Dayzee is back at it

[dayzee84]

Hi there. I used to hang out here (a lurker mostly) a few years ago. About 3 years ago I was in great shape. Running was my workout of choice and I even ran a couple of marathons. I also enjoyed lifting heavy things and did a Starting Strength type workout a few times a week as well as attended the odd spin and yoga class.

 

I had my first child in July 2015. She was extremely high needs and wouldn't take a bottle (or sleep!) and would freak out if she wasn't on me 24/7. We had 0 family/friends around  to help and my partner was working a lot. It was really hard on my mental health. The only way she would nap really was if I wore her in a wrap and walked. So that's what I did for a year. I walked and walked and walked. And nursed. I was eating a ton but with the nursing and all of the walking I lost a lot of weight. Everyone commented on how quickly I lost the baby weight but I felt horrible. I wasn't sleeping at night because my baby would wake up every 40 minutes like clockwork.

 

Anyway, all this is to say that my health and fitness really took a backseat. I became so fixated on taking care of my child that I forgot about me. So now here I am 2 years later, realizing that I have become a bit of a martyr in that I always put my needs last. Fitness used to be a big part of my life pre-baby and I want to reclaim part of that. Growing up my mom never prioritized her own needs and I don't want to set that example for my daughter.

 

I'm starting slow. Goals right now are to run 3x a week and do kettlebells/bodyweight stuff at home 2x a week. Non-workout goals are to be a tidier person (I'm loosely following flylady) and keep up with small everyday chores, so I don't have to do marathon cleaning sessions every couple of months. More goals to come I'm sure. For now I'm really excited just to be starting down this path again. 

 

[godjira1]

all the best and good luck with the restart on fitness and tidiness (heh heh). 

 

As an aside...

I think for some reason, in the anglo-saxon dominated countries (eg. USA, UK and perhaps their former colonies) there is a huge trend towards helicopter parenting or cosseting parenting where it is almost an arms race to see who can sacrifice more for their children, and almost a sin to think for themselves. My wife and I were former victims of this sort of thinking and struggled mightily as one of my brood has special needs as well. However, by good fortune I read this book "Bringing up Bebe" by Pamela Druckerman and it changed my life -> we have to be more than just parents, we are lovers, wives and husbands, fully functional human beings too. And tough love works sometimes! So if you have the inclination go give the book a spin. 

 

It is ok for completely ignore that last paragraph too, as YMMV. 

[dayzee84]

Thanks I will look for that book at the library!  

[dayzee84]

Monday, August 28:

Ran 3.46 miles this morning. Slow and fairly easy since I'm just getting back into running.

Quick 23 min beginner yoga video in afternoon.

Today was a work at home day. I always find fitting in workouts much easier on these days. Plus I don't sit in a chair nearly as long as I do when in the office.

[dayzee84]

Tuesday, August 29:

Did a short circuit with a 20 lb kettlebell at home. First time I've intentionally lifted anything heavy (other than a toddler!) in a long time. I kept it fairly easy and my muscles still felt wiped. 
Also did a couple of planks and then stretching and foam rolling. 

 

The temptation was there to do a more intense workout that I used to do a few years ago but I don't want to go too hard and too difficult for my current state and then throw in the towel. 

 

[dayzee84]

Wednesday, August 30:

Short beginner yoga video. Went for a few walks during the day. Nothing too drastic. Nutrition wasn't great in evening. Not awful but not great. 

 

Thursday, August 31: 

A few bodyweight exercises. Ended up being in meetings most of the day so didn't move much.

 

Friday, September 1:

Easy-ish 4 mile run.  10 min. kettlebell circuit video. 20ish minute beginner sun salutation video. I'm working from home today and I love being able to easily get in a short workout in between tasks. 

 

Yay new month! I'm bummed about fall arriving but here are my September goals:

1.  run at least 3x a week

2. go running at lunch at work at least 1x

3. do kettlebells at least 2x a week

4. do yoga at least 2x a week

5. drink at least 2L of water a day

6. stretch for at least 10 min a day

7. clean/do chores for at least 10 min a day

8. finish reading 2 books

 

 

[dayzee84]

It was a long weekend here. Saturday and Sunday I didn't do much fitness-wise. Hung out with family.

 

Monday, September 4:

4 mile run in morning. Went hiking in afternoon. Wasn't a very fast hike since we were going at toddler speed most of the time but was still about 2 hours of walking. 

[dayzee84]

Tuesday, September 5:

Kettlebell circuit video on youtube. Practiced hollow holds.

 

Wednesday, September 6: 

My kid's daycare had a water main break and had to close unexpectedly. So I'm home with her trying to work while she watches Elmo. That's....interesting. This is going to throw my whole week off but oh well, these things happen. Will try to get in what workouts I can. 

[dayzee84]

Friday, September 15:

My tracking has really sucked lately. I haven't been getting as many workouts in as I would like.  Some kettlebell stuff and a few runs here and there. 

 

I'm starting a thread for the upcoming challenge (here). 

 

There is a gym very close to my work that I am thinking of joining. It's more expensive than I would like but I'm going to do a trial week and see how I like it. It's somewhat Crossfit-esque in that it concentrates on functional training and there is a small class that you do the workout with rather than going in and doing your own thing. I haven't been to a gym like that before so I'm not sure how I will like it. Anyway, I'm hoping to start next week. 

[dayzee84]

Monday, September 18:

Started a trial week at a gym close to my office today. It's small group training and has a different workout each day but Mon and Fri are strength, Tues and Thurs is cardio, and Wed is metabolic conditioning. It was my first time doing a group strength session and I liked it!  I'll try out some more sessions this week. 

 

Today's session was something like:

Bodyweight rows 4x6

Negative bodyweight rows 2x6

Squats 4x5 (I just used the bar)

 

Two supersets of:

DB shoulder press x8 (8 lb DBs)

DB upright row x8 (8 lb DBs)

Floor press x8 (8 lb DBs)

 

Three supersets of:

Sumo squat x10 (20 lb KB)

Sumo romanian DL x20 (20 lb KB)

 

 

[dayzee84]

Tuesday, September 19:

5 mile run in morning. Took about an hour. Had to walk up one short but steep hill. This is the first time running 5 miles in a couple of years. Going this slow is humbling (my old pace was around a 10 min/mile, which isn't fast either) but I know that if I keep at it speed will come eventually. 

 

Work at home day so was able to get in a 1 hour yoga session. I pieced together two DoYogaWithMe.com beginner videos. There are 12 videos in their beginner fundamentals series and I've now reached past the halfway mark (7/12 complete). Yay!

[dayzee84]

Wednesday, September 20:

Metabolic conditioning day at the gym - a mix of strength and cardio. 

 

Did some ladder stuff on the floor to warm up

 

5 rounds of:

thrusters

upright rows

romanian DLs

side raises

hammer curls

tri extensions

floor press

hip raises

 

also a few KB swings, burpees, v-ups, and push ups.

 

I found the workout super fun!  I went a little too light on the weights. I found it hard to pick a weight that was challenging but that I could still do the exercise quickly yet with good form. 

[dayzee84]

Thursday, September 21:

Sprint and circuit day at the gym. This was just what it sounds like - sprints mixed with circuits with things like ball slams, KB swings, ab work, etc. It was tough! The AC is broken at the gym and it was so hot in there. 

 

Friday, September 22:

Deadlift day at gym. Went something like this -

 

Superset x3:

Bench press x 10

Plank press x 10 (I did it from the knees)

15 lb DB for both

 

Deadlifts 2x6 (65 lbs), 2x3 (85 lbs) - went light as I haven't deadlifted in years

 

Superset x3:

TRX tricep extension x8

Hammer curl press x8 (10 lb DBs)

TRX face pull x8

 

Superset x3:

Forward-back lunge x10

One leg hip thrust x10 (10 lb DB)

 

I'm super stuffy with a cold, but I still got my workout in. Also coughing when you have sore abs suuuuuuucks. 

 

I enjoyed my trial week at the gym close to work so I pulled the trigger and bought a 3 month membership. Wee!

[dayzee84]

Saturday, September 23:

Rest day. Did about 30 minutes of hip mobility work in the evening and boy did it feel good afterward. 

 

Sunday, September 24:

3 mile run. Finally felt like I'm starting to get back to where I was speed-wise. I haven't been taking my GPS with me as I get back into running as I didn't want to stress about speed. My old pace was around a 10 min/mile. 

 

We're moving into our first house (yay!) in November. I have claimed part of the basement as a home gym. I was dreaming about buying a squat rack and oly bar and bumper plates but I think that's outside of the budget for now (unless I happen upon a sweet Craigslist deal). So I think I'll focus on maybe rounding out our kettlebells (right now we have 20#, 35#, and 50#) and focusing on that once my gym membership runs out in December.  I would like to maybe get a rower though (low basement ceilings, plus I like that it's a full body workout). 

 

 

[dayzee84]

Dumping a bunch of workouts here.

 

Monday, September 25:

Squat day!

 

Squats - 4 sets of 6 reps. 2 sets at 65 lbs, 2 sets  at 75 lbs. I felt like I could have done 85. Next week.

 

Superset x4:

Bodyweight rows x8

Face pulls x8

 

Superset x4:

DB shoulder press x10 (12 lb DBs, hit failure on a couple of sets)

Upright row x10 (20 lb KB)

 

Superset x3:

Romanian DL x10 (35 lb KB)

Goblet squat x10 (26 lb KB)

 

Tuesday, September 26:

Today was a circuit day with a bunch of different stations. At each station we did 20 sec. of work on exercise A, 20 sec. of work on exercise B, rest 40 sec., move on to next station. Repeat 4x.

 

Station 1: A - ball slams, B - chest slams

Station 2: A - squat front raise, B - speed squats

Station 3: A - knee grabs, B - v-ups

Station 4: A - russian twists (medicine ball), B - lying toe touches (medicine ball)

Station 5: A - alternating waves on the ropes, B - circles on the ropes

Station 6: A - KB swings, B - KB halos

 

Wednesday, September 27:

Doubled up on workouts today! 

 

AM - 4 mile run

 

Noon - speed strength day at the gym. 5 rounds of:

Single arm DB clean and press x10

KB deadlift x10

Upright KB row x10

Double arm DB row x10

Drag curl x10

Side raises x10

DB pullover/tri extension x10

 

Thursday, September 28:

Speed and circuit day at the gym. 

 

Workout A:

sprint 4 lengths of gym x5 (40 sec rest between sets)

circuit A:

DB skiier swings

KB halos

ball slams

 

Workout B:

sprint 4 lengths of gym x5 (40 sec rest between sets)

circuit B:

mountain climbers

knee grabs

toe touches

 

Later on will get in a yoga video (8/12 of the DoYogaWithMe beginner series videos).

[dayzee84]

Friday, September 29:

Deadlift day!

Deadlift:

2 sets of 8 @ 85 lbs

2 sets of 6 @ 95 lbs

 

Superset x 4:

DB Bench (20 lbs) x 8

One arm row (20 lbs) x 8 each arm

 

Superset x3:

Hammer curls (12 lbs) x8

Tri extension (15 lbs)  x8

Reverse fly (8 lbs) x8

 

Step ups: 4 sets of 6 each leg. No weight as I'm trying to work on my balance.

 

Later on did a yoga video (9/12 of the beginner series)

 

Saturday, September 30:

3.3 mile run pushing a 30 lb toddler in a heavy jogging stroller! Complete with hills. Yikes.

 

Sunday, October 1:

Much needed rest day. Was feeling very fatigued. 

 

I've been slacking on mobility work the last couple of days. Need to get back on that. 

[dayzee84]

Monday, October 2:

AM - 4 mile run. My knee felt sore the first 10 min. or so. I'm pretty sure that is due to me neglecting stretching and mobility work the past few days.

 

Noon - squat day!

 

Bodyweight rows: 4 sets of 6

Negative bodyweight rows: 2 sets of 6

 

Squats:

2 x 8 (85 lbs)

2 x 6 (90 lbs)

 

Superset x3:

Arnold presses x8 (12 lb DBs)

Upright rows x8 (25 lb KB)

Lateral raises x8 (5 lb DBs...wanted 8s but they were in use)

 

Superset x3:

Lunges x10

KB sumo romanian DL x10 (35 lb KB)

 

In the evening I did a lot of stretching and mobility work. Knee feels better today. Really concentrated on hips and hamstrings. Threw in some ab work for funsies.

 

Tuesday, October 3:

Circuit day at gym. 30 sec. of work then 45 sec. of rest between exercises, complete circuit 4x.

Jump squats

Ball slams

Mountain climbers

Farmer's walks

Single-arm KB swings

 

Was wearing a tank top at the gym and standing in front of the mirror. I had a nice pump in my arms and that made me super happy and motivated to kick butt. 

 

Later in PM did a yoga video (video 10/12 of beginner series). 

[dayzee84]

Wednesday, October 4:

AM - was going to go running in the morning but I didn't have my running shoes. Ugh. So did a yoga video instead.

 

Noon - metabolic conditioning day

Upper body circuit x 4 (90 sec. rest between rounds):

Push press x8

Bent over row x8

Upright row x8

Hammer curls x8

Reverse fly x8

 

Lower body circuit x 4 (90 sec. rest between rounds)

1 1/2 squat x8

Romanian DL x8

Split squats x8

KB DL x8

Hip raises x8

 

Thursday, October 5:

Noon - sprint and tabatas at the gym. A bunch of sprinting with 40s rest. Then 8 rounds of tabatas with 20 sec. work/10 sec. rest. It was really brutal.  Some bodyweight stuff. Some weighted stuff.

 

Later in afternoon - I missed my run yesterday and knew I had to get it in today or it wasn't going to happen this week.  I had to pick up my daughter from daycare so I ran 2 mile loop on the way to my daughter's daycare and then ran with her in the jogging stroller back home. Like a boss. 

 

Had a good visit with my mom over Canadian Thanksgiving! Workouts were non-existent but had a lot of quality family time. Ate (and drank) too much but oh well that's how it goes. 

 

Wednesday, October 11th:

I had a lot of meetings today and couldn't make the gym work but I did the following:

 

AM - 4 mile run

 

Afternoon - at-home kettlebell workout. Did this circuit 4x (30-45 sec. rest between circuits):

 

20 swings

15 goblet squats

10 reverse lunges (each leg)

15  deadlifts

20 high pulls

 

Followed it up with 3 sets of weighted glute bridges. This workout felt really difficult but I hadn't eaten much due to meetings and what-not. 

[dayzee84]

Thursday, October 12th:

Sprints and circuits day at the gym. Running sprints followed by strength circuits. Some bodyweight, some weighted. I forget the details because there were 3 different circuits. But burpees were definitely involved.

 

Friday October 13th:

Did the Friday the 13th workout at the gym:

 

Superset x4:

DB Bench x 6 (20 lbs)

DB flye x 13 (10 lbs)

 

Superset x4:

Deadlift x 5 (95 lbs)

KB Romanian DL x 13 (35 lbs)

 

Superset x3:

Arnold press x 8 (15 lbs) - I hit failure on these for sets 2 and 3. I should have used 12 lb DBs

Side raises x 13 (8 lbs)

 

Superset x3:

DB Split squat x 12 - 6 per leg (15 lbs)

Goblet sumo squats x 13 (15 lbs)

 

Later on did yoga video (completing the doyogawithme beginner series, yay!)

 

I guess I'll put this here. We have decided to officially try for baby #2. I am mostly mentally ready. I do feel that I'm just now getting my fitness (and me time) back after baby #1 (who is over 2....) but I think I have a better handle on how to not lose so much of myself into motherhood now and how to advocate for myself and carve out the time that I need. With the last kid I got pregnant the first month we tried but who knows if that will happen again this time. 

[dayzee84]

Saturday, October 14:

Yoga class at the gym (gentle, restorative yoga)

 

Sunday, October 15:

5 mile run

 

Monday, October 16:

Squat day at the gym!

 

Superset x4:

Bodyweight rows x8

Face pulls x8

 

Squats 4 x 5 (2 sets at 85 lbs, 2 sets at 90 lbs)

 

Superset x3:

Shoulder press x 10 (used 15 lb DBs, hit failure on last two sets)

Upright row x10 (25 lb KB)

 

Superset x3:

RDLs x 10 (35 lb KB)

Lunges x 12 (15 lb DBs)

[dayzee84]

Tuesday, October 17:

Due to my meetings and what-not today I won't get to the gym so I did a quick metcon at home.

 

5 rounds, no rest:

5 burpees

10 push ups

20 squats (20 lb KB)

10 tricep dips

 

I thought that it was going to be too easy but it was actually pretty hard. Finished up with some side planks, hollow holds, and glute bridges. 

[dayzee84]

Wednesday, October 18:

Sprints and circuits day. Did 9 circuits that started with 20 sec. sprints followed by circuits of mainly bodyweight stuff but also included some KB swings and Russian twists with a slam ball. 

 

Will get in a yoga video later on. 

[dayzee84]

Thursday, October 19:

5 mile run