Finished 5K Training Week 1 of 5

We finished the first of 5 weeks of training for the 5K we have coming up on April 23rd.

First week felt amazing and really sore! I have to say the mid-week stretch/rest was definitely necessary and very helpful. On Saturday, we also got the opportunity to actually go outside and run a 5K; the only challenging part was a small problem with our route: we had to make two stops at traffic lights,  hence slowing down our rhythm. So here's a few pieces of advice that I want to give you all regarding running in general and also apply to running outdoors too:

Guidelines for Running

1. Always run with good form and proper shoes! Running with a bad form or improper shoes can injure you either immediately or in the long run, or just put unnecessary strain on some of your joins (i.e. knees, ankles). Keep in mind that in order for you to run with good form, you may not be able to run a full mile non-stop (I couldn't 2 years ago!) so you may have to start building the muscles and endurance for it by using a bike, elliptical or weight training before you attempt to run across the world. Here's three good videos to checkout about running form: 

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3hjpDs_Fq8
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fBh2qH4QbM&feature=related 
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXV3c2_zTk8&feature=related

1. Running with someone can not only help you push each other, but is strongly recommended if running outside at late hours. Having a running partner can motivate both of you and help you encourage each other when you really need to push yourselves. Also, your partner can help you adjust your form (and you can do the same for them) by seeing things from a third-person perspective. 
2. Music can help motivate you. Listening to music helps me to stay focused on pushing myself while at the same time kind of distracting myself from the oncoming exhaustion. So if you really want to be able to push yourself, get the right playlist that just gets you pumped and rock on while you get your run on. Granted some people don't like the music idea, I'm just telling you all what works for me and what may work for you.
3. Choose your outdoor route wisely. Try and avoid busy intersections that stop your rhythm and of course, always stay safe. You can even set up your route using Google Maps, like I did.

So that's about it for this post. Week 2 starts tomorrow with the same schedule as last week. At the end of this week, I will post some numbers so you can see the progress that we will hopefully make.

5K Training has begun!

Having now graduated from the insanity program and after running several miles a day the past week of spring break, I recently started training for the 5K I am running on April 23rd in West Covina that Rotary Club is putting together to in support of the fight against obesity and diabetes.

Most of my training is on a treadmill with 2 friends of mine since we can all go at our own paces while remaining next to each other. This is essentially the training schedule I put together for us for the next 2-3 weeks

• Monday
• 5 min jog warm-up on 1.0 incline, starting at 5.5mph and go up by 0.1mph each minute
• Stretch
• 40 min run, start at 6 mph, incline 1.5, and increase throughout time
• 5 min warm-down then stretch
• Tuesday
• 5 min jog warm-up on 1.0 incline, starting at 5.5mph and go up by 0.1mph each minute
• Stretch
• 20 min hard pace; start at 7.0 mph and incline 7.5 and increase throughout time
• 5 min warm-down, stretch
• Ab Ripper X program, from P90X
• Wednesday
• Part A - in the morning
• 5 min jog warm-up on 1.0 incline, starting at 5.5mph and go up by 0.1mph each minute
• Stretch
• High Weight (3 x 6-8 reps) weightlifting workout - Target muscles: Arms, Chest, Shoulders
• 3 warm-down then stretch
• Part B - in the afternoon
• 5 min jog warm-up on 1.0 incline, starting at 5.5mph and go up by 0.1mph each minute
• Stretch
• High Weight (3 x 6-8 reps) weightlifting workout - Target muscles: Legs, Abs, Back
• Thursday
• Stretch Day - P90X stretch program
• Friday
• 5 min jog warm-up on 1.0 incline, starting at 5.5mph and go up by 0.1mph each minute
• Stretch
• Run 5K auto training program on treadmill, starting speed 6.0mph
• 5 min warm-down, stretch
• Ab ripper X program from P90X
• Saturday
• 5 min jog warm-up outdoors, if weather permits
• 5+ miles outdoor run if weather permits (or on treadmill if not)
• 5 min warm-down, stretch

Although I have not posted my times or distances for this week, I will make sure to do so for next week when we really go all out. 

Keep following, commenting and ask questions if you want!

Running in sunny California

If you enjoy running and like going outdoors like me, then you have to go running outside in sunny California. The  past few days, I've been going running outside, doing between 3 and 5 miles everyday and it's such a good feeling to be outside when it's 70-something degrees sunny.

If only I weren't so close to LA, I'd have fresh air too. But hey you can't have everything. So bottom-line, if you want to try something new and haven't run much before, go outside!

I have to confess that prior to my transformation, I would be afraid of running outside because of my chubbiness in fear of being judged. So let me tell a few things that you should keep in mind so that you have a better experience than I did when I first started running:

1. Whether you are 50+ lbs overweight or at your "ideal" weight, you should feel comfortable with your body! Don't let your body stop you from going running outside if it's what you want to do. Just being outside and proud of yourself is already something significant.

2. Make sure you have good form! If you don't know what good running form is, ask someone that you know who runs a lot, or just ask me :)

3. Wear the right shoes. The wrong shoes or the wrong size of the even the right shoes can put a lot of strain on your knees. And you don't want to mess your knees up this early in the game.

4. Push yourself, but know your limits! Most often, a fair amount of our limits are mental; overcoming them is a matter of determination and ambition. However, although you should push yourself to the max, don't hurt yourself. Learn what your physical limits are and don't hurt yourself.

I'm gonna check back in later in the week, but if you have topics you would like me to address, please feel free to comment and let me know.

End of Week 8 / Beginning Break Week

We finished week 8 of insanity pretty hard on Friday with Cardio Conditioning and Insane Abs; we modified the schedule a bit to accommodate for my two iCrew (that's what we call ourselves) going on a trip on Saturday.

To accommodate further for our spring break, we modified the schedule to push Week 9 back until they return. So yesterday today, I did non-insanity workouts. Although today would have normally been my break down, I felt energized to push myself since I had been recovering at the beginning of this past week (week 8).

Yesterday, I did Ab Ripper X from P90X in addition to the Chest, Triceps and Shoulders workout from P90X. It felt amazing; entire upper body was sore this morning from me pushing myself.

Today, I did my own strength workout I designed which involved lunges, squats, biceps curls heel raises and weighted wall-sitting, all done in my dorm hallway with the music blasting and my adjustable 25 lb dumbbells. With mostly everyone else gone for spring break, I can use the entire hallways for my lunges. After my back, biceps and legs workout, I went on a 3.20 mile run outdoors and used RunKeeper (iPhone app) to track my distance and progress throughout the run. It was my first time using RunKeeper and it seems really cool for running outdoors; I will definitely be using it more often, especially throughout the week as I do my own personalized workouts and run outdoors.

I'll try to update every day or two to tell y'all what workouts I'm designing and using to stay fit for the final week of insanity.

Stay Strong!

Back in the game!

Following my minor knee injury, I spent Monday and Tuesday icing and elevating the knee and only doing the Max Recovery workout from Insanity coupled with Ab Ripper X from P90X on Tuesday. Today, my knee felt completely healed, so I came back in the game with Max Interval Circuit!

It was AMAZING! It felt really awesome to be back and working hard again. Also, a couple weeks back, GNC gave me a sample bottle of Oxy Elite Pro, a thermogenic, which helped a lot and energized me even more. So I ordered a bottle when it went on sale, and took my first pill today. My energy was definitely up there today. Maybe it's real or maybe it's the placebo effect. Either way, something energized me today and it felt amazing.

To compensate for my having missed a few days and because my workout partners will be out of town next week, we will be doing a bonus week. But for now, I'll be checking back in at the end of the week.

End of Insanity Week 7 / Beginning Week 8

I finished Week 7 of Insanity with Max Interval Sports Training; amazing workout!! Definitely was one of my favorite ever. Unfortunately, I hit a small speed bump when I sprained my knee on Saturday. It's a minor sprain so hopefully I'll be better by tomorrow to begin week 8 with Max Interval Circuit. But as I mentioned before, safety first! So we'll see.

Insanity Mid-Week break

So we took a mid-week break today because one of my two Insanity buddies is sick and the other just did not have the time today. Since my knees were also a little sore, I saw this as an opportunity to take a break from Insanity and go lift and run for a bit. So this is what I did today:

• 5 min cycling warm-up
• Stretch (ALWAYS warm-up and stretch, it's very important!)
• Weightlifing:
• Bench press
1. 225 lbs x 8 reps
2. 235 lbs x 6 reps (new weight record)
3. 235 lbs x 6 reps
• Incline biceps curls 
1. Each arm: 45 lbs x 7 reps
2. Each arm: 45 lbs x 6 reps
3. Each arm: 45 lbs x 7 reps
• Squats
1. 235 lbs x 7 reps
2. 235 lbs x 8 reps
3. 235 lbs x 6 reps
• Series of Ab exercises
• One-arm rows
1. Each arm: 90 lbs x 8
2. Each arm: 95 lbs x 6
3. Each arm: 95 lbs x 6
• Running on Treadmilll - HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) for 25 min
• Warm-up for 2 min at 6.0 mph
• Alternate run (9.0 - 10 mph) and jog at 5.5 mph for 20 min while increasing run speed at each 3 interval
• Warm-down for 3 min at slow jog, then walk.
• Stretch

That's my midway break workout. One thing I should note is: Remember to always have a spotter when you are benching! I always had a spotter for bench but never really realized how much it was important to have one today when my wrist slipped and the bar was headed straight for my neck, had the spotter not been there. Safety always comes first!

Alright folks, I'll be checking back in at the end of the week, when we're done with week 7 of insanity. 

Keep it real.