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Running Journal: Body Fat, Increasing Distance and Yoga

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Hey guys! I’ve let two weeks pass since my last update on how the ol’ running is going. Many things have been incorporated into my healthier lifestyle that I am trying to achieve.

The first thing that I am excited about is that I got my body fat and BMI assessed by our local Health Network. The results weren’t the exciting part unfortunately. But I was excited to finally get a real number to work with, evaluated by a professional who knew what they were doing. My BMI fell in the “healthy” range. Which wasn’t a surprise since you can figure that out on any computer. Although I would like to see the number drop a little bit considering it is still in the higher end of the “healthy”. My current BMI is 23.6 (the range is 18.5 – 24.9).

What I was most concerned about was my Body Fat. I do have the nice “tire” around the belly so I have been extremely concerned about the impact of having the bad fat in relation to my health. So I was prepared to hear the worst. My body fat % is currently 26.1%, which falls in the “above average” range (25-29%). My goal is to obviously get that number into the normal range of 22-25%. I knew going into the appointment that most likely my Body Fat % would be high, so I took that number as a starting point and instead of being discouraged I am encouraged that I get to do the same test in 8 weeks and hopefully that number will decrease.

I would highly recommend getting these two tests done. And I am pretty sure your local Rec and YMCAs can do it for you. I got mine done at the Rec for $5! Can’t beat that. I think it’s important to know these numbers as you try to get heatlhier. Because as much as we worry about a certain number on the scale, that’s not the most important number to remember! You can be skinny and still not healthy!

While I was there, I was given a couple of recommendations that I have implemented already. The first came as a surprise. I was explaining my health concerns about my feet and joints and the lady who was helping me out strongly suggested yoga. She mentioned that she has arthritis in her feet and was given the suggestion years ago to try yoga and within a few short weeks of yoga, her pain is no longer an issue. Heck, I am up for trying anything.

So I signed up for a beginner class at a local yoga studio. And I thoroughly enjoyed my first class last week. In part due to the fact that out of 8 who signed up, only 2 of us showed up which gave us a semi-private class with more one on one instruction. I am hopeful because the instructor seemed to truly be concerned about my feet pain and told me that she would do everything she could do to try to help. She did notice that my feet were cold after the class and was concerned about my circulation. So this week’s class will try to improve that problem. Which is interesting because that is what I’ve told the doctor’s was my guess on what my problems stemmed from. And none of them have been too concerened. So we will see. I look forward to giving you guys the low-down about how this 4 week class goes.

The second suggestion that was given to me was to change up my workouts. I typically do my cardio first then weights. Instead, she told me to do 10 minutes of warmup, then do weights, then go for my runs. Which after she explained why, totally made sense to me. Doing weights before fatiguing your body will allow for heavier weights, more reps and the cardio afterwards will release the lactic acid build up which will keep your muscles from hurting more. Building stronger, leaner muscle will in turn burn more calories daily and also will keep my body strong during my running training and decrease the chances for injury.

And lastly I am starting to believe that I am becoming a runner. Although my mileage is increasing, I still doubt my abilities each time I start a run. It’s crazy, because I know I can run more than 2 or 3 miles because I have been consistently doing it now for over a month, but with each run I take, that first 2 miles I don’t think I can do it. So I have this little discussion with myself. Each run I take, I determine that I will at least run 2 miles before giving up. And after the 2 miles, if I can’t go any longer, I give myself the permission to quit. The funny thing is, that with each run, once I hit the 2 mile mark, I know I can keep going. So I haven’t actually given up yet at the 2 mile mark. Which doesn’t mean I won’t ever. But it does mean that I am getting stronger and that I need to continue to build confidence with each run I take.

Here’s my latest tracking of mileage:

And it’s still a work in progress. Although it’s not where I would like to be, it is still encouraging to see the numbers gradually improving. And heck, it’s beats not doing anything at all. So if you have started running, which I know a couple of you have said you were going to, and have a smart phone, get the RunKeeper app. I love this app because it keeps track of all the stuff I’m interested in right now (distance, time, elevation, pace). And it’s also social media-isque. We can follow each other which would be fun. So if you use it, find me so we can encourage each other!

That’s how my journey is going, I would LOVE to hear how yours is going? Leave me a comment -yo! We are all in this together!


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