6 Miles and a Happy 4th!

First off- Happy belated 4th of July everyone!

Source

I hope y'all had a safe and fantastic Independence day- I know I did! I got to spend my day at Mohegan Sun Casino. They have an amazing fireworks show at the end of the night, and wouldn't you know it but my boyfriend was on the pyro team! Woot! Anywho, we got to the casino around 1:30 and the fireworks didn't go off until a little after 9pm, so while he was working away and playing with explosives, I did laps around the casino, gambled a little, did some shopping, and then headed to the garage roof party to wait for the show. I walked around for about 6 hours! Holy crap crackers!

In other news, I've been keeping up with my training as much as humanly possible with my new summer hours. Today I was hoping to do a 6.5mile run, but I only managed 6 miles before I had to shower and head out for work. On the up side, I did those 6 miles in 1:29:50! Just under one and a half hours! HOORAY!! I'm kind of proud of myself, if I'm going to be honest. I was really feeling tired during mile three, but I managed to continue to push myself. I played around alot with my intervals. I mostly stuck to run 3, walk 1.5. But sometimes I would switch to sprint 2, walk 3 just to give it a little extra oompf.

My legs and back are already starting to feel a little sore, but I'm planning on going in my pool today after I get out of work at 12:30. Hopefully, the weightlessness and the refreshing coolness of the water will help relax my muscles while keeping them active. My next run I'm moving to Monday morning because Tuesday I will be very busy with work. It's only a 2 mile run so it shouldn't be too bad at all.

One thing I'm trying to do for myself this summer is to make sure that I have at least 5 out of the 7 days where I have done some sort of exercise- Whether it's a short swim, a run, a walk, Just Dance on the Wii, or even cleaning- I'm trying to fit something in. I've been stuck at 209-210lbs for the past 3 weeks and it is killing me! So, not only am I trying to increase my calorie burns, I've decreased my daily caloric intake. normally I stick around the 1770 range, I've dropped myself down to 1600 calories a day (this is not taking exercise into considerationg- with more calories burned, I can add on more calories to replenish my system). I'm also trying to more diligent about increasing my daily water intake. I keep a water bottle with me wherever I go, I just have to remember to keep drinking it throughout the day. Ugh!

I would like to be under 200lbs by the time October hits. Not only because that is when I have my half marathon, but also because I will be going on vacation to Las Vegas! I feel that this is a very do-able goal- I just need to stay motivated. Sometimes I get into these funks where I practically convince myself that I will never get through this plateau and under 200. Any advice on how to break that habit?

http://pumpkintoprincess.blogspot.com/2012/07/firecracker-5k-to-benefit-leukemia-and.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PumpkinToPrincess+%28Pumpkin+to+Princess%29 posted an awesome motivational status on facebook the other day and it really applied to me:  "The BEST muscle to work for weight loss?? Your brain. Change the way you think about food and exercise and it's affect on your health & you WILL change your body." I love that! Also, while I'm talking about Amy- check out her blog and register for her Firecracker 5k Virtual Race to benefit the LLS. You get an awesome engraved finisher medal too! Great stuff!

Anyone have any fun and exciting plans coming up for the summer?

Penny for Your Thoughts

Ok, I've been slightly distracted from updating (per usual), but I came across this article this morning and I wanted to post it and get some people's reactions on it:

10 Smart Ways to Burn More Calories

Crank Up Your Cardio to Blast More Fat!

-- By Jennipher Walters, Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor

We all like to get more done in less time, right? We shop from our computers to forgo waiting in lines at department stores and microwave our foods to cut down on cooking time. Some of us even take multitasking to new levels by checking our email while watching television and sipping our morning coffee. And it makes sense. After all, what do we all want more of when you get right down to it? Time. Although spending time working out is a great way to beat stress and get healthy, most of us are usually trying to squeeze in workouts during our already hectic schedules. And when you are able to get to the gym or find that 30 minutes for cardio, don't you want to make the most of every minute?

No matter what type of cardio you do, you can burn more calories in the same amount of time with just a few modifications to your current workout.

10 Ways to Crank Up Your Cardio

1. Do cardio first. Over the years, many clients have asked me, "Should I do weights or cardio first?" If you want to up your calorie burn (and who doesn't?), research shows that you should do cardio first. Published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, one study examined how many calories exercisers burned doing one of four workout combinations: running only, strength training only, running followed by strength training, and strength training followed by running. Researchers found that while all exercisers experienced a strong "after burn" (a higher rate of calories burned when at rest after exercise) for the two hours after working out, the strength-training and run-strength training groups had the highest exercise after burn of all. So what does this mean? Although it's just one study, the takeaway is that we might burn more calories after working out if we do our cardio before strength training.

2. Try plyometrics. If you'd consider yourself an intermediate or advanced exerciser and are looking for ways to burn more calories, plyometrics are the way to go. These high-intensity, explosive exercises such as jumping and hopping, get your heart rate up quickly, which equals a higher calories-burned rate. Additionally, these athletic moments really target your fast-twitch muscles, coordination and agility, so you're training your body in an entirely new and challenging way. And challenging workouts almost always equals results—and more calories burned. Because using proper form is essential when doing these advanced high-impact moves, consider working with a personal trainer at first to learn the ropes!

3. Use your whole body. Most cardio exercises focus on the lower body (biking, walking, elliptical, stair climbing, etc.), but if you want to burn more calories, one easy tip is to incorporate your upper body. Pump those arms hard and high when running and walking, make sure to grab the elliptical with moving handles, and even consider adding a more full-body exercise to your cardio mix such as the rowing machine. The more muscles you move, the more you will burn!

4. Get intense. If you're serious about wanting to burn more calories, then it's time to up the intensity. Bump up your incline and resistance if you're on a piece of gym equipment, or walk a hillier route than usual if you usually exercise outdoors. To increase the burn, you need to get out of your cardio comfort zone. And when you do, the benefits can be big. In a study published in the Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports Medicine in 2002, researchers found that intense exercise resulted in the greatest fat burn (compared to light intensity exercise and no exercise at all) during the hours following a workout—and that fat burn continued for 11 hours.

5. Listen to fast music. If you seem to have trouble pumping yourself up for a workout, try popping in those earbuds! In a small study by the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, scientists found that when male college students pedaled stationary bicycles while listening to fast popular music, the subjects pedaled faster and elevated their heart rates more. The students even perceived their workouts to be less intense than they actually were. And when the music slowed down? The opposite happened. So find some fast music you love and get your cardio on!

6. Use proper form. Do you hold on to the handles when you run on the treadmill? Maybe you lean on the handlebars during spinning class or hunch over while walking on the Stairmaster. If you use these machines, you need to use proper form in order to burn more calories. As a general rule, keep your arms moving freely and naturally, keep your abs in, your weight centered over your hips, and your shoulders down and back. Not only does proper form keep you from getting injured, it also ups your calorie burn since your core is engaged. Bonus!

7. Speed up. The simple advice of all for upping your calorie burn? Increase your pace even if it's just a little bit. The tortoise may have won the race, but the hare burned more calories!

8. Add some intervals. By varying your intensity through different intervals (think one minute running then two minutes walking), you can actually improve your fitness more quickly than by steady state cardio, and you can burn more calories. The bonus? Time seems to fly when you add interval training!

9. Focus. We talk a lot about the importance of the mind-body connection and fitness. Although cardio isn't as Zen-like as yoga, cardio can still benefit from a strong sense of awareness. The next time you do cardio, focus on the movements and breathing while squeezing those muscles. By engaging your mind, you can actually better engage your muscles which allows you to complete the exercise more easily and still burn more calories!

10. Don't work too hard. This might sound counter-intuitive but hear me out. We all know how important rest and recovery is to any workout plan, but also think about how your workout affects the rest of your day. If you spend an hour at the gym sprinting and doing lunges, you might burn 600 calories in a short amount of time, but if that intense workout completely wipes you out for the rest of the day, the extra calorie burn might not be worth it. Be honest with yourself and definitely push yourself, but not so hard that it gets in the way of other daily activities. After all, the goal is to improve your quality of life.

Follow these tips and you will burn more fat and increase your fitness level in no time!

Source List:
Burning Calories!, from HealthNewsDigest.com
Study: Effects of music tempo upon submaximal cycling performance, from Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences
The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Volume 25 - Issue 2

And I'm Feeling Good

Chelsea called me today and asked if I wanted to run the Cupid's 5k with her on Feb. 12th.
Although my lungs are not up to 100%, I have decided I am going to run with her anyway. Now that I can run a mile straight, I'm hoping my time will drop by at least 1-2 minutes. So, my goal between now and Feb. 12th is to work myself up to being able to run at least 1.5 miles without stopping. However, I am going to have to bite the bullet and start running outside soon. Which means I'm going to have to find somewhere to run because my nearby streets are not safe with all of the snow piled up. Maybe I will just go running over at Chelsea's haha. She has the perfect running near her apartment, lucky gal.

However, I went to the gym this evening and ran another 1.5 miles. Then I figured, while I was there, I might a well do a bit more cardio (especially since I downloaded the best of Ace of Base to my ipod and it was pumping me up) so I did the elliptical for 20 minutes. After that, I was still pumped from my music, so I got back on the treadmill and ran another mile. Woot! All in all, I kicked my own butt, but I liked it.Kurt would be proud because I definitely pushed my limits tonight, especially doing two different machines.

So, here are today's numbers-


Food:

Blueberry Pie Light Yogurt- 110 calories
Two pieces of whole wheat toast with 1.5 teaspoons of peanut butter- 541 calories
3 hunks of honeydew melon- 60 calories
Hummus with carrots and broccoli- about 270 calories
Deli style BBQ chicken and Buffalo chicken with light mayo and american cheese on whole wheat bread- around 546 calories

Grand Total: 1527 calories


Exercise:

Ran 1.5 miles in 22 minutes- 175 calories
20 Minutes on the elliptical- 100 calories
Ran another 1 mile in 16 minutes- 127 calories

Grand Total: 402 calories burned!

My calories eaten were a little high today, but I knew I was going to be running at least 1.5miles and that the calories burned would balance it out (hence why in the morning I fueled up with wheat toast and peanut butter). The extra calories I burned are quite lovely though. In fact, they allow me to have a small snack tonight if I so choose. Hot diggity dang!