When I looked forward to 2016 one of the three things I planned to focus on during the year was to continue to rehab my shoulder mindfully with appropriate increases in difficulty. The immediate action I was going to take was to print out my rehab schedule (up until now I’ve used a version on my phone). With previous success in mind, after I completed each session I planned to cross off the workout.
This past July Evelina and I started up my shoulder-rehab workout routine together, which was awesome. I strongly recommend having a workout buddy, it’s a huge motivator for me. Something fun we can do together. Plus, when I crossed off the workout it was like getting my own version of a gold star. Everybody likes getting a gold star, that’s just known fact.
It’s not my personal workout routine, so you only get to see a snippet – but check out that BIG OL’ X!
Instead of following only this workout/rehab routine we added some yoga and running, and not just as recovery. Every other day we did a lift and every other day we ran/did yoga. This was a great balance, especially considering we had missed the past 26 weeks of workouts.
What’s so great about all of these workouts is they can be done outside. Yoga under a tree or a run around the neighborhood, what could be better? Also, with the help of our local outdoor gym, we can even lift outside.
My shoulder is feeling good these days, and I’m excited to say that after a year and a half of recovery and rehab it’s finally feeling like my shoulder again.
This weekend was the Eskilstuna quarter marathon. It has gone by different names, so for now I’ll call it å-varvet, since that’s what it was called at one point in time. If not currently. I’m not feeling up to checking. Feel free to do so and let me know.
This weekend I did not join the over 2,300 people running the quarter marathon because of my shoulder injury. (Yes, I looked up that number, and yes, this year it was called å-loppet, so that’s all cleared up.) Unfortunately I have yet to be cleared to run. As you may recall from my Ode to Elizabeth I have injured my shoulder playing hockey, and it has taken a while to heal up. Either it has taken a while or I’m incredibly inpatient. The physical therapist I met with last Thursday would have me believing the latter. He really emphasized the fact that this type of shoulder injury will take time to heal.
Time heals all wounds.
Blah-de-blah-blah. Sure, whatever. I’m ready to be healed now. I know I can’t be the only person to think this, but when ever I’m injured. Or have a paper cut or something. All I can do is focus on the injury. Imagining the sweet good ol’ days pre-stubbed toe, for example. I wallow in the fact that when I’m whole and healthy I never appreciate it. I mean really appreciate it. I squander away my days it pain-free ignorance of how good I have it. Then I scrape my knee or accidentally slice open my thumb while trying to be a good wife and cook dinner for once, and I’m once again wallowing in self-pity land, reminiscing on how good I had it just yesterday before I sliced through half my thumb nail.
What I’m getting at is I really wanted to run on Saturday. The medals had a purple ribbon this year. Purple guys! But I couldn’t because it hurts to run. And according to my physio I’m not allowed to do anything that hurts me. Clearly I’m paying these medical professionals appropriately for some great counseling here.
Guess I’ll have to wait for next year until my two medals can become three, and I can attempt to check off number 13 on my 30 before 30 list. Knock on wood.
Otherwise entitled: Ode on Intimations of Running Immortality from Recollections of a Time When I Ran a Lot
There was a time when pavement, field and track,
Came up to meet my stomping feet.
Now looking back,
I’d not have survived without this treat.
Rip-stick thy name, carried via knapsack. .
Received one summer’s eve, I believeth,
Amazing healing powers,
Disencumbers.
A true friend helping me to run, Elizabeth.
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Inspired by Elizabeth, her amazing gift of the rip-stick, and William Wordsworth’s Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood. You know, the important things: friends, presents and William Wordsworth.
Seriously though, Elizabeth, that rip-stick you bestowed upon me but three years ago has been put to some seriously good use. Not only did it help me with my recovery when I did all that running that one time, but it’s also been used for the past three hockey seasons. This past season in particular it not only aided Evelina and I in our recovery, but also the rest of the team. So, thank you Elizabeth. SSK/Linden dam also thanks you. You’re so generous.
If you don’t already know what a rip-stick is, it’s this:
You roll it along your aching muscles and it’s like giving yourself a massage. Also helpful in these efforts is a foam roller. This thing:
Both of these items aid in recovery. Or that’s what they’re said to do. And I tend to believe it. Another recovery/injury aid I use often, which Elizabeth also introduced to me, is KT tape. Or kinesiology tape.
Now’s as good a time as any to inform you all that I injured my shoulder in the last hockey game of the season. Without going too much into the dirty details, things are healing, but could also be better. The up side: I get to be professionally KT taped! Up until now I’ve been applying the tape myself, or relying on my kind teammates to tape me up. I’ve been pretty successful in these endeavors actually, but it doesn’t quite compare to a professional taping. My physio taped me up on Tuesday, alleviating a good amount of pain, and the tape is still sitting right where it should be! That’s quality care.
#mirrorselfie #shameless #killinit
I know, I make this look good. Think good thoughts for my shoulder recovery!
Let’s get this post off and running by first calling attention to the fact that I have yet to share my 2015 New Year’s resolutions. Now that we’ve called attention to it, I’ll get back to that in a minute.
As I left you after my resolutions update in November, I was focusing on making a lasagna that Evelina likes as much as I do, and finishing my painting. I did make a lasagna. I did not paint a lasagna, or anything else for that matter.
First, let me tell you about the lasagna. Step one involved getting Evelina’s favorite meat sauce recipe. Ground beef, crushed tomatoes, yellow onion, salt & pepper. Not complex. I soaked my lasagna noodles in warm water with oil while making my sauce. I carefully layered sauce, noodle, sauce, noodle, sauce, noodle. Finishing with noodles on the top was strategic, as I coated the top layer with cheese. This top layer is then easily removed, because of Evelina’s distaste of cheese. Popped that bad boy in the oven, and waited for the complements.
The best I got, was that it wasn’t as bad as the last one. (Y’all remember my pastelon?) Thanks babe. I was then informed that Evelina’s mother’s meat sauce recipe is not in fact her favorite recipe. So the quest continues. I have one final plan, the plan to top all lasagna plans. Garfield would be impressed.
On to the painting:
This is the current state of my painting. So, yeah, painting is a generous term for this. But this leads me nicely into my New Year’s resolutions for this year. I’ll be continuing my tradition of carrying over my as-of-yet incomplete resolutions on to the upcoming year. Here you have them:
Do a hand stand push up
Paint a painting
Find a lasagna recipe Evelina enjoys as much as I do
Do 5 things off Pintrest successfully
Watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Seven Samurai
If you noticed that my “run a marathon” resolution was not carried over, kudos to you. It is still a long-term goal of mine, but in an attempt to be more realistic, I am not including it as a goal for 2015. Maybe 2017, 17 always has been my favorite number.
With one month of 2015 already behind us I’ll have to be sure to be particularly effective this year.
Do you know how tired my legs are? Probably not, because I haven’t told you yet. They’re super tired.
As I mentioned (in 2012) I’ve been working out of late. Alright, to be honest, I haven’t been working out straight from 2012 up to now. But it has been a pretty good run! Sometimes even literally! (Oh, wow, I’m so funny.)
Anywho! On my 25 before 25 list I wanted to get fit! And on June 6th I deemed this goal complete. However, the road was long, and continues on.
Up until this point I’ve pretty much exclusively written about the nutrition side of getting fit (discounting the running posts here and here). The nutrition posts can be viewed here, here, and my post from the other day. But now I’d like to turn to the working out side of things.
As I’m sure you’re well aware, and if you’re not that’s okay too, I play ice hockey. I have played for 13 seasons, plus this past one, which makes 14. (For all you math lovers out there). As part of playing hockey at varying levels over the years I have gained some experience in the weight room. At university I got my first real taste of personally modified, consistent, scheduled training in the weight room. I really liked it. Since leaving I have continued with these workouts, especially during the summer months.
The summer workouts were a bit of a thing to dread when I was in school, especially when they required up to 5 hours of gym time. That summer you could not say what I was doing was efficient training. But, that was what it took for me to complete the scheduled workouts. Since that particular summer an absolutely amazing Strength & Conditioning coach was hired, and started fine tuning our workouts. Since moving to Sweden, every summer, like clock work, Evelina and i have followed this workout regime. I love these work outs — but it does bring us to why my legs hurt so much.
We’re well into Phase III of the workout, and this is where things start getting exciting. By exciting I mean heavy. There are four phases to the summer work out. Starting in May and ending in August, the phases are three and four weeks long, odd numbered phases are three weeks, even are four. Phase III is kicking my butt. Literally. Not only are my legs sore my butt is sore. To the point where it’s uncomfortable to sit down. It’s actually just pretty uncomfortable all the time.
However, it’s a whole different kind of pain than the soreness of my running legs. Funny how that is.
I love lifting, and doing hockey specific workouts. I do also love running, which I think is a great form of exercise. This spring injured myself running, but before that I had kept pretty good track of my runs and workouts. Unfortunately I didn’t keep perfect track of them, but I did open up that old spread sheet yesterday and update it to include my summer workouts.
lifting should always be in pink. lifting is for girls.
This isn’t something I’ve ever done, keep track of my workouts in this way. I have my workouts scheduled on my iCal and the lift program is printed out, so I can look back and see the days I’ve completed, but I’ve never had everything in one place like this. It’s pretty fun! I’m even more excited about the possibility of continuing to keep track and seeing what I can change and improve upon to make even better strides in the future. Imagine!
Like I said though, I haven’t been working out straight since 2012, every day all day. Sometimes the motivation wanes. That’s when I turn to technology to provide me with inspiring quotes matched with motivating pictures. (Although that was said sarcastically in my mind, it really is the reality of things).
pictures from google, instagram, etc. found with search words such as #fit #fitness #workout #run #lift you get the idea
Ever in need of a little extra motivation? Save that picture and read some of the quotes. It just might help. If you’re game, you can also keep track of your workouts. I know I will.
This is a website and nutrition concept I’ve mentioned in the past. Dr. John Berardi and his team take on clients every six months and work with them to figure out just what the best nutritional plan is for them.
The Precision Nutrition team just last week had their pre-release and took on new clients. It is now open to the public to sign up (if it isn’t already sold out). I put my name on the pre-sale list. But didn’t sign up.
I was really tempted. I read the entries on the site and have even read their e-book (40+ pages of fun). On their website they often talk about how to change oneself and consciously form habits. this, above all else, is what I am most interested in.
They talk about making small extremely manageable changes, all working towards the final goal. In this case being more physically fit. I really like this whole concept. Have a goal? Write it down. Then consider what it takes to get to that goal. All the steps aren’t necessary, just the first one. The first, super easy step that, of course, is manageable. Start there, see how it goes. It goes great! Continue on to the next tiny, super manageable step. Not working out? Revise the first step, how can it be easier? Does the first step need to be in a slightly different direction?
These things seem so logical to me. Sounds like something I could do. So I really wanted to try it. Even better, it seems like something, a way of working with oneself, that could be applied to any subject matter. It doesn’t just have to be nutrition habits. or work out habits. It can be learning habits. Habits at work. Anything. Not only am I very interested in the nutritional field in general, but habit-forming is something I would love to learn more about. And I wanted to learn it from precision Nutrition.
I’m using the bast tense seeing as I did not sign up for the Lean Eating Program. I was fully ready to do so. But then I considered the price, and where I’m at financially right now, today, this week.
Although I’ve saved up for that big party I mentioned, and although I counted my 25 before 25 goal of saving money as complete, I’m not quite where I want to be. I’ve certainly made some steps in the right direction, but I want my Nest Egg to grow and accommodate an entire years worth of living expenses. I want to have a better cushion, and maybe save for a vacation or two. I examined my finances, and although I can afford the Precision Nutrition coaching, technically, I have decided to wait. At least 6 months.
I’m going to follow my savings plan perfectly for 6 months. If I am able to do so, THEN I will join the next group of Lean Eaters.
Now this is another one of my dreams, that just didn’t quite make it. When I say a handstand push up, I’m talking about a free-standing handstand push up. In pursuit of my goal, I started with practicing my handstands. This was apparently a miscalculation.
I should have started practicing my wall assisted hand stands first, then worked on my wall assisted handstand push ups, and then moved my way up to free-standing handstand push ups. What I really should have done was all this research a little sooner than today.
If you Google handstand push ups you get a lot of hits. YouTube videos, advice columns…hopefully this blog post, which will be of no assistance what-so-ever in terms of helpful hints. I guess this is what not to do!
My top three things in how to not to learn to do a handstand push up:
Don’t practice handstands at work.
Don’t practice handstand on hard surfaces.
Don’t ask your friends to help you learn to do a handstand – they will laugh at your failed attempts.
I am counting this goal as completed, although, like my last post, I think there is still some work to be done.
Since moving to Sweden, and starting this blog, I’ve lost approximately 5 kilos, and kept it off. There was a point in time where I was even lighter, but that has turned out to, thus far, not be sustainable. But, the number on the scale isn’t really what I’m after. I’m after a look. And not the body builder, 11% body fat, look. But, a leaner look none the less.
I’ve previously mentioned my little tricks and tips for fat loss. If you click that link I want to express again that I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or certified in any way to give nutrition advice. These guys at PN are. Seriously, check out their site if this is a topic you’re interested in.
As I told my friend Katie in the comments section of my 25 before 25 list, I am the judge of the completeness of this goal, and the judge has spoken.
Don’t be fooled by the rosy filter, it is cold in there.
After starting my marathon training I did what any sensible person would do. I made a spreadsheet. Okay, to be honest the absolute first thing I did was take an ice bath, because man my legs were not pleased with my decisions. Then I made a spread sheet.
I love spreadsheets. I almost considered being an accountant once, because I heard they get to make a lot of spreadsheets, and I want that to be my job. Nothing came out of that, so that’s neither here nor there, but it does emphasize my point that I love spreadsheets.
My spreadsheet is beautiful and catalogues the training I have completed and the training I plan to complete. For now, our ice times and schedule only come out one week in advance, so I haven’t planned very far into the future as of yet. Once the hockey season ends, and I am better able to gauge what I am capable of, I’ll be able to plan farther in advance.
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This is what I’m talking about:
You may notice a gap there in the training. I got sick at the end of January, and wasn’t up to training. I feel I should take something away from my getting sick so soon after starting my training. However, it’s still unclear if I jumped into too much training at once, or if I should focus on abstaining from allowing three year olds to cough directly into my air passages. Definitely one of the two.
I’m excited to see what will come of the spreadsheet in the future as I complete more training. Y’all’ll just have to wait and see! (Why isn’t a triple contraction acceptable in the English language? Triple contractions are another thing I love.)
This probably sounds like a cliché, or an all too often told story. About people who try different fad diets, only to eventually fail at them, to then try some other diet that’s big right now.
That’s not what I’m here to talk about. And, honestly, without sounding to preachy or as if I’m trying to sell you something, I think I’ve found a few things that work when it comes to dieting.
Side bar: I am seriously not going to try to sell you anything. Seriously. I have no money to gain here. It is also probably important to emphasize that I am not in the field of health and nutrition. I have no background education in the matter. I told you all about how I’m a pre-school teacher. What I can say is that if we listened to the pre-schoolers we’d eat a whole lot of candy and cookies. That stuff is tasty! But, I do try to limit the advice I take from 5 and 6 year olds. (Though at times they are truly inspiring.) I’m rambling, the point here is don’t by anything from me, and take my advice with a grain of salt. Do your own research, and find out what works for you.
That being said, I think I’ll say it again. I really do not think there is anything better when it comes to “dieting” than doing your own research and finding what works for you. I want to put dieting in bunny quotes because what I do I don’t actually feel is dieting. Yes I am changing my diet. But ideally I am changing my diet for good. For the forseeable future. My personal goal, when I say I want to get fit (and yes I believe a big part of that is through making conscious decisions about one’s diet), is to find a diet that works for me and the lifestyle I want to lead, forever.
THAT being said, I’m here today to tell you a little about what I have found works for me, and my own personal experience with changing the way I eat (more commonly known as dieting).
Start slowly. I’ve read a million articles online about diets that are guaranteed to work, and just follow these easy 10 steps to a healthier you! (It was a million, I counted.) The problem is, it is almost never that I find all the “steps” in all the different “processes” to be simple. I find the biggest problem with dieting is failing at it. That’s why I choose my own steps. In order for this post to stay at a readable length I’m going to list my top three pieces of advice, or first three steps I took when trying to change my diet.
Make it easy for yourself. I believe that successfully completing your goals sets you up for future success. Therefore, when beginning a new project (any project really) I start as small as possible. Miniscule. I make that first step seem like the easiest thing in the world, that I can definitely accomplish. Then comes the important part, that once I do accomplish my easy first step, I go on and make another step in the right direction. (But again, a very, ridiculously, awesomely easy step.)
For example: If I want to eat less sugar, first I’ll take a look at what my sugar in take is currently. Let’s say I eat a good amount of sugar every day and want to reduce that. So I’ll first just look at one meal. Every morning I put two tea spoons of sugar in my tea. My super easy step then could be to only add one teaspoon of sugar. I think I can manage that with 100% success, so that’s what I choose to change.
Keep track of what you’re doing. There are a bunch of apps out there, or you can go the old write-it-down-with-pen-and-paper rout. Whatever you do, keep track of what you’re doing and how you feel. If you keep track you will be able to easier tell what is working, and what isn’t. (Hint: this can even be one of your first small changes – make it easy for yourself!)
Be allowed to cheat. They say (by they I mean the internet) that your “diet” will be successful if you follow it 90% of the time. That’s pretty sweet I think. If you eat 6 meals a day for 7 days a week that means you eat 42 meals in a week. That means you only have to follow your diet for about 37 meals. That’s 5 meals/week that you get to eat whatever you want. (Within reason and portion size.) I’m fairly sure if you eat seven pizzas for four meals a week you won’t be getting any fitter, regardless of what you eat the other 37 times.
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How do I know that these steps work? Like I said, I’ve read approximately 1 million articles online regarding changing the way one eats. In the internet wonderland I have found these ideas, and I have tested them myself to see what works best for me.
To be honest, it hasn’t been a perfect run, as the title of this post would suggest. I’ve fallen off the bandwagon. Dropped the ball. Let it slide. Whichever idiom you like. That’s why I find it important to have my three steps. When it starts going less well, I can take it back to the basics. Back to what I know works. (And keep track of what hasn’t work, and maybe even ponder why it hasn’t worked.)
I tried to keep this short and sweet, but certainly have more to say on the topic.
Enjoy Not Knowing 