health – Page 2 – Runs With Hips

Fog, Food, and Free Weights

January 20, 2015January 20, 2015 runswithhips

Hey Hey, Hip Huggers!

This morning, I had planned for a run.. but the fog was ridiculous!

So, while I waited for the sun to come and do it’s thing,
I cooked up this complete breakfast and grabbed a book to
keep me busy. Just until the fog let up a bit.

2 hours, a LOT of fog still lingered… and no sun.
Visibility had to be 10 yards or so. Just too dangerous
to run, even at the speed I planned on sloshing about at.
So finally, I opted for a quick lifting sesh instead.

For the first time in quite awhile,
I concentrated on just one muscle group
and keeping my heart rate between
70 – 80% by still having an active rest in between.
My workout consisted of:

Shoulders:
15 Dumbbell Presses
15 (ea.) Single Shoulder Presses
15 Pulse to Full Presses
***

Between each of these sets, I performed 15 squats
to keep my heart rate up and immediately jumped right
back into the shoulder work with little recovery.

3 sets of all that and I was toast.

I felt very alive after that burn, so
still wanted some cardio… any cardio!
Luckily, my neighbor text and asked if I wanted to stroll, yo.

***
Showered, stretched, and satisfied.
Now I’m home snacking on a banana
with a few ~~handfuls~~ nuts and berries.

***
I’m currently updating my blog page… hyper complicated.
So be patient if ‘ish looks weird on here. I’m a novice.

Wish me luck, I need a fresh outlook for the New Year!

Question: What is your favorite social media site?

Fitness, Yoga

Nab the Grab

January 20, 2015January 22, 2015 runswithhips

Helloooo Hip Huggers!!
How was your 3 day weekend?
I spent mine trying get my life together…

Just couldn’t capture it.
***
The weather here in Dallas has been perfect!
The sun has been in a very festive mood.
For the first time in weeks I’ve been able to
expose skin and show off some new kicks!

Speaking of kicks, I haven’t been kicking up my heels running lately.
Not much lifting to report either, but I haven’t been standing still.
I had an awesome yoga session Saturday morning
once I shook off the cobwebs and got down to the mat.
I really just wanted to fold and bend a bit,
so I didn’t set any intentions for practice…

Triangle Pose

I later changed my mind and decided to nab the grab…
Triangle Pose with a Bind

Once I finally opened up and could bend a little,
I warmed up my back and core with wheel pose.
My mantra this year is to open up my back, and I have
been keeping that mindset as I go into every practice.
That may not always happen, but that’s what intentions are all about.
So, I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus ~~backbends.~~
I figured I’d see how ready my hands were to nab my feet in a full bow pose…

Nabbed It! I love how yoga always gives me a new
perspective on triumphs. Whether it be trying something new,
or doing something better, yoga has taught me
that any process takes time and in that,
be gentle to yourself and be okay in the ‘in between

Be in the In Between.
How’s this ~~capture~~ for perspective?
***

Now, I am off to Workout + Walk for my WOD!
I’ll catch you Hip Huggers later!

Question: What color is your yoga mat?

Running, Yoga

Catching Up and Coming Clean

September 3, 2014 runswithhips

Hello and Happy Wednesday Hip Huggers!

I had planned on getting up early and running after dropping off the kiddos,

but I saw a huge Dalmatian that stared at me like a bouncer, and I didn’t have a VIP pass…

So, I opted for yoga first.

I just HAD to get back on the ~~wrecking~~ ball today. In a major way.

So, in addition to my regular home practice, I had planned on participating in a four asana

challenges this month…but then, after much thought, decided not to.

In August, I only participated in one month-long challenge, #AumSweetAum hosted by YogabyJo

along with another awesome yogi. There was something so peaceful and fun about that

challenge that I honestly, only wanted to participate in their September challenge, #TulaYogi.

But, I really want to work on yoga sequencing aka yoga flow, so I’m doing #back2bayZITs as well.

That’s not to say I won’t dabble every now and then with some of the other poses from those

other challenges, but as far as commitments go, those are the only 2 my heart was in.

So, morning yoga flow + posted 6 asanas to catch up to Day 3 of both challenges…

Anantasana Variation, Side Reclining Leg Lift w/ Half Lotus

In hindsight, I really could have sharpened up this asana, but no, That’s the beauty of yoga..

it’s your own practice! Some days my body gives 100 %… others, it’s just barely on the mat.

Take it however it comes… because all is coming!

***

Now to running…

I decided I was going to walk or run 30 minutes a day no matter what for the month of September.

Just a little challenge for myself now that the weather is calming down and being outdoors

doesn’t feel like 91~~000~~ degrees. But, I skipped yesterday so now I am in the negative and needed a 4.5 mile run…

~~Just~~ 3 miles done!

Too HOT! Needless to say, I’ll be catching up on a later date 🙂

***

In other non fitness news, I had an amazing conversation with my best friend yesterday.

We both shared in our struggle to stop settling for less in life. We are conquerors and it

can be easy to get discouraged and put major plans for your life on hold until said courage

is at full tank. I think more for me, I realized that is just no longer and acceptable excuse

to not achieve what I want for my life! I want to work in fitness and on a major scale.

I want to teach yoga, fitness, and have a walking club for geriatric, pregnant, and disabled human beings

of the world. My empathetic heart wants to help those that NEED help and can’t do it alone.

So, I just wanted to put that out there for you Hip Huggers. I’ve shared in a dream of mine.

Now, it’s time to make it come true!

Thanks for letting me come clean today!

Question: Speaking of dreams, I started taking 5 HTP and have nightmares!

Anyone else experience that side effect of taking this natural precursor? Let me know!

Yoga

Favourites Fridays

August 29, 2014 runswithhips

Hello Hip Huggers!!

I know I usually post my favorite workout, recipe, or run of the week on Fridays, but

I had to take a step back from working out at my usual intensity and allow my quad to heal up a bit.

So, the timimg and circumstance is perfect for Favourites Friday to include a Yoga Pose! ~~Or 5!!~~

Or, at least I think I do.

***

My favorite body part ~~of all time~~ to train and strengthen are my hamstrings.

I don’t know if that’s because deadlifts are my all time favorite exercise and that makes for stellar hams,

or because running makes then awful tight and need extra attention.

Either way, I love working them, and strengthening them via running, lifting, and yoga 🙂

Big muscles need lots of oxygen, so they are hard to train. But it must be done!

Don’t skimp on the Deadlifts, Squats, and Lunges, Hip Huggers! They’re your foundation!

Here are some of my Favorite Hamstring awakening Asanas.

Sugar Cane Pose

Crescent Moon Pose Variation

Lizard Lunge

Hand to Big Toe Pose

Not all work and no play… when it’s time to give these hammies a rest…
we invert!

Hollow Back Handstand

Yoga has absolutely seduced me and taken over Favorites Fridays!

Want even MORE yoga? I shared my nightly sweet dreams sequence here.

If you are having a hard tome getting rest,

these poses may just fix you up and get you into a slumber in no time!

Check it out, Hip Huggers!

Thanks for stopping by and have a Great Weekend!!

***

Question: What’s you favorite body muscle to train?

Triangle Pose

Eating, Fitness, Lifting, Uncategorized, Yoga

Gettin’ In the Check In…

August 29, 2014August 29, 2014 runswithhips

Hello Hip Huggers!! Just checking on in wit ya…

You’re here now. That’s all that matters.

If you check in with me on Instagram, that little ticker right down there in the right hand corner, you’re up to date on my yoga challenges.
So, I’ll talk a smidge about other things that have been progressing over the last couple of weeks.
Since my last post, I have been doing a lot of reeling in on realizations about my fitness, you know, staying on my toes…

First, I had a short tenure again with MyFitnessPal.
After a few days of fitting all my macros, I came to the conclusion that I don’t really need a food tracker any longer.
Aligning with my fitness goals, I just need to continue eating whole, real healthy foods as I have been.
Being certainly mindful of my protein intake, keeping a close watch on fats, and gettin’ in my fiber goals daily.
With delicious real meals such as this one from last night…

Next, BodyBeast has been pretty much everything I have expected.
Not for the weak-minded I must say, because you will certainly be humbled when you are lifting drop, super, and giant sets!
I can’t believe I am saying this, but I had to break out my 5 lb. weights…yes. However, It lives up to the name.
I am seeing gains again. Check out this PUMP!!

I DID have to take a week off though, and that totally had me in the dumps.
I overextended my quad in yoga during a Vinyasa flow.
To be precise, too many lunge variations to quick in the sequence kinda irritated my upper left quad.
In short, a lot of fast flowing lunges that ended like this…

I was afraid I had pulled a tendon at first, that’s how bad it hurt.
But after icing and resting a few days, the pain has completely subsided.
Thank GOD! Lesson learned: Slow down to keep up!
Being sidelined from everything because of one thing is not a good look…
And trust me, I’ve worn it. Never. Again.

So, I had to scale back and return to less intense yoga and workouts.
Running was out of the question, so I picked a few 10 minute full body workouts to do daily,
After that pump, I trek over to the ‘Incredimill’ for a quick 30 minutes of walking intervals with hills,
or get it some step aerobics to get that heart rate up as well as that fitness…
For a fat burn that looks like this…

Sometimes less is more. The name of the game in forever fitness, Hip Huggers

Check It!!

Question: What is your favorite form of Cardio?

Uncategorized

Beasty Bling and Berry Smoothies

August 8, 2014August 8, 2014 runswithhips

Hello, and Hello!!

I was feeling kinda sketchy about having an entire post that talks nothing about
August runs ~~with Hips~~ , but I haven’t blogged in a week and I didn’t want you to
forget about ~~waking~~ me.

Parshva Parvatasana (Side Mountain Pose)
… in Savasanahhhhhhh. Heaven.

After ~~much ado about nothing~~ reaching a
pretty cool milestone of 100+ miles for the month of July,
I guess my brain and my legs just kind of need a break.
This was by far my most ran month since I started putting
one foot in front of the other in the name of health.

Despite the Bling, I have revisited some fitness goals.
My husband and I both have really been missing the weight lifting scene.
We are trying some new, unconventional means this time…

Are you ready to Beast?
I am really, REALLY committed to this.
Crazy thing is I shared that same sentiment with my husband, and he agreed.
He says, I am different this time around. Something deep down in me really is.
I can feel it in my ~~cheese pizza lined~~ gut.

I guess I should clean up my eating a little bit too.
I’ve had more sugar than I care to admit to as of late.
Partly, due to summertime eating and an array of snacks around
for this seasonal time of year when kids are home and always ~~bored~~ hungry.
But these smoothies I started having daily, are here to stay!!

Berry Smoothie:

1 cup Hemp Milk
1 frozen banana (peel THEN freeze)
1 handful strawberries
1 handful blueberries (they’re the Star!)
Drizzle of honey (if ya got a sweet tooth)
Slurp!!!
***
Cleaner eating starts today. Body Beast starts tomorrow!
Excite to get started on this stuff here! But first, let me take a selfie…

I’ve filled you in. Now its time to refill my cup, Hip Huggers!

Question: Have you revisited some Fitness Goals lately?

Uncategorized

3 Scoops, 2 Scores, 1 Hell of a Drug

July 25, 2014July 28, 2014 runswithhips

Hello Hip Huggers!

I haven’t checked in since our Tempo Run ~~fail~~ Tuesday so

here’s the Triple ~~Decker~~ Scoop.. so you don’t ask for mine..

Single:

Wednesday: I had a 6 mile run.

That is a long-ish run for the distance

I am focused on right now, so to conquer that run with

under 11 minute miles was fantastic!

I also spent a little time inverted to flush out my adrenals,

get some blood flow to the brain and eyes

~~and just to be cool.~~

Also, this amazing thing happened:

My Instagram was reinstated!

*sigh* it really is.

I had a lot to catch my followers up on

Anniversaries, medals, yoga, etc.

So, I snacked on some corned beef and provolone while I

was filling my faithfuls in on the last 9 weeks of life! Lchf, my pals:)

***

Double:

Thursday was a very errand heavy day.

I didn’t know if it would turn out to be a rest day or a really-short-run day.

After paying some bills, I headed out to thrift!

I found a rice cooker

(brand spankin’ new) for $4.

My kids have a new job and

I am officially retired from cooking ~~rice~~ 🙂

Also found a fancy, schmancy Scentsy for 2 bucks..

I’m ~~smellin~~ fresh and frugal!

Way later, after food and the world cooled down a bit,

I managed to get in a pretty Quick 3.1 Miles, for the likes of myself!

I was very motivated, thanks to a friend’s advice!

***

Bonus: Triple:

I started today’s’ ‘check in’ blog early this morning.

As I was typing, I could hear dog tags jingling – my dogs got out.

Which they’ve managed to do a lot of lately.

New behavior, and its driving me crazy!

They are both fixed, so I have no idea why they are

determined to dig holes and escape! Either way,

Break the rules, you get grounded!

So, that was a mini workout reeling them back in.

I was ready to ~~go back to bed~~ run after that…

Friday: 6.2 Miles Done + Sirsasana Love

Took some great advice from a runner friend and

really challenged myself.

My mantra was ‘stay under 11 min/miles’

When I got to about 4.5, it was ‘stay under 10.

I have running easy down to a science,

its time to kick things in higher gear..

Still must remain injury free! Much rather slow, than No!

***

Long run planned for Sunday at dawn… I’m keeping the mileage a secret!

We’ll see if its something to talk about…

So, there’s the triple scoop! Catch y’all later!

Question: What is your ‘mantra’ when pushing through a run?

Uncategorized

Trashy Tempo Talk

July 23, 2014July 23, 2014 runswithhips

Happy Wednesday Hip Huggers!

It’s ~~Hump~~ Trash Day!

Oops. My bad.

I have been doing lots of eating garbage this last week and a half

that my hubby has been on vacation.

But, he’s returned and things will get back to normal

starting with some quick pre ~~blog~~ run food…

Carb. Protein. Fat…oh ~~myy~~ yes!

***
***Quick recap of the weekend***

Saturday: 3 Miles

I ran an ‘Out and Back’ Saturday just to keep my legs moving since

I had run 8 miles the day before AND, had a 6 mile run planned the next day.

My calves were ~~trash~~ definitely sore and tight, but I did ok.

***

Sunday: 6 Miles

My running buddy overslept, so I ~~talked to myself~~ hit the pavement solo.

I really appreciated the nice and quiet morning. I amost missed the sunrise…

But I made it out on time. I decided to run the park, so it was

lots of loops which I hate. But, it was ~~money~~ mileage over everything, so

I got in ~~where~~ what I could fit in…

Hmm, a bit slower than I planned, but DONE!! I still treated myself

to a delish smoothie while recovering… I earned it!

***

Monday was a rest day, so I picked up running Tuesday

with a 3 mile Tempo run at the track. Hubby joined in, too!

We went around 8pm, which was already weird because

I don’t like running evenings.

And though dusk, it was still 90 degrees and humid.

Even so, I tried to stay near the 10:30 pace,

but I’m ~~trash~~ not that fast. That pace just did not happen.

I DID pick up the pace at the end, which made it a tempo run fail.

But I think my mental game is keeping my short runs

this summer under 11 minutes and my long runs under 12.

Winning at that! ~~Any~~ Either way, 3 miles done and done.

***And I’m at juuust over 74/85 miles for the month of July!***

I will have reached my goal before half marathon kicks off next week.

Nervously excited to begin that!

I just pray I stay healthy, uninjured, and don’t quit halfway thru…

Most things, Willy. Most things…

Going to try and blaze thru this 6 miler now.

See y’all in a bit, Hip Huggers!!

Question: How do you recover after your Long Run?

Uncategorized

Cool-ish Run, Cold-ish Chakra

July 18, 2014July 19, 2014 runswithhips

Hola Hip Hip Huggers!
***
Can I just say, the weather here this week has been fantastic!
So nice, we spontaneously took the kiddos to Hurricane Harbor.
For a day outdoors in North Texas, in July, to be pleasant??
Unbelievable! I don’t think it even broke 90°!
Great weather for a day of walking, swimming, climbing endless stairs,
and indulging in ~~ridiculously overpriced~~ food.
But I spent a lot of time here, so I was content-ish 🙂

***
I did take off 2 days to rest, accordingly. My legs had been tired from running, and it rained all day Thursday.
Sure fit signs to slow down and let my body recover, unrushed.
Today, I got back out there because the weather was peeerfect for some miles!

I was probably still a little dehydrated. I didn’t drink nearly as much at the park as I should’ve
and I’ve been eating a TON of sweets!
So, I tossed in a fruit punch Nuun to my wawa and got my fizzle on!

Running goal: I planned 6 miles. Felt god, but 1st mile was long.
I’d decided I would concede at 4-ish, and just focus on my long run Sunday.
But got a 2nd wind and just kept going!

8 Miles! Long-ish run for the week is ~~accidently~~ officially done!
And just under an 11 min/mile pace.
I have to thank my hubby for bringing me water ~~and Spark~~ at about mile 6.5.
I wouldn’t have made it otherwise, totally saved my run!
Here’s my splits to keep me accountable.

I am truly learning to run easy. Yes, its slowed me down, but it’s changed my running!
I am running distances I just would not a few months ago because I am not burning out.
***
Yoga-ish Time!
I stretched about 10 minutes opening up my hips before coming inside for yoga…

Utthan Pristhasana, or Lizard Pose.
~~Random-ish~~ SN:
That moment your yoga instructor virtually adjusts your ~~ass~~ Asana….

I just love her! Such an amazing teacher and the one responsible for
me falling in love with yoga! Namaste, Caitlin

***
I’ve also started working to unblock my Muladhara, or my root chakra.
It has been very ungrounded since I stopped eating LCHF. Truth.
Anxiety, isolation, fatigue… I can feel it all.
It’s mainly why I’ve been practicing/sharing less inversions and arm balances; to focus more on
standing poses during my practice, such as warrior, low lunges, etc.
Which brings me to a picture a dear friend on IG added some “love” to…