August Goals

Today I thought I would share with you a few of the goals I have set for myself for the month of August. I got this idea from a number of the blogs that I follow but Pretty Little Grub is the one I was most recently reading when I thought "hey, I should do this on my blog"! Here goes...

1. Get back into a gym routine:

It hurts me to admit, but I am out of my gym routine. There are a number of reasons why, the top reason being that I have been dealing with an injured hip for 8-10 weeks now. I have no idea how I actually hurt my hip. I'm thinking a combination of running and heavy squats mixed with tweaking it somehow. I can't remember a specific movement that caused me to go "ouch", I just woke up one morning feeling fine but when I went to the gym to squat, I couldn't. Like I'm talking I literally could not squat 95 pounds (which is nothing to me). I rested it for a couple of weeks, thinking it would go away, and when it didn't I tried to work through the pain (I know-STUPID). After a month of that I went to the doctor who sent me for physiotherapy. I only just got into physio 2 weeks ago and the physiotherapist thinks that my femoral head was impinging on my hip flexor which caused the injury. She told me to stop doing anything that causes my hip flexors to be engaged (which is practically every lower body movement) and to stop running on any incline. I was so discouraged that I couldn't do anything I like to do anymore - lower body stuff is my jam - that I took a whole week off! That is the longest I have gone without going to the gym in over 3 years! After a week I was ready to get back to it so my goal for this month is to get back into a regular routine, 4-5 days a week, and focus on upper body and running. This brings me to my next couple of goals...

2. Start a bench press program

While I was working through my hip injury rather than dealing with it, I started a powerlifting program. After only a few weeks I just could not squat or deadlift but I could bench. Bench has never been my favorite movement, in fact I hated it. But, because that was all I could really do I started to really enjoy it. At the end of my program, I tested my 1RM (maximum effort for 1 repition) and I hit 120 pounds! This was a 10 pound PR (personal best) and a huge confidence builder. I am so psyched to start my program over and see what I can do in the next 6 weeks. My goal is to hit 135 pounds before Christmas!

3. Start running again

I also want to start running again. My physiotherapist said only to run on the flat and to take it easy. I haven't really ran, except for sprints in my CrossFit workouts, since last fall. I am a warm weather runner (I will never be one of those people that runs in the cold) so by the time it was warm enough for me to start, I injured my hip shortly after. Running any distance caused my hip to pain so I stuck with short sprints. I want to slowly start adding running back into my routine. Roscoe and I went for a short, 2km run yesterday and it didn't seem to bother me too badly. My plan is to slowly increase the distance, 1km at a time, ensuring I am pain free. I don't have a specific distance I want to hit by the end of August, I just want to get back out there.

4. Be more consistent with my diet

This will probably be in every monthly goals list I ever make (if I continue to do them). I always have great intentions of eating really well, but then someone offers me pizza and I'm like "hell yes!". This summer I have been struggling with staying on track more than usual. It probably has something to do with being injured and not being able to do as much in the gym so I feel like "if I can't do my best at the gym, why bother worrying about what I eat". This is a terrible mentality and I am usually much better than this. I am all about indulging occasionally and having a good balance in your life but I am indulging way too often. I just want to tighten things up a bit and stop having cheat meals quite so often.

5. Spend more time with my horses

Oy! My poor horses have been so neglected this summer. Sure, I still see them everyday and give them scratches and all that but I haven't been so good at spending more than a few minutes at a time with them. Summers are extremely busy for me but that's not a good enough excuse. My goal for the month is to take them out and brush them at least twice per week.

6. Continue to enjoy the summer!

As busy as its been, its been an excellent summer. I feel as if Scott and I have got to do more than we usually do and are truly enjoying every moment of it. Even mowing the lawn isn't so bad because I get to be outside! The next couple of weekends are filled with concerts, weddings and a trip home with friends so this will probably be my easiest goal to keep!

7. Prepare for going back to school

Where has the summer gone?! As much as I have been enjoying it, it has flown by. Now I can't help but start thinking about returning to school in September. I am equal parts excited and nervous. I'm excited because it's something to look forward to and I love to learn. I'm nervous because I doubt my ability to think at a "Masters level". A masters program is a whole new ballgame for me and it's no joke. In order to give myself a little comfort, I want to be as prepared as I can be. My goal is to paint and organize the upstairs loft and make it into an office-type area for me. It shouldn't take much work, it's just a matter of finding the time and doing it.

So those are my goals for this month. Looking at them laid out like that, it seems like a lot! Check back next month to see how I do!