Aside from playing mah jongg, being in bed by 10pm and entertaining friends rather than going out to clubs and bars, my body is also very old.
I have a subluxating in my left knee, bursitis in both hips and this new thing with my right ankle. This is probably why I've never been a runner, but enjoyed low impact sports like riding and swimming. About a year and a half ago, I finally took up running since I had to if I wanted to participate in a triathlon. So I sucked it up and ran. After three months of training, I finally ran two 12:30 miles (and you think you're slow?). I make up for my running speed in biking and swimming though. I did it and I am so proud of my accomplishment. I plan to do another one soon.
That being said, I got bored with the Fat to Fab DVD. Then the Husband and roommate left so my schedule was thrown all out of whack. Today I thought I'd take some time to myself and just run. I also felt bad for slacking on the blog entries and partially did this just so I would have something to write about. I live in an area called the Black River Valley. Not too far away, there is a river with all sorts of trails around it, so I decided I would finally get around to checking it out. I was surprised at how long I was able to run considering it's literally been months since I went running. I ran for more than the first half hour of my trip. I totaled almost 4 miles. I would have run more but my ankle popped, even though I'm wearing a brace. It doesn't really hurt any more but I wanted to take it easy this first time back on my feet.
During my run, I came to realize why I'm a slow runner. It's because of my small stride, possibly related to the bursitis in my hips. I thought about regularly going to yoga once I get back and think that will help loosen them up. In the mean time, once I started walking (after my ankle flared), I tried walking with Husband-length strides. Oh man, did I feel that! my run/walk took a little longer than I hoped but I'll take all of those 408 Calories my heart rate monitor said I burned.
I didn't take my camera so I apologize for that but I'll be sure to grab it next time since the Black River Valley is beautiful. Assuming I'm not too beat up tomorrow, I think I'll take a bike ride down to the BRV so I can actually enjoy it rather than turning around right when I get there.
Until then, Cheers!
Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Friday, 22 July 2011
Fat to Fab Review
This is my review of Nadia Sawalha's Fat to Fab Workout DVD. Check back regularly for updated reviews and my status.
Day 1
Boy! I can't believe how out of shape I am. I have been through periods were I have worked out everyday for months but this is definitely not one of those times. I thought for sure I'd at least be able to do the entire DVD even on easy/modified moved. Nope. The work out involves five parts:
I did the warm up, High NRG Cardio and cool down in about 40 minutes and I was sweating. It was definitely high energy! There were lots of jumps and then they threw in criss-crosses and then added arms. There were times I couldn't get my rhythm, so i just flailed about. Good thing I was alone and not in a class.
I wore my pedometer and heart rate monitor. I doubled the amount of steps I've taken today (totally over 6,600) and burned more than 250 calories. Think about what I could do in the with another half hour! Tomorrow I'm going to be sore but I'll try to add one more part (possibly two), but now, I must go shower.
Day 2
Today I was running short on time and just did the warm up, body blast and cool down totally about a half hour. I felt the body blast was a bit easy. It did involve weights (of which they never suggested a particular size). I didn't have weights so I used the Husband's steel toed work boots thinking they were heavy enough. They weren't, which also contributed to how effective I thought it was. I plan to give it another shot later with 1.5 liter water bottles, which weight about 4.5 pounds each.
Day 3
Well I'm still feeling the "weights" I did yesterday. Today, I woke up with full intention to either try the new section along with the high NRG. Then I realized it was 8am on a Saturday and people live right below us. So I considered a short run. The walk to the bathroom was killing my ankle so I decided to take today off, especially since we are going to Oxford and will more than likely be walking around.
Day 1
Boy! I can't believe how out of shape I am. I have been through periods were I have worked out everyday for months but this is definitely not one of those times. I thought for sure I'd at least be able to do the entire DVD even on easy/modified moved. Nope. The work out involves five parts:
- Warm up
- High NRG Cardio
- Body Blast
- Body Toner
- Cool down
I did the warm up, High NRG Cardio and cool down in about 40 minutes and I was sweating. It was definitely high energy! There were lots of jumps and then they threw in criss-crosses and then added arms. There were times I couldn't get my rhythm, so i just flailed about. Good thing I was alone and not in a class.
I wore my pedometer and heart rate monitor. I doubled the amount of steps I've taken today (totally over 6,600) and burned more than 250 calories. Think about what I could do in the with another half hour! Tomorrow I'm going to be sore but I'll try to add one more part (possibly two), but now, I must go shower.
Day 2
Today I was running short on time and just did the warm up, body blast and cool down totally about a half hour. I felt the body blast was a bit easy. It did involve weights (of which they never suggested a particular size). I didn't have weights so I used the Husband's steel toed work boots thinking they were heavy enough. They weren't, which also contributed to how effective I thought it was. I plan to give it another shot later with 1.5 liter water bottles, which weight about 4.5 pounds each.
Day 3
Well I'm still feeling the "weights" I did yesterday. Today, I woke up with full intention to either try the new section along with the high NRG. Then I realized it was 8am on a Saturday and people live right below us. So I considered a short run. The walk to the bathroom was killing my ankle so I decided to take today off, especially since we are going to Oxford and will more than likely be walking around.
Thursday, 21 July 2011
A change of pace
Since I've arrived in the UK, I have managed to stay pretty busy, all the while enjoying my experiences but also craving a regular schedule. Although I still don't have a set schedule, things have begun to settle down. I got to the cake shop twice a week and the rest of the days are spent planning our weekends so there's really been nothing to blog about recently.
Today, rather than planning, I spent the day writing my personal statement and updating my resume. The application for my certificate in nonprofit management is due soon so I thought it was about time to get on that. I also started looking for jobs for when I get back. It looks like there's a lot out there, and the organizations have meaningful missions. Fortunately, I am in a position where I don't have to work. Yes it's tight sometimes, and yes I've been going crazy not working regularly for the past year, but this gives me the opportunity to find the organization that best fits me. I don't mean to sound snooty or to imply that I choose not to work, as this is not the case. I fully believe in doing something you really enjoy and believe in and am fortunate enough to be able to take my time finding the right organization. My first year of grad school, I decided I would be a full-time student and keep my eyes open for some part-time work. I had a couple of temporary positions here and there that I really enjoyed. That set-up really worked well, especially being newly-wed and in a new city.
Last year, I did struggle with getting out of the house before 5pm (when I left for my evening classes) most days, due to my heavy study load. I felt like I was living under a rock, especially at midterm and finals times. My free week night was dedicated to date night so I could see my husband before 9pm, Fridays we went to shul and/or Shabbat dinner with friends or family and Saturday nights were hard to out because I taught Sunday School in the morning.
This year however, I will taking a mix of in-class at U of H and online courses at A&M (whoop). My husband will be gone for most the first semester and I'm starting to get scared of finding a new routine. This semester will prove even more difficult because I'm only taking one onsite course rather than my usual three. I intend to study more at Panera, Starbucks and Boarders (for as long as they are around), just to make myself get out. I also hope to find a job, part-time would be preferred but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to cut back to being a part time student with a full-time job.
Wow, this has gone on longer than I originally planned. I didn't mean to ramble on about the above topic but it did feel nice to put it on "paper." Back to what's going on here. The Husband will finally be going offshore. It's bittersweet in that this is what he came here to do, but is leaving me (selfish, I know). He'll only be gone for ten days and then we'll be on our way to Brussels for our anniversary. In the mean time, I thought I'd keep myself busy:
I got some videos from the library to watch while he'd gone. I also have a few more books to tackle.
Remember how I have been unmotivated to work out? I finally got motivated but it's been raining every day so I can't run, I can't ride and I don't belong to a gym (well, I do, but it's in Houston so not really). Usually when it rains here, you don't really get wet, it's more like a long mist or sprinkle. But apparently, the summer rain is worse (as proven in the past two weeks). It's definitely more like a Houston rain, one that you don't want to get stuck in. Recently, friends and blogs I follow have been talking about Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. It's been sitting in my Netflix queue and I realized I should have brought that DVD rather than The Hangover. Thinking about how I messed that one up, I looked what the library had in stock:
When I got home, I goggled some reviews of this DVD and they look pretty good. The DVD is due in a week so I'll try it out and keep you posted on my thoughts.
Now, if you're like me, and want to take a nap after reading all of this, be my guest! That's where I'm headed.
Cheers!
Today, rather than planning, I spent the day writing my personal statement and updating my resume. The application for my certificate in nonprofit management is due soon so I thought it was about time to get on that. I also started looking for jobs for when I get back. It looks like there's a lot out there, and the organizations have meaningful missions. Fortunately, I am in a position where I don't have to work. Yes it's tight sometimes, and yes I've been going crazy not working regularly for the past year, but this gives me the opportunity to find the organization that best fits me. I don't mean to sound snooty or to imply that I choose not to work, as this is not the case. I fully believe in doing something you really enjoy and believe in and am fortunate enough to be able to take my time finding the right organization. My first year of grad school, I decided I would be a full-time student and keep my eyes open for some part-time work. I had a couple of temporary positions here and there that I really enjoyed. That set-up really worked well, especially being newly-wed and in a new city.
Last year, I did struggle with getting out of the house before 5pm (when I left for my evening classes) most days, due to my heavy study load. I felt like I was living under a rock, especially at midterm and finals times. My free week night was dedicated to date night so I could see my husband before 9pm, Fridays we went to shul and/or Shabbat dinner with friends or family and Saturday nights were hard to out because I taught Sunday School in the morning.
This year however, I will taking a mix of in-class at U of H and online courses at A&M (whoop). My husband will be gone for most the first semester and I'm starting to get scared of finding a new routine. This semester will prove even more difficult because I'm only taking one onsite course rather than my usual three. I intend to study more at Panera, Starbucks and Boarders (for as long as they are around), just to make myself get out. I also hope to find a job, part-time would be preferred but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to cut back to being a part time student with a full-time job.
Wow, this has gone on longer than I originally planned. I didn't mean to ramble on about the above topic but it did feel nice to put it on "paper." Back to what's going on here. The Husband will finally be going offshore. It's bittersweet in that this is what he came here to do, but is leaving me (selfish, I know). He'll only be gone for ten days and then we'll be on our way to Brussels for our anniversary. In the mean time, I thought I'd keep myself busy:
Remember how I have been unmotivated to work out? I finally got motivated but it's been raining every day so I can't run, I can't ride and I don't belong to a gym (well, I do, but it's in Houston so not really). Usually when it rains here, you don't really get wet, it's more like a long mist or sprinkle. But apparently, the summer rain is worse (as proven in the past two weeks). It's definitely more like a Houston rain, one that you don't want to get stuck in. Recently, friends and blogs I follow have been talking about Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. It's been sitting in my Netflix queue and I realized I should have brought that DVD rather than The Hangover. Thinking about how I messed that one up, I looked what the library had in stock:
Now, if you're like me, and want to take a nap after reading all of this, be my guest! That's where I'm headed.
Cheers!
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