Being Flexible With My Fitness Routine

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Coco

Last week I wrote about about the importance of my very predictable fitness routine. I have a basic exercise plan that I pretty much follow day in and day out. But, life being what it is, I have learned that being flexibile can be almost as important as having a routine–and I don’t mean being able to touch my toes or approximate a forward fold with Rodney Yee.

Ever since I started exercising regularly (about 11 years ago), first thing in the morning has been my workout time. Between work, my kids’ after-school activities and getting dinner on the table, I literally did not have time to exercise in the afternoon or evening. Now my kids are older, but I still don’t get home from work until 6:00 or 7:00, and I still try to fix dinner most nights, so I still workout in the mornings. I think it’s a great way to start my day, and the endorphins wake me up more than any grande bold coffee from Starbucks could.

But sometimes I don’t workout in the morning. Sometimes I do hit the snooze button too many times. Sometimes I have to leave the house early for a work meeting, a business trip, or one of my son’s sports events. When that happens, being too rigid about my routine can keep me from getting in a workout. On those days, being flexible can help me stick with my overall fitness program.

I have learned to be flexible with what I do for my workout. I used to think that if I didn’t have 45-60 minutes for a workout, I didn’t have time for a workout. Now I know that even 20 minutes is “worth it.” In 20 minutes, I can enjoy a brisk walk in my neighborhood, get sweaty on the elliptical, do the short program on my Bob Harper Pure Burn Super Strength DVD or do one of the programs on my Rodney Yee A.M. Yoga For Your Week DVD.

While it’s more difficult, I also have learned to be flexible with when I do more workout. While it can be hard to tear myself away from my desk, I usually can take a walk at lunch. If I can get home by 4:00 or 5:00, I can fit in a solid workout before dinner. If I get home late, I can take a walk, do yoga, or do some stretching and foam rolling.

Having a routine is essential to my fitness program, but being flexible when life interferes with my routine makes my prorgram even stronger.

Do you have a regular workout routine?

If you miss your regular workout, do you try to make it up?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

See You On The Flip Side

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Coco

I’ve had a good summer so far. With my daughter home from college and my son figuring out where he wants to go to school, there’s been a lot of “news” in my house. I try not to get too personal on Twitter, but if you follow me there, you have a good idea of how well my son’s lacrosse team has done, when we’ve made college visits, and how often my daughter has made peach pie. I don’t post as frequently on Facebook , but most of my Facebook “friends” are “real” friends, so I tend to share more specific details about the same things.

But I have a good friend who is not on Twitter or Facebook, and she doesn’t really have any idea what I’ve been up to. We try to get together, but we both lead busy lives, with full-time jobs and family demands that quickly fill up our weekends.

The problem is, I’m so tired of talking and writing about our big summer decisions that I don’t really want to fill her in. Can our friendship survive if I don’t share the details? Will we still be close if I just tell her when my son decides where he wants to go to school, and don’t recap the highlights of all of our college visits? If I tell her that it was nice having my daughter home for the summer, without describing how she combined three different recipes to create her signature peach pie (she’s made it three times already and it’s all from scratch!) will she still be one of my “best” friends?

I have cyberfriends that I can meet in person and “click” instantly with because we already “know” so much about each other.  Our conversation is easy because we already know personal details, hobbies and interests, although we might have to step back and fill in information that seems important “in real life” but less so in the Twitterverse-Blogosphere.

Is there a flip-side to that cyber-intimacy coin? Is there a risk of drifting apart from “real” friends who aren’t as immersed in social media as I am?

Do you feel a stronger connection to “real” friends whom you also connect with in social media?

Do you have cyberfriends whom you feel as close or closer to than some of your “real” friends?

Posted in Life | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Tuesday Treadmill Workout (60 Minute Bordom-Buster)

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Coco

I’ve been doing most of my runs outside lately, but when it was 74F with a dew point of 72F and 94% humidity at 5:00 am, I decided it was time to reconnect with my treadmill.

I had time for a long workout, but boredom is a big factor when I’m on the treadmill.
I decided to play with the incline and pace to pass the time.

60 Minute Treadmill Workout
0-5 Walking warm-up: 3.7 mph, 0.5 incline
5-10 Running warm-up: 5.7 mph, 0.5 incline
10-15 Running warm-up: 6.0 mph, 0.5 incline

15-21 Incline intervals at 6.0 mph: 
          90 sec at 1.0 incline, 30 sec at 0.5 incline
          9o sec at 1.5 incline, 30 sec at 0.5 incline
          90 sec at 2.0 incline, 30 sec at 0.5 incline

21-25 Speed segment: 3 min at 6.7 mph, 1 min at 6.0 mph

Repeat above for three more times:
25-31 Incline intervals (same as above)
31-35 Speed segment (same as above) 
35-41 Incline intervals (same as above)
41-45 Speed segment (same as above) 
45-51 Incline intervals (same as above, but at 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 incline)
51-55 Speed segment (same as above)
 
55-57 Running cool-down: 5.7 mph, 0.5 incline
57-60 Walking cool-down: 3.5 mph, 1.5 incline

As you can tell from the last incline interval, I decided that the 1.0 incline wasn’t really challenging enough. If/when I do this workout again, I will try to do all of the incline sets at 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5. If that is too hard, I can always shorten the 2.5 incline interval to 60 seconds. 

What’s the longest run you’ve ever done on a treadmill?

Do you like to play with incline and pace to pass the time?

Posted in Fitness, Treadmill Workouts | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Losing My Immunity

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Coco

Sitting Is The New Smoking

The news this week knocked me off my self-righteous fitness throne right onto my ass.

Apparently, eating a (mostly) healthy diet and having a Daily Mile log that looks like this

doesn’t mean that I’m doing all I can to protect myself from heart disease and diabetes.

I have a desk job that keeps me sitting on that ass for 8-10 hours a day. Then I come home and spend another two hours catching up on Twitter, Facebook and blogging, usually while sitting on the sofa watching TV. Then I go to bed and sleep for 6-7 hours. That all adds up to a “sedentary lifestyle” that itself is a risk factor.

Of course I know that being sedentary isn’t good, but since I exceed the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services guidelines for physical activity, I figured I was covered.

  • All adults should avoid inactivity. Some physical activity is better than none, and adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits.
  • For substantial health benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous intensity aerobic activity. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes, and preferably, it should be spread throughout the week.
  • For additional and more extensive health benefits, adults should increase their aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes (5 hours) a week of moderate intensity, or 150 minutes a week of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity. Additional health benefits are gained by engaging in physical activity beyond this amount.
  • Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that are moderate or high intensity and involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, as these activities provide additional health benefits.

But a new study from the American College of Sports Medicine says otherwise. It’s this bullet point that made the news and got my attention:

  • Sedentary behavior–sitting for long periods of time–is distinct from physical activity and has been shown to be a health risk in itself. Meeting the guidelines for physical activity does not make up for a sedentary lifestyle.

Well, shoot! What’s a busy working, blogging, reading woman to do?

Well, for starters, I stood up while writing this post. I do get tired of sitting down, and sometimes stand up while using my laptop at my kitchen counter. I will try to remember to do that more often.

More importantly, I am going to make a real effort to get up from my desk and walk around more frequently at work. On busy days, I can sit for hours at a time. I don’t want to know what the ACSM researchers would have to say about that!

It would be great if I would take a walk at lunch and/or after work in the evenings, but I know myself too well to commit to that just yet. Maybe in a few months, when the weather cools off . . . .

How many hours a day do you spend sitting?

Are you worried that sitting is the new smoking?

Posted in Fitness, Work | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Power Run

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Coco

Yesterday afternoon a friend and fellow partner at work asked me if I wanted to meet her for a run this morning. I immediately said “yes” and was so excited. I usually run on my own, but having a running partner opens up new routes that I don’t feel comfortable taking by myself. Not to mention that I really like this person and looked forward to having time to catch up without worrying about the pressures of work that usually cut our conversations short.

We agreed to meet at our office at 6:30 am. I took a few pictures before stashing my iPhone in my office (Nathan waistbelt design fail–it is so frustrating that the pocket is just a smidge too small to fit my iPhone!).

View of Rosslyn, Virginia and the Key Bridge

View of the Kennedy Center

Look! The moon was still out!

The plan was to run along the Potomac River to the Lincoln Memorial and then run along the Mall up to the Capitol.

Despite being a native, I have never run this route, so I let her lead the way. Even though we were chatting, we started off fast–I saw 8:30 on my Garmin! I told her that I needed to slow down, and we ran comfortably hard (there’s that oxymoron again!) while talking about our families, vacation plans, and a wee smidge of work gossip.

She knew this route was about 7 miles as an out-and-back, and we were trying to do about 8 miles, so on the way back we headed over to the Tidal Basin and ran part-way around that to the FDR Memorial before cutting back over to the river and heading back to our office. 

We’re definitely going to do this again. Our male colleagues can have the golf course–we’ve got our power run!

Garmin Data
Total Distance: 8.1 miles
Total Time: 1:14
Avg Pace: 9:10 min/mile
Split Times: 9:25, 9:29, 8:56, 9:04, 9:15, 9:10, 8:58, 9:04

Do you run with a friend or running group?

Was it hard to find someone with a matched pace?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments