Don’t worry about what others think… it’s a waste of your time. Just be FEARLESS!
Happy Friday!
Livefit update…
Today, I completed Day 36 of the Livefit trainer. J and I hit the gym in the morning and today we focused mainly on back, although, we squeezed in some leg exercises too. I also got a little bit of cardio in.
Through this new fitness challenge, the Livefit trainer, I am not only seeing a difference in my fitness level, but I am learning a lot about myself.
Do you workout in the morning or at night?
I have definitely realized that by doing the Livefit trainer, I have my best workout sessions, early in the morning before work. It just feels really good waking up early, getting a great work out/run in, and then have my whole day ahead of me free to do whatever…
I find if I don’t get my morning work out/run in, I end up worrying about it the whole day, desperately wondering when I am going to fit it in. I also feel that if I don’t get a chance to lift and then find time to hit the weights at night, I end up being too tired to lift at my fullest potential. However, I can run or do bikram either in the am or pm.
Running or doing birkam in the morning, before work gives me energy for the rest of the day… it must be all of those endorphins, creating my runner’s high. When I run or do bikram at night, I feel like I relieve the stresses from the day. I find myself winding down, feeling relaxed, but refreshed.
But when I have the choice to choose morning running/bikram or night, I will always choose morning.
Getting my workouts in, in the morning also gives me the opportunity to do a double if I want to. Sometimes after work, at night, I feel  like it is necessary to blow off some stress, and although, I already worked out, another sweat session is in order.
Well whether, you run…
do yoga…
lift weights…
whether you are an early bird…
or a night owl…
Questions for YOU?
- Do you workout in the morning or at night?
- Do you prefer running in the am or pm?
© 2013 sweatdaily
Update of the Livefit trainer…
I wanted to update you on the Livefit trainer. I have just completed week 5. Today is my rest day, which means tomorrow is my first day of week 6. It is hard to believe I am halfway through the trainer.
Phase 2 has begun…
Week 5 is the first week of Phase 2. And let me tell you this week had been super intense! However, Jamie Eason claims that it is just the beginning. Let me explain to you what Phase 2 is all about.
Remember how in Phase 1, there was NO CARDIO… which meant no running. Oh how I missed my runner’s high. Jamie Eason wanted to use Phase 1 as a muscle building phase. She also wanted us to focus on our clean eating diet which meant eating whole clean foods, as 5-6 small meals in three hour intervals.
Well in Phase 2, we are still building muscle. Actually, there are way more work outs. Some work outs are combined with another as a super set. Other work outs have reps up to 20 or 30. Â Another thing that has finally been added is 30 minute cardio sessions,which Jamie Eason suggests doing after you weight lift. This means running for me. Yippee! We are also continuing to eat clean, 5-6 small meals a day, in three hour intervals. Drinking tons of water, and taking our supplements. One new thing, Jamie Eason suggest, that I am going to start to do is using the app My Fitness Pal, which will help me keep track of my calories, making sure I get enough.
Week 5 has been intense, because it has been more time consuming, but I haven’t missed a day. Today is my much needed rest day. Tomorrow week 6 begins. I am also starting my half marathon training. In order to fit all this in, and stay on top of everything, I am going to be waking up earlier. I have a feeling there might be some days where I will be doing a double, but I am going to try my hardest to try to avoid this and just get all my work outs done in the morning time, before work.
Phase 2, Week 5
Day 29 – Back/ Cardio
- Wide Grip Overhand Pullups–Â 3 sets of 8 reps – (using bodyweight)
- Superset:
-  Bent Over Barbell Row – 3 sets of 8 reps – (40 lbs)
I love this exercise!
-  Seated Cable Rows – 3 sets of 8 reps – (40 lbs)
- End of superset; resume normal sets
-  Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown – 3 sets of 10 reps – (35 lbs)
-  One-Arm Dumbbell Row – 3 sets of 8 reps – (20 lbs)
I am getting stronger. Use to do this one with 10 lbs.
- Â Hyperextensions (Back Extensions)Â –Â 3 sets of 8 reps – (using body weight)
- Cardio: 5K run outside.
Day 30 – Chest/Abs
- Wide-Grip Barbell Bench Press – 5 sets of 8 reps – (2 sets of 30 lbs, 3 sets of 40 lbs)
-
Smith Machine Incline Bench Press – 3 sets of 10 reps – (30 lbs)
- Â Superset:
-  Toe Touchers – 3 sets of 20 reps – (body weight)
-  Crunches 3 sets of 20 reps (legs straight in the air)
- End of superset; resume normal sets
-  Knee/Hip Raise On Parallel Bars – 3 sets of 10 reps -(body weight)
-  Cable Crunch – 3 sets of 10 reps – (40 lbs)
Day 31- Legs
-  Leg Extensions – 2 warm-up sets with lighter weight for 30 reps – (I used 30 lbs and it was killer.Â
-  Wide Stance Barbell Squat – 2 lighter sets of 15 reps, 2 heavier sets to failure – (First two sets with 50 lbs, Last two sets 70 – 90 lbs)
-  Leg Press – 4 sets of 8 reps- (90 lbs)
-  Walking Barbell Lunge –  3 sets of 20 reps, baby steps (30 lbs)
-  Plie Dumbbell Squat – 3 sets of 15 reps – (20 lbs)
-  Standing Calf Raises – 3 sets of 20 reps, last set to failure – (90 lbs)
Day 31 – Arms, Abs, Cardio
-
Barbell Curl – 3 sets of 10 reps – ( 1 set 20 lbs. It was too light,  so I went up to 30 lbs. Someone is getting stronger. 🙂 )
Superset:
-  Overhead Cable Curl – 3 sets of 10 reps – (Cables are hard. 10-20 lbs)Â
-  Cable Hammer Curls – Rope Attachment – 3 sets of 10 reps – (20 lbs)
End of superset; resume normal sets
-  Alternate Hammer Curl – 3 sets of 10 reps – (10 lbs)
-  Bench or Parallel Bar Dips – 3 sets of 12 reps – (body weight. One of my new favorite exercises. However, I was suppose to do 15 reps but could only do 12. This is a hard one.)
-  Seated Triceps Press – 3 sets of 10 reps – (20 lbs, a new PR. Feeling much stronger.)
-  Triceps Pushdown – Rope Attachment – 3 sets of 10 reps – (20 lbs)
-  Hanging Leg Raise (or roman chair) – 3 sets of 10 reps – (body weight) I like roman chair better.
- 30 minute Cardio session on treadmill. I hate the treadmill, because I would rather be running outside. But I ended up, having a sweaty fast treadmill run, working on speed work.
Day 33 – Shoulder/ Cardio
-
Smith Machine Military Press – 1 warm-up set, 3 sets of 10 reps – (I got up to 30 lbs on this, but I didn’t like it. I have done this one before with just a 30 lb bar with my chair in and incline position, and felt it much more, so I think I will do that for now on.
Superset:
-  Upright Dumbbell Rows – 3 sets of 10 reps, – (10 – 15 lbs)
-  Standing Dumbbell Military Press (shown seated) – 3 sets of 10 reps – (10 lbs)
End of superset; resume normal sets
-  Incline Bench Front Dumbbell Delt Raises (go light) – 3 sets of 10 reps – ( 10 lbs)
-  Rear Delt Cable Flyes – 3 sets of 10 reps (5 lbs, last 5, 10 lbs)
-  Lateral Raise – 3 sets of 10 reps – (5 lbs)
Last set is a drop-set.
-  Rear Delt Raise – 3 sets of 10 reps – (5 lbs)
Last set is a drop-set.
- Â 30 minute Cardio Session, Treadmill.
J and I headed to the gym by 7:00 am. We were completely done with this work out by 8:30 am. It felt really good to have it done that early.Â
Day 34- Legs
I was up and at the gym by 8:00. I wasn’t able to finish this work out because I had to be at work by 10, so had to leave the gym by 9:00. This was an intense work out and my legs were still really sore from working out earlier during the week. So I am going to finish this work out tomorrow along with completing day 36 which is back and cardio.
Tomorrow is also suppose to be very snowy in my area. So my cardio session might end up being another treadmill session. Oh well, I’ll do what I have to do. Desperately wishing it was spring.
Anyhow, at the end of Phase 1, I snapped a progress pic I wanted to share with you. This is my first progress pic, I took last week at the end of phase 1 beginning of phase 2.
Trust me, I didn’t have arms or shoulders like that before. This is proof that 4 weeks of lifting weights really can transform your body.
Found this motivational picture on tumblr, and felt it fit this post perfectly. It has been 4 weeks and I have noticed a change in my body, and I feel much stronger. It will be interesting to take another photo when 8 weeks approaches, and then again when 12 approaches.
I wish it was already TOMORROW…
because…
I can’t wait to start week 6. Although I hate the gym, I  have found a new love for weight lofting… so I hope the snow doesn’t close the gym . 😉
P.S. I am now officially starting my half marathon training as well… so I will post my training program tomorrow.
Questions for You?
- What races are you training for?
- What training program do you follow?
© 2013 sweatdaily
Tuesday was Mardi Gras. Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Today, is Valentine’s Day. All of these special days falling in one crazy week. I am so thankful today, although it is everyone’s Thursday, it is my Friday. (If that makes since…)
AT THE SALON
This has been a crazy work week for me. I have had a week full of hair color transformations. It is only mid February, but for some reason everyone wants to go lighter. I wasn’t expecting to change my brunettes to blonde bombshells until March or April, but it happened this week, which meant long days, and late nights at the salon.
LIVEFIT UPDATE
PHASE 1, WEEK 3, DAYS 16,17,18
DAY 16, Monday, 2/11/13,
BACK and BICEPS
- Hammer Strength Lat Pull – 3 sets 10 reps  – (50lbs)
- Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown – 3 sets 10 reps – (30lbs) alternative work out PULL UPS
-
Seated Narrow Grip Cable Rows – 3 sets 10 rep – (30lbs)
-
T-Bar Row – 3 sets 10 reps – (10lb weight, 20lb bar, total 30lbs.
-
Back Extensions – 3 sets 10 reps – (body weight or hold weight with arm across chest) NOTE: This is my new favorite work out for lower back muscles.
-   Barbell Curl – 3 sets 10 reps – (20lb straight bar) NOTE: I really felt this worked my biceps. They were super sore the next day.
-  Incline Dumbbell Curl – 3 sets 10 reps – (started first set with 5 lbs just to work on proper for then went up to 10 lbs for the rest of the sets)Â
-  Alternate Hammer Curl – 3 sets 10 reps – (10 lbs)
Tuesday, 2/12/13, REST DAY
The original plan for this day was to hit the gym at night. I am busy all day with an art class and work, so night time is the only time I have to work out. I ended up not being able to get home until 9:00 pm and the gym closes at 11. I decided I didn’t want to be the one closing the gym, so I used this as a rest day and planned to do that day’s work out, Day 17, the next day along with that day’s work out. Double duty. Didn’t want to fall behind.
THE DOUBLE DUTY DAY
DAY 17 & DAY 18, Wednesday, 2/14/13
CHEST, TRICEPS
- Incline Dumbbell Press – 3 sets of 10 reps – (10 lbs)
-
Flat Bench Flyes – 3 sets of 10 reps – (10 lbs)
-
Decline Flyes – 3 sets of 10 reps – (10 lbs)
-
Bench Dips – 3 sets of 10 reps – ( using body weight) NOTE: This is one of my new favorites. It is simple but gets the job done.
-  Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension – 3 sets of 10 reps – (20 lbs bar) NOTE: This one was very hard and I needed a spotter.Â
-  Dumbbell Triceps Kickback – 3 sets of 10 reps – (5lbs, hopeful my triceps will get strong enough so I can take this one up a bit, and use 10 lbs.)
-  Overhead Two Handed Triceps Extension – 3 sets of 10 reps – (10 lbs)
-  Cable One Arm Triceps Extension – 3 sets of 10 reps – (20lbs)
LEGS
-  Leg Extensions – 3 sets of 10 reps –  (30 lbs)
-  Wide Stance Barbell Squat – 3 sets of 10 reps – (80lbs plus 20 lb bar, total 100 lbs)
-  Walking Barbell Lunge – 3 sets of 10 reps  – (30 lbs)
-
Single-Leg Barbell Deadlift (shown with kettlebell)Â – 3 sets of 10 reps – (15 lbs)
-
Lying Leg Curls – 3 sets of  10 reps – (30 lbs)
-  Seated Calf Raise – 3 sets of 10 reps – (45 lbs)
-
Standing Calf Raises – 3 sets of 10 reps –  (90 lbs)
Today, Thursday, 2/14/13 is DAY 19 of LIVEFIT. I will be hitting the gym this afternoon, to work on Shoulders & Abs. I will not be taking any more rest days until the end of phase 1. If for some reason I can’t make it to the gym, I will take a rest day and do double duty the following day. But this is only if for some reason I am desperate and can’t make it to the gym. Jamie Eason does have 2 videos of at home work outs just in case, but I’d rather just try to stick to the program as closely as I can.
SEEING RESULTS
First things First. I am desperately missing my RUNNER’S HIGH! But I also can’t believe how fast Phase 1 is flying on by. Today will be the last day of week 3 and then I am moving right on to week 4. 1 more week and then Phase 2 begins, where you can introduce cardio into the program, and for me running. Yippee!! Can’t wait to experience my runner’s high again. However, I will admit that I have really enjoyed focusing on getting stronger. I think that it is super important, and it gave me the opportunity to focus on eating clean as well. Plus, waiting to run, will just make my runner’s high that much sweeter.
I also wanted to tell you, that I am starting to see some results, and feel them too. I didn’t think I would see much results especially this fast, because I am an athlete already in pretty good shape. But, my arms are starting to take shape, and I have began to see even more definition in my legs and abs. As for feeling results, I am feeling stronger. I also have been really tired lately, but I think that has a lot to do with work and not really the Livefit program. I am pretty sore though, everyday. I am also much more hungry, but I think that is because my growing muscles need fuel and my metabolism is fired up.
CHALLENGES
I have already been eating clean for about 9 months now, but I was having challenges with eating enough calories. I am doing much better about preparing my meals, and packing my food. The two things I need to work on now, is drinking more water, and making more protein shakes. But I am still taking my other supplements.
So that sums up my update with the Livefit program. I can’t wait for Phase 2 to begin, in about a week, because during Phase 2 I will also start my half marathon training.
I found this on tumblr… Now she is hardcore!
Oh BTW, I updated my about page, so check it out. I also updated my race times. Please follow me on twitter, athlinks, and instagram.
Questions for You
- Do you eat clean? What is your favorite eat clean food/meal?
- What challenges do you have it your fitness routine?
- To my Runner followers: What is the longest amount of time have you gone with out running?
© 2013 sweatdaily
Happy Mardi Gras!
Last year I was so privileged to have the opportunity to head down to New Orleans for a week long celebration of Mardi Gras… and I fell in love.
This is how it all began….
One of my close family friends, EW, Â had gone to college at Tulane. She loved New Orleans so much that she continued to live there for a couple years after she graduated. Because now she relocated back in the DC area… I had always deeply regretted the fact that I had never gone down to visit her and the lovely city while she lived there. I thought I had missed my chances. But turns out, for my birthday present she hooked me up with a plane ticket, and told me we were heading down to New Orleans, aka, NOLA for Mardi Gras. I was beyond excited.
As the weeks came closer and closer to our departure date, EW tried to prepare me.
“You know how people say New York, is the city that doesn’t sleep?” She asked.
“Yep. Everyone knows that. “
“Well they are wrong, it’s really New Orleans.” She told me.
She was so right about that one. There were nights in NOLA during our week long Mardi Gras celebration, where we got home by 6am and was leaving the house again by 10 am.
She explained, “A drink will never leave our hands.”
“Ok,” I answered
“Always remember though this is a drinking marathon, not a sprint. Slow and steady wins the race.”
This was a great thing to remember, and because I am a runner I could totally understand this metaphor. You won’t get sick or throw up if you slowly drink. You won’t ever be hung over, if you are still drinking.
So this is why I fell in love with NOLA…
NOLA is beautiful. Â I love to create beauty and be surrounded by it. The architecture in NOLA is outstanding. There wasn’t one house or building that didn’t have character. Some places had a lot of Southern influence, while others had Spanish and French influences.
NOLA taste good. The food was amazing. I ate grits and shrimp, po’boy sandwiches, cajun spices, fries deep fried in goose fat, gumbo, jambalaya, a craw fish bake, oysters, and beignets. Nothing taste bad, I even tried frog legs.
NOLA quenches your thirst. You don’t have to chug your beer here, because you can ask your bar tender for a to go cup. Drinking in the street is totally legal. There is a bar called BullDog, who lets you take your pint glass home with you. It is a popular place among the locals – I highly recommend it. Hurricanes are NOLA’s signature drink.
NOLA plays Jazz music, or you can karaoke.
NOLA loves to dance, sometimes in the street.
NOLA wears costumes.
NOLA loves giving gifts. Sometimes beads…
sometimes South Park toys…
NOLA will party hard, and then sleep hard…
NOLA is highly influenced by the Catholic traditions, which is the whole point of Mardi Gras anyway. Live it up today, for tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent.
There are so many amazing things about NOLA and it made me a little sad today, that I wasn’t down there, this year celebrating. But I am so happy, I experienced it last year, and was able to share my memories with you.
Happy Fat Tuesday! I hope it treated you well…
© 2013 sweatdaily
Because today is the first day of 2013, I find it quite necessary to recap my favorite race of 2012, The Annapolis Half Marathon. Â On this day, a month ago, I ran my fastest half marathon. I have been meaning to write this post for a couple weeks now, but I have decided to save it for the first of the New Year, which is the perfect day to look back on some of the highlights of 2012.
The Annapolis Half Marathon was not the first race I have ever run in Maryland, but it was by far the best! I’m going to start out by telling you a little bit about my past races I have run in Maryland. Because I have a bit of history when it comes to running races in that state.
In June of 2008, I ran my first half marathon, the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon. I remember thinking – I needed to slow down because it was hot and hilly. At the end, I had enough energy to sprint to the finish line, finishing in 2:09:38.
In 2009, in part of my marathon training I ran a 21 mile training run in Baltimore and then a week later ran the Baltimore Half Marathon. I remember thinking – this is not a race, this is a training run in preparation for The Marine Corps Marathon. Although, cooler, it was still very hilly. The best part of this race was running the last mile downhill to the finish line. I finished this race in 2:03:36.
In August of 2012, I ran the Annapolis 10 miler. It was
rolling hills the whole way, and Hurricane Isaac swept through brining us strong winds and torrential downpours. It was one of the worst 10 milers I have ever run, finishing in 1:33:23.
So when my sister said the only free weekend she had available to run a half marathon was the weekend of December 1st, and the only local race was The Annapolis Half, I had mixed feelings about registering.
PROS and CONS
I was a little disappointed because we had already run a race in Annapolis this year, only a month before. Would this be boring? Would we have bad weather again, maybe not another hurricane, but a blizzard could be a possibility. These were some of the thoughts that were running through out my mind. But because the Annapolis 10 miler had been one of the more challenging races I have run, I decided that this would be my second chance to try to conquer the rolling hills of Annapolis, Maryland. I also thought it would be interesting to run a half marathon in the winter – the cold winter weather might be an advantage for me. Plus I would have the opportunity to train for a race in the fall time, which is my favorite season to run in. These ideas made me pumped to register for this race, train, and then run the dang thing.
TRAINING
If you have been following my blog, you most definitely have read all of my training run posts, so I will only touch briefly on my training  for my new readers. I have been running in the Newton shoe since April/May. This shoe is a natural running shoe. It is super light weight and has a 2mm-3mm heel to toe drop. I run in both the Distance U and the Gravity. With this transition, I have worked very hard on my running form. I finally feel very comfortable, with a short quick bouncy running stride, striking my forefoot/midfoot instead of my heels. This race was the ultimate test, to see if all this hard work has paid off… and let me tell ya… it totally did.
RACEÂ
One of the fabulous pros about this race was that the race was scheduled for a Saturday. This may not matter for people, but it does for me because my days off form work is Friday and Saturday.
So on Friday, I made a pasta dinner for my sister and I. She came over right after she got off work. We ate and then hit the road. Another fun thing about this race was that I rented a Fiat for the drive up! I love that car!
When we arrived to the hotel, we prepared for the race by laying out our race outfit and set our alarm for 4:45 am. My race night ritual is laying out my race clothes and everything I need for race day.
We woke up from the sound of the alarm, not thunder like the previous race we ran in Annapolis (Annapolis 10 miler). This race started at 7:00 am and they advised us to get to the Naval Academy parking lot no later than 6:00 am, because of road closures.
When we arrived, we stayed warm in the car until 6:15 and then we headed over to the start. I found L in the line for the bathroom. Thank goodness. At the Annapolis 10 miler there were no corrals so we ended up missing each other at the start. But we found each other this time, and although it was 40 degrees out we stripped down and ditched our long sleeves. I always want to keep my long sleeves on but I always later get too hot and regret it. I was cold for the first mile but eventually I warmed up and felt perfect.
At 7:00 am the gun went off and The Annapolis Half Marathon officially began. It was super foggy. I was barely able to see what was ahead. For the first few minutes it was a tad squishy, but I stayed to the outside and found space. For the first 3 miles or so I was flying, running 7:30 minute miles. Then I continued doing an 8 minute mile. I refueled at the mile six mile water station. I was feeling so good and couldn’t believe that I was already half way through. Mile six already… I thought.
The course was rolling hills, and some of those hills were really steep, while others were gradual but never ending. However, because of the fog you couldn’t really see what was ahead, but I knew the hills were there. I felt pretty prepared though, because I had included tons of hill work during my training. But while I was running I realized I don’t hate hills. I am actually really good at hills. Mentally, I started to break the race up by hills. I ran with control going up hill, then I used momentum to pick up speed without wasting energy while going down hill. We got to run over the really big bridge, which was one of the foggiest and prettiest parts of the race.
I continued to keep my pace in check. I looked down and saw 9 minute mile so I picked up the pace again and made sure I was running no slower than 8:45 and no faster than 7:50. When I hit the 10 mile marker I was shocked. I looked down at my watch and saw a 10 miler PR 1:23:00. Could this be true? I felt good, strong, fast. I was excited because I knew I was going to PR! My goal in this race was to finally break 2:00:00, there was no doubt in my mind… I was doing that.
Around mile 12 I felt like I was slowing down a bit so I pulled out my trick. When I feel like I am slowing down I always imagine myself running over hot coals. I kept telling myself, “hot coals, hot coals.” This kept me light on my feet, bouncy and quick. I ended up having enough energy to sprint to the finish line. I got there with a big smile on my face with an official time of 1:51:21.
I wanted to post these running pics because I think it is important to evaluate my running form. Trust me no one looks sexy, in their race photos, so keep in mind these aren’t the most beautiful photos of me, however, my running form is right on. And after all that hard work transitioning my stride into a natural runner, I not only ran my fastest half marathon, but I am very proud that I accomplished good running form.
Good Running Form
- Short strides, trying to land under your center body mass (do not over stride)
- forefoot/mid-foot striking (do not heel strike)
- cadence of 180 or higher – tip: imagine your running over hot coals
- light, quick, bouncy
- leaning slightly forward, (lean from your ankles, not your waist or hips)
- head and chin up, always look forward. (do not look down)
- engage core strength
- keep shoulders relaxed and arms at a 90 degree angle
There I am after the race, see what I mean about the fog. The end of the race party was really fun. They had beer, pulled pork bbq, a raw oyster bar. They also gave us a medal, a really high tech long sleeve running shirt, and a hat. Lets just say, “they hooked us up with some awesome swag.”
We spent the rest of the day shopping around along the waterfront of Annapolis.
We also went to lunch. Of corse I had a crab cake sandwich. Maryland bay crabs are the best, but crab season was over so I went for the crab cake. It was tasty, but the bloody mary was the best part.
Next time you have a bloody mary try it with Absolute Pepper Vodka!
So that was my favorite race of 2012. As of now, for 2013, I am registered for three races in April. I am super excited for all of them but mostly the Nike Women Half Marathon scheduled for April 28th.
Happy New Year and Happy Running!
Questions for you…
- What was your favorite race of 2012?
- Do you like hilly races?
© 2013 sweatdaily
OMG I am so terribly sorry… I hope you can understand…
I HAD to push my writing to the back burner, because of the crazy busy holiday season. But things are starting to slow down a bit so I am going to, as my yoga instructor would put it, breath deeply… slow down, cherish this time… because life will get crazy busy again, before you even have the chance to blink your eye.
And now that I have started to write, I have realized I have so much good knowledge to share with you, but I will break that knowledge up in to a couple different posts, and keep this one short and sweet.
For the last three days I have been, sweating, breathing, detoxifying, stretching, and strengthening my body in Bikram’s torture chamber. That means I have been going to Bikram yoga.
It has been really interesting though, because I have had a different instructor each day. Although, the 26 postures and the 2 breathing techniques are the same, Â the classes have been so very different.
Wednesday, 12/26/12, Cameron taught my bikram class. The room was the hottest. The yoga was continuous, holding the poses, resting briefly, and then moving on to the next pose. This made the yoga more cardiovascular. Â I had to take a knee for a minute or two, half way through class, but I got up and continued on finishing strong.
Thursday, 12/27/12, Jamie was my instructor. There were tons of newbies in the room. Because of this the class was much more slower moving. It actually ended 15 minutes late. However, Jamie really focussed on form, and corrected several people in the class, including me. He pushed me on Standing Head to Knee/
Dandayamana-Janushirasana. And got me to understand how to do Toe Stand/ Padangustasana. Â Also on Locus/ Salabhassana my feet were always pointing out, which he corrected. I though this class was great, because it was a smaller class and the instructor really got to work one on one with us. I have been practicing for five years, and although, I know I am no where near perfect on these poses, when class sizes are two large it is hard for the instructor to catch ever small little incorrect thing. But these small changes make a HUGE difference. I am proof… because today…
I had a breakthrough….
Friday, 12/28/12, I woke up this morning thinking I may skip class, and go running instead. But I received a text from my friend K, and she was excited to go. So I got dressed, grabbed my mat/towel/ice water… and headed over. Shelly was teaching class. The room was pretty packed today, but I felt good and strong, and more flexible than I have been in a very long time. Â All the running makes my body so stiff. The warm up poses went well, and then it was time for Standing Head to Knee/Dandayamana-Janushirasana. Breakthrough! Finally after 5 years of practice, I can completely straighten my left leg, and as for my right leg, it is almost there. I know it has taken a very long time but I am not very flexible, so this is big for me. I just continued to kick my leg out. I breathed into the pain and tension and boom I was there. I finished the rest of the class strong. I left totally drenched with sweat. Â It felt good pushing my body to its ultimate limit.
Plus I was in great company. Thanks for coming with me, K!
I don’t have any pictures of yoga class today, but I do want to share with you a yoga bag I hand knitted.
You can find more photos and details on how I made this yoga bag, on Cashmere&Silk.
© 2012 sweatdaily
Sorry I have been so busy I haven’t had much time to write blog posts. However, I am always in search for inspiration. So this one is just a little cute something for all my yoga followers. I can’t remember where I found this, but I hope you can relate to it, and have a laugh.
Enjoy!
P.S. I will be posting some longer more quality posts in the next couple days. So keep your eye open, for some book reviews and my half marathon recap.
I found this image floating around Tumblr. I wanted to share it with you, because these words are wise and ones to remember. Enjoy!
If this doesn’t inspire you… then I don’t know what will.
Last year, her story made headlines…
Meet Lauren Scruggs. Her friends and family call her Lolo. She is a model and fashion blogger. She is a daughter and a twin sister.  One night, last year, accompanied by her mother, she went on a short small plane ride to see holiday lights, light up Dallas, from a bird’s eye view. When exiting the plane she walked into the night, and accidently hit the plane’s spinning propeller. She lost her left eye and her left hand, but God spared her life.
Doctor’s told her loosing a hand is like loosing a family member because it has always been with you. But now look what she is doing…
Look at this strong woman! She isn’t just recovering from an accident that could have easily taken her life, but she is living, thriving, and doing push ups. She is thankful everyday, and adapting to her new body. So next time when you are exercising and feel like giving up… think of Lolo. Â Why? Because she is doing it beautifully and one handed.
Both this one, and the above photo were found in People magazine. I am totally amazed by today’s technology. Lauren not only has a prosthetic eye, but she has multiple prosthetic arms. She chooses which one to wear depending on what activity she is doing. Because Lolo is so athletic, she has one for swimming, and another for other physical activities. She also has one for everyday use. This one looks almost as natural as a regular real human arm.Â
To learn more about Lauren Scruggs read her book Still Lolo or check out her blog Lolo Magazine. Guess what? She also has a wordpress blog, follow her at LOLO.
© 2012 sweatdaily