Connect the Dots Ginger | Becky Allen

Monday, July 14, 2014

Day 1- Piyo

Today marks my day 1 of doing Piyo by Beachbody! And started Shakeology. I'm a little nervous to say the least. To commit to 60 days doesn't seem like a lot but it really is. And for someone who has lost a lot of their strength, yeah I'm a little nervous.

Can you believe that a lot of my strength is gone! It is a really funny thing. Right after you have a baby, any strength you had in your arms, legs and core are just GONE! I have no idea why (except for the core, being stretched as much as it was, I get that one.) But arms and legs so weird. So I have a lot of strength to build up in my legs and arms over the next 6 weeks.

What I'm looking forward to most, is my core strength. I have never really worked on core strength and I keep hearing over and over how great it is to work on for runners. We need a stable core for proper running stance. But I have a little extra fluff in my tummy from both kids and I am looking forward to that going down a bit!

So here we go! I will have a weekly recap of how it is going so stay tuned!

Sunday, July 13, 2014

It All Begins...Tomorrow

Here we go! The beginning of my in home exercise program begins tomorrow with Piyo by Beachbody! My friend Janet told me about Piyo after I mentioned that wanted to take yoga and pilates at the gym when I go back. So why not combine the two together, right? Since I can't go back to the gym anytime soon I had to take matters into my own hands and so here we have it.

I am part of a support group and I am super excited to do this challenge program with a ton of other people. Have you ever been part of an exercise support group??? Do you wanna join one with me. Even if you aren't doing a "beach body" specific DVD we could still work together to get fit together. Let me know if you are interested in just needing daily motivation to get fit and go take that walk or what not!

On top of the DVD I am going to be trying out Shakeology. It is a meal replacement shake that you drink 1 time a day. It has more than 70 super nutritious ingredients and only costs about $4 a day. If you were to buy all the ingredients to match what is in the shake at the store than you would be spending about $42 A DAY! And for a busy mommy of 2 now not having to think, "What am I going to have for lunch today?" is priceless! Most people replace their breakfast, but I love my 2 eggs and oatmeal for breakfast too much to give up and I eat a very healthy breakfast in the first place. It is lunch that I struggle with! So please let me know if you are interested in a hassle free meal replacement shake that increases your energy, stops cravings and is a MOMMY PROOF easy option to help you lose weight!

Stay tuned here and check back OFTEN to see my progress and see how it is going! First goal is to make it through 1 week, then 2 weeks and so forth. Small goals to reach the bigger one!

Again if you are interested in more info about this challenge group or Shakeology let me know at my email!

Friday, July 11, 2014

Running Tips And Tricks: Breathing


I really love doing the 4 miler training program! I am meeting so many people each and every week and my goal is to talk to at least 5 new people and get to know them. Since I am a pink lady I often get asked questions about running. I am no expert on running but I tell them what works for me and we go from there. So today the topic is on BREATHING!

QUESTION: This is my first time adding running into my walking and I am having a hard time breathing. I can't catch my breath at all. What do I do?

Answer: You are exerting your body more than you have in a very long time. This is common. You are working hard. So your body is following suit. The harder we work the more our breath is shallow and rapid.

So First, when running breathing through your mouth so you are getting a full breath and not a constricted breath. Then, Focus on breathing in and out with the rhythm of your steps. I like to vary between breathing in for 3 steps and out for 2 or in for 2 and out for 2, depending on the speed and length of my run, hills or no hills and how humid it is.

Next, deep breaths are also key. Make sure when you are breathing you are breathing down into your belly and not into your lungs. (I am kind of a master at this as this is how you teach breathing for an instrument and since I teach french horn I talk about deep breathing ALL THE TIME!) Try right now, take a deep breath...ok now answer me this. Did you fill your chest (did your chest rise?) Or did your breath go into your belly (making your belly stick out a little more?) As females we don't like making our belly stick out and we actually have great abs because we suck in our bellies without thinking about it. But when running we need to be relaxed but stable in our abs and core and our breath should fill our belly not our lungs. NO SHALLOW BREATHS!

TIP: Practice deep breathing to a steady beat before you run to get a feel for how to fill your belly and not your lungs. Sit on the couch and put on your favorite moderate paced song and tap your foot to keep the beat. Breath in for 3 stomps filling all the way to your belly and out for 3 exhaling all of the air. And repeat a ton to get a good feel for it. Then try when running.

Question: Ouch! I am finally running and I am keeping my breathing under control but after some time I get a cramp in my side. How do I not get that or make it to go away?

Answer:  Welcome to the world of YOU ARE WORKING YOUR LUNGS AND THEY ARE FIGHTING YOU! But guess what? You are strong and your body will adjust over time to this and the stitch will go away. Or maybe every single time you run, at 17 minutes in, you will get a cramp in your right side just under your ribs and it feels like you can't take another breath but by 19 minutes it is gone and whew you can keep going! Welcome to my world!

Seriously, when I was running at a 12 min/mile at 17 min (1.5 miles) I always, ALWAYS got a cramp in my side for 2 minutes. I think though at some point during running you might always get a stitch because you are working your lungs so hard. I got one every time while training for my half marathon. Either you just get used to it as you train more or here is a tip on how to make them go away!

TIP: This was taught to me last year by another pink lady, Janet. Going back to foot falls. When you get a stitch reverse your foot falls with your breathing. HUH!?! Ok so if you are breathing in for 2 and out for 2, it is easier to think about, stick with me here, Ok so every time you start to breath in your right foot goes down. Then when you start to breath out your right foot goes down again. Now Switch it to have your breath begin with your left foot and out with your left foot. I don't know why this works but seriously IT DOES! And it works FAST! SUPER FAST! Maybe it gets your mind thinking about something else other than the pain I have no idea but it works!

QUESTION:  I hack up a lung every time I run. Am I ok?

ANSWER: This goes back to  YOU ARE WORKING YOUR LUNGS AND THEY ARE FIGHTING YOU! So my husband when he would do his Army physical fitness test he would push himself super hard with his running to make sure he came in at a good time. Often he would cough a ton afterwards and once he even coughed up blood. Just a little bit.(EWWWW) Well your lungs are being worked a ton. This is where training comes in. When we are training for a race we slowly increase our speed and increase our distance. We don't go out there and kill it every time and push ourselves to the max. And if you push too hard too fast your lungs are gong to fight you. Slowly increase your mileage and speed over weeks not a day. My hubs could run, but he would push himself too much on testing days. DON'T DO THAT!

Tip: If you notice that if you are coughing a lot after running, and it is super humid out. Next time slow down just a bit. The air is super thick because it is not moving at all. Our bodies have to work harder to move the air in and out of our lungs. Take it easy and don't over do it!

Running is meant to be fun. Don't over exert yourself because you want to keep coming back for more! Hope these tips help you in your training for your race or your everyday fun run!

Don't forget to like my Facebook page to get updates and stay connected when a new post is up!!! 

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Thinking About Doing A Race?


Is this your first race ever, or your third 5k? How about your first 1/2 marathon or full marathon? You have made the decision that you want to run in a race. GREAT! It is such an amazing feeling to cross the finish line after all the hard work, time and dedication that you have put into doing this race.

Normally you don't just roll out of bed and say, "I'm gonna run a 1/2 marathon today!" NO WAY! (ok there might be some people that do do that but they have probably been running for years and can do that or this is a person that is just going to get hurt.) You must first train for it! Your body needs to get conditioned to the activity you are going to be doing to it. There are callouses that need to be built, strength that needs to be made and determination needs to be set in your mind to get through a race, any race! Here are some things to think about when deciding to start training for a race.

1. Be EXCITED! Be excited about the thought of your new race. Start to plan ahead on what you can do to be ready for it. Check out what you eat, make a food journal. Make a running journal so that in the future you can look back and see what worked and didn't work. Make this a lifestyle change and stick to it! Make a game plan too on how much you are going to run and when you are going to run. Find a training plan or join a local running group. runDisney has great training programs that can be modified to meet your needs. They have training programs for 10k's up to full marathon, with different levels of running to choose from. Novice to elite!


2. How's your body feel when exercising? Are you used to walking already? Or running? Do you have any aches or pains when you walk or do some running. If you have constant pain in your shins or body and it has been weeks and you are icing and using compression it's time to get the pain checked out! Either try out new running shoes or go see your doctor. (I love my chiropractor) Running is a high impact sport. There will be some aches and pains in the beginning but they should go away as you become more used to the movements and what you are putting your body through. Constant pain for a long period of time is not normal. GET IT CHECKED OUT! 



3. Eat Right! Eat to fuel your body. It takes the right foods to sustain the activity you are going to be doing. Find out the super foods that are great and gives you energy and keeps you satisfied for as long as possible. Also figure out what you are going to eat before you run and always do that. Prep for the race while you train. If you always eat a banana and a cliff bar before training, do that the morning of the race. Figure out what works and stick with it!

4. Coordinate with your family. This is a biggie. Seriously. Training for a race, any race takes a lot of planning for you and your family. Set a schedule to when you are going to run or exercise. I have to figure out a time I can go out and do my runs without Collin right now and I have to be back in a certain amount of time because he gets hungry and grumpy without me and I don't really want to spring a leak while I am running. Saturdays until September I am probably going to go out twice. Saturday mornings work with the training program then do my long run in the afternoon to make sure I am getting my mileage in. Also know that you might have to rest in the afternoon. I had to take a nap every single time after I had a long run. My body needed it. My mind needed it too. So prep your family that you are going to have to have nap time! Then there is race day. I haul my family with me early, early, early in the morning to get to the race, wait for me and watch me run then stay through the awards until it is time to go.

5. Work a race. Volunteers are amazing! They are the ones there super early, walk out to wherever they are working, cheer you on and stay until the last person passes them. They hand out water, often getting covered in spilled water. Pick up the trash, direct you to where you go so you don't get lost. I volunteered at my first race for the 4th of July and really tried to cheer everyone on as they passed! Especially the back of the pack because I know what it is like to be in the back and not have as many supporters cheering you on. I had a ton of fun and it was awesome to see the front of the pack, and the first person to come in and to walk in with the last. I had a lot of fun.



6. Get a buddy! Try to have a buddy that you can report your training to. See if they can be your running buddy either with you on actual running days or long distance. My BFF K was my running buddy as I trained for my 1/2 marathon. I would text her with my times after each time that I ran and she would congratulate me every single time. We would talk about what I was planning on running that weekend, often matching the mileage on my long runs (and kick my butt in the speed factor every time!) But it was awesome to have my running buddy to check in with and be held accountable with!

So plan wisely and you can go from the start line all the way to the finish!



Tuesday, July 8, 2014

First Run After Baby


I stopped running at 30 weeks pregnant. I was no longer training for my 1/2 marathon and my body was just tired. That is also when I started to gain weight and for the first time in the pregnancy go over my pre-pregnancy weight. I did run short distances during my 40th week of pregnancy doing what I could to get the baby out! But not anywhere near what I was doing before 30 weeks.

Now that I have had my baby it is time to get this party started and get back into running. However, there are a few things to watch out for and make sure that you are being safe and not harming your body because the body is still healing. You might feel great but we have no idea what is going on in the inside!

1. Get clearance from your doc. That was my first mistake. I didn't. I took things in my own hands. I felt great. Bleeding had stopped for a few days. I thought I was ready. So I ran. Granted I was just shy of 6 weeks pp. Well, that whole next week I had started bleeding again, to the point I thought I would have to go to the ER because it was so bad. I won't make that mistake again. Get the ok from your doc! TRUST ME!

2. Running will feel funny. The first few times you exercise your insides will feel out of place. You will giggle more than you did before and your legs and other parts of your body will hurt. Oh, and if you are breastfeeding, your breasts will feel very, very heavy and only feel more heavy. It will get better though. Your body is different. You have had a baby. It just takes some time to get used to. Your insides won't feel out of place and the giggle will go down. The whole breast thing though, nope that will stay for awhile, you will just get used to it. Just make sure you nurse or pump before you exercise so you don't have a leak due to the stimulation from running.

3. GO SLOW! Please don't expect to be running an 8 minute mile right out of the gate. It just won't happen and if you do, you are setting yourself up for injury.

4. Watch out for baby. If you are stroller running, go slowly at first to allow your baby to get used to the movement and feel of the jogging stroller. Also, watch baby's head support. The head support is still lacking. Watch for potholes or cracks in the sidewalk. Backward facing in the stroller is still great so you can see your baby the whole time. There are running strollers that use a car seat to hold small, small babies. My stroller is not a jogging stroller but it holds the car seat in it. Not sure how much stroller jogging I will actually do.

5. Have fun. Make small goals. You will be surprised how easily running will come back. My body misses it. My legs burn for it. My first run felt AMAZING! (it was the after affects that sucked) Congratulate yourself after every run because you are a mom who is finding time for yourself! YOU DESERVE IT!
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