Hi All,
It’s a work night for me (ah, the exciting weekend life of an editor!). I promise you a longer post and a new recipe tomorrow, but in the meantime, I’ve been getting a few questions about my workout regimen. Good question. To respond, I’ll give you the exact rundown of the last week:
Sunday: Gym
Cardio: 20 minutes on the Versa Climber, 15 minutes elliptical
Strength: 3 sets of 40 sit ups, 2 1-minute planks
Monday: Yoga
One hour Vinyasa class
Tuesday: AM express workout
Cardio: 25 minutes stepmill
Strength: 3 sets of 15 squats, 2 sets of 15 lunges with 10 lb dumbbells on each side
Wednesday: Yoga
75 minute Hatha class
Thursday: AM express workout (this was, happily, not too express)
Cardio: 40 minutes on the elliptical, doing resistance intervals
Strength: 3 sets of 15 bicep curls with 8 lb weights, 2 sets of tricep extensions with 8 lb weights, 2 sets of 20 push ups
Friday: Lunchtime express workout
Cardio: 35 minutes squirelliptical
Strength: 3 sets of 30 sit ups over a balance ball, 2 sets of 15 reps each on the abductor and adductor machines
Saturday: Leisurely cardio morning!
Cardio: 30 minutes on the elliptical at a high resistance, 30 minutes stairmaster
Strength: Ooops. Didn’t really do any. 2 long planks and lots of stretching.
This is a very typical week for me. Usually I do yoga on Fridays in lieu of a gym day, but I was a bit stressed this Friday and eager to sweat.
You’ll notice that these workouts are not nearly as arduous or exciting as many of fellow bloggers’. When it comes to the gym, I confess, I am a creature of habit and convenience. I love working out, and I love yoga, but I know that I could push myself a bit harder than I do. This said, I pride myself on being very consistent: even at my most busy, I’ll squeeze in a gym run. No matter how many meetings or office dramas are brewing, I get my workout in. I’m a firm believer that consistency (how often you go) adds up more than intensity.
I also think that we all tend to have a workout DNA of sorts. Sure, I think we all should push ourselves to reach new performance goals and to challenge our bodies. But I also think that a person is usually drawn to certain kinds of fitness more than others. I have female friends who hate gym-going: they can’t bear being stuck on machines, the dreadful feeling of being a gerbil on a wheel. I, on the other hand, can do a stairmaster or elliptical or stepmill for hours. But please, don’t put me in a step aerobics or pilates mat class. Please.
And running? I get it. I truly do. I’ve gone through periods where I ran a lot, and others when I ran very little. I’ve felt the joy and sense of reward. But more often than not, I don’t really enjoy running, and feel as though I’m forcing myself to do it. And frankly, my time at the gym is too limited and precious for me to be doing something I don’t really love. I run occasionally—once or twice a week at the very most, but more likely once every two weeks. And that’s OK with me.
How do we raw foodists fuel our athletic performance? With hemp protein (a totally natural and more digestible alternative to whey and soy proteins), recovery smoothies between thirty minutes and an hour post-workout (for example: bananas, spinach, hemp or brown rice protein, dates, and a tablespoon coconut oil or avocado, or my pal Kristen’s awesome “Beowulf smoothie“), an alkaline diet, and lots of green juice and wheatgrass.
I certainly hope to bring the perspectives of more athletes—raw, vegan, and cooked—to my blog, so that you can hear firsthand how men and women of all different lifestyles approach their own training, weekly fitness, and performance. In the meantime, I’ll keep you posted on the fun new workouts and yoga I sample in the city.
On that note, I return to my manuscripts. Happy Saturday, and more soon! xo
LOOOVE all the yoga!!
I am very impressed. Plus, you get a good variety of cardio machines in there. Running is definitely always a challenge and definitely not always fun, but somehow I like that. Surprised to hear you don’t like pilates mat, i love it!
Did I just get validation from my workout goddess? In that case, I’m totally happy
Isn’t that odd about mat? For some reason I just start to gag every time I have to do hundreds or leg circles. I know it’s a good and challenging core workout, but somehow it just doesn’t do it for me. I like reformer, though!
Thanks for the re-cap of your week at the gym. I’m the same way, more consistency, less intensity. I find that my body responds better to 15 reps of squats per day rather than 45 one day. Plus, it’s easier to fit in 15 squats on a busy day!
Hi! Just wanted to tell you that I LOVE your new blog. I’m a vegan and trying to add more raw foods to my diet. I can’t wait to hear more from you!
Shelby,
Thanks for your feedback! I wish I had a little more workout time in my life right now, so I wouldn’t have to choose between consistency and intensity, as it were, but I’m comfortable with my routine. I hear you on the squats!
Tara,
Welcome! I’m thrilled you like the blog and hope you’ll be checking in frequently!
Gena
Hey Gena! Nice blog….I’m all about raw inspiration. I’m adding you to my roll too. As for your workout schedule, that’s impressive. I only do 4 days a week - mostly at the gym but sometimes with workout videos when I can’t get to the gym.
Hi, this is a great blog! Thank you for linking me!
HI! i just found your blog through Ginger is the new pink
I LOVE IT!!! im high raw.. (not 100%)…but I am always trying to incorporate more raw foods… I think the warm weather will do me good!
cant wait to come back and check out your future posts!
Love the blog! I can’t wait until I’m in shape enough to exercise like this.
I liked your guest post. I can understand the concerns of some of the noters as I struggled with a lot of those thoughts when I did my 30 day raw challenge. Of course, I always found a way to eat tons more calories than most raw foodists do most likely.
Bianca,
So thrilled to see you here! I love your blog and have for so long. Hope we’ll be in touch and that I can inspire at least one Tuesday!
Courtney,
I am such a fan of your blog AND your work @ Tree of Life. I hope we’ll get to know each other through the blogging world.
Vegan on Stage,
Just left you a comment, but THANKS for checking my blog out! I love your high raw eats and hope the blog will be helpful.
Melody,
Awesome to see you here!
I understood the concerns, too — in retrospect, though I wouldn’t have wanted to share my weight and height, it might have been helpful to remind readers that I am 5′ 4″ and very petite, hence have my own unique metabolic needs.
Glad you liked it!
Gena
what is a versaclimber?
I agree, there are different workouts that work for each of us. I found that running burned fat for me while the eliptical didn’t seem to do much. I think it’s whatever feels best and you will keep at that matters!
Hey Amanda,
It’s sort of a rock-climbing simulator, and if you can forgive the goofy photo, it looks like this: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gymratz.co.uk/exercise-equipment/usrimage/versaclimber-sport-1.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.gymratz.co.uk/exercise-equipment/cat60_1.htm&usg=__Ea4iiK0MoLzoEAIZab3LqVncxR8=&h=330&w=147&sz=15&hl=en&start=12&sig2=bNpDrJEGh94D-Doz_lYk8w&um=1&tbnid=iIXql6tilmFeEM:&tbnh=119&tbnw=53&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dversaclimber%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=_IDjSeWqCtLMlQeWuqmcDg
I love it, and think it’s a good workout. And I totally agree: fitness and food, whatever works for you!
Gena
You may not think your workouts are intense, but you’re working out every day and getting a great mix of cardio, strength, and flexibility. Bravo!
Great post! I’m heading to the gym today myself
Hello Gena- I’m not sure what you mean by hemp protein being “far superior” to whey. Superior in the sense that it meets the raw diet requirements? As far as protein quality, whey and egg protein are the highest. I think you should provide scientific references to back such statements or at least define “far superior.” You can check a basic nutrition textbook.
Also, one should ideally take a recovery drink within 30 minutes of a work-out. One hour is OK (at least within 2 hours of workout) but 30 minutes is ideal. You could check out Monique Ryan’s “Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes.”
Have a good day!
Mandkat,
Thanks for your feedback. I’ve actually heard varying and conflicting claims about when to drink one’s recovery smoothie, so I’ve edited to say between thirty minutes and an hour. I’ve also edited “far superior” and left it at “totally natural and more digestible.”
These are my general personal criteria of what constitutes a supplement’s superiority, but you’re right to point out that I don’t mean to make them sound like an objective measurement. Thanks!
Gena
“squirelliptical” <—- love it!
Hahaha. My dear Kath, you’re created vocab!
nice and interesting post!!!