My bum knee...

In my last blog post I mentioned I wouldn't run until after I bought new running shoes. Well, I lied and did sprint intervals on the treadmill last Thursday. I ended up pulling a tendon or something in my knee due to lack of warming up (at least that's why I think it happened). My warm up only consisted of a 4 minute walk and 1 minute jog, then I thought I'd be a badass and run at a sprint of 10.5mph. I did 30 second sprint, 30 second rest for a total of 20 minutes. I felt like I could of ran faster than 10.5. My knee felt fine on the treadmill but as soon as I got home and walked up the stairs or bent down, my knee started to hurt.

Hopefully I can speed the healing process by applying the R.I.C.E technique because there is a 10k I would like to run on Thanksgiving day and beat my PR. 

Rest the knee. As much as possible, try to avoid putting weight on your knee.

Ice your knee to reduce pain and swelling. Do it for 20-30 minutes every 3-4 hours for 2-3 days, or until the pain is gone.

Compress your knee. Use an elastic bandage, straps, or sleeves to give your knee extra support.

Elevate your knee on a pillow when you're sitting or lying down.

My favorite bicep exercise

Oct 24, 2012 Workout: Back, Legs & Cardio

Back:

DB one arm rows, immediately to bent over barbell rows 10 Reps, 4 Sets

Back extensions with weighted plate

Cable rows 12 Reps, 4 Sets

Lat pulldowns 12 Reps, 4 Sets

Straight arm pulldowns 12 Reps, 4 Sets

Biceps:

DB curls drop sets

Cable curls 12 Reps, 4 Sets

Hammer curls 8 Reps, 4 Sets

Barbell 21's 4 Sets

I discovered the barbell 21 exercise over the summer. It's by far my favorite bicep exercise. It might look easy but it's not!

My plan for cardio was to do HIIT on the treadmill but all the treadmills were being used at the gym. I ran a few laps around the track before going back inside the gym to finish off my cardio. My knee has been bothering me lately. I am way overdue for new shoes. Running in worn-out shoes is one of the most common causes of running injuries. A good rule of thumb is to change your shoes every 300 to 400 miles. Well I am way past that amount. I'm going to hold off on running until I can get a new pair of shoes next week. 

Cardio:

3 Rounds

Lateral step overs (fast), 1 minute

10 burpess

Lateral step overs (fast), 1 minute

10 pushups

Lateral step overs (fast), 1 minute

10 DB thrusters 

Lateral step overs (fast), 1 minute

I'm in need of NEW shoes!

Pumpkin Pie Spice & a 5K

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Tis the season of pumpkins! Someone suggested adding pumpkin pie spice to my protein pancakes and that's just what I did this morning. I recommend if your tired of the same ole thing. You can add it in to your oatmeal too!

I was able to beat the rain this morning and knock out a 5k run before I went to the gym. I want a pr of under 23 in the 5k. I'd like to focus on negative splits, which I almost was able to do in this last run but the hills kept that from happening (but I was close). 

5K Split Times

Mile 1 - 8:48

Mile 2 - 7:55

Mile 3 - 8:08

After my run I headed to the gym and worked legs. I hurt my hip flexor in the beginning of my workout so I kept the rest of my work out pretty easy. 

Leg Day

Step Ups w/ DB 16 reps, immediately to 20 squat jumps, 4 Sets

Stiff Legged Deadlift w/ BB 12 reps, immediately to 20 squat jumps, 4 Sets

Barbell Squats 

 Leg Press

New Goal for the 5K & 10K

I've set new goals for myself. Running goals!! Over the summer the only type of running I did was interval training. My priorities are going to change a little bit, I'm still going to weight train but I'd like to add more running back into my life. So my new goal is to set a personal record in the 5K and 10k distances.

New Goals:

5K : Under 23 minutes

10K: Under 54 minutes

How am I going to accomplishing these goals? Well I haven't put a training plan together yet although I do have an idea of what it's going to be:

Interval training (once a week)

Tempo run (once a week)

Hills (once a week)

Eating clean (all day every day)

Strength training (three times a week)

Plymotrics (once or twice a week)

My "Transformation"

When I say my "transformation", I use the term loosely because I didn't really didn't have a lot of body fat to lose. When my husband left for his summer deployment this year, I set some goals to eat healthy and work out hard to keep myself busy. It just so happened I lost a few pounds and gained some lean muscle along the way. 

Was it easy? Heck no. Temptation was everywhere. It still is. We live in a society where we are surrounded by unhealthy food choices. We are constantly bombarded by tempting treats.  

The secrets for success are really no secrets at all: hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice. Anything short of that is a compromise, and you're only cheating yourself. In the end what it comes down to is; how bad do you really want it and are you willing to do what it takes to accomplish your goals. 

Over a four month period, this is how my "transformation" went down: 

I kept a journal of everything I ate. 

I measured and prepared meals.

I ate 5 to 6 small meals every 2 1/2 to three hours. 

My meals consisted of: 

Protein (fish, chicken, extra lean ground turkey or egg whites), green veggies, and complex carbs (Yams, brown rice, or rice cakes). 

Healthy fats such as almonds, avocados, peanut butter, olive oil. 

Fruit and shit load of green veggies! 

To drink, I had green tea and I would have a gallon of water everyday. 

I did have a cheat meal once a week, and there was a time frame where I would only allow myself a cheat meal once every two weeks. I'm not gonna lie, I did have a soda from time to time. :) 

My Workouts:

I worked out 6 times a week. They weren't half assed workouts either. When I worked out, I would go all out. I went above and beyond my comfort zone. My focus was on HIIT (High intensity interval training) and weight lifting. 

For the first month of my journey I went to the gym Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My schedule looked like this:

Monday- Legs, Glutes, Abs & HIIT 

Tuesday- Bodyweight exercises

Wednesday- Biceps, Back, Abs & HIIT 

Thursday- Shoulders

Friday- Chest, Triceps, Abs & HIIT 

Saturday- Full bodyweight exercises

Sunday- Rest

Months two and three I was in California visiting family where I didn't have gym access so I did a lot interval training. I ran sprints on the track, ran up and down stairs, I ran HILLS. In between intervals I would immediately do bodyweight exercises (push ups, squats, lunges, burpees etc.), and I took very little rest in between sets. 

There ya have it, that's how my "transformation" happened. Now the hard part is maintaining this lifestyle. I'm not as strict with my workouts and diet now but I do eat healthy. It's a lifestyle that I have adapted to and would like to keep it for the rest of my life. 

I live the fit life not only for myself but for my children. Just think how many lives, how many generations even, one mom can affect by taking care of herself by healthy eating and exercising. Every time I run in a race, the look on their faces are priceless. As if they look up to me and are proud of me. It makes all my hard work, worth it.

Fitness is a lifestyle that is consistent day in and day out - not something that is thrown off to the side when the going gets tough. Before you make an excuse of why you can't, stop and remember those who succeed to find a way so that they can. Be strong, stay consistent, push through the bad times and you will emerge stronger than ever! (That goes for anything in life).

Pumpkin Tea Plus a Good Read, Run!

Pumpkin everything is at Trader Joes. Pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pancake mix, pumpkin bread mix, pumpkin tea, pumpkin chai latte, even pumpkin ICE CREAM! Pumpkins are everywhere :)  I was eyeballing the chai latte but the sugar content is a little high so I opted for the pumpkin tea. I like it, I'll have to stock up before they stop selling it.

Back in April I ran the Big Sur marathon and I was lucky to meet Dean Karnazes at the expo. I bought his book Run which he autographed for me :) I've never read any of his books before I met Dean but I was well aware who he is; Mr. Ultra Marathon man! (In case you didn't know) Fast forward to now, I am finally reading the book Run that I bought at the expo. It's filled with 26.2 short running stories of Deans. I'm a little inspired by this book. It almost makes me wanna run in an ultra marathon. HAHAHA yeah right. I can barely finish a marathon, I can't imagine running in an ultra marathon. This book is a good read. I love reading books about running.

Pre Workout Drink: Assualt vs 1MR

I started using a pre work out drink to get a little bit more UMPH in my workouts. I tried the 1mr first, it's what my husband uses. He has it in the blue raspberry flavor. I could not for life of me finish this drink. It was nasty. I only took a few sips, I tried to force myself to drink it but I felt like I was going to puke! Ughhh yuck! The few sips I did take packed a punch in my workout. It makes me wonder how my workout would of went if I finished the whole drink. 

I heard good reviews about Muscle Pharm's Assault pre workout drink. It was on sale at the Navy Exchange so I bought the flavor fruit punch. I only used a half a scoop, I was worried it would taste as bad as 1MR. I finished the drink, tasted a little chalky but it was decent. I killed my workout after I took it so that's a plus! Next time I'll try a whole scoop.

I'm not sure if it was because I took a pre workout drink or not but my workout today went very well. I worked out my legs, abs and did sprints on the treadmill. When I came home I had to recover by sitting on the couch for an hour (or two). I should've filled up on carbs to get me through the rest of the day but I haven't prepped my meals yet and I've been lazy (aside from working out). 

Oct 15 2012 Workout: Legs, Abs HIIT

Legs:

Calf raises 20 Reps, 4 Sets (Superset w/) Bodyweight calf raises till failure

Bulgarian Squats 12 Reps, 4 Sets (Superset w/) Body weight wide stance squats till failure

Hack Squats 16 Reps, 4 Sets

Step over squats 1 Minute, immediately to DB Squats 12 Reps, immediately to Hop squats (together stance, then outer stance) 30 Seconds 4 Sets

ABS:

Leg raises 16 Reps, immediately to Russian twists till failure, immediately to plank till failure. 4 Sets

Cable crunchs 12-16 Reps, 4 Sets

HIIT:

Treadmill, 2 min walk, 30 Second Sprints @ 9.0, hop off rest 30 seconds, Total of 23 minutes. I threw three or four 1 minute sprints @ 9.0.

Fall

Fall is here! I'm excited to run outdoors in the cooler temps and witness fall foliage. Along with the season change comes all the pumpkin recipes. If you are a Pumpkin Spice Latte fan from Starbucks, please be aware of it's nutritional value before you drink it.

For a 16 oz. Pumpkin Spice Latte with 2% Milk and Whipped Cream:

Calories: 380

Calories from fat: 120

Total fat: 13g

Total Carb: 51g

Total Sugar: 49g

Protein: 14g

49g of SUGAR! No bueno :(

I am excited for pumpkin recipes. Pumpkin protein bars, Pumpkin protein pancakes, & Pumpkin Cheese cake!! 

10/01/2012 Work Out: LEG DAY!!

Leg Press (followed immediately with 30 sec of Jump Squats) 

12 Reps, 4 Sets

Step Ups w/ DB 20 Reps (each leg), 4 Sets

Forward Lunges w/ DB 16 Reps (each leg) 4 Sets

Leg Extensions 12 Reps, 4 Sets

Hamstring Curls ( Slow during negatives) 10-12 Reps, 4 Sets

HIIT on treadmill

5 Minute Warm Up

10x's of 30 seconds at 8% incline, speed of 9.0 mph with 30 sec rest.

5x's of incline at 10%, speed at 9.0 mph (30 seconds on and 30 seconds off).

My legs are sore already. I hope I'll be able to walk tomorrow.