A Little Late to the Party...

Although mentally I am in Spring mode, there's one area where I just can't seem to beat Mother Nature. Fitness. She is killing me! I kept procrastinating signing up for Tina's Best Body Bootcamp because I thought for sure the weather would warm up and I'd want to run outside. So not the case. Ugh.

Last year at this time, I was starting to seriously train for the half-marathon and J and I were loving running outside in the morning. Nowadays, I check my phone at night to see what the weather will be at 6 am, hoping we'll be able to get out there and run. And this is what I see...

And that's warm compared to most mornings this week...28 degrees has been what I typically see at 6 am. No thanks! And then what do I do? Hit snooze for another hour. 

So something needs to change. Quick too. So I did it. I signed myself up for Tina's Best Body Bootcamp which actually started this past Monday. Thankfully, Tina's allowing people to sign up late for an extra $10. I'll take it! $35 total is still such a deal.

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I finally got myself to the gym last night too. Between being out of shape AND a gym that's about 80 degrees some nights, I was dying. Proof.

Woof. Hello sweaty betty. (love my new TNF tank!)

So it's happening. This girl is going to get her act together and toning up. The thought that my Spring and Summer clothes could be a little tight is certainly motivation!

Oh and another way we're getting healthy over here...my Vitamix! Oh my gosh, I am soo on board with every other Vitamix owner now. Totally worth it. Yes my blender and magic bullet were fine for simple smoothies but how about adding raw oats, carrots, almonds, or whole apples? Can't even tell! We are definitely taking in more servings of fruits and veggies daily thanks to the best birthday present ever!

Post-workout smoothie: Almond milk, water, banana, peanut butter, spinach, oatmeal, chia seeds, vanilla protein powder. 

What's your motivation to get in shape? Beyond just staying healthy, I gotta say...knowing my arms and legs will be much more visible once the weather warms up definitely gets me moving!

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Bootcamp Still Going Strong

I can't believe there is only one more week to the Best Body Bootcamp I participated in. I know I've said this before, but I've REALLY enjoyed it. I've definitely slacked off lately which is beyond frustrating to me but the workouts are so adaptable so I've been able to get a lot done in the comforts of our home.

J & I decided to take advantage of the warm weather Monday afternoon and headed out for a run. We haven't ran since our Thanksgiving 5k so I wasn't planning to push it too much, just a couple easy miles. Once we hit the road though, we felt good and decided to extend our run around Castle Island - something I fear/hate when I'm not in shape. I was so surprised at how great I felt! And then I remembered a saying from SkinnyRunner...."it should not be comfortable." Yup, it was time to push myself. Dig deep and book it home. We didn't say another word on the mile home as we both pushed it. And guess what, it felt even better. It felt so good to dig deep and push myself. I can really tell a difference in my strength from this bootcamp. And the best part, J can too. Yup, having your hubby tell you your legs are definitely stronger was quite nice.

All that is to say, sign up for the next one with me! Tina has opened up registration for her next round of bootcamp. Registration is open until 12/31, still only $25. What a steal. Bootcamp starts January 7th. Think you can hack it?

PS - Looking for some new gym clothes? Check out this post. I am totally tempted.

Best Body Bootcamp: Week 3

I am still loving this bootcamp! Yes, there have been a few times that I've had a really hard time getting my booty out of bed in the morning but instead I've gone to the gym at night twice this week. That may be a record.

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Word of advice - going to the gym while the election polls are running is a great idea. Hardly anyone there and you can distract yourself by watching the results! I'm so smart.

Tuesdays workout was one of my favorites so far. Instead of 40 minutes of steady cardio, this week's cardio days incorporate intervals. But instead of doing quick one minute or 30 second intervals, this one had you working at an intensity of 8 (out of 10) for 5 minutes, then recover, 7 minutes, recover, and finally 10 minutes. I would have never thought about taking small recovery breaks on the treadmill before. And it made a huge difference in my workout. I pushed myself harder during the running intervals knowing I had a 3 minutes of recovery coming up. Recovery intervals were at an intensity of 6. My workout looked a little something like this:

• 5 minute warm up - walking at a 5.0 incline at 4.0 mph
• 5 minute run at 7.0
• 3 minute recovery at 6.5
• 7 minute run at 7.0
• 3 minute recovery at 6.5
• 10 minute run ladder starting at 6.8 increase every minute up to 7.2 and then back down
• cool down starting at 6.8 decreasing by .2 every minute until stopping at 6.2 and 4 miles total

I really think if I had just jumped on the treadmill and attempted 4 miles I wouldn't have made it. I felt GREAT after this workout.

My workout today will look very similar. And since I'm writing this Wednesday night....hopefully by the time you read this my workout will be finished!

And I'll look like this. A sweaty mess.

Happy Thursday!

Best Body Bootcamp: Week 2

Still going strong. More like, still getting strong!

Week 2 is going great. Better than Week 1 actually. I'm really not sure what happened last week but I found myself getting very lightheaded, very quickly. It was strange and frustrating, but I also knew I needed to listen to my body. I didn't push it too hard and used a lighter weight than I may normally so that I could finish the sets.

This week, I've increased the weight a little and speeded up my interval workouts. That was tough! But so worth it. It feels so great to be working out hard again.

I decided to write down my measurements to see if there are any differences at the end of the 8 weeks. No I will NOT be sharing those numbers. But I do intend to share my results at the end. Sound good? Good.

Like I mentioned last week, the Best Body Bootcamp switches up the workouts everyday to include various supersets, cardio intervals, steady cardio, planks, and full body unilateral workouts. I'm not going to share too many details because well I did pay for this session. And it wouldn't be fair to Tina now would it?

But I will say, if ANY of you can do this Scorpion move, well than I am EXTREMELY impressed! I should probably tape myself attempting this one to give you all a good laugh. I have no core strength, which I knew, but at the same time was super surprised at how hard this move is for me.

The workouts change every two weeks so I'm eager to see what new moves I'll be attempting next week. Wish me luck!!

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