So far so good!

I ended up not doing Yoga/Core II on Sunday.  I DDR'd instead.  That is good.  The plan is not important right now.  Only the every day of it.

I did Yoga and Core II on Monday morning and it felt gooooooood to do some stretching.  As for Core II, here are the benchmark numbers:
Crunches: 25
Leg Curls: 12
Superman: 15
Side crunches: 15
Elbow bridge: 12
Legs up: 15
Crunches: 25
Core II was always my favorite!

Tuesday I had the day off work, and I went down to the beach and went for a nice run on the Seawall.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day (sunny, 50's) and I was so happy with it and the run and just everything!

Also got my Dolce back from the shop on Tuesday and took her for a very short spin to my parents for dinner with the new non-clip pedals.  Tentatively very pleased.  Definitely am more comfortable when I'm not clipped in.

So this morning I rode her on the trainer for half an hour.  Definitely am more aware on the trainer that I was, in fact, using my calves for the appropriate opposition movement.  No clipping in is definitely more quad heavy and an adjustment.  But that is ok.  That is what this is all about!

Weight on Monday was 148.2.  Headed in the right direction.

 

State of the Union

Last night I exercised by playing Dance Dance Revolution. For this first 30 days of January, the goal is at least 20 minutes of activity per day, every single day. DDR is hard core exercise for me and it is something I can do in the evening with the kiddo around, so it is an important cog in my plan!

My bike is at the shop getting a good tune up and cleaning and new pedals. I'm having the Speedplays taken off in favor of standard non-cage non-clip in mountain bike pedals. I know that my biking won't be as efficient BUT given my general spazziness, I think I'll be much more comfortable, and at this point that is the most important thing. I can always put the Speedplays back on later!

Today I wanted a baseline run on my Core 1 routine.  Here are the numbers:
Crunches on Fitball: 25
Back extensions: 10
Plank: 30 seconds
V-ups: 7
Push-ups: 10
Twists: 30
Hip extensions: 12
Crunches on Fitball: 25
Focused on form.  Fitball may be a little underinflated - will fix.  Oh, and feeling at end? Spaghetti.

Core Update

I'm doing really well so far!

Monday: Core I
Tuesday: Core circuit on run
Wednesday: Core II before a bike
Thursday:  30 Day Shred

Friday's plan: either Core III or a core circuit on the run or Ab Ripper X (which is a beast - I realized I never wrote about it my P90X posts, so I'll just tell you it is a beast!).  I'm not working tomorrow, so I'm going to play it by desire!

I am sooooooooooore!!  Sore, sore, sore.  But in a good way.

Core Running

Today I had "one more" of several activities to check off my weekly to-do list. I needed to do Core III. I wanted one more run. I needed to lift again. I did it all in that order.

What resulted was quite interesting. Core III activated my abs, which I then felt through my entire run. This refocused me mentally on my abs, and I used that focus to concentrate on good posture and active abs. And I ran fast (for me) with what seemed to be less effort (for me).

Mile 1: 9:46
Mile 2: 9:24
Mile 3: 9:23
Mile 4: 9:32

Really really pleased with this run and my accidental finding. Will try to incorporate a core workout before a run at least once a week, now.

Then I lifted. I'm getting better at that too. Yay!

Core and Strength

For some reason around Thanksgiving I seemed to get a second wind of motivation. I used it to recruit my husband to C25K and to make a committment to restart weight training at the gym.

Those two goals have been going well. Although we aren't yet consistent with the 2 times per week minimum at the gym that I would like, we are at least getting once per week, and with going last night we've got a good chance at 2 or 3 times this week. At least we are *weekly* consistent right now!!

Then the other day I decided I wanted to incorporate core work. I remembered seeing a program on D3 Multisport called Core Strength, parts I-VI (look under D3 Tips). I convinced Preston to partake with me, and Sunday night we did Core I, following the advice of just one set of 5-15 reps for beginners. While Preston was especially challenged by crunches on the FitBall, I found my nemesis to be back extensions on the FitBall. Oh, and push-ups with the FitBall are hard core. Pun intended. Last night Preston mentioned that his abs were sore, and though I'm not sore, I am "tight" in my abdomen. I'm really excited about Core II tonight!

The ultimate plan is to incorporate 2-3 days of core and 2-3 days of lifting during the week on alternating days.