On the Run: fitness made simple

Monday: BodyJam (50 minutes)

Tuesday: Elliptical trainer (45 minutes) 

Wednesday:  Elliptical trainer (50 minutes)

Thursday: Elliptical trainer (45 minutes) 

Friday: BodyPump (50 minutes) 

Saturday: Hike, 6-7 miles 

Sunday: Running, hills, (45 minutes)

Wow, I was on the elliptical a lot this week! For stress relief, I prefer high-intensity cardio over strength training. I find that I need cardio/stress relief more during the week then strength. One of my advisers told me that the two most effective ways to get over worrying or anxiety is through heart-pumping cardiovascular exercise and meditation. I’ve incorporated both in my weekly routine. But, my goal is still 2x strength training sessions a week. I can cut my cardio down to 30 minutes, and do 15 minutes of lifting for the upcoming weeks. 

BodyJam is usually my favorite workout during the week, but our instructors were away this week. The substitute instructor is nice and enthusiastic, but doesn’t get me as motivated and isn’t as funny as our regular leaders. I picked myself up in the last half in order to break a sweat and to have fun dancing! 

Going hard on the elliptical feels great. I usually use a set program (interval training, fat burner, or cross country) and make sure I mix in high-resistance periods with short rests. Make sure you have good posture when you’re using cardio machines and keep your abs on. 

It’s the start of Spring Break, so I was able to get out of the city this weekend and go hiking around Stinson Beach with my boyfriend. It was a beautiful trail featuring overgrown groves, shady trees, and a running creek. The hike takes you through damp woody paths, to deciduous forests, up to grassy plains, and down through a redwood grove. The view from the top of the trail is beautiful. On this clear day, we could see down towards the Golden Gate Bridge all the way north to Point Reyes. I love being in the outdoors, and what struck me was how quiet and peaceful it was out there. It felt so wonderful to be out of the city and surrounded by traffic. However, I was a little distracted. I was having a lot of fun, but I wasn’t sure that my boyfriend really was enjoying himself. I think it was fine though. 

BodyPump was good this week…did better in triceps and was able to increase weights for squats and clean presses. 

P.S. I’m going to Vegas tomorrow! :D 

Monday: Run-5 miles, elliptical-25 min

Tuesday: Run- 6 miles, Strength Train- Core Crunch (NTC) 15 min

Wednesday: Nothing, but I met my new Hiking Group! :D

Thursday: Run-4.5 miles, Core Exercises-Sofia Boutella Fearless (NTC) 15 min

Friday: Run-6.5 miles with hills!

Saturday: Road Biking! (Bet you didn’t see that one coming)- 13 miles,

Super Bowl Sunday: Run- 8.2 miles

Notes: Running is my weapon of choice. I would switch up my cardio more if I wasn’t trying to see if I can finish training for a March marathon. (I got up to 17 miles, got hurt, and now recovered but not in the best shape). Cycling was really fun on Saturday though. Biking fast out on the road makes me feel so adventurous…and scared at times.

Other things I’m doing:

On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have Modern Dance and Hatha Yoga. My modern dance class is awesome! It’s energetic, synergistic, and creative too. We warm-up, move across the move, learn new moves, and practice combos to a variety of music. My Hatha yoga class is quite boring right now with a lot of relaxation poses, but it’s still fun to be in a class and beneficial to work on basics. I’m not going to lie though, I’d kinda rather be in the Cardio Kickboxing class next door…

Wednesday afternoons, I have an Outdoor Education Class where we go hiking at different locations around northern California. We’ll even camp in Yosemite one weekend! So excited about this class. My instructor is super intense about fitness. His motivation to exercise everyday is so he can have as many WOW experiences as possible. He’s traveled to and seen such amazing sites that are “reserved for the physically fit” so he wants to keep in shape to be able to reach all these locations. Makes sense to me!

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Monday: Frantic Interview Day-nothing

Tuesday: Not feeling good day-nothing

Back to business!

Wednesday: Running-4 miles, elliptical trainer w/ 5lb weights-20 min, #Team17 February Trim & Tone workout

Thursday: Running-4 miles, elliptical trainer-30 min 

Friday: Running-3 miles, NTC Fest-Cardio Killer, Core Crunch, Shaped Shoulders-45 min total 

Saturday: Running-4.5 miles, elliptical trainer-48 min, NTC-Sofia Boutella Fearless Core-15 min,  

Sunday: Bikram yoga-90 min, elliptical trainer-25 min

Note: Something better I did this week was exercising in the evenings before dinner instead of my usual mornings. I’m trying to be more flexible with fitting exercise into my day in preparation for medical school when I’ll most likely have lots of 8am classes.

Does it stress you out to leave exercise until the end of the day? I feel like I have something hanging over me…

Monday: 1 hr elliptical trainer + Seventeen’s February Workout (40 minutes) while watching Tangled!!! omgodz so good 

Tuesday: 1.5 mile run, 1 mile walk…my foot hurts after last week’s 17 mile suicide attempt

Wednesday: Rest, not feeling well 

Thursday: Seventeen’s Feb. Trim & Tone workout, Calisthenics Exercises throughout watching True Grit 

Friday: 2 mile run around track, 40 min elliptical, NTC 15 min. Leg Definer workout (Watching Full Metal Alchemist)

Saturday: 4 mile run, 20 min elliptical, Seventeen’s Feb. Trim & Tone (addicted to Full Metal Alchemist) 

Sunday: Bikram/Hot Yoga 90 minutes

Notes: I don’t think my feet muscles like minimalist running shoes for long runs =/ I felt fine after my 17 mile run last week, but after cross-training on the elliptical the next day, a muscle on my outer foot got strained. So, not much running this week, but I tried to do some more strength training. Oh and…you may notice that I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately because I’m still on vacation! Exercising while watching TV is just too easy…now exercising while surfing the internet may be a little challenging…

Bloggin’ Plan for next week: Photography & Recipes

Monday: 1 hr elliptical trainer w/ 5 lb weights, Seventeen’s February Super-Sets

Tuesday: 4 mile run, 20 minutes on elliptical trainer, sporadic core exercises

Wednesday: 8 mile run, Seventeen’s February Super-sets

Thursday: 4 mile run, 20 minutes on elliptical trainer w/ 5 lb weights, random ab exercises & push-ups

Friday: 90 minutes of hot/Bikram yoga

Saturday: 8 mile pace run

Sunday: 17 mile run/job FML

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Monday: None, missed cross-training, interview day @ my 2nd choice school!!!!!GAHHHHpray/fingers cross, left house at 6:15am and got home at 8pm…

Tuesday: None…shame shame 

Wednesday: 4 miles, 15 minutes Nike Training Club/Leah Kim Dynamic Yoga Workout (great shoulder workout) 

Thursday: 7 miles

Friday: 4 miles, 15 minutes Nike Training Club/ Sofia Boutella Core workout 

Saturday: 7 miles

Sunday: 15 miles fml, 15 minutes Nike Training Club/Arm Definer  

Notes: I realized how hard it is to work-out when you have to get up super early, and do not get home for dinner until pretty late. That’s what happened on Monday and Tuesday when I had long days. When I got home, I just wanted to relax, eat, surf the web, vent, and sleep. I tried to get some more movement in during the day (i.e. walking) but I didn’t have enough energy or enthusiasm for a full workout. However, fitness is important to me and I will try to fit it in during future busy days!

Does anyone have consecutively long-ass days? What are some of your tactics for saving enough energy for a work-out or finding time? (6am-8pm completely on the go is pretty intense!) I guess I could have done some…kegels while driving in the car haha. 

omgod, but I actually managed to do 3 strength training workouts this week! (even if they are just 15 minutes long…) 

Monday: 1 hr elliptical trainer, push-ups & bicycle crunches, 2 mile walk to campus 

Tuesday: 4 mile run, 15 minutes of NTC Allyson Felix Workout, 5 minutes abs

Wednesday: 7 mile run

Thursday: 4 mile run, 15 minutes NTC Arm Definer (bicep curls, push-ups, tricep push-ups, plank & row, sumo squat & press) 

Friday: Rest day

Saturday: 7 mile pace run

Sunday: 14 mile run/jog, slowww 10:42 min/mile, I guess I was more concerned about just finishing than pushing myself. Although it’s suggested to run 60-90 seconds slower than your intended pace during your actual race during long runs…10:42 is weeee bit too slow lol. Also, I started running at 8:00am and didn’t finish until 11:30am which stressed me out. Next week, I’ll start my long run at least by 7am! 

Still skipping out on strength training! Next week gotta do 3 days at least! With my new marathon training schedule, I have time on cross-training, short-running, and rest days. 

Monday: 1 hr elliptical trainer, lots of stretching since I’m so sore from my race 

Tuesday: 4 mile run

Wednesday: hardly a yoga session because I was so engrossed with reading Gone with the Wind 

Thanksgiving Thursday: 6.25 mile run

Friday: 5.5 miles with hills 

Saturday: flu-like body aches =(, managed to walk to and fro the mall for about 2 miles

Sunday: 10 mile jog/walk, first time running in the hot afternoon and was dehydrated =[, didn’t feel strong today but it was more about getting outdoors and enjoying the beach than burning calories 

Some set-backs this week, which was after my half-marathon race, but I tried my best! I’m starting my marathon training this coming week though and I’ll have the schedule up soon! 

Currently practicing yoga at home with Rodney Yee Gaiam Yoga videos 

Monday: few minutes of calesthenics just to get the brain going for an early interview day

Tuesday: 5 mile run, 20 push-ups, bicycle crunches until sore

Wednesday: 7.25 mile run, 24 push-ups, bicycle crunches until sore, Nike Training App 15 minutes (back, abs, shoulders) 

Thursday: 8 mile run, 12 regular push-ups, 12 tricep push-ups, crunches, 5 minutes of arms 

Friday: Rest day, Hatha Yoga, 35 minutes of Power Yoga with Rodney Yee (Gaiam fitness videos) 

Saturday: 4 mile run, 20 minutes on elliptical trainer

Sunday: Big Sur Half Marathon! Stay tuned for videos, running/racing recap. 1 hour elliptical trainer. 

I’ve been watching videos (okay fine, anime episodes…) while peddling away on this baby. It is SO FUN. My brother was watching with me and turned at said…”Omgod you are so sweaty.” It’s not as challenging as running or the real elliptical, but it works your quads & calves, and is moderate cardio. It’s actually pretty relaxing…if you are just lounging watching TV or a movie, might as well hop on one of these! My roommates do this almost every night (there’s squeeks a lot though). Oh and I got way more into the shows since exercising increases my sense of urgency and this inner passion for life lol. Anyways, I’ve blogged about this elliptical trainer before, but it may be a nice thing to put on your Christmas list! Currently on sale for $90.00 (originally $200 when first released) 

http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-55-1610-InMotion-Elliptical-Trainer/dp/B000VICRO8