Saturday, June 4, 2016

30 for 30 Day 4: Overcoming my fear of public running

Day 4*
Progress toward goal: -5 lbs
Workout: Run/walk around the lake

I should preface this post by saying I have a slight phobia of running in public. I used to frequent a popular lake in town, but was scarred for life when some college guys drove by and yelled, "SLUT!" loudly at me.

Excuse me? I was about as modestly dressed as one can possibly be while walk/running around a lake. So much in fact I was wearing a hoodie.

That experience, combined with a story of other college guys throwing eggs at runners around that lake, pretty much made me think running was the IRL equivalent to posting a video on YouTube and waiting for all the trolls.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Lately, though, I've been dipping my toe in the pool of public exercise. I walk around the lake near my office building during my lunch break, I walk occasionally around the lake by my apartment building - but rarely do I actually run. Today, however, I did.

I should warn you that I cannot tell you how much I ran in how many minutes because that is not at all how I measure these things. What I can tell you is I ran from the garbage can to the fifth light pole in the distance, walked three light posts, then ran to that group of ducks.

It's very high-level, expert runner stuff.

What I found during my somewhat minimal amount of running is that it's not too bad. I made sure my headphones were blaring in case of a drive-by troll, but ultimately I was just able to clear my mind and focus on my breathing. Sure, when I actually saw an experienced runner I'm not going to lie and say I didn't feel self-conscious. Because I totally did. But I guess the point is, I kept going anyway (I mean, I had no other choice. I had to get back home.)

How's your 30 for 30 going? Is there an exercise you've felt too self-conscious to ever try? You name it, and I'm sure I felt or feel the same way!

*I did walk around the lake on Day 3 during my lunch break, so the 30 minutes happened! I just didn't have time to blog about it, unfortunately. It wasn't too exciting anyways. Mostly, I kept notes on all the ducks and geese who do not give a single F about drivers and will galavant in the middle of the road at their leisure.


Thursday, June 2, 2016

30 for 30 Day 2: POP Pilates & Other Musings

Day 2
Progress toward goal: -5 lbs*
Workout: Pilates

Today I got a late start on my 30 minutes of physical activity. So late that it came after a cocktail and three episodes of Bloodline that I watched in rapid succession with my boyfriend.

I almost didn't do it guys. Could you imagine - day 2 and I already gave up? What an anti-climactic fitness journey that would have been. It would be like not making it to the makeover episode of Biggest Loser. Like, what is even the point?!

Determined, I decided to replace the 30 minutes I would usually take in the evening to read the news and brush up on some literary canons (JK, I mean looking at cat memes and sending the funniest ones to my best friend and mom in a group chat) with pilates.

My experience with pilates is limited to the Autumn Calabrese 21 Day Fix version, which I do enjoy. Ironically enough though, I was too lazy to locate the dvd tonight so I ended up doing a workout by Blogilates.

If you've never watched Blogilates before, I recommend it. She creates super quick fitness videos that actually seem feasible. Five minutes for a better butt? Sure, why not!

Tonight I did her Slim n' Sculpt Beginner's POP Pilates video twice (it's 13-ish minutes of actually working out - I know, I know, I'm missing 4 minutes. However, I do walk to and from work so I figured it works out in the end).

The workout had a few moves I was used to doing from the 21 Day Fix videos, only there wasn't a slightly chubby, out-of-shape older woman doing modifications in the background like I'm accustomed to. So full disclosure, this was a pretty hard workout. Super fast, but sort of intense.

If you try it, I want you to know it's okay if you can't do everything she does. In fact, here's a list of how I handled the most challenging moves:

  • Roll-ups - immediately I thought, "This isn't going to happen." Basically you lie flat on the floor and simply roll up into a sitting position. Instead of rolling up gracefully, I sort of rocked myself back to gain momentum and then launched myself upright. I did not feel bad about this.
  • Bridge Single-Legged Leg Lift - These really hurt, but they hurt in that way you know it's working. Sort of that feeling you get after doing 5 crunches and your stomach just feels like a six pack has formed. I had to pause the video for a minute and I know for sure I did not come close to as many reps as she did.
  • The "Elbows Together" move - the second time through I thought, this is it. I'm going to die. Again, I took a quick break. No shame.

So Day 2 is down. Tomorrow will be a challenge for me. I'm going to try and wake up early enough to go on a run/walk (mostly walk) before work. If I don't get the activity in early, it likely won't happen since I have plans tomorrow night. SO MUCH PRESSURE.

How was your first (or second) day doing 30 for 30?

 *I weighed myself today after not weighing myself in two weeks and, surprisingly, I am already 5 pounds down! Only 15 more to go! If you're interested, I've been using the My Fitness Pal app to track my calories. My username is hiamandarae if you'd like to be friends!

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

30 for 30 for 30

Happy June, everyone.

As Summer approaches, I'm sure, like me, you're hitting up Pinterest for all the arm exercises you'll do in between the fruity cocktails inspired by Disney princesses you'll be making. It's great how optimistic we are about things - like, sure, I'll make that chocolate-caramel-deep-fried cheesecake right before I go on that four-month juice cleanse so I'm bikini ready. Life is about balance after all.

Despite my best pinning efforts, the weight has not miraculously fallen off. Which is what I expected after I pinned that recipe for a green smoothie. But now I realize simply pinning recipes and workouts aren't working, so I'm actually trying to lose weight - not for summer, not for a bikini body (if you want to wear a bikini, just do it!) but for like, life. And I really want to meet my goal before my birthday.

My birthday.

My 30th birthday.

(I don't think there's a font menacing enough to really convey the sense of dread here. Maybe Chiller?)

It's not that I think I'll self destruct in late September, leaving behind only tears and my Pinterest board as a reminder of everything I didn't accomplish. (I mean, okay. In all honesty, those Buzzfeed lists that suggest things you need to do/read/eat/go before 30 freak me out. I can still go bungee jumping in Thailand while reading a Lauren Conrad novel and eating spicy food past 9 p.m. once I'm 30, OKAY. Get out of my life forever, lists promoting ageism!)

But rather, I just want to greet this milestone feeling my best. And to feel better, I sort of want to see this thing through. Because let's face it, I haven't seen much through lately. Blogging has been a nightmare, reading before bed has been replaced by me lazily scrolling through Instagram, and I've lowered my expectations of hitting 10,000 steps a day so much that I'm happy if I even stand up while at work. I have to do something and stick with it!

So, like any sane person, I took advice from a random user commenting on a Youtube video. Tamigotchi90sgrl* suggested that if you want to stick to anything, you should share your goal with others so they hold you accountable. To the three people who read my blog: I'm counting on you!

And like any other sane person, I got inspiration for my first little initiative while lazily scrolling through Instagram.

#30for30 (for 30).

Starting today, do 30 minutes of activity every day for the next 30 days (in preparation of your 30th birthday, if you're me). If you're totally happy not doing the physical activity thing, do something else. Read 30 minutes every day for 30 days. Write. Play music. Spend quality time with your family.

My #30for30 will include the physical activity and the blogging about it. I'm going to try and test out different workouts and report back. If you don't hear from me, it's very likely I've broken something.

Me. 

Day 1
Goal: lose 20 pounds
Progress toward goal: None, get off my back it's day 1
Workout today: Yoga

If you're playing along with #30for30, let me know what you're doing. Because, you know, I'm nosy like that.





*Name has been changed to protect the commenter.