Treadmill Workouts and Apple Pie Smoothies!

After taking a week's hiatus from running I got back on the treadmill yesterday. I had been suffering from the beginning twinges of "runner's knee" from taking on too much too soon (I have a tendency to do that...it's all or nothing with me!) I had some fear that it would reoccur, but I did a full 30 minutes of HIIT, and even reached some new high speeds without any issues. Hooray! I also tried out my new motivational workout playlist, and it definitely helped my endurance. When you're pumped up from a high-energy song you tend to focus less on the burning in your lungs as you gasp for breath. When I finished up, I was dripping sweat and had that lovely blotchy red face that shows I've been working extra hard. My daughter looked at me with some concern. "Mom, how long did you exercise for? Why are you sweating so much? What's wrong with you?" I had to explain to her that sweating is a good thing, as it prevents you from passing out from heat exhaustion.

This morning I decided to take a departure from my usual workday breakfast of a green smoothie, and try out a new recipe; the "Apple Pie Smoothie" (mainly because I had to start eating one of the three tubs of greek yogurt my boyfriend brought home from Costco.) I got the recipe from my favorite resource, Pinterest.  The ingredients list is as follows:

1 banana
1 small red apple
3/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
5 raw almonds

Blend them all together until you get your desired consistency. This recipe did not disappoint- it was delicious and SO filling that I'm sure it will take me right through to lunch. Here's a link to the original post:
Harley Pasternak's Breakfast Smoothie Recipe

March Retrospective

I just realized that since March is officially over, I should do an official summary of my progress, so here goes:

I did 100% awesome with the regular exercise this past month. The goal was to give myself a good head-start into a healthier lifestyle that includes exercise as a permanent fixture. This is something I've never been able to achieve before, but I find that blogging gives me that extra bit of motivation and accountability that I was lacking. I am stronger and have improved my cardiovascular endurance by quite a bit. My muscles are definitely more toned, although it's more a difference you can feel as opposed to a difference you can see. Either way- for just a month it's great progress. I have completed 30 Day Shred (cue the fanfare!)...I will now be moving on to a combination of three different workouts:

Jillian Michaels "Ripped in 30"
Jillian Michaels "Killer Buns and Thighs"
Cardio on my treadmill- I use the HIIT method with an incline of 5%

The Jillian workouts will be done alternately, 6 or 7 days/ week. Since they both move up in levels like the 30 Day Shred, I will be keeping track of the days completed on a calendar so I don't get confused. I should have all the levels completed in a little over 2 months, depending on the number of days off I end up taking. The cardio will be done in addition to the DVDs as much as possible, with a goal of every second day for 30 minutes.

I have not taken a "progress picture" for the end of March since there isn't a big difference yet, but I AM proud of the definition in my arms:

I will take a full body picture at the end of May upon completing the above mentioned programs.

Diet-wise I did quite well throughout March, although not as well as I would have liked towards the end. However, I still ate consciously and healthily the majority of the time. I do seem to have trouble focusing on both diet AND exercise for any length of time, and one or the other tends to fall by the wayside. But I am improving for sure!

I award myself an A- for the month of March...not as perfect as I'd hoped, but I'm still pretty proud of myself.

March Daily Exercise Update

As we near the end of March I wanted to update my exercise progress. At the beginning of the month I had challenged myself to daily workouts, based around Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I have never been good at maintaining any sort of consistent exercise routine, but this month I have rocked it! Monday will bring me to the end of the 30-day challenge. Level three is now getting easier, and I am ready for the next challenge. I haven't noticed much of a visual difference in my body (as I suspected!) but I am most definitely in better shape and ready to kick it up a notch.

I did take a few days off of the 30-day-shred here and there, but I always did some other form of exercise those days, such as hiking or running on the treadmill. Speaking of which- I have avoided using the treadmill for running due to the joint wear-and-tear that it can cause. Well a couple days ago I bought some new cross training shoes and wanted to test them out. I looked at the treadmill and felt frustration at being physically limited. Throwing caution to the wind I decided to go for it. I used to run, and there is nothing like that feeling you get during and after when the endorphins kick in.

I started off slowly at 2.5 miles/hr, with a 5% incline. (Using an incline helps prevent shin splints- it works like a charm and obviously adds resistance at the same time.) Maintaining the same incline throughout, I increased my speed by 1/2 mile each minute until I reached 5.5, then brought it back down to 2.5. I cycled through until I hit the 30 minute mark, drenched in sweat. This is known as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and is known to be far more effective for fitness training and fat burning than keeping the same speed throughout. As an added bonus, you get a better workout in a shorter amount of time.

I was very pleased to note that I had no aches and pains the following day. I will be adding this cardio into my routine as often as possible, which means I'll be running in the mornings before work. Did I ever think I'd be saying that? No!! But here we are.