[it's a new week]

Happy Monday all! I hope everyone had a great weekend and I hope you're all geared up and ready to take on the week - I know I am!!!

This week is kind of wobbly for me: my work schedule fluctuates daily and I'm working overtime so I didn't really get my normal allotted time to meal plan and prepare. That being the case, I was feeling overwhelmed last night. BUT I got everything handled and now I'm ready to tackle Monday and the rest of the week.

I'm doing my best to try and work out every day, even though I can't really get in a routine this week. But for a little inspiration, here's what today's workout looks like. It'll be post work, on the beach.

Warm - up: Walk 1/4 Mile.

Jog 2 miles

Cool - down: Walk 1/4 Mile.

Insert the following fun cross fit-ish workout:

from Popsugar.com

"by starting the week off right, you're not allowing yourself mistakes therefore preventing future ones."

- kristina carrodeguas

[running & how i do it]

So, in keeping with my recent set of posts centered around my new lifestyle, I think it's a good idea to talk about how I'm able to actually walk and jog now. I say this because even walking a mile used to cause the absolute worst shin splints ever. Applying some knowledge and tips I've learned over the years, I am now [albeit slowly but surely] increasing my running distance and shortening my average times.

A few important things:

• A good playlist. I will never understand how people can just run without listening to anything. Maybe if I loved it more or something, I could understand, but right now my music is a large part of what sets the pace of my run and what keeps me going. Here are a few songs I absolutely have to listen to:

• I Need Your Love - Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding
• Levels - Avicii
• Clarity -  Zedd
• You Used to Hold Me - Calvin Harris
• All Night - Icona Pop
• Live for the Night - Krewella

• Stretching. I usually like to do a little warm up first, which I usually do by walking 1/4 mile. Then, I stop and stretch my lower body really well. The extra stretching helps prevent any pain in my calves or shins and helps limber me up to start jogging. I also make sure to stretch for at least 10 minutes after my walk to avoid cramping. 
• Ankle strengthening exercises. I typically do these after I stretch, before I start to jog. Depending on how i'm feeling, I may do more during my jog. It very much depends on how my legs are feeling. These exercises are basically calf raises. I do regular calf raises, inner v calf raises (toes pointed in) and outer v calf raises (toes pointed out). 

Basically, if I can do this, so can you!

"if you do what you've always done, you'l get what you've always gotten."

- anthony robbins

[last week's routine]

I started a new job last week [YAYYY!!!] and with that new job came a new lifestyle; a more organized one. I had to wake up at 4:30 am all week and wouldn’t get home again until about 7 pm so planning was a MUST. Basically if I didn’t plan I knew my eating habits were going to be horrible and my exercise routine was going to be nonexistent. So I made a plan from Sunday until Thursday and let me tell you, I can already tell a difference in my body from that week. I tried new recipes, pushed myself to run more than I felt I could, AND got sick and I still think the plan I was on helped me. Here’s how I was able to accomplish those things:

1.      Meal Planning. I pre-planned my entire week; I planned breakfasts, mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, lunches and dinners. (Well, by dinner time I usually wasn’t very hungry so I usually had a snack again.)

2.      Exercise Planning: Basically I set myself up for success by packing my workout clothes and 5 pound weights the night before work. Immediately after work I would change into my workout clothes and go for a walk / jog on the boardwalk (I work on the beach). This was the only way to do it, because if I drove home after work I would’ve gotten tired and gone straight to bed (I know, it's happened before). 

3.   Rest. Especially since I got sick, staying rested was a must. I wasn't going to let a cold break me! I went to bed at about 9:30 each night and took NyQuil the nights I needed help sleeping through the sinus pressure. 

Here are some photos!

[I posted this on the side of my refrigerator so I wouldn't have any excuses in the mornings. I prepared my lunches and snacks the day before]

[This is an example of 'dinner' I had one night. I wasn't very hungry so I had some cherry tomatoes, a cucumber and some hummus!]

[me after a 2 mile walk / jog on the boardwalk]

"discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most."

-anonymous