Crazily, we now have FIVE people participating in MayBloPoMo- Kae, SHU, Elisabeth, Maria, and of course myself. Is there anyone else I’m missing???
It’s time for Tuesday Topics, a linkup I host with Jenn from Runs With Pugs. This week’s topic: What’s one goal you’re proud of this spring? Often it’s hard for me to stick to the topic, but this time I DO have a current goal I’m proud of, and that’s my focus on strength training. In my dream world, I would just run. I REALLY don’t enjoy lifting weights, but I accept the fact that I have to do it. I’m too old to “just run.” I need weights to keep my bones and muscles healthy… sigh.
Leading up to my race in March, I really prioritized running, which was fine. But I promised myself I would put a real emphasis on strength training once my race was over. And I’m doing it!
I’ve mentioned that I’m doing Caroline Girvan’s Iron Series. It is SO HARD. For me, that is. It’s forcing me to work muscles that were previously neglected. If you’ve been reading for a while, you might remember that a year ago I had a sore hamstring that bothered me for months and months.
How did I fix it? I stopped doing anything that stressed that muscle. That means for almost a year I didn’t do deadlifts, leg curls, lunges, or Bulgarian split squats. My lower body strength training basically consisted of hip stability exercises and squats. It got me to my race, but I knew I was neglecting a lot of muscles.
Now, I’m doing every Iron Series workout with no substitutions. There are a lot of lunges, and OUCH- after not doing them for a year, they are HARD. My hamstring is just fine, but wow, those lunges are making my glutes sore. That’s okay! I obviously need them.
In the spirit of full transparency, I have an ulterior motive here. Leading up to my son’s wedding in July, my husband and I have a project called “Make our bodies great again.” Once that’s over I’ll start doing longer runs and cut back a bit on strength. That’s okay! There’s a season for everything.
Next week’s topic: What does mental wellness mean to you right now?
Link Up With Tuesday Topics
Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts!
21 Responses
Jenny, look at you the cool trendsetter! I love your idea of MayBloPoMo (FULL CREDIT TO KAE FOR THE NAME; she’s a whiz with blog stuff, by the way, and I only have a lighthouse icon for my blog because of her and I am forever in her creative genius debt), because it feels like so much less pressure than NaBloPoMo.
All I do right now is walk. Blergh. I KNOW I need to do strength training. Somehow I need to get my head in the game… once we’re back in Canada, ha. Or, maybe when the kids are grown?? Maybe I’ll become this gym rat in my empty nesting years?
Kae definitely gets all the credit for the name!
You’re young enough that you don’t NEED to do strength training right now, although of course it’s good for everyone. I think we start to lose muscle in our 40s? I mean, the earlier you start the better, but you could wait a bit until it’s more convenient.
Awww Elisabeth you’re too sweet! (But yes, as soon as I thought of it I knew the lighthouse thing was just too PERFECT for you, I have to admit!!!)
Making our bodies great again – I love that!
Good work with the strength training! Lunges are so good. I also feel them a lot in glutes and hamstrings, and then there’s the balance and stability component too.
I feel a bit ashamed for not joining the Tuesday topics when I said I would give it a try! My blogging habits are terrible. The week flies by and on Tuesday morning I remind myself “oh, I should have written something” but have no ideas. I really need to do better (generally, not only for Tuesday topics)! I’m in a new blogging slump right now, I just don’t think my life is particularly interesting but read an interesting article that said that you can still make those mundane moments interesting so I guess I need to up my creative skills and writing skills more than anything.
Do not feel ashamed!!! But- we would love you to join us. I think your life is more interesting than you realize, based on where you live and your hobbies.
Yes, I really want to keep up with lunges from now on, hamstring permitting. They are really good.
I’m trying to join the May blog fun too! hope I can make it.
make our body great again is awesome! beyond the visual effect, feeling energetic is priceless.
Coco, I will include the link to your blog tomorrow! I don’t know how I missed that you’re joining us. Yay!
I’m so happy to see you sticking to your strength training plan! Your body is thanking you!
Okay, I’ll remind myself of that next time I don’t want to do the workout- my body will thank me. I like that!
See what you started! I love it and I am here for it. Now I need to pause on readng blogs enough to get my own caught up.
I don’t enjoy strength work either! Right now I’m just doing body weight, and I do it in “snack” size portions. Actually I do get satisfaction from it and I’m feeling pretty good. But in a perfect world cardio would be enough.
Yes, who are these people who “prefer” strength to cardio??? Are their brains wired up differently? I will admit I usually feel pretty good when I’m done with a strength session.
The CG Iron Series is so good! I wish I was able to fit in more of those workouts but now that I’m going to OTF 4-5 times/week there isn’t really time to add a workout – plus my OTF classes include strength so I would be super sore if I tried to add in a iron series the same day as an OTF class. I like that CG does not talk to you during the workouts. I would get annoyed by peppy personalities that lead other workout series. Just don’t talk to me! I do wish she talked during the cool down, though. I’d rather she cue what I’m supposed to be doing so I don’t have to look at the screen.
I’m most proud of myself for getting to so many OTF classes. This is the most I’ve consistently worked out since before I had kids. The workouts are HARD! I usually burn about 500 calories during a class. And they are also super fun with great music.
Yes, from what I know of OTF, you don’t need any other workouts if you’re doing those. And 4-5 a week is a lot! You should be proud of yourself for getting there so much, with your work/kid/travel schedule.
I admire your commitment to fitness. I need to figure out something for strength, but right now, it’s difficult because of my ME (myalgic ecephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue). My arms are pitiful.
A wedding in the family! How wonderful. And it’s nice that it provides an end game for your efforts.
It is VERY hard to find a way to work out with a chronic condition like that. Sheesh. I should stop making excuses/complaining and be grateful that I don’t have any restrictions.
Yes, we’re excited! It’s the first wedding- since out own, which was 26 years ago.
Congrats on getting back to full-body strength! Lower-body workouts are often the first to go, for me, because they hurt. And, they’re tough! I’m trying to make a better effort to keep those workouts in a more consistent rotation. We got this!!
Yes, I have to admit I’m much more scared of the lower body workouts- whenever there’s upper body on the schedule I’m happy. They hurt, but not as much!
I mean…I feel like modifications are crucial, to be honest. If exercise X is going to hurt your back, don’t do it, no matter what Caroline Girvan does! I find her form to be less than awesome sometimes, so I do modify to avoid injury. It’s great to use her as a guide, but DO YOUR OWN WORKOUT! I know you know this, but here’s permission to make it your own.
Okay, well I DO use lighter weights than she does, but maybe that goes without saying. And I have to modify the pushups, otherwise they hurt my wrists. But I’m still doing them in my own way, and not skipping over them which is what I would have done before.
It’s hard to balance strength training and running when you’re going after a big goal like your last race! But it’s nice to have seasons where you can focus on different things. I was still doing strength training 2x a week during the buildup to my big race but if I missed a session here or there, it wasn’t a big deal. I’m hoping to prioritize it more once I’m between races but I also don’t love strength training as much as running, but I know I need to do it to stay injury free!
Yep- we’re totally on the same page. But for now you’ve got your race, and then recovery, and then you can think about strength again. You get a little reprieve for now!