Running Errands

I am so lucky to live in a small town where many of the places I frequent are within 3 miles of my house.   I am also very blessed to live in the sunshine state which makes getting out for walks and runs with my kiddos a daily activity on a year-round basis.  Thankfully, my kids LOVE to be outside and LOVE riding in their stroller which makes getting out a breeze!  As my boys have gotten more active, so have I, and it has been fun coming up with creative ways to multitask and keep up their growing interests and my evolving fitness.  One of my latest tricks is to literally RUN errands. I put the boys in the stroller and run to the bank, then run accross the street to the drugstore.  I can pop in the grocery store if needed and even hit up the park for the boys to run off some of their own steam along the way.  The post office and downtown are all within running distance as well.  The other day, I got in a 5 mile run, playtime at the park, a letter to the post office, a deposit to the bank, and a prescription picked up all in the same outing.  Oh, and did I mention the boys nap fantastically in the stroller?  It kept us all engaged as we hopped from one place to another, seeing lots of different things, gave me a workout and the boys some rest which left us all ready to conquer the rest of our day.  If it's feasible for you, especially with springtime in the air and most of the country experiencing some better weather, I encourage you to load up the stroller (if you've got kids) and lace up your running shoes rather than hop in the car to run your errands.  Let me know what you think...

Upper Body Blitz Etc.

Yesterday I got in a killer arm workout that has my arms still feeling the burn in a good way.  I knew I wanted to focus on my chest and back, but didn't want to leave my arms or core out in the process and I came up with this nice little workout that I will definitley be repeating again.  Hopefully it gets easier each time I do it because my arms were screaming yesterday as I tried to eak out the last reps of each superset.  My workout looked like this:

• Back Giant Set using bent over narrow rows, bent over wide rows, and bent over renegades. 
• 3 rounds:
• First round: 20 reps of each exercise followed by 100 reps of various biceps curls
• Second round: 15 reps of each exercise followed by 100 reps of various triceps exercises
• Third round: 10 reps of each exercise followed by 100 reps of various shoulder exercises.
• Chest Giant Set chest press, chest flyes and renegades, all done on an stability ball.
• 3 rounds:
• First round: 20 reps of each exercise followed by 100 reps of mountain climbers.
• Second round: 15 reps of each exercise followed by 1 minute plank with forearms on stability ball.
• Third round: 10 reps of each exercise followed by 2 minute plank.

I used 15 pound dumbbells for the back and chest exercises and 8 pound dumbbells for the arm exercises. Success!

Today's workout focused on legs.  I wasn't feeling too creative so I used the old standby--a Jackie Warner circuit workout which banged out the workout in 15 minutes.  Cardio included 40 minutes on the elliptical so I could finish up my book for book club tonight.  I highly recommend The American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. 

Tomorrow I'm due for another run.  After a 5k on Saturday, where I got a PR by the way, and a 10 mile stroller run on Sunday, my legs needed a couple of days off from running but they're ready to go for tomorrow.  Haven't decided where, how long, or whether I'll bring the stroller or not.  I guess we'll see what tomorrow and my two teething toddlers brings...

Make it a great day!

Maintenance Mode

Working out and staying on track with an eating plan is EXTREMELY difficult when company comes to visit.  With spring break and the boys' birthday, March is full of visitors so I have decided that rather than setting myself up for disappointment by setting unrealistic goals for myself, my goal will be to maintain my current fitness and be ready to kick it up a notch when April arrives and our day-to-day schedule returns to normal.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still getting to the gym at lifting weights least 3 times a week and making sure to get in 3 runs a week, being sure to throw a long run into the mix, but I know that many workouts will be rushed or adapted to the days' schedule.   I may not get to the gym as much as I'd like, but that doesn't mean I can't squeeze in some quickie at-home workouts with my dumbbells, mat, and exercise ball.  I can give myself a kick-butt workout in 10-15 minutes and I plan to utilize my DVD workouts as well.  Dropsets, supersets, speedwork, here I come!  This is the month of getting the most bang for my buck.  I've planned the following workouts this week and so far I have been able to stick to them...

• Monday- 30 minutes on the elliptical, including 10 30 second sprints and lots of inclines
• Tuesday- Jackie Warner Upper Body workout and 3 mile run at a quick pace (25 minutes...would like it to be quicker next time.)
• Wednesday - Leg Dropsets (took 15 minutes and had my legs shaking) and 3 miles on the elliptical doing hill repeats
• Thursday - 5 miles run with the boys in the jogging stroller
• Friday - Full body weights routine using supersets
• Saturday - 5k race to earn my green beer :-)
• Sunday - REST!!

How do you stay on track with your fitness and diet when life gets in the way?  I especially struggle with sticking to my diet - drinks included.  It's easy to stay on track with breakfast and lunch but I find myself slipping up repeatedly with happy hours, dinners, and late night noshing.  Any tips?  I'd love to hear them! Make it a great day!

Found this...

...and wanted to share.  What a great resource!

http://www.greatist.com/fitness/50-bodyweight-exercises-you-can-do-anywhere-030612/

10 X 100

This morning I wanted to cram in a workout and family time so I entertained the boys with the following workout while they ate their breakfast in their high chairs.  Talk about multi-tasking...

• 100 squats
• 100 deadlifts
• 100 lunges (50 with each leg forward)
• 100 sumo squats
• 100 chair step-ups
• 100 high knees
• 100 butt kicks
• 100 jumping jacks
• 100 jump ropes
• 100 heismans

...and 25 squat jumps for good measure! Make it a good day!