Workout Wenesday: Exercising at Home

 With my sisters home this week, I didn't want to waste my free time at the gym that I could be spending with them at home. Instead, I went back to my childhood roots and jumped rope.

Maybe it's because when I was younger I would jump rope or "skip it" (remember that toy? 90's kid here!) frequently, but I do not recall it being so difficult! In just ten minutes' time my calves were on fire and my heart was pumping - yet it was fun! I had a big old grin on my face nearly the entire time..except for the last two minutes :) I was in the zone hoping my legs wouldn't fall off before I finished!

I think what was most surprising with this short workout was how sore I was the next day: my shoulders, calves, and abs ached as if I had done a long lifting session at the gym, but I had only worked out for ten minutes jump roping! It made me think about the other things I liked to do as a kid that could be incorporated into a workout session: hopscotch, rollerblading, jumping on a trampoline, soccer and basketball drills (or even a pickup game!)...there are lots of things that your former child self can inspire you to try!

What was your favorite activity as a child that was secretly good exercise?

For me, it was definitely the hours spent with my friends, cousins, and siblings spent swimming at the lake nearby. As soon as our chores were finished, we were in that lake playing Marco Polo or King of the Raft and were there until our parents called us home for dinner...and sometimes after that! :)

-Meagan

Fit Thursday: Total Body Workout

Image via SELF

This past weekend I spent both days carrying and moving furniture for my grandma that by the time Monday rolled around it felt like I missed the weekend entirely! I took the first few days of the work week to recover with some adequate sleep. This meant I missed out on my Fitness Tuesday series, so I guess Thursday will have to do. Lucky for me there are two days in the week beginning with the letter T ;)

The class of choice this week was Total Body. I arrived 15 minutes early to class and there was already a group of 10 or so people waiting to go in to the exercise studio. The instructor showed up 5 minutes later and greeted most of the people by name. It was obvious by their conversations and interactions that there was a strong following for this course with this instructor. By the time the class began, we had exceeded the studio capacity by 2 or 3 people!

Within the first 5 minutes of class I could tell I was really going to enjoy the workout. My heart was already starting to beat fast and I had a good burn going. What made everything even greater was how helpful the instructor was to me and other newbies. Since there were a lot of regulars, us newbies stuck out quite obviously since we didn't know the usual order of exercises. Each time we started a new exercise, the instructor would come around and tell us if we were doing the exercise correctly and if we weren't he would work with us individually until we mastered the move.

Total Body class worked literally the total body as you would guess by its name. The description from the gym's site read: "Upper body, core, and lower limb workout using dumbbells, resistance bars, stability balls, steps, and bands. Arms, chest, and shoulders get a thorough workout here and your entire body will get the benefits of greater strength and flexibility." I think what I worked the most in this class was my core/abs, since many exercises for legs and arms you need to engage your core for proper technique. That's not to say the other parts of my body didn't get worked out. I felt like Jello by the time I was done! 360 degree squat jumps followed by spider push-ups are no joke!

Verdict: out of the classes I've taken thus far, this one definitely takes the cake. The personal attention from the instructor combined with the toughness of the workout took this class to another level. Plus it was really fun! This class is definitely a repeat, especially with Instructor Bob!

Fit Tuesdays: Spinning

 (Images via 1 // 2 // 3 )

After a brief hiatus from the gym last week, I made it over to the fitness center to try out their intermediate spin class. I walked into that room with the mentality that the class would be a breeze and I would be a natural....and an hour later walked out shaky, nauseous, exhausted, and humbled. Spinning is no joke!

The class was fun but intense, powered with a good music playlist and the constant shouts of encouragement from the instructor. The workout for the day was 4x10 minute hills that always had different intervals and positions which I liked so it mixed things up. The instructor would shout out the commands like "30 seconds seated sprint" or "off your seat in position 3!" and you wouldn't know the interval time length until she began counting down the last five seconds. Good torture if there is such a thing!

My downfall in the spin class was my competitive nature with the other people in the class. Instead of focusing more on how I felt, I focused too much on how much faster and harder I was going than the other people around me. Because of that, I pushed myself wayyy too hard and paid for it at the end of class when I had to lean on my bike to avoid losing my lunch or fainting while everyone else cooled down and stretched. I also think I had my resistance too high for a majority of the ride...sometimes I would only realize that we were supposed to have been going easy when the instructor told the class to crank up their resistance again (it was hard to understand her over her microphone with the music playing). I'm not too upset about it though because I haven't felt that competitive really in anything in the last 3 or 4 years I'd say, so it felt amazing to have that fire start up in me again! :) Next time I'll focus more on how I feel though and finding my best level of intensity.

In conclusion: this is another class to add to my list of future repeats! 2 for 2 so far :)

Fit Tuesday: Pilates

(Images via 1 // 2 // 3 // 4)

Did that last picture surprise you? ;)

Today I experienced my first mat pilates class offered at my gym I attend. I opted to try the intermediate level class because I felt that my dance history would help me with catching on to the exercises more quickly and easily, and because the class was at the time I wanted to work out :). For those unfamiliar with the Pilates method, here is a brief summary from Wikipedia:

Pilates is a body conditioning routine that may help build flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance in the legs, abdominals, arms, hips, and back. It puts emphasis on spinal and pelvic alignment, breathing, and developing a strong core or center, and improving coordination and balance. Pilates' system allows for different exercises to be modified in range of difficulty from beginning to advanced. Intensity can be increased over time as the body conditions and adapts to the exercises.

Despite of my dance background, I was most definitely a "n00b" when it came to the class. First, I brought my own yoga mat only to find that pilates mats and yoga mats are different...and that the class provided us with mats to use. We were advised to do some stretches and warm-ups before the class began to be ready to go. I immediately began doing stretches like touch your toes, stretch the quads and calves, typical runner stretches. When I looked around after a few minutes of stretching, literally everyone was lying longways on their rollers on their backs just breathing. I had never even seen foam rollers be used that way before! Once the class started up however, it became clear to me why this stretch would be beneficial. Pilates is all about developing control of your movements with your core being the foundation. With every exercise we did, engaging your core with a supportive back was key to getting the technique just right. Many of the movements were quite small, but I was trembling! I think with practice it would become easier and more natural, after getting the breathing technique and pattern down pat, which I had some trouble focusing on while also focusing on the movements.

Initially after the class I kind of thought to myself, "That was it?" I didn't really even break a sweat!" However, when I made it home I noticed my abs and my back feeling fatigued and sore as I moved about and did my thing. I'm just so used to the idea that in order for something to be a "good workout" I have to end being drenched in sweat and in need of a shovel to peel me off the floor. This is just what I need right now though since my knee/leg is injured and can't take a beating. Plus, the more I sit here typing I feel my abs becoming more sore and tired, the more I'm buying into Pilates. I'll definitely be trying this class out again!

What Do Runners Do When They Can't Run??

Ever since I completed the Chicago Marathon in October, I most likely have only run around ten times. While sheer laziness may seem to be the cause - okay, sometimes it is the reason - I've actually been struggling with a knee problem that is aggravated by running and cold. Grrr, Michigan winters. I have tried taking time off, anywhere from 1 week to 2.5 weeks at a time to see if rest would help it heal but every time I do an itty bitty run that nasty ache flares up again.

And so my question today is this: what do people who primarily run for exercise do for activity when something prevents them from getting their run on? As someone who has lived and breathed the sport of running - cross country, indoor and outdoor track, road races, obstacle races, you name it - for my entire young adult life, I am at quite a loss when it comes to physical activity ideas outside of my comfort zone.

While I am frustrated and discouraged about my inability to work out the way I always have, I realized this was the perfect opportunity for me to really explore what is available in the world of exercise. Whether it be the latest workout trends like Crossfit, Yoga, and Pilates or more classic and traditional exercise classes like aerobics or spinning, I'm very excited to challenge myself and try something I'm not entirely confident or comfortable with now and see how I like it! With that being said I'm going to start a segment on my blog called "The Different Sides of Fitness" where I will share my experiences and thoughts as I search for the second-best workout..running will always be #1 in my heart ;)

What kinds of exercise classes, sports, or workouts do you like to do to stay active??

I Promised Amateur Photos and I Delivered

Life post-marathon has been pretty much the same as life pre-marathon, except I haven't worked out once since the race...I feel like I earned a small break though but I am starting to get antsy and feel the need to do some form of exercise again. I was an avid dancer for 11 years of my life and have been curious about the Pure Barre fad that has been going on the past few years. I looked up the scheduling and pricing for the studio nearest me and they have a deal for new students where you get 10 days for $20 which I plan on taking full advantage of and will post about my experience in the future.

My last post I forewarned whoever reading that I bought my new camera and would be spamming up my blog with my beginner photos so I just couldn't let you down and not show any ;) so enjoy! (or not)

Shirt: J.Crew | Pants : Forever 21 | Loafers: Me Too via TJ Maxx

Chicago Recap

It's been five days since I was running down Michigan Avenue with 40,000+ other people but it feels as if the race was months ago. The stiffness in my legs has finally left and I'm getting the itch to go for a run again! However, my appetite is still running strong and I've been hungrier than ever this entire week :)

Staying warm and trying to keep calm before the race (remember this hoodie: it will be not so important later!)

My sister and I stayed with our good friend the night before the race. We had a great time eating pizza, talking about how weird we were in high school, and practicing self-defense on each other. She told us that we could reserve a taxi online for the next morning which proved to be a very useful thing. Our taxi arrived promptly at 6:30 a.m. and we were dropped off right at the starting area by 6:45 a.m. The morning was quite cold in the the 30s/low 40s. While this made waiting for the race to begin seem even longer and painful, my sister and I both agreed that it was 100% better than running in 80/90 degrees like the race has been the past few years.

Our wave went off exactly at 8:00 and from there on out it was over 3 hours of constant passing people and weaving around the other runners on the course. I thought that this would be annoying before the marathon, but it turned out to be a great way to pass the time and focus on who to catch and move around instead of focusing on what hurt and "what do you mean I have 20 miles left to run?!" sort of thoughts.

The temperature remained cool and I was never too warm or hot at any point of the race. It was nice and comfortable and I was just so surprised by how good I felt. The 2 weeks leading up to the race I was transitioning into working full-time and during the day, taking away the mornings and afternoons when I normally would get in my runs. I took off way too many days in that time and it shook my confidence on how this race would turn out. But somehow, this race turned out much better than I had expected. The entire time I was passing people and felt like I was pushing the pace. There were points where I was concerned that I was using too much energy too early in the race and I would pay for it later, but everything was going so well I didn't want to hold back. I felt pretty awesome for most of the time and it wasn't until mile 23 that I started "breaking down", although I never bonked or had that terrible last 10k like all the marathon horror stories you hear. The last mile was extremely painful but the excitement over being so close to being done and completing my first marathon made it bearable.

When I crossed the finish line, I experienced so many emotions in such a small time frame. As I crossed I just felt awesome like I was on top of the world and could do accomplish anything! Then a man that finished near me began to cry tears of joy and happiness over what he had just done and it made me think about it and I started to well up too. That didn't last very long because about 20 seconds later was the pain of what I had put my body through hit my all at once and those tears turned from ones of joy to ones of pain. I clearly remember very melodramatically thinking that there was nothing I could do to rid me of the pain and I would never feel pain-free again. I almost started crying even more when I realized just how far I had to walk before I got to the exit of the finish shoot.

Reading all the nice texts people sent me about the race

 However, I managed to survive and get to my family's meeting point and live to tell the tale. We sat for a good half hour and at some recovery snacks before we hobbled walked over to Chipotle for lunch.

Very focused on eating, not much different than every day life

See that pink item on the left side of the pile? That was my throwaway hoodie! Still can't get over that I spotted it and it was sitting right on top of it all

Extremely excited to get some coffee to give me enough energy to move and warm me up

 After refueling and sitting some more, we had to make the long walk back to the car to head home. We had about a 6 hour drive back home since we had to make a pit-stop in Grand Rapids. The drive was uneventful and boring, so enjoy these pictures I took in the car to pass the time and forget about my soreness!

Boston qualified!

Proof that I actually ran the whole darn thing