Workout Recap – June 4th – 10th

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It feels amazing to be back in GOAL mode and following a training plan. As I shared last week, now that I am 11-months postpartum I’m thrilled to be in the place where I want to train and have the emotional, mental and physical ability to work towards a goal.  While I am keeping a training journal, where I track my progress, I want to also share my training with you all as I know many of you are chasing the same sub 2-hour goal and others are just curious and enjoy reading workout recaps and getting a bit more details behind my daily workouts.

So, with that said, let’s dive into my first true week of training which includes not only my workouts, but also my health and wellness goals.

Average steps: 8,108 (vs previous average of 6,500)

Number of glasses of wine: 5

Did I track my meals breakfast, lunch & snacks Monday through Friday? Yes!

  • Monday: After a long time away, I finally returned to Body Pump. Our local YMCA offers Body Pump classes 10 different times throughout the week and I’ve chosen this as my primary strength workout during this training. With so many weekly opportunities, it is easy to fit in my schedule and it’s included in my YMCA membership plan.  Since it was my first time doing Body Pump in AGES, it took me a few tracks to figure out the right weight combination. I wish I’d written down the weight I used during class so that I can easily remember each week but I’ll have to do this next time. The class flew by and I appreciated all the adjustments the instructor made during class.
  • Tuesday: Thanks to a package I received at Christmas, I have a few private Pilates sessions at my neighborhood Pilates studio, A-Line. I spent a lot of time here during pregnancy as it was one of my favorite prenatal workouts and the breathing techniques helped me through labor. Now that I’m safely postpartum, it is so much fun to push my body during their tower and mat classes. The private class helped me focus on form as Lindsay constantly adjusted and helped me focus on the breath. These private classes are giving me more confidence to take the tower and mat group classes.
  • Wednesday: In celebration of Global Running Day, I joined Brooks and a few of my friends for a fun-filled 5k run along the West Side Highway bright and early before work.
  • Thursday: While I rarely have double workout days, I ended up running 4 miles with my Brooklyn mom running group bright and early and then ended the day with a 45-minute mat Pilates class. We did a lot of posture and back work during this class which helped me focus on my posture throughout the week and standing just a little bit taller and straighter.
  • Friday: I was able to sleep in an hour and a half later than normal since Bo and I decided to kick off our date night with a 45 minute Flywheel class. Since I frequently spin at home these days on our Fly Anywhere bike, it was a treat to not only take class in a studio but with one of my favorite instructors – Dionna!
  • Saturday: 100% rest day including a relaxing bath and some foam rolling
  • Sunday: My first “long run” of half marathon training was a 3.3 mile run throughout Red Hook.  I focused on the pace and having consistent splits – 8:56, 8:59, 9:07, 9:09.  The last 3/10 of a mile were completely uphill so the change in pace wasn’t a surprise. Since I knew I only had one small window of time to run, during Katie’s afternoon nap, I definitely “made it count” and focused on my form, breathing and enjoying the water views and my playlist.

Overall, my first week was exactly the kick in the butt I needed and left me feeling excited, energized and hopeful for what is to come!

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Weekly Workout Recap

I don’t know if it is the sunshine or finally being nine months postpartum but guys, I finally feel like myself again.  I slept soundly each night, my workouts felt strong and physically and emotionally I felt very healthy.  My clothes are also fitting better and it seems like I’ve started to move past the plateau I’d hit the past few weeks. This is the first time I’ve felt comfortable enough in the above tank top to wear it for a workout which makes me SO happy since I have four of these Brooks Pickup Tanks folded in my drawers!  Since I was able to enjoy a number of workouts both here in Brooklyn and in Arkansas while traveling, I wanted to share them with you.

Hopefully the warmer spring weather is helping each of you get outside more and stay active.

  • Saturday – I squeezed in a 20 minute FlyAnywhere spin class and a 1 mile run before we headed to New Jersey for the day.
  • Sunday –  I started the day with a 1-hour Full Body Conditioning class at the YMCA with Laura. The format of this class changes weekly so we never know what to expect accept that we will definitely be dripping sweat by the end and it will be a good mix of cardio and strength.
  • Monday – Rest Day
  • Tuesday – The hotel in Arkansas only has two treadmills so if I don’t wake up early enough it’s almost guaranteed that I won’t get one. I was in the gym by 5:15 and able to snag a treadmill for a 5k run which included a quarter mile of incline each mile.
  • Wednesday – Instead of doing our 1:1 connect in a huddle room, my co-worker asked if I wanted to join her for a 4 mile run instead. We knew that the fresh air and sunshine would make our join-up even more enjoyable and since the purpose of our meeting was to get to know each other better and talk a few topics, we didn’t need access to a computer. While the 75 degree temperatures felt wonderful, by the third mile I could definitely tell that I wasn’t well hydrated nor accustomed to running in the heat. We also had a bit too much fun the first two miles, going out entirely too fast for my current fitness level. We finished the 4 miles in less than 37 minutes, including a few walking breaks during the final mile.
  • Thursday – Our office in Arkansas has THREE gym spaces. Instead of working out at the Courtyard Hotel gym I headed over to the office early and took advantage of the gym access. I felt like a kid in a candy store! There were so many choices based on the array of strength and cardio equipment available as well as lots of fun items like TRX, Jacob’s ladder and more. I decided to do a HIIT workout which was 1/2 mile warm-up, BBG STRONG Full Body workout and a 1 mile run to end.  Just for fun, since I had access to the tools I also did a few box jumps and some TRX arm work in between the BBG routine and the run.

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Five Tips for Returning to Exercise Post-Baby

Hello! I am thrilled to share a guest post with you today, that answers one of the most frequently asked questions since I started working out again, six weeks after giving birth to Katie. Each day, at least a few people reach out over email, Facebook, Instagram or blog comments asking for tips for returning to exercise in a safe and healthy manner after giving birth. Since I am not an expert on the topic, I figured I’d enroll the person who helped me return to strength training – Carolyn. Carolyn is a pre and postnatal health coach and personal trainer who lives in Brooklyn. During my maternity leave I had the pleasure of attending her mother & baby workouts with her two times a week for almost three months!  Enjoy!

I’m so excited to be guest posting on Ashley’s blog while she is adjusting to life as a working mom.  My name is Carolyn and I’m a pre and postnatal health coach and personal trainer – and also first-time mom to Charlie who is about to turn 1 year old! Whoever said that with a baby “the days are long but the months are short” nailed it. I have no idea where the time went, but what an amazing journey it has been so far.

When I became pregnant with Charlie, I was in the process of studying for my health coach and personal training certification. As I learned about various dietary theories and fitness components the body needs to thrive, I felt so lucky that I had this information that I could immediately apply to my own pregnancy. Armed with this wealth of knowledge, however, I became hyper-aware of how little we’re counseled on how to have a healthy pregnancy and postpartum recovery unless we actively seek the information out.

In most cases, we’re told by our doctor that whatever form of exercise we were doing before getting pregnant is fine to continue (within reason) and then we’re quickly given the go-ahead to resume all exercise at 6-weeks. I’ll never forget at my 6-week postpartum visit, my OB cleared me to start running again. It was exactly what I was hoping to hear, but I looked at her in total disbelief. My core felt so weak (and by weak I mean non-existent) and my hips and pelvis felt like – well like I had just pushed out a 9-pound baby! I had exercised almost every day before and during my pregnancy, but pounding the pavement felt like the last thing my body needed. Each and every person’s body is different and every recovery is different, so if you were able to lace up your sneaks at 6 weeks – all the power to you! But if you are wondering how to safely ease back into an exercise routine, here are 5 tips to get you started:

  • Listen to your body. Ashley talks a lot about her fitness journey pre, during and post pregnancy and how she is always reminding herself to build back up slowly. This is so important. No matter what kind of birth you had, your body just went through an amazing, life-altering, endurance test and you know yourself best. If something doesn’t feel right, take a pause. Now isn’t the time to force it.
  • Remember to breathe. Did you know the diaphragm is actually the most important muscle of the core? Here’s a test: Put one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly just below your rib cage. Now take a deep breath. Does your chest or belly rise first? For a variety of reasons, including desk jobs and chronic stress, most of us have become chest breathers, when in fact breathing should come from the diaphragm. While it sounds simple, changing the way you breathe can impact everything from our stress levels to our digestive system.

  • Reconnect with your core. Your core is the foundational aspect of your body that impacts everything else. If you recently had a baby, your core has been stretched in some places, tightened in others, and has been holding everything together for 9 months. It’s tired. It’s weak. It needs some love. Breathing through your diaphragm, doing Kegels and practicing modified abdominal work will help strengthen the inner layer of muscles that have helped carry and protect your little one up until this point.
  • Fire up those glutes. Second in importance to the core, the glutes help support your hips, pelvis and lower back, all of which have shifted around over the past 9 months. Strengthening these guys will help ease any residual aches and pains and provide support to the core. Squats and lunges are the best exercises for your buns and are easily done with baby in tow.
  • Stretch with caution. You may have heard about the hormone Relaxin that is released into your body throughout pregnancy. Its primary job is to loosen up your ligaments to prepare you for childbirth, but while It’s unclear exactly how long your body continues to produce it, some believe it can last up to a year postpartum. So, if you can touch your toes for the first time now that you can finally see them again, just be careful not to get overexcited, it could still be the Relaxin talking. Only stretch out areas that feel tight or like they need to be lengthened to avoid overstretching.

If you have other questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments and, if you are local, I would love to see you for one of my workouts in Carroll Park or Prospect Park.

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