Is it possible?! Yes, I think so!

I’ve had three really great workouts in a row and am hoping for a fourth this afternoon.  For the past few weeks I’ve been struggling with my workouts.  I’ve been doing just enough to maintain my fitness which equates to three workouts a week.  My norm is 4-6 workouts a week.  Prior to this week it’s been taking a lot of energy to get myself to the gym and then I haven’t really felt good about my workouts. 

Something has changed this week!  Sunday, I did about 1.5 miles outside in the pouring rain and it was cold (I’ll talk more about this in another post).  I wasn’t too thrilled about it in the beginning but afterwards was a different story.  Although I looked and smelled like a wet dog, I felt pretty amazing and quite proud of myself and my fellow runners. 

Monday, I was back to my my more recent normal self not wanting to workout.  So I didn’t. 

Tuesday I had to workout in the evening because I have to be at work before the sun comes up.  During the day, I made a conscious effort to fuel my body more efficiently.  The afternoons I find myself struggling…tired, lack of energy, etc.  This time at around 2ish, I took a walk to revive my energy.  Drank some green tea and ate half a yogurt and a clementine.  On my drive home from work and approximately 1 hour before my workout I ate a Larabar.  I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill.  I ran a total of 3.5 miles.  The first 2 miles I ran at a 10 minute pace.  Then next 1.5 miles I did intervals: 4 x 400 meters in 2 minutes or under with 200 meter recovery jog in between.  I finished my whole run in just under 35 minutes.  I stretched for a good 10 minutes afterwards. 

Wednesday I was up and at the gym bright and early.  I did a 10 minute warm-up on the arc trainer.  Then trained (weights) my quads and abs.  My quad workout included 3 x circuits of the following movements:

20lb DB step-ups on weight bench (12 reps each leg)

30-40lb Barbell front squats (12-15 reps)

No weight two legged bench jumps (15 reps)

I rested 1-2 minutes between each circuit.  After I finished my legs I used the stability ball and did 2 sets of crunches, obliques, and then did hanging straight leg raises.  I did 15 reps for each movement.  After abs I did 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, Aerobic program, levels 8, 9, and 10.  Stretched!

Thursday I ran on the treadmill again.  I did a total of 5 miles in 52 minutes.  My first mile was my warm-up and I walked for .25 of a mile and slowly jogged the rest of the mile.  Miles 2-4 I ran at a 9:40 pace.  Mile 5 was my cool down and I ran that at a 10:20 pace.  Overall I felt great during my run, except my knee was aching for the majority of my run and it moved up my leg to my hip/pelvis area…hmmm. 

Today, I plan on hitting the gym again.  I’m going to focus on my glutes, hamstrings, calves, and abs.  Easy cardio, maybe on the stationary bike or arc trainer. 

You might have noticed that most of my workouts this week have been cardio and lower body focused.  About a week ago, I went to the doctors about my right shoulder.  It’s been aching off an on for a few months and it is sore when I lift.  The doc seems to think I have a bit of tendonitis in my right bicep shoulder area and have been ordered to rest my upper body for 3 weeks.  No lifting whatsoever.  However, he said I can still do cardio and lower body workouts as normal.  So there you have it!

Hope everyone is having a good Friday!