Stretching Out a Back Injury

It feels like spring is finally here in NJ and I am beyond excited!

I was unfortunately out of commission last week due to a back injury. I wasn't able to workout last Saturday or Sunday (3/29 & 3/30) just because I was busy with different engagements. I was showering before work Monday morning when I was suddenly overcome with intense pain in my lower back! I felt nauseous, couldn't breathe well, and had a constant sharp pain in my lower right back. I went to see my chiropractor twice over the week and went to my internal doctor just to make sure it was nothing with my kidneys, appendix, or anything like that. I was diagnosed with a lumbago sprain, which can last up to 6 weeks! Fortunately I started feeling a whole lot better Friday afternoon and was even able to go for a jog and attend some gym classes this week.

I have always known that I neglect stretching, especially when it comes to my back. After this injury, I will definitely be making stretching post workout a priority. Stretching your back and legs are crucial, even when you aren't active, and many injuries are caused due to lack of stretching or stretching improperly. Here are some stretches that are great for your back and legs and will help prevent injury:

Back Stretches

https://www.athletico.com/2012/03/28/stretches-to-minimize-back-pain/

[Prone Press-Up, almost like cobra, is my favorite for a lower back stretch. If you have lower back pain or you have a chronic tight lower back, use this exercise daily] 

Leg Stretches

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1565&page=3

[When you have a back injury, your hamstrings are also directly affected and become tight. Make sure you pay more attention to stretching your hammy's during and after sustaining any back pain] 

* Neglecting your body only makes your fitness journey more difficult! *

{Trying} New Things

On March 9th, I decided that I would remove sweets from my diet until my last day of T25, which was 3 weeks away. I love cookies. I love candy. I love cupcakes. I love coffee ice cream. The list could go on and on. While I'm not one to add sugar to things like my cup of coffee or my bowl of corn flakes, I do crave an Oreo or 2..or 3. I try to never over indulge, but for the most part, I have a sweet treat of some type at least once a day. Something struck in my brain and I made the rash decision to cut sweets out of my life until I finished T25. I want to see how I progress without delicious sweets in my life and would like to see how my results are with vs. without them in my life. So far, I caved and ate one Vienna Finger, but I found great motivation when I said no to all of the St. Patrick's Day goodies at my works pot luck yesterday...even denied trying any of the {professional looking} Guinness cup cakes I baked.

RIP sweets. You will be dearly missed.

People all over America, the Facebook world, and the Twitter universe, are giving things up for Lent-- even if they aren't Catholic, religious, human, etc, everyone and their dog is giving something up for Lent. So I started to think...if everyone and their dog's are suffering from giving some favorite food up, there should be some tips out there to help us! Thankfully I've made some up:

     1. Start Your Day Off Right - eating a healthy, filling breakfast could be one of the simplest ways to ensure you don't get a sweet tooth craving. Oatmeal and a fruit/veggie smoothie are my favorites to start off my workday.

     2. Pack Your Lunch - eating out can cause you to spontaneously choose unnecessary foods, such as a dessert or 0% nutrition filled snack. Be sure to include a variety of veggies, fruits, dairy, etc. that are sufficient enough for breakfast, snacks, and lunch. Even if you eat breakfast before you leave for work/school, I advise you pack some type of breakfast or early morning snack item so you aren’t starving by 11:30am.

     3. Increase Your Water Intake – when you crave things you are often times just dehydrated/thirsty, so remember to constantly drink water throughout the day. Get an insulated, reusable cup to drink out of everyday and even add a lemon for a bit of flavor. It will not only be yours and you can carry it everywhere, you are also helping the environment but not throwing away plastic bottles or cups!

     4. Still Have a Craving? Have no fear, green tea is here! Drink a hot cup of green or chamomile tea when you are getting seriously tired of water. You can even add a bit of organic honey and some lemon to it.

     5. Proper Sleep – I’m sure you hear this everywhere, but it’s true! Getting proper sleep sets you up for your entire day. Not getting proper amount of sleep is proven to cause you to over eat, and usually over eat on the sweets and fatty foods.

You can do it!

Recent Recipes

Well not 'recipes' per-say but more like foods I've kind of combined lately. Some have been paleo, some are really yummy, and some have been just a fun kind of snack. Over the past couple of weeks I'd make some food and say, 'wow, this could be pinterest worthy!' So I'd snap a quick pic and then it winds up just staying in my phone...oops :) Anyway, I've listed some of my favorites that I've created below!

Lunch: Egg, Avocado, and Pesto Sandwich

 

• Toast 2 slices of bread and put a light layer of pesto (in a jar) on one slice 
• Cook eggs over easy (or anyway you'd like to have them) using a bit of coconut oil on the pan instead of Pam 
• Slice half an avocado 
• Enjoy!

Dinner: Eggs, Sweet Potatoes, and Bacon..?

This concoction was made by my best friend's boyfriend. He gets into making some Paleo recipe's and he tried this one out. It may look odd but it is extremely delicious. Luckily those who only eat Paleo can enjoy this one as well! 

• Hard boil eggs, slice in half (I would do it long ways like a deviled egg instead of the way he did), and remove the yokes 
• Mash sweet potatoes (we used our NutriBullet) using a little bit of coconut oil and fill the eggs
• Cook bacon well done, break pieces into thirds, and place over top of eggs (you can alway opt to only have some or none with bacon) 
• Feel free to bake or grill some chicken to go along with it! 
• Enjoy!

Snack: New Twist to Apple and Peanut Butter

• 1 spoonful of organic peanut butter 
• A sprinkle of dark chocolate chips 
• 1 sliced organic Pink Lady apple 
• Enjoy!

Onto The Next One

Five weeks later and I have completed the Alpha side of Focus T25!! [I'm doing a happy dance right now]

My results have been continually improving and I am excited to see what Beta brings to the table! Like I said in the last post, I have finally started to see results rather than just feel them! I took another progress picture to record the 5 week mark: 

A bit more in-depth information about my results thus far: 

• I weighed myself last Tuesday, and my weight has not changed 
• Chest muscles and shoulder are a lot stronger 
• Abs are noticeably more defined
• Triceps are more defined 
• Glutes are bigger and stronger

And a little bit more about how I have improved over the 5 weeks: 

• Increased number of pushups by vast amount and can do them all on my toes (Total Body Circuit has a ton of pushups)
• Stamina has increased 
• Able to do more reps of the higher intensity moves 
• Arches and calves don't tighten up like they originally were 

I took a 'before' picture when I first started but unfortunately I only took one of the front of me not even thinking my back, hammys, and butt would change significantly. When I am completely done with T25 I will post my 'before' picture along with my final 'after' picture. I will also dig through and try to find a decent photo of the back of me to show those results as well. 

I'll be starting the Beta portion of the program today! 

Motivational Monday

I finished my third week of T25 on Saturday, and for the first time I see progress. As someone who has exercised and played sports my whole life, it may seem weird that I'm saying it's the first time I see progress, but it's true. I have always noticed a difference in how I feel when I've been working out or training hard and have definitely felt a difference in stamina when I focus on bettering my running...but this time it's different, and I couldn't be happier.

I usually have some muscle definition, strong/defined legs, and have a pretty in-shape upper stomach. After I finished my workout on Saturday and I looked in the mirror, I surprised myself with my results thus far. I notice the biggest differences in my stomach and butt. My stomach is definitely in the best shape it has ever been and is very defined while my butt is very strong and has gotten bigger--but in a good way! I was even brave enough to snap a pic! (I hate 'selfies' but it seemed appropriate).

After Saturday, I started to think about motivation and how many people out there quit because they aren't SEEing results. When in retrospect, fitness should first and foremost be for health. If you are feeling energetic, feeling strong, don't easily get out of breath, eating healthy, and are in good health, then why give up? If you continue to work hard, eat right, and stay healthy, results will come in time. 

We live in a time where we want everything right this instant. It is so unrealistic to think anything can happen in the snap of a finger. Working out would be work if it was easy. So today I present to you motivation. Some of my favorite quotes comes from author Ralph Waldo Emerson. This is one of my favorite quotes and it can relate to every aspect of life, especially getting in shape:

This next one is for you to remember to better yourself. Fitness should make you feel your best. Your body should be one of the most important things to you and you should always remember to respect and appreciate it. Let these words sink in and let them inspire you to make the most of your workouts and health.

T25 Calendar

Week 2 of Focus T25 has come and gone.

I have been busy moving to a new house, and still wanted to get to the gym for my power class, so I got a bit behind with the workouts this week. I challenged myself by doing 2 days of double workouts rather than the 1 that is on the calendar to make up for those missed days! Cardio is still a killer. I have to remind myself to stretch and massage out my arches before doing the cardio workout...you're on your toes almost the entire time, which makes my arches cramp up like crazyy, but as long as I stretch them out properly beforehand they are fine.

The calendar has honestly been SO helpful. Since I have never done a Beachbody workout before, I didn't realize that they provide you with something so detailed. There are 2 sides, Alpha and Beta. You start off with Alpha, and then after the first month (5 weeks) you are ready for Beta. It goes into a lot more detail about Beta workouts on their site, but I assume Beta gets more intense: http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/focus-t25-workout.do They set the calendar up having a sprecific workout for you to do Monday-Friday. Friday is your suggested double workout day.  Saturday is your STATurday, where you reflect on your week and review how you are doing, statistic wise. Sunday is your stretch day! (Which always feels sooo nice)

I was a bit excited the first time I opened the calendar..

Each day is labeled with a workout that you are meant to do and has a mini check box that either says 'Nailed It' or 'Barely Made It' (Friday has 2 workouts listed and has check boxes under each workout). This way you can track your progress. If you 'barely made' one workout but 3 weeks later you 'nailed it' that shows you're making progress and gives you a little something to be extra excited about! I've been trying to make myself feel like I 'nail' every workout. Some are definitely more tough than others, but so far I've been able to make my goal!

Ready for week 3!

The Start of T25

Hi All!

Lauren here -- Back in October I did the Toughmudder. I'm sure I will write about how that went in the future, but for now let me just say that it was one of the most fun, intense, and demanding moments in my life. A few weeks after it, I started feeling my hip flexor kind of 'lock up' while running making it very difficult to push through 2 miles. But I'm stubborn and I continued to run anyway, knowing that after the mile mark, it would become extremely difficult to go any further, let alone walk after I finished my run. Once the new year hit, I decided I should back off of running but not running regularly leaves a giant void in my life and I feel like I accomplish nothing when I exercise without getting a run in. I love to attend group exercise classes at my gym, but again I needed way more cardio in my fitness routine. 

So in doing some research on different programs, I started my first day of T25 on the 11th! It seems like it really focuses on cardio and is great for toning, which are 2 things I love getting out of a workout. I wasn't sure how I'd be since I had not run in a month and of course the first cd/day of exercise is labeled 'cardio'..but I was ready for it! 



It comes in a rather intimidating box...mainly because there are motivating quotes all over it and come with a lot more than just the dvd's! 

The Box.."It's All About Time": 
 



The Dvd's box comes with a small but very informative booklet of recipes and a guide to follow for eating while doing T25. I skimmed through it but I am sure I will be looking at it more this week and will write a post on that! But this is the dvd box.."Get it done!": 
 



It also comes with a resistance band but I am not sure when we will be using it or for what exercises! 
 



They give you a calendar, which tells you which dvd to put in next and to track your progress. 

One side is the Alpha, which you start with, and the other is Beta, which is for the second month of the program. I started it the morning of the 11th with my boyfriend and it was awesome! Yes, it was tiring and we both needed a quick little break 15 minutes in but we were able to bully through! Out of everything, I felt it in my calves the most during the workouts because many of the exercises required you to be on your toes/balls of your feet. But they aren't sore from it..just felt that the most! My boyfriend's booty was the most sore, but he made sure to continually stretch it. It was definitely great cardio which is what I was looking for! 



The next morning, my roommates and I went to a gym class called 'power' (a low weight, high rep, weight lifting class). Doing that after T25 made me feel really good, and my body already felt more 'awake'. I am really going to try to stick to a routine of doing T25 for 3 or 4 days a week and lifting about 2 or 3 days a week. 

I am getting on a new kick of making a smoothie right after I finish T25. I always love the idea of having a smoothies as a post workout snack/meal but when coming home from the gym it is a little more difficult...I always wind up running last minute errands, taking care of things in the house, showering, and then by the time I remember to eat, it's super late and I don't want to make anything or eat a big dinner.  So i am looking forward to the ease of making and having smoothies right after T25! I even saw this awesome trick on pinterest to 'pre-make' your smoothies and freeze them! Throw what you want in freezer baggies, put it all in the blender when you're ready to have one, and voila! You have a smoothie: http://www.adventuresinmindfulliving.com/healthy-smoothies-busy-person/ (I'm sure you'll see me post many wonderful finds from pinterest...I'll admit now that I am a pinterest addict)

Week one is down, and I'm ready to start week 2! 

Keep checking back for weekly updates on my T25 journey!