Weekly Highlights

This week was a great one for the most part. I ran 5.6 miles last Sunday and hadn't run that far in a little while so I took Monday off. We have a Shape Up Challenge starting at work soon, and my team is getting super excited. Some of the women on my team have started doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred during the day, so I joined in on the fun two times. I was a bit tired on Tuesday from working late, but I managed to squeak out 2.5 miles on the treadmill. That was a triumph given that all I wanted to do was collapse on my couch! Plus, my iPod had died so I did it with no motivation in SILENCE. Ugh.

The personal training workouts were great! We did some stuff I had never done before, which is always fun. On my upper body day, we spent a lot of time on clean and press. I had never done that, so it took FOREVER for me to get the technique right. I use a 45 pound bar when I did it, and I was shocked I could even lift that. For those who don't know what it is, you have the bar on the ground in front of you and you squat to pick it up. Then you basically squat again and flip it up and over so you can then do a shoulder press. Seems like a pretty advanced exercise for me, but from what I understand, it's a Crossfit favorite and people of all levels go there. I felt slightly Globo Gym-ish but it was cool once I finally got the technique right.

My other favorite move of the week (really a few moves) was on lower body day. He had me stand in the middle of the cable machine (the one you do tricep pushdowns on etc). He had one side strapped to my right ankle with 10 pounds on it and the other side strapped to my left ankle. From there, I did knee lifts across my body to work my hips and abs. He also had me do forward lunges from that position which was tough! He's still focusing a lot of work on my hips and stabilizer muscles since they're obviously weak compared to some other muscles in my legs. Should help the running a lot! I also balanced on one foot on an upside down Bosu ball. Definitely had a wobbly foot until my leg figured out what was going on. By my third set, I was doing a single leg squat (with no weight) instead of just balancing. Fun!

Food for the most part was great. I took Saturday off though. ;) Probably not a good idea, but I'm human! I was coming in around 1750 calories everyday and sticking to my higher protein breakfast. It's a habit now. It looks like I'm down 2 pounds, which is an accomplishment for me! I'm not sure I'll lose much since I'm at a healthy weight. I'm just looking for body fat reduction.

Must motivate to go on my long run! Too bad it still feels like winter where I live! Have a healthy week!