workout – Runs With Hips

Old Programs, New Potatoes

December 29, 2016 runswithhips

Hello Huggers, hope your Thursday is going swell.

It’s nearing the end of winter break (for work at least) and am already bracing for the staff development day Monday – yeah, the day AFTER New Year’s Day. This year will be a very conservative celebration for NYE, to say the least. Maybe even a 12pm turndown because I’d rather wake up for a run than an aspirin before returning back to school to finish out the next half of the school year. Yay!

****

The food program has been great as of late. Mike turned me onto potatoes o’brien (sic) this week and I’ve been obsessed with them ever since. Literally have eaten them everyday. I’m a hash brown kinda gal so, this is a big deal! I made them myself this morning with some oven fried bacon (turkey for Mike) and a fried egg. I am by the way, very proud of the portion control! One egg, 2 strips of bacon, and just about a cup of potatoes. I did fry the in grape seed oil, but I am a noob and didn’t want to ruin them.

The workout program was fantastic today! I went on my first sorta long run in a really long time. I remember when I would gear up to run a 10k, 6.2 very real miles. I would never make myself run a 10k. In fact, most of my successful 10ks actually began as planned 5 milers that morphed into a mental mind game of running half of the most intimidating mileage I feared to go, the great 13.1. So, in a sense this one was no different. I planned just a 3 mile run, my old usual run.

Before I knew it, I was 3 miles OUT instead of AROUND. I got caught up in my music and bargained with myself that I would just walk back. I kinda wanted to see if anything on my familiar route from once upon a time had changed. Nope, all still there. Including the muddy ditches I was reminded – because apparently I have forgotten the lost art of jumping over one and instead ran right thru it.

I’ll probably never run again in these shoes anyway. I seem to have also forgot how vital having a well fitted running shoe is. I need to try and find a good pair on sale this weekend. Speaking of sales, Tom Thumb has a huge sale on their Organics line on teas and coffee, so I have stocked up as I am getting back to my daily intake of green tea.

Hip Huggers, I really am focusing on being mindful of my meals, in the coming year. I bombed it so bad in 2016, y’all. But I know I need to get back my old program in weight loss: consistent tracking, calories, macros, whatever. So, I’m off to research a what my favorite weight loss peeps are using. See you in the last post before the New Year!

Question: Loose leaf or bagged teas?

Eating, Fitness, Running, Uncategorized, Yoga

Swinging By, Stress Free

April 8, 2016 runswithhips

Hello Hip Huggers and Happy Friday!

Just swinging in to share with you all my week on this lovely Friday afternoon. Since reading Eat, Pray, Love – my enthusiasm for things feels anew, to say the least. The stress of getting it all done, has gone. I’ve adopted a ‘will do my best’ approach for living, just like that. Everyday, I have gotten out of bed, with an attitude of DO! My husband has been working long hours these last few weeks so I have had to step it up even around here and I have done so… willingly(?) Albeit, I am very proud that I have gotten up and out of bed everyday with purpose and have hit the floor running, figuratively at least.

IMG_2648 [22488] — Unready for a run, but ready for the day!

These last few weeks, I have tracked my eating and water intake about 80% of the time. Mindful of fiber and side eyeing simple carbs. I have started journaling again and its been absolute therapy in dealing with falling back, and stepping forward in fitness. I have made it to Zumba twice a week and have ran at least 2 miles most days. All without feeling like I am overhauling my life or depriving myself. Getting it in where it fits in and focusing on the small things I can do to reach my goals, without overthinking it. Some days salmon, some days salad. All day delish.

IMG_2318 [22487] — Kale salad with chicken, cheese, salad topping and tahini dressing, yum!

One big delish thing on my ‘To Do list of late is to attend at least 2 classes at my gym. I have been LOVING going to Zumba with my friend B, but the classes are in a different city 20 minutes away, and they start at 7:30 pm. The classes at my home gym vary, but evening ones start at 7pm, a little earlier like I like, and only 5 minutes down the road from home ~~and across from Starbucks~~. Again, it’s at MY own gym – a place where I need to be swinging by regularly to better familiarizing myself with anyway.

IMG_3087 [25990] — Going to check out the cycling, yoga, and Zumba classes these next couple weeks!

But, I reeally, reeeeally want to get back in full swing with running 20 miles a week again before the REAL Spring heat up and the scorching heat of an impending summer get the best of me.In the past, jumping in a 5k has always sparked a little something in the running spirit. I have been browsing a few races and have all but hit enter on one in particular, the 2016 5k for Human Rights in Dallas in May. But, I’m not 100% in it heart and soul. Even though I am certain I can manage a 5k on little training, I do NOT want to get out there, ill prepared and end up shelving running for year, again. I have to be smart and focused on the long term: weekly running, for fun and fitness. STRESS FREE!

What are some goals you’d like to get checked off before summer? I’d like to hear ’em below!

Eating, Fitness, Lifting, Running

Permission to be Paleo’ish

January 27, 2015January 27, 2015 runswithhips

Hello, Hip Huggers!

This is Day 2 of me tracking my calories and I feel like I am finally in a mind frame of peace. I admittedly have
gotten very relaxed with food portions and fat intake since transitioning from a Paleo to LCHF way of eating.

Now that I am revisiting daily low intensity fat burning cardio, I need to reduce my fat consumption by a bit.
In that, I’ve decided to cut back drastically on the cheese, and dairy. When I initially began
eating Paleo, I was at my most fit! I didn’t indulge in those to groups above and alongside a bit more
cardio, I was very positive about my weight and my physique.

I would like to reduce my overall body fat percentage and lose about 10 lbs. over the next couple of months.
So, I have recalibrated my workouts 15 minutes of full body circuits and 30 minutes of low intensity, fat burning cardio daily. I know the true change comes in dietary changes, so I am back to eating Paleo~~ish.~~

So after a happy Paleo breakfast of kale, mushroom, and eggs along side some ~~burnt~~ bacon and black coffee, I was ready to get my sweat on for the day. We did a leg circuit as follows:

***4 Rounds with 5# weights***
15 Curtsy to Squats
15 Squat Pulses
15 Lateral Lunges (each side)
15 Lateral Walks (each way)

After that burn, we went on a 3 mile stroll around the park. Me getting a good post workout stretch…

Me getting in a gratuitous ~~yoga pose~~ stretch…

Once we got back to the crib, my neighbor friend showed me a cool little set of intervals that boosted my heart rate thru the roof! We used the sloped curb and did these drills about 2 minutes. I’ll record it next time and share it with you all!

78 Minute workout. 630 Calories burned. ~~Poor lighting~~.

***

Home and looking for food. I desperately need to buy groceries, because eating wraps everyday is a wrap getting kinda boring.

So, I chopped up some peppers and boiled potatoes, threw in sausage and cracked an egg.

Nothing fancy, but Paleo approved!
***
Stretching and off to the library to find a good ~~yoga~~ Paleo living book!
Catch you later!

Question: Are you Paleo? LCHF? Low GI? Let me know!

Fitness, Yoga

#SundayFlow

January 25, 2015January 25, 2015 runswithhips

Happy Sunday, ~~Heathens~~ Hip Huggers!
So glad you stopped by to see me before service!

imagesOD9KSIKZ

Let’s!!
****
Sunday vibes begin with #churchflow selfies on the way to worship!
I didn’t wash my hair after yesterday’s run so it looked like a bird’s nest.
I’m ~~thinking something~~ glad nothing flew into it!

Turquoise on #fleek!! I am obsessed with this stone.

***

I didn’t get up bright and early for cardio or stretching, so both must be done today.
First on the agenda was some yoga. My muscles have been mad sore with all this running.
I feel like it took twice as long to push past the muscle resistance as usual today.
I spent a lot of time ~~on my back~~ bending and breathing. Once I loosened up,
#Yogaflow began to feel refreshing, healing even.

Eagle pose is my least favorite yoga pose. Nothing personal, but I just don’t see/feel
the benefits of this pose. There is such a huge risk in too much weight being put on the
supporting knee and you can’t see anything! I just don’t get it. But, all is coming so maybe
some perspective will along with that. Until then, this will be a random thing.

I am a little more partial to backbends. I love anything backbend. This pose was a bit more
challenging coming down on the forearms, and rising up on my toes. Still needs some work,
but practicing backbends often is paying off. Wheel pose variation is workin’

Another great favorite is the Compass pose. I remember posting it on Facebook
and my friends went crazy! Like Barbie doll legs. I tried to convince them
it wasn’t that intense, but does require a great deal of flexibility in the hammies and hips.

Last pose to make the list is this yummy stretch! Upward Dog in my opinion does not
get the love it should, it is not just an easy pose. Those quads burn! I need to regularly
practice anything that stretches these genetically tight hip flexors. I love Upward D!

I have been especially careful about stretching my wrists. I do a lot of inversions,
and recently started practicing peacock pose, an arm balance where to wrists are torqued
backwards and you’re balancing primarily using your abs on your elbows for support an d
digging into your solar plexus. It is ~~brutal~~ challenging, but I’ve made some progress. No, not
enough progress to show but ~~sooner or~~ later, I’ll have something to share! For now, just the stretch.

***

Just wanted to check in and share my yoga on the Sunday afternoon. I’m off for a quick #Strollflow around
the neighborhood to soak in the last bit of sunshine today. Hope all you Hipsters have enjoyed your weekend
and are ready to conquer the Mondays!

Enjoy the rest o’ your Sunday!

Question: Is there a yoga pose you are not so crazy about? Please share!

Fitness, Lifting, Running

Saturday Snags

January 24, 2015January 25, 2015 runswithhips

Happy Saturday, Hip Huggers,

I picked up my kiddos from their friend’s sleepover early
so I could get a workout in on this fabulous Saturday afternoon.
But, I couldn’t leave without snagging some leftover pre-workout…

Homemade Frozen inspired strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
They were divine! Is there a better pre ~~motivation to~~ workout than this?
***
Speaking of motivation, I’m glad I didn’t let yesterdays run dissuade me today.
Still a little stunned by my digression, I felt like I couldn’t even deal with pace today.
Like, we’ve seriously broken up until I get some ~~answers~~ speed under my feet.
My only tangible goal today was to run 3 easy miles, nonstop.
No pace, no mileage just a full out run is all my poor little discouraged heart desired.
So, we ready? ~~Cupcake~~ Food in Belly? Check. Running gear? Check. Gratuitous Selfie?

Check… out those muddy dog paws on my floor.
Let me get outta here before someone ~~slips~~ asks me to clean it!
***
Such a beautiful day, so I figured I’d be spontaneous and snagged a new route,
secretly hoping it would be a flatter route and boost my running ego a bit.
By the time I got home, 40 minutes had passed and it felt like about 3 miles.
I’m glad I didn’t have my Garmin because I didn’t want to even know that pace… boo.
But, I have to keep in mind I have built muscle and I’m carrying around a lot more
girl than I was last summer when I was running 100+ mile months. So, to share some
encouraging advice I received yesterday: one must be okay with slow winter running!

Especially with still waters and blue skies like this!
Thank you Boring Broad Runs for your words!
***
Got home and the hubby and my teenager were working out in the garage,
so I grabbed my weights did about 10 minutes of arms and squats along with them.

After an hour of working out, I was pleased with today’s effort.
Always awesome when you get a good sweat in on a Saturday, folks.
Afterwards, I stretched, showered, and recovered ~~Naked~~.

I am not a huge fan of calorie laden drinks, no matter how fruity.
But these 32 oz. bottles are regular price $4 and I snagged them for $1 each!
Something tasty to sip on with some ~~vodka~~ eggs in the a.m. after yoga…

I’ll pass on the ~~yoga~~ vodka. This time.
Sleep Tight, Hip Huggers!

Question: What’s the last fabulous deal you got?

Eating, Fitness, Lifting, Running

Friday Food Fight

January 23, 2015January 23, 2015 runswithhips

Hello Hip Huggers and Happy Friday!

Started my day sipping some coffee scrolling thru Facebook looking
for a laugh and was dinged today’s Timehop from 3 years ago..

A lot of food?! Hahahaha!! I’m fighting back tears!
Y’all I had this eating thing down to a science!
Seems a bit high maintenance now but eating
healthy and really managing my portions, was a
recipe for weight loss success.
***
Speaking of unsuccess, I saw a peek of the sun so I got up for a 2 mile run.
I am glad there is no such thing as a bad run because this one
would have qualified for sure. I had to fight for and thru this run!
Wet and muddy everywhere, my jacket felt itchy, my new gloves were hard
to get used to, and my foot arches ached after just a quarter mile into my run.

But it was too pretty of a sky to let my body talk me
~~into~~ out of 2 miles. I have needed this mental run for some
days now and I was gonna knock it out!

TKO! 3 Mile Run, slow but steady.

***
Home and I need to lift something! I pulled out my
favorite arm blast and did my ~~best~~ sets.

Here’s the Arm Work; 3 Sets of 10:
**Used with 8 lb. weights**
10 Curl to Press
10 Side to Lateral Raise
10 Row to Fly
10 Single Tricep Extensions

Followed up that routine with
shoulder burnouts. Burnouts are
pretty much another routine performed
after the primary workout to work muscles
to full exhaustion, so use a super light weight!

**Used with 3 lb. weights**
All one Set:
25 Side Lateral Raises
25 Front Raises
25 Shoulder Presses
25 Arm Circles
***
After that ~~tapout~~ burnout, I needed to recharge.
I also needed a carb, to refuel these glycogen stores.
I grabbed a lavash, cooked up a couple pieces of bacon
and egg w/ cheese, and used leftover pico de gallo, salsa, and
ranch from my birthday meal and voila… food at last!

Now, I need to grab a few things from Aldi before my kiddos
get out of school and we’re all in here fighting for food.

Enjoy your weekend, Hipsters!

Question: Do you care about pace when running?

Fitness, Lifting, Running

Birthday Bounce Back…and Biceps

January 22, 2015January 22, 2015 runswithhips

Good Morning, Hip Huggers!
No secret my bday was yesterday’s past,
and I was bestowed the perfect gift of a
beautifully peaceful day… if that is ok.

To the future!

***
I am incredibly grateful to see another year before me,
but I am not a huge birthday celebrator.
I am pretty content with a new pair of shoes
and a lemon cake with lemon frosting.
Because I am easy to ~~forget~~ please…

(source)

I thought I was hard remember until
I was getting ready to start my old faithful
daily 3 mile trot around the park when got a tweet
that my story was ~~finally~~ featured on Yogaudacious!

This is an awesome little space for yogis to share their stories
about their, our first experiences with yoga.
Yoga is a beautiful practice to have a part of one’s daily life, and
I am grateful for the chance to share. Thank you, ladies.

Check out my feature here!

Let me share my workout! Got going on my balmy 3 miler.
Breezy, yet sunny, no one but the ~~strays~~ landscapers.
I was certainly gifted with a beautiful day!

Returned to mi casa and ~~tripped over~~ onto the weights!
Here’s a bulletin for any new Hip Huggers:
I absolutely love lifting heavy. I see the most change
when I am challenging my muscles on that level.
However, there is a season for everything.
I am currently in one season of working full body and
keeping my heart rate high through the duration
of my workout to burn some unneeded fat.
I’m sorry, I can’t curl 15’s for 4 sets of 10
and still have juice to do exploding lunges.
I ~~will die~~ can’t.
So, I unapologetically grab these 8 lb. weights
and go to town on these guns after cardio:

15 Bicep Curls
15 Single Dumbbell Rows
15 Single Tricep Extensions
15 Alternating Shoulder Presses

4 sets of that and my arms were screaming!
Less can be more! I cant stress that enough.
Birthday Bounce, Biceps and Back Done!

Like a ~~Birthday~~ Boss!
***
I was on the phone talking to my sister yesterday,
and she asked when I was going to start posting workout
videos YouTube. I concluded ~~never.~~ the last thing folks
need is another know it all. Buuuuut, I must say
there aren’t a whole lot of workout videos for the
pear shaped beauties of the world such as myself.
I mean, you don’t need a plus size video to work out,
but it does help when you can see someone else who
looks like you getting a workout in or just showing
a ‘How-To! Albeit sweating and looking crazy, like me!

“Mirror, mirror on the wall,
whose the Hippest Runner of them All?”

That may be a stretch, but vlogging sure wouldn’t be!
A good project I can work on in
the coming months… stay tuned, Hipsters!

Question: Do you do exercise using online fitness videos?

Eating, Fitness, Lifting, Running

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!

(source)

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?

Eating, Fitness, Lifting

Strep in the Name of Love

January 15, 2015January 15, 2015 runswithhips

Hello Hip Huggers!
Yesterday morning, I had a lovely appointment at my doctor’s office.
My throat had been feeling mighty sore and I wanted to rule out ~~death~~ strep….

Not 2 ~~Legit 2 Quit~~ lucky. Boo.

Good news, I just barely have it and felt better after just 2 doses yesterday.
Perfect, because I’d planned a workout with my neighbor this morning.
It has seriously been almost 2 months since we had a good, tough, workout together.
So, Pamela had to push past the pale prognosis for her pal.
For ~~friendship~~ fitness sakes.

Workout: Full Body Circuit with Weights

We absolutely slayed our poor, unassuming arms.
I put together an 8# weight circuit of lateral raises, combo curls, combo presses, and
dumbbell rows. Just enough to reacquaint ourselves with the arm muscles, and get a burn.
But, I love working full body so I had to add in some squats and lunges.

I had an unexpected errand earlier, so I hadn’t eaten anything pre workout. ~~Novice~~.
So post workout, I was sure to get my 2 legit groups in; greens and proteins. Love.

Now I’m sitting here baking spaghetti squash and contemplating the next quarter of my life!
Getting more and more excited about getting out of my own ~~ass~~ head and
finally pursuing my dream of becoming a legit certified personal trainer.
The true corner stone for a fitness based career, no matter how big or small (no pun intended).
Sharing fitness is something that I truly love and I feel its my call of duty to the world, before I expire.

Fitness and Family, 2 Legit Loves!
See you after tomorrow’s workout, Hip Huggers!

Question: How often do you do Full Body workouts?

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