#so I’m thinking of having a 45 min intense workout before bed

[whentherewerebicycles]

new record for the week!!! I didn’t do separate bodyweight exercises this week but I’ve been doing drills during my morning skates that involve holding deep lunges + squats while skating (my leg muscles are always BURNING afterwards) so I feel like sidney crosby would still be proud of me. running in the cooler weather today was good because it reminded me that I am actually a bit stronger physically than it feels when I run in the heat. I also just want to remind myself that since April I’ve gone from finding it taxing to run for a minute and a half to being able to run for twenty minutes without stopping. that’s pretty encouraging progress! AND I’ve gone from having to work pretty hard to get 30 min of skating in to really enjoying my fairly intense 90 min morning skate workouts.

I know I’ve said this before but I think the most pleasant surprise this past month has been really feeling the habit lock in. this is week 13 or about three months from when I decided I really wanted to ramp up my activity levels, with the goal of eventually getting to 45 min of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise every day. this week I averaged 94 min/day (or maybe a little lower since some of my short evening walks were pretty leisurely).

here’s what I am noticing:

it now feels instinctive to get out of bed and work out for an hour or more first thing in the morning. the trick seems to be choosing a morning workout that I enjoy and look forward to (rollerblading!) and also pairing it with a fun podcast so that the experience is as positively self-reinforcing as possible. but even on days like today (too wet outside to skate), I still found it easy to get up and go for a run. the habit feels solid now—like it’s just part of my daily routine.

I just feel better when I work out in the morning. my mind is sharper, my body feels less sluggish, and I’m better able to ride out the waves of quarantine anxiety and the lowgrade “this year suuuucks” feelings throughout the day. I don’t even want to know what I would be feeling like if I wasn’t keeping active. I am positive that I would be SIGNIFICANTLY more wild-eyed and depressed if I wasn’t getting out of the house and spending 1-2 hours in the sun every day.

being outside is.. life-changing. WOW!!! I could see myself rejoining my gym when this is all over just so I can have lap pool access, but I think a positive part of all of this is that I’ve discovered how fun it is to move around outside. I feel like I resisted exercise for a long time for many reasons, but one of them is definitely the fact that I find gym machines to be extremely tedious + group exercise classes to be socially stressful. I also like having control over how far I go and how hard I work, which I think maps onto a lot of the teaching research I’ve done about intrinsic motivation and the importance of giving students meaningful autonomy and choice in learning environments. I tend to work harder and enjoy the experience so much more when I feel like I am making the choices and deciding what I want to tackle each day.

on the subject of intrinsic motivation: I have also discovered that I feel way more motivated to work out when I have a clear sense of purpose. I have always loathed the way that mainstream fitness/diet culture teaches women to think about exercise, where the emphasis is on ‘perfecting’ your body and then on scrupulously maintaining the small gains you make, or like, diligently working to try to cancel out the fact that you have to occasionally eat food to stay alive. and of course the goal of all that constant fussy maintenance is to turn your body into something that men will find sexually desirable. bleh!! I feel like getting quite into watching sports and learning a lot about athletes’ daily routines this year has introduced me to a radically different way of thinking about exercise. I am not going to become a pro athlete anytime soon lol but I love the idea that exercise can be this really purposeful thing, where you are doing various kinds of exercises to gradually strengthen your body and build up your body’s capacity to perform different kinds of physical tasks. I think a lot of the principles of good teaching apply here too: exercise as a form of teaching/learning, where your body is learning how to do progressively more challenging things, and as you master one set of tasks or sharpen one set of skills, you introduce a new challenge that takes you a little further out of your comfort zone and makes you push yourself a little bit harder.

I also REALLY like that I can tangibly see or feel the real world applications of what my body is ‘learning.’ like the more time I spend working on my lunges/squats and balancing exercises off my skates, the more I feel my endurance increasing and the more power I’m able to harness when taking off from a stop into a dead sprint. it’s just very cool to feel like my mind + body are wholly engaged in this type of physical learning, and it’s also amazing to think about ‘progress’ in terms of increasing my physical strength and confidence and ability to complete challenging tasks, instead of in terms of like... becoming more ~desirable or conforming more closely to our culture’s dumb standards of waifish beauty. feels really good!!!! and it ends up making me feel way better about my body, not because of what my body looks like but because I’m like, super proud of the things we’re learning how to do together. what an amazing way to feel!

#movement log #exercise #mw #to think further

[well-hidden-hot-mess]

today’s thoughts

this is going to be rambly but what else is new. just had a bunch of random thoughts floating around in my head that i just wanted to get “on paper” so hopefully they’ll stop floating around my brain and taking up space where more important things should be and stop stressing me out. 

to follow up on yesterday’s post, woke up feeling backed up and bloated so i was dreading the weigh in because i was sure i was going to have maintained or gained. which yes i know is stupid for it to be such a “worry” or be on my brain the first second i wake up but it wasn’t i swear. i was up at 5am and this happened at like 7am but the second i looked at my body and saw my stomach being all puffed out i was like this isn’t going to be fun... but i tried to be positive and be like look, yesterday you “only” (i need to stop using that word) went for a leisurely walk (i’ll go into that next) and did yoga for activity (even though I hit 11,000 steps) plus you didn’t drink all of your water and you ate an extra 230 calories in the form of a chocolate protein bar (more on that later too) so if you are up a little bit, it’s understandable and it’ll be okay... stepped on the scale, looked down, and was shook because I lost .9lbs... halle-fucking-luyah. i shouldn’t feel such a relief at that but i think it was just that weight was lifted (no pun intended) from my shoulders because i was kicking my ass so hard the last 10 days and wasn’t seeing any progress so it was just a lot of frustration built up since i knew there was zero reason this should be happening due to previous experience and just common sense with how this all works. oh idk if i mentioned, i did lower my macros yesterday back down because my activity level wasn’t as high as i thought it would be and i wasn’t as active in between my workouts and since i was maintaining pretty steadily, i figured that would be a good idea and i was right. 

for the walk part, i forced myself to slow the f down and do an actual leisurely walk and ended up losing track of time and walking an hour and afterwards i wasn’t absolutely wrecked and useless the rest of the day. so that’s the plan from now on unless i’m doing cardio as my more intense workout of the day (like if i’m pairing it with yoga or something) or doing the stairs or something. 

the protein bar. well i was all up in my feels and had no idea why and was just really tired and mentally drained but not like full on but like 75% done and just emotionalish. i had drank my preworkout and was determined to go workout but it like never kicked in and that kinda hinted to me that maybe i just needed a break and it would be better to do it today (my hip was ultra pissed plus i was exhausted so it wouldn’t have been the best and it would’ve just made me frustrated and not a positive experience). so i made myself a healthy dinner (air fried skinless chicken drumsticks (which holy fuck are my new favorite food ever) with asparagus and brown/wild rice) even though i wanted nothing to do with cooking (thankfully they were all already prepped) and figured they would fit in my macros. lol jk because the macros i thought i had left didn’t include the rice i had at lunch so with some switching around my carbs/fats, i hit everything pretty spot on. which i was happy about for .1 second until i wanted something sweet since that’s how i always end my day and i had zero macros left. so that little “fuck it” voice popped up and i was like you know what, it’s not going to kill me and i just want it so it’s fine, i don’t care (not like f it i don’t care but more like it’s only 230 calories, i’m not going to let that ruin my day) and crawled into bed. it was at that point that i realized i was emotional when a tiktok that was like “things will get better” like sweet but not like powerful enough to ellicit the reaction of tears rolling down my face. so i looked up exercise for depression figuring there’d be something that would help me and then one of yoga with adriene’s videos popped up called “yoga for depression” and it was like 15 mins so i’m like let me just do this in my bed and maybe i’ll feel better in general and less guilty for completely skipping the second workout. so i did that one... and then another... and another to total 45 mins. i felt so much better afterwards and like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and i fell asleep really quickly and easily after that so i’m so beyond happy i did it and feel proud of myself to not give into the impending binge that i could feel brewing and to not just give up on the day and stay in that negative headspace. so that was a good end to a could’ve been terrible day. 

i went to target yesterday and as always went a little crazy with the spending but it was mostly on stuff i needed and healthy snacks that don’t go bad quickly. but my plan was to get back from my walk, eat something, clean myself up a little, and go to target so get there by like 12. i just couldn’t get myself to get up and go. i was ready, there was just something holding me back aka anxiety. like target is my happy place... i had more than enough money so it wouldn’t be a stressful thing... and i just couldn’t get myself to get up and go. i think quarantine and not working/leaving my apartment every day has made my anxiety expand into like very mild agoraphobia like symptoms. i finally was just like fuck it, i need to go now or else it’s going to be busy with all the kids getting out of school and people getting out of work so i ended up leaving at 3 finally. it’s just a weird feeling having this invisible thing holding me back to begin with but like ultra weird that it was holding me back from a place i love a little too much. but i’m proud that i pushed through and ended up having a nice relaxing visit and FINALLY found my favorite creamer (oat yeah oatmeal cookie flavor omg) when they’ve been out for months and a couple other fun snacks that i’m excited to try. plus i found cute little baskets to put in my shoe rack and i love them and some organizers for my bathroom drawers which desperately need to be reorganized so i’ll probably do that later since it’s a rainy day so i won’t feel guilty not being outside. 

i’ve been thinking about work again and some things have been floating around in my brain. like making a youtube channel (about what? no fucking idea), or a podcast (again about what tho?), or a blog (same issues) or something like that where i can work from home for now on my own schedule until i’m ready to go back out into the real world and work again. i think i’m going to do some brainstorming about that today and report back.

my dad got me the new ninja air fryer/oven and omfg i’m legit obsessed. it’s like the only positive thing i have right now and as sad as that is, i’m ignoring how pathetic that is and just enjoying it for now. #ignoranceisbliss

i think i’m going to adopt a kitten like this week. i need something cute and fluffy and to make me happy and to focus on so i don’t go insane. nashville humane has so many cute little nuggets and one is a tuxedo and his name is elmo and i’m obsesseddddd. 

okay this has been going on for way too long so i need to go chug an energy drink and get my walk started before the torrential downpour from the latest hurricane/tornado/whatever the fuck it is. 

[opepin]

february: week 3

13: it was a pretty busy work from home day. we made egg mcmuffins for breakfast, went to work for a bit, and then kevin cooked the bulgogi and i made the rice cake soup when he had to get on a call. i worked until past 5 pm and then i rushed to get ready for the museum of science chocolate night. kevin and i argued a bit on our way out and our way there. :/ it was because expectations and assumptions weren’t made clear, but even if we’re mad, holding hands makes everything better, ahah. we walked to the museum -- bad idea because of the wind T_T we made it in one piece though! there was so much chocolate. there were chocolate fondue fountains, little bites, cheese and cracker and veggie plates, and there were a lot of activities too. kevin and i didn’t get anything from the bar haha. we participated in a scavenger hunt which led us to exploring the museum more and we participated in a create-a-claw competition. our machine got the most hearts and we got added to the board. our claw machine was called the “winnie the pooh” claw :3 lol kevin irked me at some points because he was too into making it and he also left me at a chocolate wall picture area for food so when it was my turn, i was alone :( we did take a picture there though.

my favorite exhibit is the playground one. i loved running and swinging and etc. i got super dizzy from the spinning machine though. we got some goodie bags from the innovator’s table after handing in our scavenger hunt and then we ate our last chocolate covered strawberries before heading out. i got a penny/coin thing for boston now! we decided to walk off our sugar and took the red line back home. kevin got me a valentine’s day gift and couldn’t wait until tomorrow to give it to me. apparently, it was left in the package center for a few days because he couldn’t sneak it up due to our wfh days ahaha. my bear got me cozy bear socks! <3333 i mentioned it maybe a few weeks ago and i guessed he just got it for me so my feet wouldn’t be so cold all the time <33333 i have the best boyfriend (: i also picked up my victoria’s secret package and idk how to feel about their seamless underwear. anyway, i worked when i got back and kevin did the dishes and gamed. i skipped my workout today because i had to get work stuff done. we also did a good amount of walking so i didn’t feel as bad. then i showered and slept at like 1 or 2 am after talking to kevin for a bit before falling asleep. :P

14: waking up wasn’t terrible! i rushed a bit to make myself an egg mcmuffin but i made it to my regular train on time. the office was pretty full today, which made me happy. yay, i’m back in the office! i also got my business cards ;D i went straight to work because the deadline was at 1 pm. i got everything done but there is still something in the journey map that is bothering me. i’ll definitely fix it for the future or find a better solution. i ate lunch at the desk and then went downstairs to get foumami for dinner. the rest of the day were calls on calls. laurie came into the office today and organized a welcome lunch for all of the new hires in boston. apparently, we make up almost half of the office -- that’s crazy. i guess everyone else works in new york. i met up with kevin at the train station and then we ordered dinner at the fat cat. i got a side of fries to go with my salad that i devoured when we got back home. i got a bibimbap salad and they just drenched it in gochujang and i don’t think i’m going to finish it. x__x;

we drove to pick up food from fat cat and thanks to my terrible navigating skills, we had to drive around to get to oh my tea. they ran out of green tea (LOL gg) so we ended up getting just a rose tea with boba. it was alright. we quickly ate (the fries are so bomb) and then headed to cafe artscience for our three course dessert. it was a pretty bad ride because i am a terrible navigator and then i froze up because we kept missing our turns and stuff. we did get there a bit late but more or less on time. sigh. i almost had a panic attack -- i was so shaky from freaking out about boston’s windy ass roads. we sat at the bar, ordered a drink we didn’t finish, and finished a dessert alcohol a bartender gave us for funsies. kevin and i talked about some sad things, actually LOL. we drove home and then watched an episode of supernatural. i fell asleep and then woke up, showered, and got ready for bed. i was so tired.

15: the office was full today because we were getting a free lunch today LOL. it was a frustrating morning thanks to the project i’ve been struggling on and trying to fix. i kind of got it, but it’s just finicky. i worked on that until lunch and then we all went to bostonia public house. i met andrew and cole and i talked with him along with charles and kien. oh, i finally got to see cole again. when i walked into the office, he scared me awake LOL. i had to leave for a 1 pm call so i didn’t get to eat in the restaurant :( john left early too and asked me if i was going and then i told him i didn’t get my food yet and he just laughed at me LOLOLOL. he had gotten his food already and ate it. x_x i walked back with josh, a new developer. i got back a bit late and i had to take a bathroom break in the middle if the meeting, but it was ok. i caught up with phil and then i switched tasks for the day. i finished up right at 5 pm, talked with laurie and cole, and walked to south station with cole. then i got on the train and just bummed when i got home. i got my rotofugi package today: cute dino pin for my book bag, a mitten shaped tea infuser, and one of mary’s jade evolved rock figures! i also switched my side cabinet with charles’ because he wasn’t using his for any protective storage and i wanted to leave my laptop. so i took the key and locked up my pc laptop in the office. yay, now i can store things in the office without being suspicious or worrying.

oh, i got sprayed with water because boston drivers are assholes. i got hit 3 times basically and the water soaked my leggings and boots. -__-” kevin came back from climbing, we watched supernatural and then i did a bit of exercise because i haven’t been doing that these past two days D: sigh. i’m on such a sugar high/craving right now... well, i combated that with kickboxing today! it was much fun~ then i washed my hair and while it dried, i got two groupons for me and kevin to go to new england’s dessert showcase and for a sunset boat tour on the st. charles river~ i still have hillary’s gift card and i wonder if i should spend it on a maybe (need to call and ask) glassblowing class and/or pottery decorating class~ then i blow-dried my hair, brushed my teeth, and hopped into bed at the usual time -- around 1 am. haha.

16: when i was about to leave, i got a call from a client and helped her out with ux360. this was my first support call and it was so out of the blue. i think i did a pretty good job, and i loved helping her. i know that this job will test my communication skills and help me become better at giving instructions. i feel like i don’t explain myself well sometimes because i just assume others (especially ones that are close to me) know what i’m talking about and why i am talking about it. i often go on tangents when i speak to people so, i need to work on that. anyway, i helped her and then went on over to the office. i was supposed to go to kane’s donuts with cole in the morning but since i was late, we pushed it back until after his standup meeting. it wasn’t busy when we walked in and i bought 6 donuts for the office: chocolate orgasm, red velvet, boston cream, honey dipped, cinnamon, and creme brulee. mmm. obviously, cole got the boston cream for himself. haha. everything was pretty much gone at the end of the day; i took home like 1/3 of the creme brulee doughnut for kevin. i don’t think anyone except me touched the creme brulee...LOL.

work was nice and busy. i went to get lunch with cole at sabroso taqueria and got their salad with chicken. omg it is such a good and filling salad. it’s just romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, and black beans. mmmmm. i worked until 4:40 pm or so and then headed back home a bit early. i forgot to check in with phil so when i got home, i skyped him and caught up for tomorrow morning. i’m planning on maybe taking wfh days once a week, but i’m not sure yet. i got my pouch from india hicks today. i’m still feeling akjfnsjkdf about the price but i don’t want to return it because i would have to pay another $6.95 for return shipping -_- so i’m kinda forced to keep it. the good thing is that it fits all of my cables and adapters! i chilled for a bit and then started cooking dinner. i made our usual coconut kale fried rice. then kevin came back just as i finished washing the dishes and we ate dinner. i had to finish up some leftovers of the rice cake soup and then i ate some of the fried rice. we are officially caught up with supernatural :O idk what we’re gonna watch now...maybe we’ll catch up with criminal minds? kdjnfskjfs.

kevin went to shower and then i bummed around a bit to digest my food. then i did some ab workouts. for some reason, my abs have been constantly hurting? maybe i’m working them out via cardio without me noticing... i did 25 min of pure ab toning, 7 minute of hip hop cardio (wanted to dance to this one new video), and 45 minutes of kickboxing. kickboxing is so much fun and i’m sore all over right now. x__x; i showered right after and then went to sleep. i was so tired. zzzz.

17: i felt so sore and tired waking up today. i still went to work because i love my team, haha. it was a pretty slow friday though. it did pick up near the end of work with a good amount of meetings. i ate lunch at my desk and after the meetings, i felt a bit lightheaded and i was super shaky. it might have been the intense thoughts i was having about adulting at that moment that caused it. it could have also been the black tea and the amount of sugar and salty snacks i’ve had this week. i didn’t snack anytime during the day so my body kind of shut down. i asked the front where the vending machine was and i had to take the shady af freight elevator down to the basement and walk to a corner to get to it. i got something salty and sweet: jalapeno cheddar puffs and nature valley honey oat bars. i ate it while going up the elevator. kevin was worried about me haha. i felt a bit better after eating. there wasn’t much to do afterward so dave told me to go home early LOL. i still waited for phil and kevin to get back to me though. i had a chance to talk to phil for about 10 minutes before hopping off and meeting kevin at the train station. i was still there before him even though he left earlier and i gave him time? so confused.

we got home and started bumming. i love fridays because i get to spend some downtime with kevin (((: we talked about how i was feeling about people working just to work vs people working because that is their life. i’m someone who makes work their life passion because we spend so much time working, i feel like it’s a waste to not do something you love with that time, you know? i don’t think it’s a good thing either -- i stress out a lot and etc, but idk i like being busy for a purpose and feeling like i am adding to something to society. i do understand why some people just work to work and have a life outside of it though. it’s just not my style. anyway, we talked about that and then we talked about maybe heading to new york for the first weekend in march. we also talked about a vacation in the summer...maybe a cruise? maybe paris?! kevin and i want to do an international trip together but i don’t have enough pto time accrued to do that this year T___T we’re both down for an off-season trip though. we’d both love to go to iceland. anyway, i sprung this on kevin too fast so he has the weekend to think about it (mostly just the ny trip though).

i somehow ko’d and fell asleep for an hour...i woke up when kevin just started cooking. i woke up hungry so i ate some leftovers and snacked a bit. then i helped prep some food, make the sauce, etc. i ate a bit more with kevin while watching a dota 2 stream. then i took it easy and did 45 minutes of hip hop cardio. i wasn’t feeling it. i went to shower and went to sleep pretty early. i just sleep during the weekends to recharge lol.

18: mmm... i woke up at 7:30 am then went back to sleep and woke up at 10 am and then went back to sleep and finally got out of bed at like 12 or 1 pm LOL. my life is truly bummy on the weekends. kevin was supposed to climb in the morning, but obviously that didn’t happen. so we ate brunch, went to kam man to get rice (omg it was so packed because it was nice outside and we went there at like 2 pm), got tickets to see ‘split’ at the movies, and then drove across the street to the mall so i could return my hdmi adapter and exchange/find seamless underwear. the return happened super quickly. i caught one of the workers at the door and he helped me out. then we stopped by a new thinkgeek store! yassss. they had some cute stuff in there. then we went to aerie to see if their seamless underwear was actually seamless. mmm, i asked one of the store associates and she didn’t convince me so we left and headed back to victoria secret. kevin went to target to look for bigger containers so we could access our rice easier while i looked for the seamless underwear i wanted. 

it was packed in there and i could not find the ones i was looking for until i found someone and asked and she took me straight to the small table in the corner LOL. i got a better deal here than online so i picked neutral colors, got in line, kevin found me and i apologized for taking so long, and then i got my seamless underwear (FINALLY). i could have gotten another pair if i were a cardholder/printed out a coupon from pink but i didn’t know until later T__T it’s kinda still bugging me but eh it’s done. we went into target together and ended up buying cute colored stoneware containers, a cake stand (for our fruit LOL), and containers for rice. omg. hahaha. this is why we never go out of our way to go to target. then we drove back, kevin went climbing, i washed the dishes and all of the new stuff, put rice in the new containers, turned on the most recent episode of jane the virgin, moved our hard af brown sugar into one of the stoneware containers with a knife and a measuring cup, and then microwaved leftovers for dinner before heading out to the movie. haha. 

kevin took a bit longer than expected so we were rushed to get out of the apartment. we packed some chips and pretzels in snack bags to eat at the movie. we got there about 5 minutes before the movie started. the movie was pretty interesting and creepy if you keep thinking about it, but it was hard to get in the mood because there were these teenagers (i sound so old) in the front who kept giggling, making childish comments, and were on their phones the entire time -__-” me and kevin were like wtf. we found out that the movie is rated pg-13 so yeah... we’ll only go to rated-r movies now LOL. we got back, cuddled, and then kevin annoyed me LOL and then went to game. i finished watching ‘reign’ and then forced myself to do some exercise even though i felt tired and bloated. i really need to stop snacking T__T it’s making me feel terrible. then i showered and ko’d at like 1 am or even before that.

19: mmm got up late again. i’ve been feeling very tired lately. it’s probably the mix of my diet and new exercise routines. x__x i started laundry right away, ate breakfast with kevin while watching a pokemon showdown stream. then i cleaned the kitchen and bathroom while listening to music. then i curled my hair and tried looking for something to watch on netflix but they took down all of the cooking shows T____T i watched youtube videos instead. then i folded laundry and kevin and i went grocery shopping! lol we went pretty late because he wanted to game a bit longer. we stopped by oh my tea first and i got the aloe honey green tea bubble tea (hot) and i got kevin a pineapple green tea with bubbles and lychee jelly. they were both really yummy. then we drove to kam man and it was practically empty. we stopped by bj’s before it was about to close for the day and then we made it home at like 7 pm? lol kevin was hungry and wanted to buy so many other things that we didn’t need.

we microwaved leftovers and watched the latest episode of supernatural on the cwtv app and then started watching ‘izombie’ while cuddling and just relaxing. i think we have a new series to watch for now. it’s not the best but it’s entertaining. we then prepped the veggies for tomorrow’s ratatouille pasta and then i just prepared for working from home tomorrow. i wasn’t feeling well still... then i showered and found out that it’s that time of month but it’s been hurting a lot more than usual. ugh. so i just went to sleep and tried to make the pain go away :(

[mmjjbbaannkkss]

2020 Jan 27-32 The Right Foundations

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Wouldn't go to gym without eating, if I didn’t eat, I wouldn't go, and’ve been lucky, and won't go if depressed because I don't eat when I'm sad, I just stay at home in self-defeat. Obvious restless from dieting, losing sleep staying up an hour, or not getting to bed an hour earlier, or waking up an hour early, or an hour too early, that’s like four hours lost sleep, it damages proper thought -- carbs around/during workout has changed that. 

Clearly not parallel to superheroes, but wow deciding to eat mid workout, on a timer after starting, to see if it quickens workout, does improve ability to break a sweat and get shit done. Still sick of bad miracle diets into trendy workouts, and realized training intensity needs carbs, as runners likely do too, and then replace glycogen after workout, and eat just enough carbs to fall asleep. Normalcy is easier with it, if intra-workout carbs are key (only tried it once) and gains/cut drops to 222lbs, I’ll test lean-bulk right after. Time will tell. Now that mid-workout food is good instead of groggy, hopefully better reps, gains, shorter session, “in modus bonus.” 

If 18-25 might I suggest some heavy af 5-3-1 sets, or some weighted reps to infinity, until your target muscle burns ‘for reps, not PR’ as some say. Weakspots training without eating right-before (semi-fasted) soon kills getting any good reps even at all, no flexes, no PRs, half-assed and deenergized, and mental concentration shot, especially after giving up big breakfast. Malnourished clouds focus, no suns out, no guns out, kinda sorta. 

https://www.instagram.com/kulturystykaonlinepl/ 

https://blog.insidetracker.com/eating-for-energy-racing-to-the-perfect-mid-workout 

“Don’t Hit the Wall: During intense endurance workouts, your muscle glycogen can be depleted in as little as an hour. Once depleted, your body can only work at 50% of its maximal capacity. Your energy levels plummet and you feel extremely fatigued. Fortunately, proper mid-workout fueling can prevent you from bonking and keep you going strong.”

TLDR: https://www.insider.com/how-to-lose-fat-transform-body-for-life-essential-steps-2020-1 have a routine, focus on macronutrients, get enuf sleep, don’t overeat, hydrate; 

TLDR https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/arnold-schwarzenegger-8-best-training-principles.html use your brain, train better than others, right exercises, heavy low reps, variety, train for the pump, work on weak spots, both learn and adapt, 

Stats/Notes

Week 8 (all_x10_flex)

#43/48 Push-

Treadmill 15? > Shldr Press *10/10*2,30*2,50*2- > Hoist *10/25*3303550~ > Lat Raise *10/5*3,10*3 > Chest press *10/507090,91113- > Pec Deck *10/7085100*4? > BB Flat Bench *10/60*6-? > Pullover Press *10/30*4,40*2 > Rope triceps *10/40* > Dips *10/10-*6- > Twist (slow) *10/507090111315- > Treadmill/x

#44/48 Lite Pull 10*/

Treadmill 15/ Neutral Pulldown *10/85*3,100*3 > Cable 1-Arm Row S/25303550- > LR Lat Pulldown S/202735425060- > Pullover S/20*2,30*3,4050 > Shrugs S/100*6 > Row S/100*6~ > Preacher S/30405065(2) > Supine Curl S/2030*5 > Concentration curls S/101015152020- > Bow Draws L/R S/ > Treadmill cool-down / bpm

Should’ve gone easier/better at start, locked arm pulldowns were worst, bow draws not great, left lat pulldown meh, concentration curls best, was stiff b/w shoulders at start even tho warmed up, need a stretching routine; 

#45 *10/x6, Heavy Legs, negreps;

Treadmill 15 min / bpm > Horiz *10/10*6 > Horizon Press *10/103050709011- > ½ Horiz s/10*5- > Leg Ext s/10,30*5- > Deadlift+Curl s/202030304040- > Leg Curl s/50,70*4? > Sit Heel Raise s/305070(2) > Cable Bends s/50*6LR > Rope Crunch s/7085*4-100- > Rev-row *10/7080*4,90- > Plank 60; > Treadmill ~100bmp/

Google music loud, not even HD; Broke a sweat thrice over; If you search enuf Romanian YouTube starts giving targeted commercials, i think it was asking me to visit a used car lot; 

#46 C Lite Push 

Treadmill 15min / Shldr Press *10/101030305050? > Lat Raise *10/(2x)10*6- > Hoist *10/35*6? > Chest press *10/507090(2) > DB Flat Bench *10/100*6 > Pec Deck *10/85100115(2) > Crossover *10/20*2,25*2,30,30-5- > Straight-arm pulldown *10/151520202525 > Rope pushdown *10/252530303535 > Twist *10/7090110130(2)? > Treadmill *10/x

Diet log: M coffee, 1C rice, chx thigh whole, M coffee, ~2C soy/wheat pancakes, L coffee, 1/2L b/taurine/creatine, 1/2L 20g whey, post workout 240lbs, over; 4 eggs, 1C+ rice, powdered parmesan; 1C+ greek “triple zero” yogurt; 1C fat free "refried" beans and two pieces bread; 

Abs, front obliques, quads, soreish; red/english; demasiado café but needed the onesies via bad idea, waiting for food to cool, nerves inefficacy soy pancakes are sponge and fixer uppers… made eyed, too little or lottle, gotta up the carb game, bought some fat-free refried beans so that some of the fiber is already broken-down, have to eat all the rando grains and beans this winter anyway, and make a list of new stuffs to get before next autumn; 

#47 Flex / C Pull-n

Treadmill warm-up 15 > Lat Pulldown *10/LR 25*2,40*4 > Low Row *10/100*6- > High Row *10/35,50*4,65- > Chinups/Pulldown *10/70,100*4,125- > Rear Deck Delts *10/55*2,70*4~ > Shrug *10/100*6? > EZ Curl *10/203040506060-5 > Preacher Curl 1-Arm *10/203030304050- > Prchr hammer *10/30*4,40*2- > Twist *10/ > Treadmill cooldown? 

Ribs, R quad & L thigh stiff, refrijoles al arroz, con qro huevos, adding whey made it a bit thick in the tank; 

Ch patty, olives, mustard, bread, cup water; back to sleep, 1C+ rice, 4 eggs, ½ L 20g whey, workout, some B/caffeine in 1L/2 water, post workout, cup rice, 1/2L 20g whey; whole ch thigh, 1C barley, black Hawaiian salt; 

Cutting hard when the internet collectively keeps reminding me to go to the gym and be patient. 

#48 Lite Legs (40set p.o.) 🍞 💧

Treadmill 15 min /bpm > Horizon 1-Leg *10/10*6-LR > Body Squat *10/x > Horizon Press *10/101030305050 > Stand Leg Curl *10/x > Side Bends *10/353550506565- > Leg Ext *10/101030305050- 🍞 💧HR > Leg Curl *10/3030505070-70- > Heel Raise *10/505070709090-L > Rope Crunch *10/5050606070 > Push Crunch *10/606070708080-? ~HR > Treadmill bpm 81!/ ½ 💧/6min 1.5HRS /15min

Bread definitely way to go easier, empty gym equipment, but still 30% faster, better reps, etc, a bought baguette, had angle vents, tore heel, et, halfway in hour, 5*15min sets by 12, superbueno, dunno 10min for reps or heavier next; don't even need carb at terminus, less nervous shock; and baguette dollar cost; ukno gonna try treadmill more without thirds; 

C barley, 2 eggs, ½ L 20g whey, chunk of bread ~100cal, workout { ½ L taurine/B etc, chunk bread ~100c, ½ L,}, C barley, 2 eggs, ½ L 20g whey; ⅓ refried beans, pita; C barley, melt cheese; 

According to this - https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/20-50-how-much - the chunk-o-bread is about 100 carbs, I’d been saying that my carb requirements had gone up, but now maybe just the workout demand was getting higher without eating low GI val tree bark lel, 

Sunday

Bread, bread, slice of pizza, ½ L 20g whey, 4 tacos, 2 cups juice; 4 mini tacos; pb grapes, mini pop, spinach burger mini pop; Pushups PR every morning? 

#blog #workout #training #over30style #diet #cutting #carbs #fitness #rebuit #advice #opinion

[celiawickedrunnah]

“Every Mile Earned, Never Given.”

~ unknown

Yes to July!!! Independence Day and my birthday month!! As matter of fact, America and I share fireworks. How fun is that!!

If anyone thought that June was hot and humid, one haven’t experienced July in Florida! At one point I simply stopped looking at the weather app to check on how hot and humid the day was predicted to be. What’s the point? If one is to adventure in the outdoor sauna, one better be ready for it.

Hydrate every single day

Never run without a bottle of water

Start your run early and dark

If anything longer than 5 miles, consider taking an electrolyte/salt pill

Go for shaded areas

Sunglasses (and a hand-towel in my case)

Lace up and go

  Going into the second week of July, my body started to feel the impact of the heat, humidity and intensity of the workouts. It was telling me that I needed to rest, amplify my vitamins, minerals and supplements intake; go to my doctor and order a blood test. And while at the doctor’s office, go ahead and take a shot of B12.

Blood work day, yipe!

It took weeks for my body to start to normalize into a more steady routine. The lack of energy, especially in the morning as I do suffer from the occasional adrenal fatigue attack was at its full force this time. Three unplanned rest days (a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) were needed until I started to feel somewhat better to do some of the workouts. I listened to my body 100% and I did everything I could to make sure my immune system remained strong and focused on processing my energy level back up instead of fighting some other weakness such as a flu symptom.

To give myself a break from this crazy-hot weather, I started doing a lot of my runs on the treadmill. Outdoor runs were becoming harder and harder on my body and very difficult to maintain the duration of a run. Running a faster pace or some speed work outdoor was getting impossible to hit the suggested paces. Although a treadmill run offers a controlled environment (AC on and turbo fan blowing at me), it still gets freaking hot. It is not easy either, but it is more doable. Going into my longest treadmill run of 12 miles; there were times I wished I had just taken it outside. It was one of the hardest treadmill run to date. The mental and physical drain was nothing I had experienced before, and I believe this was the turning-point of my energy level and adrenal fatigue kick off.

By mid-third week of July, I started to feel and sleep better. I can’t focus enough on how important rest it is for me. In one of the days that my energy was extremely low, I went to bed at 7:30 p.m. On the next day, my body was ready to wake up and get up at 5:00 a.m. and I had one of the best steady run.

I also decided to schedule a second cryotherapy session before the end of the month. Usually a once a month session is enough, but this time I saw no harm in doing it a second time. To my “luck” at the time of cryo sesh, the nitrogen tank was about to get empty, but Dr. Sabrina Atkins estimated that it would be enough for my 3-minute top sesh. I entered at -111F and I held on for the entire 3-minute; however, the temps only reached to -211F.

Hold on for the entire 3-minute max down to -245F first sesh of July

This cryotherapy session was a great energy boost to kick off the last week of July with the start of the Jacksonville Marine Corps half marathon training. As a bonus, football training camp was also on tap, which motivates me a great deal, even if the workout calls for a fartlek = 2 mi warm up / 10 min @ 9:10 pace / 4x2min @ 8:45-8:30 w/ 2min recovery in between / easy cool down to 7!

2 mi up 10:42 / 10 min @ 9:07 / 4×2 min @ 8:37, 8:43, 8:39, 8:38 & extra 8:36 / 2.28 mi cool down  @ 10:01

After all the ups-and-downs, I am learning to manage mental and physical breakdown a lot better. I try to stay calm and let it run its course while not giving it too much power. Negative thoughts will creep in every now and then, but it is so important to not to give them power or they will eat you alive. Simply acknowledge it and put a positive thought and action to nullify them. Also, beating myself up for being on the funk wave is pointless. Do not beat yourself up! It is part of the process of training hard and we are only humans.

I’m also constantly working on mental training just as I work on my physical training everyday. I read motivational/sports quotes, I read books, listen to audiobooks (my favorite so far is The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think , Train, and Thrive by Jim Afremow), I watch word majors marathons while running on the treadmill, and of course, watching Breaking 2 the Nike Project never gets old! All of this positive intakes adds up. I have noticed that when a mental breakdown happens, its intensity is usually less or tends to linger less time. This time for me, I think it was more of a physical breakdown. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will change as training becomes harder and harder, but I know that I’m more mentally tough that I was yesterday.

So, thank you my dear legs, body and mind for taking me a little further this month for a month PR of 107.39 miles! I love you dearly.

Cheers to you and Happy August!!

“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.”

~Alan Cohen

July Miles: Hot Humid and Sweaty “Every Mile Earned, Never Given.” ~ unknown Yes to July!!! Independence Day and my birthday month!! As matter of fact, America and I share fireworks.

#challenges #endurance #fitness #fun #half marathon #happy #inspiration #life #motivation #personal record #prmonth #Recovery #running #summer run #Training #treadmill