Friday File: heart rate monitor and the workout

Happy Friday!  It’s been a long and adventurous week for me. Life has kept me busy the past two weeks and I’ve been trying to change some of my habits.  There a lot of change happening among the chaos in my life.

Untitled

This week I’ve been trying to get my Garmin Fenix watch of unproductive fitness mode into something that made me feel better.  Do you pay attention to your heart rate zones when you work out?  I have always paid attention to my heart rate but never in the area, I should be working.  I always assumed that if the heart was pumping it was a good thing.  No people, there are specific zones that you should be tackling your workouts in.  Going balls to the walls every workout isn’t productive, according to my fancy watch.

Untitled
I’ve been paying big attention to this because I got a Wahoo Tickr chest heart rate monitor that connects to my watch and my phone. There are two versions of this Wahoo Tickr.  I purchased the $49 version. I just needed the basic function of connecting to my watch and phone.  There is also an armband or heart rate monitor with memory for $79. This has really changed how I look at my workouts and my fitness goals for the future.

Untitled
I’m completely obsessed with the new salad at Panera. It’s the spinach and bacon poppyseed salad. I don’t get the cheese so it doesn’t look like much but the flavor is big. If you’re not a fan of spinach this isn’t the salad for you. This salad has the same dressing at the popular summer salad: the strawberry chicken poppyseed salad. Y’all know I’m a huge fan of this salad so it’s nice to have a spring favorite, too.

Untitled
Lastly, I’m glad to be representing Headsweats again. This is a brand I truly love and I wear hats all of the time. I love trucker hats and this company makes the best. Plus, I’m always running in a visor because it’s always so humid around here. It’s nice to have a company who believes in me just as much as I believe in them.

I’m sorry I must cut this short now because I need to wake up super early to run.  I know you’re shocked!  I hope everyone had a great week.

What things did you love this week?

Friday File: podcasting, running, essential oils and more

Friday File: podcasting, running, essential oils and more

Happy Friday!  I’m starting something “new” on the blog called the Friday File.  I’ll be honest, it’s just the Friday Five but without the five.  The pressure to produce a list of the five things sometimes made me not want to do a weekly roundup. I feel like I’ve been hitting my stride this week in life, which means next week everything is going to fall apart.  I’m ok with that though.  I did some great things this week. If you haven’t listened to the podcast, you definitely should.  Having this podcast will add more content to the site and…

View Post

Preparing for Christmas

Preparing for Christmas

I missed blogging yesterday because I was just too tired. From Tiny Tot’s birthday and now planning for Christmas, I kind of screwed the pooch on the blogging thing. I did have a very productive day yesterday which has eased up on my Sunday a bit. Normally I would tell you about the meal prep I would be doing this week, but that’s isn’t going to happen today. I can’t fit any more food in my fridge. My fridge is packed to the brim with things for Christmas dinner and some essentials we need to last until then. It’s been…

View Post

Don’t be afraid of workout modifications

Don’t be afraid of workout modifications

No workout should ever be too hard, unmanageable or out of reach.  There is always an option for working out.  I’ve learned a great deal about workout modifications and the main thing about working out is making it work for YOU!  There’s no reason to be afraid to try something because you think it’s going to be too hard because there is always a way to modify to your needs and abilities.  And if you’re worried what other people are going to say, don’t worry.  People really aren’t paying that much attention to you at the gym.  Everyone is focused on…

View Post

Fitness Friday: Resistance Band Exercises

Fitness Friday: Resistance Band Exercises

I got some cool stuff at Fitbloggin’ in the form of resistance bands and I thought that I should give them a try.  I never really did much with resistance bands in the past so I had no idea what to do with them.  My biggest motivation in using these bands is because I can’t really lift since I’m pregnant but this is a great way to get some strength work into my exercise routine.  I know I got a really great workout at the conference and that is something I want to duplicate at home.  I had no idea…

View Post

My site was hacked but I still worked …

My site was hacked but I still worked out this week

Have you noticed that I haven’t been blogging?  Well it wasn’t my fault.  I scheduled out my posts but then a few days later I noticed that I wasn’t getting any comments or feedback on my posts.  Then I figured out that I was no longer in control of things happening with my site. I couldn’t login to change anything.  I was sad and I hoped that I wasn’t going to lose everything I had worked 3 years to build. I didn’t want to mention that I was locked out of my own site because I didn’t really know who…

View Post

Hiding unhealthy choices and back on meal prep

Hiding unhealthy choices and back on meal prep

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on the move.  It’s been a BUSY few weeks and I haven’t really been home to meal prep.  There was a week that I prepped for two weeks but that only happened one.  I’ve been traveling and missing the grocery store trips.  Everything hasn’t been tip top shape.  And I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t been eating the best food either. A couple of weeks ago Willie and I slammed a whole pizza and enjoyed it…but I think my pizza need may have been met that day. The picture above is not the…

View Post

I’m battling an injury

I’m battling an injury

I’ve had a nagging injury that I kept running on for about a month. I’m pretty sure it started off as a sprained ankle and then turned into something else. Resting wasn’t something I was interested in doing. I was able to finish the races I wanted to do so I said I would rest. On New Year’s Day, I ran a marathon. Things were going well until my ankle brace really compressed the tendon on the top of my foot. The last 3 miles I was forced to walk because that tendon was so swollen which caused some other…

View Post

Bringing back the two-a-days and other things

Bringing back the two-a-days and other things

Willie is on a mission to remind me I’m just a few days done from the 50K! I have some aches and pains and he’s on my butt about giving it time. You know what I say to that? Yep! That’s right. It’s the time of year when it’s getting hotter outside and the nearby races are coming to an end. That means one of two things. 1. I need to start traveling or 2. I’m going to have to hit the streets and run. I’m going to Kentucky in two weeks though and then California at the end of…

View Post

It’s time to get your HIIT on!

It’s time to get your HIIT on!

It’s time to change up those workouts people.  When I feel like I need a change, I take a HIIT. HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training.  It burns A LOT of calories and gets in everything that you need.  Cardio and strength in one killer workout so it’s one of the best.  I have a love/hate relationships with HIIT workouts because I know the workouts are going to be intense so I hate them.  I love them because I definitely see improvement in my body and fitness after doing these workouts for a while.  The key is to stick with…

View Post

Blah week but the workouts are in review.

Blah week but the workouts are in review.

I must be honest.  I haven’t been very motivated to workout this week.  It’s kind of like I’ve been going through the motions.  There have been some serious highlights but for the most part I’ve been stuck in the funk.  On Monday, I returned to my workout roots and had a great time.  It was nice to sit in a cycle class and not be teaching it.  I miss that so I think I need to make more time for that. Now more than ever, I think I need a change up.  Just like I do the Sunday meal prep,…

View Post