Countdown to Christmas

So, the world and his wife have been talking about how it's only a month to Christmas. Two things: I KNOW. And, it's my mum's birthday first! I'm not thinking about Christmas until after that! Sheesh. Everybody just calm it with the Christmas business already...
That said, I've nearly finished my shopping as I've been doing it gradually (I feel smug). Also, I've got the month of December off from teaching (aside from my private students), and I finish my CELTA on Thursday, so I have plenty of time to ride and gym and look fabulous for all the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
I searched on www.bodybuilding.com for a 3-day split programme and found Lee Labrada's 12-week Lean Body regime. I have plenty of ideas and programmes from The Smiling Assassin, but I've never done a 3-day split before so needed an imprint. I also think doing 3 days a week is more realistic, as I want to ride a lot this month, and also need to prep for the 4-week seasonal school I'm teaching on in January.
Today I did chest, shoulders and triceps at home. Day 1 is supposed to be back and biceps, but I want to add more back exercises for this workout, and for those I'll need to go to the gym to use the machines. As I've had a cracking headache all day, I decided I'd rather work out at home so I could stop straightaway if I felt worse (I get migraines). 
I really wanted to work out but probably only gave 75% today. I still felt like I pushed myself and benefitted from exercising, though - after focusing for so long on the half marathon, I'm building my strength back up, so using 5kg for shoulder press felt heavy! I know it's not. Shut up. I also use 2kg for lat raises... I FIND THIS EXERCISE REALLY HARD OK?!?!
Here's the breakdown of what I did:

Chest, shoulders, triceps

Christmas is often a time when people let themselves go, but I have a January goal of 19% body fat to reach so can't afford/don't want to stuff myself. I think setting a goal for after Christmas and New Year helps you stay focused on what you're aiming for. I know many people will inevitably start diets and life changes in January, but why wait? I'm not going to abstain from treats and the occasional glass of Prosecco over the holidays, but I know that a month's worth of this diet isn't going to help me achieve my goals either.

Basingstoke Half Marathon Training Run #2

Before I begin, my travel post on Berlin will be up tomorrow evening, I promise!
Maxx and I have been tired this week, getting back into the 'home' routine, so we decided to run this evening when we didn't feel we were squeezing it in between other arrangements. We both did a treadmill run on holiday, but thought we'd just do a 20-minute loop tonight and do longer distances during the week. 
I felt really relaxed starting out, which is quite rare for me as I usually need a good mile to warm up. We ran across the field (my favourite part), over the road and towards the pull up bar in a surprisingly fast pace.
When we reached the turning point for home, we agreed to keep going as we were both now in a fast jog. It seemed silly to cut our run short when we were both feeling energised. I felt a bit like Ernest when I take him into a big field, just before he knows I'll let him gallop - anticipating that burst of speed, with the energy bubbling up to the surface. 
I'm genuinely surprised about how good I felt as we ran up the short incline and began our final mile. There was one point when I thought I'd need to stop, as I had a pain in my neck which had given me a headache, but I pushed forward, splitting up the remaining distance into smaller milestones.
Upon rounding the corner towards home, we really let go and ran. I felt elated, hammering along the road like an athlete! There's something gloriously freeing about running full speed along.
We took 30 minutes to run 5K, which equates to a 10-minute mile. It's not my fastest time for a 5K, but given we haven't been regularly training yet I'm happy with this time.
By the end of the month I'd like to be running 5 miles at 9 minute/mile pace.
Please sponsor us - Maxx and I are fundraising for Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare.  www.justgiving.com/PipandMaxx

New PT Workout: #6

Yesterday, The Smiling Assassin texted me to tell me she'd ‘tweaked’ my programme an hour before we were due to meet - I took this as a warning. 

Warm-up: run, 10 mins

Circuit 1 - Lower Body (3 sets)

Walking lunges with 15kg barbell - 20 reps

Leg press 50kg - 12 reps (with this leg press machine, you push yourself up as opposed to pushing the weight away from you)

DB crossover lunge 5kg each hand - 20 reps

Superset (this will make you feel like you’ve broken your bottom):

Sumo squats 8kg - 12 reps

Pop squats - 12 reps

Circuit 2 - Upper Body (3 sets)

Cable chest press - 12 reps

T-bar/seated row 15kg - 12 reps

Cable/DB flyes – 12 reps

Lat pulldown 25kg – 12 reps

Tricep pressdown – 12 reps

Circuit 3 - Abs (3 sets)

Sit ups with 6kg med ball – 15 reps

Plank with rear leg extension - 20 reps

Russian twist with 6kg med ball - 20 reps

Hanging leg raises – 10 reps

Cool down, stretch, and collapse on floor.

Programme designed by Michelle Maxwell of Youmefit.co.uk.

There are no weights listed next to some of the upper body exercises as we focused on legs. I will update this post when I’ve done the full upper body circuit.

I Bought An Olympic Bar!

In celebration of my 100^th blog post, let me tell you about my exciting new purchase... 

This weekend I went away on a family visit up north. Before heading home, we decided to visit the shopping outlet Junction 32. My cousin had her eye on the Cadbury’s shop and Next, my brother and other cousin on Nike, and me on nothing in particular. 

Well… that was until I saw there was a Fitness Superstore. I bought my dumbbells from FS a couple of years ago (we had to load them into the back of my friend’s mummy wagon, then transfer them all again into my KA – poor little egg could barely move after!) and was very happy with my purchases. However, I’ve recently found myself pining after some barbells.

The Fitness Superstore at Junction 32 is glorious - it’s well organised with knowledgeable, super-friendly staff. The man I spoke to answered all my queries – including "what even is an Olympic bar?!" (see below) – and asked me appropriate questions to determine which barbell was best suited to my needs. 

I decided to buy a 5ft bar as doing a few reps of clean & press felt very wobbly with the longer ones. The bar itself already weighs 10kg, but I also invested in four 5kg plates and, of course, two clips. The total came to £79.99 – the bar was just £49.99, down from £119.99.

An Olympic bar is like a barbell, only stronger so it can hold more weight – they are typically 7ft and weigh 20kg before extra weights are added.

While considering which bar to buy, I decided to deadlift 50kg in the middle of the shop - that's my body weight and 20kg more than I've ever done before. Not a perfect deadlift but not too shabby either! Maxx offered to video - I obviously said yes (with the agreement we would delete it if it went wrong).

Back on the (running) Wagon

Inspired by my best friend and blogger extraordinaire Boop (she told me her name was Becky but I think she's lying), I decided to lace up my trainers and go for a run. Only this time, I told myself I wasn't going to try and run a 5K or run for a specific time - I was just going to jog along, enjoy the sun and have a chat with Maxx, who joined me. 

I had started to feel that I should be able to run a 5K easily, having completed a half marathon - even though I hadn't run for a few months - and was constantly disheartened that I could only do about 15 minutes in one slog. What changed yesterday was: I took the pressure off. I took my pace back. Maxx and I chatted and admired the view and nearly ran into fallen tree blocking our path, and before we knew it we'd run for over 10 minutes. 

Our village has recently had some outdoor exercise equipment installed, so we stopped next to the pull up bar and attempted to do a set. OK, Maxx managed 3 fine... I half managed with him assisting me slightly. It was fun! I'm desperate to be able to do a full set of pull ups, so we agreed we'd include a set of 5 every run.

We set off again for another 8 minutes, stopping because I had a painful stitch. After a minute, I wanted to get going again - before, I would have just walked sulkily home. We ended our run by doing a lap of the athletics track by the village hall, with a 100m sprint to really finish us both off. I was the fastest! That's a lie.

My aim is to do another half marathon, then a full, then perhaps an ultra to raise money for Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare. But for now, I'm happy building my stamina back up and just enjoying any length of time or distance I can do.