Workout Wednesday

Lately, I have been addicted to a few different health and fitness blogs. They are mainly runners, but they touch on a variety of topics. Some of my favorite posts to read are about their training. Whether it be from one day or a weeks worth, I just like to see what others are doing to stay healthy and fit! Today I thought I would share a "Workout Wednesday" post. It's pretty self explanatory, it's the workout I did on Wednesday. I know I just posted something similar to this in last weeks Sunday Brunch but bear with me, I promise there will be a farm related post coming next week.

Yesterday, being Wednesday, I went to CrossFit. The group that I workout with always meet up Monday, Wednesday, Friday and occasionally Saturdays. I did a slightly altered workout than the rest of the group due to my hip injury but I made sure it was just as tough! Here is what was scheduled:

Strength - Bench 5x5 @ 90#
WOD: 3RFT
            15 Thrusters @ 65# (I did High hang powercleans + push press)
            50 Double unders

I started by warming up and doing some mobility work then moved on to strength. I am only doing bench right now because squatting and deadlifts are a no-go, they hurt too much. Todays programming had me doing 5 sets of 5 repetitions at 90 pounds. I came down with a cold a couple days ago and unfortunately I definitely felt it during my workout. My warmup sets, which I did a few reps at 45, 65 and 85 pounds, felt tough so I new it was going to be a struggle to get through all 5 sets of 5. I was right - it sucked. The first set felt terrible and it didn't get any better as the sets went on. I made sure to take lots of rest in between sets and still got a good pause at the bottom of each rep but it was hard. I am glad I struggled through it though and successfully completed all 5 sets because when I am healthy again, that weight will be so much easier!

The WOD was equally suck-tastic. It is amazing how after 3 years of CrossFit, I still always underestimate the workouts. We all looked at this workout and said "oh 3 rounds, easy!". Boy, were we wrong. It was a lung burner for sure and by the time I was finished my grip was toast. The weight was light but hanging onto the bar for that long was difficult. I finished in 8:03 (8 minutes 3 seconds) so it was longer than expected but I felt so much better after finishing. It helped clear my head for a little while and the post-workout euphoria always has me coming back for more!

Today I am still feeling crappy from being sick but I am also sore as hell. My shoulders, traps and back are wrecked! I had planned to do another lighter workout tonight, just an easy 3km run, but I think I am going to take a rest day and relax. I may take Roscoe for a walk and I have a lot of housework to do before we go away for the weekend, so a rest day is needed.

I hope you enjoyed this Workout Wednesday post. See you next time!

*This post was inspired by Wild Workout Wednesdays linkup by Jen at Pretty Little Grub, Nicole at Fitful Focus, Annmarie at The Fit Foodie Mama, and Michelle at Fruition Fitness.*

Sunday Brunch: August 14th, 2016

Is it Sunday already?! Where the heck did those seven days go? It's true what they say; the older you get, the faster time goes by. This week seems to have flown by, as most weeks do, and it's hard to believe that it's already the middle of August! This has been such a great summer but it's going by far to fast! There are only two more weekends of the summer left (I guess technically there are 5 because the first day of fall is September 22nd but I haven't been out of school that long so when August ends it feels like summer should too). Fortunately I have the next 2 weekends off and we have plans to spend both of them at my parents in Nova Scotia!

Anyway, back on track to this weeks Sunday Brunch! Todays brunch special is a refreshing smoothie bowl. I am trying to get back on track with my eating habits and since I am the only one in the house who likes treats, making something sweet would not be in my diets best interest (because I would eat it all myself). This smoothie is blueberry and strawberry with oats, chia seeds, almond milk, low calorie maple syrup and low fat vanilla coffee creamer (why not, right?). Not only does it look pretty but it's also berry delicious (pun intended)!

 

This was a pretty mundane week. I worked and Scott got sick with a stomach bug. He started feeling crappy at work on Monday and by that evening he was very sick. He stayed home sick Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (which is a testament to how sick he was - he never misses work) and finally was feeling better by Friday. He is still not feeling 100% but everyday is a little better. Seeing as we didn't do much of anything outside of working and watching a new series on Netflix in the evenings (Stranger Things - I highly recommend it), I thought I would do a recap of my workouts this week. It was actually a really good week for me, workout wise, as I got to the gym after work four of the five days. This is still less than normal for me but I'm getting back into the groove!

Monday: CrossFit

I am still not able to do all of the WOD's posted at the box due to my hip injury and today was one of those days. The posted WOD was:

3 RFT (rounds for time):
30 Wallballs
800m run

I am not supposed to squat or run up hills yet so this workout was a no-go. Instead I did a few accessory things as well as my bench program:

Bench 4x5 @ 85#
Goodmornings 3x15 @ 95#
Calf Raises 3x20 @ 95#
Situps (w/feet up on box) 2x20

Tuesday: Shoulders

Since I can't work my lower body I am going to try and build my upper body. I haven't done a real "bodybuilding" circuit in a couple of months so it felt good to really hit my shoulders. I was so sore the next morning, it was great!

Wednesday: Rest Day

This was not a planned rest day. I was supposed to go to CrossFit again but I forgot that I had a bridal shower right after work for one of my coworkers. It probably wasn't a bad thing though because I was still very sore after work.

Thursday: Back & Hamstrings

I know I just said I'm not supposed to be training lower body but my physiotherapist did say that movements that focused on my hamstrings and NOT causing any strain to my hip flexors would be fine. So I did it. I was very cautious and didn't use any/much weight and let me tell you, after a couple months of not specifically targeting those muscles I was sore the next day!

Friday: CrossFit

Bench 3x4 @ 90#
WOD: AMRAP 10 (as many reps as possible in 10 minutes)
8 Pullups
10 Pushups
12 Situps
Total = 6 rounds + 18 reps

Saturday: Rest Day

I slept in with the pooch and took it easy the rest of the day as I had to work at 4pm.

Sunday: Run

If the rain lets up I plan to go out for an easy 3km with Roscoe this evening!

All in all it was a pretty successful week at the gym. I'm hoping to keep it up into next week even though it looks like it is going to be pretty busy! See you next week!

My Journey to Health & Fitness

Today I thought I would move away from the farming aspect of my life and talk about something that is just as important to me; living a healthy lifestyle.


My whole life I have been very active and involved with sports. In high school I played on every sports team we had; this definitely does not mean I am a super talented athlete, I just grew up in a VERY small community so team try-outs were basically non-existent. You showed up, you made the team! However, I would say I was moderately athletic but more importantly just loved sports. Volleyball and basketball were my favorite teams but the sport that truly held my heart for most of my life was horseback riding, more specifically, JUMPING!!

Riley and I at a show

I have rode horses for the last 15 years of my life and competed for about 10 of those years. Since graduating from college and moving to New Brunswick I really haven't rode much at all. Between work and life there isn't much time for riding. I do still have the same 2 horses that I have had since I was 15 and I could not imagine my life without them. They are literally a part of me and the thought that someday I will have to live without them, scares me.

This is an oldie - probably 10 or 11 years ago!

NEIL!!!!!

Anyway, I love my horses, but this post was not intended to go in this direction haha. Back on topic NOW.

When I moved to New Brunswick my life changed so much that making time for sports and fitness was put on the back burner. For the first 2 years of living in NB this mindset continued. I ate what I wanted and only exercised when I started to feel bad about how I looked. One day I was on Facebook and a friend had posted some pictures of her doing CrossFit. I had no idea what it was but it looked kind of interesting so I Google'd it. I think I spent a solid 2 or 3 hours watching videos of people doing CrossFit workouts and after that I new I HAD to try it. I messaged my friend and she gave me the contacts of a local box (what CrossFitters call their gyms). I started about 2 weeks later and I have been hooked ever since. I literally haven't gone more that a week without making it to the gym every other day. I am a super competitive person and I forgot how much I LOVE to push myself to become better. Joining this gym also helped me to adjust to living in a new province even more. I made my own friends and my own life, separate to what Scott and I have together. I think it's healthy to have things that you enjoy to do alone.

Not a great picture but this is my first ever CorssFit competition in 2014

This was really the catapult to me living a healthy and active lifestyle. Once I started to see changes in my body, both getting stronger and leaner, I wanted MORE. I tried a paleo challenge, and although I didn't stick to it after the month was up, I did continue to be more conscious of what I was putting in my body. I also joined another gym so that I could do more bodybuilding-style workouts and continued to see positive changes in my body. About a year and a half ago I started the IIFYM (if it fits your macros) style of eating and tracking your food. Some people probably think it's excessive to count every carb, fat and protein that you eat but I really like it because it allows me to be flexible with my diet while still reaching my health and fitness goals. *I will do a separate blog post on IIFYM and macro counting.*

Gym selfies required!

 

I did my first 10k race in 2015 - very proud moment!

In the last 3 years I have gained so much confidence and it all stems from my decision to live a healthier lifestyle. I love the way I look (most days - I am still human!) but more importantly I love the way I feel and the things my body can do now! Health and fitness are truly a passion of mine. I want to share with you my ongoing journey - from the foods that I eat, to the workouts that I do, to the recipes I love. I hope that someone will learn a little bit from the things that I post but it's not the purpose of me posting about it. As I've said previously, I am not a nutritionist or a personal trainer so I am not here to teach. I only want to share with you all the aspects of my life, and this is one of them!

See you next time!