Marvelous Arms May Challenge

Here's our challenge for May:

Click HERE for a PDF printable version of the calendar.

All the exercises should be self explanatory but just in case, let me know if you have any questions. I will post all the exercises daily on Running Toward Heatlhy's Facebook page.

My friend Fitness Diva is also doing a May Abs/Glutes challenge. Go check it out HERE!

Until later, happy living!

Jamie

Awesome Abs April Challenge

Since a bunch of people asked for another abs challenge...here it is:

I put small pictures on the bottom to help but you can also Google these for more explanation. The superman bridge moves should be held for 2 seconds. Let me know if you guys have any questions!

If you are a newbie with abs and have a weak core, start with only a few of each move...definitely modify or adjust as needed! Feel free to repeat week #1 if you are not ready to move on to more reps. Remember to listen to your body!

If you don't already follow Running Toward Healthy on Facebook, come stop by! I post a lot more stuff on there everyday.

Until later, happy living!
Jamie

Training Report - Weeks 10 and 11 of 52

I am crazy late posting this, sorry!

Week #10

3/4 Monday - OFF

3/5 Tuesday - Treadmill 5K - 38:45 (12:28 pace!) - ran 3.35 miles at 5.0mph! - 425 calories burned!

3/6 Wednesday - OFF

3/7 Thursday - OFF

3/8 Friday - OFF

3/9 Saturday - Texas Independence 5K - 41:38 (13:26 pace) - 545 calories burned!

3/10 Sunday - OFF

Week #11

Monday 1/11 to Sunday 3/ 17

No working out at all! We had Spring Break and I was working on my huge garden project (I'll try to post some pics soon) so I didn't run or go to the gym. But I did for from 9-8 from Monday to Sunday and went to bed tired and sore everyday so I must have burned some calories there!

Until later, happy working out!

Jamie

Training Report - Week 9 of 52

2/25 Monday - OFF

2/26 Tuesday - 1 loop of the Kemah bridge..really tired - 240 calories burned!

2/27 Wednesday - 10 minutes (2 miles) on the bike and weights -  248 calories burned!

2/28 Thursday - 30 minutes on the treadmill - 2.31 miles (12:59 pace) -  305 calories burned!

3/1 Friday - OFF

3/2 Saturday - 1 hour of Yoga - 260 calories burned!

3/3 Sunday - 3.93 miles run/mostly walk outside - 1:02:25 total (15:53 pace) - 553calories burned!

Set out for 6 miles but I wasn't feeling it and then just before mile 2 I slipped and fell on a section of muddy sidewalk. I was covered with mud and definitely not in the mood to run after that! So I was glad that I just made it as far as I did.

Meh, it was an OK week given my not so awesome workouts on Tuesday and Sunday.

Calories burned this week with exercise - 1606! 

Until later, happy working out!

Jamie

Tank Top Arms March Challenge

Sorry it took me so long to post! Here is the challenge for this month: Tank Top Arms! Here's what the calendar looks like:

DOWNLOAD A PDF VERSION OF THE CALENDAR AND WORKOUTS HERE

This month I tried to combine exercises so you are doing multiple movements at the same time and I tried to make sure we were working different muscles on different days.

Here are the exercises:

I also have all 8 exercises on one image as a cheat sheet:

DOWNLOAD A PDF VERSION OF THE CALENDAR AND WORKOUTS HERE

Good luck! Let me know if you guys have any questions!

Until later, happy working out!

Jamie

Training Report - Week 8 of 52

This week was a pretty good week because I had a few milestones!

2/18 Monday - Exercise bike for 30 minutes - 8 miles - 194 calories burned!

2/19 Tuesday - 4 mile run/walk on treadmill - 59:13 total (14:48 pace) 569 calories burned!

**Ran for 20 minutes straight!** <-- Longest straight time so far! WOOT! 

2/20 Wednesday - OFF

2/21 Thursday - OFF

2/22 Friday - 4 mile run/walk on treadmill - 57:57 total (14:29 pace) 554 calories burned!
**Ran for 2 miles (26 minutes) straight!** <-- Totally smashed Tuesday's record! WOOT! WOOT!

2/23 Saturday - 1 hour of Yoga - around 250 calories burned!

2/24 Sunday - 5 mile run/walk around the lakes - 1:07:12 total (13.26 pace) - 685 calories burned!

The weather was awesome and the run felt good. The last time that I ran that loop around the lakes (3 months ago) I was exhausted halfway through and did it in around a 16:30 pace. Now my legs got a little tired around mile 4 but I didn't feel so wiped out overall. I think this has to be one of the best runs I've had so far because there wasn't any race adrenaline involved and I actually kind of enjoyed it. I felt like a real runner! Plus look how consistent my splits were...crazy! Usually I slow down over time but I was able to be pretty consistent. My heart rate monitor definitely helps! I also tried to slow down a little and try to get closer to my treadmill running pace which was 4.5 this week...so with the walking that was about what I averaged.

So I'm 2 weeks into my 10K training and doing great so far. My goal is to run the 10K in the 13 minute range and I'm already at 13:26 for 5 miles. It would be amazing to get under 13 minutes. I'm super excited...going to keep working hard!


Calories burned this week with exercise - around 2252! WOW! That is the most I've burned in a week since I started keeping track.

Until later, happy working out!

Jamie

Training Report - Week 7 of 52

I'm such a slacker...I just realized I didn't post this on Sunday. Whoops!


2/11 Monday - 10 minutes elliptical, 20 minutes bike, and weight training - 1 hour total - 340 calories burned!

2/12 Tuesday - Run/walk 3 miles on treadmill (14:37 pace) - 43:51 total - 421 calories burned!

2/13 Wednesday - OFF

2/14 Thursday - Run/walk 2.93 miles outside (13:28 pace) - 39:27 total - 383 calories burned!

2/15 Friday - OFF (sick)

2/16 Saturday - Yardwork

2/17 Sunday - Run/walk 2.02 miles outside (15:52 pace) 32:08 total - 260 calories burned!

Calories burned this week with exercise - around 1404

Until later, happy working out!
Jamie

Training Report - Week 6 of 52 and Crazy Krew 7K

I didn't go to roller derby again and I think I am calling it quits on that. I had another groupon for 4 more weeks but it is from 8-9 and takes me 45 minutes to get there. I just don't like having to work out that late and drive...so I'll be back to the gym on Mondays. Next week I am shooting for 5 days of activity!


2/4 Monday - OFF

2/5 Tuesday - 30 minutes on the elliptical - 233 calories burned!

2/6 Wednesday - 30 minutes on the treadmill - 2.13 miles (14:05) - 299 calories burned!

2/7 Thursday - OFF

2/8 Friday - OFF

2/9 Saturday - Crazy Krew 7K - 4.16 miles in 55:02 (13:13) - 634 calories burned!

My friend Ashley did the race with me and the weather was pretty nice...not too cold or not too hot. But it was windy! The race was over part of a freeway bypass so we had a big hill. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and I was pretty happy with that pace given that it is a mile longer than I usually run and it was windy. Ashley runs around a 10 min/mile so she was done way before I was but she stuck around to cheer me on at the finish line...that was awesome! I set a goal to finish the race in less than an hour so I was super excited to get in around 55 minutes!

2/10 Sunday - OFF

Calories burned this week with exercise - around 1166

It was kind of fun doing 3 races in 3 weekends but now I'm working on training for my 1st 10K since November. It's on March 30th in New Orleans. And I'm super excited that my mom is going to be there too!

Until later, happy

Jamie

Training Report: Week 5 of 52

I took it kind of easy this week. My birthday was Friday so it was kind of a crazy week, plus I was EXHAUSTED after the 5K last Sunday!


1/28 Monday - Exhausted so I took the day off! No roller derby.

1/29 Tuesday - OFF

1/30 Wednesday - 30 minutes on the treadmill - 2.27 miles (13:13) [forgot my HRM but burned around 350 calories]

1/31 Thursday - OFF

2/1 Friday - OFF

2/2 Saturday - Color in Motion 5K - around 45 minutes - 489 calories burned!

2/3 Sunday - 3.86 miles - 4 passes over the Kemah bridge - 545 calories burned!

Calories burned this week with exercise - around 1064

Next Saturday I have my 3rd race in 3 weeks! It is a 7K but I'm not going to kill myself to set any PRs. I definitely want to get a little more active this week.

Until later, happy

Jamie

5K Training - week 8/8

This was the last week that I was training for my first 5K of the year. I love my new HRM and knowing how many calories I burned doing an activity! It kind of makes me want to work out more!


1/21 Monday - 1 hour of Roller Derby bootcamp - 503 calories burned!

1/22 Tuesday - OFF

1/23 Wednesday - treadmill 5K - 43:50 (14:06 pace) - ran 1.75 miles straight! (and forgot my HRM but burned around 400 calories)

1/24 Thursday - 1 hour of Zumba - 556 calories burned!

1/25 Friday - OFF

1/26 Saturday - 1 hour of Yoga - 258 calories burned!

1/27 Sunday - Ran my 5K - 39:22 (12:40 pace!) - 467 calories burned!

Calories burned this week with exercise - around 2184

Now that my January 5K is over, I decided that I am going to keep doing weekly training reports because I enjoy keeping track of them!

Until later, happy
Jamie

5K Training - Week 7/8

Happy 3rd week of 2013!

My new gadget this week is a Polar FT60 heart rate monitor! My mom bought it for me for my upcoming birthday. I didn't really need anything, but I really wanted this! And it is perfect timing too since I am going back to counting calories, so now I can see how many calories I am burning for my workouts too.

1/14 Monday - 1 hour of Roller Derby bootcamp

1/15 Tuesday - OFF

1/16 Wednesday - Treadmill 2 miles - 26:24 (13:12 pace)

1/17 Thursday - 1 hour of Zumba

1/18 Friday - Treadmill 2.25 miles - 30 mins (13:20 pace) - ran 1 mile straight at 5.0 mph.

1/19 Saturday - Weight training session with Anna (384 cal). 8 mile bike ride - 45 mins (339 cal), 723 calories burned!

1/20 Sunday - OFF

This week I definitely rocked the cross training! I did skating, running, and biking! I can't wait to see how many calories roller derby and zumba burned! I can definitely feel myself getting stronger. 1 more week until my 5K race! 

Until later, happy running!
Jamie

5K Training - week 6/8

Happy 2nd week of 2013!

After being off work for two weeks, going back this week was exhausting! I can say it wasn't my most solid week at the gym but at least I went!

1/7 Monday - Elliptical 30 minutes (2.15 miles).

1/8 Tuesday - OFF

1/9 Wednesday - Elliptical 15 minutes - 1.05 miles (exhausted today!)

1/10 Thursday - 70 minute walk/run - 4.26 miles outside - 1 loop walking with dogs, one loop walk/run with Jen B.

1/11 Friday - Treadmill 1 mile (15 mins), elliptical 25 minutes (1.08 miles).

1/12 Saturday - 15 minutes on the elliptical , then weight training session with Anna.

1/13 Sunday - OFF

I'm excited to have a little more energy this next week!

Until later, happy running!
Jamie

5K Training - week 5/8

Happy 1st week of 2013!

After being away from the gym all last week, I was definitely glad to be back!

12/31 Monday - 5K run/walk on the treadmill - 40:33 (13:03). Did a few 5.0 and bunch of 5.5 sprints, even one 6.0 sprint! My fastest treadmill 5K yet!

1/1 Tuesday - OFF

1/2 Wednesday - Treadmill 26 mins - 2 miles (13:24). Also did 30 minutes on the elliptical (2.04 miles).

1/3 Thursday - OFF

1/4 Friday - Treadmill 5K - 42:30 (13:41), did a bunch of 5.0 (2 min) and a bunch of 5.5 sprints.

1/5 Saturday - 1 hour on the elliptical - 4.26 miles after my weight training session with my awesome trainer Anna.

1/6 Sunday - 3.19 miles (17:39)...I actually ended up having a nice walk instead of a run.

I enjoyed my couple days of being lazy and I'm pretty happy overall with my activity this week! I earned 36 activity points this week!

Back to work tomorrow!


Until later, happy running!
Jamie

5K Training - week 4/8

This week I DEFINITELY wish I had a treadmill! It was awesome weather up until Christmas day and then it got cold....really cold...like 45 cold. I have very little motivation to run in the cold.

12/24 Monday - Walk 4 miles at the park (16:59 pace) - I was super tired and could only muster a walk

12/25 Tuesday - Christmas day!

12/26 Wednesday - Uh, it got COLD outside! I was too wimpy to walk/run in it so I went to a movie with Dad.

12/27 Thursday - I ROCKED IT TODAY!!! I did 6.2 miles in 1:30:49 (14:39 pace), which beat my Turkey Day 10K time! And it was 44 outside. :)

12/28 Friday - Didn't make it to the park before it started to rain! :(

12/29 Saturday - It was coooold and windy outside so I went to the movies with Mom and Dad.

12/30 Sunday - Drove home from New Orleans


While I wasn't running much outside this week, my friend Rachel was kicking butt at the gym and running her little heart out. We are competing against each other at the end of January at our 5K and right now I have a feeling she is going to kick my butt!

Until later, happy running!
Jamie

5K Training - week 3/8

Well, this week HAD to be better than last week! And it was...a bit. I finally got to work out for a couple of days after the flu but it is still rough. I'm still REALLY congested and coughing plus I've had sinus issues too.

12/17 Monday - Still had the flu! :(

12/18 Tuesday - Still had the flu! :(

12/19 Wednesday - Finally back! Went to gym for a bit ran/walked 1.5 miles (14:16 pace).

12/20 Thursday - Had to bring the car in for repair so no workout!

12/21 Friday - OFF

12/2 Saturday - Drove to New Orleans

12/23 Sunday - Run/walk at the park - 2 miles (15:30) - it was 57 degrees outside and I had trouble running

I'm at my Mom's until next weekend so I'm going to try to workout as much of I can, but unfortunately I don't have a gym so I'm subject to the weather!

Until later, happy running!
Jamie

5K training - week 2/8

Well, training this week didn't go super well as it was plagued by illness:

12/10 Monday - still felt crappy from the weekend :(

12/11 Tuesday - Mad that I didn't lose weight at weight watchers so went to the gym after and ran a little before I had to go home - 1 mile total. (14:35 pace)

12/12 Wednesday - Ran 1.5 miles straight, totaling 3.1 miles! (13:50 pace) 

12/13 Thursday - 60 minutes on the elliptical (4.3 miles).

12/14 Friday - Start of the flu!!! :(

12/15 Saturday - Still had the flu! :(

12/16 Sunday - Ugh, the flu continues! :(

An accomplishment I did make was running on Wednesday for 1.5 miles straight! I have been struggling with getting more than 0.5 miles lately straight and I finally realized it was because I was trying to breathe way too deeply. Once I got a faster, more shallow breath things got easier. As I'm still sick writing this, I hope that next week goes better. I'm going to try for 1.75, or maybe even 2 miles...we'll see!

Until later, happy running!
Jamie

5K Training - week 1/8

This was my first week out of 8 training for my 5K on January 27th. Monday I was supposed to run 1 mile straight...FAIL. I went to bed late on Sunday and was really tired. I tried, but I could only get up to a third of a mile and then just couldn't catch my breath! I had the same problem last Monday also. Hopefully next Monday will be better since The Walking Dead is not on again until February so I don't have a reason to stay up late.

Monday - Ran/Walked - 1.52 miles in 22:20 (14:42 average mile) and Elliptical for 40 minutes.

Tuesday - OFF

Wednesday - Ran 1 mile and then walked - 2.12 miles in 30 minutes (14:09 average mile)

Thursday - The plan was to do the Elliptical for 60 minutes but I was tired so I took the day off!

Friday - OFF

Saturday - Supposed to run 1.5 miles but I went the trainer and was sore (plus I went out Friday night and drank a few beers and felt a little crappy).

Sunday - Felt under the weather so didn't go to the gym :(

So overall, not a great start! Hopefully this next week will be better!

Until later, happy running!
Jamie

Pre-birthday challenge

My 34th birthday is exactly 61 days away and I want to make them count - not only losing weight wise, but also workout wise. When I hit my first mile straight a couple weeks ago, I decided that I need to refocus and work on increasing my running mileage. So I have a new challenge...run an entire 5K straight!

Source: google.com via Kathy on Pinterest

I found this 8 week long 5K Training schedule for Beginners that I want to follow. It finished up with me doing a 5K on Sunday, January 27...the weekend before my birthday. I did have to make 2 changes though...I had swap Monday and Tuesday because Tuesday is my Weight Watcher meeting day (I'll talk about WW on Tuesday). I also had to swap Wednesday and Sunday to give me a break after the Saturday long run.

My training schedule

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1 Dec 3-9	12/3 1 mi run	12/4 Rest	12/5 20-30 min run or CT	12/6 1 mi run	12/7 Rest	12/8 1.5 mi run	12/9 CT or Rest
2 Dec 10-16	12/10 1.5 mi run	12/11 Rest	12/12 20-30 min run or CT	12/13 1.5 mi run	12/14 Rest	12/15 1.75 mi run	12/16 CT or Rest
3 Dec 17-23	12/17 2 mi run	12/18 Rest	12/19 20-30 min run or CT	12/20 1.5 mi run	12/21 Rest	12/22 2 mi run	12/23 CT or Rest
4 Dec 24-30	12/24 2.25 mi run	12/25 Rest	12/26 25-35 min run or CT	12/27 1.5 mi run	12/28 Rest	12/28 2.25 mi run	12/30 CT or Rest
5 Dec 31- Jan 6	12/31 2.5 mi run	1/1 Rest	1/2 25-35 min run or CT	1/3 2 mi run	1/4 Rest	1/5 2.5 mi run	1/6 CT or Rest
6 Jan 7-13	1/7 2.75 mi run	1/8 Rest	1/9 35-40 min run or CT	1/10 2 mi run	1/11 Rest	1/12 2.75 mi run	1/13 CT
7 Jan 14-20	1/14 3 mi run	1/15 Rest	1/16 35-40 min run or CT	1/17 2 mi run	1/18 Rest	1/19 3 mi run	1/20 CT
8 Jan 21-27	1/21 3 mi run	1/22 Rest	1/23 CT or Rest	1/24 2 mi run	1/25 Rest	1/26 Rest	1/27 5K Race!

The race I decided on doing is the 5K at the USA Fit Marathon. I was kind of limited with options...there aren't many races in January and I wanted to do one specifically on the the 27th.

I'm super excited now...I can't wait to start tomorrow. Hopefully I can knock out a mile tomorrow. Last Monday, I got winded after only half a mile. But maybe since I am taking today off I will be ready to go tomorrow.

As far as weight goes, my goal is to lose at least 15 pounds in this time period. I know it is asking a lot (almost 2 pounds per week) especially during the holidays, but I'm hoping with all this exercise I can make that happen!

Until later, happy running!

Jamie

Back in Business

Thanks to that steroid shot last Monday, I'm back!

I has felt so good to getting back to working out. It is amazing how much more energy I have! I definitely lost a little cardio endurance by losing those three weeks, but I am slowly building it back up.

I have a 10K in a week and a half that I am still training for, but I am not so worried about running it. I decided that I really need to work on my endurance, especially since it is over a 3.5 percent grade bridge! So I have been working with the incline on the treadmill.

And today I ran for 1/2 mile straight! Yes! I can't tell you how long it has been since I could run that far! I also tried out doing 1 minute at 6.0 mph. Uh, that was really fast! How the heck do people run that fast normally? Crazy! I actually almost didn't work out today. I got to the gym with the girls and realized that I forgot my shoes! Nooooo! But I decided to make a quick trip to the running store nearby to get some new running shoes that I was desperately in need of anyway. So 45 minutes later, my new mizunos and I made it back to the gym. Aren't they cute?

Anyway, I feel great this week and I'm super happy that the scale FINALLY started to go down! I've lost 11 pounds since May and can't wait until I can squeeze in the next smallest size...it's on the horizon! I'm aiming for an hour of working out everyday - combining running and elliptical, and maybe swimming and biking too.

Source: Uploaded by user via Alecia on Pinterest

Until later, happy running!
Jamie

10K Training progress...week 6

I went to the orthopedist last week and he said my MRI looked great, absolutely no problems and that the pain was just coming from inflammation. He gave me a steroid shot and said that as long as I didn't notice the pain level higher than it has been (which is around a 4 at the most), then I was OK to push through it if I needed to and it was very unlikely that I would actually injure myself.

Sweet!

So I finally made it back to the gym with the girls on Thursday and attempted 2 minute running intervals. Yeah...it was hard after 3 weeks of not working out! It's crazy how fast you lose your aerobic capacity. I was doing at least five to six 3-minute segments before! So I was able to do only 2 segments before I got tired and out of breath so then I jumped on the elliptical for 45 minutes.

It's nice to be back! I still have 2 weeks to train for my next 10K so I'll be working hard to make up for some of the lost time.

Until later, happy running!
Jamie