Training for Anything

For many reasons, my life in March has been great.

Planning adventures, reading a book, play time, sunshine time, rainy time, self-time, friend time, cook time and sweaty time. It was all wonderful, but today's focus is on the sweaty time because today is my first time showing up to Training for Tuesday,

Before I jump into Training for Tuesday I need to tell you first that this link-up is how I met the two awesome blog ladies who host it: Alyssa and Tracy.

Alyssa and Tracy are both a breath of fresh air when it comes to fitness blogging. They don't claim to know it all, they don't boast that they're the best, they make certain you know that they started from the bottom and now they're here. They both run, they both yoga, they both live a life outside of fitness. 

They both understand that balance, goals, commitment and fun are the special magic ingredients to making yourself the person you've always dreamed to become and how to believe in yourself along the way. They both care about their health and care about your health too. Health for everyone, which is why this link-up is so organically wonderful in its own right. 

Simply, they rock.

So what is it that I'm training for? I'm sometimes talking fitness, I'm sometimes showing sweaty selfies, I used to have a separate blog dedicated to fitness - but double blogging was way out of my league - and now I'm all excited over this concept of ClassPass. Oh and you probably know that I used to be a crazy-dedicated runner and ran 100 miles a month (no excuses) for 4 years!

Running didn't bore me, but it took too much time away from the things that were supposed to be important to me at the age of 26. Running was one of my great loves, like many of you talk about your love for books, that was my love for the open road. It gave me confidence, it cured me of an eating disorder (and some may argue just sent me on a different compulsive path) and it gave me something that defined me in my fitness world after retiring my softball career post-college. It got me over and above what I believed I was, which gave me tools to take my fitness to other places.

Once my world was no longer dedicated to running 100 miles a month, my attention and passion turned to weight lifting, booty sculpting, bicep growing and sweat flaunting. I rode that train for a long time until I received my trophies (my biceps) and decided that I wanted to have a little more to show for my fitness than just a flex - and what a flex, yeah?!

So, I jumped onto the fun of ClassPass and opened my horizons to new things.

New things meaning new to me. Yoga, pilates, ballet, barre, pound! (with drumsticks!), the Megaformer, cycling, Crossfit, TRX, stretching + myofascial release, intense foam rolling, paddleboarding and whatever other crazy there is out there. Like the aerial yoga class I'm dying to try!

I opened my eyes to the world of fitness as other people see it and I'm enjoying everything I'm seeing and learning about myself.

The most pride I have in the last month with fitness is that I held a headstand for 30 seconds thanks to some virtual coaching from dear host Alyssa. Once I get to a place where I don't need a wall for support anymore I'll be sure to show you guys on instagram. Follow along for that and some of the other fun I'm bound to have in my further fitness adventures in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon.

Since I know this link up is now a thing, expect some more goal setting and structure to my next Training for Tuesday. That will include my Paleo side too if you're interested since nutrition is just as important as exercise!

If you want to get sweaty, be inspired, find peace, share goals, discover passions, live a little better and love yourself a little harder, go find Alyssa and Tracy. They'll show you the way!

Spring Clean Eating

Spring cleaning is not only for the home. It should be for your diet too. 

I don't mean "diet" as in restricting calories or saying no to carbs. I mean diet in it's literal definition as "the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats." So the next time you reach for a handful of potato chips you're welcome to say that they're a part of your "diet". Please use this joke at the next party you attend. 

This weekend I received a Facebook group invite for a "spring cleaning" healthy eating challenge. My first thought was "pffft - I know how to do that, why should I join a 'challenge'?". Then as I reached for the "meh, it's kind of paleo" dried cranberries that are really just full of sugar, I decided that joining in wouldn't be such a bad idea.

I often say that I'm "90% Paleo", meaning that I leave a bit of wiggle room for alcohol and cheese, and then anything else I don't want to say no to. But as a general trend I avoid grains, dairy and sugars because since I've cut them out I feel a million times better. This week of clean eating is intended to poke holes in the "wiggle room" that I allow and see how much wiggle could be adding to my jiggle. (if ya know what I mean!)

3 huge mega keys to my planned success this week are the following:

1. Drink WATER like it's my job! Or... like it's my blog... since you know where priorities are.
2. PLAN snacks, don't scour co-workers drawers for munchies. This is how wheat thins "happen".
3. Meal prep + PACK meals rather than go to the cafeteria (also saves me all the dollars).

The awful thing that I noticed just on my very first day is that when I got "bored" I'd crave something sweet. Like an afternoon coffee, a mint from our admin's desk or tapping into the gross leftover valentine's candy what?. And instead since I was mindful, I opted to go fill my glass of water instead. How many calories have gone down this way out of boredom when a quenched thirst was all my body was searching for? I shudder at the thought.

Monday was ultimately successful, especially that I went to Costco after work and didn't even look at what samples they were serving. I walked in, headed straight toward the gum, took a selfie of how much willpower I was exercising then and walked out with self respect and happy feels.

This could be the first step of a twelve step clean-up program. Thankfully I'm going up the stairs rather than down them... am-i-right, Melissa?

Thanks for inviting me to the challenge my dear friend, Gretchen! You're an inspiration!

What are you guys doing for spring cleaning?

 Also, linking up here:

Graceful...?

It's a little ironic that I had plans to talk to day about my new dance class and how graceful it's making me feel. 

Ironic because last night I had a near-fall-on-my face treadmill experience (in the privacy of my own home thank everything I can give thanks to) and I live to tell the tale. It's not the first time the near-fall has happened and it's always when I'm screwing around on my phone. This time I was replying to an email and trying to simultaneously speed/dance/jazzercise walk to this jamsky:

I could watch this gif over and over. A fail of epic proportions - sandals in the air and all! 

Okay, enough self-ridicule. I really do feel more graceful after just two dance classes. It helped that the routine was exactly the same as last time, so my body anticipated moves so much better and I was able to put some of my own sass and spin on some of the moves. I'm known to take things to another level, but for now I'm in the back of the class and just trying to get a great workout.

apparently there's another class today that we are going to make and I'm nervous because it's actual Zumba and not "Group Groove" as I've been going to. I need a little more salsa in my step. Or I really hope its like this. Fergie eat your heart out.

The best things about going to dance class are:

:: Taking the time out of the routine day to get my sweat in
:: Taking a class with co-workers, team bonding 101
:: Coming back to the desk and demonstrating my best booty pop to the people who didn't go.
:: Practicing the moves you've learned in the comfort of your own home.
:: Walking a little taller, shoulders broad and chin up
:: Playful sense about yourself, especially when it comes to music

And I'm going to keep talking about it till I'm blue in the face - it feels great to switch my fitness from running only to weight lifting and graceful dancing (and twerking).

It's almost the weekend! What are you up to?

TED Tuesday: Born To Run

I really hope that what Christopher McDougall is saying in today's TED Talk is true - that we as human beings are designed to sweat and to run.

Not just run but to run long distances.

Why do I care?

This week I have to make good on my commitment to run 100 miles a month... only using up 12 days total.

If you're reading this when I am publishing on Tuesday morning, I have 57 miles left and 140 waking hours to do it in. Possible, right? Right!

Now obviously some of those hours I want to sleep, some of those hours I guess I have to work and some of the others I just plain want to relax, but mark my words - by Sunday when I get on a plane at midnight to return to Toronto I will be at 100 miles and no less.

Dedicating today's post to running is important to me as I had to drop out of my annual Hood to Coast fun that's this upcoming weekend as too much is happening at work and I wouldn't have had the chance to take Friday off. (Insert massive sigh here).

(Insert yet another massive sigh here)

I liked this talk as it inspired me to think of my running challenge this week as not an obstacle, but something that my body is designed to do.

Enjoy!

[ted id=1067]

Morning Routine

Do you remember this month's goal #1: Early work only 5 times this month?

Sorry, how early is early?

For two months I was waking up at 4:15am and showing up to the office bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 6am, which was as soon as I was allowed access into the building.

A new month and a new me.

Rather than allow myself to fall into the snooze button trap, I decided to use my familiarity with an early alarm and make the most out of it. 

Long ago on the blog I wrote a post about the Benefits of Morning Exercise, and much of how I felt in October of 2012 still holds true today. Working out in the morning is amazing.

There's so much that it can bring to your day!

• Adrenaline


• Accomplishment


• Less worry about when to fit a workout in


• A need for an earlier bedtime


• Incentive to hydrate in the evening


• Feelings of hunger for a whole and balanced breakfast


• Cool air to breathe


• Calm environment to focus


• ZERO stress about what to wear and whether your outfit matches (as long as it's street-visible!)


• You've now earned your shower

So, for the time being, 4:15 - 5:15 is run time and self improvement time rather than the sleep time I'd originally intended to reclaim.

Now if I could just get Dan on the same schedule we'd be quite the pair!

My newest running buddies are 3lb hand weights that honestly do make my arms burn after an hour run. Aside from the burn, the added bonus is that people who see me running with hand weights believe that I'm that much more intense / intimidating / out for my own self-defense.

Who else loves to work out in the morning? What are the reasons you do it {or don't do it!}?

P.S. I've only gone in early 3 times this month - looking forward to no more if I can help it!

TED Tuesday: Take a Walk

Before you get settled and comfortable, I'd like to ask you to grab your mobile device and go for a walk while reading this post today. If you're unable to read it while taking a walk, at least stand up or get moving. You don't want to be sitting down for the next five minutes and I promise the video is short!

Today's journey through TED wonderland tells us that the average American sits more hours a day than they sleep, and combined sitting and sleeping make up more than 2/3 of your day. I'm an avid believer in standing at my desk throughout the workday and only sitting for moments of deep concentration or when I previously would eat lunch at my desk. Not anymore, friends!

This weekend through all of the airport travel, it amazed me to see how many people sat at their departure gates waiting to get on their flights. Did they not realize that they would be sitting without a personal bubble for a few hours in the air, that they'd have no access to fresh air for duration of the flight, that this was their opportunity to stretch their legs, that sitting is killing them? Dan and I both had the itch to move around and get some airport antics underway as evidenced by our back to back photo shares all night Sunday.

I think you'll like Nilofer's brevity and clear call to action in today's TED Talk.

She shares her secret and invites the rest of us to begin asking people on 'walking meetings' rather than the traditional meeting over coffee, drinks, lunch or in a stale fluorescent-lit conference room.

Fresh air leads to fresh ideas and a different setting can open the door to out of the box thinking. Ultimately, it can lead to better health for you, your colleagues and future generations.

[ted id=1726]

TED Talks: Ideas worth spreading

The Benefits of Morning Exercise

For as long as I have been an athlete* (if you have a body you're an athlete) I have always preferred to complete a workout in the crisp cool air of the morning. While my body and my sleep schedule may have not always agreed with me on this statement, my mind always proves to be happiest when I wake up and get myself moving before I realize what I'm even doing.

As I live across town from work, it's easiest for me to leave my house in the wee hours of the morning to get to work, secure the best parking spot, go for a 6 mile run, take a shower at the gym and step into the office with a fresh outlook and a well tuned machine.

My preferred method of extracting sweat in the morning is by running, but if you don't have the right reflective gear or cold weather clothing for the fall and winter months, find an easy at-home workout that you can do anywhere with just your body weight and some self-motivation.

A Shout Out to Benefits!

• Once you're done, you're done for the day! No excuses for when plans pop up in the afternoon that would have otherwise knocked your workout off of the priorities list.


• Your morning shower is not so much a routine, but now something that you earned!


• If you work out before you eat, your body will be burning off fats instead of the food that you ate earlier in the day.


• You will fall asleep earlier at night once you've worked into a routine - the morning comes quick!


• There have been studies on how morning exercise can help your career and help you sleep better. What's not to love?


• Increased motivation to eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast - you will be ravenous after a good workout!


• Reason to drink more water in the morning to quench your thirst, resulting in more H2O throughout the day!


• You really don't have to worry about your makeup or your hair at the gym or out on the streets. #longhairdontcare

Ways to Help Yourself Get Up in the Morning:

• Lay out the clothes that you plan to work out in (or sleep in them) so that you can just step out of bed and be on your way.


• Get a great night's rest! I make sure to be lights out by 9:30-10pm every night.


• Set a music alarm that forces you to get out of bed to turn it off and that pumps you up and makes you want to get out of your tracks.


• Schedule plans in the afternoon, this forces you to realize that you either work out in the morning or no workout at all terrible things will happen.


• Find a partner in crime who is willing to get up before the sun with you to sweat. Teamwork goes a long way!

And there you have it, why you should challenge yourself to get out of bed early and with conviction!

<3 JE