Monday Motivation

 
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This Week's Workouts

This week is all about recovery. As much as I want to be on the roads I know I need to take the time off to let my body heal. Right now my legs hurt to even walk so a hard workout doesn't make sense. That doesn't mean I need to sit on my butt and wallow-- I can do some restorative yoga, get my eating back on track after Halloween and start to think about strength in the other parts of my body. For years my upper body has been largely ignored. This week my arms and abs will get the bulk of my attention.

Restortive yoga
 

Whenever I am going through a rough spot emotionally, or even physically, I turn to yoga. I used to think that being a runner I couldn't get a full workout with just yoga, but I have changed my mind. I feel more centered when I practice yoga. Try it -- I swear you'll love it! I personally love the youtube videos "Yoga with Adriene". She has a great series for beginners which I love. This week I have a goal to practice a short 30 minute yoga session twice.

Strength

Before I do anything, I use my trusty foam roller on my calves, hamstrings, glutes and quads. I follow it up with this routine. My goal is to complete this 2-3 times this week.

  • 60 sec plank on elbows
  • 60 second extended arm plank
  • 30 second side plank, each side
  • 25 bicycles
  • 3 x 10 push ups
  • 3 x 10 reverse press-ups
  • 3 x 10 single leg bridges on each side
  • 3 x 10 standing single leg fire hydrants, hold for 45 seconds on last rep
  • 3 x 20 single leg calf raises

swimming

Because my upper legs are bothering me, I don't want to put any pressure on them. But, I don't want to lose my cardio health so I need to do something to keep my body moving. I am turning to swimming. As long as my legs don't hurt, I will will swim freestyle, but if they ache then I will swim with a pull bouy and just work my arms and heart. 3 x 1 hour sessions this week will be my goal.