Wednesday, March 26, 2014

It's the little things

It's been a pretty busy month, and while I can't say I've been super consistent, I did find some motivation last week when I saw a link for the #workitout100.  Thankfully my sister had already started the challenge so I could see it. I officially started the challenge on Monday, but really began on Saturday.

So here are my current stats:

3/26/14
Weight: 142.4
Body Fat: 26.6%
BMI: 24.8

Obviously those aren't huge changes, and that's okay.  My goal is to make this a complete lifestyle thing and not just a "let's get down to 125 as quickly as possible" kind of thing.  Those types of goals have a higher failure rate, and I want this to be a permanent change.

Because of the achilles injury I've had to mix things up a little, which is good.  I'm taking it slower getting back into running and increasing my mileage so that means I can supplement with other types of workouts.  I'm getting consistent with my weight training workouts and I started the Blogilates Beginner fitness calendar.  Doing all of those things allows me to be flexible and work muscles that tend to be neglected with just running.

Over the last few weeks, I am starting to see small changes in my body.  I will be taking more progress photos on Monday so hopefully those changes are more noticeable.  The best part about this journey is that I'm feeling muscles that I haven't felt in a while and I like that sore feeling.  I'll of course keep updating, but I wanted to post today because progress is progress, even if it's small. And, even if you fall off the wagon a little, it's okay.  In the long run, it's not how many times you fell down that matters, it only matters how many times you picked yourself up, dusted yourself off and kept moving.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Spring

It seems like spring is a time for new beginnings. I don't really think that it was coincidence that I was discharged from physical therapy on the first day of spring as well.  This is a chance for me to begin with essentially a clean slate.  My running future can be whatever I want it to be. I have the tools to make it successful.  

It took injury for the need for strength training to really sink in. I need to make time to take care of and strengthen my muscles as well as stretch them.  I still identify myself as a runner, not a weight trainer, but it won't be neglecting the weights anymore. I've been doing a pretty good job over the last few weeks, I just need to set up a system that will work with a normal training schedule and set time aside for stretching/yoga and strength training. I know that it will be a challenge, but I know that it will be really important if I want to run without injury.

So, here is an update on my progress. I have not been that good about tracking my macros, but just it being in the back of my mind has helped me to make better food choices than I was before. I probably weigh myself too much, but part of me is still checking for how my body responds to certain foods. I weighed myself again this week and while I was a little disappointed that I had gained a half a pound, I had lost another .3% of body fat. Basically I'm adding muscle. This just goes to show that the number on the scale is not always a good indicator of progress.

I will of course continue to update on how things are going. I really want to work on my consistency in my strength training workouts, which will mean finding something that I can do with the limited equipment I have.  Happy running!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Checking in

So 9 days later and I figured I would check in. Was not very good over spring break and didn't follow my diet. Thankfully I still have a one pound weight loss. Today looked like this:

2 mile run
3x10 leg press -72lbs
3x10 DB chest press -10 lbs
3x10 DB two arm rows -10 lbs
3x15 Russian twists -8 lbs
3x20 Jumping jacks

Weight: 143
Body fat: 26.9%
BMI: 24.9

My body fat has decreased by .4% which is not a big loss! but my short term goal is to get down to 24% so I'm well on my way. Now that I'm back to my normal schedule I'm hoping that I can really start to make some progress.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

2014 - Fitness Reset

I have not given up on the Marathon, but finishing 2013 and starting out the year with Achilles tendinitis and a calf strain didn't do anything to help my fitness goals. So, to get myself back on track now that I'm able to run a little more (still doing physical therapy) it's time to start addressing what I eat.  I've been doing a lot of reading about diet and weight training lately and I came across IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) and some of it makes sense.  I know that I should be watching what I eat anyway and I'm finding that my body is sensitive to a couple of different foods. 

Now, the hard part is trying to plan my day as much as possible.  It seems that IIFYM works best when you can plan ahead. For instance, I know that this evening I will be eating pizza and cupcakes for my daughter's birthday, so I should plug that info into my fitness pal so I know what I have left for lunch today. I know that I won't be able to stick to this 100% and I'm okay with that.  This is just a way for me to get a handle on my nutrition while I'm getting my mileage back up.

This being March 1st, I felt like this was a good time to start fresh. Today was the last day in my weight training week so the workout was this:

Seated Leg Press: 3 sets of 10 - 60lbs

Dumbbell Bench Press - 3 sets of 10 - 10lbs

Dumbbell Bent Two-arm Row - 3 sets of 10 - 10lbs

Russian Twists - 3 sets of 15 - 8lb medicine ball

Since Sevrine and I are running a 5k tomorrow I did not run today like I normally would on Saturday.  Next week though it will be nice to see what a typical week will look like.  My weight routine is one that I was able to find online and is a true beginner weight workout.  Workout A is above and Workout B is 3x10 dead lifts, 3x10 Lat pull-downs / pull-ups, and 3x10 over-head/military press. Next week is BAB. 

Beginning today, my goals for 2014 are:

* Lose 19 pounds
* Run 5-6 days per week (lower mileage and build so I don't piss off my Achilles)
* Stay healthy/injury free
* Cut out soda gradually
* Strength train consistently
* STRETCH

I'm sure there are more things that will go along with that, but as of right now, those are my fitness goals.  I know that I will need to revise these goals as well over time since lose 19 pounds sounds good, but I may look better with 19 pounds of fat loss and putting 5-10 pounds of muscle on.  The number on the scale is more a pride thing I think for a lot of people, so while that is the immediate goal, it may not get me the shape I want.

March 1, 2014
Weight: 144
Body Fat %: 26.9
BMI: 25

Goal
Weight: 125
Body Fat %: 24
BMI: 22

They don't seem like big goals, but I think that I need to shoot for what I think is reasonable.  I don't want to set myself up for failure, so we're going to do this slowly and readjust goals bases on not only the way I look, but the way I feel.