Was a bit of a weird week this week, hence the late post! Some scheduling crossed wires and production issues at work led to me needing to work out Thursday evening and Saturday morning instead of my usual MWF morning schedule. Should be back to normal on Monday tho! Weeks like this serve to prove to myself that keeping up my “new normal” of exercising 3x per week is possible, even when life throws curveballs.

I also started experimenting with small sets of exercise throughout the work day. I have tried in the past to get into the habit of taking short breaks to stand up, stretch, and move around a little, but without much consistency. I recently even bought a 10lb dumbbell to keep next to my desk for some small sets of curls while on a long call at work. This week though, I tried to add some structure to this routine. I’m aiming to do

  • curls
  • overhead tricep extensions
  • shoulder presses
  • squats
  • pushups

during these short breaks. I’m starting off with just 5 reps of each to keep the bar low and easy to achieve. This also helps me look away from my screen regularly; I’ve been noticing some eye strain lately that means I have to start being really strict about looking away from my monitors throughout the day.

Running 🏃

Monday: Usual speed training. 0.93 mi in 13:32, average speed of 4.2 mph (14:17 mins/mi). Followed up by 0.73 mi on the elliptical. Saturday: Long distance day. I managed to hit 2.1 miles for the total workout! I walked ~0.2 of those for warm up and cool down, so ran for ~1.8 straight. I love the confidence boost that long distance days give me; it’s so satisfying to see the distance tick past! I felt particularly in the zone today: breathing was controlled all the way through, and I didn’t increase speed until right at the end. I really wanna focus on keeping speed low and increasing endurance on these days. 2.1 mi, 29:45. Average speed of 4.2 mph (14:17 min/mi). Feeling good for the 5k in March!

Strength/Weights 🏋️

Thursday: I did a “bicep blast” workout video from HASFit. I alternated between 10 and 15lb dumbbells. This really did a number on my arms!! I’m still feeling it even as I write this on Saturday. I also added in a couple of sets of dips as I want to keep my training of biceps and triceps balanced. I wrapped up with a 3 minute sprint at just under 10 minutes per mile. I felt really good during this sprint! It had me breathing hard but still under control.

See ya next week!