Let the Fun Begin!

I'm so pumped.  Today starts my 10 week training plan for the half marathon.  Yippee!  Mondays are set aside for cross training on my plan.  I've noticed in the past that my running speed and ease improves when I am intentional about including plyometrics and weight lifting in my training plan.  Todays workout started like this...

I also made sure to include some upper body strength training in the form of lots of chest and back exercises.  I know it's a stretch, but I'm also going to include cleaning the bathrooms and vacuuming the floor as part of my training today.  You all know cleaning the shower involves some elbow grease, right?

Make it a great Monday!

A GREAT Workout Day

Yesterday's "day of rest and relaxation" left me itching for some fitness today, so today's sunshine and crisp temperatures were just begging me to put the boys in the stroller and run my little heart out.  After a quick doctor's appointment and story hour at the library, we hit the road for a 7 mile run out to the beach and back.  I love that I can walk to the library with the boys and we had a great time at story hour.  The boys are little social butterflys and it's SO fun to watch.  They got their exercise crawling all over and playing with the toys after the organized class and then it was time for me to get my exercise while they napped.  It was GLORIOUS!  I'm not gonna lie, the bridges are always a challenge, especially with the stroller, but the sense of accomplishment I get when I hit the top is so fulfilling, I forget how hard the ascent was.  I hope this cool weather sticks around for a while.  It definitely makes for a more enjoyable workout. 

Upon returning home, it was time for an upper body workout.  I did some light weights on Saturday but it felt like it had been a while since I had really challenged my upper body so I decided to hit it heavy and fast.  I did the following workout from Peanut Butter Fingers with a couple adjustments to suit my training goals. 

My biceps are my strong suit and my triceps need some attention, so I substituted tricep kickbacks for the barbell bicep curls at the end.  I also finished out the workout with 2 minutes of various dumbbell triceps exercises to really hit my target zone. 

As usual, I also completed 5 minutes of plank variations.  I'm still trying to tighten up and tone my midsection as I fix my diastasis recti.  One day at a time... 

I'm really looking forward to a leg workout and some speedwork tomorrow.  What are your fitnes plans for the week?  Make em great!



Simple and Effective Upper Body Workout

The gloomy weather this morning put me in the mood for a lazy morning so I skipped going to the gym and instead listened to a hunch that told me I'd be stuck inside most of the day with the boys and an at-home workout might be just the thing to break up the monotony of the day.  Turns out, my hunch was right.  I got in a great upper-body workout while the boys watched and played beside me.  I kept it simple, something I don't do often, and enjoyed the workout.

My workout consisted of supersets.  I performed 4 sets of 10-12 reps of each exercise back to back only resting for 1 minute between supersets.  The supersets included the following:

• Dumbbell Chest Press on ball and Bent-Over Rows
• Chest Flyes on ball and Lat Pulldowns using a resistance band over the door
• Overhead Press, Hammer Curls, and Overhead Triceps Extension

I rounded out the workout with 10 minutes of plyometrics doing each of the following exercises for a minute, and repeating the circuit twice.

• Jumping jacks
• Jump squats
• High knees
• Butt kicks
• Burpees

I also did 5 minutes of various plank exercises, stopping to rest for minimal lengths of time as needed. 

And finally when the sun came out for a bit, I squeezed in a quick 3 mile run for good measure.  After sitting around for a couple of days, my body was ready to move.  Take that, gloomy day.  Make it a great one!