January 18, 2011

wanna run to help someone out?

If you live in Utah, and want to train for or run a 5K, I've got a great one for you. It'll be in Utah County, and the sign-ups are here: http://www.active.com/running/eagle-mountain-ut/running-for-home-2011

This run, Running for Home, is sponsored by one of my neighbors. They are a fabulous family who want to raise the funds it will take ($40k) to adopt three siblings into their family. You can read more about their adoption journey HERE. These are great people who deserve great things to happen to them.

See you there!!

January 17, 2011

muscle-building monday

Today we're doing what I refer to as Jumping Lunges, and if you know how to do a lunge, then a jumping lunge won't be too hard to explain. (If you're unfamiliar with lunges, click here to read a how-to on lunges.)

Try this exercise 3 times/week, completing 3 sets of 12 reps (6 per leg), resting 90 seconds between sets.

Jumping Lunges

Start with arms at your side. You can have your hands on your hips for balance to begin. Step forward with your right foot into a lunge position. Lunge down, bringing your left knee almost to the ground and making sure your right knee does not go past your right toes. (Your right shin should be parallel to a wall.) One way to make sure you are lowering yourself correctly is to watch yourself in a mirror; your spine/torso should be moving straight down with absolutely no side-to-side movement.

When you've lowered yourself to the down position, jump up by pushing through your right heel and left toes, switch positions with your legs, and land softly on your feet. Now your left foot should be in front of you and your right leg should be behind you, again in a lunge stance.

When you do your "soft landing" after you jump, do not stop moving. Immediately (but with control) lunge down, and then jump again, switching the position of your left and right legs. Control your landing so your feet land softly and your movement to the down position of the lunge is also controlled and smooth.

One main purpose of this exercise is to use your core (abdominal and back) muscles to control your movement so you're not falling to either side but you are still maintaining a fluid motion while lunging, jumping, landing, lunging, jumping, landing.

January 14, 2011

distractions CAN be beneficial.

We're always told to FOCUS when we have a goal. Focus on the end-result. Focus on the steps it will take to get to that end-result. Without focus, it's easy to lose sight of how that particular goal is going to be achieved. Focus, focus, focus.

Sometimes focusing is overrated. And exhausting.

I need to not focus during some of my cardio workouts. Sure, there are times when cardio workouts need lots of focusing (i.e. training for a marathon, 5K, a triathlon, etc.). But when it's not one of those times, I need to let my mind wander. I need to listen to the lyrics of the music playing from my earbuds. I need to listen to the comical banter between the characters on my favorite show. I need to not focus on how much time or distance I have left to complete. I'm appreciative of distractions such as music and television. These cardio workouts become a way for me to enjoy exercise and relieve stress.

This isn't to say I don't pay attention. There have been incidents where I don't focus or pay attention, and I'm on the cardio machine for too long or not long enough or the workout was too easy. Failing to pay attention can lead to wasted time. I don't prefer to waste time unknowingly. Planning on wasting time, well, that's another story.

SO if you're sick of your cardio workouts already (remember your New Year's resolution?) try to not focus on your next workout and instead enjoy a rerun of Arrested Development or maybe your favorite soundtrack. This mental break can help you push yourself harder on your next workout without actually taking a physical break from your routine.

(Uhhhhh...but let's make sure we focus on our foot-placement so we don't do any face-plants, k?)

January 13, 2011

what about today?

you can always start your exercise routine today. just a thought.

January 12, 2011

back in black.

My favorite exercise/yoga pants are black. And I'm back in them. My hiatus is over.

I'll catch you up to speed. I was pregnant with baby #4. Starting around week 6 of the pregnancy the morning sickness kicked in, as it usually does. But this time, it lasted much longer; about 4 months longer than usual. There were migraine issues, blood sugar issues, and of course just being absolutely huge. My other pregnancies were very easy. This one was not.

Needless to say, I did not exercise. I laid on the couch. I ate what I could keep down and whatever would keep me from being "shaky."

I realized early on that looking at a computer monitor only increased the dizziness I would feel, so I quit all of my writing/typing jobs and was only on the computer for the absolute necessary. Like posting on Facebook. Heaven knows catching up on Facebook can take hours. (Kidding. Kind-of.)

Baby is now almost 5 months old, I'm back to exercising regularly (5 pounds of baby weight left to lose), and I can all kinds of healthy foods without dry-heaving.

Life is good. And I'll be posting more. Maybe even making changes to the blog's appearance. Stay tuned and get excited.