Go Further: December Challenge

Have you done something active today?  Because if you haven’t, or you’re having trouble getting motivated, check out this video.

The statement he makes that I love, love, love, is that if you are obese but still active, you can dramatically reduce your health problems.  I find this incredibly encouraging for overweight people that have trouble losing weight, but are active, and it also goes to show what the HAES movement has been talking about for years, which is that being fat doesn’t necessarily equal being unhealthy.  I’m not saying that everybody should go ahead and be overweight as long as they are active, but I am saying equating healthy with thin bothers me.

So maybe, we should instead look to equate being active with being healthy, which is part of what I’m trying to do with my own life.  This morning, I got up, put in 25 minutes of walking on the treadmill, and this evening, I’m going on a group bike ride. In which we put Christmas lights on our bikes.  Yeah, you wish you were coming.

How am I doing on my goals?

-I ran on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday this week.  Goal met.

-I exercised every day.  I did yoga twice, ran thrice, and today I walked on the treadmill.

-Have not done Ripped in 30 yet. Maybe next week.

How are you doing on yours? If you haven’t set a goal, just comment and say how you are going to be more active, or tell me why you don’t find all the fancypants numbers the video throws out compelling.

Go Further: October Challenge

Check in!  How’s it going?

This week, as part of my half-marathon recovery (the race did not go well you guys – I came in at a personal worst), I did yoga three times, and only did Ripped in 30 twice, and went running once (but I’m going running tomorrow, so that’s fine.)

Ripped in 30 is okay so far – it’s not as good as the 30 Day Shred, but the exercises are different and the workouts are good. Jillian is just even MORE annoying in this one.  It’s like her badass reputation has gone to her head, and she spends the workouts alternating between being super-yelly, which doesn’t translate well, and being super-weird and hitting on her demonstrators.  I skipped level one because even though it’s a good workout, she goes through a very long bit on how “you don’t buy a Jillian Michaels workout expecting it to be easy!”  Which just got very….egotastic.

How’s everybody else doing?

Go Further: September Challenge

I love it when the last day of the month is also a Friday, so I don’t have to write two posts.  Ahhh, the little things.

This month was good.  I feel like I’m finally back in a good workout groove, which has been missing all summer.  I did not actually do the 30-day-shred every day, but I knew when I started this month that I wouldn’t actually be able to meet that goal, but in trying, I completed the Shred at least 20 days out of the month (I think it’s closer to 23).  I also had days like yesterday, where I skipped my morning workout and then when I got home, I would normally have skipped the workout, except for the challenge, so I did the Shred last night before dinner.

I made it up to Level 3, but the impact of some of the moves were really hard on my knees from all the long runs I’ve been doing to train for the half marathon.  I’m back at Level 2, but finally able to do all of the lunges, etc.  So overall, even though I technically didn’t meet my goal for the month, I’m calling it a win.

What about you guys?

My goal for October is going to be keep doing the Shred 3 days a week (or order Ripped in 30, which is apparently the new version of the Shred), run 2 times a week, and do yoga twice a week.  The lack of yoga in my life has led to decreased flexibility and I think is partially causing the knee and hip problems I’ve been having.  Can anybody recommend a good Yoga DVD?  Bonus points if it’s available Netflix on Demand, on Hulu, or somewhere else free.

What is your goal for October?

Go Further: September Challenge

So this week, I have fallen off the Shred challenge wagon. I shredded on Sunday when we got back from camping, and then Monday we went for a 10-mile run and I skipped it. Tuesday, I did level 1 with all of the modifications.  Wednesday, I only did Level 1, circuit 1, and then I stretched my hip because it hurt.  And then on Wednesday, I got the worst telephone call of my life.

My family lost a very dear friend, in fact, probably the best friend that any four people could have, and if I try to quantify this loss, it still will not be enough, but it was the kind of news that made you stop and cry and wonder if life is worth living because pain like this is so severe.  I spent Wedensday and Thursday crying and this morning I overslept from the sheer exhaustion of trying to process everything, and I might shred tonight or I might not.  I finally seem to be breathing regularly again and my heart has settled into a dull ache, rather than a severe I-can’t-breathe pain, but I’m just going to keep going through the motions.

I hope everybody else is doing well. Radio silence may continue on my end here for a bit longer. I am going to try to finish out the month, and I’m starting to see some muscle changes.  When we went climbing on Tuesday night, for the first time in three months, I wasn’t nearly as out of shape as I had thought, and was able to pull myself up pretty well, so that felt really good.

Go Further: September Challenge!

Alright, it’s comment-in time! How was your week?

Mine went surprisingly well, until this morning, when I woke up with a terrible stomachache.  I don’t believe in exercising when it is going to make me feel worse, not better, so I skipped Shred.  I’m hoping to be able to do it tonight when I get home from work, but that’s only if I feel better.

Nonetheless, I shredded on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Actually looking at it, it looks unimpressive.  I skipped Sunday and Monday, since we were staying with my sister.  I hope to get back to it tomorrow, and also go to Salutation Nation with Lululemon (you should go too! Find a lululemon near you at http://www.lululemon.com.  No, they don’t sponsor this blog.  But I do have one of their running skirts and it’s awesome.)

I went for a 9.8 mile run on Monday, which I’m now fully recovered from, and on Wednesday, I moved up to Level 2 on the 30 Day Shred. I find that if I wait until I’m “ready” I’m just going through the motions on Level 1 and not really being challenged, so I’m really glad I decided to just do it and moved up to Level 2.  I would recommend that anybody doing the shred challenge at least give Level 2 a shot – you can always dial it back down if you need to, but it’s hard and it’s also just a good change of pace.

So how is everybody else doing?

GoFurther: September Challenge

Oh man! It’s Friday! So that means it’s check-in day, even though the month only started yesterday.  It’s not too late to set a goal for September, btw. I realized this morning that I have 25 subscribers to this blog, and yet only 3 of you are joining in the challenge for this month.  Your challenge goal can be anything, even “this month, I will go to the gym at least one time.”  And I’ve had that goal in the past, so you will get zero judgment from me.  Your goal can also be a previous goal that you haven’t reached, like touching your toes or running 10 miles in less than 1:40 (which I may actually do this month!)

If you have a longer-term goal than just September (for example, you are running a half-marathon or 5k this fall – I know a lot of you are!), you can incorporate that into your challenge.  Your goal can be as simple as, “do my training runs” or “go to run club”.

If you are joining the 30 Day Shred Challenge, feel free to check out the new page for it that will be up for the month of September on the top of the blog.

Go Further: September Challenge

Yes! It is September.  For once, I’m happy a new month is starting.  My summer challenge was lame, and I did a fair bit of slacking off.  I know many of you did too.  If you didn’t slack, comment so I can tell you how impressive and badass you are!

For September, my goal is a pretty hefty one.  I will be undertaking a 30-day-shred challenge, in which I do Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred for 30 Days.  I started this morning with Level 1.  Somebody on Twitter said the idea is to do Level 1 for 10 Days, Level 2 for 10 Days, and Level 3 for 10 Days.  I thought that was silly, since usually I do Level 1 for one day, then move up, but this morning, Level 1 was pretty tough for me, so I’ll be doing it for at least a few days.

I’m staying with my sister this weekend since my city is being overtaken by tourists, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it on Sunday, and I’m also training for my next half-marathon in October, so I may be taking days off when I do my long runs.  But I think overall this challenge will be really good for my overall half-marathon performance, so I’m hoping to do it as much as possible.  I know that the hip/quad/hamstring exercises that are part of the shred are really good for helping deal with my recurring knee issues related to bike riding.

For September, you have two options.  Either set your own goal, or do the 30 Day Shred challenge with me!  I think I will try to figure out how to do a 30-Day-Shred page or something where I can update daily as to whether I did the Shred or not, and you all can comment with questions/issues (especially if you are new to the DVD – I’ve been doing it for a little over 2 years, on and off.)

So how will you #gofurther in September?

Go Further: Summer Challenge

I skipped last week.  It turns out these posts are really hard to draft on Friday morning now that I, y’know, work Fridays.  Last week was pretty good for me – I walked on the treadmill for at least a mile almost every day, and I ran 5 miles on Saturday morning at the reservoir near my in-laws house.  The weather was seriously perfect and I had a great run.  I also hit a Body Attack and Yoga class, both of which were kind of…not that great.  I really like Body Pump and Spin though, so I hope to stick to that for the rest of this Groupon.

On Monday, I went running again but I’m not sure if it was the alcohol from the bachelorette party still working it’s way out of the system, the slightly higher temperatures, or what, but I was running really slowly and not feeling great, so I turned back after twenty-ish minutes, cutting the run to 3.5 miles.  This morning, I managed to run a little over 4 miles, which puts my week total at 12 miles run/walked, which is actually low compared to what I was doing in the Spring, but we only just got back down to 90 degree days instead of 100 degree days, so I’ll take what I can get.

I’ve been hitting the treadmill in the morning for a mile or two this week, mostly to wake myself up and also so I don’t feel like such a slob watching the Daily Show.  I’m frustrated with my general lack of motivation this summer, especially since last summer, I didn’t have this problem. However, I’m reminding myself that I set a low goal for myself for the rest of summer because I knew it would be problematic.

Fitness classes are going well, but I’m not hitting more than two a week still.  I’m confident that I will be able to use all 15 classes I signed up for – I’m 5 in already, and I have 3 more weeks – but it means being a little more focused, and getting up early in the morning.  The times are really frustrating though – they are all either 6am or 6pm and neither of those work for me.  A 7am, 5:30, or 6:30 pm class would be perfect for me.  However, the gym seems unwilling to conform to my schedule.

How’s everybody else going further this month?

Go Further: Summer Challenge

This week hasn’t been a good week, since I hurt my knee on our long bike ride on Sunday, and then I went to spin class on Tuesday and it really started to throb on Wednesday.  I’m now taking a large amount of ibuprofen and icing it, because I’m running 8 miles in Sunday while pacing my friend E. on her 24-hour race.  (Yes, she is crazy.)

I went to hot yoga last night, so that was at least a step in the right direction of going to yoga more, and I walked there.  It’s actually been a good week for walking a lot, and so far I’ve walked about 8 miles of my 10+ that was my goal. I will walk at least a mile tomorrow, and do more hot yoga, and then this weekend I have the 8-mile run.  We’ll see how that goes.

Next week, I will hopefully make it to my goal of 3 group fitness classes, which will include two spin classes.  All pending recovering.

How’s everybody else doing?

Go Further: June Challenge

My challenge ennui continued this week.  I only did 2 weight routines, and hundred pushups once (I am supposed to do it again today and will try to get to it tonight.)  I did go to yoga yesterday, and am going today, and we have 2 long bike rides scheduled for this weekend, so I choose to cut myself some slack.

How is everybody else doing?  I’m not the only slacker, right?  Do you hit workout ennui? How do you push through it?