Where's the Beach?

Two on Tuesday Today ended up being a two-a-day workout day for me. It's been a really long time since I've done a two-a-day. I used to really enjoy doing a 5-day weight split by doing 30 minutes of weights at lunch then 30 minutes of cardio later in the day (major pick-me-up). But when I started increasing my running distances, this just became too much. It wasn't an hour total, it'd be more like an hour and a half. Time this week, however, is minimal. I have so much going on and may end up having to use Saturday as another rest day rather than a run day. So, I figured a two-a-day today wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. I really wanted to get some weights done and to run. It's just way too nice out not to get in a run. But I didn't want to skip out on weights this week either. I know you're probably thinking that I could just do weights Thursday and Friday, and I likely will. But I am splitting up the muscle groups and will do the other split ei...

Gym Day The weather today made it really really hard to hit the gym and not the road for a run. Another gorgeous day, and warmer than yesterday too. Can't wait to be able to run for fun again and not based on a plan.  Anyway, today I hit the gym for my usual elliptical and weights session. Today was shoulders, chest, triceps and abs. I went with the trisets done in 3 sets of 8 reps again like I did on Monday. I started with a 15 minute warm up on the elliptical. TS#1 Chest flye Chest press Decline pushups Staggered chest press -8 TS#2 Standing dumbbell shoulder press Lateral raise Front raise Front raise open to side back to front - 8 TS#3 Double-arm overhead triceps extension Lying dumbbell triceps extension Double-arm kickbacks Triceps dips - 16 I did a variety of ab exercises like hanging leg raises, some weighted exercises, and some stability ball work before finishing off with another 10 minutes on the elliptical. Hump Day Dinner Back to what was...

Early Morning Weights I guess I just have so much on my mind that sleep is just not happening this week. I tossed and turned most of the night, finally getting out of bed just after 5am. I decided to go ahead and get in my chest and shoulder workout. I had thought I would do triceps as well, but my left elbow has been bothering me. When I do chest and triceps at the same time, it makes it worse, so I'm resting the tris. I went with supersets of 3x8 (big surprise) unless noted: Pushups - 24 Shoulder press (warmup) - 10 reps SS#1 Flat bench chest flye Chest press SS#2 DB shoulder press Lateral raises SS#3 Incline bench chest flye Incline bench chest press SS#4 DB upright rows Rear delt flye Staggered press - 12 reps Front raise - 12 reps I did abs from Cathe's High Reps (I seriously love that ab workout) and called it a morning. Fun Facts Friday - The Little Things Since I've been struggling with not letting this whole car situation bring me d...

Way Way Off Running Plan So today I thought I was going to hit the trails again for another fantastic outdoor run. The temps were perfect, but the wind was so out of control. Not even gusting 23 mph, just flat out 23 mph. Um, no thank you. I might be fairly crazy, but I'm not totally crazy (ok, that might be a lie). Anyway, as much as I wanted to run outside, and as much as I wanted to attempt to semi-salvage this week's training plan (which is so completely out the window), I hit the gym instead. I started with 10 minutes on the elliptical to warm up and then hit the weights for shoulders and triceps. I started to go with supersets (very typical) but ended up doing trisets of 3x8 followed by 2 additional exercises: TS#1 Shoulder press Lateral raises Rear delt press Front raise open to side - 8 TS#2 Double-arm overhead triceps press Lying triceps extensions Double-arm kickbacks Triceps dips - 16 After the weights I did some ab exercises before returning to th...

So So Weights It's funny how a super cold snap bringing wind chills of 2 degrees can change your perspective on what suddenly feels warm. It was about 40 degrees at 9 am and I thought, "Wow, it's warm out there." I was definitely more excited about the training run on a gorgeous, slightly warmer day. Too bad we were only schedule for 4 miles though. I would have preferred that we did the longer run today. But, before I got the run in, I did finally do my chest workout and finished up with abs from High Reps . Today was supposed to be 85% of 1RM doing 4 sets of 7 reps. Flat bench chest press Flat bench chest flyes Incline chest press Incline chest flyes I'll admit that today was HARD. I ended up hitting failure at the 6th rep for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th sets of the presses. I ended up going back to last week's weight for the Incline Chest Press because I just couldn't hold form right and was struggling. Better safe than sorry. Awesome Run Now, the r...

Pizza Surprise Ok, so you already know that last night was Pizza & Pool Friday. But I did something different with the crust that I am really happy about. I randomly decided to add in 2 tsp of nutritional yeast flakes. I was thinking of adding only for taste. What I failed to think about was that it's yeast (duh) so it made the dough rise even more - but this was perfect. The crust turned out super soft. While we liked the recipe as it was just fine, I think adding the nutritional yeast flakes gives me a second option for the crust. Now I have one slightly thinner, firmer and one thicker, fluffier. YUM. Running in My New Kicks Yesterday Jason and I went to one of the running stores so I could get some new shoes. Mine previous shoes were 5 months old, but already causing serious feet and knee pain. I was starting to have IT band problems even, and that's an injury I've never dealt with. I had them check my running gait again in case I was starting to pronate (another...

Sunday Leg Day This morning I got up sort of dreading my workout - leg day. I almost always dread leg workouts. But typically, once I get going, they fly by. Today I did supersets of 3x8 for most exercises: SS#1 Step ups Deadlifts SS#2 Narrow-stance squats Alternating plie squats SS#3 Static lunges - 3x10 Calf raises - 3x25 SS#4 Wide-stance squats with low-end pulse Plie squats with low-end pulse Rear leg slide back lunges Firewalkers - 8 Donkey kicks with weight - 2x18 Outer thigh raises with ankle weights - 24 single, 16 pulse, 24 single Inner thigh raises with ankle weights - 24 single, 16 pulse, 24 single Glute roll-ins on stability ball - 8 roll-ins, 8 hip lifts, 8 roll-ins, 8 lifts with one leg, 8 with other leg, 8 both legs (heel is pressing into the ball) I followed up with just one combo from Cathe Friedrich's Kick, Punch, and Crunch (just for fun) and then the ab work. I love the ab work from this DVD. It's stability ball abs and ends with ...

Ranting, Running & Lifting Last night Jason and I talked about going for a run during lunch. With that in mind, I didn't get up early to workout. I would have been doing weights (chest and back) and I just don't always feel like my weight workouts are very good super early. Just not awake enough, strong enough, or properly fueled. I am so glad we went for the run at lunch. It was about 84 degrees and very very low humidity. Plus, I needed to thaw out. So here it comes... The Ranting Yes, it's August in Arkansas and that usually means 100 degree days. However, this week we have had a cool down. It was only 66 this morning. When I got to the office, I knew immediately I should have dressed as if 66 was the high for the day. Friends, the thermostats were reading 60 degrees. Now, they were set on 70-ish and that would have felt like a heat wave compared to 60. Why oh why do companies/or building managers waste so much money and energy keeping the temps so low? At my...

Klutzes Unite Ok seriously, I feel like I need to do a giveaway for bandages and/or helmets. Perhaps a few ER passes as well. Maybe all the klutzes in the world read my blog or everyone is a klutz at heart. Thanks for sharing your..um...missteps in life. We did indeed enjoy our Pizza Friday as usual. It's such an easy (and yummy) routine. Jason stuck with his BBQ and hot sauce combo and topped with sauteed Quorn, bell peppers, onions, and portobellos. My half included spinach, squash, sundried tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers and Quorn and the whole thing was topped with Daiya Vegan Mozzarella . Running and Lifting This morning I was determined to get in a run come hell or high water (or high temperatures). I got started around 8:30 and it was 82 degrees. The kicker was the humidity and dew point levels. The air felt like water. The run itself, 4 miles, felt great. It was seriously and "I can run all day" type of run with the exception of the heat and humidity. I...