I’ve been sleeping through way too many gun starts lately, but I’m glad to have logged all my scheduled workouts last week, plus one extra for good measure.
I’m not training for triathlon; instead, I’ve been using the Nike+ Training Club app’s Training Plan function. I selected a “Lean Fit” six-week program because I want to get lean and improve my overall fitness. I input the amount of time and access to equipment I have into the app, and it selected a series of workouts for the next six weeks. All I have to do is download each of the workouts before I head to the gym and just push “Start” when I get there.
This has been instrumental in getting me out the door, through an hour in the gym, and back at my desk without completely draining me of what little energy I have these days. And with every workout I tick off during the week, I feel like I’m pushing back this fog of ennui that’s crept over my life.
This photo sums up how I’ve been feeling sometimes lately.
I’ve also been attending dance and yoga classes just to get an hour of exercise done without having to think about how fast I’m going or how far until the next rest interval or even if I’m hitting all the zones I need to. With dance I just need to think about getting the moves and timing right; with yoga, it’s all about working towards the intended shape of the pose and achieving calmness and breath while in it. The exercise takes care of itself.
So funny that I seem to have come full-circle. I started running because I was sick of just doing dance and yoga at the gym — and now I’m back at the gym because I kinda am sick of running (slowly).
*record scratch* WAIT WHAT?
I did mention burn-out in last week’s blog post. I seriously find it difficult to run on a treadmill without jacking my heart rate up to anaerobic levels. Well, I could keep the heart rate low, but to do so I need to slow down so much so that I’m not burning enough calories for weight loss.
That’s the funk I am in these days when it comes to running; I still enjoy it but am not losing any weight by it. So I’m trying to find a happy compromise by still getting exercise in via different ways. My NTC training program recommends two runs a week aside from the NTC workouts, so I guess that will have to do for now as I rebuild aerobic fitness in other ways.
I think the diet change I implemented is working — at least, it’s helping me retain less water, since carbohydrates bind water. I was eating way too much rice and as a result way too much dietary sugar. Once I dropped the amount down to half a cup or less per meal, my hunger pangs grew less intense and less frequent and I also started eating less on the whole. Because I am way less active than I used to be, this reduction in calories and carbs is fitting.
(My belly is also less bloated and the ab definition is coming back.)
I doubt these small changes will reflect when I weigh myself tomorrow, but at least I’m starting to feel a little better about my body. But there’s nothing like a new workout routine to make you feel totally unfit! Burpees, anyone?
Sometimes this is my only view for the entire working day, so I chose something pretty.
