Well, I finally started my Christmas shopping on Saturday and the first thing I ran into when I went out to shop was a giraffe.
There was a giraffe and a baby kangaroo at one of the outdoor shopping/dining/living developments here in town. While the giraffe was beautiful, I was a little baffled by how exactly it tied into Christmas but whatever.
The good news is that I got a really good start on my Christmas shopping. The bad news is that I was so exhausted after 4.5 hours of shopping (during which I walked close to three miles around the mall…craziness) that I bypassed my planned evening run in favor of a glass of wine and putting my feet up for a few minutes.
It was a pretty easy decision to spend some QT with these cuties before heading out to a holiday party with some yoga friends.
The highlight of the party was playing the game Head’s Up on the iPhone. It was my first time playing this game and it was very fun and had us laughing for over an hour.
The game was created by Ellen DeGeneres and she plays it frequently with guests on her show. The Ellen team released an app to play at home. You hold your phone up to your head and try to guess the word that’s on your forehead based on clues your friends say or act out. This would be a really great game to have on hand for all the upcoming family get togethers. I am definitely going to buy the app!
I came home after the party and watched half of Love Actually while these two rolled around on the floor.
Speaking of these two…they are obsessed with each other.
Sullie is being the best big sister ever and is so patient and playful with Zoey.
And I’m happy to report that Zoey had her nine-week vet appointment on Friday and the doctor said she’s “perfect” but predicts she is going to be a big girl.
Switching gears…a look at last week’s workouts.
Monday
8 rounds of my 1,000 rep home workout (minus the super mans). I only had 20 minutes to workout before going to teach yoga so I cranked some music and got moving. I was sweaty and my heart was beating when I finished…and my butt was sore for two days from the jump lunges!
Tuesday
Hot yoga
Wednesday
3.5 mile run
Thursday
Hot yoga
Friday
CrossFit main site WOD
20 minute AMRAP:
10 pull ups
20 back squats (75#)
30 double unders
I finished 6 rounds.
Saturday
REST
Sunday
Hasn’t happened yet but hopefully a short run and some yoga.
Workouts have taken a back seat to life and work lately and that’s okay. I have managed to do something active most every day, even if it’s not at my normal level of intensity/effort.
People have this misconception that I workout out 3-4 hours a day because I work in the fitness industry and spend a lot of time in gyms and yoga studios. It’s actually quite the opposite. I often find it difficult to carve out the time for my own workouts and sometimes I lack motivation to get it done because I don’t want to stay at the gym or studio after being there training/teaching. This is one of the main reasons why I enjoy running so much…it’s something I can do solo and out of the gym/studio.
I’ve definitely hit a plateau post-Thunder Road. I am considering hiring someone to program for me this winter to challenge me and mix it up on the strength and conditioning front. I’m also want to get back to as close to a daily yoga/meditation practice as possible in the new year.
What do you do when you find yourself plateauing with workouts/fitness?
I love reading your posts and seeing the pictures of your babies and your latest eats! I’ve been a regular runner for just over a year now with half marathons being my favourite distance, but just recently after many years of dabbling with yoga but not being able to find a class/studio/teacher that I’ve felt comfortable with, I finally found a yoga studio that just opened close to my home where they teach hot yoga and I now find myself practising there almost every day. It is the most amazing place and It feels like what I’ve needed in my life for such a long time and better than any therapy.. Now I find I’m struggling to make time to run or even wanting to run!
I’ve definitely hit a plateau as well. Over Christmas I am going to take at least 4 days off from doing any sort of training and then switch things up a bit. I think I am getting the itch to sign up for another half, so maybe it’s time to hit the pavement again. 🙂
When I’m plateauing, I switch my goals. For example, if I usually go for speed, now I go for strength. I switch the times and intervals up and I start looking for a new type of exercise, whether that be in the form of a DVD or a fitness class.
Maybe try working outside of the gym, perhaps at a clinic or at client’s houses instead to change up the environment? Seems like youre lacking some dopamine, like I am!
Thanks for the “heads-up” about the app 😉 We have friends we’ll be with for NYE that love silly games like this. The past few get-togethers we’ve played Partner Pictionary, Jenga, and Telestrations. This looks fun and easy to pick up/play. Thanks again!
Such sweet puppies!! I haven’t heard of this app before but it looks so fun. Definitely downloading to try it out 🙂
My exercise took a HUGE backseat this week, so it’s nice to see I’m not the only one. Trying not too sweat it (pun).
Your puppies are the cutest!
That app is soon fun!
I always find I hit a wall and then begin to try to re-vamp my workouts after a race, which might not always be the best idea. I find that I struggle to find a way to incorporate a ‘good’ amount of yoga/running/strength training workouts each week if I don’t have a training plan to follow.
Why is it “bad” that you bypassed your planned evening run to instead relax?
i wasn’t calling it “bad” that i skipped the run…just using the “good news/bad news” terminology. i went on to say that it was an easy decision to skip the run…and went on later in the post to talk about how i’ve taken a big step back from training in general lately and am okay with that.
that game looks so fun !!!!
I try something different when i hit a plateau or just generally feel ehh about my exercise. in the fall i started spinning again and for the past 5 weeks have been lifting 1-2x a week using the barbell machines/squat machines which is a big change for me. i think every once in a while we just crave different. after i finished a race this year i was totally blah about running and sorta still am. i dont really think i will do much running until after the new year. once i gave myself ‘permission’ to put running on the backburner i felt like a weight had been lifted – a sure sign i was suffering from some severe burnout/plateau !