Wives Workout.  Not sure this group really has a NAME yet.  I better come up with something AWESOME!  Workouts vary.  Circuit training mostly.

Thursday: Same as Tuesday

Friday: Same as Wednesday

Saturday: Wild Card.  Could be yoga.  Could be hiking.  Most likely something outdoors with the family though.  May be nothing at all too.

So.  There you have it.  My "routine" for the next little while.  I'm hoping to get to some classes at the gym.  I'd also like to get my bike tuned up and get riding.  And swimming.  Definitely want to get in to swimming.  That's what's awesome about the journey though!  Trying new things!  It's just about being active and enjoying the process!

What routine are YOU sticking to?

Sound Mind Sound Body

AHH!!  After yesterday's FIRST post I thought this was TOO PERFECT!  Sorry to post yet another video but THIS is what running {working out in general actually} does people!  All that stress, fear, self doubt, exhaustion {seems like an oxymoron but it isn't}... they're replaced by victories, pride, relief, happiness, energy, confidence... I LOVE IT!!!!

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.  This is something that I'm really passionate about.  And it's something that, I think, we all need to be more educated about.  The past two years I have had my sister-in-law write up a post to that end for me.  You can read them here: 2009  and 2010.  Please take the time to read them; Jen knows her stuff.  This year I thought I'd just post a few videos that I feel are very well done.    

Mind Games

There are a lot of days that I wake up and I DON'T want to work out.   The excuses start rolling in.  My mind starts going through all the things I need to get done that day.  Or maybe I ate breakfast and I hate working out on a full stomach so I put it off... but when I put it off it gets even harder to get in a good workout.  Maybe I'm sick and I'm convinced that I can't run with a runny nose {so not true}.  Or my muscles are sore and I think I need to have a recovery day.  I'm telling you... this is only the beginning of the excuse train!

I think that the excuses are even more dominant when I haven't worked out for awhile.  When I'm trying to establish the habit all over again {like right now}.  Once it's a habit, it's SO MUCH EASIER to push those thoughts aside and say, "Shut Up.  I'm Doin It!".  And then those thoughts GO AWAY!  That's when the fun begins!  That's when I get SO EXCITED to work out every day!  That's when I get amped to break a REAL sweat!  I'm not going to lie and say those thoughts are gone for good, because even then I'll struggle occasionally.  But that's when your body is screaming so loud for your workout that it drowns out your whining mind!

Right now I feel like I'm starting from square one.  I haven't completely lost all I gained the last two years.  But I haven't been going in the right direction.  I am a MARATHONER for crying out loud!  I have won races and ran farther than most people will ever dream of.  I accomplished more than I thought possible.  And I did it one day at a time.  One workout at a time.

Our bodies are not weak.  I have learned that you can push yourself so much harder than you imagined and your body will step up to the challenge!  My man in camo put his body through SO MUCH more than he thought possible during BCT & OCS and guess what, his body rose to the challenge!  It does not mean that our minds won't whine and complain and beg for the "pain" to stop... but it does mean that we are STRONGER and that we can OVERCOME our challenges and we can SUCCEED.

I've missed that.  I've missed my body screaming for me to Get Off My Butt.  I've missed that giddy feeling in my bones and in my veins that makes me just want to grab my Asics and start running just to see how far I can go or how fast.  I've missed race day morning and standing at the start line with so much pent up energy waiting to hit the pavement.  I've missed that good sore feeling at night when you know you've worked hard.

We all have excuses that keep holding us back.  We all have our reasons that we can't...WON'T!  And that's why each person has to make the decision themselves.  We all have to put our feet down and push those excuses aside.  Enough of the mind games.  It's time to show ourselves who's in charge!

I don't know about you.  But I'm going to go RUN!           

An Apple a Day

There's something about a REALLY good crunchy apple that is just awesome.  It's right up there with really juicy peaches.  And, of course, they are really good for you too!  I found some information HERE.

 * There is a flavanoid found ONLY in apples: phloridzin.  Some researchers from France found the flavanoid and the benefits are that it may protect post menopausal women from osteoporosis and increase bone density!  There is also boron found in apples which increases bone strength.
*There was a study done that MAY show that babies who's mother's ate a lot of apples during pregnancy had less of a chance of having asthma.
*The whole "And Apple A Day..." saying?  Well the pectin in apples help lower bad cholesterol!  Those who eat 2 a day can lower their cholesterol by 16%!  The pectin also lowers the body's need for insulin which could help manage diabetes!
*A lot of nutrients are found in the SKIN of apples.  Including extracts that have been found to help lower risk of cancer!

 My favorite apples are Pink Lady apples.  LOVE them!  But then a not-quite-ripe Golden Delicious or a Granny Smith is right up there too.

 Every two years we get A LOT of apples from friends with apple trees and we make homemade applesauce!  We bottle it and it's like candy around these parts!  But it wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that we put red hots in our applesauce!  It makes the applesauce a really pretty pink color. 

We also ALWAYS have a bowl of apples sitting on the counter.  After school the kids all grab an apple for a snack!  Some like to slice it and dip it in peanut butter.  But for the most part they eat it all the way down to the core while doing their homework!

What's YOUR favorite thing to do with apples?

Amigas

This morning I met up with some new friends {both super cute Army wives Ü} for a great little workout!  FRIENDS.  That's my secret word! That's the word that gets me off my butt and EXCITED about a workout!   Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good workout el solo.  But there is something awesomely motivating about working out with friends!  I am SO looking forward to meeting with them twice a week!

One of them is working to be a personal trainer.  We're her guinea pigs!  So what does that mean for me?  FREE PERSONAL TRAINER!!!  SCORE!  I am so completely stoked for this.  I get to get two great workouts each week.  And I get to hang out with awesome chicas!  Win/Win right?!  Right.  I'm squealing like a little girl right now!

I'm BAAAAACK!

Where have I been?!  BUSY!  As you may recall, my husband joined the Army.  He was gone for a little over 5 months for training.  I kept up my workout routine for the first couple months but it slowly dwindled to nothing.  We moved halfway across the country in December and we're back together again and loving life as much as ever!

I ran my SECOND marathon in July.  I also ran a few half marathons.  A few 10K's and a bunch of 5K's.  So now what?  I've been debating that question for months.  So since I couldn't decide on what SPECIFICALLY to do, I decided to just get off my butt and be CONSISTENT with my workouts again.  That way when something comes up that peaks my interest, I'll be able to jump right in!!

My weight has been ALL OVER the place!  Serious!  I lost TOO MUCH weight while my husband was gone and then just before he got back I had gone back up, plus a couple pounds.  Now?  I'm up 10 pounds from where I WANT to be, 5 from where I'm CONTENT to be Ü!!  Isn't that always the case?

So what's the PLAN?  My goal until the end of March is to workout 5 days a week.  I'm back to running 2-3 days a week.  The other days I do yoga or circuit training.  It feels SO GOOD to feel the BURN again!  I'm getting my portions back in check and I'm drinking A LOT more water! 

So since I'm back.  What do you want me to resurrect from the blog?  I'll have a poll going on the side.  You can vote on multiple things if you'd like.  Do you have other things that you'd like me to highlight every now and then?  Let me know!  And spread the word... 

I AM BACK IN THE GAME!!