Progress Post: 4/14/16

If you remember, I've been working on getting back to fit after baby S made his debut 3 months ago. Today, I can say that I've made teeny tiny steps toward that goal. Here's where I'm at:

Cardio: I can't do much in terms of intense workouts yet. My knee is really acting up, so I'm basically stuck walking. I taught a few Zumba and Hip Hop classes last week, but by Sunday I was paying for it. A nice 3 mile stroll last night with the baby felt great!

Strength: I'm still teaching my Saturday class, but for myself, I'm hitting daily PiYo workouts. I turned to this program when I was recovering from knee surgery, so I thought it would be the perfect way to ease back into strength training with a ton of gentle stretching. I've only just started, so I have plenty to still work on.

Nutrition: This is the piece that I'm being most aggressive with--I'm sticking to the 21 Day Fix plan, and doing pretty well. Of course, my weekends are my enemy, and Chris & Katie are heading out to visit for a few days, so I'm sure I'll be a little off-track. I definitely notice a difference when I get all my veggies and proteins in. My energy is so much better!

Health: My knee is the nagging problem these days, so I made an appointment to meet with my orthopedic surgeon on Monday. I'm not planning on another surgery, but I'd like his opinion as to some options. I'm holding onto the hope that when I regain some strength and flexibility, my knee issues will resolve themselves. 

So there it is! Some progress--definitely NOT perfection, but I'll take progress any day!!!

The Honest Truth

On Sunday, Robby turned one month old! It's been a whirlwind month, full of happiness, ups and downs, and trying to figure out my new role as full-time mommy. You want the truth? I have NOT had any focus on nutrition OR working out! Yes, I took a few walks, but I have mainly been at home, on the couch, vegging out in front of the TV and binge eating junk food. I stocked my fridge with healthy options, but even eating a ton of healthy foods makes the scale move in the wrong direction.

So it's time to get real, get honest. I spent (almost) all of my pregnancy eating healthy and staying fit. Yes, I slid a bit toward the end--I was just too tired to workout hard and well, I have no excuse. I just got into some bad habits. So I'm putting it out there--I'm changing things up and getting back to my healthy self! Here's the plan:

Nutrition: I'm going to follow the 21 Day Fix meal plan, adding extra calories to ensure I have enough to continue to breastfeed. Lots of water too to keep myself milky. Of course, Shakeology daily to get in my daily dose of dense nutrition!

Fitness: This one is a bit harder because I feel like I've lost a lot in this area. For the rest of this month, my goal is walking at least 3 days per week and running 1-2 days per week. I have the inaugural Hot Chocolate 15k at the end of the month to keep me on track with this goal. I'm also planning on adding PiYo twice per week. It's the perfect new momma workout since it focuses so much on the core.

Time will definitely be a challenge, especially when I go back to work next week. I tell my clients all the time that time is just a terrible excuse, I can't use that as an excuse either! It's time to practice what I preach! Let's do this!!!!

Pre-Race Reality Check

Wine & Dine is over (I promise a race report is coming soon) and now I'm onto the next one: The 2014 Las Vegas Rock and Roll Half.  I'm pretty tired from the fun of the Disney race and weekend.  I definitely did something wrong at that race because my back is killing me.  I also registered for Goofy so I have a ton of training ahead of me. 

As I picked up my bib last night (and realized that I am corralled WAY too far up), I thought back to when I registered for this race. I registered the night before the Disneyland Half Marathon with the thought that I'd "have fun" at Wine and Dine, then turn around and race Vegas.  I had grand ideas of chasing 2 hours again.

Tonight, I sit here and pray just to finish the race under 2:30.  Yep, 2:30.  I'm not even close to where I was before surgery.  It's a huge reality check for me.  I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.  I know I need to get back to a doctor and figure out some next steps.  Surgery clearly didn't provide the relief I was hoping for (in brief, they just removed some floating pieces of cartilage; I still have a huge hole in my cartilage).  Damn.  I was hoping I wouldn't need more procedures.

I'm working on coming up with a new training plan, incorporating more PiYo for stretching and strength.  I know Goofy is going to be really slow.  I thought I'd be racing by Surf City Half, but now I'm not sure about that either.  It's going to be a much longer road than I anticipated.  BooHooooo.  I'm done complaining.  :)

My Newest Workout Obsession--PiYo

I realized I'm a little late to the party, and there are many people that have been doing PiYo for years, but hey, better late than never, right?  This is seriously my newest obsession.  Don't worry, I'm still massively obsessed with running and Be Bad Hip Hop and Zumba and BodyPump.  This is just an addition :)

About a month ago, I decided to expand my fitness business to include Beachbody Coaching.  Of course, to be a good coach, you need to know what tools you are using to help people.  I knew I needed to continue to get myself healthy after surgery, so PiYo made sense for me.  Low impact, yet challenging.  Inspired by Yoga and Pilates.  Flexibility and strength training.  Yep, sign me up!  It was all stuff I needed to balance my cardio-heavy life.  I was excited when I got the DVDs and really enjoyed the workouts.  I even sweat--which I didn't expect.  It was way more challenging than I thought.  I was hooked (and getting great results).

No sooner than I was raving about the home workouts did the opportunity to get trained in PiYo Live come right to my doorstep!  Of course, I jumped!  I could better help people doing the workouts at home, AND I could also bring this awesome workout to my clients at the gym.  Yep, sign me up again! 

Yesterday was the training.  Today, I am so sore!!!!  PiYo is no joke!!!!  I absolutely loved it live, too (not that I had any doubts).  I'm not a Yogi...not even close, so I was thrilled when, during introductions, our master trainer said to me "You are exactly who PiYo is geared toward!"  I guess that was something I missed along the way (this program has been around for about 7 years, I was just never interested).  This is a fast-paced workout that focuses on total body strength and flexibility.  I was literally dripping all over my mat! 

So now, I come to you, as one of the newest converts--and a certified PiYo Live instructor!  :)  I seriously can't wait to get my own class and spread the love.  Just like I tweeted yesterday: EVERY runner should be doing this workout! 

Just finished #PiYoLive training. LOVE this format! Every runner should be doing this workout! #runner #BeachbodyCoach #PiYoRebellion
— Disney Runs Family (@DisneyRunFamily) October 27, 2014

Vegas peeps--stay tuned!  I'm planning some fun preview workouts and hope to get a live class soon.  If you're not in Vegas and want to try PiYo, I'd love to help you get started and coach you through the program.  You can contact me here or find me on Facebook (Alyson Stater).  Do you already PiYo?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this program!