On Not Bailing

I left work around 6:45 last night. Already hungry, tired and knowing I had a 30 min drive ahead, I started to debate whether or not to go to the gym. In a text with Scott, I told him I was headed home, and he asked if I was headed to the gym. Well then - if I bail now, the guilt factor goes up bc someone KNOWS I bailed. It's easier to justify a no show if no one thought you were going. 

I had clothes and shoes in my car, but had to dig around the clean laundry to find the items I needed. After rustling around for a few minutes, I almost gave up on the notion that I might have a pair of yoga pants and was about to pass on the gym. But - You can't get to the parking lot of the gym and legitimately find a reason to leave, especially if you KNOW the pants are in the car. 

In I went. 1.5 miles on the treadmill (I upped it to 5.2 but wasn't feeling the full 2mi) and then 1.5 on the elliptical. Not an intense work out but better than not working out! 


Feb: 
Run: 3.5 mi 
Ellip: 1.5 mi

running goals - Feb.

my goal this month is to run 5-8 miles per week. I started the week off well with 2 mi in 24 min at the gym. I didn't feel tired or like it was that hard, so I clearly need to up the speed on that this week!! 


miles complete : 2
Time: 24 min
Speed: 5.0 

TNT run

Heather and Erik had a run with team in training today which I tagged along on! 65 min was the set time , and we ran to the bridge and back.

Woot!

2 under 20!

4. Done.

Maybe not well, but done.

Oh and Skinny Runner can run 7 miles in the time it takes me to run 4. She's sort of an expert runner though. http://skinnyrunner.com/2012/07/07/hug-or-kiss-it-out/

On the Cross Fit bandwagon

I've been hearing a lot lately about Crossfit, which from what I can see, is the latest work out craze. I guess it has been around for a while now, and is basically an intense, short workout. 


Heather and Erik tried Crossfit but weren't immediately sold. A blog I read regularly, Carrots 'N Cake , LOVES crossfit and goes almost every day with her husband. 


So I decided I had to try it out. I always did better with organized sports, where coaches told you what to do at practice everyday and you just did it. Put me in a gym, alone, and I run for 20 minutes, maybe 30 - do some crunches, stretch, get overwhelmed by all the weights and leave. Or, I go to a class which pushes me a bit but not as much as I know I could and should be pushing myself (and that usually only happens when a friend makes me go with her! ) 


I emailed Yosh, the head guy at Crossfit Somerville  and went for an intro class last week. I got stuck in traffic and missed half of it, but went by anyway. While the group was doing 30 clean and jerks  I was set up to do a separate workout: 
- 10 kettle ball swings
- 10 box jumps
- 10 sit ups 
and did that circuit on repeat til everyone was done w/ their clean and jerks. I ended up doing 5 or 6 rounds ( I sort of lost count) and felt my body ask, "What the heck are you doing? We haven't felt like this since 2000!"  I worked out harder than I had in way too long. 


Last night I went back for a full class. We started with a warm up: 
- 5 pull ups (they have bands you can use to get yourself above the bar if you can't do a pull up) 
- 10 push ups
- 15 air squats


Then - walking plank stretches across the room. 
Next - dead lifts. Instructions on how to do it without hurting ourselves, then 10 lifts [rest]; 15 lifts [rest]; 10 lifts [rest]; 15 lifts [catch your breath and stretch!] 


Finally it was time for the workout of the day. 
21-15-9
21 back squats w/ weight (I only used the 45lb bar, and it was enough by the end!) 
21 box jumps onto a 20" box
15 back squats w/ weight 
15 box jumps onto a 20" box
9 back squats w/ weight 
9 box jumps onto a 20" box


Man, those last few jumps were HARD. But  - I felt satisfied that I got through it, even if I had to psych myself out with the counting. I couldn't go from 1-21, I counted in increments of 5 to make it seem easier. 


I think I love Cross fit! 

let's be honest here

I don't remember to, or don't really like to track my workouts! 
I've done pretty well - going to spin with and without Lauren, running at the gym when it's freezing out, not drinking during the week (ok, sometimes I do). I even got Scott to go to the gym w/ me in CT last time I was there! 


anyway. I'm not where I want to be, but I'm focusing bc I'm almost 30, (less than a month!) and know that once I'm out of my 20's irresponsibility is out the window. I need to make me a priority, and I have let that slip. every excuse - I'm tired, I have plans, I forgot my sneakers, wah wah wah. excuses don't get you down a dress size! 


Today's research included this: 
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-plans/lose-weight-face-oct04-2

Every photo I see, I think, man - my face is a puffball. What am I doing wrong and how do I fix it? 
 (puffball) 


The link says: 

Step 1

Drink at least nine 8-ounce glasses of water a day. - I drink a bunch, but not likely enough. I guess I'll start counting! (and cut back on the coffees) 

[The article] consider[s] this a critical step because when you don't drink enough, your body goes into maintenance mode. It starts to think it's stranded on a desert island with only a tiny water supply, so it holds on to whatever moisture is currently in its system. As a result, you begin to bloat. ...Other drinks (coffee, tea, diet soda and juice) count toward your water balance, but they may contain calories, and that reduces their benefits. .

Step 2

Eat at least three servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables every day. 

Clearly I'm not doing enough of this

Step 3

Just say no to alcohol. (so so sad.) 

Whether it's in the form of wine, beer or hard liquor, it dehydrates the body, and as we now know, that only adds bloat to your face.  ok! I got it. My IPA's are making me a porker. 

Step 4

Increase your intake of calcium. Did not know this! 

A number of studies have shown that consuming at least 1,200 milligrams of calcium (from food sources, primarily dairy) each day could lead to greater loss of body fat. 

Step 5

Every day, cut 250 calories and burn 250 calories. so simple, I will have to do some simple math at the gym to see how well I'm doing, and actually track calories a bit. 

Step 6

Hold the salt. gladly! I don't like the salty direct taste of salt. Though, I eat more processed food than I should, and need to watch the sodium intake! 

Step 7

Do strength training. my friends and I have recently done this together, more often! Yay us! 

By exercising with machine weights, dumbbells or your own body weight, you maintain your body's lean muscle tissue. And the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn — even when your body is on the sofa, not the treadmill.