Mic Check 1-2-1-2
Hello. Hello. Is this thing still on? It's been months since I blogged and I am contemplating coming back to it.
You see I lost my mojo for awhile. A lot has happened since I regularly blogged. We moved houses, but that didn't work out very well for us. We basically ended up buying a money pit and a lot has gone wrong. I was also not very happy in my work life. So, things were stressful at work, stressful at home and I let it derail me and get the best of me. However, I'm back, baby. And I think I may blog about it. I still have lots to do and many more races to conquer.
I am finishing up my last week at my current job and will soon be embarking on a new adventure. I have found my way into a work from home job and I cannot even believe it. I am super excited to get started and try my hand at a new career (sales!). Plus, the extra time at home is going to reinvent my workout life and give me more time with my daughter.
Today I "started over" for the millionth time in my life. I have put on about 6-8 lbs and look forward to getting them off. I recently bought a groupon for 6 weeks of unlimited bootcamp at BCOR. I am going to the Solon location. My alarm went off at 4:10am, groan, but I rolled out of bed ready to get back on the proverbial horse. The class started at 5am. It was a good workout. I am so out of shape. The trainer is good, the music was great and he kicked my butt. Nothing too out of the box, lots of lunges and squats and plyometrics. He essentially ran us through 2 different circuits and we did each one 4 times. The 45 mins flew by and I can totally feel that I am going to be sore with a capitol S tomorrow. But I miss that feeling and welcome it!
I have signed up for the Louisville marathon in April and will probably do the Wine Glass marathon in the fall. I want to do 2 others as well.
Hope all my bloggy friends are still out there and doing well!
Tofu Xpress = Awesome!
Ack. My how time flies! Life has been so crazy with the move. I feel like we are finally settled in our new house. My eating has been all over the place and I am trying to clean that up and get more into cooking. Being a vegetarian I have gotten really boring with my eating. Think lots of frozen veggies and pasta. Whenever we eat out I always hit up asian places b/c I love to get their stir fried wok tofu. Love it! But every time I try to make tofu at home it is an epic fail.
So, I did a little research and found out about tofu presses! voila. I am a tofu making genius. Here's a little blurb from their site-
Slaw
by Mama Pea
Prep Time: 45 min.
Cook Time: 12 min.Ingredients (2-4 servings)
- One 15 oz. package extra-firm tofu, pressed and sliced into 1 x 2 inch slabs
- 2 T. reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 T. hoisin sauce
- 1 t. lemon juice
- 2 T. water
- 2 t. minced ginger
- 2 t. minced garlic
- 4 c. shredded cabbage
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 1/2 large bell pepper, julienned
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 1 1/2 T. tahini
- 2 t. minced ginger
- 1 t. agave or stevia to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 slices tempeh bacon, cooked and chopped into pieces
Instructions
- To make the tofu, drain and press and cut into slabs.
- Prepare the marinade, by combining soy sauce, hoisin sauce, lemon juice, water, ginger and garlic.
- Reserve half of the minced ginger for the slaw, if you are making it as well.
- Add tofu to the marinade and lightly toss.
- Allow tofu to marinate for anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight.
- Meanwhile, prepare slaw by placing cabbage in a large bowl.
- Add shredded carrots and bell pepper strips.
- For the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, tahini, ginger, sweetener of choice and salt and pepper.
- Drizzle dressing over the top of the slaw and toss until evenly coated.
- Top with tempeh bacon, if using. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
- Preheat broiler to prepare tofu.
- Remove tofu from marinade and place on a cookie sheet that has been spritzed with oil or sprayed with cooking spray.
- Drizzle tofu with any remaining marinade and broil for 5-6 minutes on each side.
- Plate tofu with slaw and serve.
An Epic Day: Sunburst South Bend IN race recap
Hitch up your britches and get back on the horse
Why am I blabbing about all this? It’s just for myself. Getting it out there and now holding myself accountable. Because here is one thing that I know for sure, one huge truth that I have proven to myself time and time again – I am not a nice person or a happy person when I am not working out. I fall into a rut that snowballs and this has been one huge snowball. I do not like this Monica and I am going to change it. I am going to get through this marathon, give myself a week off running and then I will be back with a vengeance. I have 2 fall marathons and I am not going to let myself be this soft. I am going to hit the track, pick up the dumbells again, I am going to do abs every other day and I am putting my pushup bar by the bed and doing pushups before bed every night! Fonzie will be happier too, he's only getting like 1 run a week, poor dog and he is showing his distaste with extreme obnoxiousness.
What gets you back on track after a hiatus?
Is spring here!?
I have said here before that I plan to run a marathon in all 50 states and I am happy to have a partner in crime in a friend from my hometown Twila, she blogs over at Twila runs 2010 in 2010. You can read her recap of the Cleveland marathon. She came to stay with me for the weekend and tore that course up and got a big fat PR, despite gross weather conditions. It was cold and rainy and all day. But anyway I have been working on a spreadsheet of all the races I want to run and it has been fun. I have been reading reviews and trying to find a balance between big city races and small scenic routes. If you have run a marathon that I should put on my list, please leave me a comment.
In other news our house drama is almost done. We move into our new house on June 16th and I am looking forward to the next chapter of our lives in our Lucky Bell Lane house! I will miss my running hood, but look forward to exploring our new neighborhood. I will also be closer to South Chagrin Reservation which is quite hilly. So, I look forward to alternating my long runs there and know those hills will only make me stronger. I have really slacked on the running front and look forward to making up for lost time.
I am now blogging over at Unmiserable Cleveland as well. I am really excited. I have loved that site and what my friend who started it has done with it and I am honored to be able to post there. My posts are under the handler mhn, have a look!
I am in taper mode now and South Bend is quickly approaching. I wish I could say I am excited. I really am not b/c I haven’t trained and I really would have loved to get a PR. But I am just going to try and enjoy the race and run with my friends. One person in our group is running their first full and just looking to do it in under 4:30 and I hope to help them to that goal.
So tell me, is it finally spring in your neck of the woods? Are you looking forward to getting back into the groove or have you been trucking along all winter despite the unfavorable weather?
Saturday procrastination
It's 5:56 am right now, I got up about 20 mins ago. I have 22 miles on the docket for today and only have company lined up for 10-12 of those miles. So. I am procrastinating. I will give myself until 6:20 then I MUST be on my way. My throat hurts and I don't wanna go! My goal is to only have 3-4 to do by myself after I meet my friend at 8 for the 10-12.
- * I did 20 miles last weekend with a friend. We kept our pace steady around 10:20 and it was a gorgeous, enjoyable run. I really think for South Bend since my training has been so spotty I am just going to run with this friend and not even worry about time. I will still finish in under 4:30. It won't be a PR, but I have not been training (aside from long runs) so I cannot complain.
- * Today is day 3 of my cleanse. I didn't start on Monday like I was going to b/c I had the week from hell at work. BUt days 1 and 2 were not hard at all. There was even an amazing crepes buffet set up at work on Friday and I breezed on by it. Today we have a communion party and that will be tough, my plan is just to eat beforehand. I know they are having salad and veggies so I can load up my plate with those.
May is wellness month!
I am on the wellness committee at work and May is wellness month. I am super excited for all the great things that we have planned. I arranged 3 great “lunch and learns” which are basically presentations over lunch. The first week we have someone from NEO Team in Training coming to tell everyone about TNT and what you can get if you sign up to train with them. Then next week I have a lovely yoga instructor coming in to walk people through yoga poses to help undo the stress of sitting all day. And then for weeks 3 and 4 we are going to screen the movie Food Inc in 2 parts! How fun is that. Don’t you wish you worked here. On top of that I managed to gather 8 people who are interested in doing a cleanse with me! I am going to lead the group, so I think that will be the right amount of motivation to stay on the cleanse. In fact I am going to start on Monday (instead of Friday like them) so I have a few solid days under my belt. The cleanse will be based on the book Quantum Wellness, I did this cleanse once before, but only made it 15 days. But this cleanse is what solidified that I could be a vegetarian and I haven’t wavered on that once since I made the decision early last year. I will blog about the cleanse for anyone interested. Here is an email I sent out to the group today:
“Hi cleanse group members! If you are going to go shopping this weekend or early next week to prepare for the cleanse, below are some shopping items you will want to stock up on. All of these foods are approved on the cleanse. I am assuming no one has read the book yet, so I pulled this from the website, with some notes from me. When I did this cleanse last time I lived on popcorn, rice noodles, hummus and steamed veggies with different spices on them. Trader Joes has really great, cheap, spice grinders. I am in love with their lemon pepper and 21 spice salute.
The Quantum Wellness Cleanse Grocery List:
The items on this grocery list are specifically outlined for the “Quantum Wellness Cleanse” which precludes sugar, alcohol, caffeine, gluten, and all animal products. This does not mean that all of these items are not vegan, rather these items are specifically for the 21 day cleanse.
- Irish steel cut oats (for most people, this is tolerable insofar as gluten; unless you are particularly sensitive, ok to use), mixed grain hot cereals, gluten and sugar (maple, honey, etc.) free
- Rice cakes
- Flax crackers
- Gluten free bread (vegan) (MN: Check out the brand Ezekiel, they make many types of sprouted breads that are gluten free)
- Sweet potatoes, yams-Grains: brown or wild rice, millet, quinoa, amaranth, corn, buckwheat, corn
- Nuts: almonds, walnuts, cashews, soy nuts, macadamia nuts, filberts, etc.
- Seeds: sunflower, pumpkin, sesame
- Nut or seed butters: peanut butter, almond butter, tahini, cashew butter (unsweetened)
- Vegan butter (earth balance, soy garden)
- Vegan mayonnaise
- Non-dairy protein powder (Solaray strawberry is a tasty sugar free one), also others that are pea, rice, and soy based are good (MN: Whole Foods has a very tasty banana pea/rice protein powder)
- Beans and legumes: black beans, lentils, chickpeas, lima beans, adzuki beans, black-eyed peas, edamame, fava beans
- Tofu-Tempeh-Faux meats: burgers, sausage patties, "meat crumbles", "chicken" patties (make sure gluten free)
- Artichoke/rice/quinoa pasta (MN: Trader Joes has some yummy and cheap rice stick pasta)-Pasta sauce (no sugar added)
- Vegetables: kale, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, brussel sprouts, zucchini, eggplant, collard greens, butternut, spaghetti, and acorn squash (MN: Check out the frozen ones at WF, my lunch staple will be various frozen veggies with different spices)
- Mushrooms: shitake, hen of the woods, etc. (grilled, they make a great centerpiece for a meal)
- Salad "fixins": arugala, raddichio, endive, mixed greens, peppers, avocado, tomato, etc.
- Fruits: apples, cherries, peaches, blueberries, goji berries
- Lemons, limes for sparkling water cocktails. A splash of unsweetened pomegranate juice-Coconut water
- Teecino (coffee substitute), rooibos tea, herbal teas
- Rice, almond, soy milk (unsweetened) (MN: Both TJS and WF have their own unsweetened brand of Almond and soy milk and its way cheaper than the name brands. I personally like almond milk way better than soy)
- Stevia, agave nectar to sweeten smoothies, milks, cereals, etc.
- Extra virgin olive oil, expeller pressed organic canola, high-oleic versions of sunflower and safflower oils
- Garlic, ginger, tamari, Himalayan crystal salt, pepper
- Flours to cook or bake with: bean, pea, soy, potato, buckwheat, tapioca, nut and seed, arrowroot
- Popcorn
- Corn chips (MN: TJs has a very tasty veggie flaxseed tortilla chip, its great with hummus or homeage guac)
- Guacamole
- Hummus
- Soy cheese (no rennet or casein)
- Frozen spinach (to throw into smoothies… you won't even taste it!)
- Flax seed oil, freshly ground flax seeds
- Vegetarian stock for cookingPre-prepared foods at health food stores are often tasty and nutritious. Visit the "raw" section and deli/salad bar area”
Cleveland 10 miler race report, kind of
Well I had a race. Or maybe I should say I had a run. I decided as I slogged through this year’s Cleveland 10 miler, that I am a runner, not a racer. I love to run. I only hate it when I worry myself about pace and about how I am not logging enough miles (which I am not at all by the way!). So, why in the world do I put the pressure on myself? I am an 8 something miler at best, I am never going to win a race, so why not just enjoy it. My overall goal is to finish a marathon in all 50 states, I don’t have to finish them in under 4 hours! Or even in under 5. Sure I would love to think that someday I can go to Boston, but not at the rate I am going.
So, the theme of the Cleveland 10 miler for me this year was relax and run. It was an impressive turn out with 2300 runners. I really like this race b/c it goes through a very pretty part of Cleveland’s west side that I do not visit often. For the most part the race is flat and you get a nice downhill right at the end. Parking is plentiful and you get to walk up a big hill to pick up your packet and move to the start line, which is a nice warm up. My best pal Michelle and I met up at 7am to be at the park by 7:30 for packet pickup. I was disappointed to see that this year’s shirt was the same as last years and I hated last year’s shirt! Hated it. It has stupid stripes on the sleeves that make them poke up at the shoulders, it looks awful on me. Oh well. Last year, this was a break through race for me, I ran it in 1:28 and it was the very first time that I maintained an 8something min mile for that long. I was so proud of myself. So, going into the race this year I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to do as well. However, I was pleased to finish in 1:30. I didn’t think even that was possible and it was super-hot and I felt overheated the whole time. I can honestly say that I gave the race my all and worked through moments where I really wanted to just say Screw It and walk.
If you want a total confession I have honestly only been running 2 times a week on average. I mean can you believe that I am training for a marathon on 2 measly runs a week! I will be lucky to finish South Bend, it’s not like I can make up for it now, the race is 5 weeks away. But I can promise myself to try harder for Eerie in Sept. If I can manage a 9min pace for 10 miles with barely training, then I know that if I train properly this summer I very well may be able to break 4 hours at Eerie or Chicago. And if I don’t? Well guess what it doesn’t matter. By the end of the year I will have another 3 states marked off the map and that is the goal, isn’t it!'
2 years old already? Happy birthday baby.
Feeling MUCH better~!
Funk Soul Sister
I love you Sun!
I’m in Love, I’m in Love and I don’t care who knows it (said in my best Will Ferrell a la Elf impression). I am in love with the sunshine that is out today. After a long, perilous Cleveland winter the sun has showed up this week. I am going to put up my blinders and ignore the fact that it is back in the 30s next week and soak up every minute of this cold weather reprieve. Yesterday it was 45 after work and I harnessed up the dogs, strapped Harper in the BOB and took them all for a 2 mile walk. Then I let the kid out of her restraints and we ran back up and down our street. Harper was so cute in footy jammies and big pink snow boots. We splashed in puddles, picked up rocks and took sticks and stuck them in the remaining snow mounds. Then I even let the kid stomp around our mud pit of a backyard, that’s how geeked I was about the weather. I didn’t even care that her hands were covered in muds and her boots now resembled mud pies. It was fun!
Fonzie and I have had 2 wonderful 5:30am runs this week. I have also gone out on lunch and walked 2 miles twice. See I freak out a little when it warms up and take as many steps as humanly possible. I am looking forward to taking the dogs for another long walk after work and letting Harper walk alllll the way to the swing set for some fun. How are you enjoying this break in the weather?
READY. SET. GO!
Wed - plyometrics DVD
One lucky lady!
2011 pretty much blows so far
I am declaring this the year of SICK. I cannot catch a break ya’ll. I have jumped from one bad illness to another. I had a sinus infection in Dec. Then got knocked down by another sinus infection and double ear infection in Jan that had me off my game for almost 3 weeks and now I think I have the flu. These lovely illnesses all come to me after taking care of a sick toddler. So, I suffer through the fun that is a whiny, snotty mess of a kid and then become one myself. And as any mom out there can attest, it doesn’t matter how sick you are, moms DO NOT get a day off. I could be bleeding out of every orifice and I would still be the one who needs to walk the dogs, do the dishes and make sure Harper’s not pulling Fonzie’s tail. I am on the verge of a nervous breakdown I am so sick of being sick. I wonder if I would care so much if I wasn’t someone who regularly works out? Because that is what really upsets me, I don’t work out much when I am sick. I am already calling my marathon in June doomed b/c I haven’t been running much at all lately. I need a few good solid weeks of 20-25 miles and I haven’t had it and next Monday is day 1 of my official 12 week training plan. Yes, 12 weeks, an abbreviated plan b/c I assumed I would have my normal running base. Ack.
I do have to say that I had the most AMAZING 5 mile run on Sat. It was raining and unusually warm and Fonzie and I tore it up. Even with his million pee breaks we held close to an 8 min mile for all 5 miles. Harper had come home sick from school on Friday, so she was pretty sick Friday and Sat and I woke up Sunday with the worst sore throat and it has just gone downhill from there. I went out for a 10 miler on Sunday and called it quits about 4 miles in and then had to run (walk!) 2 miles back to my car in the ridiculous 3 inches of snow we got overnight.
Also on a positive note, I joined my works wellness committee. I had previously mentioned how we are participating in the Virgin Health Miles program where you track your steps for a year and you also get points for all other kinds of workouts. It’s a lot of fun and the committee put together some really cool prizes for each level you reach (2-5, everyone starts on 1, duh). We are also going to pull together monthly lunch and learns. We have one lined up where we will get our body fat calculated and then we’ll have the guy come back at the end of the year so you can see your progress! And I am putting one together on desk yoga! Fun stuff.
Toddler mom running
This is my first winter having a toddler and trying to stay in a running routine. I am finding it next to impossible. The only solution is to get a treadmill I am saddened to say. Here is my dilemma, weekends aside, I can only run when it is dark out. My running choices are either 5:30am or 8pm. I have to run before Harper is awake, that is my rule. I only see her about 3 hours a day and I am not going to "waste" one of those hours running. This winter has been the iciest and coldest in a really long time and it just doesn't feel safe. Now I will admit I let myself get out of the running habit and wasted a few decent days, but for the most part, it just hasn't been possible. So, in our new house I will be getting a treadmill for sure, so next winter I will have to learn to use it, ugh. I never run on the treadmill, I hate it with a ridiculous passion. I will do an alternate exercise before I get on that hamster wheel. But I will learn, I have to. In the spring I will just take Harper with me and not feel bad b/c we can sing songs and talk and it's good for her to get some fresh air. Do any of you have the BOB weather shield? If so, at what temp do you think its safe to take them running?
I'm back bitches
So, I do love P90x, I do. But it’s just not working for me right now. My weight has gotten really high. I weigh more than I ever have as an adult, aside from when I was pregnant. None of my pants fit and my thighs are rubbing together. I am disgusted with myself and wishing there was some fast fix. Alas, I am smart enough to know there is not. So, I have gotten over my wallow phase and made a few choices.
· I need to run. I miss it. I had a kickass 8 miler last week, plus I have a marathon in 17 weeks and running once a week isn’t going to cut it!
· I am going to follow a 12 week marathon training plan. That gives me a month to get back to running 3-4 days a week, no exceptions so that I am ready to start the plan with a long run of 10 miles.
· I will keep doing P90x, I do not want to lose the muscle I have gained. I can see a difference in my arms and waist for sure. My plan is to run 3-4 days a week and do 3-4 P90x DVDs, I will rotate them. I will likely do core synergistics and plyo each week and then 1-2 of the upper body routines.
· I work out on lunch twice a week, that is going to be ab ripper
· Food. No more sugar. I am swearing it off for awhile. I am going to participate in a diet challenge group that Whole Foods is putting on based on the Engine 2 diet. The challenge starts next week. It is a vegan diet. No oil, sugar or white flour. So basically I will be drinking shakes and eating veggies, fine by me.
· This challenge will force me to pre plan dinners, which will likely save us some money anyway.
· Oh yeah, and I am going to start growing my hair out. Yuck, it’s going to be awful. But I don’t have enough self esteem right now to rock the Halle Berry hair.
In other news the house selling is coming together. We are listing in March. Hubby is almost done with our bathroom rehab. I have packed up pretty much every non necessary item in our house. We are looking at houses starting this weekend. Exciting and stressful times.
Just another manic Friday
Good day Bloggy friends. I have been crazy busy and haven’t had time to blog. I went to Vegas for work last week. It was great to get to go to Vegas for free, but a bummer b/c it was over the weekend and I lost out on much needed family snuggly weekend time. The weather was gorgeous. I didn’t do so great with P90x that week b/c I took the DVDs with plans to work out all 3 days and they wouldn’t play on my laptop! So, I ended up only doing 2 P90x DVDs (plyo and arms) and running 3 times. But I am okay with that, I contemplated doing week 5 over but decided against it. I have to start marathon training soon and the sooner I am done with P90x the better. I am rocking week 6. Although I have to say that I have not made my 5am wakeup call one time this week. I have been stuck doing the workouts in the evenings and I hate that. I do not look forward to working out at 8pm at all. I have done them for the most part around 7 when Harper is awake, but feel bad from taking time away from her since I only see her about 3 hours a day. The first 20 mins or so of a workout, she likes to play along, run in place and do her own little downward dogs. It’s pretty funny to watch her mimic me. But then I have to keep pausing it to deal with whatever tantrum or bad thing she is getting into and my 58 min workout takes 90 mins. Seriously, last night I ended up doing the sneaky lunges while HOLDING her! So, all those lunges on my toes holding a 30 lbs kid on my hip. But it is what it is, you make do and get it done. Here is my schedule for this week:
Monday – rest
Tuesday – Chest, Triceps, Shoulders/ Ab Ripper
Wed- Plyo
Thurs – Legs and Back/ Ab Ripper
Fri – Kenpo
Sat – Yoga and 4-5 mile run
Sun – Biceps, Back/ Ab Ripper and 8-10 mile run
Now on another front, my weight has shot back up. I am back to 137 and spitting mad. I can tell a bit of a difference in my body. Mostly my stomach doesn’t seem as big, but I am so sad when I see that number on the scale. I will keep forging ahead. I can work on cleaning my diet up a bit, but there’s not much to clean up (disregard the 3 donut holes I had this morning please). I still 6 more weeks of P90x and I pray that things start to change on the scale. I hope that adding in the miles from here on out will not mess with my weight further. I swear I am the only person in the world who has a harder time losing weight when she is working out. I honestly think I am cursed with one of the world’s worst metabolisms.
It is February and that means that I have got to get back to running. This week aside b/c the weather screwed me, I need to try for 3 runs a week. Usually that will be a Sat/Sun and one week night run. My June marathon will be here before I know it!
A Winner! And a downer of a post!
This time of year is a tough time for me. My dad died 3 years ago tomorrow. You would think time would make it easier, but it really hasn’t. If anything the pain, grief, hole in my heart, whatever you want to call it has gotten worse. I think that has to do with being a mom now. To know that Harper will never meet her grandfather really bothers me. A lot about my dad’s last few months on earth bother me, I said some really not nice things to him, believe me all well deserved but it has hung on my conscious like 20 extra lbs. I don’t remember my last conversation with him and I hate that. When someone dies unexpectedly you find yourself spending way to much time on the shoulda, woulda, coulda's. I wish I had a better picture of his last days on earth, I wish I had picked up the phone, I wish a lot of things. But most of all I wish he was still here.
P90X Week 5, Day 1 and 2 - It hurts!
Tuesday was Day 1 of Week 5 and I got to do a new DVD – Shoulder, Chest and Triceps. Here are the excercises:
Slow-Motion 3-in-1 Push-up
This workout wastes no time in wiping out your pushing muscles! The 3-in-1 Slow-Motion Push-up is a slow 4-count on the way down, and then a slow 4-count on the way back up. You do that from a wide push-up position, a standard width push-up position, and a military style (hands close to body) push-up position.
In & Out Shoulder Fly
This is a basic front shoulder raise with a dumbbell in each hand, and then immediately doing a lateral (side) raise with the same weight. As always, you want to use a weight that will get you to your goal number of reps (8-10 for size, 12-15 for leaner muscles), so choose a weight that you can do that number of reps with while still keeping excellent form.
Chair Dip
This is just a standard dip.
Plange Push-up
The Plange Push-up is kind of weird, but it does a great job of working your pushing muscles from a different angle than they are used to. Different is always good when it comes getting results! For this movement, you keep your hands very close to your body, right near your rib cage, and you have your fingertips facing out away from your body, rather than forward as in a normal push-up.
Pike Press
The Pike Press is a GREAT exercise for your shoulders! Basically, you bend over at the waist, and go up on your toes while your hands are on the floor in front of you. As you drop down, you keep your face towards your legs and drop the top of your head towards the floor. I was able to do 1! Yes 1, suck it Tony Horton.
Side Tri-Rise
For this you lay on your side and try and use your tricep to push yourself up. It’s a toughie, you do it on both sides. I can eek out 15 of these, but it is hard.
Floor Fly
This exercise has such a simple name, but it does OH SO much! Basically what you are doing is putting a towel, plate, piece of cardboard, or something else underneath one of your hands, and sliding that hand out before going down into a push-up. You then slide it back, do another push-up, then out for another push-up, etc. This is an awesome exercise because it works the entire chest area, not to mention the triceps.
Scarecrow
With a dumbbell in each hand, you bring your upper arms up and parallel to the floor, and let your lower arms hang at a 90-degree angle, perpendicular to the floor. Picture a scarecrow and you'll have the general idea. From there, without moving your upper arms, you twist the dumbbells all the way up until your palms are facing forward, then all the way down again until they are facing backwards. I tried to do this with my 10 lb weights, which was impossible. I need to get some 5lbs.
Overhead Triceps Extension
This is a pretty standard triceps movement because it is such an effective exercise. Hold both dumbbells overhead with your arms completely straight, then unhinge your elbows, bringing both dumbbells down behind your head. Lift them both back up to full overhead extension and repeat. If you have dumbbells that have flat surfaces, you can keep the dumbbells touching during the entire exercise.
Two-Twitch Speed Push-up
Going back to slow-motion push-ups that were done earlier in this workout, now we also add in fast push-ups as well. You do 4 fast push-ups (all the way down and all the way up), and then you do 3 slow-motion push-ups, using the 4-count on the way down and on the way up.
Y-Press
This is like a standard dumbbell overhead press, only you push up at approximately a 45-degree angle, rather than pushing straight overhead. Love it.
Lying Triceps Extension
This is another classic triceps exercise, and it is very effective as long as you perform the movement with perfect form. You are on the floor on your back with 2 dumbbells held up at arm's length. One at a time, you drop one of the dumbbells down to the opposite side of your head, close to your ear, being sure not to let your elbow flare out to the side. You can also do this exercise with both dumbbells at the same time by dropping them down towards the back of your head, but again, don't let your elbows move at all.
Side-to-Side Push-up
Another awesome push-up variation, you basically "hop" one leg and one arm out to one side, do a push-up, and then return to center briefly before going out to the other side and doing the same thing. At this point I was D-O-N-E and could barely do 5 of these.
Pour Fly
Time to put the pride away, because you won't be doing this exercise with very much weight! Basically all you do is stand with a dumbbell in each hand, arms extended fully out to both sides of your body. Without moving your arms at all (keeping your shoulders in a static contraction the entire time), you twist your wrist to bring the dumbbells perpendicular to the floor, then back to parallel to the floor. Again, I am going to need to get 5 lb weights for this. 10 is too tough.
Side-Leaning Triceps Extension
This is another overhead triceps movement, only this time you are sitting in a chair and leaning on the back of the chair away from the direction that you'll be pressing the dumbbell up overhead. The idea is that by leaning away from the direction of the exercise, you'll be able to push the weight up more effectively, only without letting your elbow flare out to the side.
One-Arm Push-up
This is just like it sounds, and yes, it IS that hard! LOL, I just skipped this, as if, said in my best Clueless impression.
Weighted Circle
This exercise is basically doing the arm circles that are normally done during the warm-up sessions, only now you are doing them with dumbbells in your hands. Once again, light weights are called for here, and if you try to go heavy, you'll never last.
Throw the Bomb
This is a cool twist on a standard overhead triceps extension. You do one arm at a time, and with the other arm, you point forward as if you were pointing to a receiver down the field that you were about to throw a football to. Press the dumbbell straight up in the air and be sure to stop when you get to the top! You aren't actually throwing the dumbbell, but rather modifying the move so that you can put a slight hip twist into it.
Clap or Plyo Push-up
There are 2 version of this exercise, and you should try them both to see which is better suited to your present (but growing) level of fitness. The plyo version is basically just pushing yourself up off of the floor when you get to the top part of a standard push-up. The clap version is pushing yourself far enough off of the floor so that you can clap your hands and then get them back underneath you before you face-plant on the floor. Again – AS IF!
Slow-Mo Throw
This is very similar to the Scarecrow that you did earlier in this workout, only this time you raise your arms straight out in front of you. From the up position, you then rotate at the elbow to bring the dumbbells back to your ears, then rotate forward to the straight arm position. Drop your arms briefly to your sides, and then repeat.
Front-to-Back Triceps Extension
This is a one-arm overhead triceps extension, only the front-to-back portion is thrown in to work the muscles from a slightly different angle. You basically extend the dumbbell up, then drop it down in front of your face, and then extend it up again before dropping it down behind your head.
One-Arm Balance Push-up
This exercise combines a push-up with the Yoga X one-arm balance pose. You do a standard push-up, then - while still in the up position - roll over to one side while stacking your feet on top of each other. Keep your hips up as high as you can by engaging your core muscles, and raise one arm all the way to the sky. Roll back down into the push-up position, do another push-up, then repeat on the other side. Say it with me – AS IF!
Fly-Row Press
The Fly-Row Press actually combines 4 different exercises: the Dumbbell Fly, the Upright Row, the Overhead Dumbbell Press, and the Reverse Curl. You do the fly first, then drop your arms back to your sides before doing the upright row. Without coming out of the up position of the row, drop your elbows and push the dumbbells up overhead, then bring them down and do a reverse curl, ending the movement in the starting position for the next repetition.
Dumbbell Cross-Body Blow
This is the final exercise in this routine, and by this point, you are very, very tired. Grab two dumbbells of a reasonable weight, and then get on your back on the floor. In a pseudo-punching movement, you punch one dumbbell then the other across your body.
I like the videos that have this kind of format, as opposed to the repetition format where your repeat the excercises. I feel like this goes faster. After completeing this workout I still had to do Ab Ripper! So, that was a tough day. This morning I got up and did Plyometrics and boy was I tired and sore. I still do love Ploymetrics even though I suck at most of the moves.
LAST CHANCE ON MY CONTEST! ENTER BELOW.
About Me
- Mnowac
- distance runner attempting to run a marathon in every state, vegetarian foodie, mediocre triathlete, sucky swimmer, mommy to Harper, tea lover, coffee drinker, animal saver, hubby snuggler, race addict, full time working 31 year old living in cleveland
Marathons so far
- Sept 2012 - Corning, NY - TBD
- April 2012 - Louisville, KY - TBD
- Sept 2011 - Erie PA - 4:25
- June 2011 - South Bend IN - 5 hrs+ (it was 98 degrees!)
- Dec 2010 - Rehoboth Beach DE - 4:26:06
- Nov 2010 - Huntington WV - 4:11:44
- Oct 2009 - Towpath - Cleveland area OH - 4:30:35
Blogs I read
Total Pageviews
Labels
- Clevelandcentric (3)
- half marathon (8)
- letter to Harper (6)
- marathon (5)
- P90X (9)
- Race Report (21)
- Triathlon (4)
- video (4)