29 and 205

My birthday was on Monday! We had a nice weekend - yummy Italian food on Friday night, then we headed out to the western part of the state for camping and hiking with some friends. It was really nice to get away and do something a little different.

Then on Monday I did what I love to do... lift things! Proud to say I'm officially in the 200 club because I got 205 lbs on my deadlift, four times actually. I've been chasing this number for awhile, and a mere 3 weeks ago I couldn't even pick up the bar with this weight on it. So I'm quite happy with it. I got back to my car and snapped a post workout/I'm 29 selfie.

I gained alot of strength last year, and continue to surprise myself at every turn. I never guessed I'd be lifting 200+ pounds for fun. But I know for someone of my size and ability level I have so much more to achieve. 29 is gonna be my strongest year yet

I got some gift cards/money, and my husband got me some gamer stuff as well as lifting stuff! I now possess a belt and straps! Not sure at what point I will need them, but I reckon it's coming soon cause that 4th lift was testing my grip strength for sure.

Also I think it's safe to say my foot is better. I don't believe I even shared this on my blog, but I had some bad foot pain out of the blue last Sunday. I think it was the insoles in my running shoes hitting my metatarsal in the wrong place. I got those switched out, took a week off running, and tomorrow I'll be set to try the smaller insoles in my shoes and see how things go. I'm glad it wasn't something serious!

Not much other news to report, I've been slacking on this blog because my husband and I have been addicted to this game and can't stop playing it. But rest assured I'm still quite active and that aint changing anytime soon :)

3 year anniversary

It's been 3 years to the day since I made a choice to lose weight and become active.

3 years ago... my husband was still in the Army and we had just moved to our new house in Georgia. He just got back from a 1 year tour overseas during which we had not seen each other at all. So it was a great time in my life because we were happily reunited, had a great vacation together... also we just bought my Jeep and became homeowners for the first time. Still, I was unhappy with myself. Over the years I had really put on some weight. Not that I was ever thin to begin with, but this was kind of a new low for myself. I remember feeling so disgusting just sitting around all the time and not doing anything. I was also diagnosed with PCOS around this time, so now it was even more important to be at a healthier weight. It was time for a change.

Summer 2012

I began running. This was a huge change for me, I had never really been active before. I did swim team and other sports in elementary school, but did absolutely nothing in high school. In my early 20's I'd make a sad attempt to go to the gym every now and then, just bobbing up and down on the elliptical and maybe using 20 lbs on the chest press machine. Like once a week. I remember running the mile in school and how much it kicked my ass. So this was some really new and uncomfortable territory for me. I could run for like 30 seconds and then take a 5 minute walk. But I resolved to do this and each time I went out there I pushed myself a little harder. And as time went on I got better and really grew to love it. I felt like I was doing something meaningful with my body. I started signing up for races. I suffered through a few injuries, but eventually I would always get back out there.

In the early months I was also counting calories, cooking most of my own meals and exercising a whole lot of will power to say no to treats most of the time.

Now in late 2014 I got more serious about weight lifting. I hadn't done much of it up until now, but I knew it was key to preventing injury and being better at obstacle racing. I also did 5 Crossfit classes last year with Team RWB. This was all so new to me and so much fun. Then we unexpectedly moved to Maryland and I took like 2 months off. Around the new year I started running again, signed up with Gold's up here and that's where things exploded. I began to lift heavy 3x a week and it's been a game changer. I have muscles now. Back then I could maybe bench 40, squat 50, and deadlift 60. Now I can do 100+, 165, and 185 respectively. I am so much better at obstacles now too.

Recently I've lapsed in running, partly because of the summer weather. It's been hard to motivate myself to get up at 6am and run in a bunch of 80 degree humidity. Also lately I've found that lifting is giving me the awesome feeling that running did back when I was new to it. But - the past week I've gotten back out there a few times and I'm resolving to make it a regular part of my life again. I did 6 miles the other day and felt awesome. I need it for cardio fitness, future races, and also to help keep my weight down. I am by no means skinny, as I still like food just a little bit too much, but I'm damn better off than where I was 3 years ago.

Spring 2015, Savage Race finish

I'm stronger and more confident. Stuff bothers me less because I know I can go smash some weights around in the gym or go on a nice long run. Everyday physical tasks are easier as well. I've taken on some tough challenges in distance running and obstacle racing, completed things I'd never dreamed of attempting. In the future I'm going to continue on with what I have been doing, but possibly branch out into Crossfit and weightlifting competitions. Being active has been a whole new crazy adventure in my life. It's something I never thought I would be doing, but I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

Sore to the Core

This week has been all about the lifts!

Monday - Labor day, aka the day where 50% of the population works their asses off to serve the other 50% that are on vacation. I probably should not have done a bunch of new-to-me Olympic lifts right before walking into a monsterous Labor day shift at work. 

Monday included legs and chest, plus trying power cleans for the first time. Also more push jerks. Both were with 85 as I'm still learning the technique of it all. Those power cleans are no joke.

Work was utter chaos and I didn't get to eat anything until like 4. Between the workout, lack of food, and throngs of people I seriously began shutting down. Then shoved the free pizza from work into my face and all was well.

Today's gym session was deadlifts! I worked up to 175 x3. Also tried my hand at non assisted pull ups for the first time in a VERY long time. I did 5 sets of about 2 pullups each. I was unhappy with myself until I saw this pretty big guy who also only did 2 pull ups. I must not be doing so bad then.

Shoved protein and food in my face. I almost ran out of protein! But it showed up today. And on a related note...

It's crazy how I haven't done a SINGLE ab isolation exercise this week, yet my abs are pretty sore. Those oly lifts really do hit your core as hard as they say.

I went to the mall, picked up some new jeans for the winter. Size 8 was required simply to get my legs and ass into them. Oh and I finally have my car back, good as new!

How to catch bears

My husband and I had a nice gym session today. And we coordinated our outfits perfectly

"How do I catch bears?" + Bear shirt

...with these TRAPS!!!

It's hard to see when flexing since my shoulders are all scrunched up.. but I do actually have pretty defined traps.

I tried and failed to max out deadlifts at 205, then 195... the weight just wasn't going anywhere. I did 175 today. That's ok, I need to work on it more before I can hit those numbers. But I guess when you think about the fact that I couldn't pick up 90 lbs a year ago... I'm not doing too bad here.

We also worked on some monkey bar stuff which was fun. 

He's also now under 200 lbs, I'm really happy he's seeing good results.

Insoles

So I'm making this post because all kinds of insoles have come into my life lately.

My work sells custom insoles. I mold them for people every day. I got a free pair when I started and put them into my work shoes.. but they gave me pain in both achilles which I had never had before. Looking at them I think the heel cup was too deep. So I gave them another shot and had a new set molded a few weeks ago. 

I put them in my running shoes and gave them a try. They felt really good during my run! I could feel that the arch support was preventing my arch collapse. I have medium-high arches that are flexible, so I'm an overpronator. My shoe doesn't really give me enough stability on it's own so having the insole in there to prevent the arch collapse should help give me stability. I'm looking forward to seeing how these perform over time.

Then I also got a set of Thinsoles. It's a new type of thinner insole we have that's meant for more types of shoes - work shoes, casual/slip on shoes, gym shoes, cleats, spikes, etc. Things where the normal insole can't really fit so well.

I put them in my Nanos and have taken them through 2 gym sessions now. I noticed a huge difference in my squat, my knees felt less wobbly during the lift. They felt good in all other areas, except walking in them for long periods of time isn't so comfortable. But that's not really the point of my Nanos anyway, they are for lifting. I think these will serve me well for heavy lifts where I might need extra stability.

This is pretty new to me because I never put insoles in my running or lifting shoes before now. The only time I ever even used an insole was when I had plantar fascitis 2 years ago. So, pretty excited to see how well these do!

PR's for days!

My gym game is strong this week! I walked up in there yesterday morning and busted out a new squat PR!

That's 175 lbs and I did it twice. MORE than my body weight :)

The rest of my workout was a killer too, I was sweating like crazy yesterday. I also did single leg RDL's which I have not done in a couple months. So today = sore hammies. No run for me this morning but I plan to run Friday and Sunday.

I'm always super hungry on leg day. Couple that with the fact that customers at work were being butts... and I didn't get to take a break until pretty late in the day... bad decisions were made. I was so cranky.. so HANGRY! I went and ate at Fatburger. But I didn't even finish all my food. And I felt like a fatburger for the rest of the night. Oh well. It was there for me in my time of need.

Things will be a little off schedule wise this week cause on Monday I had to drop off my car bright and early. It's getting repairs done after the accident (Funny story, my new co worker hit my car in the parking lot on his very first day of work!) and it'll be out until tomorrow. Dropped off my Jeep Patriot, and in return they gave me a Jeep Compass!