If you know me in my personal life, then you have probably heard my say on more than one occasion "yeah, I'm just not a yoga person. I'm more like...'ommmmm.....what's for dinner....oommmm...oh crap, I forgot to feed the cat...'"
Until last night.
I was at one of the many office holiday parties I had to attend and after an unsuccessful attempt to help my team build a gingerbread house (mine collapsed after I finished the pez tile roof), a co worker of mine, who I ran into at my gym earlier this week, said she was headed out and that she was going to try and make the 7:30 yoga class at our gym.
I had been whining to anyone who would listen that I would likely crap out once I got back from the party and not to go the gym, but that I had wanted to go. This was all the motivation I needed. Do I like yoga? No. Did that occur to me when I asked if I could join her? Not really.
I'm going to sound like a real snot for a moment, so bear with me. Here are the reason I've never liked yoga:
- I do not like the yoga culture. I want to. But I just don't. I don't like having to be enlightened and superior in that enlightment. It's incredible exhausting to me.
- I feel like yoga is the club to which I was never invited. I am terrified to go to a class because, truthfully, I have no balance. Chadd can attest. I don't want to be that moron in the back of the class who starts the domino effect. And all the superior yogis will break out of their floating trance and look at me like some unenlightened twit (which I am). This is a serious fear of mine.
- I like having my heart rate high when I am working out. I am a product of Americanism. I like things fast. I do things fast. When forced to sit still at a desk for 8 hours, I have at least 4 tabs opened on a browser. I make lists upon lists of things I.Must.Do.ASAP. And this translates entirely to my workouts. Heart rate up, sweat pouring down, which is why I'm a runner.
- I like being the best. Look. I'm an instructor. I teach. I am typically the best one in my class when I'm not teaching because I'm damn good at it. Call me cocky (I am), but when in a group setting, aka, group fitness, I have to do it right. I don't know the first thing about yoga. I will not be the best, or even close to it. See domino effect fear above. I recognize it takes practice, but you can usually pass as "good" at step after 4 classes. That happens in yoga in like...4 years.
- I can't find a good starting point. I've been to beginning yoga (I lay on my back and thought about birds or something.) And then I've been to other yoga classes where, when they ask who is 10 classes or less into yoga, and I raise my hands, the instructor furrows their brow and goes "this might be a reach class for you." I'm sure this is bad timing on my part and I fully admit I haven't gone out of my way to try yoga, but it hasn't exactly welcomed me with open arms.
- My feet cramp up. Any suggestions on beating this one?
But, all those aside, I went because I wanted to go to the gym and for whatever reason, yoga sounded like a good idea.
And it was! I loved it. I had the best time sweating my butt off, exhausting my muscles, and truly feeling my body. I didn't have the ability to think beyond what I was doing, which is different that most yoga classes I have attended. I was neither bored, nor overwhelmed.
I enjoyed challenging myself. I was totally unaware of the people around me (aside from the woman who farted and the glistening specimen of the male species, shirtless across from me). But mostly, if I noticed someone, it was because I was just looking in their direction. I never felt scruitinized, I never felt intimidated. Instead, I felt like I got a great workout and a great stretch all in one.
It didn't hurt that the instructor was very funny, forgiving, and not at all militant like some yogis I have known. He played caribbean christmas music (steel drums!) and the grinch's song. People asked questions through class, murmured to each other occasionally. It really was a relaxing, but good workout.
I managed to do a full "wheel" pose, also known as a back bend, and for about 3 seconds, some sort of thing where my knees were on my forearms and I was standing on my hands. Accomplishment!
I'm glad I went last night because this morning I had agreed to meet my morning gym buddy at 6:30. Let me tell you. Without class last night, I would have fallen right back into the pattern I've been in. It wasn't that it wasn't a good class, it was, it just wasn't as friendly as the night before.
Of course, this is because it's apparently a level 2-3 class (this is not on the schedule, mind you). It was also held in the spa...steam room doors open, sauna doors opened (also not on the schedule). Almost bikram yoga (again, not on the schedule). All of this alone would have scared me away from the class.
Thankfully, the instructor picked up on the fact that we were not enlightened yogis, so she described a lot of the movements. But, people, is it just me, or are all the real words for yoga poses almost impossible to distinguish from each other? The one for childs pose and lie on your back are astonishingly familiar to my very untrained ear. She asked if we were ready for garubaisghvarish and, face down on my mat, sweat driping down my back, I was terrified to ask what that meant. Turns out, it mean lie on your back and doze off.
I think this is a new thing for me. I want to keep it up. I may not stick to having Niagra Falls of sweat running down my back on Thursday mornings, but Wednesday nights I can do.
What's your exercise aversion/fear? I encourage you to try it out, it might not be as bad as you think.
(Don't forget to give me 20!)
Showing posts with label Yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yoga. Show all posts
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
The Realist's Training Plan
I told my Sunday morning class about some up coming races and invited them to join me for the Historic Half Marathon. In anticipation of hopefully a few of them joining me (because my class is the most awesome ever), here is the training schedule that I am personally following.
If you are interested in completing a half marathon in mid-May, then I suggest looking for an ambitious training schedule that starts out a little slow to build up endurance, then does a pretty heavy back end. I also recommend checking out this website.
I used Jeff Galloway's training program for my marathon and had great results. He;'s wonderful for beginner runners (as well as advanced) and has a lot of great tips in his book and that website mentioned above.
If you are training for the Historic Half...Since the race is less than 19 weeks away, I would suggest taking out some of the recovery weeks.
But if you're interested in my training program, here is what I've got coming up for me:
Personally, I'm swapping Sunday with Friday because Fridays are my "clean the apartment" day.
You can find another training schedule, Here at my friend's Running for the Carbs blog. She's running the half with me, so you can see how our training schedules work out. I strongly suggest following her blog!
Have a great start to the week. Let me know if you're training for a race! I'm currently working on getting some guest bloggers in line to share their "first race" stories. Would love to hear yours!
If you are interested in completing a half marathon in mid-May, then I suggest looking for an ambitious training schedule that starts out a little slow to build up endurance, then does a pretty heavy back end. I also recommend checking out this website.
I used Jeff Galloway's training program for my marathon and had great results. He;'s wonderful for beginner runners (as well as advanced) and has a lot of great tips in his book and that website mentioned above.
If you are training for the Historic Half...Since the race is less than 19 weeks away, I would suggest taking out some of the recovery weeks.
But if you're interested in my training program, here is what I've got coming up for me:
This schedule, of course, does not include my cross training and does allow for some fudge room. I suggest on a rigorous training schedule like this to incorporate foam rolling at least once a week along with at least 1 yoga class (my hips have never felt so good as they did this morning during yoga). I also encourage, if you're going for a time, to do considerable strength training. A sample week with this type of added cross training may look like this:
Monday: Strength training (lower body and core)
Tuesday: Scheduled run
Wednesday: Yoga
Thursday: Scheduled run
Friday: Foam rolling, half hour of walking, cycling, elliptical, swimming (anything low impact or no impact) and/or upper body strength training
Saturday: Scheduled long run
Sunday: Recovery
Personally, I'm swapping Sunday with Friday because Fridays are my "clean the apartment" day.
You can find another training schedule, Here at my friend's Running for the Carbs blog. She's running the half with me, so you can see how our training schedules work out. I strongly suggest following her blog!
Have a great start to the week. Let me know if you're training for a race! I'm currently working on getting some guest bloggers in line to share their "first race" stories. Would love to hear yours!
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Tuesday Linkage
It's Tuesday, so you know what that means! Linkage!
1) Thanks to my friend over at Running for the Carbs you can now figure out how to alleviate some of that IT Band soreness: Tight IT Band?
Don't know what your IT band is? Oh yes you do. You've certainly felt it before if you're over 18 years old.
1) Thanks to my friend over at Running for the Carbs you can now figure out how to alleviate some of that IT Band soreness: Tight IT Band?
Don't know what your IT band is? Oh yes you do. You've certainly felt it before if you're over 18 years old.
That bastard puts a real wrench in morning running sometimes. Related, I think I've finally found what is causing my mom's hip pain (Hi Mom!), related to the IT Band:
2) What is Trochanteric Bursitis? Scary name...for a not so scary problem. Stretching is the answer.
And related to stretching...and in honor of my Tuesday morning yoga:
3) Yoga in the Office - I wish there were pictures for this, but the stretches are pretty self explanatory and won't have your officemates giving you strange looks. Whether you know it or not, a lot of these moves are natural reactions that we have.
Unrelated, one of my Sunday morning participants sent me this article about Zumba:
4) Finding Fitness in Rhythm and Movement - Talks a little bit about how zumba started, profiles a woman who loves this particular workout, and has a great piece of advice--do the workout that isn't a workout for you--it should be fun (I don't mean easy), but you should look forward to going! This article's from the WSJ, so it's only available for a few days before you need to pay for it--click now!
Tired? Me too. But not tired enough for one of these:
5) 10 of the Worst/Most Fat Filled Starbucks Drinks - yes, granted, these are for the Venti, but oh spare me.
Final link, it's about food too (sorry, no recipe this week, I've been too tired to experiment).
6) How Restaurant Menus Make You Spend More - And spending more often means more than just money....think about the calories, too!
Alright, that's it for the Tuesday links. Remember to send me links that you think others should see!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Tuesday Links
Well Happy Tuesday. This week is already moving right along, especially considering that today is my Wednesday since I'm taking Friday off work for the fitness conference.
Here are your Tuesday links:
(quick note--the first three articles are from the association that does the gold standard personal training certification--NASM and their health fitness professional network site (HFPN), so they're directed to wards the trainer audience)
1) Stretching Yoga into the OPT Model: FYI, OPT is a training reference for a type of program that is used for most clients. This article gives a more technical view into why Yoga might be a good addition to any training routine. After my yoga class this morning, I was certainly aware of where I have an imbalance--I'm not talking lack of balance, but where I'm weaker/stronger and where I'm compensating.
2) Group Fitness Breakdown: Following the post I did on appropriate behavior in a group fitness class, here's an article talking a little about different classes and what they entail. It's not a comprehensive list, but it's a good reference for learning more about Cross Fit and the various types of Yoga.
3) Anatomy of an Exercise: Cable Row: Oh man one of my favorites. I love my back and it has a lot to do with a ton of these puppies--or the upright row done with weights. Biggest two tips? Keep your shoulders down and squeeze your shoulder blades together. The shoulders down keeps your neck from straining (if your neck is straining, take the weight down) and the shoulder blades squeezing together works your entire back.
4) Spa (Weight Loss) Secrets: The first paragraph of this article is EXACTLY why I'm going to start seeing a nutritionist (tomorrow, in fact!). Do I really need 1500 calories? If not, how should I structure my caloric breakdown between different nutrients? The one thing I disagree with in this article is that chocolate torte. Worst recipe ever. I promise.
5) Grilled Chicken with Roasted Tomato and Oregano Salsa: I am very excited about making this tonight, especially at 312 calories a serving, this is perfect with a serving of rice. Review to come!
6) Angel Food Cake: Alright, I know this says Chocolate glazed, blah blah blah, but I'm not having 300+ calories for 1 inch of cake. I am going to make this tonight, sans glaze. I think I'll likely wind up having this with strawberries before bed at night. Again, review to come-just trying to make up for my lack of recipe posting!
7) America's Worst French Fries: Don't worry--you can still have them! In fact, the golden arches make a surprise showing here in the category of "best" fries in America. Man, I am craving some of those right now...must eat grapes...
8) What the World's Healthiest People Eat: As a foodie and fitness person, I love this article big time. Also, turmeric, one of my new favorite spices gets a little shout out. I'm not saying that any of us should adopt wholly any of these diets, but we should be a lot more willing to do what they do--they take their time, they are gentle with their food and allow it to have flavor on its own with the use of calorie free spices. Step outside your normal cooking path and try a little something new!
And that's all for right now. Post coming this afternoon with a frozen food review.
Here are your Tuesday links:
(quick note--the first three articles are from the association that does the gold standard personal training certification--NASM and their health fitness professional network site (HFPN), so they're directed to wards the trainer audience)
1) Stretching Yoga into the OPT Model: FYI, OPT is a training reference for a type of program that is used for most clients. This article gives a more technical view into why Yoga might be a good addition to any training routine. After my yoga class this morning, I was certainly aware of where I have an imbalance--I'm not talking lack of balance, but where I'm weaker/stronger and where I'm compensating.
2) Group Fitness Breakdown: Following the post I did on appropriate behavior in a group fitness class, here's an article talking a little about different classes and what they entail. It's not a comprehensive list, but it's a good reference for learning more about Cross Fit and the various types of Yoga.
3) Anatomy of an Exercise: Cable Row: Oh man one of my favorites. I love my back and it has a lot to do with a ton of these puppies--or the upright row done with weights. Biggest two tips? Keep your shoulders down and squeeze your shoulder blades together. The shoulders down keeps your neck from straining (if your neck is straining, take the weight down) and the shoulder blades squeezing together works your entire back.
4) Spa (Weight Loss) Secrets: The first paragraph of this article is EXACTLY why I'm going to start seeing a nutritionist (tomorrow, in fact!). Do I really need 1500 calories? If not, how should I structure my caloric breakdown between different nutrients? The one thing I disagree with in this article is that chocolate torte. Worst recipe ever. I promise.
5) Grilled Chicken with Roasted Tomato and Oregano Salsa: I am very excited about making this tonight, especially at 312 calories a serving, this is perfect with a serving of rice. Review to come!
6) Angel Food Cake: Alright, I know this says Chocolate glazed, blah blah blah, but I'm not having 300+ calories for 1 inch of cake. I am going to make this tonight, sans glaze. I think I'll likely wind up having this with strawberries before bed at night. Again, review to come-just trying to make up for my lack of recipe posting!
7) America's Worst French Fries: Don't worry--you can still have them! In fact, the golden arches make a surprise showing here in the category of "best" fries in America. Man, I am craving some of those right now...must eat grapes...
8) What the World's Healthiest People Eat: As a foodie and fitness person, I love this article big time. Also, turmeric, one of my new favorite spices gets a little shout out. I'm not saying that any of us should adopt wholly any of these diets, but we should be a lot more willing to do what they do--they take their time, they are gentle with their food and allow it to have flavor on its own with the use of calorie free spices. Step outside your normal cooking path and try a little something new!
And that's all for right now. Post coming this afternoon with a frozen food review.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Victory! Or, the week I started training (in earnest) again
2013 started out, in a word, crappy.
Early January, my foot was swelling at the end of long runs. I'd had ankle issues for a while now, but I mostly ignored them...until January. By early February, my entire ankle was made of #RAGE. It got to the point where running was totally out of the picture. Soon, cycling was too much, and swimming wasn't doing anyone any favors. I could literally hear grinding in my ankle and the back of my heel was turning shades of purple unknown in nature.
No one knows what caused it. No one had any perfect solutions. By mid-March, I was apoplectic every time I saw someone running (which, in DC, is frequently). But I still did my best to support runners at the RnR Half.
Finally, things started to change. My podiatrist re-fit my orthotics with a higher arch. I started seeing Erin twice a week for active release therapy, I continued to foam roll and use the stick like my life depended on it...and...I bit the bullet and took up yoga. I know, I know. But, much like my experience with Crossfit, yoga wound up surprising me. I used to be a mix of "this isn't making me sweat" and "w.t.f."
I signed up for a 6:30am flow yoga class with Yoga District in Dupont. I should say, up front, that Kat is a GREAT instructor. I'm not flexible and I'm really impatient, but class flows (ha) at a pace that keeps me moving, engaged, and focused. I loved starting my day SO much with yoga that I went ahead and signed up for Tuesday morning...and then Friday morning. Yoga feels a lot more like this:
Ayla, if you want to gchat me with "I TOLD YOU SO" ^ infinitum, go for it.
A brief #miacooks interlude: my new favorite breakfast is a very simple protein shake. I use Vega protein powder at the recommendation of Christine. I do a banana, frozen strawberries, heaping tablespoon of greek yogurt from the market (no, do not buy that from the grocery), a scoop of Vega, and some almond milk. Boom. Awesome post morning workout breakfast.
I also went back to Crossfit this week. Since CFDupont is no longer (unicorn tears), I went ahead and gave Crossfit DC a shot. I got back from my first workout and talked Chadd's ear off. I said I might look around at other boxes, but I knew I'd already made up my mind.
So, come to Crossfit DC. Best box in DC. Chris and Tom know their stuff. They care about everyone there. The equipment is great. The space is epic. The vibe is like coming home. Or maybe I just missed Crossfit. Or both, who knows, but I'll go with it.
Better yet - Lindsey came to town! I was healed up in time to workout with her before she moves back to California.
Early January, my foot was swelling at the end of long runs. I'd had ankle issues for a while now, but I mostly ignored them...until January. By early February, my entire ankle was made of #RAGE. It got to the point where running was totally out of the picture. Soon, cycling was too much, and swimming wasn't doing anyone any favors. I could literally hear grinding in my ankle and the back of my heel was turning shades of purple unknown in nature.
No one knows what caused it. No one had any perfect solutions. By mid-March, I was apoplectic every time I saw someone running (which, in DC, is frequently). But I still did my best to support runners at the RnR Half.
Finally, things started to change. My podiatrist re-fit my orthotics with a higher arch. I started seeing Erin twice a week for active release therapy, I continued to foam roll and use the stick like my life depended on it...and...I bit the bullet and took up yoga. I know, I know. But, much like my experience with Crossfit, yoga wound up surprising me. I used to be a mix of "this isn't making me sweat" and "w.t.f."
I signed up for a 6:30am flow yoga class with Yoga District in Dupont. I should say, up front, that Kat is a GREAT instructor. I'm not flexible and I'm really impatient, but class flows (ha) at a pace that keeps me moving, engaged, and focused. I loved starting my day SO much with yoga that I went ahead and signed up for Tuesday morning...and then Friday morning. Yoga feels a lot more like this:
aka: badass.
Ayla, if you want to gchat me with "I TOLD YOU SO" ^ infinitum, go for it.
A brief #miacooks interlude: my new favorite breakfast is a very simple protein shake. I use Vega protein powder at the recommendation of Christine. I do a banana, frozen strawberries, heaping tablespoon of greek yogurt from the market (no, do not buy that from the grocery), a scoop of Vega, and some almond milk. Boom. Awesome post morning workout breakfast.
I also went back to Crossfit this week. Since CFDupont is no longer (unicorn tears), I went ahead and gave Crossfit DC a shot. I got back from my first workout and talked Chadd's ear off. I said I might look around at other boxes, but I knew I'd already made up my mind.
So, come to Crossfit DC. Best box in DC. Chris and Tom know their stuff. They care about everyone there. The equipment is great. The space is epic. The vibe is like coming home. Or maybe I just missed Crossfit. Or both, who knows, but I'll go with it.
Better yet - Lindsey came to town! I was healed up in time to workout with her before she moves back to California.
This was for a photo opp. Let's not judge my form more harshly than I have.
On Wednesday, I was allowed to run precisely 1 mile at track. I'm sure my time was shameful, but my ankle didn't swell. I woke up Thursday feeling NORMAL (hence: all systems go for Crossfit).
This weekend is my first brick since...a long time. Wish me luck and enjoy the weather this weekend!
Training Update
I'm so afraid to say that I'm officially "back" to training because it seems like every time I said "sweet! I feel great!" over the past few months, my ankle has taken that as a sign to swell up and turn purple.
So I won't say anything.
However, week two of a normal training schedule just flew by and now that I have something to talk about, you get to see my workouts again.
Monday - Morning Yoga. (1 hour) This was a total cluster on my behalf. I did my first hot yoga session with Rachel the previous weekend and my mat was either still damp or I was just extra sweaty on Monday morning. This was technically a rest day, but my dedication to not screwing up my ankle is paramount.
Tuesday - Spin. (1 hour) Again with the cluster. My playlist felt off, I couldn't get my groove going - the universe was not right. I was supposed to swim, but since I had to teach, I switched my workouts.
Wednesday - Morning Yoga. (1 hour) Much better this time around, but I also slipped enough that I invested in a yoga towel.
Wednesday - Track Practice. (1 hour) This was my first track practice in months. Of course, it was just in time for the track to be occupied by the high school lacrosse team, so we took to the block around the baseball fields. I felt terrible. My warm-up, admittedly, was WAY too fast. I came in from a 1.2+ mile warm up holding under 9 minute miles. I couldn't hold the 4 loops around the block - so I cut out on the third to stretch, then joined Rachel for a tempo pace final loop.
Total mileage: just over 4 miles.
Ankle status: normal.
Thursday - Friday: I blew it both of these days. I have a mind block on going to the pool. I don't know why. It's not even that I hate swimming - I just loathe getting to the pool. Maybe now that the weather is changing, I'll actually get my time in the water.
Saturday - Modified Brick (2.5 hours) I had to work all day at the Cherry Blossom Expo. If you stopped at the Ragnar booth, you likely talked to me. It was a blast to talk about my passion, hear from other Ragnarians, and talk to the other vendors. I even picked up some new shoes:
I got home as the sun was starting to set. I knew I was exhausted, had plans to see the Cherry Blossoms with Chadd on Sunday morning, plus a bunch of errands and FitCo work... so I did the next best thing to an actual brick.
I went to the gym and parked my butt on the spinner for somewhere between 1:45-2 hours. Did you know that the spinner computer turns off after 90 minutes? I didn't and suddenly realized I'd been spinning around Z2 for...ever.
I had a half hour for a run and, not wanting to risk it on the road or lose too much time in "T2", I just jumped on a treadmill. The dreadmill did not, surprisingly, suck as much as I remembered. Please recall that I haven't been on one for more than 2 years. I started slow, somewhere in the 9:30 range, ramped up to 9's, then up to 8:30s, 8:15s, then I held steady on 7:30's for a good 10 minutes. Treadmills are notoriously bad judges of speed, so I'll just say this: I felt great. I felt like I had my speed back, even if I jumped off that death machine with my chest heaving.
Sunday - Yoga. (1 hr 15 minutes) More hot yoga with Rachel! I'm not ready to try bikram (if I will ever be ready), but I enjoy the challenge of these classes. I also really love the instructors over at The Studio DC - I've never had an instructor ACTUALLY do a hands on assist. So enlightening.
Sunday, Fun Day:
I'm working with a cool group of people to make fitness more accessible to all types of people in the DC area. If you want to learn more about us, check us out here: www.fitdc.co
Better yet - just search Fit DC on Facebook and friend us! We had our leadership team photographs on Sunday. Our photographer is AMAZING and better yet - most of my photos are yoga poses. I know most of you find this hilarious since I am the least yoga person ever.
Our launch party is next weekend! Come grab a free class with us out in Arlington: http://fitdclaunch.splashthat.com/
In summation, I had just under 8 hours of training last week - including a TON of yoga (which, I have learned) is actually quite the workout. And a big fat fail on Swimming.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)