Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Sweet Pain!

I started NROL4W Stage 6 yesterday and I could already feel the sweet pain last night before bed. Usually it take 24 hours for the soreness to set in, but not with this Stage. Stage 6 is optional and consists of strength building exercises to really improve the power of your muscles. I am excited to see how strong that I can get in the next 3.5 weeks!

I put together the Iron Gym last night. It was pretty simple to assemble, as long as you pay close attention to the instructions; although, the tools that come with it are pretty weak. There is only one doorframe in my house that was appropriate to use with the Iron Gym as you need to be able to slide this little anchor behind the doorframe to ensure that the Iron Gym doesn't fall off of the wall while you are on it (that would be a BAD thing!).

I have decided that I would like to start incorporating yoga into my fitness routine. I have always been very interested in yoga and a few years I ago I watched/practiced with the FitTv program Namaste Yoga; however, I soon grew tired of having to fast forward through the commercials. I would definitely use FitTv more often if they didn't have commercials during their programs, but I digress... I would like to incorporate yoga into my routine, but yoga classes at studios by my house are expensive ($15-20 per class) and that is a bit out of the budget right now. So, in the meantime, I have been considering purchasing a few yoga DVDs, using a site like yogadownload.com, free OnDemand shows from FitTv, and using the videos that Polly has on yoga is yummy. Any suggestions?

Here are my planned eats for the day:

Pre-M1 - amazing grass chocolate green superfood in almond milk
M1- egg whites + chicken sausage + 1/2 cup overnight oat groat porridge with 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp ground flax, 2 tbsp wheat germ + cinnamon + vanilla
M2 - 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt cheese + frozen mango/blueberries, thawed
M3 - 1/2 pita + chicken + mixed greens
M4 - apple + 1 tbsp peanut butter + 1 tbsp raw almond butter
M5 - VitaMix smoothie: strawberries/dates + spinach + protein powder + frozen whey from yogurt cheese + maca + 1 tbsp chia seeds
M6 - strawberry chicken salad, no cheese and dressing on the side, at DeGidio's for the Choir year end Supper

1 comment:

Maxine said...

For yoga, it depends why you want to incorporate it into your routine; relaxation vs. workout. If you are looking for relaxation, try to find a dvd that is more focused on hatha or restorative yoga.

For relaxation, I like AM Yoga for Your Week with Rodney Yee; it's 5 20-25 minute yoga sequences. The scenary is so-so and Rodney is sorta cheesy but it's effective.

For a combination of working out and relaxation, my friend has the Shiva Rea: Yoga Shakti and it is very challenging. The scenary is AMAZING on this one. It has inspired me to sign-up for a yoga retreat in Mexico :)

If you can, go do a couple of classes at a studio to get familiar with proper form. This has helped me with the dvd’s because there are things that you do that you are not aware about, i.e arm positions in downward dog.

Another program I really like that is offered at gyms across the world is BodyFlow; you might be able to get a few free passes to try it out at a gym. It combines tai chi, yoga, and pilates in 55 minutes. To find a class, go to lesmills.com. Adding a bodyflow class once a week to my routine has helped my flexibility and reduced my knee pain.

I struggled through yoga practice because I am a cardio junkie, but after 6 months of dedicating myself, you could say I had my first “yogasm” and am fully converted now. If you have any other questions, let me know.