Yoga Challenge Wrap UP

Well six weeks of Yoga was interesting. I would definitely recommend you give it a try... if six weeks seems to long, try doing a month. I have, for a long time, tried to incorporate Yoga or Pilates into my workout routine 1-2x per week, but this was the first time I made Yoga a daily practice. Here are a few things I took away from the experience...

1. Like many other things in life, practice, practice, practice makes you better. Even if you're not the most bendy/flexible person, repetition will get results.
2. There is no such thing as perfection in yoga. Even if you master the movement, you still have to master the mindfulness and that perhaps, can take a lifetime.
3. It seems like everyone in Austin practices Yoga. There may be more yoga studios here then nail salons.
4. Focusing on equal and opposite forces while you stretch or hold specific positions adds a whole new degree of difficulty and physical awareness. This is something that can easily carry over into the weight room.
5. Vinyasa yoga to a Beyoncé playlist is by far the best thing ever!
6. Taking time out for yourself... to clear your head...to focus inward... might be one of the best things you can do for your body.

While I may not be able to do yoga every day now that summer is over; I will definitely make a point to go a few times a week.

Happy Sweating :)

Weeks 4 and 5: Yoga Challenge

I was out of town for 1 week and had to resort to doing yoga on my own. Normally I am a pretty solid independent study kind of girl, but I can only do about 15 minutes of self taught yoga at this point. I need help deciding which poses to transition to and when. Yoga on my own is like deep stretching and some balancing movements, but it's hard for me to think of what I should do next and at the same time focus on my breathing, relaxing, meditating, etc. However, the time spent away from the yoga studio was time spent with family, and that in itself is a mental detox from my everyday routine.  I will say that coming back to hard core 75 minutes of daily yoga was hard after a week of lighter practice. I was sore and stiff and my body seemed to lack fluidity and grace that comes from daily practice. After a few days I felt like myself again, but those first three days back were ROUGH!
This upcoming week will be the last of my six week self imposed challenge and my last week of freedom before law school begins. I better make every yogi breath count!

Happy sweating!

Week 3 Yoga Challenge

Two words people: Beyoncé. Yoga. Yes, my favorite yoga instructor put Beyoncé's Freakum Dress on his playlist for one of my classes this week. I was shaking my booty in downward facing dog, loving it! I guess he caught me dancing instead of focusing on my breathing because he laughed at me and said to me after class, "I bet that's the first time you've ever heard Beyoncé played in a yoga studio!" It sure was and it was awesome! Who said yoga has to be all chanting and gongs, and ethereal music? Who says you can't find yourself in a dance song? Who says it needs to be quiet for you to be at peace? Next Monday, my teacher promised to do a full Beyoncé playlist! I'm not sure how I'll hold a single pose for longer than 5 seconds. Hahaha! I know most people hate Mondays, but I'm looking forward to this one ;)

On another note, I did recognize, within myself, an overall lack of energy this week. It was difficult for me to focus in yoga, and instead of mental clarity and relaxing into postures, I muscled through them with fierce determination, much like I would do on the track. I would say my approach to yoga was incorrect this week... I had a lot on my mind and was unable to let it go in yoga. Therefore, I found relief for my muscles but not for my mind in week 3 of this challenge. Perhaps I will find more balance in week 4.

Happy sweating!

Week 2 Yoga Challenge

Coming from a sports background that often has coaches pushing you to go past your limitations, I find yoga a slightly peculiar workout. I am used to hearing, "do one more rep, see if you can go 10lbs heavier, dig deeper, a little faster, get out of your comfort zone, etc." I found myself in yoga class this week puzzled when instructors said, transition into the next posture when your body is ready, go at your own pace, if it's too much just stop, rest whenever you need to, etc." Amused, I thought, "this would never happen at track practice." I should mention that I went from crossfit to yoga on Monday, and anyone who has ever stepped foot in a crossfit gym knows that no one ever tells you to take a knee.

While I attended mostly Hatha yoga classes this week, I did go to one Vinyasa and one Ashtanga class. I learned something about Hatha these past few days that gave me a greater appreciation for the practice. Hatha means equal and opposite forces. The movements in Hatha are actually counter movements... pulling muscles simultaneously in different directions. I gained a greater understanding of what it feels like to elongate muscles in a stretch. The strain on your body, which last week I incorrectly believed to be very little, comes from this principle of counter movement. It was a lesson that I can see has application in other sports. The idea of balance, of evenly distributing your weight as you move, and of course properly stretching can work to ward off injuries.

I also enjoyed doing a little more core work in my classes this week. I usually find that yoga does not focus enough time on core work. Since most of the difficult and even moderate poses require core strength, I am not sure why it is overlooked.

Summer Yoga Challenge

To challenge myself and give my body a change from my everyday workout program, I am doing 6 weeks of yoga. 42 days straight. My goal is to increase flexibility, body awareness, and basically take a big exhale over the past few emotionally hectic months. I am 1 week into this challenge, and each day I've learned something new.

Monday: Hatha Flow yoga after I downed half of a wheat grass smoothie (not a good idea). First of all wheat grass is nasty, but I am trying to detoxify after vacation gluttony. It was my first experience with Hatha Flow; I have only done Vinyasa. I enjoyed it and found it challenging. My teacher whipped out a guitar and sang during savasana and I actually found that part of class distracting and a nuisance. Tuesday: Hatha yoga, which was different than Hatha Flow was relaxing and allowed for time to clear my mind, but it wasn't physically stressful. My teacher recited a lot of poetry and quotations while we held poses. She also used about 2 minutes to let us dance around and shake our limbs. It was strange, but then again, I dance around my own house to relieve stress, so why not do it with strangers? Wednesday and Thursday: I went back to my Vinyasa roots and really felt the burn in my hips and shoulders. My instructor rang a gong throughout savasana and the sound vibrated through my entire body... I was not a fan, BUT he baked cookies for us (it was his birthday) and had a killer play list... definite bonus. Friday: Ashatanga yoga kicked my butt. I was not familiar with the flow of the series and I was sore from the previous 4 days. Saturday I did Vinyasa at home after travelling.

Anyways that was probably an unnecessary breakdown, but the main take away from the week was I am not stretching enough and I lack focus at times. Hopefully, that will improve in the coming weeks. Hopefully, I can relax my mind and my muscles. If you're looking for a change in your workout routine or need some cross training to balance your lifting and running, try yoga. After this first week, I still believe pilates is a stronger core workout, but my guess is that yoga will provide greater gains in lengthening and releasing muscle tension.

Happy Sweating ;)

Hydration Station

This week I discovered Lime Cucumber Gatorade!!!!!!!! Omg, by far the best Gatorade flavor EVER. If you're not a cucumber water type of person or cucumber martini type of person (I am both), this is not the sports drink for you, but if you are... I may have just changed your whole world. I had lime cucumber Gatorade during two workouts last week, and it was so refreshing, not sugary, and had all the good electrolytes, etc that I needed. With that shameless promotion, let's move on to ways to improve hydration.

1. You should not drink sports drink like they are juice or water. Save them for pre, post, and during workouts.

2. Beware of sugar levels in all sports drinks and juice. When you're in the middle of a rough workout, sugar can help your body's energy levels in the short term, but unfortunately, if you don't balance your sports drink and water intake, the same sugar that gave you a boost, will dehydrate you and lead to muscle cramps.

3. Look for beverages high in potassium. Potassium will increase your energy level without the negative effects of sugar, and it will help ward off muscle cramps. A good example is coconut water. If you're not a fan of coconut water, try orange juice, but look for ones that have no sugar added (oj is notorious for adding lots of extra sugar). I would stay away from orange juice during a workout or immediately before (too much acidity).

4. If you are the type who says, "but water is so bland..." please try something other than crystal light packets. It's too easy people! While flavor enhanced powders may claim zero carbs and little to no calories, you are putting a very processed and unnatural substance into the purest natural beverage you can put in your body. Instead, try to infuse water at home. Take a pitcher of water, add fruit to it, and let it sit over night in your fridge. Too easy! You can leave the fruit in the water as long as you want... the longer the time period, the more intense the flavor. I do suggest taking the rinds off fruit. I had a failed attempt at lime infused water which tasted solely like lime rinds only after a day. Here are some of my favs for infusing water:

• Lime or Lemon
• Oranges
• Cucumber
• Grapefruit
• Mint leaves

If you are exotic and ambitious, you could try Rose, or Hibiscus and Mint. Be creative, see what works! WATER is so good for you and such a necessity; you might as well make it enjoyable.

On a side note you also should drink extra water (try 3 glasses more) after a massage, or any physical therapy. Different types of physical therapies (electric stem, needling, micro-current), especially massage, help release toxins that build up in your muscle (think of knots or cramps), and drinking extra water helps flush these toxins out so they don't re-settle into your muscles.

Happy Sweating,
Dominique

Circuit training

Here's a good cardio circuit that should only take 10-20 minutes. I always prefer to run on the track because that's what I'm used to, but you could easily do this on a trail or on a grass field. I've done a similar circuit and found that the hardest part is not the running, but the activities in between. Something about no rest and having to go from standing to doing push ups or abs, just knocks the wind out of you.

On another note, I ran into an Olympian track runner at Whole Foods the other day. He happens to be a former Gator and an acquaintance of mine, so we caught up for a bit. He told me about London, and I told him about my day. His story was way better than mine. While I was leaving, I thought, these folks in Whole Foods have no idea that a USA/World Champion/Olympian was standing right next to them buying groceries. Like this man is on Nike billboards! If he were a football player, people would be all over him! I guess in Track and Field, you can have fame and privacy? An elusive combo. Anyways...

Warm up: Jog half a mile and stretch. Do 20 meters of walking lunges, 20 meters of high knee running, and 20 meters of butt kicks.
Workout: 
Run/Stride 100 meters
Do 25 sit ups
Side shuffle 100 meters
Do 15 push ups
Run 400 meters
Do 15 burpees
Do 25 sit ups
Do 15 back hypers
Run 200 meters
Do 30 body weight squats
Side Shuffle 100 meters (change direction from the first side shuffle)
Do 10 wide arm push ups
Run 100 meters

Hopefully this long list does not freak you out. You are only running a mile (including the warm up), and the exercises in between keep your heart rate up, while working on muscular strength. This is a good workout for anyone who wants a combination of cardio and toning without bulking up.

Happy Sweating,
Dominique