batman91

Mon: Quick morning walk Tues: Getting up to run felt super daunting. My shoulder had been bothering me Mon night, so didn’t sleep well as I’m a side sleeper. I compromised that I’d just do the first bit of my run, and then could decide whether to keep going or walk back. Ended up running ~.25 miles and walking ~.25 miles. Weds: Had jury duty downtown, and so cancelled my Lagree class as I wasn’t sure about timing. That ended up being a good decision - I got back at 3, but had a bunch of work stuff to deal with. My body has generally felt pretty out of sorts this week. I think still recovering from the work stress of last week.

Lagree fitness uses something similar to a Pilates reformer, and focuses on slow controlled movements under resistance. Lots of core and lower body strength and stability, with a bit of upper body too.

I feel pretty good about juggling and pickleball, as they’re things my BF and I can do together! Here’s what I came up with re-doing my workout plan: Monday AM: Walk Monday PM: Bands Tuesday AM: Run Tuesday: Grip Wednesday AM: Walk Wednesday PM: Lagree Class Thursday AM: Run Thursday PM: Bands Friday AM: Lagree Class Friday PM: Grip Saturday AM: Run Saturday PM: Bands Sunday AM: Lagree Class Sunday PM: Grip If red day: Just take a walk If orange day: Do one of the two things scheduled If yellow / green: Do both things scheduled Walk = Take a quick walk around the complex. Grip = Do 2 rounds with CoC and 2 rounds with expand-your-hand bands. Run = Run at least 1 mile. Bands = Do 2 rounds each of band pull-aparts with palms up, band pull-aparts with palms down, side-lying external shoulder rotation with weight, and banded clamshell hip abduction. This is the thing I’m least sure about - will experiment with different exercises here. Main thing I want to work on is my shoulder strength and stability.

Sunday: Did 1 mile run in morning, plus BF and I did a pretty intense 4-mile hike in the evening (1,200 ft elevation gain).

Some camp takeaways: - My BF and I both want to learn how to juggle! We both took the beginner class at camp, and ordered juggling beanbags to keep practicing. Working on juggling 3 balls. - There we’re a few really helpful form tweaks. When doing squats / lunges / deadlifts, I had my weight in my heel instead of the middle of my foot. Also, with push-ups I need to squeeze my shoulder blades together more at the bottom. - One class talked about setting goals as dials instead of binaries. We talked about setting different goals for red (on fire), orange (overwhelming), yellow (busy but not overwhelming), and green (extra time / energy) days. I’ve been starting to rethink my goals in those terms. For example, a short walk is a fitness win on a red day, even if I had planned to do other stuff. - My BF and I have tweaked a few of our go-to dinners to have additional veggies. Instead of salmon and sweet potatoes, we had salmon, sweet potatoes, and broccoli this week. Last night, we added corn on the cob to our normal honey walnut shrimp with riced cauliflower. Super easy and yummy! - I want to work on my grip strength. I got the lowest level captain of crush gripper, as well as extensor bands. Need to figure out how to work that into my routine - the nice thing there is that I can do it from the couch! - Inversions are cool! Headstands are not my thing, but working up to a handstand would be a fun goal at some point. However, I definitely need to prioritize and not try to do everything at once… - My BF and I both tried Pickleball and really liked it! Seems like a fun activity for us to do together on the weekend. Figuring out the best option… there are drop-in workshops near us every weekend, plus 6-week classes. I think registration opens for the next session there on Wednesday.

Hi everyone! Camp was awesome! Got back last Sunday. Will post with a few takeaways later, but wanted to get this update in. Monday 5/16: Did quick morning walk Tuesday 5/17: Did 1 mile morning run Wednesday 5/18: Did quick morning walk, would usually do an evening Lagree class but cancelled due to work craziness (things were on fire Weds and Thurs at work) Thursday 5/19: Did quick morning walk. Was thinking of trying to get a run in, but scaled back to the walk due to the work craziness. Friday 5/20: Did morning Lagree class Saturday: Was planning on doing a morning run, but realized when I got up that I was signed up for a HIIT class I had intended to cancel, so did that instead. Also got in a 2 mile walk later in the day.

Hi everyone! Have been in the NF community since 2016, but first time on the forums. Going to CNF next week, so will go dark for a bit 🙂 Big why: I want to stay healthy and active as far into old age as possible - being able to go on hikes, travel the world, and be an active parent / grandparent. No kids currently, but I’m in my early 30s, and looking to adopt in my 40s. Long-term goal #1: Get back to being able to run a 5k in under 30 minutes, and then maintain that process for the long haul (e.g., run a few races each year at that pace). Why? This feels like a good marker of cardiovascular fitness. When I was at peak fitness in 2018, I ran two 5k’s in ~30 mins and was really proud of myself (I had never really run before that year). Signing up for a race and training for it is really motivating to me. Not really interested in distances beyond 5k. Goal for this challenge: Complete a 1-mile run every Tuesday morning and a 1.5 - 2 mile run every weekend. Recent progress: I live with my partner, who’s an obsessive runner. He runs 4-6 miles every single morning without fail. What’s worked well so far is having him come back and pick me up at the end of his regular run. It’s a cool down for him, and for me it adds accountability and makes it a more fun activity. We did a 5k together in March, and I ran 37:33. To train for that, I did a run with him every weekend. Now, I’m looking to add in the weekday run - this Tuesday was the first time doing that. I signed up for another 5k in July to keep me motivated. When I’ll post? I’d like to post after every run (so twice a week). Will likely skip next week due to CNF. Other long-term goals: I’m going to focus on just the running goal for this first challenge, but here are the other two long-term goals I have in mind. #2: Do a full push-up. #3: Do all toe planks (vs on knees) during my Lagree Fitness classes.

So far, the biggest challenges have been meals out (especially ones paid for by the department) and getting myself to do my physical therapy exercises every day. In terms of restaurant meals, the hardest thing is resisting appetizers / desserts ordered for the table. Any suggestions?

Day 9 (Saturday): Brunch: spaghetti squash pasta with meatballs and veggies Dinner: chickpeas and veggies with the leftover butter chicken sauce Exercise: 30 mins on elliptical Day 10 (Sunday): Brunch: leftover spaghetti squash pasta with meatballs and veggies Dinner: general tso's tofu with veggies Exercise: yoga, physical therapy exercises Day 11 (Monday): Brunch: Thai curry with chicken, chickpeas, sweet potato, and veggies Dinner: shrimp and veggies in thai peanut sauce Exercise: physical therapy exercises Notes: I need a bit more variety in meals. This isn't really because of the diet... only two meals on my old rotation got nixed... but because I'm still just starting to cook for myself. In terms of veggies, I've been eating a lot of onion, mushroom, broccoli, green and red pepper, carrots, string beans, and snap peas. The past three days I cooked all of my meals, which made it easy to follow the rules I made.

Day 6: (Tuesday) Today was a seminar day, which meant free lunch and dinner with the speaker. I find it REALLY hard to resist free food, especially appetisers and desserts ordered for the table. So today didn't go so well... Breakfast: Banana and peanut butter Lunch: 2 tacos (one fish, one chicken) and some chips and salsa Dinner: some french fries (although I didn't inhale them, like I usually do at this restaurant), a chickpea and cherry salad, a main dish that had mushroom, lots of green leafy veggies, and some cheese Day 7: (Wednesday) Breakfast: Banana and peanut butter Lunch: Indian butter chicken with mushrooms, carrots, and brocolli Dinner: Salmon in order ginger sauce with veggies Exercise: 30 minutes on the elliptical Day 8: (Thursday) This was another day of free meals... the end of the year department awards / lecture / party. Lunch was at the faculty dining room with the speaker, and dinner was at the party. I think I did a lot better this time though. Breakfast: Banana and peanut butter Lunch: Chicken, carrots, mixed veggies, apple salad Dinner: chicken and veggie kabob, veggie kabob, grilled vegetables, raw pepper, pita and hummus Exercise: physical therapy exercises Day 8 (Friday): Went out to dinner with friends. Breakfast: Banana and peanut butter Lunch: Indian butter chicken with veggies Snacks: mixed nuts Dinner: turkey burger on a whole wheat bun, gelato Exercise: physical therapy exercises, a ton of walking Thoughts: I'm very good about what I eat when I'm cooking for myself. However, I'm in a profession where there's a lot of going out to dinner. In particular, the person running the weekly seminar in my area holds a lunch and dinner with the speaker almost every time. And he always orders appetisers for the table. He picks really great restaurants, and I often try new foods. But I eat way more than I would if I was paying for myself. I'm not sure the best way to handle this. Also, making myself do physical therapy exercises is a lot harder now that I'm not seeing my physical therapist every week. Surprisingly, going to the gym is a lot easier to make myself do. I think that it's because I go to the gym during the day, when the alternative is continuing to do work. While I do physical therapy exercises in the evening, when I'm lying in bed on the computer being lazy.

Here's my favorite curry recipe. I want to start making my own sauces, but I'm not quite there yet. Definitely something to keep in mind for a future challenge.

Day 5: Breakfast: banana and peanut butter Snack: "scrumptious blueberry swirl" from graze Lunch: leftover spaghetti squash with tomato sauce, turkey meatballs, and veggies Dinner: scrambled eggs with mushrooms and peppers Snack: apple Exercise: 30 minutes on the elliptical, restorative yoga class

Day 4: Brunch: spaghetti squash with tomato sauce, turkey meatballs, and veggies. Dinner: Easter dinner at my friend's parents' house. Had kale salad, green beans, and pasta with tomato and basil (which they made specially for me because I don't eat lamb). Also had a small piece of pie. And lots of red wine. Exercise: Did my physical therapy exercises. Thoughts: It's hard to be picky when someone invites you to dinner, especially a holiday dinner, and especially when you're a vegetarian. However, the majority of my plate was still vegetables. And I tried something new (kale salad) that I can make for myself / order at restaurants in the future. So overall it was a pretty good day.

Thanks guys! Here's my battle log. This past week was challenging as I was away for almost a week, and so didn't have any fresh vegetables or leftovers to eat when I got back on Wednesday night. And then my car wouldn't start, so I didn't get to the grocery store until Friday. Next week should be easier, as I have 3 lunches worth of spaghetti squash made and am about to make some slow cooker curry. In terms of exercise, I got off to a good start on Thursday, but haven't done anything for the past two days. I think even though I have more time during the weekend, I have less of a routine set up and so it's harder to make myself do my exercises, go to the gym, etc.

Day 2 (Friday): My friends ordered a pizza when we were hanging out late at night, but I resisted having any! Brunch: chickpea curry with veggies Dinner: shrimp with veggies in thai peanut sauce Drinks: a beer and a few hard ciders Day 3 (Saturday): I had some grains at the oyster roast... but mostly ate oysters and vegetables. No processed foods at least. And I avoided the cookies, ice cream, etc. Brunch: leftovers from last nights dinner, apple Dinner: Oyster roast! Also had some other potluck food... including some pasta salad, barbecue mushroom sliders, etc. Drinks: A few beers Thoughts: I've been doing pretty well with the diet so far, but not as well with exercising. Didn't do my physical therapy exercises at all the past two days.