A Case of the Runs

Dear Dairy , This is an overused and abused quote/phrase, but "I just don't know how to quit you." You see, a few weeks ago, I went 12 days without eating any (at least 99.9% the way there as far as I can discern) gluten, corn, eggs, dairy, peanuts, add sugars, and soy.  Slowly, I started reincorporating these things into my stomach. This week, I had a bite of dairy here and there.  Granted, I had been eating a bit of baked goods before that, which surely contained dairy, and a sprinkle of feta in my salads...   However, with a bunch of events and festivities, I may have had a taste of froyo from the machine (in a sample cup), a small amount of cake, and a third of a wrap with Caesar dressing in it. I've felt disgusting for days, and gained about four pounds.  Granted, I know it's not possible for me to have gained so much from a bite here and there, especially since I've been more running lately -- but my skin has flared and I'm constantly bloate

I quit my gym today.  Yep, that's big news... #royalbaby , eat your heart out! ;) I didn't go to the gym for three days last week, which is totally out of the norm, as I am usually there at 6:35 AM every weekday morning.  Instead, I worked out at home, the way I had been for most of 2012 when I decided that the company gym was WAY too small and overused to utilize. My relationship with this gym was fairly short -- started in mid-March and now leaving in mid-July.  Although having a gym nearby my new job was a useful part of my transition, it's an expense that I don't want to keep incurring, among other things. *cryptic emoticon here if I had one* Now that I've gotten more comfortable with my morning routine and fitting in workouts with my commute and job, I discovered that it was entirely possible for me to work out at home, enjoy my own shower, and still make it to work on time.  I swapped a train transfer for a bus transfer, and although the ideal parking

So after doing Ab Intervals , Lower Focus is the second workout to do on the first Friday.  This basically means that you're following up an ab-whopping with an.... ah, never mind. This video consists of a lot of leg and hip-flexor work, as you might imagine.  Think: squats, lunges (oh, the lunges!), lunge pulses, and even some calf-specific exercises.  For me, lunges are not normally a problem, but my legs were definitely screaming through this.  I think the bigger challenge for me is some of the hopping exercises -- my flat feet aren't that flexible, so when Shaun T tells you to stay on the balls of yor feet, my poor inflexible feet are tortured. Not a TON of sweat, but a LOT of "focus." Other than that, this video is not exactly eventful, probably my least favorite so far, but I'm sure beneficial to my leg strength (for running!!). Caloric burn (without stretch): 169** ------ **Calorie burn measured by my heart-rate monitor and will vary for peo

***Sorry about the long-winded post, but I just wanted to share my story for anyone who is curious about this plan.*** At the beginning of the year, I started gaining back the weight I had lost since last July (I won't mention specifics, since this isn't really a weight-loss blog). Some might call it post- marital bliss, though for me, it was more about the stress of having to finding a new job quickly, adjusting to my new routine , and house-hunting. I knew I had to do something because I was starting to avoid wearing some of my clothes, so first I tried working out harder. Due to feeling heavy from all the running around I do during the day to commute to/from work, I had switched to the elliptical for most of my cardio exercises. I started doing more high-intensity workouts ( Insanity ) and "heavy" weight interval training, as well as even working out on Sundays to compensate for the fact that I wasn't doing long runs on the weekends anymore. I wasn't a

When I saw the title of this next Focus T25 disc, I was wondering what kind of workout this would be, since I had been used to a lot of cardio in these workouts. A "miniMat" is required for this workout, though "The Ukrainian" and I just used our yoga mats. The 25 minutes begins on these mats, so immediately, I could tell this particular video would be different from the others. The two main positions that we were in a lot were plank and v-sit. If you've done Insanity's Cardio Abs before, some of the moves will be vaguely familiar, but they are actually quite different... and much more prolonged. For example, there are low planks and pulses, but then you quickly flip over and do some leg taps in a v-sit position. Also, there is a (seemingly) long section where you jack up your arm and leg to meet, but your head is up the entire time. My noggin is heavy, so this burned!!  After getting to a point where your abs feel like they can't take anym

The third video (but second disc!) in the Focus T25 program is called Total Body Circuit.  If you've already scrolled down to the end of this post, you'll notice that the calorie burn is a little less than the other workouts I've reviewed so far. Why is this?  Well, there is more upper-body work in this one, so you're not really jumping around as much. Also, if you're anything like me, you will probably need to take micro-breaks, so there's a missed-out calorie burn there, too. Yes, unless you're super strong or super focused, you might need to take a breather once in a while during the upper body circuits.  That's because Shaun has you in a plank position for what feels like a long time, doing plank walks, plank walks to push-ups, shoulder-taps, and shoulder-taps to push-ups.  It's definitely rough! Not everything is upper body, though.  There are quite a few squat series in this video.  From sprints > squats to squat 180-degree turns to

I recently had the opportunity to try one of Janji 's Bangladesh running shirts.  NCAA runners Mike and Dave wanted to increase their purpose of running to "run for another."  From their website: "Through each purchase of Janji ’s distinctive running apparel, a portion of proceeds funds organizations that are alleviating the worst problems related to food and water. By funding solutions and raising awareness through our apparel, Janji wants to create a nation of runners that run for another and eliminate the global food and water crisis."  Here's me in the shirt. It says "Bangladesh" on the sleeve! I wore this to the Rosemead 5K and enjoyed being colorful. =) I sweated a ton in it that morning, but it did wick it away pretty well.  Definitely check their site out for more. They support multiple countries and are definitely worth some buzz! ------ FTC Disclaimer: I was sent a sample o

My review of the new Focus T25 workout continues...  After doing the Cardio disc, I could not wait to move on to the next one, which is called Speed 1.0.  This second workout was a little different than the first. The moves did not flow in a progression as much as the first disc. In fact, there was definitely a level of focus involved in going from one move quickly to the next. After a few moves, you move into a quick stretch session, which is actually pretty hard, because you suddenly have to be still. It's actually a lot of core work to hold a quad stretch after jumping around.  Speaking of jumping around, so far, there haven't been any "Power Jumps" on these discs, just half tuck-jumps, which are also pretty hard when they're being thrown in amongst other jumping. So I'd say that these workouts are not as high-impact as Insanity , but it makes up for it with all the "little" hopping. "The Heisman" (a move where you put

EVENT: Rosemead 5K DATE: Thursday, July 4, 2013 LOCATION: Rosemead, CA RACE BEGAN: 8:00 am  FINISH TIME: 24:23 This Fourth of July 5K was not supposed to be in July -- it was originally scheduled sometime in February, but they moved it to the summer.  Although I hate running in heat, I actually think it was a good move. The race was put on by the same folks as Pasadena Marathon , which is kind of a coincidence, since last weekend, "The Ukrainian" and I cheered on the course on what was a very tough day for both the race coordinators and the runners.  (I won't mention specifics, but all I can say is that Google knows everything.) Anyway, I've never done a holiday race before, and so I've also never done a race on a day that's not Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.  These days, I get up so early that making it to an 8 AM race was almost like sleeping in... so sad. Here's the lovely shirt!  It's cotton, but hey, that's what is expected.

Recently, I made a little splurge purchase from Beachbody.com -- Shaun T's new workout program, Focus T25 .  If you recall, I got Shaun's other program,  Insanity , and completed it twice last year, so it was just a matter of time before I hopped onto getting this, fresh off the virutal shelf.  However, I am not planning on doing the program as prescribed at this time.   I might do so in a few weeks or months, but at the moment, I am figuring things out with my morning routine and such.  That isn't going to stop me from trying the workouts, though! In the meantime, in the interest of all the curious people on the web, I am going to review each video that I try.  Feel free to contact me for more information before deciding to commit to buying this for yourself! Before I begin, let me explain the Focus T25 workout program (very briefly).  It's a 10-week program, 5 days a week, that involves working out to these 25-minute workouts.  It contains tw