Fat-Frying Gym Workout

Not-so-newsowrthy: IT'S SPRING!

And you have come to me for some toning workouts. Whether or not it's swimsuit, beach, and pool weather for you, it will be before you know it. Or at the very least, you're bound to find your beach at least once this season.

So this is a gym workout. I know I've said it before, "gyms = germs" but we're going to move past that for an hour or so (the workout shouldn't take more than that), and just sanitize yourself when you're done.

What you're going to need:

• An elliptical
• A medicine ball (between 4-10 lbs)
• A mat for ab exercises
• A treadmill

Let's get to it!

The Warm-up Segment:

10-12 minutes on the elliptical

• Really we could say this is an extended warm-up. Start as slow as you need, and gradually get your heart rate up during this intro to the workout (around 130-140 beats per minute). If your machine doesn't have a heart rate monitor, then just go by your rate of perceived exertion (RPE), which I look at on a scale of 1 to 10. Your warm-up should be around a 6 or 7. For a better idea of this "scale," you can think of this:
• 1 RPE = lounging around, pressing buttons on the remote
• 10 RPE = sprint like all hell has broken loose and you're being chased by a bear
• What I did for my warm-up was like a mini-interval workout, repeated twice:
• 3 minutes moderate pace
• 2 minutes hard
• 1 minute recover (easy), and switch direction of pedaling

The Body Toning Segment: 

• Medicine ball push-ups:
• Get into the push-up position and place a medicine ball under one hand and leave the other hand on the floor as usual.
• Do 3 push-ups with the ball under that hand.
• Roll the ball over to the other hand and do 3 more push-ups.
• Repeat this pattern until you have done 12 push-ups total (6 on each side).
• You will look something like this:

• Bicycle crunches:
• Lie on your back with your feet off the ground and knees bent at a 90 degree angle. Make sure there is a wide open space between your chin and your neck, and your eyes are focused on the ceiling. Gently place your hands behind your head, keeping your elbows pointed out to either side. 
• Simultaneously lift your right shoulder blade off the ground, turn and twist your upper body to the left, turn your right elbow to the left as your upper body twists, and straighten your right leg as you extend it to the ground without letting any part of your leg actually come in contact with the floor. 
• Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. Do these at a relatively slow pace - it's easy to let your form get sloppy on bicycles. And under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you let your knees come in over your chest. The further your legs are from your body, the more this exercise will engage your core. 
• You should look something like this:

• Squats holding the medicine ball:
• Get into the basic squat position: toes pointing forward, feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, back straight, and eyes looking forward. 
• With a medicine ball (or dumbbell or weight plate) in your hands, hold it in front of you like this as you perform your squat:

• Women's Health calls this a braced squat because you are bracing yourself, contracting your abs, and maintaining good posture the entire time. 
• Do 10 reps. 

• Plank with pendulum taps:
• Start in basic plank position.

• Holding your core tight and your upper body steady, lift your right foot up and inch, then move your leg out laterally, tap your toe to the floor gently, then return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. 
• Repeat for the first 20 seconds of the exercise, moving at a moderate tempo.
• Hold the last 40 seconds of the plank without moving. 

• Lunge jumps holding the medicine ball:
• Holding a medicine ball straight overhead with both hands, get into a lunge position.
• Make sure there is plenty of distance between your feet and you have a stable base. You may want to take each foot an extra inch or so out to either side to make sure your base is stable.
• Quickly sink down into your lunge, do a powerful jump, switch the position of your legs, and land with your feet again in a stable position.
• Your exercise should resemble this, except you will have that medicine ball overhead in your hands the whole time:

You're definitely warm now, if you in fact did do that 3 times. I was sweating halfway through!

If you're a beginner, you may feel better doing those 5 workouts only twice through. If you're more advanced, try for 4 or 5 rounds. 

So moving on to...

The Sprinting Segment:

Repeat that 10 times.

That's right...10 sprints, 10 recovery periods. Personally I prefer to end on a sprint, but if you'd rather start with one and end on a recovery interval, then by all means - do what you gotta do to get it done!

I'm not a fan of workouts that tell you the exact mph you should be moving at during a treadmill workout. We're all at different levels, and while 6mph is torturous for some, it's just not going to cut it as a decent workout for others. 

• Your "easy" pace should be strong but sustainable. Maybe just a hair faster than what you would do for a warm-up. RPE should be around 6. 
• Your "hard" pace should be one that you would not be able to sustain for the whole workout. You should be gassed and needing to catch your breath by the end of each 1-minute interval. RPE should be 9 or 10. 

You may have to feel it out for the first few rounds of running before you find your stride. Don't be afraid to speed it up a bit faster than you think is right. You just may surprise yourself and get through it! And remember, it should be hard during the sprints...that's what the recovery segments are for. 

Have yourself a little cool-down (RPE = 2 or 3) when you're done (3-5 minutes jogging slow or walking on the treadmill), and take a few minutes to stretch, specifically focusing on your legs and glutes. 

Happy spring!

Bike & Hike

The weather in the desert has been hit or miss as we transition into spring, but we were lucky to have a beautiful clear day that was almost 80 degrees on Saturday!

So I suggested to the husband that we take the bikes for a spin, he suggested adding on a short hike, and I laced up my new kicks and we headed out.

And a note on said kicks...awesome! They're New Balance 750 V2 running shoes, and my first pair of New Balance shoes in a long time. (Normally I'm more of a Mizuno or Nike sorta gal.) They are much lighter and more flexible than the running shoes I traditionally buy, so I'm hoping that doesn't mean I wear them out completely in a month's time. But another deciding factor for the New Balance purchase was the incredible price on them which I found on joesnewbalanceoutlet.com. I used to be uneasy about ordering shoes online, but after doing it a dozen times or so I've become confident with it. I know how my feet are, I know what my stride is like, I know how certain brands fit, and I always check the return policies - just in case. These shoes checked out and have been serving me pretty great!

We biked around our neighborhood, along some paved paths, and then onto a dirt trail, finally finishing at the base of the mountain. It was a strong ride, but at the same time, not too exhausting. After all, our main goal was to have some fun. My husband is a stronger biker than me, but he scaled back from his regular Lance pace and we rode together the whole time. 

Post-bike, pre-hike

Now the mountain we hiked may not be considered a true "mountain" by some people's standards. The one in the background of the above picture - that is a true mountain. A mountain with a name. Someday we'll go claim our way to the top of it, but since it's on an Army base we can't just go over there any ol' weekend and start walking. Apparently they have rules about these sorts of things. 

But I digress. 

There was pile of rocks fashioned into a throne at the top of the hill we climbed!

So we each took our due turn seated in the rock chair, playing king of the castle, spewing off "Go do this, go do this!" lines full-on Borat style. It was a splendid part of our adventure. 

The good thing about hiking is that going back down to the starting point is so much easier than the way up. I may be in shape, but I'm still huffing and puffing (and taking the occasional break to catch my breath enjoy the view) when I have to go vertical the entire time. (But really, check out that view in the very first picture on this post!) 

So the hike down was easy-ish, we biked the short way home, but still spent almost 3 hours out being active. Overall I was glad to have called this my workout for the day. 

And I was even more delighted to have some to-die-for delicious pizza for dinner afterwards too!

More on that later!

Running Lately + Yoga

Do you ever feel like you just ran like the wind, finished up like a total champ, but then come to find out that you really didn't go much faster than your normal pace? I had one of those runs. Felt like the world played a dirty trick on me!

Here on my latest long run I completed a healthy 4.87 miles in just over 41 minutes. I made an extra effort to get up the hills and took advantage of the flat and downhill sections. I could have sworn that my pace was closer to an 8:15 mile.

Nope. 8:27 was it. Lately my pace has been right there around an 8:30 mile for most runs, so I wasn't far off from the usual. Now I'm not a regular racer, but I do want to work on getting faster. And although I have a strong, fit body I really have to work at it if I want to be fast. And that work is hard.

From what I remember from my cross country and track days, the way to get faster is to practice running fast. Seems simple enough, but that's definitely an "easier said than done" concept. Then I remember back to the 1-mile fast-as-you-can-go repeats with only about a minute of rest in between, and the 400-meter sprints where another repeat would start every 2 minutes, and the ladder workouts. Those workouts hurt a lot, but they worked. More on speed work later. 

On a different note, yoga and flexibility. I've been slacking off in the stretching department lately and I can really feel the effects of it. Having tight muscles, a sore back, and rickety-feeling hips is no fun. My plan is to start doing more yoga on a somewhat regular schedule so I can increase my flexibility, and also, it's good for the soul, ya know. 

But there's one small problem. Along with spiders, car accidents, and breaking a tooth, yoga is one of my greatest fears in life. I have a hard time approaching it as exercise because it is so different from my usual cardio workouts. To me, exercise means high-intesnity, high-energy, sweat-inducing challenges combined with loud music. Yes, yoga can be those things (but the music is quieter), and I always appreciate the opportunity to go barefoot. But the thought of incorporating balance, flexibility, and mental focus all into one workout session is so highly daunting to me that I usually just go for a run so I don't have to think about it. 

Well the other day I had some time to spare and hopped onto DoYogaWithMe to finally face a yoga class. I found a 45 minute class called "Power Yoga with Twists" and completed the first 20 minutes of it. I've completed full yoga classes before, but perhaps I've been out of practice for too long now, thus explaining my completion of less than half of this recent session.

Then after perusing the Women's Health website for mere minutes this morning, I stumbled across this yoga article which I think addressed my yoga issues perfectly right now: Yoga for Everyday Athletes. 

The article addresses how regular exercisers can do themselves harm through the sports or workouts in which they participate:

Whether you're a new runner, total gym rat, or summer-only tennis fanatic, a yoga instructor can tell. That's because workouts that emphasize running, lifting, and swinging movements leave the telltale signs of tight hamstrings, quads, and shoulders—the trifecta of treacherous spots in fit females.

Hence, the WH yoga workout suggested sequences 6 different moves that help stretch, loosen, and balance the muscles which can lead to stronger workouts in the future.

I think the universe directed me to this article intentionally.  

And although I prefer a traditional yoga class or a video to follow instead of pictures that I should observe and follow, I think I can incorporate these six moves into my fitness routine. Not to mention, I'm already familiar with half of them. 

Downward-Facing Dog

High Lunge

Twisted Lunge

Dolphin

Pigeon

Legs up the Wall

Click over the the full article for full instructions. Each move is explained along with the benefits it provides...as if you didn't already know that yoga can be beneficial. Now go have a happy time running and stretching!

Equipment-Free Workout

For two reasons, I am so very excited to share my recent workout.

First, it was a wonderfully refreshing and invigorating workout. Lately I've been doing mostly running as well as 25 push-ups and 50 crunches per day. Good workouts, sure, but those can become mundane after a short while.

Second, getting in a workout like this is a good reminder that I am well on the up-side of recovery from the winter crud…at least 95% better, in my opinion. Just a little sniffle here and a few coughs there, but nothing to run to the doctor about.

I was inspired by a workout I found from Women's Health. Actually, I confess, it's been probably a year since I first discovered the workout, bookmarked it, then put it off indefinitely.

There are just 4 moves involved in this workout, and I incorporated some running for more of a cardio boost. The following images show a good example of how each move is done, but for a more detailed explanation, head to the actual link from Women's Health.

Move 1: Squat and kick

Move 2: Jumping lunge

Move 3: Push-ups

Move 4: Mountain climber

Women's Health explains that you can do a workout with these moves according to the following instructions: Do the first move for 30 seconds, then do the second one for 30 seconds. Rest one minute; repeat three more times. Perform the third and fourth moves in this same pattern. Push yourself to do more reps during each successive workout.

Now that is a good workout and all, and if you're crunched for time it's definitely going to serve you well.

Here's how I did it though:

• Warm-up: 5 minute jog at a medium pace

1. Move 1: 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest
2. Move 2: 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest
3. Move 3: 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest
4. Move 4: 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest
5. Run 800m (2 laps) on a 400m track at about 8 min/mile pace

• Repeat (1 through 5) 4 times
• Cool-down: Walk 2-3 minutes, then jog slow for about 5 minutes; stretch and hydrate

Post-Turkey Day Recovery Workout

The turkeys and cranberries have been eaten, I'm stuffed with stuffing, and the pumpkin pie is long gone. Another Thanksgiving success and as usual, I have friends and family to thank for it all. However, the workout routine took a minor hit during vacation time and today was day one to get back into it.

Did it hurt? Yes. More than a little.

Was it fun? Sorta. But not entirely.

Did it completely cancel out a weekend of Thanksgiving bingeing? Not even close, but it's a start.

For some workout inspiration today, I headed over to LaurenConrad.com and searched for something fast, simple, and effective. Miss Conrad did not disappoint!

I have been a fan of LC since her reality TV debut, and I enjoy seeing the cute and pretty things found on her website. Although she may not have gained fame for her fitness expertise (more so for the cute and pretty things), she endorses workouts and nutrition tips that are balanced and sound. The workout of hers that I did was intended to be a treadmill workout. However, since I have a slight disdain for treadmills and the weather today permitted an outdoor workout, I hit the outdoor track to complete all this.

LC's workout goes as follows:

I modified the workout so I could do it on the track. Also, I'd never be able to do some of the exercises for 3 minutes straight without modifying (like jump lunges and push-ups…that's just whack). Here's how it all went down:

• Warm-up: 5 minute jog
• 25 regular push-ups (not modified/on knees)
• 1 set of 15
• 1 set of 10
• 800m run at 7:30 per mile pace (2 laps on 1/4 mile track)
• 2 sets of 20 jump lunges
• 800m run at 7:30 per mile pace (2 laps)
• 3 sets of 10 sumo squats
• 800m run as fast as my feet would carry me (about 7:00 per mile pace)
• Abdominal workout - 2 sets of each:
• 10 crunches with feet off ground, knees bent to 90 degrees
• 12 bicycle crunches (24 per side, rotating)

Then I rounded out the workout by jogging the long way home, which took about 16 minutes going at a moderate pace. If you're not up for the jog or just don't have time, be sure you get at least a little cool down jog or walk in before you call it quits. 

After a good stretch and plenty of water, I feel ready to get back into it. At least until Christmas. 

Body Remix

Lately my posts have been inconsistent and sparse. For this, I do apologize, but as for my excuse, I am in the process of moving. The move started in October, and between hotels and temporary housing, my husband and I are still not in our permanent home. Hopefully I'll be back up and running with some decent blog posts consistently by the new year!

In the meantime, I have not forgotten about exercise. Actually, I've been pretty consistent about that. One of the first things I did when we got to our new city was scope out the gym. Although the layout was a bit unusual (cardio machines facing each other…what's up with that?) it looked like it had a decent amount of equipment, so I shed my sweatshirt and decided to hop on a StairMaster for a little while. Well, not even 30 seconds into firing up my iPod, I was approached by a staff member telling me that I could not work out wearing the tank top I had on. What? Am I really being excused from the gym because of my workout top which I wear all of the time and have never even thought someone would deem it inappropriate attire for the gym? Yes. It happened. Apparently I'd missed the sign at the door indicating that no one may wear anything sleeveless in the building.

The top I was wearing looked similar to this one, from Target:

So with my tail between my legs, I scurried out of the building while nervously pulling my sweatshirt back on. That was so unusual! I mean, could they not have just let me wear my sleeveless, racer-back style workout top that completely covers my midsection just that one time, because it was my first time? I guess not.

Anyway, I decided to go do my own workout instead, in a place where sleeveless tops are permitted: the great outdoors.

Outdoor track, all ready for an athlete!

I did a Nike Training Club workout. If you missed the post where I raved about this app, here's the rundown: it is awesome; you can virtually customize your workout; you will get a great workout every time; the app is free.

I did the one titled "Body Remix," however, I did not have any equipment (not even a mat!), so I really had to improvise with some of the moves. I'll give the rundown of what I actually did here.

Open the app.
   > Click "Get Toned"
      > Click "Advanced"
         > Click "Body Remix" (the first workout on the list)
And get started! Now if you have equipment and want to do the workout as it is all laid out, be my guest. You will get a fantastic workout. If not, follow along here:

Feeling excited to work out. Let's do it!

• 1 minute: Back pedal and jog forward
• 2 minutes: Slide and glide (left and right)
• 2 minutes: Light jog
• 1 minute: Recover
• 1 minute: Burpees
• 1 minute: Push-ups
• 1 minute: Plank
• 1 minute: Ski jumps (sometimes I call these "speed skater jumps")
• 2 minutes: Walking lunges
• 2 minutes: Bunny hops (get low into a squat position, take tiny jumps forward on the balls of your feet)
• 1 minute: Bicycle crunches
• 1 minute: Toe touches
• 1 minute: Kick-downs (laying on your back with legs straight up, lower legs to the ground without actually touching the ground, then sweet them back up to the starting position)
• 1 minute: Push-up to frogger (do a push up, hop feet forward and to outside of hands like you're doing a burped with a wide jump, hop them back so you land in push-up position, repeat)
• 2 minutes: Squats
• 1 minute: Triceps push-ups
• 1 minute: Walking lunges
• 30 seconds: Mountain climbers
• 30 seconds: Knee tucks (start in a push-up position, hop feet in and bring knees towards chest, then hop back to starting position, repeat)
• 2 minutes: Standing hamstring stretch
• 1 minute: Pretzel stretch (glute stretch)
• 2 minutes: Standing quad stretch

And you're done!

This is how I felt when I finished that workout:

But I lived to tell you about it!

I included a few instructions above, but if you get the app you can see full instructions as well as short video clips of how to do each exercise. Any modifications that I made were not so complicated that you can't figure out what they are. And if you think so anyway, just leave a little ol' comment here!

New Girl

This southern lady has been officially displaced! And my, what a journey. Seven days, 3 time zones, and over 2000 miles later, my husband and I are officially in California. 

I would have loved to make this a post about all the delightful pizzas I ate and exciting workouts I did along the way, but that simply did not happen. Between being on the road, visiting friends along the way, seeing the sights in cool cities, eating the other good foods those cities had to offer, and having to crash in hotels after hours of driving only to pick back up and do it again the next day, I was lucky to work out at all during the journey. 

I mean, let's be real here; the first stop was in New Orleans. For mealtime I was more in the mood for seafood than pizza; for cardio I was willing to count the couple of hours spent wandering around the French Quarter that evening as my workout. Sure, it's a little unconventional, but life on the road is not a typical thing for me, so as long as I promised myself to hit it hard in the gym once we got to the destination I knew that everything would be just fine. Without regular workouts I just don't feel like me.

So we've arrived and it's time to begin!

But first, I thought I'd just share with you a little of what I did manage to do while on the road. That's right - no gyms, no equipment, and at the mercy of mother nature. Spoiler alert: I did a whole lot of running.

New Orleans: I think we've covered that one thoroughly enough already.

Houston: 30 minute run around a golf course near a friend's apartment. What drew me to that run was a combination of things. First, the friend we stayed with is a real runner and hardcore athlete. Yes, she's one of those athletes that has medals hanging on her wall from all the races she's completed, most of them being half marathons, duatholons, or some other crazy long distance. Second, the trail around the golf course was a closed loop. Translation: I will not get lost! That's pretty key when going out for a run in a strange new place. It was hot and humid there, but nothing I haven't experienced in the south before. 

El Paso: 30 minute run around Fort Bliss. Unlike in Houston, I did not have a tour guide telling me where the best place was to go run. However, since this was an Army Post, I felt pretty sure that I would not run to the "bad part" of town by accident, and also, that I would be able to find my way back to the hotel afterwards. Success and success. It was a chilly morning run (got out before the sun came up!) and the climate was rather dry, but it felt refreshing to do that before hitting the road.

Las Vegas: 30 minute run around a friend's neighborhood. What's up with all these 30 minute runs? I don't know. But in this case, our friends lived in a small gated neighborhood in which the longest route was a loop that took me 6 and a half minutes to run. I ran the hell out of that loop until I reached 30 minutes and nearly complete boredom from literally running in circles. Afterwards I did about 10 minutes of core work inside (just some crunches, planks, and push-ups), and about 10 minutes of stretching. More cool, dry weather and it is drying out my sinuses and making me so thirsty for water! Adapting to the dryness is definitely the most noticeable adjustment I'll have to make being out west.

Alas, we have arrived in the high desert of California and perhaps more interesting than my first run were the gorgeous sights I witnessed while out on foot. Behold…

…and not a single filter was used on those photos! I don't need a hashtag to tell you that, and besides, filtering those natural sky blues would do them no justice!

Now let's be clear about these mountains. They are real mountains. Compared to my well-known rolling hills (which I'll admit, are by no means easy), when running in this area you're either going up a long hill for a long time or down a long hill for a long time. There is no in-between. Oh, and did I mention I am now at an elevation of nearly 2500 feet? It's no mile-high city, but I'll definitely need to acclimate. 

So run number one of many more to come went a little like this…

• I had no idea where I was going. I just followed the sidewalk and main roads.
• My it's windy here! Thank God I didn't get caught in a dust storm.
• 42 minutes total (longer than I originally thought I'd be running), and about a 9:11 pace (slower than I thought too, but hey, whatever).
• Totally exhausted and thirsty when I was done. The combination of a higher elevation and drier climate caught up with me later that night, but I slept like a log. That was lovely. Tomorrow: another mountain! 

The 12's Workout and a Long Run

Maybe it was all the pasta I've been eating this week, but I had a LOT of energy yesterday and frankly, felt like I could conquer the world. When I realized that was an unrealistic goal, I decided to just do a really long workout instead.

So this is a workout in which a few circuit-style exercises are embedded into a long run. I am always a fan of that. The entire run was a loop (not just out and back) for a total of 6 miles. It's a run I've done before, but I have never stopped in the middle of it to do another workout.

The first run segment was 2.2 miles. I did this in my best time yet - 17:35 for a 7:59 pace. Woop!

At my pit stop, it was time for the circuit workout.  Since my favorite number of all time is 12, I decided that I would do 12 reps of everything. Not an incredibly hard workout, but with 3.8 miles still ahead of me, I didn't want to collapse when I was done with it all. 

And here's your motivational text image to get you through it:

Push-ups: you can modify these if you need to, of course.

For the step-ups with a leg lift, I was lucky enough to have picnic tables under a pavilion where I did this workout. If you don't have that, you  can just do alternating lunges. Basically just take a long step forward, bend both knees to about 90 degrees (but don't let your back knee touch the ground) and then come back to standing with both feet together. Switch your lead leg and repeat. 

If you want a little extra sumpin-sumpin' to work your booty, you can do a step-back lunge with a leg lift. For that, start standing with feet together, take a long step backwards, and bend both knees to 90 degrees (just don't let your knee touch the ground). When you come back to standing, lift your back leg as far up behind you as you can, hold it there for a "one-one thousand" count, then carefully return to your starting position. That's basically what I did, except I was stepping up onto the bench of a picnic table and lifting legs up and behind. Count each rep as one, so that will be a total of six per side.

Burpees, oh burpees. They are hated by some, despised by many. But burpees and I have come to terms with each other. I can think of few other exercises that work so many muscle groups so well. Burpees cover your shoulders, arms, quads, hamstrings, core, and of course your heart because they will get that heart rate up. Do what you have to do - grit it out, sing a song, yell and scream, breathe - but just do them.

Now for the part where you see "bicycle crunches"...I didn't do those for all three rounds, but if you can't think of any other abdominal/core exercises then bicycle crunches are a good choice. Other ones I did to switch it up: v-crunches and v-bicycles. Other options for you:
1-minute plank
12 toe-touches
12 cruches with feet up, knees bent to 90 degrees
1 minute flutter kicks

Wasn't that fun? Okay, running again. Just picked up where I left off and finished the loop!

So I slowed down a little bit. 9:08 pace. Can I blame the burpees maybe? I think I'll do that. But that's the thing when you go run a loop. It's not like an out-and-back where you know you can just turn around whenever. When you run a loop you get to the point of no return: the halfway point. You could turn back, but it would make no difference. If you go any further there would be no point in turning back because then you would just be adding distance. And no matter what you do, you have to get back to where you started, preferably before the sun goes down.

I've known runners to ask friends to drive them out to a certain point, maybe 6 or 7 miles from home, and then leave them there to run back. (Remember when I said that runners were a little bit crazy? Yeah, that's what I was talking about.) That is dedication, and that is discipline. Not to mention, it takes confidence and courage to train that way. You have no choice but to get it done!

So if you do this workout, or even just an abbreviated version of it (I'll admit, that is a lot of running), set your mind to start and keep going until you arrive at the finish line. Don't cut out any parts halfway through. You may suffer a little bit, but you will gain a lot physically and mentally.

If you're a Pinterest regular like myself, or if you've even seen examples of seemingly "crazy" workouts (you know, the kind where you're doing hundreds of reps, or even thousands, of a huge variety of complex exercises?) you probably think that sort of workout is simply absurd and never going to happen. Like it's for someone else and not for you. While it's true that "those" workouts are not for everyone, it does not mean they are for no one. And I guarantee that the people that lead those workouts once thought the exact same thing and they did not start exercising like that overnight either. And also, they are still learning.

I'll save my own tale of the unlikely way I became a fitness instructor for another day. But what I can say - and what I do say - to those in the classes I teach is, "Push through it. Don't stop. You can slow down and catch your breath or modify the exercise, but don't stop."

Workout Week

I confess, I have been a bit of a slacker lately. My workouts have been less frequent, less intense, and shorter than they were earlier in the year. I could chalk that up to about a hundred different reasons...work, studying, football season, doing things around the house, the weather changing, wanting to spend time with friends, I'm too tired, Breaking Bad episodes...and so on. They're the same old stories that I always heard when I was working as a personal trainer, but it all boils down to the same darn thing: excuses.

Now I know better than anyone that some excuses are very valid. And I also know that willpower has a lot to do with it. When I write out a workout for myself to do, I may doubt myself a dozen times and make bargains in my head. Maybe we can just do two rounds instead of three?...how about I do mountain climbers for 30 seconds instead of 45?...halfway into this workout already, I think it's okay to cool down now because it's been hard enough. But in the end it's only me who it's going to affect. And the more I allow myself to to this the more I'm going to make it okay.

Don't get me wrong...I have not fallen off the wagon completely. I just see myself slipping a little bit here and there and it's just time for a check-in.

So this week I have made it a goal and priority of mine to get back to my usual "hardcore" workouts each day. I feel confident that somewhere during each 24-hour period I can find one or two hours to get some cardio done.

So for today I'm posting the week's worth of workouts. I know it's only Wednesday, but part of the reason I'm posting beforehand is so that I can hold myself accountable to actually do it.

Monday:
Long run in the morning, 44 minutes.
Done and done. Great way to start the week!

Tuesday:
10 minute run at 8:30 pace
10 minute circuit-style workout (3 rounds)

• 10 push-ups
• 30 seconds high knees in place
• 20 crunches
• 10 burpees 

10 minute run at 8:30 pace or faster
Done. The runs were great but I was feeling it on the burpees. Really had to push through that last set!

Wednesday:

• Nike Training Club Workout: "Razor Sharp."

If you don't have this (free!) app, I would highly recommend that you get it for interval workouts.
To get to this 30-minute workout, go to the app's main screen and then press "Get Workout."
> Choose Goal: "Get Lean"
     > Choose Level: "Advanced"
          > Choose Workout: "Razor Sharp"
You'll need a few pieces of equipment for the workout (dumbbells, medicine ball, and a mat), but you can always improvise or go without. I, for one, do not own a medicine ball so I plan on either using a dumbbell or nothing at all for those exercises.

• 20 minute run at a moderate pace. 

This is the Godzilla of my weekly workouts. When will I do it? Probably around 6pm tonight, when I get home from work (but hopefully earlier), and that means I will probably make a late (9pm-ish) dinner. No, I don't enjoy eating dinner that late, but it happens from time to time and that's just life.

Thursday:
Long run in the morning, 50-60 minutes.
When? After the sun comes up but before it gets too hot outside. The plan would be to start the run between 6:45 and 7:00 am.

Friday:

• Yoga (45-60 min).

Now is a good time to share yet another one of my favorite workout resources: DoYogaWithMe.com. I've searched far and wide on the interwebs for free yoga videos and I have found many. However, this is the best I've found so far. Typically when looking for "yoga" online I've either found basic picture-tutorials or brief videos that skim over a small selection of yoga poses. Do Yoga With Me offers full classes that you can follow along and even choose your level of difficulty and class length. No yoga master myself, I typically opt for beginner or intermediate classes that are one hour or shorter. I've only done a handful but I've never been disappointed. And even sweeter - you don't have to pay a dime or even join with your email address. Finally, fitness the way it should be - free and accessible to all. I say "namaste" to that!

• Light to moderate-paced jog (20-30 minutes).

When? Ideally in the morning, as is ideal for workouts in general. It's not a work day for me, but that doesn't mean there's nothing else to do that day or evening. 

Running Errands, Literally

After I wrote this workout down on my "Errands" notepad I thought it was kind of funny that I had picked that paper for it. These were actually the things I had to "run" around and do! Gosh, I do love a good pun. 

First of all, I wanted this to be a workout that I could do with my husband. Gotta keep up that "fitness couple" image, ya know? So that's why I threw the body builders in there. Sounds so manly. (But really it's just kind of a variation of a burpee.)

1. The warm-up.
I ran a 0.9-mile loop around my neighborhood because, well that's just how my neighborhood is. If you're using a track just go ahead and run a full mile, please. 

2. Getting crazy with some circuits!
Body builders. If you've never done a body builder, sometimes called an 8-count body builder, there's a great little photo sequence of a man doing one over at military.com. For all of you people too lazy to click your viewing convenience, here is that exact picture:

So very manly, huh?
Basically you crouch down and hop your feet back like you're about to do a burpee. But then, all the sudden, you do a push up instead. Then, hop your feet out to the sides like you're doing a jumping jack on the ground, hop them back in, and then come back up to standing. I did 10 reps per set, but my super jacked and manly husband did 15. 

Switch jumps. They're kind of like lunge jumps, but you go faster and and only bend your knees a slight bit on the landing to absorb the impact - don't drop your back knee down as far as you would for a true lunge. I'd never advise to do real lunge jumps for a full minute. Switch jumps are a little bit easier (but still challenging enough for me to consider for one of my workouts), and you'll definitely be feeling the burn before the minute is up.

V-crunches. I demonstrated those in this former post. The embarrassing picture that accompanied it is this one:

15 reps - very do-able. I used a 5-pound weight plate held against my chest for all reps in all sets. Go me. 

The running! Oh boy this part got me today. And that's because I was trying to keep up with my super speedy spouse for the whole distance (just under 3/4 of a mile, 0.7 to be exact). I'll give him all the credit for that...he is one fast runner. 

3. Round 2 of the circuit craze.
Body builders...deep burn. Got 'em done though.

Back extensions. Laying on the ground/mat/floor of the garage face down with hands gently behind your ears and elbows out to the sides, lift your upper body (chest) and lower body (feet, knees, and thighs if you can) off the ground. Hold for a "one-one thousand" (or "one hippopotamus" in my case) count, slowly lower. 15 may be too many reps for beginners. If that's your case, reduce to 8 or 10 reps. 

Oblique v-crunches. Same as the post from above, I did those before because they are so darn hard!

16 reps, so that's going to be 8 per side, rotating between each. 

Run, run, run, again. Yes, my second run was slower than my first. 

4. Repeat all of part 2 again. Just to finish all this madness we started (Body builders, switch jumps, and v-crunches.)

Then do a regular plank. Note on your plank that your body is as flat and straight as possible (like a plank! Crazy they named it that.) Now I know that some people have more of an arch in their back than others and that's okay. Just focus on holding your core in, staying stable, and focusing all of your thought and energy into your core. Common places where that energy is mis-directed: your face (don't clench your teeth or hold your breath), and your hands (don't clench your hands into fists - try to keep them open and relaxed). 

Then do your final 5-minute fast-paced run. Any and all energy left should go into that run. It's okay if the speed doesn't match or beat previous times, just think about lengthening your stride, keeping your head up, and pumping your arms to help propel your legs forward. That sounds kind of odd I know, but the faster your arms are moving, the faster your legs will go too. If you need an example of that (and want to see something hilarious) just look at a power-waker. I'm lol-ing already. 

5. Cool-down.
You are D-O-N-E. Yay. Jog slow until you catch your breath, then walk to loosen up. You don't necessarily have to do the same distance as you did for your warm-up, but the longer you go the more of a chance you give your body to really loosen up and help reduce the chance of too much soreness.

Oh, and that's what the stretching and water are there for too! 

You will hate me for this workout, but you will love me in the end. Happy muscles!