Hi All,
My life has been so hectic with trying to balance work, workouts and just some general down time, I haven’t had a chance to write my blog which is a shame as its one of my favorite past times. You know when you have to make the decision between ‘Housework, or blog writing time’ and you choose housework, that you are officially a grown up. Sigh. (Im sitting up in bed at 1.30 am doing my final checks before this goes live, LIFE PROBLEMS)
I have talked in past blogs about borderline obsessions. It’s an area I am much more in control of these days, but when life throws us tough times, I find like most people, I revert to type. Working out too much slowly starts to creep in. Its something I justify to myself as being ‘a way to ease the stresses of life’, but what is actually happening is me feeling a loss of control in other areas of my life, and therefore using the control I have with working out as a replacement for that loss. Sometimes you just have to ride the waves life throws at us. With my current crazy work schedule, my routine has been thrown right out of whack and the crazy me would have probably had a meltdown over the fact that I couldn’t gym every day. Well, the chill me has simply embraced this change and worked with what she has got. It may seem unrelatable to a lot of people, but to me its a massive mountain I have achieved, and another triumph along my journey.
Recently I have been mixing up my weights and cardio. My gym is near home and so therefore I’m having to structure my routine a bit more than normal. SO the days I’m not at home is simple – I run. Thats it, no weights, just plain, simple, stress free running. With the weather turning, I am really enjoying this last bit of dry weather we are having. Don’t get me wrong, I love running in the rain but I can’t do this with music, and I’ve ruined way too many phones and earphones over the years to make the mistake of taking these items on soggy runs.
The days I am at home Im making sure I get my cardio and weights in. Initially I wasn’t happy about this but having seen the progress I have made, I am super happy and Im going to continue this. . . and also share this with you. I get asked about my routine a lot so I will share a current example of my weight days at the end.
As you all know, apart from my running, I love dead lifting because of the effects its having on my body. Well STOP because I have discovered the new Leg Press my gym has (well its been there a few months but I have only just discovered the effects and now totally understand the queue of women it generates) I still dead lift, I just added the leg presses into my routine. I have been using it for around 5 weeks and in that time I have gone from pressing 80kg to 160kg
I have also been fasting from carbohydrates (I do this on and off) teamed with the 16:8 plan (eating for an 8 hour window, fasting for 16 hours). Now as you now, I’m a great food lover and I love the satisfaction my belly feels when I have had a carb rich meal (especially because I run so much and burn the energy quickly). Im totally torn between being low carb and not worrying about carbs. Having researched this topic recently, I see doctors discourage this lifestyle as they have done extensive research which proves that following a very low carb diet, how shall I put it, has a contributing factor to a shortened lifespan. SO without going too much into detail, and to get straight to the point – I discovered a low carb bread. My usual choice of sourdough bread has an astonishing 30g of carb per slice. This low carb option is only 5g of carb per slice. To me this just means I can have an extra slice or two when needed to keep me fuller for longer without going too heavy on the carbs. Instead its packed with nuts and seeds which offers plenty of protein for my muscles, but it still contains carbs. So, for me this is a little more balanced. Now to find a low carb pasta and I’m totally sorted (Note – I say LOW carb, not no carb)
Thanks for tuning in for another installment (if a bit late) of my waffling on out my journey. Writing this is a form of therapy and I love the fact I get asked such specific questions, so I try and speak as openly as I can – which I guess you could argue makes me vulnerable, however I want to be a support to others on their own journey, so if that makes me slightly vulnerable, then so be it. I will finish by giving you an example of a recently updated gym day as promised, have a great hump day all:
Start with a good 10k run or a spin class followed by 60 minute weight session (on non weight session days, I run between 10-15km depending on how much energy I have):
(6 sets . 10 reps per item)
slide gently into your Leg presses (sleigh leg press) – 80kg
then its time for the Squats and Deadlifts (back) 70Kg
Deadlift military press squat – 30Kg.
Dumbbell Sumo squats – 18.5kg
Barbell pull ups – 15Kg
Pulley weights to work those bingo wings (or Wire weights as I seem to call them) – 15kg
Barbell bench press’s (with 10 crunch’s in between each set of presses) – 30kg
leg presses – 160kg
Over and Out
H
XOXO